Chapter 291 (1): The True Meaning of Life x the Pale Knight

Night had fallen!

Darkness shrouded the sky above the camp, merging with the tri-colored aurora and casting infinite black light, temporarily slowing the fusion of space.

The fusion was unstoppable now. When it happened, both Thoggua’s severed body parts and the endless black mountain ranges would come crashing down from above, reducing the entire camp to ruins.

The pixies shrieked as they fled toward the perimeter, scrambling through the magic portal. But when the cold wind hit them, they shrieked again and ran back inside.

Not the sharpest tools in the shed.

Around the camp’s fringe, the dark elves retreated in orderly fashion. As they passed the panicking pixies, they scooped them up and stuffed them into their pockets.

Come on, you’re coming home with me!

Senna stared at the scowling Silvia and Veronica, sneering, “I know what you want to do, but be rational. If you go over there, you’ll only get in the way. Leave with these dark elves. Once I’m able, I’ll go help.”

She ruthlessly rejected a pixie trying to throw itself at her, flicking it away with her fingers. It hit a female dark elf in the chest and bounced off the springy landing pad hard. After bouncing twice more, they burrowed right in.

Silvia looked up at the darkening sky and insisted, “The Darkness Knight’s power comes from suffering. Accepting so much suffering all at once... I’m afraid that he’ll be struggling to maintain the integrity of his body and mind. I have to go. With me there, he’ll have a reason to persevere.”

“Are you not too old to still believe in love?” Senna mocked. Then she turned to Veronica, “What about you? Do you think the same?”

As she spoke, dense Death energy surged toward the sky, its writhing tentacles dancing chaotically and intertwining with the four-colored aurora, sliding in deep to coexist with the four other powers.

Veronica’s eyes lit up as she nodded. “The Death Knight’s power comes from suffering. Accepting it all at once...”

Thunk!

Senna hit her on the head with a hand chop, rolling her eyes irritably. That line was too long, and she didn’t want to hear it a second time.

Holding Veronica in place, Senna raised an eyebrow and said, “Wayne’s ordered me to protect you both. He’s my knight, so I must do whatever he wants me to do. Whatever it is... I must obey unconditionally.”

The provocation displeased Veronica, but this wasn’t the time to make a scene. She huffed and pretended not to hear her.

“If you run over there now, I’ll die an ugly death. Either leave with your dignity on your own, or I’ll make you leave.”

“I’m a Gold-ranked mage. I can reject unwanted knowledge, and someone else will be protecting me. I don’t need your meddling.” Silvia transformed into her half-dragon form, heading straight for Darkness’s seal site in a blur.

“Great, there goes my reward...” Senna muttered, grabbing Veronica and pushing her through the portal. “Not you. You’re too weak. Master will give you a piece of advice: if you don’t want to fall further and further behind, get stronger quickly.”

The power disparity was so great that Veronica couldn’t stop Senna from pushing her out. She could only watch as Senna closed the portal. As its light dimmed, Senna’s figure gradually faded. At the very end, Veronica only heard her say, “We’re after different things. Don’t be so hostile to me. Learn to share, won’t you?”

“Oh, by the way. I’ve had a taste. Your fiancé’s amazing!”

***

“Death-Death Knight?!”

Looking at Wayne’s transformed form with Shadow Nightmare in hand, Anastasia took two steps back instinctively. “How can you be the Death Knight? You’re clearly recognized by the three goddesses...”

With her sharp mind, she knew she didn’t have to suspect Wayne of harboring ill intentions and infiltrating the Land of Seal to sabotage the seal. She simply couldn’t understand why the Goddess of Death, having abandoned the Land of Seal, would send Her knight back here.

Besides, if Wayne was Death’s knight, why had the three goddesses chosen him?

It couldn’t be a coincidence. Putting together the intelligence at hand, she came to a conclusion quickly: the three goddesses saw the Death Knight as cannon fodder, granting him divine power to use him as a sacrifice, planning for the Death Knight to die in the Frozen Land in place of their own knights.

It was a reasonable, logical conclusion backed up by evidence. She understood everything now.

Wayne raised Shadow Nightmare high. Surging Death energy poured out, merging with the four-colored aurora. The power of the five chosen knights converged, holding down the line together to resist the terrifying pressure from the spatial fusion.

If they were lucky, they might even stop the spatial fusion and drive Thoggua’s body parts away.

Didn’t expect that, did you, Thoggua? It seemed like there were only four knights here, but all five are present!

There was no telling if Thoggua was surprised, but Anastasia was certainly caught off guard. She was still reeling from the shock. “Sir Death Knight, why did you leave the great underground catacombs? Was it an oracle from the Goddess of Death?”

“You’ve accepted the power of three goddesses. Are you truly willing to die in the Frozen Land?”

“Why didn’t you tell the three knights? You should know that if you’d revealed yourself, there would have been more options. The three knights wouldn’t have taken the risk to execute a decapitation operation.”

“That’s enough, stop.” Wayne interrupted. “Why do you have such an active imagination? Lady Holy Maiden, I’m not the true Death Knight. This is all a coincidence. Just call me Wayne.”

“Sir Wayne.”

Wayne shrugged, feeling mischievous. “Lady Holy Maiden, you need not be so wary of me. I’m not only the Death Knight’s successor, but also the Darkness Knight’s. We’re on the same side.”

Chosen by five gods!

Logic told Anastasia that he was speaking nonsense, but reality left her with no choice but to believe him. She had to accept that there was such a being who had been chosen by all five goddesses in the world.

Nature, Sun, Moonlight, and Death had already chosen him; it wouldn’t be far-fetched for Darkness to be added into the mix. No, it wouldn’t be far-fetched at all.

If all the other four goddesses had him, but not the Goddess of Darkness, that would be unthinkable!

Anastasia had no physical body, yet she still felt her hair stand on end. She asked incredulously, “Sir Wayne, have the goddesses given any orders? How should I help you complete your mission?”

“Just do what I tell you to do.”

White light flickered in Wayne’s skull. As soon as he said that, a large volume of rotten mud surged up from the ground at his feet. A figure clad in a yellow robe slowly emerged. Under the hood was a pale face with no features—only a tangled mess of overlapping tissues.

𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

The yellow-robed figure extended a tentacle, coiling it toward Anastasia.

She backed off at lightning speed, alerted. “Sir Wayne, this is a possession of an ancient god’s vassal. What exactly are you?”

She didn’t recognize the Pale Nest, but she remembered the yellow robe clearly. Having lost her body in the Golden City, seeing the robe triggered some unpleasant memories.

Wayne was chosen by the five goddesses, yet possessed something that belonged to an ancient god’s vassal. She strongly suspected that he had another identity.

Perhaps the five goddesses had sent Wayne on a secret mission to make a decisive move. Perhaps he was planted in the ancient god’s Vassal Realm as a spy, and then...

And then nothing. Anastasia couldn’t continue the story. She couldn’t figure out the goddesses’ plan no matter how hard she racked her brain.

“Just behave and stay put. You play a crucial part in this mission. This is also what the Goddess of Darkness wants.”

Wayne waved. The Pale Nest writhed, secreting viscous fluid and spitting out a naked figure—Anastasia’s body.

“This is...”

Anastasia trembled when she saw her own body, her dead heart suddenly beating again.

Wayne added to her speculation, “This is what the goddess wants. I brought you your body, Anastasia. Enter it. I need your power to complete the mission.”

“Sir Wayne, the corruption is irreversible. This body is already...”

“Cut the nonsense. Are you going to defy the goddess’s orders?”

“...”

Anastasia didn’t have anything to say to that. Her thoughts left the puppet and returned to her original body.

Such was faith. Even though she knew that it was a path of no return, she still charged forward without reservation.

The body returned to its rightful owner. The dark elf’s fingers trembled as she opened her black eyes. She quickly familiarized herself with her body and slowly stood up.

Incredible face and incredible figure. She was a one-in-ten-thousand beauty, combined with a beautiful soul. Wayne nodded approvingly. The empty shell had been beautiful, but ultimately a dead thing. She was different now, perfect both inside and out.

Anastasia picked up her black robe and put it on with a stormy expression. Not only was the corruption irreversible, but it was also targeting her thoughts with ferocity. In only a few seconds, her thoughts began to mutate. There was no stopping the overwhelming force!

To others, Anastasia’s thoughts and body seemed no different from before. Even Senna, who knew her best in the camp, wouldn’t notice anything amiss. But she was thoroughly changed internally, no longer her former self.

Anastasia could sense it directly. Her corrupted thoughts no longer craved Darkness. Instead, she was drawn to the ancient god’s follower, Thoggua.

“Sir Wayne, I cannot control myself,” Anastasia said with difficulty. “The mutation is happening faster than I expected. I’m about to fall under Thoggua’s control. Please tell me quickly what my mission is. What is the goddess’s oracle?”

“Live.”

“...”

Anastasia frowned. Forgive her bluntness, but soon enough, she wouldn’t even be able to maintain her sense of self. She was about to become a pawn of evil, requiring Thoggua’s approval to even die. Then, living would be a luxury.

“Haha, finally, this moment comes.”

Senna passed through the Death energy and came up to Anastasia, her lips curved into a meaningful smile.

Insidious! Evil!

Anastasia froze. Somehow, Senna felt particularly familiar to her today, but also particularly repulsive. Both her thoughts and body rejected Senna, as if she had stolen something precious to her.

She didn’t understand, so she attributed the feeling to her mutation.

“Such a pretty face, but today, it looks especially annoying.” Senna sneered. Her dream of mutual destruction had come true, but regret followed immediately. Right now, she just wanted to scratch Anastasia’s face.

This woman would steal what belonged to her in the future!

“Senna, did you send Master and Veronica away?”

Wayne examined Senna’s thoughts directly. The answer wasn’t ideal. Although Veronica had been forcibly sent away, Silvia had insisted on heading to Darkness’s post.

Senna lowered her head. “Master, my student has a reason to go, and she’s strong enough to protect herself.”

“Fine. It’s unrealistic to expect her to leave.”

Wayne shook his head slightly, wondering with envy if Auston had saved the world in his past life. All the while, he increased his output of Death energy to resist the spatial fusion and simultaneously suppressed the tentacles emerging from beneath the swamp of Death.