Chapter 265 Lord
Pole Derrien’s low voice fell into everyone’s ears, each word carrying an unsettling chill. The cracks in the sky formed by seawater overhead became increasingly dense, and cold water poured down from them, making everyone’s hearts grow increasingly anxious.
In this oppressive silence, Victoria’s calm and composed voice rang out.
“Master Derrien, I only have one question.” She was not affected by the sense of urgency that the apocalypse was approaching. Her clear golden pupils stared calmly at the old mage, “What will happen to the person who is the ‘key’?”
A strange smile, a mixture of mockery and cruelty, tugged at Pole Derrien’s face. His cloudy eyes turned towards the young mage Philip, who had already turned deathly pale, and his voice was as plain as if he were stating the most ordinary fact.
“He will die.”
“Using his body as a temporary vessel to bear and guide my remaining power to activate that ancient teleportation magic circle. This process, for him, is like trying to channel a rushing river through a fragile clay pipe.” Pole Derrien’s voice carried no emotion. “His body and soul will be instantly torn apart and evaporated by that immensely powerful torrent, leaving not even a trace of ashes. But in return, all of you will survive.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Edgar’s figure, like an iron tower, blocked Philip. The face, which had always been hidden in the shadow of his hat brim, was raised for the first time, revealing a pair of resolute eyes burning with rage.
“I absolutely disagree.” His voice was low and decisive, each word landing like a heavy blow. “Members of the Kingdom Disciplinary Bureau will never become sacrifices for others to live on. This is a principle, and even more so, a bottom line.”
“That’s right.” Moria also stepped forward, his light-colored eyes as gentle and peaceful as ever, as if he were facing not an Archmage but something else. “We cannot take away another innocent person’s life for our own survival. This violates the teachings of Glor, and it also violates our conscience as human beings.”
The atmosphere in the plaza instantly became tense.
“Hey, hey, hey, are you guys out of your minds?” An untimely voice suddenly broke the standoff. Spade K poked his head out from behind a stone pillar, a look of a fool on his face. “Is this the time for principles? It’s better for one person to die than for everyone to die here, right? Anyway, he’s just an NPC. If he dies, he dies. What’s the big deal?”
His cold and utilitarian statement, which belonged to a Player, made Edgar’s face darken. Philip was so angry that he trembled all over. Although he was afraid, he mustered the courage to shout, “I, I’m not an NPC!”
“Who cares?” Spade K waved his hand impatiently. “Old man, don’t mind them. I’ll help you catch him. As long as you can take me away from this godforsaken place, anything can be discussed. I don’t want to lose levels for this.”
Just as the chaotic dispute was about to descend into infighting, Victoria suddenly let out a light laugh. The laugh was crisp and pleasant, but it sent an inexplicable chill through everyone.
“Everyone, I don’t think now is the time to argue about who should die.” She slowly walked out of the protection circle of the disciplinary team, her gaze passing over everyone, calmly settling on Pole Derrien. “Before discussing how to leave this place, perhaps we should first solve a more fundamental problem.”
She paused for a moment and said in a tone that stated a fact and allowed no argument: “Kurt is not dead yet. For the sake of the Kingdom, I hope Master Derrien can take action to thoroughly kill Kurt, to eliminate future troubles, and then we can leave this place.”
This statement stunned everyone in the plaza.
On Pole Derrien’s face, which had been as still as a calm lake, a clear emotional fluctuation finally appeared. A sinister and displeased glint flashed in his cloudy eyes.
“Are you doubting that I’m lying?” His voice suddenly turned icy, and the surrounding air seemed to drop several degrees.
“I am not doubting you, Master Derrien.” Victoria’s smile remained unchanged, her posture as composed as ever, as if she were not facing an unpredictable ancient mage with unfathomable power. “I am merely stating a deduction based on facts. After all, Kurt is a Transcendent of the Soul Lord path. The life form of such beings has long surpassed ordinary human understanding. Even if the physical body is destroyed and the soul is incinerated, as long as some minor contingency is left behind, there is a possibility of resurrection. I presume, Master, you are more aware of this than I am.”
She paused, allowing everyone time to digest the information, then shifted focus.
“Moreover, his class is ‘Soul Lord’.”
Victoria’s voice echoed clearly in the plaza. “Everyone probably doesn’t know what this means. But since it is crowned with the name ‘Lord,’ it naturally possesses a ‘territory.’ And within one’s own territory, a lord can never be killed; this is a power at the rule level. Kurt is a foreigner. His home country is Gaethm, the northern Ice and Snow Kingdom. And as far as I know, the people of Gaethm have an ancient tradition: before embarking on a long journey away from home, they would put a handful of their homeland’s soil into a special pocket to carry with them, praying for a safe return in the future.”
Her gaze became sharp, as if it could pierce the mist of time and see a hundred-year-old secret.
“No one can be sure whether Kurt would adhere to this tradition. But as long as he did, then at the moment he sensed danger descending, he only needed to scatter that handful of homeland soil at his feet, and then the land beneath his feet, in terms of rules, would have become his territory. In this way, even a forbidden magic like ‘Skyfall,’ which could destroy the heavens and earth, would be unable to kill him completely.”
As Victoria spoke, Pole Derrien’s expression grew increasingly gloomy. Complex and indescernible emotions churned in his cloudy eyes, like an approaching storm.
Finally, all the gloom turned into a dry, owl-like cold laugh. He even raised his withered hands and lightly clapped. The applause sounded particularly jarring in the empty plaza.
“Spectacular, truly spectacular.” Pole Derrien looked at Victoria, a look of near admiration appearing in his eyes for the first time. “As expected of that woman’s daughter, as sharp as a cunning fox.”
He no longer denied it, but confirmed Victoria’s conjecture with a tone of self-mockery.
“You are correct.” Pole Derrien said calmly. “We overlooked this point at the time, and allowed that fool Kurt to scatter the dust from Gaethm onto the land of Lorenthin. As a result, naturally, he turned the entire city into his territory.”
“We cannot kill him completely no matter what,” Pole Derrien’s voice carried a cold hardness. “Every time we tear his body apart and extinguish his soul, he will, in the next moment, arbitrarily take the life of a resident of Lorenthin City and, at that cost, resurrect on the spot. That is his authority as a ‘Lord.’ On this land, he possesses absolute power over life and death. Hundreds of thousands of lives have become his inexhaustible resurrection sacrifices.”
Hearing this, everyone felt a shudder of horror.
“After paying the price of hundreds of innocent lives, Aeswiel finally realized that conventional methods were no longer effective. Thus, he came up with a more insane and malicious plan.” Pole Derrien’s gaze swept over everyone, finally falling on the collapsing seawater sky. “Since Kurt could not be killed, why not change the approach and unleash the forbidden magic ‘Skyfall,’ sinking Kurt along with the city that had become his territory into this endless deep sea, using the power of the deep sea to seal and suppress Kurt, and then using the unceasing flow of seawater to wash away and erode Kurt’s remnant soul bit by bit until it was completely annihilated.”
“It truly is a foolproof plan, isn’t it? But who could have imagined that that greedy traitor, while plotting against Kurt, also plotted against me, his so-called ally?”
