Chapter 267 Choice
The body swayed and walked a few steps, as if the foreign soul was adapting to the new shell. His gaze finally fell upon Pole Derrien’s wrinkled, placid face.
“Pole Derrien.” Joseph, or rather Kurt, the Soul Lord possessing Joseph’s body, said slowly in a near-declarative tone, “Should I call you pathetic, or ridiculous? Adorning yourself as a victim, fabricating a lie riddled with loopholes, trying to gain sympathy from these ignorant youngsters. Do you think this will change the fact that you are the despicable traitor?”
Pole Derrien’s expression did not change. He just stared intently at Kurt, malice churning in his cloudy eyes.
“What do you know?” he rasped, “If it weren’t for your insatiable greed, trying to monopolize the secret of the ‘Undying Flower,’ how would we have ended up like this!”
“Monopolize?” Kurt let out a contemptuous scoff, the sound emanating from his still-healing throat, making it particularly grating, “Derrien, drop the pretense of righteousness! It truly makes me sick! The ‘Undying Flower’ is an ancient death cult, it belongs to our Decayed Lineage, what does it have to do with you mages?”
His gaze turned to the crowd, whose expressions varied due to the string of events. His voice became smoother, yet possessed a more convincing penetration.
“A hundred years ago, at the request of a dear friend, I came to Lorientine to find the ‘Undying Flower’ cult, rumored to possess the art of making souls never wither. The three Archmages of the Kingdom of Arthur, led by Aiswell, accompanied me under the guise of ‘assisting in the investigation.’ However, just as we were about to find a clue, they revealed their true fangs.”
Kurt’s gaze returned to Pole Derrien, his ash-grey eyes holding a hint of mockery.
“The three of them ganged up on me, wanting to forcibly extract the memories in my mind. Unfortunately, there are differences even among Stage Seven beings. They underestimated the power of a ‘Soul Lord.’ After paying a heavy price, they realized they couldn’t subdue me in a short time. So, this guy,” Kurt pointed at Pole Derrien, “he secretly communicated with me, wanting to join forces to kill the other two and silence them.”
“Faced with such a tempting offer, I naturally accepted gladly. But I never expected that Derrien, this shameless beast, would betray even his own countrymen, and thus would never truly cooperate with me. As expected, just as we joined forces to heavily injure Seran and repel Aiswell, Derrien, this old geezer, suddenly attacked me… If not for that, how would Aiswell have had the time to unleash forbidden magic! How would we have ended up like this, trapped and dying in this damned place!”
“Pole Derrien! It’s all your fault! We are all failures, trapped in this underwater cage built of ambition and betrayal for a whole century!”
As Kurt’s words fell, a suffocating silence descended upon the plaza. The cracks in the ceiling of water above grew larger, and cold water poured down like a waterfall, emitting a deafening roar, constantly reminding everyone that their time was running out.
“For a hundred years, his unwilling remnant soul and I have been restraining and grinding each other down in this dead ruin. He wanted to annihilate me completely and take my last secret; while I waited for an opportunity to break this stalemate. Neither could do anything to the other, until today.”
“A clumsy performance, Kurt.” Facing Kurt’s counterattack, Pole Derrien’s expression did not change much, “Is this your trick to stall for time, by splashing dirt onto a dying man? Or has a hundred years of imprisonment made you lose even your last shred of dignity?”
Kurt sneered, “We both know whether it’s a lie or not. Your Mage Tower, which always protected you, is destroyed. Your greatest reliance is gone, and your fragile soul is exposed before me. As long as I can devour you, I can return to my peak.”
“You can certainly try.” Pole Derrien waved his withered arm, and vast mana surged like a tide.
Facing this scene, Kurt did not foolishly rush forward. He turned his gaze to the others. Although previously none of them were worth a second glance, the current situation was vastly different.
“If you want to survive, you only have one choice now.”
He extended his hand and pointed at the old and decaying mage.
“Join me in killing this last Archmage of Lorientine. His soul has been extremely weakened over the past century, and the collapse of the Mage Tower dealt him an almost fatal blow. Don’t be fooled by his pretense, in reality, he can’t even unleash a complete spell, he can’t even move half a step! Now is undoubtedly the best time to hunt him!”
Kurt spread his arms in an inviting gesture.
“In return, I will guide you to the only teleportation magic circle that can leave this place, and with my authority as ‘Lord,’ I will ensure that all of you can leave safely before this sky completely collapses.”
“How about it? This deal is perfectly fair for both sides.”
This proposal was like a giant stone thrown into a calm lake. Cooperate with a notorious Soul Lord to hunt an Archmage who appeared dignified but was actually cunning? Edgar frowned, unable to trust either side. Both Pole Derrien’s lies and Kurt’s “truth” were filled with doubt and calculation in his eyes. But the current situation did not allow him for much hesitation. The cracks in the water sky above were increasing, and the immense water pressure made the entire space groan under the strain. Time was indeed running short.
” I agree!” Spade K was the first to jump out. He unhesitatingly stood behind Kurt, a fawning smile on his face, “Boss, whatever you say, I’ll do it! This old liar dared to cheat me, watch me kill him!”
Not only Spade K, but other players including Heart A and Yang Yi also looked moved. What they cared about was not survival, but the option of jointly killing the Archmage. If this succeeded, even if they only contributed one percent, it would still be an astronomical amount of experience. As for who was right or wrong, who told the truth and who was full of lies, what did it have to do with the players?
Only Fu Qingyan vaguely felt that something was wrong and subconsciously turned her gaze to Li Wen. Princess Victoria watched this dramatic reversal with great interest. She did not immediately express her stance, but her clear golden eyes swept back and forth between Kurt and Pole Derrien, as if evaluating the value of two commodities.
During this brief silence, Pole Derrien suddenly let out a burst of wild laughter.
“Haha… Hahahaha!” His hunched body trembled violently, his cloudy eyes filled with extreme madness and disdain, “Hunt me? With you, a lingering ghost, and these green-rookie ants?”
He raised his head, his withered arm pointing at the sky.
“Kurt, you’re as naive as you were a hundred years ago. Do you think destroying my Mage Tower would weaken me?”
“You are wrong!” Pole Derrien’s voice suddenly rose, becoming sharp and powerful, “You didn’t destroy my cage, you removed my final restraint!”
“This city is my creation, every brick and stone is engraved with my will! Here, I am god!”
As his fervent declaration echoed, the entire underwater ruin suddenly awakened.
