Chapter 848
Then Let No One Win!
New Glass Island, Red Queen District, inside the Inspection Bureau.
The middle-aged man, who had been stripped down to only his shorts and undershirt but whose expression remained resolute, now looked somewhat lost. He sat alone in the middle of a glass cell with six transparent sides. Within the sturdy glass layers were intricate silvery-white patterns, resembling some extremely expensive luxury item. Under the suppression of this radiance, his extraordinary power was almost entirely unusable. His hands were bound in front of him, locked together by a hollow silver-white triangle. From behind him, four or five tentacle-like vines hung down, arranged in a row connected to the back of his head and spine, completely paralyzing his movements from the elbows down.
Facing him were several stern-faced Avalonians in uniform.
“—I’ll ask you one more time, why did you kill him!”
The other party’s voice was extremely loud, echoing and reverberating within the glass cell. The roar, like a dragon’s cry, made the middle-aged man’s scalp tingle and his heart tremble, intense fear causing him to shiver uncontrollably.
However, unlike the unfounded fear that welled up in his heart at that moment, the middle-aged man was not overly flustered. He remained silent, not replying. His confidence was not without reason. Because he could clearly sense… that although these people looked fierce, they held no killing intent. This was completely different from the situation with the Black Hawks. When faced with such situations, Black Hawk people were accustomed to using torture.
There were typically two methods – for suspects whose limbs needed to remain intact, they would be secured in a completely immobile metal cage and then placed in darkness or exposed to sunlight. For convicts with overwhelming evidence, they would use blunt saws to cut off limbs or a torture device called a “knee separator” to slowly crush the victim’s kneecaps. This served as both a means of interrogation and a form of “pre-punishment.”
When the man was apprehended, he had already prepared himself mentally for torture. But he soon discovered… these people were too soft. Let alone severe or cruel torture, they didn’t even dare to beat him—fists wrapped in animal hides or whips were excellent tools and wouldn’t cause significant injury. Such injuries could be healed with the cheapest minor wound healing potion, leaving no trace.
—Thus, the man immediately felt at ease. Since they were so “by the book,” playing along with them wouldn’t be a problem. The place he was in should be the country’s interrogation room. Although he indeed found it difficult to escape… conversely, it was also safe enough. If other Ascenders wanted to kill him, they would at least have to storm in and kill him directly—which would mean confronting this country, similar to Avalon, head-on. For an Ascension Ritual, doing so was too risky.
—Even if they had to kill, they would prioritize killing those who were easier to kill. And in that case, he might be captured like them… or even killed on the spot for resisting arrest!
…That would be for the best. Because being captured here had already caused him to miss three opportunities to answer questions. His points were predictably the lowest among everyone, making it difficult to complete this painting. Since he couldn’t win anymore, he might as well stay here and see how others lost. In any case, this Ascension Ritual allowed surrender… If, by some chance, he survived until only three people remained, and the remaining two triggered a special victory condition and had to come kill him, they might be killed by the guards here. If he surrendered then, wouldn’t that be pure profit! He would have disgusted his opponents and then left safely. Although he would still have to accept a failure penalty, it was better than dying or becoming disabled here…
Seeing the warrior remain silent, the other party slammed the table. “Name!”
“Gray Falcon, you’ve asked three times.”
“True Name?”
“Forgot.”
“Nonsense!” The other party was furious.
Gray Falcon was somewhat helpless. “Then what can I say? This is an Ascension Ritual, and you are just a group of fabricated souls?”
And as expected, the other party completely ignored this remark.
“Where are you from?”
“I am from… the Black Hawk Duchy.”
“How did you enter the country?”
“I came to participate in the Ascension Ritual,” Gray Falcon said sincerely. “I’ve already said this twice.”
“Speak!” When he spoke the truth, the other party couldn’t hear it.
“… I snuck in.”
Gray Falcon sighed, feeling utterly exhausted, and smoothly said what the other party wanted to hear.
If he had known these people were so troublesome, he would never have ambushed “Sour Wine” on his own. After making his first choice, which was the question “Do you believe this World is real?”, he encountered Sour Wine. That fellow was a Law Master—he wanted to make a contract with Gray Falcon, promising not to attack, persecute, help, or protect each other, forming a temporary alliance. Law Masters of the Path of Authority could indeed achieve this after reaching the Fourth Tier. Writing a temporary contract to bind both parties’ actions…
However, Gray Falcon did not trust Sour Wine. Sour Wine was the last person to enter the ritual. Aside from the fact that such an ally was too weak, even if the two of them allied, they could not contend with any of the top three—Gray Falcon had a special ability to keenly judge the threat level of others. The top three in this Ascension Ritual were on a completely different level from the rest; any one of them could slaughter everyone else. Fortunately, this ritual was not a bloody battlefield with no room for retreat; otherwise, he wouldn’t have had a chance.
But only two people could survive and win this ritual. If he was tied to Sour Wine, it meant everyone else was an enemy. He would have no chance of survival—rather, by going alone, he had a better chance of securing a spot amidst the top three killing each other. But if he let Sour Wine go, and Sour Wine allied with any of the top three, it could tip the scales against the remaining two. Law Masters were too troublesome. As long as he was in a position that others couldn’t immediately interfere with, he could immobilize at least three people of the same energy level.
Furthermore, the other party was a Law Master, and Gray Falcon couldn’t understand those dense clauses at all. It was entirely possible that a binding clause targeting him was hidden within some inconspicuous article. Even for the sake of safety, he dared not sign a competitor’s contract.
—Therefore, while pretending to read the contract, Gray Falcon suddenly ambushed and killed Sour Wine. As a Sword Saint… when he was within three meters of the Law Master, it was useless even if Sour Wine was still on guard. Gray Falcon easily defeated Sour Wine in just two moves. He didn’t even use a sword—his fingers formed a blade, and that was his sword. The first “sword” tore open Sour Wine’s mouth, silencing him and depriving him of his Word Spirit ability; the second “sword” directly targeted his throat, pierced his right arm which he used to block, and severed his head along with half of his forearm! He immediately searched the corpse, cleaned up the bloodstains, and left the scene.
But for some reason, no matter how he hid, he couldn’t shake off his pursuers. That feeling… was like being monitored by an Extraordinary of the Path of Beauty. However, he had repeatedly confirmed that there were no sculptures or paintings nearby that could trigger the monitoring of the Path of Beauty—anything that could have been there had already been completely destroyed by him. In less than ten minutes, he was apprehended by over sixty people. Over sixty supervisors of the Third Tier, and a few Law Masters of the Fourth Tier under heavy protection.
…It couldn’t be helped, the extraordinary troop of this city was too advanced in their equipment. They could fly at high speeds using some kind of device—and they could create a simple shield. That shield, capable of blocking one attack, caused him a lot of trouble. Although that shield was too fragile for him and could be shattered with a single elbow strike… If he had had just one knife, he could have tried to break through! Their firearms did not shoot fragile bullets that could be directly nullified by his body. Those firearms seemed to have fused with Path Power, continuously firing a silver beam that weakened his strength. There was also a net that, when thrown, would automatically spring out silver light tentacles that paralyzed the body. He didn’t even see the Gryphon Legion, and the Law Masters hadn’t made a move, yet he was captured by a group of Third Tier supervisors!
The security force for this Ascension Ritual was too strong! And he clearly killed someone in an uninhabited place, so how was he discovered!
…But it’s fine. Gray Falcon chose to surrender after his emotions calmed down. Putting himself in their shoes—since he couldn’t win, others definitely couldn’t either. He was a warrior, the profession most skilled in combat. It was his arrogance… During the first choice, he actually had the chance to jump to the first two paintings. But because the points for the third painting were too high, he wanted to try to complete it. Even if he died here, as long as he completed this painting, the six thousand points would be enough for him to revive and win.
—He didn’t escape at that time, and later he had no chance.
Hearing Gray Falcon’s words, the other party then opened his mouth and asked, “Do you have any other accomplices?”
Gray Falcon’s eyes suddenly lit up. Wait, could it be…
“Yes! Yes!” He immediately said, “If I inform on them, can my sentence be reduced?”
Gray Falcon felt he had found the trick to this Ascension Ritual— Since the city’s security forces were so strong, and the rules here were so strange… let the other Ascenders who came to this painting try their luck too!
—Since I can’t win, then no one should think about winning!
(End of this Chapter)
