Chapter 1158: Coming to Terms

After silently staring at the rabbits and mountain goats for more than

ten seconds, Klein closed his eyes and flicked his right index finger

and middle finger as if he was pressing an invisible piano key.

A third of the marionette collapsed, losing the feeling of being alive.

Klein's expression immediately warped, as though he had been struck 33

times by a giant sword.

The familiar and extreme pain he felt swept through his Spirit Body,

causing light-colored meat tendrils to sprout on his body. Every sprout

seemed to be forming a transparent maggot.

This was the backlash from killing 33 Worms of Spirit.

After taking nearly fifteen minutes to recover, Klein made his second

attempt at letting the other third of his marionettes die.

The same pain, the same time to rest, and the same actions were repeated

again. Finally, he completely finished off this batch of cursed

marionettes.

He couldn't handle it all at once because the damage caused by the death

of a hundred Worms of Spirit was enough to make him lose control. And

being cursed meant that he couldn't directly solve the problem by

retrieving the characteristics.

Of course, this was the standard of a Scholar of Yore who had just

advanced recently; it wasn't the performance of a Scholar of Yore who

was almost done digesting the potion.

In fact, the loss of a hundred Worms of Spirit would only worsen the

pain, without him showing any signs of losing control or affecting the

battle. He was only acting just now, allowing his performance to match

his role.

At his level, losing half the number of Worms of Spirit that he had at

the same time would lead to losing control.

Once he completely digested the Scholar of Yore potion, he would be able

to recover from having nearly 500 Worms of Spirit die at once. Even if

he lost all the corresponding Beyonder characteristics, he wouldn't lose

his status and level. He could slowly recover his strength by absorbing

the Beyonder characteristics of the Seer pathway.

After completing this, the recovered Klein walked out of the

half-collapsed tower-like building. He went to the darkness outside and

brought back a few white rabbits and a goat.

He then realized that the darkness in the Forsaken Land of the Gods

wasn't as dangerous as Little Sun had described. Most of the monsters

were weak.

*No, to be precise, the danger lurking in the depths of the darkness,

apart from making people evaporate into thin air, nothing else can

compare to the fellow beside me named Amon...* Klein glanced at

the thin man who was sitting near the lantern, smiling as "He" watched

him busy himself. He summoned something like boiled water from the

Historical Void, and he squatted down, seriously removing the fur and

flesh from the white rabbits and goat.

After a series of tasks, Klein set up a bonfire. He set up a barbecue

rack that came from history, and he placed a white rabbit on it. He

brushed it with a full set of condiments he made himself, like basil,

fennel, and salt, as he constantly turned the meat over.

At this moment, the delicacies from the Historical Void he had eaten

before had long disappeared due to him no longer maintaining their

existence. His body and soul were calling out for replenishment.

A tempting fragrance was gradually emanated as Amon's nose twitched

slightly.

"You're really eating them?"

Without waiting for his reply, the God of Mischief continued, "They're

essentially the flesh of monsters and your Worms of Spirit. Are you sure

you want to eat them?"

"There's no way to undo the curse at the level of an angel. If there's

no way to resist or correct it at the same level, there's no way of

dispelling it. Since a thing looks like a rabbit, smells like a rabbit,

and tastes like a rabbit, it's a rabbit." As Klein seriously roasted the

rabbit, he gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Besides, how can I not

maintain the best state if I want to escape from your grasp? For this

sliver of hope, I can only challenge my psychological limits."

This is what it means to endure humiliation and suffering!

Klein added inwardly.

At the same time, he sighed at the Ancient Bane's Transformation Curse.

This was many times stronger than a Sequence 3 Disciple of Silence's

curse!

*There's almost no limit to the amount of time it can be maintained...

Clearly, an ordinary animal can use all of my Beyonder powers through

the Worm of Spirit, but a deformed marionette due to a curse isn't

possible... This is a curse at the angel level... Apart from putting up

resistance from someone at the same level, one can use the correct

method to remove it. No curse is irreversible. There are always

loopholes... Heh heh, will kissing this rabbit turn it into Gehrman

Sparrow?* Klein made a self-deprecating comment as he analyzed

to compose himself.

After hearing his reply, the monocled Amon, nodded with a smile.

"Very good.

"This is indeed a good revelation to have."

Klein didn't respond as he resumed his barbecue.

Not long after, with the help of Flame Controlling, he finished roasting

a rabbit and a goat's leg. Taking advantage of the opportunity before

the condiments disappeared, he matched some sweet ice tea he summoned

from the Historical Void with the food, filling his mouth with

fragrance. It nourished his body and mind, allowing him to effectively

relieve the pressure, despair, and indecisiveness from being "kidnapped"

by Amon.

During this process, he would occasionally recall the disgusting looks

of the monsters, as well as the fact that the Worms of Spirit were

equivalent to himself. However, he was able to bring his feelings under

control very well.

After filling his stomach and replenishing his energy, he turned the

remaining ingredients next to the fire into dry rations, as though he

was saving up for his subsequent plans.

Seeing him slowly but orderly making all sorts of preparations, Amon

suddenly nudged his monocle and asked with a slight smile, "In

actuality, you're trying to stall for time before we reach the actual

destination, right?"

Klein's hands paused for a moment before he continued with his actions.

He smiled and said, "Yes, I'm waiting for help.

"Guess who?"

Amon didn't answer directly as "He" said with a smile, "I'm looking

forward to it."

"..." Klein continued his work until he prepared rations for three or

four meals.

He thought for a moment and once again reached his hand into the void in

front of Amon. He failed again and again as he kept making attempts. It

was unknown what item he was trying to summon, but it seemed like he was

using his actions to dare Amon into stealing it.

After watching for a few seconds, Amon smiled and shook "His" head. "He"

slowly stood up and walked out the half-collapsed tower building.

Klein's right hand stopped in mid-air before he retracted it and pinched

his forehead.

He muttered to himself in puzzlement, "What was I trying to do just

now..."

While trying to recall, Klein stood up as well. He brought along his

packed rations, picked up the animal hide lantern, and walked to the

back of Amon's side.

The man and angel circled around the hill and entered a valley.

The water was sloshing in the river, but when the dim yellow light shone

at it, or when the lightning in the sky lit up the area, Klein realized

that there was no water in the riverbed. The sounds he had heard earlier

had also disappeared.

"A river that has been transferred into a concealed state?" After some

deliberation, he raised a question to Amon.

"That's right. It will only appear in darkness void of light," Amon

replied with a slight nod, unfazed with the question.

"Can I drink it?" Klein pressed.

Amon smiled and said, "Sure. This was once one of the water sources of a

city that had persisted for 1600 years in the darkness. As long as you

can bring the water away from the riverbed, they can appear in places

with light.

"Your next move is to suggest that I bring the lantern to wait by the

side while you hydrate yourself in the darkness?

"And then, take this opportunity to transform into a concealed state?"

Klein smiled awkwardly.

"How could I use such a simple method?"

Hearing that, Amon laughed and stroked "His" monocle.

"Sometimes, the simplest plan is the most effective. You can give it a

try."

With regards to the words of this peerless swindler, Klein couldn't

believe it, nor did he dare to believe it. He was afraid that the other

party was using reverse psychology with the truth.

He could only put the matter of the water aside and ask, "In the

Forsaken Land of the Gods, how many human gathering points, like the

City of Silver, have yet to be destroyed?"

Amon looked ahead and said without changing "His" expression, "The ones

I know don't exceed ten.

"In this aspect, the City of Silver is lucky. At least, they can see and

have the ability to touch the light."

*This means that the City of Silver is very close to the Giant King's

Court, the door leading out of the Forsaken Land of the Gods. There's no

need to risk death to reach it. As for the other cities, no matter how

steadfast they are in the darkness, no matter how many exploration teams

they send out, it will all be futile. There's no way to find the exit?

Indeed, from this angle, the City of Silver is unfortunate, and also

lucky... This is purely dependent on the reference point...*

Klein held the lantern as he proceeded along the bank and began coming

up with his second attempt at escaping.

Amon walked beside him, occasionally providing him with ideas that

seemed reliable but had unknown actual results. "He" appeared to be

suffering from schizophrenia, trying "His" best to destroy "His" true

body's hopes in obtaining Sefirah Castle.

On the other side of the Giant King's Court, in the City of Silver.

After receiving the Chief's summoning call, Derrick Berg brought the

Unshadowed Crucifix to the top of the spire and entered a spacious room.

There was a mysterious and complicated altar set up here. Different

items were placed in different spots---a total of six items, each of

them emanating a dangerous aura.

With a glance, Derrick saw an ordinary silver flute, a mask made from a

skull, and the remains of a deformed person.

"You have the Unshadowed Crucifix. You can stay here for fifteen

minutes, but you can't exceed that time. Otherwise, you will suffer a

sudden death." Colin Iliad wore a linen shirt and a brown coat as he

exhorted Derrick.

Derrick's spiritual perception was triggered as he asked, "Your

Excellency, is this because of that Twilight Mask?"

His right hand pointed at the mask made from a skull.

"Yes." Colin nodded slightly and said, "I've already prepared the

remains of six powerful creatures. These were all hunted by myself, or

with me as the main force."

Derrick was immediately enlightened.

"You still lack the blessings of a deity?"

Colin instantly fell silent. After nearly ten seconds, he opened his

mouth and slowly said, "Yes."

After some hesitation and struggles, he finally chose The Fool.

At least those mushrooms had given the City of Silver hope.

Derrick suppressed his joy and thought back to the interactions at the

Tarot Club. He raised a question in puzzlement:

"Why didn't you let those two god-level Sealed Artifacts give you their

blessings?"

He remembered that subsidiary gods---or angels---could satisfy the

requirements of the ritual. It wasn't the case that only a Sequence 0

true deity could provide blessings. After all, a Silver Knight was only

a Sequence 3.

Colin fell silent again and hesitated for a few seconds before saying,

"They won't give blessings."