“Woohoo——”
“Rumble——”
A low growl echoed from the bottom of the lake, the ground seemed to hum and tremble.
The clouds accumulating in the sky, as if sensing a certain ominous call, rumbled more heavily and frequently, the whirlpool formed by the dark clouds seeming to press down from the horizon.
When the lightning flashed again, even through the mist, a massive shadow could be seen slowly rising from the crystal-clear waters.
The Wraiths sensed an overwhelmingly terrifying power, drifting aimlessly up from the lake’s depths, some of them touching the halo surrounding Amidina and letting out agonizing screams as they were purified.
“The time’s come, stop messing around,” Parkes halted Ruding’s movements, stepping aside to order the Elf Slaves to unload the silver ingots.
“Let’s begin welcoming it.”
Watching the Elf Slaves led by Bella prepare the carriages, Parkes looked apologetic yet pained as he glanced at Lin Nuo still curled on the ground clutching his stomach, trembling.
Parkes pulled his sword from his waist, pressing the sheath against the spot Ruding had just kicked on Lin Nuo’s body, twisting it forcefully, savoring the cold sweat beading on Lin Nuo’s forehead from the pain.
“If the silver you sent could save more of Amidina’s magic, when she’s on the brink of death you could go tell him that with twenty-three slaves under my command and one you, the only thing I can do for her is watch helplessly as she ages and grows angry without any power.”
“I’m genuinely curious—how high must your pride be to have the courage to say you’ve thought of a way to stop me?”
Already knowing everything would be settled within minutes, Parkes arrogantly spat out his humiliating words:
“Look, Amidina, are these slaves really your way of resisting me? In the end, they were sent by the useless fool you favor. Your resistance is futile. You bind them and send them into the Clemence Family—what can that change? And what do you expect this trash to change?”
No one noticed.
On Lin Nuo’s face, clenched with teeth and covered in cold sweat, there was a resolute determination—the second phase of his plan was firmly in hand.
Looking down from directly above Silver Tears Lake, the roughly teardrop-shaped lake, the circular shadow emerging from its center had grown from the size of a person to that of a house.
The dull roar churned the surface like boiling water, and the lake’s water level rose visibly as if lifted by a massive creature awakening from the mud.
It had already flooded the reef where Amidina stood, soaking the hem of her dress.
“Rumble——” The sound of the earth tearing combined with the crashing waves, like a dreadful calamity was about to descend.
Lightning flickered sharply on the horizon, and Amidina felt her magic being drained from her body.
She also spotted the small figures riding horses around the lake’s edge.
They were the little ones who called her “sister”…
Did Lin Nuo send them back?
He really discovered the secret of the Jin Shi Statues.
Having them throw silver to save my magic… this is the last form of resistance, or…
Lin Nuo curled up on the shore, clutching his side in pain, next to the shattered Spirit Pearl, while Amidina’s eyes flickered with a trace of confusion and melancholy.
She shook her head faintly.
At this level of crisis, even a Master of Clemence Family would be powerless.
But…
Lin Nuo, who hadn’t handed over her or Xiafuya despite the adventurers’ pursuit in the dense forest, and instead had taken the risk with them…
Lin Nuo, who had sensed danger from assassins and still came to stage this act to lure them out…
Lin Nuo, who had dared to bluff his way out and almost escaped the likes of Parkes…
That Lin Nuo—
Made Amidina’s brows furrow tightly.
Would he really walk into such a trap so easily without any preparation?
That wasn’t like him!
If anyone else who didn’t know magic had surrendered after being threatened with an arrow to the throat to ensure their safety, and then wanted to see her one last time by willingly walking into a trap, Amidina would find it normal.
But Lin Nuo was different.
The Spirit Pearl… could it be to use its light to attract the Magic Whale?
Even if the Spirit Pearl wasn’t discovered, this plan wouldn’t work at all…
Despite the water rising further, flooding nearly halfway up Amidina’s calves within a minute, and feeling her magic constantly absorbed by the Magic Arrays, her breathing gradually weakening,
Her brows were still knitted with deep thought.
Her gaze locked onto the children unloading silver coins around Silver Tears Lake as lightning streaked across the sky once more.
…Carriages!
One carriage by the shore had been overturned.
The remaining thirty-four carriages left tire marks on the ground, all identical in depth.
But—
The weight was wrong!
A carriage fully loaded with silver bricks would weigh roughly 500 to 2,000 kilograms.
The tire marks were too shallow on all the carriages, and they couldn’t possibly move that fast while carrying so much silver around the oval-shaped Silver Tears Lake…
Amidina’s hand hidden in her sleeve relaxed momentarily, then tightened again.
Her peach blossom eyes caught the figure curled on the shore, and her gaze shifted from confusion to amazement.
‘What kind of method has he come up with?’
……
The steady “clop clop” of horses’ hooves caused a subtle change in Parkes’s expression.
He suddenly fixed his gaze on the Elf Slaves unloading silver, as if sensing some indescribable anomaly.
But the deafening sounds from the lake and Lin Nuo curled up and trembling in pain again eased his tension.
Yet that odd feeling lingered in his heart, impossible to explain clearly…
Vitz continued his nervous laughter, kneeling frantically towards the center of the lake.
Seeing this madman, the Elf Slaves unloaded the silver even faster.
“Splash splash…”
“Splash splash…”
As if sensing the offering of gold and silver treasures, the Yuanling (Wraiths) that once surrounded Amidina at the center of the lake surged toward the shore in a swarm, sniffing the air, drawn by the wealth of silver and gold, and… the strangely scented ingots that seemed impure.
From the lake’s heart, with no longer any obstruction to her sight, Amidina finally saw the changes in the silver coins.
Bella and the Elf Slaves noticed it simultaneously.
The silver sinking into the water…
Why…
Was it bubbling and releasing air bubbles upward?
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