For now, let’s set the battle aside and return to the Grand Hall to take a look.
Cow Nun, Arrow of Dream Kross, Director May Injelin, and Fatty Knight Kiki Zazhen stood in a straight line.
As soon as the three entered, they glanced at each other, for they realized that Samimi, who had gone ahead, was nowhere to be seen.
“Sister!”
“Demon-Hunting Nun, ah!”
Everyone except Krosse was thrown into a panic. Without the Demon-Hunting Nun leading the team, they were like headless flies, wandering about in confusion.
But they didn’t have much time to look for Samimi, because as soon as they entered, they encountered something strange.
“Clatter! Splash! Splash!”
Raging Blood River surged forth from the buildings and walkways of City Long, instantly submerging the four beautiful young girls inside the Golden Hall.
However, all of this was an illusion.
Their bodies never moved from where they stood at the entrance to City Long, remaining rooted to the spot.
The moment they stepped inside, they fell under Illusion magic—this was the Torture Ritual employed by the Queen of the Blood-Sucking Ghosts.
Unless one was as powerful as Samimi, a Magic Manipulator, it required truly Determined Will to resist. For most people, that was exceedingly rare.
Even if you were aware that someone could use Illusion, it was hard to distinguish reality from falsehood. Sometimes, just walking along, you could be caught. This kind of half-real, half-false Illusion was truly terrifying.
Even someone like Fatty Knight Kiki Zhu, a half-baked mage, was caught immediately. But it was precisely because Kiki was only half-competent that she managed to break the Illusion in the original story and deal a severe blow to Queen Kuru.
However, the current Kiki was far from the Kiki Zhu of the original tale; to break through this Illusion now would require a heart utterly free of distractions.
The more tangled your thoughts, the more secrets you hold, the heavier your burdens, the easier it is for the Blood River Queen’s Illusion to exploit you after you fall under its sway.
But who in this world has no secrets? Who is free of stray thoughts, or anger?
One could say that the requirement for Adjudication Knights to have a Determined Will exists precisely to resist the Illusions of the Queen of the Blood-Sucking Ghosts.
Sadly, Kiki, who once had a clear heart, now bore a crack within because of a remark left by Spirit Nancy. It was likely she could no longer withstand the Illusion of the Female Vampire Queen.
So, let us see the first person to fall under the Illusion.
In the consciousness of Fatty Knight Kiki Zhu—
This was a world of Illusion controlled by the Will of the Queen of the Blood-Sucking Ghosts: an endless pool of blood, quickly constructed from the innermost loneliness and rage of the subject’s heart, creating a scene where her mind’s defenses would be quickly worn down and overrun.
The afflicted must face their darkest, most unacceptable secrets, and only by crossing that line within themselves do they stand a chance of survival.
What Kiki Zhu faced was precisely the hurdle she could never cross in her heart—her own kin.
She saw many people: Spirit Nancy, the Half-Elf Bianluosi, and even a phantom of the Spring Chief Long-Eared Pig. These long-eared figures, even without distinct features, clearly represented the Jingling Tribe.
Behind the Half-Elf stood the shadow of a giant—presumably the Half-Elf Patriarch.
And behind him were countless short-eared silhouettes, representing the vast Human Race.
In that instant, Spirit Nancy raised her longbow and aimed at that giant shadow.
Fatty Knight Kiki Zhu also instinctively raised her own bow, the staff instantly transforming into a bone bow, aiming at her kin.
At the same time, the Half-Elf Krosse also raised his bow and arrow, aiming it at himself.
If Spirit Nancy loosed her arrow, the Human Race would destroy the Jingling Tribe.
If Kiki Zhu killed Nancy, she would be able to save the Jingling Tribe, but the Half-Elves would hate her forever, for Nancy was also her most important mentor.
Having exiled herself from the Jingling Tribe, by what right did she care about them? By what right should she offend the Half-Elves for their sake?
Am I really close to you? Are you really close to me?
Why must I be dragged into your petty affairs?
Can’t I just be a carefree, lazy Fatty Knight?
Yet, as she wrestled with these questions, she had already lost—defeated within the world of the Illusion.
Whoosh.
The final outcome was that Kiki Zhu simply couldn’t bear to shoot Nancy.
Spirit Nancy’s arrow flew out, striking through the heart of the Human Patriarch.
After the giant fell, countless short-eared phantoms went mad, swarming forward and trampling the Jingling Tribe to dust.
In the end, a cold arrow of vengeance pierced Kiki’s head.
(Illusion, recognition failed.)
In reality, Kiki Zazhen felt as if an arrow had struck her heart; her entire round body lost all strength and collapsed to the ground.
Though her life was not in danger, her will was crushed; for a short time, she would not be able to fight again.
Such was the effect of the Illusion.
Next up were the other two who had fallen into the Illusion.
The Holy See’s granddaughter, Director of the Heretical Tribunal Bureau, May Injelin Federlin.
The Illusion Queen constructed for her was much simpler.
“Trash! Useless!”
“Can’t even carry this weight!”
“For a director, you’re just a blockhead!”
“Idiot! Garbage!”
“The Great Sword Knight Wu Xian scrapes at you like a dull knife!”
All that was needed was to throw out a pile of fake judges, including Judge Knights, Knights Magus, the Papal Left Hand, even the Holy See himself. Everyone surrounded May Injelin, mercilessly mocking her.
Already, May Injelin was about to break, clutching her head and sobbing in agony.
Yet her spirit was unexpectedly resilient. Even after half an hour of being roasted by this crowd, she managed to endure.
But then someone appeared whom she least wanted to face—Demon-Hunting Nun Samimi.
“Green-handed child.”
Fake Samimi came before May Injelin and uttered these four words, causing the Director’s mental stress to skyrocket. Her whole face flushed red, and she could barely breathe.
Yet she still did not faint, sobbing and clutching her head as if ducking beneath water, the tangled issues still useful in resisting.
But the traps of the Illusion world were endless; things would not end so simply.
Demon-Hunting Nun Samimi leapt about, following along cheerfully, wanting to pull May Injelin up.
“Commendable!”
But just then, a Roadside Corpse appeared from nowhere and bit Samimi to death in one chomp.
“You really… can’t hold up a wall no matter what…”
Demon-Expelling Nun collapsed on the ground, her face twisted from being bitten by a zombie. Yet even with half her soul chewed up, she still managed to spit out a few words:
“O mighty lord, clatter and clang!”
This scene utterly broke May Injelin, her heart collapsing.
(Illusion, recognition failed.)
In reality, May Injelin’s body trembled, went limp, and she collapsed to the ground unconscious.
Next were the remaining three, also trapped in the Illusion, though this time the circumstances were far more complicated.
[Arrow of Dream] Kross Fen’en.
As the mentally strongest sickly girl in the party, her spirit was not so easily broken.
But to find what truly matters in her heart was not difficult: the Hero stood above all else, followed by emotions—a distinctly steadfast woman’s mindset.
Just as in the scene where Kiki Zhu watched her Half-Elf father be killed, she herself was then killed by Spirit Nancy.
But in reality, how much did Kross feel for her own father?
To tell the truth, perhaps not much.
Her father was merely a stepping stone on her ascent to power.
So, who was the person she truly cared about most deep inside?
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