“Pa, pa, pa”
Lin Nuo saw a man with a head of golden, shoulder-length hair, his hair separated into three locks and tied at the back in a retro-style ponytail, with a face identical to his own, stepped out from among the Cultists.
A certain grim emotion surged rapidly across Lin Nuo’s face.
“Who are you?”
“Me?”
That man, with a face exactly like Lin Nuo’s—one could say there was not the slightest difference—grinned.
“You can think of me as the one who inherited your courage from eight years ago. The one who wants to stay by her side, replacing the cowardly you of today…”
“And who is better suited to be by her side. Another you.”
“Roar––!!”
As he waved his arm, the Cultists behind him, snarling with resentment, seemed unable to wait any longer.
Like a frenzied swarm of bees, they surged onto the deck.
“!!”
‘Damn!’
‘This Six-Eared Macaque, even brought his whole monkey brood to gang up on me, huh?’
‘Eight years ago, eight years ago—’
‘Everyone’s talking in riddles, just throwing out a time and expecting me to figure everything out on my own? Damn it!’
Lin Nuo was trying to deploy a Magic Array to resist the Cultists.
XÄ« had already used some kind of magic; a cluster of exquisite Paper Blossoms bloomed before them, instantly encircling and devouring those weapon-wielding enemies, who reeked of rot and the sea.
“There look to be about four to five hundred enemies here, but none seem particularly strong.”
“If XÄ« can wipe out over twenty of them at once like that…” Lin Nuo frowned deeply.
Before they entered the illusion, their location should have been the harbor controlled by the Migludia Family—that is, under the rule of the Sea Guard Knights led by Dax Migludia, the man he was supposed to call ‘Uncle’ and who had always been very kind to him.
Not to mention, Yosena should be able to inform Dax about what’s happening here, and the activation of such large-scale magic might easily attract the attention of the Sea Guard patrols.
If the other side only wanted to trap the two of them for a while, there was no need to go to the trouble of dragging them into such a massive illusion.
Amid his constant analysis, Lin Nuo, for the first time in actual combat, used an offensive Magic Array.
A lower-level Fire Tongue spell engulfed both the Cultist charging at him with a harpoon and the ship’s railing.
Relying on the Paper Blossoms XÄ« released for cover, and dodging the Cultists swinging their weapons at him, Lin Nuo sensed something was wrong.
The Cultist with the harpoon, who should have been burned to death, reappeared on the sea surface, face twisted in a vicious grin as he charged at Lin Nuo again.
‘He… revived!’
A sudden realization flashed through his mind, Lin Nuo’s face filled with shock.
He tried to speak to XÄ«, still battling the Cultists, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.
“Can’t talk!”
This fact forced Lin Nuo, who intended to use another method to pass information to Xī, to realize again—
“Can’t use facial expressions either!”
The scorched railing burned by Fire Tongue reverted to its original state…
Even the items he could have used for signaling gave him no chance.
All means of communicating with XÄ« were completely severed here.
“This is an arena I’ve prepared for you, where only one person can walk out alive. Which one of you will kill the other first, I wonder?” The man, like a wicked hunter who’d especially set a trap from which there was no escape, let his low voice envelop their ears again.
The body’s heightened physiological response to danger made Lin Nuo feel an even greater sense of foreboding.
As XÄ« raised her slender hand, a whirlwind of Paper Dragons appeared on the deck.
Countless white sheets of paper soared out, trying to block the Cultists’ line of sight.
Using this magic, XÄ« drew even more enemies toward herself.
When she, too, realized these bizarre Cultists could resurrect infinitely, the smile on her face slowly faded.
“So you’ve finally noticed, Princess?”
“You should recognize this. It’s the large-scale spell that once killed seven hundred and twenty-three mages and warriors in a single strike.” The figure identical to Lin Nuo appeared once more, buzzing around like a pesky fly.
“Illusory Cycle Mirage.”
“Within this spell, these Cultists can not only resurrect endlessly but they require the nourishment of your battle. Only when the two of you start fighting each other will their attacks stop…”
“I told you—only one can walk out of here.”
“Whoosh–!”
A square piece of white paper, sharp as a dart, spun around the massive ship.
The paper multiplied, from one sheet to eight, then to sixty-four, then four thousand ninety-six. In an exponential cascade, it multiplied into countless sheets.
“Shhh, shhh, shhh, shhh—”
“Shhh, shhh, shhh—”
Ignoring the man’s words, XÄ« raised her hand and grasped at the void.
Countless pieces of paper, as if simultaneously struck by an explosive spell, all erupted with a thunderous boom.
Fragments of paper fluttered down, like a sudden snowstorm swirling across the sea.
Taking advantage of the paper scraps blocking the Cultists’ view, countless Paper Cranes burst forth from the fragments.
These seemingly ordinary origami cranes carried a piercing whistling sound.
In the raging sea wind, they screeched and locked onto four hundred and fifty Cultists, all precisely targeted by XÄ«.
Buzz–
But just as these Paper Cranes, consuming more than half her mana, were about to pierce every Cultist present, a certain magic array rune, filled with an aura of annihilation, suddenly branded itself in the void.
Traces of elemental magic instantly flowed around the entire ship as the center, condensing into a huge, powerfully oppressive Magic Array.
Except for a few Paper Cranes that managed to shatter some Cultists the rest were reduced to wisps of smoke, unable to stir even a ripple under the array’s power.
“Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle…”
As the spell was effortlessly broken the smile on XÄ«’s face faded further.
Just as she was about to circle the deck, preparing to tangle with these bothersome “flies” and search for a better solution, she abruptly stopped and flicked a sheet of white paper from her sleeve like a dart.
In front of her, among the Cultists charging at her, the fake Lin Nuo standing in the most prominent position drew his sword and, with a sharp slash, effortlessly sliced apart the tough sheet of paper—paper strong enough to cut through stone.
A deeper coldness flashed across XÄ«’s elegant brow.
“Truly unexpected. Even after all this time at his side, your wit and ability haven’t dulled in the slightest…”
“You managed to figure out so quickly that these Cultists are, in fact, a single entity.”
“You must kill them all at once to halt their endless resurrection…”
“But,” He twisted his lips in a wicked smile, “You won’t get the chance! The Annihilation Magic Array I set up here was precisely to restrict your large-scale paper magic…”
“I even used the battle you intervened in eight years ago as the background for this illusion. Look at this sea, this capsized ship from back then—shouldn’t that jog your memory?”
Cutting through the Cultists rushing her, XÄ« drew a dagger and lunged straight for the fake Lin Nuo.
“Clang, clang—”
The fake Lin Nuo raised his exquisite rapier, the sound of weapons clashing harsh and shrill, sparks flying: “Do you still yearn for his courage, Princess?”
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.