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墨書 Inktalez
We were taken to the prison inside the castle by the rebels. These creatures were very familiar with the layout of this place, which was not surprising since it had originally been their territory before the warriors arrived. The prison was carved out of a solid block of stone, backed by a great mountain. The Prison Gate was made of thick iron bars that plunged deep into the ground, seemingly fused with the Mountain Gale.
Outside the prison, two guards stood watch. After passing through a long corridor, there was a door, and many more people were stationed outside. It seemed impossible for us to escape from this prison that blended seamlessly with the mountains, let alone with so many guards around. I felt caught off guard at this point, my mind in disarray.
Inside, there was nothing but a blanket. The four of us huddled together to fend off the cold wind blowing through the iron bars. The sunlight outside was glaring but offered no warmth. It was not the real sun; it was merely an illusion.
"I'm sorry!" I slumped against the ground and said helplessly, "Did you all see this coming? I’ve been kept in the dark all along, thinking I was fighting against evil, only to realize in the end that I was being used by it. If only I had figured it out sooner..."
It was hard to accept that after all this struggle and effort, everything felt like a futile endeavor, and I couldn't change even a bit of this world. From the beginning, I had been like a pawn controlled by others, manipulated by conspiracies step by step until now.
Juan Juan took my hand and said, "Things have come to this point; no one wanted it this way. But we still have a chance. We seem to have broken through the false world and arrived at what is called the real world. But have you considered that behind the falsehood lies more falsehood, not reality?"
Juan Juan's words struck a chord within me, making something become clearer. Seeing me frown, Juan Juan glanced around, gritted her teeth, and continued, "There are things I shouldn't say, but now that we are at this juncture... if both paths lead to failure..."
Juan Juan leaned her head on my shoulder and whispered into my ear, "Special..."
Just as she uttered a single word, we felt a tremendous tremor shake through us. Looking out through the iron bars, we saw a rumbling sound from below the cliff as if everything were about to turn upside down. Everyone expressed their astonishment; shouts filled the air. A massive crack seemed to open in the sky, and through it, we could see something emitting a cold light.
The four of us were startled by this sudden turn of events. Yan Junde shook his head slightly and looked at Juan Juan with a serious expression. Juan Juan helplessly shook her head and sat down again. Oddly enough, when Juan Juan sat down, the tumultuous noise ceased; the roaring around us disappeared as the crack in the sky gradually closed up.
Everyone was stunned; the guards turned their backs to us and stared blankly at that enormous crack in the sky.
"Wow!" A voice rang out. I looked toward the iron window and saw Feng Tang Song. He was tied with a rope that appeared to be hanging directly from the mountaintop. He tossed in a small wrapped object which I quickly picked up. The guards facing away from us were still discussing incredulously as they watched the sky.
We gathered around and unwrapped the paper outside. Inside lay a key; on the paper wrapping it seemed to be written something. I leaned down to take a look and discovered it read: "After hearing any commotion, unlock the Prison Gate; I'll be waiting for you outside the castle—Feng Tang Song."
We all nodded in agreement. Juan Juan said, "Feng Tang Song seems quite reliable; he saved you several times when we were outside." The others nodded as well, seemingly trusting Feng Tang Song from their hearts. Seeing their trust in him, I nodded too.
I whispered, "When the time comes, Mary will lead two people over; Juan Juan will open the door while Yan Junde and I handle one each!"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Not long after, we heard a commotion outside as if something had been broken. At that moment, Mary suddenly dropped to the ground and shouted, "I need to go to the bathroom! Let me out; I need to go!"
"Haha! If you need to go to the bathroom, just do it here in your cell," one guard replied. "We don't mind."
Mary gritted her teeth; her expression showed great distress. Then she seemed to have made up her mind and yanked down her pants. The two guards were taken aback by Mary's audacity; they rushed over as if they wanted to squeeze into our cell with us.
"Is it good?" Yan Junde asked with a smile.
"Yes," the guard replied instinctively.
In an instant, the two guards realized their mistake, but it was clearly too late. I grabbed the guard's clothing and pulled him towards me, delivering a powerful punch that knocked him to the ground. Looking back, the situation was worse for Yan Junde's subordinate; his stomach faced us while his head was turned away. "You want to take advantage of me!" Mary cursed. "You still need to cultivate for tens of thousands of years!"
Juan Juan quickly opened the cell door, and at that moment, the door in the corridor swung open as several guards rushed in upon hearing the commotion. Yan Junde and I immediately drew the long swords of the two fallen guards and charged forward. I said, "We need to get outside the castle as quickly as possible. Feng Tang Song should have lured the guards away; we need to regroup with him."
As I spoke, we clashed with our attackers. These demons, having shed their human forms, were significantly stronger and faster, but they were still no match for our mercenary group. Within a few exchanges, we had killed all the guards. We pushed open the door at the end of the corridor and found that there were no guards outside.
We ran out until we reached the street, where we could vaguely see shadows of the guards. I whispered, "Sneak outside; don't expose yourselves." The four of us moved cautiously and made our way to the castle gate.
Hiding in the shadows, we observed that the castle gate, which had been breached earlier, was still wide open, with a dozen guards stationed there. It seemed that the Demon King hadn't had time to repair it yet, presenting us with a perfect opportunity. A squad of guards passed by the gate; based on my calculations, they would return in ten minutes—plenty of time for us to escape.
I slowly raised my sword and said, "Charge out with me!"
With that, I led the charge. The feeling of being deceived filled me with hatred; fueled by anger, I struck down those guards without hesitation. In less than five minutes, we had slain all of them. Without pausing, we hurried towards the gate.
We circled around outside but didn't see Feng Tang Song anywhere.
"Feng Tang Song might not have shaken off those guards yet!" Juan Juan said. "Let's wait for him in the shadows."
Just as Juan Juan finished speaking, Feng Tang Song emerged from the gate, followed by what looked like hundreds of guards. Spotting us, he shouted, "Run! I alerted the guards! Hurry!" Feng Tang Song looked exhausted when suddenly a guard threw a spear.
"Watch out!" I barely had time to shout before the spear struck Feng Tang Song in his calf, causing him to fall to the ground.
"What do we do?" Mary asked.
A harsh reality confronted us: if we ran now, we could still escape. But if we chose to save Feng Tang Song, we would also be surrounded by the guard army. We might manage against a few dozen men, but against hundreds, there was no way we could break through.
Everyone looked at me; as the captain of our mercenary group, they were waiting for my decision. Time was critical—I couldn't think too long. "Feng Tang Song saved us; we can't just leave him to die. Even if it means death, we'll die together. Follow me!"
As I shouted this out and charged forward, my three companions followed suit. Feng Tang Song yelled back at us, "What are you doing? Run! Don't worry about me! If you all get caught too, none of us will escape! It's my responsibility for leading you into this mess! If you die because of me, how can I face it? If I'm going to die, I won't rest easy!"
But our mercenary group has our own beliefs.
In the blink of an eye, we encountered the Guards. I quickly pulled Feng Tang Song up and blocked several slashes from the guards with my long knife. Then, I kicked out a few times, sending those Guards flying. I said, "Can you stand up now?"
Feng Tang Song glanced at me, wanting to say something but held back. He kicked up a long knife that had fallen to the ground, and it landed steadily in his hand. He lightly pushed me and said, "Don't worry, I'm not dying yet."
We exchanged glances and continued to slash with the long knives in our hands. More and more Guards surrounded us in a circle. When the blade of my long knife broke, I simply picked up another one from the ground. Before long, we were all covered in wounds.
Amidst the chaos, someone shouted, "The Demon King is here! The Demon King is here!"
"It looks like we can't escape," Feng Tang Song said with a smile. "But the Demon King's target is me. If I plead with him, he should let you all go. If you can return to your own country, tell the king that I died in battle."
We all gritted our teeth and no one replied.
At that moment, the Demon King had already walked from the outskirts of the crowd to stand before us.
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