Chapter 557: Come and Hit Me!

Chapter 557 Come and hit me!

Although Cullen had already taken a liking to Tolisa's Sword of Diamans, the great sword previously given to him by the sword bearer Kuzan was also quite precious, yet now it had been broken just like that, used as a makeshift pole.

But Cullen had no time to spare for regret, because according to the development of the current situation, he himself was very likely about to join that great sword in ruin.

Order Cage!

Small cubes appeared in front of Cullen's chest one after another, then rapidly expanded to support and cover the surroundings. In this narrow environment, this was already the most effective method Cullen could employ.

However, no matter how many Order Cages Cullen piled up, the compression of the space continued unabated.

This was a contest, a contest between Cullen and this sand pool. But no matter how abundant an individual's accumulation was, unless absolute strength could form a crushing dominance, facing such a grand array would still appear utterly pale.

The Order Cages shattered continuously. Although they did indeed play a certain role in delaying the process, the remaining space now resembled an upright coffin.

Thousand Charms spread its wings, forcibly helping Cullen block the pressure, but this clearly could not be sustained for too long either.

Had an array arranged by his own people affected this sand pool?

Among those who came this time, the only one besides himself who could arrange an array was Alfred.

So, Alfred, what on earth are you doing?

Outside, Tolisa was even more anxious than Cullen. He was terrified that this "clone of the Lord" would be destroyed here, because he was well aware of the nobility of such a clone. Therefore, once that Lord was completely enraged and his true body arrived in person, he would not even have the qualification to be a slave.

Tolisa looked toward the location where the array was operating. With a flip of his palm, the Sword of Diamans flew into his hand. He intended to destroy that array, but due to the rapid blowing of the wind and sand, he had also lost his perception of the surroundings.

At this moment, apart from sensing that this situation had occurred due to the reverse activation of the array, he could not even pinpoint the exact location of that array!

For three hundred years, he had always believed himself to be the sole master of this place;

This was the first time,

He felt a sense of unfamiliarity with this place.

...

"A very exquisite array, I am referring to the array itself."

The voice of the old man in the white ivory robe fell into Alfred's ears once again.

"Yes, I once obtained a set of very precious array notes, written by the hand of a true master."

Mr. Hoffen's level in arrays needed no further elaboration; the big golden retriever at home had the most say in the matter.

Furthermore, a truly top-tier array master was absolutely proud, yet the set of array notes he gave to Cullen was compiled with the genuine mindset of teaching a beginner.

Sometimes this kind of meticulousness could really solve many problems. For instance, this time Alfred had completely copied an array from the notes meant for a similar situation, and the effect was quite good.

"My point is, if this array continues to urge the sand pool forward, you can take a jar to scoop up your young master."

"What happened?" Alfred was stunned.

"Stop it, unless you want your young master to turn into minced meat."

Alfred immediately broke open the array core, causing the originally violently operating array to fall into paralysis. Deprived of its driving force, the surrounding yellow sand also quieted down considerably, like an ox that had previously run wild, now beginning to walk slowly while panting.

It was Neo who told me to speed it up...

As if guessing what Alfred was thinking, the old man's voice came again:

"Originally, doing this was not wrong. Impeding the operation of the sand pool could break the curse here, while accelerating its operation could cause everything here to lose control, like a carriage running out of control at high speed.

But it has a temper.

When it loses control, it will deliberately violate your wishes, disobey your commands, and run wildly in the exact opposite direction.

Normally, doing this would indeed allow

"What is more, my next-door neighbor is gone anyway, so you don't even need to make an oath, nor do you need to deliver any letters."

"All right, all right." Alfred could only choose to comply.

"My true form grew to adulthood here..."

The scene shifted, and in Alfred's line of sight, a young man clothed in animal skins appeared, crouching there as he devoured the carcass of a black panther that was many times larger than himself.

If one were to overlook his ivory tusks, he was actually not much different from a normal adult male.

Alfred could not help but sigh with emotion. "It is my first time seeing someone who looks better grown up than they did as an infant."

"My true form said the same; he always felt he grew more handsome as he aged, and utterly despised his appearance from childhood. So you see, how right I was to choose you. How much you resemble him; both of you are show-offs, after all."

In truth, Alfred knew that, strictly speaking, this was not a matter of growing handsomer, but rather that he had gradually mastered the art of illusion. The human form was merely one of the guises he presented to the outside world, whereas his actual body... one only needed to look at how massive these skeleton remains in the sand pit were to understand.

Next, as the scenes continuously shifted, Comparsini's path of growth and development gradually became clear, including many details that could not even be found in external reference materials.

At the very beginning, Comparsini had joined the Desert Church, becoming a special priest within its ranks, but later, he defected from the Desert Church to enter the Church of Order, and even helped the Church of Order perfect its system of illusion magic.

Though he was not a pure human, when it came to illusion magic, he was indeed a genius.

Upon the plaza outside the Hall of Tyranus of the Church of Order, his statue still stood to this day; his contributions to the Church of Order could not be erased, and the Church of Order still acknowledged them even now.

It was only because of his subsequent apostasy that many records regarding him had been obscured, causing many Order priests who knew the name three hundred years later to think Comparsini was merely a fierce beast skilled in illusion magic from the church's history, and certain narratives would obscure key information as much as possible, causing people to subconsciously believe Comparsini was an existence from the distant past.

As for why he defected, there was an explanation here as well. Originally, Comparsini felt that the Church of Order was where he ought to remain forever, and he himself yearned for the profound meaning of Order.

Yet during a certain research project, he came into contact with a highly secretive matter; he discovered that the Church of Order was taking steps to establish a belief sequence for the Desert Church, which was akin to setting the dining table and laying out the utensils in advance for an annexation.

Because of his affection for the Desert Church, and his feelings for his birthplace, the Valley of Despair, Comparsini ultimately chose to defect from the Church of Order, wishing to return once more to the desert.

What followed was the pursuit and assassination of Comparsini by teams from the Whip of Order, with Torisa's squad being a prime representative among them;

Meanwhile, the Desert Church had also received word and dispatched people to receive him.

One could say that three hundred years ago, the two great churches engaged in a clash hidden in the shadows, unpublicized, over this matter of Comparsini.

Alfred felt that this passage of history could well be adapted into a film, to be titled "Saving the Illusion Beast Comparsini."

The final result was that Torisa's squad intercepted and killed Comparsini here—though, of course, this was also because Comparsini had already been gravely wounded after suffering blow after blow all along the way after defecting from the Church of Order.

"Have you finished watching?" the old man with the white robe and ivory tusks asked.

"I have."

"Is there anything you wish to ask?"

"Nothing left to ask. Aside from that episode of defection, which I feel was more likely designed long in advance. In the images you showed me, a portion must have been deliberately omitted.

I imagine Comparsini had always believed in the Desert Church, and his joining the Church of Order was likely not to help the development of their illusion system either; there must have been another purpose."

"This is for your own good. You are, after all, considered one of Order's people; I wished to reduce some of the resistance in your heart."

"Actually, it is fine. I do not mind it."

"Furthermore, as the narrator, I must naturally look out a bit for the image of my true form. You should be able to understand."

"Yes, I understand. So, can we formally begin now?"

"Of course, we can begin now."

The white-robed, ivory-tusked old man extended his hand forward, and Alfred heard the sound of flowing water from above. He raised his head and saw a stream of clear spring water cascading down from above.

"The volume of the inheritance is immense, and I have no way to help you sort it out. Just see for yourself how much you can take in. It will not directly help raise your strength, but it is equivalent to your array formations, gifting you another set of books themed around illusion magic."

"Then you truly should have chosen my young master. He would certainly be able to take it all in."

"Since he could take it all in, then he surely has no shortage of such things. Better to give it to you; to have gains yet also regrets, only thus can there be memories."

"After the inheritance ends, come home with me. You can reside within my body or my soul. If you have some other object that can serve as a vessel to bear you, that would be even better."

"Bringing a thing like me back home, don't you think it dangerous?"

"As for the dangerous things in my home, you don't even qualify for a rank just yet."

"Oh, is that so."

"How about it?"

"Tell me, does a mental imprint like mine possess a 'soul'?"

"My young master once said that possessing one's own independent thoughts and consciousness is equivalent to possessing a 'soul'."

"That is good, then. I fear that neighbor of mine would be too lonely; I must go to keep him company."

"Very well, I understand."

The spring water finally fell upon Alfred, and Alfred began to absorb it. Not only did no expression of pain appear upon his face, but instead, it reflected a look of pleasure and enjoyment.

...

"Sigh..."

Upon the platform, Neo's gaze stared at the spot where Alfred had vanished once more. Hands on his hips, he let out a highly helpless sigh.

He desperately wanted to obtain Comparsini's inheritance, not to use it for fighting, but rather thinking that he could then conjure up illusions at any time to see those old acquaintances of the past. Although he knew it would be fake, before he grew tired of it, he would certainly enjoy that kind of atmosphere immensely.

Thus, when he first entered the sand pit, he had wished he could simply grab the sand and stuff it into his eyes, or clutch a handful to shove into his mouth while shouting how delicious it was.

Yet as fate would have it, the other party simply had not taken a fancy to him.

Compared to the director's lamentations, the other three people on the platform were caught quite unprepared by the successive changes that had occurred.

This time, however, the three of them did not rush down ahead of him, but all looked toward the director instead.

"Snap!"

Neo snapped his fingers. He felt very despondent, and very empty, so he needed something to fill the void, and the special-supply cigarettes of the Thunder Church were clearly no longer up to the task.

It was time to go and seek some joy. To continue being this depressed would lead to trouble.

Neo pointed his finger toward the spot below where Alfred had vanished, commanding:

"You all continue to stay here and watch this area. If there is no abnormality in this section, none of you are allowed to jump down. Furthermore, no matter what happens to me and your captain inside, you are not permitted to come in to rescue us either. Remember, your staying here is the greatest help. Do I make myself clear!"

The orders the director handed down today were all somewhat difficult to comprehend, but the group still nodded their heads, primarily because everyone trusted the relationship between the director and their own captain.

Neo twisted his neck, his body lunging forward as he leapt off the platform, transforming instead into a swarm of clustered little bats that flew into the sand pit.

Before long, he arrived at the location where Karen and Torisa were.

Torisa knelt before Karen, his expression reverent;

Karen, meanwhile, bore an indifferent expression, carrying a kind of aloof coldness that belonged to one of superior status.

Though they had experienced a bit of a twist, the wall of sand had nevertheless dissipated, and Karen was thus able to be freed from his confinement. Next, it was time to continue with the previous steps.

The bats descended, re-coalescing into Neo's figure.

Torisa and Karen both cast their gazes upon Neo.

"Hey, Karen, look at how incredible I am. I tricked this fellow with utter ease. Do you know what he thought I was to you? He actually said I was your slave, it practically laughed me to death, hahahaha.

Let me guess, looking at this posture, you must have taken up my groundwork and continued to trick him until his head spun. What level of existence did you masquerade as?

Let me guess, did you perhaps tell him that the current you is merely a clone? You probably also told him that once something goes wrong with your clone, your true form will surely come in person to settle scores with him? Hahahahaha.

Then he will certainly believe it, because he really is stupid. I truly find it hard to imagine that such a stupid person was actually in the same system as us three hundred years ago. It really is quite embarrassing. Sigh, suddenly I feel my current position doesn't have much appeal anymore."

Let me put it this way: this man is my subordinate, a mere captain of one of my operation squads, and yet the two of us have been playing you for a fool like a mere child, you utter idiot!

"Good grief, it's truly unbearable—to have lain here for three hundred years, only to wake up still a gullible blockhead."

Tolisa: "..."

Karen: "..."

Laughing uproariously, Neo strode over to Karen's side, slinging an arm casually over his shoulder, before raising his other hand to point a mocking finger straight at Tolisa, his voice dripping with pure, unadulterated contempt:

"Hey, what are you still kneeling there for? If you've got the guts, come on and fight!"