Because the Void Realm had practically guaranteed that he could escape the Blood Moon, Yaxiu had never considered the possibility of his escape failing. He had, however, pondered the worst-case scenario for this getaway: blending in among a crowd of unfamiliar adventurers, barging into some foreign realm that might be even worse than the Blood Moon Country, being treated as an enemy by the locals, carrying on his fine tradition of passively taking the fall for things, changing classes from "Cult Leader" to "Outworld Invader," and living a precarious yet happily free life...
He thought that, no matter how bad the journey got, that would be the absolute limit.
Then reality gave him a resounding slap across the face: *Don't underestimate me, you unemployed idler!*
Narrow. Yaxiu's vision had been far too narrow. To think he had actually fantasized about "blending in among a crowd of unfamiliar adventurers." Yet the horrifying fellow currently draping an arm around his shoulder, throwing around wanton, flirtatious looks, and so full of malicious tricks he'd steal candy from a baby—who else could it be besides Igola, the male Veela?
And that guy popping moon sugar like snacks, wasn't that Harvey the necromancer?
As for the duo sitting opposite them, they were none other than Langna and Ronald!
The five great prison-break villains had assembled once more!
What was with this feeling of old companions who had braved trials and tribulations together reuniting? Yaxiu felt like he was about to burst into flames!
Specifically, flames of pure fury.
"Are all of you choosing to escape the Blood Moon through the Void Realm passage too?" Yaxiu could barely suppress the rage in his voice. "You're local kingpins! Is there any reason for you to squeeze in with me to make a run for it?!"
Harvey shrugged as he popped another candy. "You're the head of the Four Pillar Cult. Shouldn't you stay in Kaimeng City to carry on your proselytizing work and promote the traditional culture of the Four Pillar Gods? For you to just pack up and leave like this... you're not very loyal, are you!"
Langna put away his nail file and glanced at Harvey. "Leaving the Blood Moon Country, leaving behind the chip system here—you will no longer be the mysterious and terrifying Control Master, just an ordinary necromancer no different from a rat crossing the street. Are you really fine with that?"
When it came to his specialty, Harvey wouldn't take any slander. He huffed coldly, "Who's to say the other side of the passage isn't a glorious realm that venerates the necromancy faction? A place where corpses lie everywhere, where the living are freed from backbreaking labor to focus on the Void Realm and research, where all social production is handled by the dead, where there is no strife, resources are abundant, and life attains sublimation through death..."
"What you just said is as ridiculous as claiming we'll go into heat over Lalafell one day," Igola remarked uncharitably. "You'd better head to the toddler class at a rearing institute. Maybe you'll find someone on your wavelength there."
"Now you've gone and made me hungry," Ronald muttered, waving a hand toward Yaxiu. "What kind of Lalafell do you like? I prefer mine spicy."
"I like salted egg yolk flav—wait, no!" Clutching his head in agony, Yaxiu groaned, "Couldn't you guys pick a different time or a different method? Did you really have to choose the exact same time, the exact same route, and even the exact same row of seats as me?!"
"Every extra minute we stay in the Blood Moon brings another minute of danger," Langna said. "Didn't you also think this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Besides, once I realized you were here, there was no way I could pass it up."
Ronald agreed, "Indeed."
Harvey added, "Leaving with Yaxiu is an absolute must."
Yaxiu blinked, startled. "Why?"
None of them spoke, their eyes shifting one after another toward Igola. Igola had been smiling pleasantly at Yaxiu all along, his right hand gripping Yaxiu's shoulder tightly, as if terrified his prey might slip away.
A chill ran down Yaxiu's spine. Gulping, he cleared his throat and said earnestly, "It's not that I'm against us working together. After all, we broke out of prison as a team. We know each other's ins and outs, and we have a foundation of trust and cooperation, so working together will naturally be twice as effective. But since we're comrades with a common goal, we ought to cooperate sincerely, present a united front against outsiders, and not drag each other down—much less backstab our teammates. What do you say?"
"Uh-huh, uh-huh!"
"Yaxiu is totally right!"
"As expected of a cult leader—such eloquence."
Igola nodded repeatedly as well, putting on an appearance of deep agreement before holding up three fingers. "Then tell me, my dear cult leader, would you prefer to draw their attention, create an opening for me to escape, or act as bait?"
"Don't give me such a cruel multiple-choice question! And aren't all three options literally the exact same thing?!" Yaxiu growled in a hushed roar. "At least have some consideration for the fact that I made the greatest contribution to the prison break—leave me some way to survive!"
"Bullshit!" Harvey cursed outright. "Clearly I made the greatest contribution! If it weren't for me, how could you have possibly controlled the prison guards?"
"Necromancer, I can't just pretend I didn't hear that," Langna said calmly. "If I hadn't cleared out the hunters and sailors on the transport ship, how could the plan have gone so smoothly?"
"I mapped out the escape route," Ronald chimed in. "If I hadn't thoroughly investigated the area from Shattered Lake Prison to Kaimeng City, how could we have avoided every single surveillance camera along the way and reached downtown Kaimeng without drawing any attention?"
"Hey, hey, hey, have you all completely misunderstood your place?" Igola's brow twitched violently. "I formulated the prison break plan! Without this brilliant mind of mine, every single one of you would be rotting in Shattered Lake! You were merely the hands and feet carrying it out; I was the brain giving the orders. Would you credit a toenail over the head?"
Outside, a storm of bullets and gunfire raged alongside flames and frost, with explosions detonating every now and then. Inside the tent, tongues clashed like swords as that bunch of idiots actually argued over who had been the MVP with the greatest merit during the prison break, utterly lacking any self-awareness. Yaxiu felt entirely hopeless about his getaway journey.
What was even more terrifying was that Yaxiu couldn't escape Igola's clutches, because the latter still held one of his wishes.
If Igola so desired, he could even command Yaxiu to go outside, do a handstand, and have explosive diarrhea to attract attention. In fact, that male Veela's wicked head was capable of hatching schemes far more sinister than that—such as ordering Yaxiu to intercept Langna, Ronald, and Harvey to cause a commotion, buying the bad boy even more time to escape.
If they ran into danger shortly, Igola would undoubtedly order Yaxiu to become a "Taunt minion" without a second thought to draw everyone else's attention. That was why Harvey, Langna, and Ronald insisted on sticking with Yaxiu in the first place—a "Taunt minion" had to be shared by all! Since Yaxiu was going to be sacrificed anyway, why not have him cover three more of his old comrades-in-arms?
"The Void Realm told me that I will definitely escape the Blood Moon."
The arguing inside the tent ground to a sudden halt. Yaxiu shook off Igola's hand resting on his shoulder, glanced around at the group, and said evenly, "I took part in the Destiny Q&A. One of the questions asked how I would escape the Blood Moon Country. In other words, the Void Realm considers my successful escape a certainty.
"I don't mind if you want to travel with me, but I advise you to drop any petty ideas of using me as a meat shield and protect me properly."
Yaxiu said with immense backbone, "I can afford to miss this chance; at worst, I'll just wait for a second or third opportunity. But as for you all... that might not be the case."
Chapter 164