Finally Feasting on the Enemy's Drama

The Void Realm, the Time Continent, the Spider Tower region. It was not currently Spider Tower's turn, so the entire region was plunged into the black-and-white Domain of Stillness. Aside from the knowledge creatures multiplying and thriving as usual, three castles encircled by layers of defensive lines operated in non-stop production day and night. Knowledge creatures outfitted with "vocations" took on human form, sitting at their workstations with heads bowed in writing, answering inquiries from reality. As doubts were resolved one after another, countless streams of soul power converged upon the castle's core structure—the Spiderweb. Denzel was currently loaded with a vocation. Dressed in a short vest and miniskirt with high heels on her feet, she sat cross-legged upon her former throne, listlessly flipping through the various questions bubbling up from the book. Commanders could naturally accumulate merits through work. Since sitting idle was pointless anyway, most commanders moonlighted in a "vocation" during the Domain of Stillness. Working for Spider Tower was remarkably simple; answering questions required no thought from the clerks. Or rather, the moment they finished reading a question, the answer leaped directly into their minds, and all they had to do was write it down. It might seem redundant, but it was indispensable—no matter how magnificent a miracle was, it remained merely a rigid set of "rules." It had to rely on dynamic "intellect" to deliver precise, tailored feedback suited to each individual. However, commanders like Denzel who retained a measure of emotion found such work dreadfully boring. She walked over to the window and looked up at the spiderweb blanketing the entire gray sky. In truth, calling it a spiderweb was something of a misnomer; it had no mesh holes. Or rather, the openings were so scarce as to be practically imperceptible. Seen from below, it looked like nothing less than an all-encompassing white curtain. Yet when Denzel looked closely, she could still make out seven mesh holes in the central area. Once those seven holes were completely filled, the Grand Investiture of the Six Nations would officially begin. It was just that the final ten holes that needed patching would almost always tear open on their own. With good luck, only one would rupture, and Spider Tower could secure second place while vying for first. With bad luck, seven or eight would rip apart, and they would be relegated to the bottom tier of the Grand Investiture of the Six Nations. *Hopefully it mends securely this time...* Just then, Denzel noticed the web quiver slightly. Innumerable silk threads wove together, gradually stitching up the seventh hole. She looked down at the book in her hands and turned to the leaderboard page. In fact, commanders of Spider Tower had access to intelligence from reality, but almost none of them cared—even Denzel, who had regained her emotions, was no exception. Compared to her few decades in reality, Denzel had fought on the Time Continent for hundreds of years before reclaiming her soul fragments. The sheer length and weight of the latter had utterly diluted the former; it was impossible for her to harbor any lingering attachment to reality. Perhaps that was one of the reasons the Six Nations War and the commander legions operated on the Time Continent: a Two-Winged Sorcerer's lifespan was simply too short. The gods did not need to pay deliberate attention; vast stretches of time alone would assimilate the commanders into the Time Continent. "The Scheme Board..." Denzel felt a spark of interest. This was a title she liked. As for the previous two openings, she had found even glancing at them a waste of time. "Scheme Board, 10th Place: Denzel's Crown Advent Ritual." "Brief Summary: Denzel Doran, ancestor of the Doran family, possessed the authority to gaze upon infinite futures. To obtain this authority, on April 10, 1678, Annan resolved to sacrifice countless gold, silver, and treasures to activate the Crown Advent Ritual." "Mastermind: Annan Doran." "...Hm?" A flicker of confusion crossed Denzel's face. "I have... descendants?" *** Inside Berdette Manor, the moment the 10th place on the Scheme Board was announced, everyone looked toward the Purple Moth, who had just been battered black and blue by her mother, their eyes gleaming with various desires. The Doran family... the authority to gaze upon infinite futures... the Crown Advent Ritual! Yet when Qinna tightened her grip on her handgun, everyone chose to give Sennheiser some face and continued watching the leaderboard. "'Miss, this time we will truly offend every faction.'" "In the projection, Banjie was still the gentle blue-haired youth of a butler. In comparison, Annan had grown far more mature. She wore an off-the-shoulder purple gown, appearing all the more dazzling, gorgeous, and alluring. They seemed to be standing on the second floor of a banquet hall, overlooking the guests below." "'It doesn't matter. Out of all the factions here, only two or three stragglers will be left soon enough. Who cares if we offend them?' Annan shrugged. 'It took me so much effort to trick them into coming. I can't back out now.'" "'You'd be better off worrying whether the ritual provided by Rust Crow will succeed. Denzel is our best hope; only she can lead us to conquer the future!'" The onlookers held their breath, barely daring to blink. Although they had no idea who Denzel Doran was, what did a ritual summoning an ancestor signify? Resurrection of the dead! Revival! That was a magnificent domain only the gods could tread upon! Anything tied to revival was practically a "miracle"! Furthermore, if even an impoverished wretch like Annan could conduct such a ritual, how could great families like theirs fail to do so? Even just learning the details of this "Crown Advent Ritual" would be an extraordinary fortune! As if anticipating everyone's thoughts, the Book of Gospel spitefully skipped over that segment of the story and jumped straight to the aftermath of the ritual! "Annan stood in the empty hall. All the guests lay on the floor, their fates unknown. Looking at his master, Banjie took a step back for reasons he could not name." "'What are you afraid of, Banjie?' Annan glanced back at the butler, tilting her proud neck slightly. Her glamorous appearance did not detract in the slightest from her overbearing aura." "'...Denzel?' Banjie's gaze narrowed sharply, piercing like a needle toward the unknown entity before him. 'What happened to Miss Annan!?'" "'She went to sleep. Didn't she say goodnight to you?'" "'Hand the young miss over!' Banjie gripped his handgun, though he did not draw it." "'I can't do that,' Denzel said leisurely. 'Since you pulled me back from the Void Realm, let me enjoy the pleasures of being alive. In the meantime, I'll trouble you to attend to my daily needs. Don't worry, I will see to your requests along the way—if I'm in a good mood, that is.'" "'Now then, Banjie, my first command.'" "'Slaughter every last person here.'" With a splash of blood across the screen, the projection for 10th place on the Scheme Board came to an end. The next instant, everyone turned their eyes toward Annan simultaneously. Mercury in particular locked his aura onto the Purple Moth like a piercing needle. "One of the people in that banquet hall was my younger brother," he said darkly. "Oh," Qinna said calmly. "Then he was quite fortunate to escape the fate of becoming a shadow spirit." Mercury suddenly deflated. Qinna was right: sooner or later, their family would be turned into shadow spirits by Harvey in the future. In comparison, dying a confused death at Annan's hands might actually be a better end. Furthermore, this revealed that the timeline of Annan's scheme took place before the Family Board—after all, by the time of the Family Board, the Mercury clan had already been turned into undead. Even so, that did not stop him from glaring venomously at Annan as he said in a chilling voice, "She must hand over the Crown Advent Ritual. Sennheiser, you cannot monopolize this!" Before Qinna could answer, Annan shook her head frantically. "That's a ritual I obtain in the future! I know nothing about it right now!" "Who is 'Rust Crow'?" Cleios asked suddenly. "In the projection, you said with your own mouth that he gave you the ritual." Annan continued to shake her head. "I don't know him yet. I have no idea." "You don't know this, you don't know that..." Kasri said. "Then you should at least know the Doran family's legacy, right? What is the authority to gaze upon infinite futures?" Faced with the aggressive Sanctuary Sorcerers, Annan simply bowed her head to evade them, tugging on Yaxiu's sleeve and ducking behind him. Yaxiu did not hesitate in the slightest; pulling her along, he openly took shelter behind her aunt Nona, like a bullied child running to a parent. Nona was not surprised by their closeness. From childhood to adulthood, Annan's only family had been her, and her only friend had been Banjie. As for Yaxiu... Nona glanced at her older sister, but Qinna merely winked playfully, as if saying, *Help yourself.* Nona could not be bothered to indulge her sister. She turned and whispered to them, "Hold onto my waist. If necessary, I'll fly away with you directly." Yaxiu blinked, glancing down at Nona's slender waist. Just as he reached out, Annan slapped his hand away. At that moment, Lisi seemed to sense that her papa was about to be seduced by a wild woman, so she hurriedly dragged little Banjie over. Little Banjie was wearing only an oversized shirt, and halfway across, he tripped over his own feet and took a tumble. The blue-haired boy did not cry out; he merely bit his lip, pouted, and let tears spill down his cheeks. Yaxiu took Lisi's hand and could not help remarking, "Young Miss, how come you've made the boards even more times than we have? Are you from out of town too?" Annan crouched down to wipe little Banjie's tears, saying crossly, "You think I wanted this? This isn't the Beauty Board, it's the Scheme Board... Now my reputation is just as trashed as yours!" That was indeed the case. According to the leaderboard's summary, Annan's scheme was supposed to be purely for wealth. Yet once the ritual was complete and summoned Denzel to possess her, the deranged Denzel slaughtered every guest present. With both their money and their lives forfeit, there was no doubt the corporate factions shown in the projection would loathe Annan to the bone. More importantly, unlike Yaxiu and Harvey, Annan was a genuine local native, meaning the Weaving Ceremony's predictions regarding her were completely trustworthy! On top of that, not a single outlander appeared in the projection, which ruled out any possibility that this prophecy had been tainted. In other words, barring any unexpected turns, the plot where Annan conducted the Crown Ritual, seized everyone's wealth, and slaughtered them all was virtually guaranteed to happen! Even if Qinna could protect Annan right now, the other families would certainly dispatch countless assassins to Fanmula to eliminate the Purple Moth! Moreover, whether Qinna could actually protect Annan was now up in the air. For Annan to make the Weaving Ceremony's rankings twice made Gospel's high regard for her abundantly clear. Adding the Crown Advent Ritual and the Doran family's heritage into the mix, her overall value in everyone's eyes had subtly surpassed Yaxiu's, falling second only to Harvey's! "Annan Doran has received the reward: 'Crown of Sin.'" "Crown of Sin: While wearing this crown, your offenses will not be recorded by Gospel, and anyone who dies because of you will be considered to have met with a natural disaster." Annan stared blankly at the crown in her hands, feeling as if she had been insulted by Gospel—if she were to commit a crime, would she really care about violating penal laws!? Yaxiu leaned in and asked, "Empress Annan, should we kill someone to test its effect?" "No need to go through all that trouble. Any crime will do, so injuring someone works just as well." Annan gave him a sidelong glance. "Stick your tongue out and let me bite it, then we'll see if Gospel charges me with intentional assault." Lisi gazed enviously at the jewel-encrusted crown. Noticing her stare, Annan asked, "Lisi, do you want it?" "Mm!" "Then what should you say?" "Thank you, Aunt Annan!" Annan immediately drove an elbow into Yaxiu's ribs. Yaxiu shook his head frantically—*I didn't teach her that!* *If I were the one teaching her, she'd be calling you Old Hag Annan!* "Wrong, Lisi. Think again." Lisi hesitated, her eyes darting back and forth between Annan and Yaxiu in a long inner struggle. In the end, unable to resist the allure of the crown, she managed, "Thank you... Mama Annan?" "Wrong again, completely wrong." Annan sighed, but she still placed the crown onto Lisi's head. Little Banjie tilted his head, then suddenly gave a happy little hop. "Empress Sister Lisi!" Just then, the Book of Gospel flared with light, updating with yet another ranking. "Scheme Board, 9th Place: Cross's Wisdom Reenactment Ritual." "Brief Summary: Cross Kasri, ancestor of the Kasri family, was a Legendary Sorcerer who delved deeply into the destiny faction. To acquire his ancestor's wisdom, on April 10, 1678, Zuvendas resolved to murder another Sanctuary Sorcerer of the Kasri family and one hundred ordinary Kasri clansmen as sacrifices to activate the Wisdom Reenactment Ritual." "Mastermind: Zuvendas Kasri." Abruptly, the sorcerer ranks opposite them scattered, leaving a single Sanctuary Sorcerer standing frozen on the spot. Yaxiu asked in surprise, "What happened?" "That's Zuvendas Kasri," Nona answered. Was this the joy of watching the leaderboards together? For once, they were finally feasting on drama from the enemy!