Trial of Slay All Crows

Yaxiu had a rather bad habit: once he considered someone a close friend, he liked to sling an arm over their shoulders. Igola detested this intensely. After smacking Yaxiu's hand away several times, however, he had simply stopped bothering. Whenever Yaxiu walked with his arm draped around the Swindler, there was always an unmistakable sense of two little cats side by side—Yaxiu a tabby, and Igola a ragdoll. Harvey didn't care either way, yet Yaxiu rarely dared to throw an arm around his shoulders. Walking beside Harvey made Yaxiu feel like a husky that resembled a wolf, whereas Harvey was a wolf that resembled a husky. Tamashi didn't mind either, but just like his moniker, walking beside him made Yaxiu feel like a dove and Tamashi like a crow. The arm Yaxiu extended was like a dove's wing, never truly able to catch hold of the Black Crow. Even back then, Yaxiu had faintly sensed that Tamashi was a bird that could never be tethered by sentiment. "We..." Yaxiu exhaled a breath of stale air and exchanged a glance with Igola. The latter nodded silently, having already used a miracle to confirm this Black Crow was genuine. Then Yaxiu glanced at the Black Feather sorcerers eyeing them hungrily and said, "We'll help you deal with them first, and then go find the Silver Lantern." "No," the Black Crow said solemnly. "The Silver Lantern has been down on the lowest floor preparing for hours. Every second you delay pushes Senluo one second closer to destruction." "I heard the news three hours ago, but Tanomu was right here, so I had to stay. I originally planned to find a way down to the lowest floor to stop the Silver Lantern after killing Tanomu, but..." *Right!* Igola lowered his gaze and saw a pile of mangled remains and a severed head. The blood from the neck had run dry, and the shapely head rested on the ground drenched in wine and blood, profile turned directly toward Yaxiu and his companions. Even grimy and dirt-streaked, it could not hide her former beauty, a faint, mocking smile frozen on her lips. The severed pieces of flesh had remarkably clean cuts, clearly the work of the Black Crow. Igola asked, "Mercury Trojan is dead?" "Tanomu is dead." The Black Crow nodded, then shook his head. "But Mercury Trojan isn't." Right at that moment, the young sorcerer held hostage by the Black Crow suddenly grabbed the Grey Fox blade with his hands. Jerking his left elbow violently backward, a wind blade shot from his elbow toward the Black Crow behind him! *Smack!* The Black Crow swatted the wind blade away with a casual wave. At the same time, a flick of his Grey Fox blade sliced off all of the young man's fingers! Yet even after this sudden exchange, the tip of the blade remained pressed against the youth's throat. The Black Crow had not offered a fraction of a second's opening! "Charlin!" A voice as melodious as wind chimes echoed through the hall. "I command you not to die!" The young man named Charlin immediately stopped struggling. He seemed completely unconcerned about his injuries; hearing this order, he could only grit his teeth in deep humiliation and remain the Black Crow's captive. Only then did Yaxiu and the others notice the young girl flanked by the Black Feather sorcerers. Surrounded by sorcerers on high combat alert, this lovely girl wearing cat-ear pajamas looked like a hotel guest who had wandered into the wrong room. She appeared to be in her mid-teens, with sweet features and large, wide eyes. Noticing their gazes, she offered an active wave and greeted them warmly: "Long time no see, Lord Yaxiu, Lord Igola, and Gwen—seeing that you're doing so well after leaving the Four Pillar Cult sets my mind at ease." *Mercury Trojan!* Yaxiu's eyes narrowed as he gripped Honeyed Words with a Dagger. Igola also readied his sorcery, attempting to lock onto her position. However, after speaking, Mercury Trojan ducked behind the others, cloaking herself entirely beneath the protection of a Sanctuary. To get to her, they would have to break through a human wall of Black Feather sorcerers. Yaxiu asked, "So Mercury Trojan's true body looks like that?" "No," the Black Crow said. "Tanomu's true body is that pile of minced meat on the floor. I dreamed of her even in my sleep—I could never mistake who she was. But... she hasn't died yet." "Even if her true body is dead, her soul can transfer into a backup vessel?" Yaxiu drew a sharp breath. "The Four Pillar Cult has over a million followers..." "She likely can't transfer her soul out of the Silent Spiral, or perhaps can't even leave this floor," Igola analyzed calmly. "If she could freely descend into any other vessel across the wasteland from within the Silent Spiral, she would be up on the surface directing the cult against the Harp Sun Alliance right now, instead of relinquishing command to the other bishops." "Oh?" Mercury Trojan asked curiously. "Has the Harp Sun Alliance already attacked so quickly? I do hope our people can hold out for a few more days..." "Don't believe a word she says, but don't outright dismiss it either," Igola said. "She's acting as if she truly knows nothing about the surface, but she might know everything, or she might be baiting us into thinking she does. The best way to deal with someone like her is to refuse any negotiation and strike hard while she's talking. Kill everyone here, sever her head, and we'll see the truth of it!" "Understood!" Yaxiu nodded firmly. "Just like dealing with you—I'm good at this!" "Yaxiu!" the Black Crow said anxiously. "Did you even hear what I said—" "How wonderful, Tamashi. You finally have friends who care about you," Mercury Trojan said with a smile. "Why refuse their kindness? As it happens, we have our own scores to settle. Wouldn't it be nice to settle all our old debts before doomsday arrives? We can all march into Hell cleanly together." "Still, since you won't let me live, I won't go easy on you either," she continued. "How long will this vengeance take? Three hours? Six hours? Twelve hours? A whole day? I have four Sanctuary Sorcerers, thirty-two Two-Wing Sorcerers, and sixty-four One-Wing Sorcerers here. In my final moments, let me buy a little time for the Silver Lantern. We were colleagues once, after all." "Come, then." Mercury Trojan's sweet voice turned chilling and sharp. "I will drag you, and the entire land of Senluo, down to Hell together!" Yaxiu's face darkened, his tone dripping with rare disdain. "Who do you think you're scaring with that talk, Mercury Trojan?" He let out a scoffing laugh. "Threatening me with moral righteousness? That's hilarious. If a native like you doesn't give a damn about Senluo, why should I bother worrying about it? Three hours or three days, you die here today. Not even the advent of the Four Pillar Gods can save you. My word on—" "But I care." Yaxiu turned to look at the Black Crow. The Black Crow gave him a slight nod, almost pleading. "I care about this land. I care about the people on this land. I want to save Senluo." "I want to stop the Silver Lantern too, but I can't," the Black Crow said, his distorted voice speaking his true feelings. "I didn't want to drag you into this... but the moment I found myself powerless, my first thought was hoping that Yaxiu, that you all would come... Only you can help me..." "When I saw you appear, tears suddenly came to my eyes, but inside I was thrilled, like winning a card game. Yet my immediate reaction was wishing you'd leave at once... It's such a contradictory feeling." Lacking eloquence, the uneducated Black Crow could only stammer out his thoughts. "Not like my old self at all." Mercury Trojan had started to interject, but hearing this, she shut her mouth. "I cannot stand by and watch the Silver Lantern destroy Senluo, and I certainly cannot permit you to stay behind on my account." Taking a deep breath, the Black Crow said, "I know this is an unreasonable demand. You risked your lives coming here for me, and I've already burdened you so much... but I still want to beg of you." "Yaxiu, Igola, Gwen, please, go stop the Silver Lantern. Go save this realm." "We aren't necessarily staying because of you," Igola said suddenly. "Hunting down Mercury Trojan is a shared hobby of ours. The destruction of the world doesn't matter; a world without Mercury Trojan is what matters." "Equating me with the entire world?" Mercury Trojan said faintly. "Lord Igola's high regard truly flatters me." "There's no way I'm leaving you behind," Yaxiu said resolutely. "We came to save you, not to save any world, and we definitely won't abandon you for the sake of Senluo. Either we all leave together, or we kill Mercury Trojan and leave together." "You don't need to worry about me." The Black Crow abruptly snapped Charlin's left ulna. Sweat poured from the youth's forehead in agony, but he did not make a single sound. "I have a hostage." "I've been meaning to ask," Igola remarked. "Why does holding him hostage threaten Mercury Trojan? Her standards can't be that low, can they?" Those words seemed to provoke Charlin's fury far more than the snapped bone; he glared viciously at the Swindler, his eyes bulging as if ready to pop out and strike. "He created a void portal channel leading to a new civilized world, in an exceptionally favorable location," the Black Crow said. "Tanomu planned to lead her people through this void portal channel to leave Senluo and reach a new realm." Yaxiu and the others froze, casting strange looks at Mercury Trojan. They hadn't expected their thoughts to align so neatly with hers—both sides had come to the Silent Spiral to run away. It was hard to tell whether they were kindred spirits or bitter enemies fated to cross paths. The void portal channel guarded by the Black Feather sorcerers was clearly the gateway to that new world. No wonder the Black Crow could threaten Mercury Trojan. Heavens knew how much time and resources they had spent rolling such an optimal void portal channel. If it had merely been "quite valuable" before Yaxiu and his companions arrived, its worth had now skyrocketed to "utterly irreplaceable"! There was no way Yaxiu and the others would let Mercury Trojan open another portal and slip away. To put it bluntly, if Mercury Trojan wanted to flee, this void portal was her final chance. If she missed it, Yaxiu and the others might already return from dealing with the Silver Lantern before she could ever open a new one. At that point, leaving aside any hope of escape, she might not even keep her life. Her only way out now was to reclaim the hostage from the Black Crow and secure the void portal channel! "As long as I hold this hostage, Tanomu will never dare make a move," the Black Crow said solemnly. "I will hold this stalemate against her until you return. If you don't return, I'll drag her down into the grave along with Senluo and all of you." With that, Yaxiu and the others finally pieced together the current situation. They had anticipated the Silver Lantern's presence. After all, the many trials within the Silent Spiral were closely tied to the grand laws stolen by the Silver Lantern; it was evident that the Silver Lantern had initiated the Silent Spiral, not the Four Pillar Cult. Even the fact that the Silver Lantern was constructing a world-ending sorcery procedure came as no surprise. She had stated her intentions enough times, and after her prolonged silence, they had faintly sensed that something massive was brewing. The only thing they couldn't understand was why the Four Pillar Cult was helping the Silver Lantern. Wasn't Mercury Trojan afraid? The former question remained unanswered, but Mercury Trojan herself had just answered the latter: she truly was not afraid. She was already preparing to take her followers to a new world to start over. As for whether the old world went bankrupt or burned to ashes, what did she care? The hostage the Black Crow held was Mercury Trojan's key to that new world. Thus, his claim that he could maintain a stalemate against her was indeed true. Looked at this way, Yaxiu and the others could indeed go stop the Silver Lantern first, then return to regroup with the Black Crow and obliterate Mercury Trojan together. But... Just as Yaxiu's expression wavered between choices, his body suddenly convulsed violently. He dropped straight to his knees, cold sweat beading on his forehead. Igola focused his gaze and saw a crow-shaped pattern of blood-red light emerge over Yaxiu's heart, glowing so brightly that his clothes could not conceal it, clearly visible to everyone. Alongside the crow appeared an odd, angular heart; perched atop it, the crow relentlessly pecked at the heart's sharp edges. Igola instantly unleashed the miracle Visualization Superposition, sending ripples through the Black Feather sorcerers' Sanctuary. Yet instead of retaliating, Mercury Trojan clarified loudly, "Don't take your anger out on us just yet! This has nothing to do with us—Lord Yaxiu brought this on himself." "He deviated from the main theme of the Trial of Slay All Crows," she said. "And so he has incurred the curse of Slay All Crows."