It had been a long time since Thales experienced this feeling.
Gray.
White.
He walked in a grayish-white world. From the ground to the walls, from the gravel and waste wood to the sand and dust, even the air shone with a faint white light, as if the darkness around him had been swept away.
There were no other colors.
His surroundings were very quiet. Faint shouts traveled into his ears, as if the people in the water had heard the shouts from the shore.
Just like …
Just like another grayish-white world.
The teenager was a little dazed.
'That's not right.
His vision was a little shaky and unstable. Occasionally, he saw double images.
The dazed Thales shook his head desperately. He propped his longsword against the gray ground to dispel the faint dizziness. He wanted to regain his sense of direction.
He felt a grip on his right arm.
A gloved palm covered in ripples clasped Thales' arm.
"Focus." Yodel's voice traveled into his ears and brought him forward.
"The Path of Shadows reflects reality. They sometimes overlap, but never overlap. We walk through this place like drifting in the sea. Sometimes we float on the surface, and sometimes we sink to the bottom.
"You have to distinguish reality from illusion. You can't get lost here."
Thales staggered along the way. He was dragged forward by Yodel, the only thing in this world that had a normal color. He tried his best not to look at the grayish-white scene around him.
'This is bad.'
He took a few deep breaths and felt that the air that entered his lungs was a little unreal.
Thales watched in shock as he walked out of the grayish-white hall and into the grayish-white tunnel. He watched as Yodel carefully avoided the Disaster Swords who had also turned into grayish-white figures.
But no one noticed them.
The teenager turned his head around.
"We're just going to leave like this. You're not going to help him, but Zakriel?"
Thales panted. He felt as if his words were echoing faintly, as if he was in a dream.
"Subduing the enemy is not my task." Yodel shook his head and held Thales tightly. His purple mask created a series of overlapping images against the grayish-white background.
"To me, you are the most important."
In the grayish-white world, they sped up, walked out of the tunnel, and arrived at the stone steps.
A few mercenaries who were stationed there seemed to have received some sort of signal. They hurried in the direction they came from and brushed past the two normal-colored people.
"Don't touch them." Yodel's hint was simple.
One of them seemed to have sensed something. With his grayish-white skin, he turned his head around warily. His gaze swept past Thales and Yodel.
Thales did not even dare to breathe loudly. He only followed Yodel's footsteps and moved, trying his best to avoid the other people's sleeves.
A few tenths of a second later, the mercenary shook his head, dispelled his guard, and followed after his companion.
Thales breathed a sigh of relief.
"But Zakriel …"
The teenager looked worriedly at the road behind him. "He's been locked up for more than ten years. Let's not talk about his mental state, but his stamina, strength, and reflexes have all declined …"
Yodel still shook his head. He was a man of few words.
"It won't affect his fighting."
Really?
Thales frowned and exhaled.
"He's only one person. He has to face eighteen of them, maybe even more."
Yodel did not seem to care about this question at all. He just kept moving forward.
"He will find a way."
Suppressing the faint dizziness, Thales fell silent.
However, Yodel suddenly spoke.
"We can't go around it. We need to reveal ourselves for a while."
Thales was stunned.
"What?"
Very soon, he no longer had to wonder.
There were a few corpses lying beside the narrow stone steps in front of him. Some belonged to the mercenaries, and some belonged to Shadow Shield. Grayish-white blood splattered all over the ground.
It seemed that the battle between Shadow Shield and Disaster Swords was still ongoing.
The three masked assassins in black seemed to be the only ones left. They put away their weapons and were finishing up the battle.
But the moment one of them raised his head, he shuddered!
* Shing! *
A shortsword pierced through his chest, and it was pulled back with a swish.
What followed was a purple mask that appeared out of thin air behind his shoulder.
His companion beside him was unusually vigilant. He immediately drew his weapon, but the masked ambusher was faster than him!
The ambusher closed in on him and swung the shortsword in his hand gently.
* Whoosh — *
The unlucky assassin's last move was to cover his throat, which gurgled like flowing water, and fall limply to the ground.
The last assassin, who was further away, turned pale with fright. He instinctively retreated!
But another longsword, which shone with silver light and had a beautiful arc, had already cut through the air with great force. It went straight for his head!
* Whoosh! *
The assassin raised two strangely shaped weapons with handguards and crossed them above his head. He slid and prepared to roll to the side with the force of his block.
But something unexpected happened. The trajectory of the longsword, which had a beautiful arc, suddenly changed. It changed from a slash to a thrust, and it thrust forward gently!
* Shick! *
The assassin could not believe it. He could only watch as the blade swept past his perfect block and pierced his throat.
Thales pulled out the longsword steadily and looked at the blood on it with disgust.
On the other side, Yodel, who had just rushed over after finishing off the two assassins, stared at the prince quietly. The gears behind his spectacles turned slightly.
"A beautiful strike."
Yodel put away his shortsword and said meaningfully,
"So, you awakened to the Power of Eradication."
Thales did not answer. He only nodded.
Northland Military Sword Style. Two moves from two different offensive styles.
Thunderbolt Cross Style and Ambush Style.
They were connected by the Twist of Fate.
But …
The teenager stared at the assassin with blood dripping from his throat with a complicated gaze. He watched as the assassin trembled and crawled on the ground, grunting as he waited for his life to end.
He could not kill him in one strike.
Thales stared at the assassin's despairing gaze and sighed. The moment he drew his sword to fight against his enemy, the Disaster Swords' fanaticism and enjoyment when they killed their enemies kept appearing before his eyes.
And the moment the Sin of Hell's River surged and imitated the Twist of Fate, that faint emotion reached its peak.
'Haih.'
"I hate this." Thales shook his head. He gritted his teeth and raised his sword, wanting to end the assassin's pain once and for all.
But Yodel suddenly extended his hand and grabbed Thales' wrist tightly.
Under the prince's puzzled gaze, the Masked Protector squatted down gently. With a thrust and a draw of the shortsword in his hand, he took the enemy's life.
Thales put down his sword and watched quietly as the Masked Protector stood up. He swung his sword gently, and the blood on the Supreme Sword was instantly wiped clean. It was as clean as new.
Yodel patted him on the shoulder.
"You shouldn't like it."
The Masked Protector said faintly.
Thales suppressed the discomfort in his heart and smiled at Yodel.
The prince raised his head, picked up the torch, and looked at the path that led to the ground.
"I don't know if you heard it, but the Disaster Swords might know another path that leads to the outside …"
Yodel shook his head. He took out the long, dark green stone from his bosom and handed it to Thales.
There was a hint of certainty in the Masked Protector's hoarse voice. "As long as the key is in your hands, we can capture all of them in one fell swoop.
"Now, we only need to reach the surface safely."
'But what about after that?'
Thales stared at the Black Prison Key in his hand. More questions rose in his heart.
'What about Quick Rope?
What about Dean?
What about the Secret Intelligence Department? '
Thales, whose thoughts were in a mess, knew that this was not the time to think about these things. He tried his best to get rid of all distracting thoughts, threw away the torch, held Yodel's outstretched hand, and followed him into the Path of Shadows again.
But luck did not always favor them.
When they went up another floor and arrived at a corridor, Yodel suddenly trembled slightly.
"Be careful.
There's something strange ahead. "
Before the prince could react, the Masked Protector quickly let go of Thales' arm.
Thales, who was still enduring the discomfort in the Path of Shadows, only felt his surroundings tremble. The grayish-white world in front of him rippled again, and like a receding tide, it returned to its normal color — darkness.
Thales grunted in pain. He supported himself with his sword while the dizziness brought about by the change in the world. He trembled and retched.
'What's wrong?'
While he was puzzled, Yodel had already disappeared from his sight.
But almost at the same time, the moment Thales appeared, a familiar and terrifying male voice rose from the darkness in front of him.
"I knew that you would always find a way to escape, Your Highness."
As the fire lit up, a fair-skinned man with a torch appeared in front of Thales with a friendly smile.
"It was not in vain that I waited here in fear for so long."
When Thales saw this person, he felt a headache and had to prop his forehead up with his hand.
"What a coincidence."
The prince's lips twitched. He called out the name of the person in front of him in annoyance, "Stake."
Stake shook the torch in his hand and smiled from ear to ear.
Thales suddenly missed Ricky's group of mercenaries.
'Disaster Swords, aren't you supposed to kill all these people?
Why are you so useless? '
There was no point in thinking too much. Thales tried to clear his mind of unnecessary emotions. He vigilantly used hell's senses to observe his surroundings.
Stake looked at his vigilant face and arched his shoulders in a resigned manner. He looked a little comical.
But Thales knew that "comical" was definitely not one of the adjectives that could describe this guy.
"Don't worry, Your Highness." Stake raised his hands with a sincere expression.
"I am a businessman. I don't like violence when I can solve things through negotiation."
'Is that so?'
Thales looked at him with a headache and sensed the information from hell's senses.
'You don't like violence …
'Then why are there at least a dozen breathing sounds hidden in the darkness behind you?'
"That's really reassuring," Thales said with a fake smile. He tried to find Yodel's location.
But Yodel still did not show up. He did not use the Path of Shadows to bring him out either.
This meant that the enemy was difficult to avoid and very difficult to deal with.
'What will you do, Yodel?'
"Fortunately, our astute Baron Lasalle is not here, so I will be honest with you." Stake seemed to be very happy.
"Don't worry, Your Highness, we have never intended to hand you over to the Northlanders. We are only working with them with the help of King Chapman's intelligence channels … You know, we are not very good at Constellation."
'Never intended to hand me over to the Northlanders?
Hehe. '
This was the expression Thales wanted to give him.
But he could not.
"So, you want to say that you want to take me for yourself?" Thales maintained his expression and twitched the corners of his mouth.
Stake shook his head.
"No, our goal in coming to Blade Fangs Camp is to meet you alone."
Stake narrowed his eyes into slits, and his expression became serious.
"Let's see if the legendary intelligent prince can become our savior."
Thales was slightly stunned.
"Savior?"
But in the next second, Stake's words and actions caused Thales, who had been on high alert, to be shocked.
Stake lifted his cloak and knelt on one knee before the prince. He was incredibly respectful.
He was even more respectful than Yodel.
"The honorable first heir of Constellation, Your Highness Thales Jadestar."
Stake's voice was submissive, his tone respectful, his posture humble, and he did not look hostile.
"'Stake' Coase, on behalf of Shadow Shield, we are willing to pledge our loyalty to you and be your vanguard to redeem the heinous crimes we have committed and reverse our fate of deteriorating with each passing day."
"Please accept our sincerity."
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