402 Light of Hope

"Curse?" Colt murmured. "How can it be a curse?" On the collar, the menacing face slowly changed. The lip opened as if singing and thus, an eerie laughter sounded in Colt's ears.

"Oh, Solomon, born on Monday, baptized on Tuesday…married on Wednesday, sick on Thursday…sickness worsened on Friday, died on Saturday…buried into the dirt on Sunday…Oh, Solomon, this is your tragic life…"

Under a sudden bout of dizziness, Colt practically toppled from the carriage. In a daze, he saw a hunched old woman stand before a big pot. She stirred the thick stew with all her effort and tossed in intestines and blood. She laughed as she sang this song from the School of Choir. The curse came from thousands of miles away. Flitting past the water surface, those green eyes seemed to sense Colt's gaze and became mocking.

"He saw me? He saw me!" The old woman squeezed her withered breasts and snickered, "Oh, my poor child, my poor child worth nine hundred thousand pounds. Don't fight back, let granny take you away. Your ugly face makes my heart hurt. Before you die, I will be kind and give you a beautiful dream, hohoho!"

Clenching his jaw, Colt took out the anti-tune sword and stabbed himself. The alchemy array on the blade instantly attacked the music theory within him, entangling with the poisonous curse deep inside him. They were both destroyed with a shudder.

Colt screamed, spitting out black blood. The vague perception instantly disappeared. He could hear the pot explode and the old woman's angry roar, "D*mmit! I won't let you escape, you b*stard! I won't—"

Taking out the sword, Colt screamed as he wrapped his wound and continued to drive the carriage, galloping.

The crazy woman who hurt him seriously would not give up. She would definitely continue adding curses.

He must hurry to the Knights Templar! He must make it!

As if sensing his arrival, iron whales soon rose in the distant sky. One, then two, then three… Under the high whale song, the group of iron whales slowly flew toward them. They seemed slow but were instantly above their heads.

"They're here! Grandmaster, they're here!" Colt yelled, overjoyed. He jumped off the carriage and waved wildly at the sky, cheering and whooping. "I'm here! I'm here! I'm still alive! Ye Qingxuan, do you see? You can't kill me, hahaha… You're dead now! You're dead!"

The iron whales slowly approached. But something was wrong.

Starting to panic, Colt gaped at them. Why didn't they slow down?

The iron whales soared through the sky. The whistles rumbled and the whale song filled the air. They gracefully, speedily, elegantly…flew past Colt's head and into the distance until they were just a hopeless shadow. They had not seen him at all!

Colt's smile stiffened. Feeling a chill, he was completely enveloped by fear and almost suffocated.

Hysteric, he climbed onto the carriage and used all his might to shake the unconscious Philip, slapping his face. "Send the signal! Send the signal!" he screamed. His voice was as sharp as metal wires. "Tell them I'm here!"

Philip coughed violently. He seemed to have finally woken up. Staring at Colt, he did not know where he was.

Colt pointed at the black shadow in the sky in panic. "The Knights Templar! Send the signal!"

After a long pause, Philip raised a finger with difficulty. He pressed onto the air and a wisp of light slowly lit up on his finger. It was just a flicker but Colt was overjoyed. It was such a beautiful light of hope where all the good things in the world converged…

But then the light was extinguished by an invisible force. The fantasy shattered. The fireplace, feast, and warmth in the light all disappeared like a fairytale. Now, Colt finally realized that a horrible cacophony had somehow covered the entire forest. It lifted the aether like a layer of thick fog and blocked all messages from going out.

This was the special technique of the School of Secret Keepers—the Silent Theater.

Colt felt as if he was thrown into ice.

It was all over.

-

The iron whales flew past. Sitting on the flank of the reconnaissance ship, the observer looked down with binoculars. He could not help but pat his companion and say, "Hey look, there's actually people in this wilderness." In his binoculars was the ecstatically dancing Colt.

"I think he's waving at us!"

The other took a glance. Seeing the face twisted in happiness, he shook his head and laughed. "Probably some ignorant farmer. Seeing the fleet is like seeing a miracle. It's normal."

The observer placed the binoculars to the side and sighed. "I was like them when I first saw the fleet back in the day."

"Yeah." The companion smoked, his eyes growing nostalgic. "Who wasn't?"

-

In the morning a few hours ago, a messenger on a gray horse rushed into the camp of the Knights Templar. Finding the one in charge, he sent up the order.

Bann read it and shook his head. "I remember the nation gave us two more days to remain here."

The messenger looked aghast. "I'm sorry, Your Excellency. I know this request is inhumane but we've drawn out another camp for you to rest in. It's two hundred kilometers away."

Pausing, he muttered, "Those *ssholes at Water Management. They just get more corrupted! The water factory established just last year has stopped. You can't get any water from underground and all the water suppliers for the nearby villages have stopped. We can't even promise you can receive water regularly here.

"We must dig a temporary well for this camp and ensure emergency supplying…I'm sorry, but this is the letter from up above." He took out the letter and handed it over to Bann.

After reading quickly, Bann nodded. "Please tell Minister Quin that we are guests and for such events, your nation's matters are top priority. We do not need the other camp. The iron whales are mostly prepared already. We can return to the Sacred City to rest. If we leave soon, we should be back by night."

The messenger was overjoyed. "Thank you for your understanding."

With Bann's command, the silent camp quickly became filled with noise. The knights speedily packed up their belongings and tents, transporting everything onto the ships with order.

A short two hours later, the entire camp was ready to go. The iron whales rose into the sky, filling it with the song of return.

They were going home.

-

While Colt's light of hope was extinguished, a hoarse voice traveled from a tuning instrument in the distance.

"The 'silent theater' is already complete," Heisenberg said. "Ye Qingxuan, this is the last time the Secret Keepers will help you. I hope you will fulfil our promise next."

"I've already prepared everything. Please don't worry."

Behind the long table, Ye Qingxuan held his chin and studied the map. A trail of blood dots slowly extended north toward the Sacred City. He stared at the scraggly trail as if studying a masterpiece and murmured, "There will be no problems."

"Oh? I would love to hear the details."

Hearing Ye Qingxuan's tone, Heisenberg could not help but feel curious. Using the Secret Keepers' ability, he had naturally kept an eye on Ye Qingxuan's plans these days. However, Heisenberg could not discover what else he had.

Philip was already sapped dry but a grandmaster who used 'God's Discipline' as a theme for his symphony of predestination would never be easy to fight. Therefore, he was curious as to what Ye Qingxuan had planned.

At this, Ye Qingxuan smiled mysteriously.

-

At the same time, a young hand yanked up the weeds in the wilderness. Not caring about the dirt and bugs, he stuffed a handful into his mouth. He chewed with gusto; green juice dribbled from his lips. The fourteen-year-old looked like a wild child, despite his long gold locks and majestic features.

"Uncle, uncle." He tugged at the man's clothes pitifully. "I'm hungry."

"Just eat something. Here, take this." The man pointed at a tree carelessly. The youth opened his mouth. Invisible dragon breath transformed into a gaping mouth that yanked the entire tree up. It disappeared somewhere. There were sounds of wood shattering and being chewed. But the boy's stomach continued rumbling and grumbling.

The man sighed. He squatted down and looked at his sad nephew, patting his head. "My good nephew, please endure it. It's rare for Uncle's friend to come to me for help. He even gave me money!" With that, he raised a finger. "With that money, I can raise you for a long time! I'll make you steak when we go back, how about that?"

The boy shook his head sadly. "I want five cows."

"Then, five it is! Deal."'Uncle' clapped his hands happily. Straightening, he gazed at the shambling carriage in the distance and smiled eerily.

"I had a feeling he would contact me but I didn't think that his first time would be such a big job…"