novelraw Chapter 337-2: Belatu Estate (2)
Chapter 337-2: Belatu Estate (2)
[You follow the corridor to the stairway at the end. The staircase connects the third and first floors of the castle. Where will you go?]
Lin Xun’s goal now was to take out Nightmare Yuri.
Once he obtained that Shell, he could take his time exploring the castle openly.
[…]
[You hide in the shadow of a corner, cancel your stealth state that is about to expire, and prepare to refresh it…]
[Just as you cancel stealth, a female Ascended dressed like a servant suddenly appears at the end of the stairs. Her figure is slender, graceful, and curvaceous.]
[The maid Ascended is carrying silver tableware and about to head to the third floor when she suddenly meets your gaze.]
[Startled, you decisively draw the Dragon Sword Masamune from your waist…]
[A flash of razor-sharp sword light!]
[With a crisp ‘ding,’ the maid Ascended reacts with surprising speed, actually blocking your fatal strike with a barb that resembles a Western-style rapier.][She is knocked back several steps by the blow and nearly tumbles down the staircase.]
[The silver tableware in her hands clatters to the floor.]
[You immediately recognize the maid’s identity. She is actually Missionary Kim!]
Lin Xun immediately felt a toothache coming on.
There was no need to guess Kim’s purpose in sneaking into the castle. It had surely come to kill Nightmare Yuri and obtain information about Flanda.
He had not expected the two of them to have the exact same idea.
[The two of you exchange a look. You turn lightly and vanish into stealth again.]
[Very soon, a castle steward Ascended dressed like a butler arrives, drawn by the noise. Seeing the maid fumbling and having dropped all the tableware, he immediately begins scolding her.]
[Under the butler’s scolding, ‘Kim’ can only lower her head with a look of earnest contrition.]
[Seeing the maid so meek and submissive, the butler reveals a lecherous smile. Ignoring the maid’s struggles, he drags ‘Kim’ right past you into a nearby room.]
[With a bang, the door slams shut…]
[Do you wish to go and rescue Kim?]
Lin Xun curled his lip and decisively pressed ‘No.’
[Through the door, you hear a loud commotion inside. Very soon, Kim opens the door with a dark expression and signals for you to hurry inside.]
[You step into the room to see the butler lying to one side, blood bubbling from the space between his brows. His limbs are twitching constantly, and he looks about to return to the Wet Nurse’s embrace.]
[You cannot help but ask Kim what it is doing in the castle. You clearly told it to wait for you.]
[Kim rolls its eyes at you, saying that if you had not rushed straight into the blizzard of the White-Fleece Snow Season, it would not have had to disguise itself like this to infiltrate the castle.]
[It knew you would definitely come to Belatu Estate, so it specially infiltrated the castle to wait for you. Otherwise, you would definitely have lost your life here…]
[Halfway through the explanation, a small piece of the pale carapace on Kim’s face suddenly flakes off, revealing a patch of black.]
[Kim freezes for a moment, curses under its breath, pulls out a stalk of Milk-Sap Matsutake, squeezes out white sap, and smears it on its face to cover up its identity as an aberrated being.]
Lin Xun’s face was full of black lines.
He had not expected the Milk-Sap Matsutake he used to pay bus fare with to have such an additional function.
[Kim continues explaining that it has already mapped out the castle’s structure. Nightmare Yuri is in its quarters on the third floor of the castle.]
[But you absolutely cannot make a move inside the castle. Not even with it helping you. Here, you cannot defeat Nightmare Yuri…]
[It eavesdropped on a conversation between Nightmare Yuri and the butler and discovered something unusual.]
[The main building of the castle does not only have three floors above ground; there is also an underground dungeon. Inside, a… according to Nightmare Yuri’s own words, a very special creature is imprisoned, something it has never seen before.]
[Nightmare Yuri seems to want to offer up this alien creature to the Despicable One as a sacrifice, in exchange for favor…]
[However, Bush Cricket City is currently within the range of the White-Fleece Snow Season. No one can enter it. Even if Nightmare Yuri wants to perform the sacrifice, it has to wait until the White-Fleece Snow Season subsides.]
[Right then, you like an idiot walked right in. Anyone could tell you had bad intentions.]
[Nightmare Yuri simply decided to deliberately have you sent to your death. If you died, that would be the end of it. If you did not die and managed to obtain the Sacrificial Emblem…]
[As long as you hand the Sacrificial Emblem over to Nightmare Yuri, it will ruthlessly kill you afterward. Powers once left behind by Belatu still linger in the castle. You do not stand a chance.]
[No matter what happens, Nightmare Yuri profits.]
Lin Xun suddenly saw the light.
A creature of a kind it had never seen before. Would that not be a new life factor?
So Nightmare Yuri wanted to use the Sacrificial Emblem to exchange for the half mask Belatu left behind.
“Hiss… in that case, can I freeload again?”
The life factor in Lin Xun’s body named ‘Taking Things for Free’ was starting to stir.
The information Kim revealed made him overturn his original entire plan.
He pondered carefully and quickly devised a new plan.
Right now, he absolutely could not kill Nightmare Yuri. With Nightmare Yuri as a shield, he could have it perform the sacrifice and obtain the favor.
And Lin Xun’s role would change from the cicada about to be eaten by the mantis into the oriole behind the mantis.
As long as he waited for Nightmare Yuri to successfully receive favor in exchange, he could kill Nightmare Yuri and seize the mask Belatu left behind.
This way, he would not need to sacrifice a main combat Shell, and he could also avoid sacrificing a new life factor and directly facing a descending consciousness of the Desire Wet Nurse.
It was simply killing two birds with one stone.
[After finishing the explanation, Kim urges you to leave the castle with it. Having killed the butler, once the matter is exposed, the castle will certainly be placed under lockdown and searched.]
[If the two of you stay here, Nightmare Yuri will find you sooner or later, and you will both lose your lives here.]
[It would be better to leave the castle. Nightmare Yuri cannot stay in the castle forever. Once it leaves the castle, it will give you an excellent opportunity for ambush and assassination.]
[Do you wish to heed Kim’s advice and leave the castle?]
After a brief thought, Lin Xun pressed ‘No.’
There was no rush to run for now. He wanted to first see what exactly was locked up in the dungeon.
If that alien creature Nightmare Yuri mentioned truly possessed a prefix that had never appeared before, then he could proceed with the follow-up plan.
If the so-called alien creature could not be used to obtain favor, then he would have to overturn the plan once again.
[You shake your head, indicating that with the butler dead, the body will not be discovered so quickly. While there is still time, you might as well go to the dungeon first and then decide…]
[Seeing how resolute you are, Kim knows it cannot persuade you and can only nod helplessly.]
[It gets up and opens the door a crack. After looking left and right and confirming that the corridor is empty, it signals for you to hurry after it…]
[You do not walk straight out the door, but instead look toward the butler’s still-warm corpse…]
[Ascended castle steward: A loyal servant who has served Nightmare Yuri for over ten years. It followed its master to Belatu Estate and continued to serve as steward. It knows many of Nightmare Yuri’s secrets and is the highest-ranking existence in the castle aside from the master. Compatibility: 83% (+55%)]
[Do you wish to possess this Shell?]
“Oh? This Shell’s Compatibility is sufficient. Perfect chance to possess it and see whether there are any memories.”
Lin Xun’s eyes lit up. Ignoring the fact that Kim was standing right beside him, he directly pressed ‘Yes.’