Chapter 142: The Punishment of Eating Rocks

The look of crazed relief on Girousse’s face, born from the thrill of surviving a catastrophe, shattered like glass before it could fully bloom. The expression froze at the corners of his mouth.

His eyes rolled sluggishly, his gaze dragging across the entire battlefield to land on the opposite side.

There, beside the pink-haired woman who was watching the chaos unfold with her arms crossed, a magnificent and heavy Geo throne had materialized from thin air.

Upon that throne, the Elf Queen sat perfectly upright, her posture unchanged. Her face, however, still held a trace of dazed confusion, as if she were thinking, ‘Did I just… float for a second?’

Encasing the throne was a translucent golden shield—the very same kind that had rendered all of his previous attacks utterly useless.

A mouthful of blood surged up Girousse’s throat, but he forced it back down, a churning, nauseating sensation twisting his insides.

“Tele… Teleportation?! No! That’s not right! This is spatial displacement!” he shrieked, looking as if he had just seen a ghost.

The spatial teleportation he had activated by betting everything, even resorting to self-mutilation, had been countered by his opponent in an even more inconceivable way?

How was this possible!

That woman hadn’t even lifted a single finger!

“I said it,” Celeste’s voice, so calm it bordered on indifference, drifted over from the distance. It carried a sense of detached finality, as if the script had always been written this way.

“Those who break their word shall suffer the punishment of eating rock.”

The voice wasn’t loud, yet it struck Girousse’s heart like an invisible sledgehammer, sending a wave of goosebumps erupting across his green skin.

His gaze shifted, meeting those indifferent golden eyes that seemed to look down upon all living things. There was no anger or mockery in them, only the simple, unassailable certainty that a contract had been fulfilled.

His desperate counterattack, the one into which he had poured all his strength and gambled his very life, had been nothing more than a clumsy one-man show with a pre-written ending.

“You… You knew all along?!” Girousse’s voice was sharp and piercing, laced with a fear that defied comprehension.

“Protecting the important figures in the team is the essence of the contract,” Celeste answered, her tone matter-of-fact.

But in her heart, she was ranting with the fury of a thousand suns.

‘Are you kidding me? Not providing exclusive VIP service to the sugar mommy funding this whole operation? That’s not just unprofessional, that’s just bad for business!”What did you think I was doing with that whole princess carry and throne-crafting routine? Besides getting a feel for that rule-breakingly smooth texture, my main objective was to tag her with a Geo-marker and sync her coordinates! It’s all for the one-click teleport-to-safety service!”I crafted that throne myself! It’s a genuine Geo-construct, honest and reliable. With just a thought, I can package and express-deliver the client, seat and all. Do you even understand what a top-tier, VIP-exclusive displacement package is?!”A solo-grind boss like you who only knows how to fight alone would never get the importance of customer service!’

Girousse wanted to spit out a few more venomous curses, but just as Celeste finished speaking, he felt a sudden chill in his mouth as something hard and slippery materialized out of thin air.

“Wu?! Mmph mmph mmph!”

A perfectly round rock, its surface so smooth it looked like it had been polished for eight hundred years, had appeared from nowhere and was now wedged perfectly into his wide-open maw. It was neither too big nor too small, just the right size to completely block his fanged mouth and the vicious tirade he was about to unleash.

At that moment, every eye on the battlefield was fixed on this deeply insulting and deeply impactful scene.

“Sis… you’re a total badass!”

Selene had been about to charge over with her shield to save the day. Seeing this, however, she swallowed all her tactical shouts, which finally condensed into those four awestruck words.

She knew it!

Her sister would always be her sister! She looked lazy and unmotivated, but she was more calculating than anyone!

Not only did she go for the kill, but she also crushed her opponent’s spirit. And after crushing their spirit, she even stuffed their mouth full of stones!

Su Wan and Xia Lian both let out a long, shaky sigh of relief. The way they looked at Celeste had changed completely.

That kind of composure—manipulating every possibility within the palm of her hand, laying down hidden moves in absolute silence, and even having such a… unique method of punishment…

‘Coach, I want to learn that too!’ they both thought, their eyes sparkling with admiration.

Finally catching up, Elaniel was now blankly stroking the jade-like shield in front of her, which emitted a warm, golden light. What radiated from it wasn’t a cold, impersonal energy, but an aura as heavy and comforting as the earth itself, making her very soul feel at peace.

She remembered that firm embrace from just moments ago, and that seemingly joking remark about “the ground being cold.”

So everything she did… it wasn’t just to comfort her, but to protect her in this exact moment?

Had she predicted from the very beginning that this goblin would be driven to such a desperate act?

Elaniel’s heart began to drum violently once more, a strange numbness spreading through her chest. Her cheeks, which had just regained their fair complexion, suddenly burned with a charming crimson flush.

This feeling of being protected so thoroughly, so quietly, and with such perfect foresight…

It was really… too much to handle!

Celeste took in the Queen’s expression, and the little gremlin in her heart began to cackle, hands on its hips.

‘Oh ho, Her Majesty the Queen is all flustered again.”Look at that blushing face! A Queen-limited shy edition! Tsk tsk, my damn, devastating charm strikes again. It’s a curse, really.’

“Your Majesty!”

“Her Majesty the Queen is safe!”

The surrounding elven guards, after experiencing a rollercoaster of shock, anger, and sorrow, were finally overcome with wild joy. Their gazes toward Celeste had transcended mere reverence.

It was the way mortals look up at a deity walking upon the earth.

She had predicted the enemy’s prediction!

What terrifying combat wisdom!

“Wu wu… pfft! Cough!”

Girousse had completely broken down.

His last hope, his only trump card, had been neutralized so effortlessly. This sense of despair, of being utterly crushed in both intelligence and martial power, was ten thousand times more painful than being killed outright.

Like a crazed beast, he gave up on taking a hostage. Desperately trying to spit out the rock in his mouth, he turned to flee toward the depths of the cave.

“Thinking of running away only now?” Celeste’s voice rang out again, still calm, but now carrying the weight of a final sentence. “Too late.”

She raised her hand, aiming the Vortex Vanquisher in a standard throwing posture at Girousse’s fleeing back.

No charging. No aiming.

Just a casual throw.

Whoosh—!

The golden spear transformed into a searing stream of light that tore through space, striking like a divine dragon and arriving first despite being launched last!

Girousse felt a terrifying killing intent lock onto him from behind, so potent it felt like it could pierce his very soul. He didn’t even have the courage to look back, pouring every last ounce of his strength into his legs.

However, his speed was like a snail’s crawl before that blinding streak of light.

Thump.

A muffled sound, like a spear piercing through thick leather and flesh.

The golden spear entered through his back and burst out through his chest, its unmatched force pinning him firmly to the distant rock wall!

The tail of the Vortex Vanquisher still vibrated at a high frequency from the immense power of the throw, emitting a low, dragon-like hum.

Girousse lowered his head, looking at the spear tip shimmering with golden light that protruded from his chest. His small, green eyes were filled with a dazed, uncomprehending confusion.

As his life ebbed away, the rock in his mouth rolled out with a “clatter,” hitting the ground with a crisp, final sound.

His massive power, enough to merge worlds.

The so-called “art” he was so proud of.

His countless precious collections…

It… all just ended like this?

He opened his mouth, as if wanting to utter one last curse, but in the end, he only managed to spit out a mouthful of foam mixed with green blood.

His life force drained from his body like a rapidly receding tide.

The next second.

[Ding! Your team has killed ‘Goblin King · Boss · Girousse’!]

[Ding! Your level has increased to Lv.25!]

A series of notifications flooded Celeste’s mind. The golden light of a level-up flared up around all four of them simultaneously, sweeping away the fatigue and pain from the long battle.

Celeste casually opened her attribute panel and, as was her custom, dumped the free attribute points she gained into Constitution.

[Celeste – Priest Lv.25]

[Strength: 90]

[Agility: 60]

[Constitution: 175]

[Intelligence: 82]

[Faith: 93]

[Free Attribute Points: 0]

‘Not bad, not bad. A whole level in one go. The EXP payout is huge, way better than that Farina, who barely gave any,’ Celeste nodded with satisfaction.

However, she waited for a few seconds.

The most crucial system notification, the one she had been expecting, failed to appear.

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

The satisfied expression on Celeste’s face froze slightly.

‘Hmm? What’s going on?”The boss is dead, and the EXP has been distributed, so why hasn’t the Domain been purified?”Is the system lagging? Or…’

An ominous thought began to surface in her mind.

[Elysian’s Note:

Having a good time with the story?

Every single bit helps immensely:

Thanks a ton for making this journey possible!]