Chapter 2329: Sacrifice and Persistence

Chapter 2329: Chapter 2329: Sacrifice and Persistence

Shard looked towards the source of the cat’s meow, only to see flames appearing amidst the black mist. Then Mia quickly came over, using the protrusions and decorations on the armor’s surface to leap onto Shard’s shoulder from the ground.

Shard didn’t even need to investigate to know this was Mia, as the flames on her tail were so unusual and not hot at all, something illusion couldn’t replicate.

"Why did you come over? Where’s Miss Nate? Which direction did you come from?"

Shard asked softly, but the cat responded with another "Meow~," obviously not understanding Shard’s words, so didn’t show the way.

However, the strange flames on its tail seemed to have the effect of dispelling the black mist. So, Shard held the cat and walked in the direction it had come from.

The black mist had the effect of twisting space, and though the church was not big, Shard felt he had walked a hundred steps before seeing the light ahead. Continuing forward, the sudden white light made him involuntarily close his eyes.

When she had adjusted to the brightness and opened her eyes, she found herself with Mia in a corridor paved with red carpet, walls painted with golden paint, adorned with crystal chandeliers and various antique oil paintings.

This corridor reminded Shard of Yordle Palace, but also seemed like other grand noble residences.

As for himself, he was still wearing the golden armor, lined up with five other armored knights, following Miss Nate, who walked at the front carrying a red cushion with a green crystal on it.

Miss Nate also wore her armor, but did not wear a helmet. Because Shard was the first in the line of knights, he could see her profile and judge her expression as extremely serious.

"Is this... the illusion created by that thing in the coffin?"

He wondered suspiciously, unsure whether he should speak, while the "her" in his ear softly reminded:

[Similar power to the "White Bone Illusion" you encountered last time with Elf Xiannode. Judged to be the power of a sealed ancient creature, combined with the power of this desert, creating this illusion.]

"Understood, this is the second illusion in my task requirements, to be witnessed alongside the Deity, right? Understood."

Shard nodded, deciding to first see what would happen next.

The group of seven continued forward, led by Miss Nate with the green crystal. But after only a few dozen steps, they turned a corner in the corridor, where two fully black mist-covered monsters blocked their way.

The two monsters only appeared as elongated humanoid figures, with no clear features, and in front of them knelt two people:

"Congratulations, Knight Shelly Knight, you have finally brought back the ’Heart of the Oasis’ for His Majesty."

Shard glanced at the unresponsive green crystal obliquely.

"However, you have been away too long, as now the Kingdom’s situation is drastically changing, and the circumstances in the Royal Palace vary.

You need to sacrifice one person to us to proceed. Now the one on the left is a murderer, who killed thirteen people from a wealthy merchant’s family to avenge his exhausted mother; the one on the right is a rapist who raped and murdered the young son of a Viscount who was traveling. Who will you sacrifice?"

Miss Nate’s expression did not change at all:

"The one on the right."

Thus, the man on the right was dragged away by two black mist clouds amidst screams, and the black mist vanished. Miss Nate didn’t even glance at the murderer on the left, continuing to lead the group forward.

After dozens of steps, they met another corner, this time turning left. Beyond the corner, five transparent souls were being burned above a flame blocking the way, two on the left and three on the right. And a humanoid monster, with red skin, holding a large black pitchfork, with goat hooves and horns, blocked everyone in front of the flame.

In other words, it had the typical demon shape from fairy tales:

"Here are five souls, the two on the left committed robbery but did not deserve death; the three on the right committed theft but the amount was small. You have to make a choice. These are souls from your Kingdom, present me with any side’s souls, and I can let you proceed."

Miss Nate still made a decision without any hesitation:

"The two on the left."

"Will you consider it?"

The monster asked, the Lady Knight shook her head. Then the monster laughed heartily as it turned into black smoke, taking away the two souls on the left. The flames under the three souls on the right disappeared, and they quickly escaped through the corridor walls.

Miss Nate continued leading the group forward. After turning another corner, this time blocking their way was a nearly five-meter-wide giant crack across the corridor, within it bubbling with hot lava.

Seven trembling citizens stood beside the crack, three on the left, four on the right. Everyone’s right leg was fastened to a chain connected to a heavy iron ball, making it impossible for them to leave.

As the group approached, a more than two-meter-tall flame Giant Spirit emerged from the lava, speaking in the era’s universal language:

"To leave, you must personally throw the ones on the left or right into the lava!"

Miss Nate squinted slightly, seemingly judging whether she could defeat the opponent. But the result was also obvious, so she handed the item she was holding to another person behind herself, and stepped forward with her sword. At this time, Shard wanted to speak to stop her, considering defeating this outrageous elemental creature himself, but after some thought, he did nothing.

[Why don’t you do it?]

"She" whispered in Shard’s ear. Shard was wearing a helmet at the time, so it felt like someone was inside his armor with him.

"The last illusionary realm that Old Lady Sianod experienced wasn’t strictly resolved by me; it was the old lady who figured it out herself... It’s not time to act yet. Besides, they are all illusions, why should I rush?"

Miss Nate walked to the lava fissure, expressionlessly slaying the three people on the left, then severing their right feet and tossing their corpses into the lava.

None of the knights following spoke, so the lava receded, and the fissure closed, restoring the corridor to normal.

Miss Nate tore off the jacket of one of the left-side individuals to wipe her blood-stained sword, then gestured for everyone to continue forward.

After another turn at the end of the corridor, not far ahead, a golden door decorated with gemstones finally appeared, seemingly the destination.

But the door was tightly closed, with a moving face bearing sharp fangs, which also presented a demand:

"Kill your companions, then I will allow you to take the [Heart of the Oasis] to meet your queen. Besides you, there are six knights here; just kill four of them, my demand isn’t excessive."

This time, Miss Nate finally didn’t act immediately but held the crystal, taking a deep breath. Then she turned, handing the crystal to Shard, and drew her sword to kill her own companions.

The knights offered only symbolic resistance before being cleanly slain by Miss Nate. During this, Shard kept Mia’s eyes covered, not wanting the cat to witness the brutal scene.

And true to its word, the face on the door opened the door after the fourth death.

Miss Nate retrieved the crystal, leading Shard and another silent person through the door.

Beyond the door was a huge room with gray stone walls on all sides. A fire blazed in the hearth, and a woman with a crowned, gaunt face sat on an unusually large velvet four-poster bed, wearing a nightgown and wrapped in a blanket.

There were no curtains around the bed, and two expressionless maids stood by the bed on either side.

"Your Majesty."

Miss Nate knelt on one knee to pay respects, as did the remaining knight, while Shard remained standing.

"According to your instructions, I successfully retrieved the [Heart of the Oasis] from that eerie place and broke through the obstacles to return to your side. Please write a letter and hire that Witch again with great expense, let her use the [Heart of the Oasis] to save our cursed kingdom."

The blond queen on the bed, appearing severely ill, coughed twice and then said weakly:

"Shelly, I’m truly glad to see you again."

She then coughed twice more:

"The Heart of the Oasis, you’ve finally brought it back. Very well, truly well. But you must tell me, on this journey, did you violate your knightly oath?"

The gray-haired Lady Knight remained silent, so the frail queen continued speaking with her gray eyes fixed on her:

"A murderer and a rapist, you chose to sacrifice the latter, but do you really have the right to judge others?

A robber and a thief, you chose to sacrifice a few to save the many, but ultimately two died because of you;

And those seven innocent citizens, why did you kill three of them without hesitation? Because you had already made choices twice before, didn’t you want past cruelty to seem foolish?"

"Because killing three could save the other four."

Miss Nate replied respectfully, prompting the queen on the bed to continue her questioning:

"So, you ultimately violated your knightly oath by killing innocents with your own hands."

"Yes, because I promised to bring back the [Heart of the Oasis] for you, and nothing is more important than this."

"So, at the entrance of this chamber, you killed your companions with your own hands, turning yourself into a true butcher. Shelly, do you really feel no guilt? Have you not noticed that you’ve already fallen?"

The kneeling Lady Knight raised her head to look at her queen, her expression remaining resolute:

"Your Majesty, countless lives have already been sacrificed for this mission, and I will not stop at the final step for any reason. You may consider it my persistence; we ordinary people cannot do much, but if necessary, I am even willing to offer my own life and soul for this task... The [Heart of the Oasis] must come here, and the kingdom must be saved."

"Those who say such things usually walk towards tragedy."

Standing there, Shard thought to himself, while the queen on the bed coughed repeatedly, making Shard wonder if she would cough her lungs out.