Book 14, Fiend – Chapter 18, Moon Lake

“Linley, that bald guy named Crompton is here as well.” Delia also noticed that familiar figure.

Linley could clearly see Crompton and the other Fiends enter the metallic creature. Only, the Fiends went into the front cabin of the metallic lifeform.

“All the participants in the Fiend trials are in the rear cabin, while the Fiends are in the front cabin.” Linley was slightly relieved, but despite that, he still felt concern. “Why are these Fiends getting involved?”

Linley didn’t care about Fiends getting involved; what he cared about was that the Fiends travelling along with them included Crompton.

Linley had to admit that he disliked this Crompton. And Crompton, in turn, definitely would take advantage of any opportunity he had to kill Linley to vent his anger.

“If Crompton really were to go all out to kill us, the three of us do have a slight chance.”

Crompton only became a Highgod through fusing with a divine spark. He was the weakest type of Highgod.

Those who fused with divine sparks wouldn’t have their souls be ensconced by the natural Laws, nor be nourished and strengthened. Their souls would thus be somewhat weaker.

And Linley, while only a God, had fused two profound mysteries, the Throbbing Pulse of the World and the Essence of the Earth. His soul attack was ten times stronger than that of a normal God. Linley’s soul attack was more than enough to threaten Crompton’s life.

However…

Linley wasn’t completely confident either. After all, the opponent was a Highgod, meaning he had mastered all of the profound mysteries of an Elemental Law. Even if he hadn’t fused any of them, he couldn’t be underestimated.

“In dealing with Crompton, if Bebe and I were to go all out, we still have a chance. But…Crompton isn’t alone. He has friends!” Linley frowned. This was what caused Linley the most worry. “We aren’t in a city right now. We’re outside the city. There’re no prohibitions against combat. Once Crompton notices us, he might come for revenge!”

Linley thought back and forth, but he still couldn’t come to a decision on what to do.

“Motherf*cker, there are so many Fiends. Why do I have to be so unlucky as to have that baldy be on this mission?” Linley couldn’t help but mentally curse.

But although he was angry, he had to face reality!

“No matter what, all I can do right now is to hope that the baldy won’t notice us.” Linley quietly hoped.

This wasn’t impossible.

After all, Linley’s group was in the rear cabin, while Crompton was in the front cabin. As long as they didn’t run into each other, there wouldn’t be any problems.

“Linley.” Delia looked at him, her eyes also holding a hint of worry.

“Don’t worry.” Linley said softly.

Bebe looked at Linley as well. Although Bebe liked to cause trouble, he wasn’t a fool. He knew that with the baldy mixed into this group, things had just potentially become disastrous. Bebe immediately said mentally, “Boss, if we really run into trouble, I’ll deal with the baldy! Although I won’t be able to beat him, I am confident that I’ll be able to tie him up for a time while staying alive.”

Linley glanced at Bebe with some surprise.

Bebe had only reached the God level a few decades ago, but he was confident in being able to tie up a Highgod for a time? Even though this one had fused with a divine spark…

“Truly?” Linley’s eyes held a hint of laughter in them.

“Hmph!” Bebe raised his head proudly, then said using his divine sense, “Boss, I’m the second Godeater Rat to ever exist in the countless planes of the universe! Don’t underestimate me!” Bebe was capable of easily eating divine sparks. How could he not have some special abilities?

The metallic creature began to move!

“Whoosh!”

The enormous black shadow slashed through the air, disappearing from above Royalwing City and becoming a faint speck in the distant horizons. And then, in the blink of an eye, it was completely gone.

Within the metallic lifeform, the people all looked towards the outside.

“What’s going on? Up till now, we still don’t know what the mission is.” Bebe muttered.

“Don’t be impatient.” Linley laughed calmly.

A woman seated next to Linley with short silver hair spoke out. “The Fiend trial mission has a set location. It must be very far away from Royalwing City. Most likely, this journey will be a very long one. The people of Fiend Castle naturally aren’t in a hurry to tell us about the Fiend trial just yet.”

Linley nodded to himself.

“My name is Linley.” Linley laughed as he greeted the silver-haired woman.

This silver-haired woman was wearing a silver outfit as well. She looked very clean and sharp. She glanced at him, a hint of a smile at the corner of her lips. “My name is Regina [Rui’jin’na]. Mr. Linley, those two next to you are traveling with you, right?”

Regina knew very well that during a Fiend trial, several people joining forces together would have a much higher chance of success. If she were to encounter danger amidst the trials, if someone helped her out slightly, that might change her fate.

So she wanted to get on good terms with Linley’s group.

“Right.” Linley laughed and nodded. The nearby Bebe’s eyes lit up, and he turned to look in this direction. “Miss Regina, your eyes are so enchanting. Ah, I forgot to introduce myself. You can call me Bebe.”

Regina looked at Bebe, and his lively, playful eyes instantly captivated her. “Bebe. Your eyes are even more bewitching.” Bebe’s smile immediately became even brighter.

“Miss Regina, do you know why those Fiends are travelling along with us?” Linley gave voice to his confusion. “This is a Fiend trial. Those people are already Fiends, but they are coming along as well…”

Regina shook her head. “I’m not sure about this either.”

Linley could only once more bury his suspicions deep in his heart.

The metallic lifeform flew for an entire day. At nightfall, the staff of the Fiend Castle finally came to the rear cabin.

“The Fiend Castle staff members are here.” Regina said.

Linley’s group immediately sat up straight. They raised their heads, staring towards the three figures standing at the very front of the cabin. These three were staff members sent over by the Fiend Castle, with the leader being that silver-haired old man.

“Everyone!” The silver-haired old man had a smile on his face. He said in a clear voice, “There are, in total, a thousand people taking part in this Fiend trial! I imagine everyone knows this already. The Fiend trial is extremely dangerous, and the death rate is extremely high! But everyone has come despite that…so in terms of courage, at least, you are all worthy of becoming Fiends.”

The silver-haired old man’s face grew solemn. “But courage alone is insufficient. You also need power!”

“This Fiend trial will take place in a place located roughly thirty million miles away from Royalwing City. This place is known as the Moon Lake! Given the flying speed of the metallic lifeform, I expect it will take roughly a month before we reach our destination.” The silver-haired elder said.

At this moment, the rear cabin of the metallic lifeform was completely silent.

A thousand Fiend trial participants were all listening closely.

“There is something important which has to be made clear. The Fiend trial mission isn’t something which is designed or set up by the Fiend Castle.” The silver-haired elder’s voice echoed in the rear cabin. “Everyone who knows anything about Fiends should know that Fiends can accept missions at the Fiend Castle! Missions are divided into different levels!”

“As for your trial, it was selected from the many available missions, a one star mission which is suitable for you!”

The silver-haired elder said solemnly, “As long as you can complete this mission, you will thus become a One Star Fiend!”

“As for the details of the mission…Lauren [Lao’lin], you tell them.” The silver-haired elder stood off to one side while Lauren, a bewitchingly beautiful woman dressed in a long black cloak stepped forward.

Lauren’s voice was clear and bright. “The location of the mission is Moon Lake! Above Moon Lake, there is an ancient castle. The master of this ancient castle is extremely, terrifyingly powerful. He has one steward, eighteen black-robed guards, and hundreds of gold-robed guards!”

“Your mission is to kill one of the gold-robed guards. Remember…after killing the gold-robed guards, take their interspatial ring, that ‘moon ring’, and bring it back to the Fiend Castle. Only the possession of this moon ring will be accepted as proof that you completed the mission!

“But of course, you can take out and make use of the wealth and items contained within the moon rings.” Lauren laughed as she spoke. “That’s all. I’m done speaking.”

Immediately, a hubbub arose in the rear cabin, as everyone began to discuss this.

“Quiet.” The silver-haired elder’s voice rang out.

Everyone’s voices lowered.

“If you have any questions, speak.” The silver-haired elder said.

Immediately, a powerfully built blue-robed man who was three meters tall stood up. In a sonorous voice, he said, “Milord, you say that the proof of completing this mission is the ‘moon ring’. Can it be that every gold-robed guard has one?”

“According to our intelligence reports, all of them should have one. Even if their interspatial rings aren’t actually moon rings, the moon rings should be stored within their interspatial rings.” The silver-robed elder laughed calmly. “But of course, we can’t rule out special circumstances.”

“Therefore, if you kill a gold-robed guard but can’t find a moon ring, that’s bad luck for you. Without a moon ring, you won’t be acknowledged by the Fiend Castle.” The silver-haired elder pursed his lips. “However, it should be very rare for a gold-robed guard to not have a moon ring.”

The man sat back down.

The silver-haired woman by Linley’s side, Regina, stood up. “Milord. You said that the lord of that castle is very powerful, and that he has a steward and black-robed guards! You only want us to kill the gold-robed guards. Would the black-robed guards and the lord of the castle really just let us do as we please?”

Linley had a sudden thought.

Not just Linley. Many of the other people who had come on this Fiend trial with them had also guessed what the answer was.

“On this trip to Moon Lake, others are going as well. There are also some Three and Four Star Fiends, and even a Five Star Fiend squad.” The silver-robed elder laughed calmly. “Most likely, when you get off the metallic creature, the group of Fiends will arrive as well.”

“As I thought!” Linley was very certain about this response.

The silver-haired elder continued, “Their mission is to deal with the black-robed guards, the steward, and the lord of the castle!”

From what the Fiend Castle staff member had explained, Linley and the others could guess that the gold-robed guards should be at the God level of power, while the black-robed guards, the steward, and the lord of the castle were all Highgods.

They spent thirty two days in that metallic creature. Finally, they arrived at the destination.

“After you disembark, all you have to do is head south a few kilometers. Moon Lake is there.”

The silver-haired elder said loudly in the rear cabin, “This place isn’t Royalwing City. Life and death battles can happen at any moment. Everyone needs to be careful. We will quietly wait here for you return. If you successfully return with a moon ring, you can return to the metallic lifeform.”

Everyone maintained their silence.

They all felt tremendous pressure!

A thousand people had come to take part in the Fiend trials. But how many of them would survive to return? The number of people who had come to take part in the Fiend trials was testament to how dangerous Fiend trials were.

Since the Fiend Castle had specially picked out this mission to test them, the difficulty level definitely wouldn’t be low.

“Everyone in the front cabins has disembarked. Now all of you need to disembark!” The silver-haired elder said calmly. “Let me give you one parting advice; you don’t need to just be on guard against the dwellers of Moon Lake. You also need to be on guard against the other Fiend trial participants. There are always many who don’t die during the mission, but are killed by other Fiend trial participants. I’ve seen this far too many times.”

Linley’s heart shook slightly.

Indeed. If someone else didn’t have a moon ring but you did, the other person might ambush you so as to kill you and seize your moon ring. This was very common.

After all, this wasn’t Royalwing City!

“Let’s go.” Linley, Delia, and Bebe followed the flow of people outside, the densely packed group slowly disembarking the metallic lifeform.

At this moment, the metallic lifeform was on a broad, empty land. There were twenty three Fiends gathered there. Amongst them, the bald ‘Crompton’ was standing in front of his friends, glancing about casually. But then, his gaze suddenly turned.

“Hrm?” Crompton stared at the entrance to the metallic creature.

And then, Crompton’s face immediately had a hint of a smile appear on it. “I didn’t expect that the three of them would also be assigned to this Fiend trial. What a coincidence.”