Chapter 2521 The Spirit of the Snake <TOC> Chapter 2523 Freed
Translator: SumTLMan
Besides the rope art and eye-catching poses, the entire scene contains some rather meticulous details.
For instance, all the ropes are pink, not dull but sparkling, as if they were embedded with glowing pink gem shards.
Moreover, this sparkling rope not only connects the two people but also connects to a balance beam on the ceiling, modified from a chandelier.
This balance beam has a roller trap that can react to changes in the center of gravity below. This feedback includes upward and downward swings, as well as rotations.
Whenever either Blazer or Gloshi makes the slightest movement, the balance beam begins to operate.
Rising and falling, moving forward and backward, drawing closer and further away.
Such a design not only allows one to “appreciate” their front, back, and underside clearly visible.
From this, one can see the designer’s painstaking efforts.
Besides, this balance beam device also includes a most explosive detail. This is also what Daus incessantly whispers into Angel’s ear.
The inside of the balance beam is hollow, connecting to an unknown location above, filled entirely with slender pink blind snakes.
These pink blind snakes, following the balance beam’s ups and downs, fall from the opening onto the two “lucky” individuals.
Blind snakes, unlike regular snakes, are very thin and long, and without close observation, it’s even hard to locate their heads. Rather than saying they resemble snakes, they are more like elongated earthworms.
Blind snakes are not uncommon on the Vast Continent, and they have a nickname, called Ear-Entering Snakes.
Ear-entering, meaning burrowing.
Their vision is almost entirely degenerated, so they prefer to dig moist earth burrows, or burrow into pre-existing holes. This is their means of survival and also a skill to evade predators in the wild.
And these red blind snakes, tamed by the princess, remain ordinary creatures, but their burrowing and hole-seeking abilities are enhanced.
Imagine, two naked rope-bound individuals, overwhelmed by a large number of blind snakes, with the snakes searching for holes.
This design has Daus singing endless praises, for instance, right now, Daus is conveying excited and thrilled compliments into Angel’s ear through the mental connection.
Angel does not hesitate to block out Daus’ voice.
Art, this somewhat idealistic concept, really is subjective. The scene before them is considered true art by Daus. But to Angel, it appears to be a ludicrous monkey show.
If one were to discuss art, Angel instead finds that the second level specimen corridor has a design that feels more artistic.
Of course, this is only a design, with the premise that real human heads are not used.
If the heads are modeled from plaster and then painted, that indeed qualifies as art. From infants to adolescents, from young adults to the elderly, showcasing various ethnicities and skin colors, the entire spectrum of human emotions, joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, displayed in that specimen corridor.
This is the “art” that Angel recognizes.
Back to the present, though The So-Called Art is no longer visible, watching a monkey show isn’t too bad either.
Especially since the two characters above exhibit quite the awkward expressions, their eyes shifting from surprise to despair to a vacant stare. This change is quite amusing.
And in this awkward situation, they cannot remain in a usual static state; they are constantly moving in circles, going up and down with considerable force. This is the only way they can attempt to shake off the blind snakes clinging to their bodies, in an effort to preserve their innocence.
The dynamic scene only adds to their embarrassment. Angel believes, if possible, the two would even prefer to dig a hole and bury themselves.
After Angel entered, he did not move; he was more interested in watching the play.
Meanwhile, Ms. Melo was shocked by such a bizarre and glaring scene, and she froze.
This silent pause lasted for at least half a minute.
Until a pink blind snake was flung onto Ms. Melo, startling her awake.
At this moment, Ms. Melo seemed to forget her manners, frantically brushing the blind snake off her body and using her bloodline power to stomp on the ground, creating cracks, and turning the blind snake into mush.
Naturally, Ms. Melo is not afraid of snakes, otherwise she would have reacted when she saw the snake spirit, Surekha, earlier.
Her agitation was purely because the blind snake had previously been on someone else, and if the snake had found a hole… just the thought made Ms. Melo clench her fists tightly.
However, Ms. Melo, after all, possessed excellent upbringing; her lapse was only momentary, and she quickly regained her composure. She apologized to Angel and then asked softly: “Lord, is there any trap involved here?”
Ms. Melo did not want to “grow thorns in her eyes,” so she needed to rescue them quickly. But since they were in the princess’ room, she was also concerned that the sparkling ropes or the balance beams might have other traps. A mishap could not only fail to save them but could endanger them, hence her question.
Angel did not respond immediately but turned to look at the snake spirit: “You said you would listen with our group, so answer this question.”
Surekha, with a pained expression, opened his mouth, and a strong stench wafted out: “Lord, may I, first remove it, then speak?”
It was evident that Surekha exerted a lot of effort to squeeze these words out of his throat.
Angel thought for a moment, then snapped his fingers lightly, and the magic bread in Surekha’s mouth fell out.
Surekha exhaled deeply: “What a relief, to finally be rid of this poop-stained rock… Thank you, my lord, your faithful servant will spare no detail!”
Surekha thought this uncomplicated flattery was well-performed, as even Angel’s mouth curved into a smile. A smile meant acceptance. Indeed, this seemingly aloof formal wizard couldn’t be approached with the same tactics used with the princess; flattery needed to be subtle and traceless.
Surekha believed he had done the right thing, yet he was unaware that Angel at that moment wasn’t listening to his sycophancy, because the phrase “poop-stained rock” was echoing in Angel’s mind.
How dare he describe the magic bread he made as a poop-stained rock.
Very well.
Angel’s hands were clenched behind his back, and the smile curling his lips wasn’t one of agreement, but contemplation of how to deal with this rule-breaking gatekeeper.
Angel wanted to shove the magic bread back into Surekha’s mouth, but since Surekha had already started responding to Ms. Melo’s question, Angel had to let him be for the moment.
“Of course there are traps, including the balance beam above, which also has its tricks…”
Surekha, after all, was a gatekeeper and knew every trap in the room like the back of his hand. It took him a full five minutes to list all the locations of the traps.
After listening, Ms. Melo also felt fortunate she had inquired beforehand; otherwise, directly attempting a rescue would have certainly resulted in them being tightly bound by ropes until limb separation.
However, even after understanding the traps, Ms. Melo didn’t immediately attempt a rescue but instead looked towards Angel.
Was Surekha really a turncoat just because he had served as the princess’ gatekeeper for many years? Obviously, this required consideration.
Thus, Ms. Melo needed Angel’s approval before she could truly take action.
Angel glanced at Surekha, who was hissing with a bootlicker’s demeanor, and finally nodded slightly: “He’s right, do as he says.”
Ms. Melo then relaxed and began to dismantle the traps.
While Ms. Melo was rescuing the two talents, Angel turned to Surekha: “Your performance wasn’t bad; what you said was all true.”
Upon hearing this, Surekha was overjoyed and genuinely began to share the hardships he faced over the years as a gatekeeper, as well as his strong assertions of being a good snake spirit, merely forced to become the princess’ accomplice.
Angel listened but merely continued to smile lightly.
He was right; what Surekha had said was true, but… Surekha still had some secrets held back.
If those withheld statements were trivial, it would be one thing, but they concerned the entire magic formation of the princess’ room.
They could rescue the individuals, but trying to leave with them would activate the magic formation.
This was what Surekha was hiding.
Therefore, Angel took Surekha’s “heartfelt confession” as a joke. Despite appearing obsequious, he remained loyal to the princess.
However, since everyone is acting anyway and faces haven’t been torn, Angel also wanted to make use of the residual value of Surekha, taking this opportunity to inquire some information about the princess from Surekha.
Surekha, believing his “heartfelt confession” to have been successful and having infiltrated the enemy, was naturally willing to communicate with Angel.
Surekha was probably the person who knew the princess best in the entire Princess Castle.
He knew everything she did. Surekha had quite a lot to say.
However, Angel could tell that what Surekha mentioned was not about the princess’ own strength or secrets, but rather about how the princess committed evil acts and her various atrocities.
Probably because, previously in the “heartfelt confession,” Surekha had portrayed the princess too maliciously, so he could only continue to deepen this aspect.
Listening to Surekha’s accounts, Angel had originally pegged the princess as a pervert, but now perhaps even more so.
Human roulette, a gallery of human skins, a corridor of specimens were just everyday occurrences for the princess.
Such daily routines, always introducing some new twist, but equally cruel and bloody.
A girl not yet twelve, harboring a demon darker than Guina within.
Angel could tolerate Guina, even taking her to the Savage Grottoes, because all Guina sought was to survive.
But the princess sought nothing else; she indulged in these for fun.
It was an evil imprinted in her very nature.
After speaking about the princess’ evil for a long time, Surekha suddenly fell silent for a moment, then softly added: “Actually, sometimes the princess still has a naive side, she… after all, is still a child.”
Angel just smiled, not picking up the conversation.
Naivety, he believed. Evil, he also believed. These two, not necessarily mutually exclusive.
“Besides that, is there any other information, like, about Gray Crow?”
Surekha: “Gray Crow Wizard is the princess’ guard, from the Wenlock family. The reason he became a guard was to exchange himself for the continuation of his family. However, Gray Crow seems to have some dissenting thoughts, which the princess is fully aware of, but the princess doesn’t mind, perhaps because they have signed a contract?”
Surekha: “The real name of Gray Crow wizard is Lydia, and because this name is somewhat feminine, he prefers to be known by his nickname… Uh… he is also an elemental wizard, seemingly a rare subdivision previously mentioned by the princess, called the Rolling Stone Wizard.”
The Rolling Stone Wizard is a branch of the earth wizards, specializing in rock manipulation, belonging to the offensive branch. Besides this, there is another branch among earth wizards equal in fame to the Rolling Stone Wizard, namely the well-renowned Desert Wizard.
Of course, the classification on the elemental branch is not just these, offensive and control are not absolute, it also depends on their individual talents and abilities.
“The most frequent ability of Gray Crow Wizard is to create crows out of rocks; these stone crows serve both as his eyes and ears and can be used for attacks…”
At this point, Surekha suddenly paused.
Not only did Surekha pause, but Angel also stopped abruptly.
Their gazes simultaneously turned backward.
In front of the previously unshut door, unexpectedly, a figure appeared.
At first, Surekha thought it was the princess returning and was contemplating how to communicate the intelligence to her, but the newcomer was not the princess, instead, it was a somewhat indifferent-looking young girl.
Black hair draped over the girl’s cheeks, her eyes deliberately feigning coldness, peering into the room.
“Sybil?” Angel whispered the name of the newcomer.
Ms. Melo, who was engaged in deciphering a trap, turned around upon hearing Angel’s voice, and indeed saw a young girl standing outside the door, Sybil!
Sybil’s arrival not only surprised Angel and Ms. Melo, but what was even more surprising were the two talents hanging above.
Ms. Melo, seeing their plight, was indifferent; after all, as an elder perhaps accustomed to seeing much, she might not mind.
Angel, seeing their plight, was also indifferent; after all, he did not know them, and they were men.
But Sybil was different!
Among the talents accompanying them this time, Sybil was one of only two females, and indeed, the most beautiful one.
She and Blazer came from the same place. And it was because of Sybil that Ms. Melo had an interest in Blazer.
Blazer often sneaked to the White Sand Manor to watch Sybil secretly. Though they did not know each other, Blazer felt an unprecedented sense of familiarity from her.
It was also because of watching Sybil that he was caught by Ms. Melo, which became the opportunity for him to become a talent.
Now, Blazer felt like his head was about to explode; he dearly wished he could die.
Such a state, such a disgraceful appearance, and Sybil had seen it!!!
…
Meanwhile, as Sybil peeked behind the door, she immediately saw Angel and Ms. Melo not far away.
A wave of joy surged in Sybil’s heart, and she prepared to step through the doorway to join Ms. Melo.
But just then, a pink blind snake, resembling an earthworm, dropped in front of her.
Thus, she slowly lifted her head.
…
Sybil merely glanced once at the two men hanging above, then immediately lowered her head. Her expression at that moment could no longer maintain her indifferent facade!
Too shocked, and too astounded!
The two men bound above caused such a visual shock to Sybil that it completely shattered her previous perspectives.
Her persona could no longer be maintained; she had to bow her head, using her black hair to hide her shocked and embarrassed expression.
Indeed, it wasn’t just Blazer and Gloshi who were embarrassed.
Seeing their condition, Sybil felt no less awkward than them. After all, she was still a naive girl, lacking worldly experiences. Despite her high intelligence and independent way of handling affairs, her exposure was still very limited.
This was her first time seeing the nudity of men, different from a previous incident outside the dungeon with men hanging upside down. Since they were strangers, and their faces were engorged as they were close to death, she hadn’t focused on the difference between the sexes.
But this time it was different, with the added elements of familiarity and shame, as well as certain reactions these elicited.
From the very first glance, Sybil found herself inadvertently focusing on those embarrassing details.
How could she not feel awkward?
She deeply regretted her curiosity, why she had climbed these stairs, why she had looked through the door?!
Was it still possible for her to go back downstairs?
Could time be reversed?
Sybil, with her head lowered, felt her toes almost poke holes through her shoes from embarrassment.
While Sybil regretted her decision to ascend the stairs and enter this place, on the other hand, Angel was quite interested in her presence. He was genuinely curious about how Sybil could have emerged from the simplistic but enchanting Rainbow Illusion House below, which was not something an ordinary person could navigate.
How had Sybil managed it?
Chapter 2521 The Spirit of the Snake <TOC> Chapter 2523 Freed