Chapter 2603 Statue <TOC> Chapter 2605 Centaur
Next page password is bold portion: 0R57o&#boDr!D
Translator: SumTLMan
After Angel finished speaking, he turned his gaze toward the Black Count.
Black Count: “That’s all?”
Angel: “That’s all; nothing more.”
The Black Count glanced at the illusion of the little boy still relieving himself, and said blandly: “Very well, when this matter is concluded, you may have your friend come to the Noah family to find me.”
As for what the Black Count intended to do after meeting him, he didn’t say, and Angel didn’t ask. This was merely securing an opportunity for Shalem; whether Shalem would choose to go was another matter.
If he truly decided to go, they could discuss it with Lord Rhine at that time to see if there was a way for Shalem to both repair the Black Canon and leave the Noah family unscathed.
“So, what we’re looking for now is a building called the Hanging Prison Stairs?” Daus finally seized the opportunity to inquire.
Angel hesitated slightly and said softly: “If you consider the Hanging Prison Stairs as a building, I suppose… that’s acceptable.”
“What do you mean?” Daus asked in puzzlement: “Isn’t the Hanging Prison Stairs a building?”
Angel replied: “From the name alone, you should gather that the Hanging Prison Stairs is a staircase. If you regard a staircase as a building, I think that’s acceptable.”
Seeing that Daus still seemed perplexed, Angel quickly added: “Whether it’s a building isn’t a point we need to focus on; there’s no need to delve into it.”
“Then should we head straight back to the labyrinth now?” Daus asked, his face tinged with reluctance: “Aren’t we going to explore the residential area a bit?”
Angel said: “If you wish to stay here and explore, I won’t stop you.”
With that, Angel turned around and walked toward the towering walls of the labyrinth behind them.
Everyone naturally followed. Although Daus was keen to explore the residential area, upon reflection, he realized that this place was so vast that a thorough exploration would be endless. Moreover, since even the sword from the goddess statue’s hand had been taken, it was evident that this place had been looted countless times. The chance of finding treasure among the rubble was slim; perhaps it was best to let sleeping dogs lie.
After re-entering the labyrinth, the group discovered that the air inside was actually fresher than in the residential area outside. The air outside was suffused with a heavy stench of blood; had they not been within the Light and Shadow Illusion Realm, they might have already caught the eye of lurking monsters in the shadows.
However, it’s not that the air inside the labyrinth was particularly pleasant. At least not along this path, given that there were many mutated carrion squirrels nearby…
“Lord, does that residential area truly have no exploration value?” At this moment, a voice sounded beside him.
Without looking, Angel knew that the speaker was Kael.
If Daus had asked, Angel wouldn’t have bothered to reply, but since Kael was inquiring, Angel was willing to say a few words.
After all, Daus and Kael had entirely different motivations for wanting to explore the ruins; the former sought profit, while the latter was driven by pure curiosity.
Angel answered: “It does have exploration value, but our destination isn’t there, so there’s no need to waste time exploring. Moreover…”
“Moreover what?” Kael prompted.
“Moreover, the atmosphere there is too quiet. The air is laden with the stench of blood, yet there’s not a sound to be heard; it seems a bit off.” Angel shrugged after speaking: “Of course, perhaps I’m just overthinking it.”
“Is that so?” Upon hearing Angel’s words, Kael recalled the earlier situation. Indeed, the air was thick with the smell of blood, but not a single rustle reached his ears. Perhaps there really was something wrong.
Thinking of this, Kael turned to look at Daus, intending to ask if Daus’ inspiration had any insights.
However, just as he was about to speak, Kael remembered Angel’s earlier hint: in these ruins, it’s best not to mention Daus’ inspiration.
Kael chose not to question Daus, but Daus took the initiative to approach.
“You genuinely sensed something was wrong?” Daus asked, his expression rather peculiar.
Angel cast a glance and instantly realized that Daus’ inspiration hadn’t issued any warnings earlier; otherwise, Daus wouldn’t have been so reluctant to leave the residential area.
“I didn’t sense anything unusual. I merely mentioned it offhand, it’s more about deduction and… prudence,” Angel spoke sincerely.
Upon hearing this, Daus fell into deep thought, his mind a mystery. After a moment, for the first time, he took the initiative to move closer to the Black Count.
“Lord Black Count, did you notice anything wrong just now?”
Daus’ question made everyone prick up their ears, including Angel. Angel was also eager to know how the Black Count perceived his own deductions.
The Black Count replied calmly: “What concerns you is that your inspiration didn’t function?”
Daus remained silent, but his expression spoke volumes.
The Black Count continued: “There are three possible reasons why your inspiration didn’t activate. First, inspiration doesn’t operate incessantly; perhaps it simply didn’t manifest at that moment. Second, there was no danger there to begin with, so inspiration naturally had no need to alert you. Third, there is indeed something peculiar there, and its strangeness surpasses the detection limits of your inspiration, so it didn’t respond.”
“Three possibilities, take your pick. As for the real answer, don’t ask me. I’m just a nose; I know nothing.”
The Black Count didn’t reveal whether there was anything wrong with the residential area, leaving everyone somewhat disappointed.
Although Daus was also disappointed, after hearing the Black Count’s analysis, he began to ponder which scenario it might be.
While everyone was preoccupied with their own thoughts, Angel once again initiated a “private connection” with the Black Count.
“Lord, which of the three possibilities do you think it is?” Angel asked directly.
The Black Count’s languid voice resonated in Angel’s mind: “As I said, I don’t know. I didn’t deceive Daus, and there’s no need to deceive you.”
“Then do you think it must be one of these three situations? Could there be a fourth possibility?”
“Oh? What are your thoughts?” The Black Count’s voice remained placid, but Angel could sense a ripple in his emotions.
This suggested that his guess might be accurate. The Black Count hadn’t lied to Daus, but he hadn’t told the whole truth either.
“The fourth possibility is that the inspiration deliberately concealed the warning from Daus,” Angel proposed.
The Black Count responded: “Do you think inspiration is a sentient being? Deliberately hiding things?”
Angel replied: “I can’t say whether inspiration is sentient, but since it resides within Daus’ mind, it’s not impossible for it to obscure his thoughts.”
“Then why would it deliberately conceal? It’s one with Daus; if there’s danger in the residential area, hiding it would only put Daus in harm’s way.”
Angel explained: “Daus isn’t alone now. With you, Lord Black Count, present, the inspiration might judge that although Daus would face danger, he wouldn’t lose his life. So it might choose to withhold the warning.”
The Black Count conceded: “That reasoning I can accept, but you still haven’t directly answered me: why would his inspiration deliberately hide things from Daus?”
In truth, before asking, Angel didn’t know the answer himself.
But as he conversed with the Black Count, or perhaps, under the Black Count’s subtle guidance, an answer began to surface.
And this answer had been subtly hinted at by the Black Count before.
“Daus has begun to doubt himself,” Angel whispered softly.
After a lengthy silence on the mental connection, the Black Count’s voice finally came through. This time, there was a hint of amusement in his tone: “You’re quite insightful.”
“So, was I right?” Angel asked.
“I don’t know either,” the Black Count still gave the same reply, but after saying this, he added meaningfully: “Inspiration, much like prophecy, becomes harder to discern the more muddled it is. So sometimes, ignorance is bliss.”
Angel pondered for a moment, then broke into a smile: “I think I get it now. It’s a pity my inspiration is as unreliable as the weather; I can’t quite fathom what it’s like to have inspiration that reaches the level of prophecy.”
After a pause, Angel didn’t continue discussing Daus’ inspiration but instead asked: “Lord, when you were in the residential area, you must have caught a whiff of something, didn’t you?”
This time, the Black Count responded in his usual manner: “Yes, I smelled a foul stench lurking deeper underground. It doesn’t seem easy to deal with, but it’s not enough to hold us back. Probably a tad stronger than that Demon of yours.”
The Black Count spoke lightly, but if it’s stronger than Eremy, that means it possesses at least peak true knowledge-level strength.
If they truly encountered it, it could indeed cause them significant trouble. However, it would be next to impossible for it to kill them.
No wonder Daus’ inspiration didn’t warn him.
As they chatted, the group had already returned to the three-way fork in the road.
Now, there was no need to explore the right path; they only had to choose between two options: left or middle.
The left path teemed with mutated carrion squirrels, while the middle had none. From this sign, perhaps the left was the safer bet.
After all, mutated carrion squirrels are magical creatures, and it’s in their nature to avoid danger and seek opportunity. The absence of these creatures in the middle path might indicate the presence of something even they dare not provoke.
“Perhaps we should take the left path?” Kael whispered softly.
“You’re not the team leader; let the leader decide,” Vai immediately retorted: “Personally, I think it’s better to take a vote.”
Vai still wanted to help Angel, continuing to nudge Daus.
However, at this moment, Angel no longer needed Daus’ help in making choices.
Because Daus had entered a stage of Self-Doubt; he even dared to deliberately conceal his inspiration. Deliberately misleading them wasn’t out of the question.
Therefore, this time, or rather, until Daus completely tamed his inspiration, they could no longer rely on it.
“This time, no voting. We’ll take the middle path,” Angel declared calmly.
Vai was taken aback: “Lord, have you found a familiar route?”
“No,” Angel replied: “We’ll only be on familiar ground when we see the statue of the peeing boy.”
“Then why do you want to…” Vai’s voice trailed off.
In truth, deep down, Vai still hoped for a vote, preferably to choose the left path, because the middle path clearly felt ominous.
Angel noticed Vai’s conflicted expression and teased: “Didn’t you just say to let the leader decide? Now that I’ve decided to take the middle path, why do you look so hesitant?”
Vai’s face flushed with embarrassment; he scratched his head, at a loss for words. He had just contradicted Kael purely because he wanted a vote!
Being a junior member of the Noah family, Angel didn’t tease him further. After a light jest, he changed the subject: “Let’s go. There are only so many paths; it’s normal for a labyrinth to twist and turn. Who knows, we might end up circling back from the left side later.”
“Don’t jinx us…” Daus muttered under his breath.
“I’m just stating the facts,” Angel said: “Haven’t you ever played maze games? If not, you’ve missed out on a lot of childhood fun.”
As he spoke, Angel began walking toward the middle path.
The others had no grounds to object; at this point, they could only follow Angel’s lead.
Only Daus stood at the back, casting a glance to the left, appearing somewhat hesitant.
Because the ten-meter radius of the Light and Shadow Illusion Realm was a safe zone, Angel halted ten meters away, waiting for Daus to make his decision.
“What’s the matter? Do you have other thoughts? Feel free to share them,” Angel asked with a smile.
Seeing this, Vai was overjoyed. Could it be that Daus’ inspiration suggested going left? Could they switch to the left path now?
However, Vai’s excitement didn’t last long. Daus stood silently at the three-way fork for over ten seconds. Finally, he closed his eyes, said not a word, and directly walked toward the middle path.
At this moment, neither Vai nor Kael knew what Daus had just experienced.
But Angel and the Black Count understood well that Daus had likely reached the final stage of self-doubt. Apparently, an inspiration had just emerged, prompting him to go left. Yet, after hesitating for a moment, Daus said nothing and directly followed Angel toward the middle path.
This was not a decision made lightly.
Relying on his inspiration, Daus had evaded countless dangers; one could say that inspiration was his lifeline. But now, Daus had to defy his inspiration’s judgment and make a completely opposite choice. This was a difficulty unimaginable to ordinary people.
“Let’s go,” Daus said calmly as he came beside Angel.
They had expected Daus to say a few words, but he remained silent, which surprised Angel. He thought Daus would chatter a bit; unexpectedly, when making a significant decision, Daus still had a serious side.
Since Daus was unwilling to say more, Angel didn’t press him. Amid Vai’s disappointed expression and Daus’ complex thoughts, they proceeded forward in silence.
Although there were no longer any mutated carrion squirrels around, Angel did not cancel the Light and Shadow Illusion Realm. After all, it didn’t consume much magic power and provided an extra layer of security.
The middle path grew wider as they walked. Now, not to mention accommodating ten people walking side by side, even twenty could walk abreast without any problem. Moreover, the path began to slope downward, and visibly, the walls on both sides grew increasingly taller.
Compared to this enormous labyrinth and the towering walls, they seemed incredibly insignificant.
This involuntarily evoked a sense of awe within them.
The small standing in awe of the immense.
Of course, this was merely the feeling of the two apprentices. Formal wizards like Angel were entirely unaffected by such spatial disparities.
Furthermore, as the surroundings became ever wider and the walls ever taller, Angel grew increasingly certain that the path he chose was likely correct.
His initial reason for choosing the middle path was simply that they were not far from the Hanging Prison Stairs, an official institution of Nightfall City, guarded by a legendary realm powerhouse. How could such an official institution allow petty monsters to infiltrate?
Therefore, Angel chose the middle path without mutated carrion squirrels.
As this path became increasingly expansive and the walls grew taller, the heavy weight in Angel’s heart hadn’t entirely lifted, but it was close.
Why spare no expense to construct this path in such a grand manner? Wasn’t it to inspire awe?
Undeniably, such a stark spatial contrast indeed makes people feel insignificant and humble.
In places like residential areas or other buildings, there’s no need to deliberately create such a sense of awe. Only official institutions of Nightfall City might do this.
This not only commands respect but also symbolizes authority.