Silent Crown

by Feng Yue

  Blurry figures rose in the flames. Lava oozed from their bodies. As the flames rolled, the fire demons slowly gathered from all directions.

  “We’ve been discovered!” Claude shouted. “Don’t hold back and attack! Break through or you’ll die!”

  As the firelight wavered, Blue Teeth’s expression changed, pain flashing past his eyes. Facing the incoming flames, he opened his mouth wide. Behind his sharp teeth, his two tongues began chanting crazily.

  The most strident and eccentric melody came from his mouth. The strange tune directed the aether, suddenly creating a suction force. The rolling flames were pulled by that horrible suction, flooding into his mouth. The dark mouth devoured the flames wildly as if it was bottomless.

  Even standing beside him, the heat practically ignited the old man’s hair. The heavy rain cloak was burned to ashes instantly.

  In the formless flames, the giant demons made of molten lava and iron burst out in shrill roars and darted toward Blue Teeth. They were demons born from the flames. The aether had endowed them with this strange life. The minstrels of Canaan named them “ifrits.” Only heroes and demons could control and overcome their power!

  Amidst the thundering, the old man stepped forward. The scriptures on his face shone brightly. His heavy rain coat was ripped from the inside.

  A sabre that shone like black obsidian was raised. As he waved his arms, the blade, which had no sharp edge, sliced the air, sweeping toward the front.

  The ifrits in front were instantly chopped in half. The formless spirit was about to group together again, but a terrible quake ripped them apart completely.

  After a scream, the ifrits were defeated. They melted into a hot metal liquid and dripped onto the ground, sizzling.

  “The Sighing Sword that can cut through aether?” Claude muttered. “As expected of the Chainsaw Fraternity.”

  144 The Death of the Professor

  If the white-faced woman with the double swords had come as a quiet assassin, then the old man with scriptures tattooed on his face was there to demonstrate hard and true attacks!

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Surrounded by dozens of fiery ifrits, the Sighing Sword slashed, creating a chilling wind.

  The old man seemed to be over seventy-years-old, but the wild power within him was demonic. The steel mechanics implanted in him provided limitless strength. As the aether fire burned, the old man’s body expanded. His muscles swelled and his skin burned red as if his blood was boiling from the strength.

  With a single strike, the Sighing Sword cut down two ifrits. The Chainsaw monk stepped into the flames, wielding his black sword. Where the wind from the sword blew, the ifrits began trembling and dimming.

  The robin had prepared well in order to kill the Professor. The Sighing Sword was the natural predator of these formless spirits! It was a secret weapon of the Chainsaw Fraternity and tied with the Chainsaw of Punishment in terms of power.

  The air around the sword wavered. If one looked carefully, one would see that the crude sword was constantly vibrating. The thousands of vibrations per second could tear apart the aether’s structure and turn these immortal spirits to dust! Within seconds, the dozens of ifrits were extinguished.

  The flames were swallowed by Blue Teeth. His upper body was burnt to a crisp, but the vitality that he had stolen from his experiments helped him recover quickly. Under his charred clothing, hot air poured out from his pores, as if the were a giant stove.

  “Stop fighting!” Blue Teeth roared. “Claude, where’s the Professor?”

  “Behind the middle hall. He’s hiding in the prayer room forty meters away from you!” Before he could finish, the Chainsaw monk raised his sword and rushed toward the end of the large hall. As he ran, the hall shook with a thunderous roar, as if a giant steel puppet was stomping on the ground. Under the Sighing Sword, a row of saints’ statues shattered. He raised his fist and slammed it down. Boom!

  A gaping hole appeared in the steel wall. Under the Chainsaw monk’s fist, the wall cracked as if it was made of paper. Something behind the wall rushed forward but was destroyed by the Sighing Sword.

  The white-faced woman and Blue Teeth followed without waiting for a command. Since the sneak attack had failed, they decided to charge openly. They definitely had the upper hand!

  The closer they got, the brighter the light in the Eyes of Aether. They could clearly feel the immensity of aether and the gentle singing in the air. The voice seemed to come from heaven, as if countless angels bathed in the sacred hymn.

  “The rebirth ceremony?!” Hearing the melody, Claude’s expression changed. “The Professor is undergoing the rebirth ceremony. Without a doubt, he’s gravely wounded!”

  The rebirth ceremony was an extremely high level healing ceremony from the School of Choir. As long as the head was still attached, even the most maimed body could be regenerated. Of course, there was a price to pay. The materials alone were enough to bankrupt a man. It seemed that the robin’s first attack had really hurt the Professor!

  As the last wall shattered, the sacred and pure light flowed from the prayer room like water. Merely being within the light was enough for their small cuts and wounds to start recovering.

  In the prayer room, countless runes were carved into the ground, set with numerous alchemy materials. Together, they created the angelic chant.

  Pure white light fell from the sky, shining on the Professor. He knelt in the center of the room, purging his rotting blood and dead organs. He was in the most important step of the ceremony, but sensing their presence, the Professor looked up, fury appearing on his face. As he moved, a formless barrier appeared out of thin air, blocking the room from the outside world!

  Under the holy light, his body continued to recover. The weak ripples of aether transformed into crashing waves, entering the field of the Resonance level. And there were still signs of further transformation! What level was this guy…before he had been hurt?! Resonance? Disturbance…or was it Distortion, the level second only to Scepter?!

  “He can’t fight back right now. Hurry!” Claude’s face was pale as a sheet. “Stop the ceremony first! If he recovers fully, we’ll…” Before he could finish, the Snake Scales double swords slashed through the air, piercing the flowing mercury and cracking the runes. Ding!

  Burning power radiated from the ceremonial cracks, scalding half of the woman’s face, but she did not retreat. Her muscles writhed like snakes, and her swords crossed, cutting through the bright light. The entire ceremony paused as the white light flickered unsteadily.

  Boom! A burly figure crashed onto the barrier. He spun the Sighing Sword and smashed the enchantment with the hilt. The inlaid diamond at the end of the hilt was pulverized, but the terrifying vibrations sealed by it traveled into the barrier.

  Boom! With a second crash, the barrier shattered.

  “No!” At the center, the Professor’s head flew up, his eyes bloodshot. He moved his hands toward the front and a broken melody sounded. It stirred the frenzied aether. Hot flames appeared out of thin air, going from red to blue and blue to white. The extreme heat from the heart of the furnace gathered in his hands and swept toward the front.

  The Chainsaw monk roared. Hoisting his sword up, he then brought it down! The obsidian sword trembled and shone with blinding light. The light cut through the flames, splitting the wave of fire into two.

  Behind him, a figure sprang up and lept toward the Professor! In midair, six holes appeared in each of Blue Teeth’s arms. The twelve holes were like the openings of a flute. Furious winds swept into the holes and resonated inside the empty bones, whistling. He had turned his arms into alchemy equipment with Satan’s technology and various experiments. This was Blue Teeth’s instrument—Skeletal Flute!

  Like the cry of a beast, the frantic melody sang in the air, performing the symphony of predestination by the musician, Saint-Saens, from centuries ago—Danse Macabre.

  As the melody played, his body changed. Sharp bones protruded from his s
pine and scales replaced his skin. His features twisted as his entire body deformed. As if a young dragon had been forced inside his body, he cracked open from the expanding power. This was the fallen chant polluted by Satan—Dragonbone!

  As he landed, the bones of his fingers expanded, and sharp blades pierced through his skin!

  The Professor stumbled back, but the white-faced woman suddenly appeared behind him. She was still naked and as ugly as an evil spirit, but her swords pierced through the Professor’s shield, blocking his escape.

  In the next moment, the blades of Dragonbone fell from the sky. In the beastly dance, the Professor’s limbs snapped in half. Wounds crisscrossed down his chest, and his organs were completely cut open!

  Fresh blood spurted on Blue Teeth’s face, intoxicating him with the metallic scent.

  The burnt Chainsaw monk strode forward and slashed down with his Sighing Sword. The blade split the Professor cleanly in half from his head down. Blood flew everywhere.

  The Professor’s death seemed especially wretched under the moon.

  —

  For a moment, no one spoke.

  “Is this real?” Blue Teeth asked quietly.

  “Yes.” Claude nodded slowly after analyzing the breath in the air. He stared at the puddle of blood flowing under the moonlight, leaving behind a ghastly red.

  The proud Professor had just died in…Wait, moonlight?

  Claude froze. It was a night of pouring rain and dark clouds. How could there be moonlight?

  Using the thread connecting their souls, Claude saw the site. Mysterious moonlight shone on the corpse and the fresh blood…It felt as if he was struck by lightning.

  “Illusion! Be careful! It’s an illusion!” Claude howled. “We were tricked!” He opened his Starry Eyes wide, vigorously searching for any sign or flaw, but he could not find anything. They had fallen into the illusion long ago.

  He quickly looked at the broken resonance ring on the ground and his vision blurred. The markings of the Rebirth Ceremony changed suddenly. The ground, walls, and ceiling of the prayer room were covered in music scores, and had turned the entire place into a hallucination.

  When they had been attracted by the rebirth ceremony, no one suspected what the sacred white light represented. It was not the healing light at all, but the medium to lull them into the illusion!

  Boom! His vision went black as the starry sky suddenly cracked apart.

  Claude’s face turned ghastly pale and blood seeped from his nose and mouth. His organs spasmed in immense pain as if he had experienced horrific trauma. His Starry Eyes shattered!

  145 Hidden Arrow

  “My Starry Eyes! My heartbeat” Claude wailed, staggering back. His drowsy eyes held extreme fear. Without even physically fighting, his sound of heart had been destroyed by the Professor with an illusion!

  Having lost the sound of heart and being gravely wounded, he suddenly fell from the Resonance level, and returned to the category of a third-order musician. If he did not quickly find a Choir musician who could heal him immediately, not only would he never be able to return to the Resonance level, but he his organs would be at risk of necrosis! He suddenly turned pale and spit up a mouthful of blood. His body had suffered a heavy blow.

  In the sky far away, Ye Qingxuan sensed his situation and gloated. “Cousin, get ready! Let’s give him a surprise arrow.” His posture was too perfect not to shoot at.

  -

  At the scene, the entire picture changed suddenly. The dead professor had disappeared and was replaced by the Chainsaw monk who had been cut apart by Blue Teeth. The Chainsaw monk’s skull had been torn by Blue Teeth’s dragon blade, while his Sighing Sword was buried inside the white-faced woman’s chest.

  The double swords in the woman’s hand had disappeared. Blue Teeth sluggishly lowered his head and saw two blades protruding from his chest. Behind him, a shadow with a pair of swords gave a strange smile.

  “Thanks for the warm greetings from the parliament and your uninvited guests.” The Professor slowly pulled out the double swords and began to weave them skillfully in his hand before assuming the standard pose for royal swordsmanship.

  Under the reflection of moonlight, his lips curled into a mocking smile. “—I have been waiting for a long time!”

  Blue Teeth’s face suddenly became ferocious. The swords in his body wriggled and clenched tightly! For dark musicians, mere destruction of the physical body was nothing. The Rain Artist from before was able to make a comeback even when his instrument had backfired and his entire body exploded!

  Without saying a word, the bone flute on Blue Teeth’s arm began whistling again. His body transformed into something demonic, and the dragon blade lit up with the light of runes.

  He appeared at the Professor’s back like lightning and chopped his head off with the dragon blade, but the professor’s figure shook and disappeared. His complexion changed as he looked up reflexively.

  Poof! Snake Scales pierced through his jaw and out under his cheekbone, leaving a bloody hole. He swept away the Professor instinctively and retreated, shouting, “Claude! Help me get out of the illusion!”

  There was no response on the other end of the soul connection.

  “Claude!” His complexion changed. “Claude, where are you?!”

  Claude did not reply. No one knew when the soul connection had broken. Then he heard a scream.

  -

  Half a second ago, Claude was stunned. For some reason, a strong sense of uneasiness flashed through his heart. He subconsciously raised his hand, wanting to find the source.

  But then a suppressed roar sounded over the rain. The walls began shaking, and a cold arrow pierced through the rain, darting toward his chest like a viper.

  Boom! There was a crisp snap. A faint shield appeared on his arm, deflecting the arrow, but the huge impact almost made him lose feeling in his arm. A cold sweat seeped from his back as the feeling of ferocious hostility made him numb.

  “Who is it?” In the dark, Claude clutched his right arm in horror and curled up in the corner. “Who’s out there?!”

  No one responded. The walls shook again. Feeling another crisis looming, he gave up on keeping his dignity and rolled in the dust. An arrow scraped his calf and shot into the wall, leaving behind a hole the size of a pinky finger. It was terrifying!

  On a roof outside the empty house, Ye Qingxuan closed his eyes in the rain, receiving information from the perception thread. With the rain, water vapor was everywhere, making it perfect for Bolero!

  Beside him, Bai Xi was kneeling on the ground. The heavy crossbow on her shoulder, which had been modified greatly, was aimed at the empty house. Rain fell on it. The splashes were chilling.

  “A bit to the left, slightly lower,” Ye Qingxuan ordered, “and shoot!”

  Bai Xi’s body shook, rain flying off. The arrow silently shot out and drilled out a hole in the sheet of rain. The silver crossbow arrow was like lightning. It flew across the long distance in the blink of an eye and entered the wall silently.

  Only Ye Qingxuan felt the enemy’s pathetic state. “These crossbows are too powerful nowadays! The precision is crazy!”

  “Who knows, maybe mine just happens to be a good one!” Bai Xi huffed and elbowed him a bit. “Stop wasting time. I just got into the swing of things. Where did he go now?”

  “Two centimeters to the left, keep the height, he’s in the corner…”

  -

  In the dilapidated empty house, Claude’s premonition flashed constantly. He rolled from the corner without thinking. An arrow brushed past his ear immediately after and buried into the wall, twanging. The sharp, icy sound stung his eardrums as goosebumps rose all over his skin.

  His sound of heart had been destroyed and he was greatly wounded, but he still had the strong intuition of Revelations musicians. He was keenly aware of the danger and crisis.

  It was said that the “voyeurs” of the School of Revelations could even sense when others said their names an
d the context after reaching the scepter level. Their fighting ability might not have been the best, but perception and insight were the key skills of the School of Revelation. But he could not remain trapped here!

  Claude’s features twisted. He could not believe that as a Revelations musician, he was trapped in a corner and could not even find the enemy! If he remained here, he was waiting for death.

  Were these d*mn killers arranged by the Professor? Hiding beyond his range of perception, they wanted to make him die in humiliation, like a mouse in a ditch..

  “In your dreams!”

  His eyes were bloodshot. He took a deep breath, but a sharp pain stabbed his organs. In his eyes, the broken stars gathered again. Like a candle in the wind, he temporarily restored the power of the Starry Eyes, but at the cost of serious injury!

  In the soon-to-be extinguished starlight, he looked around and it suddenly dawned on him. “Is it because of this?!” A dim thread of water vapor was illuminated by the starlight. It crisscrossed in the empty house, forming a dense network.

  He was caught in this spider web like an insect, unable to escape. His pupil followed the thread out. His eyes penetrated the wall, looked past the rain, and focused on two figures.

  After seeing the aetheric fluctuations in them, his terrified eyes settled into disdain. “I may be injured, but you think two Rhythm musicians can kill me? Professor, you are dreaming!” His face overcast, he grasped the Silver Virgo—even if he was injured, he could still manipulate the aether!

  This was the real difference between musicians of the Musician and Rhythm level—as long as there was a good instrument at hand, there was a concrete gap in their combat effectiveness!

  At the Musician level, it was unnecessary to prepare or even perform live before using a music score. All they needed to do was seal the entire score inside the instrument beforehand and it could be called upon at any time. With the snap of a finger, a torrent could be triggered!

  “If I had the brocade of heaven…” He chanted the spell and the Silver Virgo wailed. The sealed movement was awakened. Wind whistled through the flute, bringing a distant and cold sound. The sound gradually grew, like wind howling in the winter!