Chapter 345: What a foolish thing you're doing. Nothing happened tonight.
On the second floor of the Black Castle.
Tang Zheng stood before an empty wooden window, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
"Cuiye, send someone to the Holy Kingdom with a message. Ask if the 'Regeneration Potion' I gave them before has been lost."
"Yes, Master." The Green Leaf Witch's heart trembled as she responded respectfully.
*Is Master planning something again?*
It seemed the Holy Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy had, without realizing it, fallen into Master's trap once more.
The Green Leaf Witch cast a reverent glance at Tang Zheng's back before carefully excusing herself.
"Those Cardinals from the Slane Theocracy... I didn't expect them to be so impatient. The true effect of the 'Integration Potion' must have been quite satisfactory for them."
Tang Zheng was equally curious about the information the Theocracy possessed regarding the "Integration Potion."
"It seems my trip to the Theocracy might have to be moved up."
Tang Zheng sighed softly.
He wasn't sure if bringing out the "Integration Potion" early was the right or wrong move. After all, there were too many things within the Slane Theocracy that gave him pause.
Clementine?
Thinking of Clementine, who had reappeared with the Theocracy's group, Tang Zheng couldn't help but find it a bit amusing.
"I thought she had already defected, but to think she's still with the Theocracy."
"Perhaps this could be to my advantage."
A faint smile touched Tang Zheng's lips. His earlier cold attitude toward the people from the Slane Theocracy had been partly intentional.
"I wonder if they'll take the bait?"
"If they really do, it means the Theocracy's attitude is worth reconsidering. To be safe, I'll need to drag the Holy Kingdom into this as well."
Tang Zheng's eyes grew dark and profound.
Due to the complete failure of their invitation, the Slane Theocracy's squad had no choice but to stay the night.
***
Late at night.
The bright crescent moon was veiled by a thin layer of dark clouds.
Clementine walked elegantly across the hall on the first floor, heading toward the staircase.
The entire castle was built with a dark color scheme and wasn't equipped with any Perpetual Lamps, making it utterly pitch-black in the dead of night.
This wasn't an issue for most demi-humans who possessed the night vision ability, but as a human...
Even after deliberately trying to adjust to the darkness...
Clementine could still only make out the general silhouettes of objects in the dark. "If I follow my memory, there won't be a problem."
Her long, slender legs moved nimbly across the floor, as silent as a cat.
"Invitations and all that are just too much trouble."
"It's easier to just kidnap him. The Cardinal only needs me to bring the person back, anyway."
Clementine's lips curled into a dangerous smile as she stepped onto the stairs, one hand steadying the four enchanted stilettos hanging at her waist to prevent them from making any noise.
She actually had an enchanted meteor hammer as well, but it wasn't suitable for this kind of occasion.
"Should I make this quick?"
"I really want to have a good 'romance' with my little brother." The upward curve of Clementine's mouth widened, and her shoulders twitched uncontrollably a few times.
"The little brother's strength isn't bad, but letting him summon his two angels would cause too much of a commotion."
A trace of regret rose in Clementine's heart.
She nimbly climbed the steps and quickly reached the second floor, lit by the faint moonlight from the window.
Clementine's gaze swept rapidly over the environment of the second-floor hall.
Empty!
There wasn't even a decent piece of furniture.
"Four rooms, but it doesn't look like anyone lives here."
Clementine tilted her head and pulled a crystal-like triangular bell from her pocket. She silently approached the first room.
This was a magic item called a "Trap Disarming Bell," capable of nullifying warning and trap-type magic, preventing accidental detection.
In a few moments, she had checked all four rooms and found no sign of him. There weren't even the normal traces of habitation.
"Oh, I was careful for nothing. He didn't use any warning magic at all."
Clementine glanced at the unresponsive magic item in her hand, her gaze shifting upward to the next staircase.
The entire castle was four stories high. Since she hadn't seen Tang Zheng leave the castle, he had to be on a higher floor.
Clementine leaped, her body landing lightly on the stairs as she approached the third floor.
Still no one.
"Then he must be on the fourth floor!" An evil and impatient aura emanated from Clementine. Searching two floors for nothing was getting on her nerves.
She decided she would be a little rougher when she made her move!
"I really want to 'romance' my little brother, 'romance' him so much!"
Clementine's eyes grew more dangerous as she slowly ascended to the next floor.
The hall had the same style, but unlike the second floor, which lacked signs of life, she could smell a faint scent of herbs in the air.
Clementine grinned, moving like a black shadow as she silently approached the nearest room.
A room filled with various ores.
A room storing supplies.
A room piled with herbs and some magic materials.
Empty!
Clementine stared at the last empty room. Even in the darkness, her face was so grim it looked as if water could drip from it.
"No one's here. When did he leave the castle?" Clementine stood in the doorway, her gaze cold and puzzled.
Suddenly.
The thin mist obscuring the bright crescent moon dispersed. Moonlight shone through the window, and a shadow rapidly elongated, appearing on the floor of the empty hall.
"Are you looking for me, Miss Clementine?"
A calm voice sounded.
Clementine's shoulders tensed. She then slowly turned around, her purple pupils falling upon the figure seated on the windowsill.
Because he was backlit by the moonlight, she couldn't make out Tang Zheng's expression.
"Hi, little brother."
Clementine put on an adorable expression, greeting him with a wide smile, her short golden hair swaying slightly.
"I thought you'd disappeared. You had big sister worried."
"Isn't it rather rude for Miss Clementine to come to my room alone so late? It seems Miss Clementine isn't married yet, am I right?"
Tang Zheng said with a faint, light chuckle.
"Finding a suitable person to marry is very difficult, you know, especially for outstanding people like you and me, little brother."
As Clementine mentioned the word "marry," she raised a hand to tousle her golden hair, feigning a headache.
Immediately after.
Clementine's chin lifted slightly, her purple pupils looking toward the windowsill, glowing faintly in the reflected moonlight.
"How did you do that, little brother? I'm sure I checked just now, and there was no one in the hall."
She was certain that the windowsill had been empty before, that the entire hall had been empty. Tang Zheng had appeared out of nowhere.
*Some kind of magic?*
*Or did he notice something was off from the start and cast an 'Invisibility' spell ahead of time?*
Second-tier Invisibility was an arcane spell. He was an alchemist, a profession which also fell under the arcane caster type, so it seemed normal for him to have mastered a spell of this tier.
Tang Zheng said, "I, on the other hand, am quite curious how Miss Clementine managed to not die at the hands of the Alliance Leader..."
"Gale Acceleration!"
"Gale Stride!"
In an instant!
Every muscle in Clementine's body tensed. She transformed from her previous cat-like demeanor into a bloodthirsty, dangerous beast. The preceding conversation had been nothing more than a ploy to find an opening.
She knew Tang Zheng could summon two fourth-tier angels, making him an extremely troublesome summoner-type specialist!
If she gave Tang Zheng the chance to summon, not only would she be unable to take him down quickly, but it would also create a huge commotion. Her goal of taking Tang Zheng away tonight would be impossible.
*Swoosh!*
Because the hall was quite empty and had no obstacles, the straight-line attack route was extremely advantageous for Clementine.
Her fluffy golden hair fanned out in the night as she vanished from her spot like a yellow bolt of lightning in the pitch-black environment.
In her accelerated world.
All of Tang Zheng's movements and his speaking speed became incredibly slow in Clementine's eyes. He wasn't making any motion to chant a spell.
Tang Zheng's clean-cut face was clearly visible to Clementine.
*You're too careless, little brother!*
Clementine had already thrust her stiletto forward. Her eyes crinkled, her pupils filled with the confidence of victory. Even if he tried to summon an angel now, it would be too late.
As a top-tier warrior, when it came to piercing techniques, no one was her match, not even in the Black Scripture.
A magic caster could never block it!
The stiletto aimed for Tang Zheng's heart but veered slightly to the right. This would be enough to heavily wound Tang Zheng in a single blow, knocking him unconscious and stripping him of any ability to resist, but without killing him outright.
In a normal person's field of vision.
Clementine appeared out of thin air in front of Tang Zheng and called out, "This'll~ hurt~ a little."
*Swoosh!*
The stiletto stabbed forward without hesitation.
And then—
The stiletto stopped right in front of Tang Zheng. It wasn't that Clementine had abandoned her attack, but that two fingers had suddenly clamped down on it.
An attack as fast as lightning!
A top-tier piercing technique!
All of these methods, at this moment, seemed as laughable as a child's antics.
No matter how much force she used, the stiletto wouldn't advance another inch!
Clementine's dangerous smile froze on her face. As if struck by lightning, a chill that enveloped her entire body shot up her spine.
Looking at Tang Zheng, who was still smiling faintly at her, the moonlight from the night sky outside the window suddenly seemed incomparably piercing to Clementine.
It was her brain's reaction to being unable to process the information before her—a painful overstimulation, like being pricked by a needle.
"What a foolish thing you are doing." Tang Zheng said softly.
Clementine's brain stopped thinking at that moment. Horrifying terror made her subconsciously activate the magic on her enchanted stiletto.
Even if activating the magical attack would create a huge commotion, she couldn't care about that now—Monster!
He was a complete monster!
*Crack!*
Clementine's forearm, which held the stiletto, was snapped as easily as a dry twig. The enchanted stiletto fell from her loosening grasp and clattered to the floor.
"Ah... ugh—"
A wave of intense pain washed over her. Clementine opened her mouth to scream, but in the next instant, the sound was cut short.
Tang Zheng's hand shot out, a blur of motion that grabbed Clementine's smooth neck. A slight squeeze was all it took to stifle her scream.
He casually lifted Clementine from the ground.
"Shh, Miss Clementine."
Tang Zheng raised a finger and gently pressed it against Clementine's somewhat pink lips.
"Be quiet. Shouting so late at night will disturb others."
A feeling of suffocation washed over her.
Clementine's face flushed red. Her whole body trembled with fear. She opened her rosy mouth, unable to speak or breathe. She raised her hands and feet, frantically striking Tang Zheng's body and face.
As a powerhouse in the Heroic Realm, even as a piercing-type warrior, her unarmed fists were not something an ordinary warrior could withstand.
Yet, these frantic attacks landing on Tang Zheng's body felt like the powerless punches of a child hitting tough cowhide.
"Really now, can't you just behave?"
Tang Zheng said with a blank expression as a fist flew toward his face.
His physical defense was 520 (40%) points. For a standard warrior build, this was roughly equivalent to the defense of a level 40 warrior.
The Heroic Realm was levels 29-35. The Clementine before him was around level 32 or 33. Her strength was nowhere near enough to break his defense.
If she were holding a weapon, that would be a different story!
The future Brain, at the cost of his own life, had unleashed a blow that far exceeded his normal limits, reaching the attack level of an Aberrant, around Level 40.
That blow probably could have broken his current defense and dealt damage.
Of course, a real battle couldn't be decided by stats alone, but when the gap between two individuals was large enough, the one with the higher stats held an absolutely crushing advantage.
*Thud! Thud! Thud!*
The dull sounds of impact echoed continuously beside his ear.
In this environment.
Tang Zheng's thoughts drifted without reason to Brain. When he snapped back to reality, he realized this mindset was highly inappropriate.
*Is this what they call 'the leisure of the strong'?*
Clementine's purple pupils began to turn white. Under the effects of suffocation, her flailing fists gradually lost their power.
Her legs and arms slowly went limp, dangling and swaying slightly in mid-air!
*Thud!*
Tang Zheng casually tossed Clementine onto the ground.
"Hah— Hah—"
Clementine's body was limp. She lay prone on the floor, gasping for air, her expression deathly pale. Suddenly, she opened her mouth: "Blegh~"
The excessive fear and tension made her vomit uncontrollably.
"Now you really do look like a cute little cat."
Tang Zheng looked at Clementine, who was collapsed before him, her shoulders trembling. "To have survived at the hands of the Alliance Leader."
"It's a little suspicious. You wouldn't happen to be a member of Zuranon, would you?"
"You... you're not human?"
Clementine flipped over, propping herself up with one hand, the panic and fear in her eyes yet to disappear.
"Don't speak nonsense. I'm a genuine human, just a little bit stronger than you," Tang Zheng immediately corrected her sternly.
"No denial. It seems you really are one of Zuranon's people. So why did you join Zuranon?"
Faced with this question.
And with this man before her, so powerful he was impossible to resist.
Clementine thought of the Captain of the Black Scripture, and the one in the Extra Seat, who was beyond human imagination, like the Abyss itself.
"Heh, hehehe!"
The fear in Clementine's eyes gradually faded, replaced by madness and resentment. She glared at Tang Zheng and spoke without reservation.
A moment later.
After hearing Clementine's explanation.
Tang Zheng gave her a strange look. "You truly are insane. You're a member of the Theocracy, yet you want to destroy the Theocracy?"
"So what!"
Clementine held her head high, her tone frenzied. "I was planning to defect anyway. The only difference now is that you've found me out!
"Are you going to hand me over to the Theocracy? Or are you going to kill me now because of my connection to Zuranon?"
"I never would have thought—that the strongest person hidden behind the scenes of the Hills incident was you!"
"Ha, it seems you've misunderstood."
Tang Zheng leaned forward, smiling as he looked at Clementine.
"Why would I kill you? Defect? What's the point of defecting, Miss Clementine?"
"You..." Clementine was stunned.
"Nothing happened tonight, Miss Clementine," Tang Zheng said softly.
(end of chapter)