Chapter 3033: Chapter 3034: Hedonistic Offender
Stopâs response, accompanied by that wild laughter, appeared incredibly arrogant.
Even Elder Shu, who usually considered himself to have a good temperament, couldnât help but feel a surge of nameless anger when he looked at Stopâs crazed demeanor.
"Why are you doing this?" Elder Shu restrained his anger and looked straight at Stop.
Stop licked the corner of his lips, squinted, and said, "Why donât you take a guess?"
Elder Shu knew that Stopâs rhetorical question was intentional, but he didnât lose his composure because of it. Instead, he followed along and replied, "You have a grudge against the Birlos Family."
Elder Shu spoke with certainty, but after Stop listened, a strong sense of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
"Indeed, the Birlos Family members are all just commoners."
Elder Shu frowned and said, "Are you trying to quibble and evade guilt?"
Stop looked at Elder Shu with an amused gaze, "Quibble? Youâve assumed that I must have a grudge with the Birlos Family, and because I wonât admit it, you say Iâm quibbling? Donât you think itâs ridiculous? Why would I quibble? Why would I evade guilt? Is the Birlos Family the law, or do you think youâve mastered the criteria for assigning blame?"
Stop raised an eyebrow, "Have you been in the Bilun Tree Court so long that you canât see how big the world outside the court is? I advise you to open your eyes and see the real world, adjust your position, and stop thinking youâre still the high and mighty Great Elder."
"Perhaps in the past, you could dominate within the Bilun Tree Court, but after today, are you sure you can still stand above?"
Stop offered no explanation for himself, but his words continually provoked Elder Shu and Gailuo. Anger showed on their faces.
Xingye, who was sitting aside panting, although dissatisfied with Stopâs sarcastic remarks, somewhat agreed with what he said.
Elder Shuâs words carried a sense of superiority, as if his rules were the only rules.
If it were before, Xingye might have thought the same, after all, no one dared to oppose the Birlos Family in the Bilun Tree Court. Being accustomed to holding power, they could no longer see their surroundings.
If not for the chaos in the Gumman Kingdom, and the great loss Xingye suffered during an excursion, he would not have seen the reality outside. It made him realize that all that flattery was just a beautiful dream. Understanding this, Xingyeâs focus was no longer just on the Bilun Tree Court; he wanted to see a broader world, to pursue self-realization, to seek the original truth.
With a change in mindset, Xingye could look at things more objectively.
So, even though Stop was his enemy, in this regard, his words were not entirely wrong. The Birlos Family had become too settled in one place, their vision increasingly restricted.
Although Xingye thought this, he did not speak up, merely lowering his eyes and silently restoring his injuries.
Elder Shu, after listening, didnât gain any insight; instead, he felt that Stop was still quibbling.
He sneered, "You mean, you didnât attack the Birlos Family out of hatred. Then what is your motive for the attack?"
Stop, however, saw through Elder Shuâs thoughts and mocked, "Youâve already decided what my thoughts are, so why bother asking?"
Elder Shu was stunned for a second, but quickly showed a âso thatâs how it isâ expression.
Seeing this, Stop shook his head, but thinking it over, being defined by hatred was fine too. Without a reason for his failure, Elder Shuâs worldview might collapse... Iâm really such a nice guy.
Stopâs shoulders shook, as if heâd experienced some kind of inner transcendence.
At this moment, the Black Earl suddenly spoke, "So, this time your attack has nothing to do with hatred as a driving force?"
No one expected the Black Earl to speak at this time.
Elder Shu and the others all looked over, somewhat confused about the Black Earlâs intentions.
Stop thought for a moment, then replied, "Itâs only foolish people who think hatred is the greatest driving force. Although there are foolish people in my organization, unfortunately, Iâm not one of them."
Black Earl: "So the attack on Bilun Tree Court had no reason and no purpose?"
Stop looked at the Black Earl and suddenly laughed out loud, "Of course thereâs a reason and a purpose. But more than any so-called reason or purpose, what I care about more is my own happiness."
Stopâs words caused Elder Shu on the side to let out a series of cold laughs. Clearly, he had a reason and a purpose, yet before he acted as if he didnât care about anything.
The Black Earl wasnât too surprised at Stopâs words, though.
He had seen too many people of different personalities. Wizards who caused major destruction solely for amusement were not few.
Such people always claimed to be above petty interests, but in reality, it was to fulfill their own playful urges.
At least Stop had some purpose and reason, although from his tone and manner, the Black Earl could basically confirm that this person was also a fun person, or perhaps, a thrill-seeker.
Elder Shu: "You just said it wasnât driven by hatred, but now youâre saying you had a reason and a purpose for attacking the Bilun Tree Court. So, what exactly were your reason and purpose?"
Stop glanced at Elder Shu, "Iâve fulfilled my reward for answering questions. What youâre asking is beyond my answering scope, but I can give a little hint about my purpose here."
Stop paused, then broke into a broad smile, "My purpose for coming here is to bring a great gift for Lord Black Earl."
As the words fell, before the others could react, Stop suddenly burst into loud laughter.
In the darkness, his laughter seemed sharp and eerie.
"The gift has been delivered, and itâs time to leave now. Good night, everyone."
Accompanied by loud laughter, Stopâs figure suddenly began to darken, as if blending into the background of the night.
Seeing this, how could Elder Shu not realize that Stop was making an escape? He didnât have time to ponder Stopâs last words, but instead rose immediately, "Gailuo, Shayina, act together; we must keep him here!"
As Elder Shuâs words fell, he had already shot toward Stop like an arrow leaving the bow.
Gailuo and Shayina also made their moves.
However, Stop showed no fear at all, his body melded into the darkness showing no sign of separation.
Elder Shu initially didnât understand why Stop was so confident until their energies were repelled by an invisible barrier. Then, they suddenly realized that Stopâs strength was no less than the magical creature he had summoned!
Before, Stop had already repelled Gailuoâs violet flame with an invisible barrier, and now, not just the violet flame, but Elder Shu and Shayinaâs attacks were also repelled. The barrier showed no signs of damage, indicating how terrifying the barrier Stop had cast was.
"Echo Reflection!" Shayina recalled the Black Earl mentioning this rebounding ability.
This was a type of sonic spell; according to the Black Earl, in the past, only Lord Rhein from the Barbarian Cave in the Southern Domain Wizard World could release it. And now, such a powerful spell had reappeared, but this time it was cast by an unknown wizard.
When Fuyi released it, it stunned everyone!
The attacks of the three wizards were not only defended against but also fully repelled.
The ability was extremely terrifying!
The only relief was that this rebound could be traced, allowing them to evade it. The three of them indeed managed to successfully dodge the rebound attack.
However, merely avoiding the rebound was nothing to be proud of.
Watching Stop leave right under their noses was, instead, a disgrace!
After attempting to attack twice, Elder Shu realized that echo reflection was beyond his capability to break. Stopâs prowess truly surpassed their expectations.
Now, the only one they could rely on was the Black Earl.
Elder Shu turned to look at the Black Earl. However, the Black Earl seemed to be lost in thought and did not notice Elder Shuâs gaze.
Elder Shu did not hesitate, gritted his teeth, and said, "We agree to the first plan, then the second plan, just hoping you could help us break the echo reflection!"
Elder Shu spoke quickly, fearing that any delay would be too late.
The Black Earl was brought back by Elder Shuâs request and looked towards Stop. However, due to the giant energy fluctuations around, the Black Earl could not see Stopâs expression.
If he could see Stopâs expression, perhaps the Black Earl could guess the meaning behind Stopâs earlier words.
Nonetheless, it was no matter...
Did Stop not say one of his purposes was to deliver a gift?
Letâs see if Stop is actually qualified to deliver this gift!
"All right." The Black Earl nodded to Elder Shu and then directly summoned a dust storm vortex, carrying out a terrifying whirlwind attack against the echo reflection continuously and indiscriminately.
If the dust storm vortex were conjured by anyone else, it might have been rebounded to death by the echo reflection.
But the Black Earl was too familiar with his old friendâs echo reflection; the dust storm vortex he unleashed was not cast using himself as a medium. Instead, it was summoned using the Earthstone Giantâs energy, and once this spell technique was released, the Earthstone Giant immediately collapsed.
The Black Earl directly severed the connection between energies; even if the echo reflection wanted to rebound, it had no target to bounce back to.
Eventually, the echo reflection could only be consumed away by the dust storm vortex.
The course of events did indeed unfold as the Black Earl expected. In just five seconds, the dust storm vortex completely wore down the echo reflection.
With Stop exposed outside, Elder Shuâs eyes sparked brightly, and the energy he had prepared turned into tens of thousands of grass-thin wooden spiked thorns, cutting off every escape route for Stop in a net-like pattern. Furthermore, these thorns possessed sharpness and toxicity. After Stop was exposed, the defense spell only resisted for a second before being pierced through, with nearly a hundred thorns stabbing into Stopâs limbs and chest.
The spidery-thin thorns were almost impossible to detect by the naked eye. All anyone could see was Stopâs body suddenly erupting with numerous bloody holes, confirming that Elder Shuâs attack had hit its mark.
Seeing Stop about to be captured, Elder Shuâs expression was full of excitement.
But on the other side, the Black Earl showed a puzzled look... If what Stop said about "delivering a gift" was understood how he thought, Stop should have a backup plan. But now it seemed he was just bragging?
With Stop penetrated in limbs and chest by numerous vines, could he still escape in such a situation?
As the Black Earl puzzled, Elder Shu excitedly, a sudden voice entered everyoneâs ears.
"Breaking the game."
Along with this voice, a peculiar energy-emitting shield suddenly enveloped Stop. The shield not only severed Elder Shuâs grass-thorn spikes but also healed the wounds caused by the thorns at a visibly rapid pace.
In just a few seconds, all the wounds on Stopâs body healed entirely, even the poison was thoroughly eradicated.
Upon seeing this scene, Elder Shu couldnât believe his eyes.
His grass-thorn spell had accumulated power for nearly a minute, specifically reinforced to prevent Stopâs evasion. But why could a single shield cut off all the grass-thorn spikes, and even heal Stopâs injuries entirely?
What kind of ability is this?
Itâs known that Elder Shu himself is a Nature Witch, highly skilled in healing, and he knows full well that the wounds caused by grass-thorn spikes are not so easily restored.
Even if indeed treated, it should take considerable effort.
But now, it was healed in mere seconds, even the toxins removed. This truly made Elder Shu find it hard to believe.
"Who is it? Who did this! Reveal yourself!" Gailuo shouted loudly.
This shield was absolutely not created by Stop; while controlled by the grass-thorn spikes, Stop had no capacity to manipulate energy.
Moreover, Gailuo remembered clearly that before the shield appeared, he heard a sound.
That was definitely not Stopâs voice!
As Gailuo shouted, a silhouette gradually took shape and appeared within the shield.
It was a shirtless, muscular man without outer clothing, wearing a black X-shaped studded leather strap on his chest, draped in a black and red cape over his back.
He seemed to emerge from the air ripples into existence, standing behind Stop.
His attire made Gailuo seem familiar... as if he had seen him somewhere before.
At this time, Shayina seemed to recognize the figure, eyes flashing with surprise: "Are you... Aex?"
Aex looked at Shayina, revealing a sincere smile: "Itâs me, Rain Forest Witch."
Shayina looked at Aex with disbelief, then at Stop before them: "You, how come you are mingling with him?"
In Shayinaâs memory, Aex was an exceptionally kind and honest person.
Though there havenât been many encounters, in those limited interactions, Aex was always seen assisting the less experienced.
Aexâs "kindness" left a deep impression on Shayina. For this reason, Shayina even went to specifically inquire about Aexâs background.
According to the information, since Aex arrived at the Bilun Tree Court, he hadnât enacted any extreme act. He mainly aided latecomer apprentices and didnât mind the apprenticesâ backgrounds; even apprentices from the Birlos Family sought Aex for guidance.
It can be said that Aex, despite not appearing like the Academy Faction, was more of an Academy Faction White Wizard than most.
For such a White Wizard, Shayina perhaps thought him foolish but was willing to ally with him nonetheless.
Being friendly with White Wizards bore no disadvantages.
But what Shayina did not expect was, this deeply pure White Wizard was now standing protectively behind Stop, a villainous and deranged lunatic!
What exactly is going on?