Chapter 2831: Chapter 2832: Kill That Flower
From an outsiderâs perspective, Angel and the Infant Spirit confronted each other for a full five minutes.
During this time nothing happened; they just stared into each otherâs eyes, as if locked in a silent duel.
In the end, it was Angel who first withdrew his gaze.
"Admitting defeat?" the Black Earlâs voice sounded in the Mind Ribbon at just the right time. "Or did you find a way to solve it?"
Angel: "Do I look like the one who lost?"
The Black Earl glanced at the Infant Spirit opposite, which was still staring fixedly at Angel, and said blandly, "At least in this battle of eye contact, youâre a bit inferior."
Angel: ...What battle of eye contact?
Who was he even having a staring contest with? Heâd clearly been talking to Shaya in his head, okay, where did this âeye contactâ come from...
Angel was halfway through speaking when, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the Infant Spirit opposite. When he first saw those terrifyingly wide, round eyes, he had subconsciously looked away for a moment.
And precisely because of that moment of avoidance, when Angel turned back to look at the Black Earl, the latterâs mood was full of mockery.
If the Black Earlâs True Body were really here, he would probably be looking at him with teasing eyes.
Angel secretly sighed. Trying to say now that heâd never been in any kind of eye contact battle with the Infant Spirit was already a bit hard to explain.
Since words were hard to use, he might as well speak through actions.
Angel: "Whether Iâm a bit inferior or not, weâll only know if we go one step further."
With that, Angel took the initiative and stepped forward.
Because the Domain Fieldâs range was limited, the Black Earl had no choice but to move forward with Angel.
"Planning to start a fight, or do you have some other method?" As the Black Earl spoke, Energy slowly began to gather around him. This Energy emitted a faint golden glow, as if casting his nose into a golden statue.
The Black Earl treated the situation with utmost seriousness, but Angel acted very relaxed. He even spoke to the Black Earl in a meaningful tone: "Whether we fight or not isnât up to me. But I see this Infant Spirit still hasnât attacked us; maybe it no longer wants to block our way."
The Black Earl made no comment on Angelâs remark. Whether Angel was arrogant, narcissistic, or just confident would soon be clear.
Angel and the Black Earl moving forward again also made everyone else tense up.
Their thoughts were the same as the Black Earlâs: would this turn into close-quarters combat at any moment? Faced with this bizarre Otherworld Infant Spirit, how would Angel and the Black Earl deal with it?
While everyone was worrying, on the other side, Adanis was also watching Angelâs movements.
She still didnât believe the Infant Spirit would dare to defy the contract.
The Infant Spirit was so cunningâmaybe this was all part of its scheme?
Was this really a scheme, a case of "inviting the enemy into the urn"? When Angel and the others came right up in front of the Infant Spirit... the answer was revealed.
The Infant Spirit still didnât attack Angel; it even shrank back slightly.
Angel slowly extended his hand toward the Infant Spirit.
The whole process wasnât actually slow, but in the eyes of the Black Earl and the others, it was like the scene had been slowed several times over. Whether it was Angelâs unhesitating reach, or the tiny details of the Infant Spiritâs trembling, they saw it all clearly.
Why was the Infant Spirit trembling? Was it afraid of Angel?
Did this mean Angel was planning to eliminate the Infant Spirit, and that was why it was frightened?
This action theyâd slowed infinitely in their hearts also gave rise to endless questionsâbut those questions were actually answered very quickly.
Angelâs hand stopped midair. At the same time, the bright red Maneater Flower atop the Infant Spiritâs head happily swayed its petals up and down, like a flying butterfly.
Then this "flower-butterfly," all shy and coy, rubbed itself into Angelâs palm.
Angel wasnât the least surprised by this. He simply raised his other hand as well and gently stroked the Maneater Flower, like he was petting a beloved pet.
The Maneater Flower seemed even more bashful; it even tightly closed that big mouth hidden in its flower core, afraid that the sharp teeth inside might scrape Angel.
Before, it only "seemed like" a pet, but now, judging from the Maneater Flowerâs attitude, it was practically identical to a house cat or dog someone was raising.
Even from a long distance away, everyone could feel the Maneater Flowerâs fawning, tail-wagging flattery.
So... did Angel just tame the Maneater Flower?
Did that mean they could once again breeze through this trial?... Huh, why "once again"?
Watching Angel interact with the Maneater Flower, both the Black Earl and the others felt a bit complicated.
But inside that complexity, there wasnât much "surprise." Mainly because everything Angel had done along the way had already numbed them.
It was like, as long as Angel was here, no difficulty was really a difficulty, and anything unsolvable would somehow get solved.
The one whose emotions most obviously differed from the crowd was Adanis, observing from the shadows. Seeing the Maneater Flower acting so obsequious, she felt as if sheâd been struck by lightning.
Why is it him again!
Who on earth is this man? Where did he come from? Why did Olao change rules that had been in place for ten thousand years because of him? Why could even an Infant Spirit descended from the Otherworld be tamed by him?
Adanisâ feelings at this moment were hard to put into words, but one thing was clear: her concern for Angelâor rather, her hatredâhad already far surpassed what she felt toward the Noah Clan.
Meanwhile, at the center of everyoneâs attention, Angel gently pushed the Maneater Flower away.
"Alright, thatâs enough."
After being pushed aside, the Maneater Flower didnât show any impatience. It obediently stayed off to the side without moving.
Seeing this scene, everyone had already begun to picture what would happen next: Angel would command the Maneater Flower to make way, and then they could charge straight through and head directly to the Qingkong Poetry Room.
But in the very next second, Angel did something that left everyone dumbfounded.
Angel reached out and tapped directly on the Maneater Flowerâs core. With a powerful Energy Blast, a hole was punched straight through the flower from its core.
The Maneater Flower, so vivid and lively just a moment ago, died instantly. Its fiery red petals and swaying posture withered at a speed visible to the naked eye, then slumped down on the Infant Spiritâs head, and finally... completely turned to powder and scattered into nothing.
Everything about this made it clear the Maneater Flower was utterly dead, with no chance of Resurrection.
Before this, when everyone saw the Maneater Flower being so close to Angel, they had already gone numb and felt no surprise at all; but now, watching Angel "turn on the flower" in an instant, they were all stunned.
A second earlier, Angel had been gently stroking the Maneater Flower, like petting a soft little kitten; the next second he said, "Thatâs enough," then changed his face and mercilessly "crushed the flower with an iron hand."
Anyone who saw such a switch in Angel would probably be startled. After all, this kind of shift could easily be interpreted as a kind of mental and psychological "perversion"âand this "pervert," in everyoneâs prior impression, had always been mild and scholarly.
The honest man turning into a flower-destroying fiendâjust thinking about it sent chills down their spines.
Not only were the others startled, the Infant Spirit was frightened too. It scurried up along the Weaving Net to a higher spot and stared at Angel in utter fear.
Watching the Infant Spiritâs reaction, Angel muttered inwardly: had Shaya still not explained the situation to the Infant Spirit?
Forget it, whether there was any explanation or not doesnât matter. What matters more right now isâ
"Hey, if you want to hop away and leave, I wonât stop you. But donât forget, these nets still havenât been undone yet."
Angel spoke to the Infant Spirit, a gentle smile on his face.
Angelâs gentleness wasnât an act; he genuinely felt it was a pity for the Infant Spirit to be exiled to the Sea of Void Mirror just like that. But he had no other way to save it. All he could do now was be a little gentler to it before it set off.
However, the gentleness Angel thought he was showing only looked more perverse and twisted in everyone elseâs eyes.
What he said was basically: one hand stabbing you with a knife, the other using a "gentle" tone to get you to open the way yourself.
This was straight-up psychological perversion!
The way Angelâs behavior was being interpreted was drifting further and further off track... and no one had any intention of asking him about it.
In their view, maybe Angel had just been repressing himself for too long, so this sudden shift appeared?
And there were plenty of such cases in the Wizardsâ Realm.
Including the Black Earl himself, who was perverse most of the time and only occasionally normal.
So... respect.
Everyone tacitly kept silent, while Angel continued, in a gentle tone, coaxing the Infant Spirit like he was really soothing a baby.
A few seconds later, the Infant Spirit timidly poked its head out. Under Angelâs "encouraging" smile, it took the initiative to let go of the Weaving Net.
From that point on, every remaining Weaving Net snapped from the middle, no longer posing any obstruction.
It was enough for them to reach their destination for this tripâthe Qingkong Poetry Roomâsafe and sound.
Angel gave the Infant Spirit a thumbs-up, then turned around and said to the Black Earl: "See? I said it no longer wants to block us."
Looking at the smile at the corner of Angelâs lips, the Black Earl... had nothing to say.
The doubts in the Black Earlâs heart grew deeper and deeper, but he also knew Angel wouldnât answer. Since that was the case, he shut his mouthâno asking, no answering.
Angel didnât care about the Black Earlâs silence either. Getting through this final hurdle so easily made him rather pleased.
His goal this time was the Qingkong Poetry Room. Now that all obstacles before it had been swept away, the road ahead was wide open. How could he not be happy?
He had taken the Maneater Flowerâs will and stored it inside the Nightmare Realm; even if it was only a temporary lodging, it was still an unexpected bonus. Maybe he could get some information about the wall out of this Maneater Flowerâs mouth.
Especially that one question heâd wanted to dig into before, but hadnât asked because of the circumstances: the light.
What exactly was that light leaking from the crack, and what were its traits?
But all of that would have to wait until the Maneater Flowerâs will had recondensed into shape before he could ask.
Going by Nightmare Realm creaturesâ traits, once they returned to a space rich in Nightmare Realm aura, they should recover very quickly, right?
Thinking this, Angel stretched out his right hand. His gaze passed through the leaping green Patterns, looking at the Luxury Nightmare Realm hidden beneath them.
Angel had just been planning to check whether the Maneater Flowerâs will had reformed, but when he focused, he froze on the spot.
Inside the Luxury Nightmare Realm, the blood-red Maneater Flower had already taken root. It had occupied the spot where the piano had been placed, turning that several-meter-square stage into a Sea of Flowers of Maneater Flowers.
He had already seen the Sea of Flowers before, so Angel wasnât surprised by that. What surprised him was... why was Shaya in there?!
Yes, that very same black Maneater Flower floating in midair.
It seemed extremely satisfied with the Luxury Nightmare Realm. At the moment, it was swaying in midair along with the few remaining members of the Teacup Band, dancing to the music.
Shaya danced and danced, drifting above the fiery-red Maneater Flower. Vines intertwined, branches and leaves bursting into a glow.
Looking at this entangling scene, Angel suddenly remembered that Shaya had said before that its will was bound together with the Maneater Flower outside.
So that means, by bringing the red Maneater Flowerâs will into the Nightmare Realm, he had effectively issued Shaya an entry permit as well?
Shaya hadnât mentioned that at all before, and Angel hadnât thought in that direction either.
The result was that what was supposed to be just a temporary lodging for one Maneater Flower had now also let the smarter one sneak in on its own.
This was outright smuggling in private goods, hey!
Angel was mentally yelling that heâd invited a wolf into the house, and even had the urge to immediately open the Nightmare Realm and drag Shaya out.
But timing-wise, that was clearly inappropriate right now.
Angel could only forcibly swallow his helplessness, withdraw his gaze from the Nightmare Realm, and say to the Black Earl: "Uh, so now we should... oh right, we continue forward."
After saying theyâd continue, Angel suddenly thought of something: "No, wait, we should bring Dox and the others over first."
Although the Weaving Net had split open, the red wax on the ground hadnât disappeared.
The others didnât have Domain Field protection; there was no way they could make it across. So Angel still had to go back once.
The Black Earl watched Angel suddenly space out, then suddenly get a bit flustered, even speaking in a disjointed way. With some confusion, he asked: "Whatâs wrong with you?"
Though he couldnât see the Black Earlâs face, Angel could sense from the Black Earlâs emotions that he was genuinely concerned about him.
Angel was silent for a moment, then sighed softly: "Itâs nothing, I just suddenly feel like I shouldnât have wiped out the Maneater Flower so quickly..."
"Why?"
Angel thought for a moment: "Honestly, it looked pretty good growing on top of the Infant Spiritâs head."
It was rare for Angel to proactively bring up his earlier actions, so the Black Earl naturally wouldnât let the opportunity slip: "Since you think the Maneater Flower and the Infant Spirit were such a good match, why did you eliminate it?"
Angel: "An unintentional mistake or a helpless move. Pick one. Which do you think it is, Lord Black Earl?"
Black Earl: "The latter." Previously, the Black Earl might still have believed Angel had "suddenly changed temperament," but now that Angel had given him a binary choice, there was no doubt it had to be the latter.
An unintentional mistake was absolutely impossible.
From start to finish, all of Angelâs actions were within the Black Earlâs sight; he never acted blindly. Killing the Maneater Flower seemed absurd, but if there was more to it, it might be understandable.
Angel only smiled and didnât answer.
The Black Earl: "Since it was a helpless move, can I take that to mean that even though the Maneater Flower is dead, it actually survives in another form?"
After all, the Black Earl didnât believe there was any Maneater Flower that would proactively seek death.
Angel shrugged: "Maybe."
With that, Angel stopped talking. But the amount of information heâd already revealed was plentyâenough for the Black Earl to mentally fill in quite a few stories...
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