Rozi momentarily fell silent, then said, "I smell it too. It seems to be coming from the right.""What are you doing here?!" Adrian shouted as he turned around. "It's dangerous here. You have to go!”"No, I want to stay with you!" Rozi said. "Fine. Stick close to me," Adrian said as he grabbed Rozi's hand.The two hurried toward the right side where they found a cliff. They saw flickering flames there, indicating that someone had ignited a fuse. As the wind blew, the fuse burned quicker and reached Adrian's feet within seconds. He tried to stamp it out but to no avail. The fuse continued to burn, heading straight toward the kitchen. If the fire broke out, the entire Ivory Cloud Atrium would be destroyed.Adrian raised his scimitar and desperately slashed at the fuse line, trying to cut it off to prevent it from spreading any further.Rozi was trembling in fear. She did not want to stay here and be turned into ashes. "Adrian! We have to go!" she said."We can't leave!" Adrian ar
"Rozi, this place is still very dangerous," Adrian said solemnly, "Go down the mountain and wait for me there. I need to find the explosives."When Rozi shook her head, Adrian sighed and said sternly, "Listen, I know you're worried about me, but leaving now is the right choice. Don't be stubborn.""Fine…" Rozi replied.Adrian summoned Marissa with a whistle. However, everyone on her back refused to leave. Even Johnny wanted to stay to search for Dieter.Johnny said, "I'm very familiar with this place, and I don't want to see it destroyed. If you want to punish me, I'm willing to accept it after everything is over.""All right then.” Adrian needed someone familiar with the area after all. "Everyone else, leave. Not a single person is allowed to stay."Arlo and Morton were touched and grateful for Adrian's help. They did not want to give up either. Even if Dieter was not here, they still wanted to live and die with Ivory Cloud.After Rozi left, Adrian looked at Johnny and asked co
"You're right," Adrian replied, "But now’s not the time for sentimentality. We have to locate the explosives. It should be in the main hall."Johnny shook his head. He had searched the main hall extensively and had not found anything. Besides, the ground was fully granite. "But there's nothing there," he said. "Stand aside," Adrian said, knowing he could not rely on Johnny.Adrian lit the oil lamps in the main hall and looked upon a huge statue and some smaller ones. He found that the gold powder on them had been scraped off. They had reverted to their original muddy color and bore an aged appearance.Gritting his teeth, Johnny said, "How could that old geezer do this? It's outrageous!" "Find the explosives," Adrian growled in a displeased tone, "We're not out of danger yet. If you sense something wrong, run to me immediately. I'll get you out of here."Johnny was stunned. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected Adrian to be willing to take him away at such a time. He dropp
And he had thought of lighting the wick earlier. They were standing in the corner of the main hall, away from the reach of the light. A quick glance would not have revealed the details of the statue. To see anything clearly, one would have needed to light the wick."Quick! Help me!" Adrian said."Okay!"Johnny walked over and lifted the pedestal while Adrian removed the ropes from the top.Suddenly, a roar echoed, "You’re a fool, Johnny. You've passed me countless times, yet you didn't notice anything!" Johnny held the explosives tightly as he hung his head low. He was too familiar with these statues, so he had not examined them closely. "Why didn't you call out then?" he argued."I have explosives in my hands!" Dieter said angrily, "It might’ve exploded at any time!"Adrian stared at Johnny, then noticed the explosives he held seemed to be releasing a crackling sound. He had a bad feeling about it and snatched it away. He then rushed toward the edge of the cliff and threw it
Noticing he had not felt any pain, Dieter slowly opened his eyes. When he felt the solid ground beneath him, he could not believe he was still alive."Are we not in hell right now?" he murmured.Adrian snapped a twig of an elm tree and held it to Dieter’s nose. "Can you smell this?"Dieter took a big whiff and a fragrant scent filled his nostrils. He instantly realized he was not dead. "How did you do that?" he asked in amazement."It's all thanks to this." Adrian removed the Shadow Clay from his feet and handed it to Dieter. "It can take me anywhere, up in the sky or down below."Dieter quickly stored it in his pocket and said, "This treasure now belongs to me. You wouldn’t mind, right?""I'd love to give it to you," Adrian playfully said, "But the Shadow Clay only recognizes me as its owner. It won't answer to anyone else." With a slight gesture, the Shadow Clay returned to his hand.Dieter touched his empty pocket, feeling a bit dejected. "Why don't good things happen to me?"
This was shocking news, and Adrian regretted coming here. He had just saved Dieter, but he did have to kill him now?"Is this true?" Adrian questioned."Ask him!" Arwen said angrily, "My life goal is to kill him. And I just failed again.”Adrian was a little skeptical. Dieter was alone now, but given his status and power, it should not have been an issue for him to have had a few wives. "Sir Dieter, could you explain?""Arwen’s telling the truth," Dieter said, "Yes, I killed my wife. That was because she was using the Sol Pills to harm people, causing many families to be destroyed. I'd rather see Ivory Cloud perish than have my hands stained with blood.""Did you hear that? He admitted it!" Arwen said, "Is it wrong for me to avenge my mother?"Adrian felt a headache coming on as things got more complicated."I don’t mind it if you want to kill me." Dieter shook from fury. "I can give you my life, but everyone else is innocent. Why do you want to kill them too?""Someone must'
Dieter lowered his head and remained silent. Adrian did not press further. After all, he had no interest in being a mediator, and this father and son should resolve the issues between them on their own."Haha!" Arwen laughed. "It’s all horsesh*t!" Dieter was infuriated. He looked up at Arwen sharply and said, “It’s not horsesh*t! Everything I've done aligns with my conscience!”"I believe you," Adrian said solemnly. If Dieter were a cruel person, Sylvas would not have succeeded in his plan.Arwen's face sank. His only home was now destroyed. Despite wanting to befriend Adrian, he found him standing on Dieter's side. "Why do you trust him?" he asked.When Adrian was about to explain, Dieter decisively said, "I'll tell you the truth. I had another reason for killing your mother. She was carrying someone else's child. Caroline isn't my daughter."Arwen and Adrian fell silent, and the latter opened his mouth to speak a few times, but he could not utter a single word. He was not a co
"He's at the foot of the cliff," Adrian said, using one hand to block Caroline's attempt to hug him. "Is Arwen your brother?"Bucky thought Adrian was joking. When they met, she and Arwen had pretended not to know each other. Caroline even said she wanted to become Arwen's apprentice. "What? That's impossible." Rozi found it difficult to believe as well. She had always thought Caroline was a naive and romantic girl. Even if she did something out of the line, she had never confronted her about it.Everyone turned to look at Caroline who had tears in her eyes. She took a few deep breaths and said, "I…""You like Sir Dieter very much, don’t you?" Adrian asked, gently rubbing Caroline's head.Caroline sniffled and took out a piece of parchment from her arms. It was covered in densely written small characters, and she handed it to Adrian. "This is my mother's dying message,” she explained.Adrian read it and found it was more or less what he expected. Caroline's mother had betrayed D