landbeastnovel Chapter 184 The Arrogance of the Dying
Chapter 184 The Arrogance of the Dying
Chapter 184 The Arrogance of the Dying
The charred figures crackled and popped in the kerosene.
The flames from the grease gun were licking the hedge on one side.
"Hey, what are you staring at this old man for?" Yvette said nervously from behind Geb. "Hurry up and get rid of her so we can get out of this hellhole."
"Where are the ghosts?" The big guy stared wide-eyed, looking left and right.
"No ghosts—shut up." The half-elf glared at his dull-witted companion. "Go ahead and keep watch. If anyone suspicious approaches, come back and report immediately."
The big guy scratched his head, muttering things like "ghosts are so scary," and walked to the side to keep out the wind while covered in blood.
Gebu gave the peacock a wicked smile and transmitted a message: "Even an old peacock cherishes its feathers. Why are you associating with that golden-masked man? Who is he?"
"You don't even know who the Golden Mask is, yet you made a deal with him—and you still say I don't cherish my reputation? Don't you even value your own life?" Peacock replied using a telepathic spell, then opened her mouth and threatened in a hoarse voice, "My present is your future, you fool."
"Hey, this old man still has the energy to curse. If you don't make a move, I will. I'm not in the mood to waste time here. If the Hundred Flowers Guards come, things will get messy."
1
"You're that fool Rat King's lackey?" Peacock turned her gaze to the half-elf poet, her eyes filled with contempt. "Does he really think that eliminating me will clear his name? A rat is a rat; no matter how much you try to whitewash it, it can't stand the sunlight."
"Say what you will, old peacock, I'm just doing this for money—go to hell."
After saying this, Yvette grabbed a crossbow from his waist, stepped forward, and was about to fire at the peacock's chest when Geb turned around and used his hand to push the front of the crossbow away.
"Gebu, what's wrong?" Yvette asked in surprise as the halfling stopped her. Her expression immediately turned alert, and she took a step back. "You wouldn't be—"
"Don't worry, I'm still on your side. However, I have something to say to this old lady. Could you give me two minutes?"
Yvette looked at Geb suspiciously, glancing sideways at the two guards who had been burned to ashes. She swallowed nervously, then nodded.
"Just two minutes."
Two minutes.
The half-elf stepped aside to keep watch, moving out of their sight to give Geb and Peacock some space. The halfling turned his attention back to the old elf, scrutinizing Peacock's aged face, wrinkling his nose, and said, "Was that Golden Mask's doing to you?"
The peacock did not answer, but lowered its head, a fleeting look of disgust crossing its face.
"Look at me, Peacock. Now, I am the only one who can save you."
The old elf slightly raised her face, despair, shame, and indignation tangled together on her aged features. Even so, she obeyed Geb's command, raising her eyes to meet the halfling's gaze.
"I ask you, was it the golden mask that poisoned you?" Geb asked again.
"It's a curse," the peacock murmured. "The curse of time. The cruelest magic."
Judging from the name and the peacock's appearance, Gebu could roughly guess the spell's effect—it seemed to be a necromancy curse, cast from a distance. The golden mask was indeed powerful.
"Because you failed to make that poison?" Geb asked, already knowing the answer. "Tell me, what exactly is this 'Kiss of the King' used for?"
"—What do you think? A bottle of poison, are you going to use it for seasoning?"
Gebu was somewhat displeased after the old peacock retorted.
"Who told you I had this bottle of poison? Was it the Golden Mask?"
What do you think?
"Don't beat around the bush with me, Peacock. I don't have the patience of a long-lived species," Geb threatened.
"—Yes. He told me that you had to make a deal with him here and now. My only hope of survival is to kill you."
"Kill me, and then you can continue to work for him? You can't be that stupid, can you? If I die, you'll be silenced too."
silence.
"No, he won't kill me," the peacock suddenly said. "You're the one who will die, goblin. I will offer him my most precious possession, and in exchange, he will lift the curse on me. Tonight, right here."
Geb gave a cold laugh. This old woman, facing death, had actually fallen into delusions. For an elf who had lived for hundreds of years, this ending was truly beneath her dignity.
"Your most precious thing? Your virginity? Don't tell me you're a virgin who's lived for hundreds of years," the halfling mocked.
"You think you know the whole truth, goblin, but you understand nothing." A fleeting fervor flickered in the peacock's eyes; the yearning for life within his aging body transformed into a venomous snake, surging from his withered chest. "Gascoine, Shirley, even the Golden Mask thought they were searching for a book, and you're not even as good as them. You think the reason you're here today is that bottle of poison—"
Wait a minute, that book—could it be the Book of Sand?
Gebu tensed up immediately. He grabbed Peacock by the collar and asked urgently, "The book? The Golden Mask knows about the book too? How do you know so much about that book?"
"Hmph, if it weren't for me, that Book of Sand would still be buried in the Holy King's library, covered in dust—it's ironic, really. To keep this book a secret, Cardinal Benedict went so far as to issue a kill order against me, an envoy of the elven kingdom—do you know how many people have died because of this secret? Only I, only I survived this vortex—and now it's in the hands of a stinking goblin!"
"A stinking goblin? Now your life is in this stinking goblin's hands." Geb sneered, "This goblin has opened the Book of Sand. The secret you spoke of, I have fully unraveled. This goblin will become a great wizard. And you, you are merely a footnote on my path—no, not even a footnote. No one will remember who you are, Peacock, this is your fate."
"A secret? What do you think the Book of Sand is?"
Gebu remained silent for a moment. Peacock was a dying man, so there was no harm in telling her. Or rather, Gebu was holding his breath, wanting to prove to Peacock that he deserved to possess the Book of Sand.
Perhaps you discovered it, but it belongs to me now, and it will belong to me in the future.
"It is eternity, it is infinite knowledge."
"You're wrong." A nauseating, toothy grin spread across Peacock's aged face. "You have no idea what the truth of that book is!"
Gebu frowned, pulled out a bone dagger, and pressed it against the old peacock's throat. This old man was clearly disgusted with himself before he died.
"I think you're the one who doesn't understand anything—alright, enough of this idle chatter, you can go die now."
"Hmph—Hehehehe!"
"Hahaha—hahahaha!"
With a dagger pressed against his throat, the aged elf fell into hysterical laughter.
The laughter was chilling.
"I never thought that, after all this time, I still couldn't escape the misfortune brought by that book—but don't be too happy yet, goblin."
"If even the blade favored by Opak couldn't kill me, you, a little bastard who just stumbled upon good fortune, still want my life?"
The woman's arrogance truly startled Gebu. Just as he was about to react, he heard a frantic stringing sound behind him, followed by a pair of hurried and chaotic footsteps.
"Big guy! Help!!!"
Gebu turned his head and looked closely. The dark-skinned half-elf Yvette was fleeing desperately in his direction. Behind her, a slender and upright figure approached with an undeniable force, like the Grim Reaper!
Bald—a vulture?! It's that guy again?!
"Heh heh—it seems your time is up," the peacock said coldly to the goblin.
Gebu's first reaction was to turn and run, but as soon as he took a step, a huge shadow rushed towards him!
The orc Goliath, wielding a cleaver, swept past Geb like a mad boar, completely ignoring the halfling, and charged toward Yvette who was pleading for help!