NOVEL NEXT Chapter 48
### Chapter 47: The Delayed Judgment
“Damn!”
The ratman Plakaka, who had previously clashed with Miss Vilyric as part of the Throne of Immortality, was well aware of the black-haired girl’s extraordinary strength. Back then, she had merely swatted aside its claws aimed at her, sending Plakaka reeling, struggling to regain its composure.
So, when Vilyric swung that seemingly thin and brittle long staff at her once more, the cautious seventh member of the Throne didn’t dare to take it head-on, using its claws to leverage a retreat instead, landing directly beside the two mummies.
“Hey! Balk and Buckler, this woman is incredibly dangerous! We can’t underestimate her; let’s take her on together!”
As it shouted loudly, Plakaka unceremoniously shrank behind the twin mummies, using them as shields.
This was quite normal; don’t think that just because they had the fancy title of “Throne,” the group was anything extraordinary.
Those who could join the Throne of Immortality were basically individuals who were either unwilling or terrified of death, and the ratman Plakaka was cautious, or you could say, terrified of dying to the extreme.
Plakaka was a warrior from a ratman tribe in the southern part of the Beast Kingdom, two hundred years ago.
Among the beastmen, ratmen were already considered a weak race; although fast, they had average physical capabilities and strength, excelling only in digging holes, running away, picking locks, poisoning, and arson. Even if one became a master, they were generally the assassin type.
Plakaka was one of them but it was a lucky rat, possessing a natural special talent—[Presence Elimination], a skill perfectly fit for its role as an assassin.
With this unique talent, Plakaka could almost completely hide its killing intent and presence. Combined with a powerful magical item it acquired during an adventure—the [Invisibility Cloak], it achieved nearly unbeatable invisibility.
Though its attack power was average, in situations where its opponent was completely unguarded, Plakaka’s sharp claws were deadly enough to claim a life.
Continuously killing, looting treasures, and honing its skills, Plakaka gradually became a legendary assassin.
However, due to the [Presence Elimination] talent, coupled with Plakaka’s deliberate concealment, the vast majority of the world was unaware of such a terrifying killer existing within the Beast Kingdom.
Just when Plakaka was riding high, feeling invincible, it finally hit a brick wall during an operation in the territory of the United Human Kingdom.
It was a vampire.
Vampires, also known as the Blood Clan, are high-level intelligent beings divided into ranks according to nobility, with duke-level vampires even considered mythological beings.
But their numbers are few, they operate quietly, and are scattered across the world, having mostly faded from visibility a thousand years ago.
One could say, Plakaka was just plain unlucky.
Vampires can sense the flow of blood nearby, and with this ability, Plakaka’s prideful invisibility was easily seen through, beaten to a pulp, and forced to flee with serious injuries.
And then, it encountered the Throne of Immortality.
Thus, what Plakaka feared most was the existence that could see through its invisibility, and apart from that female vampire and the first member of the Throne, this black-haired girl was the third.
What’s more, this girl was definitely more terrifying than the previous two. At least those two had some traceable methods to reveal Plakaka’s invisibility, but she seemed to simply “see” the ratman assassin with her naked eyes.
Originally, according to the Fox High Priest Chaharit’s deductions, there was likely a super-tier expert by Princess Liliya’s side, which was why the Throne of Immortality temporarily deployed Plakaka, the best assassin.
Now, the seventh Throne just wanted to express that it was utterly screwed.
What the hell is “super-tier”! If this woman were only super-tier, I could easily rip her head off and toss it to those bastards as a ball!
Did you see what she was holding? A staff! This woman wouldn’t even cast a real spell; she was nearly killing herself just swinging that thing around! Is she even human?
Could it be that this woman is actually a giant dragon?
Feeling Vilyric’s power, Plakaka was already prepared to run.
But who knew this woman would pull some bizarre red light, dragging it and its two accomplices into this strange place.
So, it could only gather its nearby strength and brace itself to resist.
However, Plakaka’s companions didn’t seem to have the same sharpness.
“What is this…?”
“Where… is this place?”
“Woman…”
“What did you do!”
Listening to the two mummies exchanging lines like they were in a play, Vilyric waved her staff and laughed.
“I’m not interested in explaining things to the dead; so you might as well hurry up and lay back in your coffins peacefully.”
“You bastard!”
“Looking for death!”
“You’re just a priest!” x2
The two mummies seemed quite angry. As a show of their feelings, their white wrappings suddenly rose up as if blown by a strong wind, and with a swing of their hands, the wrappings shot toward Vilyric like ribbons!
In the Iron Blood Colosseum, using offensive abilities isn’t allowed. This restriction encompasses not just skills but also the special effects of equipment and all sorts of messy items—it’s an absolute rule.
Thus, these mummies, whatwere their names again—Balk and Buckler—should be subject to the same.
In other words, those white wrappings were an extension of their bodies, part of a pure physical attack.
“Ugh, just thinking about cloth wrapped around the dead makes me feel so nauseous…”
While spitting in disgust, Vilyric bent her knees slightly and jumped several meters high, easily dodging the two mummies. But unexpectedly, the failed attack rolled back and continued to pursue her in mid-air!
“Feather of the Gods!”
Her exquisite wings unfurled, lifting Vilyric higher into the air. She spun gracefully at the arena’s height, evading the pursuing strips of cloth, and dove straight down towards the two mummies!
“Ridiculous!”
Balk and Buckler shouted simultaneously, standing their ground without dodging or evading, their wrappings puffing up layer upon layer, gearing up to take the hit head-on.
They weren’t technically undead; rather, they were special entities housing souls within objects.
To put it simply, those white wrappings were the true forms of Buckler and Balk; their inner bodies didn’t matter at all.
Even if they were hit and damaged, they could simply abandon this body and choose a new one to cling onto once again. They had existed far longer than Plakaka and had changed bodies countless times already.
In fact, Balk and Buckler didn’t even have noteworthy offensive abilities; their fighting style was simply brute force, relying on overwhelming defense and immortality to endure attacks.
As long as the white wrappings touched an enemy’s body, they could rapidly proliferate, wrapping around and devouring the inner soul, transforming the physical body into a mindless puppet serving Balk and Buckler.
Alternatively, they could directly transfer their consciousness.
These two could also be considered a parasitic type of magical creature.
At this moment, they had fixed their gaze on Vilyric’s body, not only was she beautiful and young, but her reactions, strength, and speed were quite remarkable; if they could consume her soul and swap consciousness, their power would surely surge.
Too bad there was only one of her, though that red-haired woman from before seemed viable too; they planned to tackle that body once they dealt with Vilyric.
Balk and Buckler were actually one being, to be precise, one soul. But upon resurrecting through the Cloth of the Dead—those white wrappings—they split into two distinct yet interconnected entities.
The name they bore in life has long been forgotten; now they are simply known as the Fourth Seat of the Throne of Immortality—Soul Snatching Dual Spirits Balk and Buckler.
“Hey! Idiots, you can’t take that head-on!”
Seeing those persistent brutes refusing to back down, Plakaka couldn’t help but shout in fear.
Of course, it knew the incredible defense these creepy things possessed and that even if they were smashed, they wouldn’t truly die. But… that didn’t mean they were invincible and couldn’t be killed.
For example, a powerful holy light attribute attack or an instantaneous output of power exceeding the [Cloth of the Dead] threshold.
If those two conditions were met simultaneously, what would happen?
The golden priest’s staff easily shattered through the countless layers of white cloth defense, streaking across the air in a beautifully arching motion like a bowling ball.
At the end of that trajectory, the heads of Balk and Buckler, wrapped in white cloth, exploded like two bursting watermelons.
Pfft.
Inside, there was no blood or brain matter, but rather some substance resembling black gaseous energy.
Upon contact with these things, the strange staff reacted as if it were having an allergic reaction, emitting brilliant golden light that instantly vaporized those black orbs of energy.
Then, under Plakaka’s wide-eyed and despairing gaze, the two headless mummy bodies wrapped in white cloth collapsed, turning into a puddle of black sludge.
The Fourth Seat of the Throne of Immortality—Soul Snatching Dual Spirits Balk and Buckler, instantaneously defeated.