Chapter 99: Schedule
The next day
Real-world time, PM: 18:55
Mo Tan finished washing up and lay down in his game pod.
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Innocent Continent, AM: 07:02
Mo Tan logged into Innocent World, appearing at Tian Zhu Mountain's Seventh Outer Mountain upon going online.
Thirty seconds later, the 'lawful good' player Mo disconnected.
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Innocent Continent, AM: 07:03
【You have been emergency disconnected. Please choose whether to reconnect.】
"..."
【Reconnection starting...】
【Connection complete. Reading character information.】
【Welcome back, chaotic evil Mo. Loading Innocent World. Good evening to you.】
Five seconds later, Shavin Empire, outskirts of King's Capital Troon
When Mo appeared at the temporary encampment, he saw three thousand members of the Tsar's Sword Knights and four hundred and fifty High-Rank spellcasters from the Hurricane Mage Group.
Duke Garros and Ji Xiaodao were walking towards him from not far away.
The former was dressed in a deep cyan Archmage's robe adorned with several attribute-less crystals, an eagle emblem, and dark gold patterns. He held an executor's staff made entirely of Howling Wind Wood, with three emerald magic crystals embedded at each end. Streams of almost imperceptible air currents surged around him, yet they made no whistling sound.
As for the latter, her silver-white long hair was not tied into a ponytail today but was casually draped behind her. She wore a pure black leather high-collared hunting suit on her upper body, and a matching metal battle skirt with her usual ink-black ranger boots on her lower body. Two leather straps were tied to each side of her long, straight legs, each holding three daggers in deep cyan, dark blue, and blood red. Two longswords were tightly wrapped in magic-patterned cloth on either side of the black short cape behind her.
Ji Xiaodao was the first to approach, saying softly, "There are about thirty minutes left until the scheduled departure time."
Mo Tan nodded slightly, then looked Ji Xiaodao up and down. "You changed your gear?"
"I thought you wouldn't care about such things," the girl said distractedly, playing with a few strands of silver hair that had fallen onto her shoulder, turning her gaze slightly. "The old hair tie always felt uncomfortable, so I asked Garros to get me some other gear. This set's attributes are pretty good, too. Do you think this hair hoop looks good..."
"You'd best have more self-awareness," Mo coldly interrupted Ji Xiaodao, walking past her. "Just do what you're supposed to do. There's no room for you to interfere later."
Ji Xiaodao's body stiffened slightly, then she silently followed behind Mo, walking with Grand Duke Garros, who stood by, towards the encampment that had just been established last night.
"Garros," Mo suddenly chuckled at this moment, turning to ask the Grand Duke beside him, "What is our Marshal doing?"
Duke Garros immediately replied, "Marshal should be giving a speech to everyone in the encampment right now."
"Very good, I won't listen to the speech, but..." A faint black glint flashed in Mo's eyes as he said in a deep voice to Garros, "Take me to a secluded place. Later, after the Marshal finishes his speech, tell him that Sin Duke has important matters concerning Banse City to discuss with him, but because it's not good news, to avoid affecting the morale of the warriors, please ask Marshal to come to me alone."
Garros immediately nodded, then led Mo and Ji Xiaodao to an empty tent before leaving immediately.
"You're planning to..." Ji Xiaodao said, hesitating, "But what if he's like Fara?"
"He won't be," Mo shook his head, the undisguised black light in his eyes seeming to devour everything. A purely, even indescribably, crazed and evil arc formed at the corner of his mouth as he murmured, "If I'm not mistaken, only that guy Fara... is special..."
Forty minutes later
Mo Tan, Ji Xiaodao, and Garros boarded the carriage bearing the Duke's emblem. At the same time, the surrounding forces, arguably the strongest in the Shavin Empire, were ready. Three thousand knights, at least Mid-Tier warriors, were fully prepared, and the Hurricane Mage Group, directly under Garros's command, had already cast two large-scale joint acceleration spells on the entire army.
"Now, young lads!" Marshal Galahad of the Empire, riding a Gold-Devouring Lion King at the front of the procession, turned and smiled, "And young ladies too! An evil force is lurking in the darkness, eyeing our kingdom. It, or they, are powerful, cunning, and dangerous, but..."
The old man let out a furious roar towards the sky, "The Empire's heroes are watching us! The tens of thousands of innocent souls wandering Banse City are watching us! His Majesty the King is watching us!"
A surging surge of energy violently rippled across the ground. Galahat's roar almost shattered the increasingly heavy dark clouds in the sky. He shouted, "Are you afraid?"
No one answered, but at that moment, every knight raised his spear and greatsword high. As the Shavin's national military force, their combined killing intent seemed to dye the land a bloody red.
Every mage held his staff before his chest, hands clasped, and emerald green light rippled like waves. Their numbers were not large, but everyone knew that the combat power of these mages was absolutely no less than that of the knights. After all, even the strongest warrior, even if he did nothing but cut heads all day, couldn't kill many people, but even a low-level mage had several times the destructive power of a physical professional of the same tier!
"Very good!" Galahat nodded in satisfaction. "Then, for victory and glory, for His Majesty and the Empire, let us depart!"
"Yes!" Everyone responded with a thunderous roar.
At this time, it was 8:20 AM in Innocent World. Grand Marshal Galahad of the Shavin Empire and Grand Duke Garros, leading the Tsar's Sword Knights and the Hurricane Mage Group, set off.
Three minutes later, in Grand Duke Garros's carriage
"I need to rest before we reach Banse City," Mo said softly to Grand Duke Garros, who was sitting opposite him. "During this time, follow Ji Dao's arrangements."
Garros nodded slightly, then turned to leave the carriage.
"Wait a moment," Mo suddenly called out to him, chuckling and shaking his head. "Don't rush. Now... look at me."
Garros froze for a moment, then subconsciously obeyed Mo's command and looked at him.
Immediately after...
Mo's body suddenly relaxed, and then he closed his eyes, leaning against the comfortable seat behind him as if he had fallen asleep.
"Alright," Ji Xiaodao, who had been silent all this time, waved her hand at Garros. "Leave the rest to me. You can go."
...
Innocent Continent, AM: 11:57
Tian Zhu Mountain's Seventh Outer Mountain
With a clang, Cordova, fully charged, slowly walked up to Lu Wei, carrying his executor's staff. He smiled and said, "Synchronization has returned to ninety-nine percent. I'm ready."
"Be careful," the rather old-looking Chief Engineer of Tian Zhu Mountain said without lifting his head, then quickly wrote something on the crystal panel in front of him. After a long while, he looked up at Cordova and said in a deep voice, "Remember your duty. Once you get there, seek Fara's protection immediately. After testing with the new crystal I just gave you, immediately seize the time to teleport back to Tian Zhu Mountain! Otherwise, what if..."
Cordova chuckled and shook his head, "Don't worry, old man, it's just a business trip. How could I get into trouble so easily? Besides, I'm so powerful, maybe I won't even need that Deputy named Fara to cover me~"
"Heh heh, I hope so," Lu Wei grunted distractedly, then pointed to the gigantic silver magic array not far away, which had several runes floating around it and emitted a faint glow. "Go."
Cordova nodded and walked to the center of the huge teleportation array, turning to Lu Wei with a smile, "If all goes well, I'll be back in a few days."
At 12:05 PM in Innocent World, Cordova appeared in the teleportation chamber of the Osiris Mage Tower.
But what greeted him was only a Mage Apprentice who looked absolutely not young...
...
Innocent Continent, PM: 13:10
Banse City Ruins
Fara stood silently in the air above the hellish dead zone. Although the Huiye Sect's clergy had performed numerous purification rituals here some time ago, they had little effect. The resentment in this cursed land did seem to be fading and weakening, but in Fara's eyes at this moment, an even more terrifying aura still lingered there, refusing to dissipate.
"What exactly is it..." The God of Law raised his hand slightly, a hint of weariness in his expression, as if trying to grasp the air filled with endless malice beside him. A string of magic runes of various colors flew like a swarm of bees, continuously casting detection spells of all kinds, but always yielding nothing.
Curse Detection... ineffective.
Star Blue Eye... ineffective.
Arcane Detection... ineffective.
Negative Energy Localization... ineffective.
Detect Evil... ineffective.
Ashen Tracking... ineffective.
Geomantic Feedback... ineffective.
Light of Absolution... ineffective.
Shadow of Decadence... ineffective.
Faraosis, the Guardian God of Law of the Shavin Empire and one of the Deputies of Tian Zhu Mountain, sighed deeply, dispelled the elemental runes beside him that were completely different from normal magic systems, and slowly descended to the ground.
"It seems this is the only way. After all, I can't put all my hopes on the support from over there. There's still more than half a day..." He waved his hand lightly, and the sky, covered by dark clouds, began to tremble slightly. The balance of elements was disrupted in an instant, and pure magic power transformed into thousands of light bands, beginning to violently surge through the air. Although the increasingly unsettling aura around him did not dissipate, it was forcibly driven away by the power Fara wielded.
A moment later, within a one-kilometer radius centered on where Fara stood, the ground, which had seemed to be constantly struggling in pain, calmed down. Although this was only a small part of the vast ruins of Banse City, it was already enough.
"It seems only this kind of pure magic burst, without any technical skill, is effective. I never thought I would one day use such a clumsy method..." Fara chuckled self-deprecatingly. As the space around him continuously warped, countless spellcasting materials appeared out of thin air, then were immediately secondary-teleported to their proper positions.
He wielded his staff like a highly skilled orchestra conductor, continuously sending every rune, every surge of magic, every material to its designated place, outlining the embryonic form of a huge magic array, beginning to cast the most magnificent spell of his life...
"Try not to be late... Galahat. When that unknown entity is exposed, I, a spellcaster, will need a close-combat protector, won't I...?"
...
Innocent Continent, PM: 15:40
Eastern Region, outskirts of Black Tower City, north of the Free City
'chaotic neutral' Tan Mo gazed at the large city, far grander than the small towns of Paton and Kalan, with a playful smile.
"Sir, shall we go in now?" Cole, standing behind him, asked softly. "Or should I go first..."
"You go find a place to wait for me over there first. There's no rush to gather information for now; the waters here aren't exactly shallow~"
"Yes."
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Innocent Continent, PM: 16:15
A small road in the northern part of Misha County, a plague-stricken area
"I told you not to follow us, trash!"
The tall Orc violently pushed a human youth in coarse clothes to the ground, then kicked his thin body, shouting curses.
Several other guys, who looked like the Orc's companions, also joined in the taunting...
"Right! Trash is trash. Even in a game, you're still trash!"
"How spineless are you? Is getting beaten up at school not enough for you anymore?"
"Tsk tsk, he's a top student, so naturally, he's not like us~"
"Get lost! And what the hell is alchemy, Engineering? My pet is more useful than you!"
"Pfft, haha, your pet isn't as durable as he is."
Mockery, ridicule...
Sarcasm, insult...
Wanton cursing, punching and kicking...
But the thin young man remained silent, silently enduring this twisted daily routine.
He even felt a little fortunate...
After all, the pain in the game wasn't so real...
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Innocent Continent, PM: 17:20
Northern border of Fire Claw Territory
'Absolute Neutral' Black Vatican was riding his snow-white direwolf, making his way, while also messaging the Little Saintess of the Dawn Sect, who was also on her way. It was quite relaxed and pleasant.
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Innocent Continent, PM: 17:20
At the same time, Shuang Ye and the Fire Claw Territory's delegation set off for the Royal Capital, Salamun, located deep within the Violet Empire.
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Innocent Continent, PM: 18:40
Within the Shavin Empire, Phantom Town, north of King's Capital Troon.
A silver-haired girl knelt peacefully by a small stream, doing a side quest called 【Wash Aunt Daisi's Clothes】. Her movements were clumsy and unpracticed, and her smile was virtuous and dignified.
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Innocent Continent, PM: 20:30
Within the Shavin Empire, a small town on the border of Prince Bartlow's Territory
Following a violent explosion, a dirty old Dwarf scrambled out of a thatched hut, covered in large burns, but clutching a piece of scrap paper filled with complex formulas.
The old Dwarf, who had almost been blown to death, curled up on the ground, giggling foolishly, like a child.
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Innocent Continent, PM: 21:40
Tianzhushan Grand Arena
'lawful good' Mo once again faced Little Chicken Number Three and was defeated ten minutes later.
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Innocent Continent, PM: 22:11
A church in a small town south of Misha County
A cute little girl gently swayed her head, humming a childish, babbling tune. The moonlight cast her small silhouette into a distorted and grotesque shape.
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Innocent Continent, PM: 23:33
A certain country in the Southwest Continent
A man with a neurotic smile swore allegiance to the God of Whisper. Behind him, several 'people' who looked as if they had just been pulled out of a shredder lay scattered on the ground, clearly beyond dead...
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Chapter 96: End
