Chapter 94: Black Death Prison

Chapter 94: Chapter 94: Black Death Prison

"The first time you read this record, you must be wondering why I used so many ancient scripts."

"While the main reason is to filter people, ensuring only those who are worthy learn the truth..."

"...a small part of it was also to guard against His Majesty, the King."

"It may seem unbelievable, but our King cannot read ancient scripts. To be more precise, he is incapable of learning them."

"On this point, as someone who has followed him for nearly twenty years, I am absolutely certain."

The Prime Minister’s words gave Chen Qi pause. This passage revealed two very important pieces of information.

First, there had to be players who had learned the other thirteen ancient scripts, besides Divination Text, Rope Text, and Doumu’s Spiral. Otherwise, the Prime Minister would have written all this for nothing.

There must even be some who have completed their Spirit Awakening.

The proof was the Spell on the Spiral Horn of the Dog of Death.

Before, when he didn’t know about the game’s defense mechanism, Chen Qi couldn’t rule out the possibility that a non-player was responsible.

But now? It could only be the work of a player.

’So there’s no room for complacency or smugness.’

Although the majority of players might be "illiterate" in this regard, anyone who survived a few rounds would desperately invest whatever it took to learn, even if it shortened their lifespan.

...

The first piece of information didn’t surprise Chen Qi. It was the second point that truly made him pensive. ℴ

’The game has been running for over forty years, and the King is still an "illiterate"?’

’Even the biggest idiot among ordinary people could master at least one ancient script in that amount of time.’

’For the King to have risen from a common merchant to his current status... to call him a moron would be utterly absurd.’

’There was only one possible answer: Gutaf had likely stopped being human a long time ago.’

The ancient scripts, originating from a long-lost era of human civilization, possessed special powers.

Chen Qi wouldn’t be surprised at all if they had some special mechanism preventing non-human life forms from learning them.

After all, humans weren’t the only sapient lifeforms in this World.

It was almost a given that different sapient species would "encrypt" the Extraordinary texts they created to keep them from one another.

Humans fought viciously enough amongst themselves; conflicts with an Alien Race would be even more brutal.

Gutaf’s strange situation reminded Chen Qi of Article No. 7 of the Spirit Realm Declaration.

"Acknowledge the World Government’s definition and classification of humanity."

There was a reason that article existed.

Of course, this was all just Chen Qi’s speculation for now, but the Prime Minister’s next words provided solid proof.

...

"I used to find it difficult to understand why the King was unable to learn the ancient scripts, but now it seems clear that he must have ceased to be human long ago."

"As for when this happened, I believe it was at the very moment the game was born."

"Gutaf was no longer human from that point on."

"To find evidence, I consulted the Kingdom’s classified archives, especially those concerning the Bloody Coup."

"I didn’t expect to find anything, as the game’s power conceals all traces."

"But surprisingly, I did. And the information had already been carefully compiled."

"I realized in that instant that I was by no means the first to do so, but merely one of the Latecomers."

"It makes sense. The other players aren’t fools; they must have turned over every stone regarding Gutaf long ago."

"In that compiled file, I found records of assassination attempts on Gutaf."

"Between his ascension to the throne and the Bloody Coup, he survived at least thirteen assassination attempts."

"Some of these attempts came from within the Lanyu Kingdom, while others were from external powers."

"There are records of three instances where the assassins clearly succeeded: poisoning, a bullet piercing his heart, and his neck being severed."

"Yet, Gutaf remained unharmed each time."

"The most unbelievable record is from the night of the Bloody Coup. The Prime Minister at the time, Morici, personally dismembered Gutaf and even used an Electromagnetic Bomb to destroy the remains."

"But incredibly, in the very next moment, Gutaf resurrected."

"Many survivors that night witnessed a small piece of Gutaf’s remaining flesh rapidly proliferate and grow, eventually reforming into the complete Gutaf."

"This bizarre turn of events shattered the rebels’ morale, leading to the coup’s failure."

The Prime Minister’s record was ample proof that there was no shortage of intelligent people among the players.

Chen Qi already knew this after witnessing the grand machinations of the Game Monarch.

What concerned Chen Qi more was the account of the King being unkillable during the Bloody Coup.

This inevitably reminded him of the last words he had seen in the sewers.

"Hate, hate, hate! Why can’t he be killed? Heaven has doomed the Lanyu Kingdom."

Chen Qi had previously assumed they simply failed in their coup. He never imagined that the King was literally unkillable.

’But Gutaf’s method of Resurrection... why does it feel so familiar?’

’Isn’t this the Flesh-Proliferating Undying Body I developed?’

’It’s just that the version Gutaf uses is more High-level and more complete.’

...

"Within that compiled file, I also found the motive for the first Prime Minister, Morici, to launch the coup."

"While they were certainly trying to escape the fate of aging, the more direct catalyst was instigation from an outside party."

"Morici had received a guarantee from the Nulis Federation: if he could kill Gutaf and end the King’s Game, not only would his lost lifespan be restored, but he would also be allowed to continue ruling the Lanyu Kingdom."