Chapter 2971 - 989: Since Things Have Come to This, There’s Only One Choice Left...

Chapter 2971: Chapter 989: Since Things Have Come to This, There’s Only One Choice Left...

She knew this would be hard, but she was already a Divine Spirit.

She had more than enough time to finish weaving this gorgeous net, but while enjoying the front-row seat to watch the big shots duke it out, Rose hadn’t forgotten her own duty.

She whispered:

"Don’t resist, child, accept everything that is about to happen, if you want to save yourself and your Penny..."

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"He can save you and your Penny..."

The light voice brushed past Bertie’s ear like the wind, making the young Shadow Elf, who had just finished downloading the outer-layer data, turn his head back in confusion.

He felt like he was hearing things. He was just about to move his feet when a terrifying blast roared behind him, like some kind of explosive going off.

In the convergence and detonation of energy beams, Bertie was slammed into the ground, and in the midst of spinning sky and earth, he lifted his head at the edge of the explosion—just in time to see, within the folding of massive bat wings not far from him, the scene of Mechanical Sage Stephen being decapitated in a single stroke by a flickering Light Saber.

The mechanically modified body crashed to the ground, while his ferocious head spun through the air and landed right in front of him.

There was no blood spraying from the severed neck, only broken cables and oozing black machine oil, and that grotesque, vicious electronic eye twitched twice before going dark in front of Bertie’s eyes.

The Shadow Elf mechanic let out a sharp scream, scrambling away on hands and feet, turning to run.

But in the next instant, Murphy’s combat boot stepped onto his back, and the light single-molecule wire pressed against his throat; all it would take was the slightest pull from Murphy, and this Shadow Elf would quite literally be of two minds.

"That cane! Murphy, that’s the mentor’s cane!"

Master Minkus, who had just landed nearby, slapped at his beard that had been scorched in the explosion, shouting:

"The mentor is right here! I’m going to see him! I’m going to ask him why he did this!"

The enraged master of engineering snatched up his Mechanized Cane and strode forward under the protection of the Squirrel Warrior Guard, but Murphy did not move. He looked down at the struggling Shadow Elf male beneath his boot, cradling the cane in his arms, with a suspicious gaze.

He was sure he had never seen this guy before, and the presence of a Shadow Elf here at this moment was very much something to take note of.

"So, who are you? Why do you have Old Bach·Gaslight’s cane? Are you his servant?"

Murphy asked.

Bertie gritted his teeth and shouted:

"I won’t talk! Beat me to death and I still won’t talk! Don’t you dare interrupt Penny’s resurrection!"

"Penny? Penny ’Shadow Blade’ Majora?"

Murphy spoke the name, making Bertie, lying on the ground, jolt; then he felt Murphy lift his combat boot away and haul him up from the floor.

The vampire said to the Shadow Elf before him:

"I don’t know who you and Penny are, or why you came here, but the Shadowblade surname lets me guess her connection to Sarifov. I have to tell you this—your friend has not been resurrected, deceived young man.

Her consciousness is being reconstructed by Old Bach, her soul being encoded.

And that bastard chose an intelligent Defender as her new body. That means your friend will return in a very flashy ’Astro Boy’ fashion—not that you need to care about a term you don’t understand.

I only want to tell you this: if you truly love your friend, you shouldn’t let her accept such a fate. After all, you can’t try to protect something beautiful by destroying something else.

Remember that. This is Murphy’s advice."

Having said that, Murphy turned to head into the control room to see for himself. But just as he turned around, Bertie behind him swung Old Bach’s cane at Murphy with all his strength; with skills like his, however, harming Murphy was never going to happen.

Murphy didn’t even move. Necessary Evil whistled through the air and pierced Bertie’s chest, lifting him off his feet and nailing him into the metal wall behind.

A mouthful of blood sprayed from Bertie’s lips.

The fatal wound of the Demon Sword through his heart made scenes of growing up with Penny flash before his eyes. Back then, life had always felt grueling; after all, Lord Salifo was not exactly the soft-hearted type. But in his current situation, Bertie felt those bitter old days were as beautiful as heaven.

"Save..."

Nailed there, he struggled to speak. Murphy picked up the bloodstained Mechanized Cane from the ground and stepped closer, seeing Bertie use his last strength to say to him:

"It was you... who destroyed the home Penny and I had... you destroyed Lord Salifo’s dream... you! You’re in league with those rotten Matriarch families—you aid and abet their crimes! Murphy... I hate you... even if this is the first time I’ve seen you...

But I beg you!

Please save Penny... the Scholar is a heartless madman... I don’t trust him."

"I understand just how desperate you are, to the point of begging the enemy you hate, child. Believe me, I wasn’t always this cold-blooded. I always used to want to give such tragically beautiful stories a warm ending. However, you are members of Dusk."

Murphy stepped forward and gripped Necessary Evil, and under his cold gaze he pulled the blade free, making Bertie spit blood again and collapse weakly to the ground.

He flicked the blood from the sword and said:

"You are not worth pity, much less worth saving! Sarifov tried to assassinate me, to intimidate Adel—those and a whole string of things I haven’t even settled with him yet. So just die here. Take what little dignity you have left and stop struggling."

"Pa."

As Murphy turned away, the dying Bertie grabbed the vampire’s boot with blood-smeared fingers and said with difficulty:

"I’ll tell you where the Life Greenhouse is... I know..."

"Spare me. Eden will tell me; I don’t need you."

"There are Dusk people in the Sanghai Empire..."

"It’d be strange if there weren’t. There’s no pure land left in this world without you rats."

"Origin... Origin has been driven to the brink by Duchess Shani’s relentless hunts. She’s going to gamble everything in the Elf Kingdom, and the Witch Cult... has been summoned there too! I’ve made things for them, I can... *cough, cough*... I can..."

"Mm."

Murphy stopped in his tracks, looking down at Bertie coughing blood at his feet. The scent of that blood made the fangs at the corner of his mouth bare as he said:

"I’m starting to take an interest in what’s inside your head, especially the part about ’Origin’. And the fact that Sarifov brought you here means you have quite the relationship with him, doesn’t it? He once told Adel that a man cannot have a weak spot. I’m very curious whether he has actually grasped that truth.

Therefore..."

The vampire crouched down, pinched Bertie’s chin between his fingers, and stared into those despairing eyes. He said:

"I suddenly realized that this Blood Covenant thing might not be entirely without merits—especially when dealing with enemies... Do you want to save Penny?"

"Yes!"

"Then don’t resist..."