Chapter 134
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Let Me Make a Proposal
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『Stoning Execution』
The moment the cold voice rang out.
Hundreds, thousands of pebbles came flying in from all directions.
Stones only in form, each one carrying destructive power closer to artillery shells than bullets—a deadly rain of death.
Yet that death did not touch her.
She gently deflected them with the back of her hand, lightly crushed them under her toes, flicked them away with her palm in a single motion, snatched them mid-air with her fingers, and more.
Without taking a single step, she calmly caught hundreds of stones with one hand. The girl's figure was otherworldly.
The epitome of elegance, reminiscent of a dancer twirling amid scattering petals.
『Burning Execution』
As if she had seen it coming.
Ferocious flames followed immediately on the heels of the stones.
They erupted from the ground, engulfing her from all sides—a hellfire of agony that melted flesh, charred bone, and incinerated humans.
But that torment was smothered.
The girl lightly stomped her foot.
Black mist spread like clouds, suppressing the blaze.
From her fingertips, shaken off casually, dark energy burst forth like a breath extinguishing a candle flame, snuffing out the fire in an instant.
『Beheading Execution』
Seizing the opening came the blades.
Aiming to sever her breath in one stroke.
The executioner's blade plummeted toward her neck at a speed invisible to the eye.
Yet the execution missed its mark.
As if there were no need even to block it.
She bent backward until the back of her head nearly brushed her heels, dodging the blade.
Then, propping herself on the ground with one hand, she spun in a graceful aerial flip, righting her body.
Belloss quietly spoke as he gazed at the black-haired girl, Li Chingwei, unscathed despite his masterful chain of attacks.
"For a primitive lizard half-breed, you're awfully tenacious."
"And you, who claims to be an absolute being, aren't striking nearly hard enough."
Belloss showed no agitation at Li Chingwei's provocative words.
He merely wore a cold smile.
"Prattle all you like. You can't defeat me anyway."
"Quite confident."
"Doesn't your current state prove it?"
"That's..."
The moment she heard those words.
Li Chingwei wore a troubled expression.
It wasn't unfounded—her appearance was far from pristine.
Though she bore no major wounds, her torn sleeves in places and the hem slightly singed by flames betrayed just how precarious her situation had been.
"Pointing out a lady's attire? You'll never make a gentleman."
In the end, Li Chingwei opted for counterattack over rebuttal.
She subtly flicked one hand.
Dark energy shot out without a trace of presence.
It was a lethal strike that would make even a high-level player with a sturdy body vomit blood and collapse if caught off-guard.
BOOM!!!
But the ambush failed.
The dark energy was intercepted mid-air before it could even reach Belloss, exploding harmlessly.
"No matter how many times you try, it's futile. Attacks of that caliber can't pierce my legal code."
Belloss sneered coldly.
Yuna Kyung shuddered as she watched the pages torn from the legal code swirling around him.
Those flimsy sheets of paper moved on their own, blocking Li Chingwei's dark energy.
[Ugh... Cheat skills weren't enough, now cheat items too? Dirty cheater!]
It was enough to make her curse.
『Prohibit High-Speed Movement』
『Prohibit Bipedal Walking』
『Protect Execution Tools Act』
Li Chingwei was already under three restrictions.
That alone was tantamount to fighting with her hands and feet bound.
On top of that, she was still under hundreds of tons of pressure while cradling a box in one arm—astonishing that she'd held out this long.
And that damned legal code rendered most attacks useless.
As Yuna Kyung said, this was a cheat scenario where the outcome was predetermined.
"A cheat, is it?"
[Princess sis thinks it's unfair too, right?]
"No, it feels a bit lacking to call it a true cheat."
[...You're joking right now?]
"It's my honest impression."
[How can you have that impression in this situation?!]
Yet amid all this, Li Chingwei neither despaired nor surrendered.
She simply regarded Belloss with calm composure.
"A true cheat would make resistance utterly impossible, but his skills seem somehow counterable."
[That's not what I asked...!]
"Amusing drivel."
As Yuna Kyung gaped in disbelief.
Belloss cut into their exchange curtly.
Speaking in place of the silenced Yuna Kyung, Li Chingwei asked steadily.
"You think it's drivel?"
"Isn't it?"
"No, I have my reasons."
Li Chingwei met Belloss's gaze directly.
She placed her pale, delicate hand over her own modestly curved chest and continued softly.
"The mere fact that I'm still alive proves you haven't truly ascended to the ranks of an absolute being like a lord."
Cheat skills were the power of lords.
Proof of absolutes, in other words.
And if Belloss were truly an absolute on par with a lord, he should have slain her long ago.
Thus, her survival meant he had no right to claim the title of absolute.
Li Chingwei spoke calmly.
Her words rang all the truer for their sincerity, twisting Belloss's face into a frosty mask.
"Provocation is a game for those who can bear the consequences, you foolish wench."
"I wasn't trying to provoke. I simply wanted to share one fact."
"What fact?"
"Even if you escape this place unscathed, you won't survive the Seven Dragon Society's grasp."
Li Chingwei stated matter-of-factly.
Belloss was undoubtedly powerful, and his comrades might possess strength surpassing duke-class players.
But they were only three.
The Seven Dragon Society, by contrast, had seven princesses like her, plus dozens of attendant masters rivaling duke-class players.
Factor in the Seven Dragon Group's immense wealth?
Organizationally speaking—regardless of individual prowess—the Liberation Brigade could never prevail.
"So let me make a proposal."
Her obsidian eyes, deep and alluringly sunken, fixed on Belloss as Li Chingwei continued softly.
"Withdraw quietly now. If you refrain from antagonizing the Seven Dragon Society henceforth, I won't pursue you."
[Eh! You're serious?!]
Yuna Kyung's beak fell open.
It was an utterly unimaginable offer.
Far too conciliatory a truce proposal from the Seven Dragon Society, infamous for washing blood with blood.
"Indeed, a fine proposal."
Perhaps recognizing its sheer audacity.
Belloss let out a short murmur of admiration.
Then he laughed coldly.
"Amusing enough to draw a scoff."
KABOOM!
[Kyaa! Princess sis?!]
It happened in an instant.
As Belloss listened to Li Chingwei while quietly scanning his legal code, his hand paused at one section.
A massive cartwheel burst forth, slamming into her.
As she reeled, vomiting blood, chains erupted from all sides, binding her limbs tightly and suspending her from the cartwheel.
"...An ambush mid-negotiation? Manners truly escape you."
Her limbs shackled by chains, she had even dropped the box clutched to her chest. Belloss sneered mockingly at Li Chingwei's accusation.
"Surprising. To think you mistook begging for your life as negotiation."
"I don't recall begging for my life."
"Spare me the nonsense. Proposal or not, it boils down to pleading we retreat out of fear of the Seven Dragon Society's retaliation, doesn't it?"
Belloss scoffed.
She had declared intent to kill him.
Yet when the tide turned, her response was this petty threat leveraging her organization's clout.
The Seven Dragon Society's strongest warrior? In the end, a flower grown in a greenhouse—he couldn't help but sneer inwardly.
"Not afraid of the Seven Dragon Society's retaliation, then?"
"Of course not."
"Why? You must know even your strength can't let three people take on the Society."
"What a foolish question."
Sneering at Li Chingwei's obtuseness in still believing she held the advantage, Belloss wore a cold smile.
"Do you truly think the Liberation Brigade's specters number only three?"
"You mean there are more like you?"
Li Chingwei's obsidian eyes widened in surprise as they fixed on him.
Belloss laughed at the sight of her.
"The Liberation Brigade's specters total twelve. All blessed with greatness like mine."
"That's... certainly a threat."
"More than a threat."
If there were twelve players ascended to absolute like Belloss, even the Society would struggle to endure.
Belloss declared to Li Chingwei, whose calm eyes betrayed anxiety.
"If we move in earnest, I guarantee the Seven Dragon Society will crumble within five years."
"No way. Even if the Brigade has that much latent power, the top ten guilds won't stand by."
"Ha, you think the top ten guilds will side with you?"
An involuntary scoff escaped him.
Deep eyes watched him steadily.
"Because if the Seven Dragon Society falls, it triggers a global economic collapse."
"If that's your faith, change your mind now. Because..."
Mid-passionate speech.
Belloss abruptly fell silent.
He'd sensed an odd discomfort.
'Why?'
Li Chingwei was ensnared by his skill; one gesture would end her.
Yet for the life of him, he couldn't recall why he was prattling to his prey.
"Why should I change my mind?"
But the moment he met Li Chingwei's eyes upon her question.
Belloss realized naturally.
Because she had asked.
No further reason needed—no need to question it.
"That's..., ugh?!"
As he naturally moved to answer, a stabbing pain pierced his skull, contorting his face.
He clutched his temple, staggering, then hurriedly flipped open his legal code and shouted.
『Mental Manipulation Prohibition Act』
Crack!
Right then.
He felt something shatter.
With it, the needle-like pain and fog blanketing his mind lifted.
In its place, uncontrollable rage overtook his features.
"You—this primitive beast's mongrel—dare?!"
His fury was such that he abandoned even formal speech, glaring at her as if to crush her on the spot.
Yet Li Chingwei showed no fear even under his gaze.
She wore only her usual smile—but more strangely seductive, more bewitchingly alluring than ever.
"Indeed, the Liberation Brigade's specters number only twelve for now?"
Abyss-deep.
Marsh-murky.
Moonlit beauty.
Night's peril, all the more intoxicating for it.
Just gazing into those dizzyingly obsidian eyes made him want to drop to his knees and press lips to the back of her foot. Belloss ground his teeth until blood welled.