CHAPTER 344: CHAPTER 217: THE GATEKEEPER, SWORD OF DAMOCLES

Norway, Bergen, Bryggen Pier.

The flock of crows in the sky suddenly became agitated, letting out continuous hoarse cries, like a dark cloud racing across the pitch-black night sky. The sea also started to churn unpredictably, with the rushing tides pounding the harbor growing more than double in height. This magnitude continued to rise, as if a tsunami was about to hit.

"The legendary whale ’Chikanao’... has arrived."

As Urushibara’s words fell, the eleven team members scattered on the pier all raised their heads in unison, looking at the colossal silhouette sweeping in from the horizon.

It shattered the half-moon reflection on the sea, replacing it with an overbearing posture that occupied everyone’s sight. The gigantic waves roared in, and the raucous sounds almost enveloped the entirety of Bryggen Pier.

Anluns, with his hands in his suit pockets, couldn’t help but whistle softly in admiration:

"Bravo!"

The hacker patted his butt, dusting off his jumpsuit, and stood up from behind the fishing boat mast.

He turned around and instructed the team members on the pier, "At this rate, I estimate the legendary whale will be here in about ten minutes. I’ve sent the Royal Court Team’s list to you all via phone; double-check it, and don’t let your guard down."

"Little brat’s voice is quite loud," Bloodline said indifferently.

"So noisy, old hag," the hacker raised his dead fish eyes and glanced at her disdainfully.

Xia Pingzhou was expressionlessly leaning on the railing at this moment, silently finishing the last piece of reindeer sausage, then tossed the fork and plastic bag into the trash bin.

After that, he opened his phone and glanced at the photos and list sent by the hacker.

.....

1. Captain: Ruth (with long sea-blue hair, wearing sapphire earrings): Master of the generational tales "Titanic," "Loch Ness Monster."

2. Lewis (with curly brown hair, wearing glasses): Master of the generational tale "Bermuda Triangle."

3. Jiugui Suye (a Japanese with a crew cut): Master of the generational tale "Night Parade of Hundred Demons."

4. Di Rejie (hair spiked skyward, a broken eyebrow): Master of the generational tale "Tunguska Explosion."

5. Koajenna (wearing a bun, with heavy dark circles): Master of the generational tale "Tower of Babel."

6. Laine (with black hair, golden eyes, unruly long hair, sporting a beard): Master of the generational tale "Sword in the Stone."

....

Xia Pingzhou scanned through the information but didn’t see Li Qingping’s photo.

He looked up from his phone towards the hacker on the deck, "What about Red Dragon? Why isn’t there any information on him?"

The hacker said blandly, "According to the intel our leader got from an unknown collaborator, Red Dragon is on our side this time. Besides, everyone’s seen him at the auction, so there’s no need for a detailed introduction, right?"

Bai Tanlang frowned, "Collaborating with the dragon from the auction... Are you sure?"

He obviously hadn’t forgotten the last confrontation with Red Dragon at the Mirror Auction, making it difficult to believe that Li Qingping would be their ally.

"Cut the crap... What are the leader’s orders?" Jack the Ripper said as he got up from the corner of the wooden house by the harbor and walked over.

A crow pierced through the night to land on the fishing boat, and Urushibara swapped places with it, appearing on the deck. Hunching his back, he sat on the railing, turning his head to look at the shadow of the legendary whale, and spoke to the eleven team members scattered on the pier:

"Not a single member of the Royal Court Team should be spared."

Jack the Ripper gave a chuckle, summoned his tachi, and looked downward at the gleaming blade, "Then I’m relieved... Just right to test my strength now, was worried I wouldn’t find an opponent."

The kimono-clad girl rose from the public wooden bench on the pier, finally stopping her practice typing on her phone. She tucked the phone away in her sleeve and then slowly walked to Xia Pingzhou’s side.

She said, "After returning, let’s take the cable car together."

"Then don’t die," Xia Pingzhou turned around to look at her.

"You too."

Tong Zizhu cupped her cheeks in her hands, elbows resting on the railing, and turned her head to look at them, "Do you all like doing this kind of thing before actions? Why does it feel like the chance of dying suddenly increased?"

Bernardo had one hand in the pocket of his white trench coat and with the other adjusted his single-sided mirror, smiling slightly.

"Ah, to be young," he said, with wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes.

After a while, a long whale’s cry suddenly came from the horizon. Then the sea split in two, and from a gorge-like massive fissure, a giant creature slowly revealed itself.

Xia Pingzhou carefully observed the monster emerging from the sea.

It was a whale with an entirely reddish-brown body, carrying with it surging waves that rolled from a corner of the horizon. It rose from the enormous whirlpool, with deep, vacant eyes scrutinizing Bryggen Pier, as if a deity from the heavens gazing down upon the world of humans.

The reddish-brown whale before us stretches to a length of 200 meters, comparable to the length of a Tennessee-class battleship.

Legendary Whale—"Chikanao," this is the second time Ji Minghuan has seen this whale.

The first time was at the port of Li Jing, where he followed Li Qingping, witnessing him entering the Whale’s Mouth. If he remembers correctly, there’s a gatekeeper at the Whale’s Mouth.

The next moment, the gigantic reddish-brown whale slowly opened its mouth.

From its bottomless maw, a transparent glass-like pathway extended out, and an old man dressed in a butler’s outfit leisurely emerged with his hands behind his back.

Upon seeing the twelve figures, he suddenly summoned an Anecdote Atlas from thin air, held it in his palm, flipped to a page, drew a card, and crushed it.

As the card shattered, a massive elliptical glass barrier enveloped the world within hundreds of meters.

The hacker raised an eyebrow with interest, saying, "Common-level Anecdote Fragment—’Cognitive Barrier.’ Each time the Legendary Whale lands, its gatekeeper uses this card to prevent this stinky and massive whale from being discovered by the inhabitants of the human world."

Andrew looked up at the gatekeeper within the Whale’s Mouth, scratching his chin stubble.

He muttered, "Gatekeeper, huh? I heard about it from Lan Duoduo... Somehow, this kind of character doesn’t seem simple. Could it be a ’sweeping monk’-like archetype?"

Robert shrugged, "If it really is such an archetype, I wouldn’t be at the bottom of our crew, being teased as the ’door-opener’ every day."

The old man in the Whale’s Mouth slowly lowered his head, hands behind his back, letting his gaze sweep across the twelve figures scattered on the pier before sighing and scratching his snow-white temples.

"I’m sorry... My name is ’Nabis,’ the gatekeeper of this miniature garden. I cannot let you pass through here."

The gatekeeper spoke, summoning the Anecdote Atlas and drawing an orange card from it, holding it in his hand, "Even if it costs this worthless old life."

The next moment, the gatekeeper crushed the card in his hand.

Orange light patterns flashed through the air, and suddenly, a massive suspended sword formed above the giant whale. By eye measurement, it measured 50 meters long and 10 meters wide; falling from such a height, it could probably destroy a skyscraper.

"Era-level Anecdote—’Sword of Damocles.’" Urushibara Osamu said expressionlessly, "I see... To be chosen as a gatekeeper of this miniature world requires some level of prowess."

From between his forefinger and middle finger, he pulled out a playing card, and a flock of crows surged forward from the tail of his trench coat. Meanwhile, the suspended giant sword suddenly moved, engulfed by the roaring atmosphere, descending with a tearing sound.

A fierce wind descended from the sky, making the air pressure over the entire pier feel heavier.

Bai Tanlang raised his head, stomping heavily on the deck of the fishing boat, his figure shooting into the sky like a cannonball. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a giant wolf dozens of meters long, with eyes shining with a polar day-like brilliance.

The Celestial Wolf roared, raising his head, his two hind legs bracing against the decks of two fishing boats, while his forelegs hugged the sword’s body, preventing the falling giant sword.

Meanwhile, a crow spread its wings and flew into the Whale’s Mouth. By the time the gatekeeper Nabis came back to his senses, Urushibara Osamu was already behind him, a playing card slipping smoothly between the gap of his forefinger and middle finger, slicing across the gatekeeper’s neck, followed by a jet of bright blood.

The gatekeeper slowly kneeled on the ground. His expression remained calm, only the color of his eyes gradually becoming cloudy and hollow.

"It’s useless... you heartless thieves cannot defeat the Royal Court Team." Leaning against the Whale’s Mouth, the gatekeeper lowered his head, speaking hoarsely.

Blood spurted from his neck, forming a gurgling pool beneath him.

Urushibara Osamu did not respond, not even sparing a glance at the scene outside the Whale’s Mouth, storing away the playing card from between his fingers, and slipping his hands into the pockets of his black coat, silently walking into the Whale’s belly.

The crew members followed him, heading deeper into the Whale’s Mouth.

Meanwhile, on the pier, Jack the Ripper’s dark red tachi transformed into a giant scythe at this moment, launching from the pier’s railing, landing at the very bottom of Damocles’ Sword.

She swung the scythe, embedding the sharp blade into the sword’s body, then sprinted along the surface of Damocles’ Sword, as if running on the surface of a skyscraper, her silhouette becoming a dark red meteor racing upward.

In a flash, the scythe in her hand opened a massive crack down the center of the 50-meter-long giant sword.

Then, Bai Tanlang roared with rage, applying force with both arms, the crack at the center of Damocles’ Sword continuously expanding until it was forcibly ripped into two halves, crashing into the dark sea, stirring up a wave of white spray.

Finally, the split Damocles’ Sword was swallowed by the surging waves, sinking to the sea bottom.

The Celestial Wolf slowly reverted to his original form, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. The fishing boat beneath him was teetering and about to sink into the sea. Bai Tanlang leaned down to pick up clothes from the deck, putting them on, turning to glance around, only to see that all the other crew members had already entered the Whale’s Mouth. The Bryggen Pier was completely empty.

It seemed like everyone believed he and Jack the Ripper were enough to clean up the aftermath, with not a single person staying behind to spare them a glance.

A schoolgirl in a uniform descended from the sky, landing on the fishing boat’s railing. The scythe in her hand had somehow transformed back into a slender tachi. Her hair fluttering, she pressed down her black and white skirt billowing up, turning to ask Bai Tanlang:

"Are you okay?"

"Are you talking to me?"

Bai Tanlang scoffed coldly, his wounds already starting to heal at high speed.

"Then let’s go... this boat is about to collapse." Jack the Ripper reminded, glancing at the fishing boat already halfway sunk into the sea.

Bai Tanlang stepped forward, leaping into the Whale’s Mouth with Jack the Ripper, heading into the bottomless Whale’s belly.