Fifteenth layer of the Silent Spiral. Amidst the sweeping thunder, rain, wind, and fire, a tiny sanctuary was pressed against the wall, like a precarious shelter on the verge of collapse.

Igor stood in front of Gwen, minimizing the size of the sanctuary as much as possible. The larger the sanctuary, the wider the area exposed to attack, and naturally, the greater the consumption of spellforce. Now Igor had to save every bit of spellforce he could, ideally shrinking the sanctuary until it clung to his body. But he had to protect Gwen, so the sanctuary had to leave enough space for two people.

Yet, the situation continued to deteriorate. His spellforce had already dropped to a third, and after the “Psychological Shadow Blast,” the Black Feather sorcerers had entered a state of complete withdrawal; Igor hadn’t managed to lure a single one out to be culled.

Even when Raven scrawled wildly on the barrier of their sanctuary, not a single Black Feather sorcerer so much as glanced at Raven, as if he were nothing but a noisy crow.

“Surrender, Lord Igor.” The Mercury Trojan Horse regained her confident posture. “You have nowhere left to run. My Guard will not be deceived or manipulated by you.”

“I never deceive anyone,” Igor replied. “I just tell people stories they’re willing to believe.”

Igor couldn’t help but admire the Mercury Trojan Horse-he had deliberately pointed out the Black Feather sorcerers’ envy and fear of Raven, hoping to drive a wedge into their hearts. Yet the Mercury Trojan Horse had plucked out that thorn and healed the wound with a spit. The scar that remained did not become a source of their inferiority, but rather a symbol of their pride.

Though there were only three sanctuary sorcerers left, the combat strength of the Guard had not diminished-instead, it had increased.

In terms of Playing with People’s Hearts, among all the people Igor knew, the Mercury Trojan Horse could rank second.

But now, the Mercury Trojan Horse had made up her mind to slowly exhaust Igor’s spellforce. In the face of such an orthodox assault, where the many oppress the few, Igor-who excelled in cunning and Scheme-was truly at his wit’s end.

Once his spellforce dried up, he’d be no different from Lala Fatty, waiting to be slaughtered!

Just then, the ground beneath them suddenly collapsed. Igor and Gwen instantly unfurled their Twin Wings and soared upward, but the Black Feather sorcerers were well-prepared, already casting Thunder-Water Arrow Rain to hunt them down. Everywhere Igor looked, the raindrops all poured toward him, every one destined to fall into his eyes.

Swoosh! They flew through the storm. The Thunder-Water Arrow Rain veered after them, pattering ceaselessly on the sanctuary. As Igor darted in front of the wall, hoping to let the Thunder-Water Arrow Rain expend itself against it, he suddenly noticed something strange.

Crack!

He yanked Gwen into his arms. Gwen’s arm had already been pierced by a Thunder-Water Arrow, the wound charred and deep enough to expose bone.

Igor glanced at her but said nothing. He’d thought it was just an accident, but during the next fiery storm attack, he noticed Gwen almost stepping out of the sanctuary. He grabbed her wrist suddenly, causing her to wince in pain.

“Is it just my delusion,” Igor murmured, “or are you really trying to get yourself killed?”

Gwen was silent.

“Are all you Senlo people like this? Rushing toward death, thinking you can leave something behind through dying. Raven was like this. So are you. Looking at it this way, Mercury Trojan Horse and Chikara are a bit better-at least they know to cherish life… If your mouth can’t speak, maybe it should just be sewn shut.”

Gwen still said nothing.

After so many days together, Igor had long since figured out the temperament of this Star sorcerer assistant. No response meant she hadn’t changed her mind. Even with just a strand of hair, Igor could guess what she was thinking. Wasn’t it just that she thought everyone was doomed, but if she, the burden, were gone, Igor’s sanctuary would last a little longer, and he’d have a better chance to escape…

That’s why Igor really hated Senlo people. Loved them chaotically, hated them chaotically-a truly chaotic Kingdom. Everyone acts on their own, everyone goes mad for something…

Madness…

Suddenly, the Con Artist had a curious idea.

“If you really want to die…” Igor said coldly, “Fine, I’ll give you a chance.”

Gwen looked up at him, nodding slowly.

As the Black Feather sorcerers switched to the Thunder-Water Arrow Rain offensive, Igor and Gwen suddenly ran in opposite directions, heading for the upper and lower Fog Gates.

The Mercury Trojan Horse was momentarily stunned, but immediately commanded: “Lock on to Igor!”

Thunder-Water Arrow Rain shot toward Igor. He unleashed a massive-range Mental Scream, affecting all the Black Feather sorcerers and shattering most of the Thunder-Water Arrow Rain. Yet a few arrows pierced through Igor!

However-

“Mercury Trojan Horse, do you really want to fight me to the death?”

Mercury Trojan Horse blinked-she saw Igor unharmed, appearing near the lower gate. The one pierced by Thunder-Water Arrow Rain was actually Gwen!

Her pupils shrank. Could it be-

“Swap Spirit,” Igor said coldly. “This is my trump card… If you hadn’t insisted on stopping me, I wouldn’t even want to reveal this power.”

Gwen leaned against the earthen wall before the upper Fog Gate, trembling in pain.

“I’ll ask you once more, Mercury Trojan Horse: will you let me go, or not?”

A thought flashed through the Mercury Trojan Horse’s mind. “If you’re willing to hand over the Swap Spirit, I’ll let you go.”

Swap Spirit!

Anyone could see at a glance the immense potential of this spirit!

Just imagine: during a standoff, if you suddenly swap the opponent’s key figure into your own ranks-what would happen? During an ambush, if you suddenly swap the target into your trap-what would happen? During a pursuit…

The tactical value of this spirit was immeasurable. Although Mercury Trojan Horse had never heard of such a spirit, in the Virtual Realm, anything was possible. Besides, Igor came from another Kingdom; perhaps this was a Spellcasting achievement from elsewhere.

If she could obtain this spirit, it would be no less than gaining the power of a sanctuary sorcerer!

Yet Igor sneered, “Don’t bother making promises as flimsy as toilet paper.”

“Then hand over all your other spirits.” Mercury Trojan Horse said at once. “If there’s one I want, maybe I’ll be happy enough to let you go.”

“Not all of them. At most, I can give you a few.”

“Then tell me what spirits you have…”

On the side, Raven watched their negotiations in silence. Luckily, his raven mask concealed his shock.

In his vision, it was Igor who was sitting on the ground wounded, and Gwen who was standing!

Igor and Gwen-had never switched places at all!

The Con Artist likely cast an illusion Miracle on himself and Gwen, so in the eyes of others, he and Gwen swapped places in an instant. However, the Raven is immune to any direct spirit influence, and he is almost completely impervious to such mental influence Miracles!

The Raven was puzzled as to why Igor would do such a thing, but then he noticed Igor was stealthily digging a hole in the earthen barrier, behind which lay the Fog Gate leading to the next level-Igor intended to escape!

Indeed, with no hope of defeating the Mercury Trojan Horse, why not leave? From the beginning, the Raven had hoped only he would die here; Igor and Gwen were implicated because of him, so their departure was only natural.

But…

The Raven looked at Gwen, who was gradually approaching the Mercury Trojan Horse, and pressed his lips together in silence.

He hadn’t expected Igor to use Gwen as bait to distract the Mercury Trojan Horse in order to buy time to dig the hole.

But upon reflection, the Raven couldn’t blame Igor. Gwen was their captive, and she had previously been the vessel of sin for the Mercury Trojan Horse. She should have died in the Dead City long ago, and it was Igor and the others who spared her life.

Now, Igor was using her as bait to buy himself a chance to survive, which was what Gwen should do.

Yet, the Raven’s mind was in turmoil, wanting to hit Tanomoo and Igor-didn’t Igor know why Gwen was willing to be bait for him!?

She never said anything, quietly following him, doing anything he didn’t want to do, preparing everything he was too lazy to prepare. She was like an inconspicuous blade of grass, just wanting to be by his side, not even needing him to look at her, just needing the sunlight he let through to flourish.

But he could do nothing, say nothing, only quietly watch the situation unfold, because this was what Igor wanted, and what Gwen was willing to do.

“…Three three-wing spirits, that’s my limit.”

“Alright, deal,” the Mercury Trojan Horse said happily. “Hand over the spirits.”

Gwen looked at the Black Feather sorcerers before her, trembling with fear. She suddenly pressed her injured arm, took a deep breath, and spread her virtual wings to fly.

She should have died long ago, during the Four Pillars Cult’s invasion of the cult, in the Dead City. She had lived her life in a daze, only knowing to follow the cult’s orders, the Mercury Trojan Horse’s orders, not knowing why she lived or died, living like an animal.

But at least this time, she chose to live this way, to die this way.

As an animal, she had lived too long; but as a star, shining briefly was just right.

She spread her virtual wings and flew, following Igor’s last command, shouting, “Raven, get ready-“

“Attack!”

With the Mercury Trojan Horse’s order, the Black Feather sorcerers launched the Thunder-Water Arrow Rain again! But their target was not ‘Igor’ flying in the air, but ‘Gwen’ digging a hole in the distance!

After all, even the Raven noticed ‘Gwen’ was digging a hole, so how could the Mercury Trojan Horse not see it? But her thinking was completely different from the Raven’s-she believed that after ‘Gwen’ finished digging, ‘Igor’ would swap places with ‘Gwen’ and seize the chance to escape back to the upper level!

The reason ‘Igor’ negotiated with her was merely to buy ‘Gwen’ time to dig!

So, apart from a small portion of the arrow rain aimed at ‘Igor,’ the majority surged towards ‘Gwen’! This way, after ‘Igor’ and ‘Gwen’ swapped places, ‘Igor’ would still be bombarded by the Thunder-Water Arrow Rain!

At that moment,

Gwen thought she was the bait,

The Raven thought Gwen was the bait,

The Mercury Trojan Horse also thought ‘Gwen’ was the bait!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!-

Even though the Mental Scream echoed in the hall, many thunder-water arrows still pierced through the figure beside the earthen wall!

“Who are you attacking?”

With Igor’s mocking voice echoing in the hall, the Black Feather sorcerers were horrified to find that the pitiful figure pinned to the wall by the Thunder-Water Arrow Rain, covered in blood and coughing up a mouthful of foul blood, was…

The Mercury Trojan Horse!

The Con Artist had actually swapped Gwen’s position with the esteemed one?

They had killed the esteemed one?

In an instant, the Black Feather sorcerers dropped their weapons and knelt on the ground, the light in the hall seeming to dim as overwhelming darkness engulfed their world.

In the hearts of all the Black Feather sorcerers, a bloodthirsty raven pecked at their conscience.

Gwen stared blankly at the scene, unharmed because the Sanctuary protected her.

It was Igor’s Sanctuary.

He used the Sanctuary to protect Gwen, while he bore the brunt of the Thunder-Water Arrow Rain, which was the necessary price. Only this way would the Black Feather sorcerers fully believe his story’s ending.

The story began when he and Gwen swapped identities.

The Swap Spirit was the core of the story. He had to make the Black Feather sorcerers believe he truly had a spirit capable of swapping two people’s positions, so he had to create an opportunity for him and Gwen to swap places, for example, swapping with Gwen just before getting injured.

Then, he only needed to disguise himself as the Mercury Trojan Horse the next time he got injured, and the Black Feather sorcerers would believe Igor had swapped places with the Mercury Trojan Horse, that they had harmed their master.

In any other place, this scheme would be meaningless. But in the Raven Annihilation Trial, Igor’s plot could become a deadly dagger!

The guilt of killing the Mercury Trojan Horse would crush the Black Feather sorcerers’ mental defenses, rendering them completely powerless! Even the three sanctuary sorcerers couldn’t maintain their Sanctuaries!

So-

Igor almost coughed up blood as he shouted, “Tamashi!”

Slash!

Before he even spoke, the Raven’s dance of slaughter had already begun. Countless heads flew, countless corpses fell, countless blood splattered, and wherever the Death Raven passed, all beings were harvested like straw!

Three sanctuary sorcerers.

Thirteen two-wings sorcerers.

Twenty One-Winged sorcerers.

Three seconds.

It took only three seconds for the Raven to utterly destroy the Mercury Trojan Horse’s last assets. Throughout the process, the Mercury Trojan Horse watched in a daze, seemingly not yet comprehending, or perhaps knowing she was already powerless.

She looked up, seeing the shadow of the Death Raven looming over her.