Tamashi hasn’t always been victorious in every battle; he has had more close calls than Ashe.

Though he is indeed the pinnacle of humanity, capable of resisting direct influence from spirits, he is still just a mortal. Moreover, the extraordinary methods of sorcerers are unpredictable and unpreventable. Until one masters the Sanctuary, battles between sorcerers are shrouded in mystery, and an unexpected spirit could easily change the tide of battle, especially between a sorcerer and a mortal.

Tamashi served as the most dangerous judgment warrior, constantly confronting the most vicious sorcerers. Even more terrifying, the vast majority of Evil Sorcerers in the wasteland are actually Underworld Forces executing tasks for cults, such as the ‘Ruins Hunters’ of the Tribulation Fire Chapel, the ‘Fuse’ of the War Temple, and the ‘Three Hands’ of the Light Spiral cult. This means that when Raven Annihilation hunts Evil Sorcerers, they risk retaliation from other cults, and during the hunt, Evil Sorcerers might receive support from their cults.

Tamashi encountered such a situation once. He and Tanomoo were pursuing a group of bandits disguised as a merchant convoy. According to Intelligence, the opponents only had a few ordinary One-Winged Sorcerers, but when Raven began his massacre, he was hit by a close-range grey fox gun.

Grey fox guns are extremely rare in the wasteland. Raven had only undergone some training against homemade guns, but faced with the grey fox gun’s speed and power far surpassing homemade guns, he only managed to avoid a fatal hit, but his tailbone was pierced, causing him to fall to the ground, his lower body completely paralyzed.

He was in the enemy’s stronghold, paralyzed.

The gun sorcerer did not immediately kill him, instead shooting twice more to pierce his arm, and then his bandit subordinates captured the nearby Tanomoo. Tanomoo saw Raven lying on the ground and cried out, pleading for their lives, begging to spare Raven, saying she would do anything… But the gun sorcerer merely sneered, slung her over his shoulder, and returned to the house, leaving Raven in the mud.

Raven had just killed their brothers; how could the bandits let him die so easily? Paralyzed, while the gun sorcerer enjoyed himself inside, the other bandits could slowly torture Raven to vent their anger.

Mercury Trojan Horse’s memories of that time are already blurred. She tried to intimidate with the Raven Annihilation Cult, offered her prophecy spirit to entice them, and begged to spare Tamashi, but ultimately couldn’t suppress the fear within her, crying helplessly. Then she was slapped hard by the gun sorcerer, her face swollen, her mind completely dazed, her body losing all strength to resist, allowing herself to be placed on the table by the gun sorcerer.

She could only vaguely remember the gun sorcerer tearing at her clothes, cursing:

“That Raven is doomed!”

“He will be tortured to the point of begging for death!”

“He will die a miserable death!”

Just as the gun sorcerer tore her shorts, the sound of horse hooves echoed from outside. The gun sorcerer cursed at whoever was riding in the yard, then with a bang, the door was smashed open by a tall, grey-brown horse.

The only thing Mercury Trojan Horse remembers clearly is this scene. More unforgettable than hearing the voice of the Four Pillars God, more memorable than seeing Raven assassinate her later, as if Tamashi riding the horse not only crashed into the house but also into her heart.

Tamashi was on horseback, using four spears and ropes to bind himself to the horse to prevent falling. His body was covered in wounds with flesh rolled back, blood soaking through his robe, dripping continuously down his pants, his raven mask broken in a small part, revealing bright, glowing green eyes.

Mercury Trojan Horse didn’t know how he managed to kill all the bandits while paralyzed, nor how he tied himself to the horse. She only remembers Tamashi riding over, and before the gun sorcerer could draw the grey fox gun, he thrust his spear, piercing the gun sorcerer’s head!

“I will not die!”

The voice of the Death Raven echoed repeatedly in Mercury Trojan Horse’s ears:

“I will not die!”

Silent Spiral, fifteenth layer.

Raven pressed Mercury Trojan Horse to the ground, raised the grey fox blade high, aiming at her head, and fiercely stabbed down-

“I will not die.”

Mercury Trojan Horse pulled out a small silver handgun, blocking it against her face.

She calmly gazed at the raven mask that was once her Oneiros, now merely her nightmare: “Unless you want Igor to accompany me to the grave.”

Raven halted his hand.

“Don’t listen to her sweet talk!” Igor coughed out several mouthfuls of foul blood, shouting: “The only way to deal with Mercury Trojan Horse is not to negotiate, but to kill her directly! Cough, cough!”

“Don’t speak so loudly!” Gwen scolded Igor for the first time, almost crying in anxiety, frantically using Hydrotherapy spirit to heal the Con Artist’s wounds.

“Tamashi, you know me.” Mercury Trojan Horse said leisurely: “I wouldn’t use such a clumsy lie to prolong my life. Next, I’m going to dismantle the bullets inside, watch carefully.”

The Mercury Trojan Horse removed the magazine from the miniature silver handgun, flipped it over, and let the bullets tumble out.

“Try piercing a bullet,” she said.

Raven glanced at her calmly and swung the grey fox blade to cut open a bullet.

Inside the silver bullet head was a fine groove, from which some liquid resembling flowing mercury trickled out.

“That’s mercury powder refined from my bone marrow,” the Mercury Trojan Horse explained. “After I became a Tactile Sense, my bone marrow turned into this mercury. Any entity infused with my mercury becomes a trojan horse I can parasitize.”

“Gwen once ingested my bone marrow, which is why I could descend upon her. However, your Adventure in the Dead City purged the mercury from her body, so I couldn’t control her.”

“These mercury bullets, upon hitting the target, inject the mercury inside them into the enemy’s body through kinetic energy.”

The Mercury Trojan Horse waved the magazine: “There are 17 mercury bullets in the magazine, but only 16 here. Where do you think the one I used is now?”

Raven gripped the shoulder blade of the Mercury Trojan Horse tightly with his left hand and used the grey fox blade in his right hand to destroy the remaining mercury bullets.

Gwen and Igor naturally heard the words of the Mercury Trojan Horse. Gwen searched within Igor’s body and, almost sobbing, trembled as she answered, “Mr. Tamashi! There’s a mercury bullet inside Mr. Igor!”

“Seems like my aim was pretty good,” the Mercury Trojan Horse smiled.

“Don’t be afraid of her, Raven,” Igor gasped in pain, nearly collapsing to the ground, but still said, “Her soul… can’t transfer too far. As long as I return to the upper level, she won’t be able to… descend upon me…”

“You can gamble,” the Mercury Trojan Horse gripped Raven’s grey fox blade, aiming it at her own throat: “My soul indeed can’t escape the Silent Spiral. But whether my Tactile Sense range is limited to this level or includes the entire Silent Spiral, you can take a gamble.”

“Of course, as long as you transport Igor to the surface, I definitely can’t reincarnate into his body. But in his condition, can he really pass through the fifteen layers of the spiral Trial?”

“Moreover, after you entered the Silent Spiral, do you think my subordinates would enter the Silent Spiral to find me?” The Mercury Trojan Horse’s hand was cut by the grey fox blade, yet she seemed oblivious, looking at Raven with a cruel and sinister smile, as if the one with a blade to their throat was Raven: “Is Igor really the only vessel I can reincarnate into? Of course, whether he is or not, I will prioritize reincarnating into Mr. Igor and then pretend nothing happened.”

“When I possess Igor’s appearance, Igor’s memories, Igor’s spirit, what difference is there between me and Igor?” The Mercury Trojan Horse pressed the grey fox blade down, the tip piercing her skin, revealing a cute yet terrifying smile: “Tamashi, we can start over.”

After a Miracle of destruction, the hall was already flooded with sewage, a dark mixture of wine, blood, and water flowing over the ground. The Mercury Trojan Horse lay in the sewage, and beside her head, the sewage reflected a grim raven mask.

“This time, I will be more cautious, more discreet in developing the Four Pillars Cult, more secretly in grasping power. I won’t let you find out, won’t let you be troubled. You just need to, like before…”

The Mercury Trojan Horse reached out her right hand, touching the filthy mask covered in layers of blood and grime, her fingertips gentle as if caressing a work of art: “…continue to take good care of the weak me.”

Slash!

Raven suddenly stabbed, pinning the Mercury Trojan Horse’s right hand to the ground. She whimpered, tears welling in her eyes, her tone a mix of complaint and coquetry: “It hurts…”

“Tamashi, you know I’m most afraid of pain. I never made it through a single Raven Annihilation Physical training…” she said pitifully, “If you hurt me too much, I’ll hide in Igor for a bit, wait for you to calm down before coming back…”

Her words sounded like a mischievous child hiding at a neighbor’s elder sister’s house to avoid an angry adult after causing trouble. Yet Raven felt a chill shoot from his tailbone to his brain, almost unable to suppress his anger, roaring, “Can’t you just obediently die!?”

“You protect yourself in your way, and I protect myself in mine,” the Mercury Trojan Horse laughed. “I won’t die.”

She paused, then repeated:

“I won’t die.”

“However, you could let me go. As long as I leave the Silent Spiral and you remain in the Trial, I can’t possibly reincarnate into Mr. Igor.” She smiled, “How about that proposal?”