Chapter 119: To Kill A God

    "What?! What did you say we have to do?!" Jiang Shun and Lang Zhenya wore an extremely shocked expression on their faces. The same went with Xinxin, though for a completely different reason altogether.

    "Kill Anubis," Wind stated again with a sardonic roll of her eyes. When she noticed the incredulous look from the others, her lips twisted into a sneer. "What? Do you think I would lie about this? This task involves me as well. If I fail, I will die. Besides, I can’t even use my skill card and props right now, so what’s the use of me tricking you?"

    Jiang Shun swiftly recovered from his shock and nodded with a pensive look, "What she said makes sense. We are all in the same leaky boat right now. Either we work together to fix it or we drown to our death – no in between." He took a deep inhale and gritted out as if it physically pained him to do so. "Fine, I will trust you this time."

    "Ha!" Wind let out an incredulous snort, unable to believe what she was hearing, "I’m actually saving your asses here, idiot."

    "What did you just say?!" Lang Zhenya was provoked by her haughty demeanor, but Jiang Shun’s glare silenced her. The thing he wanted the least right now was another argument breaking out between them when they were supposed to work together.

    "Are you sure that all we have to do is to kill Anubis?" He asked Wind to confirm, to which she responded with a curt nod.

    But the main problem here was... how were they supposed to kill a God? It made no difference even if there were five of them — they were all humans, while their enemy was a divine being! And to make matters worse, they were surrounded by towering mummy soldiers whose blades were sharp enough to impale them in a single swing!

    However, the Nightmare would never assign them an impossible task. No matter how difficult it seemed, there had to be something they could do!

    "Tell me more about the murals," Jiang Shun requested in a hushed voice as he vigilantly observed the regal deity on the throne. "Is there a special weapon, poison, or a taboo that would allow us to kill him?"

    Wind pondered for a moment before answering, "Now that you say it, there is—" Alas, before she could finish her sentence, Anubis concluded his conversation with the mummy minister and turned his attention towards them, prompting her to clamp her mouth shut. Her entire body tensed up in vigilance.

    It was unknown what their discussion entailed, but it did not seem to go well.

    Anubis had his lips pressed tight, his entire body seething in anger. Meanwhile, the mummy minister clutched his head and returned to his post, sighing every three steps. In the end, he raised his head and commanded with a resigned tone, "Our Lord needs more time to deal with the captives. In the meantime, throw them into the prison and starve them!"

    The soldiers moved to execute the order and pulled the players to their feet, dragging them out of the hall.

    Shen Nianzu could not help but steal a few anxious glances at Jin Jiuchi, who remained seated on his throne like a true deity. Exactly what was he planning? He could not possibly know that the players intended to behead him, right? Otherwise how could he still remain so calm and unfazed?

    Along the way, Shen Nianzu chewed on his bottom lip and forced himself to think of another way. But much to his dismay, he could not come up with one. The Nightmare had set the task clearly so that there was little room for improvisation. Moreover, as Jiang Shun said earlier, they had to act as fast as possible before their time in this Cycle ran out!

    With no other options, Shen Nianzu could only play things by ear. But first and foremost, he needed to find a way to be alone with Jin Jiuchi and talk to him.

    Jin Jiuchi’s position was the highest in this place and he only needed to say the word to get his soldiers moving. Who knew, perhaps they could find a way to turn the situation to his favor!

    Making up his mind, Shen Nianzu raised his head to study the path before him. He memorized every twist and turn in case he needed to sneak out of the prison tonight to find Jin Jiuchi, and judging from the other players’ focused state, it seemed like they were doing the same.

    The five players were led through a series of twisting, maze-like corridors until they reached the gate of the prison. A mummy soldier stepped forward and opened it, revealing a dim chamber that carried the unsettling air of dampness and decay.

    "Get inside!" A mummy soldier roughly pushed Lang Zhenya into a cell and put a shackle on her right ankle.

    The faces of the four players immediately darkened when they saw this. Without their skill card and props, how were they supposed to escape and find a chance to kill Anubis? Or did they have to wait until the deity made a decision and summon them before they acted?

    "J–Jiang Shun..." Tears welled up in Lang Zhenya’s eyes as she looked at her shackled ankle. She shot a pleading look to Jiang Shun, which the man responded with a shake of his head. It was not the time for them to act yet.

    Soon, Jiang Shun, Wind and Xinxin were ushered into their own cells and shackled as well. The length of the chain allowed them to move within the confined space, but not long enough to reach the door, further decreasing their chances to sneak away.

    Now, only Shen Nianzu was left standing outside.

    The mummy soldier moved to close the door.

    "W–Wait!" Jiang Shun exclaimed in shock and pointed at Shen Nianzu, whose heart was quietly racing but still managed to maintain an aloof expression. "What about him?"

    The soldier’s bandaged face twisted into a sneer, and he replied in mockery, "Do not waste your breath to plead for his tragic fate. Our Lord has ordered a personal investigation on him. Just wait obediently for your turn here." The way he emphasized ’personal investigation’ made it seem like Shen Nianzu was going to be tortured to death.

    The players reacted differently upon hearing those words. Jiang Shun and Lang Zhenya showed a look of pity, yet also relieved that it was not them who were chosen. Xinxin was excited because Xiao Shen could finally have a chance to meet Da Shen.

    Wind, on the other hand, was extremely satisfied because she did not even need to do anything to get rid of her mortal enemy. The look she gave Shen Nianzu was full of delight and schadenfreude.

    The corner of Shen Nianzu’s lips twitched. Without sparing them another glance, he turned away and followed behind the mummy soldiers.

    At first, he thought that he would be brought back to the previous hall. Thus he was slightly taken aback when they changed direction, leading him to the inner area that seemed empty and desolate. Even then, he could tell from the gemstones and treasures adorning the walls that this area belonged to someone of high status.

    Could this be... Anubis’ personal quarter?

    "We have arrived," the mummy soldier announced as he came to a stop in front of the double doors carved in elegant designs. He pushed them open a bit and glared at Shen Nianzu who remained rooted in place. "What are you waiting for? Enter and don’t keep our Lord waiting!"

    Shen Nianzu feigned a timid look and quickly slipped into the room, as the door closed gently behind him.

    Almost immediately, his purple eyes widened as he took in the sight of the large pool before him.

    The fragrant scent of aromatic oil wafted in the air. Delicate tendrils of steam rose from the water, creating an ethereal mist that danced in the air and blurring the silhouette of the man who was enjoying the bath with his back facing Shen Nianzu, both arms casually rested on the sides of the marble pool.

    Golden light flickered from the oil lamps on the wall and reflected off the obsidian jackal headpiece adorning the man’s head.

    "Jin Jiuchi...?" Shen Nianzu called out, his voice barely above a whisper for some inexplicable reason.

    .

    .

    Mini theater

    JJ: Bring that little one – the prettiest and most adorable one – to the pool. Don’t get the wrong person, do you hear me! I want to... yes, I want to ask him something very very important!

    Mummy minister: *enlightened* our Lord must have wanted to torture the rebel by drowning him!

    .

    A/N: Everyone, we received a fanart of JJ as Anubis, drawn by moriam_art! Asfhjkalkal he’s so hot that I’m feeling light-headed. Please open the comment section and show your love there!