Lu Jialiang just celebrated his fourteenth birthday half a month ago.
But this fourteen year old was way too mature for his age. It wasn't because Lu Jialiang matured early, but because reality forced him to grow up.
On his fourteenth birthday, the boy didn't get to meet his father, whom he could only see once a year. His mother came alone, bringing bad news.
Lu Jialiang subconsciously tightened his grip on the pendant.
‘Something has happened to Father… I know it!’ Lu Jialiang thought.
Even though it wasn't explicitly stated, the look on his mother's face at the time clearly told Lu Jialiang this. And the fact that his mother didn't take him away meant an even more terrifying truth.
Even his mother couldn't guarantee her own safety and didn't dare bring him with her, preferring to place him in a safer place like the Nightmare Land.
"Brook must know something…" The teen's gaze was slightly cold, his mind crystal clear.
Brook's uncle was the personal attendant of a powerful god, and even though he wasn't particularly powerful himself, he was definitely well-informed.
If not, Brook wouldn't have dared to deliberately find trouble for Lu Jialiang.
As he thought of this, Lu Jialiang curled in further on himself, trying to keep himself completely hidden in the shadows, his eyes firmly locked on the space in front of him.
This was the path Brook must take to return to the dormitory!
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"He’s coming."
Accompanied by the sound of footsteps, Brook's staggering figure appeared in his sight. Brook, who was already over twenty-five years old, was at the age where he couldn’t go without alcohol, and even in Nightmare Land, he still maintained the habit of heavy drinking.
Lu Jialiang stepped forward. The hand gripping his pendant shot out as the pendant instantly transformed into a longsword, pointing directly at Brook.
Brook was still inebriated, so how could he react to this kind of surprise attack? His shoulder was instantly impaled by the sword, which was actually the result of Lu Jialiang avoiding his vitals.
Perhaps not even Lu Jialiang himself expected his attack to land so easily. He, who’d never seen bloodshed before, was also startled.
But the teenager quickly calmed down, putting on a cold expression as he looked at Brook and asked icily, "Brook, do you want to live or die? Tell me exactly what happened!"
The sharp pain coming from his shoulder sobered up Brook, and at the same time, he also saw the face of his attacker.
"Lu! You… You dare to ambush me!" Brook didn’t feel any panic, instead getting angry. Because he knew the other party would never dare kill him, or else it would be impossible for him to leave this place alive.
"Do you believe there are still people who can save you? How ridiculous!" Brook was so furious that he laughed. "It won't be long before you're arrested by those powerful people, you foreigner bastard!"
Lu Jialiang's unique name was a bright beacon that highlighted his origins, and this was his biggest conflict with the natives.
Fire raged in Lu Jialiang's heart. He really wanted to kill this hateful fellow, but in the end, he didn't completely lose his sanity.
There was still hope for escape if he left Nightmare Land now, but killing Brook would immediately trigger the alarm, and he wouldn't be able to leave once that happened!
Having already confirmed his suspicions, was giving up his own life in exchange for this idiot's life worth it?
Lu Jialiang didn't need to think much and made a decision right away.
He pulled out his longsword, then slapped Brook fiercely and added a few more kicks to vent some anger before he quickly turned around and fled.
Brook was dizzy from the beating. It was a while before he came back to his senses and hastily pressed a hand to the wound on his shoulder.
"Damned bastard… W-Who are you?!" He struggled to get up, but then he finally noticed the white-robed youth standing before him.
This person completely ignored him and just lowered his head, studying the wound on Brook’s shoulder.
The next second, a jet black longsword appeared. The sword’s length, width, and sharpness were actually identical to Lu Jialiang's longsword.
Thunk!
The sword instantly pierced Brook's heart, and the latter's eyes widened in disbelief as he slowly collapsed.
……
Lu Jialiang was startled by the blaring of an alarm that resounded throughout the night sky before he even had a chance to leave Nightmare Land.
By the time he wanted to hurry up and leave, it was already too late. The relevant personnel had sealed the entrances and exits of Nightmare Land as soon as the alarm went off, prohibiting anyone from entering or leaving.
"Damn it… Just who the hell triggered the alarm at a time like this?" Lu Jialiang naturally didn't think he caused this, because he hadn't killed Brook.
As for that tiny sword wound, it was just a superficial injury. Nightmare Land wouldn't even care about this kind of thing.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmLu Jialiang had no choice but to return to his dormitory and wait for the alarm to be lifted before trying to sneak out of Nightmare Land.
It wasn't until a slightly imposing middle-aged man with a stiff expression appeared in front of Lu Jialiang with a group of people that the teen realized the turn of events was a little worrying.
"Lord Andy, he is Lu Jialiang," the person in charge of this Nightmare Land respectfully stood to the side and said to the middle-aged man.
Lu Jialiang recognized the other party. He had once seen this person appear together with Brook… He was Brook’s uncle!
Legend had it that he was a god's trusted aide, and his own strength had also reached the peak of Legend Rank…
‘It’s okay! Your father is a legendary Star Ruler!’ Lu Jialiang secretly encouraged himself. Even if something might have happened to his father, he still must not disgrace him!
However, the first sentence from the other party froze Lu Jialiang on the spot.
"Were you the one who killed Brook?" Brook's uncle asked flatly, his expression not even changing for a second.
"No! I didn’t!" Lu Jialiang instantly roared. He couldn't stand the fact that someone else was framing him for a crime he didn’t commit. "I just stabbed him once. He—"
The teen’s voice came to an abrupt halt as he saw Brook's corpse being slowly carried up.
Brook's uncle didn't say anything. He just leveled a cold gaze at Lu Jialiang, then suddenly reached out and grabbed the pendant in front of Lu Jialiang's chest. With a forceful jerk, the silver longsword was once again pulled out.
This middle-aged man named Andy calmly examined the longsword for a couple of moments, then said, "It matches perfectly with those two sword wounds. This sword can be brought back as physical evidence."
"W-What do you mean…?" Lu Jialiang's heart sank slightly. The bad feeling grew stronger, and he gradually started to retreat.
Andy grabbed his shoulder and replied coldly, "It means that you will return with us to the Divine Kingdom to be judged as a murder suspect."
"I didn't kill anyone!" Lu Jialiang's roar became even louder as he bared his teeth, seeing all this as a plot by the other party to frame him.
Andy, however, just said calmly, "Brook became an apostle of our Lord two years ago. Even though he sometimes isn’t pious enough, he cannot be murdered for no reason."
"Now then, please allow me to take him away," he said to the person in charge of this Nightmare Land.