Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 456 - 418 Liches Beyond the Rules

Architectural decorations that resembled killing weapons reflected a chilling light in the night, and considering the consistent outrageous acts of Andrei Academy, Lyle was not very assured about flying over the Andrei district.

Anxiety and unease arose in his heart, causing the slightly eased heartbeat to accelerate once again.

Then, that icy hand coiled around Lyle’s neck like stretching seaweed. Beatrice bent her head and caressed Lyle’s skin, or rather, the pulsating vessels beneath his flesh.

"Nervous?" The mocking tease echoed within Lyle’s mind, and Beatrice did not miss the opportunity to ridicule him.

"Yes." Lyle candidly admitted. As a member of Andrey, he naturally understood the dangers of Liches and that they were in a league of their own compared to other races; Liches didn’t consider safety hazards in their principles. That meant a Lich’s jest could often be lethal. "The upcoming course might be very tough. Andrei Liches are quite troublesome."

Strangely, Beatrice didn’t kick Lyle when he was down with the same enthusiasm as she usually did in response to his dismal reply.

"Hmph, should I say you’re weak or you underestimate yourself? Aren’t you also a part of Andrey? Are you afraid of your own kind because you have an extra natural skin?" Beatrice reached out her hand and tousled Lyle’s hair, "Relax, little brother, your sister here will take you safely through, in the name of the Flight Champion, the Five-Crown King. Hold on tight!"

As if to show off her abilities, Beatrice suddenly accelerated, weaving through the blade-like spire mechanisms.

"I’m of course aware of the danger posed by Liches, but this area is an exception. During the flight competition, the Andrei district is actually the safest area in the Dark City District. Due to the Liches’ innate indifference and reclusiveness, there are hardly any Liches who would bother to interfere with the race. Heh heh, scared now, aren’t you? Those research-mad Liches wouldn’t have any inclination to cause trouble. Therefore, the real hindrances in the Andrei district are just these rigid buildings."

"Were you fooled? You should’ve seen how gloomy your face was just now, hahaha..." Beatrice’s laughter reverberated through the night, a satisfied chuckle like that of a night hag after vanishing.

Lyle was neither angered by Beatrice’s teasing nor did he let his guard down.

All life is stubborn, especially when a rule has persisted for years; they subconsciously perceive it as common sense. This leads to being caught off guard when a long-standing status quo suddenly changes.

Liches are indifferent and not fond of social occasions.

Others might be blinded by this stubborn reality.

But not Lyle, for he himself was the rewriter of this stubborn reality.

Liches have changed, having acquired flesh disguises, tasted food, and rekindled emotions, their zeal for research has turned into yearning for life. And the most delightful part of life is play. The new Andrei Liches would not, no, definitely would not miss any opportunity to unleash their chaotic instincts.

This also entangled Lyle, the creator of flesh disguises, in trouble, as the invitations from the Executive Committee had become a part of Lyle’s life in Andrei, as routine as punching out at the end of a workday.

The apprehensive Lyle followed Beatrice, traversing the challenging terrain with ease under Beatrice’s skilled flight technique. Lyle even wondered if he was being overanxious; perhaps the Liches had ignored this major event in the City of Wandering’s celebration.

Lyle noticed an anomaly at the location they’d just passed because the knife-like spires always reflected light from various angles like eyeballs; thus, he had previously given up using vision and relied on perception instead.

Magic Power perception, to be more precise, the Spirit Summoner’s perception of death, revealed something new in the Andrei district. Scattered red spots dotted the surface of the buildings like flowers fallen to the ground.

They were bloodstains, blood that had spattered on the rooftops.

"Beatrice!!!"

Beatrice had already accelerated her flight unknowingly, her face turned grim, and the ease from before was gone, "I’ve caught the stench, crow’s mouth."

Those Liches had clearly added a bit of ’fun’ to the city, but the attack was coming from where?

Fully engrossed in perception, Lyle discovered new traces. These were Magic Power paths that outlined vertical flowering vines. At the top, the concentrated Magic Power blossomed, and following the traces straight down, Lyle found the source of the marks.

A sinister device of bone stood upon the crescent-shaped platform, with a circular saw-like object spinning at high speed. Beside it was a busy Lich.

Due to the distance, Lyle couldn’t make out his face, but from his actions, the joy he took in them was palpable.

The pleasure of still having contestants behind him was unforeseen.

Sheets of bone fragments clashing created a jubilant fanfare for the Liches, and those spinning bone pieces soared high into the air, like a rising full moon.

"The attack is coming from below! Beatrice!"

In their line of sight, like a rising tide, the spinning wheels of bone screeched as they shot upward. Their only target was the two of them in the air. To be touched by them would surely result in a horrifyingly piteous scream.

The leisurely flight turned into a battlefield in an instant, with the terror-filled screeches compressing the living space of the two. Irritation and panic intertwined, causing their voices to grow louder, as if in an alternative form of release.

"What is that!!! Your damn Liches’ new toy!!!!!"

Lyle ducked his head, "If I’m not mistaken, it should be a variant of the Spine Wheel. I’ve talked to Variant about the plan to let the Spine Wheel carry people into the sky, but I’m afraid we have some differences in our understanding of the concept of sending people into the sky."

"So it’s your fault, you damn toy maker!" Beatrice growled lowly, focusing her whole heart on finding a glimmer of life among the saw blades.

Lyle said nothing and silently reached out, grabbing Beatrice’s arm.

No other meaning, he was afraid Beatrice would impulsively throw it from a great height; that way, he could still struggle a bit.

The screeching roar of ascending continued, with Beatrice barely holding on, both physically and mentally exhausted from the escape.

Just then, an abnormal screech came from the ground, as a huge spinal saw blade charged into the sky, heading straight for the two of them. It was like a venomous snake that had lain in wait for a long time, showing its fangs and striking from an angle that was tricky to dodge.

"Hmph, naive."

As Beatrice was flying, she rolled in the air and turned her body, miraculously managing a rapid 180-degree turn, avoiding the giant bone shard’s intended trajectory. However, after that, Beatrice let out a shriek.

"No! Bastard!" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Beatrice had indeed twisted her body, missing the saw blade by a hair’s breadth, but she forgot that behind her, there was another person.

Due to the extreme maneuver, Lyle saw Beatrice’s face lose color, and due to inertia, the cocoon wrapping Lyle entered the range of the saw blade. It was as if Beatrice had deliberately pushed him into it.

The blade began cutting through the black slime and bright red blood, the screeching almost deafened Lyle, and a pair of pale arms reached out from under the spinning bone shard, slipping through Lyle’s neck and holding him in an embrace.

Lyle did not react, but still carried out his predetermined action.

"Heresy grows, white bones wither."

The splashing slime climbed onto the bone wheel, and the blood leaking from the black tendrils formed a sinister magic circle on the bone shard, instantly dismantling the rapidly spinning bone pieces, with each fragment being devoured by Nia’s flesh and blood.

Lyle was hugged in front of Beatrice’s chest, his nose intimately touching the Blood Right Bloodstone on her chest, and he even caught the scent of roses.

Because Beatrice was holding him tightly, Lyle’s voice sounded as if it was coming from inside a jar.

"Um, actually you didn’t have to do that, I had countermeasures in my toy research, that wouldn’t hurt me."

"Shut up."

Lyle’s head was fixed in place; all he could feel was the sensation of skin contact, taste, and darkness.

"Beatrice, you didn’t get hurt just now, right? Could you loosen up a bit, I can’t see your face."

The constriction on Lyle’s head tightened, his lips were squashed and deformed against the Brandy Gemstone, and he could only make muffled sounds.

"Shut up!" Beatrice made Lyle comply.

In the darkness of the night, the vampire girl continued her flight.

The Liches in Andrei were cleaning up the aftermath, ready for the next possible contestant.

"Control! Did you see how accurate my shot was just now! Right on target!"

"Shiny, I advise you to be kind."

"Speaking of which, did the Plague Doctor also enter the contest?"

"Didn’t see him, probably passed us earlier."

"Hehehe, we’re putting in so much effort, eliminating so many of his competitors... "

"The Plague Doctor will surely be grateful to us."