Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

But finding her with just the two of them would be far too difficult. Even if they were to stumble upon her by sheer luck, they might not be able to bring her out.

The truly legitimate approach is to win the competition to obtain the person directly from the city's highest ruler. This way, the procedure is proper, no one will feel offended, and they can take the person away justifiably.

……

"If only we had that list."

Jennifer suddenly spoke up, "Just by looking at the list, we can know exactly who came in and when, without having to ask around."

"?!"

The two stopped and turned around at the same time, as if they had seen a glimmer of hope in their desperate situation.

"Do you have a list?"

“Yes, there must be a list. Otherwise, how can he keep track of all these people coming and going?” Jennifer said matter-of-factly. “These things are all under the jurisdiction of the Oak City Mayor.”

“How do you know all this?” Alden asked.

"Hehe, isn't that easy?" The girl put her hands on her hips triumphantly and said in a boastful tone, "Men, especially when they're drunk, always like to talk on and on to women."

“One of the city official’s subordinates mentioned this to me casually when he was bragging. There’s a list in the city official’s office drawer. Everyone who enters or leaves the city has to be recorded. If we can get our hands on the list and compare it, everything will be clear.”

“But the city magistrate’s office is inside the Paladin Palace, isn’t it?” Luna asked with some concern. “That kind of place…”

“Yes, it’s heavily guarded, with people patrolling the area. It’s impossible to get in,” Jennifer added. “So I just said, ‘If’ we could see the list, that would be great.”

They exchanged another glance, and despite having known each other for less than twenty-four hours, a unique understanding arose between them. They naturally grasped each other's intentions.

----

"Oh God, God, I must be going crazy..."

Alden's expression changed drastically.

At this moment, with a rope tied around his waist, he climbed the walls of the Paladin Palace with immense difficulty, step by step. His face was deathly pale, devoid of any color. He unconsciously looked down. The Paladin Palace was already built on high ground, and with the height of the outer walls, the difference in elevation between it and the ground in the distance was almost ten meters.

The night wind howled, and Alden gasped for breath, but he did not calm down at all. Instead, he became more and more panicked, cold sweat poured out like a waterfall, and even his teeth began to chatter.

"God, have mercy on your humble servants, and lend us courage and wisdom for a time..."

"Don't waste your energy praying, he can't help you now." Zhang Renfeng poked his head out from the city wall and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I...I..." Alden gasped for breath, gripping the protrusion on the wall tightly with his hands, feeling dizzy. "How did you do that?!"

……

Without further ado, they went to the Paladin Palace under the cover of darkness.

When they arrived during the day, Zhang Renfeng was a guest of the mayor, so he was given a wide welcome and all the green lights, and they didn't think much of it.

When he returned at night, he realized that this was indeed an impregnable fortress. Patrols and guards, both overt and covert, were deployed meticulously. Moreover, the guards were highly competent; he walked around most of the area without seeing a single one dozing off. Each gate was manned; the slightest carelessness would be immediately detected.

The gates and walls are high, making them easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Of course, this level of defense wouldn't stop him. Stealth has never been Zhang Renfeng's forte, but if he used his full strength, he could sneak in.

Bringing an Alden along would be too much of a problem. The infiltration difficulty is too high; it's impossible to get in through normal channels.

After going around in circles, Zhang Renfeng decided to take a different approach—climbing up the outer wall and finding a window to climb in.

Alden initially thought he was joking, but when he saw the man using both hands and feet to climb the outer wall like he was flying, he was stunned. He blinked, thinking he was dreaming, until Zhang Renfeng lowered a rope down, had him tie it around his waist, and climbed up himself. Only then did he realize how crazy he was doing.

This process made his hands and feet weak and he broke out in a cold sweat!

……

"I...I might, I might be a little afraid of heights..." Alden felt dizzy and his heart was pounding. "Let me catch my breath...ah!"

He lost his footing and plummeted to the ground, suspended in mid-air by the rope. He looked like a roast goose waiting to be slaughtered.

"what sound?!"

The guards here are highly vigilant and well-trained, considered among the elite. Even the slightest sound was enough to trigger a rapid mobilization of men heading in this direction.

……

"I'm doomed..." Alden was suspended in the air, unable to move his limbs, and felt utterly hopeless. The various consequences of doing this flashed through his mind.

Then, he suddenly felt a lightness in his body, and a tremendous force came from the rope. His body seemed to be riding an elevator, rising upwards at an incredible speed, his heels pressed tightly against the wall, almost sparking. Before the first beam of kerosene lamp shone down, he successfully reached the top of the city wall.

"..."

"Ha...ha...thank you..."

Still shaken, Alden turned around and looked at Zhang Renfeng, who had quickly pulled him up, with a look of astonishment.

"With such strength, how come you only managed a draw with me during the match?" After a long while, Alden asked very sincerely, "That doesn't make sense."

"Well," Zhang Renfeng untied the rope around his waist and laughed, "the martial world isn't all about fighting and killing."

"There are also interpersonal relationships involved."

Chapter 786: You Have Entered the Endgame

With a loud clang, Zhang Renfeng poked his finger into the iron frame through the window, knocking the lock off.

The two of them climbed over the wall without any apparent difficulty.

With heavy security outside, the number of patrols inside the palace was noticeably reduced. A thick carpet covered the marble floor, making no sound underfoot, and they no longer needed to stoop.

"Is this really a good idea?" Alden hesitated. "We've now trespassed into private property, which is against the law..."

“You seem to care a lot about the rules,” Zhang Renfeng said without turning his head. “Look around, at all these gold and silver items, and those paintings. I dare say, even the carpet we’re standing on could sell for an astronomical sum in the outside world.”

"Did the owner of this palace build it by working diligently within the rules?"

Arden was speechless for a moment. After thinking for a while, he couldn't find a way to refute her, so he could only complain, "Who exactly are you?"

“Me? I’m just a busybody.” Zhang Renfeng couldn’t help but laugh. “To tell you the truth, my real hometown is on the other side of the world. Because of my ‘meddling,’ I had to come to a foreign land and start from scratch. I finally managed to make something of myself in White Torch Town, but because of my ‘meddling,’ I ended up in Pike City and got caught in a hurricane.”

"So now, we've escaped from Park City and come here, and I'm with you again because of 'meddling'."

"However, as long as I feel it's right, I'm willing to do it no matter what the cost."

"And you, Alden? How much are you willing to pay for your promise?"

……

Alden pondered the weight of those words as he searched, wandering back and forth through the labyrinthine palace several times before finally finding the city magistrate's office.

"crunch..."

With a gentle push, the door opened.

The light was cool and dim, and the documents on the desk were scattered haphazardly. The first book on top was the very one they had been searching for: "The List of People Entering and Leaving Oaktown, 1878-1879." It was as if the correct answer had been delivered directly to their faces.

Even so, neither of them could be happy; instead, their expressions became even more serious.

"Someone's been here!" Alden felt a chill run down his spine. "They might have just left!"

"..."

Zhang Renfeng frowned deeply. It just so happened tonight, and right now, that someone had sneaked into the Paladin Palace, a place requiring a very high level of skill, before him. After searching through everything, they had conveniently found what he needed on the table. To call it a coincidence was a bit too much of a coincidence, sending chills down his spine.

But the things just sat there quietly.

a step far.

"Go!" Zhang Renfeng turned on the light and said in a deep voice, "Go check the list quickly, see if the person you're looking for is on it. I'll keep watch at the door for you, hurry!"

Alden wasted no time, took the electric lamp, and headed straight for the thick list.

----

"call……"

Zhang Renfeng stood at the door, took a deep breath to calm himself down, and expanded his senses.

He heard Alden's heartbeat first, and at that moment, he was undoubtedly the most nervous one. His heart pounded, he was panting heavily, and he flipped through the pages of the book rapidly.

Zhang Renfeng didn't hear any other breathing or heartbeats; at least for now, there shouldn't be any other sound in the office besides his.

He breathed rhythmically, his eyes slightly closed, and opened his senses, hearing some rustling sounds. The palace was simply too large, and the patrolling guards were all located relatively far away; judging from their routes, they were quite far off, so there was no need to worry for the time being.

……

……

"?!"

Suddenly, a very strong sense of being spied on came from the darkness.

It's uncomfortable to be stared at for too long. Especially now, Zhang Renfeng had deliberately amplified his senses, making him even more sensitive to this feeling of being stared at. He turned his head in surprise, narrowing his senses and directing his gaze towards the direction in the darkness.

No heartbeat.

No breathing.

There are no living things...

Where does this eerie feeling come from?

The night wind whistled through the corridors and outside the palace.

Zhang Renfeng wasn't afraid; he just found it strange. After confirming the guard's location one last time—still quite far away—he subconsciously started walking. He walked a short distance along the dark corridor, the floorboards creaking.

That night, running around without much rest, Zhang Renfeng was quite tired. For some reason, he felt like he was dreaming: the floor beneath his feet had turned into large logs, and he was stepping on the logs, struggling to move forward little by little in bottomless black water.

After an unknown amount of time, he found himself standing on a wall, and on this bright red wall hung a huge painting.

"What the hell..."

Upon seeing the brushstrokes and the familiar painting style, Zhang Renfeng felt a jolt of excitement, as if a thunderbolt had struck his mind.

----

The knight, whom we haven't seen in a long time, is now riding a white horse.

Beside him was a golden wolf, but this time, neither the knight nor the wolf, nor even the people behind them, occupied a very small part of the painting.

One-third of the painting is filled with towering black waves.

Zhang Renfeng had experienced this feeling before—when they were riding the train out of Park City, they crashed headlong into the Great Lake Demon. At that moment, the sky, the earth, the mountains, everything that humankind knew seemed to be submerged in the torrential rain.

The sky was like a black sea poured out, and the floodwaters formed by towering waves, like mountains, crashed down on them.

In the center of the black, vast water is a "multi-headed monster".

The largest head in the center belonged to Minotaur, with a pair of enormous horns. Zhang Renfeng couldn't describe the rest of the heads; it was hard to imagine what a painter would need to see to conjure up such a distorted and grotesque image. Countless heads were hidden in the black rain, baring their teeth and glaring at the people on the cliff, as if ready to devour them.

It's a purely apocalyptic scene. I wonder what the person who bought this painting was thinking when they hung it here.

The title of the painting is straightforward and concise, like a message to the viewer.

Only Zhang Renfeng knew that these words were meant for himself.

"YOU ARE IN THE END GAME NOW".

You have reached the end.

----

Upon closer inspection of the signature, sure enough, Zhang Renfeng saw the name he had been longing for.

"Ha, it's you again." He wasn't too surprised, just gave a complicated smile and sighed, "It's been a while..."

Theonado Dittasdorf.

……

"Why are you still standing here? Hurry, let's go!" Alden's voice suddenly came from the side, grabbing his arm. "Someone's coming!"

Chapter 787: Did you kneel? (If you knelt)

"Ms. Namelia, why don't you go to the back carriage and rest for a bit?" Xiaomei hesitated for a long time before finally advising her, "You've been busy these past few days and haven't had a proper rest. You even have dark circles under your eyes."

"..."

The wolf did not answer her immediately, but remained in the same position, his forehead pressed against the car window, looking on with longing.

……

In a sense, Angel Eye provides a cold, real, and unadorned perspective. He recounts in its entirety everything that Zhang Renfeng encountered after arriving in Pike City, including the causes and consequences, the natural disaster, and their efforts to combat it.