Chapter 677: Ghoul Tunnel

In the alley, just as the heroic Prince Thales took a deep breath and prepared to step forward in gallant fashion to save Srimanny, Hilley grabbed him.

"Wait. There are three of them. What are you planning to do? Stab them in the ass with your little sword?"

Thales touched the dagger at his waist and raised an eyebrow.

"Adapt to the situation."

All right, he really had not thought that far.

"Adapt to the situation?"

The eldest daughter of the Covendier family looked sarcastic.

"Is that so? That sounds incredibly reassuring."

The three swordsmen were getting closer and closer to Srimanny. The latter had his back to the wall and was limping away with all his strength.

Thales sighed.

"If they take him away, they'll kill him. We have to do something."

Hilley hesitated.

"Fine. Watch me."

Thales was startled. He grabbed Hilley just as she was about to step out.

"Wait. What can you do? What are you going to do? Perform magic for them?"

Hilley instinctively pulled her gloved hand away. Hearing him, her eyes turned.

"Work with local conditions."

Work with local conditions...

Thales was so angry he laughed.

"Wow. That sounds just as reassuring..."

At that moment, something unexpected happened at the other end of the alley.

"Woohoo! Brothers, happy festival!"

The three swordsmen's expressions changed, and they turned back warily.

"Happy!"

"Great!"

"Keep drinking!"

"Drink Jade City dry!"

"Like drying out a woman!"

The racket drew near. At the exit of the alley, shadows swayed amid boisterous noise, accompanied by a large group of people singing in unison.

"La la la li la, la la la lo la, proud sailors drift far away!"

"Beat those pirates till their hearts shake!"

"Then turn back and shove the shipowner off the deck!"

"The wealth and jewels are ours to take!"

"La la la li la, la la la lo la..."

The ugly tune came closer and closer. A large group of men in short shirts, carrying wine bottles, staggered into the alley with their arms around one another. Wherever they passed, the sour smell of alcohol rushed into the air.

Thales and Hilley exchanged a glance.

This might be a chance.

Srimanny, who had been trying desperately to flee, brightened at the sight. But the lead swordsman frowned. With a look, he had his two companions hold the defense attorney down while he turned to face the newly arrived drunks.

"Who are you?"

The man in front reeked of wine. His hair hung loose, and he even burped. It took him some effort to brace himself against the wall and steady his body.

"Who're we? Who're we? Hahaha, hahaha!"

He was clearly not sober after a night of drinking. His mind was muddled, his words came out in heavy breaths, and he spoke with a thick rural South Coast accent.

"Brodders, tell 'em. Loud, loud, loudly tell 'em. We, we, we are who? What kinda people are we?"

As soon as he finished, the companions who were supporting one another and swaying on their feet cheered and raised their arms in response.

"The bravest men!"

"The most lovable men!"

"Sailors!"

"Crewmen!"

"Drunks!"

"The strongest damn men!"

"The first mate's slaves!"

"Deck scrubbers!"

"Mermen's fathers!"

"The girls' dream lovers!"

"The shipowner's father!"

"His ancestor!"

"His son-in-law!"

"His wife's lover!"

"His mistress's lover!"

"His son's real father!"

"His mother's husband!"

"Pirates... ptooey, ptooey! Maritime wealth redistribution specialists!"

The alley was narrow, and the whole gang's wailing and shouting was practically deafening. Even Thales and Hilley, who were hiding deeper inside, could not help covering their ears.

"All right, all right, I know. Sailors ashore, yes? Fine, we're leaving now..."

The lead swordsman looked disgusted.

But the drunk sailor with the southern accent waved his wine bottle as if he were conducting a grand chorus.

"We are..."

His sailor companions raised their hands and answered in unison.

"The brave warriors of the Wya!"

The three swordsmen, along with the captured Srimanny, all made twisted expressions.

Wait.

Warriors of what?

Huh?

Thales and Hilley looked at each other, both startled and suspicious.

"Help... mmph!"

Srimanny's eyes lit up, and he was just about to shout for help when one swordsman brutally clamped a hand over his mouth.

"What, help?"

One sailor leaned over in a daze.

"Help with what?"

The lead swordsman calmly blocked him and pushed the sailor back.

"Nothing. He's drunk."

"Oh, brother, drunk? Drunk is good!"

Another sailor waved his bottle and happily leaned toward the swordsmen.

"Cheers! Happy Queen's Day!"

Hmm. That voice sounded a little familiar.

Thales, already doubtful, felt more and more that something was wrong the more he listened.

He clung to the wall, secretly poked out half his head, and entered Hell's senses.

"Of course. Happy Queen's Day. Happy."

The lead swordsman awkwardly echoed him and was trying to squeeze through the crowd to leave when the sailor at the front grabbed him by the shoulder.

Through Hell's senses, Thales focused his eyes.

The man shaking the wine bottle and hooking an arm around the swordsman's shoulders was dressed simply, reeked of alcohol, had messy hair, and his face was covered in grime...

But that face shape, that height, that build...

Was that not none other than the Star Lake Guard's first-class guard officer, Sir Danny Doyle?

Thales froze.

"Come on, drink with us to our great Duke Zayen!"

Doyle's eyes were unfocused. One arm hooked around the swordsman's neck, while the other raised the wine bottle.

"May he be healthy!"

His companions answered one after another.

Thales narrowed his eyes. These "sailors" who stank of wine were noisy, clamorous, supportive, staggering, pretending to collapse drunk, or staying silent to hide themselves, but he knew them all. They were Star Lake Guard's "King of Single Combat" Neshy, "Old Komuto" Komuto, "Bronze" Kusta, "Tall Man" Franzuk, "Civilized and Polite" Morgan, "Old Pi" Piloga...

Altogether there were probably eight or nine of them. Hmm, and a few men he did not recognize, likely real drunks tricked in from the street with booze money.

But they...

"Of course, good health. No need to drink, thank you. We're in a hurry, so we'll be going..."

The lead swordsman was somewhat embarrassed and quietly pried Doyle's hand off.

He beckoned, and his two companions flanked the terrified Srimanny from left and right, forcing him forward as they prepared to squeeze out through the crowd.

But at that instant, Doyle suddenly spoke.

"Hey, boss, wait! That's not right! I know this man!"

He exaggeratedly stumbled two steps, burped, and pointed at the lead swordsman.

"Here! Everyone! The man we're looking for is right here!"

Huh?

The next second, the crowd parted. Morgan strode forward in a rage and grabbed the swordsman.

"You! It was you! You fucked my wife, didn't you?"

The three swordsmen were stunned at the same time. The leader was especially confused.

"What?"

Morgan also reeked of wine. He spat fiercely.

"It was you! Yesterday I finally got to go home, and you were in her room. You lied to me and said you came to fix the wardrobe. And damn it, I believed you..."

The lead swordsman's expression changed.

"No, you must have mistaken me for someone else..."

"I didn't mistake you! You even said the wardrobe was too hot, so you had to strip naked to work. And I fucking believed that too... but you won't get away today!"

"I don't fucking know your wife at all!"

"Oh, so you don't even know her and you still got together with her!"

"I... I don't even know you!"

"Fuck! You don't even know me, and you still fucked my wife! You're absolute scum!"

The swordsman could bear it no longer and roared.

"I didn't fuck your wife!"

"The last guy who came to paint the walls said the same thing!"

Morgan replied with equal viciousness, every word decisive and beyond doubt.

"But I won't be fooled again! Not again!"

"You're here to cause trouble! Get lost!"

The lead swordsman shoved Morgan away.

But Morgan showed no weakness. He grabbed the man's arm, called out beside him, and the "sailors" surged toward the swordsmen and Srimanny in unison, starting to push and shove.

"You could fuck anyone, but you dared to fuck my sister-in-law?"

"Our sister-in-law!"

"Everyone's sister-in-law!"

"Keep your hands to yourself!"

"Apologize! Pay up!"

"Compensate the sister-in-law!"

"Let us go!"

"No! You can't go unless you tell me!"

"You've got the wrong person!"

"The gardener before last said that too!"

For a time, people squeezed back and forth in the alley. Though the swordsmen were well trained, they had no space to move at all, much less draw their weapons. In moments, they were buried under a wall of sweating men and could only complain bitterly.

"What is happening?"

In the dark corner, Hilley watched in deep confusion.

Hell's senses suddenly stirred, and Thales jerked his head up.

At the distant edge of a roof, a monocular telescope withdrew.

But that did not stop Thales from recognizing the person. It was Italiano from the Star Lake Guard. Mallos trusted him greatly, and his crossbow hit every shot. Well, every nine shots out of ten.

The pushing and shoving in the alley grew increasingly out of control. Finally, the last swordsman holding Srimanny loosened his hand, and the defense attorney fell to the ground. Covering his head, he crawled forward.

The lead swordsman saw it and shouted anxiously.

"No, no, stop him!"

But before he could finish speaking, Morgan's fist came down over his head.

"Don't even think about leaving!"

The "sailors" adjusted their positions with perfect understanding, just enough to let Srimanny slip past while blocking the three struggling swordsmen until no water could pass through.

Watching Srimanny crawl toward them inch by inch, Hilley widened her eyes in disbelief.

Just then, a voice came from behind Thales.

"Hey, you!"

Thales and Hilley turned around warily at the same time, only to discover in surprise that the person standing behind them was Wya.

The real Wya.

The prince's attendant had changed his outfit and was wearing a small leather cap. He now looked like the neighbor boy who had come out to run errands and do odd jobs.

"Wy..."

Thales was about to blurt the name out by instinct, but he forced himself to stop.

Hilley narrowed her eyes.

The real Wya took a deep breath and stepped forward.

"You."

Wya's tone was displeased.

Not good.

Thales suddenly remembered that he had slipped out alone for his own operation without informing Wya ahead of time.

Just like last time in Dragon Clouds City.

The attendant glared at Thales angrily, his chest rising and falling. He was clearly furious at the prince's private decision.

"Master Magician Wya?"

Hilley's eyelid twitched. She consciously stepped half a pace back and gave the stage to the remaining two.

Thales felt a little embarrassed under the real Wya's stare.

"Well..."

But before the prince could speak, Wya took out a money pouch and shoved it into Thales's hand.

"You dropped something."

Hmm?

Before Thales could react, Wya snorted furiously, turned around, and left. Before long, he disappeared at the end of the alley.

Only Thales was left standing there blankly, holding the money pouch in his hands, at a complete loss.

"What is that?"

Hilley curiously leaned over from the side.

Thales raised his head, looked at Italiano's surveillance position, then looked at the "sailors" pushing and shoving behind him, and finally looked in the direction where Wya had vanished.

"That is... a safety rope."

He smiled sheepishly.

A safety rope?

Hilley understood. She sighed at length.

"Little princess."

Thales's expression turned unhappy.

"You! I'll settle that with you later... now it's our turn."

The next moment, when Srimanny finally crawled out of the crowd, reached the end of the alley, and lifted his head as if he had survived a calamity, he saw a shabby boy and a flower-selling girl standing in front of him, smiling at him.

"You, you two! It's you! The two tricksters from across the street just now!"

Hilley tilted her head.

"Mm-hm?"

Thales shrugged.

"That's right."

Srimanny did not recognize the two of them after their drastic change in appearance, but he remembered something, and his expression turned frightened.

"The barber wasn't wrong! There really is something wrong with you..."

"Yes, there is something wrong with us. We're following you, we have ulterior motives, we're foreign forces, and we're walking bounties worth five hundred thousand."

Thales yanked him up from the ground and said impatiently,

"So are you willing to come with us now, or with the people behind you who are carrying military-controlled blades?"

Srimanny was dizzy from listening, but he understood the last part.

People carrying military-controlled blades...

The defense attorney hesitantly looked back at the alley. A group of big men were still pushing and shoving one another, sweat pouring off them.

"I told you to fuck my wife! Fuck my wife! Fuck my wife!"

"Only I can fuck my wife!"

"Right! Only we can fuck our sister-in-law..."

Srimanny turned back, swallowed, and showed an ugly smile.

Soon, the three of them vanished into the small alley, leaving behind only a crowd of big men shouting one after another.

Who knew how long had passed before three furtive figures appeared at another street intersection: Thales, Hilley, and Srimanny.

"It must have been Cacquire. That coward. He betrayed me."

Srimanny limped along with Thales supporting him, his mind drifting.

"I thought he protected important people, so he could know more inside information, but... damn it, I helped him so many times in the past and sent him soaring into the police station. I treated him as a friend..."

"Yes, long live friendship. Turn left ahead, two security officers."

Thales replied absently while using Hell's senses to keep a wary watch on their surroundings.

Hilley skillfully turned the corner and led them onto another street where no security officers were patrolling.

"And His Grace, too. He actually wants to silence me. Ow!"

Srimanny stomped his foot in heartache, then forgot that his foot was injured and added pain on top of pain.

"I did so much for him, yet he..."

"Hey!"

Hilley could bear it no longer.

"Focus, all right? Great Defense Attorney, we're saving your life. No, to be precise, we're running for our lives!"

Only then did Srimanny come back to himself and look at the two people beside him.

"Magician Wya? Wya? Yes, that name sounds a little familiar. It seems to have appeared somewhere. Yes, the guest list for the banquet. You are... you are..."

Srimanny's expression changed, and his hands trembled.

"You are the prince's people?"

Thales frowned, but Hilley answered before he could.

"Yes, we serve the North Star."

Hilley blinked mysteriously and nudged Thales.

"If the stars remain..."

Thales looked as if he had eaten something foul, but reluctantly followed up.

"The Empire, uh, endures."

Srimanny was still wary.

"Then why have I never seen you among his guards?"

Thales coughed.

"Er, we serve in secret."

Serve in secret...

Srimanny's wandering thoughts seemed to latch onto something else. He covered his mouth, his eyes full of terror.

"In secret? You... you're people from the Secret Intelligence Department?"

This time it was Hilley's turn to frown, but Thales quickly took over.

"Yes. We are from Secret Intelligence, respected Mr. Srimanny."

The young man put on a mysterious air.

"Where the stars shine..."

Hilley looked at him unhappily and picked up the line.

"Darkness gathers in the dim places. Stop wasting time. Back to the point!"

"You... you're so young, and you already do this?"

"What's strange about that? The Red Witch started working for the Dark Room when she was eight."

Before the incredulous Srimanny, Thales coughed.

"Now tell me. What secret is there behind the deaths of Dagori the wine merchant and Diop the wool merchant? What does it have to do with the Duke of South Coast? What exactly did you discover? Why does Zayen want to kill you?"

"I discovered, discovered..."

The name of Secret Intelligence was rather frightening. Srimanny was distracted for several seconds before he replied with difficulty.

"I, this young Wya from Secret Intelligence, I'm sorry. I... I can't tell you."

Thales raised an eyebrow.

"You won't tell us? Fine. Then go tell the duke."

Hilley played along perfectly. She pulled away Thales's hand, which was supporting the defense attorney.

"All you need to do is obediently stay here and wait for those people to find you."

Srimanny's expression stiffened.

Thales nodded and whistled.

"Maybe the duke will listen to you on a ship out in international waters?"

Srimanny's face turned even uglier.

Thales and Hilley exchanged glances, then walked forward side by side without hesitation, leaving Srimanny standing there blankly.

Several seconds later, the defense attorney seemed to think something through and sighed in pain.

"Fine. I'll tell you!"

Srimanny reached out and called them back.

"But I can only tell His Highness the prince face-to-face, and only after I see him!"

Thales paused when he heard this. He could not help turning around, clearing his throat, and straightening his collar.

"Ahem. In fact, standing before you..."

But Srimanny relentlessly counted on his fingers and continued.

"And you must guarantee my safety! Not like now, with a group of sword-wielding mercenaries chasing me from behind!"

He stubbornly looked at Thales.

"In short, unless I'm safe, I won't say anything!"

Thales and Hilley looked at each other.

"But..."

Thales was about to speak when he was interrupted.

"His Highness Thales is a person of high status and great authority. He handles countless affairs every day. Where would he find so much time to personally listen to you speak?"

Hilley spoke softly, though Thales always felt there was contempt at the corner of her mouth when she said those words.

"I'm not an idiot. It's precisely because he is of high status and great authority that he won't care about small people like us... once I say it, I'll be even less valuable!"

Srimanny said indignantly,

"Believe me. What I know will be far too helpful to your master! If the North Star learns it, he can hold Duke Zayen and the Covendier family in the palm of his hand. If he wants the duke to lower his head, the duke won't dare raise it. If he wants the duke to go west, the duke won't dare go east. If he wants to marry Lady Hilley, the duke will have to offer up his sister with both hands and personally add a dowry!"

Uh...

Thales lifted his eyebrows. Hilley snorted coldly.

"So once I see the prince, and once my absolute safety is guaranteed, along with my family's safety, then I can tell you."

Thales sighed.

It seemed there was no good method.

They could only settle him down first. Perhaps they could let civilized and polite Morgan have a chat with him later?

"Now I have to flee Jade City. No, I have to flee South Coast Territory, maybe even flee the kingdom and go far away."

The more Srimanny spoke, the more worried he became.

"Oh no, this is my home, my career, my life, my work. It's ruined now. Ruined. All ruined..."

Ignoring Srimanny as he painfully clutched his head, Hilley looked at Thales.

"All right. Where do we go now?"

"If we sneak back to Emerald Palace..."

Thales considered it.

"No! No! Not there! We can't go to Emerald Palace!"

Srimanny woke with a start and trembled.

"No! The duke, he will... international waters, ship..."

Seeing him like this, the prince and the eldest daughter exchanged a glance.

Hilley shook her head.

"We can't stay on the street either. There are security officers and the Jade Legion..."

Thales nodded.

"And the Blood Bottle Gang's eyes and ears. Too many people, too many eyes. We'll be discovered."

"Got it."

A few seconds later, Hilley's brows relaxed.

"Come with me."

A dozen minutes later, after many twists and turns, Hilley led the disheveled Thales and Srimanny around the crowds, through one street and alley after another, and to the back of a high wall. Behind the wall, human voices surged noisily. In front of the wall, there were few traces of people, and weeds grew thick all around them.

"Where is this?"

Srimanny asked stupidly.

"Your safe house."

Hilley pulled up her sleeves, clapped her hands, pushed aside a pile of wild grass, and pointed at a stone slab revealed below.

"Open it."

Thales looked at the heavy stone slab and exchanged glances with Srimanny.

"What? Are you expecting me to do the hard labor?"

The eldest daughter spoke with perfect confidence.

Thales and Srimanny flattened their mouths. The two of them found a wooden pole and pried the stone slab open together.

The slab shifted aside, revealing a pitch-black opening. A wave of foul stench surged out from within, and Srimanny immediately covered his mouth and nose, his expression full of disgust.

"This is... a sewer?"

Hilley stepped forward, lifted her skirt, and smiled faintly.

"What? Is it beneath your dignity, Great Defense Attorney?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Hilley nimbly jumped, and her whole body disappeared into the bottomless opening.

Only the astonished Thales and the disgusted Srimanny were left above ground, at a complete loss.

"What are you standing around for?"

The girl's voice came from inside the opening.

"The sewer, or international waters. Choose for yourself!"

All right. It seemed safe.

Thales scratched his head.

Only...

How did she know so many things?

Srimanny looked at the opening and sighed.

"You secret agents are so disgusting?"

"Yes."

Thales had just crouched down when the stench from the opening drove him back. He covered his mouth and nose, his expression unhappy.

"We're exactly this disgusting."

He pointed at the opening.

"To prevent you from running away, after you."

Srimanny painfully covered his face and, as if resigning himself to fate, jumped into the opening.

"Have you landed?"

Thales shouted into the hole.

"I'm down!"

Srimanny's voice came back from within the opening.

"Ow, my leg! Damn it, it stinks down here... ahhh! No, no, no, help!"

Hearing Srimanny's voice suddenly turn into terrified cries, Thales was startled.

"What happened? Srimanny?"

"No, no, no! Help! Don't! Don't! Stay away from me!"

Srimanny became even more frightened.

"What exactly is down there..."

Thales instinctively looked left and right, only then remembering that Hilley had gone down first.

Damn it!

Hilley had found this place. What exactly was down there? What had happened?

The opening was pitch black. Even Hell's senses could only hear a faint sound of water.

Several seconds later, Srimanny's voice disappeared. No matter how Thales called, he did not answer.

Thales gritted his teeth hard.

There was no other way.

The young man steeled his heart. He took a deep breath, held it, and leapt into the dark opening.

Splash!

Water flew everywhere.

Damn it.

Thales cursed inwardly, covering his mouth and nose as he shook off the foul sewage.

As expected, he had stepped into knee-deep wastewater.

But unexpectedly, the sewer was not so dark that he could not see his hand in front of his face. In fact, the walls on both sides of the waterway were covered in fungi of unknown species, and some gave off a faint blue glow, slightly illuminating his vision.

Thales gripped JC tightly and carefully stood up.

Where was Hilley?

Where was Srimanny?

Splash, splash.

The sound of footsteps through water entered his ears. He walked a dozen or so steps, and only when the sewage underfoot gradually became shallower did Thales finally see Srimanny in the gloom. The man was kneeling on the ground with his head in his arms, his forehead pressed to the wall, trembling.

"Srimanny?"

No longer caring about the rotten stench all over him, Thales lifted his feet with difficulty and advanced amid the splashing water.

"What happened? Where is Hi... Wyanna?"

At that moment, Thales's scalp tightened, and he stopped!

In the darkness, Hell's senses returned unusual information.

Breathing.

Yes, breathing.

At this moment, in front of and behind the sewer, there were one, two, three, four, five, six...

More than a dozen different breaths.

In front, behind, left, and right, spread all around him.

And the nearest breath...

"Woo... ru... woo..."

In the darkness, Thales swallowed. Every nerve in his body tightened to the extreme.

"Woo... ru... woo..."

Amid the darkness and tension, Thales sighed and unwillingly turned around.

A pitch-black monster was quietly stopped one foot behind him.

Thales's head began to ache.

What the hell?

Again?

Very soon, Hell's senses drove away the darkness before his eyes and allowed him to see the monster's appearance clearly. It had a twisted face, a bloody maw, outward-flaring teeth, a crooked nose, and eyes so small they were almost two black dots. It looked hideous and uncomfortable to behold.

"Woo, woo... woo, woo..."

At this moment, it let out a chilling breathing sound. Two disproportionately huge arms extended from the water on both sides and slowly approached Thales.

Thales frowned, but this time, after experiencing so many battles, he had already anticipated it, and the fear in his heart lessened considerably.

All right.

As ugly faces went, well, this one was not as frightening as that eyeless, noseless "Faceless Cork."

"Hi... stop playing! Didn't you say you wouldn't scare me again..."

Thales sighed, reached out, grabbed the hair on Hilley's new skin suit, and pulled downward.

But in the next second, the ugly monster before his eyes let out a chilling roar.

"Woo woo woo woo woo ru!"

Thales was instantly startled, and at the same time, his heart went cold.

This was made... far too realistically, wasn't it?

But before he could remember anything, the ugly monster before him swung its enormous arm and smashed it ruthlessly into Thales.

At that instant, Thales felt as if he had run into a wall.

Bang! Splash!

After the impact and the sound of water, Thales, who had been sent flying, climbed up from the sewage with stars before his eyes.

What was happening?

"Woo, woo! Woo, woo!"

The monster roared, and its twisted face looked even uglier.

Thales gasped painfully.

Such a monster was actually monstrously strong?

But was that not Hilley...

The next second, Thales's thoughts were interrupted.

"Hiss, hiss, hiss..."

"Rustle, rustle, rustle..."

"Roar..."

Following the monster's roar, the sewer rang out with answering beast cries, tearing sounds, crawling sounds, splashing sounds, sucking sounds...

Each one was stranger than the last.

And they had only one thing in common.

They were not sounds that humans could make.

What the hell?

Thales's face turned pale. He instinctively raised his dagger and backed away until his back hit the wall.

What exactly was this place?

The sewage underfoot rippled and surged back and forth.

Whoosh!

Water splashed up and sprayed Thales across his head and face.

But that was not the worst part.

A monster covered in spikes and carapace, dragging a jointed tail and several limbs, crawled out of the water and revealed a front face full of tumors.

"Ahhh, human flesh! Human flesh! Human flesh!"

The half-human, half-insect monster twitched its limbs at him and gave off a sharp male voice.

"Water ghouls, there's human flesh to eat!"

Fuck!

Thales shuddered in fright. He could no longer care about the sewage on the ground and rolled away from the monster.

No, no, no...

What the fuck was this...

"Wyanna!"

With panic and fear, Thales swiftly stood and roared at his surroundings.

"Where are you!"

But what the Sin of Hell's River sent back to him, what it saw and heard, made Thales even more terrified.

Under the faint light, indistinct shapes appeared on both sides of the sewer. Nonhuman monsters of every kind emerged one after another.

Some surfaced from the sewage, breathing holes on their backs opening and closing as they expelled wastewater.

Some stretched tentacles out from corners, half-hidden and half-seen.

Some dropped from the ceiling overhead and rolled forward.

Some had insect heads and stared at Thales. Some extended two human heads from their bodies, their forms twisted. Some had limbs so thin and long they were almost like stick insects.

Others had seven or eight hands that kept writhing around their bodies.

Slowly, but firmly, they advanced toward Thales.

"No, no, no, help!"

Srimanny's sobbing cry came from the other end of the sewer.

But Thales had no leisure to bother with him. He stared in disbelief at this extraordinary sewer and did his utmost to stop himself from trembling.

"This place... what exactly is this place?"

"What place?"

The nerve-strung Thales instantly turned back.

The half-human, half-insect monster with the shrill male voice coiled its tail-limb and slowly came behind him, letting out a piercing laugh in the darkness.

"Welcome, human! Welcome to give us an extra meal!"

An extra meal?

As the monster spoke, louder and more chaotic hissing and roaring came from the sewer.

And in the distance, the ugly-faced monster that had just sent Thales flying waded out of the water.

Thales froze.

No.

The monster slowly raised its enormous arms, revealing the person lying on them.

It was Hilley.

At this moment, Cecilia Covendier was lying weakly in the monster's enormous arms.

Unconscious.

Covered in blood.

At their mercy.

"No!"

Thales cried out in alarm.

"The setting sun rejects us, Covendier betrays us, and Jade City despises us! Only hell and demons, only witchcraft and curses, only fear and hatred accept us!"

Accompanied by the chorus of its own kind, the half-human, half-insect monster's laughter was incomparably chilling as it echoed through the sewer.

"So, for thousands of years, we who suffer beneath curses have fed on humans!"

Its open jointed limbs rose and fell like a mouth before eating.

"Human, welcome to Ghoul Tunnel!"