Published at 1st of February 2026 8:25 am

Chapter 2516: The Betrayer

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

"You reminded those two gargoyles earlier, and now they’re lying down. Originally, I intended to knock them out like the old lady on the third floor, but they were unexpectedly fragile."

Just as Angel started the conversation, Dox immediately sensed it and spoke before Angel could say anything.

The gargoyles are lying down? Clearly, Dox’s embellishment. Angel didn’t need to speculate to know that those two gargoyles had already shattered into countless pieces.

"By the way, thank you for that poker card. Otherwise, navigating this trap-ridden corridor would have been a bit troublesome for me."

Angel: "...You know poker?"

Dox: "Of course, if you had gone into the Cross pub earlier, you would have seen at least ten tables with people playing cards. I bet if you went in, you’d be invited to a game."

Angel remained silent for a moment. He originally wanted to ask about the Princess Castle, but after hearing Dox’s words, he couldn’t resist continuing, "How did poker cards make it to the Sandworm Market?"

Sandworm Market, in Angel’s impression, was a very remote Wizard Market, surrounded by vast desert, and not many people went there.

Yet, even in such a remote place, poker was becoming popular? It hadn’t been long since he taught poker to Sharley.

"Oh, it came over from Mesomyia. It’s said that it all started when a magician had a grand performance there. I don’t know what exactly the performance was, but the poker cards began spreading from then on." Dox added, "Apparently, the magician was a woman, traveling around various countries, performing magic shows."

Angel:...Alright, he understood.

The magician conducting the continental tour must be Sharley, or someone closely related to her. Angel hadn’t expected Sharley to go to such lengths to promote poker magic.

After a sigh, Angel also felt slightly relieved, at least for now it seemed, poker hadn’t been seen as an imported item and was thus not ostracized.

Poker, like the shadow box Angel created, actually originated from Jon. Although Jon appeared to be a nondescript, critically ill ordinary person, the other kind of human civilization he brought had silently integrated into wizard culture.

From this, we can see that Jon, though unnoticed, was also influencing the cultural progression of the Wizards’ Realm...even if it’s entertainment culture.

"Did you contact me this time just to discuss poker? If you’re interested in poker, when we return to the Sandworm Market, I’ll take you to the Cross pub to play." Dox’s message came through the Mind Ribbon.

Angel: "Poker was just incidental; I contacted you to ask about your affairs in the Princess Castle."

Dox emitted a weird laugh: "Why, are you also intrigued by the Princess’s antics?"

Angel quietly explained, "There are two Talented Ones we haven’t found, and according to the information we got, they seem to have been taken by the Princess last night."

"One is named Golos, with a fair complexion and light golden hair; the other is called Bruiser, dark-skinned, deep brown hair, and seems to have bandages wrapped around his hands."

"Did you see any trace of them in the Princess Castle?"

Dox remained silent for a few seconds and then sighed, "So those two are the Talented Ones you’re looking for, well, well."

Angel detected the peculiarity in Dox’s tone: "You’ve seen them?"

Dox: "Of course, in the exciting performance I mentioned earlier, they were the main characters...oh, no, the Princess was the main character, and they were more like supporting roles."

Angel: "They’re in the Princess’s room?"

Dox: "Uh-huh."

"How are they doing?" Angel implied, are they still alive?

Dox: "I didn’t see the end, so I don’t know, but with the Princess’s games, if they’re not dead, they’ll probably lose a layer of skin."

...

Angel ended the communication with Dox and said to Melo next to him, "I got their location; they’re in the Princess’s room."

Angel: "We’ll head over now."

After finishing speaking, Angel turned first, heading towards the stairs to the first floor, and the others quickly followed.

Melo originally wanted to ask Angel what information he had received about Golos and Bruiser, but before he could open his mouth, he heard movement on the first floor.

There was also a faint scent of blood.

Angel also smelled it, but he didn’t stop; instead, he quickened his pace and went up to the first floor.

As soon as he reached the first floor, Angel saw the familiar gargoyle.

The gargoyle flapped its fleshy wings, hovering overhead, its gaze fixed on a human below. At this time, the first floor’s main door had been sealed by it, trapping the human as if in a birdcage, rendering escape impossible. Meanwhile, it could play around at will...until it finally killed him.

The malicious gaze of the gargoyle followed the human, who was already covered in multiple wounds, unaware that others were also watching it from the first floor.

"What’s happening? That person seems to be wearing the standard armor of the Princess Castle, so why is he being chased by the gargoyle?" Lady Melo asked in confusion.

"Probably because he didn’t properly hide the smell of blood on him and got discovered by the gargoyle. He’s a traitor," Angel remarked lightly.

The human being chased by the gargoyle was the same little Tom who had accompanied the team leader to the prison earlier.

His movements were agile, but it was obvious he hadn’t undergone formal training. Even with a sharp dagger in hand, he could barely fend off the gargoyle that could dive attack from above at any time.

Soon, a few more deep gashes were added to little Tom’s body.

A large amount of blood flowed out, and if he didn’t stop the bleeding soon, he would bleed to death from blood loss alone.

And this was clearly the gargoyle’s intention. If it truly wanted to kill little Tom, it could absolutely execute a one-hit kill, but it didn’t. It probably wanted little Tom to watch himself bleed out and die.

"My lord, what should we do now?"

The speaker was Lady Melo, who wasn’t unsure about what to do, but rather inquiring about the deeper choice to be made.

The first floor’s main door was sealed by the gargoyle. To leave, they had three options.

First, break through the walls...but the walls were engraved with numerous Magical Energy Arrays, bolstered by the prison itself, making it not that simple to break through.

Second, kill the gargoyle. Once the gargoyle dies, the door it controls will naturally open.

Thirdly, wait for the gargoyle to kill that human. When that happens, the gargoyle will revert back to a statue and the door will open.

What they need to do now is make a choice among these options.

Angel did not answer Lady Melo’s question, because he directly expressed his choice through action.

Suddenly, numerous pale white phantom limbs extended like tentacles from Angel, rapidly wrapping around the gargoyle before it could even react.

Only then did the gargoyle realize, in shock, that there were still people here!

But this shock turned out to be its final thought in life, because in the next second, the phantom limbs tightened slightly, crushing the gargoyle into countless pieces.

Retracting the phantom limbs, Angel ignored the gargoyle’s remains and walked over to young Tom.

"Honorable Wizard, you’re here, aren’t you?"

Angel did not dispel the illusion, so young Tom could not see him, yet Tom still spoke, and judging from the direction he turned, he seemed to be facing Angel, as if he could indeed see him.

But Angel knew young Tom could not see him; it was perhaps a coincidence, or maybe a kind of ability.

"You killed the gargoyle and haven’t left, do you intend to kill me?"

"If possible, I hope you don’t kill me; I have strong inspiration and can serve as your servant, offering my service."

Perhaps to demonstrate his inspiration, young Tom continued, "I vaguely sensed your presence before. You have been following me and the leader, all the way here to the prison."

Young Tom’s words made Angel raise his eyebrows slightly. Surprisingly, Tom’s positioning was not a coincidence; he indeed had a talent for inspiration. And judging by this talent, it seemed to have considerable potential.

Otherwise, with his limited power, young Tom shouldn’t have been able to perceive Angel’s presence behind them.

"Since you discovered me, why didn’t you inform your leader?" After young Tom spoke at length, Angel finally responded.

Young Tom secretly breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, knowing that as long as they could communicate, there was still a chance: "Because I vaguely felt it might be my opportunity."

"Your chance to kill the leader?" Although Angel posed a question, his tone was quite certain.

Earlier, he had noticed a one-hit kill wound on the leader’s back, and there were no other wounds. This implied he possibly died before the escaped apprentices had the chance to vent their anger on his corpse. His death was unlikely caused by them; it was probably an unanticipated attack from behind.

Angel had a vague suspicion then that it might be the leader’s trusted confidant, as only a confidant would have had the chance to be behind the leader.

At that time, the leader only brought young Tom as a confidant into the prison.

"Yes, it was I who killed the leader. Initially, I believed you followed us with a purpose, perhaps intending ultimately to kill the leader. But when you didn’t act, I had no choice but to do it myself."

"Then the opportunity came quickly—when the leader discovered the guard mysteriously unconscious on the ground and bent down to check, his back was exposed to me, and I thrust the concealed dagger into his heart from behind."

Young Tom’s expression showed evident satisfaction when recounting the experience of killing the leader.

"According to your words, if I had killed the leader while following you, I surely would have killed you too. Aren’t you concerned about this possibility?"

Young Tom: "Not worried, since I was prepared to die. As long as that person dies, it wouldn’t matter if I die."

Young Tom’s expression remained serene, and his tone calm, yet the resolve concealed beneath this calm was remarkably powerful.

Angel: "Did he have a vendetta against you?"

Young Tom: "A blood feud."

Angel understood that young Tom entered the Princess Castle, ingratiated himself with the leader to become a confidant, all for revenge.

Angel pondered for a moment and continued: "Since you were prepared to die, why now seek mercy from me?"

Young Tom replied straightforwardly: "If I can survive, naturally I hope to live. Of course, if you decide to kill me, I wouldn’t resent it."

Angel could clearly see that young Tom was speaking the truth.

He indeed harbored a readiness to die but also had hopes of surviving.

Angel remained silent for a moment: "Since I didn’t kill you then, I won’t kill you now."

Young Tom’s eyes showed excitement, and he immediately knelt down: "Thank you, I am willing to become your servant."

Angel: "Do you think I would want a betrayer as a servant?"

Young Tom instantly froze.

Indeed, even though young Tom had a blood feud with the leader, he was ultimately a betrayer, regarded as treacherous by others, regardless of justification.

The Wizard before him evidently viewed it the same way.

"Then..." Young Tom didn’t know what to say, struggling to produce a syllable with nothing else to follow.

Then Angel remarked: "But your inspiration does have some use."

After speaking, Angel gently extended his finger, touching young Tom’s brow.

Young Tom’s expression turned dazed for a moment but quickly returned to normal.

After all this, Angel casually cast a healing spell on young Tom to prevent him from bleeding to death.

After receiving the healing, young Tom stood up, bowed toward Angel’s direction in silence, turned, and left.

Once young Tom’s figure vanished from the entrance completely, Lady Melo, who witnessed the entire dialogue, curiously asked, "Do you have plans for him, Wizard?"

Angel: "It’s not me who has plans for him, but you who has plans for him."

Lady Melo paused, confused.

Angel: "His inspiration is exceedingly high; this level of inspiration indicates that his mental power value won’t be lacking. I’ve sent him to find Old Porter. Once you leave the castle, check his talent, and if feasible, investigate his background. If all is well, you may classify him as a Talented One this round."

Share