noveltune Chapter 176 The Robin's Dance
Chapter 176 The Robin's Dance
Chapter 176 The Robin's Dance
Gebu's head buzzed as memories of the night the Broken Tooth tribe was wiped out flooded his mind.
The goblin's corpse, the stench of blood in the air, and the flames burning in Gob's pupils.
In an instant, the goblin wizard's feet felt as if they were made of lead, and he stood motionless.
Vulture was also stunned for a moment. Across the entire ballroom, his eyes were fixed on Gebu's face like an eagle spotting its prey.
Just then, a dancing couple passed by Gebu, and the woman's buttocks bumped into Gebu's shoulder, causing him to stumble.
This woke the halfling up. He quickly ducked and disappeared into the crowded dance floor, while the vulture rushed toward the direction where Geb had disappeared!
"Distinguished guests, the next piece is: 'Who Kissed the Robin?'"
"Three, two, one"
As the conductor raised his left hand, the music burst forth from the stage!
Amidst the swaying skirts and bouncing steps, the halfling and the bald witch hunter were playing a game of eagle catching goblins.
"what!"
"Rude!"
"Damn it, keep an eye on things!"
The man wearing an eagle-faced mask pushed his way through the dancing crowd, completely ignoring the complaints of the nobles he had pushed aside. The shadow of a fox mask flashed past his eye, and Vulture immediately turned towards the man. He had only taken two steps when Geb's figure disappeared into a corner on the other side of the ballroom.
In an instant, the little man wearing the fox mask disappeared without a trace, yet he was also everywhere.
The vulture stopped wandering around like a headless fly and stood still in the center of the ballroom, scanning his surroundings.
No matter how fast a goblin wizard moves, he can't possibly appear in two places at the same time.
"Illusion?" the man muttered to himself, wrinkling his nose in disgust beneath his mask.
He took out a small vial of potion from his waist—the vial had a picture of an open eye drawn on it.
"—Obak turned his gaze away out of pity, and we became the eyes of the gods, seeing through the falsehoods and lies of this world."
Matthew 7:14
At the edge of the dance floor, Gebu saw the vulture stop and quickly looked for a place to hide. All Gebu could see were thighs and skirts, the smell of sweat and perfume mixed into a nauseating odor—the halfling crashed headfirst into the maze of skirts, instantly becoming dizzy and disoriented.
"Jump, little fox! Jump!"
People wearing various masks held hands and spun around faster and faster to the intense music, their bodies turning into a wall of flesh.
Pigs, dogs, cattle, sheep—shining masks spun around, the faces beneath them staring at Gebu, laughing, crying, and shouting wildly. Humans had become beasts, reason had turned into revelry, and wherever the eye could see, the lights distorted in the heatwave, and demons and monsters roamed like a hundred ghosts at night.
"Magnubier's ass!" Geb exclaimed, his voice melting into the frenzied music the instant it left his throat.
"Magnubier, Obak, the Raven Queen, Ogmar, even the silent Jauss, have all departed from us. God is dead, my friend, leaving us only to pray against the empty wall!"
"What?" Gebu responded in surprise to the voice that rang in his ears.
"This night, this moon, this unparalleled revelry! Long live Chaos, my friend!"
Geb tried to pinpoint the direction of the sound, but in the instant he was distracted, something suddenly kicked him hard in the butt. The halfling couldn't react in time and was kicked out of the circle of people.
"Ouch!"
When Gebu looked up, ten steps away, a man wearing an eagle-faced mask was drinking a miniature potion hidden in his hand.
The distance was too close! Geb's psychological trauma caused him to suddenly react, and the goblin wizard, disregarding the crowd, cast an invisibility spell on the spot—in the blink of an eye, Geb's figure disappeared in the center of the dance floor.
Geb looked at his palm to make sure the invisibility spell had worked, and then felt a little relieved before looking in the direction of the vulture.
After drinking the potion, the witch hunter closed his eyes, stood still, and held his breath, as if the surrounding chaos had no effect on him at all. The veins on his neck began to glow faintly, and a strange magical power flowed upwards along his blood vessels.
When the man opened his eyes again, a bluish-green halo appeared in the whites of his eyes.
Gebu's heart sank; the man had seen him at a glance! It was as if his invisibility spell had no effect whatsoever!
Is this... the method of a witch hunter?!
Before Gebu could react, the witch hunter charged straight at him, instantly closing the distance between them to five steps.
So fast!
On a sudden inspiration, Geb used his wizard's hand to pinch the buttocks of a fat lady next to the bald man hard!
"Rose above!" the woman screamed, jolted, and slapped him across the face!
The witch hunter seemed to have springs in his body; he instantly raised his hand, caught the fat lady's slap, and then gave her a push. The noblewoman, being too large, lost her balance and spun around twice like a top about to tip over before dramatically falling to the ground, knocking down a group of innocent passersby in the process.
Dharadang!
Like an accompaniment to the fat lady's fall, the strings played a sharp vibrato.
The fat lady rolled on the ground in a rather disheveled state, her wig fell off, and she tried to get up but couldn't, much to the misery of the unfortunate souls she had pinned down.
"Obak, you must apologize to this lady!" A young nobleman scrambled to his feet, looking rather disheveled, and stormed toward the vulture's retreating figure, placing a hand on the witch hunter's shoulder.
The vulture nimbly turned around, grabbed the man's forearm, pulled him, tripped him, and then pushed him into the crowd without any hesitation.
Distracted by this little incident, Vulture turned around and saw that Geb had already run away. His invisible body was revealed to have semi-transparent edges under the effect of the True Sight potion. The little guy scrambled and crawled along the ground, weaving between his legs, and in an instant he was on the other side of the dance floor.
Tap tap! Tap tap! Tap tap!
On stage, the drummer struck a marching drumbeat, and the people in the dance floor stomped their boots loudly, responding to the drumbeat.
Tap tap! Tap tap! Tap tap!
Gob's steps were swift and rapid, like a little bee leaping among flowers. He was invisible to the dancers, and his movements were unobstructed. The goblin could only rely on his extraordinary reflexes to dart and weave through the crowd.
This is no big deal! Where can we run to if we keep going?
You can't count on the female knight; illusions and invisibility are child's play for this witch hunter—you can't exactly go head-to-head with a witch hunter!
There's still one more chance!
In this critical moment, Geb's mind raced: How could a witch hunter be here?!
Has my identity been exposed?!
Wait a minute, something's not right—the witch hunter couldn't possibly know about his deal with the golden mask—unless, Peacock told him?
Could he be in cahoots with the peacock?
Geb recalled the conversation he overheard between the peacock and the vulture in the basement. The two seemed to have known each other for a long time, and their relationship was complicated. The witch hunter's goal was clear: the Book of Sand.
The peacock told him where she was, asking him to help her kill Gebu—was she using someone else to do her dirty work?
Realizing this, Gebu suddenly understood. According to Vulture's usual style, he should have directly led his men to attack, but instead, he was wearing a mask and pretending to be a guest. This meant he hadn't entered as a "Holy Church Witch Hunter"!
The fact that the witch hunters and the Gray Ravens' leader are cooperating—that doesn't seem right! Baldy doesn't want to reveal his identity; he's hesitant to act rashly!
The mouse is itself, but what about the vessel?
There's only one possibility: the person of the highest status at this ball.
Princess Hilen!
The witch hunter, Vulture, caused quite a commotion among the crowd, but he didn't care.
Gascoigne found the decadent lifestyle of these New Kingdom nobles utterly despicable. These pigs who had turned their backs on the Lord's teachings would eventually receive their just deserts.
Tonight, the vulture has only one target.
The goblin wizard who stole the Book of Sand.
Let's see where you go now, Gebu!
Gascoigne forcefully cleared a path through the crowd. The goblin's back drew ever closer; he could reach out and grab its ugly neck, forcing the evil breath from its throat until it swallowed its own tongue and choked to death on its own saliva.
I will cut off your head—no, that would be too merciful. I will scald your green skin with boiling water, throw you into a rat cage, and let the fanged rats devour your flesh and entrails. Then I will boil your bones, clean them thoroughly, and place them as spoils in the Lord's temple.
A hint of a smile crept across Gascoigne's lips as he contemplated revenge on the goblins.
The little guy kept looking back at himself as he ran. In his panic, he ran headlong towards the corner of the dance floor where the band was.
Are you panicking, goblin? That's a blind spot.
After all, he was just a little beast. When it came to the crucial moment, reason was thrown out the window, leaving only primal fear.
Unfortunately, luck didn't always work out for you. God help you.
The vulture shoved the person in front of him aside; the goblin was right in front of him!
The music reached its climax at this moment. The conductor, with disheveled hair, waved his hand downwards, and all the lights in the ballroom went out at the same time. Moonlight streamed in through the high windows of the ballroom, casting a soft white veil over everything in the ballroom.
The notes hovered on the fingers, and the revelry fell into an almost infinite stillness at the moment of climax.
All the masked figures in the ballroom stopped dancing at the same time, and everyone's eyes turned to the band conductor's raised left hand.
The suspense is palpable, like the violin bowstring eager to pounce.
The halfling figure appeared out of nowhere, standing abruptly on the stage on tiptoe.
Geb's hand gripped the conductor's slender wrist tightly; her pure white silk glove was embroidered with a golden passenger dove.
"It was a pigeon, it was a pigeon that kissed the robin."
The conductor stood frozen in place, staring in astonishment at the halfling through the mask. Through the clothes, she could feel the halfling's hand holding her wrist trembling slightly.
Gebu released the woman's arm, knelt on one knee, raised his head, and extended his hand to the woman in front of him.
"Dear lady, may I dance with you?"
The woman's surprise turned into a mysterious smile.
"Not here, my beloved Gray Feather."
Her demeanor changed in an instant, as if she were a different person. She raised her proud chin and gently placed her slender hand on Gebu's outstretched hand.
"Come with me to the terrace, dear robin. Let me kiss you, and then bury you in that long, starry night."
Geb lowered his head and lightly touched the woman's hand with his lips, but didn't actually kiss her. He stood up at the woman's direction.
She gracefully and naturally placed her arm in Gebu's crook, slowly and deliberately walking through the crowd, her gaze sweeping over everyone but not looking at any of them.
The vulture froze, the halfling just a step away from him, brushing past him. The witch hunter stepped forward, blocking the halfling's path, looking down at Geb with fire in his eyes.
Gebu raised his eyes to meet the witch hunter's gaze without flinching, a hint of barely perceptible smugness playing on his lips.
Vulture's face was as dark as the clouds before a storm; he clenched his fists so tightly he almost broke his knuckles.
Princess Hilian stopped and glanced briefly at the vulture. She didn't speak, but with just a look, the storm brewing on Gascoigne's face finally died down.
"Excuse me," Geb said casually, then nudged the witch hunter with his shoulder as if by accident, and squeezed past him.
Under the watchful eyes of the entire ballroom, Gebu and Princess Xilian walked hand in hand toward the exit.
That's too dangerous!!!
As he stepped out the door and turned the corner, Gebu finally couldn't hold back any longer; the bow tie around his neck was so tight he could hardly breathe. He reached out, untied it, and then gasped for breath.
Hilian pulled her hand out of Geb's arm and looked at the panting halfling with interest.
"Excuse me—water, could I have some water?" Before the servant next to him could react, Gebu took a glass of champagne from the silver tray next to him, drank it all in one gulp, then took another glass, drank half of it, and only then did he feel a little better.
"Ha. Where did your courage go, my little robin?" the princess behind the mask chuckled. "Or should I call you Mr. Fox?"
"You may call me whatever you like, dear Princess — Your Highness."
After drinking some wine, Gebu's face flushed slightly, and his courage returned somewhat. He bowed respectfully to the woman in front of him and knelt on one knee.
Halfway down his knees, the princess reached out to stop him, then sighed softly.
"Take off your mask so quickly—how boring. Don't tell me you're just another vulgar fellow who solved my puzzle only to get a reward from me."
"I'm sorry, I have to admit, I never expected to get anything from you—if I had to say, being able to spend some time alone with you is already an incredibly precious gift, and I wouldn't dare ask for anything more."
"Smooth-tongued," the princess scoffed. "If I were still a teenage girl, I might have been fooled by your honeyed tongue. Tell me, what grudge does that witch hunter have against you? Why did he follow you all the way here? If you ruin my ball, I won't let you off the hook."
The witch hunter—this Shillian actually recognizes that old vulture?