To be honest...
Even if one is unwilling to believe the facts.
But Karg had to admit that Ian hadn't just pointed out the problem, but offered a solution, and the solution sounded... damnably reasonable!
It was even more ingenious than the insights that Karg himself had pondered for many years!
"How could this be?" Karg stood there, stunned, his mind blank, as if struck by a thunderbolt from the heavens. Even his thoughts stopped working.
The opponent... the opponent not only learned his swordsmanship, honed over decades, in that brief, outrageous exchange... the opponent completely understood, mastered, and... surpassed his swordsmanship at a level he couldn't even imagine! Yes, not only did he learn all the moves! He also understood the principles behind each move, its hidden weaknesses, and the possibilities for optimization! He could even stand at a perspective that he himself had never reached!
Then, his life's work was "annotated" and "upgraded"!
This can no longer be described as "extraordinary talent" or "combat genius".
This is simply an inhuman, almost rule-based ability to learn and analyze! It's a despairing chasm between ordinary and Extraordinary Wisdom!
A chilling and despair far deeper and more penetrating than facing death or being annihilated by Legend magic, like icy venom, instantly filled Karg's heart and flowed to his limbs and bones.
"I... I... I..." His hand, gripping the almost numb greatsword, trembled slightly uncontrollably. It wasn't a physiological reaction from exhaustion, but rather an uncontrollable tremor and powerlessness emanating from the depths of his soul after his worldview had been utterly shattered and his beliefs uprooted. The combat skills he had painstakingly honed over decades, the swordsmanship he had acquired with his life amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, soaked in blood, sweat, and an indomitable will, were probably, in the eyes of this mysterious young man, merely a superficial introductory textbook—something he could casually flip through, understand in an instant, and even modify and optimize with great interest...
This gap... this fundamental difference... makes even the thought of "catching up" or "challenging" seem so ridiculous and absurd. Karg lost his voice; his throat felt as if it had been sanded, so dry and hoarse that he could barely utter a complete syllable. He could only squeeze out two words filled with extreme shock and bewilderment from between his teeth.
"You... you..."
Karg genuinely didn't know what to say.
Just as Karg was rendered speechless and stunned by the upheaval of his understanding, his hand gripping the greatsword trembling slightly, almost dropping the weapon that had accompanied him for half his life, Saruman, who had been frozen in place by shock, fear, and a mental turmoil, finally seized this brief respite in the battle. "Stop! Karg! Stop!" He jolted awake, realizing this might be his last chance! He couldn't let Karg provoke this terrifying being who might be " Merlin " any longer!
Who knows if the other party will lose interest in "learning" in the next second, or feel that the "sample" has been squeezed dry and will be disposed of casually! " Karg! Stop!!" Saruman shouted with all his might, rushing forward at the same time to stand between the almost exhausted Karg and Ian. He spread his arms to protect Karg behind him, and although he was also pale and his legs were weak, his eyes were filled with a kind of resolute determination.
certainly.
This resolute determination is not a battle.
All I saw was...
Saruman swiftly tossed the high-quality staff he was holding to the ground, then ripped off several bulging bags of Magic Materials from his waist, along with a few storage rings that looked quite valuable, and placed them at his feet. He even took out the precious notebook containing a partial interpretation of the " Raven Ruins " from his pocket, hesitated for a moment, and then placed it on the ground as well.
Having done all this, he took a deep breath, forcing himself to look into Ian's cold, all-seeing eyes, and said in the clearest, most respectful, even slightly humble, tone he could muster, "Your... Your Excellency Prince! Please... Please calm your anger!" "My companion acted impulsively, with no intention of offense! We... We are willing to surrender! We offer all our possessions, our knowledge, and this meager loyalty! We only beg you... We only beg you to forgive our ignorant offense and give us... give us a way out!" Saruman's voice trembled with tension, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
He no longer cared whether the other party needed these "offerings," nor did he care about the pride of Wizard. Faced with absolute power and incomprehensible wisdom, survival was the top priority. He even planned that if the other party was not satisfied, he could even offer a part of his own soul as collateral for the contract.
As long as... as long as I can survive, as long as I can protect Karg and Lina.
" Saruman! What have you done?!"
Awakened by Saruman's actions, Karg looked at his companion's slender yet resolute back as he stood in front of him, and at the items on the ground that represented Saruman's life's work and the fruits of his adventures. A complex mix of emotions welled up within him: shame, gratitude, but mostly the lingering sense of powerlessness and bewilderment he felt when facing Ian.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something, but found himself unable to utter a word.
?????
Ian watched Saruman's series of fluid surrender maneuvers, and the pile of seemingly unremarkable junk on the ground. Of course, the Raven- related items still piqued Ian's interest, but this didn't prevent a rare, extremely subtle... confusion from appearing on his usually cold face.
He tilted his head slightly, as if trying to understand the other person's logic. A few seconds later, he calmly asked in a tone that clearly showed his confusion.
"What... what are you doing?"
Ian is not the kind of person who would take advantage of others.
This is true, at least when reason is involved.
Upon hearing this, Saruman was taken aback, thinking that his sincerity was insufficient or that the other party was mocking him. He quickly said even more earnestly, "Your Excellency!! We have no intention of being your enemy, much less dare to pry into your secrets! We are just adventurers who have strayed into this place, only wanting to find a way out and heal our companions! Karg... he's just a reckless warrior. If he has offended us, it's all my responsibility! Kill or torture him, come at me! I only beg you to spare him and Lina!" His words were fast and urgent, filled with a desperate will to survive.
Ian listened, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly. He glanced at the pile of "offerings" on the ground, then at Saruman's resolute yet desperate attempt to protect his companions, and then at Karg behind him, looking utterly dejected and barely able to hold his weapon... He could only sigh. "Of course I know what you're trying to do," Ian said slowly, in a tone that was almost a statement of fact, yet also carried a hint of "Are you all seriously ill?"
"So, I just want to tell you..."
He paused, seemingly organizing his thoughts for more direct language.
"Here," he gestured to the twisting, writhing patches of color and chaotic energy flows around him, "It's dangerous. Very dangerous. Not a place for people of your... well, your level."
He looked at the lingering fear and confusion on Saruman and Karg's faces and added his own words.
"As for what you've imagined—'silencing,' 'cleaning up,' 'humiliating'... Ian's tone carried an almost imperceptible hint of speechlessness."
"You guys overreacted and made up a lot of things in your heads." Clearly, Ian had used Legilimency again, and he shrugged with a somewhat helpless gesture.
Then, seemingly to strengthen his persuasiveness, he actually... spun around in a circle?
Yes, right there in this eerie, dangerous space-time gap filled with the delirious ramblings of the Great Old Ones, the unfathomably powerful young Legend, like a harmless child showing off, simply turned around, "revealing" the front, side, and back of his black robe. As if to say: Look, I'm not hiding any weapons that I might suddenly pull out to kill you.
After spinning around, he stopped, his eyes, now cold again, fixed on the completely bewildered Saruman and Karg, and asked in an almost self-righteous tone:
"Look..."
Do I look like a bad person?
Saruman:..."
Karg..."
The expressions on their faces quickly shifted from extreme fear, despair, and pleading to blankness, bewilderment, and a strong sense of absurdity, as if their worldviews had been subjected to a second shock.
The air seemed to freeze.
Only those indescribable patches of color in the distance continued to writhe silently, emitting low, unreadable murmurs.
Saruman's brain was practically fried. He Hard Work to process Ian's words.
Danger... Warning... We fill in the blanks... Stress... Doesn't seem like a bad guy...
So... from the very beginning, was the other side really just warning them about the danger? Did Karg misunderstand their "warning" look and words, thinking they were going to kill them, and then attack first? And the other side just... casually parried a move, and incidentally... learned a sword technique?
What they experienced as suffocatingly despair through academic pressure might have been seen by the other person as just a... spur-of-the-moment, somewhat interesting "extracurricular activity"?
This realization was even more... unacceptable to them than the idea that the other party was a cruel Legend. A complex mix of absurdity, lingering fear, and a faint sense of relief welled up inside them.
"See..." Saruman's throat went dry, and he cautiously began to speak, "Your Excellency... do you mean... you don't intend to... deal with us?"
"Deal with?"
Ian raised an eyebrow.
"Why should I bother with you? You weren't blocking my way, nor did you do anything that truly threatened me. I was just passing by and saw a few people who had clearly wandered into the wrong film set, so I kindly pointed them out." He spoke so matter-of-factly, as casually as if he were saying, "The weather's nice." Karg's attack was clearly not a threat in his eyes.
and.
He also benefited greatly.
Saruman and Karg exchanged a glance, both seeing the same emotion in each other's eyes—what were we afraid of? And what were we risking our lives for?
The atmosphere became somewhat awkward for a moment, tinged with a sense of exhaustion from surviving a close call.
"So it was a misunderstanding after all." Having confirmed that this mysterious Legend truly meant no harm, or rather, didn't even consider them "something to be malicious about," Saruman's tense nerves finally relaxed slightly. But his doubts only deepened. What exactly was this place? Why would this ancient being, who resembled Merlin, call it "extremely dangerous"? Why should even he treat it with caution? Thinking this, he mustered his courage and asked in a more respectful, but less fearful, tone, " Prince, please forgive my intrusion... You said this place is extremely dangerous... What... exactly is this place? We seem to have entered a... completely different space through that magic circle?"
Saruman did not ask if the other party meant Merlin.
Since the other party is using a different name.
He certainly didn't want to make a fool of himself.
"Hmm? You dared to come in without even knowing where this is?" Ian glanced at Saruman, thought for a moment, and decided it wouldn't hurt to explain. These guys didn't seem to be able to escape anyway; knowing the truth might keep them in line and prevent them from causing trouble. So, he pointed to a deeper, darker area where an invisible force seemed to be pulling them in, and began to explain calmly, "This is the 'inner layer' of R'lyeh, or rather, the gap between the 'dream' and 'reality' of that sleeping being. We're still within the boundaries of R'lyeh, just deeper, closer to that thing." Ian gave the simplest explanation. "That... thing?"
Saruman's heart skipped a beat.
He recalled the inscription on the stone tablet and the name Ian had mentioned when he spoke to himself earlier.
Cthulhu.
Ian stated the name directly, his voice flat and monotone, as if he were talking about a neighbor. "An 'ultimate life form' that has existed since the beginning of the universe, or even earlier. In terms you can understand... well, it's probably the kind of thing that can sleep for hundreds of millions of years."
"It's bigger than a mountain, and as for its appearance... just think of the most disgusting deep-sea creatures you can imagine, like a giant octopus mixed with a rotting starfish, plus some indescribable geometric structures and some indescribable parts that might drive you crazy at any moment. That's about it." Ian said succinctly.
Saruman listened, completely stunned. The ultimate life form? From the beginning of the universe? Larger than a mountain? A hybrid of deep-sea creatures? This description... it sounds... so terrifying!
Of course, this statement also inexplicably aligns with his blasphemous and incomprehensible imagination of the " Great Old Ones " already recorded on the stone tablet.
"So..." Saruman's voice was hoarse, "You... you came here because..."
"Of course, it's for world peace, love, and justice!! Let's take care of it while it's still asleep and in bad shape." Ian spoke with righteous indignation!
He made no mention of his own predicament, instead crafting his persona. "It's too dangerous, so I came. I had to come for the sake of this world. It's either success or failure, a permanent solution, so it won't cause trouble if it wakes up one day, or if any of its minions cause trouble." Ian Weiguang straightened up.
Saruman and Karg were once again stunned into silence. Defeating... a potentially cosmic-level, time-distorting ultimate life form? Coming from Ian's mouth, it sounded as casual as going out to kill a Gnome. What kind of strength and... mindset did that require? Just as Saruman was reeling from the shock of this astonishing target, Karg was still processing the shock of his swordsmanship being "learned," a faint, yet indescribably painful groan broke the subtle and eerie atmosphere. The sound came from behind Karg.
It's Lina!