Tower of Paradise (Part 2)

Walking to the riverbank and watching the black-haired boy gradually lose the strength to struggle in the water, the burly man could not help but smile in satisfaction. This meant even more laborers for building the Tower of Paradise! With that thought, he no longer hesitated. He stretched out his broad, rough hands, palms aimed at the black-haired boy in the river, holding them straight out before his chest.

"Water Demon's Entanglement!" he shouted softly. A circular, watery-blue magic array abruptly appeared about four inches before his palms. The burly man casually swung his hands, and a clear torrent as thick as a water barrel shot from the magic array, soaring into the air in the blink of an eye! But it did not stop there. The rushing column of water made a graceful turn in midair, then shot toward the black-haired boy like an arrow! In an instant, it was above the boy's head!!

Yet unlike its fierce momentum suggested, the rushing water did not harm the boy in any way. Instead, it gently wrapped around his waist and carefully pulled him out of the river.

The water column carried the boy's body slowly back before the burly man. Looking at the black-haired boy, who had already fallen unconscious from being submerged, the burly man's lips curled into another smile. With a wave of one hand, the water column shattered, droplets scattering everywhere—yet not a single drop landed on him.

Without the support of the water column, the boy's body immediately fell from midair. The burly man extended his right hand and caught the black-haired boy, who had been in free fall. Having done so, he did not hesitate. Grabbing the black-haired boy by the back of his collar with one hand, he strolled back the way he had come.

"Finished?" The black-robed man glanced casually at the unconscious black-haired boy dangling from his companion's hand, then said flatly, "Then hurry and leave. If we linger too long, I'm worried those people from the Magic Council might notice something."

"Heh, you're right." Naturally, the burly man had no reason to object, because this was also what concerned him. Just as the black-robed man had said, dragging things out would indeed be very unfavorable for them! Since they had gathered enough laborers, the task assigned to them by their superiors had been completed perfectly. All that remained was to leave as soon as possible! After all, the longer they stayed, the greater the risk of exposure.

With that thought, the burly man shrugged helplessly. Then, carrying the black-haired boy, he and the black-robed man quickly disappeared into the night.

Less than ten minutes after the burly man and the black-robed man left, ripples suddenly trembled through space. Then, two new figures appeared in the area.

The two figures were quite small. After hurriedly surveying their surroundings, they turned their eyes to the rain-soaked, muddy ground. Lowering their heads to inspect the footprints left there, they directly ignored the two sets of footprints that clearly belonged to adults. After examining the ground further, their gazes suddenly sharpened and settled on one particular trail of footprints!

They exchanged a glance, each seeing the gravity in the other's eyes. Without further hesitation, they immediately ran forward along the direction in which the footprints extended!

At last, they reached the edge of the riverbank. The footprints had completely vanished there.

"Achill—" With a mournful cry, Doranbalt fell to his knees on the riverbank, tears filling his eyes. His trembling hands pulled a silver earring from the soggy mud. Then, staring at the surging river before him, he could no longer suppress the grief in his heart and broke into tears.

These two small figures were none other than Doranbalt and Lahar, who had come searching for Achill.

"..." Lahar was silent as well. Looking at Doranbalt weeping loudly, he could not say a single word of comfort. Clearly, they had arrived too late. Gazing at the silver earring clutched tightly in Doranbalt's palm, his expression darkened. He knew that this pair of earrings was Achill's most precious possession—the only keepsake left to him by his long-dead biological parents! Achill had always treasured them, wearing them on both ears and never daring to take them off casually, not even for a moment!

But now, one of the earrings Achill cherished most had fallen on this riverbank. Combined with the fact that Achill's footprints had disappeared at the river's edge, though Lahar desperately did not want to believe it, he could not help but conclude that Achill might already be... Sigh. At the thought of such an outcome, Lahar's heart filled with sorrow. After all, Achill had been his best friend as well!

"Sob... Achill..." Doranbalt lowered his head and sat slumped in the soaked mud, whispering through sobs. Tears already covered his cheeks, yet he remained utterly unaware of them.

"Sigh..." Seeing Doranbalt cry so bitterly, Lahar did not know how to comfort him. He had always been an introverted person. Though Achill's death grieved him deeply as well, he forcibly suppressed the urge to cry! Because if he too broke down sobbing, there would be no one left to comfort Doranbalt. With that thought, Lahar organized words he was not particularly good at expressing and awkwardly consoled him in a soft voice. "There is no use crying yourself hoarse like this. If Achill's spirit sees you, he will surely be sad too! Since he is already gone, let him leave without regrets. Stop this meaningless crying! Otherwise, even in heaven, he will still be uneasy; besides..." At this point, Lahar paused slightly. Seeing that his words had caught Doranbalt's attention, he immediately struck while the iron was hot and shouted solemnly:

"Rather than weep here in grief, live on with his share as well!!!"

Live on with his share... Live on with his share... Live on with his share...

Those words were like thunder from a clear sky, instantly jolting Doranbalt awake from his overwhelming grief! Yes! Instead of sinking into sorrow like this, why not live on with Achill's share as well?!! I... I can't let Achill be worried about me even in the next world!

With that thought, Doranbalt suddenly felt enlightened! The clarity in his eyes grew sharper and sharper, until he finally regained his usual composure. No—strictly speaking, he was even calmer than before!!

"Don't worry. I will live on with his share..." Wiping away his tears, Doranbalt rose from the ground. Staring at the surging river, he clenched his hands tightly and said in a calm tone, "Including the part he left unfinished..."

Rest assured, Achill... You said that you would become the greatest wizard in this world! Since you can no longer fulfill that wish, then let me—Doranbalt—fulfill it for you!!!

Having said that, he gently put the silver earring in his hand onto his left ear.

Looking at his friend, whose expression had become more resolute than ever, Lahar felt comforted. At the same time, he silently swore in his heart, Farewell, my dearest friend. The justice you pursued in life—I will help you achieve it!

He recalled how, long ago, Achill had spoken of his past. Achill had shown profound hatred toward the bandits who had wiped out his family and slaughtered his entire village! Though those bandits had already been personally exterminated by Albert, Achill still loathed such evil bandits, as well as the justice in this world that had yet to be fully upheld!! Back then, Achill had told them that once he possessed sufficient strength, he would establish a new justice! A true justice he would uphold himself!!!

People of this world~ I will let you bask in glory beneath true justice, because... At that thought, a sharp glint flashed through Lahar's eyes. He murmured softly to himself, "This was Achill's final wish..."

Meanwhile, aboard a sailing ship heading into the depths of the sea, Chen Wuming woke from his dazed state. The moment he opened his eyes, he was startled! That was because he found himself in a cramped space, packed with dozens of people in strange clothing! There were men and women, old and young, but most of them were children around eleven or twelve years old!!

"You're awake, little one..." Just as Chen Wuming stood there in a daze, a peaceful elderly voice suddenly sounded beside his ear, startling him out of his stupor!

Turning around, Chen Wuming finally made out the speaker's appearance under the faint light in the cramped space. He was an old man of about sixty, his hair entirely white. He was looking at Chen Wuming with an indescribable gaze, one that seemed to contain...

Bitterness, along with a trace of helplessness and sympathy.

Chen Wuming pondered for a while and finally understood the meaning behind the old man's gaze. But before he could consider why the old man was looking at him that way, his attention was suddenly drawn to the old man's hands—or rather, to the chain around them...