Night World Players

Chapter 279 A glass of wine

"Sequence number seventy-two, or 'The Night World of the End,' opened late last night."

"And the opening location of the End Night world is the central seal of the Mystic Tower."

"Since we had already conquered seventy-one Night Worlds, and the Mystic Tower already contained symbolic objects like the Epoch Stone Tablet, the opening of the End Night World was not unexpected."

"Both Star University and the various countries of the Western Continent have already prepared contingency plans for the opening of the 'Endless Night World.'"

The conference hall at Star University was empty and deserted, with all four walls made of transparent glass.

Dean Yin gazed at Rust and Hiltina before him and spoke slowly in an extremely rare, serious tone that Rust had never seen before.

"Based on the experience accumulated by night travelers over the past few centuries, the seventy-two night worlds correspond to the human history of the past six eras—"

“Every twelve night worlds constitute an era… In other words, every twelfth night world, as a symbol of the end of an era, will be more difficult to conquer than one can imagine.”

"Unlike many Night Worlds with rank restrictions, where only third or fourth-rank Night Travelers have a chance to clear them, such as the Echoes of Deep Blue Harbor that you two experienced... the strategies for Night Worlds numbered 24, 36, and 60 all resulted in extremely heavy casualties for Night Travelers, with each one accompanied by the fall of multiple legends."

"This Night World No. 72 not only symbolizes the end of the Sixth Epoch, the closest epoch to us, but it is also the last Night World... Once this Night World is cleared, it may mean that the entire Night World has been completely cleared."

"Therefore, we were well prepared that the difficulty of conquering this 'Endless Night World' would far exceed that of previous attempts, and that we would have to pay an unprecedented price."

Dean Yin used his tail to curl up the cup and took a sip of water, but his tone remained low:

"Under these expectations, the first reconnaissance mission into the Night World was carried out under extremely cautious circumstances."

"The ten members of the reconnaissance team come from Star University and the four major human kingdoms of the Western Continent. Both Nightblade and Sequence are specializing in stealth, detection, and survival, and all of them are at least Tier 6. They carry a large number of extraordinary escape tools and even relics."

"And the captain and vice-captain of the reconnaissance team are legendary powerhouses from the Rui Lords Alliance and the Holy Court..."

"Although the various nations of the Western Continent are constantly at odds, they are able to put aside their differences and cooperate sincerely on issues such as 'conquering the world of the Last Night,' which could affect the survival of their civilizations."

"They are legends from the 'Hermit' and 'Shadow,' or rather, 'Mind Demon' sequences—you should know that both sequences are extremely adept at concealment and self-preservation. Given sufficient preparation, even angels might not be able to easily kill these legends."

"but--"

Dean Yin didn't finish speaking, but his dim red beast eyes had already explained everything to Hiltina and Rust.

"The entire reconnaissance team was wiped out..."

Hiltina flipped through the smart terminal in her hand, her light brown eyes trembling slightly.

"Not only that, but the teleportation crystal that Ophelia developed can transmit information from inside the Night World back to the real world for real-time communication. After being officially equipped, it made it much easier for our Night Travelers to conquer the Night World."

"But this time, neither the Transmission Crystal, nor other items that could transmit messages across the world barrier between the Night World and the Real World, nor even the relics that forcibly separated us from the Night World, were effective."

“From beginning to end, we have not received any information from the reconnaissance team, and even the ‘prophecy’ initiated by the quasi-angelic high priest of the Holy Court yielded nothing…”

"Even at the cost of the fall of two legends, the 'Endless Night World' remains a completely unobservable 'black box' for us—we know nothing about anything within it."

After saying all this, the ferret dean lowered its head, and even its fluffy white tail drooped listlessly on the conference table.

"Unable to communicate, unable to predict, unable to detect..."

"Two legendary powerhouses have already fallen... Under these circumstances, even if we send out a new reconnaissance team following the usual procedures for conquering the Night World, it would only be a pointless suicide mission."

"However, we cannot give up on the strategy because of this."

Hiltina closed her eyes and said in a voice that sounded like a murmur but was firm and resolute:
"In that case..."

Before she could finish speaking, her words were interrupted by the boy's voice.

"In that case, all that's left is to concentrate our strongest forces—"

"Then, I'll just finish the entire Last Night world in one go... that's the only option."

Last looked at Dean Silver and chuckled.

"The remnants of the Tomb Keepers have not been completely eradicated. Furthermore, those gods clinging to life atop the Clarity of the Blazing Sky must still be watching every move on the Western Continent..."

"Therefore, in any case, there must be a true angel in the Western Continent."

"The old headmaster's Rank 6 and Nightblade are not combat-specialized types... In addition, with his unparalleled reputation and seniority, having the old headmaster stay to guard the Western Continent is undoubtedly the best option."

"As for the Night World at the End—"

Last paused slightly before continuing, "Leave it to me, Hiltina, and Ai."

Dean Yin stared at Rust for a long time with his ruby-like beast eyes.

Although the black-haired, black-eyed boy spoke lightly, everyone knew that conquering this final night world was far more difficult than Rust made it sound.

It had personally followed Rust into the historical echoes of the Sixth Epoch... Back then, Dean Silver and Rust witnessed firsthand the duel between Gray and the Gravekeeper Angel at the end of the river of time.

And that was just an ordinary night world.

In this final and most dangerous night world, no one can predict what Rust and his companions will encounter.

But without a doubt, those who will be killed in the final night world are not just legends.

Even though Rast, Hiltina, and Amys have all ascended to the rank of angel, they may very well perish completely and never return.

However, Dean Yin also knew that, given the personalities of Rust and Hiltina, once they made a decision, they would never be persuaded by him.

If it were when they had just met, Dean Yin could have used force to subdue them... but now that they have both become angels, Dean Yin no longer has the ability to stop them.

After a long while, the ferret dean's fluffy tail finally twitched slightly:
"Then, I'll join you..."

"Let's skip Dean Yin."

Last pressed his hand down on the ferret dean's little head:
"Although it's clear that Dean Yin has grown a lot during this time, he hasn't truly been promoted to angel yet."

"In this situation, you should just stay and guard the Western Continent with the old headmaster..."

"If we fail to conquer the Night World and the calamity of the End Times descends upon the mortal realm, then with Dean Yin's ability to manipulate the subspace, perhaps we can still open up a secondary dimension for refuge, leaving a spark of life for civilization."

"In short, Dean Yin, as the mascot, you should just honestly fulfill your duties as a mascot. As for things like clearing the Night World, we professionals should handle that."

"The above, dismissal."

After saying these words, Hiltina and Last walked out of the conference room together.

Only a huge ferret remained, perched on the long table in the conference room, watching the direction the boy and girl had gone, motionless for a long time.

……

As night fell, in a secluded but beautiful palace in the inner city of the capital.

The nightlight emitted a soft glow, illuminating the exquisite dishes laid out on the table, and also the boy's dark eyes.

Last gazed at the girl before him, whose chestnut hair, meticulously braided into a princess braid, now cascaded down the back of the chair. Her fair and delicate face was shrouded in the dim candlelight, her features distinct and deep.

“I really didn’t expect that you would invite me here during these last days, Hiltina.”

"Let's have a...candlelight dinner."

Last cut a small piece of steak with his knife and then put it in his mouth with his fork: "I thought that, given your personality, Hiltina, you would never like this kind of unnecessary formality."

"That's exactly what I used to think."

Hiltina nodded slightly, a strand of soft chestnut hair falling across her forehead and spreading out on the white tablecloth.

"But thinking about it carefully, we are clearly already lovers, engaged couples..."

"But in the end, we didn't even have a chance to do one of the things that lovers should do."

Hiltina gazed at Rast in front of her, her light brown eyes clearly flashing with something inexplicable and rather profound.

"If we can successfully clear the Night World this time, then the crisis that has been shrouding the Western Continent will no longer exist."

"And if we fail, and die in the Night World like this..."

"Then naturally there will be no tomorrow, let alone a future."

She gently touched her chest with her hand.

"This is the very last one."

"Therefore, I don't want to leave any unfinished regrets."

As if she had made a decision, the female knight with her long chestnut hair slowly stood up.

Then, she took two wine glasses from the trolley behind her and placed one in front of herself and the other in front of Rust. The glasses were crystal clear, and the crimson wine swirled inside, like bright red blood.

Hiltina picked up one of the glasses, then gently reached out and clasped Rust's wrist with her own, leading him to pick up the other glass as well.

"This is my hometown, the customs of Qiuyeling..."

"When a couple gets married, they need to hold hands, interlock their wrists, and drink a glass of wine together."

"That is, the so-called 'cross-cupped wine'."

"At this moment, the night world of the end has begun. If we leave it unattended, no one knows when the calamity of dusk will finally descend upon reality."

"It's clearly too late to hold a formal, grand wedding that will be announced to the entire Western Continent as planned."

The bright candlelight was reflected in Hiltina's eyes.

“I love you, Rust.”

"I want to spend my whole life by your side, to date you seriously, to get married... to grow old together, and then grow old together."

"So even if we can't have a formal wedding... I think we should at least have a simplified ceremony like the toasting ceremony."

She gently brought the wine glass to her cherry-colored lips:

"As proof of being alive."

"Lust, let's get married."

As soon as she finished speaking, Hiltina tilted her head back, and the crimson wine gushed down the side of the glass.

……

In the flickering candlelight, the girl's eyes shone brighter than ever before.

Although the angelic rank is already immune to alcohol, it seems that Hiltina deliberately let her guard down, and after drinking the red wine in her glass, a blush quickly spread across her fair face.

Her profile was shrouded in a hazy halo, making her stunningly beautiful and breathtakingly gorgeous.

After doing all this, Hiltina did not let go, but silently waited for the boy whose wrist was intertwined with hers.

At this moment, all Rust needs to do is drink the red wine in his glass, and the ceremony of exchanging cups with Hiltina will be completed.

Although they didn't have thousands of witnesses, they were still able to truly become husband and wife.

Last gently raised his hand and lifted the glass little by little.

However, just as the wine glass was about to touch his lips, Last suddenly stopped what he was doing.

"The wine was laced with a secret drug, a kind of sleeping pill mixed with fragments of royal authority. Even if a real angel drank it, he would temporarily lose all his abilities."

He gazed at the crimson liquid in the glass and spoke calmly.

"Hiltina, you don't want me to go into the End Night world with you and participate in the final battle."

"You want to... conquer the map alone."

Hearing Rust's words, Hiltina didn't seem surprised, she just lowered her gaze slightly.

"How did you find out?"

"With the support of the capital city, even angels should be absolutely unable to detect the fragments of royal rules."

"I didn't actually find anything unusual in the wine."

Last calmly shook his head: "I was just guessing."

He gazed into Hiltina's light brown eyes:

"Hiltina, you're not good at lying."

"Four years ago, when we first met in the nightlife scene, in the host club at Deep Blue Harbor, you were already bad at..."

"Right now, you're not good at it either."

Hearing Rust's explanation, Hiltina paused for a moment.

The night sky was brilliant, and the candlelight flickered.

In a daze, it felt as if everything had truly returned to four years ago, to the bar where they first met, to that midnight in Deep Blue Harbor.

Back then, they were also in a private room with dim candlelight, and Last made her the most expensive "Infernal Sands"... The city shrouded in night was reflected in his eyes like a yellowish starry sea.

"You're right."

Hiltina suddenly smiled: "The person opposite me is someone who has long since turned disguise and acting into his survival instinct."

"To think that you would deceive or hide anything from me is simply wishful thinking."

"Can you tell me why you want to keep me in the real world and don't want me to participate in the strategy with you?"

Last spoke softly.

"The reason... is less a product of logic and more a result of following my own impulses, or rather, my intuition as a 'Chariot'."

Hiltina answered softly:

"Two years ago, in order to prevent me from being coerced by my father and to protect you, you were forced to inherit the throne... You chose someone to fire that shot at the quasi-angel who guards the tomb, and from then on, you became a vegetable and fell into a long sleep."

"Ever since then, I've felt like I owe you so much..."

She gently stroked her chest with her hand:
“I am the heir of the Ranger family and the Empress of the Granville Empire.”

"For me, risking my life to conquer the Night World and prevent the calamity of dusk from descending upon the mortal realm and jeopardizing the empire's territory... is the duty and honor of a ranger and an empress to protect all people."

"However, after I went to Canaan with you and saw the homeland you and Xiao Ai envisioned, I had a new idea."

“Last, you are not a resident of this era, or even this world… Your homeland was wiped off the Western Continent more than two hundred years ago.”

"Even if the Night World conquest fails, a catastrophe far exceeding all previous twilight calamities will descend upon the present world, annihilating human civilization..."

“But, Rust, you also have Little Ai, and everyone in that Canaan town in that landscape of the mind.”

"Therefore, Rust, you don't need to risk your life to die with me."

"At least that's what I thought at the beginning."

Her voice paused for a moment as she gazed at Rust, who was standing very close to her.

After a long while, it seemed as if he had finally found the answer in Rust's eyes.

Hiltina's eyes flickered, and she gently shook her head.

"However, it seems now—"

"I was indeed too weak before."

"Because of the dangers and difficulties of the Last Night world, I subconsciously regarded this strategy as a trolley problem that someone would inevitably have to sacrifice for."

"So much so that we completely overlooked... that from the very beginning, there was an option to completely conquer the Night World with everyone's strength, without having to sacrifice a single person."

"To put it bluntly, people who get hung up on the trolley problem are simply lacking the awareness and courage to stand on the tracks and overturn the entire trolley."

She took the wine glass from Rust's hand, poured out the wine, and then turned slightly to refill both her and Rust's glasses with fresh red wine.

"So, let's do it again."

Hiltina drank the wine in her glass and gazed at the boy before her with a determined look.

"Last."

"Will you marry me..."

"And then, shall we, together, conquer this final, last night world?"

Hiltina was met with a calm smile from Last.

"It's my pleasure."

He shrugged, tilted his head back, and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.

(End of this chapter)