I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

There was absolutely no food left in the house. Even the most skilled cook can't cook without rice, and Duke couldn't conjure up a feast for the two of them without any food.

Left with no other choice, he put on a mask and went out to buy groceries, also stopping by the prize redemption shop to collect the prize money he had earned from completing the witch game.

The rewards for completing the Candy Castle witch game far surpass those for the Wooden Man game. Whether in terms of difficulty or the completeness of the alternate dimension, Candy Castle is far superior. Therefore, the rewards for completing Candy Castle are definitely much higher than those for completing Wooden Man, not to mention that Duke maintains an absolute dominant position among the players; in terms of contribution value, he is absolutely unrivaled.

Duke received 200 gold coins for completing the Wooden Man level, and he conservatively estimates that he can receive 800 gold coins for completing the Candy Castle level.

It's almost as much as the reward you'd get for beating him up... Don't even mention it. Compared to that, Duke would rather beat himself up and claim the 1000 gold coin bounty.

There were significantly fewer adventurers lurking in the prize redemption room than yesterday (time flows differently in the Witch Game and in reality). News of Duke's completion of the second Witch Game had not yet spread, so those speculators naturally wouldn't be foolish enough to camp out there. As a result, Duke was able to collect his prize money smoothly: 981 gold coins.

It was more than he expected, almost reaching 1 Duke (1000 gold coins, a popular unit of measurement in the floating city recently).

But just as he was happily walking towards the market with the money, he suddenly heard a scream. He abruptly looked up and headed in the direction from which the scream came.

Suddenly, a magical air bus went out of control, making a 180-degree turn in the sky before plunging headlong towards a fruit shop on the roadside. The magical bus fell at an extremely high speed, much faster than its usual, much-criticized flight speed, and inside the fruit shop, there were ordinary people who hadn't had time to evacuate.

Without a second thought, Duke rushed out.

Many adventurers present did the same. Floating City was currently the city on the continent with the most acts of bravery; it was never short of righteous professionals. But this time, neither Duke nor anyone else could outrun a certain witch present.

A dazzling light suddenly appeared.

Cecil, the "superhero" who maintains peace in the floating city, makes a grand entrance, followed by the Radiant Witch crashing into the free-falling magic bus without hesitation.

"boom--"

Cecil dealt with the out-of-control magic bus in the simplest and most brutal way—she punched the bus to pieces, and the explosion only stopped in mid-air without harming anyone.

The passengers on the bus were gently protected by her holy light, ensuring that they all landed safely.

The passersby erupted in cheers.

It's no wonder Cecil has such a good reputation and popular support in the floating city. She is powerful, and every move she makes in battle is incredibly gorgeous because of her exclusive magic. She is always on the front line of doing good deeds, and she is also simple-minded (and a bit of a con artist). Even the con artists are moved by her personal charm. It's hard to imagine anyone disliking such a good woman.

That scumbag who deceived the Radiant Witch's feelings is even more heinous!

"Who's insulting me again? Is it the Cecil fan club?"

The scumbag sneezed and then quietly disappeared into the crowd of onlookers.

Just then, he heard the people around him talking: "That's strange, isn't this the fourth accident this week?"

"Yes, it's never been this frequent before."

The Magic Sky Bus has been around for almost five hundred years. Before that, there were never such frequent and continuous major traffic accidents.

Duke raised an eyebrow, and just then, he keenly spotted a furtive figure fleeing in a direction away from Cecil.

“If someone is sabotaging things behind the scenes, then everything makes sense.”

Chapter 43 A Game We Absolutely Cannot Lose

"Stop! Don't run!"

Duke, who was in the crowd, shouted and pointed at the furtive figure.

Many people present were startled by his loud shout and instinctively followed the direction he was pointing, seeing the man running away.

Although most people don't know why Duke is shouting so loudly, the floating city with its many adventurers has one advantage: the efficiency, professionalism, and sense of justice of the passersby are higher than those of the people in Beijing's Chaoyang District.

Without even knowing what had happened, many adventurers, whose bodies moved faster than their brains, immediately set off to stop the fleeing man.

The man's expression changed slightly upon seeing this. He turned around and glared fiercely at Duke, seemingly trying to remember who had discovered him, but instead saw a masked face. He had no choice; surrounded by adventurers, he dared not delay, nor risk staying to face questioning. So, he stomped his foot hard and dashed off at astonishing speed, leaving everyone behind in one breath.

Amidst the adventurers' gasps, Cecil, who had rescued the victim, finally noticed the commotion. She looked at the man with some surprise, paused for a moment, and then heard the whispers of the passersby:

"He's running away in such a hurry, could he be the culprit?"

"Very likely!"

The Radiant Witch is known for her unwavering belief in what you say. She immediately took the gossip of the passersby to heart and transformed into a streak of light to chase after the man as he fled.

"Go Cecil the Witch!"

Amid cheers from passersby, Cecil and the man engaged in a thrilling urban chase.

Duke, watching this scene, couldn't help but marvel. Judging solely from their strength on paper, he didn't think the man could outrun the Radiant Witch who had transformed into a streak of light. After all, Cecil's speed was indeed quite fast. However, as someone who had once spent the entire floating city trying to escape Cecil, Duke had to admit that her pursuit was clearly not professional enough.

He suddenly had a bad feeling, and without much hesitation, he set off to chase after them in the direction they had gone.

Cecil's commotion was known throughout the city. Duke was not as fast as the Radiant Witch and the man she was chasing, but he was familiar enough with the map of the floating city's alleyways (because of his recent experience of being chased). He always maintained a high vantage point and always chose the best route. Therefore, he was able to keep up with the two of them and was never left behind.

Duke quickly determined the man's destination.

A witch game room is about to be held.

"Is he planning to escape into the witch's game?"

The Thunder Witch, who is in charge of hosting this witch game today, looks to be no more than seventeen years old, in the prime of her youth. But who would have thought that this seventeen-year-old girl was also a seventeen-year-old girl four hundred years ago?

Thunder Witch is considered a veteran among all the witches in the floating city. No one knows her exact age, but she is certainly no less than four hundred years old.

However, over the past decade, this witch has not had a very good reputation among adventurers. It's not because of any problems with her personality or character, but because the relentless passage of time has inevitably left its mark on this witch who has mastered the art of preserving her youth.

She talks too much.

It is said that when she holds witch games, she talks about the rules for at least half an hour after opening the door of the game room and before allowing players to enter. Ninety-nine percent of that is rambling nonsense, so generally only her students and fans, or idle people who can tolerate her rambling, will participate in the witch games she holds.

At that moment, while the Thunder Witch was explaining the game rules to the few players present, the man rushed from the roadside to the game room and plunged inside.

Before the Thunder Witch could react, a streak of light blinded her.

Cecil rushed in after him.

"What's going on?"

The Thunder Witch covered her eyes, asking inexplicably. She hadn't expected anyone to answer her question, but to her surprise, someone actually spoke up:

"The suspect in the Magic Bus crash hid in this witch's game to escape capture, while the Radiant Witch rushed in to pursue him."

Duke, who had arrived earlier, stepped out from the side. He had considered blocking the entrance to the game room to prevent the man from rushing in, but he quickly abandoned this absurd idea—Cecil was a genuine hero-level witch. In the chase just now, although the man was in a sorry state when facing Cecil's attacks, he did not collapse at the first touch, which meant he was definitely a skilled fighter.

Can Duke stop such a talented player?

Duke glanced at his attribute panel and immediately came to a conclusion: he could block... but whether he could actually block it, and whether he would die after blocking it, was another matter.

"If that's the case, we might as well enter the witch's game and trap Cecil like turtles in a jar. We can also ask the witch who organizes the game for game tips and gain an advantage."

Duke had intended it this way, but he clearly hadn't expected the game to be organized by the Thunder Witch. He looked somewhat embarrassed and tentatively asked, "Your Excellency, could you give me a hint about this witch's game in the simplest terms possible?"

Upon hearing this, Thunder Witch immediately opened her mouth and unleashed a barrage of words—it wasn't that she didn't want to get to the point, but years of habit had unconsciously made her retain her nagging nature.

Just then, one of her students interrupted her and said in very concise language, "In this game, you absolutely cannot lose! If you can leave, leave immediately!"

"it is good."

Duke gave the female student a grateful look, then nodded, turned around, and rushed into the witch game as well.

"Teacher, let's cordon off the area around the game room so that the suspect can escape after they finish the game!" The female student suggested to her teacher after Duke entered the witch game. "I suspect he came here prepared, and maybe his companions will come to pick him up later!"

It's a very simple question.

Why did the suspect end up with a game hosted by the Thunder Witch?

Her teacher was notorious for her bad habit of nagging as soon as she opened the door to the game room, but the games she organized were never fixed and were always done on a whim. And this man just found them... Isn't that a bit too coincidental?

“Of course, Jasmine.”

The Thunder Witch nodded, clearly indicating that she highly valued this student. With a wave of her hand, a deafening roar of thunder exploded in the air, followed by a blinding wall of lightning that sealed off all directions of the game room.

Even though she's old, she still holds a place in the top ten among the witches of the floating city.

With her in charge, no one can escape from here, and no one can rush in to rescue anyone.

The female student, Jasmine, nodded and then began to think about the next question.

Should she go into the witch game to help?

Chapter 44 Rock Paper Scissors

After a brief period of dizziness from the spatial displacement, Duke squinted his eyes.

He arrived at a huge, bustling hall.

Numerous men and women of various races and professions, dressed in different styles of clothing, gathered in this hall. The complex mix of races, including humans, elves, and orcs, resembled a floating city. Duke even saw a golem loudly complaining about "damn creditors." This construct, when standing upright, was at least ten meters tall, and in the confined space of the hall, it resembled a mountain peak.

Duke couldn't find Cecil and the escaped man immediately; the three of them were scattered throughout the crowd.

He wasn't in a hurry to act, because knowing Cecil's personality, that single-minded little fool would probably just fly away in a panic if she couldn't find her target. And the Radiant Witch's signature spells were notoriously loud; that would tell him where she was.

But before Cecil could make a move, a deep, resonant male voice rang out.

"Quiet."

The hall fell silent instantly. An irresistible pressure pressed down on everyone. Whether it was Cecil, who was already preparing to activate the device, or the other restless professionals, hundreds of people couldn't utter a sound in the face of this pressure, and their bodies were immobilized by instinctive fear.

A legendary destiny.

This was Duke's first real encounter with a legendary-level professional opponent. Before experiencing it firsthand, he could never have imagined that the mere syllable of "Legendary Destiny" could silence all the experts present. The oppressive aura pressed down on him as if a mountain were truly upon him, yet even so, he did not bow his head.

Duke gritted his teeth, barely managing to keep his spine straight. He was trembling all over, but he still held his head high, looking in the direction from which the sound came.

The legendary figure who captivated everyone was a weathered old man with white temples, but whose proportions could only be described as perfect. He wore a sharp, high-end suit, held a cane in his hand, and looked very energetic. His well-defined features also proved that he was a handsome man in his youth.

He strolled to a place where everyone could see him, looked around at everyone in the hall, restrained his imposing manner, and began his introduction: "Now that you have all come here, I believe you know what this place is and what kind of fate you bear, so I will not waste any more words."

Duke: "?"

I don't know!

The legendary old man, of course, had no idea what Duke was thinking, nor would he care about the player from another world. Seeing that no one objected to his words (who would dare interrupt a legend?), he continued:

"Let me first introduce the contents of the bags you have. There are twelve cards in the bags, each printed with a different rock-paper-scissors pattern. In addition, there are three five-pointed star brooches that you need to wear on your chest at all times."

Duke raised an eyebrow, reached into his pocket, and quickly pulled out a small bag containing the twelve cards and three stars the handsome old man had mentioned.

When were you let in? When you entered the Witch Game? Is this the rule of this world?

"The rules of the game are the same as the rock-paper-scissors game you usually play: rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock. The winner will take one star from the loser, and both cards used in the game will be collected into the recycling bin by the staff. If the game ends in a tie, only the cards will be consumed, and neither player will lose a star."

"Conditions for winning the game:"

"Within four hours, play all the cards in your hand during the competition, and at the same time, earn no less than three stars."