I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

"Of course I don't want to, I'm in a hurry."

"Damn it!" the young man exclaimed angrily. "Are you kidding me?!"

After saying that, he waved and sent out his bodyguards.

"Kill her."

"...It's gotten out of hand." Duke sighed and said to Cecil, "There's no other way but to cut it off."

Before Duke could finish speaking, the young men were struck by the sharp blade and fell to the ground. The seemingly indifferent bodyguard showed a slight surprise, but to help his master, he steeled himself and prepared to fight Cecil.

But in the blink of an eye, he was also knocked to the ground. Before he lost consciousness, he only heard Duke and Cecil say, "I'll check if we have any auction tickets. We can go out and see the world after we finish our business."

"Okay."

Ah, it's Cecil, the Radiant Witch. Damn, what's she doing here? I should have asked for an autograph before typing...

Duke and Cecil had no idea what the bodyguard on the ground was thinking before he lost consciousness. Duke pulled two auction tickets from their pockets and then continued their mission—monster hunting!

Talia's only obsession was to "find the true nature of the monsters in the underground streets." Duke and Cecil were also curious, especially the latter. Upon hearing that there were rare monsters to hunt, Azure Star, a monster hunter, couldn't sit still any longer.

And since they happened to be nearby, they came over specifically to check on the situation.

After this little incident, following the memories Duke had gleaned, they wandered through the alleyways, chatting without a hint of nervousness.

"Speaking of which, aren't you really going to tell Amber about your situation?"

"I can't say. The limitations imposed by Talia's obsession are very difficult to resolve. I can't explain to them face to face, and I can't even write a letter to explain the situation."

Duke shook his head, and Guangbao noticed his distress and immediately came over, timidly comforting him, "It's okay... you still have me."

“Thank you.” Duke raised his eyes, seemingly unaware of how much courage Cecil had mustered to say those words, and simply replied casually. However, he quickly added, “You don’t need to worry about me. I also left a coded message in a way that won’t cause any problems (for the Riddler).

Cecil instinctively sensed that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he could only silently follow behind Duke.

Soon, they arrived at the end of the mechanical alley... Here, they saw a strange magical mechanical monster lying on the ground, with a man standing beside it.

He was over two meters tall, dressed in an aristocratic suit covered in engine oil. He turned to Duke and Cecil and introduced himself in a very familiar manner: "Hello, my name is Norton."

Norton?

Duke was slightly taken aback.

“That’s right, Norton Cavendish.” He smiled slightly at Duke and Cecil, then clasped his hands together in a rather reverent manner and said:

"Silence is golden."

……

Amber sternly slapped the table, pointing to a letter on it in front of Carol and Eve. The letter read:

“Amber, I just want to tell you that Duke is still alive. As long as enough conditions are met, he will meet you at the right place at the right time.”

With the help of the floating city's think tank, she finally managed to crack the complex coded message, only to obtain this kind of content.

"No matter how you look at it, this is clearly a kidnapping letter, isn't it?"

Chapter 181 Norton Cavendish

"Silence is golden."

The leader of that gray organization said something similar before. It seems that this phrase is a slang term used in the underground world of the floating city to refer to the mute... or a prayer?

That can't be right. When Talia and Joan were praying, didn't they call out "the great mute"? They didn't die suddenly after calling out the name of a god, did they?

What distinguishes these believers, who are also mute, from those who avoid mentioning the names of deities?

To be honest, Duke didn't think the person in front of him was avoiding the names of gods.

Norton Cavendish.

This world is slightly different from the Europe of Duke's previous life. Surnames are something that only nobles of high status possess. The vast majority of commoners are not worthy of having surnames, and even many powerful professionals do not have surnames.

Among the people Duke knew, only a few had surnames. Among his close friends, perhaps only Amber and the Bain siblings had a surname—"Silverleaf".

The man before him was perhaps the second noble and orthodox aristocrat Duke had ever met, and at the same time, he was someone repeatedly mentioned in Talia's fragmented memories.

Duke became alert the moment he announced his name, while Cecil, who was beside him, had placed her hand on the coffin behind her even earlier, and holy light condensed into small balls, surrounding her and Duke.

Cecil was on high alert. In front of this man named Norton, she didn't care about hiding her identity and immediately went into battle mode.

“Cecil, the Witch of Radiance?” After the holy light condensed, Norton looked at Cecil in surprise, uttered her name, and then smiled gently. “Relax, I don’t intend to be your enemy, Cecil, and…”

Duke.

"You're Duke?" Norton heard Duke's self-introduction, then looked at his face in surprise, and clicked his tongue in amazement, "You're really quite handsome, no wonder you're a well-known scumbag in the floating city."

Duke: "..."

This is a running joke, isn't it?

“Sorry, I’m sorry. You shouldn’t say such things to people you’ve just met.” Norton shook his head, then pointed to the magical mechanical monster on the ground and said in a somewhat familiar tone, “Are you here to find it too? This monster seems to have caused quite a few casualties, and it has dealt another blow to the already fragile order of the floating city’s underground world.”

It looks somewhat like a dragon, but in terms of its magical mechanical structure, it has neither wings nor many non-dragon characteristics, clearly indicating that it cannot fly and is a sub-dragon species of earth dragon.

This is hard to understand. After all, if it's a magical mechanical creature, why make it look like a wyvern? Wouldn't making it a real dragon have a much higher potential than an earth dragon?

Moreover, it bears extremely obvious and crude signs of modification, like a toy that has been disassembled and reassembled by a three-year-old child.

The reason this magical mechanical earth dragon collapsed on the ground was because of a huge wound in its throat caused by brute force. Sparks were still coming from the wound, and only a few wires were still barely connected. Engine oil was also splattered all over the ground.

"So you were the one who killed it?" Duke asked curiously. "Why would you destroy something so interesting?"

"What's the point of talking about killing magical machines? They don't have any life." Norton shrugged and kicked the mechanical dragon on the ground with his toe. "I didn't expect Mr. Duke to be such a curious researcher, and to be interested in this kind of ancient device."

"I just thought that if I captured it alive and sold it to a witch who was doing related research, I would get a lot of money."

"Ah... Pfft, hahaha!"

Norton laughed rudely, then strode over to Duke and patted him hard on the shoulder. His strength was immense, and he could directly touch Duke's soul, nearly knocking Duke's soul out of place.

"Duke, you're quite an interesting fellow! Here's what I'll do: I'll give you the remains. Whether you study them or sell them to some witch is up to you."

Norton, who is over two meters tall, has an aura that commands respect, but Duke had no intention of refusing his offer anyway.

No man could resist a cool robotic dragon!

"Thank you so much, Mr. Norton, you're such a kind person."

Duke nodded smugly, about to examine the structure of the mechanical constructs on the ground, when he heard Norton continue:

"However, I have a question for you."

"you say?"

Why is Talia in your soul?

Duke was startled. He suddenly looked up, and a sense of crisis belatedly stirred in the deepest part of his soul—the fragment of Talia's soul.

Although her soul was completely dead, shattered into incomprehensible fragments of memory, every piece of it, when facing the man before her, was filled with fear, screaming out two words:

"Run away!"

Duke's pupils contracted slightly. He felt as if time had slowed down, while Norton's arm, the only thing in the world moving at a normal speed, stabbed straight at the location of Duke's spirit core, and also at the place where Talia was.

He watched helplessly as the fingertips drew closer and closer to him, until…

"Chong-"

An arm made of holy light materialized and collided with Norton's hand. This brief moment of gain allowed the master of the holy light to pull Duke backward with a sudden jerk.

Duke stepped back, while Cecil, who had remained vigilant throughout, took a step forward. She flung open the coffin lid, pulled out a magnificent knight's sword over two meters long, and slammed it heavily in front of her.

The "Angel of Judgment" descended to earth.

Along with the angels, a surging, tide-like holy light also descended.

Cecil launched an attack without hesitation. With the support of the Angel of Judgment, the dozens of Holy Light Orbs he had prepared locked onto Norton and then simultaneously unleashed a barrage of Holy Light Cannons.

"boom--"

"Hahaha, you've come at the right time!"

Amidst the smoke and fire, Norton's laughter confirmed the news he had missed even before his eyes could see it. He gathered his strength to counterattack, but... Cecil didn't seem to be prepared to let him.

She then carried out a heavy staff, about 1.5 meters long, from the coffin. The top of the staff was inlaid with a dazzling dragon crystal. This was a gift that Carol had given her to congratulate her on accidentally becoming a witch, and it had always been Cecil's main weapon.

"The enraged silver dragon".

Holding an angel in her right hand and carrying a silver dragon on her left, she unleashed her full power in front of Duke for the first time.

"boom--"

Chapter 182 The Mage's Romance

Cecil never carries weapons when participating in witch games; even in the crown-level witch game Cinderella, she did not bring her own staff.

There are two reasons for this. First, in most witch games, Cecil often doesn't need to unleash her full power to solve the problem. Compared to the upper limit of her power, the ability to precisely control the holy light is often more crucial.

On the other hand, Cecil was not used to using a staff. Although she liked the "Raging Silver Dragon" staff, which embodied the pure violence of a spellcaster, she could only utilize less than 50% of its effectiveness, and the enhancement was limited to its power.

Moreover, a 1.5-meter staff is not very convenient to carry. Although she is not short of money, she has not been able to purchase rare spatial items.

For all these reasons, Guangbao became accustomed to fighting by casting spells with his bare hands.

But not being used to it doesn't mean she can't use it. As a legend in the hunting world, Cecil understands the importance of equipment and preparation better than anyone else, so she never skimps on purchasing external equipment. The large coffin she carries on her back is filled with all kinds of equipment.

Inside the floating city, Cecil is a chivalrous "brilliant strategist," but outside the floating city, Cecil is also a "funeral director" carrying a coffin full of weapons, counting down the days for all the prey she has her eye on.

When it comes to actual combat, a fully equipped Cecil perfectly embodies the concept of a hero-level professional.

"A hero who possesses the ability to fight alone and turn the tide of a war, who is capable of making significant contributions in major world events, and who can meet the expectations of the world."

The "raging silver dragon" first let out a deafening roar, and holy light condensed into a dazzling brilliance on the magnificent dragon crystal. Then, the holy light sculpted a ferocious dragon head, which opened its mouth to bite in the direction of Norton.

Norton stood still without dodging or flinching, raised his hand to block the head of the Holy Light, and with a burst of strength, tore the Holy Light in two. He then strode towards Cecil.

A monster… no, he is the curse of the Cavendish family.

Cecil recalled Norton's identity. The Cavendish family was one of the most distinguished noble families in the Human Empire, producing numerous outstanding spellcasters. However, a hundred years ago, a freak emerged: Norton Cavendish.

He was cursed by demons from beyond the realm at birth, inheriting not even a trace of his family's magical talent, but possessing monstrous strength comparable to a young Titan. Unable to control his power, he caused numerous casualties in his family at a young age.

Because of this power, Norton was feared and even hated by humans, and eventually left the Cavendish family to become a very famous adventurer.