Death Game: Starting as a Trickster, Pretending to Be a God

Chapter 816: The Colossus

For the Lilee Tribunal of Heresy, or rather, for the Tribunals and churches in cities within the human heartland of the entire Night Valley Realm, dark races weren't actually that easy to come across.

But...

Precisely because of this, what the Black Prison normally held was actually more dark races.

Scarcity breeds value.

Heretics were generally executed on the spot when caught, but if conditions allowed, dark races would be kept alive when captured.

Of course, this was limited to areas currently under human control, especially the east and central regions.

In the west and near the edge of the Abyss, this situation was rare — those places were close to the Abyss, and dark races poured out endlessly like flying insects from a summer pond or forest.

In summary...

Dark races lying low within the human heartland often possessed high research value, or other kinds of value.

The high-ranking ones went without saying — every high-ranking dark race that could be captured alive was of great significance for researching magic and techniques to counter its entire race.

And the low-ranking ones... a low-ranking dark race that could remain hidden in the human heartland for a long time? That research value was enormous!

All kinds of value were enough to justify their long-term containment and imprisonment.

So, when a Black Prison had absolutely no dark races, something was definitely wrong!

Raymond was still immersed in trying to identify the "experts" on both sides, but Lin Yu and Fish, two players with clear goals, had already keenly sensed the anomaly.

And when Fish was the first to raise an objection...

The Inquisitor of the Lilee Tribunal, who was leading the way ahead, didn't seem flustered at all.

Instead, he turned back, glanced at the two of them, and calmly explained.

"Your Excellency Schreiber is overthinking things. The reason you haven't seen any dark races yet is that our Lilee Black Prison was built using the city's unique underground structure, so... we constructed two levels."

"This first level is no different from the cells in other cities' Black Prisons, built according to the standard design set by Tribunal headquarters — we use it to house heretics normally."

"As for the dark races, we've put them all on the next level down... That place imprisons dark races even more securely than ordinary Black Prisons."

The Inquisitor of the Lilee Tribunal explained.

Hearing this, Fish furrowed her brow. "Another level? Then take us to see it!"

Lin Yu also nodded. "That's right, these heretics have no useful leads. We still need to find clues from the dark races."

The Inquisitor of the Lilee Tribunal kept a smile on his face.

"Alright, please wait a moment, you two."

As he spoke, he continued walking forward, then opened the door to a cell.

That cell was empty, with only a set of skeletal remains placed in the middle.

The elderly Inquisitor shuffled forward with faltering steps, moved the bones aside, then bent low and gently swept away a layer of messy dry straw covering the cell floor.

"Please step inside, everyone."

As the Inquisitor spoke, Lin Yu and Fish entered with Raymond.

Beneath the straw, a new magical engraving was revealed — the Inquisitor of the Tribunal pressed his palm lightly against it, chanting rapidly in a low voice.

Then...

The entire floor of the room began to ripple like waves.

Though it was hard stone, Lin Yu felt the ground become soft — then, the entire cell floor seemed to transform into a whirlpool.

Lin Yu and Fish felt the suction beneath their feet, and Raymond also frowned slightly.

"What an advanced magic circle! No wonder it's a major city's Tribunal — even the entrance to a prison cell is set up this formally!"

The Inquisitor of the Lilee Tribunal laughed. "Lilee has a population of over a million, so it needs to pay more attention to safety than those smaller cities."

Then...

As his words fell, the suction beneath their feet suddenly intensified.

The entire ground transformed completely into a watery medium, sucking the four people inside the cell down into it!

Lin Yu felt as though he was inside a slide — pitch black all around, his body sliding downward along a passage.

Soon...

"Swish!"

He landed on solid ground again, surrounded by a pitch-black space.

"Drip."

The sound of water droplets rang out, and the damp air along with this clear water sound reminded Lin Yu that there was a vast, silent expanse of open water in this space.

Even the texture under his feet felt like damp sand.

And with their arrival...

One by one, faint blue floating lights lit up, confirming Lin Yu's guess.

They were indeed standing on the shore of a body of water — before them lay a vast underground lake.

The lake surface was pitch-black, deep and silent, radiating waves of chill.

By the blue lights, Lin Yu could make out the silhouettes of metal pillars standing on the lake, nailed into the water like spikes.

"What the hell is this place?"

Fish couldn't help asking.

"The second level of the Lilee Black Prison."

The Inquisitor of the Tribunal said calmly, then continued, "All the dark races our Tribunal has captured are here."

He pointed at the water before them.

Fish frowned. "A water prison? Are they locked up underwater?"

"Isn't that kind of technique impossible? Most dark races can't survive underwater," Raymond also said in confusion. "Unless there are 'air pockets' down there? Or sealed cells underwater, with those metal pillars serving as ventilation shafts?"

"None of those... In any case, you'll understand once you see."

The Inquisitor of the Tribunal spoke, then raised both hands high.

Then...

"Whoosh —!"

The previously still water surface suddenly rippled, and with a tremendous noise, those metal pillars tilted slightly, as if triggering a mechanism.

Moments later, a massive circular platform emerged from the water.

And on top of it...

Were piled many dark races.

Werewolves, vampires, undead, low-ranking demons...

Those corpses, which should have been soaked for a long time but hadn't decomposed — somehow having lost all "color" and life — were stacked on the circular platform.

"Aren't these all dead? Are you messing with me?"

Fish said indignantly, glaring at the Inquisitor of the Tribunal as she drew her flintlock.

"Hey — old man, you'd better give me an explanation!"

But the Inquisitor of the Tribunal paid no attention to Fish, completely ignoring the gun now aimed at him.

He merely glanced at Lin Yu and sighed faintly.

"Your Excellency Schreiber... what a pity."

"You shouldn't have come to Lilee."

The next moment, he stepped forward, mana surging around his body, and his whole demeanor reversed from that decrepit, clumsy act as he leaped nimbly into the water.

"Bang!"

Fish fired almost simultaneously, but caught off guard, it was as if something pushed her — her gun barrel tilted upward, deflecting what should have been a guaranteed hit!

"Splash!"

The Inquisitor of the Tribunal's figure vanished into the water.

"Damn it, what the hell is this old man up to?!"

Fish cursed, adjusting her aim toward the water.

The pitch-black water surface revealed no trace of the Inquisitor, but the next moment...

"Whoosh!"

A bright yellow light suddenly blazed from beneath the water.

It was like a scorching sun rising from under the surface, so dazzling that the three people on the shore couldn't help squinting.

"What the hell is that?"

Fish cursed.

And as Lin Yu adjusted to the intense light, he saw clearly what had lit up underwater.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! We're in big trouble!"

Raymond's curses rang out.

What had lit up underwater...

Was the opening of some colossal creature's... eye!

A snake-like vertical pupil stared fixedly at the three of them.

Lin Yu couldn't help sighing helplessly too.

"Every time I go underground these two times, there's always some big bastard waiting for me."