Mike swung the Thunderclap Hammer, lightning dancing wildly as the entire castle began to crumble, and the chains binding the White Wolf King shattered.
When the lightning vanished, silence fell.
Boom—
A massive figure burst from the darkness, the moonlight illuminating blood-stained white fur.
“Awooo—”
The White Wolf King let out a howl, causing all the werewolves in the castle to uncontrollably transform into their wolf forms and flee at top speed.
“Move!”
The castle’s restraints had been destroyed by lightning. Staying here would mean dying with the castle!
The White Wolf King led the way, with Dorian and the other werewolves following closely behind. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Mike, however, wasn’t in a rush to escape. He even had the leisure to interrogate the Pig Vladimir in his hand.
“Hey, old fossil, are there any treasures in this castle? Speak now, or you’ll lose your chance!”
Vladimir: “I am the most valuable treasure!”
“You’re a pig now. You should adjust your attitude. I have a friend who can eat a whole pig in three bites. Want to meet him?”
As Mike questioned Vladimir, his eyes scanned the castle interior.
Nothing. There was nothing left.
Just as Vladimir had said, he himself was the most valuable thing here.
Before the castle collapsed, Mike dashed out, reaching a safe area by the cliff.
“Phew, escaped by the skin of my teeth.”
Mike held the pig in his left hand and the Thunderclap Hammer in his right, safe and sound.
[Werewolf faction Exploration Rate: 100%]
[Vampire faction Exploration Rate: 100%]
[Human faction Exploration Rate: 50%]
“Just one last step.”
Mike looked down at the pig in his hand.
The Eye of Truth gave a hint: [Kill Vladimir to gain 50% Human faction Exploration Rate.]
Vladimir: “Just kill me already!”
“Ever since you turned into a pig, you’ve been begging for death,” Mike said coldly. “If I’m not mistaken, old fossil, you have a way to resurrect, right? This resurrection can also help you escape your current predicament. Hmm, this isn’t your first time turning into a pig, is it?”
The previously noisy Vladimir fell silent, a glint of wisdom appearing in his murky eyes.
He even spoke directly, using human language, “Kid, don’t think you can threaten me. Once you leave, everything here will reset! As long as the cycle isn’t broken, I can return to my former self.”
Mike chuckled, “I have a feeling this time will be different. Want to bet?”
Vladimir turned his head away, refusing to meet Mike’s gaze.
His actions answered Mike—he didn’t dare.
“Show enough sincerity, and I might consider helping you,” Mike said earnestly. “I swear by the name of Thor.”
“No.”
Vladimir didn’t even listen to the content, directly rejecting Mike’s offer.
“You have no credibility!”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
Vladimir, exasperated, said, “I was insulting you!”
“Oh?!”
Mike raised the Thunderclap Hammer, ready to teach the foul-mouthed pig a lesson.
“Wait!”
Vladimir quickly said, “Swear by the name of Ares, and I’ll believe you!”
“Ahem.” Mike’s face showed an awkward expression. “That’s not really appropriate, is it?”
“I knew you planned to break your promise!”
Vladimir’s ears stood up in anger, his whole pig body trembling.
Mike continued to work on Vladimir’s mindset, “How about this? I have a respected elder named [Shadow Nine]. I’ll swear by his name, okay?”
“No way!”
After several rounds of bargaining, they finally reached an agreement.
Mike swore by the name of Ares, promising to protect Vladimir within his abilities and only kill him once.
Vladimir, in turn, swore by the Blood Ancestor, signing a servant contract, willingly following Thor and offering materials no less than SSS-grade.
His willingness to make such a concession had a reason.
Mike told Vladimir that the White Wolf King was nearby.
The enmity between them wasn’t something that could be resolved with a few words; it was a deep-seated blood feud.
If the pig-shaped Vladimir were handed over to the White Wolf King, who knew what would happen?
Some wolves had very broad tastes.
Under Mike’s persuasion, Vladimir quickly understood the pros and cons, sincerely saying, “I willingly follow Lord Thor!”
The oaths were made.
Vladimir opened his mouth and spat out a false tooth. “This false tooth contains a drop of prince’s essence blood, the most valuable thing in this castle.”
“How gross.”
Mike had Cerberus wipe the false tooth clean on Vladimir, wash it several times by the pool, and then took it in his hand.
“Prince-level essence blood, left by Vladimir at his peak. Good stuff.”
Storing the false tooth, Mike assured he would keep his promise, then smashed Vladimir’s pig head with the hammer.
“Kill Count Vladimir, Human faction Exploration Rate +50%!”
With this, Mike achieved 100% Exploration Rate for all three factions!
Vladimir’s corpse emitted a blood shadow, flying towards the moon, which instantly turned a shade of blood red.
Then, countless bat shadows descended from the sky, forming a new human shape—Count Vladimir.
Elegant and composed.
“Damn it, I feel my strength has regressed again—”
Vladimir had barely recovered to Marquis rank, but after using a secret method to resurrect, he fell back down.
Count Vladimir glanced at Mike from afar, reluctantly walking over and bowing.
“My master, Vladimir the Third, at your service.”
“Work hard, there’s a bright future with me.”
Mike patted Vladimir’s shoulder, seriously saying, “I have not only Count and Duke essence blood but also prince essence blood. You won’t be mistreated!”
Vladimir: These were all my things to begin with…
“Cheer up. Whether we meet again is another matter.”
“Oh, by the way, the flowers and plants around your castle are quite nice. Maybe you’ll make a decent gardener someday.” With that, Mike placed his hand on the crystal, beginning the settlement process.
Whether he could achieve an SSSSS rating, he wasn’t sure. All he could say was that he had done his best, accomplishing what the previous three Supreme Beings couldn’t.
A white light flashed, and Mike’s figure disappeared from the spot.
Leaving Vladimir behind, he looked around, confused.
“Flowers and plants? When did my castle have such things?”
He hadn’t planted any flowers or plants.
Looking at the flowers and trees around the castle ruins, Vladimir’s body began to tremble, his eyes filled with fear.
“Where did these things come from?!”
…
Mike had just left.
The tenth floor welcomed an unexpected guest.
Apollo stood at the castle ruins, looking at the piles of bricks and stones, with flowers and trees swaying in the evening breeze behind him.
He walked among the ruins, casually saying, “Maybe, you are all human.”
The plants began to change, transforming into human figures!
As they appeared, they immediately knelt, not daring to lift their heads.
“Honorable Supreme Being…”
The elder kneeling at the front spoke in a hoarse voice, “Thank you for saving us from the cycle of suffering.”
For a long time, these plants had been outside the castle, undisturbed.
A hundred years felt like a moment to them, passing in the blink of an eye.
They hadn’t experienced slaughter, battle, or the passage of time… Instead, they silently watched the stars shift, day after day, as plants.
The human NPCs Mike had been searching for were here!
Within the castle, Vladimir and Dorian had suffered the torment of the cycle, but the human NPCs hadn’t.
“It has nothing to do with me.”
Apollo, back to the crowd, walked among the ruins, looking at the remaining lightning energy around,
“I was just fulfilling a request.”
Wherever he went, the lightning energy gathered, merging into Apollo.
After walking through every corner, collecting all the lightning energy, Apollo stood still, shaking his head, self-mockingly saying,
“Boring.”
Apollo returned to the ninety-ninth floor, closing his eyes to rest for a moment. When he opened them again, there was a hint of fatigue between his brows.
A white feather pen appeared in his hand, which Apollo grasped.
Apollo’s hand was steady as he added a stroke to a line of text: s.
The ink was still wet.
The next moment, all humans in the Tower of Truth received a notification:
“Congratulations to participant [Thor] for achieving an SSSSS rating on the tenth floor!”