The Cannon Fodder Became the Empire's Beloved Omega - Chapter 47

Her heart skipped a beat.

Heat instantly rushed to her face. Yu Ruan stiffened slightly as Gu Yu wrapped his arms around her, lifting her up. His arms slid beneath her armpits, and the rich scent of lime drifted from his collar as he calmly said, “Hold on tight.”

Flustered, Yu Ruan tightened her grip around his waist. The warmth of his body seeped through the fabric of his clothes, and she could hear his steady, powerful heartbeat. Her face grew even hotter, and the glands at the nape of her neck warmed, gradually heating up from their proximity.

Her pheromones stirred restlessly. Instinctively, Yu Ruan lowered her head, burying herself deeper against him, and mumbled, “Okay.”

A faint “Mm” came from above. Then, Yu Ruan felt her body suddenly lighten as she was lifted into the air. His arm held her firmly around the waist as he leaped several times effortlessly, landing smoothly on the opposite bank of the river.

The lingering ripples of something heavy falling into the water reached her ears belatedly. Only then did Yu Ruan realize what had happened as Gu Yu gently set her down.

A faint light flickered on again in the tunnel. Gu Yu opened his light screen and projected the 3D map once more. “Let’s go.”

Yu Ruan nodded reflexively and followed his steps.

To keep him from noticing her unease, she could only avert her gaze and lower her head. Fortunately, the dim lighting spared her the embarrassment of him seeing her flushed, flustered state.

She opened her light screen, pretending to study it intently, and focused on deciphering the progress of the other teams.

On the pure black sand table, densely packed red dots covered the screen. Clearly, the other teams had also been stumped by the recent obstacle, forced to halt their progress.

“Steps,” a calm reminder drifted from ahead.

Snapping back to reality, Yu Ruan noticed the slippery stone steps beneath her feet. She looked up and realized that, absorbed in observing the sand table, she had fallen quite a distance behind Gu Yu. Hurriedly, she responded and stepped onto the stairs to catch up with him.

Meanwhile, in the observation room.

This was the hub responsible for monitoring the entire competition, staffed by a mix of teachers and students. In case of emergencies, the observation room would directly exercise its authority to assist students in avoiding danger.

At the same time, cameras automatically recorded each team’s progress through the obstacles. After the competition ended, these recordings would be available for participants to review.

Currently, Cheng Mu and students from other grades were in charge of monitoring. The impressive scene that had just unfolded had sparked hushed discussions among some of them.

“Tsk.”

Staring at the two small red dots representing the pair on the map, Cheng Mu couldn’t help but remark, “As expected of the championship team, no one else can compare. That move was just too brilliant.”

As he spoke, the light screen replayed the moment the kerosene lamp shattered into fragments upon hitting the pile of wood, struck by the crossbow bolt. Flames roared across the screen, dazzling and vivid.

In contrast, the other teams’ performances.

Some groups were frantically tapping on wall bricks; others were wailing over losing their three arrows; and one team had the wild idea to swing across on the rope net using momentum, only to plunge tragically into the water.

After a glance at those cringe-worthy, suffocating scenes, Cheng Mu couldn’t bear to watch any longer and averted his eyes in agony.

The passage they had just traversed was an underground waterway connecting the outer perimeter of the castle. The waterway encircled the castle, and successfully reaching the opposite bank meant entering the castle’s interior.

Ascending the steps, they reached the end where a heavily rusted iron ladder, reminiscent of a city’s underground drainage system, stood. The two climbed up the ladder, pushed open the manhole cover, and stepped onto the ground inside the castle.

Moonlight poured down, finally revealing the castle’s full appearance in clear detail.

The ancient fortress, dormant for a millennium, was saturated with an aura of death. In the distance, clusters of bats hung densely beneath the spire, their faint, shrill cries echoing from within. The blood-red stained glass windows appeared even more eerie and menacing under the moonlight.

Yu Ruan glanced down at the real-time competition progress and noticed their team was temporarily in the lead, while most others were still struggling on the outskirts. Only a few groups had managed to break through the obstacles and were advancing toward the castle gates.

Gu Yu clearly noticed it too. He glanced sideways at Yu Ruan before turning his gaze away. “Need a rest?”

The physical exertion from the previous stage had been minimal. Though Yu Ruan’s stamina was far from impressive, he didn’t think he’d be worn out so easily. He shook his head and said to Gu Yu, “I’m fine. Let’s keep going. If I really can’t hold on, I’ll let you know.”

Gu Yu gave a quiet “Mm,” reached out, and touched the castle door.

The door was incredibly thick and heavy. Even with a gentle push, it didn’t budge. Surprised, Yu Ruan stepped forward to help. Together, they managed to push the door open.

A low, grinding sound of gears echoed through the air. Then, a tall, pure-black statue cloaked in a mantle appeared before them. It held a cane in its hand, and in front of it lay three empty stone plates.

Yu Ruan quickly scanned the area: the staircase to the upper floor was completely broken, making it impossible to ascend from there. According to the map, solving the puzzle before them was essential to obtaining the treasure needed to proceed.

Instinctively, he turned his gaze toward Gu Yu.

The Alpha, standing not far away, maintained his usual impassive expression but walked toward the statue. Yu Ruan hurried after him and followed his line of sight to the base of the statue, where a line of finely carved text read:

“The sun, the moon, and the stars.
When gathered, the Almighty shall bestow a miracle.”

Yu Ruan: “…” How cult-like.

Even so, the clue to accessing the next area was now clear placing these three items into the stone plates in the correct order would likely allow them to bypass the broken staircase.

Remembering a small stone statue he’d spotted earlier in a corner, Yu Ruan immediately looked in that direction. Sure enough, a marble statue covered in cobwebs stood quietly under the moonlight, emitting a soft glow.

He quickly walked over, brushed off the dust from the statue, and revealed an inscription on its base: “Artemis”!!

It really was the moon!

Yu Ruan returned to the center of the hall and placed the statue of the moon goddess on the middle stone plate. “Well, this statue is of Artemis, the moon goddess. It should count as the moon, right?”

As soon as he spoke, the stone plate before him suddenly lit up. A prompt sound indicating the acquisition of an important item chimed, and a message popped up on the screen:

[Congratulations! You have obtained an important item: Statue of Artemis ×1. Team points +10.]

Upon reading these words, he couldn’t help but feel a slight shock. In an instant, he realized that the so-called “important items” mentioned in the competition rules were likely the tools needed to clear all the levels.

Since the external levels were merely a warm-up before the official competition, they hadn’t obtained any items. But after arriving and attempting to solve the first puzzle, they naturally came to understand this crucial piece of information.

Judging by the previously mentioned minimum score, there were probably at least two or three more important levels ahead if they wanted to obtain the treasure.

Taking another careful look around the hall, Yu Ruan noticed that aside from the statue he had already taken, there remained a knight statue with a sword at its waist, velvet curtains scattered messily across the floor, and half a piece of stained glass shattered into fragments.

He was completely clueless.

After pondering for a while, Yu Ruan looked up at the person beside him, wanting to ask for his thoughts.

Gu Yu’s expression was calm, as if he, too, was deep in thought. His wrist rested loosely in his trouser pocket, and his deep blue eyes were fixed motionlessly on the distant glass window.

Following his gaze, Yu Ruan’s eyes landed on a dusty glass window.

He froze for a moment.

“Is there something wrong with that window?” he couldn’t help but ask.

“All the others are stained glass, but that one isn’t,” Gu Yu’s calm voice came from beside him. “And the light coming through it happens to fall near the statue.”

As he spoke, he seemed to realize something and quickly walked toward the corner. Yu Ruan watched in confusion as Gu Yu used the tip of his shoe to clear away the scattered glass fragments on the floor. After a moment, he finally understood the meaning behind Gu Yu’s words.

“Are you saying, we should install these glass pieces onto the window and let the moonlight pass through the patterns, projecting the shadows of the sun or stars onto the statue?”

“Let’s try it first.”

Yu Ruan instinctively glanced at the distant window. The lancet window, characteristic of Gothic architecture, was impossibly high. Based on a rough estimate of the distance, they would need to climb at least four meters to project natural light near the statue.

Four meters.

Even the broken staircase wasn’t that tall. If they could climb up and down so easily, why would they need to painstakingly solve puzzles here?

Yu Ruan couldn’t help but think.

Suddenly, a scraping sound broke the silence, and Gu Yu stopped moving. His deep blue eyes fixed intently on one of the shattered glass pieces. He bent down, pinched one end of it between his thumb and forefinger, and picked it up. Moonlight streamed through the window crack, illuminating the glass piece right in the center was a pattern resembling a sunflower.

It was the “sun.”

The moment he saw the glass piece clearly, Gu Yu walked to the other side of the statue and forcefully twisted the hand holding the scepter. A series of clicking sounds, like gears turning, echoed through the hall. Soon, the downward-facing palm shifted position, as if ready to hold something.

Leaning slightly over the railing beside the staircase, Gu Yu reached out and placed the glass fragment into the statue’s hand, adjusting its angle. Then, he jumped down from the stairs and frowned, observing the statue before him.

It was as if a dark cloud had just obscured the moon. The two of them stood before the statue, waiting patiently for a while. When the cloud drifted away, moonlight spilled down once more, its faint glow falling upon the statue’s wrist, piercing through the shattered stained-glass window and casting a dazzling, almost fiery, pattern of light and shadow.

As that shimmering light appeared, the stone disc also began to glow. Yu Ruan let out a soft sigh of relief, finally feeling somewhat at ease for the moment.

He walked over, intending to discuss the remaining puzzles with Gu Yu. Suddenly, a creaking sound echoed from afar, like a door being pushed open. A corner of a white dress fluttered past his vision, instantly whipping up a fierce gale that howled through the entire hall!

Yu Ruan froze for a moment, still processing what was happening, when he saw a pale, gaunt figure crawl out from behind the doorway. The figure had waist-length black hair that hung over its face. Its entire body was drenched, the white dress clinging tightly to its form, revealing a pair of red, frenzied eyes.

A chilling gaze fell upon him from the other side. The terrifying female ghost stared at him with a sinister glare, gradually parting her lips. A wave of bloody scent rushed toward him, and Yu Ruan instinctively took a step back, his heart tightening.

This damn competition actually spawns monsters!?

He instinctively glanced toward Gu Yu, only to see a face with a tense jaw and lips pressed so tightly they were nearly white. His brow was furrowed, his eyes scanning the distance. Then, he took a step back, turned, and drew a slender silver sword directly from the waist of the statue’s knight.

The tip of the sword traced a beautiful arc in the air, pointing directly at the approaching figure. His voice was calm: “Step back.”

Yu Ruan’s heart pounded wildly, and he nodded with difficulty. He knew he couldn’t offer much help for the time being, so he simply retreated to the back, watching as Gu Yu engaged the female ghost in battle.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but Yu Ruan felt that the stone disc, which had previously held the artifacts, seemed somehow strange. Taking advantage of his retreat, he shifted his attention there and discovered that the spot where the sun’s shadow had been reflected earlier was now ablaze!

At that very moment, Gu Yu’s rapier clashed with the female ghost in the distance, piercing straight through her body. The sharp tip of the sword emerged from the other side, splitting the ghost in two!

The female ghost let out a piercing shriek, a shrill wail that nearly shattered their eardrums. Yu Ruan instinctively covered his ears, only to see the ghost, which had been cleaved in two, suddenly shift form and coalesce like mist once more. In no time, she had returned to her original, unharmed state.

Gu Yu’s expression grew even darker as he coldly watched the female ghost. His silver sword struck again, slashing through the defenseless ghost.

The wailing resumed, and then, the horrifying specter slowly returned to its original form, its eyes blazing with malice as it lunged straight toward the two of them! ???

Yu Ruan had never expected that a competition that seemed so focused on hardcore puzzle-solving would include such unscientific elements, completely ignoring all physical damage. Anxiously watching Gu Yu’s figure in the distance, a sudden spark of inspiration flashed through his mind:

“Gu Yu, look at the fire near the statue!” he shouted urgently. “Try igniting it with your sword!”

Since even the empty stone disk could be ignited by the projection of glass, then the rapier in his hand would certainly face no obstacles. Given that the theme here was a vampire castle, the creatures residing within it must be extremely afraid of sunlight.

Therefore, the flames representing the sun could absolutely annihilate the female ghost before him in an instant!

Gu Yu sidestepped to avoid the ghost’s grasping hands, his eyelashes fluttering slightly as he leaped onto the stone platform. He swept his sword through the top of the flames, and in an instant, the fire blazed brightly, leaping from the tip of the sword all the way to the hilt. The fully engulfed flaming sword traced a beautiful arc in the air and shot straight toward the female ghost’s heart!

A piercing shriek instantly filled the air!

The translucent, distorted spirit was abruptly devoured by the rapidly spreading flames. The female ghost let out a final agonized wail before transforming into a dazzling, intense light, vanishing into ashes in the blink of an eye.

As the ghost disappeared, a faint “ding-dong” sound was heard, and a pale yellow gemstone dropped from the spot where she had vanished, landing a short distance away. Upon closer inspection, it was carved into the shape of a star, shimmering brilliantly under the moonlight.

Yu Ruan blinked in bewilderment, exchanging a glance with Gu Yu on the distant platform, feeling somewhat stunned:

Could it be that they had already collected it just like that?

Yu Ruan found it rather absurd.

He shook his head at Gu Yu, signaling him to stay put and not move for the moment. Then, he walked over, bent down, and picked up the star-shaped gemstone.

The gem was surprisingly light and still retained the scorching warmth left by the flames. Turning it over, he saw a line of small characters engraved on the back: “Star.”

It really was a star.

Yu Ruan stared blankly for a few seconds before turning to nod at Gu Yu. Seeing his reaction, the Alpha, who had been cold-faced ever since entering, finally relaxed his expression, his brow softening slightly as he gave a light nod in return.

However, this expression lasted only a moment before it abruptly tightened again.

Yu Ruan stared at his face in confusion, not yet grasping what had happened, when he saw the Alpha on the stone platform narrow his eyes and leap down abruptly, shouting, “Come here!”

The next second, the sound of collapsing floorboards echoed from beneath his feet.

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