Chapter 171: Your Excellency the Bishop?

Tuo Er Ke was silent.

The flame in the furnace crackled, burning the air in the blacksmith shop even more stifling.

At the same time, it illuminated the pain, madness, and determination intertwined on Beikeze’s face.

Tuo Er Ke’s rough fingers sank deeply into the bloodstains congealed on the hairpin, but his gaze was locked tightly onto Beikeze’s eyes.

He saw the madness that would stop at nothing, and the profound exhaustion and despair hidden beneath that madness.

After a long while, Tuo Er Ke let out a heavy sigh, then stood up.

Thump—

The sound of the hairpin being pressed onto the table by Tuo Er Ke rang out clearly, reaching Beikeze’s ears.

Beikeze’s body jolted, and he slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air.

Seeing this, Tuo Er Ke just shook his head slightly, then turned around and walked to the wall.

As if touching some mechanism, his rough fingers fumbled on the wall for a moment.

Then, Tuo Er Ke paused and immediately pressed down.

With a dull click, the entire floor trembled noticeably.

“Wait a moment.”

An entrance to an underground passage appeared before Tuo Er Ke.

After another moment of silence, Tuo Er Ke finally moved and walked down, without looking back at Beikeze.

The passage entrance closed again under Tuo Er Ke’s heavy footsteps, isolating Beikeze in the hot and silent forge area.

Waiting.

Time seemed to be melted by the furnace fire, becoming thick and long.

Every second was like a red-hot iron ingot in the furnace, heavily branding Beikeze’s tense nerves.

The crackling of the furnace fire was magnified infinitely, intertwining with the mad whispers forcibly suppressed in his mind, forming an annoying hum.

The black mark on his right arm throbbed, each pulse bringing a cold, stabbing pain that spread along his nerves, constantly stimulating the newly healed wound at his temple, causing a dull ache there.

He had to clench his teeth to suppress the instinctive trembling of his body.

Sweat silently seeped from his temples, slid past the ferocious black mark, and dripped onto the scorching floor, instantly turning into a wisp of white smoke.

He forced himself to stand still, his eyes fixed on the closed floor entrance.

Too long…

Every breath felt like a century.

Just as Beikeze felt his endurance was about to be completely torn apart by the power surging within him—

Click… rumble…

The heavy sound came again.

With the dull sound of rock friction, the sealed floor slab slowly slid to one side.

A sharp, cold air unique to newly quenched metal erupted from the passage entrance.

That air was mixed with the lingering essence of pure light, but also contained a deep, icy malice.

Tuo Er Ke’s figure emerged from the rising heat and smoke.

He was bare-chested, his bronze skin covered with sweat.

His thick arms trembled slightly, as if bearing a huge burden.

And in his hands, he carefully held two items.

They were two swords.

One was entirely pure white.

The blade seemed to be polished from the purest milky white crystal, emitting a soft and restrained milky white glow, not dazzling, but carrying a reassuring warmth and sense of order.

The hilt was simple and sacred, the faint flowing light like the dawn.

The other was completely opposite.

The pitch-black blade was so smooth it reflected no light, instead like a black hole devouring the surrounding light, making the air near it appear distorted and dim.

A chilling black mist surrounded the blade, carrying pure chaos.

The hilt was twisted and ferocious, like tangled dead bones.

Tuo Er Ke breathed heavily, sweat sliding down his temples, dripping onto the hot floor.

He walked to Beikeze and placed the two swords side by side on a relatively flat heavy anvil.

Tuo Er Ke let out a long breath with a fishy smell, his voice hoarse, with a hint of weakness from exhaustion.

“According to your request… I melted those two ‘cores,’ the fragments, and the amethyst marrow… all into them.”

Then, he extended his finger, pointing to the guard of the white sword.

There, a small, extremely dim fragment of milky white stone was embedded, almost merging with the blade.

Then, his finger moved to the middle of the black sword’s blade.

There was a barely perceptible vortex, emitting a cold malice that unsettled the soul.

“They…”

Tuo Er Ke’s voice carried exhaustion and a hint of complexity.

“Are naturally able to combine.”

Saying that, he extended both hands, one holding the white sword, the other the black sword, slowly brought the spines of the two blades together, and gently pushed.

Hum—clang—

A strange, clear ring sounded.

The pure white and pure black blades perfectly fit together.

Light and darkness did not annihilate each other, but formed a strange balance and flow.

The white sword’s glow became restrained and deep, while the black sword’s devouring sensation took on a hint of order’s edge.

An indescribable vast aura instantly spread, causing the conflicting powers within Beikeze to suddenly fall into a strange stillness.

Beikeze’s pupils sharply contracted.

The black mark on his right arm throbbed violently, as if sensing a great threat and… attraction.

After a moment of shock, Beikeze slowly extended his hand, his fingertips trembling slightly, his voice hoarse.

“Good… very good… This is ‘Judgment’…”

Tuo Er Ke looked at the mad light in Beikeze’s eyes, then at the assembled sword on the anvil, and the last trace of hesitation in his heart turned into a heavy sigh.

‘It is also the sword that judges us.’

He silently added in his heart.

Then, he let go, allowing the assembled twin sword to lie quietly on the anvil.

Beikeze reached out, his fingers closing, tightly gripping the gray hilt.

In an instant, even more violent power than before rushed into Beikeze’s body.

The excruciating pain made his vision go black, and he nearly fell to his knees.

The black mark on his right arm tried to devour the incoming foreign power, but was burned and suppressed by the white sword’s light.

The wound on his temple burst open again, blood mixed with cold sweat dripping down.

Tuo Er Ke instinctively wanted to step forward to support him, but was stopped by a fierce and crazy look from Beikeze.

“Good… very good!”

Beikeze’s voice was a grotesque madness of pain and power intertwined.

He suddenly straightened up, raising the sword to his eyes.

The pure white and pure black blades glowed with eerie light, releasing a chilling pressure.

“Time… is running out.”

Beikeze’s eyes swept over Tuo Er Ke, no longer any hesitation inside.

“The base… needs to be ‘purified.'”

After saying that, he spoke no more, just gave Tuo Er Ke a look, then turned and left, walking step by step toward the tightly closed door of the blacksmith shop.

The door was pushed open.

The knights standing solemnly outside felt the sudden surge of terrifying pressure, their expressions changing in unison, and instinctively placed their hands on their sword hilts.

But when they saw Beikeze’s appearance, they were all involuntarily enveloped by a chill.

“Bishop?”

The lead knight’s voice carried undisguised astonishment.