The Sixth Hundred Sixty-Fifth Challenge
During dusk, the annual Audience Banquet at the Palace of the Goddess was still in full swing. In the main hall where the singing and dancing were taking place, the scene of lively performances continued. The uninhibited dancers on stage were passionately performing, while the audience watched intently, appreciating the wonderful shows. The entire space was filled only with the sound of music and the dancers’ footsteps, with no other noise. Everything was peaceful.
However, amidst this peace, an invisible undercurrent surged fiercely. Various extraordinary powers from different directions and sources were exerting their influence here, overlapping and interacting. Although everything appeared calm on the surface, an intense struggle between extraordinary beings had already begun invisibly. The strength involved even reached the Red Tier level.
In the ballroom, two powerful officials from Faraluo were locked in a fierce confrontation. On stage, Sanderlina was relying on her abilities and the support of the stage to compete with Doro for control over the remnants of Bourbon. Thanks to the stage’s assistance, Sanderlina’s desire control power was continuously growing. She could feel that the mysterious extraordinary force vying for control was gradually weakening. She was slowly gaining dominance. This process was slow but steady. Sanderlina could foresee the moment when she would completely seize control over Bourbon.
Under the struggle for extraordinary power, the bodies of the Bourbon remnants present began to twitch abnormally. After a fierce struggle, Sanderlina finally overpowered her opponent by leveraging the immense power of the stage. At the peak of the stage’s enhancement of her abilities, she gained control over the Bourbon remnants, causing a smug smile to appear on her lips.
“You can’t beat me after all! Ally of Adele…”
Thinking this, Sanderlina waved her hand on stage, fully activating the murderous intent towards Sangsong within the Bourbon remnants. The strong desire for killing imbued these ordinary people with non-human willpower, breaking free from another form of control, and they gritted their teeth, preparing to rush toward the main guest stand.
Just then, the control force that Sanderlina had defeated suddenly surged, reaching her current level instantly. The group of Bourbons controlled by Sanderlina’s desire-driven power were once again restrained, and the sudden stop caused the runners to fall to the ground, creating chaos. Most people were so engrossed in Sanderlina’s dance that no one noticed the problem immediately.
“How is this possible! Why did his power suddenly increase!”
Sensing this situation, Sanderlina on stage frowned. She couldn’t understand why the control force she had defeated suddenly regained enough strength to match her own, bringing the competition for control over the Bourbons back to a stalemate. Could it be that the opponent had used some extraordinary medicine or sigil to enhance their abilities?
Facing this situation, although Sanderlina was puzzled, she acted immediately, attempting to regain control. However, this was not easy. Her current strength had been amplified to its limit by the stage below her and could not be further strengthened. Regaining control under these conditions was indeed difficult.
“d*mn… If this continues, I’ll have to… Hmm?”
Just as Sanderlina realized she couldn’t seize control over the Bourbons and considered alternative plans, she noticed that the powerful control force opposing her became unstable after a brief period, starting to fluctuate violently. Amidst this fluctuation, it began to slowly decline. Sanderlina found herself gradually regaining control.
“Heh… It seems that guy’s enhancement method was only temporary… ”
Feeling this, Sanderlina immediately concluded that the sudden surge in the opponent’s control force was merely a temporary measure like taking stimulants, and its effect was now waning. Seeing hope, she temporarily abandoned other plans and resumed maintaining control, pulling and consuming with the unseen enemy, feeling the gradual weakening of the opponent’s strength, and reasserting control over the Bourbons.
After regaining control over the Bourbons, Sanderlina made them rise from the ground and continue charging towards the main guest stand. However, before they took more than a few steps, the weakening control force suddenly surged again, regaining parity with Sanderlina. This caused the recently risen Bourbons to stumble and fall again, continuing to twitch and shake.
“d*mn… When will this end!”
Seeing this, Sanderlina, who was dancing, clenched her teeth. Although she didn’t know why the control force that had just weakened suddenly surged again, she persisted in her attempt to regain control over the Bourbons. Just as she was about to give up due to the struggle, the force suddenly began to weaken again. After taking control, Sanderlina tried to keep the Bourbons moving, but due to a significant increase in the opponent’s control force, the Bourbons fell again shortly after.
This cycle continued… Sanderlina repeatedly gained and lost control over the Bourbons amidst their constant falls. This endless back-and-forth, feeling so close yet never quite reaching success, increasingly frustrated Sanderlina.
This situation arose because of Doro. Sensing that Sanderlina’s control force had peaked but still couldn’t sway her puppets, Doro deliberately weakened the control to prevent Sanderlina from giving up, providing her with a glimmer of hope. Once Sanderlina gained control, Doro strengthened it again to stop her, then weakened it again before Sanderlina gave up, providing more hope.
Doro’s goal was to delay time, focusing Sanderlina’s efforts on constant tug-of-war, constantly interrupting her actions and giving her false hope, making her believe she could eventually gain control over the Bourbons. However, in reality, no matter how hard she tried, it was all futile.
Doro’s actions initially proved effective, successfully diverting Sanderlina’s attention to the endless struggle for control. But after several cycles, Sanderlina gradually realized the issue. The mysterious control force always seemed on the verge of collapse but never did, leaving her frustrated and ultimately exhausted.
“Cursed thing! Take this! Play with it yourself!”
Gritting her teeth, Sanderlina waved her hand, immediately releasing the desire control over all the Bourbons and instead focusing on the guests present. She began to amplify the subtle dissatisfaction of those harboring resentment towards Sangsong, rapidly escalating it to a level of deep enmity.
As a politician, Sangsong naturally faced discontent from many guests, not just the Bourbon remnants. Sanderlina primarily aimed to frame the Bourbon remnants, and using these Bourbons was most effective. But now, since she couldn’t control them, she resorted to others, complicating post-event cleanup by needing to fabricate links between assassins and the Bourbons.
“Indeed… That force isn’t present in others; he can only control those Bourbons!”
After switching control targets, Sanderlina didn’t notice the powerful opposing control force. She assumed the opponent had prepared something extraordinary with the Bourbons, leaving others unaffected.
Under Sanderlina’s provocation, several guests deeply resentful of Sangsong stopped dancing and turned their attention to the main guest stand. Unending rage erupted from their eyes, and they grabbed nearby weapons, rushing towards the main guest stand.
But as they approached, they encountered several figures waiting in ambush, mostly dressed as attendants, seemingly having waited there for a long time.
Facing the enraged guests charging straight at them, the attendants raised their fists and struck, quickly knocking down the furious guests and rendering them unconscious.
These were Doro’s puppet corpses, positioned along the path to the main guest stand, ready to prevent such situations.
“Hmph… Prepared quite thoroughly…”
Sensing this, Sanderlina suppressed her frustration and sneered, then deployed her next tactic.
Sanderlina waved her hand during her dance, controlling a guest with a twisted desire towards her, amplifying it immensely. Then she let him charge towards her.
“Miss Sanderlina! You’re mine! Let me taste you!”
Under Sanderlina’s manipulation, a guest with a twisted desire rushed towards the stage, brandishing a kn*fe, eyes filled with fervent desire, seemingly wanting to dismember Sanderlina right there. Everyone present witnessed this.
Most guests in the singing hall were enchanted by Sanderlina’s charm. Seeing her about to be attacked, everyone felt hostility towards the attacker, instinctively wanting to protect Sanderlina. Sanderlina instantly amplified and intensified this desire, redirecting it towards Sangsong on the main guest stand.
Suddenly, almost every guest in the singing hall turned their eyes towards Sangsong, their gazes filled with intense malice, including Sangsong’s bodyguards and even Sangsong himself.
“Victory…”
After pausing the attack, Sanderlina looked at the scene, her eyes gleaming with excitement. With so many under her control, no one could stop her.
On the main guest stand, Sangsong’s bodyguards drew their guns, aiming at the heads of those they were protecting. Sangsong himself picked up a fork and held it to his neck. Amidst the countless lethal intentions from all sides, he seemed doomed. Sanderlina smiled confidently, knowing she had won. As long as she didn’t hesitate to lower her standards, no one could stop her!
Just as Sanderlina was about to complete the assassination, a sudden change occurred. She directed everyone’s killing intent towards Sangsong. Just as they were about to act, an invisible force swept through the singing hall, freezing everyone in place. The scene was momentarily paused.
“What…”
Facing this situation, Sanderlina on stage widened her eyes, displaying a look of disbelief. She felt her control over desire facing competition again. Another powerful, invisible control force had affected everyone in the hall, instantly suppressing hers and restoring stillness.
What happened? Was Adele’s accomplice again trying to snatch control? But from the previous situation, he couldn’t affect anyone outside the Bourbons, right? How could this happen? Where did this powerful widespread control force come from?
A multitude of questions flooded Sanderlina’s mind. At this moment, a rumbling sound caught her attention. Sanderlina looked in the direction of the sound and saw the grand doors connecting the Colored Dome Hall and the Parade Square slowly opening amid mechanical sounds. Through the open doors, she glimpsed the outside world.
Sanderlina saw that on the Parade Square bathed in dusk, numerous people gathered around the massive Dawn Fountain, mesmerized by the fountain’s water display. A splendid figure in formal attire was dancing gracefully above the constantly flowing clear water.
That was Adele, wearing King Charles’s performance attire. She was dancing freely on the lotus-shaped stage formed by the water jets, captivating everyone on the Parade Square with her graceful movements under the twilight and the clear water.
Even in elaborate attire, Adele’s dance on the water lily stage remained fluid and elegant. Unlike Sanderlina’s bold and suggestive dance, Adele’s was dignified and graceful, exuding a sense of nobility with every movement.
Adele’s dance was traditional Faraluo court dance, perfectly fitting the luxurious grandeur of the Palace of the Goddess and standing in stark contrast to Sanderlina. Upon seeing Adele’s dance, Sanderlina couldn’t help but mutter her name.
“Adele… It’s you… With this level of desire power, did you find a second stage? When exactly…?”
Watching Adele dance atop the Dawn Fountain, Sanderlina said angrily. She knew well that Adele’s power as an extraordinary being on the Path of Desire couldn’t match hers with the stage’s enhancement. Now that this situation had arisen, it meant Adele had her own stage!
In the Palace of the Goddess, one of the three stages left by King Charles was located at the Parade Square, the Dawn Fountain. When Doro saw the dazzling and unpredictable water displays of the fountains, she wondered if controlling the direction of the water jets could create a seven-petal lotus pattern. After checking all the fountains, she found only the largest one, the Dawn Fountain, capable of such a transformation.
Therefore, Doro used puppets to bring Charles’s costume, dressing Adele in it and controlling the fountain to form the seven-lotus water pattern. Once Adele stepped onto the second stage to dance, she could use the enhanced power of her desire path.
However, the enhancement of the stage for extraordinary beings was gradual. Adele needed to dance for some time to maximize her power after stepping onto the stage. Since Sanderlina started dancing earlier, she would reach her peak faster. Thus, Doro needed to engage with Sanderlina to buy time for Adele’s power to grow.
Now that Adele’s power had reached its peak, Doro opened the grand doors of the Colored Dome Hall, allowing Adele to face Sanderlina directly. Adele promptly used her abilities to suppress Sanderlina, returning the situation in the singing hall to a stalemate.
Thus, along a central axis, Sanderlina and Adele faced each other, separated by the Colored Dome Hall, engaging in a dance of abilities. Two powerful forces of desire subtly balanced each other, creating a scene of frozen stillness.
The two desire dancers continued their contest, neither able to gain the upper hand for the moment. Facing this situation, Sanderlina’s eyes revealed a look of resentment, her teeth clenched tightly, clearly feeling her situation was dire.
But when Sanderlina saw the distant horizon and the setting sun nearing the horizon, the serious expression on her face instantly disappeared, replaced by a smile.
“The time… is almost here…”
Looking at the yellow sun, Sanderlina thought to herself. Although Adele had gained the ability to compete with her on the second stage, Sanderlina knew it wouldn’t work because time was on her side.
“Adele… Do you think finding a second stage means you can challenge me? Heh… If this were any other day, maybe you’d win, but today is the Audience Banquet, and today is different.
“Very soon! I will show you why today is the Audience Banquet! You may be wearing Charles’s clothes and dancing on the second stage, but you don’t know that the true King in full regalia will always perform on the first stage. The first stage is irreplaceable and the most revered!”
Continuing her dance, Sanderlina thought proudly. She knew the secrets hidden beneath the first stage. As long as she stood there, she could remain invincible in the Palace of the Goddess, whether facing direct attacks or challenges of desire.
