### Chapter 6: The Harpist (9)
==============================
In the desert area where Black Stone City is located,
it’s that time of the year—the annual chill has set in, and nighttime temperatures have plummeted to a bone-chilling minus ten degrees Celsius.
The soldiers of the Monster Race on night patrol in the city must constantly keep moving; if they stop, that icy coldness will seep through every seam in their clothing and make them feel like popsicles.
The patrol team loitering near the tavern has long since turned into a bunch of shivering, cursing idiots.
“Those two have been in there for ages; they must be with the Demon Race, no doubt about it!”
“d*mn it! If I’d known this, I would’ve skedaddled. Here we are, freezing like dead dogs!”
“Come on, come on, losers pay up! They’ve been inside for almost half an hour now, money, money!”
“Wait a sec, what are those Demon folks getting all hyped about in there?”
Peering through the translucent windows, the patrol team can indeed see a raucous group of Demons flailing their arms and shouting every now and then.
“If it weren’t for the soundproof barrier the City Lord set up around the tavern, Black Stone City would be losing sleep from these guys messing around!”
“Right? We sent off the Human Lord, then we get a bunch of Demons in here. Why does life have to be so miserable?”
As the guards lamented, they suddenly heard strange noises from above.
Curiosity piqued, they looked up, and the spectacular sight that greeted them left them slack-jawed, almost frozen in place like ice sculptures.
The massive dark clouds that had been floating high above, covering most of the starry sky, suddenly seemed to be ripped apart by an unseen giant hand,
revealing a bright moon and twinkling stars.
The weird sound was just the clouds moving fast and rubbing against the air.
“What… the heck is going on here?”
“This is seriously bizarre; I’ve never seen clouds moving like that before…”
Just when the patrol team was scrambling to understand what was happening, an even more shocking scene unfolded before their eyes.
A beam of white light shot down from the sky, perfectly splitting the clouds amid the chaos, and sharply slanted down over Black Stone City.
Suddenly, it felt like daytime in Black Stone City, while the surrounding areas were still cloaked in impenetrable darkness.
Everyone was dumbfounded, completely clueless about what this bizarre occurrence meant for Black Stone City.
“Quickly, report to the City Lord!”
In the ensuing panic, the patrol captain finally made a decision.
After all, Black Stone City was in opposition to Cold Wind City’s forces—who knew if this was a sneaky trick by the enemy?
But Black Stone City was large, and it wasn’t just their patrol team that was panicking. Even those who had just woken up were freaked out by this daylight-like brightness.
In mere moments, the entire Black Stone City was engulfed in a frenzy—people were even dropping to the ground, humbly bowing towards the light and begging for divine mercy.
The City Lord of Black Stone City was a tall and muscular Alligator Monster.
Before the minions could report to him, the Alligator Monster suddenly awoke from his dreams, only to find his mansion illuminated by an intense brightness unlike the distant gloom.
His first reaction? Those darn Cold Wind folks must be invading!
After a moment of chaos, the Alligator Monster realized it was something else; a beam of light from the sky had enveloped Black Stone City.
But such a spectacular sight wouldn’t just happen for no reason…
Could it be the Demons causing this?
No, he needed to figure out what was going on to ensure the safety of Black Stone City.
Meanwhile, while the whole city was struck by fear over this sudden beam of white light, the Demons inside the tavern fell into a dreadful silence.
Because at that moment, Trissa had just witnessed Morris furious after Trissa lost to Lin Nan,
and right then, the previously pitch-black window suddenly turned bright as day, illuminating the tavern to exposure.
People gasped in shock, instantly turning to look out the window.
What on earth happened?
Why were strange events happening one after another since that mysterious woman started playing the harp?
“Ahhhh… ahhhhh…”
Suddenly, a spine-chilling scream echoed in the tavern.
People hurried to turn their attention inside, only to see Morris rolling on the ground, clutching his ears, his face twisted in agony, shrieking nonstop. The surrounding onlookers instinctively took a step back, bewildered at the scene.
The grim spectacle didn’t stop there: as Morris squirmed in apparent torment, two more fell to the ground, clutching their ears and screaming in pain.
“What… what’s going on?”
Some people rushed to help them up, but as soon as they touched Morris and the others, their screams only got louder.
Adeline was the first to notice the commonality among these three: her voice trembling, she exclaimed,
“It’s the God of Harmony! The God of Harmony is punishing them!”
Upon hearing Adeline, the others snapped to attention—oh snap!
Wasn’t it just these three jokers who had been mouthing off about the God of Harmony while shamelessly voting for Trissa?
They really desecrated the God and ticked off the Muse!
Meanwhile, the writhing Morris seemed to realize what was happening; he started weeping, crawling towards Lin Nan like a lost puppy, banging his head against the ground.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Waaa! I swear to the God of Harmony, I’ll never be such a loose cannon again!
Please, please spare me!”
Lin Nan looked at him coldly, not swayed in the slightest by his desperate pleas.
She knew that if he wasn’t feeling pain and fear, he wouldn’t be begging for mercy from a race he thought lowly of.
“O Muse of Harmony, I understand my mistake… Waaa… please let me off the hook!
Miss Lin, Miss Lin, please forgive me! As long as you forgive me, the goddess will surely let me go! Please!”
Morris banged his head on the ground, every trace of his former arrogance and disdain completely vanished.
Lin Nan stated flatly, “The thoughts of the God of Harmony are something mere mortals like us cannot casually guess.
My forgiveness will not erase your earlier act of desecration. Your pleas are of no use; the divine is simply fulfilling the promise you all made.”
On the side, Trissa was already deeply shocked; if you got close to her, you could hear her muttering under her breath.
“It’s the God of Harmony, it’s really the Muse! She has truly descended!
Heavens! Could it be that this non-Demon harpist is truly under the protection of the divine?”
Morris, writhing in pain, gradually could no longer scream, his eyes bloodshot, as if he was on the brink of collapse.
