Luke stood at the edge of the bedroom floor, peering down through the gaping hole created by the massive wooden beam.
Below the wooden bedroom floor lay the castle hall, and his body was buried beneath a pile of rubble, with a cracked luxury bed resting on top.
At this moment, there were only 3 minutes and 41 seconds left for Clear Sky to remain at level 100.
Fortunately, he managed to use time reversal to pull the giant log back. If it had fallen to the next level and was restrained by the Axe Gang, there was a real possibility that he wouldn't be able to kill it within the time limit.
Using time reversal consumed an enormous amount of energy, and it was almost ineffective against enemies of higher levels.
The higher the enemy's level, the greater the energy consumption.
The giant log was a four-star hero, equivalent to a player level 80, and the energy required far surpassed what Keith and Bernie could compare to.
Moreover, this time, he not only had to pull back the fallen log but also revert the altered environment back to the previous time point.
If it weren't for Clear Sky having an elemental fusion reactor that could provide instant energy bursts, Luke might not have been able to successfully kill the giant log.
Luke valued Clear Sky's energy more than his precious cell phone battery.
He released the Sacred Guardian state and adjusted Clear Sky's level to 80.
Luke put away his weapon and jumped to the other side of the hole, uncovering a wall-mounted picture frame to reveal a safe hidden in the wall.
Following the guide's provided password, he rotated the dial above.
The safe's door opened easily.
Inside were a square metal box, a cloth bag with unknown contents, several bundles of gold and silver notes, and Imperial Marks.
Jackpot!
Luke first stashed the gold and silver notes into his spatial backpack before picking up the metal box.
On top of the metal box was a set of movable puzzle pieces.
The square blocks of the puzzle were engraved with different magical symbols. As long as the correct magic symbols were placed in the correct positions, the summoning ritual for the Red Dragon Neelkoln could be activated.
Of course, the ritual required additional materials.
But as long as you had money, you could obtain them through certain channels.
Luke put the "Heart of the Red Dragon Neelkoln" into his spatial backpack and then opened the small velvet bag.
To his surprise, it was filled with blue crystal pearls!
Luke took out one pearl from the bag. The pearl, about one centimeter in diameter, sparkled like clear seawater under the light.
Absolutely exquisite!
There were over a hundred pearls of this size in the bag, as well as several larger ones.
This time, he had truly struck it rich.
The blue crystal pearls were extremely valuable alchemical materials because of their high water elemental energy content. However, their value did not lie solely in alchemy.
As the world in the era gradually replaced metallic currency with paper currency and restricted the circulation of metallic currency, blue crystal pearls, due to their rarity, stability, and portability, had gradually become the hard currency for transactions among pirates.
With the decrease in metallic currency in the future, blue crystal pearls, as the general equivalent for underground transactions, would gradually circulate from the coastal areas to the inland regions, further expanding the market and driving up the demand for blue crystal pearls.
The rarity of blue crystal pearls only increased their value.
At this point in time, one blue crystal pearl could be exchanged for a minimum of 100 gold notes. In six months, with the further restrictions on metallic currency by the Golden Shield Empire, the value of blue crystal pearls would increase at least twentyfold.
It was an unexpected windfall!
Luke quickly stored the bag of blue crystal pearls.
At that moment, there was a commotion downstairs, indicating that the castle hall was now crowded with members of the Axe Gang.
Remembering the head of the giant log was still down there, Luke jumped down through the gap in the floor to fulfill his mission at the Assassin's Tavern.
The castle hall on the first floor was filled with members of the Axe Gang.
They held weapons and surrounded the pile of rubble, all looking at the half-buried body of the giant log.
And there, on the side, lay the dusty head.
The leader of the giant log was dead!
In the minds of the Axe Gang members, scenes of the giant log leading them in territorial disputes with other gangs played out.
Their leader wielding a battle axe, surrounded by flames, charging ahead and killing mercilessly.
He was truly an invincible god of war.
Who could kill him!
Moreover, they managed to kill him even while under heavy protection!
As Luke jumped down, the members of the Axe Gang startled and stepped back, looking at the elf who had suddenly leaped from the leader's bedroom with puzzled expressions.
She was so beautiful.
No one could associate such a beautiful elf with the killer who had slain the giant log.
But... she did jump out of the leader's bedroom.
A man with earrings and a nose ring walked out and asked, "Who are you? Who killed our leader?"
Luke approached the head of the giant log, grabbing it by the horns.
"Lambert... I killed the giant log, and I also killed Chad, Bernie, Jabez, Brenda, and many others whose names I don't know.
I've killed enough people tonight.
I'm tired.
Are you going to stop me or let me go?"
Luke's voice was not loud, but the content immediately silenced the bustling castle hall.
Everyone looked at the elf surrounded in the middle.
She stood there holding the head of the giant log, her other hand resting on her scabbard. Her clothes, face, and hair were stained with dust and blood, but they couldn't hide her dazzling beauty, making it impossible to connect her with a killer.
Such an elf must have been prepared to be sent to the rich district as merchandise by the leader.
Lambert stared at the seemingly delicate elf before him.
Then he looked at the corpse of the giant log and the head in the elf's hand. Afterward, he stood aside.
"Our Axe Gang has faced such a significant incident today, and we cannot entertain guests any longer. Miss, if you wish to leave, please go ahead... I need to handle matters here and won't see you off."
Lambert waved his hand, and the members of the Axe Gang automatically cleared a path toward the castle's main gate.
"Thank you!"
Luke nodded in gratitude to Lambert, then lifted the head of the giant log and walked forward.
As she was about to walk out of the castle gate, Lambert loudly asked from behind, "What is the young lady's name? After we settle things here at the Axe Gang, we will definitely pay the lady a visit."
Luke tossed the head of the giant log up in the air and caught it before opening his spatial backpack to store it.
"My name is Clear Sky, the Clear Sky..." Luke turned his head, glanced at Lambert from the corner of his eye, and smiled. "Do you want revenge? Live well, don't attempt the impossible.
It's better not to think about it at all."
Luke took a step and walked out of the castle gate.
Lambert walked up to the gate, watching the agile elf vault over the outer wall and disappear.
"Close all the doors of our headquarters to the outside. No one is
to leave without my command.
Notify everyone outside to come back.
Send someone to Fishbone Island and inform Lady Tassia of the giant log's death."
One of the people next to Lambert asked, "Should we also recall the people on the docks?"
"They should all come back! With the giant log dead, we probably won't be able to hold the docks. Preserve our strength and wait for support from Fishbone Island.
You... go to the Secret Intelligence Bureau in Cape Area and have them send people immediately to investigate the case. We give them so much money every month; it's about time they put in some effort for us."
"Yes, Lord Lambert."