Immortal Paladin 241 The Thrones of Contest

241 The Thrones of Contest

The ruined castle stood ahead of us, gray stone bleached pale from untold ages of stillness. It could have once been a fortress, a sanctum of authority or war, but ti had carved out its spine. No roof remained, only jagged arches reaching skyward like broken ribs. Wind howled freely through the hollowed halls. Columns were snapped, and the walls bowed with scars. Debris gathered in the corners like offerings to ruin, but none of it compared to what stood in the heart of the castle: a throne, not chipped or weathered, but untouched and proud, garishly opulent and out of place, as though reality itself dared not stain it.

“What in the world is that?” I asked, eyes narrowing at the center.

Across from us stood a thin old man flanked by an octopus… no, not quite an animal, sothing that floated unnaturally with an aura of veiled power. The old man, besides the creature, spoke as though we weren’t there at all. “Are they going to be our opponents, Ga Master?”

On cue, the bald monk child responded, his voice calm but full of hidden mirth. “Just a bit more patience, old friend…”

I turned my attention to the surroundings. Seven statues towered around us, each one nearly nine feet tall. Three had been reduced to rubble from a blindfolded woman shattered at the torso, a veiled man missing everything above the knees, and a skeleton crowned like a king, whose limbs were strewn across the floor like broken toys. The remaining four statues were intact and imposing: a swordsman with his blade resting against his shoulder, an old man leaning on a gnarled cane, a bald monk holding a broom with both hands like a weapon, and a half-naked woman draped in a snake whose head curled around her throat like a noose.

“They’re the Seven Sages,” the Ga Master began, as though continuing a tale we should have known. “The ones who’ve lasted the longest in this False Earth. Each of them once fought for the prize that lies before you now… Ascension.”

He pointed at the extravagant throne in the middle. Every remaining statue, even the shattered ones, had once faced toward it. Even now, the air around it felt denser, pulsing slightly as if the throne had a heartbeat of its own.

“And now, of the original seven,” the Ga Master continued, “only four remain… and five more players have joined the ga.”

As if cued by unseen strings, the four living Sages stepped into position beneath their respective statues. Ru Qiu stood proudly under the statue of the swordsman, jaw clenched with a ferocity that hadn’t wavered. The withered old man shuffled beside the cane-bearing sage, seemingly more ghost than flesh. The Ga Master took his place under the broom monk, as though he were simply returning ho. And the Dark Witch, with her signature smile, draped herself beneath the woman with the snake, tilting her head as though mocking the symbolism.

Then, the Ga Master raised his hand. A subtle gesture, yet the floor trembled faintly. The four statues slid back on invisible tracks, creating space. In a wide arc, five more platforms erged from the floor, each bearing a statue. I realized they were ant for us, the newcors.

With a second flick of the Ga Master’s wrist, thrones made of gray stone appeared before the statues. One of them, simple and unadorned, manifested just beside . Unlike the central throne, this one looked utterly mundane… but I felt it call to .

I turned to look at the statue behind my throne. It wasn’t a person, not a figure like most of the others. It was a colossal sword, stuck upright in a slab of stone, taller than all the rest. Its edges shimred faintly as though resisting being carved by mortal hands.

The Ga Master settled into his throne. His small figure disappeared into the high backrest as though swallowed by its imnsity, but his presence grew all the more commanding. Without a word, the others followed—Ru Qiu on my left, sliding into his seat with the stiff dignity of soone about to unsheath a blade; Alice on my right, lounging as if this were a theater and not the prologue to sothing eldritch and apocalyptic.

I planted my hand on the armrest, feeling the cool stone beneath my fingers. Then I sat down.

Behind Alice lood her statue: a massive guillotine whose blade never fell, eternally poised at the mont just before severance. It made no sound, yet in its stillness, I imagined the weight of the cut it promised.

Jin Chenglei’s statue, on the other hand, was grotesque in its elegance. An armored man with the lower body of a serpent curled upward like a coiling threat. His helt bore no eyes, only a slit like a yawn, as if the armor itself was ready to consu.

Then there was Jue Bu’s. I had no words for it, only discomfort. The figure was nude but beyond mortal classification, with breasts on one side and a chiselled masculine chest on the other. Its face shifted with the light… sotis motherly, sotis violently unkind. There were no symbols to read, only confusion. That was Jue Bu’s nature laid bare.

And then… the octopus.

Yes, it had a statue. Of course, it had a statue. I should’ve expected it, and yet, seeing it rendered in stone… a humanoid figure cloaked in ornate priestly robes, tentacles draping from its sleeves and hood like ritual sashes… It made my gut coil. Whoever commissioned that idol had either gone mad or known sothing I didn’t. The stone eyes gazed downward in mock serenity, but I could feel sothing behind them: knowing, watching, and conscious.

“I really have a bad feeling about that octopus…”

The Ga Master rose, his voice sharpened, each word projected with a rhythm that silenced idle thoughts.

“Three factions,” he began, gesturing widely, “Three players in each team.”

Then he snapped his fingers.

A low hum filled the ruined hall, deep and omnidirectional. From the space above the central throne, light gathered, swirling upward like incense made visible. Shapes assembled themselves into geotry, and geotry into geography.

And then I saw it.

A sphere, suspended in midair, radiant and humming with energy. It was what I could only describe as a perfect replica of the False Earth. The seas glimred with illusory depth, mountains cast shadows, and cities pulsed like hearts. A hologram, but alive in every detail. It rotated slowly, allowing everyone to see their slice of this broken world.

But this wasn’t just a map. No, it was more intimate than that.

I narrowed my eyes, extended my Divine Sense, and reached into it. At first, only surface-level impressions greeted : mountains blanketed in clouds, rivers writhing like living veins. But as I pushed deeper, as my sense honed in…

There. New Willow. The streets looked peaceful enough, though I could sense tension simring just beneath the surface. And in one courtyard I knew too well…

I froze.

My twin sister was there. She was giving birth.

Already?

I blinked once. Then again. My mind backtracked, calculated, and tried to form an excuse for the impossible.

“It’s just been days since she announced her pregnancy!” I hissed aloud, glaring at the map as though it owed an explanation. “How in the world!?”

My eye twitched.

I saw that Da Ji, my twin sister, was screaming her heart out. Her face was red, contorted, and soaked in tears as she gripped the sheets like she wanted to tear reality apart. Her cries echoed through the Divine Sense connection, raw and unfiltered.

Chen Enlai, her ever-sincere husband, was bawling on the sidelines. Not the manly kind of tearful joy, either. No, the nose-running, shoulder-shaking, helpless kind of sobbing that would’ve made him the laughingstock of any ranks in the military. And yet, there was sothing beautiful in how shalessly he wept. His love was loud.

Lin Wei, my mother, worked with practiced hands, directing the process like a battlefield general. She took the newborn with care etched into her every wrinkle. Then she handed the child to Enlai with a look that could only be called a benediction.

As for my father, Da Jin, the man had no sha at all… he was laughing. Loud and full-bellied, the kind of laugh that could make the sky crack open. He slapped Enlai’s back and declared sothing I couldn’t make out, probably so nonsense about virility or good fortune. Knowing him, he’d already promised the baby a sword and a tiger.

“So, the rules…” said the Ga Master.

His voice shattered the mont. I blinked, pulling back from the living hologram, from that delicate thread of family, and refocused on the floating sphere. My gaze slid, slowly and deliberately, toward the octopus.

Eight limbs. A literal floating octopus.

I raised my voice. “How about a little introduction first? We are ga buddies in this, so the least thing we can do is know each other.”

The Ga Master chuckled, shaking his head. “Ga buddies? Hardly. This is a fight to the death, and the utter decimation of the opposing force. It’s competitive gaming, Immortal Paladin.”

I blinked. “While I am curious where the ‘Immortal Paladin’ address cos from, I am more curious about the octopus…”

The Dark Witch leaned forward, resting her chin on her palm with predatory amusent. “I’m curious too. I know almost everyone here, except the pink-haired bitch and the eight-legged freak.”

Alice didn’t even glance at her. Her disinterest was legendary.

Ru Qiu glared at the Witch like she was a fly buzzing near his ear. “I don’t care for the nas of those whose ends I already desire.”

I sighed. “Okay, that’s settled then. A little introduction circle. Please, call Da Wei. I’m not from this place. I’m a Paladin… Technically, the representative of the Sacred Groves. My hobbies include eating things, playing gas I don’t fully understand, and laughing when I absolutely shouldn’t.”

An awkward silence settled.

I turned toward the vampire beside . “Alice, how about you?”

“Alice,” she replied, her eyes unmoving. “Vampire.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “I’ve always known your introductions would be… challenging.”

Ru Qiu leaned forward, eyes glowing faintly. “And I am the Heavenly Demon. I will annihilate anyone who stands in my way, starting with you, Witch.”

The Dark Witch laughed with such delight that it made want to flinch. “And I am the Dark Witch with the darkest heart of them all. Representative of the Demonic Cult.”

At the ntion of “Demonic Cult,” Ru Qiu’s teeth were grinding so hard I could hear the sound.

The Witch tilted her head coyly and looked at Jin Chenglei. “Darling~ Your introduction?”

Jin Chenglei offered a stiff, soldier’s nod. “I am Jin Chenglei, Commander of the Rebels, and the Snake Charr.”

For so reason, he was glaring daggers at .

Jue Bu slouched, looking more bored than usual. “I’m Jue Bu. And don’t confuse with David… I’m a different person. I just stole his body. Anyway, you can also refer to as the Foolish King.”

The Ga Master sighed. “Looks like we’re doing this… I am the Ga Master, representative of the Heavenly Alliance.”

An old man from the Ga Master’s faction sneered. “I refuse to join this tomfoolery.”

The Ga Master gave a helpless shrug. “My grumpy old friend here is the Divine Physician. And as for the octopus—”

The octopus raised one tentacle.

“I AM THE GREAT DREAR~!” it bood in a theatrical, echoing voice.

It opened its beak to speak a na.

“[----]”

That was all I heard. Garbled, unreadable, like soone mashed all the forbidden tongues together and shoved them through a shattered flute.

The Great Drear tilted its bulbous head.

“LET’S PLAY.”

“The rules are simple,” began the Ga Master. “If you’ve played chess before, then you have an idea how to play this ga. The victory condition is simpler still… kill the enemy camps’ Generals. The camp with the last General remaining wins.”

He paused, letting that sink in. No flair, no theatrics. Just the raw shape of the ga laid bare.

“Each of you will designate one ‘General’ piece,” he continued, “the most important piece on your side. Once that piece perishes, your existence will be forfeit. You cannot choose yourself. The General must be soone you can call your own, whether a worshipper, a slave, a friend, or family.” He lifted one small hand and pointed toward the central throne. “At its essence, this is a war ga. You will move pieces.”

“How?” he asked rhetorically, his eyes scanning us like a teacher awaiting the answer. “Through Qi Speech. But… with a limitation. You can only use Quintessence.”

Huh?

I leaned back slightly, tension rising at those final words. That was brutal. In our current realm, Soul Recognition, Quintessence was more of a rare treat than a resource. I had just used Divine Word: Raise on Ru Qiu not long ago. I wouldn’t be able to do anything like that again for a day or two. Even then, I’d be scraping my reserves to make it happen.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

I raised my hand. The motion felt heavier than it should have, but the question needed to be asked. “If we do this… too many are going to die. What do you think about that?”

A quiet fell over the ruins. Not just silence, but an emptiness that stretched into the bones.

Then ca the cackling.

Jue Bu burst into hysterics, slapping his knees like I’d just told the world’s greatest joke. “Ha ha ha ha ha~! That’s so funny, good ol’ David… So naive and pure… ‘What do you think about that?’ ‘What do you think about that?’”

I let him laugh. Soone needed to.

The Dark Witch sneered, her voice honeyed with venom. “You’re free to back out if you're so uncomfortable with the idea.”

Then ca the mutter from the old man, the so-called Divine Physician. “People die… They always do… That’s life.”

I snorted, unable to hold back the disdain. “And you call yourself the Divine Physician?”

Jin Chenglei, of all people, chid in next. “Do you even know why we’re doing this?”

I raised a brow, more irritated than curious. “Please. Enlighten .”

His eyes burned as he pointed to the central throne. “It’s for a shot at true ascension.”

I let that hang for a mont before sighing. That wasn’t a surprise, but hearing it laid so bare made it sound… emptier than ever.

In the beginning, I had only wanted to return to the Hollowed World. To uncover the truths of this False Earth. To protect my family. That had been enough. Or so I thought. Then ng Po shattered that illusion. She gave ti, clarity, and above all, perspective. When I finally returned to the False Earth, it no longer felt like escape… it felt like reckoning.

Now, seated on this stone chair under the statue of an immovable sword, I understood sothing else.

If I wanted to protect the ones I cherished, I had no choice. I would have to beat them all. Starting with the Ga Master himself. The worst part? I was outmatched. This wasn’t just so quirky ascended cultivator with too much ti. This was a Supre Being, playing mortal for his own amusent. And the ga was his.

So I asked the only question that mattered. “What happens if I refuse to play?”

Unexpectedly, it was Ru Qiu who answered. “Isn’t it obvious? They’ll rip apart everyone you care about. They’ll ensure your destruction is total, so that you may never rise again.” His glare bored into . “Get your shit together, Da Wei. I consider you my peer. If you bend now… what does that make of ?”

“Hah~! That pulled a laugh from , one I didn’t bother hiding. “Probably dead…”

Ru Qiu raised an eyebrow, probably recalling monts ago what had happened. Good tis.

I straightened and lifted my voice for all to hear. “I’m going to make a statent.”

I pointed at the Divine Physician, ignoring his unimpressed frown. “I’m going to have your General killed first.”

He didn’t blink. But the corner of his mouth twitched, ever so slightly.

Then I turned to Jue Bu. “And you. I’m giving you one opportunity to redeem yourself. We don’t have to be enemies. But make sure… You don’t miss it.”

The Dark Witch scoffed. “If you think we’ll fall for your tricks… sowing discord like so little spy… then think again.”

I didn’t even look at her. My eyes remained fixed on Jue Bu. “You know I’m not lying,” I said, calm and clear. “You know it.”