The Last Gentleman
Chapter 550: 548: Extremely Dark Land, Abyss, and the Controller

The coachman twisted his tentacle-covered skull, using the solitary eye in the center to examine the three people and one candle before him.

His gaze quickly locked onto Price Silver Tail, the most powerful presence there, observing the fissured mouse skull underneath the silver armor and the faint abyssal aura that lingered.

Clap~clap~clap! The coachman actually began to applaud.

"How rare~ There actually exists someone who refuses ’Condensed Face,’ and moreover, he did so without any assistance, tearing off the mask by himself. What formidable willpower, truly admirable.

However, if you refuse the Abyss, why come here? Such beings are not permitted to face the Abyss."

Price, feeling no threatening aura from the other party, chose to respond calmly, "I am merely an escort, tasked with protecting my friends on their journey to the Abyss."

As he spoke, the silver tail coat rose slightly, pointing towards William who stood beside.

The coachman’s gaze followed, "Both as ’completers’ who have undergone the journey and as Knights of the Honored Tumor acting as guards, plus a Candle Puppet oozing with Evil Sun Oil for illumination—what an extravagant setup.

Since you accepted the Abyss upon entry, you are qualified to proceed to the ’Abysmer Settlement.’

Extinguish the candle and board the carriage, along the way I will answer some questions as long as they are within limits.

Of course, you may choose to refuse the ride and explore on your own. I am merely here to welcome your esteemed group on the ’Mouth of Death’s’ orders."

Faced with an invitation of unknown danger, William’s mind raced and he made a quick decision, "Price, Jin, Thirteen, let’s board."

Jin scratched his helmet in confusion and suggested, "Ah~ William, why not just kill this guy? Then you could use your brain to read his memories, and afterward, we could drive the carriage ourselves. Wouldn’t that be more reliable?"

William didn’t get a chance to explain, the coachman spoke first:

"I am not like the mouths you’ve just dealt with. Killing me in the ’Extremely Dark Land’ is very difficult.

Moreover, even a madman would fail to extract any information about the Abyss from my brain. The moment related information is lost, my brain will self-destruct."

Jin nodded, "Oh~ it seems your internal constitution has already matured. Indeed, that makes things difficult. Let’s do as William suggests, and get on."

With the team’s consensus reached,

the candle atop Thirteen’s head slowly sank into his skull, and near-solid darkness instantly enveloped them all.

The abyssal material, no longer suppressed by the candlelight, became active within William, its activity surged by more than fivefold. However, William still imposed no restrictions, letting these elements run wild within him.

Both Jin and Price relied on their armor and innate abilities to ward off the dark invasion, refusing any contact with the Abyss, their sole purpose to assist William.

Thirteen maintained the burning within his skull, ensuring he was not affected by the darkness.

As the Skull Candle converged,

the only source left for illumination was the black candle nestled in the horses’ necks, casting a dark light that provided a mere ten meters of effective visibility, in only black and white hues.

The dark light, far from the warmth and safety of a normal candle flame, instead nurtured the darkness.

"Hurry onboard, there is still quite a distance from the edge to the settlement."

Urged by the coachman, they stepped into the wooden carriage, which seemed relatively normal,

with William, Jin, and Thirteen seated on one side, while the massive body of City Lord Price sat alone on the other.

The carriage seemed custom-made for the squad, accommodating four people perfectly, and when Price sat upright, his head was just a fist’s distance from the roof.

The rumble of wheels over stone was completely cushioned by the carriage’s special construction, preserving utter tranquility within.

William promptly opened the carriage’s front window, attempting to communicate with the coachman, "Why did you come all this way to fetch us? What is your purpose?"

However, the coachman, holding a tool resembling a bone scraper, was busy slicing flesh from his body.

"Wait a moment, as I was briefly exposed to your Evil Sun illumination, I need to clean my entire body now. Even a tiny remainder of the Evil Sun’s afterglow would cause me great discomfort.

You all chat amongst yourselves for now, rest assured, my carriage is absolutely safe."

"Alright."

As William closed the front window, Thirteen, squeezed on the other side, coughed twice to draw attention, then took the initiative to speak, "Cough cough~ Since the coachman doesn’t have time right now, let me introduce the ’Extremely Dark Land’ and the Abyss to you~ I’ve read quite a few more books during this time.

And it seems Mr. Price has absolutely no concept of these things."

William simply extended his right hand in an inviting gesture, "Sure, Thirteen, please give us a detailed explanation."

"All right, let’s start from the formation of the Extremely Dark Land," he began.

"If we think of the Old World as a living entity afflicted with various illnesses,"

"then the Evil Sun is a very important stabilizing organ for that being. Areas shrouded in the Evil Sun’s light would be in a ’stable state,’ with all sorts of diseases growing and changing within a controllable range."

"Areas not illuminated, such as the well-known Corners, are prone to malignant mutations, uncontrollable and even harmful to the development of the world."

"Once a malignant mutation exceeds the limit, the Sick Focus will send a message to the Monastery, prompting the monks to head directly to the site to capture the malignant pathogen."

"If the Monastery encounters a situation that even it can’t handle, the Sick Focus will even signal multiple Source Epidemic Areas for assistance."

"Under such a mechanism, as long as the Evil Sun exists, a few Dark Corners won’t stir up much trouble. Not to mention the Abyss, the Extremely Dark Land would virtually be non-existent."

"But with the end of the war and the fall of the Evil Sun, darkness spread to every corner of the Old World."

"Those areas that had even during the Evil Sun’s time been considered ’Dark Corners’ thrived as if the shackles had been released, with various uncontrollable malignant mutations occurring frequently and spurring each other on."

"They even affected the bodies of ’invaders,’ resulting in new ’malignant diseases.’"

"These malignant diseases were clever; knowing that the Old World still harbored powerful pathogens, they combined with the darkness to form Pitch Black Spaces isolated from the Old World and suitable for their own growth."

"These autonomously isolated Pitch Black Spaces are collectively called the Extremely Dark Land."

"Due to regional differences, different living species, and the ’varied corpses’ brought by the war, the malignant diseases bred in different Extremely Dark Lands are also distinctly different."

"If an Abyss forms at the center of the Extremely Dark Land, it means that this type of malignant disease is potent enough to threaten the Sick Focus. The Abyss spreading continuously into the depths is attempting to transmit the disease to the core, inducing a worsening reaction."

"When the uncontrollable Abysses first appeared, several Source Epidemic Areas even sent special squads with firewood, attempting to eradicate the so-called Abyss outright."

"The ultimate result, however, was the disintegration of the firewood and the disbanding of the troops."

"The shattered Evil Sun, even with remnants of its flame, simply could not suppress the Abyss. Eradicating such a global festering sore is almost an impossibility."

"As personnel losses mounted, two eventual approaches to dealing with the Abyss were developed."

"1. [Finding a Controller]"

"In Abysses like the Original Tomb, which had formed on their own even before the fall of the Evil Sun, they don’t harm the Old World because the Abyss is under the direct control of the First Dead Man."

"With the First Dead Man’s presence, a disease as perilously destructive as [Malignant Disease - Death] became controllable, even usable at critical moments to combat external enemies."

"Apart from the First Dead Man, this special case,"

"there has also been one other instance of an Abyss being controlled, which you, teacher, had encountered: the Fear Circus."

"Rumours suggest that a magician there had earned the recognition of the Third Abyss - the Corner, and although he couldn’t exercise the absolute control like the First Dead Man, he could borrow the special power of the Abyss."

"Moreover, ever since that magician emerged from the Abyss and established a relationship, the Third Abyss’s rate of world erosion has greatly slowed, without even a tendency to threaten the central illness."

"Because of this,"

"the Old World imposes no restrictions on the Extremely Dark Land and even encourages the growth of Neutral Cities like Light City, letting any Patients take part in the exploration of the Extremely Dark Land to come into contact with the Abyss."

"Should someone manage to establish a connection with the Abyss, not only would the threat of the Abyss be removed, but it could also turn the malignant diseases into a power for the Old World itself."

"However, this method is akin to gambling. After all this time, the number of individuals recognized by the Abyss can be counted on one’s fingers, and most Abysses remain unstable and ready to threaten the central illness at any moment."

"Therefore, a second solution was developed."

"2. [World Infection]"

"Leveraging the ability of the Old World to move freely between planes, we search for worlds with an infection similarity over 80%. We steal their rules and even transplant the sun from an infected world over to craft a new Evil Sun."

"Even in the worst-case scenario, the Patients could abandon the Old World and settle in a new infected world."

"So the work you are doing right now, Master, is very meaningful. Once you gain the recognition of the Tenth Abyss, the entire Old World will thank you for your dedication."

"The reason the Duke has repeatedly helped you in this matter is not only because you are a valued customer, but also because what you are doing is of great significance to the Old World."

"The fact that you have not been hunted by the Monastery during this time is also due to this." he explained."

"Gaining the recognition of the Tenth Abyss, haha..." The coachman who was slicing meat also eavesdropped on the conversation and couldn’t help but chuckle.