19: Chapter 19, an S-rank dungeon? No, this is the Princess's journey back to the palace.

"Count!" The Skin Flayer squirmed its mangled body, its eyes flashing with the red light of revenge.

"I want that woman's skin completely intact. Taking it off is your ultimate art, the best material for the Bride!"

Xu Mo's face turned ashen.

Was this why the s-rank instance was called the 'Newcomer's Meat Grinder'?

He glanced at Lin Sa, who had already closed her eyes in despair beside him, and then at Pei Duo, who was still tightly clutching the jade pendant, her legs weak as noodles but not taking a single step back. A bitter smile touched the corner of his mouth.

In the end... he had lost the gamble.

The bullet comments in the livestream flooded the screen like a waterfall, filled with the regret of onlookers and vicious revelry.

【(IP: Japan) Yōshi! This is more like it! The plot is finally getting normal!】

【(IP: USA) You dare try to live without an invitation? Did you really think the S-rank BOSS was running a charity?】

【(IP: Dragon Country) Don't watch anymore... Sigh, Duo Duo, be born into a better life next time.】

The Count's fingers pinched that gold-stamped invitation.

He could feel the familiar aura emanating from the jade pendant—an aura powerful enough to erase his soul. It was the despair he had only glimpsed from afar at the border of the Nether Sea.

The invitation was real, but this Skin Flayer had to die.

In this mansion, or even within the entire Dragon Country instance system, no rule could supersede the face of that Majesty.

"What an interesting accusation..." The Count forcibly suppressed the twitch at the corner of his mouth, revealing a perfect fake smile, "Riiip—"

Under the gaze of everyone whose eyeballs were about to pop out, the Count's slender fingers moved slightly, actually tearing the gold-stamped invitation into a sky full of fragments!

Paper scraps fluttered down like black snowflakes, landing on the Skin Flayer's stunned eyeballs.

The Skin Flayer's wild laughter abruptly stopped, like a duck whose neck had been wrung. It looked up blankly: "My... Lord?"

"What lowly rat is this?"

The Count's voice instantly rose by an octave, filled with offended anger and disgust:

"How dare you forge this Count's invitation? Bringing such a poorly printed fake into my mansion is an insult to my artistic taste! It is also blasphemy against the noble guests present!"

Xu Mo's mouth opened wide enough to fit an egg.

Lin Sa suddenly snapped her eyes open, wearing an expression of 'Who am I, where am I'.

The tens of millions of viewers in the livestream were collectively speechless at this moment; the screen was filled only with '???'.

【(IP: Dragon Country) Holy crap?! This move... I dub it the ultimate skill!】

【(IP: Dragon Country) A fake my ass! The anti-counterfeiting seal on it is still glowing! Count, are you truly blind or just pretending?】

【(IP: USA) WTF?! How can this S-rank BOSS tell such blatant lies? My CPU is overheating!】

【(IP: Sun Never Sets) This isn't a Count, this is clearly a seasoned office veteran! His survival instinct is maxed out!】

"No... Impossible!"

The Skin Flayer's mentality collapsed, utterly shattered.

Ignoring the pain, it let out a 'heh-hoh' roar from its throat, desperately trying to grab the fragments like a madman: "It's real! It's what you sent me! Look! It even has your personal signature..."

"Still dare to argue? Unrepentant!"

The Count didn't give him any chance to speak.

Are you kidding? If I let you finish speaking, how the hell am I supposed to explain this to that Great Emperor?

"Thud!"

The floor exploded.

Dozens of thick, blood-red vines burst from the earth, instantly wrapping around the Skin Flayer's limbs and torso.

The Count's eyes turned ferocious, and he swung his cane down heavily.

Die, you bastard! You almost got me killed!

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

A series of teeth-grinding bone-compression sounds erupted densely.

The Skin Flayer didn't even have time to scream before his entire body was forcibly compressed and twisted by those blood-red vines.

His bones were crushed, his flesh remolded.

In just three seconds.

The S-rank monster that had been so arrogant moments before was squeezed and warped into a three-dimensional mural on the corridor wall.

That rotten face was forever fixed in an expression of terror and confusion; only the tears of blood seeping from the corners of its eyes proved that it had once existed.

After dealing with the 'trash,' the Count's expression instantly changed.

That tyrannical, arrogant aura vanished completely.

He straightened his slightly messy bow tie, turned to face Pei Duo, and his originally straight spine bent with extreme smoothness to ninety degrees.

It was so low that his nose almost touched the carpet.

"Respected Eastern... Goddess."

The Count's voice trembled with flattery: "I apologize for startling you. Such a low-class thief has sullied your eyes; it is due to my inadequate security. Within this mansion, only you are the sole, true honored guest."

The Count cautiously raised his eyelids, sneaking a glance at the black jade pendant, then quickly lowered his head, afraid that looking too long would shorten his life, "Your wishes are the only rules here."

Xu Mo felt his cerebral cortex go numb.

He looked at the still-bleeding mural on the wall, then at the S-rank BOSS in front of him, who was as humble as a dog.

At this moment, he understood.

What decryption, what deduction, what system logic.

In the face of absolute 'background,' everything was a joke!

Pei Duo held the jade pendant, and this sense of unreality made her slightly dizzy.

"Th-then, can we leave now?" Pei Duo asked tentatively.

"Of course! Of course!"

The Count acted as if granted amnesty, quickly pulling out a pile of top-tier orange-glowing props from the void, preparing to open the system settlement to send this 'grand lady' away.

"These are a small token of my respect. Please accept them, do not be polite!"

However, just as the Count was about to open the teleportation channel...

A sudden change occurred.

"Rumble—!!"

The luxurious spatial barrier of the second-floor corridor suddenly shattered like a mirror struck by a sledgehammer!

A wave of netherworldly Yin energy, more chilling and domineering than the Blood Clan's red mist, carrying an ancient, decaying aura, forcefully poured into this English mansion.

The temperature plummeted.

This was not cold in the physical sense, but a chill that pierced straight through the soul.

The candlelight on the walls instantly turned a ghastly, dim green. The portraits of the mansion's past owners hanging on the walls all closed their eyes in terror, trembling.

"Clang— Clang—"

The sound of heavy chains dragging, accompanied by a low whisper that sounded like crying and laughing, drifted from the shattered void.

Two figures impossibly tall violently broke through the barrier of the s-rank instance and stepped inside.

The one on the left wore a white robe and a tall hat inscribed with 'Make Wealth at First Sight'.

The one on the right wore a black robe and a tall hat inscribed with 'Peace Under Heaven'.

The Ten Great Underworld Marshals of the Dragon Country Yin Division—Black and White Impermanence!

The Count, who had just been trying to maintain a shred of dignity, had his legs go weak and he knelt directly on the ground.

"Move aside, move aside! Good dogs don't block the way!"

White Impermanence, Xie Bi'an, looked disgusted, and his Mourning Stick unceremoniously swept to the side.

"Bang!"

The Count, the BOSS of the s-rank instance, was pushed staggering backward like a trash can blocking the way, crashing heavily against the wall, not daring to let out a single sound.

"Th-this is..."

Xu Mo and Lin Sa were already completely numb.

This had gone beyond the scope of the Thriller Game; this was the descent of mythology.

Ignoring the terror of others, Black Impermanence, Fan Wujiu, locked his gaze instantly on Pei Duo standing in the crowd.

His usually fierce black face actually forced out a trace of... gentleness that looked uglier than crying—when he saw Pei Duo.

Black Impermanence slightly bowed, cupping his hands, his voice like a great bell, shaking the entire mansion:

"By the command of His Majesty, we have come specially to invite the Eldest Princess to return to the palace for a discussion."

His Majesty? The Eldest Princess?!

These two phrases struck Xu Mo's head like heavy hammers, making him dizzy.

Pei Duo was also stunned by the scene. She looked at these two Underworld Marshals whom she had only ever seen in mythological books, and after a long moment, she realized that this was probably... maybe... another arrangement by that unreliable older brother?

Brother, just how far have you gotten?

"Um..." Pei Duo swallowed, glanced at Xu Mo and Lin Sa behind her, and asked with courage, "C-can I bring my friends with me? And the settlement..."

"The settlement is fine,"

White Impermanence, Xie Bi'an, waved his hand with a smile, his demeanor exactly like a friendly neighbor uncle: "Let them wait here, the Princess can collect it after she returns."

Saying that, he glanced at Xu Mo and Lin Sa with great magnanimity and waved his sleeve:

"It is permitted, it is permitted! Since they are His Highness's friends, they shall accompany her to Fengdu as guests!"

After speaking, White Impermanence intentionally or unintentionally glanced at the Count cowering in the corner: "You, wait here. The Eldest Princess will need you to open the door when she returns, understood?"

"Yes, yes! You are right! We will listen to you completely!"

The Count nodded his head like pounding garlic, wishing he could bury himself in the carpet.

Take them away! Hurry up and take them away! As long as these ancestors leave, I'd let him tear down the mansion!

"Escort!"

Black Impermanence let out a low shout.

A dense black mist instantly rolled up, and under the horrified gazes of everyone, it directly enveloped Pei Duo and the other two.

"Boom!"

The Netherworld passage opened, and Black and White Impermanence escorted Pei Duo, disappearing into the void's end like the moon surrounded by stars.

Following their departure, the terrifying pressure that made it hard to breathe finally dissipated.

Only ruins and the remaining survivors were left in the second-floor corridor.

The Count collapsed onto the ground, his expensive tailcoat soaked with cold sweat, and suddenly let out a hysterical, tragic laugh.

"The Eldest Princess... The sister of the Great Emperor of Fengdu..."

"Hahahaha... I'm actually still alive..."