Chapter 1561: Knocking

Although Chen Ling had met Shen Qingzhu and heard some rumors about the Annihilation Angel, he didn't actually know the specific strength of this visitor from another Candlelight World.

However, since the opponent had severely injured the Delusion Calamity in his early years, his strength should be higher than Lord Wuji's... But Lord Wuji was now immortal and extremely troublesome. He really couldn't judge the final outcome of this slaughter between the two.

Of course, now was not the time to dwell on this question. Lord Wuji had already had all his energy tied up by Shen Qingzhu, which was the best time for him to get rid of the Eternal Palace.

Calculating the time, the script should be progressing about right...

Chen Ling's gaze looked toward the street ahead.

"It's coming."

He suddenly spoke to remind him.

Tian Xiaochen, who was lying on the floor tiles carefully studying them, was startled and looked up blankly:

"...What's coming?"

No sooner had Tian Xiaochen finished speaking than he heard a commotion coming from the Knight Headquarters across the street.

Because the vast majority of knights had been sent out to patrol the streets and evacuate the public, there was almost no manpower left in the Knight Headquarters... And accompanied by bursts of intense noise, suddenly, figures wearing prison uniforms swarmed out from within—men, women, old, and young. When they saw the sunlight outside, unprecedented excitement appeared in their eyes!

"We're out!!"

"We're out!!"

"Finally, I can go home... I wonder if my silly son has been eating well these days..."

"Quick, run before those knights catch up!!"

"Don't gather together! Run in different directions!"

“……”

Behind the crowd, a few scattered knights chased out from the headquarters in a hurry. They held weapons in their hands, and seeing these prisoners running out of the dungeon, anger and confusion appeared on their faces...

How on earth did these prisoners get out?!

"Catch them!!"

A knight shouted and strode toward the few prisoners at the back. Immediately after, a thought flashed through the mind of a knight beside him, and he immediately held down the weapon in his companion's hand:

"Lord Wuji said that we cannot use violence against prisoners without authorization! Have you forgotten Shi Rui's fate?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the knight who had already rushed halfway was stunned.

"Then... then what do we do?"

"We can't use weapons, just try our best to drive them back!"

"How the hell are we supposed to drive them back??"

The knight was speechless, but thinking of Shi Rui's miserable death not long ago, he still honestly threw his weapon aside and chased after the prisoners fleeing in all directions with his bare hands, while constantly calling for surrounding knights to join in the encirclement.

The frantically fleeing prisoners, the knights who dared not use force, countless figures running back and forth—in an instant, the entire street fell into noisy chaos.

Tian Xiaochen was dumbfounded.

"Lord Chen Ling... our luck seems to be pretty good?"

Tian Xiaochen didn't connect the chaos before him with the Gomoku piece he had dropped just now at all. In his view, the two had nothing to do with each other. After thinking for a long time, he could only attribute it to "good luck."

"Luck?" Chen Ling shook his head. "No, this is something you single-handedly brought about... Have you forgotten that Gomoku piece?"

"Me???"

"Alright, time is limited, hurry to the Eternal Palace."

Tian Xiaochen couldn't figure out what role he had played in this no matter how hard he racked his brain, but under Chen Ling's urging, he still rushed out of the alleyway without hesitation and ran forward along the chaotic street.

In the street where prisoners were running around, Tian Xiaochen, running in plain clothes, was somewhat conspicuous, but now all the knights' attention was on the prisoners, and very few people noticed his existence...

"Kid!! Don't run around!!"

A knight stepped forward, wanting to chase after him, but the next second, he was tripped by a prisoner who happened to fall to the ground, losing his balance and rolling twice on the ground. By the time he climbed back up, Tian Xiaochen had already run quite far.

And similar dramatic coincidences continued to play out around Tian Xiaochen.

When he was targeted by a knight, a prisoner would always happen to rush out to attract attention for him; when his path was blocked by four or five knights lined up in a queue, twenty or so prisoners wanting to go home would fight them together before he could; one after another, knights in armor or prisoners would fall behind him, and the figures blocking his path became fewer and fewer...

And Tian Xiaochen had only done one thing from beginning to end... and that was running.

Everything was so wonderful that Tian Xiaochen suddenly had a feeling... as if he were now the chosen one, the "protagonist" of this world.

Wherever he went, if there were mountains, someone would clear the path; if there were water, someone would build a bridge. All existences blocking his path would be pushed aside by the hand of fate, leaving him a broad, smooth road... And the end of this road was the Eternal Palace.

Thus,

after running and overcoming dangers all the way,

he finally stepped onto the stairs in front of the Eternal Palace.

When he looked up and saw those two magnificent, sky-high doors, he knew in his heart...

He had never been the protagonist of this world. The person behind the scenes who had truly led him here, the one who toyed with fate, was behind this door.

That person was the source of it all.

The swirling ash snowflakes fell silently from the sky,

under the dim glow of the five suns, Tian Xiaochen came to the gate of the Eternal Palace, one footprint at a time...

"Kid!! What are you doing?!"

"Approaching the Eternal Palace is forbidden!!"

The knights who were stopping the prisoners on the street in front of the Eternal Palace were all shocked when they saw someone step onto the stairs of the Eternal Palace out of the corner of their eyes. Although they didn't think a child could do anything to the Eternal Palace, they still had to follow orders and stop anyone from approaching.

Seven or eight knights simultaneously abandoned the prisoners they had already rounded up and rushed toward Tian Xiaochen in front of the gate with great momentum.

Running with all his might along the way had left Tian Xiaochen covered in sweat. Standing in front of the gate now, his hands were trembling slightly with nervousness.

He heard the scolding sounds echoing behind him, but he still took a deep breath...

Then he raised his hand and pulled hard on the gate of the Eternal Palace.

“……”

The gate didn't budge.

How could the Eternal Palace built by Lord Wuji be opened at will by a child?

The knights behind him saw Tian Xiaochen's mischievous and ridiculous action and laughed out loud in anger for a moment. Their figures rushed up the steps in front of the Eternal Palace, their heavy armor making dull sounds as they ran.

Tian Xiaochen's face was pale. He tried desperately to pry open the gate of the Eternal Palace with his bare hands, but no matter how hard he tried, the gate remained as motionless as if it were welded shut.

Just as he was beginning to despair, Chen Ling's voice sounded again:

"Don't try to open the door..."

"You just need to knock on it."