The Rich Cultivator-Chapter 401. Lily vs The Clown

"Nicolaf," Tyler said, his voice calm but cold as he stepped closer to the battered man on the floor. "I saw everything. How you were once a prisoner of the Federation... and how you later joined the Circus to hide."

The injured man’s eyes widened in disbelief. It was the Ring Master—his extravagant clothes now torn, his pride shattered, and blood trickling down the corner of his mouth.

"You were after us this whole time?" he croaked. "Did you... collect information on the entire Circus?"

Tyler shook his head, lips curled in a faint smirk and showed Clown’s Diary "Nah. Not at first. I found the truth in the Clown’s room. His diary is fully twisted." Honestly, I wouldn’t have cared if your pirate group hadn’t turned hostile first."

Nicolaf’s brows furrowed, his breathing uneven. "Impossible," he hissed. "I was monitoring the entire floor. Every corner. Every inch. I never saw you step foot into the Captain’s room."

"Yeah," Tyler replied casually. "About that... those tiny surveillance arrays of yours? They’re cute. But they’re also laughably easy to tamper with if you know what you’re doing."

The Ring Master clenched his jaw, fury flickering in his eyes. "So this was all part of your plan?"

"Not really," Tyler said, his tone unbothered. "You brought this on yourselves. If you’d let us go, we would’ve walked away without a fight. But your group insisted on turning it into a circus act."

Nicolaf tried to push himself upright but collapsed again with a grunt. His strength had left him, but his pride refused to die.

Tyler stepped closer and knelt, looking him in the eye. "You should’ve known better. You don’t play games with people who just want peace. In short, Don’t push anyone so far, They will bite back with everything they got."

For a long moment, silence fell between them.

Then Tyler stood up, brushing the dust from his coat. "Anyway... enough talk."

He turned toward the shattered remains of the Game Arena, the battlefield littered with broken cages, scorched earth, and the groaning of freed slaves still recovering.

"Time to clean up this mess," Tyler said flatly. "Let’s bring the Clown back to the Circus."

Behind him, Mana emerged from the shadows, her expression sharp and unamused.

The Ring Master looked up weakly, realization dawning in his fading eyes.

"You’re not just a merchant," he murmured. "You’re something else..."

Tyler gave him one last glance, eyes gleaming with purpose. "Well..." he said. "I am just The Rich Cultivator.."

"Roll credits..." Mana shouted.

"Don’t causally break the Fourth Wall." Tyler bonked her head.

┉┈ ◈ ◉ ◈ ┈┉

In the Sea...

Lily was flung into the water, her body spiraling mid-air before crashing with a splash. Blood billowed into the ocean like crimson ink, dyeing the surrounding waves. Her whip, her signature weapon, floated nearby—snapped and useless once again. She grit her teeth as the salt stung her wounds.

Behind her, the massive white ship—the White Pearl—was unnaturally stuck in place. It wasn’t damaged, but it wasn’t moving either. Its entire hull was resting on an enormous playing card floating unnaturally in the sea.

The card was massive, easily the size of a naval platform, and it is a King of Diamonds card. It had materialized beneath the ship without warning, effectively anchoring it in the middle of the open sea.

Hovering high above the spectacle, laughing maniacally, was the Clown.

"HAHAHAHA... This is fun!" he shrieked, flipping his palm dramatically.

A flurry of playing cards materialized in his hand. With a flourish, he hurled them toward the wounded Lily.

The cards ignited mid-air, glowing red-hot like flash paper. Upon contact, they exploded with sparks, forcing Lily to dive beneath the waves to avoid further injury.

"I love playing Whack-a-Mole!" the Clown giggled. "Only this mole bites back! HAHAHAHA!"

Floating effortlessly in the sky, he pulled a different set of cards—sharper, sleeker. With another flick of his wrist, he sent them hurtling downward like blades.

The cards cut through the air with terrifying speed, slicing the water’s surface as if it were paper. Each card left behind a hiss and a bubbling trail, narrowly missing Lily as she swam frantically to escape the lethal barrage.

Meanwhile, aboard the immobilized White Pearl, chaos was mounting.

Mathilda stood at the helm, staring down at the giant card beneath them in frustration. The ship refused to budge, trapped atop the card.

"We’re stuck," she muttered. "Brilliant."

Her frustration was met with a flickering light. A translucent projection of Serena appeared beside her.

"Based on current mass and trajectory," Serena began in her usual analytic tone, "if everyone on board collectively pushes the ship, there is a 12.4% chance of achieving minimal movement—"

"—And a 100% chance we’ll all die trying," Mathilda interrupted, arms crossed. "Yeah, thanks, genius."

Serena paused, flickering again. "Then... I suggest using the cannon propulsion system. Adjust the output angle to a reverse firing mode."

Before Mathilda could respond, a violent crack of lightning exploded from the sea. A surge of energy burst upward, and from within it, Lily soared back into the sky.

Her body still bore bruises and lacerations, but her aura flared as she popped a glowing pill into her mouth. Her wounds began to mend slowly as sparks of electricity danced around her.

She wasn’t done yet.

On the giant card surrounding the White Pearl, members of the Circus Pirate Crew had begun to gather. They circled the ship like hyenas.

One pirate, leaning on a curved sword, watched Lily’s descent with a cautious squint.

"If we jump in now, that lightning girl might fall into disadvantage," he muttered.

"True," another responded lazily, polishing his nails with a dagger. "Go ahead and try. I’ll watch."

The first pirate scowled. "I didn’t say I’d do it! I’m just pointing it out."

"Relax," a third pirate added. "Let the Clown have his fun. Anyone who gets in his way ends up... well, you know..."

Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet trembled.

"Wait... is the card shaking?" someone asked, alarmed.

The pirates turned toward the White Pearl—and were dumbfounded.

Inside the ship, all the canons had been turned towards one side, angled slightly off-center toward the card below.

"Fire" Mathilda shouted from the deck.

With a thunderous roar, the cannons blasted, not at enemies but against the card itself.

The recoil was immense. The ship jerked violently, launching itself off the card with raw propulsion power.

The Circus pirates were caught off guard.

"What the hell are they doing?!" one of them shouted, barely staying upright.

"Using canons... for movement??"

Soon they met with the high speed ship. Caught Off-guard, they were sent flying and some even lost life.

The White Pearl didn’t stop there. With its engines re-engaged and momentum regained, it soared forward across the card gradually gaining speed as it escaped the trap.

Lily, hovering mid-air with sparks arcing around her fingertips, looked down at the Clown, who still hovered high with an amused grin.

"Oh? You’re still playing?" he asked mockingly. "Good, I was getting bored."

Lily narrowed her eyes.

The Clown grinned and gave a flamboyant wave of his hand. The massive King of Diamonds card, then began to shrink rapidly. In seconds, it turned back into small card and flew back into the Clown’s sleeve like a well-trained pet.

He didn’t spare a single glance at the Circus pirates who had been standing on the card—they were of no concern to him.

Back aboard the Circus ship, the Juggler watched the chaos unfold through narrowed eyes. His hand gripped a flask, but he hesitated. He had been considering a sneak attack on Lily while she was distracted. But he knew better than to interfere when the Clown was in one of his "moods."

Ruining the Clown’s fun meant certain death—or worse. And besides, there was that damned alchemist aboard the White Pearl. He wasn’t risking his life just yet.

Suddenly, the entire Circus ship jolted violently.

"What the—?!" the Juggler cursed, stumbling to grab onto the nearest railing.

The cause became clear immediately: the White Pearl had slammed into the Circus ship with force.

To be fair, this wasn’t an ordinary ship. The White Pearl was reinforced with advanced arrays, some of the most expensive and rare enchantments in the known seas. Even the prized Circus ship couldn’t compare.

Thanks to its shock absorption array, the White Pearl’s crew barely felt the impact. Meanwhile, the Circus ship rocked violently, and some of the deck crew tumbled overboard.

"HAHAHAHA! There are no brakes, huh?!" the Clown roared with laughter from above, clearly entertained by the collision.

Still floating in the sky, he produced another card—this time, the Queen of Hearts. With a flick of his fingers, he launched it toward the sky. The card spun rapidly, slicing the wind as it disappeared into the clouds.

Lily narrowed her eyes, instantly on alert.

Something wasn’t right.

She instinctively looked up—just in time to see a Queen of Hearts card materialize in midair and tear itself apart.

BOOM!

The explosion sent her flying. She gritted her teeth and twisted her body midair, regaining her control.

But there was no time to recover.

Another Queen of Hearts dropped from the sky and exploded before it even reached her. She dove again, avoiding the brunt of the blast.

She managed to land back on the White Pearl, bruised and bleeding but still on her feet.

"Got you!" Darla shouted from the CIC. With a quick motion, she deactivated the a portion of barrier where she fell.

"Hahahaha... This is going to be fun..." the Clown giggled from above, his voice like nails on glass.

Then, with a theatrical snap of his fingers, the sky darkened. A sinister aura spread out in a ripple, and in the blink of an eye, thousands of Queen of Hearts cards appeared above the ship, all aimed downward.

Each one glowed ominously, like they were seconds away from igniting.

The entire White Pearl crew froze, staring upward.

Mathilda slowly turned her head.

"Yeah... we’re dead." she muttered.