ã€ŠImmortal Hell Godã€‹


 Chapter 1: Fate

    The Rhine family is bustling with excitement tonight, hosting a grand banquet. Not only can the invited minor nobles and major merchants enjoy the Rhine lord''s treasured grape wine, but even the servants can indulge in a feast. Throughout the evening, magical fireworks blaze into the sky, drawing cheers from the crowd. People eat and drink to their hearts'' content, then dance with their heavy bellies to lively music.

    Today is neither Easter nor Harvest Festival, but the third young master of the Rhine family''s birthday.

    The birth of the third young master brought immense joy to Lord Warren, who rushed back from the Oga Fortress, 500 kilometers away, two days ago to host guests from all over and accept congratulations.

    Lord Warren had every reason to be happy. Although the third young master was born to a maid and thus illegitimate, a prophecy made ten years ago by the astrologer wind whisperer predicted that among the younger generation of the Rhine family, there was a high chance of a once-in-a-century genius magician emerging. The third young master''s two older brothers, Gery and Lotte, while talented, were not of such genius caliber and were more suited to be knights practicing battle aura.

    Now, all hopes were pinned on the third young master.

    Adding to the wonder, today is not only the beloved seventh princess''s first birthday but also the 380th anniversary of the birth of the first ancestor of the Rhine family. The third young master was born on this very day, bringing uncontainable joy to Lord Warren.

    King Helsinki, upon hearing this, not only sent envoys to congratulate but also issued an exhilarating decree: he would betroth his beloved seventh princess to the Rhine''s third young master and grant a small piece of land as a fief. Lord Warren, unable to think of any other way to express his joy, shared his years-long collection of fine wines with everyone.

    When the third young master was born, the sky also showed an omen.

    Despite being daytime, a meteor streaked across the sky at his birth, witnessed clearly by everyone in the Kolo territory. After his birth, the third young master was extraordinary, not crying or fussing, but looking around with big, rolling eyes, seemingly curious about his surroundings instead of sleeping tiredly like an ordinary baby. Lord Warren, fearing his son might be mute and unable to become a genius magician, had the midwife lightly spank his bottom. Hearing his pained cries, Lord Warren was relieved.

    In addition to the celestial omen, the third young master possessed traits that made Lord Warren firmly believe he was a century''s genius: black hair and black eyes, traits unseen in any other human on the continent.

    Only the Night Goddess in legends was said to have such black hair.

    With black hair and eyes, the third young master, during his baptism, was praised multiple times by Priest Cedo of the temple for his spiritual power, akin to an untapped gem mine. The water''s reaction during the baptism suggested a limitless future for him.

    The third young master was believed by everyone in the Kolo territory to be a once-in-a-century genius magician, except for his two brothers.

    Showing miraculous abilities at just a few months old, the people of Kolo were used to his genius.

    Although Lord Warren was often busy with warfare and seldom home, whenever he was, he doted on the third young master, taking him horse riding and playing, in stark contrast to his treatment of the third young master''s hardworking brothers who excelled in knightly skills but whom Lord Warren did not value as much, believing only the third young master could continue and elevate the Rhine family''s glory.

    The fame of Kolo''s genius spread far and wide.

    The Rhine family''s third young master, Rody, was called the "Child of the Sky" or "Star of Tomorrow" at just three years old.

    ¡°Rody, who do you think will win between Gude and Ace?¡± Lord Warren asked one day, watching his guards train with his beloved son Rody, making casual conversation.

    In terms of martial strength, Gude was an experienced five-star great swordsman, while Ace had just been promoted to four-star.

    In a fighting arena, almost everyone would bet on Gude; anyone who didn''t was considered a fool or a madman. Lord Warren was just trying to entertain his son.

    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°Daddy, I think Uncle Ace will win!¡± Rody''s statement shocked everyone. If he weren''t known as a genius, they would have thought him foolish.

    ¡°Why do you think so, Rody?¡± Lord Warren was also surprised.

    ¡°Because Uncle Ace doesn''t have a shield.¡± Rody''s speech was often hard to understand, like when he suggested building ships from steel to increase defense against magical flames, ramming attacks, and even reducing turbulence from waves. If people didn''t know he was a child pRodygy, they would have ridiculed him as insane; steel, after all, would sink immediately even in the form of a sword.

    ¡°Sir, I wish to prove my bravery to young master Rody!¡± Gude said, feeling slighted.

    ¡°Sir, I will fight with all my might for young master Rody!¡± Ace, though less confident, was a warrior of honor and wouldn''t concede without a fight.

    ¡°Let''s see, but be safe and don''t harbor grudges or harm each other,¡± Lord Warren instructed, starting the match.

    Initially, Gude, in heavy armor with a giant sword and shield, seemed unstoppable against Ace''s quick sword, driving him into a desperate state. Ace, knowing he couldn''t match Gude''s strength, fought for Rody, relying on agility to dodge Gude''s heavy sword strikes. The outcome seemed predictable, with Gude''s victory assured, but everyone was curious about Rody''s prediction and his genius reasoning.

    Rody, held by Lord Warren, remained smiling.

    Lord Warren asked if he wanted to change his mind, but Rody even bet with him, saying if he won, he wanted the key to the study''s magic books.

    ¡°If you really win, I''ll give you the key!¡± Lord Warren laughed. He knew his son loved reading various books, but he worried about the mental strain, especially from magic books, and potential harm to his young body. Rody''s mother always believed children should play and grow up happy. Although a genius, he was still a child needing play, not endless study.

    ¡°Master, can I really win?¡± Ace''s sword was knocked away by Gude''s heavy sword, but when he retrieved it, he prepared to concede, feeling overpowered.

    ¡°I''ll teach you a way to win!¡± Rody''s suggestion not only intrigued Ace but also Lord Warren.

    Could his beloved son be a genius in both magic and martial arts? A surge of excitement filled Lord Warren''s heart. Onlookers, seeing Ace bending down to listen to little Rody, all wondered what advice the genius child was giving. Even Gude felt uneasy, confident in his victory but unsure what Rody might have suggested.

    Seeing Ace nodding and smiling with the confidence of a victor, renewed and almost blessed, Gude felt a wave of fear.

    The ensuing fight saw Ace employing a strange method, no longer attacking but running around Gude, aiming for his back.

    Clearly, this was Rody''s strategy.

    Gude, heavy in armor and wielding a giant sword, was exhausted and unable to keep up, but he dared not expose his back, fearing Rody had taught Ace a winning move. Unable to catch Ace, Gude kept turning in place to face him. After a while, Ace suddenly stopped, and Gude, dizzy from spinning, continued out of inertia.

    Ace rushed forward, tripping Gude, who fell like a hunted mammoth.

    Ace quickly pressed his sword against Gude''s neck, forcing him to concede.

    The crowd erupted in applause and cheers. Lord Warren was overjoyed; the victory, though somewhat sly, proved Rody''s insight and strategy. Even he, a battle-hardened general, couldn''t have precisely identified Gude''s weakness and Ace''s strength and turned it into a victory key. Rody truly deserved his reputation as a once-in-a-century genius.

    As people grew accustomed to celebrating the rise of a star in the Rhine family, a nightmare struck when Rody was five.

    On his fifth birthday, Lord Warren invited the country''s greatest chief magician, Sage Joanne, to teach Rody magic. Through various tests with the magic crystal ball, Sage Joanne shockingly discovered that Rody''s body was incompatible with the four elemental magics: wind, fire, water, and earth. This was unthinkable not only for him but for everyone. Rody, bearing the name of a genius magician and the hopes of his entire family, had no elemental sensitivity.

    People were in disbelief.

    Lord Warren was nearly devastated. Rody''s mental power was close to that of a high-level magician, but his elemental sensitivity was worse than the weakest magic apprentice.

    Sage Joanne lamented: Rody''s mental power was indeed like a rich gem mine, but buried deep and isolated, unmineable. With his intelligence and mental power, he was truly a once-in-a-century genius magician, but his body doomed him to be unable to even conjure a basic fireball.

    In desperation, Priest Cedo consoled Lord Warren, suggesting Rody might be suited for light magic, as the holy water showed unusual affinity with his body during baptism. Rody had a chance to become a cleric magician.

    Cleric magicians couldn''t train independently; they needed the temple''s prayers and the approval of the God of Light, confirming absolute devotion, to practice light magic.

    King Helsinki, upon hearing this, accompanied Lord Warren to the main temple of the God of Light on the continent''s holy mountain to plead with the Pope to allow Rody to become a cleric magician. The Pope, after hearing Rody''s story, agreed to pray to the God of Light and promised to consider Rody at eight years old to see if the God of Light would bestow grace.

    If granted, he would personally teach Rody to become a future cleric magician.

    This was unprecedented in centuries; aside from the Holy Maiden, no male, including the Pope, had been preordained as a cleric magician at eight. Cleric magicians on the continent were usually saints who changed their profession after eighteen, and those who did so at fifteen were exceptional geniuses.

    Over the next three years, Rody desperately tried various magics, but each attempt ended in failure. He couldn''t even learn the family''s Flame Aura or Thundering Swordsmanship.

    Forced training, overexertion, and Lord Warren''s hasty attempts to infuse battle aura caused Rody''s body to be riddled with hidden injuries, leaving him weak, often coughing in the wind, and even coughing blood.

    Rody was a genius, but a flawed genius among geniuses.

    Soon, rumors circulated in the Kolo territory about Rody.

    The last hope of the entire Rhine family hinged on the grace of the God of Light and whether light magic suited Rody''s body. If positive, Rody would still be a genius, a genius of light magic, the noblest cleric magician. If negative, it would be the most terrible news, condemning Rody to a life bearing the name of a genius waste, enduring the reality of being inherently useless.

    Rody''s mother prayed daily to the God of Light, and even Lord Warren, a devotee of the War God, joined her in church every Sunday when home.

    The substantial donations he made to the temple each year probably exceeded ten thousand gold coins.

    Everything, just for Rody, a genius son rejected by the elemental gates.

    On Rody''s eighth birthday, the Pope himself came.

    But he didn''t bring good news; instead, he delivered the most desperate news to Rody. The God of Light deemed his body impure, his blood blasphemous to the divine, unworthy of becoming a cleric magician. The final door of hope, light magic, also shut him out.

    To compensate for Lord Warren''s devout donations, the Pope decided to take Rody''s two brothers, Gery and Lotte, as knights under his command.

    Lord Warren''s wife Mary hosted a grand banquet, inviting guests from all quarters to celebrate her other two sons, just like eight years ago. The guests were the same as before, but the objects of celebration had changed to Gery and Lotte. While people cheered, drank fine wines, and danced to music, Rody''s mother held him in the dark, crying in despair...

    Eight-year-old Rody didn''t cry. He clenched his fists tightly, his lips bitten bloody, but not a single tear fell.

    The wheel of fate not only rolls but sometimes crushes people beneath it.

 Chapter 2: The Last Confession

    Lord Warren aged ten years overnight upon learning that Rody could not become a cleric magician. The once passionate man became silent and taciturn. Since then, he never again looked at Rody. If they happened to meet, his gaze would skip over his once treasured son as if he didn''t see Rody. He was deeply hurt, not only by Rody but also by Rody''s mother. He no longer embraced or kissed his favorite woman upon returning home from Ogga Fortress, nor did he lift her onto the horse as before to return to the castle together. He rode past her coldly, leaving her heart shattered by the thunderous sound of his horse''s hooves.

    Rody, although only eight, behaved more maturely than an adult. He didn''t express anger or tears. Silently, he helped up his mother and returned to their cabin. Other children mocked him, calling him "genius" or "useless", and threw stones at him from a distance, but Rody didn''t react. He completely ignored his peers.

    If an adult dared to do so, they would likely suffer like the town''s blacksmith, Indell, who once provoked Rody and was struck in the groin by a stone, nearly losing his ability to father children. If not for Father Sido''s merciful healing, he would have been bedridden for months.

    Within three months, Rody was beaten more than ten times, sometimes by servants, sometimes by relatives or friends of the blacksmith seeking revenge. But it wasn''t Rody who ended up in Father Sido''s clinic, but those who hit him. Consequently, Rody''s mother was forced to sell all her jewelry, except a family heirloom necklace, to pay for their medical bills. To protect this necklace, Rody endured adult provocations, ignoring the actions of children manipulated by adults.

    From the day Lady Mary expelled him and his mother from the castle, sending them to live in the temporary dwelling of lumber workers, he became as tough as a little man. Overnight, he accepted all the misfortunes and pains, no longer lost or wandering, but bravely facing everything.

    He was no longer the family''s once-in-a-century magical genius, no longer the favorite son of his father, no longer the beloved Third Young Master of the Koro people. All of that had drifted far away from him and his mother.

    Their previous life of luxury turned into one of mere survival on small black bread loaves, far worse than even the lowest servants in the castle. This was Lady Mary''s revenge and humiliation. Already furious about her husband''s affair with her maid, Rody''s mother, she endured, feigning tolerance and calling Rody''s mother "sister". But when she realized Rody was no longer a genius but a "useless" child, and that her husband had grown cold towards Rody, Lady Mary showed her true face.

    She first accused someone of stealing her jewelry, then ordered a search, finally "finding" her precious jewelry in a corner of Rody''s mother''s wardrobe. Rody''s mother didn''t defend herself, only kneeling and begging for forgiveness.

    Lady Mary was angry but still "generously" forgave Rody''s mother. Later, she accused someone of poisoning her food, proving it by killing a chicken and two dogs. Suspicion fell on Rody''s mother, who had been in the kitchen that day.

    Still, Rody''s mother didn''t defend herself, simply asking to move out of the castle with Rody to live in a cabin below it. Lady Mary "kindly" agreed, reminding her servants to send food daily to Rody''s mother. Her "kindness" and "tolerance" were praised by the Koro people, while Rody, the "useless genius", and his mother, the "wicked woman", became despised figures.

    "Rody, your head is injured again. Who did this?" Rody''s mother found a fresh wound on his head, tears streaming down her face as she cried, "What can I do for you? I wouldn''t mind selling the necklace to pay your medical bills. I don''t want you to fight, but I don''t want you to suffer insults either!"

    "Mom, I''ll be fine. I need to endure for now, but when I''m older, I can protect myself and you!" Rody smiled, wiping away his mother''s tears.

    "My dear, even if you can''t learn magic, you''re still the best in my eyes. Maybe you could become a knowledgeable scholar or sage. Even if you can''t cast a single fireball, people will respect your knowledge. Why don''t we forget about magic and live as ordinary people? That''s what I really want," Rody''s mother said, tears rolling down her cheeks again. Rody''s body, forced to train hard to meet his father''s expectations, was riddled with hidden injuries, making him weaker than his peers.

    "Before I become a sage, maybe I should be a qualified hunter. Mom, what do you want to eat tomorrow? Rabbit or deer meat?" Although only eight, Rody learned to hunt for survival. He couldn''t draw a regular bow, but he set traps to catch small animals.

    "I just hope to see you return safely before dinner... my dear, be careful!" Rody''s mother said with a heart full of sorrow.

    Four years passed, and people began to forget the "useless genius" Third Young Master, overshadowed by his brothers'' accomplishments. When Gery became an official temple knight, the entire Koro territory celebrated. When he returned to his castle on a silver griffin given by the temple, people enthusiastically formed a personal guard to follow the righteous temple knight.

    Lot, achieving even greater things than Gery, became a hero among the young in the temple academy. He hadn''t become a temple knight yet, but he led his squad to defeat bloodthirsty orc squads three times and single-handedly killed the monster "Baruk", earning a medal from the highly respected pope.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    Rody, in these four years, aside from setting traps to catch rabbits and using a small bow to shoot birds for money, visited the Koro temple daily for free sacraments and holy water.

    People no longer called him a genius but disdainfully referred to him as "Bird Hunter". In four years, more than thirty men who provoked him ended up in the temple for treatment after Rody injured their testicles. Anyone daring to provoke Rody had to first wear an iron plate in their pants to avoid the agony of a shattered testicle.

    If Rody wasn''t a magic-learning genius, he was definitely a genius at "bird hunting". Despite precautions, no provocateur had yet escaped being hit.

    "Child, maybe this is the last book I''ll lend you," Father Sido said one day after giving Rody his usual sacrament, handing him a book but oddly adding that strange comment.

    "Why? Are you leaving the Koro temple, Father Sido?" Rody asked, guessing.

    "No," Father Sido shook his head, sighing softly. "I''m leaving, but not Koro, I''m leaving this world. I''m soon to be called by the Lord..."

    "But you''re not old, you''re only sixty-four this year, aren''t you?" Rody was surprised. Ordinary elders in Koro territory lived past eighty, let alone Father Sido, who possessed the strength of a magical master. Plus, the temple''s sacraments and holy water were beneficial to health. Even the most ordinary temple servants lived past a hundred. How could Father Sido be called by the Lord so soon?

    "Haha, who said a sixty-four-year-old priest can''t die?" Father Sido was optimistic, not taking death to heart.

    "I will pray for you," Rody offered. Others didn''t know, but Father Sido was aware that Rody never really prayed. Although he came daily for sacraments and holy water, he just went through the motions, never praying sincerely.

    "Many will pray for me, child, but that''s not what I need most," Father Sido shook his head, smiling.

    "What do you need then?" Rody was about to leave, but stopped at the door and turned back to ask.

    "Although you''re only twelve, you think like an adult," Father Sido paused, then said, "In my life, I''ve done countless good deeds, saved numerous people, but I''ve also done something terribly wrong. Rody, would you listen to my last confession?"

    "Father, you know I''m not really a believer, and..."

    "Please, for a dying man, let me confess the thing that has tormented my conscience the most," Father Sido led Rody to the cemetery behind the temple, sat in front of a nameless tombstone, and motioned Rody to sit beside him. As the sun set in the west, turning the sky red, Father Sido sighed deeply, "If I could do it over, I wouldn''t have done it, but it''s too late for regrets..."

    "The Light God will forgive you, Father Sido," Rody comforted.

    "I don''t need the god''s forgiveness or mercy. On the contrary, falling into hell and suffering might ease my heart a bit," Father Sido sadly shook his head, "Rody, I made a mistake. After doing it, I regretted it terribly, but only now, at the brink of death, do I have the courage to speak of it."

    "Father Sido, your confession will absolve you of your sins," Rody nodded.

    "Thank you," Father Cedric was silent for a while, then slowly said, "One day, I met a beautiful girl in the Zelan Mountain village. The love stored in my heart for decades burst forth like a spring, which was the beginning of my mistake. But for violating the church rules, sharing a bed with the woman I love, maybe I will fall into hell, but I do not regret it. However, when one day someone threatened to sell my woman and daughter, turning them into prostitutes available to everyone, I succumbed. This is the biggest regret of my life. I was forced to follow their orders, during the baptism of a child, I fed him ''Magic and Martial Forbidden,'' instead of holy water."

    "What is ''Magic and Martial Forbidden''?" Rody suddenly felt frightened and asked with a trembling voice.

    "Magic and Martial Forbidden is a forbidden medicine that, once drunk, no matter the talent, one will never be able to learn magic or battle qi again in their lifetime," Father Cedric looked at Rody with regret in his eyes, his voice even more sorrowful. "This potion was created by the gods in heaven to seal an evil archmage. It requires the blood sacrifice of six hundred humans, six hundred dwarves, six hundred elves, and uses the blood of black dragons, demons, and fallen elves as a catalyst. Even the most powerful archmage, once they drink Magic and Martial Forbidden, will become an ordinary person..."

    "Father Cedric, do you want that child to forgive you? Do you want the child to accept your confession?" Rody, with tears streaming down his face, asked. This was the first time in his life he had cried.

    He tried hard to control his anger, tightly gripping a small dagger in his hand, his tearful eyes filled with volcanic rage, staring dead at Father Cedric.

    Numerous times, he thought of plunging the dagger into Father Cedric''s heart, but reason held him back.

    "I don''t have such extravagant hopes," Father Cedric shook his head and said, "I just want to tell that child that his life is full of conspiracies and dangers. Perhaps soon, he will be sent to the stake in the name of blaspheming the gods by his two brothers who commit fratricide in the name of righteousness, in exchange for greater fame. When that old man who made mistakes dies, no one will secretly protect his safety anymore, and he and his kind mother will face terrible disasters..."

    "What should that child do?" Rody grabbed Father Cedric''s clothes tightly and shouted, "Are you just going to ignore everything?"

    "I have reached the end of my life. The only thing I can do is to confess and bless," Father Cedric smiled faintly, "That child is smart. He will surely know what to do, right?"

    "You bastard!" Rody raised his fist, wanting to strike Father Cedric hard, but in the end, he let it go and slowly wiped the tears from his face, trying hard to regain his composure. His life didn''t need tears, but more strength, much more strength. Father Cedric also reached out his hand to gently wipe away his tears. Rody initially struggled and pushed his hand away, but seeing the kind smile on Father Cedric''s face, tears couldn''t help but flow down his cheeks again.

    "Good boy, I will always bless you!" Father Cedric embraced Rody, patting his head gently, and infused a ray of holy light, smiling, "I can''t do anything, but I will always watch over you from the sky, using the stars as my eyes. Child, you must walk your path well..."

    "I won''t let you die!" Rody cried out in agony, like the mourning of a wounded young animal.

    "Farewell... Child, my confession is over, thank you..." Father Cedric slowly closed his eyes, a light rose from the top of his head, shooting straight into the sky, and in an instant, disappeared without a trace.

 Chapter 3: Life Crisis

    A few days after Father Cedric''s death, Rody began to notice that everything around him was gradually changing.

    In the temple, he could no longer receive communion and holy water. The maid, Emma, who used to bring him black bread, now had a cold light in her eyes, making Rody feel terrified, as if an invisible scythe of death was hanging over his neck. When Rody fed the black bread, which he meticulously crushed with water, to a small rabbit he had caught, he found that the rabbit became extremely weak and on the brink of death in less than three days.

    The male servant, Marcus, Emma''s husband, often pretended to chop wood and followed Rody into the forest with an axe.

    Rody could sense the sinister intent to kill.

    Now, he must escape from Coro immediately, or his and his mother''s lives would be in danger. He guessed that the reason they had not acted directly yet was they were waiting for Lotte''s promotion to the Temple Knight in a ceremony. On that day, he believed he would be sent to the stake as a demonstration of loyalty to the God of Light and hatred for evil blasphemy.

    Calculating the date of the ceremony, there was still over a month''s time.

    The slow-acting poison in the black bread should allow him to live until that day. Perhaps this slow-acting poison, which corroded the organs, might be the strongest evidence of his alleged evil blasphemy.

    For several days, Rody pretended to be unwell, staying shut in his cabin.

    Unexpectedly, Emma brought him baked long bread instead of black bread, perhaps worried that the poison in the bread would end his life prematurely.

    Regardless of the type of bread, Rody dared not eat it, nor did he allow his mother to consume it. He didn''t dare tell his mother the truth, fearing it would worry her even more. When she was not looking, Rody quietly prepared food and luggage, planning to escape from Coro some night without anyone noticing. As for his mother, too kind and not good at deception, he could only tell her at the last moment.

    Only then could he ensure her safe escape.

    "Son, what are you doing?" One day, Rody''s mother was startled to see her beloved son setting up animal traps and nets at the door.

    "Mom, be careful, but there will be no danger if you don''t pull this down. If I don''t come back when it''s dark, remember to untie this rope and let the trap protect you, okay?" Rody repeatedly admonished, "Mom, you must be careful. I have no other way to protect you. You must pay attention to your safety!"

    "Baby, mom will be careful. You also be safe when you go hunting and come back early, so mom doesn''t worry," Rody''s mother also admonished him a thousand times.

    "I have a dagger and a small bow and arrow, it''s okay. If I see a large wild animal, I''ll climb up a tree," Rody paused, then said, "I wanted to make you a hand crossbow, but I failed. It can''t be made well without good wood. Mom, I''ve thought about many things, but all failed. If I could use magic, you wouldn''t have to eat wild vegetable soup and wheat buns every day. Mom, I..."

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

    "Rody, my dear, you are always the best in mom''s heart. Baby, your health is the most important thing. Don''t think too much. As long as I see you come back safely every night, mom is satisfied!" Rody''s mother hugged her son, kissing his forehead, her only consolation for him.

    "Mom, please don''t worry about me." Rody comforted her in return, secretly wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

    Rody dug a small hole in front of the door, destroying and burying all the failed items he had made. His mother, unaware of why her son was so intent on creating these self-defense tools, had a feeling that her beloved son was hiding something from her.

    But he didn''t say, keeping it quietly in his heart.

    For her sensible treasure, the mother felt both comfort and pain.

    If she wasn''t a maid, if he wasn''t an illegitimate child, if... other than silently watching him and feeling heartache for him, she had no other way to help him. She knew her beloved son worked very hard, harder than anyone in the world, but his cruel fate was also more than anyone else''s.

    After the Harvest Festival, the servant Marcus saw that Rody could go out hunting again and followed him from a distance with his axe.

    And his wife, Emma, brought black bread again.

    "Young Master, what game did you catch? Do you need help?" After following for a while, Marcus gradually approached and suddenly said in a loud voice, "If you give me a rabbit to

    accompany my drink, I''m willing to help you carry the game back!"

    "I''ll give you a whole deer, no need for help," Rody would never let him come close, leaving the trapped deer and running away.

    "No, I must help!" Marcus sneered, following closely.

    Relying on his familiarity with the forest, Rody quickly maneuvered through it, changing his usual route and heading towards areas he rarely visited. Sure enough, Marcus misjudged the direction several times, allowing Rody to evade his pursuit in a thorny slope. When he saw Marcus with an axe, following his usual path, Rody couldn''t help but break out in a cold sweat.

    Marcus kept calling out for Young Master, but when he didn''t get a response and couldn''t find him, he grumbled and went back.

    Worried about Marcus ambushing somewhere, Rody dared not return home immediately.

    He lay hidden in the thorns, not daring to move until it was nearly dark. Before he could move, Rody suddenly heard barking, sending chills down his spine. If he didn''t find a place to hide, his life would be in danger that night. In desperation, Rody remembered a thorn-covered stone cave entrance halfway up the mountain, with a deep, slanting entrance that, if used for temporary refuge, should evade the hunting dogs'' noses.

    He usually avoided the cave, fearing it was a snake''s den, but now, with his life hanging by a thread, he couldn''t afford to hesitate.

    Near the entrance, Rody took off his clothes, wrapped them around a large rock, and let it roll down the slope. He threw a piece of cooked meat in the opposite direction of the cave entrance, then used a small dagger to part the thorny bushes and cautiously entered, covering the entrance with thorns, and hanging the dagger inside the entrance.

    Rody braced himself against the cave wall, silently engaging in a battle of endurance with Marcus.

    "Ah ha, so Young Master, you are hiding here. Are you playing hide and seek with me? My young lord, it''s getting dark, let''s go back!" After a while, Marcus seemed to have discovered Rody''s hiding place, arriving with his barking hunting dogs.

    Rody remained silent, holding his breath.

    "The beast, damn it, don''t run so fast. If you make me fall down the valley, I''ll slaughter you when I get back! What''s this? Cooked meat? Has he already gone down the mountain from here? This cunning guy! Damn, really unbelievable! How can this waste be so smart... But you can hide today, you can''t escape tomorrow! Beast, if you drag me into the thorns again, I''ll slaughter you right away!" Marcus cursed, dragging the hunting dog away.

    "Marcus, didn''t find him?" This was the voice of the blacksmith, Hendel, who obviously hadn''t forgotten the incident when Rody broke his eggs with a stone.

    "Let''s go back and drink for now. There will be plenty of opportunities later, we still have more than a month until the deadline..." Marcus''s reply made Rody''s heart tighten again, confirming that his previous estimations were not wrong.

    Despite his arms being sore and stiff, and his body numb, Rody persisted in hiding in the cave for over half an hour before daring to relax. After repeatedly ensuring that Marcus and Hendel had gone back, Rody carefully climbed out, thinking about what excuse to give his mother for his late return. However, as soon as he relaxed, he began to slide down. The moss peeled off in large chunks, and Rody had no foothold. In his struggle, the wooden handle of the small dagger, bearing most of his weight, suddenly broke. Rody screamed as he fell into the seemingly bottomless pit.

    The cave wall was bent and long. Rody slid down, not knowing how many turns he took or how long he slid, but still not reaching the bottom.

    Finally, with a ''boom'', he felt that the bottom of the cave was a pool of water. The first sensation Rody had when he crashed into the water was countless streams forcing their way into his nose and mouth, continuously drinking water.

    Fortunately, he wasn''t shattered into pieces and was still alive...

    Rody instinctively struggled, using all his strength to finally float up, searching for a way to climb onto the rocks. He felt exhausted and sore all over, coughing violently for a while, then lay on the ground, sinking into a deep sleep.

 Chapter 4: The Necromancer

    When Rody woke up again, he found himself cold, hungry, and soaking wet. He was surrounded by darkness, unable to see his own hands.

    Overcome by fear of the darkness and the unknown, Rody tried to calm himself. He got up and groped around until he inadvertently touched the cave wall, which brought him a bit of comfort. After feeling his way along the rocky wall for a while, stepping into puddles a few times, he realized he was in a sealed stone chamber. The lower areas of the floor had collected rainwater over the years, and this was probably why he had survived the fall.

    Was this chamber naturally formed? inhabited by a giant snake? or man-made?

    Rody cautiously threw small stones around, gripping the broken dagger for protection. He eventually concluded that the chamber, for whatever reason it was formed, had been abandoned for a long time, as there were no snakes or even mice.

    This realization brought him some relief.

    Rody tried several times to find the exit he had fallen through. Despite his best efforts, he couldn''t reach the opening, even when jumping. It seemed that escaping wouldn''t be easy. Rody searched the cave repeatedly, hoping to find a hidden exit, but to no avail.

    Exhausted, he sat down against a stone wall to rest and recover his depleted energy.

    He only then noticed that his right shoulder hurt from the fall. He moved his arm slowly and realized it was just a sore joint. While relaxing, his hand accidentally touched something that made him jump ¨C a skull. The skull fell to the ground, eerily igniting a faint phosphorescent glow.

    Terrified, Rody froze. When he realized the skull wasn''t moving, he swallowed hard. Despite the eerie phosphorescence, the light was better than darkness. He found some comfort in the skull''s light, preferring it to encountering a giant snake.

    What caught Rody''s attention wasn''t just the skull, but something peculiar beside it.

    Carefully using his dagger, Rody discovered it was a dust-covered magic book. The phosphorescent light was faint, and he couldn''t see clearly, but finding a book made him less scared of the skull. As a fellow book lover, he felt a slight affinity even towards a skeleton that once shared his passion.

    The phosphorescence soon faded, but Rody remembered he had flint on him.

    Although this primitive fire-starting tool wasn''t as convenient as a magic fire stone or torch, it was a welcome surprise. He tried repeatedly to ignite his semi-dry undershirt, eventually succeeding. The intermittent fire and smoke were a struggle, but he managed to light both his shirt and pants. During the brief warmth and light, he hurriedly opened the magic book left by the skeleton to find out more.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    "My time is running out, but fortunately, my magic is nearly complete. As long as my theory is correct, freedom will be mine..."

    From the tattered magic book, Rody learned a lot.

    Firstly, this was a man-made prison for a necromancer. The necromancer, known as ''Nicholas'', had been pursued across the continent for practicing evil necromancy. Over a hundred years ago, he had hidden in a wagon of the Leyen family and fled to Coro.

    Rody''s great-great-grandfather had captured him and was about to execute him when Nicholas deceived him with tales of hidden treasure. Greedily, Rody''s ancestor built this chamber to imprison Nicholas secretly while he searched for the treasure.

    Rody knew the outcome ¨C his deceived ancestor had entered a dragon''s lair, found no gold, and met his end inside the dragon.

    Trapped, Nicholas planned to escape as soon as Rody''s ancestor left. But with his physical strength, it was impossible to leave through the slanted tunnel. Only a warrior of four stars or above with battle qi could escape, and a frail mage like Nicholas had no chance.

    This realization also brought despair to Rody.

    His body was even weaker than a mage''s, presenting the same dilemma Nicholas had faced.

    The mad necromancer thought of an absurdly bold plan: to transform himself into an undead being. This would eliminate the need for food and water, as undead do not eat or drink and never tire. Nicholas''s plan was insane. If successful, he would become both master and slave to himself; he would be both the summoner and the summoned in his necromancy...

    Sweating profusely from reading the book, Rody couldn''t help but wonder if there was anyone crazier in the world than a bloodthirsty orc who would stuff his intestines back into a gaping stomach wound while still persisting in battle. He had thought not, but now he knew of someone even crazier: a necromancer who turned himself into his own summoned undead servant.

    Clearly, Nicholas'' magic had failed, despite his confidence. He had died and become a skeleton.

    "Necromancy is not as evil as people imagine. In fact, I prefer to call it spirit magic," Nicholas had written in the book. "I believe that necromancy relies on a magical element that people have yet to discover, which I might call the spirit element. Of course, if others heard me say this, they''d think I''m mad¡­"

    As Rody continued to read, he realized this book was more of a magic journal. The mad necromancer, Nicholas, was not originally a necromancer but rather a wasted genius like himself. Nicholas couldn''t learn the four elemental magics and, being smart and wealthy, aspired to be an alchemist. By chance, he obtained a necromancy book and discovered to his surprise that he was well-suited for necromancy.

    In other words, his body lacked affinity for the wind, fire, water, and earth elements, but it resonated with the dark element, thriving in this field.

    However, the Temple considered necromancy evil. Practitioners were viewed as blasphemous demons and, if discovered, were condemned to be burned alive. Despite being cautious, Nicholas was eventually discovered, and after a life of hiding, he met his fate in this stone chamber.

    "I was wrong... When I could cast four-star necromancy spells, I thought I was invincible. But I didn''t anticipate a regular Temple Knight could defeat me. His blessed shield and sword are the bane of necromancy. Damn, I shouldn''t have provoked him. Although he would have made a great death knight, I didn''t have the power to enslave him... Especially during the day when my powers were at their weakest. Surely, no necromancer would make such a foolish mistake as I did. What a fool I am!"

    Rody realized from Nicholas'' notes that his downfall was revealing his true identity too soon.

    On the left middle finger of the skeleton, Rody found a small ring ¨C Nicholas'' storage ring, once implanted in his flesh to escape detection. His flesh had long since decayed, making the ring easy to find. Rody couldn''t use or understand what might be inside the ring, but he doubted it contained food or tools for escape, or Nicholas wouldn''t have tried to turn himself into his own summoned undead.

    "Am I also going to die trapped here?" Rody wondered, panic setting in as his burning clothes were about to be extinguished. If this chamber was as inescapable as Nicholas had described, the chances of starving to death here seemed very likely...

 Chapter 5: Are You My Slave?

    Rody considered learning necromancy to summon Nicholas'' skeleton as his ''Dark Servant'' to escape. However, if discovered practicing necromancy, not only would he be burned alive, but his mother too. Necromancers are considered heretics by the Temple, akin to demons and absolutely intolerable. Opting to study necromancy now would be akin to a slow suicide.

    The crucial question was, could he even learn necromancy? His body was cursed with ''Magic and Martial Forbidden,'' the most malignant and terrifying curse that completely severed his connection to elements and martial energies. Could he truly learn necromancy? Yet, dying of starvation in this wretched stone chamber seemed a worse fate. He resolved to try necromancy, vowing never to use it again once he escaped. His immediate need was to escape and survive.

    Rody''s heart wrestled with this critical decision, understanding its profound impact on his life. Would he be burned at the stake later, or starve to death in this chamber? Become a necromancer, hunted by all on the continent, or continue as an unnoticed, starving genius trapped in the chamber? Either way, it meant death, so surviving even a day more mattered.

    Trembling, Rody picked up the necromancy tome, inhaling deeply to calm himself. Following the unique meditation method described in the book, he began attempting to commune with the dark element, the source of evil in the eyes of the world. He strove for calm, but his heart was tumultuous. Since childhood, Rody had been unable to sense any elemental fluctuations, previously believing this skill required secret teachings. But it was not so; sensing elemental fluctuations depended solely on personal ability.

    Could he, cursed with ''Magic and Martial Forbidden,'' sense the dark element?

    In the cabin, Rody''s mother wept secretly. It was late at night, but her beloved son had not returned, far beyond his usual time. She longed to search for him, but she remembered his warning not to leave the cabin easily, especially at night. The traps, animal clamps, and nets he set up at the door and windows were there to ensure her safety.

    If she went out to search for him in the forest now, she might only bring more pain and trouble to him. Besides tearful prayers, Rody''s mother chose to trust her son. "My son is uniquely intelligent in this world; he will be alright! Merciful God of Light, please protect my son Rody. For the sake of his devout mother, ensure his safe return!"

    "Cursed Father Cedric, you wretched man! You ruined my life!" Rody meditated for an unknown duration, only to end in disappointment. He could not sense the dark element, like always, achieving nothing in his meditation.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    Rage boiled in Rody''s heart. He threw the magic book on the ground, trampling it furiously, venting his despair. In this isolated underground chamber, he couldn''t contain his long-suppressed emotions anymore. He might appear strong before others, but that didn''t mean his heart was free from pain. On the contrary, the pain gnawed at his heart like worms.

    Becoming a necromancer, constantly at risk of being burned at the stake, was not Rody''s wish. But he also didn''t want to starve to death in this chamber.

    "I hate you! Father Cedric, why did you do this? Why tell me the truth after doing such a thing?" Rody yelled angrily, kicking Nicholas'' skeleton. "Nicholas, cursed necromancer, why did you give me hope? Without your mad ideas, I wouldn''t have rekindled hope, nor would I have felt such disappointment!"

    Overwhelmed by rage and frustration, Rody, whose body was internally damaged from forcibly infused battle energy, could no longer hold on and started coughing painfully. Finally, he coughed up fresh blood.

    Feeling a burning sensation in his chest, dizzy and light-headed, Rody collapsed to the ground.

    When he woke up again, he found himself exceptionally weak, with a splitting headache and aching in every bone, as if moving a single finger was a struggle. Fortunately, he noticed faint light at the top of one side of the chamber, suggesting it was daylight outside, and the light seeping in helped him locate the exit.

    The exit was not large and was about four to five meters high, with a semi-domed stone ceiling that filled Rody with despair. No wonder only warriors with four-star battle energy could escape from such a designed exit. Even a strong man without tools wouldn''t stand a chance.

    Even if he used Nicholas'' skeleton to prop himself up, he was still far from reaching it.

    Turning around, Rody was terrified to see Nicholas'' skeleton standing up, its hollow eye sockets staring at him. His first thought was that the necromancer had not died. He rolled on the ground, quickly drawing his broken-handled dagger for defense. Watching Nicholas'' skeleton move clumsily and slowly towards him, Rody''s hands trembled uncontrollably.

    "Damn it, Nicholas, stay away from me! Think you can kill me? Not so easy!" Rody suddenly found boundless fighting spirit. Even in the face of life''s heaviest and most terrifying blows, he would not give up.

    Though physically weak, Rody''s will was stronger than anyone''s. Even when facing death, he would muster enough courage to ignite a fiery fighting spirit.

    Just as Rody was preparing to fight for his life against Nicholas'' skeleton, he was surprised to see it bow its head and step back, retreating to the end of the stone wall.

    "Huh?" This was unexpected.

    How did Nicholas'' skeleton come to life? It seemed to harbor no hostility towards him, even obeying him... Could it be that Rody had unwittingly cast the ''Dark Servant'' necromancy spell on it? Rody was both shocked and elated, but he couldn''t remember ever reciting the incantation for the Dark Servant, nor could he sense the dark element.

    What exactly was happening?

    "Nicholas, are you my slave? My Dark Servant? Come, kneel before me!" Rody tried issuing a command, and to his near-fainting joy, Nicholas'' skeleton slowly knelt down.

    Above its forehead was a blood-colored ''S'' ¨C the unique mark of a Dark Servant.

    As Rody calmed down, he realized he could see in the dark, not with his own eyes. Even with his eyes closed, he could see everything in the chamber and the faint light from the passage above. Clearly, this vision was granted by Nicholas, his Dark Servant, not his own eyes. Surprised and perplexed, Rody wondered: when did Nicholas become his Dark Servant?

 Chapter 6: The Door of Hope

    After repeatedly confirming that Nicholas had unintentionally become his Dark Servant, Rody turned to the magic notes to find an explanation. He speculated that the whole incredible event might just be a fortunate coincidence. Nicholas had cast the Dark Servant spell on himself, but unfortunately, he failed. Although Nicholas¡¯ body accepted the spell, it lost its autonomous consciousness and became a ''masterless'' Dark Servant. Nicholas'' skeleton had no consciousness and remained motionless in the chamber, but when Rody¡¯s blood unintentionally spilled on the skeleton, the master-servant contract was activated after over a century, recognizing Rody as its master and accepting his mental control. Although Rody wasn''t entirely sure about this theory, he believed it to be mostly accurate.

    "Well then, I''ve become a necromancer who can''t practice necromancy in this world! I hope there is another masterless Dark Servant out there for me to command; otherwise, I can only summon you as my Dark Servant." Rody found that Nicholas'' skeleton was very clumsy and only acted upon his specific commands, otherwise passively following him.

    After giving Nicholas the nickname ''Skeleton No.1,'' Rody started devising a plan to escape the chamber. However, his concerns didn''t end there. Once outside, having ''Skeleton No.1'' follow him would certainly lead him straight to the stake if seen. Perhaps leaving it in the chamber was the best option, but Rody felt pity for it ¨C condemned to be an unwanted Dark Servant, sharing a fate as tragic as his own.

    Despite numerous attempts, Rody couldn¡¯t reach the exit standing on Skeleton No.1. Even with a Dark Servant, escaping was not easy. "Nicholas, don''t you have any other ideas?" Rody perused the magic notes again, hoping to find another way out.

    If Nicholas, a four-star necromancer, had a good solution, he wouldn''t have turned himself into a Dark Servant. The notes contained several necromancy spells, but Rody quickly dismissed them. None of them were of any use to him, as Nicholas, a four-star necromancer, was powerless in his situation.

    Just when Rody was about to lose hope, he suddenly remembered the ring on his slave''s skeleton. The magic ring could only be opened by its true master. Strangely, when Rody picked up the ring, everything about it, including its functions, instantly came to his mind.

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    The ring had a storage function but was small and packed full. It contained several bottles of various magical potions, materials for magic potions, strong catalysts, a necromancer''s bone staff, three magic crystals, a small bag of gold coins, several dozen silver coins, and a large number of copper coins. There were also several alchemy books and various sets of clothes, including an alchemist''s robe, indicating that Nicholas had always disguised himself as an alchemist.

    The last item was a small crystal skull storing strange magical power. For the first time in his life, Rody felt he could sense some kind of magic. The feeling was very peculiar and comforting, like seeing a loved one, naturally familiar and intimate. The magical power connected with Rody''s spirit, resonating with him. Suddenly, Rody felt as if an invisible door was silently opening before him.

    There truly was a ''spirit element'' in the world! This element, yet to be discovered or publicly researched, unlike the six known elements (wind, fire, water, earth, light, and darkness), didn''t resist Rody but welcomed him.

    Holding the crystal skull, Rody suddenly understood a lot. The world had more than the six known elements; there were spirit and life elements, and perhaps even a ninth and tenth element. But for now, Rody could sense two elements in his body: spirit and life. The life element, though weak, was active like an undying flame within him, providing energy to every part of his body. The spirit element was inert, only slightly rippling when his thoughts touched the magic of the crystal sphere.

    Rody discovered his spirit element was immense, like a rich gemstone mine. Years of continuous meditation and enduring willpower seemed to be methods of growing his spirit element. For the first time, Rody realized he was indeed a genius, not a waste.

    If he could harness his vast spirit element, he could look down upon all beings. Unfortunately, through the crystal skull, Rody found he could only use a tiny fraction of his spirit element, comparable to a thin line, while the actual reserve was like a small mountain.

    What if he could use his spirit element? Having consumed ''Magic and Martial Forbidden,'' meditating on the six elements (wind, fire, water, earth, light, darkness) was impossible, but spirit magic was unheard of in this world. Should he create his own or seek teaching from a powerful being? Regardless, Rody felt that he must first survive and escape the chamber.

    first survive and escape the chamber; if he died there, his talent would be wasted.

    Using the magic emanating from the crystal skull, Rody could sense up to several meters away with his spirit. He discovered the exit tunnel was long, winding, and slippery with moss, making it nearly impossible to climb.

    Rody was almost in despair but was startled by his own sensing ability. His spirit sense penetrated the stone wall, extending further out. Beyond one of the stone walls, only a few meters of soil separated him from the freedom of the open sky. Rody was ecstatic, believing that landslides or mudslides over the past century had created this opportunity. Although the path upwards was impossible, perhaps he could dig a hole through an unlikely spot and escape.

    The door of hope was just before him.

    "Nicholas, now is the time for your loyalty!" Rody quickly commanded his tireless and uncomplaining Dark Servant, handing it the broken-handled dagger and excitedly shouting at the stone wall, "Dig! Start digging for me!"

 Chapter 7: Kill

    Although Rody had potions for repair, fortification, and adding fire attribute damage, a broken-handled dagger was clearly inadequate against the hard stone walls. Fortunately, Nicholas, his tireless and uncomplaining Dark Servant, kept working without giving up.

    Rody exhausted all his potions and used the alchemical magic ring to create a small but potent explosive potion. Only then was he able to break through the stone wall, turning a small crevice into a passable hole, wearing the dagger almost to nothing. The hardworking skeleton of Nicholas dug out handfuls of dirt with its bony hands, its hand bones wearing away severely from the relentless work. Meanwhile, Rody, mentally controlling the skeleton, would fall into deep sleep from exhaustion every now and then.

    When Rody finally emerged from the small hole, covered in mud and seeing the stars in the sky, he couldn''t help but shed tears of joy. It felt like being reborn.

    Although Skeleton No.1 was left with only one arm, Rody didn¡¯t abandon it. He discarded many alchemical reagents and catalysts and burned two sets of alchemist robes to make room for his hardworking Dark Servant in the magic ring.

    "Mom, Mom, open the door!" Rody returned home covered in mud to find the animal trap at the door destroyed and a smell of blood, which alarmed him greatly.

    "My baby, Rody, where have you been these days? You scared me to death!" His mother''s voice, filled with surprised sobs, came from inside. Before Rody could react, the wooden door opened and his mother rushed out, hugging him tightly, her tears falling on his face. Rody wanted to cry out loud but didn''t, instead patting his mother''s cheek and trying to smile lightly, saying, "I accidentally fell into a mud pit and just climbed out."

    "My heart, if anything had happened to you, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to live..." Rody''s mother kissed him frantically, not minding his mud-covered face.

    It took two days for Rody''s mother to truly believe her son had returned alive. She often woke up at night to touch Rody, reassuring herself that he was well before she could go back to sleep. She didn¡¯t let Rody step outside the door for those two days, both for his safety and because she sensed something amiss around them.

    Someone had been spying at the door but was injured by the animal trap and ran away. Although she didn¡¯t know who it was, she was sure they weren¡¯t well-intentioned. She guessed it might be related to her son''s accidental fall into the trap but didn¡¯t dare tell Rody, fearing he would worry.

    Rody, who had narrowly escaped death, was so exhausted that he slept for an entire day. He had a bizarre dream where he became a powerful necromancer commanding thousands of skeletons, surrounding those who had bullied him, including the pope, Lady Mary, his two brothers, blacksmith Hendel, and the couple Markul and Emma. They were all trembling and begging for mercy while he laughed triumphantly...

    In the dream, Rody also saw his father and wanted to kill him, but then saw his tearful mother pleading for mercy.

    Stolen story; please report.

    Rody woke up startled to find his mother sitting beside the bed, holding his hand and crying.

    "Mom, don''t cry, I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re never bullied again! Mom, please don''t cry!" Despite knowing the world''s disdain for necromancers, Rody resolved to practice necromancy to become stronger. Of all the magics, necromancy was most connected to the spirit element, which he felt would be easiest for him to learn. Although he couldn¡¯t meditate or sense the dark element, Rody had devised a way in the chamber: to use Nicholas'' body for meditation, gradually strengthening it to protect himself and cast spells on his behalf.

    "Rody, I know you''re a good boy, but you''re still a child. Don¡¯t push yourself too hard," Rody''s mother said, unaware of her son''s thoughts. Hearing him talk about protecting her, her heart warmed. She wiped away her tears and cheerfully got up to prepare dinner for her beloved son.

    Every day, Rody would retreat into the depths of the forest, taking out the crystal skull and summoning Nicholas, his ever-loyal Dark Servant. He used Nicholas'' body to sense the dark element, no matter how faint the progress was. After five days, Nicholas'' body was filled with the dark element, significantly repairing his broken bones and worn arm, nearing full recovery.

    If Rody had more time, he would have waited for Nicholas to regrow his arm and even learn to use his body to cast simple magic before moving away with his mother, as it would guarantee their safety on the road.

    However, he didn¡¯t have much time left. Marcus was watching him closely, and the date for Lot''s promotion to Temple Knight was approaching. With less than a month left, if Rody didn¡¯t leave soon, his estranged brother would likely send him to the stake as a sacrifice to the God of Light.

    Before leaving, Rody knew he had to kill someone ¨C Marcus. As long as Marcus, who was tasked with watching him, was alive, Rody and his mother couldn''t escape from Koro.

    Marcus, too, seemed to be losing patience. He sharpened his axe and spent his days dismantling Rody''s traps in the forest. Rody, pretending to shop at a grocery store, learned that Marcus had bought new ropes and ordered two new wooden frames from the carpenter, seemingly preparing to make his move. A feeling of being hunted arose in Rody''s heart, but it also ignited his anger and desire to kill.

    Thinking of burning him and his mother alive on a wooden frame? In his dreams... The one to die would be Marcus!

    Rody bought two daggers at the grocery store, along with various necessities. The female store owner, pleased with the business, subtly warned Rody to be careful and not wander around the town too much, to avoid running into the blacksmith seeking revenge.

    Although Rody smiled on the surface, he felt a chill in his heart.

    "My young master, are you finally well? Is there anything I can do for you?" Marcus, seeing Rody leave the house, followed him from a distance.

    "Marcus, I caught a large wild boar. If you help me take it to the butcher, I can give you two rabbit skins! Or a live-caught little hawk." Rody hesitated, then added, "Put down your axe. You don¡¯t need it to carry things!"

    "Why not? I¡¯ll follow your orders, young master. But don¡¯t forget the two rabbit skins. Oh, and I want five pounds of wild boar meat!" Marcus really put down his axe and followed Rody bare-handed into the depths of the forest. His behavior made Rody slightly relax his vigilance.

    Marcus casually followed, even unbuttoning his shirt to reveal his hairy chest. He was indeed unarmed, reassuring Rody further.

    The wild boar had fallen into a trap and was tied up by Rody. It struggled for a long time before Rody stabbed it in the anus with a short spear. Marcus pulled the boar''s body while Rody watched from a distance.

    "My young master, are you just going to watch Marcus work alone? Come and help, I¡¯m exhausted!" Marcus, red-faced with anger, said.

    "Marcus, I''m still a child, I don¡¯t have the strength," Rody flatly refused.

    "Then come and untie the rope. I only have two hands, damn it, this boar is so heavy, heavier than my wife!" Marcus cursed as he slowly dragged the boar¡¯s body. Rody saw the rope was indeed troublesome and carefully went to loosen it. When the rope loosened, Marcus fell to the ground, pushing the boar away and cursing as he got up.

    Rody had just untied the rope and hadn¡¯t put it away when Marcus suddenly charged from behind, pinning him to the ground.

    His iron-like huge hand tightly grasped Rody''s neck as he sneered, "Young master, I don''t care for rabbit skins, because capturing you brings a bounty of ten gold coins. Do you know how many rabbit skins and wild boar meat ten gold coins can buy? Enough to make a small mountain, my dear young master! Do you know how long I¡¯ve waited for this day? Do you think I need an axe to deal with you? I only need one finger to handle you, understand? You''re just a useless waste!"

 Chapter 8: Double Kill

    With a dull thud, a muffled impact sound echoed from Marcus''s groin area.

    "Ahahaha..." Marcus''s face remained unchanged, but he erupted into crazy laughter, then glared at Rody, whose face was turning red and almost suffocating, and roared, "Rody, the bird-shooter of Koro, the genius of bird-shooting, do you think I''m deaf? Do you think I''ve never heard about your penchant for kicking in the groin? You idiot, did you think I''d be like blacksmith Hendel and let you shatter my testicles? I had a metal groin protector made. Did you think to see me curled up on the ground in agony? Dream on! You''re just an idiot, a fool who doesn''t even understand how he''s going to die! Ahahaha!"

    Rody struggled desperately, but Marcus''s hand, like a vise, was clamped tightly around his throat.

    Marcus''s face was contorted with excitement, his eyes filled with a twisted desire to end a life, his nostrils flared, breathing heavily like a bull. He did not hurry to strangle Rody but instead tortured him, loosening his grip when Rody was about to suffocate, then tightening it again. This control over another''s life exhilarated him to the point of howling with joy and immense satisfaction.

    Soon, Rody''s eyes rolled back, his limbs stiffened, and he passed out.

    "Ahahaha, my little lamb, you can''t die so soon. If you die, where will I get my ten gold coins? If you die, what about the two wooden frames I had made just for you? They were meant for your stake..." Marcus let go of Rody, slapped him a couple of times, checked his faint breathing, and seeing that Rody was not yet dead but also not conscious, began to look for a rope to tie him up.

    Suddenly, a dagger plunged into Marcus''s back, causing him to shrink down. Turning his head, he saw a sinister skeleton standing behind him, wielding a bloody dagger. Marcus couldn''t understand what was happening, then felt another stab in his ribs. Turning back, he saw Rody, his face filled with murderous intent, holding another bloody dagger.

    Just moments ago, Rody had no dagger; where had these daggers come from?

    Marcus couldn''t fathom why a skeleton would attack him, but the stabbing pain in his back and ribs left him speechless, slowly collapsing to the ground in agony. He felt his strength draining rapidly, the pain from the rib wound was unbearable.

    He wanted to scream, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out.

    In his last moments, he saw the cold eyes of Rody, the eyes of a hunter watching his prey struggle in death.

    After Marcus was completely dead, Rody finally vomited, emptying his stomach. It took him a while to stand up straight. He was not a heartless killer or a necromancer intent on turning all life into his minions. He was just a young man struggling to survive under the crushing wheel of fate.

    Rody had Nicholas, his Dark Servant, drag Marcus''s body into the forest to wait for nightfall.

    Marcus was dead, but there was another person who needed to die ¨C his wife, Emma. If she lived, she would surely seek him out and even run to the castle to inform the guards if Marcus did not return home for a day. Without eliminating Emma, Rody wouldn¡¯t get far before being captured, leading to certain death.

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    Emma deserved to die, not only for humiliating his mother but also for attempting to poison him with toxic bread. Although Rody harbored murderous intent, the thought of killing Emma, a woman, made his hand tremble. Was this the beginning of his downfall? It seemed he would end up killing more people, ultimately leading to his and his mother''s death at the stake.

    But now that Marcus was dead, leaving Emma alive would be foolishly merciful.

    Roddy gritted his teeth, forcing himself to calm down. Holding the crystal skull, he began to meditate using Nicholas''s body. When he felt ready, he attempted to cast necromancy magic: "Dark Servant" through Nicholas''s body. Black light orbs coalesced in Nicholas''s bony hands, transforming into a black skull, and shot towards Marcus''s body. As it quickly disappeared into him, Marcus''s corpse slowly stood upright. On his forehead, too, was a blood-red ''S'' symbol, signifying the successful necromancy contract. Marcus had become Roddy''s Dark Servant.

    Roddy was both shocked and elated; this was his first active attempt at casting necromancy magic and it was successful. Despite feeling extremely drained of mental energy, the joy of success brought an extraordinary sense of fulfillment.

    The once fiercely aggressive Marcus, who had sought to kill him, was now completely transformed into his undead slave, ready to be commanded and ordered at will, without betrayal or complaint, only eternal loyalty and obedience. This feeling of exhilarating success made Roddy increasingly fond of necromancy magic.

    "Marcus, you will be called Zombie 2," Roddy decided. He noticed that Marcus''s body was very stiff, not typical of a zombie, but rather a slow response to his mental control. Evidently, controlling a flesh-and-blood corpse was far more difficult than just a skeletal frame, which is why necromancers prefer summoning skeletons over zombies.

    Because Marcus''s body was too large and Roddy''s magical ring had limited storage capacity, he couldn''t accommodate such a large corpse. Roddy had to wait until nightfall, then use his mental power to guide Marcus step by step out of the forest and towards his home. Roddy did not want to stay too close to him, fearing that someone might inadvertently see them and become suspicious. However, with his mental control range limited to only a few meters, it was impossible to be discreet, which worried Roddy a lot, fearing that all his efforts might be in vain.

    "How come you''re so late? Did you kill that little bastard? Weren''t you supposed to capture him? Why are you covered in blood? Is that the bastard''s blood? Now it''s all ruined, there goes the ten gold coins!" Emma opened the door quickly to let Marcus in, while complaining.

    Marcus entered the house silently, his movements wooden. Emma quickly shut the door and whispered to Marcus, "Go and capture that little bastard''s mother before she runs away! No, I''ll go. I see you eyeing her breasts and butt all the time. If I let you go, you''ll just take the chance to sleep with that bitch. Remember when you hurt your foot peeping at that bitch bathing? You think I don''t know? You eat something first. Once I bring that bitch back, you go get the money right away. She''s worth five gold coins. Once we get the money, we leave... Is that little bastard really dead?"

    Just as she was about to leave, Marcus suddenly grabbed her from behind. "You dog of a man, getting excited at the mention of that bitch. When I spread my legs for you, you don''t even look at me, you dog bastard. Now you want it, well I''m not giving it to you!" Emma was angry, trying to shake off Marcus''s big hand, but suddenly felt his grip tightening around her neck, the immense force suffocating her, and the shadow of death instantly enveloped her heart.

    She struggled fiercely, but the vice-like grip on her neck only tightened. Eventually, she urinated and defecated on herself, her eyes rolled back, and her tongue stretched out, dying painfully from suffocation.

    After a while, Marcus finally threw her on the ground. He then clumsily opened the door, and Roddy, holding back his breath and nausea, rushed in. His hands trembled uncontrollably. Seeing Emma''s ghastly death, his stomach churned, and he vomited sour water. Releasing Nicholas and holding the crystal skull, trying his best not to look at Emma''s horrifying death, Roddy forced himself to calm his fear. He continuously gathered dark magic power, preparing to cast "Dark Servant."

    After many failed attempts, Roddy finally succeeded in transforming Emma into a Dark Servant despite the severe mental exhaustion. Unable to control it any longer, he forcibly stuffed Emma''s protruding tongue back into her mouth and closed her unblinking eyes. He then put away Nicholas, closed the wooden door, and ran back to his cabin.

    "What''s wrong, my darling? Is someone chasing you?" Roddy''s mother was startled by his pale appearance.

    "No, nothing... I''m fine! Mom, Mom..." Roddy, remembering Emma''s unblinking eyes and protruding tongue, shivered all over, clinging tightly to his mother, seeking some comfort. Having killed two people to survive, though both deserved death, the nause

    "No, nothing... I''m okay! Mom, Mom..." Roddy, shivering all over as he remembered Emma''s unblinking eyes and protruding tongue, clung tightly to his mother, seeking a bit of comfort in her presence. To survive, he had killed two people. Although they deserved death, the nausea and terror he felt after killing were something he had never experienced before.

    "Don''t be afraid, my dear, Mom is here, don''t be scared!" Roddy''s mother, not understanding what had happened, was deeply pained to see him so terrified. She hugged him tightly and continuously kissed his forehead, hoping to ease his suffering.

 Chapter 9: Deception

    The next day, Roddy woke up from a nightmare to find his mother sleeping tiredly at the bedside, her cheeks still marked with tears. He silently cursed himself for lacking the courage of a man. After all, what did killing two people amount to? Especially since Marcus and Emma were not good people to begin with. People like them, even a hundred deaths wouldn''t compare to the death of an ant.

    He carefully covered his mother with a blanket and tiptoed out of the house.

    Arriving at Marcus''s home, when Roddy''s mental strength had recovered, Marcus and Emma stood up again and followed behind him. Roddy, seeing their terrible dead appearances, quickly ordered them to sit still and not move. Searching the house, he found the poisonous black bread that Emma had made, containing a black powder that mildly corroded when mixed with water, infuriating Roddy.

    Killing Marcus and Emma was indeed a wise decision. Now, Roddy felt much less guilty.

    "Hey, Marcus, Emma, are you two at home?" Suddenly, Roddy heard someone calling softly from outside the door.

    "Cough, cough! Shh!" Unable to let Marcus and Emma respond and fearing that the person outside would get suspicious, Roddy had to cough himself and signaled for the other party to be quiet. He recognized the voice ¨C it was Grace, the personal maid of Lady Mary. His previous suspicions were correct; the mastermind behind all this was the ''kind and compassionate'' Lady Mary.

    "In the next few days, some distinguished guests related to that little bastard will arrive, so you''d better hold off on acting for a few days! Keep a close eye on that little bastard and that slut. As long as you can successfully hand them over a week before the young master''s knight initiation, you''ll be rewarded with an extra five gold coins. Be vigilant! And Emma, don''t overdo it with the poison. Don''t accidentally kill the little bastard and the slut; it might backfire!" The maid instructed arrogantly outside the door, then left silently.

    Roddy wanted to rush out and strangle the maid, but reason told him that the most important thing now was to escape with his mother.

    Leaving Marcus and Emma behind was not an option, as their bodies would soon be discovered. Moreover, if a magician or a clergy member from the temple came by, his identity as a necromancer would be exposed. Besides, having Marcus and Emma with him would provide some resistance should they encounter wolves or other wild animals on the road.

    The biggest problem now was how to deceive everyone.

    If the bodies were not treated, they would start to rot and stink in a few days, and it would be impossible to hide the truth from his mother, let alone passersby.

    "Mr. Spike, how much for a bottle of ''Preservation Potion''?" Roddy thought of something that might prevent decay ¨C the ''Preservation Potion'' developed three hundred years ago by ''Commoner Law Saint'' Christian the Saint, to allow ordinary people to consume fresh meat throughout the year. This potion was not only cheap to source and simple to refine but could be successfully produced by mid-level magicians and above. It was hundreds of times cheaper than potions of the same level, making it very suitable for commoners.

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    "Thanks for your wild boar meat, young man. Two silver coins a bottle. How many do you want? What? Three bottles? Haha, it looks like you''ve caught quite a bit of game! Anything else you need?" Spike, a plump mid-level magician who had retired from the battlefield after losing his left leg, now sold various potions. Besides being fond of alcohol, he had no other vices and was one of the few in town who sympathized with Roddy.

    "Another bottle each of ''Cure Weakness'' and ''Restore Life'', please! I feel like I''m getting sick. Cough, cough!" Roddy pretended to cough painfully.

    "Young man, take care of your health, especially since you''re not as strong as your peers. Two bottles of potion cost one gold coin and five silver coins. They are expensive and taste bad... I''ll charge you two gold coins and give you nine silver coins back. My silver coins are pure and heavy; one gold coin can only exchange for twenty silver coins. How about I give you a small potion of vitality with added holy water? Drinking it also mildly restores physical strength." Seeing Roddy accept his suggestion, Spike''s face beamed with a smile. He swiftly packed the potions for Roddy and sent him out the door.

    Roddy left with the potions, then returned empty-handed from the darkness.

    He hunched over, slowly making his way through the shadows.

    Blacksmith Xander and several men waited in the distance, drinking with red eyes, watching Roddy like wolves. They had seen Roddy come down the mountain and into town, and deliberately blocked the town entrance to catch him.

    Just as they were about to surround him, a figure came out not far behind Roddy.

    It was Marcus, responsible for watching Roddy. Wrapped in a cloak and moving somewhat clumsily, he waved at Blacksmith Xander to disperse them. Then, in full view of everyone, he quietly tossed a purse into a corner before slowly following Roddy, one in front of the other, into the darkness. Blacksmith Xander was confused about Marcus''s actions, but they had heard a bit of news, so they let Roddy pass, muttering curses under their breath.

    Someone picked up the purse and found nearly ten silver coins and a gold coin, enough for them to drink merrily for a few days, and they cheered.

    "It looks like Marcus is doing a big deal. Later, we''ll squeeze him more, and after he gets the reward, we''ll make him treat us!" Blacksmith Xander, seeing Marcus slowly following Roddy, looked slightly pleased and said, "What do you say, guys? With Marcus the big spender treating us to drinks, why be polite?"

    "Eventually, we''ll beat up that little bastard, but there''s no rush! Let''s find some fun first, ha ha ha!" The men, fearing being left behind, hurriedly followed Blacksmith Xander to the tavern.

    Beating up Roddy was satisfying, but almost certainly one of them would risk getting their testicles smashed ¨C Roddy''s reputation as a genius bird hunter of Coro was not for nothing. In the past few years, no one here had escaped the fate of ''bird injury and smashed testicles''. Blacksmith Xander had a special iron groin guard, but not everyone did, and no one wanted to be the one writhing on the ground in agony. If they temporarily spared Roddy and instead went to the tavern to flirt with the saloon girls, that would obviously be much safer.

    With a few coins in hand, the hottest bombshell in the tavern, with a body that could squeeze out water, was waiting. Why wait any longer?

    The crowd rushed off, not noticing the cold smile on Roddy''s lips.

    "Ha, who do I see? The third young master of the Rhine family!" Just as Roddy was about to turn the corner, the sound of galloping hooves thundered behind him, with several riders rushing down another road. Roddy, seeing this, quickly tried to retreat into the darkness, but it was too late. One sharp-eyed warrior spotted Roddy and immediately started mocking.

    "Don''t go, we haven''t greeted the third young master yet!" The rest of the men also burst into laughter.

    "What''s going on here?" A powerful voice shouted from a distance, followed by a group of riders galloping forward. The leader, in shining silver armor and a bright red cloak fluttering in the wind, complemented by his white horse, appeared imposing. He was followed by a dozen well-trained, harmoniously moving guards in gleaming armor and distinct flags.

    Roddy, seeing it was his elder brother Lotte returning, tensed up.

    Lotte, seeing Roddy, flashed a look of cold indifference, but his voice remained unchanged, still exhibiting the nobility''s unique arrogance and politeness. "Is it you? My brother, it''s been a long time. I''m very pleased to see you here!"

    "Cough, cough, cough..." Roddy tried to speak but suddenly started coughing loudly.

    His face showed great pain, and he bent over like a shrimp, eventually collapsing on the ground, his fingers covering his lips, faintly showing traces of red.

    Lotte coldly watched, as if seeing a stranger struggling in death, indifferent to Roddy''s reaction. The many guards also wore an unspoken smile, their expressions unchanged, but their eyes filled with schadenfreude.

 Chapter 10: Lifeguard Hymn

    Roddy struggled in the mud, coughing in pain. Yet, his heart remained unusually calm, as if nothing around him could affect his thoughts even slightly. Roddy knew that if his disguise failed, Lotte might have his men capture him and bring him to the castle, ruining his plan to escape.

    Deceive him, deceive everyone present, then escape from Coro and survive...

    "Is he the genius of Coro?" A stranger''s voice emerged from the darkness. Taking advantage of his coughing, Roddy stole a glance and saw a priest in a holy robe. Clearly, this person was the new clergyman sent to replace Father Sedo. Holding a scepter, the priest instilled an inexplicable panic in Roddy. He must not let the priest discover he is a necromancer, or everything would be over.

    "Indeed." Lotte nodded and then asked with a smile, "My brother is unwell. Could Father Nari kindly perform a healing spell on him?"

    "Healing people is Nari''s wish," Father Nari raised his scepter, chanting, "O Supreme God of Light, praised for Your kindness, please bestow Your divine power and grant this person before us a joyous deliverance!"

    Roddy''s scalp tingled hearing this. Father Nari wasn''t chanting a Light Magic healing spell, but an attack spell, ''Fist of Light''. Though he couldn''t learn Light Magic, he knew the chant from Father Sedo. The ''Fist of Light'' was often used by temple knights against evil, as Roddy had read in the ''Light Magic Codex''. Its power was formidable; the most powerful use described was when Pope Frederick III annihilated the demon lord Ruesmyra with it.

    Even if Father Nari was far from Frederick''s level, killing Roddy would be easy. A shadow of death filled Roddy''s heart.

    Bits of light elements rapidly gathered, forming a light orb on Nari''s scepter, which then morphed into a glowing giant fist, roaring towards Roddy. Believing this blow would leave him dead or crippled, Roddy closed his eyes in despair, just a little more, and he could have escaped Coro. Now, fate seemed to mock him cruelly.

    As the fist was about to hit him, a burst of holy light shot from above Roddy, dazzling and transforming into the image of the Holy Mother, full of infinite love and purity, shielding Roddy in her arms. The Fist of Light disintegrated into light feathers upon touching the image, scattering across the sky. The image of the Holy Mother gradually faded, leaving two tears of light falling into the void...

    "Song of Life''s Guardianship!" Father Nari gasped in shock. This was the ultimate protection exchanged with a clergyman''s life for God''s grace. Unexpectedly, it appeared to protect Roddy.

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    "How could this be! Damn, it must be that old man Sedo..." Lotte was stunned but quickly recovered.

    "All praise to the Holy Mother, Your kindness showers every corner of the world, reaching millions of your children." Everyone from the temple drew their swords in salute to show their devotion. Even an enraged Lotte couldn''t defy this. Seeing the Holy Mother''s image protecting Roddy, if he dared to act, it would be a blasphemous death sentence.

    Father Nari and Lotte exchanged glances and hastily left on horseback. Being a clergyman, Nari couldn''t afford to be seen using magic to invoke the Holy Mother''s image, or his position would end. Lotte also hurried after, with only a month left until his knighthood initiation; he couldn''t linger.

    "Leave two men to escort the third young master back!" Lotte instructed his subordinates before leaving. If Roddy died weakly, he could blame the subordinates. The scout who had mocked Roddy and a companion were left behind, looking dejected as they watched the horsemen gallop away, then turned to the motionless Roddy, sighing at their bad luck.

    Roddy hadn''t fainted; he saw everything, including Nari''s shock and Lotte''s change in expression.

    He was deeply moved at that moment.

    Although I do not know when I acquired this ''Anthem of Life Protection'' magical protection, it must have been the doing of Father Cedo. Now I understand why Father Cedo died peacefully at the age of sixty-four; it must have been a protection he obtained from the gods in exchange for his life. Tears inevitably overflowed from Rody''s eyes, soaking into the ground.

    Fate, abandoned me; the gods, also abandoned me.

    And my father...

    But Father Cedo, he didn''t. He even exchanged his life for this protective magic today, just so I could survive at the most difficult moment. He ruined his own life, feeding me the forbidden demon-martial potion, but he also used his life to make up for the harm done to me.

    Rody wanted to cry out loud, to cry until the heavens and earth shattered, but he didn''t, because the danger was not over, and it wasn''t the time for wailing.

    "What should we do with this waste? If we lay a finger on him and he dies, wouldn''t we become scapegoats?" Two warrior scouts whispered in each other''s ears, hesitating to approach, aware of the risks involved. If Rody died by their hands, they believed Lord Lott would unceremoniously send them to the guillotine as his scapegoats.

    "Find someone to move him... Marcus, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and take the young master back!" As soon as they saw Marcus slowly emerging from the darkness, they were overjoyed, shouted loudly, threw a few silver coins as a reward, and hurriedly mounted their horses to flee.

    Watching them ride away, Rody finally released the teeth clenched on the back of his hand, large hot tears fell, dropping onto the bloody wound.

    Finally, he escaped this ordeal, for the first time, life and destiny, back in his own hands.

    All this, was bestowed by Father Cedo, all exchanged with his life.

    Suddenly, it started to rain heavily from the sky, drenching Rody''s head and face, unsure whether they were tears or rain. He supported his body with a short stick, step by step towards home, and Marcus, his ever loyal servant of darkness, followed slowly and clumsily behind.

    Upon returning home, Rody dealt with his mother''s concern, fed her a ''sleep potion'', carefully wrapped her in a thin blanket, and covered it with oilcloth to keep out the rain. He had made all the preparations, just waiting for tonight. He believed that after the recent encounter, the castle guards'' attention to him would lessen, trusting that it would take three to five days before anyone noticed his escape.

    After drinking two sips of ''Weakness Healing'', to regain some strength, Rody brought out a four-wheeled wooden cart he had made, ready to carry his mother away.

    Suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by a rumble of thunder, prompting Rody to have a thought he had never had before.

 Chapter 11: Hasty Escape

    "Father, mother is sick! Please, save her... Father, you can abandon me, but mother is innocent! Mother is dying, please save her! Father, please save mother..." Rody, carrying his mother on his back, struggled to the bottom of the castle, calling out desperately. He wanted to know if his father, who once loved him dearly, would really be heartless enough to ignore his mother''s life.

    His calls changed from pleading to wailing.

    Rody painfully realized that the once affectionate Lord of Kolo, the esteemed Lord Warren, truly drifted far from him.

    Not only did he heartlessly abandon his son, now a waste, but also the woman he once adored. Rody always thought his mother was his father''s most beloved, but now, he completely ignored everything beneath the castle, even as Rody repeatedly declared his mother''s critical condition.

    Lord Warren stood on the third-floor balcony of the castle, indifferently watching Rody as if he were a stranger.

    "Father, please, save mother!" Rody knelt in the mud, carrying his mother, looking up, and pleading loudly. At that moment, his face was not just wet from rain; he felt an urge to cry bitterly for today''s lost paternal love, for the abandoned kinship of the past, and for the fate of him and his mother being ruthlessly cast aside. In this world where only the strong are needed, even his father is the same; he loves his genius, not him. Once Rody became worthless, he was instantly discarded.

    Rody extended his hand towards Lord Warren, wailing continuously, eventually becoming hoarse, but his heart was tearless, even secretly sneering at his futile hope. Why did he still hold hope for that man?

    Was he giving him another chance? A grave mistake. But this was good, from now on, everything could be cut off.

    The desire to become stronger occupied Rody''s entire heart.

    Whether it was necromancy or evil magic, as long as it made him stronger, he didn''t need to care. Only by becoming strong could he look down upon all beings; only as a true strongman could he control his destiny and not be trampled upon mercilessly.

    Lord Warren stood in the rain, silently watching his wailing son, uttering not a word.

    In the darkness, two figures quietly approached, one of them being the servant Marcus. He held a club, striking his son''s head fiercely, causing him to fall into the mud, blood everywhere. Lord Warren remained unmoved. He saw his son struggling to raise a bloody hand towards him, crying ''father'', yet remained indifferent.

    Thunder roared in the sky, the wind and rain chaotically swirling, drenching him thoroughly, but he stood still like a statue.

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    "Father, save me, father! Save me..."

    "Father..."

    Marcus and his wife dragged Rody by the legs, leaving a long, blood-stained trail in the mud, a sight to behold.

    Lightning danced like fire snakes in the dark sky.

    Lord Warren gazed at the trail on the ground for a long time, not blinking, only turning back when he heard faint footsteps behind him, returning to the hall filled with music and dancing. First, he had a maid dry his wet hair, then took a wine glass handed by a servant, toasting and drinking heartily with the others. Someone softly walked out to the balcony, looking at the long trail beneath the castle, and sighed softly, "Is he the legendary genius of Kolo? It''s hard to believe he''s become such a waste..."

    At several other windows, pairs of eyes watched gleefully, especially pleased at the sight of the blood-stained trail.

    "After everything is done, I''ll reward Marcus and his wife with ten gold coins! Very good, I''m delighted. I wish to see such gratifying scenes more often! Leave the trail there to fade naturally, I want this disgraceful mark to stay at the entrance of the Rhein castle! Seeing that bastard and that wretch in such a pitiful state, my mood tonight is exceptionally good! Come, let''s have a drink to celebrate!"

    While the people in the castle reveled, Rody fled from Kolo in the night.

    Dragged by Marcus and Emma, the tireless servants of darkness, in a small four-wheeled wooden cart, Rody, covered in mud, tightly held his mother, shielding her from the rain with a tarpaulin. Despite his pale, bloodless face, there was a smile on his lips, especially clear when the sky was filled with electric snakes flashing chaotically.

    He had fooled everyone with his feigned cries and the performance of Marcus and his wife.

    When people thought he was a useless waste who could only wait for death in a small wooden house, he had already escaped Kolo. When they believed Marcus and Emma could easily handle him, he had already become their master. When they thought he had nothing, he was already a necromancer commanding the servants of darkness... When he returned to Kolo, he would surely be a strongman looking down upon the world, then he could freely take revenge for everything.

    Rody looked at the distant castle spires, the smile on his lips growing stronger.

    This castle, where he had lived since childhood, he would surely return, but he believed that next time, he would not be a waste kneeling beneath the castle, begging his father to save his life, but a necromancer cleansing the world.

    However, plans never match changes.

    Half an hour later, a magical firework suddenly shot towards the sky above the castle, bursting into a huge, dazzling spark. Despite the drizzling rain, it shone brightly in the dark, startling Rody.

    "How is it possible? They found out I''m escaping with my mother?" Rody saw the signal of the magical firework, his hands and feet turning cold with fear.

    He had just begun to escape, due to clearing traces and fleeing along the mountain forest, he hadn''t even escaped five kilometers away. If the guards caught up now, wouldn''t his life be in danger? He had deceived everyone, believing it would take days for anyone to notice him, how did they find out he was escaping with his mother?

    How could this be possible?

    What terrified Rody even more was that one after another, the magical fireworks rose into the sky, chasing directly towards him.

    How did they know he would escape on this normally deserted mountain road? The rain washed away the scent, and Emma had been wiping away the shallow trail with branches, yet they were pursuing directly. Could it be that they had cast some tracking magic on him?

    Another magical firework rose, and Rody saw the castle''s air force, several patrol teams riding deer-hawks in the sky.

    Rody quickly carried his mother into a small forest, making Marcus and Emma lie down in a thicket of thorns. For the first time, he prayed that the air force wouldn''t spot them; otherwise, he and his mother would soon be burning at the stake. The number of flying troops in the sky increased, not only his father''s elite guards but also his eldest brother Gery riding a silver griffin, and his second brother Lotte floating on a magical horse.

    The sound of hooves thundered on the ground, as if a cavalry was approaching.

    Such a big deployment?

    Rody looked with a slight shock in his heart, coupled with a flicker of confusion. Capturing him didn''t require so many people. Now that so many had come, could it be that they were not after him? But he cursed his bad luck, if the unknown pursuers involved him by accident, letting Gery and Lotte discover his escape, that would be the real injustice!

 Chapter 12: Invisibility

    Indeed, the deer-hawk riders in the sky swiftly passed overhead and sped forward in pursuit.

    Gery and Lotte also whizzed by Rody''s side without a glance below, making Rody feel as if he had narrowly escaped from the jaws of death. However, the cavalry on the mountain road was not so easily deceived; they dismounted near Rody, drew their swords, and searched around with magical fireworks illuminating the sky intermittently.

    Rody saw two men approaching his location, standing under a tree, seemingly searching for something.

    "There seem to be traces here..." One of the warriors appeared to have discovered the traces Rody had left behind, though very faint, with only wet leaves and broken branches, yet these did not escape his keen eyes. Hearing this, Rody nearly fell from the tree in fright. He clung tightly to the wet tree trunk, not daring to move or breathe loudly.

    "It seems like the heavy footprints of ordinary humans, not the light steps of elves!" Rody heard a familiar voice below, Ace, which was even more alarming.

    In recent years, Ace''s martial skills had greatly improved, now surpassing the five-star great swordsman Good and advancing to the sixth rank of Sword Master, becoming a distinguished Earth Warrior marked by the iron fist. He was now a key general of the Oga Fortress, one of his ruthless father''s right-hand men.

    If an Earth Warrior like him, seasoned in numerous battles, were to scrutinize carefully, Rody would surely not escape unscathed.

    As Rody grew increasingly anxious, he suddenly heard Ace say, "There''s a whistle in the distance, an enemy spotted! Everyone mount up, quickly surround and capture that audacious elven thief!"

    "At your command, Lord Ace." The warriors, led by Ace, immediately abandoned their search at the command.

    Seeing Ace leading the cavalry away, Rody felt his heart, which had been in his throat, return to its place. That was close; if they had stayed a minute longer, they would have discovered his tree-climbing traces, making his escape impossible. Fortunately, Ace left in time, or he would have been doomed.

    Rody, feeling his limbs go weak from the relief and the weight of his mother on his back, could no longer hold onto the tree trunk.

    Fearing he might fall unconscious to the ground, Rody slowly slid down, trying to use his mental power to control Marcus and Emma, who were far away, to catch him. However, they were beyond his usual control range. Rody''s mental control only extended to about ten meters, while Marcus was thirty meters away in a thicket, unresponsive.

    In his anxiety, Rody was shocked to sense a shadow above his head.

    This shadow had no human presence, not even a physical body; it was completely transparent, like air.

    Yet under Rody''s mental perception, it was definitely there, hanging upside down above his head. Rody couldn''t see the shadow with his eyes, but he felt it holding a curved knife, quietly dangling above him, silently observing him.

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    The shadow exuded a murderous aura, but it was calm.

    Extremely eerie, Rody felt a deep fear as if a knife were piercing his soul, yet his eyes saw nothing.

    "Close call, finally safe... I thought it was after me, that was really too close!" Rody felt the transparent shadow with the curved knife slowly approaching his head, as slow as the growth of a plant. His hairs stood on end, his spine tingled, but he smiled and said to the air above, "I''m sure you must think so too, right?"

    "How did you notice me?" The tree branch above gradually revealed a slender shadow with large eyes emitting a faint blue glow.

    "Before asking questions, shouldn''t you first say ''thank you'' to me? If I had given Uncle Ace a little hint just now, I believe you would soon have a free cell to live in," Rody said, seemingly unaware of the cold blade against his neck, chuckling.

    "The human male you spoke of, his strength is only a bit better than mine. In the forest, he absolutely can''t beat me. If you had made a sound just now, I could have killed you and then left calmly." The shadow snorted, then said: "You''re in danger yourself, yet dare to be so proud? A kid who stole undead magic, if the people just now knew, you''d be waiting for the burning devil''s fire execution, right?"

    "I''m not afraid, I am the son of Lord Koro, at most confined for a few years." Rody''s tone was as if Lord Warren still doted on him like before.

    "You, why do you want to learn the evil undead magic?" The shadow was hanging upside down, but very naturally, as natural as humans standing on the ground, glanced at Rody''s mother behind him, and snorted: "Who is this woman behind you?"

    "My mother, she''s beautiful, isn''t she?" Rody said proudly.

    "No matter how beautiful a human woman is, she can''t compare to elves!" The shadow, unable to stand Rody''s smug look, sneered.

    "Vain! I think although elf faces are so-so, their ears are too long, I find them a bit deformed. Besides, elf women are all flat-chested and without curves, nothing to see there!" Before Rody could finish, he was punched by the shadow, stars in his eyes, tumbling down the tree. But as he recovered from the dizziness, he saw the tall and slender shadow holding his mother''s bundle, standing in front of him, immediately rolled over and lunged to snatch it back: "Don''t touch my mother!"

    "Your mother is not beautiful at all, she''s far inferior to our elf high priestess!" The shadow, seeing Rody so anxious about his mother, couldn''t help but verbally attack him.

    "Ah ha, the farts of your high priestess must smell sweet, you especially love them, I just know." Before Rody could finish, he was kicked down by the shadow.

    "If you dare say another bad word about our high priestess, I will kill you!" threatened the shadow.

    "If you dare say another bad word about my mother, then I too will kill you!" Rody countered fiercely, glaring at the shadow, completely ignoring the sharp curved blade in the latter''s hand. The shadow was taken aback by his words, then suddenly burst into laughter, covering his mouth silently, shoulders shaking, as if hearing the funniest joke in the world.

    "Why? You''re just a human child! How can you kill me?" The shadow laughed for a while before stopping to ask.

    "There''s a skeleton behind you!" Rody suddenly changed the topic.

    "I know... in the forest, nothing can be hidden from me!" The shadow sneered, saying: "You think a broken skeleton can ambush me? Although I don''t know what you mean by this, if you want to tell me that this ragged skeleton can deal with me, then you will soon see a disappointing answer. With such slow-moving skeletons, I can wander among hundreds without letting them touch a hair."

    "Then let''s try!" Rody commanded to attack.

    Nicolas immediately raised his dagger, thrusting towards the shadow''s back. The shadow''s curved blade flashed, cutting off Nicolas''s bony arm, the whole thing along with the dagger falling to the ground, as Rody summoned Marcus and Emma in the distance, flinging his curved blade, spinning like lightning, cutting Marcus on the shin.

    Marcus fell with a crash, along with Emma beside him, both tumbling to the ground.

    The shadow smugly beckoned Rody, signaling him to display his skills as he pleased. Suddenly feeling Rody''s eyes flash strangely, the shadow, whose eyes could see in the dark as if it were daylight, suddenly felt pitch black. He had been blinded, hit by a blindness spell. The shadow was slightly startled, then quickly reacted, concentrating on listening to the opponent''s movements. Although not as good as eyes, an elf''s ears and senses were enough to avoid a human swordsman''s attack, let alone a human child''s.

    The shadow felt inexplicably that, apart from the sound of the skeleton''s movement, the crawling of zombies in the distance, the breathing of the human mother on the ground, and the whisper of the breeze in the woods, there was no other sound.

    The strange human child, as if he had disappeared right in front of him, became invisible.

    Even more bizarre was that the elf''s keen spiritual perception also failed to detect his presence. He was clearly standing right in front, he must be right in front, but his movements could not be felt at all.

    How did he manage that?

    As the shadow was marveling in astonishment, it suddenly felt the other''s hand grabbing its chest, even giving it a squeeze, immediately provoking great fury.

 Chapter 13: The Female Huntress

    "Turns out you''re a woman¡­" Rody hadn''t finished his sentence before he was kicked away by the shadowy figure. Fortunately, she was still blind at that moment, otherwise, he would have driven her to a frenzy and she would have hacked him into mincemeat. As the shadow regained her sight and charged at him with a sharp, curved blade, Rody suddenly smiled and said, "Do you want to murder your own husband?"

    "What do you mean?" the shadow asked, confused.

    "My dear, I will take responsibility. You should know just by looking at me that I am a responsible man!" Rody said cheerfully. Before he could finish, the shadow grabbed him and lifted him into the air. She now understood and said coldly with a sneer, "You wish! As a Night Huntress, I am a fearless warrior who dedicates her life to the Moon Goddess. I don''t care about losing my head or spilling my blood, so what¡¯s a little chest grab?"

    "What about two grabs?" Rody reached out to grab again, but the shadow reacted quickly and dodged it with just a touch.

    "Brat, you¡¯re asking for death!" The shadow was so angry that she almost strangled Rody on the spot.

    "Take off your mask and let me see. If you''re good-looking, then I can die content," Rody sighed. "But if you¡¯re ugly, then forget it, better not to scare anyone."

    "You? Do you have any last words?" The shadow, furious, pressed the curved blade against Rody''s neck.

    "Please take good care of my mother. Treat her as your own. She likes sweet and sour food, so pay attention when you cook. Also, she hasn''t had new clothes for a long time. Remember to make her a set before her birthday. The birthday gift shouldn''t be too grand, preferably something you made yourself. But cooking and laundry don''t count. It must be something meaningful. Do you understand?" Rody advised earnestly.

    "Who cares about her?" The shadow felt dizzy hearing this. Thinking about the hassle of killing Rody and then taking care of his mother, she threw Rody to the ground in anger and said, "Get lost, and don¡¯t let me see you again, or I¡¯ll cut off your head!"

    "A woman with such a bad temper, even if you were given to me as a wife, I wouldn¡¯t want you," Rody slowly got up, patted his butt, and prepared to leave.

    "..." The shadow was so angry that she couldn''t speak. She had never seen such a human child before.

    In the distance, the sound of horse hooves thundered, approaching their location.

    The shadow''s eyes sparkled for a moment. It seemed her war beast hadn''t managed to lead the enemy away as she hoped. They might have caught up with it, realized no one was there, and started searching their way back. She was worried both for the safety of her war beast and for her own perilous situation.

    She glanced at Rody, who was struggling to climb a tree with his mother on his back, hesitated for a moment, then glided up like smoke, watching him hide in the tree branches. Her eyes sparkled again as she climbed higher, hanging upside down above him, pointing her curved blade at his throat from a distance. Rody, completely unfazed, smiled proudly at her, much to her annoyance.

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    The horsemen, tired from their search, casually roamed the forest, then followed the main group and left.

    "Why are they after you?" Rody asked.

    "It''s none of your business!" The shadow first blocked him with a sentence, and then somehow, actually spilled the beans, saying, "It''s all because of your two despicable and shameless brothers, who, under the pretext of eradicating evil, jointly robbed the treasures of our elf merchants. I originally wanted to retrieve our Night Tribe''s precious Moonstone, but who would have known that they had already given it away, and used a fake one to trick me into a trap, foolishly trying to capture me as a female slave! Heh, speaking of which, I should have killed you with a single blade to soothe my hatred!"

    "Kill me? Just because my brothers stole your Moonstone?" Rody retorted, "Then how do you account for the debt of one million gold coins your granddaughter owes my grandson?"

    "What nonsense are you talking about? I don''t have a granddaughter at all!" the shadow angrily said.

    "I don''t have brothers either!" Rody nodded earnestly and said, "Even if I did, they have nothing to do with me. If you want to seek revenge, feel free to find them and deal with them however you like, even chopping them into mincemeat to feed the dogs, I won''t object. In this regard, I absolutely support you in spirit."

    "At a glance, you are the evil undead mage, a heartless and unrighteous brat. Don''t let me see you again, or I''ll definitely kill you!" the shadow coldly huffed.

    "If you kill me, you won''t have a husband anymore." Rody responded nonchalantly, slowly sliding down the tree.

    The shadow was so enraged that she gritted her teeth, several times wanting to chop off his hand and let him fall to his death from the tree.

    She had never encountered a child as infuriating as today. Although young, his words could make even her, who originally had good self-control and temperament, fly into a rage.

    "Why do you want to learn the evil undead magic?" The shadow suddenly became very curious to understand how this strange human child viewed undead magic.

    "I have no other choice." Rody fell silent for a moment, steadied the strap of his mother on his back, put away Nicholas, took his two slaves of darkness, Marcus and Emma, and left without looking back towards the depths of the forest. There was still some time before dawn, not too long. He should seize the opportunity to escape from Kolo, rather than flirt with a female hunter of the Night Elves.

    "Hey, human child, what''s your name?" The shadow, also preparing to leave, turned back and asked.

    "People call me the genius of Kolo, or the waste of Kolo. Here, just ask anyone randomly, and you will know everything about me, including that I never wet the bed. What about you? What''s your name?" Rody also turned back and asked in return.

    "Who wants to tell you!" The shadow dropped a sentence, her body disappearing into the darkness like a light breeze, leaving no trace.

    "That elf''s chest is quite large." Rody looked at his right hand that had just touched the shadow''s chest, then brought it to his nose to smell, saying, "Seems to have a bit of a fragrance, really nice! Too bad she has a bit of a temper..." He mumbled to himself, slowly walking away. A few dozen meters behind him, the invisible shadow was so angry that she almost threw a curved blade, aiming to chop off his head and let his neck blood spray to the sky.

    He was young, but audacious and daring, thinking in his heart how to violate her, which was truly infuriating.

    However, looking at his lonely figure staggering under the weight of his mother, with two slaves of darkness following him, she felt an inexplicable sympathy in her heart. As a lord''s son, he was ostracized by the people around him at such a young age. In this continuous rainy night, his thin body carrying his mother fleeing for their lives was indeed pitiable.

    The shadow shook her head, feeling for the first time that there were sympathetic figures among the undead mages, especially since he was still just a human child.

    She didn''t know if this quirky character would be able to escape his fate, but at least she would not use her curved blade to chop off his head. Although she deeply despised evil, she could not bring herself to hate this lonely figure.

    Good luck to you!

    Gently putting away her Moonblade, the shadow let out a sigh like a breeze rustling through leaves, stepping on treetops, she flew toward the distant horizon, light as a feather.

    Rody, meanwhile, had a smile on his lips, seemingly pleased with tonight''s encounter.

    His life was filled with loneliness; apart from his mother, he had no friends or relatives. Father Cedo, who suffered for him and protected him with his life, was barely one, but he was dead. So, even a passerby, a potential rival in the future, was something he greatly looked forward to.

 Chapter 14: Mother Falls Ill

    In the following two days, Rody carried his mother during the day and rode in a small four-wheeled wooden cart pulled by Marcus and Emma at night, making his way through the wilderness.

    Continuously traveling day and night, he finally reached the border between Kolo and Doha. Rody dared not return to the main road and continued to walk through the mountains and forests. Although it was very dangerous, he had no better choice. Once he crossed the Kolo Mountains and safely passed through Doha, Rody could leave the Mesbustania country of the Rhein family by taking a ship from the Yassu seaport along the coast of Doha. He could either settle down on a remote island or find a small village in a major country to live in obscurity, as only anonymity could ensure his and his mother''s survival.

    Rody had planned the escape long before.

    However, he didn''t know much about foreign countries and had no idea where he could go from Yassu seaport. But he wasn''t too worried about this, as he had more money than originally planned.

    The gold coins left by Nicholas weren''t many, but they were enough to solve Rody''s travel expenses.

    Two days later, after the sleeping potion wore off, Rody''s mother woke up and was surprised to find herself on her son''s back in the midst of wild mountains and green forests.

    "Mom, father doesn''t want us anymore... He wanted to burn us alive! Lotte is about to change his profession to a Temple Knight, and Lady Mary wants to dedicate the loyalty of the Rhein family to the God of Light. She plans to burn both of us alive at the stake. Mom, luckily Father Cedo warned me before he died and told me to take you and run away, otherwise, we would both be dead..." As Rody explained, his mother began to believe him a little.

    Lotte''s profession change was nearing, and it was indeed possible that Father Cedo had warned her beloved son. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have set traps on the doors and windows to protect himself, and his recent behavior wouldn''t have been so strange.

    She didn''t want to believe that her husband could be heartless enough to burn his son and herself alive, but she fully believed that Lady Mary could do such a thing.

    Despite wanting to comfort her son, seeing his exhausted face and sweat-soaked head, she couldn''t help feeling heartbroken.

    "My dear, you are very brave, you protected mom." Rody''s mother reached out her hand, gently wiped the sweat off Rody''s face, and smiled, "Fate always plays tricks on us, but that doesn''t matter. As long as mom thinks that the merciful Holy Mother was willing to give you to me as a son, that''s the greatest happiness in the world. Let mom walk on the ground, look at you, you''re already so tired."

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    "Mom, don''t move, this is already the Kolo Mountains, it''s very dangerous with wild beasts lurking..." Rody refused to put down his mother.

    It was not easy to see the flaws of Marcus and Emma following behind with his mother on his back.

    Moreover, if she got down, it would be impossible to carry her again.

    "Marcus? Emma, the couple, why are they following behind?" Rody''s mother inadvertently saw them and was very shocked.

    "Mom, these two wanted to harm our lives, but before Father Cedo died, he used the ''Divine Sleep'' spell from the magic of light to hypnotize them. Whatever I say, they will do. I thought it was too dangerous for just the two of us to travel through mountains and forests with wild beasts, so I had them follow to protect us. Don''t be afraid, they are asleep now and know nothing..." Rody didn''t know if there was a Divine Sleep spell in light magic, but he knew his mother didn''t understand these things and believed in Father Cedo.

    "Their eyes are indeed closed." Rody''s mother looked back several times and believed it.

    "Lady Mary paid ten gold coins to bribe them to poison us. The black bread they brought earlier was a slow-acting poison. Mom, we can''t leave them in Kolo; as soon as we leave, they will go and report to the guards." Rody whispered, "Mom, you should eat something first. I picked some figs on the way. They are a bit sour, but now, while the wild animals are resting at noon, we better not stop for a meal and make the most of this time to hurry."

    "My darling, I''m not hungry, don''t worry about me." Rody''s kind-hearted mother pondered for a moment, then said, "Once we reach a safe place, we''ll let them go and set them free, okay?"

    "I''ll listen to mom..." Rody quickly pretended to be a good child, concealing the fact that Marcus and Emma were his slaves of darkness.

    In the afternoon, a sudden downpour struck the mountains.

    Rody''s mother refused to hide alone under the tarpaulin and, like Rody, got completely drenched. Although she drank some holy water for healing, her already frail body, having slept for two days and then exposed to both sun and rain, soon developed a fever. She forced herself to get down and, supporting each other with Rody, traversed over mountains and valleys. By midnight, she fell ill with a persistent high fever.

    Perhaps the greatest cause of her illness was the heartless abandonment by her husband and the sorrow of fate.

    If it weren''t for her dear son, she might have tired of life and chosen suicide long ago.

    Rody, although prepared with healing potions, saw limited effectiveness. His mother''s fever subsided somewhat, but she was still delirious, muttering the names of her husband and son in her sleep, alternating between crying and laughing, evidently her dreams filled with tears.

    Rody, having overextended his mental strength for three days, was forced to stop and rest.

    Despite the danger, he had no choice. His body was also not in good shape, and the constant strain on his mental strength had severely depleted him, causing splitting headaches. He held his mother and found a low tree branch to rest on. Marcus and Emma were placed below the tree, ready to protect himself and his mother at any time.

    Fortunately, despite hearing wolves howling and beasts roaring, no danger occurred overnight.

    The next day, Rody, having regained some strength, carried his drowsy mother and set off with gritted teeth.

    Crossing the Kolo Mountains, Rody looked back at the tens of kilometers of mountain forest below him, feeling like he had escaped from the jaws of death. Finally, he and his mother had safely escaped from Kolo.

    But their luck officially ended there.

    His mother''s illness did not improve, and Rody and his group were now being stalked by a terralizard.

    The terralizard, a carrion-eater, moved on all fours and weighed as much as three or four adult men. It was incredibly strong, crawling in the mountains and preying on small animals, with a preference for rotten flesh. Perhaps it saw Rody carrying his mother and thought he was close to death, or maybe it smelled the stench of decay on Marcus and Emma. Either way, it followed them at a distance, waiting for the day Rody would fall.

    Although the preservation potion was effective, the bodies of Marcus and Emma gradually began to deform slightly and emit a faint stench of decay after being exposed to the sun and rain. Rody''s troubles were far from over. First, he couldn''t hide the truth from his mother; second, the stench would attract more wild animals; and most importantly, Marcus and Emma needed to expend more mental strength to move under the sun, which was a significant burden for Rody, whose mental strength was nearly depleted.

 Chapter 15: An Inspiration that Completely Changes Life

    If Marcus were a warrior with fighting spirit, then Rody could command him to kill the terralizard following them and remove the threat.

    However, he was merely a lumberjack. Not everyone can possess fighting spirit; it requires a natural talent.

    A formal warrior who can''t possess fighting spirit can only ever reach the rank of a three-star swordsman, the highest level attainable for ordinary people. A four-star swordsman with fighting spirit is far superior in combat strength to a three-star swordsman. As a slave of darkness, Marcus neither gets hungry nor tired, fears nothing, and doesn¡¯t fear death. He can fight without any reservations, making his combat strength far superior to ordinary people.

    But he is clumsy and slow in his actions, and without any training in martial skills. Though physically strong as an ox, his strength is at most equivalent to a two-star swordsman, just a bit better than a novice one-star swordsman.

    As for Emma, her strength is even weaker.

    If only he had a four-star swordsman and a three-star magician... Rody sighed slightly. Marcus and Emma''s strength was too weak and couldn''t provide much combat power to protect himself and his mother. It would have been much better if they could cast magic like Nicholas, even though Nicholas''s undead magic was almost useless during the day. At least at night, it could be Rody''s most reliable protection.

    Suddenly, a marvelous and crazy idea emerged in Rody''s mind, like a flash of inspiration across his chaotic mind.

    Marcus doesn''t know how to use fighting spirit, but Rody does, and it''s high-level fighting spirit.

    Although his body is not destined to cultivate ''Fiery Fighting Spirit'' or perform ''Thundering Sword Technique'', maybe he can, just like he used Nicholas, borrow Marcus''s body to cultivate Fiery Fighting Spirit. In this way, wouldn''t it be equivalent to teaching fighting spirit and swordsmanship to his eternally loyal slaves of darkness?

    Perhaps they wouldn''t perform as smoothly as normal people, but combined with their undying bodies and fearless attacks, their combat power would definitely increase significantly.

    As for Emma, maybe he could cultivate some kind of magic on her, turning her into a magician to protect himself.

    Rody was thrilled by this idea. If successful, he would be the first necromancer to train and enhance his undead. If it were a human, no matter how loyal they were to Rody, he would not easily teach them fighting spirit and magic. But Marcus and Emma were his eternally loyal slaves of darkness, and he didn''t need to worry about their loyalty.

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    No matter how powerful they became, they would only be his tools, with no possibility of betrayal.

    If he worried about the thoughtless ones rebelling, Rody might as well worry about a dagger or an axe betraying him...

    Rody found a large tree and carefully placed his mother on it, then began to experiment on Marcus. The terralizard in the distance watched eagerly but didn¡¯t dare to attack. After trying for a long time, Rody discovered that Marcus indeed had the talent to cultivate fighting spirit. However, he couldn''t cultivate the Rhein family''s Fiery Fighting Spirit due to attribute incompatibility and his body''s limitations in handling such advanced fighting spirit.

    But Rody knew dozens of types of fighting spirit.

    He understood all the fighting spirits available to the warriors under Lord Warren. After trying one by one, Rody finally found two types of fighting spirit suitable for Marcus''s body. After a tough decision, Rody abandoned one and focused on using Marcus''s body to cultivate a basic fighting spirit called ''Stone Slash''.

    Although Rody was exceptionally talented, Marcus''s body wasn''t great, and it was estimated that it would take at least three months to successfully cultivate ''Stone Slash Fighting Spirit''. However, the good start on Marcus''s body still thrilled Rody.

    He then turned his attention to Emma, wanting to try cultivating magic this time.

    Since the age of three, Rody had read many magic books from various schools. Despite not understanding meditation, he knew a lot about magical theories. The Rhein family mainly focused on fighting spirit, with very few magicians. Their collection of magic books on elemental magic was as scarce as the morning stars, and all were of a basic level. However, Rody''s thirst for learning magic was like a traveler in the desert longing for water.

    He tried various basic spells, patiently meditating on each series.

    Eventually, Rody, using Emma''s body, sensed the dense and solid earth elemental magic. This meant that Emma could become a junior earth mage to protect Rody, at least a three-star junior magician.

    This sense of success was something Rody hadn''t felt since the nightmare of his fifth year.

    Now, he felt a surge of hope and rejuvenation.

    He wasn''t useless, no! Although he had consumed the despairing ''Magic-Martial Forbidden Potion'' and was rejected by the elemental gate, it hadn''t forbidden his talent or intelligence. Even though his body wasn''t suited for cultivating fighting spirit or magic, he could use his eternally loyal slaves of darkness to practice them... He would never become the Sword Saint or Mage Saint he dreamed of, but perhaps one day, Sword Saints and Mage Saints would stand in rows before him, tirelessly protecting him.

    Rody''s outlook on the future improved significantly.

    Looking at the setting sun, he felt as if witnessing a beautiful sunrise.

    That day in the stone chamber, he had felt hope, as if a door of hope was ready to open for him, but he had been too eager to leave and didn''t ponder it deeply. After escaping, he was preoccupied with leaving Kolo and didn''t take the time to redesign his future. Now, he finally grasped it, firmly holding his destiny in his hands.

    Given enough time, he would walk the path of the strong, using a method unknown to others, a path of hope never before trodden.

    All this was thanks to the flash of inspiration that crossed his mind earlier.

    It completely changed his life and the future of his entire existence.

    That night, Rody continued experimenting eagerly. His mental strength was severely depleted, but the headache couldn''t dampen his ecstatic mood. Like a child with his favorite toy, he kept trying to condense fighting spirit in Marcus, hoping to soon elevate him to a warrior with fighting spirit, fulfilling his own wish to cultivate it personally.

    At night, two more terralizards appeared.

    Their courage grew, and one of the strongest crept forward, intending to attack Marcus, who emitted a faint stench of decay at the base of the tree.

    "You''re courting death!" Although Rody couldn''t yet make Marcus possess fighting spirit, he knew he could command Marcus to counterattack according to his orders and will. He no longer felt the anxiety he had before. He directed Marcus, armed with a dagger, to make stabbing sword moves.

    Marcus''s body was clumsy, and his attack was easily dodged by the terralizard. However, Rody was delighted; this would be a good start.

    With no need for self-preservation, Rody manipulated Marcus with his mental strength, continuously attacking, recklessly performing various dangerous maneuvers, fighting desperately with the terralizard. The creature, strong but unintelligent and acting on instinct, greedily bit and tore off a chunk of Marcus''s thigh. However, it also got the dagger stabbed into its eye, spewing green blood as it howled and fled.

 Chapter 16: The Wolf Pack

    The smell of blood did not deter the other two terralizards; instead, it aroused their wildness. They licked the bloodstains on the ground, getting closer and closer. Even the severely wounded terralizard that had fled far away refused to leave, just whimpering softly, licking the green blood on its head with its long forked tongue, while its remaining eye watched this side.

    Rody multitasked, controlling Marcus as the main attacker and Emma as the deputy, trying to coordinate their dagger attacks against the enemies. The unfamiliar attempt and the difficulty of multitasking led Rody to make various wrong estimations and judgments. Marcus and Emma were repeatedly ambushed by the terralizards, adding injuries to their bodies. However, they were undying undead, unaware of pain and fear, only knowing to execute Rody''s will, tirelessly attacking.

    Soon, their relentless attacks were effective, and another terralizard was stabbed. Rody seized the opportunity. When another terralizard opened its mouth intending to bite, he had Marcus stuff his hand into its mouth, while Emma stabbed the creature frantically with a dagger. After nearly a hundred stabs, the terralizard rolling on the ground finally stopped moving, and the two lightly wounded ones had already fled in fear.

    After the battle, Rody achieved victory. Due to clumsy actions and Rody''s control errors, Marcus and Emma were bitten multiple times, and Marcus''s hand was even tainted with the terralizard''s rotting poison. But that was of no concern. No amount of toxins on a dead body could spread or worsen. Such injuries that could be fatal to humans were not a problem for these servants of darkness.

    On the contrary, Rody saw another experiment in this - turning Marcus and Emma into poison people, believing this would make them more effective in battle.

    Rody fed his sleeping mother a potion to heal weakness and restore life, then carefully rested her against a tree. The battle left Marcus and Emma unscathed, but it exhausted him. His mental energy severely depleted, he soon fell into a deep sleep. In the middle of the night, the smell of blood attracted night wolves. When Rody awoke, he found five or six night wolves tearing at the dead terralizard.

    The sight made his scalp tingle; to Rody at this moment, the wolf pack was a terrifying creature. They were pack animals, numerous, agile, and incredibly enduring. If they set their sights on him, it would not be pleasant.

    Marcus and Emma couldn''t climb trees. Rody tried controlling them to do so several times, but despite their complete obedience, they were unsuccessful, causing Rody great anxiety. The wolf pack was not like the terralizards; they were not only numerous but also had keen senses and swift movements. Although the terralizards were strong, they were not agile, giving Rody a chance to fight back with Marcus and Emma.

    Now, he could only hope that the few night wolves would leave after filling their stomachs; otherwise, it would be dangerous. Rody struggled to carry his mother up to a higher branch of the tree and tried to lower a rope to pull Marcus and Emma up. But with his strength, he couldn''t lift the robust Marcus and the corpulent Emma up the tree...

    After eating for a while, the night wolves let out strange calls, short sounds that carried far and wide in the darkness, making Rody''s scalp tingle. Indeed, the night wolves were calling their companions. A large number of wolves silently emerged in the darkness, about twenty to thirty of them. Seeing the remains of the terralizard, they pounced on it, joyfully tearing and greedily gnawing. After finishing the terralizard, their green eyes and bloody mouths turned towards Rody''s direction.

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    Rody inwardly sighed that he had started using Marcus and Emma''s bodies for training too late. If Marcus now possessed fighting energy, and Emma was a three-star junior magician, they would have the capability to defend themselves in battle. Facing over twenty indiscriminate night wolves, Rody had only one option: to control Marcus and Emma to fight desperately, trying to injure the enemy as much as possible, hoping that their frenzied attacks would scare off the pack of night wolves.

    "Kill..." Rody''s killing intent erupted, controlling Marcus and Emma to wildly stab with their daggers.

    The night wolves were not like the terralizards; they were smaller and as quick as lightning. Moreover, they excelled in coordinated attacks. They first attracted attacks, dodging the dagger stabs, and then their companions would launch surprise attacks from the side. Although Rody was aware of their tactics, Marcus and Emma''s slow reactions made it impossible to effectively harm the wolf pack.

    Piece by piece, flesh was torn from them by the night wolves. If they were normal humans, they would have likely been severely injured and fallen. Before their arms were torn off, Marcus and Emma managed to stab only two or three night wolves, and the injuries were not serious. The keen responses of the night wolves allowed them to narrowly escape the deadly dagger thrusts; they were not the slow-reacting terralizards.

    In the end, Rody could only watch helplessly as the night wolves overpowered his dark servants, greedily tearing at them.

    If Marcus had possessed fighting energy, the situation wouldn''t have been so one-sided. Unfortunately, Rody had started his training too late... Fearing his mother would wake up to see this disgusting and terrifying scene, Rody fed her some more sleeping potion. Fortunately, the night wolves couldn''t climb trees. They tried jumping several times, but finding the branch where Rody was too high to reach, they eventually gave up.

    As an angry retaliation, Rody used Nicholas''s severed arm bone to cast ''Ghost Fang'' and ''Blindness'', causing the jumping night wolves to fall hard to the ground, creating chaos.

    The necromancy spells Rody could currently cast were of minor power, so this did little serious harm to the wolf pack; it was more about revenge and driving them away.

    Although there was still prey hiding in the tree, the night wolves retreated before dawn. They are typically nocturnal creatures, their eyes as clear as day in the darkness. During the day, their vision and combat strength greatly decrease, and they definitely do not compete for dominion of the forest with other creatures in daylight. Once they left, Rody quickly descended from the tree. The heavy scent of blood would attract large beasts active during the day, which might be even more troublesome than the night wolves.

    Marcus and Emma were left by the night wolves with only their bloody skulls, spines, and ribs. But they are undead servants of darkness. Once a magical contract is established, it will never be annulled unless their bodies are completely destroyed. Rody tried and felt that they still had the potential for training, which brought him immense joy. It was a surprise to Rody that even skeletal remains could be trained. However, he had no time to think further and quickly stored Marcus and Emma''s skeletons in his storage ring and left.

    After half a day of desperate running, an exhausted Rody finally emerged from the forest and reached a shallow bank of a river. Only after confirming that there were no large predators around and seeing many herbivorous animals leisurely drinking water did Rody let out a sigh of relief and gently let down his mother from his back. Feeling her forehead, he found that her high fever had completely subsided. Sensing with his mental energy, he found that her life force, although a bit weak, seemed much improved after rest and the potion.

    In the evening, Rody''s mother woke up, feeling very hungry. She ate the fish Rody had grilled and praised her son as a skilled fisherman and competent chef. As for the disappearance of Marcus and Emma, Rody explained that Father Cedo''s sleep spell had worn off and they had woken up and run away.

    "Mom, we will definitely have a good life. When I grow up a bit more, I will become strong enough to protect you, and I won''t let anyone bully you. You must hang in there. We will leave this Kolo mountain range together and find a remote little village to live a peaceful life of our own. In that place, no one will harm us, no one will burn us, and no one will constantly think of sending us to the stake." Rody knew his mother was reluctant to leave Kolo and his father, and tried his best to comfort her.

    "My dear, Mom won''t let anyone harm you either. Don''t worry about me, Rody, my illness is cured," his kind mother said, hugging Rody in her arms. She knew how much hardship her son had endured to carry her and flee their home, and as she stroked his thin and pale face, her heart ached.

    Her husband had abandoned her, and the world had abandoned her. But she still had her son, the smartest, most understanding, and most precious treasure to her...

 Chapter 17: Setting Sail

    Perhaps the goddess of misfortune had taken a rest, or maybe she had found a new target. Rody and his mother safely made their way out of the Kolo mountain range and entered the territory of Doha. Concerned that the lord of Doha, allied with Kolo, might issue a warrant for his arrest, Rody insisted on leading his mother through the wilderness. Occasionally passing small villages, they disguised themselves as wanderers, exchanging silver coins and animal skins for food and clothing from the villagers.

    Before fleeing Kolo, Rody had prepared enough food. With wild fruits not being scarce and his rich hunting experience, he often added meat and fish to their diet. During the half-month journey, food was not their primary concern.

    Rody''s greatest worry was whether his mother''s health could endure the journey and the threat of wild beast attacks. At night, his necromancy spells offered some protection, but without Marcus and Emma, encountering large carnivorous beasts or terrifying magical beasts during the day would be extremely dangerous. Rody and his mother traveled as much as possible through forests and along streams, as these environments offered escape routes in case of danger. His mother was strong, never complaining throughout the journey, walking alongside Rody during the day and only allowing her beloved son to carry her at night. She insisted on preparing simple but tasty meals whenever they stopped to rest.

    At midnight, Rody would hold his mother as they rested in trees, but they traveled as much as possible during the day. They crossed mountains, trekked through forests, forded streams, and passed countless villages and rugged paths.

    Relying on each other for survival, Rody and his mother supported and encouraged each other. After a month, having circumnavigated much of Doha, they arrived at the distant port of Asu.

    "Why do you want to buy a rabbit, son?" Rody''s mother, unaware that her son was a necromancer, did not know that he planned to use the rabbit as a dark servant, a bone pet among animals. With this tireless and inconspicuous rabbit, Rody could have an extra set of eyes to observe their surroundings. He had a natural distrust of people and, for safety, would not easily trust any stranger.

    "Maybe our journey needs a little animal to add some liveliness," Rody vaguely explained, and his mother did not inquire further.

    Controlling a rabbit was much easier than controlling a human. Apart from the difference in size, there was a special feeling that gave Rody an insight: the lower the level of the animal, the easier it was to control with mental power.

    Moreover, after the previous battle where he had overexerted and multitasked, Rody felt his mental power had been trained and sublimated. Now, when he meditated, he discovered that his previously thread-like mental power had grown much thicker, like a small necklace. It not only spiraled and extended but also cooperated more adeptly with Rody''s will. He even accidentally discovered that his mental power could weave a web-like pattern of ripples, spreading far and wide, although these ripples were very fine, much thinner than a hair, and not as powerful as a concentrated force.

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    But these fine ripples could spread farther and radiate around his body, allowing Rody to control multiple dark servants within range simultaneously.

    Rody captured two small mantises and turned them into dark servants, trying to teach them to jump and then to fly, despite their initial struggles. Gradually, he could control their ascent and descent more smoothly.

    Training mental power needed more time, and Rody was not in a hurry. He wanted to find a large ship to leave and then settle down in a remote place to slowly enhance his mental power and practice higher-level necromancy. Nicholas knew four-star necromancy, which wasn''t much on the continent, but if Rody mastered four-star or higher necromancy and had dark servants skilled in fighting energy and magic to protect him, he need not fear terralizards and night wolves. He believed that even against warriors below five-star great swordsmen, he would have a fighting chance.

    "Madam, young master, it''s at least a five-day sea journey to Zambirus. You two need to pay three gold coins, and additionally, you need to pay five silver coins for meals. Food and water are scarce at sea, understand?" When Rody, with his veiled mother, went to the port to board a ship, a stinky-bearded captain said he was willing to take them but demanded an exorbitant price.

    "We will bring our own food and water. As for the fare, we can hire a bigger ship with two gold coins. There are more than just your ship here." Rody sneered and turned to leave with his mother.

    "Wait a minute. Although my ship is not big, it is the fastest in Asu port. Who would set sail with just two passengers? The big ships usually carry goods too, which not only delays time but also makes the journey slow. And if a storm hits, they can''t evade it in time... Young master, three gold coins is not a lot, as I have no returning customers in Zambirus." The bearded captain hurriedly stopped Rody and his mother.

    "We''ll pay the remaining two gold coins when we''re close to the port of Zambirus." Rody, understanding the importance of not flaunting wealth, certainly wouldn''t be foolish enough to pay the fare in advance.

    "This can''t be..." Seeing Rody about to leave again, the bearded captain reluctantly agreed. Once they were on his ship, he wasn''t worried about Rody, a child, and a woman escaping his fare. He glanced at Rody''s mother''s attractive figure under her robe and swallowed hard.

    Rody saw everything, but he was using the captain''s greed to escape from Doha. Travelling with others could expose their whereabouts, which he did not want. Although the bearded captain seemed strong, Rody felt he was easier to handle than Marcus.

    Two flying mantises and a rabbit that slept all day took turns monitoring the surroundings, while Rody and his mother stayed in the cabin, rarely coming out.

    Three days later, the bearded captain, seeing the vast sea and feeling in control of his domain, grew bolder. He felt Rody didn''t look like a poor kid, and his veiled mother, still stunning, was a top-tier woman. After drinking some alcohol, the captain courageously went to knock on Rody''s cabin door, using the excuse of an upcoming storm to ask for help with the sails.

    "Captain Cozmo, we''ll come out right away!" Rody answered in a panic from inside, then opened the cabin door.

    "Madam, come help quickly..." The bearded captain was overjoyed, planning to knock Rody unconscious and then force himself on his mother. But he was hit hard in the face with a bone staff, and as he reeled in pain, his vision darkened.

    Before he could understand what was happening, he felt a dagger pierce his abdomen. He yelled, grabbing the wrist, only to realize it was a cold, fleshless bone arm.

    Something seemed to bite his face, and a hot sensation rolled down his face. The bearded captain covered his face, trying to use his familiarity with the ship to escape the cabin amidst the attacks. But the attacks were relentless, with the bone arm stabbing his back and more biting teeth flying towards him.

    In a panic and fearing death, the captain stumbled away. Finally, he rushed to the deck, unaware that he was near the edge, and fell into the sea with a crash.

    Rody, along with Nicholas, chased after him, intending to turn the lustful man into another dark servant. But seeing the intense smell of blood attracting numerous carnivorous fish, crazily tearing at the struggling, dying captain, and even the appearance of sharks in the distance, he quickly pulled the ropes, raised the sails, and sped away from the dangerous area.

 Chapter 18: The Storm

    The next day, Rody''s mother awoke to find the cabin door wide open and her son not by her side, which startled her. Drawing her protective dagger, she rushed outside. She was shocked to see Rody lowering the sails, with dark clouds looming and fierce winds howling in the distant sky, signaling an approaching storm. Stunned, she asked, "Son, where is the captain? Where are we heading now? Isn''t there anywhere to take shelter?"

    "Mom, Captain Cozmo escaped in a lifeboat a few hours ago... After taking our fare, that guy left us on this rotten boat and left by himself," Rody lied, not admitting the captain''s demise in the fish belly. As he quickly lowered the sails, he shouted, "Mom, go back to the cabin, it''s windy and the waves are huge, it''s dangerous here!"

    "Don¡¯t worry, my dear, I''ll help you!" Knowing she couldn''t help much, Rody''s mother felt she should stay.

    "Go back to the cabin... Mom, I don¡¯t know how to sail at all. Apart from lowering the sails to reduce wind force, there''s nothing else I can do. I never expected steering this rotten boat to be so difficult," Rody said, seeing the wind intensify and the waves surge. He quickly secured the ropes and pulled his mother back to the cabin.

    Now, all they could do was pray for good fortune. Rody had abundant knowledge and keen reflexes, but he knew nothing about sailing and couldn''t counteract nature. As the storm approached, he lamented that the goddess of misfortune was relentless in tormenting him to the brink of exhaustion.

    "Merciful Holy Mother above, please protect your devout follower and her precious child. With your omnipotent hand, care for our humble lives..." Rody''s mother embraced Rody and prayed quietly to the Holy Mother. She knew prayer wouldn''t stop the storm, but it calmed her mind. She couldn''t help her son directly, but at least she could lessen his worry about her.

    "Mom, Mom," Rody clung tightly to his mother, cherishing these final moments before the storm tore their ship apart.

    Perhaps these were his last moments in this world. Maybe this embrace was his last with his mother.

    Rody''s mother continued praying, comforting Rody with her gentle and calm voice. She was terrified too, but in this desperate situation, she was a mother first and a woman second. In front of her son, she had to be brave.

    The storm was more terrifying than imagined. It paused briefly before bursting forth violently, like a massive demonic hand stirring the ocean. Waves tossed the boat high and then slammed it down hard. Inside the cabin, mother and son clung tightly, their embrace the only comfort and support they could offer each other.

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    Rody tied himself and his mother together with a rope to prevent separation and injury from hitting the cabin walls.

    Now, they could only hope for fate''s mercy. To be buried at sea or survive the storm... Rody was uncertain. He longed to live and see the future, but what could he do against the unstoppable force of nature? What role could his newly improved necromancy play?

    "Mom..." Rody heard a ''boom'' outside, as if the mainmast had been broken by the wind, filling him with dread.

    "My darling, Mom is here, don''t be afraid, Mom will always be by your side, my baby, Mom is here!" Tears fell from Rody''s mother''s eyes as she held her son, feeling sorrow for their fate and heartache for her young son who had already suffered so much. This was not something a child should bear. He should be living a normal life, enjoying the indulgence of his parents. He should have a wonderful life, studying at a magic academy or training at a knight''s academy. A person as outstanding as her son, a unique genius, should become a hero known throughout the continent in the future, receiving everyone''s support and respect. But now, he had already endured the bullying of the world and the torment of fate.

    "It''s over!" Rody felt the entire ship tilting. A wooden ship in a storm was as fragile as a child''s toy. The vibrations from the giant waves hitting the ship came one after another, as if it would break apart at any moment. Rody''s head hit the cabin wall hard, and before losing consciousness, he held his mother tightly, shouting, "Mom!"

    "Mom¡­"

    When Rody awoke, he found himself half-submerged in water, with the hurricane still raging. The cabin was pitch black, and he felt a splitting headache, likely injured from the earlier impact. He released Nicholas from the storage ring and, through the vision of his dark servant, found his mother unconscious with a bleeding forehead, her face and shoulder stained with blood.

    Rody hurriedly fed his mother a life potion and sent Nicholas outside to check the situation.

    The storm outside was still furiously hitting the ship. The mainmast was completely broken, the ship was badly damaged and leaking, but it was still floating on the sea.

    The only option now was to continue hiding in the relatively safe cabin, waiting for the hurricane to subside. Since the ship wouldn''t sink in the storm, Rody''s hope for survival rose again.

    He controlled Nicholas to throw all unnecessary weight from the ship into the sea and tirelessly scooped out the waves that splashed into the cabin. Nicholas, never tiring as long as Rody was conscious and had mental energy, kept following orders.

    Numerous waves swept over the ship, most sliding back into the sea through the hull holes, with only a few flooding the cabin.

    Amidst the storm and rocking, Rody controlled Nicholas to slowly scoop out the seawater. He couldn''t fight the storm or nature''s power, but as long as there was a glimmer of hope, he would try to save himself and not just wait to die. His only worry now was whether his mother could endure the storm.

    To reduce her mental burden, Rody periodically fed her a sleeping potion to keep her in a painless sleep.

    Maybe three or four days, or perhaps five or six days passed, and the wind gradually weakened in the long ordeal.

    Rody finally rested in peace, falling asleep.

    When he woke up again, he was surprised to find that the storm had completely passed. Controlling Nicholas to go outside, he saw the sun had risen.

    The dark clouds had dispersed, and sunlight pierced through the layers of clouds, shining on the sea, creating a calm and peaceful scene. The dark sky that had once filled Rody with immense fear had suddenly turned into a bright blue sky, bathed in sunlight, bringing a glimmer of hope to Rody''s heart.

 Chapter 19: Hope is Right in Front of Us

    "Son, Mom wants to drink water..." Rody''s mother, who had awakened at some point, was severely weakened by the storm. Rody carefully fed her the last half bottle of water, but she had been thirsty for too long, and the little water could not quench her thirst. She took a few sips, realized there wasn''t much water, and, despite still feeling thirsty, refused to drink more. Rody softly urged her to drink, but she insisted her beloved son have the water instead.

    To conserve the lifesaving water and search for any remaining food or clean water from the storm, Rody saved the remaining water and untied the ropes to leave the cabin and search around.

    He found no food or fresh water; almost everything on the ship had been swept away by the storm. The wooden ship was badly damaged, the hull was leaking, and with the mainmast broken, it was just drifting with the waves, lacking any forward momentum. The lifeboat had been swept away by the huge waves. If they didn''t quickly build a small raft to leave the sea, he believed they wouldn''t have to wait for the next storm to come; they would soon die of thirst in the vast ocean.

    Rody felt that despite the sunny weather outside, the scythe of death still hung over their necks. He needed to race against time and death.

    Even Rody''s mother sensed the danger. After resting for a while, she climbed out to help Rody tie the sailcloth. Working together, they spent half a day building a rudimentary small raft with the remaining sailcloth as a wind sail and made two wooden oars.

    In the vast sea, they had no idea which direction the nearest land was. Rody decided to gamble on his luck, choosing to head in the opposite direction of the setting sun, towards the east. They took almost nothing on the raft; Rody only brought their soaked clothes to dry for his mother to keep warm at night, and found nothing else worth taking from the ship.

    "Dear, my darling, if the Holy Mother saved our lives from the storm, she will not abandon us. Her mercy will guide us and lead us to the brightest path. Son, hope is right in front of us. As long as you are with me, Mom is not afraid of anything," Rody''s mother said, despite her severe weakness, showing the strength of a mother. No matter what hardships she endured in the world, she could withstand them, and even the most terrifying storm in nature couldn''t defeat her. She was a mother, her son''s strongest spiritual shield.

    No matter when, she would light up hope with her smile, shining in her son''s heart...

    "Mom, you''re right, hope is right in front of us." Rody raised the oar, challenging his fate once again, fighting against the arrival of death with his efforts. He might be knocked down by misfortune, but he would never be defeated.

    After pain, after fear, he could stand up time and again. And each time he stood up, he learned from past failures, growing rapidly and becoming stronger. Although fate tormented him and misfortune favored him, suffering could only harm his body but not diminish his will, not erase his wisdom, and not consume his heart that longed to become stronger.

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    Five days later, the last drop of water had been consumed two days before. There was still no sign of land; Rody''s lips were cracked and peeling, and his weak mother had fallen ill due to the continuous exposure to the sun, remaining drowsy all day.

    "Mom, have some water!" Rody now desperately hoped for a heavy rain from the sky, even a storm would be better than dying of thirst in the vast sea. But as days passed, the sky became clearer and the sun more intense. Despite trying everything, Rody couldn''t find any water. In desperation, he cut his arm with a dagger, collected some of his blood in a bottle, and brought it to his mother''s lips.

    "Dear, why does this water taste a bit strange?" Rody''s mother, delirious with illness, had no idea she was drinking her beloved son''s blood. "This is a sleeping potion mixed with holy water. Drink it, Mom, and have a good sleep," Rody said as he watched his mother take a few big gulps, her thirst seemingly relieved a bit, and then weakly fall asleep. He quickly covered her with clothes for warmth.

    The sea was hot like a furnace during the day, but the temperature dropped sharply at night, a drastic contrast. Rody was surprised at his body''s endurance. Although he often felt dizzy, he hadn''t fallen ill despite the harsh conditions. He used to cough at the slightest wind, often coughing up blood, but now he seemed much better. Could the improvement in his mental power also affect his body?

    Not quite understanding but assuming it was a good thing, Rody hoped for more such improvements. Seeing his mother peacefully asleep, he summoned Nicholas and let the tireless servant paddle the raft forward.

    Finally, as the dawn''s sunlight stretched rosy fingers across the fish-belly white eastern sky, Rody inadvertently saw something black at the end of the horizon where the sea and sky merged. It was land...

    Tears filled his eyes, unable to be held back any longer. Rody wanted to shout for joy, but his throat was too parched.

    Once again, he had overcome fate.

    Once again, he had defeated death.

    When Rody, carrying his mother, entered a small fishing village, people were amazed that someone had survived at sea after a storm, especially on a rudimentary wooden raft. After buying food and water, Rody spent two silver coins to gather information.

    Only then did he realize he was far from Mesnotania, where the Lein family resided. The storm had blown him and his mother off course, drifting hundreds, nearly a thousand, miles. Now, he was in a place called the Felik Peninsula, separated from Mesnotania by two small countries and a large one.

    The fishermen suggested that the noble young master, who had escaped the storm, should go to the town because only there were carriages to the city of Gostera in Felik. In this city, one could find roads to the capital of Felik. As for Mesnotania, the fishermen had only heard of it, and nobody in the village, including the village head who was said to have been to the capital of Felik for business, knew anything about it.

    Rody wanted this kind of remote countryside, but he felt he should hide in an even more secluded place, preferably far from the still frightening sea.

    Upon reaching the town, Rody saw that the townspeople were panic-stricken and evacuating. He learned it was due to the annual raid by barbaric goblins and quickly hired a carriage to leave with his mother. However, he was somewhat relieved; the Felik nation was chaotic and weak, with frequent invasions by other races. It was a suitable place for a necromancer like him who needed corpses for dark servants, but the priority was to find a relatively safe place to settle down, as he couldn''t put his mother in danger.

    "Up ahead is the road to Gostera, to the left is the town of Baeke, and to the right is the road to Whitestone, a small town near the Silent Forest. It''s the farthest, at least three days away without stopping, and it''s at the end of the road, leading into the Silent Forest where magical beasts roam. If the young master wants to avoid goblins, he can go to Gostera or Whitestone, but the latter requires an additional five silver coins for the fare..." After a day''s journey, the coachman stopped at a crossroad and asked Rody''s opinion.

    "Whitestone!" Rody didn''t care about the fare; he was looking for a remote environment and finally decided to go to Whitestone to check it out.

 Chapter 20: The Landlady

    Whitestone town couldn''t really be called a town; even calling it a village was a bit of a stretch. It only had a little over thirty households, scattered around a small valley. It was so small that even an ordinary village was bigger, making its designation as a town somewhat exaggerated. However, at the entrance to the small valley, there was a huge white stone, perhaps giving Whitestone its name.

    Before arriving in Whitestone, Rody and his mother had seen seven or eight people with donkeys carrying various items, fleeing for refuge, so the locals paid no mind to Rody¡¯s arrival. When Rody, with his mother, went to the only tavern in town to inquire who the town mayor was, several drinking fellows burst into laughter. A burly man approached, reeking of alcohol, and said, "Whitestone is no place for a little brat like you, understand? Go back to your mother''s lap and suckle! Just by looking at your incapable face, I can tell you''re a spoiled rich kid from the city! A mayor? Do you think every place in this world needs some damn mayor?"

    "No mayor is fine." Rody''s mother quickly intervened, "Rody, since this is a free land, let''s build a small wooden hut to live in!"

    "Eh? What a beauty!" The burly man¡¯s drunken eyes lit up at the sight of Rody''s mother and leered, "Young and beautiful lady, is there anything Bruce can help with? I have a spacious and warm wooden hut, with bear skin on the floor, a soft bed, and a velvet quilt, guaranteed to make you never want to leave once you''ve slept in it¡­"

    "Sir, your behavior is extremely impolite. Please show some respect!" Rody''s mother cut him off, angrily.

    "You just don¡¯t know me yet. If you knew my strengths, you would definitely change your opinion of me!" The burly man grinned cheekily, while his companions roared with laughter, filling the tavern.

    "This is my money..." Suddenly, Rody stretched out his hand, displaying two shiny gold coins, dazzling everyone.

    "What do you mean? Want to buy my house? I''m not selling! Haha, what''s money? What I want is a beauty, not the almighty gold of a rich brat, understand? Move aside, kids shouldn''t interrupt adults!" The burly man, smug and ignoring Rody''s gesture, kept leering at Rody''s mother with a sleazy gaze, like a night wolf eyeing its prey.

    "Bang! Bang Bang!"

    Rody punched the burly man in the groin, and before he could react, kicked him twice more in the same spot.

    The burly man''s eyes bulged out, his mouth agape, but he couldn''t make a sound. Clutching his groin, he tried to scream in pain but his knees gave out, and he knelt before Rody. Rody drew his dagger and struck the man hard on the forehead with the handle, then kicked him in the face, sending him crashing to the ground. Rody raised the dagger, his eyes coldly scanning the astonished patrons, and sneered, ¡°These two gold coins are compensation for his medical expenses. Make sure you collect them for him.¡±

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    ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Instead of helping, the burly man¡¯s companions burst into laughter, banging on the table.

    ¡°Interesting kid, really stinks of arrogance!¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s see if Bruce¡¯s strength turns into a weakness, ah ha, haven''t had such fun in a long time! I was wondering why this damned town never had anyone interesting. Finally, there¡¯s someone.¡±

    ¡°If that big lecher Bruce really gets castrated, I''ll buy drinks for everyone to celebrate!¡±

    ¡°Kid, I support you, go for it! We''re waiting, waiting to cheer for you! Hahaha¡­¡±

    Rody coldly surveyed the crowd and thrust his dagger towards the burly man''s groin. If anyone thought he wouldn¡¯t dare because he was a child, they were gravely mistaken. If they had been to Kolo, they would know that the third young master of Kolo had a talent for ¡®bird-hunting,¡¯ and due to Rody''s sudden attacks, at least thirty had been sent to the medical center with crushed ¡®birds.¡¯

    Suddenly, a hand reached from behind and grabbed Rody''s wrist. This sent a chill through Rody; he remembered there was no one behind him. Only his mother was beside him, and she couldn¡¯t possibly catch up with his movements. Who was trying to stop his attack?

    Rody turned and almost jumped in fright. Behind him stood a tall woman with minimal clothing, wearing a tank top and short leather shorts, revealing a full and fiery figure. Beyond her mature femininity, there was something terrifying about her. Rody, brave as he was, felt his heart quiver at the sight of her horrifying tattoos.

    Her body was covered in tattoos, including her face. A scorpion with bared fangs crawled down her right cheek from her smooth forehead. On the other side of her face was a terrifying demon bee. Her slender neck and arms were adorned with sinister, man-eating snakes, one on each side, coiling and baring venomous fangs so realistically that they seemed alive. Above her abdomen was a giant, greedy spider; although half of the spider was hidden inside her shorts, the mere thought of the mysterious private area being the mouth of a spider with venomous fangs would terrify any man.

    Her long legs were adorned with strange insects Rody had never seen before, all eyes, twisted, as if they could see into one''s soul. Rody turned around and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

    "No knives allowed in my tavern. Other than that, drinking, gambling, and finding women are all fair game, understand? Those are the rules, my rules!" The woman''s appearance and figure were completely ruined by tattoos, but she had a pair of beautiful large eyes, the only part of her that still had a hint of humanity. She belched, spraying Rody with the smell of alcohol, and said, "You can stay here, but you¡¯ll have to clean, and don¡¯t expect me to pay you!"

    "It hurts so bad..." Before Rody could respond, the burly man on the ground suddenly struggled to stand up, gasping in pain, "Lucky I had my fighting spirit to protect me, otherwise my balls would have been smashed by this stinking kid."

    "Get lost, I get annoyed just seeing you guys!" The tavern owner grabbed another bottle of wine, guzzled it down, and then furiously threw the empty bottle at the burly man, who, terrified, clutched his groin and fled in a sorry state. Rody was stunned; the burly man had withstood his full-force strike. Although Rody¡¯s punch wasn''t very strong, hitting such a vulnerable spot would be fatal for an ordinary person.

    It was unexpected that the burly man could not only get up but also run away. It seemed that Whitestone, this remote town, was not just any ordinary town.

    "This place seems quite nice, and the people are kind. Rody, let''s settle down here!" Rody''s mother''s words provoked a round of loud laughter from the crowd.

    "Kind? Ahaha, what an interesting woman to say the people here are kind!" Someone banged on the table and whistled loudly.

    "This place is a haven for ruffians, hoodlums, rogues, lechers, villains, bandits, idiots, dog shit, trash, and human scum. Even the little ants here belong to the evil faction! Kind? Listen, don''t you pigs feel ashamed hearing such words that describe saints?" The woman finished cursing and somehow produced another bottle of wine, gulping it down again.

    "Actually, I quite like the term ''kind.'' From now on, everyone call me Kind Isaac!" A man in black cawed with laughter.

    "We think ''Jack the Ripper'' suits you better..." the crowd laughed uproariously.

 Chapter 21: The Enchantress Sisters

    "It''s so lively here!" someone at the door said warmly, "It''s been a long time since I''ve heard everyone laughing so heartily."

    Rody looked up and saw a man in his forties entering. He had flaxen long hair and a scruffy beard on his chin, giving him an especially weathered look. His eyes were calm, like still water, making it hard to gauge his depth. Rody noticed that the man''s left sleeve was empty, and he wore a plain bronze sword at his right side. It was clear that this man used to be a left-handed swordsman. Although he had lost his left hand, years of habit remained unchanged.

    The man''s clothes were ordinary warrior attire, washed white, with no discernible original color. His boots, unlike those of ordinary men, were very clean, without a speck of dirt. This wasn''t due to cleaning, but rather a walking habit.

    Rody paid close attention and indeed noticed that the man''s steps were very slow, each step exactly the same distance as the last, incredibly precise.

    "Gavin, did you also come over because you smelled the fragrance of a beautiful woman?" a man in black joked.

    "Eh? There really is a beautiful woman!" The one-armed man''s eyes lit up when he saw Rody''s mother, but then he looked at Rody and smiled, "It seems beside the beautiful mother, there''s also an impressive little guardian. Is this the little guy who made Bruce bend over and unable to speak? That''s really satisfying. Bruce, I guess you''ve learned your lesson about being arrogant."

    "If it weren''t for him being a little brat, I would''ve torn him apart!" The burly man was still unable to sit, leaning on the table and gasping.

    "To flirt with a beauty, just having a foul mouth isn''t enough." Everyone burst into laughter and whistled.

    "Right, you at least need to have the ability to take a beating," the one-armed man chuckled, "I heard early this morning that someone got beaten up for flirting with a beauty. It really lifted my spirits. Looks like I can''t keep the silver coins in my pocket safe. Stacy, could you make me a martini when you have time?"

    "You want a drink, pour it yourself. There are no servants here to wait on you! I''m not in the mood right now, and nobody should be acting drunk here! Also, don''t call me Stacy, that''s not a nickname you can use! You guys can only call me Anastasia!" The female tavern owner, who could outdrink water, burped and pointed at Rody, "You, and her, if you want to stay here, come with me."

    "I dare say, you''re the most characterful tavern owner on the continent," the one-armed man laughed and went to pour himself a drink.

    "If you haven''t watered down the drinks, then you''ll have to pay twenty percent more!" The tavern owner leaned down, her breath reeking of alcohol, and huffed at Rody, "What are you still standing there for? Getting room and board is already good, do you still want to negotiate a wage with me?"

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    And so, Rody and his mother settled down in the town of Whitestone.

    Gradually, he got to know the people of the town. Apart from the outsiders who took refuge there each year, almost no one was what you''d call ''normal''. They were either lunatics, hotheads, scoundrels, or thieves. Most were mercenaries, some were disabled veterans who had retired from the battlefield, and a few, like Rody, were wanderers who had come from other places and stayed on unintentionally.

    The burly man who nearly injured Rody was named Bruce. He was the deputy leader of one of the two mercenary squads in town, who went into the Silent Forest each year to hunt magical beasts for their pelts to exchange for drinking money. His greatest pastime was flirting with women. Although he was lecherous, he was not a rapist. He often paid to spend nights at the house of Amanda, a prostitute in a small cabin on the opposite mountain, but there was no talk of him ever being violent with her.

    The man in black was neither named Isaac nor ''Jack the Ripper'' ¨C those were his aliases and the nickname used by the authorities on the mainland who wanted him. Rody didn''t know his real name, but the one-armed swordsman Gavin sometimes called him ''Crow''. This guy seemed to be a lone assassin who always aimed for people''s vital points, as if constantly looking for an opportunity to strike.

    As for the others, each had their own peculiarities. In short, not a single person in this town was normal.

    The female tavern owner was the fiercest and most formidable woman in town, and no one dared to mess with her. In her words, if she didn''t show those dirty men a thing or two now and then, they''d start getting itchy.

    After living there for a while, Rody not only found her less terrifying than before but actually quite agreeable.

    However, he couldn''t understand why she drank so much. He had never seen anyone drink like her. If you totaled up the number of bottles, she could drink all the men in town under the table. The tavern owner was perpetually drunk, and since Rody lived in the small cabin behind hers, sometimes he couldn''t bear to watch. He would drag her drunk body back to her house, throw her onto the bed, and if she was vomiting severely, he would even help her drink some water and wipe her down.

    Although the tavern owner was a woman, Rody believed that no man in the world could find her body sexually appealing.

    The tavern owner had a great figure ¨C curvy where she should be and slender where it mattered. If it weren''t for the terrifying tattoos covering her entire body, she would be considered a top beauty among women. However, no man in town dared to give her body more than a glance, including Rody. His fingers would tremble with fear when he wiped her body.

    Her tattoos were not ordinary ink work, but a kind of terrifying curse. If someone''s hand lingered a bit too long on her skin, the tattoos would seem to come to life, moving as if they were about to burst out and bite the hand. It was truly horrifying.

    At first, the tavern owner would glare at Rody angrily the next day after he undressed her to wipe her down, but as it happened more often, she no longer cared.

    Rody''s mother found work as an assistant to Granny Ann, the herbal potion seller not too far away. Her basic wage was two silver coins, and if the sales increased, she would get a silver coin for every two gold coins worth of potions sold.

    Days passed by, and Rody spent every day training his mental strength. During the day, he practiced controlling rabbits hopping around and two mantises flying or fighting each other, honing his multitasking skills. At night, he practiced qi with Marcus''s skull, earth magic with Emma''s skull, and most importantly, necromancy with Nicholas''s skull. This was his basic means of survival and his ultimate hope for progressing towards becoming a strong fighter.

    However, Rody''s peace was disturbed when a pair of sisters arrived in town. They used to come often to buy magic crystals and quality furs and sell magical ornaments and armors. They usually stayed for a month or two before leaving, but for some unknown reason, they had now settled down.

    The sisters were no ordinary humans; they were said to be the mixed offspring of a succubus and a fairy. Identical twins, it was impossible to tell who was older. They both had purple hair, twisted horns, slender tails, large eyes, wore revealing clothes, and had voluptuous figures and flirtatious personalities.

    Their hobby was to tease every man in town. But everyone knew the dangers of succubi, and no one dared to mess with these sisters, who were rumored to be able to drain a man dry with just one encounter.

    Seeing all the men in town scared stiff of them, the succubi sisters turned their attention to Rody, the newcomer.

    "Little brother Rody, come to our cabin tonight. We''ll show you something fun that you''ll get addicted to," they would often say to him, especially before bedtime.

 Chapter 22: Whos the Little Brother

    The Silent Forest, in reality, is not a forest but a mountain range.

    It is many times larger than the Koro Mountain Range, almost the size of a super-large country, spanning between two major countries and several smaller ones. Each ridge of the range marks the boundary of a nation, including the Principality of Felic, where Rody resides.

    Why is it called the Silent Forest? Rody asked Granny Ann, the oldest and most knowledgeable person in town. She explained that at the heart of the Silent Mountain Range lies a sacred mountain, where the corpses of dragons, angels, and other high-level beings are buried. Any human who dares approach is torn to pieces, devoured, or slain by the terrifying guardians. The gods have decreed that no one shall enter the mountain, in order to preserve the tranquility of this eternal graveyard.

    Thousands of years ago, it was known as the Silent Ruins. Now, it''s covered in forests with towering trees, so people started calling it the Silent Forest.

    Granny Ann''s story intrigued Rody.

    As a necromancer, he needed the corpses of higher life forms to create more powerful undead servants. The stronger the life form before death, the greater the potential and combat power of the undead servant, and the more room for improvement. Rody understood this through his enhancements of Marcus and Emma. He didn''t expect a lumberjack like Marcus to become a Sword Saint, and he knew it would be infinitely more difficult and time-consuming to train an undead to that level than to find a Sword Saint''s corpse.

    Rody realized that finding the corpse of a powerful being wasn''t his immediate need. Instead, he had to enhance the abilities of his undead servants. Without the ability to protect himself, no task could be successful.

    Rody calmed his mind and settled in Whitestone Town, practicing month after month, gradually improving his skills.

    Due to the uniqueness of the undead servants, Rody''s training methods were not only unique but also extreme. Ordinary people might be crippled, burst, or even die from the qi that permeated their bodies during training, but Rody repeatedly experimented on Marcus, Emma, and even Nicholas. Despite repeated failures, with the undead often breaking bones, losing teeth, or even exploding skulls, Rody was undeterred. What did the dead have to fear from pain?

    Once the trials were successful, the combat capabilities of the three undead servants would leap to a new level.

    Finally, not only the bone rabbit but also the two mantises were forcibly infused with qi. The bone rabbit wasn''t suitable for qi, as its flesh turned to mush and fell off, but the mantises successfully absorbed a type of qi called ''Whirlwind''. Due to their small size, they couldn''t form a full whirlwind, so their attacks were more like wielding tiny daggers or sickles. Proudly, Rody named this new skill ''Scythe Wind,'' allowing the two mantises to share this unique type of qi.

    The bone rabbit couldn''t learn qi, but Rody taught it the most basic water magic. Although it could only use ''Acid Spray'' once, and its corrosive power was weak, affecting only the eyes, Rody was quite satisfied.

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    Every so often, Rody would go into the forest alone to chop wood or gather herbs for his mother, taking these opportunities to practice his fastest-improving skill, necromancy. While he had the ability to subjugate more fierce beasts or magical beasts as his undead servants, his storage space was far from sufficient for such experiments.

    The storage space expanded slightly as Rody''s mental power increased, but it was still too small to fit another magical beast undead alongside Nicholas, Marcus, and Emma. Most importantly, Rody discovered he could forcibly merge the bones of magical beasts and humans into a new undead servant. He was continually searching for the most suitable magical beast to reconstruct a sturdy skeletal frame for Nicholas and the others to enhance their power.

    In the outskirts of the Silent Forest, there were hardly any magical beasts, mostly just herds of herbivores and a few carnivorous predators.

    Rody wanted to venture deeper to hunt magical beasts, but he felt the safest approach was to first improve his necromancy. Otherwise, revealing his powers carelessly could lead to a fate similar to Nicholas''s tragic end.

    Time flowed like water, quickly passing day by day.

    Unknowingly, three years went by.

    Rody, now nearly sixteen, had grown into a slightly slender but valiant young man. His continuous hard work had paid off handsomely. His once frail and weak body had gradually become stronger. While he was not as robust as a bull-like warrior, Rody, who consistently exercised daily, was no longer the poor child who coughed at the slightest breeze.

    Although he couldn''t use qi, when his undead servant Marcus ascended to a five-star qi swordsman, Rody''s body also strengthened. After all, all the qi in Marcus was cultivated by Rody, and his body, to some extent, benefited from this.

    The most significant enhancement was in Rody''s mind. When he meditated, he could sense his mental power becoming as thick as a whip, easily controllable at will. If he wished, Rody could use his mental power to form an invisible whip to lash at wild beasts, breaking the leg of a wind wolf or knocking out a horned goat with a hard skull with a hammer-like form.

    The only regret for Rody was that Nicholas was originally a four-star necromancer, and he only knew necromancy up to the four-star level.

    Rody had already broken through the four-star necromancy level half a year ago, and his learning had almost reached its limit.

    There were a few five-star and six-star necromancy spells, but Nicholas''s records were not detailed. Rody eagerly wanted to learn new necromancy spells to reach higher realms. A four-star mage was only a mid-level mage on the continent, not particularly noteworthy among the many strong. Rody didn''t want to live comfortably; he refused to be satisfied with being just a four-star mage for life.

    His ambition was to become a powerful being, a formidable figure looking down upon the world. Five stars, the Hexagram, the Big Dipper - these levels of magic were not Rody''s ultimate goal. He aimed for heights ordinary humans dared not dream of: the eighth-order Moon Halo Mage King, the ninth-order Moonlight Golden Robe Grand Mage King, or even the tenth-order Glorious Sun High Mage...

    "Rody, you''ve grown up. I don''t think you should spend your whole life here, you understand? I hope you go out and learn, broaden your horizons. You''re grown now, you need to soar like an eagle, fly freely. My dear, I used to worry about you and wanted to be by your side every day, but now, I think you should leave me and go out..." One day, Rody''s mother said this to him.

    "I think so too," said the one-armed swordsman Gavin, who seemed to have taken an interest in Rody''s mother over the past two years, often coming by under various pretexts to help.

    "Mom, let''s go out together then!" Rody suggested, nodding.

    "My dear, is there a place more suitable for me to live than here? I don''t want to leave, I like the simple life here, working at sunrise and resting at sunset. Besides, I would only be a burden if I went out, why would I tie you down like a rope? Dear, when you''re tired of being outside, come back, I''ll always be here waiting for you..." Rody''s mother said with a gentle smile.

    "I arranged with the merchant Fingal who came last month to enroll you, and you should be able to report to the Felic Magic Academy next month," said the one-armed swordsman Gavin, which greatly annoyed Rody.

    "Don''t you think you''re meddling too much, Mr. Gavin?" Rody retorted coldly.

    "Son, my dear, it was actually me who asked Mr. Gavin to do this, please don''t be angry," Rody''s mother quickly interjected, "Mr. Gavin means well, Rody, you should thank him."

    "Hey, is the Rody little brother with a serious Oedipus complex at home?" The only ones who would say something like that were the succubus sisters.

    "Who''s the little brother?" Rody immediately bristled upon hearing this.

 Chapter 23: Dont Touch, And No Kissing Either

    "Dear, we need to talk to you," said the Succubus sister, who, although identical to her sibling, liked to wear a mithril bracelet on her left wrist, while her sister preferred to wear hers on the right. This made it easy for Rody to tell which was which. Mimicking Rody''s mother''s tone, she made a funny face at Rody with a smile, while her sister, the other Succubus, grabbed Rody''s arm and pulled him out the door, not even giving him a chance to greet his mother.

    "Heidi, let go!" Rody felt a bit of a headache dealing with these two Succubus sisters who tempted him daily. If he wasn''t careful, they might just drain him dry.

    "Okay, look, I''m letting go. I''m being good!" The younger Succubus sister, upon her sister grabbing Rody''s arm, pretended to be a well-behaved child, blinking her electrifying eyes rapidly.

    "Hey, and you too, Haini! If you have something to say, just say it. Don''t touch, I haven''t bathed today... and no kissing! Hey, hey, let''s talk!" Rody felt the softness of the elder Succubus sister''s chest against his arm and quickly tried to negotiate. If he continued to resist, he figured they might just slip their hands into his pants. Rody often woke up to find the drunken sisters sprawled over him, either with their hands reaching for something erect or their flexible tails winding around his thigh inside his clothes, leading to nightmares mostly caused by them.

    "Dear, we''re planning to make a set of autumn clothes, but we''re missing a high-quality beast skin. You''re our promised little husband, aren''t you going to help us get even a single piece of clothing?" The younger sister hugged Rody''s waist, breathing a light purple mist into his ear.

    "The best would be snow leopard skin, but if not, silver fox or golden mink fur will do," said the elder sister, taking advantage of Rody''s confusion to make a bold request.

    "Remember to catch two red-beaked swans as well, with unspoiled white feathers and fur, especially the magic crystals, they must be intact. We also want to make velvet-lined magic leather boots," the younger sister was no less demanding.

    "I''ll make you both queens in a moment! And move a mountain of gold for your throne!" Rody said, exasperated.

    "If you don''t help us, fine, I''ll go tell mom that someone touched my breast one morning..." the elder sister hadn''t finished her threat when the younger sister added, "And someone also touched my little butt!"

    "That''s because you asked me to touch you!" Rody retorted angrily: "What''s the big deal with a touch? It''s not like you''ll lose a piece of flesh! Besides, you touched me too!"

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    "We''re going to tell mom..." The younger Succubus sister immediately put on a pitiful look, ready to tattle to Rody''s mother. Rody quickly grabbed the two little devils, nodding, "I''ll try, but just try. If it doesn''t work, I''ll bring you a piece of buffalo skin as a substitute. Don''t kiss, your lips carry that annoying passion-destroying magic, damn it... I said don''t kiss!"

    "We want to kiss anyway!" The two sisters hugged Rody and kissed him on his left and right cheeks respectively, then walked away with laughter ringing like bells.

    "Why are all the people around me so abnormal..." Rody felt his face heating up as if on fire, quickly spreading throughout his body. His blood boiled, and a certain part of him became extremely excited and as hard as steel, making him so annoyed that even several buckets of cold water from the well couldn''t suppress it.

    "Are you going into the Silent Forest again?" The female tavern owner, hiccupping from alcohol, appeared behind Rody unexpectedly.

    "Stacey, if I don''t come back, you''ll have to take care of my mother." In the entire town of Whitestone, the tavern owner was the only person he could confide in. She was always drunk, a keeper of secrets. Although Rody didn''t tell her all his secrets, sometimes he would share his troubles with her. She would listen while drinking, and after listening, she would be drunk.

    The next day, she would have completely forgotten Rody''s troubles, as if she had never heard him speak.

    However, every once in a while, maybe a month or a few months later, she would say something out of the blue to Rody. If it was related to Rody''s previous troubles, it would turn out that Rody''s problems had been solved, or at least, there was some way to solve them.

    "Who cares about you? If you can''t take care of your mother, that''s your problem, I''m not free." The tavern owner''s breath reeked of alcohol as she spoke to Rody, her eyes blurry with drunkenness.

    "If I can make it back, maybe I''ll go to school, my knowledge of magic is too shallow." Rody''s way of talking to the tavern owner was always disjointed and self-centered, a style that would leave anyone else completely confused.

    "Of course, you are shallow, you''re just a little brat! You don''t know how high the sky is or how vast the earth is!" the tavern owner said, too drunk to stand, collapsing onto Rody. Rody almost threw her into the well but eventually bent down, picked her up, and carried her back to the tavern, step by step. The patrons, accustomed to such sights, continued drinking and chatting as if nothing unusual was happening.

    Rody dumped the tavern owner on her bed and snatched the bottle of wine from her hand, angrily throwing it out the window. He poured a glass of water and forced it into her mouth.

    "This isn''t wine, get me some..." the tavern owner demanded, waking up wanting to drink.

    "You can have urine, want it?" Rody, frustrated, drank the glass of water himself, then left her and strode toward the door. Just as he was opening it, the tavern owner suddenly asked out of the blue, "Are you going to look for that big-breasted elf huntress?"

    "I''ve told you, I only saw her once, and I was too busy running for my life to see her face clearly or learn her name. How am I supposed to find her?" Rody was exasperated.

    "Weren''t you dreaming about her last time?" the tavern owner, somehow producing another bottle of wine, started drinking again.

    "That was a dream!" Rody went back, snatched her bottle of wine, and slammed it on the table, grunting, "Wait until I''m dead, then you can drink yourself to death. No one will stop you then!"

    "I don''t care about you..." the tavern owner turned over to sleep. Just as Rody was about to leave, she suddenly remembered something, turned over again, and said, "Hey, what did you call me? Did you call me Stacey? You little rascal, you should call me Boss, understand? Or like everyone else, call me Anastasia! Anyway, you''re not allowed to call me by a nickname!"

    "Who cares!" Rody scoffed, "Anastasia Boss, there, I said it all at once. Are you happy now?"

    "Bring me wine..." The tavern owner, after hearing Rody, paused, her expression dimming slightly, and then reached out for the wine again.

    "I''m off duty now, there are no servants here to attend to you!" Rody slammed the door and left. The tavern owner lay on the bed, silent for a long time, but then she laughed again and shouted, "Rody, you little rascal, you broke my door, I''m deducting it from your wages!"

 Chapter 24: The Legendary Beast

    Rody had always wanted to enter the Silent Forest. Although he dared not go to the graveyard in the sacred mountain where dragons and angels, among other high-level beings, were buried, hunting more powerful beasts deep in the Silent Forest had always been part of his plan. Nicholas, Marcus, and Emma, the three servants of darkness, had reached their limits. If they were to become more powerful, relying solely on their original forms was unlikely, as their potential had already been maxed out.

    Crazy battle energy infusion, poison soaking and fire refining, powerful enchantments, and brutal dual cultivation of magic and martial arts. These methods, impossible for human bodies to practice, had all been applied by Rody to Nicholas and the others.

    Their initial progress was indeed rapid. But a person''s potential is very limited, especially since it''s closely related to their own intelligence, thoughts, and soul. The servants of darkness, lacking intelligence and thought, always remained at the original level of their souls. Even if their master forcibly stimulated them, the room for improvement was very limited.

    Nicholas, now a five-star high-level undead magician, was a rank higher than his four-star status in life. Although he couldn''t learn any kind of battle energy, he could powerfully enchant his bones and even refine them into terrifyingly poisonous skeletons, with each attack carrying corrosive corpse poison.

    Marcus was a five-star battle energy swordsman who couldn''t use magic. He could barely manage powerful enchantments, forging fire poison in his bones.

    Emma had the worst aptitude. Although she could train in primary battle energy and primary magic, achieving dual cultivation, this primary level was already her peak. Without merging her with a suitable dark servant beast, she would likely become a useless burden. As a four-star battle energy swordsman, she was not even half as powerful as Marcus at the same rank, and her three-star primary earth magic was nothing compared to a tenth of Nicholas''s undead magic.

    The bone pet rabbit, which Rody had attempted to merge with a man-eating vine for several months. Although its appearance hadn''t changed much, it couldn''t burrow into the ground or extend tendrils to hunt. However, the man-eating vine granted it a very special ability: regeneration. As long as its body wasn''t utterly destroyed into powder, it could slowly absorb the dark elements of the world and regenerate.

    The terrifying combat power of the man-eating vine wasn''t transferred to the bone pet rabbit, but its powerful regenerative ability was perfectly integrated.

    In fact, Rody didn''t really need a rabbit that could extend tendrils to attack. He needed a scout that wouldn''t raise the enemy''s guard, and a cute-looking little rabbit was the perfect choice. Initially, Rody''s idea of merging it with the man-eating vine was to control its movements over a longer distance. However, he unexpectedly gained the regeneration ability, which delighted him immensely.

    Two mantises ¨C Rody caught two blood-sucking bats and fused them together. However, the mantises, which he named ''Big Knife'' and ''Little Knife,'' didn''t gain any special abilities. They just became dozens of times larger than their original size, bigger than the bats and about the size of Rody''s spread palm. Now, with their scythe-like arms, they could slash the throat of a strong twist-horned antelope and knock it to the ground in less than half a minute.

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    The mysteries of undead magic and the use of psychic power were what Rody urgently wanted to explore. However, Nicholas''s own level was limited and couldn''t provide much more insight. If Rody wanted to progress and reach higher realms, apart from his slow self-exploration, another way was to venture out and secretly seek the unknown at magic academies or from certain powerful beings.

    The Silent Forest.

    Rody had been in the forest for eight days, hunting many magical beasts and obtaining five magic crystals of the third grade and above, with the rest being low-value first and second grades. He hadn''t even seen the shadow of a snow leopard, let alone hunt one for its high-quality skin. He had seen a silver fox, but it was too vigilant and fast. Rody had given up chasing it after seeing its beautiful tail flicker away in a flash of silver light.

    He had obtained many magical beast skeletons, but none were suitable for merging with Nicholas and the others.

    Regrettably leaving the carcasses behind, Rody ventured deeper. He had heard from Granny An that deep in the Silent Forest lay a Rotting Swamp, home to various swamp monsters. The swamp crocodiles and swamp dragons were the lords of this mire, and they were Rody''s targets for this journey.

    Swamp crocodiles resembled ordinary crocodiles but were uglier and much larger.

    Swamp dragons had no relation to dragons; they were giant carnivorous lizards, even larger than the swamp crocodiles, with thick skin and flesh. Rody encountered one and attacked it from a distance with magic for a long time, but it was hardly injured. It rolled in pain and then dove into the mire, disappearing for a long time. Rody could only watch helplessly as the swamp bubbled with a foul smell, unable to do anything about this enormous creature with skin like iron armor.

    Just as Rody was wandering in the swamp for two days, gaining nothing but a body covered in mud and contemplating returning to Whitestone Town, he suddenly discovered a monster. At the junction of a large swamp and a river bend, the creature lazily crawled out of the water onto the shore to bask in the sun.

    Its body was like a bull, with a not-so-large torso but a long neck several meters in length and an even longer tail. Its huge head resembled a bull, topped with four strange horns, and behind its gaping mouth were eerie green eyes. Its movements were slow and clumsy, yet its demeanor was arrogant and imperious. It seemed to consider this place its kingdom, utterly ignoring the swamp crocodiles floating like logs in the muddy waters nearby.

    All creatures kept their distance from this seemingly clumsy monster, as if it exuded a terrifying aura that repelled everything.

    "Kato, Katoblepas? This is a legendary beast, and I''ve actually encountered it!" Rody was both shocked and delighted. He was shocked because this beast had a significant reputation and was not easy to deal with; he was delighted because if he could hunt this creature, his journey to the Rotting Swamp wouldn''t be in vain.

    This bizarre beast, if encountered by ordinary humans, even powerful warriors and magicians, wouldn''t be easily provoked. Although its body wasn''t particularly strong, it possessed terrifying magic. Just by getting within a certain distance, it could kill weaker enemies with the magic emitted from its eyes. Although it wasn''t as powerful as a Bronze Bull with the Eyes of Death, Katoblepas was undoubtedly one of the beasts that most creatures wouldn''t dare provoke. Its body carried deadly poison, and its breath could easily suffocate living beings. Engaging in combat with it meant certain death unless one''s rank and strength were far superior.

    "Marcus, Emma, lead it to me; I can''t let it have the chance to escape back into the swamp..." Rody thought of a tactic, using Marcus and Emma as bait while he controlled Nicholas to prepare for a sneak attack.

    Rody''s psychic control range had expanded from a dozen meters three years ago to fifty or sixty meters now. He could also multitask, controlling several servants of darkness to perform different actions simultaneously.

    The bone pet rabbit stealthily circled around, its only role being to wait for the opportunity to spray acid in Katoblepas''s eyes. The two mantises and a dark man-eating vine were controlled by Rody, positioned in the sky and underground, ready to ambush the enemy. Nicholas, holding a bone staff, stood in front of Rody, while Marcus and Emma, the two servants of darkness, were walking towards their target with steps almost like those of normal humans.

    To make them walk normally, Rody had spent months training them. The next step was to make them talk like normal people, but he estimated that would take even more time.

 Chapter 25: Soul-Seizing Eyes

    The Katoblepas beast, upon seeing the two odd skeletons approaching one after another, didn''t pay much attention. In its mind, skeletons were always extremely weak beings that could be dissolved entirely with just a casual spray of its acidic saliva. Marcus, who had first received Emma''s protective Stone Skin magic, removed his bone shield from his back and slowly approached the Katoblepas. It didn''t have thoughts, but it strictly executed Rody''s will, regardless of whether it was right or wrong.

    Emma walked behind Marcus, holding a staff prepared by Rody for her earth magic. After casting ''Protective Stone Skin,'' she swung her staff to launch a ''Stone Shard Dart'' at the beast. She couldn''t chant spells, so her casting power was half as weak as a chanted spell. But the advantage was that Rody could make her cast spells whenever he wanted, as long as there was enough magical power, without worrying about the consequences of mental exhaustion.

    "Roar..." The Katoblepas beast was hit in the forehead by a stone shard dart. It wasn''t injured but was successfully enraged. It sprayed a stream of acid at Marcus, who raised his shield to block it, causing green smoke to sizzle on the bone shield. Marcus and Emma then turned and fled towards Rody''s hiding spot, with the infuriated Katoblepas in hot pursuit.

    Its speed wasn''t fast, but Marcus and Emma didn''t let it completely lose hope, just staying a bit faster than it. Emma occasionally turned back to hit it with another stone shard dart.

    If the Katoblepas beast were intelligent, it would have become wary, as the running and dodging movements of Marcus and Emma weren''t like those of ordinary skeletons. They were nearly as agile as normal humans, and their running, dodging, and counterattacking showed an intelligence that skeletons shouldn''t possess.

    However, the swamp''s king obviously had very limited intelligence. In its fury, it only thought of extinguishing the souls of the two skeletons with its soul-seizing gaze.

    "Haw haw haw..." Suddenly, a strange rabbit leaped out from somewhere, spitting a ball of acid that hit the forehead of the swamp king. Although the Katoblepas was also a poison-type beast, its eyes were still pained when attacked. In retaliation, it glared at the little rabbit with its tearful eyes.

    Its soul-seizing magic instantly took effect, a natural instinct and one of the most feared magics among all creatures. Hands like the claws of death, flashing in the black mist, reached out to grab. But the rabbit safely landed and then fled. The death-like hands grabbed at nothing, failing to capture any soul or cause any harm to the odd little rabbit.

    Did this rabbit have no soul?

    The Katoblepas beast was almost dumbfounded... But before it could react, a human scream came from the swamp''s bushes. A human man, holding his head, jumped out, shouting, "Damn it, why should I suffer the pain? Marcus, what are you standing there for, hurry up and kill it!"

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    At the moment the Katoblepas''s soul-seizing claws targeted the rabbit''s soul, Rody felt in the depths of his mind a few small flames of soul.

    Three larger and three smaller soul fires had never been sensed by Rody before. Now, he felt one of the smaller soul fires being viciously grabbed, causing his entire head to ache. Only now did he realize that his servants of darkness had souls, which were deeply hidden in his own mind, not in their bodies.

    Rody had previously sought the location of souls without success, but now, under attack, he was able to sense them.

    Marcus''s battle energy flared up faintly as he took up an iron sword and furiously slashed at the Katoblepas''s long neck. The two mantises in the sky also swiftly descended, their four mantis arms working in unison with the scythe-like wind, causing the Katoblepas''s neck to be cut open, spewing blood. The enraged beast retaliated with its soul-seizing eyes at Marcus, but Marcus didn''t care and continued to slash wildly. Meanwhile, Rody, as the master, screamed in agony, feeling as though his head would split open.

    "Nicholas, cast the blinding magic!" Rody roared, despite being in excruciating pain, still managing to cast a curse that intensified the damage. If the Katoblepas''s neck broke and it fell to the ground, the battle would end immediately.

    However, the blinding magic proved ineffective against this king of the swamp, which naturally resisted it. Cursing his luck, Rody cast another curse, ''Weaken,'' on the Katoblepas. Nicholas, in turn, summoned a mud golem made of rotten mud to block in front of Rody.

    The Katoblepas glanced at Marcus, Emma, and the two mantises with its big eyes, but none of them fell. It suddenly rushed towards Rody, preparing to give this screaming human its soul-seizing gaze.

    Rody was about to cast ''Pain Transfer'' to let the rabbit bear some of his pain when he saw the giant creature charging at him. He immediately forgot about his headache and ran for his life.

    The Katoblepas, although strong, had its slender neck already severely wounded and showing white bones from the relentless magic-enhanced attacks of Marcus and the two mantises. It now understood that the only one who truly feared its eyes and poison gas was that human. If it didn''t kill him quickly, it would be the one to perish.

    Relying on instinct, the Katoblepas ignored the attacks of Nicholas, Marcus, Emma, and the two mantises, relentlessly pursuing Rody.

    The mud golem stone demon, standing in front, was corroded by its venomous spit. Unlike Marcus, who had battle energy for protection and could dodge, it was just a low-level mud golem, easily crushed under the foot of the Katoblepas.

    "Ha, just what I was waiting for! Taste the Corpse Explosion!" Rody suddenly turned around, took one of Nicholas''s bone arms, and emitted a burst of black light, casting it onto the corpse of the mud golem. Instantly, with a loud boom, the mud exploded into the air. The explosion of the mud golem made a great noise but did little damage. However, it delayed the Katoblepas just enough for Marcus''s iron sword to come crashing down again.

    A dark man-eating vine emerged from the ground, tightly entangling the Katoblepas''s ankles.

    Nicholas continuously summoned bone spears, furiously shooting them. After breaking five or six, finally, two spears pierced the Katoblepas''s abdomen.

    The king of the swamp, dragging its heavily wounded body, chased for a while, but realizing it couldn''t catch the cunning human ahead and was only wasting its energy, hurriedly tried to escape back to its own pool. But it was too late. After hundreds of attacks, its neck finally hung limp uncontrollably.

    It exerted its last strength to spray acid poison at Marcus, but the skeleton surprisingly had battle energy for protection. Despite its bone frame being corroded with green smoke, it still attacked ferociously.

    The Katoblepas could only let out a mournful cry as its body collapsed into the mud, dying with its eyes wide open.

    "That was close. Magic that attacks the soul is indeed terrifying," Rody reflected, still shaken. However, this also enlightened him ¨C if he could research magic that used psychic power to attack the souls of living creatures, wouldn''t that greatly increase his strength?

 Chapter 26: Black Dragon and the Hydra

    Attracted by the smell of blood, a dozen swamp crocodiles and two swamp dragons crawled over from afar. In life, they feared Katoblepas, but the bloodied corpse of their king didn''t scare them away. Their appetite was so voracious that even a dragon would not be refused.

    Rody cast a few spells, but these greedy creatures, enduring the pain, scrambled to devour the corpse of Katoblepas. They dragged it towards the water to avoid the annoying human who was shooting bone spears at them. Facing these thick-skinned and greedy creatures, Rody had to admit defeat.

    Seeing more swamp crocodiles approaching, he quickly had Marcus and Emma lift the head of Katoblepas and retreat from the area.

    Once in a safer location, Rody faced a dilemma. Should he merge Marcus with the giant head, or should Nicholas be the one to merge? If Emma didn''t increase her strength, she would eventually have to be destroyed and discarded. Considering a earth magic caster with a pair of soul-seizing eyes seemed a good choice. At least, all melee troops preparing for a surprise attack on a long-range mage would be in serious trouble.

    After hesitating for a long time, Rody first turned the ugly head of Katoblepas into his servant of darkness. To his surprise, he felt an unprecedented resistance. However, it was fleeting, and the magical contract was instantly successful. Now, looking into the ugly head''s eyes, Rody no longer felt heart palpitations. Instead, he sensed something akin to enlightenment. This delighted Rody, as understanding the magic principle of the soul-seizing eyes would be a dream come true.

    Merging with a servant of darkness was not an easy task. It took Rody two weeks to merge the bone pet rabbit with the dark man-eating vine, and nearly ten days for the two mantises to merge with the blood-sucking bats.

    For Katoblepas, the king of the swamp, Rody estimated it would take at least three months. However, he wasn''t in a hurry, as time was on his side.

    Moreover, at this moment, what Rody desired most was not the strength that would come from merging two dark servants, but the secrets of the soul and the mysteries of soul-seizing magic. He decided to keep the new acquisition, now named ''Kato,'' for further study and not to rush into merging.

    After discarding many magical beast pelts and herbs and even throwing away Marcus''s bone shield, Rody barely managed to fit the new dark servant, ''Kato,'' into his storage space. With this unexpected gain, he no longer cared for the beast pelts and herbs he had painstakingly collected earlier. Picking the best two, Rody happily started his journey home, having completely forgotten about the snow leopard pelts and red-beaked swans the succubus sisters had requested.

    Having walked half a day, Rody was about to find a safe place to rest and explore the secrets of the soul when he suddenly heard a faint roar from a great distance.

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    As soon as the unknown roar sounded, animals of all sizes rapidly fled, sweeping past Rody like a tide. The roar also caused Rody an inexplicable palpitation, making him wonder what kind of magical beast could exert such power with just a roar.

    Then another chilling howl responded, frightening the fleeing animals into a frenzied escape. Some of the more timid animals even died of fright on the spot.

    "My God, what kind of magical beast is it?" Rody''s curiosity was piqued. Despite knowing the extreme danger, he really wanted to see what kind of creature could scare animals to death with its roars. He sent the bone pet rabbit ahead to scout, following carefully about fifty meters behind.

    After walking about two kilometers, Rody discovered that the loud roar came from a valley. The closer he got, the more dead animals he found.

    In a distant thicket, a fierce fire was still burning fiercely. Clearly, at least one of the beasts in the valley was a fire-type magical beast.

    Rody hid behind a rock at the valley''s cliff, not wanting to stick his head out and have his hair burned like the bushes. He controlled the bone pet rabbit to hop onto the top of the valley and sneak a peek using its view.

    This glance almost made Rody''s heart leap out of his chest. He barely controlled himself from crying out in shock. In the valley below, there were two terrifying magical beasts that he could not provoke at all. One was an immense black dragon, and the other, a hydra with nine heads.

    The two were engaged in a fierce battle, for reasons unknown, attacking each other with difficulty in determining the victor.

    Dragon flames furiously spewed, setting ablaze everything on the ground.

    The nine-headed beast was equally formidable, with each of its nine heads capable of casting different spells. Its movements were incredibly agile, not only dodging the direct blasts of dragon fire but also using its several necks to grapple with the black dragon''s sharp claws and enormous wings.

    Either of these colossal creatures, if let loose outside, would be a destructive force for humanity.

    Yet, for some unknown reason, they were attacking each other, fighting as if their lives depended on it, far beyond a mere show of intimidation. Rody''s first instinct was to flee, to escape far away, but another thought in his mind compelled him to stay despite his fear. He was waiting for the moment when the two would fight to the death or be seriously injured. In such a battle of titans, there must be a loser. Could he possibly gain some advantage from this battle?

    Rody''s heart pounded with excitement.

    You see, whether it''s the black dragon or the nine-headed beast, both are ultimate, powerful high-level life forms. The black dragon, the most ferocious and attack-oriented of the dragon species, utterly fearless of magic, is an absolute nightmare for all humanity. Of course, if someone could obtain something from its body, it would be an incredible stroke of luck. Even a drop of dragon blood, a dragon scale, a whisker, a tooth, or a claw segment, whatever one could get, would be a high-level magical material of sixth grade or above.

    Acquiring the dragon''s eye, gall, or horn would undoubtedly be treasures of the seventh or eighth grade.

    As for the dragon crystal and dragon soul, they are rare treasures of the ninth or tenth grade, something mortals can only dream of owning. If Rody could now possess a dragon soul, then the ultimate summoning spell of a necromancer, the supreme existence of all dark slaves, the legendary bone dragon or ghost dragon, might be within reach.

    Though the nine-headed beast is less famous than the black dragon, it is also full of treasures.

    Rody swallowed nervously, hoping that the black dragon and the nine-headed beast would perish here, yet fearing that after being severely injured, they would wisely cease fighting and leave, leaving him empty-handed and still waiting here, risking discovery and danger to his life.

    Not to mention the black dragon and nine-headed beast, born with the strength of a third-grade magical beast, even ordinary flying dragons, earth dragons, or sub-dragons were beyond Rody''s ability to provoke.

    Fortunately, this black dragon had not transformed into a human, and the nine-headed beast had not morphed into a human form either. They were clearly still at the seventh-grade noble or eighth-grade lord level, not having reached the terrifying existence of a ninth-grade king. Otherwise, Rody would have had to flee as fast as he could. To play tricks with king-level magical beasts, who could transform into humans and had wisdom comparable to the sages of humanity, with hundreds or even thousands of years of life and experience, would undoubtedly be suicidal.

 Chapter 27: Who Ambushes Whom

    Rody clamped his ears shut, using his willpower to resist the shockwaves rippling through the valley, enduring discomfort and dizziness while leaning against the stone wall, unwilling to leave.

    The black dragon in the valley was covered in wounds, blood dripping profusely. Each drop that hit the ground, whether on soil or rock, would ignite a small cluster of black flames. Rody estimated this black dragon to be the most terrifying and violent Hell Black Dragon, for only one that had escaped from hell, devouring all life on earth, could have such fearsome dragon blood.

    The nine-headed beast was also beyond Rody''s expectations. He had thought it would be no match for the black dragon, but that turned out not to be the case.

    Its body was also covered in scars, with dark green blood dripping down, causing smoke and corrosion to the rocks and soil it touched. The corrosive effect was far more potent than Tokapubraipas''s acid poison, a sight that alarmed Rody. He feared these two terrifying creatures, lost in their battle frenzy, might spill over the ridge. Whether it was the dragon''s breath, dragon blood, or the nine-headed beast''s magic and poison blood, any of it could spell the end for him.

    The earth trembled, the entire valley seemed to be splitting apart. Rody was knocked to the ground by the massive shockwaves more than once.

    Occasionally, the fire magic meteorites summoned by the nine-headed beast would bombard the valley, causing the ground to collapse and the mountain walls to crumble.

    Rody felt incredibly lucky that the nine-headed beast''s control of its fire magic was precise. If it had been even slightly off, he feared he would have been smashed into a pulp by the meteorites falling from the sky. Had he known the battle would be this terrifying, Rody would have never stayed; this place was not meant for lingering. But now it was too late to flee, and he could only grit his teeth and wait for the battle to end.

    He no longer harbored any hope for dragon blood or scales, only wishing for the two creatures to finish their fight and leave without further complications. That would be enough to satisfy him.

    The bone pet rabbit above was being roasted by the scorching air, its fur charred and blackened.

    But Rody didn''t need to see through its eyes. As long as it wasn''t burnt to ash, he could see everything happening in the valley below. The black dragon and the nine-headed beast were still fighting, perhaps for half a day now, but their frenzied battle showed no signs of ending. One of the nine-headed beast''s heads had been bitten off, its body charred black and smoking from the dragon''s flame breath.

    The black dragon''s wing was also injured, drooping brokenly, and its body was riddled with bite marks, a sorry sight.

    Suddenly, the black dragon bit down on the longest neck of the nine-headed beast and held on tightly. The nine-headed beast, in pain, rolled around frantically, while its other heads bit at the black dragon''s neck, trying to pull it off.

    The two gigantic creatures tumbled on the ground for a long time, then suddenly stopped moving.

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    "Dead? Can it be?" Rody felt an inexplicable surprise. He had thought these two would continue their battle for half a day before collapsing dead, but then...

    "Ahahaha!" Just as Rody hesitated about whether to send the mantis out to check, he suddenly heard a burst of crazy laughter from the top of the cliff on the opposite side of the valley. Rody was shocked to discover a man clad in shining golden armor, holding a huge golden sword, standing there, laughing triumphantly as if he had personally killed the black dragon and the nine-headed beast below.

    "Congratulations, teacher, I am completely in awe of you! Even all the languages in the world cannot describe my feelings at this moment. The eighth-tier Black Dragon Lord and the Nine-Headed Beast Lord have perished in your scheme, teacher. Unscathed and without moving a sword, you have used your wisdom to slay both the black dragon and the nine-headed beast before us. I cannot help but bow down in admiration!" Another man, clad in shimmering silver star armor, flew in from a great distance. In a flash, he appeared on the cliff above Rody. Not far below him was Rody''s bone pet rabbit, but the star-armored man, ecstatic with joy, only focused on the black dragon and the nine-headed beast below, completely ignoring the charred little rabbit.

    Rody noticed that this man had wings on his back, and his sword and star armor were adorned with silver wings, clearly indicating he was a seventh-tier ''Sky Warrior'', also commonly known as a Great Sword Master.

    The man in shining golden armor across the valley, with a golden crescent moon spinning behind him, was clearly a higher-ranked eighth-tier Crescent Moon Sword Emperor. Rody held his breath in fear, hoping not to be detected. The handsome Sky Warrior above him was already as powerful as the strongest individuals Rody had seen in his life, including his father, Lord Warren.

    The Sword Emperor across the valley was equivalent to the level of the King of Mesnotdania, Helsinki, but Rody had only heard of the king and never seen him.

    To think that in these wild mountains, he would not only see a black dragon and a nine-headed beast, but also a human Great Sword Master and a Sword Emperor.

    "Vincent, you also played an indispensable role in this," the shining Sword Emperor laughed heartily. "I only want the dragon blood, dragon eyes, dragon crystals, and the magic crystal, magic eye, and magic blood of the nine-headed beast. The rest, the dragon teeth, dragon skin, dragon scales, dragon wings, dragon gall, are all yours. Vincent, congratulations on becoming the strongest dragon knight on the continent!"

    "Everything a student is, is bestowed by the teacher."  The Sky Warrior quickly bowed and respectfully answered.

    "My dear prince, don''t be too formal. One day, you will rise to a level like mine, a Sword Emperor. You have the talent; you just need a bit more effort." The Sword Emperor, in a good mood, comforted his disciple while descending to swing his sword at the Black Dragon''s head to obtain the Dragon Crystal.

    "Roar, roar, roar¡­"

    Rody watched in horror as the Black Dragon and the nine-headed monster suddenly came to life. They released their massive jaws that were biting each other and swiftly lunged at the Sword Emperor. This sudden turn of events, even the Sword Emperor had not anticipated. His reaction was swift, but just as he burst back with golden fighting spirit, his left hand was already caught in the Black Dragon''s massive jaw.

    The nine-headed monster had bitten his right leg.

    The two massive creatures furiously exerted their strength, tearing at him. Such terrifying power was unbearable even for a Sword Emperor.

    Rody saw the Sword Emperor bravely sever his own right leg with a golden sword, preventing the black dragon and nine-headed beast from ripping him in half. In mid-air, he roared in pain, sounding like a thunderclap. The crescent moon spinning behind him sliced off his left arm below the elbow while also blocking the black dragon''s fiery breath.

    The nine-headed beast bit his right leg, and its other heads, filled with magic, waited for any delay to ensure the Sword Emperor''s death.

    Despite extreme pain, the Sword Emperor did not falter. His fighting spirit erupted, propelling him into the sky. He unleashed numerous sword waves from his golden sword at the nine-headed beast. Stepping on the spinning crescent moon, he ascended rapidly like lightning.

    The black dragon raised its head to pursue, spewing dragon breath at him. The Sword Emperor, exerting all his strength, shot a golden light onto the black dragon''s forehead, causing it to howl in pain and collapse. The Sword Emperor, wielding his golden sword, flew away swiftly, becoming a blur to Rody, who only saw a golden streak cutting through the sky and disappearing.

    The nine-headed beast, unable to keep up, turned its attention to the stunned Sky Warrior.

    The Sky Warrior quickly extended silver wings and fled.

    However, the magic unleashed by the nine-headed beast followed, striking him down mid-flight. He crashed heavily to the ground, then jumped up from the dirt, looking back in surprise to see Rody. Their eyes met, both filled with fear. The nine-headed beast climbed to the top of the cliff, terrifying the Sky Warrior into a frantic escape.

    Rody felt a sense of escape from death, as the nine-headed beast relentlessly pursued the Sky Warrior, not noticing his presence.

 Chapter 28: Oath

    Rody had not yet breathed a sigh of relief when the battered black dragon suddenly flung itself onto the cliff''s edge, dangling its huge dragon head and staring at him with wide eyes.

    "Speaking of which, we should thank you," the black dragon suddenly spoke in human language, its voice booming like thunder. "Had we not become suspicious upon discovering you and cast our magical perception around, we would not have known that a human great swordsman and a human Sword Emperor were lurking around us."

    "No, no need to thank me¡­" Rody swallowed hard, struggling to remain calm in the face of the dragon.

    "Human, help me pull out the ''Dragon Slaying Dagger'' from my forehead. Not only will I give it to you, but I''ll also give you the left hand and right leg of that Sword Emperor." The black dragon''s voice thundered, and with a flash in its enormous dragon eyes, two objects fell from the sky, landing in front of Rody ¨C the Sword Emperor''s left hand and right leg. The black dragon glanced at Rody and added, "You are a human necromancer, aren''t you? Strange, I just examined your Dark Servant and found you a puzzling child. Why would you use a rabbit as your Dark Servant? Young human, let me tell you some basics about necromancy. Unless you reach the level of a Law Saint, you can at most sign ten Dark Servants. Choosing a rabbit as a Dark Servant is a wasteful and unwise decision."

    "Is that so? Only a Law Saint can sign more than ten Dark Servants?" Rody exclaimed in surprise, having always thought he could sign an unlimited number.

    "A Law Saint can sign many Dark Servants, but there are almost no necromancer Law Saints. Even if there were, no one would be foolish enough to sign more than ten Dark Servants, nor would anyone choose a rabbit like you did. Training a Dark Servant to grow is a very slow process." The black dragon laughed heartily as if hearing the funniest thing in the world.

    "How many Dark Servants can a five-star senior necromancer sign?" Rody blurted out, asking.

    "Three, but special individuals can sign four," the black dragon responded, its voice rumbling. "A six-pointed star magic master can sign five, a Big Dipper seven-star magic grandmaster six to eight, and a Moon Halo Law King or Moonlight Gold Robe Great Law King eight to ten. Young man, that''s all I can tell you about Dark Servants. If you help me remove the Dragon Slaying Dagger and relieve my pain, I can help you. I''ll refine the Sword Emperor''s hand and leg into undead limbs for you to merge into your human Dark Servant."

    "You won''t kill me?" Rody asked softly. "Perhaps the moment I pull out the Dragon Slaying Dagger, your dragon breath will be upon me."

    "I, Alfred, swear by the name of the Dragon God, I will neither kill nor harm the human in front of me. On the contrary, I will reward him equally for his help." The black dragon exhaled a breath of dragon flame, igniting the severed hand and leg of the Sword Emperor on the ground. As the flames died down, only the blackened bones and twisted dark gold bracers remained.

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    The black dragon''s eyes flashed with light, and the dark gold bracelet reignited with black flames, eventually merging perfectly with the skeleton. The other broken leg also fused with the dark gold boots.

    "This is a gift I present to you, representing my sincerity," the black dragon rumbled. "You can install this dark gold bone hand and the foot of dark gold onto the bodies of your human slaves of darkness, enhancing their combat ability. I have preserved the original power of the Sword Emperor for you. If your slaves of darkness are strong enough, they can unleash tremendous power."

    Rody''s heart pounded at this moment, facing two difficult choices. One was to assist the black dragon Alfred in removing the dragon-slaying dagger from his forehead, alleviating the threat to its life. The other was to refuse, to stall for time, waiting for the now articulate black dragon to succumb to its own limitations and fall dead.

    Both choices were equally arduous and perilous. Removing the dragon-slaying dagger posed a significant risk of Alfred the black dragon turning hostile. Once the fatal weapon constraining it was gone, that would be its cue to attack. On the other hand, refusing to remove the dagger could lead the black dragon to immediately devour him. Delaying was not a feasible option either, as provoking the black dragon was not a pleasant matter, especially with the painful dragon-slaying dagger still embedded in its forehead.

    "You swear, not to kill me by any means, whether it be today, tomorrow, or in the future," Rody thought swiftly. The black dragon currently posed no immediate threat to life, and it seemed that waiting for it to collapse and die would be a suicidal act.

    Alfred the black dragon solemnly swore again and carried Rody to the cliff''s edge. He bent his massive head down, showing the dragon-slaying dagger, which glowed golden and was deeply embedded in his forehead, asking Rody to help him pull it out and relieve his pain. Seeing that the black dragon could still move freely and control the dragon flame to forge the dark gold bone hand and foot for him, Rody hesitated slightly. In the end, he decided to help and pull out the dagger, rather than resort to petty tricks.

    The black dragon seemed confident in letting him remove the dagger, believing in its ability to handle any tricks he might play.

    Moreover, Rody was just a slightly stronger-than-average necromancer who couldn''t cast necromancy spells himself. And most importantly, the black dragon was immune to all magic. This realization made Rody stop overthinking and abandon any crooked ideas.

    Rody felt his hands trembling. If the black dragon kept its promise, then having the Sword Emperor-level dark yellow bone hand and the foot of dark gold would surely bring an unprecedented leap in strength to his slaves of darkness. But if it broke its promise, his life would be in danger. With his life hanging by a thread, Rody, in extreme nervousness, closed his eyes, grabbed the dagger that felt both scorching hot and ice cold, and pulled with all his might.

    Surprisingly, the dragon-slaying dagger came out effortlessly. Countless streams of dragon blood spattered out, drenching Rody''s head, face, and body...

    "It''s so hot!" Rody felt as if his entire body was on fire at that moment. The black dragon''s blood spattered on him, igniting purple-black hellfire, turning him into a fire man. The immense pain knocked Rody down, and he rolled on the ground, howling in agony.

    "Pitiful human, I said I would not kill you and would give you a fitting reward," the black dragon roared triumphantly. "Now I give you my dragon blood as your reward for saving me. I keep my promise not to kill you by any means, whether today, tomorrow, or ever. But if your body can''t withstand the dousing of dragon blood and burns to ashes, that''s not my concern."

    "Ah..." Rody felt his hair, skin, muscles, and even bones burning and blazing. He wanted to curse loudly, but when he opened his mouth, he spat out flames.

    "Farewell, ignorant human," the black dragon spread its wings, its broken wing rapidly healing, and soared into the sky.

 Chapter 29: The Burning Dragon Blood

    Rody could now understand what it felt like to be tied to a stake and burned alive, believing that the hellfire caused by the dragon blood was a million times more intense than any human execution by fire. He oscillated between life and death in excruciating pain, yet frustratingly, he couldn''t lose consciousness. The terror of feeling his entire body continuously burning was beyond anything Rody had ever imagined.

    "Pain transfer," Rody thought to summon Nicholas and the others to share his pain and preserve his life, but for the first time, the summoning failed. Perhaps the dragon blood was immune to magic, or his mental strength was nearly shattered, or maybe his storage ring, possessing basic alchemy, had already melted and deformed. In the midst of unbearable burning agony, Rody couldn''t take it anymore. With a howl, he spewed flames from his throat and fainted.

    He wasn''t ready to die this way, nor did he want to, but he was powerless. Apart from the deep-rooted perseverance in his heart and the unburnt soul struggling desperately, he didn''t know any way to escape death...

    In the moment of Rody''s unconsciousness, a holy light shone brightly on his forehead, and the merciful image of the Holy Mother appeared in the sky again. She opened her arms and embraced Rody''s burning body, just as a mother would embrace her beloved son. The terrifying hellfire turned into feathers of fire, scattering across the sky. After the Holy Mother''s image shed two tears of light on Rody, his charred and deformed body rapidly healed.

    His blackened skin peeled off quickly, revealing tender, fresh muscles. Then, new skin began to grow swiftly. As the image of the Holy Mother gradually turned into light points and disappeared, the fire feathers rushed towards Rody''s body, burrowing into the freshly grown skin. This caused the unconscious Rody to scream in agony again, his body once again engulfed in blazing purple-blue magical fire.

    The magical fire burned persistently, and the unconscious Rody trembled in endless pain.

    Strangely enough, his skin remained unharmed in the fire, and even his black hair slowly grew back. It was unclear how long the magical flames continued to burn before they gradually dimmed and finally disappeared. Rody lay unconscious on the sizzling, smoking, and bubbling melted stone surface, his breathing natural and deep. After the ordeal with the terrifying dragon blood, it didn''t cause any damage to his body. On the contrary, Rody''s body seemed to have become even more perfect.

    When Rody woke up, the sky was filled with stars. He was delighted to find that not only was he alive, but he also didn''t have a single injury. Everything that happened seemed like a nightmarish illusion.

    "Wasn''t I drenched in dragon blood? Or did I resist it because I drank the forbidden potion of magic and martial arts?" Rody was puzzled. If he wasn''t drenched in dragon blood, where did his clothes go? And the ground resembled cooled and solidified volcanic lava, complete with a human-shaped indentation.

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    If his body was drenched in dragon blood and caught on fire, burning his skin, flesh, and bones, how could he be unharmed now?

    Rody remembered a legend about a brave hero who killed a two-headed dragon. Similarly drenched in dragon blood, the hero not only gained the dragon''s strength but also had his skin turn to bronze, impervious to swords and axes. Had it not been for a leaf that stuck to his back, covering a spot untouched by the dragon blood and creating a fatal weakness, his enemies would have never been able to kill him. Could Rody have acquired similar abilities?

    Elated, Rody produced a small dagger and gently slid it across his finger. The skin, tender as white jade, was easily cut, and blood seeped out immediately. Rody was stunned, realizing he had not gained bronze skin. Feeling his strength, there seemed to be no change, let alone gaining the dragon''s power.

    After sensing for a while, Rody found that apart from his skin becoming as white as jade, there was no other difference from before. "It''s good enough to be alive, and I still have the dark gold bone hand and foot. It seems like the goddess of misfortune had a date today and didn''t bother with me," he thought. Rody quickly collected the dark gold bone hand and foot from below the cliff, cheering happily. Although the pain from the hellfire was unbearable to recall, enduring this extreme hardship for future hope made him feel somewhat rewarded.

    When he found the shimmering golden dragon-slaying dagger, his heart overflowed with immense joy.

    Having lost an alchemy storage ring, the storage space still remained, and after the excruciating torment of hellfire, the storage space expanded slightly, further enhancing his mental strength. Although the black dragon blood tormented him severely, he not only escaped from the brink of death but also acquired urgently needed growth items for his dark minions: dark golden bone hands and feet, and even a surprising ''Dragon Slaying Dagger''.

    He vowed to thrust this Dragon Slaying Dagger back into Alfred''s forehead when the opportunity arose, as retribution for its cunning and deceit.

    Rody, clad in animal skin, led his dark minions down the valley, gathering the severely corroded soil drenched in the venom and poisonous blood of a nine-headed beast, heaping it together, then carefully adding water to create a poisonous mud bath for his minions. Although the effect was not optimal, adding a bit of toxicity was beneficial.

    The venom of the nine-headed beast, capable of combating the black dragon Alfred, was believed to be a hundred times more potent than ordinary poison.

    Watching his dark minions'' bodies bubble in the toxic mud, Rody recalled Alfred''s words. A five-star necromancer could only contract three dark minions, four in exceptional cases. But he had already contracted six at the beginning of his studies, including Nicholas, Marcus, Emma, a skeletal rabbit, and two mantises, surpassing even a six-pointed star magic master who could only contract five.

    Rody felt that his strength was at most that of a high-level five-star necromancer, yet he had already contracted eight dark minions, including a dark man-eating vine and the skull of Katoblepas.

    Alfred had said that only a Great Magician of the Big Dipper could contract six to eight minions. How could Rody possibly be a Great Magician?

    More astonishingly, only a Moon Halo Mage and a Moon Glow Golden Robe Grand Mage could contract eight to ten minions. Rody had once reached nine by fusing a vampire bat and dark man-eating vine with the skeletal rabbit and two mantises... Could it be that the dark minions he contracted were different from normal? Or could his mental strength support more dark minions?

    Rody was eager to try but feared that ten might be the limit. Torn between excitement and hesitation, he was in a dilemma.

    "Not in a hurry, I''ll wait until I find a suitable candidate to contract." Rody tried to calm his racing heart, feeling like an unprecedented genius who might have found a path of hope in the forbidden seals of magic and martial arts.

    "How do I explain my skin''s change when I return?" Rody was a bit troubled. His skin was now as tender and white as that of the succubus sisters, and he feared being mocked for his fair complexion. However, an accidental discovery regarding his skin''s transformation brought him joy rather than despair.

    A wound previously made by a dagger had vanished without a trace.

    In the past, such a wound would take days to heal, scab over for several more, and leave a visible scar for a long time. But now, his healing power seemed as extraordinary as that of a dragon.

 Chapter 30: Wait for Me

    Rody, in order to understand the regenerative capacity of his skin, inflicted various wounds on himself with a small dagger and observed them closely. He discovered, to his amazement, that his healing ability was terrifyingly efficient.

    Minor and superficial cuts healed completely within three to five minutes, with the oozing blood being reabsorbed into his body, leaving no scars. Even deeper wounds that reached the bone showed rapid healing. The spilled blood would faintly turn into a mist and seemingly get reabsorbed into his body, while the wounds visibly closed at an astonishing rate. Bone-deep injuries healed completely in about half an hour.

    The only drawback Rody felt was that his body now seemed more sensitive than before. He experienced extreme pain when injured, and his skin seemed more fragile, easily getting wounded. "Could it be that my skin has become brittle?" Rody was almost suffocating with happiness.

    Brittle skin is a supernatural trait of some advanced life forms. While their skin''s defensive power is not high, their regenerative capability is remarkable, offering better resistance to magical damage and even immunity to certain low-level magic. ''Brittle skin'' is the opposite of ''tough skin''. If Rody had to choose, he would definitely pick the brittle skin that has amazing regenerative powers and can resist magic, rather than the tough skin that is thick and resistant to physical damage.

    As a necromancer, he doesn''t need to engage in close combat, and since he doesn''t use physical strength, having tough skin wouldn''t be very beneficial.

    Although he was still unsure if his skin had indeed become brittle after being doused in the blood of the black dragon, at least his skin now possessed incredible healing powers, which greatly satisfied him.

    With a heart full of ecstasy, Rody hurried back to Whitestone Town, hoping to share his joy with his mother at the earliest. Of course, he wouldn''t disclose everything, not wanting to worry her. He planned to cleverly steer the main topic away, sharing only his jubilant mood with her. Maybe, Stacey would also be happy for me! He thought of the perpetually tipsy tavern mistress, feeling an urge to share his joy with her as well. On his way, Rody also caught a fire fox, planning to present its beautiful fur as a gift to the succubus sisters, believing they wouldn''t mind too much and would soon replace their pouts with smiles.

    Rody rushed out of the forest, brimming with excitement and almost wanting to shout, "I''m back!"

    Suddenly, he saw the female tavern owner standing at the road intersection, waiting for him.

    This spot was always where his mother used to wait for him to return home. Why wasn''t she there, and why was it the tavern owner instead? Rody was startled and hurriedly ran closer. He noticed that the tavern owner was not holding a bottle of wine and didn''t appear drunk, but she looked at him strangely. Upon closer inspection, he saw her entire body was wrapped in bandages, many stained with fresh blood, which sent chills down his spine, almost stopping him in his tracks.

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    "What happened? Stacey? Where''s my mom?" Rody asked in alarm.

    "She''s fine, still lying in bed and shouldn''t be moving around," the tavern owner replied, noticing Rody coming out of the forest. A fleeting look of joy appeared in her eyes, but before Rody could understand it, she turned and walked away.

    "Why are you injured?" Rody couldn''t imagine anyone in the town daring to harm the tavern owner.

    "It''s nothing," she responded indifferently, without turning back. "Why do you look like a wild man?"

    "Don''t worry about me. I''ve only lost my clothes. But look at you, covered in injuries. What happened?" Rody approached her to see more closely and found that she was wounded all over, including several scars on her face. He roared, "Who hurt you? Was it Felik''s regular army coming to collect taxes? Or some new mercenary group causing trouble?"

    "No," she shook her head, "Half a month ago, a crazed man with severed hands and feet rushed out of the forest, wielding a ''blood-sucking dagger'' and killing anyone he saw. Eventually, we fought. That guy was a Sword Emperor, with a Great Swordmaster as his accomplice. We had a bit of a disadvantage but eventually drove them away¡­"

    The tavern owner spoke lightly, but Rody was deeply shocked, believing it must have been a tremendous and terrifying battle.

    So, her injuries were caused by that crippled Sword Emperor and someone named Prince Vincent. Rody was filled with rage at the thought. To save his own life, that Sword Emperor slaughtered people in the town with a blood-sucking dagger to recover from the severe injuries inflicted by the black dragon and the nine-headed monster.

    But this happened half a month ago?

    Rody was startled. He had thought that after awakening from the black dragon''s blood burning, he wouldn''t have been unconscious for more than a day and a night. It turned out to be a slumber of over ten days.

    "I''m fine, mind your own business. Go see your mother; she was just talking about you and asked me to check if you had returned," the tavern owner said. Seeing Gaven, the one-armed swordsman, approaching from a distance, she quickened her pace. "If you have questions, ask that Gaven guy. I don''t have time for you!"

    The tavern owner produced a bottle of wine and began to drink from it.

    Rody wanted to follow her, but Gaven, the one-armed swordsman, blocked his way.

    Gaven, too, was covered in wounds, his forehead wrapped in several layers of blood-stained bandages, making him look gaunt and pale.

    "You''re alright, that''s good. Your mother was very worried about you," Gaven started, then fell silent for a moment. Just as Rody tried to move past him to see his mother, Gaven stopped him with his arm. "She''s asleep now, hasn''t slept well for days. Let her rest a bit. Many people in town died, including Bruce whom you disliked. He was cut in half by the Sword Emperor while protecting your mother... I hope you''ll drink a toast at his grave. Come with me."

    Rody followed Gaven to the center of the town, where he saw a dozen new graves.

    He felt a mix of gratitude and anger.

    Although the people of Whitestone Town were considered rogues, ruffians, lechers, and thieves, not a single one of them good, in times of danger, they stood up to protect the women. Ironically, it was these same men, often referred to as scum and filth, who were now lying in these graves. None of the graves belonged to women, only to those men who would drink and talk about the women of the town.

    "Let''s drink with everyone. You''re an adult now, you should drink with us!" Gaven handed him a bottle of wine, paused, and added, "Those two wanted to sacrifice your mother to the war god, to heal their crippled limbs. We fought desperately to save her."

    "You guys... are all incompetent fools! I''m here to protect my mother, she doesn''t need your meddling!" Rody, like the tavern owner, began to guzzle the strong liquor. Tears streamed down his face as he looked up to the sky and roared, "Don''t worry, I will slaughter them, bring their heads back, and pile them in front of your graves! Just you wait... Just you wait..."

    "Rody, darling, is that you coming back?" Rody''s mother awoke from her dream, came outside upon hearing the noise, and cried out as she threw herself at him.

    "Mom..." Rody saw his mother running towards him with one arm also wrapped in a bloodied white bandage, almost falling over. He quickly rushed to embrace her tightly. Although he had grown up, he still lacked the strength to protect her. Seeing the blood stains on his mother''s body, Rody wept bitterly, his rage against the unknown Sword Emperor and this Prince Vincent burning fiercely.

 Chapter 31: Sleeping in My Bed Costs Wages

    Finally managing to soothe his tearful and exhausted mother to sleep, Rody realized that two people were missing.

    Where were the succubus sisters?

    "They''ve returned to the Fairy Garden. They left this for you." Gaven, the one-armed swordsman, seemed to read Rody''s mind and handed him two mithril bracelets linked together. "They also left a message for you, but it''s better left unsaid."

    "I just want to know if they were hurt." Rody took the mithril bracelets, hesitated for a moment, and found that they had grown larger. He finally wore them on his left wrist, where a faint magical light flickered and merged into his skin. He immediately sensed that the bracelets contained two tightly connected storage spaces. They were small, but his consciousness could freely pass through one to the other, feeling as if they were one.

    "Their faces were injured like Anastasia''s, with poisonous wounds that will take time to heal. The rest are minor injuries, so don''t worry," Gaven explained, making Rody understand why the succubus sisters had returned to the Fairy Garden.

    They didn''t want him to see their damaged faces, so they went back home to stay away from him.

    But this made Rody even more worried about them.

    "Gaven, I want to become stronger. Do you have any methods?" Rody looked at Gaven, knowing he was no ordinary swordsman, but had never managed to ask this question. Rody was reluctant to trust others and also possessed enough pride to believe he could rely on his own abilities to improve and surpass all.

    "My methods are not suitable for you, Rody. You have your own path to follow," Gaven replied after a pause. "I want to tell you something."

    "What is it?" Rody asked solemnly.

    "Of ten archmages, eight have been to a magic academy, and nine have seen battle," Gaven said slowly. "A eagle that hasn¡¯t endured the storm can¡¯t fly over the high mountains; a seedling that hasn''t suffered through drought can''t grow into a towering tree."

    "Do I have to go to a magic academy?" Rody pondered for a long time and then nodded, asking.

    "If you don''t go to a magic academy and instead run off to join the army, to the battlefield, then you''ll likely be used as a sacrificial pawn by the higher-ups. If you don''t want to be a tool in someone else''s hands or a weapon for killing, you''ll end up sacrificing yourself for your country, inevitably facing death," Gaven nodded gravely. "You might not learn much in a magic academy, but you can learn how to understand people''s hearts, the use of power and strategy, and the influence of reputation. A magic academy is a battlefield without bloodshed, just as brutal as a real battlefield."

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    "Understood, I''ll go to school in a few days. Please take care of my mother," Rody said, staring intently at Gaven, and added somewhat coldly, "Perhaps I should warn you, Mr. Gaven."

    "I only wish to be a knight guarding the goddess in my heart," Gaven replied with a faint smile.

    "Remember your words, Knight Gaven," Rody said as he dashed out the door and into the tavern, where only a few people sat drinking at the bar, all wounded yet still in high spirits.

    The black-clothed man sitting alone at a table, the assassin known as ''Crow,'' looked up at Rody, raised his cup, and drank it down in one gulp.

    Rody brought out many bottles of liquor and food from behind the bar and announced loudly, "I''m treating you guys to drinks, drink to your heart''s content!" Then, he stomped upstairs, kicked open the tavern owner''s door, snatched the wine bottle from her hand, gulped down a few mouthfuls, threw it out the window, and yelled at her, "You''re the exception! You''re not allowed to drink a single drop today!"

    "What else is there for me to do if I don''t drink?" the tavern owner asked, surprised.

    "Who cares about you..." Rody collapsed on the bed, laying over the tavern owner, closed his eyes, and said, "I''m borrowing your bed to sleep, I''m tired."

    "Sleep then, it''s good that you''re back," the tavern owner was momentarily stunned, but a fleeting smile appeared in her beautiful eyes. With her arms, decorated with terrifying tattoos, she gently embraced Rody''s body and said with a hint of intoxication, "Sleeping in my bed costs wages!"

    A week later, Rody, with a small bag packed with magical beast furs and potions, along with several alchemy magic books given by Granny Ann, prepared to leave.

    Rody''s mother, deeply reluctant to part with her beloved son, knew that to let him soar like an eagle, she couldn''t keep him confined to the remote mountains forever. He needed to go out, endure the trials of the world, and truly soar in the sky. She had to give him enough freedom and support.

    This was the basic thing a mother could give her son, and the only thing she could give.

    "My dear, you must take care of yourself and not worry your mother. I love you, my darling, and I will miss you!" Rody''s mother hugged and kissed him repeatedly, unwilling to let go even for a moment.

    The patrons in the tavern peeped out but continued drinking, with none coming out to see him off.

    The tavern owner also watched from the second-floor window, but for once, she didn''t hold her ever-present wine bottle, nor did she appear as intoxicated as usual.

    "Mom, you take care of yourself too." Rody also kissed his mother''s cheek, trying to cheer her up with a few words of advice. He then looked back at the tavern owner in the distance before turning to leave. Rody''s mother and the tavern owner watched him until he was out of the valley, raising their hands as if they just remembered to wave goodbye.

    "He will come back..." Gaven, the one-armed swordsman, gently consoled Rody''s mother.

    "I know, I will be here waiting for him to return," Rody''s mother said, wiping the tears from her cheeks and smiling. "Though he has left, his heart remains here. My darling has grown up; he needs a broader sky, the freedom to fly!"

    "The eagle will return to its nest when it tires of flying," Gaven nodded. "Let''s go have a drink at the tavern, we might get some free drinks again today."

    Rody''s mother turned back to see the tavern owner still standing at the second-floor window, staring blankly.

    Five days later, Rody walked out of the mountains, reaching the fork in the road he had chosen years ago. That decision to go to Whitestone Town had determined and given him so much. Reflecting on the past, Rody was filled with mixed emotions. Bruce, who had once lewdly teased his mother and received a beating from him, had died protecting her...

    Choosing the secluded Whitestone Town seemed to be the right decision after all.

    Rody believed that no other place in the world could move him or be as memorable as this small town. Looking back, a smile involuntarily formed on his lips.

    Escaping from Koror years ago, he smiled out of relief.

    Today, as he left Whitestone Town, he smiled with nostalgia. The same person, the same smile, yet with a completely different state of mind.

    "I will come back, everyone just wait for me," Rody raised his hand, waving gently towards the lush greenery and the deep mountains hidden in the clouds, as if saying farewell to everyone.

 Chapter 32: Gambling is Wrong

    Five days later, Rody arrived at the capital of the Felik Duchy.

    The Felik Duchy was a small country. If Rody''s homeland, the Kingdom of Mesnotdania, ranked among the top three of all small nations, then the Felik Duchy was at best a mid-to-lower-tier country among many small nations. Its capital had only twenty to thirty thousand inhabitants, with no other castles except for the one where the royal family resided.

    Although the territory of the Felik Duchy was much larger than Mesnotdania, it mostly comprised mountains and forests, and thus had a sparse population.

    The entire capital''s army, including the Royal Guard and the ceremonial troops, numbered just over three thousand. Centuries ago, Felik had been glorious, but a devastating war against the beast clans, involving hundreds of thousands of troops, had severely weakened it. From being a first-rate power on the continent, it had fallen to a small duchy under the protection and alliance of the neighboring country, Great Frey.

    Perhaps due to its small size, it was easier to manage. After governance and recovery by several generations of kings, the Felik Duchy was not too impoverished.

    Now, the capital of Felik, famous for its tourism and flowers, was also one of the birthplaces of the world''s ten most beautiful women. Perhaps for this reason, the Felik Duchy had not been annexed by other countries and had managed to survive.

    Protected by the Great Frey Kingdom, the Felik Duchy didn''t need to maintain a large army. However, constant raids by goblins, orcs, and pirates on this beautiful peninsula meant its military remained substantial. The drain on national resources each year meant it could not return to its former glory as a powerful nation. Rody realized as he traveled through Felik that its biggest problem was not money or resources, but population.

    Its population was only slightly larger than that of Koror and Doha combined, and there were more women than men.

    It seemed that the great war centuries ago had sealed Felik''s fate.

    Apart from the royal castle, the largest buildings were the grand temple and the magic academy. Like the castle, they were built on three small hills, complementing each other and adding beauty to the flower-filled capital.

    When Rody arrived to register at the magic academy, he discovered that it had not yet opened for the term.

    "Are you here to study alchemy?" The tutor who received Rody was a middle-aged man in a mage''s robe, gentle and elegant in appearance, with a true wizard''s demeanor.

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    "Only fifteen students enrolled in alchemy?" Rody was surprised looking at the registration list. For such a large magic school, although alchemy was not as popular as knight swordsmanship or elemental magic, it was the first choice for most who couldn''t cast magic or had low magical power. Why were there only fifteen students?

    "Rody? Is your name Rody? Student Rody, it seems you are mistaken. It''s not that there are only fifteen students in your specialty. These are all the new students. This year, the total number of students enrolled is just fifteen," the middle-aged man said with a shake of his head and a smile.

    "How many people are in the academy altogether?" Rody was taken aback and looked around the large and beautiful magic academy, realizing it was almost empty.

    "All students, including about a dozen tutors, twenty-something servants, plus you fifteen new students, total one hundred ninety-eight people. Just two short to two hundred," the middle-aged man said, extending his hand to Rody with a smile. "Student Rody, welcome to Felik Magic Academy. You can call me Professor Buke. I''m in charge of wind element studies and occasionally teach alchemy, herbology, drawing, calculations, arbitrate competitions, and oversee field trials. Basically, you might see me lecturing in almost any specialty."

    "You do so much? How much does the dean pay you?" Rody shook his hand, finding the tutor quite approachable.

    "Not much, just five silver coins a month," the middle-aged man said with a smile.

    "If I were you, I would strongly protest against the exploitative dean for overworking employees," Rody said while quickly filling out a form.

    "I wouldn''t do that," the middle-aged man laughed heartily, and when Rody looked up in confusion, he said slowly, "Because I am the dean."

    "What?" Rody looked at him in surprise, having always imagined the dean of a magic academy as an old man with white hair and beard, wearing a mage''s tall hat, with ridiculous glasses on his nose, leaning on a magic staff, looking old and frail, yet an undying figure who had lived for hundreds of years... This affable reception tutor

    was the dean?

    "So, I don''t set a high salary for myself," the middle-aged man said, raising a finger to his lips with a smile. "I usually just use my position for a bit of corruption."

    "You, you''re the vice dean, right?" Rody had heard tales that in magic academies, there was always an elusive, doddering old man, perhaps a drunkard or a lecher who liked stealing girls'' underwear, the real dean with the prestige of a king, who roamed the school and secretly took talented students as apprentices, even marrying them to his beautiful granddaughters... And in magic academies, there was usually a vice dean who always made life difficult for talented students. Of course, the vice dean was very evil, a bad egg to be wary of.

    "Student Rody, do you think it''s necessary to have a vice dean among a dozen or so tutors? Besides, three of the tutors are court wizards, two are honorary professors, five are retired, and one was even called to heaven last month," the middle-aged man explained, making Rody realize why he had to teach so many classes - the magic academy was practically empty.

    "Dean, is the academy''s high tuition fee the reason for so few students?" Rody looked at the registration fee of one gold coin and immediately felt concerned.

    "Actually, it''s just symbolic. We only charge once, and our scholarship aid is comparable to the world''s four most prestigious academies," the middle-aged man laughed. "Student Rody, how about we make a bet? If you win, not only will your tuition fee be waived, but the academy will also grant you at least five gold coins per year as a scholarship."

    "Gambling is wrong," Rody advised earnestly. "As the dean, you should set a good example!"

    "..." The middle-aged man nearly fell over upon hearing this.

    "I won''t pay the registration fee for now. Deduct it from my future scholarship!" Rody said seriously. "If there are no beautiful female tutors or students in the academy, I strongly suggest waiving the registration fee and increasing the scholarship tenfold, otherwise a loss of popularity is inevitable."

    "What if there are beautiful female tutors and students?" the middle-aged man asked, laughing.

    "Then, starting with the next batch of new students, increase the registration fee tenfold," Rody''s eyes shone with excitement, but he didn''t forget to waive his own tuition fee first.

 Chapter 33: The Beautiful Female Tutor

    "Why do you want to study alchemy, Rody?" the middle-aged man asked as he arranged for Rody to stay in a room.

    "The reason is as helpless as why you are the dean... I don''t have the talent for studying magic, so I had to choose the basic alchemy as a skill for making a living in the future," Rody replied, pleased with the accommodation. Four people shared a large hall, each with their own small room. After settling in, he smiled and asked, "Dean, as you can see, I am a very diligent student, eager to use your magical key to access the academy''s library. Could you satisfy my thirst for knowledge?"

    "I am glad for your enthusiasm for learning, but the magical key isn''t in the dean''s pocket," the middle-aged man said with a smile and a shake of his head.

    "Where is it then?" Rody was surprised. The dean doesn''t have the key?

    "It hangs around the swan-like neck of the beautiful female tutor you mentioned. Anyone she disapproves of, including me, the dean, cannot enter the library," the middle-aged man said, spreading his hands and shrugging helplessly.

    "Are you even a dean?" Rody felt dizzy. To be a dean yet so powerless seemed absurd.

    "Let me tell you a secret: in our magic academy, the dean actually has the lowest status," the middle-aged man said, laughing. "Have you ever seen a dean in any other magic academy personally receiving new students?"

    "I sympathize with you," Rody said sincerely, patting the middle-aged man''s shoulder.

    "Dean Buke, there''s a new student for registration. As a dean, how can you neglect your duties? Hurry back to the reception to welcome the new student!" Suddenly, a magical voice call rang out from outside, a pleasant female voice summoning the middle-aged man. The content made Rody sweat.

    "I''m coming," the middle-aged man hurried out.

    "Is the term ''dean'' here confused with ''worker''?" Rody wondered if in Felik''s capital, ''dean'' meant ''servant,'' seeing how the man was ordered about.

    Out of curiosity, Rody followed to see what was happening.

    Indeed, there was a beautiful female tutor, as curvaceous as the succubus sisters. Despite wearing a snow-white robe, her chest was prominently high, like a mythical mountain in the Silent Forest, sparking endless imagination. She wore a silver circlet with a magical wave pattern on her head, her golden hair half-tied back, and beneath her light brows were eyes as blue as sapphires.

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    The beautiful female tutor, not more than twenty-five, had an air of elegance. Seeing her, Rody felt as if a white orchid was blooming before him.

    Beside her was a young girl with a cute fringe, very shy, lowering her head and barely looking at anyone. Rody knew at a glance that she was a new student, like him, one of the rare fifteen new students this year.

    "This is Juliana, or Gillian, however you call her, it''s the same. Gill, this is Dean Buke," the beautiful tutor introduced.

    "Welcome, Gillian," Dean Buke greeted her with a handshake, smiling. "Gill, if you like, you can participate in a game of a gambling nature. If you win, you''ll not only have your tuition waived, but also receive at least five gold coins a year as a scholarship."

    "Aunt Paggie, I¡­" the shy Gill looked for help from the beautiful tutor. Rody noticed she was also quite attractive.

    With her looks, she had the potential to grow into a great beauty, especially if she dressed more fashionably.

    "Gill, you should call me Teacher Margaret at school," the beautiful tutor said gently. "This is a test set by the king to assess new students'' abilities. You should participate, as it''s also a life lesson. It''s simple: we give you a gold coin, and in half a month when school starts, if you can earn more than two gold coins, you pass."

    "Yes, earning two gold coins is passing, three to five is excellent. If you earn more than ten, you can attend the king''s salon dance. If you earn over a hundred, the king will personally meet and grant you a title," Dean Buke explained in detail.

    "Do I get a gold coin for participating?" Rody burst in, startling the timid Gill.

    "If you can''t earn two gold coins, we''ll take back the original coin. If you earn more than five, we won''t take it back, and we''ll double your earnings and give you a yearly scholarship of five gold coins," Dean Buke said. Seeing Rody, he asked, "Rody

    , didn''t you just refuse to participate?"

    "You didn''t mention providing the initial capital," Rody quickly extended his hand, waiting for Dean Buke to place a weighty gold coin in his palm, feeling delighted.

    "Can I do anything with this gold coin?" the shy Gill peeked at Rody and asked softly.

    "As long as it''s not illegal," Dean Buke was saying, but Rody had already hurried back to his dormitory to plan his money-making scheme. The beautiful tutor and the young beauty Gill were astonished. This man had no interest in beautiful women, focusing only on money. Was he blind? The beautiful tutor, confident in her looks, knew students often got distracted by her. Usually, it took at least five minutes for someone to take their eyes off her. But this new student barely glanced at her, completely ignoring her presence.

    The next day, at the edge of the market near the main street, there was a small stall.

    Such a stall without a shop, placed on the edge of the street, was unheard of in Felik''s capital, let alone the entire continent. Not having a shop but just a shelf on the main road to sell items? At first, nearby shopkeepers came to see and sneered secretly. Who would buy from an untrustworthy stall without a proper shop? It was a pipe dream.

    All morning, people passed by out of curiosity, but no one stopped or asked.

    Rody leisurely read an alchemy book, unfazed by the cold reception.

    At noon, he hung up a big sign with bold red letters: "New student registration, work-study, quality goods, guaranteed quality, affordable prices, limited quantity, first-come, first-served."

    People were curious, knowing the magic academy''s tradition of testing new students'' abilities for scholarship.

    Despite their curiosity, few came to look.

    After a while, Rody hung another sign: "Goods sold only to women, men please refrain from speaking." To the uninformed, it seemed his business was booming and troubled by men. In fact, only nearby shopkeepers knew that not even a fly had visited his stall.

    Eventually, out of curiosity, someone came to look.

    What they found shocked everyone.

    "oh my god, are you selling or robbing? You''re slaughtering people with these prices!" a chubby man with a dazed entourage exclaimed in shock upon seeing Rody''s goods.

 Chapter 34ï¼šLove is Priceless, Are You Going to Discount Your Love?

    Rody''s stall displayed goods primarily consisting of processed items like magic crystals, magical beast furs, accessories, and armor. There were also a few potions and minerals, and even bottles of clear water.

    The chubby boy was shocked to see that the travel boots made from marsh crocodile skin were priced at two gold coins, and deer leather gloves inlaid with low-grade magic crystals were three gold coins.

    A red fox fur scarf with two small emeralds for eyes was priced at ten gold coins. This was simply crazier than robbery.

    "These boots are worth at most eight, no, ten silver coins," the chubby boy gasped in disbelief and exclaimed at Rody, "Although you are a great beauty, little sister, your goods are too expensive. Do you know? A gold coin can support an ordinary family for a month! Even in the capital, a gold coin can be exchanged for at least twenty silver coins, pure and heavy. In the countryside, it could be twenty-five to thirty silver coins. Two gold coins are too expensive. How about I offer you twelve, no, fifteen silver coins for a pair of these marsh crocodile skin boots, to help you make your first sale?"

    "I''m a guy, you pighead," Rody retorted without even glancing at him, pointing with a green sandalwood carved staff at the sign on his right that read "Goods sold only to women, men please refrain."

    "What? You''re really a guy?" The chubby boy was dumbfounded for a while, then asked his dumbfounded follower, "Did I have blurry vision today? Can a man have such tender and beautiful skin? Can a man be so pretty?"

    "No, young master," the follower slowly shook his head.

    "So you also see her as a woman? If even this fool can tell she''s a woman, then there''s no need to guess!" the chubby boy said happily.

    "Young master, he''s a man," the follower repeated slowly.

    "Why?" The chubby boy was stunned, confused by his servant.

    "Because he said he''s a man¡­" Before the follower could finish, the chubby boy kicked him aside. The chubby boy smiled at Rody, "Actually, I understand. You''re a lady in disguise, perhaps a noble lady or a princess from some country, here to study incognito. I will keep your secret. Ah, your goods are nice, though a bit expensive. I don''t mind..."

    "My goods are not for sale to men. Disappear as far as you can!" Rody couldn''t stand being mistaken for a woman. His fair and tender skin was a result of the hellish black dragon''s blood burning him. Probably even the cunning Black Dragon Lord Alfred hadn''t anticipated this effect.

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    "Don''t be angry, I meant no harm, really. I just want to buy these boots, little sister. How about one gold coin as a bargain?" the chubby boy said, trying to appease.

    "pervert!" A stern shout came from not far away. A spirited female swordsman with a huge sword approached, glaring at the chubby boy and reassuring Rody, "Little sister, don''t be afraid. With your sister here, no one can bully you! This guy must be itching for a beating. I''ll deal with him right away."

    "Hey, let''s talk nicely. I just want to buy something. I''m a customer, understand?" the chubby boy said, sweating with fear.

    "You two, one a pighead and the other blind, get lost," Rody snapped, closing his book and standing up to pat his chest angrily. "I am a man!"

    "What?" Seeing Rody stand up taller than himself, with a flat chest, the chubby boy finally realized he was indeed a man, feeling utterly disappointed and dejectedly said, "Why are you so pretty as a man? With such tender skin, how can others live?"

    "A man..." The spirited female swordsman was stunned for a moment, then angrily said, "As a man, why do you have long hair?"

    "Everyone in this street does, like this chubby boy with disheveled hair. Which man doesn''t? Mind your own business!" Rody was even more annoyed, waving them away, "Don''t stand there foolishly in front of me if it''s nothing. You don''t feel embarrassed, but I find it annoying!"

    "Hmph!" The spirited female swordsman was so angry she wanted to draw her giant sword and chop Rody, but she restrained herself and stormed off.

    "Are you really a guy? Now that the silly girl is gone, you can tell me quietly..." the chubby boy persisted.

    "I''ll quietly bury you!" Rody grabbed a small dagger from his stall, scaring the chubby boy into running away. The onlookers at a distance, though not understanding

    the whole drama, heard the conversation about men and women and were curious to come over but couldn''t find a reasonable excuse.

    Rody quickly carved a wooden mask and wore it to hide his face.

    The distant crowd grew more curious. Many people pretended to pass by, glancing at Rody and his stall. If it weren''t for the frightening prices and the female-only sale policy, many would have bought something, if only to chat with the mysterious white-robed magic apprentice.

    "Hey, there''s actually good stuff here." A happy-faced woman, arm in arm with a tall man, walked by casually, glanced over, and suddenly spotted several shiny objects. Upon closer inspection, she excitedly broke free from the man''s arm, exclaiming, "A pearl necklace with added ice crystals! I''ve wanted one for so long, and I can''t believe it''s here!"

    "This pearl necklace is three gold coins? My goodness!" The man, about to pay, was shocked at the price, his legs trembling and hands shaking.

    "Love is priceless; are you going to discount your love?" Rody didn''t speak but wrote this phrase on a small blackboard with a chalk pen.

    "If you''re unwilling to buy, then forget it. I always knew you liked Linda and only sought me out when bored," the woman sighed sadly, tears welling up.

    "Rose, don''t overthink. I love only you, my dear. Why would you be jealous of her? I have nothing to do with her. Don''t you want this pearl necklace? I''ll buy it for you. Your birthday is coming, and I want to gift you a piece of jewelry you like. This is perfect, and I''m happy to know what you need. Rose, my love for you is unchanging. Not just a simple pearl necklace, even the legendary ''Tears of an Angel,'' I would buy for you!" The man, though pained to spend three gold coins, wouldn''t risk losing his girlfriend over such a trivial expense.

    "Beautiful miss, this ice crystal pearl necklace and the snow deer pearl gloves are a matching set," Rody wrote another sentence on the blackboard. The woman immediately turned to look at the beautifully crafted gloves, nodding with delight, while the man nearly banged his head against a nearby wall.

    Though the items were indeed a set, the combined price of five gold coins felt like a noose tightening around one''s neck.

    The man grimaced, too afraid to speak out and worried that his limited patience would turn into a tirade, losing his gentlemanly demeanor.

    "Wishing you eternal love, this is a love knot gifted to you!" Rody wrote a blessing on the blackboard and handed over a knot made of lantern grass. Woven by Rody''s mother, it was exquisitely beautiful and likely as potent to a woman as a bright angel''s exorcism magic to ghosts.

    Indeed, the woman, holding the love knot, was overjoyed, tears brimming in her eyes, as if holding her lover''s heart.

    The man nearly choked, realizing that accepting the gift meant he had to spend. If he dared to refuse now, the consequences would be severe, and the outcome tragic...

 Chapter 35: Alice

    After paying five gold coins, the man, unable to hide his joy, had no choice but to put on a smiling face. He cursed Rody, the vampire, under his breath and swore never to walk down this street again. The woman kissed him on the face, playfully hugged him, then left excitedly with her boyfriend''s arm in hers, already thinking about which dress would go with the pearl necklace and gloves for the next party.

    Rody was pleased that his first business deal somewhat met his expectations, although he was a bit dazed by the woman''s thankful mention of "sister".

    It seems the woman mistook him for a female, which made him realize that having too pale and tender skin isn''t always a good thing.

    "Wow, I held back just now, didn''t dare to shout," a chubby boy panted as he ran up from a distance, followed by his slow, lethargic attendant. Excited, he shouted at Rody, "oh my god, someone actually bought something from you, how did you do it?"

    "Move aside, your body is casting a huge shadow over my stall," Rody quickly shooed him away.

    "Of course, my body is robust, much better than yours. You''re as thin as a bean sprout... Are you really a guy? Wait, just asking, don''t get angry! I''m also a newcomer, just reported to the Magic Academy, and took this test of earning two gold coins in half a month. I haven''t thought of a good method yet, but you''ve already succeeded... I admire you so much. Let me join you! We can grow this business together. I have fifty gold coins to invest, and I''m sure we can earn a hundred in half a month. Then, we''ll get an audience with the king and might even see the princess during dinner. Wow, just thinking about it is exciting!"

    "Keep dreaming, and maybe buy a big pillow," Rody coldly scoffed and sat down to read his book.

    "We''re classmates, don''t be so heartless, okay? I''m Thomas, but you can call me Tommy. And you?" The chubby boy quickly introduced himself, trying to foster a sense of camaraderie.

    "You earn two gold coins in a day, then we''ll talk about partnership," Rody said, ignoring him further.

    "oh my god, if I can earn two gold coins in a day, why would I need to partner with you? Why even go to school? I''d just stay at home counting gold coins!" The chubby boy shook his head, sighed, and seeing that Rody was ignoring him, walked away dejectedly with his attendant.

    Later, Rody noticed someone standing at his stall. Looking up, he saw Jill, the shy girl. She was stealthily watching him, but quickly lowered her head when Rody looked up.

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    "I heard from Tommy that you''ve already earned two gold coins, Rody? You''re really capable!" Jill''s voice was barely audible, and Rody strained to hear her words. Perhaps sensing his gaze, Jill''s cheeks suddenly flushed, and she quickly turned to leave. Rody found this shy girl quite cute, but she was more timid than a deer in the forest, which amused him.

    He then thought of the female innkeeper in Baishi Town, probably still pouring liquor into her mouth. In the past, he used to snatch the bottle from her, but now, no one did, so she probably drank even more crazily. He also wondered about the succubus sisters and whether their facial wounds had healed, and the dark elf he once teased, whether she managed to steal back the Moonstone of their tribe.

    From the innkeeper, Rody''s thoughts drifted to the succubus sisters, then to the elf he once encountered, and finally to his mother waiting at home for his return, filling his heart with tender warmth.

    Cold and heartless, that''s how he was with outsiders.

    But with family, especially his mother, he could only feel an uncontrollable warmth and softness in his heart, his true self.

    "Sister, I want this bunny!" By evening, Rody had completed five deals, earning over ten gold coins in profit, which pleased him greatly. It seemed focusing on women''s merchandise was a viable path. As he was about to close his stall, a cute little girl around five or six years old, followed by a silver-armored female knight, approached. The girl immediately took a liking to Rody''s bone pet rabbit.

    "This rabbit is not for sale," Rody refused while correcting the girl''s address to him, "Little sister, I''m a guy, you should call me brother, not sister."

    "If I call you brother, will you sell me the little rabbit?" the girl asked innocently and adorably.

    "Name a price, any price for the rabbit. We need to buy it, don''t waste my time and life," the silver

    -armored knight bluntly stated, ready to use money as a persuasion tool. If the rabbit wasn''t Rody''s bone pet, he would have sold it without hesitation, as getting angry with rich people was a waste of time and life.

    "The rabbit is not for sale, no matter the price," Rody, seeing the girl about to cry, softened and pointed to a market in the distance, "There are many rabbit pets for sale over there, all prettier than mine."

    "Brother, those rabbits aren''t as obedient as yours, nor as smart as your clever little rabbit. It helps you tidy up, while those just eat carrots. I want your smart little rabbit! Brother, can you sell it to Alice, please? I''ll take good care of it, groom it daily, even dress it up, oh, and feed it lettuce..." the girl almost cried.

    "It''s not for sale. Tomorrow, I''ll catch another one for you," Rody had no choice. The bone pet rabbit, once more than sixty meters away from him, would be just a corpse, so he couldn''t sell it to the girl.

    "What use does a grown man have for a rabbit?" the knight snapped, throwing a bag of money on the stall and prepared to take the bone pet rabbit for the little girl. But the rabbit reacted swiftly, leaping into the air, flipping onto Rody''s shoulder, and vanishing just as the knight almost grabbed its ear.

    "Hand over the rabbit! It now belongs to Alice," the knight demanded.

    "Take your money back. Little sister, this rabbit is special, it can''t leave my side too far, or it will die, so it can''t be sold," Rody explained patiently, not wanting to upset the big-eyed, tearful girl.

    "Is that so? Brother, can Alice come to see the rabbit again tomorrow?" the girl asked sensibly, no longer insisting on buying it.

    "As long as you like, you can play with it anytime," Rody didn''t care for the knight, but couldn''t stay mad looking at the girl''s face. He felt a deep guilt towards his mother, who was cruelly abandoned by his father because of him.

    If not for him, she would have been the happiest little wife.

    If she had had a daughter instead, she wouldn''t have had to hide in the secluded valley of Baishi Town, waiting alone for his uncertain return.

    "Alice is so happy, brother, see you tomorrow," the girl''s innocent smile reminded Rody of his mother.

    If he had such a cute sister, his mother would surely be very happy.

    Rody''s thoughts shifted from his mother to his father, the heartless and ruthless Lord of Warren. Anger stirred within him. One day, he would return to Kolo with his mother and make his father regret...

 Chapter 36: Partnership

    When Rody arrived in the capital of Feric, he inquired at the Thieves'' Guild about the Sky Warrior known as Prince Vincent. There were several princes named Vincent on the continent, but Rody initially narrowed his suspects to the second prince of the Great Frey Kingdom and the sixth prince of the Madagali Kingdom. Both were men in their thirties and powerful Sky Warriors. As for their appearances and detailed information, the Thieves'' Guild quoted prices of eighty and one hundred gold coins, respectively, which made Rody abandon this quick method of investigation. After all, his current need wasn''t revenge but to enhance his own strength.

    Neither a Sky Warrior nor the one-armed, one-legged Sword Emperor were enemies Rody could easily take revenge on. Behind them lay the support of a powerful nation. To avenge the past events in White Stone Town, Rody needed to at least reach the level of a North Star Seven Star Magic Grandmaster or an Eighth Order Moon Halo Magic King.

    But Rody''s current strength might only be that of a five-star advanced undead mage. He dared not tamper with the Dark Gold Bone Hand and Dark Gold Foot, for they still contained remnants of the Sword Emperor''s essence and were imbued with the will of the Black Dragon Lord Alfred. Rody was confident he could gradually disperse these influences with his mental power, turning them into limbs for his minions of darkness, but he feared this action might alert the Black Dragon and Sword Emperor.

    Perhaps after learning some deception and disguise magic, Rody could freely use these items, which is why he eagerly wanted access to the magic academy''s library.

    As he watched the red twilight fill the western sky, Rody slowly made his way to the magic academy, pulling a wooden cart.

    "Hey, Rody, are you a man of your word? If I earn two gold coins, will you partner with me?" Tommy, the chubby boy, panted as he ran down from a hill, his body trembling with exertion, followed by his dull attendant. Rody wasn''t surprised that Tommy knew his name, as it could be checked in the reception area, but he was puzzled why Tommy was so intent on partnering with him.

    "It was within a day to earn two gold coins," Rody replied indifferently, pulling the wooden cart step by step.

    "I did it," Tommy beamed. "I made a bet with someone, odds of one to two, and thanks to you, I won. Now, I''ve earned two gold coins."

    "Congratulations," Rody replied, then fell silent.

    "I knew you wouldn''t keep your word, but, Rody, I''m really sincere," Tommy pleaded earnestly, wiping his sweat. "I really want to partner up."

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    "Why don''t you start your own business with your capital? It doesn''t require much. You could easily buy finished products elsewhere, set up a stall. Why insist on partnering with me?" Rody asked curiously.

    "I want to partner with you not because of the fine women''s jewelry and beast furs you sell, but because of your brilliant mind. Understand? I want to work with someone smart, to grow a business together. I provide the capital; you provide the strategies, creating a miracle unheard of before. I have a feeling that if we work together, we could create a sensation in the whole city!" Tommy''s eyes sparkled with excitement, his fists waving in the air.

    "Maybe, but why should I partner with you?" Rody smiled, "Do you think I can''t create a sensation in the city by myself?"

    "This... Of course, you can. But, Rody, remember what you said? How can you go back on your word?" Tommy eagerly pushed the wooden cart, smiling, "I''m smart too. You can tell from the fact that I earned two gold coins in a day. Shouldn''t smart people work together? As my father says, smart people should join forces for a strong alliance."

    "Your father must have also told you that smart people working together often succeed, but are unreliable and likely to get greedy when sharing profits," Rody smiled. "You''re smart enough to understand that, right?"

    "Yes, that''s true... But, Rody, there are times when smart people can work together happily," Tommy persisted.

    "Tommy, if you think selling women''s jewelry has potential, I can sell you this stall. How about that?" Rody suggested after a pause. "That way, I can focus on reading. Earning money here is not our main goal. Learning is."

    "oh my god, I dare say, apart from you, anyone else setting up a stall on the main road would just gather mold," Tommy quickly dismissed the idea.

    "I''ll tell you straight, after I sell these items, I won''t restock. So, our room for partnership is small," Rody rejected the idea again.

    "I understand. The best way to sell women

    ''s accessories is through a store, the more luxurious, upscale, and expensive, the better. Your success relies on people''s curiosity and novelty, using items uncommon in Feric''s capital to attract female customers. Of course, it can''t last long. But, Rody, we might collaborate on something else, understand? Feric has countless business opportunities, but the merchants here are all old-fashioned, adding water to wine, nothing more. We might seize some inconspicuous opportunities and make a fortune!" Tommy seemed to be from a merchant family, talking incessantly about money with a sharp mind.

    "If you want to partner, then explore every corner of Feric, noting everything you see and hear daily," Rody proposed with a light smile. "In three days, we''ll talk again. If your information has no value, then we''ll forget about it."

    "oh my god, hearing you agree makes my heart race," Tommy exclaimed, nearly flipping with excitement.

    At the magic academy''s entrance, several shiny, silver-armored men on tall horses passed by Rody, laughing loudly at the sight of him pulling the wooden cart. They stirred up dust around Rody, taunting the poor student.

    Rody was tempted to conjure a spiritual warhammer to smash the leader''s horse''s head, giving the arrogant man a taste of eating dirt. But he suddenly felt a strange sensation, sensing someone in a dark corner observing him, as if seeing into his soul. Rody remembered he was an undead mage, unwelcome on the continent, and broke out in a cold sweat. Pretending to be devoid of magical power and knowledge, he lowered his head and continued pulling the cart.

    "Don''t push it too far. Want to fight? Get off your horses if you dare!" Tommy, covered in dust, furiously challenged.

    "We don''t attack incapable men, as they''re not worth it," the leader, clearly seeing Rody and Tommy''s one-star and two-star apprentice robes and knowing they were not magicians, arrogantly taunted, "Even a three-star junior magician wouldn''t stand a chance against a four-star swordsman like me. Better understand what casting magic means before you rant!"

    "Roar..." Suddenly, Rody made a weird howling gesture by his lips, startling all the horses into rearing up. The riders, caught off guard while laughing, tumbled off their horses.

 Chapter 37: The Demon Dean

    "Don''t be afraid, my dear, it''s not a dragon''s roar. Stay calm, stay calm..."

    The leader swiftly got up from the ground, not caring about his disheveled state, and hurried to calm his spooked horse. Rody took advantage of the chaos, extending his mental power like a spider web, lashing the horses, causing them to kick and jump in pain. Everyone thought it was due to a dragon-like roar, not realizing Rody was attacking the horses with his mental power.

    The silver-armored man struggled, covered in mud and dirt, unable to control his horse, which kicked and bit, trying to escape. Eventually, the horses broke free and scattered in panic, leaving their riders, including the leader, looking at each other in confusion and dismay. The leader''s reins even snapped as he watched his beloved horse flee in a frenzy, reluctant to use force for fear of injuring it.

    "Such a mighty four-star swordsman, such a grand silver-armored knight," Rody sarcastically praised, thumbs up. "Such excellent horsemanship!"

    "You..." The leader trembled with anger, unable to comprehend how his well-trained horse got so frightened by a mere roar. Despite not being injured, his pride was deeply hurt by the new magic apprentice who could mimic a dragon''s roar.

    "Noble knight, I''m just a novice magic apprentice who doesn''t know how to cast spells. I feel so ashamed, so embarrassing. It''s much more shameful than a four-star swordsman who can''t ride a horse. What an honorable title, four-star swordsman! Oh, how I envy it! I dream of being a four-star swordsman, of riding a horse, even if there''s a risk of falling off, I''d gladly take it!" Rody spoke earnestly, leaving the previously stunned Tommy almost rolling on the floor with laughter, unable to stand straight.

    "I admire knights too, oh heavens, just the way you fell off the horse so elegantly is worth learning from," Tommy managed to hold back his laughter.

    "Master, those knights did fall, but wasn''t it less elegant than you said?" his dull servant muttered, inciting further laughter from Tommy.

    "Seems like your cheap skins and bones are itching for a lesson, daring to scare off my horse," the leader threatened, drawing his sword.

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    "Julian, do you remember the knight''s code of conduct from the manual? Do I need to remind you?" Dean Buke of the magic academy emerged, walking gracefully, smiling as if attending a salon rather than breaking up a fight.

    "Dean, it was just a misunderstanding. We were only greeting the new students. We didn''t expect the horses to get spooked," Julian, the leader, quickly changed his demeanor upon seeing Dean Buke, smiling respectfully and bowing slightly. "Dean, we need to retrieve our startled horses, so we''ll take our leave now."

    They left, Julian giving Rody a cold glare as he passed.

    Rody just pretended not to see, maintaining his smile.

    "Great Dean Buke, you truly have the authority of a dean. I misjudged you," Tommy excitedly patted Buke''s shoulder, almost knocking him over, exclaiming, "What kind of person is this arrogant Julian? Such poor horsemanship and he''s a knight?"

    "He''s the second son of General Anthony of Feric, one of the most promising swordsmanship students in the academy, a Holy Sword Knight consecrated by the Feric Cathedral, soon to become a formal knight in six months. His strength is close to a five-star Great Swordsman, just not yet tested. Angering him is not a good thing," Dean Buke remarked, smiling at Rody and his cart. "Rody, how many gold coins did you earn today?"

    "Not a single one," Rody lied as easily as eating cabbage, stunning Tommy.

    "How many silver coins, then?" Dean Buke smiled, "You''re not going to say none, are you?"

    "Just a small business, many onlookers but few buyers, impossible to make money. Only a few copper coins today," Rody answered seriously, surprising Tommy who had never heard such casual and confident lying.

    "Is that so?" Dean Buke''s expression turned peculiar. He turned to leave, then paused and added, "Then you must work harder."

    "Although it''s difficult, I will try to earn two gold coins in half a month," Rody nodded earnestly.

    "Oh my..." Tommy felt like dying, and wanted to report Rody but refrained, instead shouting to Dean Buke, "Dean, why does Julian listen to you? What are you to him?"

    "He''s my student," Dean Buke laughed and walked away.

    "Hey, you dare to talk to him? You''re really clueless!" A sneaky figure emerged from the shadows, whispering, "Do you know who that was?"

    "The dean!" Tommy was puzzled, asking, "Bootlicker, is he the king''s illegitimate son or something?"

    "You fat-headed fool, you''re hopelessly stupid! If he were ordinary, could he be the dean?" the skinny bootlicker said angrily, piquing Rody''s curiosity.

    "So, is there something odd about Dean Buke?" Tommy was skeptical, finding the dean too amiable to be like other deans.

    "I haven''t found out more, but I know Julian and others secretly call Dean Buke the ''Demon Dean''!" the bootlicker revealed, chilling both Tommy and Rody. It seemed Dean Buke was playing a deceptive role, appearing amiable on the surface but terrifyingly sinister inside.

    "Oh my, I just patted his shoulder..." Tommy recalled in horror.

    "Not just that, Master. This morning you asked if he was married, and when Dean Buke said no, you whispered he must be impotent. I think he heard you," the servant chimed in, turning Tommy pale with fear.

    "Being with you is too dangerous. I''m leaving, safety first," the bootlicker quickly fled, only to return a moment later to caution Tommy, "Make sure never to tell anyone I know you. I''m off, thank heavens, I''m safe, I''m safe."

    "Being classmates with this bootlicker is the worst luck!" Tommy spat in anger.

    "I find him quite interesting," Rody laughed, amused by the situation.

 Chapter 38: Im Watching a Beauty Taking a Bath

    Returning to the dormitory, Rody found out that he shared the room with Tommy, the chubby boy, and the bootlicker named Terence, nicknamed Terry. Tommy called Terence a bootlicker because of his tendency to flatter, especially towards beautiful women, which made Tommy quite jealous. Thus, Tommy spontaneously nicknamed him ''bootlicker'' upon their first meeting. As a retort, Terence called Tommy ''pighead''. Their initial encounter was marked by smiles, handshakes, and hugs, with each sweetly addressing the other by their nicknames, making outsiders think they were good friends.

    "I''m called Leopold, or Leander, or Leonard, anything is fine, you can also call me Leo," introduced their last roommate, a down-to-earth swordsman with a rustic air about him. He had a greatsword beside him, broader than his own body, his muscles brimming with explosive power. To Rody, Leo seemed like a golden lion still growing. When Rody entered, Leo was drenched in sweat, guzzling water as if he had just come out of a bloody battle.

    "Is this eighty-three copper coins your wage for today?" Rody glanced at the table, seeing a mercenary guild task confirmation slip and several copper coins scattered on it. Out of curiosity, he asked.

    "Yes, if I hadn''t accidentally broken off one of the bull''s horns with too much force while stopping a mad bull, I could have earned an additional seventeen copper coins. At this rate, it''ll be hard to earn two gold coins in half a month. This test is really challenging," Leo replied, startling Tommy with his strength and straightforwardness.

    "If the test wasn''t challenging, the academy wouldn''t have arranged it," Rody commented, making Tommy roll his eyes. From others'' perspective, the task might be challenging, but not for Rody, who earned at least five gold coins that afternoon. Tommy wanted to speak out but refrained, feeling uncomfortable keeping this secret.

    Leo was surprised how this delicate-looking roommate could tell at a glance it was eighty-three copper coins. He himself had counted several times to be sure.

    "When you''re tired and drinking water, you should add some salt to quench your thirst better," Rody casually advised before heading to his room to rest. Tommy followed, nearly getting his nose squashed by the door.

    "Really, adding salt does quench thirst better," Leo found out after trying.

    "Hey, pighead, do you think Rody is a girl?" Terry peeked out of his room and whispered to Tommy, who was squatting on the ground, holding his nose. Even Leo pricked up his ears. Tommy stood up and replied seriously, "What kind of eyes do you have? He''s a guy! Definitely a guy!"

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    "Would you chase into his room if he''s a guy?" Terry asked sarcastically upon hearing this.

    "What? It''s normal interaction between classmates. Bootlicker, you know nothing!" Tommy retorted, justifying his actions.

    "Classmate interaction? Ridiculous, why don''t you sit in my room then?" Terry laughed, "I think Rody might be using some disguise magic to change his appearance. His true identity is quite mysterious. I suspect he might be a girl."

    "Unless there''s a fire, I won''t enter your kennel!" Tommy snorted, "Being a thief is fine, but remember not to overstep boundaries or talk nonsense!"

    "Hey, I''m the safest thief in the world, no need for you, pighead, to worry about me," the skinny Terry slammed his door shut.

    "I seem to have interesting roommates. This academy is indeed the right place," Leo eventually remarked after a long pause, by which time Tommy had already gone to bed, snoring loudly.

    Rody didn''t care what his roommates would say; the night was his precious time for cultivation. However, that night, he didn''t practice for long. After meditating for only half the usual time, he got up and quietly left for the academy''s library. His thirst for new knowledge was his biggest pursuit at the moment. Although he didn''t have the magical key to the library, his wisdom was enough to bypass the magic doors and barriers.

    He sent out two mantis familiars, swirling up to the top of the library''s bell tower, the weakest point of the magical barrier. After scouting, he used the mantises and his qi to crack open the barrier slightly, sending one through to test the control. Finding the connection weak but manageable, Rody joyfully directed them into the top of the bell tower and then through the mechanical room into the storage, slipping in through the bottom of the door, thus avoiding the need to unlock it.

    The magical door could stop humans and was sensitive to living creatures like rats, but it failed to detect the lifeless mantises, thrilling Rody.

    Though the magical door didn''t open for him, he found a way through his own ingenuity.

    Once inside, Rody was astonished. The library was a hollow design, with circular inner walls lined with densely packed bookshelves, holding thousands of magic books. A magical defense device rotated slowly below, scanning the area with beams of magic light. The walls were adorned with various magical boxes, carvings of magical symbols, portraits of deities, and star maps...

    Viewing through the dark vision of his mantis familiars, Rody was dazzled. He hadn''t expected the library to house so many books, far exceeding his imagination and anticipation.

    Rody carefully maneuvered the mantises to avoid the scanning beams while quickly scanning and memorizing books. It was exhausting to control the mantises through the barrier while reading and avoiding magical scans, more tiring than a battle.

    After forcing himself to read a mid-level wind magic book and a beginner earth magic book, Rody felt dizzy, his control weakening. He quickly withdrew the mantises, giving his nearly collapsing mental power a rest.

    This was more painful than a big battle, controlling the familiars through a magic barrier while reading and dodging magic scans.

    Rody thought if he could endure a night controlling the mantises in the library, he might reach the level of a Moon Halo Magic King or a North Star Seven Star Magic Grandmaster.

    "Rody, what are you doing here?" someone asked softly from behind.

    Turning around, Rody saw Dean Buke, wearing a peculiar smirk that sent chills down his spine. How had the dean appeared behind him without his notice? Rody felt a cold shiver realizing he couldn''t detect the dean''s approach with his own psychic senses.

    "I''m watching a beauty taking a bath..." Rody coughed lightly, suppressing his panic, trying to smile as he answered.

 Chapter 39: Fountain of Youthful Love

    "Watching a beauty taking a bath? Where?" Dean Buke''s eyes lit up with excitement upon hearing Rody''s words.

    "She hasn''t arrived yet," Rody patted Dean Buke''s shoulder, signaling him not to look around anymore, and comfortingly said, "You can wait here a bit longer; she''ll definitely come! I''m leaving now, I''ll leave this opportunity to you. Make sure to seize it!"

    "I believe no beauty would be taking a bath at 4:35 in the morning, as they are usually sleeping beauty sleep at this time," Dean Buke replied with a smile, patiently discussing many critical issues with Rody in a gentle tone. "Besides, this place is quite far from the female students'' dormitory. Except for owls, I doubt any human can see the girls'' dormitory from nine hundred meters away. What do you think, Rody?"

    "I think maybe we could get a bit closer!" Rody earnestly nodded, "If there''s no beauty bathing now, then we''ll wait and peek when they do."

    "Good idea," Dean Buke clapped and laughed loudly. "But Rody, do you know any x-ray magic?"

    "No," Rody shook his head.

    "Then what do we do? You know, beauties usually don''t open doors or windows while bathing," Dean Buke said worriedly. "Not knowing x-ray magic seems a bit problematic. Rody, do you have any good ideas?"

    "No worries, maybe we can make a small hole in the wall to let the spring light leak through," Rody reassured.

    "Smart!" Dean Buke slapped Rody''s shoulder and laughed heartily. "This great and glorious task is yours. Remember to invite me when you spot a beauty bathing. By the way, the girls'' bathroom walls are made of black obsidian granite. Making a hole in them won''t be easier than making a hole in this library''s barrier. However, I believe you can handle it smoothly."

    Rody watched Dean Buke yawn and slowly walk away, feeling for the first time that this man really was a dean, at least in terms of being unpredictable.

    Back at the dorm, Rody found Leo already awake, lifting a huge rock at the door to exercise. Leo was surprised to see Rody coming back from outside; the rock nearly dropped on his toes. In his mind, Rody was not the type of student to get up early, yet here he was returning, while Leo had just woken up.

    Ignoring him, Rody walked past Leo indifferently and went back to sleep. After an unknown amount of time, he was woken up by loud knocks on the door. It was Terry with breakfast in his hand. Before he could speak, Rody shut the door with a bang. A scream from outside suggested that Terry''s nose might have met the same fate as Tommy''s.

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    Rody slept until the sun was high and then slowly got up, feeling somewhat refreshed.

    Dragging his wooden cart out to set up his stall again, he found it no longer as deserted as the previous day. As soon as he set up, many people gathered around. Evidently, because of the jewelry purchased by a few customers yesterday, many girls found his items unique and exquisite. Thus, numerous girls brought their boyfriends to try and pick something they liked.

    Most importantly, they wanted to get the special gift of a Love Knot made of green yarn grass, which came with a light ''Fresh Dew Magic'' for preservation. The green knot, if re-enchanted periodically, could last indefinitely, making it an ideal symbol of eternal love.

    "One bottle of water for a silver coin?" Some men, dragged by their girlfriends, came reluctantly, hoping to buy something cheap in exchange for the beautiful Love Knot. They were shocked to find even the cheapest bottle of water cost a silver coin, echoing the sentiment that the new student from the magic academy was not selling items, but rather fleecing customers.

    "This is water from the Fountain of Youthful Love. It''s said that true lovers who drink it receive the blessing of the God of Love, and their love remains evergreen. Also, this water has beautifying effects!" Rody hung a note with this description in the most conspicuous place, attracting all the girls'' attention and infuriating the men for feeling compelled to buy the overpriced water.

    "So romantic..." The girls sighed, each deciding to buy a bottle to share with their loved ones.

    "Is it really beautifying? How can you prove this is water from the Fountain of Youthful Love?" someone queried, echoing the sentiments of many.

    Rody didn''t answer but poured a full cup of water and placed a silver coin on its surface. The water, under tremendous tension, supported the coin without spilling a drop, eliciting admiration from the girls. He then poured another cup of ordinary water, just full, and handed a silver

    coin to the onlookers to try placing it on the water. No one succeeded; the coin sank in every attempt.

    Rody smiled faintly, lifted the sunken coin from the ordinary water, and overlaid it on the coin floating on the Fountain of Youthful Love water, causing a chorus of amazed exclamations. The water bulged exaggeratedly without spilling, supporting the weight of two coins without them sinking.

    "I''ll buy it!" Tommy shouted excitedly, rushing over. "I''ll give three gold coins to buy all your water. Listen, all the water here belongs to me now, and nobody is allowed to touch it!"

    "How can you be so selfish!" The girls protested, as did the men, annoyed at Tommy for trying to monopolize a good thing.

    "Fatso, you better back off, or I''ll break your legs!" some hot-tempered men threatened.

    Rody pointed to the banner on the right side of his stall, indicating the phrase ''Items for sale to women only, gentlemen please refrain from speaking,'' legitimizing everyone''s scolding of Tommy for his greed and vulgarity.

    Tommy glanced at Rody, his eyes flickering, then shuffled away, dejected.

    Although the men were reluctant to spend on other items, no one objected to buying a bottle of the Fountain of Youthful Love water. Some even wanted to buy more, but dared not mention it in front of their girlfriends.

    By midday, Rody had almost sold out.

    Especially the Fountain of Youthful Love water, which saw men making several trips, each time with different girls, to buy it.

    "Rody, I admire you so much. How did you think of selling mountain spring water as the Fountain of Youthful Love? How did you come up with it? You''re so smart! I dare say, apart from you, no one else on the continent could sell a bottle of water for a silver coin, unless in a scorching desert," Tommy said admiringly, followed by his dull servant and a shy Jill.

    "You''re not bad either, Tommy. Without your outcry, I doubt those people would have spent their money so readily or felt so satisfied," Rody smiled and casually praised Tommy.

 Chapter 40: No Flirting During Work Hours

    "Is this really not water from the Fountain of Youthful Love?" asked Jill, shy and quiet, her voice barely above a whisper.

    "I haven''t verified whether it''s from the Fountain of Youthful Love or not, but I''m sure it''s spring water that even Pegasus likes to drink. In our place, some people also call it the Fountain of Luck," Rody replied with a light smile. "Even if it''s not from the Fountain of Youthful Love, I wouldn''t sell ditch water to anyone."

    "I, I didn''t mean that..." Jill lowered her head, her eyes on her fingertips.

    "Are there Pegasus in your place?" Tommy''s eyes lit up at the mention, though his hefty build made becoming a Pegasus rider an impossible dream, but that didn''t diminish his fascination with them.

    "Jill, did you need something from me?" Rody asked, noticing her hesitation.

    "Yes, it''s like this. Aunt Pagi, I mean, Professor Margaret asked me to be your temporary assistant, if that''s okay?" Jill''s voice was timid and stammering, and without Rody''s keen hearing and a bit of guessing, it would have been hard to understand her.

    "What type of magic do you specialize in?" Rody inquired thoughtfully.

    "Ice and, and flame," Jill''s response surprised Tommy; the shy girl was not only a dual-element mage but also mastered the opposing elements of ice and flame, a rare talent indeed.

    "Follow my instructions exactly. Five silver coins a day for your wages, and an additional silver coin for every two gold coins'' worth of sales," Rody''s terms not only delighted Jill but also made Tommy drool. Tommy, with a big grin, eagerly offered his services: "Dear Rody, don''t forget I''m your classmate too! Tommy from Yellow Forest Town, ready to serve you."

    "Talk to me in two days; I''m busy right now," Rody dismissed Tommy and then turned to Jill, "Come back tomorrow at nine."

    "Thank you..." Jill bowed deeply, her long legs gracefully carrying her away like a deer in the forest.

    Tommy, however, lingered, unwilling to leave. He eagerly helped Rody pack up the stall, and Rody, puzzled, asked, "Didn''t I tell you to gather useful information about Feric?"

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    "Of course, I remember," Tommy chuckled. "Smart people often don''t need to do things themselves; money can do it for them."

    "Hey, fatso, I''ve gathered all the data you wanted on the West District, including the goods list, price list, and trade records. Bring the silver coins!" A skinny figure, panting and sweaty, rushed over. Rody was surprised to see it was Terry, Tommy''s rival.

    "Terry, that''s not a suitable way to address your employer, is it?" Tommy asked smugly, pulling out his coin purse. "Do you want me to deduct your pay?"

    "No, dear boss Tommy, your handsomeness and generosity are worth the world''s praise. Your mercy and magnanimity are exemplary, truly heartwarming! I bet if beauties heard your legendary name, they''d scream in excitement!" Terry, true to his bootlicking nature, flattered Tommy, who reveled in the praise, while Rody nearly felt sick to his stomach.

    "Bring the East District''s report tomorrow," Tommy commanded after paying three silver coins.

    "What? My dearest boss, do you think it takes until tomorrow to gather such simple data? I''ll bring it to you shortly, just have the bonus ready..." Terry happily bit into the silver coins, delighted with their pure silver weight.

    "Quick-legged thief, you should be off to work after my praise!" Tommy winked at Rody, bossing Terry around.

    "You''re the boss, I''ll listen to you," Terry complied, nodded at Rody as a greeting, then dashed off towards the East District.

    "You''re not too dumb after all," Rody acknowledged Tommy''s resourcefulness. Not everyone could get their rival to work for them, and this alone made Tommy somewhat noteworthy in Rody''s eyes.

    "Though I''m a bit less smart than you, I''m definitely among the best," boasted Tommy, sensitive to any hint of being called fat.

    "Starting tomorrow, five silver coins a day, and a bonus of one silver coin for every five gold coins in sales!" Rody laid out the terms.

    "Why? Jill isn''t treated like that..." Tommy was puzzled.

    "You claimed to be among the best, so the requirements are higher!" Rody smiled. "If you''re not satisfied, I won''t insist. Besides, paying a supposed top-notch guy like you the same as hiring a dual-element Five-Star High Mage like Jill seems fair, don''t you think, Tommy?"

    "Jill is a Five-Star High Mage of ice and flame?" Tommy was stunned,

    then laughed, "The price is good, dear Rody, but you''ll soon see I''m worth more than that."

    "I just think you should drop the ''dear'' from your speech," Rody ignored Tommy, pulled his cart back to the dorm, and went back to sleep. He woke up at night, ate something, meditated, and recalled the magic books he had read the previous night.

    Late at night, Rody went to the library as usual, sending mantises to steal books. After about half an hour of strenuous effort, he returned to the dorm with a headache. He saw not only Leo exercising early but also a girl with a giant sword and heavy iron rings on her arms and legs jogging. It was the spirited female swordsman from the other day, also a student at the magic academy.

    She seemed surprised to see Rody up so early but snorted and swiftly ran off.

    At around nine, Rody got up to find Jill already waiting outside.

    "Hey, fatty, wake up, do you want me, your boss, to deduct your pay?" Rody kicked Tommy''s door. Tommy sleepily peeked out, saw Rody, and quickly grinned. While Rody was freshening up, Tommy did the same to Terry, shouting, "Bootlicker, you lazy bum, what time do you think it is? Get up or I''ll dock your pay!"

    Jill, dizzy from their complicated interactions, watched as Terry emerged like a mouse, disappeared in front of everyone, then reappeared in front of her with the same sleazy smile as Tommy, saying, "Welcome, Jill, please sit! Damn fatty, how could you not greet lovely Jill? That''s too much!"

    "Get lost!" Tommy kicked him away, quickly bringing a chair with a seemingly gentlemanly manner for Jill to sit.

    "No flirting during work hours!" Rody punched Tommy on the head, knocking him down, making Jill giggle behind her hand.

 Chapter 41: Cheap Bone

    Rody pulled out a wooden cart with no goods on it, and the little chubby boy and Jill followed him strangely.

    Upon arrival, Rody extended his hand to the little chubby boy and Jill and said, "Hand over your principal." After receiving two gold coins, Rody produced a piece of paper covered with densely written words that were unclear, and handed a gold coin to the chubby boy, instructing, "According to the list above, purchase at least 300 kilograms of each item, the more the better. For every 15% extra you buy of each item, I''ll reward you with a silver coin."

    "Fruits and fresh meat?" The chubby boy, upon seeing this, immediately beamed with joy and said, "No problem, leave it to me."

    "Jill, you also have a shopping list," Rody said, taking out another piece of paper and handing it to the timid Jill. "You are responsible for purchasing wine, vinegar, oil, sugar, salt, and spices, etc. The quantity should be as per the list, and the higher the quality, the better."

    "Understood," Jill''s small hand trembled as she took the paper and the gold coin, and ran off like a deer.

    Rody, doing nothing himself, sat down, opened a book on alchemy, and began reading contentedly, as if no one else was there.

    After a long time, the little chubby boy returned, gasping for breath, followed by a follower carrying sacks. Rody ignored him, and the chubby boy Tommy opened the sacks himself, had the follower bring well water, and took out fruits covered in mud and ashes, cleaning them one by one. Soon, Leo came striding with three deer over his shoulder, two rabbits in his hand, and a bloody sack at his waist, happily saying, "Tommy, I''ve hunted the deer and rabbits you wanted, and a wild boar too. As for the rest, I''ll deliver them as soon as possible."

    "Leo, your bravery is commendable," the chubby boy said, taking out eight silver coins with a grin. "For the venison and mutton you''ll bring later, I''ll not only pay you five silver coins but also reward you with an additional silver coin."

    "Thank you, I will do my best," Leo gratefully nodded and said, "Tommy, I really appreciate you."

    "Don''t mention it, we are all classmates," Tommy, the chubby boy, said with a smile on his face, looking as cunning as a fox that had stolen a chicken.

    After a while of busy work, Jill also returned, carrying big and small bags.

    She thought she had done quite well, but she was stunned to see that Tommy had already bought a mountain-like pile of fresh meat and fruit with just one gold coin.

    "Hey, fatty, your fish has arrived!" Soon after, the swift-legged thief Terry also arrived, carrying a large string of fish.

    "Suddenly, I really want to be called ''boss''..." The chubby boy tossed the silver coins in his hand with pride. Upon seeing this, Terry immediately switched to a smile and said obsequiously, "Handsome Tommy, is there anything else you''d like me to do? Terry, the thief from Blackwind Valley, is at your service."

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    "Wash all the fruits!" The chubby boy looked at Terry with his nose and tossed the silver coins.

    "At your service," Terry immediately rolled up his sleeves and rushed to the water bucket.

    "Rody, I''ve almost finished preparing the fruits and fresh meat. Do you have any other instructions?" The chubby boy, proud for a mere two seconds, hurried over to Rody as soon as he closed his book, with a respectful and cheerful face, changing so quickly that it dazzled Jill.

    "If you remember you have a pair of hands, then pick up the sword and separate the skin and flesh, and chop the big pieces for me," Rody casually instructed.

    "At your command," the chubby boy took the broadsword Rody handed him and rushed towards the wild boar, passing by Jill with a smile, "Jill, you must be tired. Please sit down and rest for a while. I''ll come and chat with you once I''m done..."

    "She can''t rest." Rody unexpectedly instructed Jill to work, saying, "Use your Frost Magic to freeze the meat pieces chopped by the chubby boy."

    "What are you all doing?" A valiant female swordsman carrying a giant sword and a huge log approached. Seeing Rody leisurely writing, and Tommy and Terry busily working, even Jill not resting, she became angry. She put down the log heavily and came over to ask, "You''re a man, how can you make others work for you? This is exploitation, it''s too much!"

    "Am I too much?" Rody looked surprised and then said indifferently, "Tell them, if they don''t like it, they don''t have to be exploited. I''m not forcing them."

    "No, we like to work and are very obedient, please don''t drive us away. Rody, don''t misunderstand, actually, our hearts are not like that. Terry, what are you waiting for, quickly sing a ''Labor Is Most Glorious'' to express your feelings. Wait, maybe we should sing ''Ode to Joy'' or ''Harvest Song'' to better express our joyful mood," the chubby boy quickly dropped the broadsword and ran out to mediate.

    "Aurelia, you''re here," Jill said, happily running to stand with the valiant female swordsman.

    "Tell your sister, is this person bullying you?" The female swordsman named Aurelia pointed at Rody with high spirits and said, "Jill, don''t be afraid. If it''s true, I''ll definitely stand up for you. I won''t let him go!"

    "Boring," Rody glanced at her without looking, continuing to write.

    "There''s going to be a good show," Tommy and Terry shook hands and hid to the side, waiting for an opportunity to watch the drama unfold.

    "Aurelia, you misunderstood, he, he didn''t bully me..." Jill lowered her head, perhaps feeling that her words might be misunderstood, and became too shy to continue.

    "Get back to work, why are you standing here after getting paid?" Rody, seeing the gloating smiles of Tommy and Terry, became furious.

    "If you were capable, you wouldn''t insult people so shamelessly with money!" Aurelia snorted heavily.

    "I''ll insult people with money, so what?" Rody stopped writing, took out a gold coin, and asked, "Who wants to be insulted by me?"

    "Wow! Me!" Terry was the first to volunteer.

    "Get lost! Go queue up!" Although Tommy wasn''t as quick to react as Terry, he was good at backstabbing. He kicked Terry down and rushed forward, laughing, "Rody, I''m ready. If one gold coin is for one insult, then please insult me as much as you want! Oh heavens, please don''t feel pity for me because I''m fat. No matter how many times you insult me, be it a thousand or ten thousand times, I''m willing. Please insult me!"

    "Get lost!" Rody put away the gold coin and scolded, "Dream on!"

    "At your command," Tommy looked regretfully at the gold coin and returned dejectedly, shouting at the lewdly laughing Terry, "Work! Or someone''s wages will be deducted!"

    "Boss, have a drink and calm down. There''ll definitely be more chances to be insulted, please don''t worry," Terry offered Tommy water and massaged his shoulders.

    "Cheap bones, I''m so angry!" These two guys completely infuriated Aurelia.

    "Why not, Aurelia, come help too. I think Rody definitely needs more help!" Jill suggested, "If it''s the same five silver coins a day, it''s easy to earn two gold coins!"

    "Who wants to help him? I, I''d rather carry logs every day!" Aurelia, furious, picked up the giant log and walked away, bumping into several passersby.

    "Stubborn, but I bet she''ll change her mind in two days..." Tommy chuckled and turned to ask Terry, "Shall we bet?"

    "What? Betting again?" Terry, terrified, shook his head vigorously, "Since I lost to you last time, I swore never to bet with you, you sneaky fatty! Let me tell you, my money is hard-earned, you won''t win a copper coin from me again! Wow, Rody, what do you mean? You''re selling kebabs and juice? Do you need someone to barbecue? I can work diligently all day for three silver coins, and I won''t even steal a bite!"

 Chapter 42: Please

    "Don''t worry, besides doing odd jobs, I don''t think you can do anything else." Rody took out a charcoal grill, poured some oil, lit a fire, and skillfully chopped up some fresh meat. He then made some bamboo skewers, threading the meat onto them and lightly sprinkling them with spices and wine.

    "Smells so good..." The chubby boy didn''t expect Rody to work so proficiently, and his culinary skills were astonishing.

    "I volunteer to taste-test," Terry said, swallowing hard, his Adam''s apple bobbing up and down incessantly.

    Even Jill unknowingly moved closer, attracted by the smell of the barbecued meat mixed with the unique aroma of smoked meat and spices. Even as a girl who typically didn''t favor meat, she found it very appealing and wanted to taste its essence.

    Passersby and some onlookers gradually drew nearer.

    The children running around the streets had already stopped their games, staring at the skewers in Rody''s hands, their mouths watering.

    "Call me ''big brother'' and you''ll get one skewer each," Rody was like a vampire to Tommy and the others, but quite generous with the children.

    "Big brother!" A chorus of crisp children''s voices rang out. The adorable Alice, who had appeared at the stall at some point, happily ate the skewer handed to her by Rody, exclaiming, "Thank you, big brother! Oh, it''s hot, but so delicious!"

    "I also say ''big brother'', thank you, ow!" Another child hurriedly ate and burnt their tongue.

    "My turn, my turn..." The children who hadn''t gotten any were anxious.

    "I found it first, I''ll call first!" Someone protested but soon forgot everything after receiving a delicious skewer.

    "Is this really made from our ingredients? Rody, did you add anything special?" Jill took a skewer from Rody, tasted it, and was very surprised. She hadn''t seen Rody use any complicated grilling techniques or spice blends, but the result far exceeded her expectations.

    "Oh my God, I thought the best barbecue I''d ever had was great, but it''s garbage compared to this," Tommy, who loved barbecue, said with tears in his eyes.

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    "Don''t talk to me, I''m busy," Terry said, devouring the skewers, one in each hand.

    "Hey, is it really that delicious?" Someone, enticed by the aroma of wine and meat, asked upon seeing the children licking their fingers.

    "It''s not delicious, not at all!" Tommy, mouth greasy from eating skewer after skewer, shouted to the crowd, "Everyone, disperse, this barbecue isn''t good at all..."

    Rody ignored him, hanging a sign that read: Various flavored skewers, 10 copper coins; grilled fish, meat chops, and chicken legs, one silver coin; grilled rabbit, deer leg, and suckling pig, five silver coins; whole lamb, one gold coin. Fruit juices, 10 copper coins per cup; chilled beer, one silver coin for five cups; white and red wine, five silver coins per cup; cocktails, one gold coin per cup. Note: Couples can participate in a love intelligence game, winners eat for free.

    The crowd, finding the food tempting but not cheap, hesitated as elsewhere these items cost ten times as much.

    Many, however, were curious about the love intelligence game, seeing it as a chance to shine and get free food. Young people, especially those with significant others, were eager to showcase their superior intelligence.

    "I''ll try the taste. If it''s not good, I''ll flip your stall!" Two thugs pushed through the crowd, reaching for the skewers. The onlookers worried these thugs, regardless of the food''s taste, would cause trouble after eating, refusing to pay, and possibly even extorting the new students from the magic academy. Everyone was a bit concerned for Rody.

    "..." Rody handed two skewers without a word. Tommy, gripping his broadsword, was ready to act if the thugs caused trouble.

    "This is awful! Wow, it''s delicious, so good! Damn, how can it be this tasty? I, I can''t even curse it! Damn, this thing is too, too delicious!" The thugs, planning to berate the food, suddenly changed their tune, praising it, leaving the crowd dumbfounded.

    "I''ll pay, please grill another one for me. God, I can''t stop, hurry!" The thugs, realizing they had none left, were in a frenzy.

    "..." Rody ignored them, not even glancing their way.

    "Come on, grill it! Damn, isn''t my money good enough?" The thugs, initially planning to pull out daggers, ended up throwing silver coins on the stall, anxiously hopping like monkeys, unable to wait.

    "You should say ''please'', and saying ''I beg you'' might work even better," Tommy reminded them, smiling.

    "Please, grill us more, the same flavor as before, we beg you! We must eat our fill, please, start now!" The thugs, desperate for more, threw decorum aside.

    "Grill for us too!" Finally, someone couldn''t resist the temptation and surged forward.

    As a result, Rody, Jill, Tommy, and thief Terry were exhausted, especially Rody, who not only grilled meat but also personally squeezed juice, chilled by Jill''s Frost Magic. Terry, serving beer to customers, was so tired he couldn''t even sneak a sip to quench his thirst.

    Tommy, smiling ear to ear, held a huge money bag. He was in charge of collecting payments, and no one dared approach him within three meters.

    People initially came to try the food, but once they did, their appetites were insatiable. They carelessly threw money at Tommy, focusing only on Rody''s barbecue and drinking the chilled beer.

    Jill, her magical powers severely drained, had a pale face but was happy to have participated in such a successful first work experience.

    When Rody announced the closure of the stall for the day at dusk, many were reluctant to leave, inquiring about the next day''s business hours. Several, a bit tipsy, even helped Rody and his companions load the goods onto the cart and pushed it far away, babbling drunkenly, including the two thugs who initially planned to cause trouble.

    "Big brother, see you tomorrow," Alice called to Rody as the silver-armored female knight arrived. Clearly, she had sneaked out.

    "Alice, see you. Tomorrow, I''ll make you a big windmill as a reward for helping with the skewers," Rody waved goodbye to Alice and then had the magically exhausted Jill sit in the cart to be pulled back to the magic academy.

    "No, no, that''s not good. I can walk," Jill shyly shook her head, feeling too tired but embarrassed to sit.

    "Get in! We''re all big men here, we can pull a bull, let alone you!" Tommy, staggering with a bulging money bag, indicated with a kick for Terry, who had sneaked a drink, to help push the cart.

    "Fellow students, how was business today?" Dean Buck, appearing out of nowhere, stood at the entrance, smiling and asking.

 Chapter 43: Moon Halo Mage

    "The business wasn''t so good!" Tommy, the chubby boy, spoke before Rody could, clutching a heavy bag of coins. "The costs were too high. We were just busy for nothing, hardly made any money."

    Jill looked at the chubby boy in surprise. She, always honest, wanted to explain but then thought better of it and remained silent.

    As for thief Terry, his face wore an expression of earnestness, as if what chubby Tommy said was the absolute truth.

    "Rody, don''t you have anything to say?" Dean Buck asked Rody with a slight smile. "If a freshman earns a hundred gold coins in the test, they can dine with the king, a great honor indeed! And maybe the little princess will be there. Rody, don''t you like to see beautiful women? I assure you, the princess is a beauty!"

    "Dining with the king is an honor, but I don''t much like eating with old men," Rody replied indifferently. "I do admire the princess, but I''d prefer to meet her ten years later when she''s grown up. Dining with her then would be something to look forward to."

    "So it seems none of you earned a hundred gold coins today," Dean Buck laughed. "Doesn''t anyone know that tomorrow is the king''s birthday?"

    "We..." Terry''s heart leaped with joy, about to speak, but chubby Tommy kicked him away.

    "Dean Buck, we only earned a hundred copper coins today. Could you ask the king if students who earn a hundred copper coins can attend His Majesty''s birthday feast?" Tommy said without blinking, his face calm, his lying almost as good as Rody''s. At this, Jill nearly fell off the wooden cart but managed to hold back her words.

    "That won''t do," Dean Buck laughed. "But I can recommend you for the deadly training at the Great Frey Magic and Martial Arts Academy in three months."

    "Dead, deadly training?" Terry asked with a grimace, "Can I not participate?"

    "Terry, don''t worry. The death rate among our students at Great Frey''s deadly training is only one in ten, and those are the elite. If you don''t stand out too much, you should be safe," Dean Buck said nonchalantly, but Tommy and the others felt like they''d been struck by lightning.

    "Three months from now?" Rody suddenly asked. "What will you teach us in these three months?"

    "Our curriculum is rich, with secret room meditation and arena swordsmanship. If you''re bored with classes, there are also outings and forest hunting. You''ll have a wonderful learning experience that you''ll cherish for decades," Dean Buck said with a smile, but his words sent shivers down everyone''s spine, knowing the dean''s reputation as a ''devil''.

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    After Dean Buck left, everyone was speechless for a long while.

    Finally, the shy Jill glanced at the thoughtful Rody and timidly asked, "Rody, are you going to participate in the deadly training?"

    "Although I''m not keen, Felic is a vassal state of Great Frey, so we probably have no choice," Rody replied, smiling slightly at Jill. "Dean Buck is right; as long as we don''t stand out too much, we should be safe."

    "The deadly training lasts at least five months, and if a war breaks out during that time, we must participate," Terry revealed, seeming to know a bit more.

    "Then it depends on what survival skills we can learn in these three months," Rody said, looking towards the direction where Dean Buck had disappeared. His expression became serious. "Though Great Frey harbors ill intentions, Felic won''t just sit by and watch. Don''t worry, if no one passes another unseen test within these three months, it''s likely all freshmen will be expelled."

    "No wonder so few people enroll in this damned academy, and why there are so few students..." Tommy finally began to understand.

    With the invisible threat looming, everyone''s mood was affected.

    Tommy didn''t even count his bag of silver coins but retreated to his room, doing who knows what. Terry went out as soon as he entered, seemingly to gather some inside information. Jill glanced at Rody and quietly left without a word.

    Rody, as if nothing had happened, slept soundly.

    In the middle of the night, he sneaked out and stood beneath the library, manipulating a praying mantis to peek at the magic books inside. His desire for new magic was so great he didn''t care if Dean Buck had noticed him. To advance to a Six-pointed Star Magic Master, a Big Dipper Seven Star Magic Master, or even to the rank of a Mage King, he needed to acquire more magical knowledge and understanding.

    Although protected by Nicholas, Marcus, Emma, and other minions of darkness, they were undead and not suited for exposure.

    Rody, though knowing it unlikely, still hoped to find a way to break the ''Magic Martial Ban'' in his body. With his mental strength and magical manipulation ability, sensing the elements would allow him to reach higher realms.

    If he wasn''t tense before, Dean Buck''s subtle hint made him feel the urgency of time. He had only three months left. Tommy and the others might not understand, but Rody saw much in the dean''s words.

    The deadly training was Great Frey''s way to weaken Felic, but also Felic''s method to build strength in secret.

    Felic desperately wanted to see if the freshmen could overcome deadly threats and return. On the surface, Felic wouldn''t resist any proposals from Great Frey, but secretly, they didn''t want their scarce talent harassed. The instructors, like Dean Buck, would ensure the students'' safety, or else under Great Frey''s malice, the death rate wouldn''t be just one in ten.

    The magic book Rody most wanted was one on mental power development or use.

    With his rich mental power hidden deep, unable to develop or use it more, he felt like groping in endless darkness, having the best vision but no light to see through the dark...

    "What are you doing here?" Rody, enduring a headache from overusing his mental power and engrossed in a book on wind magic and a summary of electric magic, suddenly heard a questioning voice behind him.

    "I am, uh, sleepwalking." He thought it was Dean Buck and was about to say he was peeping at a bathing beauty, but then realized the voice was different. Behind him, with an indescribable feminine fragrance, was the beautiful instructor named Margaret. She floated behind him, sitting gracefully on her staff, her body surrounded by a faint moon halo, leaving Rody trembling and chilled.

    "You''re Rody?" The beautiful instructor snorted. "Jill mentioned you, and in her eyes, you''re remarkable. But in mine, you''re just an arrogant child. Dean Buck tolerates your actions, but that doesn''t mean I do."

    "Student departing," Rody felt it best to leave, as the magic waves from the instructor, a Moon Halo Mage, were intimidating.

    "Don''t come here to steal books again!" she paused, then surprisingly added, "About thirty kilometers west of Agadoropolis, there''s a goblin-occupied cave with an altar ruin. You might find something suitable there."

 Chapter 44: Intelligence Quiz

    The next day, plump Tommy, thief Terry, Jill, and even Leo got up early, waiting for Rody. After Rody got up, he handed Tommy a piece of paper and slowly said, "The method of roasting meat is simple. You and Terry can do it. This is the ratio of various ingredients. As for the love intelligence game, there are a total of ten questions. I estimate that no more than one hundred people in the entire Felic can solve all the questions. Don''t worry about everyone getting free drinks. The answers are on the back of the paper, covered with an invisible potion, visible only with magic ripples or revealing sand."

    "Good heavens, I can''t even solve these questions," Tommy exclaimed after looking at them.

    One of the ''easy'' questions was: A bartender can pour 38 glasses of white wine or 78 glasses of red wine in a minute. How many glasses can he pour in a minute if he mixes both?

    Tommy, swallowing hard and wiping his sweat, calmed himself down to look at a ''medium'' difficulty question: To buy a silver armor, each new student of the academy has to pay 5 silver coins, but they are still 45 coins short. If each pays 7 coins, they are only 3 coins short. How many new students are there, and what is the price of the silver armor?

    Everyone was stunned, with no idea where to start, except Tommy, who dared to look at the ''hard'' question: If 5 glasses of grape wine, 4 glasses of white wine, 3 glasses of red wine, and 2 glasses of barley wine cost 1496 copper coins, then 4 glasses of grape wine, 2 glasses of white wine, 6 glasses of red wine, and 3 glasses of barley wine cost only 1175 copper coins, 3 glasses of grape wine, 1 glass of white wine, 7 glasses of red wine, and 5 glasses of barley wine need 958 copper coins, and 2 glasses of grape wine, 3 glasses of white wine, 5 glasses of red wine, and 1 glass of barley wine cost 861 copper coins. What is the price of each type of wine?

    "Rody, are you sure couples in Felic''s capital can solve such intelligence questions?" Tommy almost collapsed.

    "I think those who can solve these questions should go directly to the Felic king and apply to be the finance minister!" Terry, confident in his brains, felt a ''storm hammer'' hit his head just by glancing at the questions.

    "This is easy," Rody said indifferently, "I have already set five ''easy'' questions that can be solved with a little mental arithmetic."

    "How to add eight ''8''s to equal 1000, how do you calculate that, Rody?" asked Dean Burke, who appeared suddenly.

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    "I can''t think of it without a reward," Rody startled the elusive Dean Burke, but his expression was unchanged.

    "I have a magic notebook. If you want to borrow it, you must answer my three questions," Dean Burke said with a smile, looking more like a demon than an angel.

    "If it''s eight ''8''s, then it''s 8+8+8 plus 88, plus 888, exactly 1000," Rody answered quickly, impressing everyone with his extraordinary arithmetic skills and reaction speed.

    Leo was dumbfounded, unable to comprehend such calculations.

    Jill seemed pleased, occasionally stealing glances at Rody from under her lowered eyelashes.

    "What''s the simplest way to add and subtract the numbers 123456789 to get 100?" Dean Burke asked again.

    "123 minus 45 minus 67 plus 89, exactly 100," Rody answered, as if it was as easy as eating beans. The crowd cheered for him, although they didn''t know how useful Dean Burke''s magic notebook was, but solving such nearly impossible questions was an achievement in itself.

    "Rody, if there are eight identical balls, one slightly lighter than the others, and you have a magic scale that you can only use twice, can you find the lightest one?" Dean Burke asked, raising an eyebrow.

    "Yes, it''s easy," Rody nodded confidently, silencing the crowd''s cheers and applause.

    "How?" Dean Burke asked.

    "Take any six, put three on each side. If they weigh the same, then weigh the remaining two. You can tell which is the lightest. If the first six are uneven, then weigh three on the lighter side, any two will do. This is too simple, but Dean Burke, you wouldn''t go back on your word, would you?" Rody''s explanation made everyone realize the difficulty of what seemed like a tough problem was made simple by Rody.

    "I''ll lend it to you for a month, but only if you survive the death training and come back alive," Dean Burke said, leaving before Rody could protest.

    Hearing about the death training cast a shadow over everyone''s excitement.

    For a long time, nobody spoke.

    "Rody, are you going on a long trip?" Finally, it was shy Jill who asked in a mosquito-like voice.

    "Are you going somewhere? Are you not doing business anymore?" Tommy panicked, now understanding why Rody had given him the recipe for the grilled meat and the love intelligence questions. Although he could do business, without Rody as the backbone, Tommy always felt spineless and desperately wanted Rody not to leave the academy.

    "I have something to do, but I''ll be back at the start of school," Rody said with a faint smile. "The business of grilled meat and drinks is up to you."

    "Don''t worry, we will make it thrive," Terry nodded earnestly.

    "I''ll supervise him, don''t worry. I won''t let him drink secretly, haha!" Tommy''s words, meant to be serious, ended up being humorous.

    Jill also spoke but hesitated, looking up quickly at Rody then looking down, saying nothing.

    After saying goodbye to Tommy and the others, Rody hired a carriage and headed towards Agardopolis.

    There''s nothing more attractive to Rody in this world than improving his abilities.

    Perhaps there are life-threatening dangers ahead, or he might accidentally become food for filthy goblins, his skull used as their shaman''s ornament. But Rody, eager for new knowledge and capabilities, willingly heads towards his goal, knowing the dangers, like a moth to a flame.

    This world respects the strong, and if Rody were content with being ordinary, he could live his entire life in Whitestone Town.

    Choosing to study abroad, he embarks on a path a thousand times more challenging than that of ordinary people.

    Although he doesn''t understand why Dean Burke and the beautiful tutor mentioned the death training and the goblin cave, Rody knows they wouldn''t say such things without reason. They''re not planning to burn him at the stake as a necromancer, but subtly reminding and hinting him, guiding him with something he can''t yet understand. Maybe the goblin cave is the turning point for his magical advancement.

    Thinking of this, Rody is excited, eager to reach his destination.

 Chapter 45: The Fighting Spirit of Goblins

    Agardopolis was a desolate land, filled with terrifying forests and strange rocks. Everywhere were eerie black stones, withered trees, and occasionally, a glaring bloody red ¡ª either totems carved on stone pillars for goblin worship or warning signs for humans, marked by red rags often hanging below skulls. The area reeked and was swarmed with flies.

    This was the edge of constant conflict between humans and goblins. The majority of Felic''s military conflicts erupted here. Both sides fortified a narrow valley with small fortresses, making them easy to defend but hard to attack. For nearly a hundred years, the power struggle between humans and goblins remained unresolved. The goblins were confined within Agardopolis, unable to breach Felic, and Felic''s army lacked the numbers to conquer Agardopolis. Only a few goblins had learned seafaring, becoming pirates along Felic''s coast, and small bands of thieves harassed the country, draining its military strength.

    Rody felt like a fish in water upon arriving. Although not apparent, as a necromancer, his presence was undeniable. In human society, he couldn''t openly use his dark servants like Nicholas to protect himself, making him feel vulnerable. His body, enhanced with forbidden magic and martial arts, would be weaker than a properly trained warrior without the secret use of necromancy.

    Since sneaking into Agardopolis three days ago, Rody felt it was not his grave but a hunting ground. Nicholas, Marcus, Emma, and two mantises kept watch within a radius of tens of meters, tirelessly protecting him at the center. Rody wore a layer of bone armor, which looked somewhat evil but was excellent for protection.

    A patrol of goblins, careless in their territory, passed through the filthy jungle. No one would have thought that a human would dare to sneak into Agardopolis, which even large armies couldn''t penetrate.

    Rody had cautiously avoided these patrols for two days. But after careful observation, he decided to attack, knowing that goblins didn''t care about their comrades'' lives. Their only concern was an endless supply of food.

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    Two axe-wielding goblins led the patrol, followed by a helmet-wearing, leather-armored captain. Three spear-wielding goblins, yawning and grumbling, trailed far behind.

    Rody lured them with a wild pig leg, skillfully sliced by the mantises. The goblins, energized by the scent of blood, all reacted simultaneously, eyeing the unexpected meal. The smarter and stronger goblin captain roared, commanding the others to stay back, and forcefully grabbed the pig leg.

    As the mantises lifted the pig leg and flew into the woods, seemingly unwilling to give up the food, the captain chased with a broadsword, followed by the greedy eyes of the other goblins.

    Rody instructed Nicholas to cast a ''Damage Amplification'' spell. Before the goblins could react, he followed with a ''Weakening'' spell. As the goblins felt weakened, Marcus, faster than any normal human, charged, his greatsword bursting with fighting spirit, and cleaved two spear-wielding goblins in half.

    The remaining spear-goblin called for help and fled. Two brave axe-goblins rushed back, swinging wildly at Marcus. Rody commanded Emma to shoot stone darts at the fleeing spear-goblin while controlling Marcus to raise his bone shield in defense.

    Nicholas prepared a ''Blindness'' spell, and with a flash of black light, the two axe-goblins stumbled around disoriented. Marcus leaped, his greatsword slashing twice in rapid succession, cutting down the axe-goblins. Surprisingly, an axe struck Marcus, breaking a rib despite his fighting spirit''s defense. Was the axe of this seemingly insignificant goblin enchanted?

    Emma''s stone darts finally knocked the spear-goblin unconscious. Before Marcus could finish him off, a sword qi shot out from the jungle, targeting Marcus''s spine.

    "This goblin captain knows fighting spirit?" Rody was shocked. Perhaps Felic''s inability to conquer Agardopolis was due to even a patrolling goblin captain being a four-star warrior.

    Under Rody''s control, Marcus turned, blocking with his shield. The shield shattered under the sword qi, breaking Marcus''s chest and arm bones. Unfazed, Marcus counterattacked, his fighting spirit surging, aiming for the unprotected neck and head of the opponent.

    The goblin captain screamed, blood spraying from its neck but agilely dodging the fatal blow. It charged at Nicholas, now resembling a necromancer in a cloak. Dark, carnivorous vines from the ground tripped the captain. The waiting mantises dived, decapitating the captain, who, in his final moment, hurled his broadsword at Nicholas''s chest.

    "Next time, I should target the enemy''s arms with the mantises," Rody mused, seeing Nicholas impaled

    by the broadsword. Nicholas, as a dark servant, was unaffected by the chest wound, but Rody realized the danger he faced in Agardopolis.

    Just a patrolling goblin captain was a four-star warrior skilled in fighting spirit. The thought of facing goblin warriors, shamans, lords, and elders in their dens was indeed terrifying.

 Chapter 46: Magic Duel

    Roddy cautiously walked through the dead forest, guarded by his dark servants on all sides, his mental power reaching out to detect any unseen dangers. Since entering Agardopolis, he had a persistent feeling of being watched, as if an enemy lurked ahead. Although not superstitious, Roddy couldn''t help but consider if his intuition reflected reality. For three days, he progressed slowly, carefully exploring the path ahead, ensuring safety before passing through areas susceptible to ambushes.

    Especially after discovering that a patrolling goblin captain was a four-star warrior skilled in fighting spirit, Roddy became even more cautious and vigilant.

    Despite his precautions, Roddy was ambushed while crossing a seemingly safe area of low, dead trees. Suddenly feeling a chill of impending death, he instinctively protected his head and face and rolled backward. Marcus and Nicholas spread their arms to shield him, but it was too late. Roddy found himself on the ground with a long blowgun dart embedded in his shoulder. From the nearby dead trees, four or five goblins emerged, wielding strange knives, and swiftly attacked him.

    Roddy couldn''t understand how he had failed to detect the enemies so close, especially given his necromantic senses. Could goblin camouflage magic be at the level of a magic grandmaster? Without such high-level magic, how could they deceive his mental detection, especially when he was on high alert?

    Dark carnivorous vines sprang from the ground, wrapping around Roddy''s legs and pulling him away. More red-haired darts landed where he had just fallen. Marcus rushed to confront the attackers while Nicholas quickly released a blinding spell.

    "Good reaction, human necromancer, but it''s too late," a hoarse voice sneered from behind Roddy. Turning around, he saw an old goblin, cloaked in animal skins, wearing a bone hat, and leaning on a skull-topped staff. The goblin''s hand glowed red, ready to cast a spell.

    "Puppets..." In a life-threatening moment, Roddy calmly summoned a stone golem puppet, not to attack but to crouch beside him and forcibly block the incoming magical attack.

    Almost simultaneously, a bolt of lightning shot from the goblin shaman''s staff, striking the puppet''s back and blasting it apart. Roddy was shaken, seeing stars and feeling dizzy, but a sliver of survival instinct made him command the dark vines to rapidly pull him away from danger.

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    "Fire God above, grant your follower the flames to annihilate the enemy''s body and soul," the goblin shaman chanted, conjuring a massive fireball that homed in on Roddy.

    Emma lunged forward, her arms shielding Roddy, her stone skin enhanced with fighting spirit. But the explosion sent her flying, and Roddy was tossed several meters away.

    Nicholas quickly cast a ''Ghost Fang'' spell at the goblin shaman, while Marcus, holding Roddy, fended off the attacking goblin soldiers. The mantises created whirlwinds with their scythes, slicing open two goblins and spraying blood everywhere.

    "Dark God above, grant your follower the curse to cripple the enemy''s body and twist their soul," the shaman cast a purple fire, scattering Nicholas''s ''Ghost Fang'' and knocking him to the ground, unable to stand. Roddy, shocked and enraged, saw his most reliable dark servant incapacitated by a single strike.

    With death looming and anger surging, Roddy concentrated his mental power into a nearly tangible mind hammer, smashing it viciously at the shaman.

    The mantises flew around, slaying three more goblin soldiers. The goblin soldiers seemed ordinary, but the bizarre old goblin shaman was exceptionally powerful.

    "Ah..." Struck by the mind hammer, the shaman wobbled, a mirror-like shield around him shattering into magical sparks. Surprised by Roddy''s concealed and powerful counterattack, the shaman hadn''t expected the beleaguered Roddy to break through his magical shield.

    "Kill you!" Roddy, furious, lashed out with his mental power like a whip at the shaman''s frail body.

    "How did a human learn mental magic?" the shaman gasped, dematerializing and reappearing behind Roddy. The mental whip grazed him slightly, causing him to spew blood and nearly collapse.

    Pointing his staff at Roddy, the shaman''s eyes showed fear and confusion.

    "Go to hell and ask!" Roddy, feeling half-paralyzed, realized the dire situation. The dart in his shoulder was poisoned, and if he didn''t kill his enemy before the poison took full effect, his life would be in peril.

    The dark vines and mantises attacked from above and below, aiming to kill the magically powerful but physically weak shaman.

    "Beast God above, grant your follower a mighty summoned beast to ensure safety," the shaman chanted swiftly. A magical light descended, and a gigantic figure, over five meters tall, unfurled and stood up, roaring towards the sky. Marcus, after killing the last goblin soldier, hurled his greatsword at the shaman.

    Roddy hoped this surprise attack would kill the shaman. However, experienced and cunning, the shaman used a goblin soldier''s corpse as a shield, blocking the sword, which failed to reach him.

    The massive monster, a two-headed hill troll, grabbed a dead tree as a weapon. Its brute strength was intimidating, but fortunately, its movements were clumsy. The dark vines tried to entangle the troll''s legs, but it broke free. Roddy quickly cast another mind hammer, striking one of the troll''s heads, causing only a slight daze.

    Nearby, the shaman continued casting, summoning wolf-sized rat-like creatures that scurried out with shrill cries.

    "Nicholas, Blindness!" Roddy called, urging Nicholas to cast a blinding spell.

    "Moon God above, grant your follower the clarity to dispel all confusion," the shaman countered with a mocking laugh, releasing a moon-like radiance that instantly neutralized Nicholas''s spell.

    "I can''t believe it, how many gods do you worship?" Roddy exclaimed in frustration.

 Chapter 47: Desire

    "Tell me where you learned your psychic magic, and I might spare your life." The old goblin wizard sneered, seemingly asking casually.

    "..." Rody felt a secret joy in his heart. It seemed that psychic magic really existed, and those who mastered it must be of significant origin, even making this polytheistic old creature apprehensive.

    The two-headed hill giant troll was getting closer. Rody secretly commanded Emma to stand up and cast a swamp magic spell, sinking its legs deep into the ground.

    Holding Rody, Markus turned and walked away, while Nicholas shot five or six bone spears to cover their retreat. The dark man-eating vines in the mire tightly gripped the legs of the two-headed hill giant troll. Despite its immense strength, it struggled in vain in the muddy swamp, roaring furiously.

    The old goblin wizard didn''t expect Rody to lack knightly spirit and basic human fighting will, fleeing in the midst of the battle.

    "Wind God above, please grant your follower the power to soar over mountains and rivers." The old goblin wizard, a believer in many gods and skilled in numerous spells, immediately cast a flying spell to pursue Rody as he fled. The two-headed hill giant troll couldn''t get out for a while, but the wolf-dog-sized rats squeaked loudly, following closely behind the old goblin wizard.

    "How does this old guy''s magic power never run out?" Rody was surprised to see the old goblin wizard continuously casting fireball spells in pursuit.

    Although Markus was as fast as a normal person and never tired, he was slightly slower compared to the scurrying rat monsters and the floating old goblin wizard. They caught up with him within three kilometers. The two mantises harassed them occasionally, but to little effect. After the old goblin wizard prepared a protective magic shield, he ordered the giant rat-shaped monsters to surround Rody.

    He was very pleased, as the outcome of this magical duel was now quite evident.

    "I''m very curious about you and admire you. In many years, no young human magician has forced me to use my full strength like you have. So, after you die, I will make your skull into a staff head as a trophy of honor," the old goblin wizard said, conjuring a huge ball of lightning in his hand, ready to smash it down on Rody.

    "I''m curious about you too, though not so admiring, but I''m still willing to turn you into my slave of darkness," Rody raised his hand and clenched it.

    The old goblin wizard felt an invisible magic hand gripping his neck, halting all his blood flow, nearly falling from mid-air. However, a crack appeared at the corner of his mouth, seemingly a smile, as he raised the ball of lightning high, ready to crush it down on Rody.

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    Suddenly, a huge head appeared in mid-air. As it fell to the ground, its eerie green eyes flashed with a sinister light. The old goblin wizard cursed inwardly, unable to move his entire body, his neck choked, and under the pressure of psychic power, he couldn''t cast spells quickly enough to resist the sudden attack. What terrified him more was that his protective magic shield didn''t work at all and was completely unresponsive.

    Just one glance, and the old goblin wizard screamed, feeling as if his soul was being torn apart.

    Meanwhile, the uncontrolled ball of lightning floated up and then exploded...

    Nicholas, Markus, Emma, and the other slaves of darkness all threw themselves on Rody, using their skeletal bodies to shield him from the earth-shattering explosion. The dark man-eating vines wove a giant net over the bodies of the slaves of darkness, tightly binding Nicholas and the others together.

    Despite the protection of the slaves of darkness, the shockwave still caused Rody to faint.

    When he woke up again, it was a starry night.

    Markus had lost an arm but was still on guard beside Rody. Nicholas and Emma also stood on the other side of Rody. They were eternally loyal slaves of darkness, protecting his life even unconsciously. Rody saw the exploded skull of Kato not far away and panicked, worried that damage to its eyes would affect the casting of the Soul-Capturing Eye spell.

    After calming himself, Rody checked Kato''s dark vision and found its eyes undamaged, feeling a surge of joy.

    Although Nicholas continuously cast ''Pain Transfer,'' Rody couldn''t get up for a long time. He struggled to lift his head and check his poison wounds, pleasantly surprised to find they were magical injuries. It seemed that his skin, scorched by black dragon blood, had a great resistance, saving his life.

    "Old fellow, did you think death is the end?" Rody laughed as he saw Markus dragging the corpse of the old goblin wizard.

    Another new slave of darkness knelt before Rody. During the previous battle,

    it was an enemy bent on taking Rody''s life, but now, it was eternally loyal to its new master, offering everything to him.

    Rody collected all the old goblin wizard''s belongings, including a mage ring that enhanced magic power, a storage ring with a protective magic shield, medium-grade fire and summoning gemstones in the storage ring, a lightning staff with three uses, a poisoned dagger, and a magic notebook written in strange characters. This small harvest excited Rody and made him realize that the old goblin wizard was not a polytheistic believer but an old man who used magical equipment to intimidate others.

    Even though he was so powerful only because of magical equipment, Rody estimated that his original strength was no less than a five-star senior magician.

    It was very likely that the old goblin wizard was a six-pointed star magic master, a specialist in fire magic, whom Rody had never battled before. Rody didn''t have time to study his new slave of darkness too much and just named it ''Old Witch.'' He put on the magic and storage rings and had Markus help him up to leave the place quickly.

    After another day and night of travel, Rody encountered two goblin patrol squads but managed to avoid them in time.

    Once his body and psychic power recovered somewhat, Rody tried to venture deeper into Argadopolus, knowing it might be a death trap. However, his desire to become stronger grew even more after the battle with the old goblin wizard.

    He was not satisfied with using Kato''s Soul-Capturing Eye to ambush and defeat his opponents. Being a five-star necromancer was not Rody''s goal. He yearned to quickly improve and become stronger, to become a Polaris Seven-Star Magic Master or a Mage King. The beautiful tutor of the academy, Margaret, was a Mage King, and he believed the Demon Dean Buck wouldn''t be far behind.

    Just a tutor in a small duchy''s academy was a Mage King. Rody realized there were too many powerful people in the world. If he didn''t become much stronger, he was destined to look up to others all his life...

    "My God, are all goblin warriors immune to magic?" After recovering, Rody saw a strong goblin traveling alone through the jungle and thought of testing his strength. To his surprise, his magic was completely ineffective. Despite having a large group of slaves of darkness, he was forced to flee in embarrassment. During the escape, Rody felt an unprecedented sense of defeat and a burning desire for powerful strength.

    "Where can I find something that will make me stronger? I want to become stronger, stronger! Who will tell me?" After escaping for half a day, Rody finally found safety. He stood on top of a small cliff, looking at the endless night below, muttering to himself.

    "Do you really desire to become that strong?" Suddenly, someone laughed and asked from the darkness behind him.

 Chapter 48: The Guide

    "Who are you?" Rody was shocked, another person had approached him without notice. The last time it was Margaret, a beauty tutor with the strength of a Moon Halo Mage King. Who could it be this time?

    The person emerged from the darkness step by step, their unhurried pace oddly familiar to Rody.

    This person, whom Rody had never seen before in his life, had a face full of messy beards, and hair in disarray over his shoulders, yet there was an indescribable sense of unrestraint and boldness about him. Rody observed that the stranger was extraordinarily tall, nearly two heads taller than himself, with a massive skeleton and broad shoulders. Though the muscles appeared lean, they still conveyed a robust, mountain-like strength.

    The middle-aged man, in his linen clothes and straw shoes, hung a rusty iron sword at his waist, secured only with a grass rope, resembling a down-and-out swordsman.

    "You can call me ''the Guide''. I''ve been responsible for guiding newcomers for the past half year," said the middle-aged man, confusing Rody. Seeing Rody''s puzzled face, he smiled gently and asked, "Who introduced you here? Didn''t anyone tell you that Argadopolus is a divine ruin forbidden to mortals? Little guy, don''t tell me you''re a hunter who accidentally wandered into forbidden territory."

    "What would you do with a hunter who accidentally trespassed?" Rody asked, steadying himself.

    "If he wasn''t eaten by goblins, then I''d send him out," the middle-aged man laughed heartily. "Shall I escort you out?"

    "My introducers are Margaret and Buck," Rody boldly claimed, lying.

    "I don''t know them," the middle-aged man shook his head and smiled. "Even if you don''t have an introducer, it doesn''t matter. I can be your introducer. I haven''t seen a teenager with your potential in a long time. Perhaps you''ll receive a good evaluation from the servants of the gods. What''s your name, young man, and where do you come from?"

    "Rody, from the Felic Duchy, Whitestone Town," Rody replied, pausing slightly, choosing not to mention his birthplace, Koror, which he least wanted to recall.

    "Felic Duchy has produced quite a few talented individuals for assessment in recent decades. A truly gifted land. Whitestone Town, hmm, I think I''ve heard of it, but I can''t recall much," the middle-aged man scratched his head and smiled. "Your name is Rody, then I''ll call you that! Welcome, Rody. It''s rare for young people to come for assessment in the divine ruins. In my decades of experience, you''re the first child I''ve seen participating in the assessment¡­"

    "Decades?" Rody was inwardly shocked and asked softly, "Guide, how many people come for assessment each year?"

    "Every year? Haha," the middle-aged man laughed. "If one or two come for an assessment every two or three years, that''s already good. Often there are no assessments for ten or eight years, or those who come are the same old guys from before, which is quite uninteresting."

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    "Guide, may I ask your name?" Rody wasn''t interested in the name, but rather in understanding the identity of this self-proclaimed guide.

    "Name? It''s been a long time since anyone asked me for my name. I think it''s Alecles, yes, that''s the name, and some call me ''Storm''. Little Rody, I''m sure you''ve never heard of it." After Alecles mentioned his name, Rody had no recollection of it. He thought of the many powerful figures from the past hundred years but found no match or similarity.

    "Mr. Alecles, what are the requirements for assessment? Do I need to prepare anything?" Rody asked cautiously.

    "You don''t need anything," the middle-aged man shook his head and smiled. "Don''t worry, just follow me."

    The middle-aged man''s walking pace was normal, but with each step, he advanced ten meters forward. He walked slowly, but Rody almost exhausted himself trying to keep up. Rody clenched his teeth and ran after the so-called guide, determined not to fall behind or admit defeat.

    The two headed westward, encountering no goblins or monsters along the way, progressing smoothly and uninterrupted.

    Rody, nearly breathless, struggled to keep up with the middle-aged man, who continued to move at a leisurely pace, always maintaining a lead of two or three body lengths, no matter how hard Rody tried to catch up.

    "Can you keep up? Do you want to rest for a while?" the middle-aged man asked Rody, still very relaxed and gentle, but Rody was panting heavily, unable to respond. His stubbornness prevailed, and he shook his head in refusal

    . An hour later, Rody felt that if he stopped, he would collapse, but he still bit down hard and persisted.

    He didn''t know when they would reach their destination, but he would rather faint from exhaustion than agree to stop and rest.

    When daylight came, Rody couldn''t believe he had run all night. At a small stream, the middle-aged man stopped to drink water. Unable to stop, Rody plunged into the stream, water rushing into his mouth and nose, and he lost consciousness.

    When he awoke again, he found every part of his body aching, and the sun was high in the sky.

    The middle-aged man stood nearby, smiling upon seeing Rody awake. "Can we continue the journey? Little Rody, you can rest a bit more."

    "No need, I can do it," Rody said, summoning strength from nowhere, and got up resolutely.

    "You don''t have to push yourself too hard, kid..." the middle-aged man chuckled.

    "I''m not a kid." Rody stumbled into the stream, gulped down water, and, despite the pain all over his body, chased after the guide with all his might.

    Three hundred kilometers away, in a secluded valley rich in lush forests and profound silence, lay a huge ruin, half-hidden in the forest. The surroundings were peaceful, with no birds chirping or insects buzzing. About a dozen men in linen clothes and straw shoes were sitting quietly, reading or napping, all silent. Behind them, a dilapidated hall with intact ancient doors carved with strange images and peculiar characters stood.

    As the sun set, the men continued as usual. Some read, others sat quietly. Occasionally, someone would wake up, yawn, and start a quiet game of chess with a companion, with no words exchanged.

    In the tranquil valley, as the night deepened and the moon rose high, no one left, and everything remained the same, as if the overlapping of day and night had no effect here.

    Five days later, when Alecles brought a ragged, utterly exhausted Rody to this place, someone looked up curiously at Rody. Lying on the ground, gasping for breath, Rody didn''t care where he was; he just wanted to sleep soundly. Alecles approached the group of men, sat down on a rock, took out a wine pouch, drank a couple of gulps, and passed it to someone next to him.

    "Storm, where did you find this little guy?" someone asked after looking at Rody.

    "This kid seems a bit unusual," another commented.

    "A child from the Felic Duchy, perhaps a descendant of the Blue or Silver-Eyed Singers. I found him interesting, so I brought him back, saving him from wasting time wandering in confusion," Alecles said with a slight smile. "It''s been a long time since a young person came for assessment. I didn''t expect the first one to be so young."

    "Young is good; youth symbolizes hope. I like young people," an unremarkable, elderly man with a face full of wrinkles nodded.

    "Recently, there''s been turmoil outside, and many promising young people have been destroyed," a skinny man sighed. "It''s not that there are no outstanding young people for assessment; it''s just that they die young."

    "Perhaps a great chaos is about to engulf the world¡­" an old man with silver hair, resembling a sage, nodded slightly, speaking only half a sentence.

 Chapter 49: Divine Ruins

    Rody slept for a whole day and night without waking up.

    Everyone either sat or lay around, reading, playing chess, meditating, or resting, with everything remaining as usual. The middle-aged man drew in the sand with a tree branch, sometimes watching ants crawling on the ground, sometimes observing clouds slowly drifting in the sky, seemingly finding great interest in these simple activities.

    After an indefinite period, the tranquility of the forest was broken by a horse''s neigh.

    A rider, like a flame, shot across the sky. In an instant, the rider approached, and upon pulling the reins, the horse, ablaze with flames, neighed long and landed steadily on the ground.

    The rider, clad in golden armor with a blood-red cape fluttering majestically, exuded an air of grandeur. A silver shield adorned his left arm, with a golden crescent emblem in the middle, while his golden sword at the waist was also decorated with a golden crescent, clearly indicating that the Golden Knight was a revered and respected Sword King in the world. He dismounted with a flourish and walked arrogantly towards the great doors of the hall, completely ignoring the linen-clad old men nearby.

    "Oho..." The Golden Knight burst into golden fighting spirit, fiery like flames, pressing his palms against the massive doors of the hall, intending to force them open with sheer strength.

    However, the doors didn''t budge. Despite multiple attempts to enhance his strength, the Golden Knight achieved nothing.

    Frustrated, he retreated, gathered a sun-like fiery energy, and fiercely bombarded the doors, creating a thunderous noise. Mud and stones flew, dust billowed, but when the dust settled, the great doors of the hall remained unscathed, unaffected by the Golden Knight''s powerful strike.

    "Where''s the mechanism to open the door?" The Golden Knight suppressed his anger, realizing that brute force wouldn''t open the door, and casually asked the old men lounging around.

    No one paid attention to him, as if he didn''t exist. They continued reading, playing chess, everything as before.

    After several unanswered queries, the Golden Knight, infuriated and tempted to draw his sword, exclaimed, "Damn it, you invite me for assessment but refuse to open the door. What''s the meaning of this? I am the revered Sword Emperor of the Lederlands Empire, I don''t have time to waste with you old men. If you''re not willing to open the door, then don''t blame me for breaking in."

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    "Are you talking to us?" asked a pale, sickly-looking handsome man with a cough, in a tone of surprise.

    "Don''t try to act in front of me. I am the Leaping Horse Sword Emperor of the Lederlands Empire, here only to honor the introduction of the Zephyr Sword Emperor. If you think you can exploit me, you''re greatly mistaken. Forget about any door-opening fees. If you don''t open the door for me, then I''ll break in myself. And if my golden sword causes any damage, don''t blame me for not warning you beforehand."

    "You might want to keep your voice down. The weakest person here is a Grand Sword Emperor, and even I, a Sword Saint, don''t dare to speak loudly. You, a mere Sword Emperor, are barking like a mad dog. I''m genuinely worried for you," said the pale, sickly man, coughing again, his face flushing with a sickly redness. He whispered, "Go back. This place is not for you. As for your so-called introducer, I''ve never heard of him. Have any of you?"

    "No," many shook their heads.

    "I seem to remember the name of the Lederlands Empire," someone tried to recall. "It was established about two hundred years ago, previously just a small country invisible on the map."

    "The Lederlands Empire, right. There was a Lightning Saint called Bluetooth, a disciple of my nephew. That young fellow was quite polite. How come today we have such a fool? Just a Sword Emperor and he''s so arrogantly notorious," the old man with an old face shook his head. "What should we do with this fool? Throw him into the Ghostly Abyss to feed the ghost worms?"

    "I just welcomed an interesting kid, so I''m in a good mood. Let him leave," the middle-aged man chuckled.

    "Let''s do that," agreed the silver-haired wise elder.

    "You dare to mock me?" The Golden Knight, having confirmed there were no experts here, unsheathed his sword, charged up his fighting spirit, and pointed at the middle-aged man who had guided Rody, shouting, "If you have the guts, come and make me leave. Aren''t you all so bold and intimidating? Come out and let me see the strength of your so-called Sword Saints and Magic Saints!"

    "I won''t fight you," laughed the middle-aged man

    . "Even slapping you to death would be beneath me."

    "To the Saint of Storms, you''re just a fly," the sickly handsome man coughed, slowly standing up, laughing at the Golden Knight while coughing, "Ignorance is not your fault, but persisting in ignorance is."

    "You sick man, die!" The Golden Knight roared, his fighting spirit erupting, his golden sword like a rainbow, swiftly slashing at the handsome man.

    "I also wish to die, but it''s too early for that," the pale, handsome man, now standing behind the Golden Knight, handed him something, coughing, "I wanted to kill you, but I didn''t want to dirty my hands. So, leave as fast as you can, and as far as you can. This place is not for people like you. Understand?"

    "Ah..." The Golden Knight looked and realized he was handed his own arm, still clutching the golden sword, and fled in terror.

    Mounting his horse, he escaped faster than he arrived.

    Except for a bloody arm holding a golden sword on the ground, the forest seemed as if nothing had happened. Everyone continued their activities, undisturbed by the incident.

    As dusk approached, Rody finally woke up, surprised to see the group of people sitting quietly, not speaking.

    "What is this place?" Rody asked his guide, the middle-aged man who called himself Alecles or Storm.

    "The Divine Ruins," the middle-aged man smiled, pointing to the great doors. "Inside is the assessment area. The servant of the gods will wait for you at the second door. Just pass through the first door, and you can meet him."

    "Ah... How can such a big door be pushed open?" Rody wondered aloud.

    "You can''t push it open, maybe try pulling," replied the skinny man with a smile.

    "Thank you," Rody understood. The skinny man''s words were not about pushing or pulling, but about different approaches to a problem. Such a big door couldn''t be opened by brute force; there must be another way, and the skinny man was suggesting that he find that method instead of using force.

    "Go ahead, we''re also curious about your assessment," said the silver-haired wise old man, finally speaking a relatively long sentence.

 Chapter 50: Assessment

    Rody slowly approached the massive door, his heart filled with apprehension.

    What if the door denied him entry? What if fate, having given him boundless hope, cruelly plunged him into despair once again? Should he smile bitterly, cry in pain, or leave quietly with tears unshed?

    As his hands gently touched the door, Rody felt a will-like force flooding into his mind.

    "Open the door, I want to be stronger, I seek guidance..." Rody didn''t know how to open the door, but he harbored a longing heart, hoping for the will guarding the door to permit his passage. Despite not knowing whether the beautiful tutor was indeed his introducer, or the relation between the goblin-occupied underground altar and this grand door, Rody yearned for guidance to gain strength, seeking a quicker way to become stronger, rather than groping blindly and training clumsily.

    The massive door trembled slightly and opened silently. Rody, stunned and almost moved to tears, stood before the dark entrance of the hall.

    Never before had a door opened so easily for him...

    Rody, who had been toyed with by fate and endured various hardships, for the first time in his life, felt not abandoned. He realized that somewhere in the world, like this massive door of destiny, there were gates waiting for him, ready to open at any time.

    The people behind him, each with a different expression, exchanged glances and smiles, but remained silent.

    The skinny man gave a thumbs up to the middle-aged man who had guided Rody, praising him for something. The middle-aged man took several swigs of liquor, looking slightly smug.

    Even the silver-haired wise elder and the old-faced old man nodded slightly.

    Rody paid no attention to the reactions of those behind him. His entire focus was on what lay ahead. This dark hall, like an unknown destiny, would determine whether he was a mediocrity or a genius based on the assessment of the ''servant of the gods''. Swallowing hard to moisten his dry throat, he stepped forward. About a hundred steps later, a light appeared in the distance. Approaching it, Rody was surprised to find that the light wasn''t a human.

    To be precise, the ''servant of the gods'' mentioned by Alecles was not human, nor even a living being, but a suit of armor floating in mid-air. The armor seemed to be worn by a being of light, with eyes shining brightly and light strands flowing from the back like hair, softly drifting in the space.

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    "Welcome, young human. You are the 3086th assessor in the last 50,000 years." The ''servant of the gods'' sent a compelling stream of thoughts into Rody''s mind. It spoke in a neutral, emotionless human voice.

    "What are the requirements for the assessment?" Rody thought. Before he could verbalize the question, he received an answer from the servant.

    "No requirements. Any lifeform with potential, human or not, can be assessed." The servant''s response was devoid of emotion. "After the assessment, the assessed can exchange something they possess for certain desires or wishes to be fulfilled, to a reasonable extent."

    "When does the assessment begin?" Rody asked, feeling his heart pounding. He had a desire: psychic magic.

    "Just maintain a thought-free state for more than three seconds." After Rody complied, the servant extended light strands, wrapping gently around him, then quickly retracted. Rody waited silently. After a while, another wave of thoughts entered his mind. "Assessed individual 3086, do you want your assessment results to be public or kept confidential?"

    "Keep it confidential," Rody replied promptly.

    "The assessment results are confidential. Assessed individual 3086''s results are barred from any lifeform''s inquiry, but you retain the right to disclose them." The servant continued, "Now, 3086, do you want to hear your assessment results?"

    "Please tell me," Rody said, nervous and tense.

    "Assessed individual 3086, male human, 16 years old, physically healthy, in the prime of growth and life. Physical abilities severely suppressed, disconnecting elemental and divine communication, likely caused by potent forbidden drugs. Suffered multiple injuries in early years but recently well-recovered, complete physical restoration, moderate resistance to water and fire magic, excellent self-healing capabilities." The servant''s words filled Rody with mixed emotions, gripping his fists tightly, afraid of missing any detail.

    "Assessed individual 3086, soul protected by a consumable guardian goddess will, used twice, only one use remaining." The servant''s words made Rody realize why he survived the black dragon''s blood. The protective power granted by Father Sado still lingered. "Final assessment, individual 3086, male human, possesses extraordinary potential in spirit and soul, overall potential rated at seven stars."

    "Seven stars?

    Can I never exceed this level? Can I break through the seven-star barrier?" Rody was shocked. If he could only ever be a Polaris Seven-Star Magic Master, his life''s ambitions would be dashed.

    "Current assessment cannot determine your ability to exceed seven-star potential. In human history, only seventeen have surpassed themselves. While scarce, it proves humans'' unparalleled capacity for self-transcendence among all races. Perhaps you have this potential too," the servant answered emotionlessly. "Assessed individual 3086, you may ask two more questions."

    "Can the magic-martial prohibition be broken?" Rody asked thoughtfully.

    "According to historical records, humans have indeed broken the magic-martial prohibition you refer to. Once a human transcends the saint level, they can ignore its effects," the servant replied, nearly shattering Rody''s hopes. Surpassing the saint level was no easy feat.

    "What''s the fastest way to become stronger?" Rody asked, biting his lip.

    "Method one: Assessed individual 3086, male human, you can exchange one of your five senses or a ''personality trait'' with a deity for power. Method two: pass a trial set by a deity through effort and struggle, but failure results in the loss of a ''personality trait.'' Method three: use divine faith power or demonic sacrificial power. This method is the quickest but may alter your form, thoughts, or even beliefs." The servant offered three methods, none of which Rody liked, as they all sounded perilous.

    "Please explain in detail the process of exchanging senses or personality traits with a deity," Rody asked, pausing.

    "This is the most common method among assessors. If you have a deity you believe in, you can offer one of your sensory perceptions to the deity, or any ''personality trait,'' such as bravery, cowardice, greatness, selfishness, justice, evil, etc. Any trait can be exchanged for considerable power. However, it should be noted that the exchange is at the deity''s discretion, not limited to any specific one. The same applies to sensory exchanges," the servant explained clearly, but Rody felt overwhelmed, his head spinning.

    "Can I leave now and come back later for the exchange?" Rody wiped sweat from his brow and asked cautiously.

    "As you wish," the servant said. "But once exchanged, it can never be reversed."

 Chapter 51: Hope

    As Rody stepped out of the great door, his mood was heavy.

    If his greatest achievement in life was only reaching the level of a Polaris Seven-Star Magic Master, avenging himself would be impossible. Afflicted by the magic-martial prohibition, he would remain powerless unless he surpassed the saint level. The necromancy he had been secretly practicing was not suitable for public display, nor was there any higher magic to learn. In such dire circumstances, what future awaited him?

    The old men watched Rody emerge with a gloomy face, appearing surprised. Alecles, the guide, asked, "Little Rody, what''s wrong?"

    "The servant said I have only seven-star potential. My greatest achievement in life will only be that of a Polaris Seven-Star Magic Master... Perhaps for an ordinary person, being a seventh-level mage is a great future, but it''s far from my expectations..." Rody sighed lightly, feeling extremely disheartened. He walked back to the old men and sat down among them.

    Rody suddenly felt that these elders, like him, came here with great expectations, only to face disappointment, like he did, and eventually stayed here, leading aimless lives.

    He now understood this feeling well, because after receiving his assessment, he too thought of returning to Whitestone Town to live a quiet life with his mother, who was waiting for him, always hoping for his return.

    But now, Rody felt an apprehension about going back. He feared his mother''s disappointment, feared seeing her tears, feared breaking her heart. With his limited potential and achievements, he was not the genius she was proud of, but merely a Polaris Seven-Star Magic Master, slightly better than an ordinary person...

    "Seven stars?" The elders were taken aback upon hearing this, exchanging looks, all showing strange expressions on their faces.

    "Little Rody, what do you wish to become? A Mage King? Or a Mage Saint?" Alecles, the guide, asked with a smile in his eyes. "You should know, Mage Kings and Saints are even rarer than dragons in this world. To advance to a Mage King, one must endure hardships a hundred times more than an ordinary person. To become a Mage Saint, the difficulties are a thousandfold."

    "I''m not afraid of hardship, I just hate a life without hope," Rody leaned against a stone, trying hard to bear the pain in his heart.

    "How can life be without hope?" The silver-haired wise elder suddenly spoke. "Over five hundred years ago, a Silver-Eyed Singer, a mute from birth and thus unable to sing or become a magician, persisted in her training. Despite her inability to produce sound, she created her own music magic, unable to sing vocally but able to enchant any creature with her music, becoming the unique Silver-Eyed Singer."

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    "How could she sing without a voice?" Rody was astonished.

    "She longed to sing. Though voiceless, her spirit was always singing. Her powerful spirit could touch any living being, even the dullest orc," Alecles laughed heartily. "Little Rody, nothing is impossible in this world."

    "Let me tell you an ancient story," an old-looking elder began slowly. "Fifty thousand years ago, powerful beings on earth broke through to the divine level, and many humans and other beings achieved divinity, becoming gods. But before that, there were already gods in heaven who didn''t want these earthly strong ones to challenge them, leading to a divine war. The heavenly gods oppressed the earthly strong ones, cleansing all life that could break through. Despite countless deaths, the earthly strong ones continuously ascended, eventually matching the heavenly gods, causing collapse in heaven and earth, and finally forcing the heavenly gods to recognize their right to ascend. If we talk about difficulty, what''s harder than ascending under the pursuit of gods? Yet our ancestors did it..."

    "Does this mean, this Divine Ruins is left by our ancestors? And the assessment is to find life with potential to break through to the divine level?" Rody suddenly realized, exclaiming in shock.

    "You guessed right," someone laughed approvingly.

    "Actually, the servant is not human or a life form. It''s the armor worn by one of our ancestors, the Wishful Goddess, during battle. After her death protecting her descendants, she left her armor to continue her divine will," the skinny man explained seriously.

    "The servant said that in fifty thousand years, only 3086 life forms, including me, have been assessed. How many strong ones have entered the divine level among such few assessed lives?" Rody asked in doubt.

    "In fifty thousand years, a total of 105 strong ones have ascended to the divine level," Alecles revealed, startling Rody.

    "So many?" Rody was astonished for a long time, repeatedly confirming he hadn''t heard wrong before believing it.

    "Not all who ascend to the divine level become chief gods. Some can only be lesser gods

    or godly envoys, but it''s certain that at least five chief gods and one god king emerged from our earthly strong ones, or else they couldn''t have contended with the heavenly gods," the silver-haired wise elder gently advised. "Young man, your heart should be filled with hope, not useless despair. We old folks have never given up, so why should you be so disheartened?"

    "Thank you," Rody stood up and bowed to those who comforted him, gratefully saying, "My heart is now firm."

    "Little Rody, what did you exchange with the gods?" Alecles asked with a slight smile.

    "Nothing," Rody paused, then said, "Firstly, I have no god to believe in; secondly, I''m not willing to exchange... Although I desire power, I don''t want to lose part of my personality or one of my senses. My eyes are to see my mother''s face; my ears to hear her voice; my tongue to taste the food she cooks... In short, I hope to improve through my own efforts, not by exchange."

    "Self-training? Even better! Haha," Alecles laughed loudly, his laughter leaving Rody somewhat puzzled.

    "Your current strength and willpower make it difficult to pass the test of the gods," the silver-haired wise elder nodded slowly. "If you don''t mind, perhaps you can exchange something with us old folks. Of course, we won''t ask for your senses or personality, just for you to handle some worldly affairs. Are you willing?"

    "If it doesn''t go against my principles, I''ll do my best," Rody replied excitedly, his heart racing. He had always been alone and was eager for any offered help.

    "Young man, you might need this," the old-looking elder slowly took out a magical book with ancient characters Rody couldn''t recognize.

    "What would you ask of me in exchange?" Rody decided to listen to the conditions first before accepting the ancient magical book.

 Chapter 52: Treasure

    "In the Zephyr Forest or the Thunder Hidden Mist Area, there lives a magician named Annie Bell. Young man, if you learn the magic from this ancient magic book, then you must teach at least three spells to this magician. Otherwise, when you return in three years, I''ll take back the book. If you can teach her more than five spells, you can keep the book for another five years. If you manage to teach more than ten spells, the book is yours," the old-looking elder set conditions that weren''t overly harsh, but Rody found it challenging, uncertain if he could learn, let alone teach.

    "Where can I learn these ancient characters?" Rody flipped through the book and found he couldn''t recognize a single character.

    "This book can''t be read with eyes; it must be comprehended with the heart and communicated with the spirit," the old-looking elder nodded silently and said no more.

    "Young man, come here," the silver-haired wise elder beckoned, holding something in his palm.

    In his hand was a pair of spectacles made of ink crystal, composed of two pieces of ink crystal set in a frame with two slender extensions and a long, thin chain, made of an unknown decorative material. Rody, slightly startled at the sight of the ink crystal spectacles, reached out to take them but was shocked by the elder''s words.

    "What did you say?" Rody couldn''t believe his ears.

    "You heard correctly. I want you to eliminate all life forms that shine with a dazzling white light as seen through these spectacles," the silver-haired wise elder said seriously. "At least within your capacity, you must do so. This is the condition for accepting this ink crystal magic mirror. Young man, you can refuse."

    "Kill all life forms shining with a dazzling white light?" Rody knew the ink crystal magic mirror must be valuable, but he hesitated.

    Looking at the others, he noticed their eyes twinkling with peculiar amusement. Seeing his guide, Alecles, laughing while pouring wine into his mouth, Rody decided to accept the mirror.

    The skinny man gave Rody a thumbs up, reassuring him that he had made the right bet.

    "I''m a swordsman; I have nothing to give you," Alecles stood up and said, "Let me escort you out. You can come back in three years. Staying here too long isn''t good for you, as this place is filled with divine will and the power of laws."

    "May I know everyone''s names?" Rody nodded, then suddenly remembered he hadn''t asked their names.

    "Such things aren''t important," the silver-haired wise elder said slowly. "Remember, young man, hope is always there, just as our ancestors are always watching and protecting us from the sky."

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    "He''s still a child; he''ll understand when he grows up," the old-looking elder waved his hand. "Go now, come back in three years."

    "Close your eyes," Alecles said with a smile.

    As soon as Rody closed his eyes, he felt Alecles press his shoulder lightly, and he involuntarily floated forward. In what felt like an instant, or perhaps a long time, when he felt his feet touch the ground and opened his eyes, he found himself in an open, barren land, devoid of life.

    This was the path he had traveled before, the outskirts of Argadopolus, the desolate land where the goblins lived.

    "How is this possible? I remember this place being at least several hundred kilometers from the Divine Ruins!" Rody felt like he was in a dream, having dreamt of guides, servants, and a group of old men in linen and straw shoes. He quickly took out the ancient magic book and the ink crystal magic mirror from his pocket. These two items, lying quietly in his hand, silently affirmed that everything that happened was not a dream, but reality.

    As Rody was bewildered and moved to tears, the old men in the Divine Ruins were chuckling secretly.

    Alecles laughed the most exaggeratedly, almost rolling on the ground.

    "If you say he''s smart, he''s smart enough to grasp things at once and even deduce further," the skinny man laughed. "But if you say he''s foolish, he''s indeed quite naive. How could he think the seven-star potential assessed by the divine servant equates to the human level of Polaris Seven Stars? That was hilarious; I barely held back my laughter just now."

    "Seven stars, it''s been many years since a human with seven-star potential appeared..." the silver-haired wise elder sighed.

    "I was once called a genius among geniuses and was assessed with five-star potential, feeling proud for a long time," the unremarkable elder looked around and asked, "Has anyone here been assessed above five stars?"

    "Isn''t Joyce five and a half stars?" Alecles laughed. "Don''t look at me; I''m only three stars, purely through hard work."

    "Saint of Storms, Suffering Saint, to answer your question," the sickly handsome man whispered. "My assessment indeed showed five and a half stars potential, but unfortunately, I practice both magic and martial arts, not specializing in one, limiting my progress."

    "An interesting young man, let''s quietly observe his growth," the unremarkable elder nodded and fell silent.

    "The world is about to be thrown into chaos, the time for the stars of hope to shine," the silver-haired wise elder repeated his words from days before, gazing at the sky, where the deep night was filled with dark clouds. Stars were sparse, but a few of the brightest stars shone undimmed, twinkling endlessly.

    Rody quickly stored the ancient magic book and tried on the ink crystal magic mirror, discovering a strange new vision. Besides seeing physical objects with his eyes, he felt another kind of perception. When he summoned Nicholas, Markus, and Emma, his slaves of darkness, for protection, the ink crystal magic mirror flickered faintly, showing their images. In Rody''s mind, he clearly sensed their soul fires burning continuously.

    When Rody sought to understand more clearly, the ink crystal magic mirror suddenly displayed strange reports and data: unconscious slaves of darkness, firm magical contracts, dark energy 118, ranged mage combat type, weak offensive power, ordinary magical effects, slightly poisonous bones, injured undead bodies, dark energy slowly recovering.

    Comprehensive assessment: Weak undead, equivalent to a human five-star senior mage, soul potential one and a half stars.

    Regarding Markus: unconscious slave of darkness, firm magical pact, dark energy 76, melee warrior combat type, weak offensive power, slight qi effects, weak poison, severely injured dead body, dark energy very slowly recovering, estimated complete recovery in ten continuous days.

    Comprehensive assessment: Weak undead, equivalent to a human five-star great swordsman, soul potential half a star.

    Finally, Rody looked at Emma and found her far inferior to Markus, with only 37 dark energy, 12 toxic damage... Comprehensive assessment: fragile undead, equivalent to a human four-star swordsman, soul potential half a star.

    With this ink crystal magic mirror capable of assessing the strength and rank of warriors, Rody was both shocked and delighted.

    He wanted to see himself, but frustratingly couldn''t sense his own existence. Finally, he eagerly wanted to find a living goblin to see if he could detect enemy information. If possible, this ink crystal magic mirror would be the best treasure for self-defense or combat.

 Chapter 53: Astral Projection

    Rody searched around for a while but couldn''t find any living animals nearby, so he temporarily set aside the idea.

    On the way back to the capital of the Felic Duchy in a hired carriage, driven by curiosity, Rody took out the ink crystal magic mirror to look at the coachman, and was startled by what he saw: a human male with weakened vitality, active energy at 7, high alcohol content in the body, severe liver damage significantly reducing his life force... The comprehensive assessment: an aging ordinary human, soul potential half a star.

    If Rody hadn''t seen the seemingly robust coachman easily handling the horses, he would have worried the man might drop dead at any moment.

    Only then did Rody realize the high standards of the ink crystal magic mirror.

    Markus, with the strength of a five-star great swordsman, was labeled as a ''weak undead'', and Emma, with the strength of a four-star swordsman and practicing both magic and martial arts, was considered a ''fragile undead''. Without comparing them to the coachman, Rody wouldn''t have realized that his slaves of darkness were not as ''weak'' as the mirror had indicated.

    In a deserted area, Rody tried to examine his bone pet rabbit, mantises, man-eating vines, the head of Cato, and his newly acquired dark slave, the old goblin wizard.

    The results once again surprised Rody.

    The old goblin wizard was a six-pointed star magic master with an energy level of 450, but with limited potential, only half a star. The head of the Cato beast had an energy level of 280, two-star potential, and surprisingly, a hidden ''soul-burning'' ability. What shocked Rody the most was that the two mantises, with energy levels of 51 and 55, had a potential of two and a half stars each, the highest among all his dark slaves.

    Rody speculated that the mantises might have gained some invisible soul potential by merging with the vampire bats. The bone pet rabbit also had one and a half stars of potential, which made Rody see some promise in it.

    As for the man-eating vine with only half a star potential, Rody didn''t plan to abandon it but to try merging it with more to see if more merging would increase the potential. Delighted with the ink crystal magic mirror that could assess strength and potential, Rody thought it should be used cautiously to avoid envy and theft from others.

    For several days, Rody stayed in the carriage, studying the unreadable ancient magic book.

    The book, including its cover, had only eighteen pages, densely filled with strange text, magical circles, and symbols. On the first day, Rody couldn''t make sense of anything. When he relaxed and was about to rest, he suddenly felt a bizarre sensation as if an invisible black hole was trying to suck in his soul.

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    Rody guessed it was a connection to some magic, but he was afraid of being drawn in for a long time.

    If his soul were absorbed by this ancient magic book, he would become a senseless living corpse.

    Yet, it might be the key to unlocking the book''s secrets. After much deliberation, Rody decided to try. Before attempting, he wrote a farewell letter to his mother, asking for her forgiveness.

    Through the ink crystal magic mirror, the book was labeled as an ''indiscernible object''.

    Handling the book carefully, Rody instructed the coachman to go straight to the magic academy. He thought that if his soul were attracted, Headmaster Buck and the beautiful tutor named Mary might have a way to help, or at least send his body back to Whitestone Town. Time and again, he tried to communicate with the book, hoping for the sensation to reappear.

    Despite his unease, the desire to become stronger made Rody determined to explore further.

    As he calmed his mind, Rody entered a peculiar state where he felt unable to move but comfortably so. His mind was peaceful, his body felt as if sitting in a formless chaos, his thoughts merged with the universe, and his soul emerged from within, feeling free and light.

    The strange invisible black hole appeared again, pulling Rody''s soul along an invisible pathway.

    After an indeterminate length of time and feeling accelerated, Rody suddenly rushed into a cluster of strange light. When his consciousness slightly cleared, he found his soul in a strange hall, somewhat resembling the library of the Felic Magic Academy but larger and taller.

    The hall, possibly nearly a hundred meters high, was so vast Rody could barely see around. The walls were adorned with glowing text and slowly moving images, many of which depicted magicians casting spells, captivating Rody.

    Rody wanted to move but found himself unable to take a step.

    He realized that in this hall, he could only observe with his eyes and sense with his heart, unable to freely move.

    After patiently observing for awhile, Rody understood that the magical images were categorized according to each magic school: wind, fire, water, earth, light, darkness, and even the soul and psychic magic he yearned for. Each category had at least a dozen images, especially elemental magic, with numerous images from the bottom to the top of the walls.

    "This magic..." Rody recognized several familiar necromancy spells, although the casting was slightly different. He identified a few as those he had learned.

    Torn between psychic and dark magic, Rody decided to start with psychic magic.

    This would improve his combat ability when unable to summon his dark slaves, and the servant had mentioned his exceptional potential in spirit and soul. His primary goal was to develop his psychic power and enhance his strength. Rody, excited, tried to sense one of the five lowest psychic magic images.

    In the image, a magician clad in a black cloak and a terrifying mask, revealing only his green eyes, looked at an axe-wielding orc, causing it to frenziedly slash and kill.

    As Rody''s thoughts connected with the image, he felt a heavy blow to his mind, an uncontrollable rage bursting from within, making him almost want to leap up and wildly attack his surroundings. With great effort, Rody calmed down, carefully feeling the process of the strange psychic power''s rage and fury in his body, while enduring the endless assault on his will.

    Once he felt he had grasped a bit of it, Rody''s thoughts withdrew, leaving him unprecedentedly exhausted.

    Almost without further consciousness, he fell into a dormant state.

    Upon waking, Rody found his soul still in the hall, everything unchanged. Although worried about being unable to leave, he seized the opportunity to connect his thoughts with the image again.

    After learning ''Frenzy'', Rody learned ''Hatred'', a psychic spell that made surrounding creatures intensely despise a target.

    The third psychic spell Rody learned was ''Psychic Defense'', which caused him immense pain and almost felt like his body would explode. However, once mastered, Rody noticed a significant enhancement in his psychic power, as if undergoing a metamorphosis.

    When he gathered his psychic whip, Rody found it had a color, a very faint, translucent purple.

 Chapter 54: Adhere to Principles

    "Wake up, student, wake up, we have arrived at the Magic Academy. Hey, stop sleeping!" Rody heard someone calling him and felt a force shaking his body. In an instant, all the images in the hall vanished, and he felt his soul rapidly being pulled back and violently returning to his cumbersome body, causing him to cry out in discomfort.

    "It''s you..." Rody opened his eyes and saw the coachman shaking him, almost wanting to kill him for the interruption. He was worried whether he could re-enter the magic hall to study, or experience that meditative state again. Looking outside, Rody was surprised to find himself truly in the capital of Felic, right at the entrance of the Magic Academy.

    After paying the fare, Rody put away the ancient magic book and got down, feeling slightly dizzy.

    It seemed that sitting motionless in the carriage for several days had caused this brief dizziness. Returning to the Magic Academy, Rody felt different than before; his heart was lighter, feeling hope like sunshine. Previously, he lacked magic to practice, a path forward, or the possibility of advancement... Now, with the guidance of the ancient magic book, he could enhance his strength through psychic magic. Although his seven-star potential wasn''t high, Rody guessed that this standard might differ from the current worldly assessment, since Nicholas, with only one-star potential, could become a five-star senior mage.

    With his seven-star potential, perhaps he could become a Law King, or even higher.

    For the first time since he was five, Rody felt hope under his feet, ready to stand tall and proud.

    "Mother, wait for me. I will succeed, become stronger, and when I return, I will be a true powerhouse..." Rody thought of his mother in Whitestone Town, who might be praying for him. "Mother, may the Merciful Holy Mother you believe in always protect you..."

    "Wow, oh my God, who do I see? Rody, is that really you?" Tommy, a plump boy, ran over, panting but excited, shouting, "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?"

    "You seem thinner? Am I mistaken?" Rody was surprised to see the chubby boy looking different.

    "I''m thinner? Could it be that I''m unrecognizably thin? Oh no!" Tommy was alarmed at the thought and screamed, while Terry, a thief following him, laughed, "If that''s called being unrecognizably thin, then a pig must be skin and bones."

    "I bet you itch for a beating every day," Tommy retorted angrily. "Thief, stand back; I need to talk to Rody about the account."

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    "Rody, if we weren''t studying, we should have gone into the barbecued meat business. I bet it would be booming," Terry, unfazed, grinned. "You might not believe it, but in these past ten days, we''ve made at least fifty gold coins in pure profit, and selling the barbecue business to two major companies even earned us two hundred gold coins as a transfer fee. Haha, guess where we went last night? We attended the king''s salon banquet..."

    "Nobody would think you''re mute if you kept quiet!" Tommy kicked Terry away, a bit embarrassed. "Rody, I transferred the rights to your barbecue, ice wine, and fruit juice business due to Headmaster Buck''s instructions. I swear I didn''t take a single gold coin from the two winning bidders, nor did I undercharge them. The two hundred gold coin transfer fee and their ten gold coin gratuity to me, I''ve saved every penny for you."

    "So, you also got a ten gold coin gratuity? Damn, why did I only get five gold coins?" Terry inadvertently revealed a secret.

    "Is that the good news?" Rody smiled slightly. "Tommy, keep the gold coins with you. I haven''t thought of how to spend them yet. Just hold onto them for now. Tell me the bad news."

    "I''ll keep the gold, but don''t expect any interest!" Tommy jumped with joy, having been ready to reluctantly hand over the gold.

    "The bad news, cough, it''s very bad..." Terry looked around to ensure safety, then whispered, "According to absolutely reliable information, Headmaster Buck is a super evil demon. He plans to send us to hell for training to satisfy his perverse pleasure."

    "That''s great, I''ve been wanting to visit hell, and now the opportunity has finally come," Rody replied, startling Terry into falling.

    "Rody," Jill, a shy girl, stood behind him, not daring to look up.

    "Jill looks nice in a magic robe, and even nicer in noble lady''s clothes. If there''s a vote for class president, I''ll definitely vote for you. I am your eternal follower!" Terry got up, flattering the pretty girl, which was his

    greatest hobby. Rody had heard of this and wasn''t surprised.

    "The class president should be someone substantial like me!" Tommy laughed. "Hey, sycophant thief, it''s not too late to shine my shoes!"

    "I won''t shine shoes for a pig; pigs don''t wear shoes, only pig hooves!" Terry retorted.

    "You''re asking for it!" Tommy rolled up his sleeves, apparently ready to fight.

    "Brother..." A joyful child''s voice sounded, and little Alice came running, her face flushed, her delicate hand outstretched, laughing, "Where''s my big windmill?"

    "The big windmill?" Rody was taken aback, having forgotten about it.

    "Brother forgot about Alice''s big windmill?" Alice''s big eyes were filled with disappointment. "Brother lied. Alice remembers Brother saying he''d make it twelve days ago, but it''s still not done. Brother lied! Alice is so sad..."

    "Right, he''s a liar. Alice, don''t play with him. Let''s go back!" The silver-armored female knight who always looked at Rody unfavorably came over, coaxing Alice.

    "Brother Rody was busy with errands, but he''ll definitely make the big windmill for Alice tomorrow," Jill quickly spoke up for Rody.

    "Really?" Alice''s spirits lifted. "Will there really be a big windmill tomorrow?"

    "Hey, you''re not really going to deceive a child, are you? How can you lie to a child!" The silver-armored knight was furious at Rody''s silence.

    "He''s also a child..." The beautiful tutor, unknown when, appeared behind Rody, casually patting his shoulder. "It''s only been a few days, and you seem a bit different. Children grow up so fast!" Beside her stood Headmaster Buck, the demon-labeled headmaster, smiling, "Yes, you''re right, absolutely right."

    "Adhere to principles in life; if you don''t have them, don''t echo my words," the tutor seemed to dislike flattery and walked away.

    "Phew, lucky Miss Margaret seems to be in a good mood today, or it would have been bad," Headmaster Buck revealed his signature smile, making everyone''s backs break into a cold sweat. Tommy and Terry were about to flee when Headmaster Buck grabbed them, announcing, "To welcome Rody''s return, I''ve decided to add an extra shadow soul in tomorrow''s meditation class."

    "Help..." Tommy and the others immediately erupted in earth-shattering wails of despair.

 Chapter 55: Who Touched My Butt

    Rody, utterly exhausted, took a long rest and upon waking up the next day, found nearly ten people sitting in his room, waiting for him.

    "These are Elizabeth, Hira, and Sonia. They are our classmates and helped us a lot when we were in business. They came specially today to greet you!" Tommy quickly introduced them.

    "Hello, Rody. I''ve heard a lot about you," the first girl to stand up and speak was a lively, curious-looking green-haired woman with forked short horns on her head. She introduced herself confidently, "My name is Elizabeth, but you can call me Elsa or Betty, it''s all the same."

    "I''m Hira, people also call me Sherry," another woman with forked short horns but not resembling Elizabeth''s sister spoke. Her large eyes and long pointed ears suggested some elven ancestry.

    "Sonia, or Sani," the third girl, a shy young lady with an indescribably graceful figure and rare silver eyes, introduced herself.

    "I''m truly honored. Although Felic is known for its beautiful women, I didn''t expect our small class of fifteen to have four beauties. Of course, I regret that Orelia, a violent woman, occupies a precious female slot, which is the biggest loss for our class," Tommy sighed regretfully.

    "Tommy, don''t let Orelia hear you, or you''ll suffer," Jill, shyly glancing at Rody, quietly warned.

    "I, a descendant of a knight, am not afraid of her..." Tommy tried to maintain a tall image in front of everyone, puffing up his chest.

    "Orelia, you''re here?" Terry looked towards the door, scaring Tommy to almost having a heart attack, but fortunately, it wasn''t true. While chasing Terry to beat him, Tommy repeatedly confirmed that no one was outside before he dared to relax.

    Rody noticed that in addition to Tommy, Terry, and Leo, there was another man, sitting silently at the side, not uttering a word.

    The man looked ordinary, with nothing remarkable about him.

    However, Rody noticed the thick calluses on the man''s hands and immediately understood he was a diligent and silent swordsman. Perhaps noticing Rody''s gaze, the silent man stood up, nodded slightly at Rody, and extended his hand, "Hello, my name is Benson."

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    "Rody, nice to meet you." Rody shook hands, finding the silent swordsman''s grip as firm as a mountain, even more solid than Leo''s.

    "Students, being late on the first day of the new term is not good," Headmaster Buck''s voice came from the magic clock outside, "If no one arrives in the main classroom within three minutes, you can skip lunch. And for the latecomers, a little memory activity awaits: a ten-lap run around the academy. I believe it will help with punctuality in the future. By the way, my magic pocket watch is one minute faster than ordinary watches..."

    "The early bird catches the worm!" Terry didn''t wait to hear the rest and dashed out.

    "That devil Buck!" Tommy, realizing he was the last, cursed in agony, "God, let that fast thief break a leg!"

    Following the chaotic crowd into the main classroom, Rody sat down and observed the other five unknown men.

    The five sat together, forming a small group. The leader was a young man with silver hair and long eyebrows, extremely handsome. If his ears were a bit longer, one might mistake him for an elf. Dressed in a silver robe with gold trim and holding a lightning staff, his attire bore the astonishing gold six-pointed star.

    A young six-pointed star magic master.

    He must be the rare magic pRodygy of Felic, appearing once in a hundred years.

    No wonder he had such an aloof and cold demeanor, even among four others, seeming to carry an indescribable melancholy.

    The four men beside him, each with notable strength and extraordinary looks, three in silver armor and one in a fiery red robe, all seemed to focus on the handsome man as their leader, sitting upright without moving. When Rody and others entered, they didn''t even glance at these magic apprentices who couldn''t even cast a small fireball.

    "Rody, that conceited guy is said to be Felic''s once-in-a-century magic genius, named Aaron, a natural wind and thunder mage. At five, he could cast thunderbolts, and since arriving a few days ago, he''s knocked down two upperclassmen, becoming a big name in the academy. He seems to resent us because in three days, he killed nineteen magical beasts, but still couldn''t beat our record-breaking sales. Look, he''s giving us a sinister and lecherous glance," Tommy whispered, sitting next to Rody.

    "Killed nineteen magical beasts in three days?" Rody was slightly shocked, but

    considering Aaron''s six-pointed star mastery, it seemed plausible.

    "Those four bootlickers are also annoying. The fire mage Andrew once mocked me as a fat pig, saying I couldn''t even cast a small fireball. One day, I''ll shove those words back up his ass," Tommy''s tone turned cold, showing real anger.

    "With you? Maybe in ten thousand years!" Terry sneered.

    "Students, I have class this morning, but I''m having breakfast, so you can meditate or communicate with each other. Communication between students is always essential," Headmaster Buck''s magic broadcast just arrived, and the entire classroom suddenly darkened, with doors and windows closing automatically, leaving everyone in pitch darkness and confusion. Then, they heard Terry scream, "Something is biting my hand, ah, it''s a shadow soul, it''s sucking my magic power..."

    "Let me go, I have no magic power, shadow soul, you should go after that damn thief or someone else, I''m all fat, eating too much of me will give you diarrhea!" Tommy prayed as a shadow soul hissed near him.

    "Get away!" Orelia, the spirited female swordsman, fought furiously, but her attacks were futile against the shadow soul.

    "Don''t be afraid, students, these shadow souls are not very powerful, and they are picky eaters, only liking magic power and life energy. Just let them eat their fill, and there will be no trouble," Headmaster Buck''s voice came through the magic amplifier, accompanied by chewing sounds, irritating to the ear. If he appeared in the classroom then, he would probably be chopped to pieces.

    "Help, I''m terrified of ghosts!" Leo hid under a desk, surprisingly afraid of ghostly spirits.

    "Who touched my butt? Damn it! I''ll kill you!" More terrifying than the shadow souls was the raging Orelia, lashing out in fury.

 Chapter 56: The Girl with Silver Eyes

    "Everyone calm down. Let''s use our magic power together to resist and drive away the shadow souls!" Elizabeth noticed that the shadow souls dared not approach the silver-haired Aaron because he was resisting with his magic power. She quickly advised her companions.

    "Rody," Jill, hiding behind Rody, was too scared to raise her head, evidently as afraid of ghosts as Leo was.

    "Don''t be afraid, hold your breath and breathe slowly. Shadow souls only attack those who react most violently," Rody softly comforted her. Jill didn''t say anything for a long time, but during the chaos caused by Orelia, Tommy, and Terry running around, she suddenly asked, "Did you touch Orelia''s butt just to make her angry?"

    "..." Rody never expected this shy girl to have such keen perception to notice his every move, leaving him somewhat embarrassed.

    Half a day later, Tommy and thief Terry were drained of their magic power by the shadow souls and collapsed weakly on the ground. Orelia was still swinging her giant sword, but it was ineffective against the nearly invisible shadow souls. Benson sat like a wooden figure, while Leo''s huge body was still trembling under the table. Rody noticed that in the darkness, two people were completely avoided by the shadow souls. One was the haughty Aaron, and the other was Sonia with her silver eyes.

    Additionally, there were two others whom the shadow souls were completely uninterested in: Elizabeth and Hira. It was evident that they had considerable magic power, but strangely, the shadow souls showed no interest in them, making Rody suspect these two girls with horns, who were not sisters or of the same race, were no ordinary magicians.

    "Students, I''m sure you all enjoy this unique meditation class," Headmaster Buck''s voice came again, to everyone''s chagrin. He cheerfully continued, "Since you like it so much, I''ll just release all the other shadow souls to join your meditation. I''m so good to you all, remember to buy me a drink sometime. Oh, and by the way, my magical bank account number is 5-10-2008-1053086. If you want to bribe me, feel free to deposit money there."

    "I won''t spare that guy when I get out!" The fire mage Andrew, attracted by many shadow souls due to his magic power, unlike Aaron, couldn''t resist forcefully. Initially, he was fine, but eventually couldn''t bear the relentless harassment and burst out a ring of fire to protect himself, roaring angrily.

    Above the ceiling, there was a small black hole. When the room lit up with fire, it shone right there, revealing about ten more shadow souls pouring out.

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    Seeing Andrew''s ring of fire, the shadow souls dared not approach, but most were attracted to him.

    The three silver-armored men beside him were also inadvertently involved. Two of them swung their swords like Orelia to temporarily drive away the shadow souls, while the other lit up his magic ring to cast a magic shield against the sneaky attacks.

    "Rich people," Rody thought. He also had a magic ring, a trophy from defeating the old goblin wizard, but he was reluctant to use it now.

    "Strange, why don''t the shadow souls attack you, Rody?" Elizabeth asked curiously.

    "I have no magic power, so of course they are not interested in me," Rody wouldn''t admit he was a necromancer, with shadow souls feeding him their energy. The main reason was that the shadow souls were attracted by the active reactions of others and had no time to bother with quietly sitting Rody.

    "Help me!" Leo, shaking under the table, was finally discovered by a stray shadow soul, latching onto his shoulder and sucking his energy, scaring him into joining the fleeing crowd.

    "It''s so lively..." Hira, the girl called Sherry, sat next to Jill. As soon as she sat down, a floating shadow soul immediately turned and left.

    "Sherry, are you a druid?" Rody glanced at Sonia with her silver eyes and asked.

    "How did you guess? We are the rare deer people druids, different from the known bear, wind, wolf, sheep, and forest druids," Hira happily responded. "I feel a strange mental power in you, Rody. Are you a mental mage?"

    "A mental mage? Is there such a thing in this world?" Rody denied, "I''m here to study alchemy, just a one-star beginner magic apprentice."

    "Right, and what else? You want to say your body is naturally incapable of casting a small fireball, right?" Elizabeth teased, "Cunning Rody, I also know mental magic. How about we exchange knowledge? It would be beneficial for both of us!"

    "Sorry, I really don''t know how and can''t exchange," Rody, who would have been eager for mental magic before, now had the ancient magic book and didn''t want others to know his abilities. Elizabeth and Hira weren''t surprised by Rody''s refusal and denial, but Sonia with her silver eyes gave Rody a glance.

    Rody felt her silver eyes could see into his heart, as if revealing his deepest secrets, almost losing control and standing up.

    Only then did he realize the shy girl with silver eyes was unimaginably powerful, even more than Elizabeth whom he had mistakenly thought was the strongest. Her mental power almost ignored Rody''s defenses and directly invaded his mind. Rody coughed, his mental power bursting forth in resistance.

    Their mental powers collided invisibly, and both Rody and Sonia trembled.

    Rody, holding his head, struggled to stay calm, feeling dizzy.

    Had he not learned ''Mental Defense'' from mental magic, he might have been defeated by the terrifying invasion.

    Jill looked at Sonia pleadingly, hoping she would stop, but to her surprise, Sonia also appeared in pain, hands over her head, her silver eyes tightly shut.

    "Stop it, both of you. Don''t risk your lives. Mental power is for probing, never full-force exploration of each other''s minds. It''s dangerous. Sonia, withdraw your mental power quickly, Rody, don''t counterattack," Hira knew much and was ready to use magic to separate them.

    Rody, about to forcefully expel the invading mental power, paused at her words and refrained from attacking.

    Sonia''s mental power receded like a tide.

    "Your potential is immeasurable, even greater than Jill''s," Sonia''s silver eyes suddenly opened, startling Rody. He almost fell, feeling the aura he had sensed in the Moon Halo Mage, the beautiful tutor. Although Sonia was far from matching the tutor, her aura already had a real powerhouse feel.

    "Interesting, it seems coming here to study was the right choice," Elizabeth comforted the worried Jill, "We were just curious to test Rody and didn''t mean to harm him. You can relax."

    "Everyone''s fine, that''s good," Jill blushed, lowering her head, unable to look at anyone again.

 Chapter 57: Life-Saving Milk

    "Shall we reintroduce ourselves, Rody, the one-star beginner apprentice in alchemy?" Hira asked with a smile.

    "Time will be the best introduction," Rody replied lightly.

    "This year''s freshmen at the Magic Academy are the fewest, but also the strongest in years. It seems the Felic Principality will soon be revitalized," Elizabeth chuckled. "It''s a pity that Sherry and I can''t participate in the death training. Otherwise, we would definitely show those proud students from the prestigious academies how formidable we are and stop their mockery of Felic for lacking talents."

    "Rody, will you join the army?" Hira suddenly asked.

    "Maybe, I don''t know yet. Why do you ask?" Rody was a bit puzzled. Was joining the army really that important?

    "Most students join the army after graduating from the Magic Academy, while a few pursue a career for life. Joining the army in the Felic Principality is not only an honor but also attracts the admiration of countless women. That''s the biggest motivation for the men of Felic to enlist! Hehe!" Hira laughed, adding, "Did you know that the Princess of Felic is forming her own knight order? Aren''t you aware?"

    "I didn''t know," Rody shook his head. "I don''t like queuing, nor do I have the strength to become a knight."

    "Do you think many men in Felic enlist?" Elizabeth laughed upon hearing this, "Felic is famous for its beautiful women, but its men are equally famous for their cowardice. Three hundred years ago, in a bitter victory against the orcs, Felic''s army was left depleted and vulnerable to invasions. The capital was almost breached, yet few men were willing to take up arms to defend their homeland and protect their families."

    Rody, not a native of Felic and having lived in the secluded Whitestone Town, was aware of Felic''s decline three hundred years ago but never imagined the defeat was due to lack of fighters.

    "The then Crown Princess of Felic stood up and uttered a shocking statement: ''I will marry the first man who enlists!'' However, this did not inspire the men of Felic. Despite Princess Ifis''s unmatched beauty, no one bravely stepped forward to fight for her."

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    Rody was stunned and incredulous upon hearing this.

    "At that time, less than a thousand soldiers defending the capital were all severely injured. With over two hundred thousand civilians in the city, not a single man dared to join the army or lend a hand. Instead, warriors from various tribes came from afar to assist. Since then, women in Felic have stepped up, becoming the main force in the army. Princess Ifis''s knight order was all women, no men. They all died bravely in the capital, refusing to surrender. Even now, the Felic army is predominantly women, with over three thousand soldiers and less than five hundred men."

    "Since Princess Ifis, each generation''s Crown Princess of Felic has been named Ifis in her memory, vowing to marry a brave soldier and forming the ''Bloodflower Knight Order'' to awaken the fighting spirit of Felic''s men," Hira said with a smile. "If you''re interested in joining the modern Princess Ifis''s knight order, you probably won''t have to queue, as there are less than twenty men in her order so far."

    "I will join the army, but I''m not interested in the knight order," Rody said, feeling the men of Felic were too cowardly. Even as a foreigner from Koror, having lived in Whitestone Town for a few years, he felt ashamed.

    "Why not? Princess Ifis may not be the world''s number one beauty like three hundred years ago, but her beauty is rare," Hira asked, surprised.

    "I don''t like kneeling. Kneeling respectfully before others is difficult for me," Rody smiled lightly. "Besides my mother, I wouldn''t bend my knee even before gods."

    "Interesting. Pride is a symbol of a man''s strength and a reflection of bravery," Elizabeth and Hira exchanged glances and smiled, no longer speaking.

    Rody didn''t quite understand why they were encouraging him to enlist. He couldn''t fathom their relationship with the Felic royal family, as both were not human. Hira was a deer druid, and Elizabeth was likely a descendant of a powerful race. Their inability to join death training could be due to sensitive identities. Why they knew Felic''s obscure history and their relationship with Princess Ifis were mysteries to Rody.

    "I will join the army, and so will Jill," the shy girl with silver eyes, Sonia, suddenly said.

    "Why?" Rody found it strange.

    "We, the Seven Tribes warriors, once drank the milk of Queen Anna and vowed to repay her with our blood," Sonia nodded gently, without further explanation.

    Rody glanced at Jill, understanding why her family sent such a shy girl to study.

    "During the great war three hundred years ago, Felic''s wells were poisoned, and meteor showers caused by enemy magicians brought extreme heat and thirst, weakening all soldiers. Queen Anna, unable to fight like her husband, decided to use her milk to revive the nearly dehydrated warriors. She and nearly a thousand women nursed the Seven Tribes warriors back to health while their husbands and human soldiers all perished. Since then, the descendants of the Seven Tribes vowed to repay this great love with their blood."

    "Milk saved lives?" Rody was again shaken. If Princess Ifis''s offer to marry the first enlistee shook him, then Queen Anna''s choice to save foreign warriors over her husband completely stirred his soul.

    "We are all descendants of the Seven Tribes," Jill looked up at Rody and whispered, "I''m glad you''ll join the army."

    "Ah, my initial intention to enlist was to enhance my abilities," Rody admitted, feeling selfish compared to Jill''s noble thoughts.

    "No matter, now that you know Felic''s proud history, your mindset will change," Hira nodded and smiled. "In Felic, the most admired men are soldiers. If you want a beauty''s favor or marry a great beauty, you really have to enlist. Rody, even if not for others, please join the army to protect your mother."

    "You are persuasive speakers, but you''ve convinced me," Rody smiled lightly. "I will join the army."

 Chapter 58: This Is Practically Murder

    When the windows and doors of the large classroom were opened, the wraiths screamed and fled into the light, escaping through a small hole in the ceiling. The only ones who managed to stay seated or standing in the entire classroom, apart from Rody, Jill, Sonia, Elizabeth, and Hira, who were of unfathomable strength, were the silver-haired Aron sitting silently and coolly in the distance. Beside him, the fire mage Andrew, who had allowed the wraiths to drain too much of his magic and life energy, leaned against a table, pale as a vampire, and on the verge of collapsing.

    The only ones barely standing, other than the incredibly strong Ollie, were the silent swordsman Benson. The tall Leo and the other three silver-armored youths had already fallen to the ground, unable to struggle to their feet.

    "I am your swordsmanship instructor; you may call me Sean," a stern middle-aged warrior, wearing shining armor and with a voice as firm as iron, stood at the doorway. "Those who can walk out of this classroom have an hour and a half, including lunch and rest, then meet me in the underground training ground. Come in and drag these fellows out." The middle-aged swordsman named Sean turned and left, and a crowd of attendants rushed in, carrying away the exhausted Tommy, Terry, and others.

    Before leaving, silver-haired Aron glanced at Rody, seemingly unintentional, and then took the lead to leave.

    "Rody, he is not one of us..." Benson surprisingly walked up to Rody, nodded, and slowly left.

    "The Felic Principality is full of talents, regardless of gender, but in reality, very few are truly loyal to the weak Felic Principality," Hira said with a graceful smile. "Aron''s several brothers are all outstanding talents, but they joined the Great Frey Country and the Church of Light, not serving in Felic. It''s uncertain what Aron''s future will be; hopefully, he will be a bit different from his brothers."

    "Why not persuade him to join Princess Ifis''s knight order? Maybe he''s interested," Rody inquired.

    "If a man is outstanding, does he need to worry about not having beauties? Would anyone, under equal conditions, choose to devote everything to a weak country? If there are such people, they must be very few," Elizabeth said playfully.

    "There will be," Rody said, glancing at the carried-out Tommy, Terry, and Leo, and smiled lightly.

    After lunch, when Rody was about to rest, Tommy and Terry, previously weakened, walked in with a grimace, their frailty seemingly vanished, and their bodies seemingly recovered.

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    "Darn, that recovery potion was so bitter and harsh, it was terribly hard to swallow!" Tommy returned and drank three bowls of water, still twisting his face in disgust.

    "I think that potion also had a stench of smelly feet..." Terry''s comment made Rody sweat.

    "How come you, a skinny man, are fine?" Ollie also entered, followed by the shy Jill. She was very dissatisfied with Rody and banged on the table, "Did you do something to make the wraiths only chase us? Speak, you despicable scoundrel!"

    Rody, lying comfortably, opened a book on alchemy and covered his face with it, falling asleep, completely ignoring her presence.

    "Too arrogant! I''ll kill you!" Ollie, furious, was about to draw her sword, but Jill held her back. Everyone else, expecting a good show, hid far away, holding their newly received lunches, eating and making faces.

    When Rody got up, the room was full of people again. Elizabeth, Hira, and the silver-eyed Sonia had also arrived.

    After chatting and laughing for a while, they all set off, led by two attendants, to the underground training ground.

    "I haven''t fully recovered yet, still feeling sore all over," Tommy, seeing Rody''s energetic sleep, was very envious. Although he also wanted to sleep, he didn''t want to miss the opportunity to talk with the beauties, so he could only envy Rody''s comfortable nap.

    "Actually, I''m quite doubtful that your body is all fat and has no bones," Terry hadn''t finished speaking before Tommy rushed over, ready to hit him. The only person Tommy could bully with force was Terry, and occasionally he could intellectually bully the muscular Leo, but not often.

    "Students, before I teach you swordsmanship, I will conduct a test," said Sean, the sword instructor, waiting for everyone at the entrance of the underground training ground. "There''s a corridor inside. Only those who can run to the other end and exit qualify to learn my swordsmanship."

    As soon as Sean finished speaking, a magical light wave flashed by. The students, puzzled, heard Sean continue, "

    In a minute, a stone sphere will roll down the corridor, flattening everyone in its path. If you dare attack, the sphere will cause a powerful explosion."

    "So, the idea is to run to the end exit before getting crushed by the stone sphere?" Terry asked, trembling.

    "Yes," Sean replied solemnly. "Thirty seconds left until the sphere rolls. Good luck!" He stepped back, and the door immediately closed tightly, causing everyone to scream in panic.

    "This area will explode in thirty seconds..." As soon as the magic amplifier started speaking, everyone frantically ran forward in horror.

    "I really regret coming to this damned magic academy, help!" Tommy, running the slowest, was likely to be the first to be flattened by the huge stone. Just as he found the entrance to the corridor, the roof above opened, revealing a massive black stone sphere, perfectly fitting the corridor. Seeing the sphere''s enormity, the students screamed, knowing there was no escape if it rolled over them. They had no choice but to flee into the corridor.

    "This isn''t schooling; this is practically murder!" Terry cried in terror, scrambling and crawling.

    "Now is the time for smart people to use their intelligence! Haha, smart people are truly different!" Tommy somehow produced a skateboard with smooth wheels, which glided effortlessly on the ground. He stood on it and quickly surpassed everyone.

    "Boring!" Silver-haired Aron, with a wave of his robe and a spin of his staff, flew forward like lightning, overtaking Tommy.

    "This is just a child''s trick!" Fire mage Andrew chanted a spell, bursting into flames that made him float easily, chasing after Aron and surpassing the astonished Tommy. The three silver-armored men also accelerated swiftly, passing Tommy one by one.

    "Hey, Rody, they''re cheating!" Tommy complained bitterly to Rody.

 Chapter 59: "Killing Without Bloodshed"

    "I wish I could cheat too, but sadly I don''t know how to use flight magic," Rody said, not even glancing at Tommy as he ran forward with the others.

    "Wait for me!" Tommy, the chubby boy, hurried after them on his skateboard as a huge boulder almost crushed him, boasting, "Who needs a skateboard? I have an extra one for sale, starting at one gold coin each. Rody, I''ll give you a 20% discount!"

    "You blockhead, let me tell you what real smart people do!" Thief Terry suddenly kicked Tommy down, stole his skateboard, and quickly slid away.

    "Help..." Tommy, seeing the boulder about to crush him, threw his other skateboard in a desperate attempt to slow it down. But the boulder, too massive, just rolled over the skateboard with a crunching sound. Terrified, Tommy nearly wet himself and scrambled up, following close behind Rody.

    "Tommy, do you know what I''m going to say? I have skateboards for sale too, but the starting price is five gold coins!" The group was sweating bullets upon hearing this, realizing that not only Tommy had the potential of a swindler, but also Rody, the most cunning of them all.

    "Dear classmate Rody, five gold coins is way too expensive, you know a skateboard only costs one silver coin..." Tommy tried to bargain.

    "I know." Rody smiled, looking at the panting Tommy. "Now, the price of a skateboard is ten gold coins. Since we''re classmates, I''ll give you a 20% discount. How about that? Aren''t you grateful to me?" Everyone almost fell over upon hearing this, never expecting Rody to be so ruthless.

    "Oh my god..." Seeing the boulder coming faster, Tommy, reaching his limit, yelled, "I''ll buy it!"

    "Why don''t you bargain? If you did, I was ready to sell it to you for twenty gold coins at half price," Rody chuckled. "By the way, Tommy, if you can solve a riddle, I''ll give it to you for free. Listen, there''s a cage with chickens and rabbits. There are 35 heads and 94 feet. How many chickens and rabbits are there?"

    "Let me die! I don''t want to live anymore!" Tommy was almost spitting blood.

    Everyone broke into a cold sweat, glad they hadn''t fallen into Rody''s hands, otherwise they might have been worse off than Tommy.

    "Rody, I''ll buy it for ten gold coins, okay? Please, just sell me the skateboard, I can''t hold on much longer!" Tommy was scared, preferring to spend ten gold coins rather than being crushed under the boulder.

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    "Alright, since you''re begging, I can''t just stand by and watch." Rody called out, "Terry, bring the skateboard here."

    "Here it is, Rody. About the two gold coins commission you mentioned..." Thief Terry returned, and everyone realized what was going on. Rody didn''t actually have a skateboard; it was a spur-of-the-moment plan, but not only did he trick Tommy, but it seemed that Thief Terry was his errand boy.

    "Two gold coins commission too little? Terry, name a fair price!" Rody''s smile was friendly, but it sent shivers down everyone''s spines.

    "No, two gold coins is too much. I insist on reducing it to one gold coin!" Terry was quick-witted.

    "Since you insist, I''ll reluctantly agree." Rody nodded, seemingly troubled.

    After taking ten gold coins from Tommy, Rody tossed one to Terry, signaling him to hand over the skateboard to Tommy. Terry carefully handed over the skateboard and quickly ran away. Tommy, on the skateboard, desperately chased after him, likely ready to break Terry''s bones. He didn''t dare to confront Rody but was thoroughly fed up with this thieving accomplice.

    Behind them, the boulder rolled thunderously, but Leo and Benson felt that Rody behind them was much more terrifying than the boulder. Being crushed by the boulder might leave some remains, but offending Rody, supposedly a novice magic apprentice here to study alchemy, might result in being devoured whole. One might even thank him and help count the money.

    "What a despicable guy!" Only the violent girl, Ophelia, was unafraid and scoffed sarcastically.

    "Despicable is my nickname," Rody replied nonchalantly with a smile.

    "You''re shameless," Ophelia fumed.

    "Shameless is my real name," Rody laughed heartily, not just him, but even Jill, who had been running silently, couldn''t help but cover her mouth and giggle.

    After running for a while, they came across a corner with an uphill staircase.

    Tommy and Terry, one with a black eye, rested there, seemingly having reached some agreement. They sat together, unlike the brutal fight everyone expected, leisurely watching others sweat it out, sipping water.

    "Don''t worry, the exit is up there. I just saw those guys run up," Tommy reassured everyone. "The boulder only turns at this corner and can''t climb, so we''re safe. Jill, Sheila, do you want some water? You''re beautiful ladies, so it''s free, but it''s different for stinky men. If Benson and Leo want some, it''s at least two silver coins each."

    Just then, a loud explosion came from above, followed by screams.

    "Are there traps up there?" Thief Terry spilled his water in fright, unable to stop shaking.

    "Sunny, what did you see?" Elizabeth asked Sonia, the girl with silver eyes. Sonia''s eyes flashed, and she nodded, "There are several self-destructing puppets patrolling above. Aaron and the others triggered three and went up. There are bloodstains on the stairs; someone got hurt."

    "Self-destructing puppets? Then we shouldn''t go up yet. Let''s try to clear them out one by one, preferably luring them down," Terry suggested.

    "Of course, we should lure them. I think you, the thief, are the best candidate!" Tommy snorted.

    "Wait, five more self-destructing puppets have been added, making seventeen now," Sonia, with unmatched distant vision, said, making Rody envious. Although he could detect things far away with his mental power, it wasn''t as clear as seeing with eyes and was mentally draining.

    "I guess that''s the case. The self-destructing puppets increase over time," Sheila deduced. "Every three minutes, five more appear. It''s been just over ten minutes, so if there were originally five, that makes sense. We can''t just wait here. We need to find a way to break through immediately."

    "If so, I''ll lure them away. You guys pass quickly!" Ophelia bravely stepped forward, almost moving everyone to tears.

    "Good, very good!" Rody suddenly clapped and laughed, praising her.

    "You''re coming with me to lure the self-destructing puppets! Do you want to see a girl face the explosion alone?" To everyone''s surprise, Ophelia pointed at Rody, demanding he join her in this deadly task.

    "Good, very good!" Rody continued to clap and laugh, still full of praise, leaving everyone bewildered.

 Chapter 60: Enemy Attack

    "Classmate Rody," Jill started to speak but then hesitated.

    "Why waste words on him? He''s as good as dead. Come with me!" The violent Ophelia forcefully grabbed Rody''s hand and dragged him along. The others broke into a sweat, few worried for Rody, mostly concerned that the impulsive Ophelia might suffer greatly.

    Soon, there was a loud noise from above. The group quickly rushed up.

    They saw Ophelia, her clothes torn and face covered in soot, desperately waving at them to hurry. She was leading several round self-destructing puppets away, and without a moment''s hesitation, everyone sprinted forward. Jill couldn''t see Rody and was extremely anxious, but Sonia held her hand, compelling her to follow the group.

    Reaching the tunnel''s exit, another huge explosion occurred, throwing Tommy and Terry to the ground with its force.

    "Ophelia, Classmate Rody!" Jill nearly burst into tears. Could they still be alive after such a terrifying explosion?

    "Why are you crying? I''m not dead!" Ophelia, covered in soot, appeared at the doorway, muttered something, and then collapsed, unconscious.

    "Everyone gather up, those who can move, follow me," ordered the swordsmanship instructor, Sean, who had just arrived. He instructed the attendants, "Revive these people."

    "Classmate Rody is still inside, instructor, please go save him..." Jill cried out, tears streaming down her cheeks.

    "There''s no sign of life inside, no need to go down," Sean shook his head, refusing outright. He ordered, "Assemble immediately. We''ll handle the rest. Your job is to follow orders."

    "What? Classmate Rody was definitely down there..." Jill was stunned. Sean''s statement meant Rody might have been killed in the explosion.

    "Maybe the instructor already rescued him," Sheila quickly comforted her. "Although many students get seriously injured in the annual tests, there have never been deaths. Classmate Rody must have been rescued by the instructor. Jill, believe in Rody. He''s a strong man; he won''t easily be in trouble."

    "Really?" Jill, half-believing and half-doubtful, saw Instructor Sean seal the exit. She kept looking back, hoping to see Rody''s figure.

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    In the magic surveillance room, Dean Burke observed the projected images on the wall meticulously.

    Beside him stood an angry female instructor.

    In a corner lay a man resembling a drunken cat, tall and muscular, dressed in tattered clothes, reeking of alcohol. His unruly hair partly concealed his thick eyebrows and scruffy beard, which looked unshaven for days.

    "How many intruders got in? How could you not notice? What if a student gets hurt?" the female instructor scolded angrily.

    "At least three. I suspect one is a 7th-tier assassin from the Ghost Stab group. The other two are skilled in magic disguise, or they couldn''t have fooled Sean as servants. I noticed something off, and Sean has already gone to assist the students. Except for Rody, everyone has safely escaped," Dean Burke explained. "The enemy first placed a dangerous explosive puppet at the tunnel exit and set fire and poison traps. Fortunately, Sean defused them early. Except for Aaron''s group, who arrived too quickly and got injured, Rody''s group was unharmed."

    "Rody is still inside? Could he be trying to clear the enemy?" The female instructor was surprised. "But how could he detect the invisible Ghost Stab in the dark?"

    "I don''t know, but he has secretly followed the enemy into a secret passage," Burke replied.

    "He''s just a child, how could you let him chase the enemy?" the female instructor scolded. "The talents emerging in Phileck are rarer than dragon descendants. Those useful to Phileck are one in a million. If something happens to Rody or Jill, I won''t forgive you!"

    "Drunkard, intercept the enemy outside. I''m heading out," Dean Burke said sternly. "Those people from Great Frey have overstepped. This time, they won''t return unscathed! Paji, stay here and guard against any sneak attacks."

    "Leaving now, I know what to do!" The female instructor, Paji, threw an ice ball at the drunkard''s head, causing Burke to hastily exit.

    "Good wine..." The drunkard, startled awake, burped.

    "If you''re not dead drunk, get moving! I''m furious seeing you lot!" Paji, losing her temper, seemed ready to summon a storm. Hearing her voice, the drunkard quickly sobered up and ran, dodging a series of ice balls.

    In the dark secret passage, Rody cautiously moved forward.

    From the beginning, he felt something was off. He couldn''t pinpoint it, but there was a strange sense of unease, making the underground training ground feel ominously dangerous.

    After learning psychic magic, Rody noticed a significant change in his mental power. Things that previously didn''t trigger his senses now garnered more attention.

    While running from the giant rolling boulder, Rody grew more vigilant. If there was to be a surprise attack, it would likely occur where it was safest and most unexpected. Trusting his instincts and caution, Rody covertly used the Obsidian Magic Mirror to inspect a suspicious dark spot, and was shocked.

    What appeared to be an inconspicuous stone wall was actually a disguised human male, with active energy at 216, a close-combat warrior type, medium lethality, hostile intent. Compared to the viewer''s strength, the danger level was one and a half stars.

    Assessment: A human with strong hostility, equivalent in strength to a 6th-tier Sword Shadow, difficult to defeat in combat.

    At that moment, Ophelia proposed to lure away the self-destructing puppets and specifically asked Rody to accompany her, which he agreed to. If everyone moved together, the enemy would likely launch a stealth attack during the puppet diversion. Rody didn''t think he was the target; he suspected the enemy was after Elizabeth, Sheila, Sonia, or Jill, particularly Elizabeth and Sheila due to their special status in Phileck.

    Sonia, with her silver eyes and psychic sensitivity, would be hard to assassinate.

    Jill, shy and timid, likely stayed indoors previously, unknown to the enemy. The enemy might target her as a five-star magic master of Ice and Flame, especially since Elizabeth and Sheila had mentioned they couldn''t participate in Great Frey''s deadly training, indirectly confirming their special status in Phileck.

    Rody, upon reaching the top, was more surprised. He sensed Sean secretly defusing magic traps, indicating he knew about the enemy''s invasion.

    Although Ophelia luring the self-destructing puppets was risky, Rody felt she was safe under Sean''s covert protection. He quietly backtracked and, during the explosion''s chaos, slipped past the stone wall, closely pursuing the retreating Shadow Thief.

 Chapter 61: Shadow Thief, Ghost Stabber

    "Are you looking for me?" Rody was stealthily moving forward when suddenly someone coldly asked from behind, causing a fine sweat to break out on his back.

    "Shadow Thief?" Without the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror, Rody would have been unable to gauge the opponent''s strength. This rhetorical question was mainly to undermine the enemy''s confidence, subtly reflecting his own discernment and strength, making the enemy hesitate to act rashly. Fighting a shadow thief in the dark secret passageway was indeed very dangerous, as the enemy could plunge a poisoned dagger into his heart at any moment.

    "Unexpectedly, a freshman from the Felik Magic Academy is able to see through my disguise and even has the courage to track someone with the abilities of a shadow thief," the man behind Rody said, making it difficult for Rody to estimate the opponent''s strength, without immediately launching an attack.

    "Unexpectedly, a mere shadow thief dares to enter the Felik Magic Academy to attack a freshman during the test," Rody retorted sharply, showing no sign of weakness.

    "What''s your name?" the shadow thief suddenly asked in a gentle voice. "If you come with me and swear to serve my country, I will not only spare your life but also protect you from Felik. We welcome outstanding young people like you in our country, whether you want to become the captain of the princess''s knight squad or the leader of the royal mage group. If you wish, I can find a Magic King to be your teacher."

    "Thank you," Rody replied with a smile. "To repay your kindness, I also have a suggestion. We at the magic academy also welcome bold shadow thieves like you, whether you want to become a dissected corpse in the laboratory or a specimen in the collection room. If you wish, I can find you an oak tree for your coffin."

    "You''ve got guts..." The shadow thief behind him was completely enraged, shaking with anger.

    "My courage is nothing compared to yours, who dares to run around with such weak strength. Don''t you know that as a small ant, you should stay in your place and never bite off more than you can chew?" Rody slowly turned around, facing the furious shadow thief with a smile on his face.

    "Die, you annoying brat!" Unable to contain his rage, the shadow thief lunged at Rody like lightning, with his poisoned dagger gleaming blue.

    A dark carnivorous vine burst out of the ground, whipping fiercely at the shadow thief''s legs, setting up several tripwires in the secret passageway. The shadow thief swept through like the wind, unaffected, roaring and slashing towards Rody''s throat. However, an old, decrepit goblin wizard suddenly appeared in front of Rody, his staff flashing with blinding electric light, crazily gathering lightning balls.

    The shadow thief was taken aback, realizing his young opponent was a powerful summoning mage, capable of summoning without chanting spells, especially the old goblin wizard whose magic power was terrifying. If he kept his distance, his chances of winning were uncertain.

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    When the poisoned dagger was about to pierce Rody''s throat, the shadow thief felt his sure-kill strike had missed.

    In place of the arrogant young man, a skeleton draped in a cloak appeared. The skeleton''s bony hand shimmered with a dark aura, and in an instant, the shadow thief felt blinded. The poisoned dagger slashed across the skeleton''s throat, its head instantly falling to the ground, but the shadow thief felt it miraculously caught the skull and placed it in his chest.

    Sharp teeth crazily bit into his chest and abdomen. The shadow thief''s fighting spirit exploded in a burst, sending the skeleton''s head flying and simultaneously retreating into a phantom.

    A bone shield smashed fiercely into the shadow thief''s back, making him wonder how an enemy could attack him from behind without him noticing.

    He hesitated for a moment, and the old goblin wizard''s lightning ball crashed onto the shadow thief, making him howl in pain, his fighting spirit dissipating.

    Rolling on the ground, the shadow thief threw out a magic cloak, hiding his form and restoring his blinded sight.

    "Rage." A cold voice sounded, and the shadow thief felt an uncontrollable anger erupting from within, overwhelming his sanity. He leapt out from his invisible cloak, wildly stabbing around with his dagger, until another fireball exploded on his head, quickly calming him down. Fortunately, his opponent was only a summoner with low offensive power, otherwise, he would have been in danger.

    "Hatred." The shadow thief saw the beheaded skeleton and behind it, that strange young man, his eyes flashing with purple light.

    An overwhelming hatred and loathing again dominated the shadow thief''s mind. He didn''t attack the spell caster but aimed at a small rabbit in front of him, as if it were his father''s killer. Roaring, he leapt towards the rabbit, shooting a fighting spirit condensed shadow dagger. Simultaneously, a thunderbolt struck him, crashing him to the ground.

    The carnivorous vine had already formed a net, capturing him and tightly binding him to the ground.

    In extreme pain but thankfully calm, the shadow thief tried to gather his fighting spirit to break free. Unexpectedly, a dark aura thrown by the headless skeleton weakened him, making his magic-protected skin inexplicably fragile. The carnivorous vine''s thorns deeply twisted into his flesh, spattering blood...

    "You''re a necromancer, this is weakening and damage enhancement!" the shadow thief finally realized that the strange young man was a necromancer.

    "Correct, but no prize," Rody replied, whipping his long-accumulated mental whip on the shadow thief''s head, causing him to scream, his face covered in blood, twisted in extreme pain.

    "You will be the one to die, definitely you!" The shadow thief''s blood-filled eyes saw Rody gathering a mental warhammer, suddenly screaming.

    "..." Rody saw a dagger protruding from his chest, but his face showed no surprise, instead, he sneered, "Even if I die, I''ll take you with me!" The mental warhammer shot out rapidly, smashing into the shadow thief''s chest, breaking a large piece. Rody slowly collapsed to the ground under the disbelieving gaze of the shadow thief.

    His dark servants, one by one, fell to the ground, and the skull of Nicholas uncontrollably rolled far away.

    The shadow thief crawled out of the dark carnivorous vine, reaching out tremblingly towards the darkness behind Rody, saying, "Save me..."

    "You''re beyond saving, I won''t waste my energy on you," a cold voice came from behind Rody, and suddenly a shadow-like thin man appeared. His pupil-less eyes strangely looked at Rody, who was weakening on the ground, and asked, "Kid, how did you know I was standing behind you?"

    "Although you were invisible and didn''t reveal any killing intent, your heart wanted to kill me, and I knew it," Rody replied, breathing weakly.

    "How did you become invisible just now? That wasn''t magic!" the shadow-like thin man asked again.

    "You have to swear eternal loyalty to me to know this secret," Rody replied, his chest bleeding more and more, his face growing paler, but still with a hint of a smile.

    "It''s strange, even though I stabbed your heart, I feel like you might escape death... Maybe, I should cut off your head to ensure you definitely die," the shadow-like thin man paused, then said.

    "Remember to do so next time, it''s too late now," Rody weakly replied. "Our dean is coming."

 Chapter 62: Weirdos, All Weirdos

    "Save me, I''m not fatally injured," the shadow thief struggled to rise, pleading with the thin man for help. "I have a powerful healing potion; I just need five minutes to recover. Take me with you, I only need five minutes."

    "The seed of a carnivorous vine has been planted inside you; there''s no saving you," the thin man coldly sneered. "You can''t even defeat a child, what use is saving you? If I had five minutes, I would have already abducted this kid and wouldn''t be wasting words with you! Buck, you arrived quickly, I thought another decoy could delay you for a while, but his life couldn''t even buy me a minute."

    "In my territory, you seem to have no right to speak so loudly," Dean Buck emerged from the darkness, casually tossing a bloody head, coldly saying, "Make your last words. I give you one minute."

    "Brandon!" The shadow thief recognized his companion''s head rolling on the ground.

    "I spared your proud student, now let me go!" The thin man pointed at Rody, calmly saying, "If I try to escape, I might get seriously injured, but you can''t kill me. However, I''d prefer to leave unscathed. What do you think of my proposal?"

    "Is that your last wish?" Dean Buck coldly replied, "I don''t think it''s a good proposal."

    "In that case, I''ll send him to hell first!" The thin man''s hands shone brightly, striking heavily at Rody on the ground. The entire secret passage shook, walls collapsed, the ground cracked like a spider web, and rocks flew. Buck disappeared, and the thin man screamed, a long blood rainbow streaking through the darkness, vanishing at the end of the passage.

    "Little Rody, you''re not dead yet, are you?" Dean Buck stepped out of the dust, holding a bloody arm, casually tossing it aside, and looked down at the cratered rocky ground where the thin man had hit Rody, asking warmly.

    "I''m close, dying," Rody suddenly appeared, floating above the original ground, then harshly fell into the pit, painfully saying.

    "I''m also very curious, how did you survive a heart-piercing stab? And, this invisibility, did you hide yourself in a storage space? You know, usually, people enter a dormant state in a storage space. How did you release yourself from a thoughtless dormant state?" Dean Buck asked curiously.

    "Dean Buck, did I ask how you tore off Ghost Stabber''s arm?" Rody closed his eyes and said, "Everyone has their secrets. You have yours, and I have mine."

    "It seems you''re still a fake necromancer," Dean Buck saw Rody control Nicholas'' severed head to carefully pick him up, wondering.

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    "Which eye of yours saw me as fake? If I''m a fake necromancer, then you''re a fake dean!" Rody, in pain, breathed heavily, drinking several gulps of a healing potion, frowning, "Can''t this healing potion be sweet?"

    "I''m a genuine dean, although with a low position, no doubt about it," Dean Buck chuckled. "As for you, who considers himself a genuine necromancer, Rody, do you know how your dark servants are different from others? Dark servants usually have their consciousness and require a somewhat equal magical contract to maintain the relationship between master and servant. Unlike yours, where dark servants not only lack consciousness but also unconditionally obey you."

    "Dark servants have consciousness?" Rody was shocked, gaping in disbelief.

    "You didn''t know?" Dean Buck was even more astonished, both staring wide-eyed.

    "What''s going on?" Rody, unable to believe that necromancers'' dark servants all have consciousness, blurted out, "Do the skeletons summoned by necromancers have consciousness? How is that possible!"

    "Of course, temporarily summoned skeleton warriors don''t, but dark servants and summoned skeletons are completely different. Dear Rody, you didn''t even know this!" Dean Buck laughed strangely. "By the way, did you sign a contract with the Dark God to become a necromancer? Don''t tell me you learned necromancy without signing a demonic contract."

    "..." Rody was dizzy, hearing about the Dark God for the first time. Nicholas hadn''t mentioned this in the magic notes.

    "Congratulations, Rody, you might be the first person in history to use magical power without signing a contract with a deity!" Dean Buck clapped, laughing loudly. "I said you seemed odd, turns out you really don''t know anything!"

    "Dean Buck, which deity do you believe in?" Rody couldn''t help asking.

    "That''s a secret," Dean Buck smiled mysteriously. "But I can reveal a bit. The strong in our Felik Principality believe in the Earth God, unlike other countries that believe in the Heavenly Gods."

    "What happens if you use magical power without believing in a deity?" Rody asked again.

    "I don''t know, you''re the first," Dean Buck laughed, shaking his head. "What you feel, the consequences, you should ask yourself. By the way, I''m curious, what does it feel like? Can you tell me?"

    "It feels great!" Rody, seeing Dean Buck''s envy, deliberately teased him.

    "You might have some prospects, but it''s hard to say. Without a deity''s protection, you could die at any moment!" Dean Buck, disliking Rody''s smugness, deliberately taunted him. Rody chuckled, not angry, pointing at his chest, "Killing me won''t be easy. Do you want to know how I fooled Ghost Stabber''s heart-piercing stab?"

    "How did you do it?" Dean Buck was really curious.

    "That''s a secret," Rody mimicked Dean Buck''s mysterious manner, smiling, "But I can reveal a bit. My heart can be temporarily controlled by mental power, unlike ordinary people."

    "So, that dagger didn''t hit your heart..." Dean Buck laughed loudly. "Good boy, you really have the potential to be a trickster."

    "What are you doing? He''s severely injured and dying, and you''re just chatting with him, not even trying to save him!" A beautiful tutor flew in, an ice ball encasing the shadow thief on the ground, who was watching the dark carnivorous vine growing from his chest and refusing to die. Within three seconds, the entire body exploded into icy fragments, making Rody feel heartbroken. His carnivorous vine, grown from blood, was easily killed by the tutor.

    "I, I don''t know healing magic," Dean Buck, like a mouse seeing a cat, lost his spirit, only daring to answer softly.

    "Apart from causing destruction, what else can you do! Go away!" The beautiful tutor scolded, then waved her wand, creating a huge, cool water ball around Rody, comfortably lulling him into a drowsy sleep, his wounds slowly healing.

    "Weirdo, he has resistance to water magic, no wonder he''s not afraid of poison," Dean Buck noted.

    "Who said he''s not afraid? If it''s strong poison, he''s bound to die!" The beautiful tutor huffed, "Take him back, and think of an excuse to make the students believe this is part of the test, to avoid panic."

    In a dense forest on the outskirts of Felik City, the thin man, like a shadow, flew.

    His right arm was broken, his left chest muscle gone, revealing stark white bones. If Buck''s strike had been a little deeper, he would have died on the spot.

    "That was close. Buck is indeed as terrifying as the legends say. This guy can''t be provoked for now, I need to hurry back," the thin man looked behind, relieved to see no pursuers, and was about to drink a healing potion when he was surprised to find a drunkard lying under a tree, curled up, sound asleep.

    "Drunk Swordsman, it''s you!" The thin man screamed in fear.

 Chapter 63: Unique Lessons from the Beautiful Tutor

    In a daze, Rody felt as if he was surrounded and involuntarily dragged to a square, placed on a pyre, and burned while countless people watched. He was extremely angry but strangely powerless to struggle. Suddenly, he saw his tearful mother reaching out to him, prompting him to cry out and then abruptly wake up...

    "Ha ha, Rody, Dean Buck said you''re the first student to faint from falling down the stairs after luring a self-destructing puppet. Congratulations." As soon as Rody opened his eyes, he saw Tommy''s chubby face.

    "I always said he''s good for nothing. Since he''s not dead, I''m leaving!" Violent girl Ollie was also there, turning to leave as she spoke.

    "Where are Leo and Benson?" Rody looked around and noticed their absence.

    "They''re learning swordsmanship with Sean. We''re mages, lacking the talent for swords, so the tutor sent us back," Hila smiled. "Although I''m a bit envious, after seeing Sean''s training methods, I think it''s better to be sent back early, to avoid the torture."

    "It''s good that you''re okay, Rody," Jill''s voice, always as soft as a mosquito''s, was clearly audible to Rody this time, and he found it somewhat touching.

    "Lucky for you, I''m in a good mood today. I''ll cook dinner for everyone to try!" Elizabeth announced generously.

    "No, please, your cooking skills are not something to be praised! Spare us!" Sonya, the silver-eyed girl who rarely spoke, quickly intervened upon hearing Elizabeth''s offer to cook, her comment causing everyone to exchange anxious glances. How bad must Elizabeth''s cooking be to instill such fear in Sonya?

    The next day, to everyone''s surprise, the morning class was taught by the beautiful tutor. Seeing Margaret walk in, Tommy, Terry, and others'' eyes lit up.

    The beautiful tutor didn''t bring anything for the class, making Rody initially think she would distribute a magic book to everyone.

    "From now on, I will teach the class in the magical language. Don''t ask me if you don''t understand. If you don''t want to attend my class, then leave." Despite her beauty, the tutor was famously temperamental at Felik. As soon as she spoke, even Dean Buck listened attentively, so the students all behaved, not daring to object or even move, fearing her icy magical retribution.

    "Margaret tutor, can we have a magic notebook during the class?" Rody thought having a book to refer to would be helpful, regardless of the language used.

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    "Speak only when I ask a question or grant permission," the tutor glared at Rody, adding, "Of course, there is a magic notebook, but you can only look at it for five minutes."

    She handed a book to Hila at the front and placed a magical hourglass on the table before leaving.

    Everyone was startled. Fifteen people sharing one book for five minutes? How many could have a turn? How much could each person read and remember? If they didn''t take turns, could the class even be conducted? Although everyone understood a bit of the magical language, limited to simple chants or praises, comprehending a lecture was like hearing thunder to a duck...

    "Let''s draw lots!" suggested Tommy. "It''s the fairest way."

    "Magic novices like you won''t understand it anyway. Aaron, me, Hila, Elizabeth, Sonya, each gets one minute," declared Andrew, a fire mage. "One- and two-star apprentices who can''t even conjure a small fireball shouldn''t waste our precious time."

    "That''s unfair!" Leo stood up angrily. "We''re students too and have the right to read!"

    "Rody, what''s your opinion?" asked Hila.

    "I think if you read it out loud now, we can at least jot down a bit. If we keep arguing, we''ll lose even this little time," Rody suggested, prompting everyone to hurriedly search for paper and pen. Silver-haired Aaron glanced at Rody but remained silent and didn''t prepare to write. Elizabeth and Sonya also stayed seated, apparently intending to memorize internally.

    "..." Seeing Rody without paper, Jill silently handed him an extra set.

    "I''m a one-star novice mage; I don''t need this," Rody gently declined, pushing the paper back. Jill glanced at Rody, then bowed her head and began writing with both hands, following Hila''s reading, simultaneously recording on two sheets of paper.

    Rody watched in surprise but didn''t interfere.

    In fact, as soon as the tutor left the room, he had already extended his mental power to peek into the magic notebook. He had learned an elderly man''s reading method in the Divine Domain Ruins¡ªusing the mind to connect and perceive the magic book. Although the tutor''s book wasn''t

    as mysterious as ancient magic scriptures, Rody could sense her unique magic insights and even faintly perceive her images while recording the notebook.

    The tutor''s magic notebook wasn''t thick, but it was rich in content. Rody felt like he had entered a vast garden filled with flowers, or a treasure trove, dazzled by the choices. He seemed to comprehend much at once yet couldn''t fully grasp a single magic, yearning for more time in this perception.

    Every extra second seemed to bring a slight improvement.

    But the five minutes flew by, and the tutor reappeared as the last grains of sand fell in the hourglass.

    "Next time, the reading time will be reduced to four minutes and thirty seconds," announced the tutor, eyeing the reluctant students. "Each class will see a reduction until we reach the last thirty seconds, cutting five seconds each time. Remember, a magic notebook contains a mage''s life''s work, precious insights and understanding. Besides lending to students, no one shares their magic notebook with others."

    The students looked at each other, beginning to appreciate the value of even five minutes of reading time.

    "In the academy, I control the library keys. You may borrow books, but only those matching your magic attribute," the tutor said sternly. "Life and energy are limited; you can''t master all magic or specialize in all types. I won''t waste time on students who are jack-of-all-trades. To learn magic from me, you must choose and focus on magic that matches your attribute, which is most beneficial for improvement. Every borrowing requires passing my test."

    Rody now understood why the tutor previously forbade him from sneaking into the library. With so many magic books, it''s better to focus on mastering one type of magic. Her direction to visit an altar seemed like a test or hint. However, he was taken to the Divine Domain Ruins for assessment before reaching the altar, leaving that mystery unsolved.

    Although the ancient magic book contained various magic types, the tutor''s words affirmed Rody''s determination to focus on mental and soul magic. Being a jack-of-all-trades pales in comparison to mastering one.

 Chapter 64: Turning Faces Faster Than Flipping Books

    After a few days of classes, Rody found that in the vast academy, there were only five actual instructors. Each of them had their unique teaching style, sometimes amusingly so. In the Magic Academy, only freshmen attended classes; older students followed a ''free-range'' approach, relying entirely on self-discipline. They could play, practice, date, go on external training expeditions, form mercenary teams, join national army campaigns against bandits, and even stay away from the academy for days or weeks. Essentially, students were free to do whatever they wanted without any supervision.

    One surprising aspect for Tommy and others was the profound respect, or rather fear, that all students had for their instructors. The seemingly amiable Dean Buck was secretly referred to as the ''Demon Dean.''

    As for the beautiful tutor, she was feared like a tiger, and students dared not even gossip about her. Instructor Sean, whom students called ''Stone Mill,'' was notorious for grinding students down just like milling beans, often breaking them before they could fully develop their potential. Leo and Benson could attest to this.

    Besides them, there was an instructor nicknamed ''Drunken Cat,'' seemingly named David, but everyone called him Drunken Cat. He taught tactical classes but spent most of his time either drinking or sleeping. During classes, he was usually carried into the classroom, where a magical map was hung, and tactical materials distributed for students to study independently. Near the end of the class, he would be carried out again. Rody had seen Drunken Cat carried in and out several times, hearing nothing but his snoring and drunken mumblings about good wine.

    Once, Rody considered pouring water over Drunken Cat''s head to sober him up, but this idea terrified the thief Terry, who claimed that Drunken Cat, upon awakening, could turn murderous. His strength was unknown, but he had reportedly killed over six hundred orc berserkers in one night, including two orc Blood Axe Barbarians and an Orc Shaman Witch King.

    The last instructor was a kind-hearted old lady named Donna, with snow-white hair and a face full of wrinkles but spirited, wearing reading glasses. She taught social etiquette, was well-versed in poetry, dance, and courtly manners, and had extensive knowledge of various languages and customs. Her only flaw was poor eyesight, often mistaking Tommy for Terry and vice versa. Her classes were the most popular, as she not only was amiable but also liked to introduce students to potential partners. It was said that the current king and queen were her students, matched by her. In Felik''s capital, at least half of the noble couples were either introduced or wed by Donna.

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    "Social etiquette is important. Imagine defeating enemies through diplomacy instead of bloody battles. Isn''t that more delightful?" Donna, a pacifist, always advocated for winning without fighting.

    "Victory? The most exhilarating one is earned through blood and battle! The medals of a man are the scars on his body!" Dean Buck, when teaching, often passionately recounted battles, teaching how to fight enemies in bloodshed, use swords, axes, spears, bows, and shields, and even how to bandage wounds and continue fighting. Sometimes, he discussed countering magical attacks with swords, captivating students like legendary tales. Rody often had to remind this overzealous man that he was supposed to be teaching magical theory.

    Rody doubted Dean Buck''s magical prowess, despite his claims of being a powerful Mage King. Rody was more inclined to believe he was a Sword Emperor who revered violence and war.

    Dean Buck had a notorious trait of turning faces faster than flipping books, known for his unpredictable mood swings. For instance, he might be friendly one moment, planning to visit a tavern with Tommy, and the next, he could hang Tommy up for servants to beat or throw him into a cage with Wind Wolves, continuing the class while sipping wine...

    The students unanimously agreed that ''Demon Dean'' was an apt nickname.

    Life at Felik Magic Academy was interesting, and Rody found it fulfilling. He especially valued the time to study his ancient magic book and practice mental magic, eager to continuously improve his skills. The prospect of such rapid advancement made him wish these days would never end. However, before ten days of classes passed, Dean Buck cheerfully announced a hiking and barbecue outing, causing Rody to feel dizzy at the thought of wasting valuable study time.

    "Great idea, long live the Dean!" Tommy was among the enthusiastic supporters.

    "I''ll cook the barbecue!" volunteered Elizabeth, to the dismay of Hila and Sonya.

    "Where will the barbecue be, Dean Buck? Can we opt out and self-study instead?" asked silver-haired Aaron, clearly more interested in magic, like Rody, than in the outing.

    "Dear Aaron, you should love collective activities. Everyone should actively participate in class events. Do I need to remind you of the student behavior code?" Dean Buck''s smiling face implied an imminent mood change, a sign everyone recognized.

    "I''ll definitely participate," Aaron quickly agreed, not wanting to provoke Dean Buck''s wrath.

    "That''s the spirit. Rody, you''ll be in charge of grilling Ashabaruk meat. Jill will handle the ice wine, Tommy and Terry the firewood, Leo and Benson the tents... Everyone has a task. I''ve written a perfect plan here; take a look at the division of labor," said Dean Buck, handing out a paper and leaving the stunned students behind.

    "What is Ashabaruk?" Rody wondered, recalling that his brother Lot had reportedly slain such a beast.

 Chapter 65: Soulbreak Slope

    "Baruk is a magical lizard, and ''Asha'' is a dialect in some regions, meaning ''hybrid dragon'' or ''dragon breed.'' Oh my, we are going to face a dragon-breed magical lizard! An adult dragon-breed magical lizard is at least a level five magical beast!" Hila''s knowledgeable response caused everyone to break out in a cold sweat. The Demon Dean''s plan to eat the meat of an Ashabaruk meant they were fortunate if the creature didn''t eat them first.

    "Not level five, but level six," Elizabeth exclaimed after reading the paper. "The strongest beast on Soulbreak Slope, a level six Petrifying Magical Lizard, twenty-five meters long, immune to fire and poison, naturally capable of ''Petrification'' and ''Earth Split'' magic. It¡¯s a Class A bounty in the Mercenary Guild, with a reward of 1,500 gold coins. But no mercenary group has been able to complete this task in the past five years, with at least three hundred mercenaries buried on Soulbreak Slope¡­"

    "I want to drop out!" Tommy, the chubby boy, almost cried out.

    "Good, this magical beast is my prey now!" Silver-haired Aaron snorted proudly, though his face paled slightly as he left the classroom.

    Rody couldn''t estimate the power of a level six magical beast, but he knew a level seven Black Dragon noble, Alfred, could almost flatten an entire valley in a fight with a nine-headed monster lord. A human Sword Emperor of level eight was beaten to the brink of death by it. Currently, the dark gold severed hand and foot from that fight were still in Rody''s storage space.

    Leo was agitated, unable to sit still, while even the usually stoic Benson paced around, showing his inner turmoil.

    "Rody," Jill looked up at him but didn''t continue. Rody understood what the shy girl wanted to say and nodded, speaking softly, "There will be a way."

    "According to the information, the magical beast is exceptionally strong, and Soulbreak Slope is extremely dangerous. We need to prepare weapons, armor, and magic potions as soon as possible. Also, everyone should state their strengths and capabilities. We need to combine our talents and power to devise a winning strategy," Elizabeth encouraged. "Alone, we can''t defeat a powerful level six magical beast, but together, we can defeat a formidable enemy!"

    "You''re right, we must work together," Ollie slammed the table and said loudly, "I''ll start. I''m Ollie, skilled in heavy swordsmanship and Flame Split battle aura, a level five endurance-type great swordsman."

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    "Benson, a level five defense-type great swordsman, skilled in defense, with level three ''Iron Wall'' battle aura," Benson announced.

    "I''m Leonard, a level four strength-type swordsman, good at assaults and heavy slashing, trained in basic ''Stone Chop'' battle aura," Leo said, a bit embarrassed. "My battle aura use isn¡¯t very skilled; I might only be able to help a little."

    "My turn." Tommy stood up proudly, saying, "I, brave Thomas, am a two-star magic apprentice¡­"

    "Get lost! A two-star magic apprentice who can''t even cast a fireball, and you dare show off here?" Thief Terry kicked Tommy, laughing mockishly. "Even I, a four-star rogue and three-star junior mage, don¡¯t dare speak up. What right do you have? Ah, help, this fatso is biting me!"

    Tommy was no match for anyone else but was Terry''s natural nemesis.

    Rody wanted to speak, but Ollie glared at him fiercely, probably not wanting to hear him admit he was a one-star magic apprentice, as it would be demoralizing.

    "I am a five-star wind mage, with minor training in water magic," Elizabeth introduced herself.

    "Water mage, five stars, specializing in exorcism and poison. If anyone needs magic staff recharging, I can help," Hila smiled.

    "Six-pointed star, soul mage, Remote Viewing, Petrification, Intimidation, Clamping, Mind Whip, Soul Fear..." Sonya listed a series of unfamiliar magic terms. She seemed unaware of her uniqueness, adding, "The downside is that casting each spell requires great mental power, needing several days to recover."

    "I¡¯m similar to Sonya, slow magic recovery," Jill said softly, though everyone knew she was an advanced five-star ice and fire mage.

    Elizabeth listed everyone''s abilities, discussed combat cooperation, and led a discussion on the best battle strategies. With agile thieves, well-balanced great swordsmen, and powerful long-range mages, they stood a chance against formidable foes. Especially Sonya¡ªif she could unleash her full potential, the battle''s outcome might exceed expectations.

    Regrettably, Tommy, a two-star magic apprentice, and Rody, a one-star novice mage, couldn¡¯t offer much help. They couldn''t use battle aura or cast magic.

    "You, donate a hundred gold coins for everyone''s equipment!" Ollie pointed at Rody. "We all need money now¡­ Speak up!"

    "Okay." Rody, the group''s little rich boy, agreed, to everyone¡¯s joy. With a hundred gold coins for equipment, they could purchase much better gear than with their meager savings. Especially Leo, Terry, and Ollie, who were penniless and poorly equipped, with Leo lacking even armor.

    "I''ll also donate ten gold coins," Tommy said, reluctantly.

    "Use your ten gold coins to buy some armor for yourself. We don¡¯t expect you to fight monsters, just stay alive!" Ollie snorted. "Don''t worry, it''s only a temporary support. Once we kill Ashabaruk, we''ll repay you!"

    "Thank you so much!" Tommy rejoiced. "Those ten gold coins are my life savings. It''s touching to have them compensated!"

    "You''ll probably never find a partner¡­" Terry''s comment was cut short as Tommy furiously pounced on him, shouting, "What did you say? Marrying a beauty is my life''s goal! How dare you shatter my dreams? I''ll kill you!"

    A breeze blew by, revealing that everyone else had already left Tommy and Terry alone.

    The two stared at each other, speechless.

    "Rody," Jill caught up, whispering, "Ollie just wanted you to contribute too. She didn''t mean any harm."

    "It''s okay." Rody smiled softly. "She''s right. As a member of the class, I should contribute."

    "Brother, where''s my windmill?" A cute child ran up, extending her hands and cheerfully asking, "Is my windmill ready? Let me see, show me!"

    "Ah..." Rody realized he had forgotten about it.

 Chapter 66: Ancient Secret

    "Rody, look this way," Dean Buck, who appeared out of nowhere, waved at Rody from a distance, signaling him to come over for a chat. Rody comforted Alice, promising to make her a big windmill next time. After repeatedly assuring her, Alice''s tearful eyes finally brightened, and she happily walked away holding Jill''s hand.

    "Dean, I''m fine with dining together, but forget about borrowing money," Rody was the only one who dared to speak like this to Dean Buck.

    "Who said anything about borrowing money?" Dean Buck laughed heartily. "I just saw you looking down and wanted to offer some great teacherly love and care. Where did your mind wander? I know a new tavern where drinks are at a discount and there are beauties dancing in lion cages. How about we check it out?"

    "You should invite Tommy," Rody shook his head. "I''m not even eighteen yet, I can''t drink."

    Dean Buck was flabbergasted, looking as surprised as if he''d heard that a fish drowned in water. After a while, he asked, "Rody, don''t you think being a good kid has no future? Have you considered that?"

    "Alright, when I''ve thought it over, I''ll let you know," Rody replied, turning to leave. Dean Buck quickly stopped him.

    "Let''s talk seriously," Dean Buck said with a grin. "You seemed to disapprove of my suggestion for a hiking and barbecue trip, didn''t you, Rody?"

    "I think it''s not a picnic, it''s a death trip!" Rody replied calmly.

    "Don''t you think that in a stifling predicament, a student''s abilities can be greatly enhanced?" Dean Buck said with a weird smile. "Nothing in this world is impossible, it''s just about giving it your all. If you decide it''s impossible from the start, then you''ll never succeed in anything. No matter how powerful the level six Ashabaruk is, it''s still just a beast! Do you know the biggest difference between humans and beasts? Intelligence! Humans have intelligence that surpasses everything, while beasts, no matter how smart, are still just instinct-driven."

    "Nice speech. Should I applaud?" Rody asked indifferently.

    Dean Buck was momentarily speechless but quickly recovered, laughing and clapping. "Alright, let''s switch to a lighter topic, something you might be interested in. Rody, do you know the difference between humans and gods?"

    "I don''t know," Rody shook his head, then asked, "What''s the difference?"

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    "The biggest difference between humans and gods is that gods possess far greater powers than humans," Dean Buck affirmed earnestly.

    "Nonsense," Rody turned and walked away without looking back at Dean Buck.

    "Wait, you didn''t understand what I meant," Dean Buck appeared in front of Rody, smiling. "Sometimes it pays to listen intently, young man. I didn''t come up with that saying. An old man once told me that. At first, I didn''t understand either, but after many experiences, I looked back and realized how true it was."

    "I''m listening, please continue," Rody said, slightly moved and finally ready to hear what Dean Buck had to say.

    "This is an ancient secret, I don''t tell just anyone," Dean Buck boasted. "Humans and gods are very similar; even humans can break through and ascend to godhood. But why can''t everyone do it? What''s the difference between humans and gods? The mystery has been explored for ages."

    "Are you saying those who explore or understand this mystery have become gods?" Rody asked.

    "No, those who explore and understand this mystery have only found the ladder to heaven, but there''s still a long way to become a true god," Dean Buck said with a smile. "It''s like we can all look at the stars and the moon in the sky, but reaching out to touch them is impossible. But knowing this secret is better than being blind to everything!"

    Rody nodded silently, pondering for a long time before asking, "What is this mystery?"

    "The biggest difference between humans and gods is in their abilities," Dean Buck said solemnly. "Humans are weak, while gods possess immense power. On the surface, it seems so, but digging deeper, we find that humans are weak because their power is suppressed. Or, to put it another way, human bodies are bound by a law that even gods can''t easily unlock. Most humans live their lives as ordinary people. Those affected less by this law become mages or swordsmen. Those who break this binding can transcend limits and enter godhood."

    "Who placed this binding law on humans? The God of Light?" Rody asked in surprise.

    "I don''t know, maybe the ancient original gods from the primordial or ancient times," Dean Buck said. "This binding has its downsides and upsides. The downside, as mentioned, condemns humans to a lifetime of mediocrity and weakness."

    "The upside?" Rody asked curiously. "There''s a benefit to being bound?"

    "Yes," Dean Buck affirmed. "Because of their weakness, humans grow faster than any other species. An elf might need three hundred years or more to become a Mage King, and that''s the best among them. But a human, given the right conditions, might need only thirty years or even less. Some exceptional talents might reach Mage King in just ten years, unimaginable for any other species, including heavenly gods and hellish demons. Once the binding is broken, a human could ascend to godhood or even become a chief god in just a hundred years or so, a feat that would take other races thousands or tens of thousands of years."

    "Do all humans have different binding strengths?" Rody asked.

    "Of course, but nearly all humans are bound to below thirty percent of their potential," Dean Buck smiled. "Even a Law Saint is just using thirty percent of his power, yet he is already an invincible Law Saint."

    Rody was amazed. If a Law Saint only used thirty percent of their power, what would it be like at one hundred percent? And what about ordinary people? One percent? One-thousandth or one ten-thousandth?

    "Every person is different," Dean Buck chuckled. "Some are suppressed below five percent, which includes most ordinary people. Some have ten percent, which are common swordsmen and mages. Some are at twenty percent, who, if fully developed, would be Sword Emperors and Mage Kings. Some are at thirty percent, who could become Sword Saints and Law Saints with luck and effort. And those who break this binding could become gods. The difference between heavenly gods and humans is that gods are born with higher potential, mostly above thirty percent, regardless of whether they reach Sword Saint or Mage King. That''s why gods grow higher than humans with ease."

    "I understand," Rody nodded and asked, "Why are you suddenly telling me all this?"

    "I say this to every student with astonishing potential. You''re not an exception," Dean Buck laughed heartily and walked away.

 Chapter 67: Divine Artifact

    Rody stood still, deep in thought. He felt that what Dean Buck had said aligned somewhat with his own assessments using the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror and the evaluation of the divine servants.

    The assessments of the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror and the divine servants were more similar, both using star emblems as indicators. However, upon closer examination, Rody found a correlation between Dean Buck''s statement about people only having five percent of their potential and the half-star rating seen in the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror. If this was true, then the black servants he had were reasonable; as ordinary humans, Marcus and Emma both had half-star potential, while Nicholas, a high-level mage, had one and a half stars of potential.

    An old goblin wizard with the strength of a six-pointed star magic master was considered decent, but as a goblin, he only had half-star potential. As a magical beast, Cato had two stars of potential, indicating that magical beasts and humans are subject to different restrictions.

    Even the merged mantis and the seemingly weak bone pet rabbit had potentials of two and a half stars and one and a half stars, respectively. It was hard for Rody to imagine a rabbit having the same potential as Nicholas, and two palm-sized mantises surpassing the potential of a high-level mage by a whole star.

    It seemed that the focus of contracting black servants in the future should not be on human swordsmen or mages, whose potentials are destined to be low, but on magical beasts.

    However, Rody later thought about his own seven-star potential, which seemed incredible. If a Sword Saint or Law Saint only utilized thirty percent of their potential, equivalent to about three stars, then his seven-star potential was frighteningly high. Rody was anxious because the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror couldn''t see his own potential, leaving no way to confirm this as fact.

    Rody discreetly used the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror to observe people passing by, but didn''t find anyone over one star. He saw many swordsmen, but the highest was only one star, with over ninety percent of people having only half-star soul potential.

    "What are you doing, Rody?" The beautiful tutor''s voice came from behind. To Rody''s shock, the Magic Mirror''s assessment read, "Observation target''s strength is too far from the observer, unable to judge." Previously, the strongest person Rody had observed with the mirror was a level six swordsman, but using it to observe the non-hostile beautiful tutor resulted in "unable to judge."

    "Idiot, don''t you know it''s rude to probe others'' strengths like that?" the tutor scolded upon seeing the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror on Rody''s face. "Keep good things carefully hidden. If gods, demons, or those in the Temple of Light learn about it, your life will be in danger!"

    "Got it," Rody hastily put away the mirror.

    "Ask quickly if you have questions; I don¡¯t have time to dawdle. If not, I''m leaving," the tutor turned to leave, then added, "I came to tell you one thing: during the trial, or in the future, no matter what happens, you must protect Jill. She is Felik''s treasure and cannot be harmed, understand?"

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    "My abilities are limited..." Rody felt this task was not easy.

    "Of course, your abilities are very limited. Since you¡¯re aware, work even harder!" the tutor snorted. "If there¡¯s nothing else, I''m leaving."

    "Wait," seeing the tutor in a relatively good mood, Rody quickly seized the rare opportunity to ask, "Does the one-star soul potential seen in the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror correspond to the ten percent potential mentioned by the Dean?"

    "Soul potential and physical potential aren''t exactly the same, but they are similar. Soul potential is stricter. If someone has one-star soul potential, they definitely have ten percent potential, but the reverse isn''t necessarily true. It''s complicated, but you''ll understand eventually," the tutor explained impatiently, then asked, "Who took you to the Divine Domain Ruins? You shouldn''t have gone there yet. If people find out you''ve been assessed, it won''t be good."

    "My guide was called Eracles. Do you know him?" Rody was eager to know the identity of those mysterious old men.

    "So it was him," the tutor nodded without much reaction. Rody couldn''t determine Eracles'' strength or weakness, but one thing was clear: the tutor knew this middle-aged man and had probably been assessed herself. After scrutinizing Rody, she asked, "What was the divine servant''s assessment of you?"

    "Over five stars," Rody didn''t reveal the truth but wanted to gauge how high five stars were.

    "Listen, Rody, I¡¯m serious. Don¡¯t forget a word I say," the tutor''s expression turned grave, speaking into Rody''s ear with a magical voice transmission, "No matter who asks you in the future, you must not say you have more than five-star potential, or you will be eliminated immediately! Even a god, upon learning there''s a human with more than five-star potential, will consider killing them!"

    "I understand..." Rody broke out in a cold sweat, feeling overwhelmed by the tutor''s seriousness.

    Now, he realized just how unimaginably high seven-star potential was. No wonder those old men residing in the Divine Domain Ruins, detached from worldly affairs, favored him so much, gifting him the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror and the magic ancient book. They had unspoken intentions.

    By giving him the ancient book, they helped him practice and break through his current realm. The mirror was given to detect powerful enemies to avoid being killed unknowingly. Those old men in the Divine Domain Ruins truly had deep intentions, and Rody felt embarrassed, having previously misunderstood their motives.

    He had told them about his seven-star potential, but none of them had the intention to harm him; instead, they assisted him covertly.

    "Their broad-mindedness is beyond imagination," Rody thought.

    "Do you know why the Felik Empire collapsed three hundred years ago? It was because of a person with talents not tolerated even by gods, having more than five-star potential. Do you know why the seven clans'' warriors and loyal soldiers defied the gods'' warnings and fought to the death? It was to protect those descendants with potential surpassing the gods, talents that even gods felt threatened and jealous of, treasures gifted to humans by the ancient original gods! Only once in a thousand years does such a person appear. Including the one from three hundred years ago and you, Felik, known for its treasures, has only had three such individuals in a millennium."

    "What if someone discovers this?" Rody felt a chill, fearing discovery by something like the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror.

    "Even gods cannot easily see through others'' potential," the beautiful tutor shook her head and said, "I don''t know about the heavenly realm, but on the earth, something like your device that can assess others'' potential is unique. It is a treasure crafted by the Earth Mother Goddess and the Goddess of Wishes, a precious artifact guarded by each generation''s Soul Saint. When you acquired it, did you not make some significant vow?"

    "Yes, I did," Rody admitted, his heart racing as he realized the gravity of possessing the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror, which was, in fact, a dangerous divine artifact.

    "There are two things you must do: first, protect Jill with all your might; and second, preserve your own life. If there''s real danger, escape to the Divine Domain Ruins with Jill! Moreover, no matter what happens, even if millions are killed before your eyes, these two tasks must be your top priority," the tutor patted Rody''s shoulder, then softly added, "A man should bear more responsibility. Strive to do your best."

 Chapter 68: Setting Off as a Team

    After returning to the dormitory, it took Rody quite some time to calm his mind. He finally confirmed that he was not worthless. Despite being sealed by the ''Magic-Martial Prohibition'' which restricted his ability to communicate with elements, he still possessed potential in his spirit and soul. This potential was extraordinary - a seven-star potential that common people did not have. If he could fully tap into this potential, he would become unimaginably strong.

    However, having such exceptional potential also meant his future would be fraught with danger. Gods or people from the Temple of Light wouldn¡¯t bother with a nobody, but if they learned of his seven-star potential, he would likely be relentlessly pursued, even to the ends of the earth.

    Rody deeply pondered whether those who had instructed Father Cedo to feed him the ''Magic-Martial Prohibition'' knew about his astonishing potential. Did they suspect he had extraordinary potential and thus acted accordingly?

    Once he became strong enough, he vowed to thoroughly investigate this matter, as it likely hid a profound conspiracy. The Magic-Martial Prohibition wasn¡¯t something Lady Mary, a mere lord''s wife, could easily obtain. According to Father Cedo, it required the blood sacrifice of 600 humans, dwarves, and fairies, along with the blood of black dragons, demons, and fallen elves as a catalyst. It was prepared for him right at his birth, which was impossible for Lady Mary to accomplish on her own. Clearly, there was a significant force hidden behind her.

    "Rody, it¡¯s time for dinner!" Tommy knocked on the door earnestly. He and the thief Terry often competed to do this. Despite Rody''s repeated assertions of his gender, they had their reasons for wanting to spend time with him, hoping to gain some of his ''aura'' and become more attractive themselves. Thus, these two like-minded guys often tried to curry favor with Rody, leading him to frequently send them away.

    "I¡¯ll wash my hands first!" Rody thought quickly and took the opportunity to scan Tommy with the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror while Tommy was distracted by Terry and others fighting over chicken legs.

    The result suddenly made Rody understand why Tommy was able to attend the magic academy. He had always suspected that the low enrollment rate of the academy was not due to a lack of applicants, but rather due to its high admission standards and harsh training. Naturally, those who could attend were among the most outstanding individuals in the Felik Kingdom.

    Tommy seemed completely inept, so why was he able to stay? After scanning with the Ink Crystal Magic Mirror, Rody understood. No wonder Dean Buck often went to watch exotic dances with Tommy ¨C he was not as useless as he appeared, a typical case of a wolf in sheep''s clothing.

    After two days of preparation, the day finally arrived for the fifteen to set off to slay the Ashabaruk. Thanks to Rody¡¯s generous contribution, Leo, who had previously lacked even armor, was now proudly wearing a suit of fine steel, carrying a massive steel sword, his tall frame as imposing as a mountain. Benson held a steel tower shield, giving the impression of a movable fortress. The thief Terry bought an invisibility cloak that, though it could only be used three times, was nonetheless one of the best items for self-preservation.

    Tommy proudly wielded a flame-shooting wand given to him by Hila, looking smug, his expression akin to that of a Mage King.

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    Everyone was decked out in shiny new armor and bright swords, except for Rody, who still wore his one-star novice magic apprentice''s white robe and carried his homemade green sandalwood staff. Among them all, he alone looked like he was going on a leisurely hike rather than a dangerous mission.

    Silver-haired Aaron glanced at Rody but remained silent. However, the fire mage Andrew beside him snorted disdainfully.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, the journey to Soul Break Ridge is very far, unreachable by horse carriage in ten days or half a month. But don¡¯t worry, I have arranged a one-way teleportation station for you," Dean Buck said cheerfully. "After you arrive at the teleportation station, you only need to walk another 135 kilometers to reach your destination, which is quite close, so everyone can take a leisurely walk there!"

    "135 meters would be more like it..." Tommy muttered under his breath, careful not to be too loud for fear of provoking Dean Buck.

    "If anyone wants to withdraw now, there¡¯s still time. However, those who withdraw will receive special tutoring from me for the next month," Dean Buck announced. Everyone shuddered at the thought, unanimously shaking their heads, expressing their love for collective activities and excitement for the excursion, and politely declining the dean''s ''kind'' offer of extra lessons.

    The group arrived at the magical tower near the temple, where an old priest activated the teleportation circle after receiving fifteen gold coins from Dean Buck. Dean Buck instructed everyone to pair up and step onto the teleportation circle.

    Tommy, the chubby kid, and the thief Terry were the most eager and rushed onto the teleportation circle first, causing the spinning array to disappear instantly. Dean Buck scratched his head and then told everyone, ¡°Folks, this teleportation array is too small, so it can only transport two people at a time. Of course, since it¡¯s a one-way teleportation array, the drop-off points won''t be the same, but the range won¡¯t exceed fifty kilometers, so rest assured.¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t say that earlier?¡± Rody sweated profusely upon hearing this, imagining Tommy and Terry probably wanting to cry.

    ¡°I just didn¡¯t think of it!¡± Dean Buck laughed heartily and said, ¡°This way is actually quite fun. You travel to Soul Break Ridge in pairs, looking for your companions along the way. Isn¡¯t this trek much more interesting? Oh right, since you are fifteen people, there¡¯s one without a partner. It seems we need to send the strongest one alone. Who thinks they¡¯re the strongest here?¡±

    Rody guessed that if Tommy were here, he would have confidently answered, but now, nobody would be so foolish as to travel alone.

    ¡°I can go by myself!¡± Aaron, the silver-haired guy, stood up and snorted proudly.

    ¡°Aaron!¡± Andrew and the three Colin brothers cried out in shock.

    ¡°Come to our planned location, I''ll wait for you there!¡± Aaron stepped into the glowing teleportation array and disappeared instantly. Andrew and the Colin brothers hurriedly followed in two batches, hoping the teleportation interval and drop-off points wouldn¡¯t be too far apart.

    ¡°Dean Buck, if you have anything else you haven¡¯t thought of, please remember now. Anything else you haven¡¯t said, say it now,¡± Rody urged, fearing that the dean might have omitted some important information.

    ¡°I can¡¯t think of anything else for now¡­¡± Dean Buck shook his head and said, ¡°You all should depart quickly. This teleportation array consumes more magic power every minute, so now is not the time to chat.¡±

    ¡°Dean, aren¡¯t you coming with us?¡± Elizabeth suddenly cried out in surprise, ¡°We are going alone?¡±

    ¡°Because we instructors are a bit busy with something, we can¡¯t accompany you,¡± Dean Buck said with a chuckle. ¡°Rest assured and have fun. I''ve given you all a month-long vacation. Everyone, set off, I''m off¡­¡±

    Watching Dean Buck run off swiftly, the old priest beside them urgently signaled everyone to quickly enter the teleportation circle.

    Elizabeth bit her silver teeth and said, ¡°I have a suggestion for everyone to consider. Leo and Benson should go as a pair; you two have good offensive and defensive compatibility. Ollie can go with Rody, and I''ll go with Hila. Gill will go with Sani. What do you think?¡±

    ¡°I''m not going to be in a group with that guy. I''ll go with Gill!¡± Ollie refused.

    ¡°In that case¡­ you go with Sani then,¡± Elizabeth pondered for a moment and then said to Rody, ¡°Gill will go with you. Be sure to take good care of her.¡±

    ¡°It would be fairer if Gill takes care of him, right? I mean, it''s not fair to Gill!¡± Ollie insisted, but the old priest on the side was urging them to hurry, and Leo and Benson had already been teleported away. Reluctantly, she and Sani stepped onto the teleportation circle together, giving Rody a glare before leaving. However, Rody didn¡¯t even glance at her, which infuriated her.

 Chapter 69: The Ill-Fated Girl

    Rody and Gill were teleported above a small stream. Although they were soaking wet, Rody felt fortunate that the teleportation point wasn¡¯t on a cliff or ravine, or they wouldn''t have survived. Gill stood up in the water, her head lowered, silent. Rody noticed the water rolling off her body without wetting her clothes and was amazed at her water-repelling ability.

    ¡°Have you been evaluated too?¡± Rody led the way with Gill following. After a while of silence, he finally asked.

    ¡°What evaluation?¡± Gill¡¯s response made it clear she knew nothing about it.

    ¡°Like the evaluation that Instructor Margaret does for each student,¡± Rody quickly changed the subject. ¡°Let''s find higher ground to look for others.¡±

    Gill silently followed Rody to the top of a small hill. After a while, she softly said, ¡°There¡¯s no one within five kilometers.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, we can make it on our own. Once we reach Soul Break Ridge, we¡¯re sure to find them,¡± Rody comforted her. ¡°If you notice anything unusual while we walk through the wilderness, let me know right away. If you need anything, feel free to ask me.¡±

    ¡°I have a feeling of palpitations coming from the west. Maybe, Rody, we shouldn¡¯t go that way,¡± Gill suddenly said after walking a bit.

    ¡°Really?¡± Rody sweat profusely, admiring Gill¡¯s strong intuition, though she seemed too introverted and shy.

    No sooner had they walked two kilometers away from the west than a roar erupted from the wilderness, followed by more furious growls. Trees were falling in the distance, signaling a giant beast¡¯s presence. Rody, recalling his past encounter with a black dragon and a nine-headed monster, didn¡¯t feel lucky this time.

    They might not be as powerful as a black dragon or a nine-headed monster, but the beast causing such destruction was certainly no ordinary creature. Rody grabbed Gill¡¯s hand and hurriedly fled.

    After running several kilometers, they could still hear faint roars. Rody wiped the sweat from his forehead, realizing that although his intuition was good, it paled in comparison to Gill¡¯s.

    ¡°Gill, did you sense anything in the corridor during Instructor Sean¡¯s test day?¡± Rody asked.

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    ¡°I felt like someone was sneakily following us, but Sani told us not to worry,¡± Gill replied, making Rody realize that not only he had detected the presence of the Shadow Thief but also Gill and Sani. Rody wondered how Gill had such strong and accurate intuition. Was it related to her potential or a natural gift?

    ¡°Whoo-hoo¡­¡±

    As they walked, Rody was about to find a place to rest when a monstrous creature with a wolf¡¯s head and bat¡¯s body, and a tail covered in spikes, emerged from the woods. Rody was preparing to cast an undead spell stealthily when Gill already hit it with an ice ball. It froze the creature for a few seconds before it crashed to the ground, unable to fly again. It crawled back into the bushes, whining continuously.

    Rody was secretly alarmed. Gill could cast an ice ball without chanting or a wand, proving her extraordinary talent in ice magic.

    Gill, however, looked like a child who had done something wrong, her head lowered, following quietly behind Rody.

    As they crossed a small stream, Rody walked on moss-covered stones when suddenly a long stone came to life, opening a gaping mouth to attack. Rody dodged in alarm, but his clothes were caught by the stone-like swamp crocodile, pulling him into the stream. Gill then hit the crocodile''s eye with a fireball, causing it pain and making it release its grip. The creature thrashed in the water, turned over, and swam away into the depths of the stream.

    Rody climbed out of the stream and saw Gill looking down as if she had done something wrong, making him chuckle.

    ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± Gill, curious, stole a glance at Rody and asked.

    ¡°I should thank you; you saved my life again,¡± Rody laughed.

    ¡°No, actually, I... I just panicked. Aunt Paji said you would protect me, so I shouldn¡¯t have acted. I¡¯m sorry,¡± Gill stumbled over her words, her face turning red and fidgeting with the hem of her clothes.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have the same foolish pride as others. We are partners, and you can act anytime,¡± Rody said, shaking his head with laughter.

    ¡°Actually, Rody, I... I¡¯m someone plagued by misfortune, bringing disaster to others. Being with me is dangerous. The danger just now was my fault, I¡¯m sorry!¡± Gill deeply apologized, bowing her head, unable to meet his gaze.

    ¡°What a coincidence!¡± Rody clapped his hands. ¡°I¡¯m also frequently visited by the goddess of misfortune. We should shake hands!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re just trying to comfort me... But, I¡¯m happy, thank you,¡± Gill whispered, her clean face blushing like a red apple, extremely cute.

    ¡°Alright, let two unlucky people travel together!¡± Rody laughed heartily, but before he could finish, Gill pointed to a massive lion with fiery mane drinking water on the opposite bank. Rody¡¯s hair stood on end, and his laughter abruptly stopped. Taking a deep breath, he whispered to Gill, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, we¡¯ll slowly back away. It¡¯s full and just drinking water, we¡¯re safe!¡±

    Originally, Rody didn¡¯t believe Gill was a girl of misfortune, but after encountering danger more than ten times in a day, he started to believe it. Of course, he also suspected his own misfortune played a part, as he wasn¡¯t exactly a lucky person either.

    The two, both beloved by the goddess of misfortune, seemed to bring the utmost misfortune together. As they found shelter under a tree from the sudden downpour, a beehive was knocked down, causing a swarm of bees to fly chaotically. But worse was yet to come. On the other side, a bruised Earth Bear, stung by the bees yet still intent on eating honey, saw Rody and Gill and roared menacingly.

    In desperation, Rody quickly picked up Gill and fled into the rain at the fastest speed he had ever managed.

    Finally finding a cave to rest for the night, they saw several goblins feasting on human flesh at the entrance. Gill screamed in horror at the sight of a decapitated head, nearly fainting. Rody had to carry her again, fleeing from the goblins'' spears and blow darts. He was now fully convinced that both he and Gill were the goddess of misfortune¡¯s favorite humans, with no one unluckier than them.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Gill apologized in a small voice, her face flushed.

    ¡°It seems we really are in the same boat...¡± Rody couldn¡¯t help but burst into laughter, but Gill quickly covered his mouth. A huge shadow flew overhead, brushing the treetops. Rody pulled Gill to the ground, and both noticed the moving shadow had three heads, scaring them to the point where their hearts almost leaped out.

 Chapter 70: Betrayal

    "What''s going on? I tracked the magical response of Gill''s life gem to the Evil Valley, over two thousand kilometers away from Broken Soul Slope. How did you transport them? Didn''t I ask you to keep an eye on them? I could handle the Frey assassins'' disturbance at the academy myself. Why did you come back to create chaos? Can''t you prioritize?" The female instructor furiously scolded Dean Buck, nearly tearing him to shreds in her rage.

    "It''s bad," Dean Buck said, sweating profusely and pale. "Priest Sine betrayed us. He was a spy for Frey and tampered with the transport!"

    "Damn it, I intended to move the students away from Felicity, only to send them into the dragon''s den," the female instructor quickly calmed down, no longer angry. She pondered for a moment and said, "Now, the most important thing is to find Gill and Rody as soon as possible. Go immediately, and I''ll see the king and queen to ask for reinforcements. We must find Gill and Rody at any cost."

    "Could it be that Rody is also..." Dean Buck realized something.

    "Our ancestors used the blood of tens of thousands to save one treasure, and you carelessly sent two more out. You fool, I don''t have time to scold you. Go find them now!" The female instructor stamped her foot and shot off like lightning.

    "I''ve made the biggest mistake. I shouldn''t have put Rody and Gill together. It''s over," Dean Buck was sweating heavily.

    "Don''t worry, our ancestors will bless us from heaven, watching over our hope every moment. Buck, stay calm, we can still make it," said a man who was always drunk but now sober, standing behind Dean Buck, his presence like an unsheathed sword, full of killing intent.

    In the magic tower, the old priest saw Dean Buck enter with murderous intent and smiled sadly.

    Dean Buck, seeing the broken transport circle on the ground, was so angry his eyes turned blood-red. He struggled to control himself, his hands trembling, indicating his inner turmoil.

    "It''s too late, Buck. You''re late," the old priest slowly said.

    "Sine, if I remember correctly, I used to call you teacher. Why did you do this? Have you been so pervaded by the power of light from being a priest for so long? Have you become a dog of the celestial beings? How dare you send our generations'' hope to such a deathtrap? Does the blood of Felicity''s betrayal still linger in you?" Dean Buck asked coldly, his eyes bloodshot.

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    "The celestial beings of the heavenly realm are too powerful. We on the ground cannot contend with them," the old priest spoke dejectedly. "A faint hope has drained Felicity of blood. What has our once-powerful empire turned into? Felicity can no longer bear another war. By burying this hope with my own hands, I hope to exchange it for Felicity''s future peace. Buck, I know you hate me. You can kill me. I won''t blame you. You were my proudest student, and dying by your hand is my honor."

    "You old fool, we were hoping to rejuvenate under your elders'' leadership, but you became more muddled with age," Dean Buck roared in fury. "Sine, by doing this, how can you justify it to the tens of thousands who died protecting our hope in the past? What did you teach us back then?"

    "I''m sorry to our ancestors, but for Felicity, I had to do this," the old priest said, tears streaming down his face, sighing.

    "Even if Felicity drains every last drop of blood from its people, hope must endure," Dean Buck moved behind the old priest, suppressing his rage. "This is the last time I''ll call you teacher. Teacher, say your last words."

    "Buck, I informed Frey about the hope in the land of evil," the old priest said slowly as he closed his eyes.

    "You''re seeking death!" Buck, furious to the extreme, raised his hand to strike with the force of thunder, but a strong hand held him back. The usually inebriated man behind him said slowly, "Let''s go, he''s already taken his own life. He angered you just to seek a quick death. Buck, what we need now is not hatred, but calmness."

    "Teacher Sine, do you know what I want to say to you in the end?" The usually inebriated Drunken Cat, his eyes now sparkling with determination, said firmly, "Hope endures! Whatever you did, it won''t change that."

    "My dear disciples, the celestial beings of the heavenly realm will make Felicity bleed dry," the old priest slowly collapsed to the ground, black blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

    "Even if Felicity bleeds dry, there will still be one enduring thing - hope!"

    In the dense forest, Rody and Gill struggled to move forward.

    Three days had passed, and they had covered less than fifty kilometers. Rody realized this place was far more dangerous than he had imagined, with powerful monsters frequently encountered. It was no wonder the A-level bounty from the mercenaries'' guild remained unclaimed - ordinary mercenaries stood no chance here.

    Rody kept trying to find the original rendezvous point.

    According to the map, within a hundred and thirty kilometers before Broken Soul Slope, there should be at least two small cities and five towns, dozens of villages, two well-known mountains, and a cliff visible from afar. But Rody couldn¡¯t find any human settlements.

    "Maybe this isn''t Broken Soul Slope," Gill said softly, voicing Rody''s suspicion. "Could we have been teleported to the wrong place? Or did Dean Buck do this intentionally?"

    "Most likely, it''s one of Buck''s silly ideas, changing the location last minute to test us. No wonder he gave us a month!" Rody exclaimed angrily.

    "I''m a bit worried about Ollie. She''s impulsive. If she doesn''t listen to Sonya, she''ll be in trouble. And Leo and Benson, they''re swordsmen with weak sensing abilities," Gill, after spending three days alone with Rody, spoke more smoothly and had grown braver, but if Rody looked at her, she would still shyly lower her head in a cute manner.

    "Why aren''t you worried about Tommy and Terry?" Rody wondered; those two seemed the weakest.

    "Tommy and Terry might not be strong in combat, but they have good self-preservation skills. It''s just a feeling," Gill''s sensing ability impressed Rody, who would not have such confidence if he hadn¡¯t secretly observed Tommy and Terry with the magic mirror.

    "Your feeling is accurate," Rody praised. "Gill, is your sensing ability natural or cultivated through hard work?"

    "I don''t remember much about the past. I only recall Auntie Paji often giving me boxes to guess what gifts were inside. Sometimes I could guess correctly, but often I was wrong," Gill''s words made Rody feel humble; he wouldn¡¯t be able to guess such things either, unless he used his psychic powers to peek inside.

    "Can you guess what others are thinking?" Rody asked.

    "No," Gill shook her head, then quickly lowered it, her cheeks turning red as she murmured, "But I can tell if someone means well towards me!"

 Chapter 71: Genius Male and Female

    "Bang, bang!" Rody struck the monster in front of him with a war hammer formed from his spirit, causing its entire body to explode, ending the encounter.

    As he and Gill passed through a small valley, they were surrounded by a dozen creatures resembling both octopuses and evil eyes. The two relied on the forest to fight hard for a long time, eventually defeating all the monsters. Rody was unclear whether these were flying octopuses or evil eyes with eight fanged, soft legs.

    These monsters had one giant eye but also an exaggeratedly huge mouth full of sharp teeth.

    Their eight octopus-like legs were covered with fangs, strong and responsive.

    This was the first time in five days that Rody had assisted Gill in combat. Gill''s magical power was astonishing; although she was introverted, shy, and kind-hearted, rarely attacking the magical beasts they encountered, her spells were shockingly effective. Rody had once commanded Nicholas, Marcus, and Emma alone during a night watch, fighting a creature with a hyena''s head and a bat''s body. He realized that the beast, knocked down by Gill''s ice ball, was not as weak as he imagined.

    Marcus and Emma, engaged in close combat, were left with scattered fighting spirit and broken bones. Nicholas''s white bone armor was shattered in many places by its long tail.

    Only then did Rody realize the astonishing strength of Gill''s magic with a single strike.

    "What kind of monster is this?" Gill was also surprised that her fireball attack was completely ineffective and cautiously approached to examine it.

    "Maybe it''s an octopus monster that can come ashore, or perhaps a mutated form of an evil eye," Rody speculated as he searched for magic crystals in the disgusting corpses. He was excited to find that even the smallest magic crystal was above second grade, and the largest reached third grade, and he eagerly showed them to Gill.

    "Be careful!" Gill saw a creature that wasn''t completely dead yet, its tentacles lashing towards Rody, and she screamed in alarm.

    Rody, always cautious and used to encountering beasts playing dead in the Silent Forest, agilely dodged. His mental whip extended like a spider''s web, instantly pressing the entire monster to the ground before tearing it apart. Gill, anxious, ran over and, seeing Rody unharmed, seemed a bit too revealing of her feelings, embarrassedly lowering her head, her face as red as an apple.

    Although they won the battle, both their magic and spirits were greatly depleted, especially Gill''s. Rody estimated that she would not fully recover in the next two days.

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    Gill''s magical power was undoubtedly strong, but she used it without reservation, a consequence of her lack of experience in tough battles.

    Experienced magicians always try to conserve their magic as much as possible, only using it when absolutely necessary. Magic is everything to a magician; without it, a magician is less than an ordinary swordsman. Thus, how to achieve the greatest effect with the least amount of magic is the realm of casting that all magicians in the world pursue.

    "Gill, the stench of blood from the corpses will soon attract more magical beasts. Let''s go!" Rody quickly gathered the magic crystals and hurriedly led Gill away.

    "Hmm," Gill''s response was as soft as a mosquito''s hum.

    Along the way, Rody shared his insights on meditation and methods of casting magic with Gill. Gill was both surprised and delighted to learn that Rody could control the casting of his magic with mental power. When she tried Rody''s self-discovered method and managed to make a fireball float in mid-air, moving it up, down, left, and right, Rody was secretly amazed by the girl''s comprehension.

    "It looks good, Gill. You can try to condense the fireball as much as possible, but be careful not to lose control and cause it to explode," Rody said, interested in training this gifted girl.

    "It''s a bit difficult," Gill admitted, sweating on her forehead. After much effort and a long time, she managed to condense the huge fireball to the size of her fist.

    Rody didn''t praise her, but he was inwardly astounded. He never expected her to compress the large fireball on her first try, and to such an exaggerated degree. The fist-sized fireball was purple-red, extremely hot, and rapidly spinning inside. Rody believed that it would deliver a terrifying blow if it hit a creature. He thought Gill would only practice condensing large fireballs for the day, but then he saw her carefully controlling the fireball while slowly condensing an ice ball, leaving him stunned.

    It seemed he wasn''t the only genius. Although the unconventional method was his idea, he wasn''t the only one who could execute it.

    "Controlling two spells is so hard! Look, Rody, I can make them spin around each other!" Gill said, her face flushed and dripping with sweat, but she was unmistakably excited, like a proud child showing off to Rody.

    "Not bad, keep it up. This is very helpful for training your control over magic," Rody felt a surge of competitiveness.

    It was a strange feeling, not jealousy or envy, but Rody felt that as a man, he should be better, work harder, and become stronger. As he traveled with Gill, he continually imagined and tried new methods, secretly maintaining the concentration of his mental whip to strengthen his mental power.

    In the evening, Rody was amazed to see Gill elongate the fireball into a small pillar of fire, then into a spear.

    "Thank you, your method is really good. I never thought magic could be controlled like this, thank you!" Gill said to Rody before going to sleep, then turned away, her head lowered for a long time.

    "Rest well, I''ll teach you something new tomorrow," Rody said with a slight smile, gently patting Gill''s head. She shuddered slightly and her neck turned pink. Gill nodded shyly, responding so softly that Rody could barely hear her.

    Three days later, Rody was no longer surprised by Gill''s talent and comprehension.

    Now, Gill could manipulate an ice ball spinning in a ring of fire around her body, initially controlling one and then adding more, eventually arranging them in the patterns of the Hexagram or the Big Dipper around herself, much to Rody''s embarrassment.

    However, inspired by Gill''s talent, Rody also developed new methods of mental attack. He condensed small bits of mental power and spun them at high speeds in the direction he controlled, forming an invisible, rapidly spinning saw. The power was astonishing, but it consumed a tremendous amount of mental power, initially leaving Rody dizzy after just ten seconds. As he improved the method and his control, adapting to the new technique, he was able to maintain it for over a minute.

    This invisible ''mental saw'' brought Gill''s admiration to the extreme, or rather, Rody''s innovation deeply impressed her.

    "Rody is so amazing, I can''t do it," Gill said, not in frustration, but in complete joy and admiration. She excitedly clapped and cheered when Rody used the ''mental saw'' to cut a tree in half.

 Chapter 72: Forest Adventure

    "Is that a little cabin by the lake? Should we go and check it out?" Gill was excited to see a house in the distance, thinking it was possibly a human''s secluded cabin. If that was the case, they could ask for information and understand where they had ended up in this land filled with magical beasts.

    "There seems to be a barrier nearby..." Rody frowned slightly. He didn''t have the soul sensitivity of Gill, but he was keenly aware of magic.

    "It''s a forest barrier, full of the essence of nature," Gill nodded, joyfully saying, "I''ve sensed this kind of barrier at Sister Sherry''s place. The person living here shouldn''t be a bad person."

    "Is it really a forest barrier?" Rody asked again, to be sure.

    "Yes." Seeing Gill''s affirmation, he relaxed slightly.

    The little cabin near the lake was backed by an extremely tall ancient tree, with a crown spanning a hundred meters, towering high. Its trunk seemed so wide that it would take many adults to encircle it. Rody had never seen such a gigantic ancient tree before.

    This tree stood much taller than the surrounding trees, with countless branches and leaves, thriving vigorously.

    Rody always felt something indescribable about this ancient tree but couldn''t put his finger on it. He approached with Gill and knocked on the door. After a while, they heard footsteps, and someone gently opened the old wooden door. The appearance of the owner startled Rody. The person''s age was indeterminable, his face covered in dense, layered wrinkles.

    His hair and beard were as twisted as his wrinkles, and his hands were like old tree bark. Only a pair of slightly green eyes showed any sign of life.

    "Do we have guests? Welcome!" The old man''s voice was old and hoarse, slow and obscure, but his eyes revealed warmth.

    "Sorry to disturb you," Gill said respectfully.

    "No, I''m happy..." The old man cracked what seemed like a smile, causing Rody to fill with doubts. Who was this person? How old was he? Why would he seclude himself in such a dangerous place? Why wasn''t he surprised by the arrival of him and Gill, two strangers? He didn''t have the aura of a normal human; what race was he?

    In the damp forest, the chubby Tommy and skinny Terry were making their way in a somewhat disheveled manner.

    Both were covered in mud and water, their clothes torn and hair messy like a bird''s nest. Surprisingly, neither of them was injured. It was unclear if they were just lucky to avoid magical beasts or had a method of escape.

    "Being with a thief who gets lost is the biggest misfortune of my life," Tommy complained for the umpteenth time.

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    "How many times have I said it? This is not the Soulbreak Slope. I''d bet a copper coin that there was something wrong with the teleportation array," Terry, the thief, was also quite frustrated. He was familiar with most of the terrain of the Soulbreak Slope, but after teleporting, they couldn''t find the planned rendezvous point. For a scout thief, getting lost was indeed embarrassing.

    "Hey, I see a little cabin! Finally, we can ask someone for directions," Tommy exclaimed happily.

    "Keep it down. The magical beasts are napping. If we wake them up, we''ll be their afternoon snack. Especially with your laugh sounding like a lioness in heat, don''t attract a male lion," Terry quickly shushed Tommy''s loud voice.

    "How could there be lions in the forest, you natural-born idiot!" Tommy retorted angrily, "My laugh might sound like a lioness in heat, but it''s better than your laugh that sounds like a cat''s cry!"

    "Alright, let''s not argue. Let''s go and see if there''s a hospitable host," Terry said with boundless hope.

    The two cautiously knocked on the door. After no response for a long time, they opened a crack and peered in with four eyes. To their surprise, the interior of the little cabin was unexpectedly large and luxuriously furnished, similar to the house of the noble Fellick family. There was a crimson carpet, hand-embroidered wall hangings, lavish decorations, and a huge fireplace. The dining table was laid with steaming food, soup with roast goose beside it, and crispy cookies next to the grape wine. In the center of the tablecloth was a bowl of fruit, with apples that were red and large and grapes that looked fresh and juicy.

    Tommy, the chubby boy, immediately drooled like a waterfall at the sight.

    The thief Terry also swallowed his saliva vigorously, his throat busy moving up and down... But surprisingly, although both were drooling with desire, neither rushed to grab a chicken leg. If this had been in the dormitory of Fellick Academy, the two would have fought over a chicken rump, but now, they were being polite to each other.

    "Please go ahead, Terry, look how hungry you are. Compared to you, a monkey would look plump," Tommy graciously said.

    "No, no, dear Tommy, I''ve always been like this, getting used to hunger. It''s you, Tommy, I remember you haven''t eaten for three days and nights. What was the last thing you ate? A frog, right, a frog. But I ate one more grasshopper than you. So, what are you waiting for? All the delicious food in front of you belongs to you. If you agree, I am willing to eat the bones you leave behind, if there are any left," Thief Terry humbly bowed and invited Tommy to dine inside. To an outsider, he might have looked like Tommy''s servant.

    "I always snatched the chicken rumps from you, and I feel very guilty about it. So, this time, I must let you have a full meal no matter what," Tommy''s face was filled with remorse, as sincere as a sinner''s repentance before death, surely enough to go to heaven.

    "Tommy, Terry, come and save us!" A voice suddenly rang out, startling both Tommy and Terry.

    In the innermost part of the cabin, four people were hiding in the dark, two of whom seemed to be Elizabeth and Shira. They were naked, covering their chests with their hands, hiding in the darkness, and calling out to Tommy and Terry for help.

    Tommy and Terry, upon hearing this, peered through the door crack, swallowing saliva loudly, their eyeballs nearly falling out.

    "Come quickly and save us, we''ve been enchanted..." The two women begged Tommy and Terry in surprise, their bodies shrinking in the corner, but the darkness couldn''t hide the wonderful curves of their bodies.

    "Knight Terry, what are you waiting for? Your moment to be a hero and save the damsels is now!" Tommy encouraged Terry, patting his shoulder.

    "No, dear Prince Tommy, such brave acts of rescue should belong to someone as noble as you! As your loyal follower, I am willing to guard outside the door to prevent any disturbance from strangers. This is what a thief like me should do," Thief Terry humbly asked Tommy to go in and save them.

    "You first, please..."

    "No, no, no, it should be you, you''re tall and strong..."

    "You are agile and clever, this task of rescue is definitely meant for you..."

    "I dare say, if there''s anyone in this world who can save them, it''s definitely you, the strong and heroic Tommy. I am only worthy of recording your heroic deeds..."

    "Terry, how about we go to the forest and duel? The final victor can then come and rescue them. What do you think?" Tommy suggested.

    "Tommy, I want to shake your hand! The most constructive proposal of your life is this one!" Thief Terry happily shook hands with Tommy, embraced him, and both joyfully prepared to go to the forest for a duel.

    "Stop! How did you figure it out? Is there any flaw in the house?" Suddenly, a sinister voice asked from inside the cabin.

    "To answer your question, master of exceptional magic, your magic has no flaws and the illusion could deceive everyone in the world," Tommy laughed and said, "But I want to tell you something, we two are cowards, natural-born cowards."

    "Yes, our combined courage is smaller than the tip of a needle," Thief Terry nodded in agreement.

 Chapter 73: The Tree Shepherd

    Under the ancient tree, inside the cabin.

    "I only have water and fruit here, don''t mind," the old man offered Rody and Gill a water skin and poured a cup of water for each.

    "The Spring of Magical Power?" Rody, with his keen senses, immediately detected a gentle flow of pure magic emanating from the water skin as soon as the old man opened it, and he couldn''t help but exclaim in surprise. Springs of Magical Power are extremely rare in the world because they have the ability to restore magical power. Any spring gushing out such water would be controlled by the most powerful nations or temples, and those not hidden deep in the mountains would not be accessible to ordinary people.

    Springs of Magical Power, born of the spiritual aura of heaven and earth, produce very little water each day. Rody had heard that the largest such spring is in the Elves'' homeland, the Moon God Forest, which has always been coveted by humans. Wars between humans and elves have often erupted, mostly because of the Elves'' countless treasures. It is said that the Moon God Forest has so many Springs of Magical Power that the elves could gather them to create the Moon Well, vital for the survival of their entire race.

    Of course, this is just a legend, as no one has ever really seen the Elves'' Moon Well, nor knows if the Springs of Magical Power there are as plentiful as well water.

    The largest human Spring of Magical Power is in Mile, one of the four great empires. Although it produces less than three large bottles a day, Mile built the world''s largest Mage Guild over it. With the unique advantage of the Spring of Magical Power, Mile''s mages are the most powerful among the four great empires, producing generation after generation of talent. The other three empires, Norn, Camarion, and Gahle, are known for their knights and can hardly compete with Mile in terms of mages.

    Rody had heard from Granny An that Fellick also once had several Springs of Magical Power, but they dried up and never recovered after being destroyed in the fires of war.

    "This water tastes really good, I feel all my fatigue disappearing," Gill, after drinking a small sip, excitedly asked Rody, "Is this the water from the legendary Spring of Magical Power? It''s so sweet!"

    "If you like it, you can drink more. We may not have much, but there''s plenty of spring water," said the old man, his wrinkled face expressionless, but his eyes carried a hint of kindness.

    "It''s very precious water, one cup is enough for Gill. Thank you, respected elder, you are too generous," Gill initially declined, then politely thanked the old man. Rody was reluctant to drink; although his mental power was also greatly depleted from the past few days of practice, he wished he could take this cup of magical spring water back with him and drink it only when most needed.

    Unlike ordinary magical recovery potions, the Spring of Magical Power not only restores a person''s magical power but also eliminates mental fatigue and negative conditions.

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    After prolonged spellcasting in battle, drinking a potion of magic might provide some relief, but one''s body and spirit would still be tired, with no real alleviation. A potion of vitality might relieve some physical fatigue, but there are no potions in the world that can eliminate mental fatigue when consumed.

    If one could recover with the Spring of Magical Power, it would mean restarting the battle in the best possible condition, making its value immeasurable.

    "It''s okay, it''s just spring water, drink as much as you want," the old man said with a tolerant smile.

    "Respected elder, you''re not an ordinary person, are you? Can you tell us who you are?" Rody, unable to contain his curiosity, asked straightforwardly.

    "I am a Tree Shepherd of the forest. My true body is that large tree you saw outside. Although I can transform into a human, my appearance is quite different from yours, so don''t be afraid," the old man sat down, his hoarse voice slowly continuing, "It''s been a long time since humans have come here, maybe a few hundred years. I am happy to see young humans like you. You can call me ''Tokles'' or ''Toka'', that''s my name."

    "So that''s how it is, no wonder we felt the forest barrier outside," Gill said happily and respectfully, "Elder Toka, my name is Gill."

    "I''m Rody." Rody sipped the magical spring water and felt his entire body rejuvenated. An indescribable comfort filled his heart, and he marveled silently at the miraculous effects of the Spring of Magical Power, feeling all his previous fatigue swept away.

    "Centuries have passed, and once again, great human warriors have emerged in the world. It seems a new war is not far off," the old man slowly nodded.

    "What do you mean?" Rody inquired, "Are you referring to the Great War of Gods and Demons?"

    The Great War of Gods and Demons was a massive bloodbath that humans engaged in every hundred years. The human allied forces, who worshipped the God of Light, battled against the evil demons, fallen humans, dark elves, underground races, beastmen, and half-beastmen who worshipped the Dark Demon God. The forces that worshipped the Dark Demon God were in the distant East and North, so the human righteous alliance''s eastern campaign was known as the Centennial Holy War.

    Now, less than twenty years remained until the next Centennial Holy War.

    After evaluating the ruins of the Divine Realm, Rody understood a lot. He guessed that this grand War of Gods and Demons was entirely due to the gods and demons wanting to consume the excellent descendants of humans and other races, to prevent the emergence of strong individuals and the continuation of talents among them.

    In every human nation, there were Temples of the God of Light, which clearly served as powerful tools to monitor each nation''s movements, manipulate the thoughts of the ignorant, and control the wars.

    "No, perhaps you are too young to know the most cruel and painful war is the resistance of terrestrial powerhouses against the celestial gods," the old man spoke in a hoarse and obscure voice, "I have witnessed such battles several times, extremely brutal. Almost every thousand or so years, outstanding men and women like you unintentionally come here. Seeing you is like seeing them from those days, but those people have turned into stars in the sky after the battles, leaving only me, a lonely old man, occasionally looking up at the sky, remembering their existence..."

    "Elder Toka, may I ask how old you are?" Rody and Gill were shocked to hear this. How old exactly was this ancient Tree Shepherd?

    "Age? I don''t remember, maybe a few thousand years! The rings in my tree heart are dense. After five thousand years, I couldn''t count them anymore." The old man sat alone, speaking hoarsely, "Now, I often stand here quietly, other than occasionally thinking about old friends, I have nothing else to do."

    "Has there ever been a victory in the battle between terrestrial powerhouses and celestial gods?" After a while, Rody asked softly.

    "Of course, the scale of victory does not always tip towards the stronger side. Terrestrial powerhouses often win, but each victory is hard-won. The celestial gods are as numerous as the stars in the night sky, so very few terrestrial powerhouses survive. Many good things and experiences from the past have been lost. Fortunately, the gestation period and reproduction of terrestrial races are short, and they can fully recover in a few hundred years, bringing forth new powerhouses who follow in their ancestors'' footsteps, starting new challenges," the aged Tree Shepherd slowly nodded.

    "Elder Toka, if you don''t mind, Rody and I will come to visit you in the future," Gill, thinking of the Tree Shepherd''s solitary existence, standing here for thousands of years, felt a surge of compassion.

    "You can come anytime, because your souls shine with a golden light. I very much like humans like you," the old Tree Shepherd nodded happily.

    "I have a question," Rody said, "Elder Toka, do you know of a fruit called the ''Demon Fruit''?"

 Chapter 74: Choice

    "You''re talking about the ''Magic Flower Fruit,'' right?" the old Tree Shepherd Toka said slowly, "In the far East, unique magic flowers grow. Most of these magic flowers come from the Abyss, and some are fallen from the Heavenly Realm. Over time, they have adapted to the terrestrial environment and have various unique ways of growing and bearing fruit, which are different from ordinary plants and trees. The ''Demon Fruit'' you mentioned should be the fruit of these magic flowers. When consumed by ordinary life forms, they release some energy that grants the consumer certain abilities, but these effects are temporary."

    "Is it possible for someone to permanently retain the power of the Magic Flower Fruit?" Rody nodded and asked further.

    "There''s only one possibility: after consuming the Magic Flower Fruit, while its energy is still active, one must seek a blessing from their worshipped deity to permanently preserve this energy," the old Tree Shepherd Toka explained slowly.

    "What conditions do deities demand for bestowing such blessings?" Rody paused and asked, "Is it a trade-off with one''s personality? Why do deities need personalities?"

    "When a person loses a certain aspect of their personality, they forever lose everything associated with that trait. In exchange, they gain significantly in the opposite aspect. For example, if someone loses their cowardice, they will become much braver. From then on, they will never be cowardly again, showing extraordinary bravery in everything they do, fearlessly facing any enemy, and never retreating in dangerous battles. Removing cowardice might seem beneficial, but losing a part of one''s personality is a terrifying thing. Regardless of whether the personality trait is positive or negative, it''s an integral part of a complete person," the Tree Shepherd said slowly, "When a deity takes away a personality, it enhances their divinity. However, they can only do so under certain conditions and must have the person''s voluntary offering. It cannot be taken by force."

    "Losing personality is too terrifying!" Gill imagined herself becoming a bold and brash girl and turned pale with fear.

    "What about losing one of the five senses? What impact would that have?" Rody inwardly panicked at the thought of losing cowardice and becoming a reckless fool, which would indeed ruin his life.

    "Removing one of the five senses is more a method used by the Earth God," the Tree Shepherd said, "The principle is the same as removing personality traits. By losing a sense, one is compensated in another aspect. Moreover, after losing a sense, a person becomes very unaccustomed. If they want to survive, they need to put in a lot more effort. The Earth God hopes that their descendants can temper themselves in hardship, so this method is used."

    "Does it mean that if someone loses sight, their hearing becomes especially sensitive, or if they lose their sense of taste, their sense of smell becomes very sharp?" Rody immediately understood as Elder Toka explained.

    "Sanny sister..." Gill suddenly thought of Sonia and felt a surge of sadness.

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    "Removing one of the five senses is a method many people use, depending on each person''s endurance and comprehension," Elder Toka said with a hint of a smile in his eyes, "Some people find it hard and painful to train when their abilities are weak, so they prefer to remove a sense or personality trait and train in comfort after their powers have increased. But they don¡¯t realize that the hardest way is the best. Training without losing anything is the most difficult, but reaching the peak while retaining all senses and personality makes one the strongest."

    "Please tell us more about the Magic Flower Fruit," Rody wanted to understand more about this.

    "Magic flowers have many varieties, each different. Your dark man-eating vine is also one, previously known as ''Thorn Claw Tiger.'' But it gradually mutated after absorbing a large amount of dark energy," Elder Toka explained, enlightening Rody about many things.

    "But the dark man-eating vine doesn''t bear fruit..." Rody still had doubts.

    "It does, it just doesn''t flower anymore," Elder Toka explained, "Its seeds are the fruits. If an ordinary life form is implanted with ''Thorn Claw Tiger,'' it would gain considerable recovery power, just like your little rabbit."

    "Elder Toka, do you know how to unlock the potential of the soul?" Rody''s most pressing desire was to understand how to unlock potential.

    "I am powerless in matters concerning humans or other races, I am just an old tree," the Tree Shepherd Elder Toka said with a gentle smile in his eyes, "However, if you wish, I can restore your man-eating vine to its original form of ''Thorn Claw Tiger,'' and revert its original abilities. This is all up to you, and if you accept, I would like to entrust you with fulfilling the Tree Shepherd''s wish."

    "Elder Toka, what is your wish?" Gill, feeling sympathy for Elder Toka who could not leave this place, asked softly.

    "My life is nearing its end, but there are fewer and fewer Tree Shepherds in the world. The last Tree Shepherd companion I knew of withered over a thousand years ago," Elder Toka said as he took out a small pouch and poured out ten tiny seeds, "These are Tree Shepherd seeds. If you are willing, help me plant them in suitable places so they can grow into new Tree Shepherds."

    "Where would be the most suitable place?" Rody asked as he took the Tree Shepherd seeds.

    "Anywhere. Tree Shepherds can grow in any place. Just plant them where you feel is most suitable in your heart," Elder Toka said.

    "Elder Toka, do you need help? I mean the big tree outside, your main body, do you need our help?" Gill, hearing that Elder Toka''s life was drawing to a close, felt very sad and wanted to do something for the old man.

    "Kind little girl, the cycle of life and death is the way of nature. To live is to die; it''s the most normal thing," Elder Toka said with a smile.

    "We want to go to Soulbreak Slope or return to Fellick. Do you know how to get out of this forest?" Rody felt it was time to bid farewell to the Tree Shepherd Toka, so he asked his last question. Elder Toka nodded and said, "This evil forest is a buffer zone for the ''Centennial Holy War'' fought by various races of the earth, vast and expansive. It would take a long time to walk out of this land on foot. About 150 kilometers to the east from here, there''s a settlement of dwarves, a kind of goblin. They are timid and kind, unlike most goblins, and like to create various tools. Among them is a magical airship that can fly slowly in the sky, capable of transporting you back to Fellick."

    "Elder Toka, it''s time for us to part ways. We shouldn''t stay in this evil forest any longer. If we become stronger in the future, we will come back to visit you," Rody stood up to bid farewell.

    "Summon your man-eating vine, I cannot watch it become a corrupted creature. This is the responsibility of a Tree Shepherd," Elder Toka said slowly.

    "In that case..." Rody was actually reluctant to change the dark man-eating vine. It was his slave of darkness, and once changed, would the contract still exist? If he dispelled the dark power and turned the man-eating vine into ''Thorn Claw Tiger,'' would its combat ability be greatly reduced? Moreover, he had become accustomed to using the dark man-eating vine, and adapting to the unfamiliar Thorn Claw Tiger might take a long time, which would undoubtedly be a disadvantage while traveling with Gill in the evil forest.

    However, since Elder Toka had already spoken up, Rody couldn''t think of a way to refuse.

    Should he keep the original dark man-eating vine?

    Or revert it to ''Thorn Claw Tiger''? Rody''s thoughts churned, and after careful consideration, he finally made a choice.

 Chapter 75: The Enemy Appears

    In the damp forest, inside a witch''s cottage.

    Chubby Tommy and the thief Terry were violently vomiting in front of a short, fat witch. Her belly was protruding, her hands resembled bird claws, skinny and wrinkled with long black hairs. The old witch''s appearance was extremely ugly, with one eye larger than the other, glowing green, a hooked nose, a large mouth with a few black teeth, and long, curly hair that was a mess like a bird''s nest.

    They had seen many ugly people, but never anyone as hideous as this old witch.

    They had never seen a woman who could make them vomit at first sight. If they could choose, both would rather have a sow standing upright and talking to them.

    "God, for the first time in my life, I feel confident and satisfied with my own appearance. This feeling is really good!" Tommy said, nearly fainting from vomiting.

    "I feel the same," Terry agreed, nodding desperately as he continued to vomit.

    "If you have any last words, just say them now while I haven''t drained your life essence," the old witch cackled coldly. In her bird-claw-like hand, she held a staff entwined with a snake. The snake flickered its black tongue, and its eyes glowed eerily green. Tommy and Terry noticed a small, unknown red light circle flickering under the old witch''s feet, spreading magical ripples outward.

    "My heart''s pounding with fear," Tommy suddenly laughed, "Powerful witch, if you could leave the cottage, why did you have to lure us in? If you could kill us, why intimidate us? If you could act, you could have taken us down, skinned and dismembered us, and then asked how we feel, right?"

    "Although meeting you is unforgettable, we must bid farewell," Terry also said jokingly, "Apparently, we''re not to your taste. Hopefully, a handsome guy will let you successfully lure him."

    "Stop!" The old witch''s face turned red and then pale with anger, yet she didn''t leave the cottage to knock them down with a fireball.

    "We''ll miss you," Tommy said, then couldn''t help but vomit again.

    "If you take another step, I''ll kill these two!" the old witch waved her hand, and the illusion in the cottage completely vanished. The roast goose and fruits on the table turned into rotten meat and wriggling poisonous insects. Elizabeth and Shira in the back turned into naked men ¨C one of the Collin brothers and the fire mage Andrew.

    "We don''t know them," Terry flatly denied.

    "Help me, Tommy, Terry, I''m Andrew," Andrew in the cottage collapsed on the ground, his face pale and weak, reaching out his hand pleadingly.

    "You''re an illusion," Tommy said with a smile, "If you were really Andrew, you''d affectionately call me a waste or a fat pig. So, I can tell you''re an illusion."

    "I''m not, Tommy, I was wrong before, please save me, save..." Andrew was cut off as the old witch knocked him down with a magic bolt. The old witch laughed coldly, "It''s not the time for schoolmates to catch up. Don''t forget, you''ve eaten my food and are now my slaves. You two still want to leave? I''ve already awakened all the magical beasts in the damp forest. Outside my cottage is the only safe place. The beasts are waiting for you to deliver their lunch meat. Where can you go?"

    "Keep boasting, I love to hear it!" Terry laughed, "I love listening to people brag!"

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    "You..." The old witch rushed to the door, snarling and clawing, but apparently, something was preventing her from leaving the cottage. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn''t get out.

    "We should go now. I remember my grandmother saying that at night, witches turn into owls and fly out of their houses to snatch children," Tommy laughed heartily, "Powerful witch, am I right? They say witches also create mazes around their houses, making it impossible for people to leave. Then, at night, they fly out to capture people. Haha, your face is changing, did I guess right again?"

    "It''s okay, I just remembered that my profession is a pathfinder thief," Terry nodded and laughed.

    "One last question, forest witch, can you tell us which direction Elizabeth and Shira went?" Tommy asked with a smile.

    "I will kill you two scumbags and those two bitches who ruined my beautiful appearance with their magic!" the old witch cursed furiously.

    "Confirmed, Elizabeth and Shira really did come here and must have left not long ago, yay!" Terry and Tommy excitedly high-fived in celebration. The two put on a show of gentlemanliness, gave the old witch a noble salute, and then left, laughing heartily amidst her frenzied curses.

    "I''ll kill you! No matter where you run, I will find you and tear you to pieces..."

    In the forest, the curses of the old witch echoed for a long time.

    After bidding farewell to the forest Tree Shepherd Toka, Rody and Gill walked in silence for half a day. Gill looked at Rody curiously, occasionally stealing glances at his face from under her eyelids, her heart filled with doubts.

    "I...ah, Rody, are you unhappy?" Gill asked softly.

    "No," Rody turned around and said gently, "I''m not unhappy, just thinking about some things, so I didn''t speak. What do you want to say?"

    "Is it because the vine and the rabbit you control changed and their combat power has dropped a lot? Are you worried about our safety?" Gill saw that the dark man-eating vine summoned by Rody, which was originally nearly ten meters long, had turned into a transparent light green vine less than a meter long after Elder Toka''s magic, and thought this might be the reason.

    "The combat power hasn''t decreased, on the contrary, the capabilities of the man-eating vine have improved a lot. Elder Toka unlocked its potential and dispelled the dark energy. Now we just wait for this ''Thorn Claw Tiger'' to grow slowly," Rody shook his head, "I''m not thinking about other things, just that the responsibility of planting the next generation of Tree Shepherds is significant. I thought it was too simple at first. The life of a Tree Shepherd is very long, lasting thousands of years. If we plant them in the wrong place, they might end up living in solitude..."

    "Then let''s plant the Tree Shepherds as close together as possible! There will be a way. Elder Toka also said that we just need to feel it''s the right place in our hearts," Gill softly comforted, "Rody, let''s find the most suitable place to plant them! There''s no hurry!"

    The two walked in the direction indicated by Elder Toka for a day. While resting in the forest, they suddenly heard a tremendous roar ahead.

    Initially, Rody thought it was just giant magical beasts fighting and was preparing to leave with Gill.

    "Kill him!" From the slope below the hill ahead, a cold voice commanded, "If you can''t capture him alive, then kill without mercy. These Fellick scum, regardless of gender, must be annihilated, not a single one spared."

    Rody and Gill were shocked to hear this. How could they encounter enemies hunting Fellick people in this distant land of evil?

    What exactly was going on?

    At the bottom of the hill, the first to fly out was the cool, silver-haired Aaron. He moved like lightning, leaping through the air and stepping on treetops, catapulting towards the east. Following closely behind Aaron was a disheveled knight in silver armor, who seemed to be one of the Collin brothers. Before Rody and Gill could understand what was happening, a large net flew out from below the hill, skillfully enveloping the silver-armored knight and swiftly dragging him to the ground.

    The silver-armored knight crashed into the bushes, emitting a painful groan.

    Another person was rapidly approaching the forest where Rody and Gill were hiding. It was the eldest of the Collin brothers, covered in blood and in a sorry state.

    Arrows whistled and burst forth below the hill.

    The eldest Collin brother was hit by several arrows, the powerful arrows piercing his armor. He fell to the ground, his life or death uncertain.

    As Gill was about to step forward to help, Rody quickly held her back, covering her mouth with his hand, signaling her to stay silent, or they would not be spared either. Then they saw five or six swordsmen following up, surrounding the eldest Collin brother lying in a pool of blood. A mage floated out from the woods and commanded, "Tie up both of them and interrogate them thoroughly. Captain Messi, take a squad and stay here, the rest follow me to chase the silver-haired boy!"

    "At your command." The six swordsmen stood erect, saluting with their swords, displaying the military''s iron discipline and momentum.

    In the sky, cavalry riding flying griffins chased after the silver-haired Aaron, but he struck a rider''s back with two thunderous bolts of lightning, causing the rider to fall off the griffin''s back, even setting the griffin aflame.

    The remaining three griffins, carrying their riders, scattered in fear, avoiding the thunderous might.

    "Magic cast in quick succession? A Hexagram-level magic master? Hmph, interesting, I''ll meet him!" Rody saw the mage''s clothes adorned with the Big Dipper emblem and felt uneasy, as this Seventh-order Big Dipper mage wasn''t the one giving orders earlier. Clearly, there were more powerful figures hidden within the woods on the hill, and it was unknown if they had already detected Rody and Gill.

    Now, should they quietly retreat or continue hiding?

    Strong opponents were extremely sensitive to any disturbances. Retreating posed a great risk, but staying put risked being discovered by soldiers, putting Rody and Gill in grave danger... Rody was caught in a dilemma. He had promised his beautiful tutor to protect Gill at all costs, not letting her fall into enemy hands.

    So, should they stay or retreat?

 Chapter 76: Cultivate Your Composure

    Dozens of swordsmen, along with eight airborne cavalry, led by the Big Dipper Seventh Star magic master, were in hot pursuit of the silver-haired Aaron. Subsequently, fifteen archers arrived to join the six swordsmen left behind. They tied up the unconscious Collin brothers and escorted them south.

    Seeing such a large military presence in the land of evil, Rody had an ominous feeling.

    Which country had sent troops to hunt down the freshmen from Fellick?

    What was the ultimate goal of this army? Was it Gill, whom Fellick Academy was so keen to protect, or all the freshmen from this year? Who betrayed them? Even though they were teleported to the land of evil instead of Soulbreak Slope, how could the enemy track them here? Did Dean Buke deliberately send everyone to this evil land, or was he unaware of the mishap?

    A series of questions arose in Rody''s mind, making him more and more terrified.

    There must be a conspiracy behind this. The enemy''s ability to track them and set up an ambush indicated an inside job.

    Was there a traitor among the freshmen from Fellick? Who could it be? Rody extended his mental whip to sense his surroundings and found everything safe. He gently helped Gill, who was terrified and pale, comforting her with a pat on her head. Although he wasn''t feeling much better, he thought he should be stronger as a man.

    "Don''t speak, we''ll leave quietly," Rody whispered, pulling Gill carefully as they sneaked out of the forest.

    "I''m very scared..." Gill''s face was pale as she clung tightly to Rody. She might have had a bad premonition but couldn''t sense it clearly, only feeling fear. At this moment, Rody couldn''t determine which direction was safe, so he chose to retreat, thinking the way they came should be safer than the ambush laid ahead by the enemy.

    "Don''t be afraid, tell me, what are your names?" Just as Rody and Gill were about to leave the edge of the forest, they were confronted by a middle-aged mage smiling at them.

    Hadn''t Rody just scanned the area with his mental power? There was no one around, how could this be possible?

    Before Rody could react, Gill suddenly collapsed silently beside him. He caught her and found her barely breathing, completely unconscious, obviously hit by a ''Sleep'' or ''Dizziness'' spell. The opponent''s silent magical attack caught Rody off guard. How did he cast a spell right under their noses without moving a hand or lifting a staff?

    "What''s your name, first-star novice magic apprentice?" The opponent seemed pleased to see Rody''s shocked face. Dealing with this novice magic apprentice who couldn¡¯t even cast a spell was easy for him, even with his eyes closed.

    "What rank of magic master are you?" Rody couldn''t find any emblem on the middle-aged mage and asked.

    "Seven stars," the middle-aged man replied with a smile, "I didn''t need to deal with you personally, but this is the land of evil, and one must be cautious."

    "How many Big Dipper Seventh Star magic masters does Great Frey have? They didn¡¯t all come to the land of evil, did they?" Rody also smiled, "You''re right, this is the land of evil, one must be careful. Even for a great nation, losing a Big Dipper Seventh Star magic master would be painful, wouldn''t it?"

    "You seem to want to play a game with me?" The middle-aged man casually gestured, "Go ahead, I¡¯ll give you three minutes."

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    "Of course, I''m not your match, but there is someone who can!" Rody carried Gill on his back, smiling, "Dean, why did you only just arrive? You really scared us just now!"

    "Buke?" The middle-aged man was startled and shot into the sky like lightning, but on checking behind him, there was no one there.

    Seeing Rody fleeing desperately through the forest with Gill on his back, the middle-aged mage, a Seven-Star magic master, was furious at being tricked by a novice magic apprentice.

    The middle-aged man shot a large fireball at Rody with confidence, but the novice apprentice, displaying exceptional agility, dodged it.

    The fireball exploded in the forest, causing a burst of flames and billowing smoke.

    Once the chaos subsided, the middle-aged man was enraged to find that the cunning novice had used the smoke to escape over fifty meters away. He thought bitterly of chopping off the novice''s legs and dismembering him. Hearing the explosion, four or five soldiers guarding the area immediately ran towards the sound. Suddenly, someone burst out, yelling, "Enemy behind, everyone attack!"

    The four soldiers were startled and immediately gripped their sword hilts tightly. A squad leader even gathered his fighting spirit, and upon seeing someone quickly approaching from behind, exerted all his strength to unleash a ''Sword Blade Wave.''

    "You fools, that one was the enemy!" the middle-aged man used a magic shield to knock back the four attacking soldiers, cursing continuously.

    "Damn, we have an enemy behind us!" The soldiers quickly got up and followed the middle-aged man in hot pursuit.

    A shadow flashed, slicing across a soldier''s neck.

    The soldier ran a few steps, then realized blood was spurting from his neck like a fountain. Unable to utter a word, he stumbled and fell to the ground, gurgling blood bubbles. The middle-aged man had just launched several wind blades at Rody, intending to sever the novice''s feet, when he suddenly felt a heavy blow to his chest, shattering his magic shield and cracking his ribs.

    He was horrified and utterly perplexed, wondering who had ambushed him.

    "I''ll kill you!" The squad leader roared like thunder, charging at the middle-aged man with concentrated fighting spirit. This startled the mage, suspecting betrayal. But all the soldiers in this mission were carefully selected for their loyalty. Could this man be under some bewitching spell? Regardless, the middle-aged man retaliated with a massive fireball, blasting the squad leader away.

    "Ahh..." Someone screamed nearby. A soldier, clutching his neck, leapt up and then collapsed.

    Just as the middle-aged man raised his magic shield again, he saw a bone spear pierce through the chest of the last soldier, pinning him to the ground. A skeleton with a shattered ribcage appeared, incredibly agile, far surpassing ordinary skeletons. It made a small leap and hurled a bone spear at the mage.

    While dodging the bone spear, the middle-aged man felt another heavy blow to his back, shattering his magic shield.

    Besides the novice magic apprentice, there was no one else behind him. Who was ambushing him? The mage soared into the sky, scanning his surroundings, and suddenly felt a lethal strike from above.

    "Boom!" The mage erupted in flames, shaking the entire space around him.

    All attacks from above were deflected by his protective fire shield. The middle-aged man was seething with rage, embarrassed that as a great Big Dipper Seventh Star magic master, he was made a fool by such weak attacks, throwing him into confusion and fury.

    The middle-aged man conjured up a massive Sunfire Sphere and hurled it towards the skeleton that kept throwing bone spears at him.

    The entire forest shook incessantly, and the surrounding trees snapped and fell.

    The branches and leaves dried up quickly due to the high temperature and caught fire. In no time, fierce flames raged and thick smoke billowed. To the mage''s fury, the burning skeleton did not die. It used a faint fighting spirit to protect its body. Its charred bones caught fire, yet it still managed to dismantle its own ribs and throw them like boomerangs at him.

    In the sky, two black spots, resembling crows or bats, circled non-stop, seeking an opportunity to attack.

    "It''s you causing all this trouble!" The middle-aged man suddenly calmed down and pointed at Rody, who had Gill tied to his back with thin vines, and roared angrily, "Necromancer, you''re a necromancer! All of this is your doing!"

    "As a distinguished Big Dipper Seventh Star magic master, you should cultivate your composure," Rody said with a smile, "if you have any, that is!"

    "You are definitely not a first-star novice magic apprentice!" The middle-aged man''s face turned red as he said coldly, "To be able to influence my mind with magic, even for just a few seconds, you must be at least a five-star senior magic master! I was wondering how, as a novice magic apprentice, you managed to survive until now in the land of evil. Turns out you''re a despicable necromancer!"

    "Leave the title of ''despicable'' for yourself," Rody chuckled, "If word gets out that a Big Dipper Seventh Star magic master ambushed two magic academy freshmen, one of whom is a novice, everyone would find it shameful on your behalf."

    "Necromancers, enemies of the light, are fair game for anyone to kill, without guilt!" the middle-aged man snorted, "Do you have anything else to say?"

    "Nothing," Rody shook his head and laughed, "I think as long as you don''t tell anyone, no one will know I''m a necromancer who can be killed without guilt."

    "You think you can match me? Ahahaha!" The middle-aged man burst into laughter upon hearing this.

    "Your laughter is too ugly," Rody sighed, "To think that a great magic master laughs like a thug robbing passersby, I truly feel sorry for your parents! Don''t take it too hard, I''m just speaking the truth. Doesn''t the ''Code of Light'' say something like this? When someone hits your left cheek, offer them the right one; when someone curses you, thank them! Master mage, what are you waiting for? Thank me! I won''t hit your face, I find it dirty¡­"

    "I''ll kill you!" The middle-aged man felt a surge of uncontrollable rage well up within him. Waving his staff, he conjured a ''Flaming Giant Wheel'' and furiously hurled it at the young man who had infuriated him so deeply.

 Chapter 77: Psychological Warfare

    A giant wheel of blazing flames cut through the void, slashing a huge rift into the earth like a hurricane, spiraling towards Rody''s body, intending to cleave him and Jill in half.

    Rody stood still, not moving. The flaming wheel spun past his body, rumbling as it cut down a large swath of trees behind him.

    "Hmph, just a toad, only good at blustering with words," the middle-aged man snorted heavily through his nose, pleased to see his magic slash through the opponent''s body.

    "That''s right, I agree," unexpectedly, Rody was not dead. He clapped his hands and said, "It seems you are quite self-aware!"

    "How did you dodge my magical attack?" The middle-aged man''s eyes bulged out. He had clearly seen the flaming wheel slash through the middle of the opponent''s body; how could he not be injured? But upon closer inspection, although Rody''s face was smeared with a bit of mud and sweat, and his left cheek bore a few red marks from tree branches, he showed no other signs of injury and appeared lively and vigorous.

    "With your wisdom, it''s hard for me to explain it to you," Rody shook his head and sighed, his face expressing ''you''re an incurable fool''.

    "Cross of Fire Execution..." The middle-aged man''s magical power was indeed astonishing, and he chanted at an extremely fast pace.

    "Ah-choo!" Rody opened his mouth wide and yawned, looking utterly bored.

    The middle-aged man was thoroughly enraged. He soared into the sky, first smashing a ''Cross of Fire Execution'' down at Rody, then chanting several large fireballs and pillars of flame, igniting a fierce blaze at Rody''s location. Still not satisfied, he finally summoned a burning meteor from the sky to smash down.

    The entire earth shook, mountains trembled, forests tumbled, and fires raged everywhere.

    The meteor deeply indented a burning crater into the ground, the violent shockwave destroying everything around, leaving only flames between heaven and earth.

    Convinced that Rody was completely obliterated, with no life remaining amidst the fire, the middle-aged man was somewhat satisfied. Facing such mockery from a magic academy freshman, as a revered being, he couldn''t contain his anger. Perhaps using a single ''Fire Lance Barrage'' would have been enough to skewer and kill the opponent, but that would not have been satisfying enough. He wanted this sharp-tongued brat to be utterly destroyed, reduced to ashes.

    A group of soldiers rushed over from afar, each one staring in shock and awe.

    They thought they had encountered a powerful enemy, hence the need to summon a meteor. Seeing the middle-aged man flying towards them, they saluted him with a mix of reverence and admiration, protecting him as they returned to their assembly point to rest.

    Everyone''s face was filled with a sense of honor, as if they too had played a part in defeating a strong adversary, feeling proud.

    Half a day later, the fire gradually died down. The ground was scorched black and red, and the ash and charcoal from the burnt trees still emitted wisps of light smoke, dispersing with the wind. As the sun set in the west and night slowly fell, the earth regained its tranquility. When the stars began to scatter across the sky, suddenly two black dots flew back, quickly inspecting the surroundings, then picked up half a skull from the ash and mud.

    A skeleton seemingly materialized out of thin air, falling into the crater, charred and smoking from the intense heat of the meteor.

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    But the skeleton didn''t care, casually summoning two puppet stone demons to lift it up.

    The puppet stone demons carried the skeleton to the top of the crater, where the skeleton suddenly opened its arms as if to embrace someone. Then, Rody appeared out of nowhere, carrying the unconscious Jill on his back. Her breathing was light and long, as if she had just fallen asleep. Rody gently landed from the grasp of Dark Servant Nicholas, quickly crossing the scorching ground.

    "Marcus is left with only a skull; it seems I need to find a sturdy body for it," Rody summoned two mantises, looked at the skull they held, sighed slightly, and then stored Marcus''s skull.

    Looking at Jill, Rody gently put her down, conjured a large cloak, wrapped her in it, and held her in his arms.

    Jill remained asleep, unaware that Rody had carried her through a harrowing battle of life and death, or that she was now safely sleeping in his arms. Rody remembered what the beautiful teacher had told him and smiled slightly. Although he wasn''t strong enough to directly confront a Big Dipper Seven Stars magic master, he could use his intellect to manipulate his opponent.

    He could protect Jill. If it weren''t for his concern for her safety, he might even have considered fighting the opponent.

    Fighting with Jill on his back was impossible. Rody, though eager to challenge his limits, realized after repeatedly luring the enemy into casting spells and seeing the enemy''s still abundant magical power, that a seventh-tier magic master was beyond his current ability to defeat. He had no choice but to avoid battle and choose safety.

    Holding Jill, Rody had barely walked ten steps when he stopped again.

    "Who are you?" Rody asked coldly, but there was no one in front or behind him.

    "I am a hunter, a very patient one," a shadow less than three meters behind Rody gradually deepened, eventually forming into a tall man. The tall man''s face was hidden in the darkness, and he spoke indifferently, "You may have fooled others, but you can''t fool me. Especially your previous use of a storage space for evasion has piqued my curiosity."

    "Is that why you''ve been lurking here for hours?" Rody asked softly.

    "No, mainly it''s a feeling," the tall man smiled, "You give off a strange feeling, like you can''t be killed even in dire situations."

    "Since I can''t be killed, are you still going to make a move?" Rody slowly turned around, but even with his dark vision, he couldn''t see the tall man''s face clearly, only his eyes emitting a faint golden light. Shocked, Rody asked, "Are you the Sword Emperor?"

    "No, I am just a Sky Warrior," the tall man rested his hand on the hilt of his sword, paused, and then asked, "How do you know I can''t kill you?"

    "If you could, you wouldn''t waste time talking so much," Rody laughed, "I know Sky Warriors are fast, but not faster than my mental power. As soon as you draw your sword, I''ll retreat back into the storage space, ensuring not even a hair is harmed by your sword qi. If you were confident, you would have already made your move, instead of playing psychological tactics with me."

    "I can suppress you with my mental power, just for a second," the tall man''s golden eyes grew brighter, eventually shining like a bright moon.

    "Child''s play," Rody said with a faint smile.

    "Even if I can''t kill you, I can wait here. You can''t hide in there forever," the tall man''s grip on his sword tightened.

    "Of course, I can''t stay forever, but I can sleep in there for over a year," Rody''s expression remained unchanged.

    "What about her?" the tall man sneered, "How long can this girl last?"

    "A few days, at least," Rody slowly raised his hand, showing the ''Mind Saw'' to the opponent, while casually saying, "During the days you wait, I can attack you at any time with my mental power! Unless you are outside my control range. If you leave a hundred meters away, I can expend mental power to move a few meters forward, wait for you to arrive, then hide again. It''s troublesome, but do you think you can stop me from leaving?"

    "If I were a Sword Emperor, I would have killed you without hesitation," the tall man released his grip on the sword and sighed, "Unfortunately."

    "I will spare you once when we meet again," Rody said with a smile.

    "Why?" the tall man asked in surprise.

    "Because I dislike trouble. If you insist on waiting, it would spoil my mood," Rody laughed, "But since you let me go now, I will return this ''favor'' to you. So, if you ever fall into my hands, I will also let you go!"

    "Interesting boy," the tall man chuckled, "Quite arrogant!"

    "Goodbye," Rody turned and walked away.

    "Hey, what''s your name?" the tall man raised his voice, "Arrogant boy, tell me your name!"

    "You''ll know when my name becomes famous," Rody, of course, wouldn''t foolishly tell his enemy his name ¨C that''s what brainless braggarts do. Taking advantage of the moment while the other had not changed his mind, he quickly carried Jill into the darkness.

    After traveling about five or six kilometers and confirming that the other was not secretly following, he finally relaxed slightly.

    If that guy really waited outside his storage space, it would be extremely troublesome. With Rody''s current mental power, he couldn''t launch a powerful attack through the storage space to harass the enemy. Moreover, the opponent was a Sky Warrior, highly sensitive to sneak attacks, making success unlikely. Most importantly, while Jill was in a timeless sleep in the storage space, she was a living person, and maintaining her existence consumed an enormous amount of Rody''s mental power. Rody, whose mental power couldn''t recover in the storage space, couldn''t maintain her existence while simultaneously using his mental power to harass the enemy.

    Fortunately, he managed to bluff the Sky Warrior with psychological tactics, or the consequences would have been severe.

    Rody didn''t realize that after he left, the tall man was also secretly shocked. An enemy who could hide and not be attacked, always able to harass with mental power, was also a painful matter.

    Especially that terrifying ''Mind Spiral'', sharper than sword qi, not only spinning at high speed but also invisible and traceless.

    If it weren''t for that arrogant boy raising his hand to show him, he wouldn''t have discovered such a mental magic attack that uses mental power as a spinning force.

    "Felik really is a land of talent," the tall man looked in the direction Rody disappeared and sighed slightly, "It''s hard to conquer this country... Now I understand why even the Divine Race couldn''t destroy this nation."

 Chapter 78: Classmates Reunite

    Jill woke up, recalling her encounter with the enemy alongside Rody, and felt a surge of fear, but seeing herself safely on Rody''s back, her fear dissipated into nothingness. Not wanting him to notice she was awake, Jill secretly laid her head on Rody''s back, gently closed her eyes, and quietly savored the care and peace she felt.

    With him protecting her, there was nothing to worry about.

    Though he was about her age, he felt like a great tree shielding her from wind and rain, her being a small grass under his immense protection.

    How wonderful it would be to let him carry her like this for a lifetime... Thinking this, Jill''s face turned pink, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, too shy to open her eyes, but a sweet smile appeared on her lips.

    For two days, Rody had been carrying Jill through the forest.

    They frequently encountered small squads of soldiers searching for them, many skilled, with almost every squad leader a four-star swordsman and five-star swordsmen not uncommon.

    Jill''s sensitivity, combined with Rody''s mental detection, allowed them to easily spot enemies, avoiding, hiding, or ambushing as necessary, and they managed to escape the massive encirclement of the army unscathed. Once, encountering a patrol squad separated from the main force, Rody even secretly killed those four men and took their armor for Jill to wear.

    Several encounters with the army''s soldiers led them to mistake Rody and Jill for comrades, helping them to escape the encirclement.

    The continuous rain also became a veil of safety for Rody and Jill.

    The soldiers, drenched and cold, with low morale, saw their own people patrolling drenched and generally ignored them, preferring to shelter under trees, cursing the terrible weather.

    Rody and Jill walked in the damp forest for three days, seeing less than an hour of sunshine, with the rest of the time spent in the rain.

    "Look, there seems to be a small cabin ahead," Jill pointed out excitedly to Rody.

    "Who would live in such a place?" Rody wondered. It couldn''t be another tree herder; who would choose to live in a place like the Land of Evil? A holy person shunning the world, or someone hiding from enemies? Nevertheless, Rody also wanted to check it out. The discomfort of days in the rain made him yearn for a place to rest, and if the host was kind, perhaps there would be some hot food to fill their stomachs.

    Before they got close, they suddenly heard laughter.

    Not only was there someone in the cabin, but there were also several people, seemingly sharing jokes, their laughter a mixture of male and female voices.

    Rody and Jill approached and were surprised to find that the cabin was quite large and luxuriously furnished inside. There was not only the hot food Rody and Jill hoped for, but also a fireplace burning charcoal, the aroma of baked bread making both of them swallow hard. It had been a long time since they had eaten baked bread or drunk a bowl of steaming soup. Although Rody''s storage space still had plenty of dry food, the coarse taste of the wheat cakes had turned their stomachs.

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    What surprised Rody and Jill the most was not the food, but the people.

    In the cabin, they found acquaintances, and not just one. Elizabeth, Shira, the chubby Tommy, and the thief Terry were all there, sitting at a table inside, happily chatting and laughing while enjoying hot food and sweet wine.

    "Elsa sister, Sherry sister, and classmates Tommy and Terry, how come you are here?" Jill asked joyfully.

    "It''s you, my little darling, look how soaked you are, come in quickly..." Elizabeth turned around, saw Rody and Jill, immediately stood up, and waved them over. Chubby Tommy''s eyes shone as he waved the chicken leg in his hand, shouting, "Ah, great, seeing two more classmates. It must be heaven''s guidance that brought us all together, hooray!"

    "Yes, it''s as if God cleared our eyes," thief Terry also nodded happily.

    "Jill, wait a moment." Perhaps naturally suspicious, Rody held back Jill, who was eagerly about to run over and embrace Elizabeth, and smiled, "Classmates, although it''s impolite, for safety, please forgive my suspicion and answer me, does anyone here know my name?"

    "Rody, your vigilance is commendable, but don''t test us, because we are all your best classmates," chubby Tommy laughed heartily, "Have you forgotten when we went together to see a beauty perform a striptease in a lion''s cage? Ah, I''ve spoken out of turn, it should be our secret!"

    "I was there too, hehe," thief Terry chuckled.

    "I think Rody''s caution is right," Elizabeth nodded, "It''s something we all need to maintain. Dear Rody, let me tell you, the host here is a friend of Dean Buck, responsible for hosting everyone who gets teleported to the Wet Forest. Although Dean Buck changed the destination from Soul Break Ridge, his real intention was not to abandon us but to have his friend secretly watch over us."

    "Got it, more or less," Rody nodded, took Jill''s hand and walked two steps forward, then stopped and smiled, "Why haven¡¯t I seen the host?"

    "The hospitable host is out looking for our scattered classmates, worried about everyone''s safety. She just made us a lot of delicious food and went out, maybe she''ll be back in the evening. Her magical powers are strong, and she often lives here, so please don''t worry about her," Elizabeth pulled out a chair, opened her arms to Jill and said, "Jill, my little sister, what are you waiting for? Come into my arms, look how drenched you are?"

    "Rody..." Jill, whose hand was held by Rody, hesitated, her head down, not daring to speak, obviously still not accustomed to Rody holding her hand, especially in front of her classmates.

    "I apologize for my earlier suspicion, but I will express it with a strong hug," Rody laughed, leading Jill forward.

    "You''ve always been like this, Rody, we totally understand," chubby Tommy laughed heartily.

    "We don''t mind a friend''s misunderstanding, just one hug, and even the worst misunderstanding will vanish like smoke. Rody, let''s raise a glass and drink heartily! In this damned Wet Forest, we''ve finally met," thief Terry joyfully raised a goblet full of wine towards Rody.

    "Friends?" Upon hearing this, Rody suddenly stopped in his tracks.

    "Did I say something wrong? My friend, do you still want to test me? Do you doubt me, who has lived and happily interacted with you? Dear classmate Rody, you indeed are a cautious person, a hundred times more cautious than me, a scout thief," thief Terry laughed heartily.

    "If you want to ask me, then I can tell you, the first time we met, you were sitting in the last row among all the classmates. You always liked to sit at the back, am I right?" Shira asked with a smile before Rody could even turn to her. Rody laughed, holding Jill''s hand, and stepped forward, but as he reached the small wooden door at the entrance, he suddenly stopped again, smiling broadly, "Classmates Andrew and Colin inside, do you know what I want to say? Everything you''ve said is wrong."

    "Rody, what are you talking about?" Elizabeth and the others were stunned.

    "I''m speaking human language," Rody chuckled, "Even though you are a witch, you should understand that."

    "You, damn it, how did you figure it out?" Elizabeth''s voice suddenly changed, becoming sinister and hoarse, terrifyingly abnormal. Jill, scared, quickly hid behind Rody.

    "On your door, it''s written ''Witch''s Cabin'', even a blind man could see that," Rody laughed heartily, "Chubby Tommy, do you know when you wrote these words on the door? Ha, you don''t know. Do you know who owns the waterproofing agent used for the writing? Mine! You couldn''t possibly know that either. You know about the beauty who does a striptease in the lion''s cage, and everyone likes to watch, but you don''t know that I never go there. Do you think I would casually hug a classmate? No, apart from my dear mother, I am stingy with my hugs to everyone... Do you think chubby Tommy and thief Terry, seeing me, would stand inside and joke with me? Even if there was a mountain of chicken legs waiting for them to eat, even if it was raining knives outside, they would rush out to respectfully invite me in first. Do you understand now, classmates Andrew and Colin?"

    "Damn it, that fatso actually wrote on my door?" Elizabeth suddenly turned into a fat and ugly old witch, her appearance so grotesque that Rody had to shield his eyes, unable to bear looking at her, but he didn''t vomit, evidently his mental defense was much stronger than chubby Tommy''s and thief Terry''s.

    "Not only did he write, but he also drew your figure. Although Tommy''s drawings of beauties are terrible, his drawings of ugly women are quite accurate," Rody laughed.

    "I''m going to kill him..." The old witch screeched wildly.

    "How could you possibly guess it was me and little Colin? Why didn''t you guess it was someone else?" Chubby Tommy transformed into a pale-faced Andrew, weakly asking, "Rody, how did you know I was Andrew?"

 Chapter 79: The Red Hat Dwarf

    Jill wasn''t surprised that Rody could discern the cabin as a witch''s house with traps inside, as she knew both she and Rody were extremely sensitive.

    But how did Rody know for sure that Andrew and little Colin were inside? Jill was very curious and puzzled. She knew Rody was intelligent, but she didn''t expect him to be so certain and accurate.

    "It''s actually very simple," Rody said with a slight smile. "Earlier, Jill and I met Aaron and little Colin''s brothers, so it couldn''t be them. Tommy and Terry''s illusions, despite appearing in front of us, made laughable mistakes, so it couldn''t be them either. And what proved their departure were these words and drawings on the door. As for Elizabeth and Shira, I believe their strength wouldn''t let them easily fall into your trap. So who else could it be, besides them? Sani and Ollaria, who have the vision to see through all illusions? Of course not."

    "Why didn''t you guess it was Leo and Benson?" Andrew asked in doubt.

    "Because Benson is more cautious than you think. He is a defensive swordsman and wouldn''t be easily fooled," Rody chuckled. "Even Tommy could see through such childish tricks that would make kids laugh. Do you think they could deceive me?"

    "I''m going to kill you!" the old witch sneered coldly. "No matter how smart you are, you can''t escape death."

    "Why don''t you scare me by saying you''ll chop off my head and scoop out my brain as a snack?" Rody chuckled. "I don''t have much time to waste words with you, but before I leave, unlike Tommy, who left without manners or a gift, I won''t do the same. Jill, are you ready? We have a surprising gift for this witch!"

    "Yes." Jill stretched out her hand, conjuring a ring of fire, then concentrated an ice ball to its limit, controlling it just before it exploded, and then made it slowly rotate around her.

    "God, what are you trying to do?" Andrew was terrified.

    Water and fire are difficult to coexist, and when ice and flame collide, a huge explosion can occur. If Jill''s control was even slightly off, the explosion could be unimaginable. The old witch was dumbstruck, never expecting this shy girl to have such terrifying magical control. In her horrified gaze, Jill conjured three rings of fire, each with rotating ice and flame.

    What made Andrew, little Colin, and the old witch faint was that Rody actually managed to grab each of these fire rings one by one with his hand and then forcefully hurled them.

    The rings of fire with rotating ice and flame broke through the door. The old witch desperately tried to repel them with her mental power.

    Suddenly, she felt a heavy blow to her forehead, her world spinning as her mental power instantly scattered, helplessly watching the rings of fire explode inside the fireplace, causing a deafening blast.

    Just after Rody threw the third ring of fire, he struck the old witch with a mental warhammer in a sneak attack and quickly fled the cabin with Jill.

    The terrifying explosion behind them knocked them to the ground, the shockwave spreading, and the trees around them toppled. The witch''s cabin was completely destroyed. Although Rody wasn''t sure if the old witch was dead, he quickly picked up Jill and swiftly left.

    Regarding Andrew and little Colin, Rody didn''t check on them; he only wished them luck in fending for themselves.

    If they were not classmates, Rody would not have acted this way, as it posed certain risks.

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    The massive explosion could easily attract enemies.

    It would be a big problem if the old witch hadn''t died.

    After running several kilometers with Jill, when she was put down, she dared not look up at anyone, her ears red. After walking more than ten kilometers through the rainforest, Jill finally asked in a voice as small as a mosquito''s, "Do you think classmate Andrew might have been killed in the explosion?"

    "He won''t be, he''s a fire mage with resistance to fire magic," Rody replied with a light laugh.

    "Classmate little Colin isn''t," Jill hummed in agreement, and after a long while, she added that sentence.

    "He''s thick-skinned," Rody nodded, reached out to pat Jill''s head to signal her not to worry about others. Jill seemed to like Rody stroking her head, she lowered her head and stopped talking, but she sneakily looked at him under her eyelashes, and whenever he looked back, she quickly cast her gaze down. The two of them followed the direction given by the tree herder elder Toka, heading towards the land of the dwarves.

    A day later, they emerged from the rainforest.

    Just after crossing a small hill, they found clear skies and bright sunshine on the other side, lifting their spirits.

    The hills were dotted with clumps of bushes, full of figs and unknown flowers. There were small streams babbling and springs everywhere on the ground, and in the distance, rainbows hung beautifully over the mountains.

    "This place is so beautiful, it''s like a fairy garden," Jill exclaimed in admiration.

    "Let''s rest for a while then!" Seeing nothing suspicious around and wanting Jill to relax, Rody decided to take a break right there.

    Jill happily picked some figs and washed them by the stream, and they began to enjoy this unexpected and sweet find. Rody had just eaten a couple when he suddenly said he was sleepy and lay down to sleep. Jill, puzzled at first, saw Rody resting and joyfully ran to the stream to wash her hands and face. She took off her boots, revealing her feet as white as jade, and dipped them into the cool spring water.

    A gentle breeze blew, and Jill sneakily glanced at Rody, finding him fast asleep. She then started picking flowers and grass to weave a flower crown to wear on her head.

    Unexpectedly, a whirlwind blew, whisking away Jill''s newly woven flower crown.

    Jill quickly got up and chased after it, her small feet pattering.

    The strange whirlwind blew the pretty flower crown not too high or too low, leading Jill towards a thicket far away.

    "Got it!" Jill jumped up happily, grabbing the flower crown in her hands. She joyfully put it on and turned around, only to be startled; behind her stood a dwarf wearing a red hat. This dwarf was extremely short and looked comically funny with a long nose, big mouth, bulging eyes, a pointed head, narrow forehead, and long chin. On top of his head, he wore a red hat far bigger than his body.

    "You ate my fruit and picked my flowers; I must punish you!" the red-hatted dwarf extended his skinny fingers, glaring at Jill with big eyes.

    "I''m sorry," Jill quickly apologized, not expecting that this place had an owner.

    "If you don''t want to be punished, then pay a compensation of a hundred gold coins!" the red-hatted dwarf demanded exorbitantly.

    "I don''t have that much money," Jill replied in fright, quickly waving her hands.

    "Then you must accept a severe punishment, an extremely cruel punishment! Let me tell you, even dragons can''t endure this kind of punishment. Think carefully before you answer, understand?" the red-hatted dwarf warned sternly, then added, "If you compensate with five gems, I can also forgive you!"

    "I, I don¡¯t have five gems," Jill was troubled.

    "That gem on your neck, I like it. Use it to compensate for my loss!" the red-hatted dwarf pointed excitedly at the colorful gem that had somehow fallen from around Jill''s white jade neck. "My figs are sweeter than those in the elves'' garden. I water, weed, fertilize, catch bugs, and even sing to them every day to get them this sweet. Even dragons who have tasted them can''t stop praising them! Only the demonic fruits of the demon race and the fruits of justice of the divine race can match them, otherwise, even the rainbow fruits of the fairy race can''t compare!"

    "The figs are very sweet," Jill protected her colorful gem, troubled, "But this is my life gem, my aunt said I can never part with it, otherwise she can''t find me."

    "You ate my fruit, drank my stream water, and picked my flowers. If you don''t compensate, I''ll curse you to become an unloved girl! Is that what you want?" the red-hatted dwarf hopped around, trying to grab the colorful gem on Jill''s neck, excitedly saying, "Give it to me, to me, to me! If you give it to me, I''ll bless you with the dwarves'' most adept magic, making you a lucky girl! I am the number one magician of the dwarves, quickly give it to me!"

    "¡­" Jill was too troubled. Her life gem couldn¡¯t be given away lightly, but she had eaten someone else''s fruits, and she had always been an unlucky girl. If she could become lucky, that would be amazing.

    Suddenly, a foot stomped down from the sky.

    It flattened the red-hatted dwarf, hat and all, startling Jill. She looked up to find Rody.

    "Want her gem? Why don¡¯t you ask her knight first?" Rody stomped on the red-hatted dwarf, crushing the red hat out of shape. Jill hurriedly stopped him, but although she caught Rody''s hand, his feet relentlessly stomped on the red-hatted dwarf, who cried out in pain.

    "You''re bullying, that¡¯s unreasonable. Wah wah wah!" The red-hatted dwarf managed to struggle up only after Jill pulled Rody away, then started crying loudly.

    "Actually, I like to be reasonable. Let me talk to you again!" Rody, with a fist in hand, approached, scaring the dwarf into fleeing quickly.

    "It''s just a small dwarf; Rody, could you lend me a hundred gold coins?" Jill, seeing the red-hatted dwarf crying pitifully, softened her heart.

    "No, no, I don''t want money, I want the gem, I want that gem!" The red-hatted dwarf perked up immediately when he heard this. Rody''s hand was caught by Jill, preventing him from hitting the dwarf, so he kicked out, sending the dwarf flying ten meters away, laughing, "Here, I give you a gem! Do you think your sleep magic would work on me? You dwarf trickster!"

    "I''m not a trickster!" the red-hatted dwarf got up, earnestly saying, "I am the number one magician of the dwarf race."

    "Right, you''re not a trickster, you''re a super big trickster, the number one big trickster of the dwarves!" Rody suddenly kicked out a boot, hitting the red-hatted dwarf on the head and knocking him down again.

 Chapter 80: The Future Goddess

    After encountering the red-hatted dwarf in the hills and grasslands, it followed Rody and Jill incessantly, regardless of how much Rody hit or kicked it. It possessed a life-saving magic that allowed it to turn into a puff of smoke and hide inside its large red hat upon receiving a heavy blow.

    As long as that extraordinarily sturdy red hat, made of unknown materials, didn''t fall apart, it was believed that the dwarf would be fine.

    Although Jill was reluctant to give it her life gem, she felt pity for it, as Rody would beat it terribly every time he saw it.

    Thus, despite it following them, Jill couldn¡¯t bear to drive it away, not having the chance to be alone with Rody anymore. The red-hatted dwarf realized this and exploited Jill''s kindness, often running to her for protection when Rody started hitting it, hiding behind her. Jill was both annoyed and amused; if the red-hatted dwarf wasn''t so boastful, maybe Rody would have hit it less.

    "Where are you going? Don¡¯t you ever rest? You know, overworking your body can be harmful to your lifespan. As the number one healer of the dwarf race, I know more than anyone else... Hey, are you even listening to me?" the red-hatted dwarf followed them, shouting loudly.

    "Shut up, or I''ll sew your mouth shut with needle and thread," Rody picked up a stone, and although the red-hatted dwarf frantically ran away, it was accurately hit on the head.

    "My red hat, waaaah..." The red-hatted dwarf first cried loudly, but no one paid attention to it.

    "This is my beloved treasure, ruined by a brute," the red-hatted dwarf quickly followed, tearfully trying to gain Jill''s sympathy, but it was unsuccessful, as Jill allowed Rody to lead her away. The red-hatted dwarf pitifully said, "A little dwarf like me, with no parents, left here, will surely be sold into slavery. Maybe I''ll even be beaten by my master when they are displeased. Wuu wuu, Princess Jill, your knight threatened to sew my mouth shut. Then Red Hat can''t eat anymore."

    "Don¡¯t worry, he won¡¯t sew your mouth shut," Jill quietly comforted it.

    "Young knight, brute human male, did you hear that? The princess you serve has given her command. She grants Red Hat the sacred right of inviolability. With her golden word, you must obey!" The red-hatted dwarf immediately became arrogant upon hearing this, stating pompously, "As a magician also serving the princess, my status is above yours. From now on, you must follow my orders, for knights must respect magicians on the battlefield and in daily life, as they are messengers of the gods. Listen, in formal and serious situations, you must salute me..."

    "Why wait for a formal and serious situation?" Rody turned and smiled slightly, saying, "I''ll give it to you now... a lethal blow!"

    The red-hatted dwarf was scared and tried to run, but it was too late.

    Rody caught it mid-air, and it couldn¡¯t escape despite frantically kicking, screaming in terror.

    "Should I skewer you with a spear and then skin you alive before smearing you with honey and roasting you over a fire? Or should I chop you into pieces and cook you like veal steaks into a fragrant meat dish?" Rody asked with a smile, showing his white teeth.

    "No, I don''t taste good!" the red-hatted dwarf was terrified, almost fainting, desperately trying to turn into smoke, but unable to transform under Rody''s mental suppression.

    "My food standards aren¡¯t too high. Sometimes, even if it''s not tasty, I can make do for a meal. I don''t mind," Rody said as he tied up the red-hatted dwarf. When he produced a barbecue spear, the dwarf burst into tears, wailing, "I really don''t taste good. I haven''t bathed in a year and three months. My skin is old and tough, my flesh is rotten and stinky. I even had skin disease before, and now I have lung disease, cough cough, I''m about to die, please don''t eat me! Whoever eats me will surely suffer from intestinal rupture."

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    "Alright, I won''t eat you," Rody chuckled. "Actually, there¡¯s another way. I could mince you into meat sauce, mix it with flour and use it as bait for fishing. That solves the problem."

    "Waaaah, the fish that eat me will also suffer from intestinal rupture..." the red-hatted dwarf burst into tears.

    "Don''t worry, I don¡¯t need the fish''s innards," Rody said indifferently.

    "Wuu wuu wuu, waaaah, help! My princess, if you don¡¯t speak up, your knight is going to chop me up alive. Although I am your servant, I haven''t done anything wrong. Such punishment is too excessive; even the God of Dwarves wouldn''t agree. My princess, are you really going to defy the will of the gods and harm a poor dwarf?" the red-hatted dwarf desperately begged Jill for help.

    "There is no God of Dwarves in the sky," Rody bluntly exposed its lie.

    "The goat-headed ''Pan'' is the God of Dwarves. He protects every dwarf! I am also his descendant, the one thousand and ninety-fifth generation," the red-hatted dwarf said convincingly.

    "Pan? He is the God of Wine," Rody snorted. "The God of Wine ''Pan'' hates the dwarves who often steal his wine the most!"

    "Rody, let it go!" Jill softly persuaded. "It means no harm, just being mischievous. We''re heading to the land of dwarves anyway, why not ask if it knows the way? Letting it guide us would be better, right?"

    "You''re going to the land of dwarves?" Upon hearing this, the red-hatted dwarf perked up, commanding, "Listen, let me down right now!"

    "Red Hat, do you know the way to the land of dwarves?" Jill asked excitedly.

    "How could I not know? I am the son of the dwarf chief, the only heir to the future chief!" the red-hatted dwarf declared proudly. "As the son of a chief, I don''t have attendants like the sons of chiefs from other races. That''s cowardly behavior. I don¡¯t need anyone''s protection or following. I am the bravest warrior on the land, venturing alone into dragon dens, stealing the greatest wealth in the world, infuriating dragons, yet not changing my expression!"

    "So you''re the chief''s son, my apologies!" Rody dumped the red-hatted dwarf on the ground and kicked it wildly.

    "If you touch a single hair of mine, my father will send five million troops to crush you like a bug!" the red-hatted dwarf, in a sorry state, crawled up and fled ten meters away before daring to voice a warning.

    "I definitely won''t touch a single hair of yours," Rody laughed. "If I really want to do something, I''ll just break your spine."

    "After you thought you could capture me, swift as the wind? The wind spirits are my relatives! My cousins live high on the cliffs and can fly freely, and I have the same ability! What is this?" the red-hatted dwarf discovered a pale green vine emerging from the ground, binding its legs tightly.

    "Something that lets you fly freely," Rody waved his hand, and the pale green vine, extremely resilient, stretched into a slingshot and flung the red-hatted dwarf high into the sky.

    "It''s not hurt, is it?" Jill asked, slightly worried.

    "It''s fine; dwarves are hard to kill!" Rody had just finished speaking when a ''boom'' was heard a hundred meters away, indicating a heavy fall.

    Despite Jill''s worries, no matter how Rody beat, kicked, threw, or smashed the red-hatted dwarf, it always quickly recovered and ran back to follow them.

    After some time, Jill became accustomed to the dwarf''s presence and stopped worrying about its safety.

    Three days later, Rody and Jill finally arrived at the land of the dwarves.

    It was a round hillock, covered in giant mushrooms and belly trees, surrounded by low thorny walls. Jill was amazed to see many dwarves using giant mushrooms as houses, and the round belly trees as their water reservoirs.

    "Hey, Red Hat, you were banished from the tribe, why are you back?" When the red-hatted dwarf eagerly ran to report, the gate guard responded in a way that nearly made Jill fall over. The red-hatted dwarf was not only not the son of the tribal chief but also a castaway banished from the tribe.

    "What? How dare you speak to me like this? Do you know what noble presence is behind me? That is a princess and her loyal knight of a kingdom! My new masters, you dimwitted guard who only knows how to stand watch, you should be saluting the princess and informing the chief, not grunting at me!" the red-hatted dwarf retorted proudly, scaring the guard dwarf, who glanced at Jill and hurriedly came over to salute.

    "Actually, I''m not a princess," Jill began to speak, and the angry dwarf guard immediately rushed at the red-hatted dwarf, stabbing at its bottom with a short spear and shouting, "I will never believe you again, damn Red Hat, you are a born liar!"

    "She may not be a princess, but she is as noble as one! Hey, hey, stop that, what kind of behavior is this? A cultured dwarf shouldn''t be rude in front of distinguished guests!" The red-hatted dwarf said, stunning the guard, and took the opportunity to escape, pointing at Jill, "Have you ever seen a human woman with a life gem? Fool, how could you have seen one! Turn your donkey-kicked head and look, that one, she''s even more noble than a princess, a human woman with a life gem, destined to become a future goddess. You better kneel before her and beg her forgiveness, you born fool!"

    "Nonsense! Who would believe you?" the dwarf guard, deceived once, naturally didn''t believe him this time.

    "I swear I''m not lying this time!" the red-hatted dwarf said angrily.

    "..." Rody gathered his mental war hammer, ready to give the blabbering red-hatted dwarf a heavy blow.

    "Red Hat, if you don''t shut your mouth right now, I''ll tear it off!" Suddenly, a strong dwarf wearing a horned helmet and wielding a battle axe came running swiftly, slapping the red-hatted dwarf away and then approaching Jill and Rody, slightly bending his body to salute, "Welcome, distinguished guests, to the land of the dwarves. I am the tribal chief, Horned Helmet."

 Chapter 81: Knight Rody

    After some conversation, both parties gained some understanding of each other.

    Rody explained his and Jill''s purpose of visit, though not holding much hope.

    The dwarf chief, Horned Helmet, sighed, "So you were referred here by the wise tree herder Toka. Unfortunately, I cannot offer you any help. I''m sorry to disappoint you."

    "I know it''s unreasonable to ask to borrow a magical airship, but if possible, I would like the chief to point us towards a way back to Felik or a human-inhabited town," Rody said. He knew it would be extremely difficult to borrow a unique treasure of the dwarves and never expected to ride a magical airship back safely. If they could find a safe city and send a magical message to the beautiful teacher and Dean Buck through the Thieves Guild, he believed they could arrange for Jill''s return.

    "If it''s difficult for you, providing a map will suffice," Jill also softly requested.

    "Noble guests, it''s not that I don''t want to lend you our magical airship, but the tribe''s only airship was stolen by the jackal-men a hundred years ago, before I was born. Our magical airship was gone. The greatest dwarf sage left behind a magic notebook, recording his miraculous life and all his secrets, but fifteen years ago, on a night, the Lord of Flames from the demon race suddenly came and looted everything in our dwarf territory," Horned Helmet shook his head. "Back then, we had over three thousand dwarves, and most were killed by the Lord of Flames. Any dwarf with a bit of knowledge was murdered. Now, we have less than five hundred left, and our magic is limited to what we''re born with."

    "The Lord of Flames?" Rody frowned, then asked, "Where is the territory of the jackal-men?"

    "Oh heavens, a reckless and ignorant knight, young man, let me tell you what terror is," the red-hatted dwarf couldn''t hold back any longer, shouting loudly, "Jackal-men are fearsome beastmen, devouring everything that moves on earth, not even sparing dragon flesh. They are natural marauders, leaving only ruins in their wake. How could such cruel locusts have a fixed territory? Even if they did, if you go alone, it''s no different from delivering dinner to the jackal-men!"

    "I''ve never seen a creature as talkative as you!" Rody, annoyed, grabbed the red-hatted dwarf and threw it out the window.

    "Good throw, my heart is finally at ease!" the dwarf guard applauded upon seeing this.

    "Jackal-men can''t settle in human-populated areas; they have no territory there, but in this Land of Evil, they have dozens of territories of varying sizes, mostly living underground," Horned Helmet said somberly. "Twenty kilometers from us, there is a territory of jackal-men, roughly the same number as us but with astonishing combat prowess. We dwarves can''t fight them and must pay a hefty tribute annually for our survival."

    "Five hundred jackal-men?" Rody pondered for a moment, then nodded, asking, "Chief, I want to visit this jackal-men territory. Can you draw me a map?"

    "It''s too dangerous, and it might not even be these jackal-men who stole the magical airship," Horned Helmet quickly dissuaded.

    "I know, even if it was these jackal-men, after a hundred years, they would have sold it to the demon race or traded it with a powerful race. Why would the Lord of Flames come to your small dwarf territory to massacre? It must be because of this," Rody smiled slightly, "I''m not going to slaughter those jackal-men, but to observe and understand the lifestyle and combat methods of the beastmen."

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    "I''m coming too," Jill immediately stood up upon hearing Rody''s decision, fearing being left behind.

    "No, you stay," Rody waved his hand. "I can move more stealthily and conveniently alone. You have been a great help, but you are already tired from the journey. Rest here; I will be back soon."

    "I want to go," Jill insisted firmly, usually easy-going but unyielding once she made up her mind.

    Left with no choice, Rody agreed to let her rest for the night and took her to the jackal-men''s den the next day. The red-hatted dwarf stood at a distance, mocked by many dwarves, but the coward, no matter what others said, refused to lead the way for Rody, despite its previous boasting.

    Many dwarves volunteered to guide Rody, but he declined each offer.

    Finally, he summoned the man-eating vine that the tree herder elder Toka had revived and unlocked its potential. He wrapped the vine around the red-hatted dwarf''s feet, dragging it along the ground as they bid farewell to Chief Horned Helmet and the other dwarves.

    "Let me go, I don''t want to die. Going to the jackal-men''s den is a fool''s errand!" the red-hatted dwarf struggled and shouted, "This is murder! Knight Rody, I have no grudge against you, you can''t do this. Ah, I remember, I have treasures, my sage grandfather left me mountains of treasure. Do you want it? Mighty Knight Rody, are you really going to refuse my redemption offering protected by the will of the gods? Listen, I, as a dwarf noble, offer you a number as ransom for my release!"

    "Hang it up and beat it!" Rody saw a slightly taller tree by the road and commanded the vine to hang the red-hatted dwarf upside down.

    The vine, previously without sentience and controlled by Rody''s mind, seemed to have become lively after Elder Toka''s potential awakening. When Rody commanded it to whip the red-hatted dwarf, it even grew spikes on the vine, whipping the dwarf until it wailed miserably.

    Not just the vine, but Rody''s bone pet, a fusion of the dark man-eating vine and a rabbit, also seemed revitalized.

    However, Rody couldn''t sense any thoughts in it, feeling it was more like a rabbit now, without any trace of the undead. If it had regained its initiative, the contract should have been dissolved, or at least not as solid as before.

    Rody didn''t understand why, but he trusted Elder Toka, believing it must be for the best.

    Elder Toka, like those old men in the ruins of the divine realm, silently did something significant for him, but wouldn''t say what exactly it was, forcing him to painstakingly figure it out himself.

    "I''ll pay 500 gold coins, just let me go!" the red-hatted dwarf couldn''t take it anymore and shrieked, but Rody was like listening to beautiful music.

    "If you keep yelling, you''ll attract the jackal-men. Be louder! I want to see how jackal-men eat dwarves!" As soon as Rody said this, the red-hatted dwarf immediately shut up, not uttering another word, making Jill secretly chuckle.

    Seven or eight kilometers from the jackal-men''s den, they saw patrols of jackal-men moving through the jungle, emitting strange howls.

    Rody had seen images of the jackal-men but found some discrepancies compared to the real ones. In the temple''s texts, these beastmen shared common traits of ugliness and evilness. The jackal-men, as lower-level beastmen, were depicted as sleazy, large wolf-dogs, with long tongues, bared teeth, and claws, resembling primitive wild beasts.

    However, Rody discovered that these jackal-men walked fully upright, not hunched over, nor did they have blood-red long tongues. What surprised Rody was that these jackal-men were wearing leather armor and wielding various weapons, evidently not just monsters living for blood and rotten flesh as described in the temple''s texts, but a race with a simple civilization.

    These jackal-men had their own language and moved in formations, with the squad leader in front, archers at the back, two shield-bearing soldiers on the sides, and a brawny soldier with a spiked club in the middle. It seemed unintentional, but Rody realized this was a combat awareness formed from living on the edge of life and death.

    The jackal-men, living in the Land of Evil, seemed very accustomed to battle and were vigilant against enemies.

    "Jill, I''ll sneak across to the other side and signal you. When I indicate to attack, use a fireball to ambush the last jackal-man archer," Rody whispered. "I''ll use a bow to kill the brawny soldier, then sneak attack the two shield-bearers. When the squad leader charges at me, use an ice ball to attack its back."

    "Knight Rody, your method lacks honor; ambushes are not a knight''s conduct," the red-hatted dwarf asserted righteously.

    "If you say one more word, I''ll knock out all your teeth, ensuring knightly honor," Rody smiled warmly at the red-hatted dwarf. "Go on, I''m listening."

    "..." The red-hatted dwarf clamped its mouth shut, fearing it couldn¡¯t help but speak.

    After Rody stealthily followed the jackal-men squad for a while, the red-hatted dwarf dared to speak, wiping sweat from its brow, and said to Jill, "Beautiful princess, honestly, your knight is not that great! How could you want such a violent person as your guardian knight? Compared to him, those raw meat-eating, blood-thirsty barbarians are practically polite gentlemen!"

    "I think he''s quite good," Jill covered her mouth, giggling. Her eyes, wide open, were fixed on Rody, her heart completely devoted to him.

 Chapter 82: Waiting is a Kind of Happiness

    Rody raised his small bow with his left hand, giving a gentle wave to Jill, then placed a self-made poisoned wooden arrow on it, aiming at the jackal-man walking in the middle.

    ''Whoosh'', the wooden arrow nailed into the neck of the burly jackal-man, unprotected. Years of hunting honed Rody''s archery skills, making it easy to ambush a large, slowly moving target. Although Rody''s magic and fighting energy were suppressed by the drug, his innate reflexes and intelligence were not sealed. His understanding of archery was on par with elves, who are natural archers. In multitasking, Rody could rapidly shoot different arrows at different targets, each arrow endowed with different magical properties.

    The only regret was that Rody couldn''t enchant the arrows himself; he had to rely on his dark servant to cast spells.

    The burly jackal-man was paralyzed by Rody''s poisoned arrow, stumbled, and fell to the ground, struggling in vain.

    The surrounding jackal-men were taken aback, too slow to react. A high-speed spinning fireball came tearing through the air, blowing off half of the jackal-man archer''s body, blood and sparks flying everywhere.

    The jackal-men leader rolled on the ground to avoid the fireball''s explosion.

    Seeing a human soldier with a sword charging at his two fallen subordinates, the leader erupted in anger, howling and running on all fours, ready to tear the detestable human to pieces. Suddenly, a chill invaded its back, and before it could scream, its voice froze in its throat.

    It watched as its body rapidly frosted over, extending to its arms, and saw its airborne body lose control and crash to the ground...

    The two jackal-men soldiers, protected by wooden shields, were unharmed. Seeing Rody charging, they raised their shields, gripping their axes.

    If this human swordsman couldn''t break their wooden shields, they were confident of chopping him up under the barrage of their axes. The jackal-men soldiers were confident, as the human swordsman had no fighting aura, at most a three-star swordsman, not a threat.

    Unfortunately, Rody suddenly stopped. He neither charged nor swung his sword.

    Two black dots shot from the sky, silently crossing the jackal-men''s throats. Only when blood sprayed out, staining their wooden shields red, did the jackal-men realize how they died, and by whose hand. Their simple minds couldn''t fathom that a peculiar human, unable to cultivate fighting energy, could develop fighting energy and magic on his dark servant.

    "What a cunning fellow..." the red-hatted dwarf watched, dumbfounded.

    As a clever dwarf, observing the entire battle process, it could judge the strength of both sides. In terms of power, Rody and Jill were much stronger, but if they fought openly as knights, they might kill only two jackal-men. Once the enemy noticed the magician, they''d have to be extremely cautious of the enemy archers.

    The red-hatted dwarf believed Rody and Jill could defeat the five jackal-men, but never expected the battle to end before it even began. The five jackal-men fell effortlessly under Rody''s cunning strategy.

    "Something''s not right," Rody returned, not looking too pleased despite his victorious ambush, puzzling the red-hatted dwarf. Wasn''t it time to boast? To praise his own martial prowess? To recite poetry and kneel respectfully before the princess, dedicating the victory to her?

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    "What''s wrong?" Jill asked softly, wiping the mud from Rody''s face with a handkerchief.

    "These jackal-men were well-trained soldiers, I saw demon symbols branded on their arms. Clearly, they''re demon forces scattered around, at least demon mercenaries," Rody nodded. "It seems the demons have heavily infiltrated the Land of Evil. With demons ahead and pursuers behind, our return to Phyllick could be troublesome..."

    "It doesn''t matter, I''m not afraid of anything when I''m with Rody," Jill seemed unfazed, even enjoying these days.

    "I guess I''m completely ignored," the red-hatted dwarf was about to make a long speech when it noticed a flash of fire in the distance. It quickly lay down, urgently signaling Rody and Jill to hide. "Quick, hide! There are fire spirits, and it would be terrible if they discovered us!"

    "What are fire spirits?" Rody looked in the direction pointed by the red-hatted dwarf, seeing two bizarre creatures floating in mid-air.

    They resembled small dwarves but without hats.

    Moreover, their bodies were ablaze, floating forward on the heat of these flames. Rody was slightly taken aback; he remembered seeing such flame-covered creatures in books from Father Cedro''s shelf, but none matched these ''fire spirits'' that resembled small dwarves. Were these unknown demonic creatures or recent demonic sacrifices?

    Could these flame-covered small dwarves become his dark servants?

    If he could add these blazing flames to Nicholas, Marcus, and Emma, their combat abilities would undoubtedly increase significantly.

    Rody asked the red-hatted dwarf in a low voice, pointing at the two flaming dwarves, "Are these former dwarves? Did the Flame Lord transform them into this?"

    "How did you guess?" The red-hatted dwarf was now thoroughly impressed by Rody''s unmatched intellect. Just hearing the name of the Flame Lord from Chief Horned Helmet, he dared to make such a bold guess. Such a sharp mind was unparalleled among humans.

    "Even though their bodies are transformed, some habits never change," Rody said calmly. "You dwarves like to laugh, and you laugh quite distinctively."

    "Is that so?" Jill looked at the red-hatted dwarf in surprise. "I didn''t notice until you mentioned it, but now that you say it, it seems true."

    "There used to be a magic of ''laughing'' known to both dwarves and fairies that could reduce hostility and increase friendliness when they smiled. Unfortunately, our tribe''s magic is lost, only fairies have preserved it," the red-hatted dwarf said with a hint of regret.

    "Jill, let''s go back and inform Chief Horned Helmet, then leave this place quickly," Rody felt it was unwise to stay longer.

    "I also have a bad feeling, but I can''t quite put my finger on it. I just feel really sad," Jill murmured in a voice as soft as a mosquito''s. When Rody looked at her, she smiled and shook her head, "Maybe it''s just an illusion. I often have these inexplicable feelings. Don''t worry too much about it. I think we might be rescued soon. Aunt Pajie can find me through the life gem, but maybe she hasn''t come because we''re too far away."

    Worried about encountering fire spirits on the road ahead, the red-hatted dwarf led Rody and Jill in a wide detour towards the dwarf territory.

    Passing a barren stone mountain, Rody was surprised to find fire spirits on the rocky cliffs. Though unsure if the Flame Lord was hiding in this mountain, Rody really wanted to capture a fire spirit to see how it was transformed by the Flame Lord, what enchantment method was used to attach the flames to their bodies.

    Concerned for Jill''s safety, Rody suppressed his desire.

    Back in dwarf territory, Jill seemed to understand what was on his mind and suddenly said to Rody, "If you really want to go, then go! I''ll wait here for you to come back! But remember to come back early, don''t make me worry!"

    "No, there will be other opportunities," Rody shook his head. How could he explain to the beautiful tutor if something happened due to his absence?

    "It''s okay, I feel very safe, no ominous feelings." Jill lowered her head, whispering softly, "I... I''m worried, actually, I''m worried about you."

    "Then wait for me here, don''t leave even for a step," Rody looked at the sky and said, "It''s afternoon now. I promise, I''ll be back before sunset, no matter what, I will come back! If there are enemies, find a place to hide, completely block the life aura emitted by your body, and use the storage space to absorb the heat emitted."

    "I''ll be very safe, don''t worry," Jill lifted her small face, giving him a shy smile.

    Watching Rody disappear from her sight, Jill stood at the window, still reluctantly gazing in that direction. She quietly thought, when Rody''s mother bid him farewell, did she worry about him like herself? Did she, like Jill, want to keep him by her side forever, yet also wish for him to freely chase his dreams?

    Perhaps she felt the same way as Jill at this moment...

    Waiting quietly for him, isn''t that also a kind of happiness?

    All afternoon, Jill stood outside the window, hoping the sun would set early so she could see his figure rushing back in the sunset''s afterglow.

    What would he say to her when he returned? Lost in thought, Jill''s little face showed a trace of sweetness. Suddenly, in the sky, someone cried out in shock and joy, then swiftly descended like lightning.

    "Aunt Pajie, is that you?" Jill heard the voice, leaping up in joy. But when she ran out to see, she almost wanted to cry.

    The beautiful tutor Margaret, in her snow-white mage robe, was stained with blood, and her half-face was speckled with blood. But when she saw Jill, she immediately smiled, rushed over, hugged Jill, kissed her fiercely, and happily said, "Thank goodness, my little darling is safe and sound! Where''s that rascal Rody? It seems I need to commend him!"

 Chapter 83: The Person Iâ€™m Looking For Is Named David

    ¡°He went out to capture a Fire Essence Monster and hasn¡¯t returned yet!¡± Jill looked timidly at Margaret, fearing she would blame Rody.

    ¡°This guy is so infuriating, how could he do this! How could he leave you alone here without care?¡± The beautiful instructor was indeed very angry, but it seemed more out of concern. She asked again, ¡°When will he be back?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯ll be back soon, he said he would return before dusk!¡± Jill replied softly, lowering her head.

    ¡°There¡¯s not enough time¡­¡± The beautiful instructor looked at the sky, then closed her eyes to sense the surroundings, shaking her head, ¡°There¡¯s no one within five kilometers now. Jill, let¡¯s go, I¡¯ll come back for him later. Not just the Great Frey Nation, but also one of the four great empires, Norn and Camaron, have powerful people entering the Evil Lands to hunt us. David and Buck won¡¯t be able to hold them off for long, we must leave immediately.¡±

    ¡°But, student Rody hasn¡¯t come back yet!¡± Jill became anxious, pleading, ¡°Auntie, let¡¯s wait a little longer, just a little while.¡±

    ¡°Listen, Jill, Rody knows better how to hide and deal with enemies. And with the Life Gem on you, the enemies can track us down.¡± Instructor Margaret said gravely, ¡°Jill, we must go back now, the longer we delay, the more dangerous it is for everyone.¡±

    ¡°Just a bit longer, student Rody will be back soon!¡± Jill insisted, hoping for Rody to miraculously appear.

    At that moment, a golden light shot from the distant sky.

    In an instant, it arrived in front of them.

    Jill was startled to see it was the always drunken Tactics Instructor Drunk Cat, covered in blood as if he had been pulled from a pool of blood. He was delighted to see the beautiful instructor holding Jill, but then shouted urgently, ¡°Go! What are you waiting for now, we have to go back?¡±

    ¡°Rody hasn¡¯t been found, he¡¯s not within my sensing range,¡± Instructor Margaret tried sensing multiple times but to no avail.

    ¡°I¡¯ll go find him!¡± Drunk Cat Instructor descended quickly, and Jill saw at least thirty fresh wounds on him ¨C his back, chest, arms, and knees were covered in dense injuries, and two bent broken arrows were stuck in his shoulder. Understanding these wounds were from protecting her, tears instantly welled up in her eyes. But Drunk Cat didn¡¯t care, as if these wounds were on someone else¡¯s body, pointing in the direction he came from, ¡°Buck is luring the enemy west, but it won¡¯t be long before they see through his illusion magic. You must leave now, not a second to delay!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re covered in blood, the enemy will immediately notice if they catch up,¡± Instructor Margaret shook her head, ¡°Lure them once more, don¡¯t go looking for Rody, go in the opposite direction, that way he¡¯ll be safer. Jill, close your eyes, we¡¯re leaving.¡±

    ¡°Auntie¡­¡± Jill cried bitterly, but she couldn¡¯t resist. If she insisted any longer, everyone might be caught by the enemy because of her.

    ¡°He¡¯ll be fine,¡± said Margaret, as a blue glow shone around her, forming a rapidly spinning halo. A beam of light rose from the tip of her staff, lifting her and Jill gently towards the sky. Jill reached out towards the ground, desperately hoping to see Rody¡¯s figure. Her tears scattered in the air, but until the moment they teleported away, she still hadn¡¯t seen Rody.

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    Jill was teleported away by Instructor Margaret, her tears turning into fine pearls as they fell.

    She wished so much to see his figure before leaving, but he didn¡¯t return in time, no miracle occurred before her eyes. She was willing to wait for him, to keep waiting here, forever, if it wasn¡¯t for everyone fighting bloodily to protect her. Seeing the blood everyone shed to protect her, the injuries they sustained, she felt she couldn''t do that.

    Although heartbroken, she still chose to teleport back with her aunt, abandoning the promise to wait for his return...

    ¡°If Rody comes back, tell him to run as far as he can in the direction of the Demon Race''s territory and not to look back. Margaret will find him later,¡± Drunk Cat shouted to the Bullhorn Tribe Chief, ¡°If the enemy catches up, tell them the direction I left in, okay? This can help us lure the enemy and also clear your tribe of any suspicion!¡±

    ¡°But doing so¡­¡± the Bullhorn Tribe Chief hesitated, ¡°will put you in more danger.¡±

    ¡°I can handle the enemy and escape,¡± Drunk Cat laughed, his body bursting with golden fighting spirit. He shot into the sky like lightning, drawing a long golden rainbow and disappeared into the eastern sky.

    The dwarves were dumbfounded, having never seen a human strong enough to fly.

    Among human strongmen, one must at least be at the seventh level of Sky Warrior to fly freely.

    Golden fighting spirit is the symbol of an eighth-level Sword Emperor.

    Who could be pursuing a Sword Emperor, covered in wounds, to make him flee from battle? What kind of strongman could force a Sword Emperor to escape?

    The Bullhorn Tribe Chief reacted the fastest, quickly ordering his tribe back inside, pretending to know nothing.

    Red Hat looked at the sky nearing dusk, the setting sun slowly sinking. His face grew more terrified and anxious, cold sweat beading on his forehead. If the enemy arrived when Rody returned, not only would Rody¡¯s life be in danger, but their dwarf tribe would also be implicated. The Bullhorn Tribe Chief thought of this too, but he didn¡¯t regret meeting the kind humans, especially those guided by the wise Treant Tokar. Even if it meant sacrificing their tribe, he was determined to protect them.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say anything later, I¡¯ll do the talking,¡± the dwarf guard suddenly approached Red Hat.

    ¡°Why? I¡¯m the best speaker in our tribe!¡± Red Hat protested.

    ¡°But I¡¯m the gatekeeper of our tribe. Anyone who wants to talk to our tribe must get my permission!¡± the dwarf guard huffed, ¡°Red Hat, if you dare to compete with me, I¡¯ll banish you. Don¡¯t forget, you¡¯re already an outcast in our tribe!¡±

    ¡°Alright, alright, the hero is you. I won¡¯t compete,¡± Red Hat lowered his head and walked back dejectedly.

    ¡®Thud¡­¡¯ Red Hat suddenly struck, hitting the dwarf guard on the back of his head with a stick. The guard turned in shock, unable to utter a word before collapsing unconscious.

    Red Hat dragged the guard back inside, then returned with his short spear, standing at the doorway.

    The Bullhorn Tribe Chief watched silently, not intervening.

    At that moment, another streak of fire, even redder than the western sky''s twilight, shot across the sky. It circled in the air before descending rapidly, landing in front of the dwarf territory. This was a middle-aged man, his face smeared with mud and his clothes spotted with blood, yet he still wore a gentle smile. Approaching Red Hat, he asked, ¡°Red Hat Dwarf, have you seen a man covered in blood? He''s my companion. If you tell me where he went, I''ll give you a gold coin.¡±

    ¡°A gold coin? Really a gold coin?¡± Red Hat''s eyes lit up with greed, almost drooling.

    ¡°Of course, it¡¯s a gold coin.¡± The middle-aged man chuckled, handing over a gold coin, ¡°If you answer well, I¡¯ll give you another one!¡±

    ¡°He went east, not long ago!¡± Red Hat, looking at the gold coin in his palm, beamed with joy while playing with it and said casually, ¡°There was also a woman, very beautiful, wearing a mage''s robe... Ah, right, I also heard the woman calling that man ¡®Drunk Cat.¡¯ Is that him?¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes, that''s him.¡± The middle-aged man gave Red Hat another gold coin and nodded, ¡°Thank you very much, little dwarf, you''re a loyal friend to us humans! Did you see anyone else? Like a very young girl, about fifteen or sixteen, very pretty. She should have been with a young companion, also about the same age, a boy. Did you see them?¡±

    ¡°No, but if I see them, I¡¯ll definitely send them your way! Where do you live?¡± Red Hat''s hand reached out and then drew back, hesitating as if he wanted to ask for more money but didn''t dare.

    ¡°I live far away, but don¡¯t worry, I''ll send someone to stay here later. This is for your food and lodging expenses.¡± The middle-aged man pulled out a purse, rustling with what seemed like a dozen gold coins, nearly driving Red Hat mad with joy. The Bullhorn Tribe Chief quickly ran over and snatched the purse, shouting, ¡°I''m the tribe chief! You gatekeeper, are you trying to embezzle the tribe¡¯s treasure?¡±

    ¡°Treat my friends well, and I promise you¡¯ll be well rewarded!¡± The middle-aged man ascended into the sky, circling once, and then flew eastward.

    ¡°We''ll treat your friends with the best hospitality, have a safe journey¡­¡± Red Hat and the Bullhorn Tribe Chief watched the man fly away, waving for a long time until he completely disappeared. They then exchanged glances, each wiping a cold sweat in secret.

    ¡°My friend¡¯s name is ¡®David.¡¯ Has he been here?¡± Red Hat and the Bullhorn Tribe Chief jumped in fright as they saw another middle-aged man standing in front of them, looking exactly like the one who had left half a minute ago. Even the bloodstains on his face and his blood-spotted clothes were the same, only reversed.

 Chapter 84: Female Angel

    Rody, following a Fire Essence Monster, entered behind a mountain wall and discovered a huge cave, with winding and unfathomable passages.

    After quite some time, he cautiously made his way out, intending to return to Jill''s side.

    It was nearly dusk by then, and Rody was pleased he wasn¡¯t too late.

    As he walked back in the afterglow of the setting sun, he wondered how happy Jill would be to see him. After spending every moment together for over ten days, Rody had just left Jill for a short while and suddenly realized that something called ''missing'' had emerged in his heart. There was an urge, urging him to return to her side quickly. This wasn¡¯t the dangerous sense of a psychic connection, but a kind of longing, akin to missing his mother or the allure of the female boss and demon sisters.

    Just as he rounded a small hill, Rody suddenly saw a man standing in front.

    He had pristine, flawless swan wings that fluttered gently, emanating a faint white light around him, exuding an aura of absolute sanctity. He wore a crown made of silver branches and olive leaves on his head, and his clothing was as white as snow, covered with an extremely exquisite silver armor, and a holy sword embellished with gems hung at his waist.

    This person had golden hair like a waterfall and was unbelievably handsome. It was believed that even the proudest of women, upon seeing him, would secretly admit their affection.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you bow in reverence upon seeing an angel? Human male, are you not a believer of the God of Light?¡± The winged man¡¯s voice was as melodious as a spring flowing over stones, captivating and heavenly. He looked at Rody as if he saw an ant crawling at his feet, his supreme aura capable of making the world¡¯s proudest knights kneel.

    ¡°An angel?¡± Rody was taken aback.

    ¡°The soldiers from Great Frey, Norn, and Camaron haven¡¯t arrived here yet. You are a student of Felic, right?¡± The winged angel glanced at Rody, noticing he was just an ordinary person with no fighting spirit or magic power, and a flash of surprise crossed his face.

    ¡°What kind of strength does a winged angel possess?¡± Rody asked with a slight smile, reversing the question.

    ¡°Angels, once born in the Birth Pool, possess the combat strength of a human Great Swordmaster. Foolish human, from your disrespectful tone, it seems you have some scheme. Do you think you can use futile and laughable means to ambush an angel? What a joke!¡± The winged angel snorted arrogantly, his face showing disdain, ¡°Do you think human magic and fighting spirit can harm a Light Angel? You truly are a fool!¡±

    ¡°If I can''t beat him, can''t I just run?¡± Rody said indifferently, ¡°Birdman, don''t be too arrogant. If I could fly, I would definitely knock your teeth out.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The winged angel was furious, experiencing such a grave insult from a human for the first time in a hundred years.

    ¡°Having such a pair of bird wings on your back is quite convenient, but they¡¯re too ugly, almost like a duck!¡± Rody finished speaking and turned to leave. The winged angel instantly blocked his path, extremely angered. He could have easily obliterated this insignificant human with magic, but that wouldn¡¯t have been satisfying. He wanted to thoroughly defeat him, torment him to the extreme, then let him die.

    ¡°How should I execute you?¡± The winged angel suppressed his anger, preparing to first dominate the conversation and subdue his opponent verbally, as killing him wouldn¡¯t be satisfying enough.

    ¡°There¡¯s a perfect way, that is to pluck your feathers one by one until you¡¯re bald, and laugh me to death!¡± Rody said with a smile, ¡°Or, you could do a striptease and disgust me to death!¡± Before Rody could finish, the winged angel, in extreme rage, drew his holy sword, unleashed a fierce sword energy that split him in two, and then conjured a huge light orb, bombing the spot where Rody had stood and blasting the entire hill to pieces.

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    The ground shook for a long time, and dust and smoke billowed.

    The winged angel saw some flesh mixed with soil in the distance, and on a stone, there was a severed hand.

    ¡°Despicable human, you think death is the end? Go to hell! For daring to blaspheme an angel, I want you to suffer in hell forever!¡± The winged angel began chanting a strange magic, a white light rapidly spreading from his body. Within the white light, one could see soul-like spirits of various animals and plants, all standing still. After the spread of the light, they began to struggle painfully.

    A huge black hole appeared on the ground, at the bottom of the white light, absorbing all the spirits within its reach.

    In an instant, all the spirits were sucked into the black hole.

    Having chanted this magic, the winged angel appeared slightly tired. He rose into the sky contentedly, circled thrice, and then shot towards the sky, disappearing.

    After a while, Rody suddenly appeared at the edge of the huge crater, holding his knees in the air, turning around, and landing steadily at the bottom of the pit.

    Looking at the sky, he smiled and said, ¡°Even though you have the strength of a wild bull, what¡¯s the use? You only have the brain of a pig! Fooled by a corpse, that¡¯s an angel? When I become powerful, I¡¯ll turn him into my slave of darkness, making him bow behind me forever. If in front of the Pope, let him kiss the mud under my feet. The Pope''s face will be worth seeing then, haha!¡±

    ¡°How about finding a female angel to be a sex slave? What do you think of that proposal?¡± Someone suggested from behind Rody.

    Rody was startled, turned around, and saw a girl floating on a staff, smiling at him. Although her face was the most beautiful he had ever seen, he had no intention of admiring it; although her bosom was high like the sacred mountains in the silent forest, he didn¡¯t even glance at it; although her white jade-like long legs, exposed from her loose robe, presented deeper temptations that could stop any man''s exploratory gaze, Rody was as indifferent as if he were blind.

    Rody closed his eyes and concentrated all his mental power to observe the girl, but to no avail, as if she didn''t exist in front of him.

    However, the girl was sizing him up, seemingly never getting enough of it, looking him over and over again.

    ¡°Do you want to see my wings?¡± The girl''s voice had an indescribable allure. If she spoke like this to a statue, perhaps the statue would come off its pedestal to kiss her jade hand.

    ¡°How many wings can an angel have at most?¡± Rody asked.

    ¡°Angels'' wings are counted in pairs. The most any angel has is eight pairs, sixteen wings,¡± the girl smiled, ¡°Only one angel possesses them, and that is the God of Light. He, the supreme being, has golden sixteen light wings, unique and unmatched. Then, the most intelligent ¡®Wish Angel¡¯ possesses ten wings; the strongest combat angel, the ¡®Seraph,¡¯ has eight wings; Archangels have six; Powers have four; and Virtues have two, like the foolish one who got angry just now!¡±

    ¡°How many wings do you have?¡± Rody asked again.

    ¡°I am a Wisdom Angel, possessing six wings, same as the Archangels. But we are called ¡®Wish Angels¡¯.¡± The girl smiled faintly, ¡°In terms of human strength rankings, I would at least be considered an Exalted Gold Robe Grand Mage. Of course, since I am special, I guess I am incomparable to the human Archmages. If you think of escaping back to the storage space, you¡¯ll find it impossible. Don''t waste your energy on such thoughts, just stay outside and talk to me!¡±

    ¡°This is a rule, isn''t it? If I think it¡¯s impossible, then it will be under the constraints of the rule.¡± Rody disappeared in an instant, then reappeared, laughing, ¡°Is this what you called impossible?¡±

    ¡°Haha, don''t you know girls like to lie the most?¡± She laughed heartily, not minding at all.

    ¡°Interested in applying to be my sex slave? You¡¯ll have to queue up at Felic first!¡± Rody taunted her while extending his mental power to sense his surroundings, worried that any noise might alert Jill. Although he didn¡¯t know her intentions, the appearance of an angel in the land of evil was definitely not a good sign.

    ¡°Do you know how old I am? To me, you are like a just-sprouted bean sprout!¡± The girl wasn¡¯t angry, covering her mouth and giggling secretly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like old women!¡± Rody nodded, saying.

    ¡°If you agree to be my holy knight, I can help you lift the Magic Martial Prohibition! How about that?¡± The girl threw out the most tempting proposition, targeting Rody''s weakest defense. Unlike an angel, she seemed more like a devil, able to see through what he needed and desired, hitting Rody¡¯s most fatal weakness.

    ¡°Being a holy knight for an old woman is a bit embarrassing. Although I really want to lift the Magic Martial Prohibition, I¡¯ll pass.¡± Rody finished speaking and felt a bit of regret himself. He had brushed past hope again, but this time, he had killed it himself. If Rody didn¡¯t long to become stronger, to lift the Magic Martial Prohibition, that would be a lie. But he would never submit under any condition.

    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. One day, you will agree,¡± the girl smiled, ¡°I can wait. A few decades, a century, is just a blink of an eye to me.¡±

    ¡°Why me?¡± Rody asked, a bit puzzled, ¡°Are there no men left in the world?¡±

    ¡°I only like interesting people, and you are quite interesting,¡± the girl laughed, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what can lift the ¡®Magic Martial Prohibition.¡¯ It gives you something to live for. There is a Black Dragon Queen under the Dark Demon God. If you get her blood and come to me, I¡¯ll give you a drop of blood. Then, with heavenly grass, green orchid, dark abyss ink peach, and blue chrysanthemum made into a potion, and finally adding Moon Goddess Well water as a catalyst, drinking it will do.¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± Rody felt dizzy after hearing this, ¡°It¡¯s too complicated, I won¡¯t do it.¡±

    ¡°If you get the Black Dragon Queen''s blood, remember to find me,¡± the girl covered her mouth and laughed heartily, finally stopping to say, ¡°If you want to find me, just shout to the sky, ¡®Most adorable, gentlest, most beautiful, kindest Wish Angel Barbara Ba¡¤Lino Bi Li¡¤Agnes¡¤Bai Li Er, your holy knight sincerely prays for your descent, your radiance will shine on my entire world, praise you, my goddess! Hallelujah!¡¯ Remember, you have to say it in one breath to work.¡±

    ¡°Only an idiot would do that!¡± Rody burst into laughter.

 Chapter 85: Smile

    ¡°Remember to find me when you get the Black Dragon Queen''s blood,¡± the female angel smiled faintly, drew a circle with her jade hand, and a magic circle appeared in the air, spinning like a wheel. She waved goodbye to Rody, then floated up on her staff and disappeared.

    ¡°If I¡¯m capable of getting the Black Dragon Queen''s blood, I won¡¯t be worried about the Magic Martial Prohibition,¡± Rody chuckled to himself, thinking the noise might attract enemies if any were nearby. Seeing the female angel leave, he quickly made his escape. As he approached the dwarf territory from a distance, Rody felt a rush of excitement, eager to shout to Jill, ¡°I¡¯m back!¡±

    But he suddenly suppressed the urge to call out, slowing his pace and walking step by step towards it.

    In front of him, Red Hat stood guard at the fence gate with a short spear.

    Rody glanced at Red Hat and smiled, raising his voice, ¡°Red Hat Dwarf, I¡¯m so glad to see you. In a month in this godforsaken place, you are the first kind race I¡¯ve encountered. Would you like to trade with me? I¡¯ll exchange your food for my gold coins or magic crystals. How about it, Red Hat Guard?¡±

    ¡°Of course, we warmly welcome such a trade. Please come in!¡± Red Hat was clearly very enthusiastic.

    ¡°I have a companion who was bitten by a poisonous snake. I hid her in the mountains. Do you have any antidote? I''m willing to exchange a gold coin for a bottle,¡± Rody handed over two gold coins, smiling, ¡°Another gold coin for your food and water, and if you can provide a small cottage for us to rest for two or three days, I¡¯m willing to pay two more gold coins.¡±

    ¡°Antidote, of course, we have. Well, I don¡¯t, but you should go to the chief,¡± Red Hat made way for Rody to enter.

    ¡°My friend is waiting for my help. If possible, please go find the chief and get me an antidote as soon as possible. As for food and water, there¡¯s no rush. We can prepare it once I bring my companion here,¡± Rody looked back at the forest, a bit anxious.

    ¡°Wait here, I¡¯ll be quick,¡± Red Hat, carrying his spear, ran back to the village. Shortly after, he hurried out with a bottle of antidote, asking, ¡°Where¡¯s your companion?¡±

    ¡°If you could help carry her or call a few friends to assist, I¡¯d be very grateful,¡± Rody said urgently as he took the antidote.

    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me because of my size. I¡¯m quite strong,¡± Red Hat proudly raised his thin arm, ¡°And I can cast ¡®Feather Fall¡¯ magic.¡±

    ¡°What are we waiting for? Let¡¯s go!¡± Rody led the way, running towards the distant mountains.

    ¡°Should I call more people?¡± Red Hat followed, eager to help.

    ¡°No, just casting a Feather Fall spell is enough,¡± Rody ran faster, soon leaving Red Hat behind. Red Hat chanted an air-based Feather Fall spell, becoming light as a feather. With each step, he leaped ten meters, quickly catching up.

    After running about six or seven kilometers, reaching the mountainside and taking a big turn, Rody continued forward.

    Red Hat caught up from behind, looking around and asked softly, ¡°Where¡¯s your companion? Where is she?¡±

    ¡°I hid her in the mountain wall. There are too many monsters on the ground; I was afraid it would be dangerous. It was a struggle to carry her up there,¡± Rody pointed to a distant mountain wall, smiling, ¡°Just go up there, and you¡¯ll see her, a mage from the Great Frey Nation.¡±

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    In the dwarf territory, the Bullhorn Tribe Chief and Red Hat, along with others, were confined in a large mushroom house, all silent.

    In front of them were a dozen warriors and three mages. One of them, with a faint halo emblem on his clothing, appeared to be an eighth-level Archmage, a super-strong character among the few in the human race.

    Sitting quietly, he suddenly opened his eyes, revealing a sharp glint, and said, ¡°Perhaps, we have been deceived.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s impossible! Pank¡¯s illusion magic is perfect, a novice magic apprentice definitely can''t detect it, let alone him, even a magic master can¡¯t see through it! Respected Elph King, please wait a moment, Pank will soon bring back the girl of hope from Felic Kingdom,¡± a tall and thin magic master said respectfully, ¡°If you¡¯re worried that a novice magic apprentice could cause trouble, then please allow me and Luni to go and meet Pank. I believe, three magic masters won¡¯t have trouble dealing with an apprentice who can¡¯t even cast a small fireball!¡±

    ¡°Gooder, you mages are too proud and stubbornly ridiculous,¡± a great earth warrior with iron fist insignia snorted, ¡°If we had captured that boy earlier and interrogated him harshly, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to keep silent.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t talk to fools,¡± the magic master named Gooder said with a cold laugh.

    ¡°Actually, I can understand everyone''s feelings. We all are eager to capture Felic''s hope and destroy it. But let''s not forget, men from Felic are extreme. Among them, there are the most cowardly and useless fellows, as well as the most stubborn hard nuts. Do you all remember that old man from fifteen years ago? You almost broke him into pieces, but what did you get? Nothing but curses! We tried all sorts of bewitching and mesmerizing magic, to no avail. That''s the men of Felic,¡± said the magic master named Luni, shaking his head, ¡°I dare say, if we capture that novice magic apprentice, he definitely won¡¯t say a word.¡±

    ¡°Yes, Felic people would never let a coward guard their hope!¡± Gooder nodded in agreement.

    ¡°But I feel it''s wrong to let him leave right under our noses,¡± the earth warrior couldn''t argue, but still disagreed internally.

    ¡°Things should proceed as they are, but I always feel something is not right,¡± the King of Elph said faintly, ¡°If Buck and the Drunken Swordsman haven¡¯t been caught in a day, I can''t relax. But for me to chase alone is unlikely. Although there are three magic masters and two earth warriors among you, none of you can hold against any of them until my backup arrives.¡±

    ¡°Elph King, the Blazing Flame King of Camaron and the Sword Emperor, as well as our nation''s two Sky Warriors are joining forces to hunt down the Drunken Swordsman. I believe he can''t possibly be nearby anymore. Buck is a cunning fellow, but Sage Reze and Norn''s Dragon Sword Emperor should be able to suppress him,¡± Gooder replied respectfully, ¡°If we can capture Felic''s hope, then everything will end. Besides, the Virtue Angel is assisting us in the sky. I guess the huge tremor just now was the Virtue Angel bombing Buck or the Drunken Swordsman!¡±

    ¡°Things are not as perfect as imagined,¡± Elph King sighed lightly, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t really agree with making an early move against Felic...¡±

    Seven kilometers away from the dwarf territory, on a hillside, Red Hat looked at Rody''s smiling face, utterly astonished.

    It suddenly turned into a tall and thin magic master, adorned with the six-pointed star, clearly a powerful master of magic. However, facing Rody, a one-star novice magic apprentice, it felt like facing a formidable enemy. Rody, at that moment, exuded an indescribable aura that completely suppressed him. This wasn''t fighting spirit or magic, but a kind of pride that looked down on others as if they were nothing.

    ¡°How did you see through my illusion magic?¡± The magic master secretly gathered magic power, ready to strike at any moment, while casually asking.

    ¡°Go to hell and ask Hades; he will tell you,¡± Rody said with a gentle smile.

    ¡°You think you, a novice magic apprentice, can defeat me? That¡¯s the biggest joke!¡± The tall and thin magic master sneered repeatedly, conjured a magic shield to protect his entire body, and prepared a fiery fireball, floating in mid-air, ready to bomb Rody at any moment, smugly humming, ¡°Even if you have a divine weapon, you can''t defeat me! You will soon realize the gap between our strengths!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡­¡± Rody suddenly turned, broke a dead branch from the roadside bushes, and pointed it at the opponent.

    ¡°What do you mean by this?¡± The tall and thin magic master was utterly baffled.

    ¡°Trash talking to trash, that''s you!¡± Rody said with a slight smile, which startled the magic master, then infuriated him. He raised his hand, hurling the fireball heavily at Rody.

    Rody slowly closed his eyes, his mental power erupting wildly, creating a rapidly spinning vortex.

    The fireball flew into the mental vortex but was immediately reflected back at a faster speed. The magic master, taken aback, dodged, feeling a heavy blow on his back as his magic shield shattered again and again, shocked and horrified. From the ground, a pale green vine broke through the earth, flew up, and flexibly entangled his legs.

    ¡°Illusion!¡± The magic master split into five identical figures, dispersing in all directions. The five figures chanted magic simultaneously, moving as one, making it difficult to discern the real one.

    ¡°Utterly boring¡­¡± Rody swung his hand, and a mental warhammer harshly struck the figure on the far right. All the figures instantly vanished, leaving only the injured and bleeding tall and thin magic master, horrified, watching Rody. He never expected the opponent to easily discern his real body. Rody pointed behind the magic master, slightly smiling, ¡°When you learn to observe things with mental power in your next life, you won¡¯t make such a low-level mistake. You really thought turning into Red Hat would deceive me!¡±

    ¡°Ah!¡± The magic master turned his head at Rody''s gesture and saw a monster skeleton¡¯s skull with its eerie green eye sockets staring at him. He screamed in pain, his soul snatched away in an instant, turning into a lifeless zombie that collapsed to the ground.

    Rody pulled out a poison-coated small dagger and swiftly cut the magic master''s throat.

    Watching the blood pour out, he smiled faintly, no longer feeling the disgust and nausea he experienced when killing Marcus and Emma. He had grown into a warrior with a firm will, no longer the pitiful child he once was. Although Rody''s strength wasn¡¯t the strongest, he felt he was no less than anyone else, especially in terms of intelligence, where he far surpassed others.

    ¡°A novice magic apprentice can also kill a magic master,¡± Rody suddenly turned and smiled towards the sky, ¡°Now, even if you know resurrection magic, you can¡¯t revive him, can you? Virtue Angel, who has been following me from the dwarf land.¡±

 Chapter 86: Snatching

    ¡°How did you know it was me?¡± A flash of white light passed through the sky, and the Virtue Angel who had previously thundered and attempted to kill Rody appeared, snorting coldly.

    ¡°You should look in a mirror. You look so sleazy, and your sneaky actions are too obvious to go unnoticed!¡± Rody chuckled, ¡°Just a Virtue Angel acting all high and mighty. Don¡¯t you know a six-winged female angel wants to sign up to be my sex slave?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t think you can deceive me a second time.¡± The Virtue Angel was really angry but held back, as his previous rage had allowed this insignificant human to use the storage space to escape his attack. At first, he was reluctant to believe it, but after witnessing Rody easily killing a magic master, he realized this young human male was not as simple as he seemed and far stronger than he appeared.

    ¡°With your intelligence, I could toy with you again and again. In the end, you¡¯d still feel good about yourself, amusingly played by me!¡± Rody laughed heartily.

    ¡°Say what you will, I definitely won¡¯t get angry now,¡± the Virtue Angel also laughed, ¡°I won¡¯t be angry with a dead man!¡±

    ¡°Really?¡± Rody slowly put away his dark servant, asking nonchalantly.

    ¡°To make sure you die thoroughly, without any chance of revival or salvation... I have prepared this treasure for you.¡± The Virtue Angel suddenly took out a silver cross shining with holy light, tossed it into the sky, and chanted a spell. A beam of light from the sky shone on Rody, and the silver cross rapidly enlarged. Small chains on it came to life, binding Rody and pulling him up into the air, tightly fastened to the silver cross.

    ¡°Is this the Holy Cross Judgement?¡± Rody had read in Father Sado¡¯s books that this was the method angels used to burn evil demons. The holy silver cross was a treasure possessed by every angel.

    ¡°The real show is yet to come!¡± the Virtue Angel sneered, ¡°No mage using necromancy, even a Wizard King, could escape the binding of the Holy Cross. These silver crosses are filled with the God of Light''s will and the power of laws. The more evil the presence, the more insignificant it becomes before it. This is just the first course I¡¯ve prepared for you. What¡¯s next, soup? Let me make you the best soup!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m waiting,¡± Rody said unflinchingly, seemingly unaware of the imminent judgement that would cast him into hell.

    ¡°A good soup can make the entire dinner wonderful,¡± the Virtue Angel took out a small light orb, crushed it, and said, ¡°The Escape Orb is now shattered. Unless you are a deity, no one can leave.¡±

    ¡°This soup is quite good; I like it,¡± Rody nodded in agreement, as if he had just tasted a delicious oxtail soup.

    ¡°Next is the side dish.¡± The Virtue Angel saw Rody still maintaining a smile on his face, which infuriated him, but he forcibly suppressed it. He produced a glittering scroll, unfurled it, and chanted a spell. The scroll¡¯s radiance intensified, spreading around and finally forming something like a transparent fortress, enveloping Rody.

    ¡°What is this?¡± Rody found himself in a transparent spatial fortress, about the size of a three-story building. His mental power could no longer penetrate it, indicating it was likely a powerful magic scroll.

    ¡°This is a Spatial Fortress. Inside the Spatial Fortress, except for the god of space, no one can detect the existence of this separate space. Even if someone walks past you, they won''t see you in this alternate space, while you can see everything. This will be your last view before death. Haha, I know you will like this side dish. What¡¯s next? The main course, I have prepared the richest main course for you!¡± the Virtue Angel tried to find a hint of panic and unrest on Rody¡¯s face, seeking the pleasure of overpowering the weak. But to his disappointment, Rody remained unflustered.

    ¡°Not bad, I like it. What''s the main course?¡± Rody laughed, not panicked at all, like a pauper suddenly arriving at a castle.

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    ¡°Sands of Time,¡± the Virtue Angel gritted his teeth. Originally, he could have cut Rody in half with a single sword strike and thrown his soul into the hell furnace, but that wouldn¡¯t bring him joy. If he didn¡¯t see this human succumb, fear, or suffer, he would feel utterly defeated.

    ¡°What does it do?¡± Rody asked indifferently.

    ¡°The Sands of Time can accelerate or slow the passage of time in space. Look, I set it to ten times its normal speed,¡± the Virtue Angel inverted the magical hourglass in his hand, indicating to Rody, ¡°You will watch yourself age rapidly and see your own death.¡±

    ¡°Hmm, quite interesting,¡± Rody chuckled, ¡°I like this main course. This Sands of Time is an unexpected and delightful surprise. Oh, by the way, did you forget to prepare a dessert for me? You know, dessert is also crucial for dinner. Without the best dessert, a painting lacks soul!¡±

    ¡°How could I forget!¡± the Virtue Angel was almost driven mad. Even at this moment, this damned human could still laugh, which was truly unbelievable.

    He projected a ball of fire accurately at Rody''s feet.

    The fire blazed fiercely, and Rody''s feet caught fire instantly, the flesh sizzling. The Virtue Angel awaited Rody''s screams of pain, but after a long wait, this detestable human didn¡¯t even frown. Looking at the blazing flames below, Rody laughed, ¡°This dessert is quite good, but I''m worried it might not last long enough. If it goes out after a while, that would be disappointing.¡±

    ¡°Don''t worry, it is the Eternal Flame''s Heart,¡± the Virtile Angel grunted through gritted teeth, ¡°It¡¯s a divine fire made by the Fire God. Even if you''re reduced to your last bone, it won¡¯t extinguish.¡±

    ¡°Is that so?¡± Rody nodded and smiled, ¡°In that case, it¡¯s really likable.¡±

    ¡°The best part is yet to come!¡± the Virtue Angel wanted to unleash his most powerful magic to blast this human into smithereens, but he really wanted to see if Rody would submit to his endless torture. Killing a human is easy, but subduing their will is the hardest part. He had to defeat this infuriatingly calm man.

    The Virtue Angel took out a bottle and poured the seven-colored glowing water over Rody¡¯s head, sneering, ¡°This is the drink I prepared for you. It''s the Fountain of Life, made from angel blood and divine water from heaven. It contains the will of the god of life. For ten years, it will continuously regenerate your skin, flesh, and bones. Before you die of old age, you don¡¯t have to worry about being burned to death by the eternal fire. It regenerates quickly, of course, doubling your pain, as each recovery of skin and bones accumulates pain until the Fountain of Life is exhausted. This is a torment even gods cannot withstand. You can''t pretend to be a hero in front of me. I know you¡¯re in extreme pain, seething with hatred, furious enough to explode, and so aggrieved that you want to cry loudly¡­¡±

    ¡°That''s true,¡± Rody burst into laughter, ¡°But I just won''t cry, won''t rage, won''t hate, won''t shout, won¡¯t struggle or run away. Everything I do will be beyond your expectations. What can you do to me?¡±

    ¡°You insignificant ant, I want to kill you!¡± the Virtue Angel almost drew his sword to strike Rody, but it took a lot of effort for him to hold back.

    ¡°Go ahead!¡± Rody spat at the Virtue Angel and laughed, ¡°Look at you, what kind of angel are you? You can''t even handle a human. What use are you? Worthless! Go ahead, kill me! Stab my heart with your sword! Come on, birdman!¡±

    ¡°You¡­¡± The Virtue Angel drew his holy sword, stopping just a centimeter above Rody''s head, and sneered, ¡°Wishful thinking if you want to die!¡±

    ¡°Pathetic!¡± Rody sighed disdainfully and stopped looking at the Virtue Angel.

    ¡°Provocation won¡¯t work on me. I¡¯ve thought long and hard to come up with this method to torment you. Do you think making me angry will make me kill you? Enjoy the burning of the eternal fire! I¡¯ll come see you in ten years, hoping you¡¯re still alive then. Haha, I think you will miss me! By then, you will be kneeling at my feet, begging me to kill you¡­¡± The Virtue Angel became more delighted the more he thought about it, eventually bursting into maniacal laughter.

    ¡°I regret it, never thought I¡¯d talk so long with a lunatic!¡± Rody shook his head and sighed.

    ¡°Be hard-mouthed. Let''s see how long you can endure,¡± the Virtue Angel huffed and left the Spatial Fortress. He then chanted a spell and drew magical circles in six directions with a holy wand, sealing the entire space, before flying away triumphantly.

    Ten minutes after the Virtue Angel left, Rody spewed out a mouthful of blood.

    The burning of the eternal fire was unbearable for humans. Although Rody''s skin had some resistance to fire, it was no match for the divine fire''s burning. Not just his body, but even his soul felt a melting heat. However, the reason he gave up escaping and let the Virtue Angel bind him to the holy silver cross was because he believed the angel would use every means to torment him. The angel, being a celestial being, possessed treasures not available to earthly powerhouses.

    Rody felt his own strength was limited and couldn¡¯t forcibly snatch them, but he thought of trying another method.

    The dark servant was difficult to use during the day, and Rody longed for something new to replace it and also to enhance his strength. Now, he had to see if he could claim these treasures for himself.

    ¡°Looks like this eternal heart of flame really never goes out,¡± Rody supported himself and broke free from the holy silver cross. The cross could judge all necromancers of the world, but unfortunately, Rody was a fake, having never signed a contract with the dark demon god. Moreover, according to the elder Tree Shepherd Toka, his soul was golden, not evil at all, so the cross had no effect on him, only binding but not eternally judging him.

    However, he couldn''t escape the Fire God''s eternal fire.

    His legs were on fire, following him wherever he went, and under the effect of the Fountain of Life, Rody could clearly see his skin and flesh being burnt by the flames and rapidly regenerating.

    Rody summoned Nicholas for pain transfer.

    But just transferring a small flame burned Nicholas''s entire skeleton to ashes.

    ¡°The holy silver cross is good, but I also like the Sands of Time. Which treasure should I take?¡± Despite the pain of being burned by divine fire, Rody walked step by step towards the hourglass of the Sands of Time and the holy silver cross, tilting his head to examine them, planning to forcibly snatch the Virtue Angel''s treasures with his mental power. In this closed space, he had all the time he needed.

    If the Virtue Angel knew that this was Rody''s plan from the beginning, he probably would have died from rage.

 Chapter 87: Growth

    Under the rapidly passing Sands of Time, Rody found the undying divine fire growing larger, gradually spreading over his entire body. Simultaneously, the Fountain of Life worked its magic, with his body being burned and regenerating flesh at the same time, the pain far exceeding his tolerance. Seeing himself turn completely into a fireman, his body increasingly in agony and unable to think of a way to snatch the holy silver cross and hourglass, he summoned everything from the eternal storage space and hid inside it.

    Rody initially thought he could escape the divine fire''s burning in the timeless storage space, but to his surprise, the Fire God''s undying flame continued to burn even in the eternal space.

    Left with no choice and unwilling to endure the accelerated passage of time outside, Rody endured in the storage space. After an indeterminate period, he was startled to find the divine fire diminishing, only to realize it wasn''t being extinguished but transferring.

    Under normal circumstances, Rody couldn''t sense his soul, but now he could clearly see the divine fire burning it. Initially terrified that he would be doomed, he was relieved to find that, despite the extreme pain, his soul showed no signs of vanishing.

    Enduring excruciating agony, Rody came up with a plan to use mental power to forcibly repel or separate the divine fire. However, his normally infallible mental power melted away upon contact with the divine fire. Shocked that he could lose his mental power, Rody quickly retracted it and discovered a thin gold strand, stronger than his previous mental whip.

    Considering the possibility of a golden mental whip or hammer that could even harm a magic grandmaster, Rody decided to take a risk. In an attempt driven by excitement and pain, he threw all his purple mental power into the divine fire for tempering, watching it return as golden strands. He then wove these into a thin whip.

    Despite enduring endless torment, Rody felt he had truly stepped onto the path of a strong warrior. Trapped in the Spatial Fortress, he had ample time to train. The endless pain allowed his mental power to surge at a rate beyond his imagination. This was the price of enduring the divine fire''s torment, a cost Rody was eager and desperate to pay.

    Unaware of how much time had passed outside, Rody in the eternal storage space had grown accustomed to the soul-burning pain of the divine fire. The agony was still there, intensifying, but Rody learned to endure and distract himself, simultaneously bearing the pain and doing what he wanted.

    Rody, with his soul engulfed in divine fire, continued to delve into ancient magical tomes. He was astonished to find that as his mental power underwent a qualitative change, more spells became available in the magical hall. Clearly, the magic Rody could learn or sense was not all-encompassing. With enhanced mental power, he could now learn more spells, and previously challenging mental magic became easier. The painful trials of mental magic, which he once found extremely difficult, now seemed trivial compared to the eternal burning of his soul by the divine fire.

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    Rody quickly mastered various mental magic spells like ¡®Temptation¡¯, ¡®Hypnosis¡¯, ¡®Control¡¯, ¡®Sorrow¡¯, ¡®Despair¡¯, ¡®Fear¡¯, and then moved to more advanced group mental magic like ¡®Utter Despair¡¯, ¡®Unwilling to Fight¡¯, ¡®Heart-Shocking¡¯, ¡®Joyful Inspiration¡¯, ¡®Resolute Death¡¯, ¡®Fighting in Blood¡¯, ¡®Unyielding¡¯, ¡®Wild Rage¡¯, ¡®Deep-rooted Hatred¡¯. He felt that with these spells, no soldier by his side would retreat in battle, and the enemies would flee at the mere casting of his spells. Only then did he fully comprehend the terrifying nature of mental magic.

    The only drawback of learning mental magic was that one had to first endure the pain and damage of mental power before inflicting it on others. Without the torment of the divine fire, Rody would not dare to explore these terrifying realms.

    What pain could surpass the constant burning of one''s soul by the undying fire? If he could endure the fire''s torment, then surely the pain from mental power was bearable. Rody bravely tried all the mental magic he could, but the six most advanced mental magic spells remained beyond his reach, showing no response to his mental probes. He recalled a servant of God once telling him about his great potential in soul and mental power.

    Rody, without hesitation, temporarily set aside necromancy to focus on soul magic. He believed that learning in his strongest area would yield the best results. Unaware of when the Power Angel might disrupt his training, enhancing his abilities to stand against the angel became his primary goal.

    Soul magic, to Rody''s surprise, was not as peaceful and gentle as he had thought. Contrary to being about redemption or protection, soul magic possessed offensive power comparable to, if not surpassing, mental magic. A master of soul magic could directly destroy a person''s soul, especially effective against evil souls, easily judging and annihilating them. Against a soul as pure as gold, typically found in virtuous individuals, soul magic was almost powerless. In essence, the more evil the individual, the weaker their defense against a soul mage.

    The study of soul magic came with a daunting stipulation that made Rody nervous. Before learning each spell, the caster had to first endure the spell''s full force on their soul. Rody worried he was an evil being, as he didn¡¯t consider himself good. If not for the Treant Elder Toka''s assertion about Rody and Gill having golden souls, Rody wouldn''t have dared to try soul magic. During the divine fire torment, he saw his soul as purple, not the golden color Toka had mentioned.

    The first soul magic spell he chose was ''Soul Cleansing'', not the risky ''Soul Judgement''. This spell was said to make evildoers feel as if they were being cleansed in hellish lava. Sweating profusely, Rody feared whether he could endure it. Surprisingly, the experience was less painful than he expected, making him wonder if he wasn¡¯t as evil as he thought, despite his many misdeeds and killings. After learning the spell, his soul color lightened, hinting at a purplish-gold hue.

    Further learning led Rody¡¯s soul to gradually turn into a bright gold. Bravely, he eventually confronted ''Soul Judgement'' and found it had no effect on him, filling him with exhilaration and momentarily making him forget the pain of the divine fire. He wasn''t a saint, but not a great villain either, which boosted his confidence. Armed with mental and soul magic, Rody felt he could look down upon many strong beings, despite being under the curse of the magic and martial arts ban.

    The only regret was that soul magic required the opponent to be of equal or lesser strength for successful casting. Against much stronger opponents, the spells would fail. This, Rody realized, was akin to elemental resistance. Superiors were so because they transcended the ordinary in all aspects.

    Rody studied soul magic purely to enhance his abilities, not to judge a magical saint. It seemed reasonable that if he could use soul magic to judge those far stronger than him, then dark gods or their minions would be doomed.

    ''Soul Cleansing'', ''Soul Insight'', ''Soul Redemption'', ''Soul Comfort'', ''Soul Fortification'', ''Soul Judgement'', ''Soul Burning''... The array of soul magic spells not only fortified Rody''s mind but also his soul, increasing his resistance to the torment of divine fire.

    Unexpectedly, Rody found a tiny, undying flame within his soul, possibly a transformed fragment of the divine fire. He entertained the thrilling possibility of turning all divine fire into his soul fire. The prospect excited him to the point of tears, recalling a saying: If heaven closes all doors, it leaves you a window.

 Chapter 88: Successful Escape

    Upon emerging from the storage space, Rody realized that over a year had passed within the spatial fortress, equating to over a month in the real world. Time within the fortress sped by tenfold, yet its impact was minimal. Nicholas, Marcus, Emma, and the old witch, being dark slaves and undead, were unaffected by time. However, due to the isolation of the fortress, their injuries couldn''t heal and remained as they were. Rody was surprised to find his man-eating vine, ''Tiger Claw'', had grown longer, greener, and more sentient.

    Rody, enduring the soul-burning divine fire, used his tiny soul fire to successfully fuse Emma with the beastly head of Catoblepas. With the help of the soul fire, the fusion went smoothly. Despite Emma''s monstrous appearance, featuring the beast¡¯s horns and teeth, Rody was thrilled to retain Catoblepas''s soul-capturing eye - his main goal. If Emma couldn''t fuse, her lower abilities and potential would''ve made her the first dark slave Rody would abandon.

    Observing Emma through the obsidian magic mirror, her stats showed as an unconscious dark slave with a strong magical contract, dark energy of 495, limited in close and long-range combat, possessing basic martial arts and magic, weak martial arts damage, minor magical effects, a poison damage of 162, light poison, special skill of the soul-capturing eye, ordinary soul attack, hidden skill of soul burning. Overall, she was assessed as a basic undead, equivalent to a human sixth-tier Iron Fist Earth Warrior or a five-star magician, with two-star soul potential.

    Rody''s delight was in inheriting Catoblepas''s soul-capturing eye and soul burning from Emma, pleasantly surprised by her two-star potential, making her the strongest among all his dark slaves. In his joy, and to honor Catoblepas, Rody renamed Emma to ¡®Aika¡¯.

    Aika''s successful fusion sparked Rody''s interest in learning necromancy. The necromancy in the ancient magic tome hall differed from what Rody had previously learned, being more profound and termed as ''Dark Magic'', a subset of dark magic. He tentatively explored a spell called ''Undead Resurrection'', a common necromancy spell for summoning skeletons.

    Although Rody had never learned to summon skeletons, only more advanced dark slaves, mastering this spell made him realize its purpose wasn''t for battle but for paving the way for more advanced necromancy spells. Alongside ''Undead Resurrection'' was ''Zombie Revival'', turning corpses into zombies. These spells weren''t for creating fighting puppets but for laying the groundwork for subsequent necromancy spells.

    Further spells included ''Corpse Revival'', allowing a recently deceased body to stand again, seemingly unchanged but soulless, and ''Body Remodeling'', repairing the defects of skeletons, zombies, or revived corpses, making them appear more human.

    After reshaping their bodies, necromancers can sign contracts with skeletons, zombies, or resurrected corpses to evolve them into dark warriors or dark knights. They can also transform them into undead puppet mages, or even further enhance them to become formidable death knights, avenging knights, or dark dragon knights. The ultimate spell of summoning skeletons isn''t for humans, but for dragon skeletons, turning them into bone dragons. Rody now understands that dark slaves aren''t randomly contracted.

    Of course, that''s due to the constraints of the dark god''s laws. As a counterfeit necromancer, Rody could sign as many as he wishes without the blessing of the dark god. His only disadvantage is his dark slaves won''t automatically level up or think independently. Without his control, they would only follow instinctively, neither fighting nor defending, completely devoid of thought.

    All necromancers'' dark slaves have a simple consciousness. They protect their master in battle, and after growing stronger, they may negotiate contract terms with their master. Even more powerful slaves may rebel and become free undead knights.

    Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

    Another major branch of necromancy is the curse series. Rody had only learned ''Weakening'', ''Harm'', and ''Blindness'', but now he found an overwhelming number of curse spells, including ''Blood Drying'', ''Exhaustion'', ''Aging'', ''Stiffness'', ''Paralysis'', ''Weightlessness'', ''Deafness'', ''Suffocation'', ''Bitterness'', ''Dementia'', ''Disability'', ''Despair'', ''Brain Damage'', ''Weakness'', ''Lust'', ''Impotence'', and many more. Any person afflicted with any of these curses would suffer greatly. The curse of impotence, in particular, could drive any man to suicide.

    Although the effects of curse spells are evident, they all have a time limit and aren''t permanent. However, the stronger the caster''s mental power and the weaker the target, the more potent and longer-lasting the curse.

    Comparing curse spells to mental magic, Rody feels each has its strengths, but mental magic is more terrifying. A person under a curse suffers but remains themselves and won''t die. Mental magic, however, can completely control a person, turning them into puppets of others ¨C a truly frightening prospect. Rody eagerly learned the curse spells of necromancy. For summoning spells, given the nature of his unconscious dark slaves, he focused on body reshaping, intending to restore Nicholas and others to their human forms, with flesh and blood, rather than skeletal forms.

    Amidst endless learning and growth, Rody lost track of the swiftly passing time in the outside world.

    When he came out again, the Sands of Time showed that two years had passed, and in the real world outside, more than two months had gone by.

    Rhody suddenly worried that the Power Angel might return any day, and it would be troublesome if he saw that Rhody had freed himself from the Holy Silver Cross. Rhody pondered ways to escape, realizing that ordinary methods were unlikely to work. Moreover, the primary issue to address was the rapid passage of time in the Sands of Time; the tenfold acceleration was too much for Rhody''s body to bear, and he was not willing to let his youth flash by like lightning.

    "Baby, come with me, I promise you''ll live a life of luxury and spice!" Rhody held the hourglass of the Sands of Time, turning it over and over.

    But no matter how he flipped it, the sands stubbornly flowed in one direction, and time continued to fly by. Rhody couldn''t think of a good way to deal with this little thing and finally tried putting it into his storage space. To his surprise, the hourglass smoothly entered Rhody''s storage space, encountering only a slight hindrance, but Rhody managed to place it inside without much effort.

    Moreover, once it entered the storage space, it completely stopped moving, and time ceased to flow in the eternal space.

    Having secured this treasure, Rhody excitedly set his sights on the Holy Silver Cross.

    "Ha ha ha, so you like to judge evil, just like me!" Rhody discovered that the Holy Silver Cross had a principle: it possessed power over all things evil and was extremely weak otherwise. Rhody used the pure fire of his soul to form a hand, easily grabbing it and shrinking it into a necklace.

    Rhody couldn''t put it into his storage space because it possessed the will of the God of Light and couldn''t become part of Rhody''s collection.

    In the end, having no other choice, Rhody hung it around his neck.

    "Why can''t I leave if the Power Angel can?" Rhody began studying the space fortress, but no matter how much he researched, he couldn''t understand it. Finally, after gathering the Slave of Darkness and other things, he prepared to sleep for ten months in his storage space. But when he took out the Sands of Time, he discovered that although he couldn''t change its passage, he could alter its speed.

    The Sands of Time had a maximum speed limit of one hundred times. Rhody adjusted it to a hundredfold, and time immediately flew by.

    Rhody threw out the beheaded Nicholas who was waiting outside with his head in his hands and hurried back to his storage space to hibernate. Eight years flashed by, and at the end of the ten-year period, Rhody, still studying magic in his storage space, saw the space fortress suddenly shatter into dust, and Nicholas fell from mid-air, crashing to the ground. Rhody''s mental power was suddenly able to connect with reality.

    When he ran out, he found that a large area of flowers and trees around him was growing wildly at a visible rate, blooming and then wilting.

    He quickly adjusted the Sands of Time back to normal and joyfully put it away.

    "A hundredfold speed, eight years in less than a month, plus the previous two months, ha ha ha, I regained my freedom in just over three months," Rhody couldn''t help but burst into laughter, thinking that when the Power Angel came to check in seven months, he would have already returned to Felik to study and even took away the Sands of Time and the Holy Silver Cross, probably making him vomit blood endlessly.

    "Although I''m reluctant, I still have to say ''thank you.'' Without everything you did, I wouldn''t have grown up so fast!" Rhody chuckled: "See you next time, and I''ll repay you well! I promise not to disappoint you, but with your wisdom, maybe you''ll even thank me!"

 Chapter 89: Call of the Heart

    In the capital of Felik, at the Magic Academy.

    Jill sat under the shade of a tree in the mountain city, gazing dreamily into the distance. She hoped to see him again, but months had passed, and there was still no sign of him. Perhaps it would have been better if she had stayed that day, instead of leaving.

    But in this world, there are no regrets, and time cannot be turned back.

    She could only hope for a miracle, for him to return to Felik, to her side, just as she had prayed.

    Months passed, and the discovery of the Demon and Beastman tribes stirring in the Land of Evil sparked a sense of crisis in people''s hearts. The previously coordinated suppression and covert persecution of Felik by other nations were temporarily set aside. At this time, humanity needed to unite and stand together. If nations forcefully sent troops to Felik, it would surely provoke public outrage. Felik would vow to resist to the death, and during such a fierce battle, the Demon and Beastman armies would take the opportunity to cross the Land of Evil and launch a surprise attack from behind, leading to a destruction far beyond just Felik.

    The Hundred-Year Holy War was drawing closer ahead of schedule, causing tension in the Human Alliance.

    Armies from various nations were mobilizing, including not only regular troops but also militias being registered and ready to heed the call of their nations.

    Large numbers of mercenary groups from the Mercenary Guild were hired by the states to scout and pave the way in the Land of Evil, gathering intelligence for the upcoming war. The Temple of Light issued a decree from the God Race to all nations: The Hundred-Year Holy War would erupt twenty years earlier than expected. According to revelations from the angels, rifts had formed in the spatial seals of Hell, the River Styx, and the Abyss, allowing over fifty thousand lower demons to emerge. Over a hundred thousand Beastmen and half-beastmen were amassing, nearing the outermost parts of the Land of Evil, signaling the imminent early onset of the Holy War.

    Due to the threat of the Demon Race and the generous donation from the King of Felik, who contributed twenty thousand gold coins and five hundred magic crystals to the Temple, the Colin brothers, previously ''protected'' by other nations, were returned.

    As a vassal state of Great Frey, Felik was to send at least a thousand troops to participate in the Hundred-Year Holy War.

    Of course, other nations also strongly demanded that Felik send elite students from its Magic Academy to the battlefield for training, to join the ''Death Training Camp'' organized by the four great empires: Norn, Camaron, Gale, and Mille, composed of elite students from various countries. Felik sent a hundred students, but a month later, other nations suggested that even freshmen from Felik should participate in the Holy War, rather than avoiding it like cowards.

    The target of these nations was the hope of Felik, but the King of Felik firmly refused.

    Men of Felik would not avoid warfare like cowards, but the fragile girls should stay at home, under the protection of the Human Justice Alliance. The Allied Human Forces could not send girls to the battlefield to fight against the Demon Race, as it would not only tarnish the honor of the men in the Alliance but also subject them to mockery by the enemy.

    This was the King of Felik''s response to the representatives of the nations, and his stance was extremely firm.

    No matter what threats or protests the representatives of various nations made, the King of Felik refused to send any girl to participate in the battle.

    Although it wasn''t mentioned openly, all nations knew that among the new students at the Felik Magic Academy, there was a girl who was the once-in-a-millennium hope of Felik. Unfortunately, Father Sine only provided this information to Great Frey, failing to reveal the name of the Hope Girl or any special characteristics about her. Many nations suspected that the Hope Girl was the descendant of the Silver-Eyed Singer, the Silver-Eyed Girl Sonia.

    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    However, Sonia, the Silver-Eyed Girl, was already under Felik''s protection. Not only her, but Elizabeth and Hira from the Seven Guardian Tribes were also no longer appearing in public.

    The remaining female swordsman Orelia and the introverted girl Jillian continued their studies at the Magic Academy.

    Clearly, they were not the Hope Girl.

    The nations were not much interested in them, as no one wanted to risk alerting Felik by attacking two ordinary girls. Led by the Cardinal of the Temple, the nations expressed their willingness to mend relations with Felik, but Felik had to ensure full support for the Holy War. Thus, the issue of sending Felik''s freshmen to the ''Death Training'' was raised again.

    Although it was not possible to overtly destroy Felik''s hope, depleting Felik''s talent pool significantly was a good way to strike at them covertly.

    The King of Felik couldn''t refuse. Although he delayed as long as possible, he ultimately had to agree to send the last of the students.

    As the sun neared the horizon, Jill still sat there quietly.

    She didn''t care about the century-long Holy War of the world, and national affairs were not something she could influence. She only knew that three days ago, her classmates who had barely escaped with their lives from the Land of Evil had already headed to the Norn Empire to participate in the ''Death Training''.

    How many of them would come back alive, not even the demonic Dean Buck could say.

    These days, he and the other instructors had been trying their best to instill everything they could into the students, hoping to increase their chances of survival. Jill was sad; as classmates who had spent months together, she didn''t want any of them to perish on the battlefield. But she couldn''t stop it from happening, just like she couldn''t stay in the Dwarf Lands to wait for Rhody to come back.

    Dean Buck sighed more than once, saying that if Rhody could come back and lead them, the chances of everyone surviving the ''Death Training'' and the ''Hundred-Year Holy War'' would be much higher...

    Among the freshmen, a wise leader was needed.

    Although silver-haired Aaron was powerful, chubby Tommy was smart and cunning, and Benson was cautious enough.

    Yet, none of them were the best choices for a leader. Without a suitable leader, even just ten male students had to be divided into two groups, each standing against the other, incompatible, which was a cause for sighs.

    "Come back! We need you!" Jill looked at the setting sun, tearfully murmuring, "Come back, I know, I know you''re not dead, I know you''re still alive! You are the strongest and best man in my heart, how could you abandon me? I miss you so much... Didn''t you promise auntie to protect me? I''m so lonely, where are you? Why don''t you come back to me?"

    "..." In the distance, Instructor Magrig silently watched all this, her face full of pity.

    She had searched everywhere for Rhody for months, but he had vanished like a wisp of smoke, leaving no trace. The last news was that the Dwarf tribe''s Red Hats had seen Rhody deceive a magic master of Great Frey, leading the latter towards a hill, and eventually, the magic master''s body was found at the foot of the hill. But Rhody, nobody had seen him again.

    Great Frey''s army was looking for him, and the powerful forces of Felik were also searching in secret.

    But no one could find any trace of him, and no one knew where the magicless one-star novice magic apprentice had gone.

    Perhaps he encountered an angel patrolling the Land of Evil, who cast him down to hell or completely annihilated him with holy light magic. The beautiful female instructor speculated this, but she dared not mention it to Jill, nor did she want to bring up to Dean Buck and the Drunken Swordsman about seeing an angel near the Dwarf Lands. In Dean Buck''s heart, Rhody was the most outstanding of Felik''s younger generation, nearly all his hopes rested on him. If she said such things, it would shatter Buck''s heart.

    It would make him incredibly guilty because it was he who had personally buried his most proud disciple in the Land of Evil.

    "Rhody, if you''re still alive, please hear Jill''s call of the heart! Listen, her heart is calling for you. As a guardian, you should respond to that call." The beautiful instructor looked up to the sky, speaking softly, "Come back! Don''t disappoint everyone again... You are the hope of a new generation; you should bear this responsibility. Rhody, can you hear me?"

    In a corner of the wall, the Drunken Cat lay on the ground, deeply asleep in his drunken stupor.

    Beside him sat Dean Buck, looking forlorn, holding an empty wine skin in his hand, his face wearing a bitter smile. He wished he could get as drunk as the Drunken Cat, but he couldn''t.

    The night passed quickly.

    A new day arrived, dawn blinked its golden eyes in the east, showing its rosy fingers, pushing aside the light veil of mist, and stepped forward slowly.

    Jill hadn''t gone back to rest; she still sat under the tree, quietly sleeping.

    She was waiting for him, day by day, never seeing his figure, but Jill hoped that if one day he returned, she would be the first to greet him, the first to see him, the first to embrace him tightly...

    On her long eyelashes, there were still specks of tears, perhaps she had just cried in her dreams.

    The beautiful instructor sighed softly, took off her cloak from behind, and gently draped it over Jill, preparing to pick her up. Suddenly, sunlight shone down from the sky, the dawn light illuminated the earth, casting a person''s shadow. That long shadow, stepping forward from afar, step by step, walked behind the beautiful instructor, and bowed slightly, saying, "I''m late in returning."

    "You''re back, that''s good, she has been waiting for you." The voice of the beautiful instructor was hoarse, even her jade-like fingers gripping the staff trembled with joy.

    "Let me hold her," said the shadow from behind, stepping forward gently and naturally lifting the sleeping Jill into his arms.

    "You take her back to rest first, we have a lot to talk to you about, but not now." The beautiful instructor nodded again, calming the excitement in her heart, and spoke warmly, "Welcome back, lad. It''s been a few months since we''ve seen you, you seem to have grown up a bit more, looking more like a man now."

 Chapter 90: The Person in Dreams

    "I know, if I want to become a man, I still need some medals of manhood." Rhody said with a slight smile, showing his pearly white teeth.

    Rhody, holding Jill, walked step by step into the Magic Academy, passing by Dean Buck who was half-asleep and yawning. Thousands of rays of morning light shone down behind him, making him appear as if he was shimmering in golden light.

    Dean Buck, glancing unintentionally, was stunned, his entire being struck dumb.

    He first stared blankly as Rhody entered the dormitory. After a while, as if suddenly remembering something, he rushed past the beautiful instructor, exclaiming, "What did I see? Am I dreaming? He, he, he''s back? When did he come back? Hey, am I really not dreaming?"

    "You must be dreaming!" The beautiful instructor threw an ice ball that hit his face, blasting Dean Buck away.

    "Hey, shouldn''t you be happy now? Why are you angry?" Dean Buck got up, confused. But before he could finish speaking, another ice ball from the beautiful instructor sent him flying, crashing beside the Drunken Cat. The Drunken Cat, in his drunken stupor, rolled over, shook off the ice, and mumbled unclearly, "That''s her way of expressing happiness."

    "That''s not right, she''s not usually like this when she''s happy," Dean Buck retorted.

    "That''s because she''s not usually that happy. When she''s extremely happy, that''s how she expresses it!" The Drunken Cat rolled over again, saying, "Don''t talk to a drunk person, it''s stupid!"

    "So this is how you express being very happy?" Dean Buck laughed out loud, shouting, "Why don''t you ask about my way of expressing extreme happiness?"

    "Who cares about you?" The Drunken Cat went back to snoring.

    "..." Dean Buck was dumbfounded.

    In a daze, Jill felt she was dreaming of him again. This feeling, just like him carrying her on his back through the forest, was so comfortable. She rested on his back, listening to his slightly labored breathing. If she wanted to get down, he would definitely refuse. Despite the dangers of the Land of Evil, she felt incredibly safe with him by her side.

    At first, she was reluctant to let him carry her.

    But at some point, it became natural to let him carry her, whether it was to escape danger or to rest when tired. She would naturally lean on his broad back, using him as her most reassuring support.

    If possible, she really wished to stay on his back forever.

    She liked the feeling of being carried by him.

    Because that feeling was so secure, so comfortable, so joyful. For a long time, she hadn''t felt this way, for a long time, he hadn''t held or carried her. This, this must be a dream. Jill felt she was dreaming again, but this time, it seemed clearer and more comfortable than any dream before.

    "I don''t want to wake up, let me sleep in his arms for a lifetime!"

    Jill felt like in a dream, he was holding her again, as if he was walking with her through the evil forest again, that familiar feeling, that unique warmth, and the gentle care, all made Jill not want to wake up.

    Suddenly, she felt herself being placed on the bed, and instantly realized she was dreaming, her heart almost shattered.

    After a while, someone gently wiped her tears with a towel, and Jill''s heart became even more unwilling, she didn''t want to wake up! She wanted to stay in the dream, because only in the dream, he exists! Only in the dream would he return to her side, hold her, or carry her, just like before in the land of evil, allowing her to act coquettishly towards him.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Jill first thought it was her aunt, turned her body in a huff, thinking of returning to the dream she just had.

    Suddenly, she felt something was not right, the person behind her, why didn''t it feel like her aunt, but more like him in the dream? Jill suddenly turned around, cautiously opened a slit in her eyes, fearing that a slight glance would make him vanish like smoke.

    Before she could see clearly, Jill had already jumped up, threw herself into his arms, and began to cry loudly.

    It was him, it was him...

    "There, there, still so tearful, like a big crybaby!" Jill heard his voice, the one she missed thousands of times in her dreams, felt him gently stroking her head, and cried even louder, like a child who had been wronged, seeing a relative for the first time.

    "Woo, I missed you so much, woo woo woo..."

    The next day, Jill reverted to her previous shy and introverted self.

    When facing Rody, she still lowered her head, spoke in a whisper, or didn''t speak at all, only stealthily watching him under her long eyelashes. Wherever Rody went, she followed like a little tail, and if asked anything, she mostly shook her head, or took a long time to utter a few ''hmms''.

    Even a blind man could see that Jill really liked Rody.

    However, Rody felt that the little girl''s liking for him was more like a little sister''s dependency on an older brother, unrelated to romantic love.

    He actually also quite liked Jill''s obedient nature, thinking if he had such a sister, his mother would be very happy. He often teased Jill, making small toys, then gave them to her as gifts to make her happy.

    Little darling Alice had been missing for a while, and after Rody returned, she suddenly appeared again.

    She grabbed Rody, watched him make more than a dozen windmills for her, before she let him go, happily running around with the windmills.

    "Rody, there''s something I want to talk to you about." Dean Buck came to Rody, smiling: "Of course, the final decision is not ours, but yours."

    "Is it about the ''Death Training''?" Rody guessed his intention, nodded, and said: "I''ve decided to join the Death Training, although Tommy and the others left a few days earlier, I should be able to catch up. I''ve already written a letter to my mother, explaining everything, and entrusted the merchant Fingal to take it to Whitestone Town. Dean, thank you for not telling my mother about it before, otherwise she would definitely be very worried!"

    "I don''t think you''re the kind of guy who dies young, so I didn''t say anything, ha!" Dean Buck laughed loudly, saying: "This year''s Death Training is different from previous years, they won''t be able to move openly, you just need to be wary of the underhanded tricks!"

    "What about the magic notebook?" Rody stretched out his hand, he remembered Buck''s magic notebook.

    "Do you think a genius student like me would need a magic notebook?" Buck proudly said: "I have a tactical notebook, do you want it?"

    "What other treasures? You''re not sending me off to Norn to die empty-handed, are you? Just a book and that''s it?" Rody took the magic notebook, flipped through it, found it detailed Buck''s many years of magical insights, especially the ''Counter-spells'', was overjoyed, gave Buck a thumbs up, put it away, and then extended his hand again.

    "I myself am a pauper, if I had treasures I would have exchanged them for gold coins to watch beautiful women perform strip dances a long time ago, why wait until now!" Buck may be the poorest dean in the world, not even owning a decent magic staff.

    "Being a dean and ending up like this is quite rare." Rody chuckled.

    "I''ve said it before, in this academy, I am the person with the lowest status." Buck laughed: "Kid, if you perform well, I''ll plead on your behalf and get you the Silver Eye Singer''s harp, you also use spirit magic, it might be useful for you. But don''t get your hopes up too high, that thing is even more precious than a king''s head."

    "Before I leave, I want to ask about some doubts in my mind." Rody curiously asked: "Why are the girls of Phelic so brave? Yet the men are so cowardly?"

    "Phelic is the land of the God''s Curse. Because Phelic once resisted the gods, they were cursed by the gods: ''People of Phelic, henceforth all your men will tremble on the battlefield, cower and be bullied by others, and from generation to generation, you will be the most cowardly traitors in the world!''" Buck sighed lightly: "Hundreds of years have passed, the curse of the gods is still effective, now probably only one in a hundred men is an exception. Of course, the gods did not expect that the women of Phelic would bravely stand up after the men lost their courage, keeping Phelic unyielding for hundreds of years. In fact, at that time, Phelic''s army of tens of thousands was all men, not even a single female mage, they were strong enough to resist the invasion of the beast and demon races on their own. At that time, both the god and demon races attacked the Phelic Empire together, the army of tens of thousands all died in battle, none surrendered, none betrayed."

    "Since Phelic was cursed by the gods, why did Ifis still come forward and say ''Whoever enlists first, I will marry him''?" Rody still didn''t quite understand.

    "This is the method to break the God''s Curse." Buck nodded: "Only when a princess of Phelic named Ifis gets married, then the curse on Phelic can be broken, and the men can regain their courage and confidence, becoming strong again! Therefore, every generation''s eldest princess is named Ifis, and none of them have married, vowing to marry a man who responds to their call and enlists in the national defense war!"

    "Can''t they just find a brave man to respond at that time?" Rody curiously asked.

    "It''s useless, as soon as Princess Ifis utters those words, not a single man in the world can stand up, no one can respond to her call! I''ve tried it, at that time I couldn''t move, I wanted to respond in my heart, but I couldn''t speak! By the time the magic''s time limit ends, it''s already too late to respond then, the eldest Princess Ifis will become a Medusa with snakes for hair, becoming the most terrifying woman in the world..." Buck nodded, speaking softly: "But one day, the curse on Phelic will be lifted, we have a lot of confidence, now more men of Phelic are able to break through the curse of the gods with their own will. Like you, Rody."

    "Ah, yes." Rody didn''t want to say he was a Koro from the country of Mesdustania, to avoid making Buck sad.

    "This curse is not the most important, it''s best if it can be lifted, but if not, there''s no need to worry about it for now, our most important task is to protect ''Phelic''s Hope''." Buck said softly, glancing at Jill.

    "Your strategy is quite clever, putting her out in public, it won''t attract attention." Rody praised.

    "It''s risky, but luckily the enemy is all fools, we deceived them." Buck said proudly.

 Chapter 91: The Bird Hunters of Koro

    Through the repaired teleportation array, Rody was teleported from the Great Frey to Anger, and finally to Norn, one of the four great empires.

    Norn, a conquest-oriented powerhouse known for its heavy knights and strict military discipline, is slightly less powerful than the strongest in the world, Mile, and comparable to the other two empires, Gale and Camaron, collectively known as the four great empires. In terms of territory alone, it is several times larger than the Great Frey, which is itself several times larger than Phelic, and Phelic is several times smaller than Rody''s homeland, Mesdustania.

    Due to its vast territory, abundant grasslands and forests, few mountains and hills, and the presence of fast herbivorous magical beasts, Norn has become a powerful empire of knights.

    Among the four empires, Norn''s army is the largest, especially its steel-armored heavy cavalry, which is considered the best in the world.

    Rody thought he would soon see chubby Tommy and the others, but Norn''s guides, upon learning he was a student from Phelic, scrutinized him and, after asking about his profession, arranged for him to go to the Ironblood Knight Academy. It was only after arriving at the Ironblood Knight Academy that Rody found out that Silver-haired Aaron, chubby Tommy, and the others were not in the same place.

    Being an empire, Norn boasts five knight academies and one magic academy.

    Chubby Tommy and the thief Terry went to the Iron Fist Knight Academy in the west district, Leo and Benson to the Iron Sword Knight Academy, silver-haired Aaron and Andrew, who escaped death in the witch''s cottage, to the only Holy Blessing Magic Academy, and the Colin brothers to the Iron Cross Knight Academy. The senior students were all concentrated in the Iron Hoof Knight Academy and were all sent to the front lines for military training.

    At the entrance of the Ironblood Knight Academy, there were elite students from various countries lining up to enroll, some chatting and laughing, some silent and preoccupied.

    When Rody arrived, the magicians and knights at the reception frowned and took his introduction letter.

    "My fellow student, forgive my bluntness, but are you really an elite student from Phelic?" A high-ranking magician with a five-star insignia pointed at Rody''s one-star novice magic apprentice robe and questioned, "Doesn''t Phelic have anyone else to enroll? Why send a novice magic apprentice who can''t even cast a small fireball? What do they think this place is? A warehouse or a waste disposal site? We are looking for elites! Only the most outstanding talents of a country are qualified to receive training here!"

    "Hahaha, a magician has come, and he''s a magic apprentice who can''t cast spells! Let''s cheer!" Someone laughed wildly.

    "So this is Phelic''s elite? Quite impressive, I''ve got to know this powerful country now!" Another person mocked.

    "Maybe he has some special strengths, like his looks!" This was the jealousy of some ugly man.

    "Why don''t you guess he''s particularly endowed in his trousers?" A sleazy person thought further, as a guy who liked men drooled while looking at Rody, sizing him up and down: "I like such men, with skin so white and tender, and such a handsome face. If he knows a bit about romance, that would be perfect!"

    "Damn it, you disgusting pervert, go die somewhere else, let me throw up first!" A burly man nearby, looking like a brute, couldn''t stand such talk and flew into a rage.

    "Could he be a woman in disguise?" Someone else speculated.

    "Student, I''d like to hear your answer." The five-star magician saw Rody, not angry but smiling, and felt annoyed.

    "I am an elite, that''s my answer," Rody replied calmly with a smile.

    "Student, after answering any question from our training personnel, you must add an honorific for the officer. If you are asking a question, add the officer honorific before it. Do you understand?" A knight banged the table authoritatively and said, "Now answer me!"

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    "Understood, officer," Rody replied, still unflustered.

    "Louder! Stand at attention and maintain the posture of a warrior when answering!" The mustached knight was still not ready to let Rody off and barked: "No smiling when you answer!"

    "Yes, officer," Rody responded loudly, then added, "Officer, I have a question."

    "Speak," the mustached knight commanded.

    "I live in a remote countryside, just started at the magic academy, have never participated in military training, haven''t even seen an army, and never learned the ''warrior''s posture'' you mentioned. I don¡¯t know how to stand properly. Please demonstrate, officer!" Rody said slowly, looking at the mustached knight.

    "Watch carefully! Every time you speak to a training officer, maintain this posture!" The mustached knight gave Rody a cold look, suddenly stood up with a snap, maintaining a straight military posture, and grunted: "Did you see clearly? If you did, do it now and then answer me!" Rody, unflinching, also snapped to a military stance, not quite perfect, but confidently said: "I saw clearly, officer."

    "You may go and receive your military supplies," the mustached knight said. "According to your status, you should go to the magic logistics department, but since you are a one-star novice magic apprentice and show potential as a warrior, I specifically permit you to join my Ironblood Cavalry for military training."

    "Look, offend the instructor, and you¡¯re sure to suffer!" someone whispered.

    "He¡¯s done for. The Ironblood Cavalry Camp is full of ruthless people; this bean sprout going there is like sending himself to death..." someone scoffed: "Soon we''ll see his corpse being collected."

    "Instructor, I also don¡¯t know the military posture, could you demonstrate it again?" a daredevil asked cheekily.

    "Drag this fool out and beat him, then make him stand in the military posture for two hours without moving. If he dares to move, chop him up and throw him into the corpse pit to feed the worms!" The mustached knight seemed to be a junior officer. As soon as he spoke, two knights immediately pounced, and although the student tried to run, he was quickly subdued. To the schadenfreude of onlookers, he was brutally beaten by the two knights, screaming in agony.

    Rody watched; the two knights beating the student were both five-star warriors. He couldn''t help but smile slightly, finding this Ironblood Knight Academy quite interesting.

    The group of elite students behind him watched the beating with varied expressions, but now nobody dared to provoke trouble.

    After this episode, the students, lined up in three rows, smoothly completed the initial registration procedures. Even men who had been watching from afar gave up their observations and came forward to register, following the crowd into the academy. A few people seeing Rody ahead hurried up and said, "Wait a moment, fellow student, let¡¯s get to know each other!"

    "I have no interest in androgynous people; my sexual orientation is quite normal," Rody replied with a smile.

    "What did you say?" One of them, a beautiful man with red lips, changed color.

    "I spoke in human language, can''t you understand?" Rody feigned surprise, shook his head in resignation, turned away, and said, "I thought he was a person, turns out not, my mistake, my mistake!"

    "You''re asking for death!" The beautiful man''s face changed, and two sturdy men beside him immediately swung their fists at Rody''s back.

    Rody sidestepped, grabbed one man''s arm, spun around, and executed a beautiful shoulder throw, slamming him hard onto the ground. The other man swung another punch, but Rody kicked out, hitting him right in the groin. The man''s eyes bulged, his fist stopped right at Rody''s nose, but he couldn''t bring it down. Rody gently pushed, and the man fell flat on the ground.

    Only then did the poor guy realize the pain, rolling wildly on the ground.

    The onlookers gasped in shock.

    Everyone felt a chill in their groin, thinking how ruthless this Phelic newcomer was, aiming straight for such a vulnerable spot. A kick there could cause death or at least severe injury.

    The flamboyant beautiful man was also terrified, sweating profusely.

    "Ah ha, I wondered who was so good at kicking. Turns out it''s my dear little brother!" This voice came from behind Rody, making him flash a hint of murderous intent in his eyes. But when he turned and saw the imposing man in silver armor behind him, he quickly lowered his head and respectfully greeted, "Lotte, big brother."

    "My little brother, ha, now an elite of Phelic, this really makes me, your second brother, so happy!" Lotte laughed heartily: "Haven''t seen you in years, but your skill in kicking people in the groin has not only not regressed but improved. Truly worthy of the title ''Koro''s Bird Hunter''! Everyone, look, do you know who this is? The genius of Koro, a once-in-a-century talent in magic! Ha ha, even the Pope was preparing to take him as an apprentice, to teach him the sacred light magic. If not for his blood defiling the gods, he would now be the youngest and most promising clergy on the continent!"

    "Ah, Lotte, now that you mention it, I remember! Your brother! Right, the genius idiot of Koro! Is it him?" A handsome young knight beside Lotte clapped and laughed: "A one-star magic apprentice, ah, this is the most outstanding national elite representative I have ever seen! Representing which country? Not Mesdustania? Ah, Phelic, ha ha, it would be that place that would choose him as an elite representative!"

    "Hahaha..." A group of followers burst into laughter.

    "There''s a spectacle to watch now, do you think these two brothers will fight?" someone excitedly prepared to bet with a companion.

    "Beat him up, such a brother is better off without! Shouldn''t a man retaliate when insulted?" someone else instigated, craving chaos: "Give those guys a kick, smash their balls!"

    "Let anyone with guts say that out loud!" Lotte''s guard roared, immediately silencing any response.

    "Big brother, if there''s nothing else, I¡¯d like to go collect my military supplies," Rody said, suppressing the hatred in his heart, but maintaining a smile on his face: "How is father''s health?"

    "What are you talking about? Father?" Lotte feigned surprise: "Who is your father? Don''t you know that my father has disowned you, the bastard? You traitor, do you still want to claim a father here? My god, I''ve never seen such a shameless person, daring to falsely claim a father!"

    "In that case, Mr. Lotte, please allow me to excuse myself," Rody said, his heart bleeding with hatred, but his face still smiling.

    "Call me General Lotte, don''t you know how to address the most revered commander in the academy? Shall I teach you what military etiquette is? New recruit?" Lotte barked.

    "No need, General," Rody replied coldly, standing at attention.

    "Hahaha, Rody, I''m just joking with you. Although father doesn''t acknowledge you, you''re still my brother. Even though you are a bastard born of a female slave, unrelated to me by blood, after all, you once called me big brother, didn''t you? If you need help, come find me anytime!" Lotte suddenly burst into laughter, patted Rody on the shoulder, and left with the crowd, all laughing heartily.

 Chapter 92: Rookie

    Rody watched as Lotte and the others swaggered away. His gaze turned slightly cold, but he shook his head lightly. Now was not the best time to make a move. Besides, killing an arrogant Lotte would only severely disrupt the entire trail of the forbidden magic and martial arts investigation, alerting the enemy and leading to relentless pursuit. Under everyone''s watchful eyes, he not only had to conceal his true strength but also pretend to be even weaker to put the enemy at ease.

    Seeing that Rody didn''t react excessively, the crowd, deprived of any drama, dispersed, but each of them looked at Rody with contempt.

    "Why didn''t you fight back against that guy? Can you endure such humiliation?" A bull-like man approached, shouting angrily, "If it were me, I would have smashed that turtle egg''s foul mouth and made him pick up his teeth off the ground!"

    "I don''t have your strength," Rody replied with a slight smile and turned to leave.

    "Coward!" the bull-like man yelled in anger.

    "Don''t you know? The most abundant product of the Felick Kingdom is cowards! Hahaha!" someone laughed wildly.

    "I think he''s not simple. Although it doesn''t show on the surface, just this restraint alone is not something an ordinary person can do!" a red-haired man sneered, "Before mocking others, it''s best to understand your own strength! A mere four-star swordsman daring to mock others? Truly overestimating oneself!"

    "What did you say?" the man who was laughing loudly shouted, "Want to have a go? You red-headed fly!"

    "Look!" The red-haired man stretched out a finger, flicked it sharply, and sent the provocative man flying several meters away, sneering, "See clearly now? Who is the fly? Don''t let me see you again, or I''ll throw you into a dung pit to feed the maggots!"

    "Even Red-haired Sal dares to provoke, you really are courting death!" someone shouted loudly, "Sal, need me to help you clean up the trash? For free!"

    "Let him roll! It''s my fault, I shouldn''t have spoken to such a bug!" The red-haired man shook his head, laughing, and walked away.

    "Hmph." In the distance, a proud man with a head full of upright blue hair, resembling an ice person, glanced at the red-haired Sal and snorted softly. His attention then turned to Rody''s retreating figure, as if trying to discern something from him that could unravel the doubts in his heart. Finally, when Rody''s figure completely disappeared, he coolly shifted his gaze and disappeared in a flash.

    "My god, Ice Demon Gao is also here," two pale-faced swordsmen hiding in a corner only dared to show themselves at this point.

    After collecting his military supplies, Rody arrived at a massive tent.

    This was one of the dormitories for the new recruits in the death training camp. Inside, Rody found over twenty beds, with people sitting, lying down, chatting, and even someone engrossed in looking at lewd paintings by some lecherous mage, making tsk-tsk sounds. Upon seeing Rody enter with items, a black giant even more formidable than a bull stood up, eyeing Rody unfriendly.

    "This is my territory. You want in, you gotta pay rent, give money..." Before the black giant could finish, Rody had already kicked him.

    "Haha, you must not know, he is Kolo''s bird-hunting expert, hahaha!" Someone in the tent laughed until tears streamed down, while others indifferently continued playing magical cards, not even glancing over.

    "I''m going to kill you!" The black giant tried to stand up, pressing his hand against his painfully stricken groin, trying to get up with the support of a table.

    "Soaking in hot water will help reduce the swelling faster, if you don''t want to go to a medic and pay a hefty fee," Rody looked at the black giant, dropped a line, and threw his military supplies on an unoccupied bed. The black giant gritted his teeth and stood up, raising his fist to hit Rody, but Rody slightly sidestepped, causing him to lose his balance and crash to the ground.

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    By the time the black giant got up again, Rody had already opened the blanket, made the bed, and comfortably lay down to rest.

    Although encountering Lotte was somewhat unexpected, it also immediately reminded Rody of the idea to investigate who was using forbidden magic and martial arts to secretly harm him. Through various judgments, he felt that the person who could control Father Cedo must have a significant connection with the temple. Otherwise, Lotte and Greely wouldn''t have so easily entered the temple and become members of the Knights of the Holy Temple.

    If it''s related to the temple, it might even be connected to the gods.

    The mastermind behind poisoning him, Rody believed, must not be a simple person. He must hold an extremely high position. Just imagine, someone who could concoct forbidden magic and martial arts without detection, what kind of person would that be?

    Apart from the black giant glaring fiercely at him, others didn''t pay much attention to Rody.

    Fights and brawls were common among the students. Especially when everyone was a talented individual with a sense of pride, a slight friction could easily lead to a fight. Before Rody came in, there had already been no less than ten verbal disputes and minor scuffles, although none had been knocked down like the black giant. However, the two previously bullied by him were secretly thrilled, wishing Rody would give him a thorough beating!

    The next day, Rody joined everyone at the main square for assembly.

    The identity of the mustachioed cavalryman was the chief instructor of the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp, with over two hundred cavalrymen under his command. He was also the first instructor of the Iron Blood Knight Academy. Anyone who could name his camp the Iron Blood Knight Camp was certainly not an ordinary figure.

    He inspected the place, came with five instructors, and taught everyone the most basic military posture, then had everyone stand still.

    Three hours passed. Sitting under the tent, he was eating a steak lunch, watching everyone stand in the military posture, sweating profusely. A few who moved slightly were caught by the five instructors, beaten and kicked, then punished to run ten laps around the academy. Two of them couldn''t stand it and fell to the ground, immediately carried out.

    "Take their stuff away, we don''t need trash, let them go elsewhere to loaf around!" one of the instructors cursed, "Listen up, rookies, your fate will be the same as those two pieces of trash! If any of you can''t hold on, I''ll kick you out immediately! This is the best and strongest cavalry camp. If you don''t meet our standards, then get out and don''t disgrace us here!"

    "Rookies like you who haven''t even seen blood, going to the battlefield is just courting death!" The tall instructor came up to Rody, berated everyone in turn, spitting in their faces, and said, "Do you think coming here makes you soldiers? No, you are rookies!"

    "Answer me, what are you?" The tall instructor slapped the man next to Rody and roared.

    "I''m a rookie, sir," the guy trembled in fear.

    "You, what are you? Answer me!" The tall instructor then punched Rody in the chest and shouted.

    "Rookie, instructor," Rody''s response surprised everyone.

    "What did you say?" The tall instructor, infuriated, his veins bulging, clenched his fist and roared, "Recruit, do you know what you''re saying?"

    "I''m answering your question, instructor!" Rody replied earnestly, "You asked me what I am, I answered ''rookie, instructor,'' following your question format. Now I''ve finished answering, instructor."

    "Say ''I am a rookie,'' with ''I'' as the subject!" The tall instructor felt he had encountered a blockhead who couldn''t even speak properly.

    "Alright, as per your command, you are a rookie, instructor!" Rody answered earnestly. Everyone was stunned again, and the tall instructor was on the verge of madness, grabbing Rody''s shirt, furiously saying, "Are you doing this on purpose? I will make you regret being born into this world! Damn, you dare to mock me, you damned recruit?"

    "I didn''t, I was just answering as you instructed, instructor," Rody replied, his face devoid of any smile, but those around him struggled to hold back their laughter.

    "Say ''I am a rookie'' a hundred times, no, damn it, I''m going to punish you! Do a hundred push-ups right now, right now!" the tall instructor bellowed furiously, "If you can''t do it, I''ll throw you out!"

    "Once I''m done, should I still say ''you are a rookie,'' instructor?" Rody completed the task with ease, stood up straight, and asked earnestly.

    "Run ten laps around the academy immediately!" The tall instructor was so angry that his face contorted.

    Seeing Rody earnestly running off, the students couldn''t help but laugh, trying hard to control themselves. Eventually, someone burst out laughing, setting off everyone else, leading to an uncontrollable fit of laughter. The tall instructor trembled with rage, his face turning from red to blue. Suddenly, the mustachioed chief instructor came over and said with a smile, "Funny, isn''t it? Recruits, do you think Instructor Wood''s words were wrong? Come on, let one of the most excellent and powerful recruits among you try your hand against our Instructor Wood. Instructor Wood will only use his left hand. Does anyone think they can defeat Instructor Wood?"

    "I do, I''ve been wanting to try!" a burly man from the back raised his hand, "If I defeat Instructor Wood, please let us rest and have some lunch. Just standing in military posture is useless! A real army should learn combat techniques!"

    "Really? You''re brave! If you defeat Instructor Wood, then I''ll acknowledge your point," the mustachioed chief instructor waved his hand, signaling the two to start. The burly man didn''t dare to be careless, burst forth with fighting spirit, indicating he was a near-five-star warrior. He cautiously circled around Instructor Wood, who remained motionless.

    The burly man moved behind Instructor Wood, his heavy fist coming down like a mountain.

    Instructor Wood waited for the fist to hit his back before spinning around and grabbing the man''s wrist with his left hand. The burly man was startled, but immediately threw another punch with his other hand. Within a second, he had landed several heavy punches on Instructor Wood''s face.

    However, Instructor Wood''s gaze was like iron, unfazed.

    He gradually twisted the man''s arm to an exaggerated angle, the bones crackling but not stopping even as the burly man screamed in agony. He brutally broke the man''s arm and spat a bloody spit on the writhing, pain-stricken burly man, snorting, "Here I only broke your arm, but on the battlefield, an orc ten times stronger than me would tear apart your entire body and eat you!"

    "Medic!" The mustachioed chief instructor waved for a medic to take away the burly man, then turned to the sweating crowd and said, "Do whatever Instructor Wood says if you want to come back alive from the battlefield!"

    "Report, instructor, I picked up some trash over there," Rody suddenly ran back, dragging an unconscious student.

    "Do two hundred push-ups and then rejoin the ranks!" Instructor Wood did not break Rody''s arm. He glared at Rody for a long time, then let out a loud shout, disappointing many, especially the black giant whom Rody had kicked in the groin.

 Chapter 93: Poisoning Incident

    For several consecutive days, everyone endured standing in military posture, the training being extremely dull and tedious. Many people couldn''t bear this boring torment and applied for a transfer.

    Some wanted to stay but couldn''t persist, and were driven out by the mustachioed chief instructor.

    "Now there are still three hundred people, but rookies like you won''t be able to hold out until the final official training and will all be eliminated!" Instructor Wood, as usual, scolded everyone every day. His loud voice cursed every single person, but everyone slowly got used to it. After all, they were all elite members, and they began to stand in military posture properly, motionless for several hours at a time.

    "Official training starts tomorrow. Today, everyone will run fifty laps around the academy and then you''re free to go!" Instructor Wood seemed unusually nice today, probably because he went to the temple with his wife for mass.

    Rody felt it couldn''t be that simple, and indeed, in the early hours of the night, a sharp whistle blew.

    Five instructors, wielding big sticks, barged into the tents to beat people, while outside, a magical sound transmission ordered everyone to assemble urgently. Many didn''t have time to dress properly, pulling on their trousers and rushing out. Many were beaten black and blue, and there were countless people with shoes and clothes worn incorrectly.

    The instructors punished each student based on how neatly they were dressed and the order in which they assembled.

    "Hey, Felick kid, why are you only being punished with ten push-ups?" the black giant was very dissatisfied. How could this guy''s clothes be so neatly worn? Was he sleeping in his clothes?

    "Pighead, dressing should be done in ten seconds," Rody quietly replied.

    "That''s impossible!" the black giant was stunned. It was already good enough to find clothes in ten seconds, let alone get dressed properly.

    "Do you like talking so much? Besides talking, what else can your foul mouth do?" Instructor Wood, hearing someone whispering, came over with his big stick and gave the black giant a heavy whack on the head. The black giant wanted to say that Rody was also talking and hoped Instructor Wood would hit him too, but as soon as he opened his mouth, Instructor Wood raised his stick again, and he quickly shut his mouth.

    He hated Rody to the core.

    They were talking together, but only he was getting hit. It was unbelievable!

    "Instructor, I have something to say!" a bold guy named Lopeck raised his hand, and Instructor Wood allowed him to speak, only to hear him say, "Stanley''s foul mouth, besides talking, is also good at giving oral sex to women. He said this last night, and everyone in our dormitory heard it!"

    The crowd couldn''t help but burst into laughter at the comment.

    "You''re simply courting death!" Instructor Wood, with a wave of his hand, had two instructors drag the guy away to hang and beat him, then punished everyone with an additional ten laps to run.

    Night raids and emergency assemblies occurred repeatedly, and gradually everyone got used to it. Everyone learned to get dressed neatly within a minute. Eventually, they could even pack their belongings and assemble with them. People like Rody, who were exceptionally fast, even had spare time to wash and brush their teeth. After half a month, everyone had greatly improved in standing in military posture, marching, and assembling in emergencies. In recent days, when Instructor Wood charged into the tent with a big stick, everyone could even pour him a cup of water before getting dressed and assembling in time.

    Instructor Wood distributed weapons to everyone, but no one had yet seen a horse.

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    In other camps, one could already see students riding swift Silver-Horned Horses or Iron-Maned Flame Hoof Horses, training in horsemanship, looking majestic and proud, while looking down on the ''mud-legs'' of the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp who could only run and eat dust.

    "Because we need to intensify training, we''ve added meat to dinner, so everyone eat up!" said Instructor Wood. Rody chuckled secretly to himself.

    "I''m dying, I''ve been to the toilet at least twenty times, I feel completely drained now!" Black giant Stanley, a representative figure in the tent, obediently ate a lot as instructed, resulting in the normally robust man needing to lean on walls to walk. Nearly everyone in the dormitory was in a similar state. Seeing Rody quietly reading a book, not competing for the toilet, the black giant exclaimed, "How come you''re fine? This is so unfair! I''m so strong but nearly collapsing, and you, a mere bean sprout, are perfectly fine?"

    "Pighead, I don''t eat food with croton seeds, so why would I have diarrhea?" Rody replied indifferently, "Besides, I can detoxify."

    "Quick, help me detoxify!" The black giant, upon hearing this, immediately set aside his previous grudge.

    "One gold coin!" Rody''s demand shocked the black giant; a gold coin was no small amount of money.

    "My body is resistant!" The black giant decided to endure more, hoping to save a gold coin. An hour later, he began to regret his decision as he monopolized the toilet for half an hour, becoming the least popular person among everyone. Those who resigned themselves to Rody''s extortion were already feeling better and had returned to their beds to look at pictures of beautiful naked women.

    "Now, it''s two gold coins!" As Rody stated this, the black giant felt it was an extremely bad deal. He had endured an extra hour of pain compared to others, so why should the price suddenly increase?

    "Keep your medicine! You damn bloodsucker! Ouch..." In anger, the black giant found his stomach pain worsening, and he rushed to monopolize the toilet again. Two hours later, still refusing to buy the medicine, everyone looked at him with great sympathy but couldn''t help, as Rody had raised the price to four gold coins.

    "Just two gold coins, not a copper coin more... I can''t take it anymore..." The black giant, unable to bear it any longer, started bargaining with Rody amidst everyone''s laughter.

    "In three days, I''ll lower the price to that, you can wait!" Rody replied nonchalantly, not caring at all.

    "Damn Wood, you are the most cunning piece of dog crap in the world, I hope the goddess of misfortune drags you to hell! Damn Rody, you Felick vampire, I hate you guys!" Black giant Stanley shed tears of pain, but in his heart, the person he hated the most wasn''t Instructor Wood or Rody, but himself. He hated himself for being so stupid; initially, he could have been cured with just one gold coin, but instead, he chose to suffer. After a few hours, he had to pay three more gold coins, and he almost wanted to beat himself up.

    From that day onwards, he ate whatever Rody ate. If Rody didn''t eat something, he dared not touch it.

    But Rody had a preference for food, and he wasn''t very interested in some meats, which drove him crazy.

    "Damn it, this steak is so tender and juicy, why won''t you eat it, you damn bean sprout pharmacist!" Black giant Stanley hadn''t dared to eat beef for several days, drooling with craving. But since Rody didn''t touch it, he dared not eat it either. Often, people were poisoned by eating the wrong things, and he didn''t want to spend another four gold coins to cure his stomach.

    "The steak is good, tender and juicy, but I prefer tough and hard old beef tendons. You eat it! Go ahead and eat your fill!" Rody politely put the steak on the black giant''s plate, scaring him into screaming like a girl being teased.

    "I''ll eat!" The boldest one, Lopeck, unhesitatingly wolfed down five servings of steak.

    As a result, the black giant Stanley watched in cold sweat as Lopeck''s face turned from red to blue, then green, and still joking unknowingly with others, while everyone around turned pale. Lopeck, green all over and half-dead, didn''t realize anything was wrong.

    Everyone kept their distance from Lopeck, fearing contagion.

    "My hand, why is it turning color?" Only then did he notice something was wrong.

    "Exit the tent, turn left, then go fifty meters and turn right, walk straight for 150 meters then turn right, cross a small bridge and go forward 500 meters and turn left, and after seeing a tall statue, turn left again. About fifty meters from there, you''ll find a useful place," Rody said indifferently.

    "Thank you, what place is that?" Lopeck, realizing it wasn''t the direction to the infirmary, was puzzled.

    "That''s the stonemason''s place for custom-made tombstones and epitaphs," Rody replied calmly, "If you hurry now, you might still have time to confess and leave your last words with the priest next door!"

    "I''m going to die?" Lopeck screamed in shock.

    "No, you''ll just turn into a zombie or a ghoul, becoming an undying undead. In a day or two, you''ll have the honor of meeting the bishop. Of course, he will chant holy light magic for you and pray. If you''re lucky, the bishop might even agree to let you barbecue chicken wings while being burned at the stake!" Rody said, causing everyone to break into a cold sweat.

    "What''s going on?" Instructor Wood entered and saw Lopeck''s greenish appearance, looking a bit stunned.

    "Report, Instructor Wood, I suspect someone poisoned the steak!" Rody stood up and saluted, saying, "This is the undead clan''s corpse poison. Though not fatal, it rapidly turns people into zombies or ghouls!"

    "Wasn''t the poison from Instructor Wood?" The others, hearing this, were terrified. If Instructor Wood had poisoned the food, it wouldn''t be lethal, but if someone else had...

    "Quickly drag this pighead out, find a light healer to dispel the corpse poison! Anyone who ate steak, go get holy water to detoxify!" Before leaving, Instructor Wood asked Rody, "How many servings of steak did this pighead eat? Five servings? Damn... You all go back to the dormitory for now, don''t touch the food, I''ll report to the chief instructor immediately. This is no small matter."

    "I was scared to death!" Black giant Stanley was so frightened his heart nearly jumped out. Imagining himself being burned at the stake, he thought Rody would be barbecuing chicken wings beside him, his face turning bluer with each thought.

    "Are you poisoned too?" Instructor Wood saw the black giant shaking all over and asked curiously.

    "No, no, don''t burn me, I''m not poisoned!" The black giant waved his hands in panic, causing everyone to burst into laughter. A few others, who hadn''t secretly followed Rody''s example, quickly ran to the infirmary to get holy water for detoxification.

 Chapter 94: Murder Test

    The poisoning incident might seem trivial to ordinary people, but Rody perceived it as not so simple. Corpse poison is not easily produced; it must be cast by a necromancer of at least the sixth order. Moreover, considering the secrecy of the poisoning, it seems the enemy''s strength is not just that of a sixth-order necromancer.

    Rody, who is adept in mental, soul, and dark magic, wouldn¡¯t have easily noticed it otherwise.

    It was strange enough that a powerful necromancer was hiding in the Norn Empire without drawing attention, and even more so that he dared to use corpse poison to harm the students of the magic academy.

    Moreover, the target was the elite students from various countries, clearly indicating some unspeakable secret. Rody later discovered that not only his Iron Blood Cavalry Camp, but also other camps had all experienced the effects of poisoning. Because it was discovered in time and the instructors often poisoned as a part of training, the students didn¡¯t pay much attention, assuming it was just a normal test.

    However, Rody had Instructor Wood called for a detailed talk, even secretly inquiring if there was a faster way to detoxify.

    Given the large number of people, it seemed impossible for the temple''s mages to dispel it completely, and holy water was in high demand. Although Rody was reluctant to have more people learn how to counteract the corpse poison, he feared that keeping it too secret might arouse suspicion from the instructors. He provided Instructor Wood with a formula for a potion that neutralizes corpse poison, but also mentioned that since he was an illegitimate child and had been expelled from home, being too conspicuous might lead to revenge and assassination, asking Instructor Wood to keep it a secret.

    "You are one of our Iron Blood Cavalry Camp. Unless we are all dead, we will absolutely not let anyone bully you!" Instructor Wood patted Rody on the shoulder and said solemnly, "General Quentin is the most upright commander. Just focus on your training and improvement, don''t worry about anything else."

    "Yes, instructor," Rody sighed in relief inwardly, feeling it was better to have someone looking out for him.

    "General Quentin has high hopes for you, work hard! We don''t care about your background or connections. Whether you are from Felick or Mile, we will treat you the same. As long as you are outstanding enough, then you are our soldier, our pride!" Instructor Wood nodded vigorously, "As for your elder brother Lotte, I''ve heard about him. Don''t worry, even if he''s a general, he can''t interfere with our Iron Blood Cavalry Camp!"

    After the poisoning incident, the students quickly transitioned into intense training.

    According to well-informed sources, mercenary groups had discovered a large influx of beast tribe soldiers in the Land of Evil and had started building camps. There were dozens of fierce battles, and due to underestimating the beast tribe soldiers, human mercenaries suffered heavy losses, with only a few elite mercenaries achieving victory.

    Armies from various countries were amassing in large numbers, heading towards the borders of the Camalon Empire, which was closest to the Land of Evil. On the other hand, the countries of Da Frey and Neiward, which also had minor connections to the Land of Evil, had small fortresses due to favorable terrain, providing some defense. Therefore, only a small number of vassal troops and allied forces from these two countries were sent for surveillance. For example, a thousand troops from Felick, led by Buke and Drunken Cat, went to the Da Frey Stronghold Fortress for defense.

    Some prophets and astrologers were spreading rumors that the Holy War, which happens once every hundred years, would not start for at least another three years.

    Of course, apart from the completely uninformed ordinary farmers and citizens, probably only the prophets and astrologers themselves would believe such rumors. Now, with the formidable shadow of the demon race looming over, all conflicts and frictions had consciously ceased to prevent being exploited by the enemy.

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    A few days later, while Rody''s Iron Blood Cavalry Camp was still training in rapid obstacle course traversal, others had already begun practicing cavalry charges.

    "You mud-legs, just go back home and farm! Look at yourselves, you''re like farmers, covered in mud and dirt, more shameful than a drowned dog. Do you even deserve to be called cavalry? Where are your horses? Do you even know how to ride?" A cavalryman from another camp, who had grown tired of practicing charges, rode his horse over to watch Rody and his fellows train, loudly mocking them: "Is this the strictest and best cavalry in the academy? Hahaha, my god, people who can''t even ride horses dare to call themselves cavalry! You''re better suited to be stable boys for us!"

    "Are you itching for a fight?" Black giant Stanley, who was climbing a rope but fell into the mud due to its breakage, was already in a bad mood.

    "I''m so scared! What will you fight us with? Your mud-covered thighs?" The other side laughed heartily.

    "You sons of bitches!" Black giant Stanley could no longer contain his rage.

    "Don''t go, or Instructor Wood will definitely deal with you!" Rody splashed mud on his head to sober him up. The black giant was defiant towards others but feared Rody even more than Instructor Wood. He spat out a mouthful of saliva and continued to climb the rope, suppressing his anger.

    A leftover fruit was thrown over, hitting the black giant on the head.

    He gritted his teeth, climbing the rope with force.

    Then, a dozen leftover fruit cores were thrown at him, provoking a roar from the black giant who leaped from mid-air towards the provocateurs. Many of his equally enraged companions also rushed over to join the fray.

    Rody sat on a high bar, watching and sighing lightly, shaking his head.

    He took out a fruit and bit into it crisply, watching the melee below. Initially, the other cavalry camps had the upper hand due to their horses, but they were soon pulled down and beaten in a brawl. More people joined in, turning the small skirmish into a large battle between camps, with some even fanning the flames, leading to a chaotic fight among all the trainees.

    A cold arrow, shot secretly from a hidden spot, aimed at Rody sitting on the high bar.

    Whoosh! The arrow whizzed past, barely missing Rody''s hair.

    Rody remained expressionless, glancing briefly in the direction of the arrow before returning to his fruit, seemingly unaware. However, his eyes were filled with murderous intent as he bit into the fruit.

    It appeared that this fight wasn''t accidental but was instigated by someone behind the scenes, or else such a strong, poisonous arrow wouldn''t have been timely aimed at him. Rody didn¡¯t take this assassination attempt to heart; as long as the opponent couldn''t openly take him down, every covert move had a turnaround, a way to be countered.

    The Rody of today was no longer the poor, helpless child of the past, with nothing to his name.

    "Stop fighting, all of you, or we will use force to suppress this. You have quite the nerve to engage in a brawl like this!" Instructor Wood blew his whistle, and hundreds of heavily armored cavalry thundered out of the barracks in neat formation. Each one brandished a knight''s lance, controlling their horses to trot lightly, ready to charge at high speed, which would turn anyone in their path into minced meat.

    "Boom..." Far away, two mages jointly dropped several explosive fireballs into the melee, blowing the brawling students into disarray.

    A massive brawl involving over a thousand people was suddenly suppressed.

    Everyone scattered and learned to crouch and cover their heads after being whipped by the instructors, to avoid further physical punishment.

    "Look at yourselves, what do you look like? Each of you like ruffians causing trouble in a tavern, like hoodlums who failed to rob someone on the street, like male dogs in heat fighting over a bitch!" Instructor Wood scolded harshly, "If you''re capable, defeat your opponents in the military league. What¡¯s the point of fighting without using weapons? Do you dare to kill? Do you dare to pick up a sword and chop them to death? Trash, you think this is bravery? Pah, you''re all the worst cowards, not even as good as dog crap!"

    "Everyone gets ten lashes of the whip, and Stanley, who led the fight, gets thirty. Dinner will be canceled today!" As Instructor Wood passed by Rody, he took out a short arrow, examined it, and whispered, "This matter won¡¯t end here."

    General Quentin with the mustache, having spoken with the academy, pulled the entire Iron Blood Cavalry Camp out for training.

    The next day, after several hours of walking, Rody and the others arrived at a huge manor.

    According to the students from Norn, this was General Quentin''s private manor, where the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp used to be brought for final training. When Rody and his group arrived, there was a row of densely packed stakes, each with a man tied to it, covered in whip marks and scars. The students thought these were previous trainees and were terrified.

    "These are all thieves who have committed every conceivable crime, trash and lecherous villains. According to their crimes, they should die a thousand times over!" Instructor Wood surveyed the area and shouted, "Now, it''s time to prove your courage! Whoever can take up a sword and kill a thief can stay. If you can''t do it, then get out!"

    "Really kill someone?" Many turned pale. It¡¯s one thing to act tough in a fight, but killing someone is different. It¡¯s not as easy as slaughtering a chicken.

    "Stanley, step forward, take your axe and chop one of these scumbags to death, or get out!" Instructor Wood ordered the black giant to step out, pointing to the densely tied criminals, commanding sternly.

    "I, of course, dare to kill!" Although the black giant talked tough, Rody saw his hands trembling.

    "Chop it down, chop off his head with one swing of the axe, let his blood spurt high, or crack open his skull and let his brain spill out!" Instructor Wood shouted. The more he spoke, the less the black giant was able to do it. Several people behind him vomited.

    "F*ck you, trash!" The black giant closed his eyes and chopped down heavily, splitting the tied thief in half. The rope broke, and the thief''s body fell onto him, drenching him in blood. As the black giant walked back slowly, dragging his bloody axe, Rody saw his legs trembling and his hands shaking.

    "Who else dares to kill?" Instructor Wood asked.

 Chapter 95: Hunger Training

    "I will!" The boldest Lopeck raised his hand, "Instructor, can I release the guy I have to kill and then chase and kill him from behind?"

    "Yes, you can. If you can kill more than ten people, you''ll be a squad leader!" Instructor Wood waved his hand, and several cavalrymen cut the ropes binding ten criminals. He shouted at the criminals, "Run, if you can get out of the manor, you''ll be spared!"

    The ten released guys, hearing this, immediately scrambled away, wishing they had four legs to run faster.

    Lopeck roared and chased after them with a broadsword.

    "Pighead, wait for me if you can''t do it!" A slim shadow shot out, knocking Lopeck over and catching up with the fugitives like lightning. His long dagger flickered, slicing the fugitives'' throats, making them collapse one by one. The slim figure casually slid back and asked with a grin, "Instructor, am I a squad leader now?"

    "Jesse, you qualify," Instructor Wood grunted.

    "Can I choose my team members?" The slim man smiled, "If so, I''d like to choose Rody, Stanley, Lopeck..."

    "Sorry, I''ll also be a squad leader. I don''t think a squad leader can choose another squad leader as a team member!" Rody stepped forward, calmly producing his silver dagger and lightly stabbing each of the ten criminals in the heart before slowly returning. Seeing everyone''s surprised looks, Rody smiled and said, "Actually, killing is easy. You just need to think of them as a piece of meat, like the steak you cut usually, not as a living person, and then you won¡¯t feel anything."

    "Well said!" Instructor Wood clapped his hands, "The first thing to think about when killing is how to kill the opponent the fastest. As for the bullshit of sin and fear, you can think about it later! On the battlefield, if you don¡¯t kill, others will kill you! Do you think orcs and demons will shake hands and chat with you? They will chop off your head and hang it on their waist as a trophy, throw your body into a pot to cook. Don¡¯t you know that orc soldiers always come without food, and their food is the corpses of human soldiers? If you don''t kill, the enemy will kill you, and you''ll be eaten by orcs!"

    "Damn..." Hearing this, everyone felt their scalps tingle, each drawing a cold breath, even the iron-willed Rody felt a bit sickened.

    "Kill these trash. If you can''t even kill those tied up, don¡¯t talk to me about going to the battlefield, just go home and suckle!" Instructor Wood roared at everyone.

    Images of themselves being chopped and thrown into a pot to cook by orcs flashed through everyone¡¯s minds. Their faces twisted in fear.

    Someone took the lead, rushing at the criminals, and everyone followed, shouting as they went.

    Hundreds of people swung their weapons, awkwardly killing their targets, then vomited crazily, some even crying. However, Instructor Wood felt comforted inside. Passing this test made them warriors. Although they were still a bit weak now, they were young and would grow quickly. The hardest first step was done; the rest would be easier.

    In this test, more outstanding individuals emerged.

    Among the three hundred elite, more than ten became distinguished squad leaders. Even those who couldn''t kill ten targets but showed potential stood out.

    "Rest for half a day, and we''ll start formal training in the afternoon!" Instructor Wood seemed very satisfied with everyone''s performance today and granted a half-day break.

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    "Instructor, I have a question." Someone raised their hand to ask, "Aren''t we cavalry? Why don''t we train in horsemanship? We haven''t even seen a horse yet!" Instructor Wood glared at the person, coldly humming, "Recruit, are you questioning my training methods? Let me tell you why we haven''t trained in horsemanship: it''s simple, we don''t need it!"

    "Do you want to know why?" Instructor Wood bellowed, "In the Land of Evil, there are no vast plains, only mountains, cliffs, forests, swamps, streams, and countless magical beasts. Tell me, would riding horses be effective in battle there?"

    "Then why do other camps train in cavalry charges?" Stanley, even more confused, asked foolishly.

    "How other cavalry camps train is none of my concern, but in the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp, there is no course on training for cavalry group charges! If you want to practice cavalry charges, then apply for a transfer! Here, we only teach you how to survive in the Land of Evil, not how to ride horses! Such simple things, you should have learned already; we won¡¯t repeat them. Also, if you think riding horses is prestigious, don''t train here. We only teach you how to survive by any means necessary! When you fight orc soldiers or demons, do you think a cavalry charge will work? A tall orc can easily flip someone off a horse. A heavily armored cavalryman falling in battle is as good as announcing his death!" Instructor Wood said gravely, "To kill a strong orc soldier, ordinary soldiers need the cooperation of twenty or more, even the most elite soldiers need three to five working in harmony!"

    "Are orc soldiers that powerful?" Jesse furrowed his brow upon hearing this.

    "Orc soldiers are merely stronger than humans. Compared to the soldiers of the demon and god races, they are just mere bulls!" Instructor Wood snorted, "If you 300 people encounter demon soldiers, even if many of you are five-star great swordsmen, I believe that just fifty demon soldiers could defeat you utterly!"

    "Then aren''t we going to the battlefield just to die?" Stanley exclaimed in shock.

    "We can use tactics. Humanity can make up for its inherent weaknesses with wisdom and strategy!" Rody, seeing everyone''s ashen faces, quickly comforted them.

    "Exactly, the greatest strength of humanity is not fighting spirit or magic, but wisdom!" Wood nodded, "Orc soldiers have simple minds and only know how to charge blindly. Although they are physically imposing, human warriors can use various strategies to defeat them. Demons are similar to humans in intelligence but are arrogant and contemptuous, and their internal strife and mutual hatred don''t match human unity or our spirit of sacrifice. That''s why we can resist them!"

    "We also have the support of the gods behind us. They are the bane of demons!" someone optimistically added.

    "On the battlefield, the most trustworthy person is yourself. Next, it¡¯s your comrades-in-arms! Beyond that, there is no one else you can trust! To survive in the Land of Evil, you can only rely on yourselves!" Instructor Wood left these words behind for everyone to ponder and strode away.

    Training at the manor was a hundred times tougher than in the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp, with people often fainting from exhaustion.

    However, Instructor Wood, now different from before, didn''t expel those who fell behind. After the murder test, he seemed to have acknowledged everyone as members of the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp.

    ¡°Crap, this earthworm soup is really not fit for human consumption!¡± Stanley cursed loudly.

    ¡°I think it''s okay, I drank three big bowls.¡± The only one who could say this was the bold Lopeck. He burped contentedly, causing Stanley to feel nauseous, which made him vomit immediately.

    ¡°Look, everyone, I caught a huge demon lizard!¡± Someone in the forest caught a small lizard, even smaller than a gecko, but everyone was so hungry that they salivated at the sight. Since the start of the hunger training five days ago, no one had eaten anything, not even bread crumbs or the toughest, all-muscle beef jerky, which had become the most desired delicacies.

    ¡°I¡¯m so envious. I''ll offer a silver coin, no, two!¡± Jesse made an offer.

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t sell it for ten!¡± The guy immediately stuffed the small lizard into his mouth, fearing it would be snatched away by the others.

    ¡°Now I understand what¡¯s more important in this world than money! It''s food... Damn, just mentioning food makes my stomach hurt so badly. My belly is even drier than my purse!¡± Stanley¡¯s words made everyone burst into laughter. Far away, they saw Rody returning. Stanley quickly went up to him, flattering, ¡°Hero of Felick, you¡¯re back? Worked hard, haven¡¯t you? Do you need water? How is it? We didn''t get lost, right?¡±

    ¡°Calling me an ancestor won¡¯t help, my apples are long gone,¡± Rody laughed.

    ¡°You should¡¯ve said so earlier, you wasted so much of my saliva!¡± Stanley was utterly disappointed. If it were anyone else, they might have cursed out loud, but he didn¡¯t dare to do that with Rody.

    ¡°I just found a huge demon lizard on the road¡­¡± Before Rody could finish, everyone burst into laughter. Rody, puzzled, asked, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? I was about to invite you all to feast. Do you want to continue practicing your starvation skills?¡± Stanley slapped Rody on the shoulder, saying, ¡°How much for your demon lizard? A gold coin? Ah no, keep that gigantic gecko for yourself! We¡¯ll save that gold coin!¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t eat it all myself. That demon lizard weighs at least two hundred kilograms, maybe not enough to stuff three hundred people to death, but enough to satisfy three hundred hungry ghosts!¡± Rody said this, and everyone was both shocked and delighted. Stanley immediately hoisted Rody onto his shoulder, fawning, ¡°Hero of Felick, please accept our cheers!¡±

    ¡°Not a bad idea, but I think it would be more appropriate for everyone to do this after killing the demon lizard!¡± Rody smiled slightly, ¡°Because that demon lizard is a third-tier fire elemental beast, and it seems it hasn¡¯t eaten for several days either!¡±

    ¡°Damn¡­¡± Everyone broke into a sweat, but their hunger quickly overcame their fear, their morale skyrocketing, ¡°It¡¯s just a third-tier fire elemental beast!¡±

    ¡°Right, right, think about it, there''s also the magic crystal income!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m the best at skinning; leave the beast to me, I guarantee not even the bones will be wasted!¡±

    ¡°Everyone, come here, I¡¯ll cast ¡®Fire Resistance Magic¡¯ on you. Wait a moment, don¡¯t push, let me remember how that damn magic incantation goes!¡±

 Chapter 96: The Handsome Chris

    A month passed by imperceptibly, and at some point, the elite students of the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp had changed. They all bore more or less some scars, their skin was tanned, but their aura was completely different from before.

    The pride in their eyes had turned into coldness.

    Although unintentional, when they saw someone, they couldn''t help but reveal a wolf-like hunger in their eyes.

    Now, among the three hundred, even the most timid could effortlessly kill ten criminals without blinking. Having survived countless tortures, they had turned into men resembling fierce wolves. While their temperaments and personalities remained the same as before, each person''s strength had significantly improved compared to the past.

    Rody''s greatest gain was learning how to train Iron Blood soldiers through his own experience.

    From Instructor Wood and General Quentin, he learned a lot, especially about the power formed from unity, collective effort, and discipline, which he had always lacked. Now, he felt that if he could take these lessons back to Felick and train soldiers, combining them with his own mental magic, he was confident that the soldiers he trained would be no less elite than those of other countries.

    Although Rody never thought of becoming a general or a lord, he yearned to have his own private army.

    A private army completely loyal to him, not like the slaves of darkness, but living beings who could do more things that only intelligent life forms could do. Rody had a feeling that to defeat the mastermind who used forbidden magic and martial arts to seal him in the past, personal strength alone was not enough. He needed to have a powerful army, one that could deter enemies, one that could encircle and annihilate the enemy.

    If facing a powerful individual, Rody could defeat them with his continuously improving personal strength.

    But what he needed to face might not be just a strong individual, but a nation, or even more than one nation, possibly even the gods. Therefore, he needed more support, a powerful army that could level everything.

    He was still far from having his own army, almost an unreachable distance.

    Moreover, Rody currently lacked something very important: battle experience. This wasn''t about one-on-one combat, but the experience of fighting in a battlefield with tens of thousands of soldiers. He had no experience in commanding large armies, not knowing when to advance or defend.

    He needed more experience, more learning.

    The one-armed swordsman Gavin once said: Among ten Archmages, eight have been through a magic academy, and nine have been on the battlefield. This shows how much battle-hardening influences a person''s growth. The reason Rody risked coming to Norn was to learn more and absorb combat experience under the protection of human armies, turning it into a source of nourishment for his growth. Rody believed that one day, he would have the opportunity to lead an army, to be a decision-maker leading an army against enemies. Before that day comes, he must grow.

    "Hey, Rody, how come everyone has scars like a flower turtle, and their skin is darker than a cow dung turtle, but your little face is still so white and tender?" Stanley suddenly noticed the difference in Rody''s complexion and asked in surprise, "What''s going on with you?"

    "Envious, what skincare products do you use?" A guy who cherished beauty squeezed over, eagerly asking.

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    "Dragon blood!" Rody said, causing everyone to faint.

    "You''re just bragging! Why don¡¯t you say your thing can turn corners?" Stanley''s words were tinged with jealousy, sounding sour.

    "Quiet, everyone, quiet!" Jesse stood on a table and shouted, "I have a suggestion. Apart from badges, every cavalryman should have a cool tattoo, like the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp¡¯s crossed swords, the Iron Sword Cavalry Camp¡¯s sword and shield, the Roaring Cavalry Camp¡¯s iron fist. I think we should also get one to commemorate our training here. What do you all think?"

    "Yeah..." The crowd erupted in cheers, with many agreeing.

    "I don''t think it''s a good idea!" Rody spoke up, surprising everyone who didn''t expect him to disagree. He extended his arm, lightly cut it with a dagger, and everyone saw blood oozing out but quickly being reabsorbed, leaving a bloodstain that healed at a visible speed, leaving the skin as white and smooth as before.

    Everyone was stunned, their mouths wide enough to fit a kodo beast.

    Jesse fell off the table with a thud, not even feeling the pain. Stanley got up to look and forgot he was sitting on a bed, hitting his head on the upper bunk and bending two steel bars, completely unaware.

    "You freak, do you have the immortal body of the legendary Phoenix?" Stanley exclaimed excitedly.

    "No, if your skin is burnt by black dragon blood, it will become like mine," Rody smiled, "I think instead of tattooing a badge on the arm, it¡¯s better to make a magical badge. An orc¡¯s axe won¡¯t spare you just because you have a pretty tattoo, but if you have an enchanted magic badge, it might save your life in a dangerous moment. What do you think?"

    "That''s certainly better, but making magic badges costs a lot, and no one here knows how to enchant!" Jesse felt the idea was unrealistic due to financial constraints.

    "Cough, cough, everyone, please note, you''re talking to a wealthy man," Rody said lightly.

    "Hero of Felick, your shoes are dirty, let me clean them for you! If you have any orders, just command your servant. Everyone here is willing to serve you!" Stanley fawned again. Everyone despised him, mainly because this seemingly foolish guy was too quick to seize the opportunity to fawn over someone.

    "I¡¯ll advance three hundred gold coins for everyone, but in return, I want half of the total income from any spoils of war, if there are any!" Rody chuckled.

    "Deal!" Stanley, worried that Rody might change his mind, quickly agreed.

    "One gold coin per magic badge is just about manageable... but enchantment is still a problem!" Jesse said with a headache, "Because everyone has different attributes - wind, fire, water, earth - enchanting is not easy. At the very least, we need enchanters from all four elements, and I''m afraid that''s not something three hundred gold coins can solve! Rody, do you know how to enchant?"

    "No." Rody certainly knew how to enchant, but he couldn¡¯t reveal all his abilities; it would be too astonishing.

    "Why doesn''t anyone ask me?" Suddenly, a clear voice like spring water flowing over stones gently rang out, calming everyone¡¯s hearts. A young man even more handsome than Rody came in, smiling, "I can enchant, and I know all four elements! You don''t have to worry about such trivial matters as enchantment. I can enchant weapons and armor for everyone!"

    "Hooray..." The crowd cheered.

    "Wait, who are you?" Stanley, happy for a while, suddenly realized that the person before him was a stranger whom he didn''t recognize.

    "I''m Kristin, but you can call me Chris. Starting today, I''m your comrade!" The handsome young man bowed politely to everyone and led the applause, and some people, seeing his extreme handsomeness and agreeable nature, couldn¡¯t help but warmly welcome him.

    "Hey, you sissy, who authorized you to come here? Is this a place for you?" Stanley said arrogantly.

    "I did!" General Quentin with the mustache and Instructor Wood stood behind everyone.

    "That''s a very wise decision!" Jesse joked, "I knew this young man had the qualifications just by looking at him. I, on behalf of everyone, welcome you!" But Chris didn¡¯t shake hands with him; instead, he made himself at home, sitting on Rody''s bed, extending his hand to Rody with a smile, "Hero of Felick, it''s a pleasure to meet you!"

    "I''m tired!" Rody, tossing aside his book, ignored Chris and turned over to sleep.

    "This kid is jealous; I''m sure of it. He just can''t stand anyone being more handsome than him!" Stanley speculated maliciously.

    "Chris, you''re staying in the upper bunk above Rody," Instructor Wood said as he carried luggage for him, surprising everyone. Who was this Chris, some prince from a foreign country? He was so extraordinary that General Quentin personally brought him, and even Instructor Wood carried his luggage. Could he be the Pope''s illegitimate child? Everyone knew about Quentin''s fifth son, Keli, who was in the cavalry camp, but Instructor Wood only hit him with a big slap, and no one would have known Keli was Quentin¡¯s son if a student from Norn hadn''t inadvertently revealed it.

    Who exactly was this Chris?

    General Quentin, ignoring his own son, nodded to Chris, "Settle in. They''re all good guys; you''ll get used to them slowly!"

    Everyone looked at each other again. Even Rody, who was highly regarded by General Quentin, had probably never heard Quentin speak in such a gentle tone. For ordinary people, not getting scolded by Quentin was already lucky.

    "Hey, kid, where are you from? Are you some prince of a mighty nation?" Stanley asked curiously after Quentin and Wood left.

    "I come from the talented and scenic country of Mesbustania, the same place as Rody. But I''m not from Kolo like him; I''m from the capital, Lyshe," the handsome Chris replied, making everyone green with envy. Mesbustania, such a small country, yet it seemed to be the home of handsome men! Rody was already enough to make people jealous, but Chris was even more handsome, almost driving people to shame.

    "What?" Rody, hearing this, was startled and sat up, looking at Chris in astonishment.

 Chapter 97: Lets Take a Bath Together

    "Ha! Even though you''ve become a rich man, you still haven''t forgotten the people from your hometown. That¡¯s not bad!" The handsome Chris clapped his hands and laughed.

    "I am a person from Felick!" Rody coldly huffed, slowly lying down, ignoring everyone. Waves of shock surged in his heart. After the assassination attempt with the cold arrow, now suddenly a fellow townsman appeared. What was his purpose? Was it the mastermind behind the forbidden magic and martial arts who noticed him? Was Chris sent by him to spy on him?

    If not for a very powerful figure, how could even General Quentin be so accommodating?

    Was his hidden strength discovered? Who exactly was this Chris? He must be highly skilled in all four elemental magics to enchant for over three hundred people. What kind of a magic expert would someone proficient in all four elements be?

    A Magic Master? More likely a Magic Grandmaster!

    A young man, looking about his age, a Magic Grandmaster?

    Who was he? Could Mesbustania have produced another magic prodigy, once in a century, besides himself? It seemed impossible; he had never heard of such a person. But after he lost favor at the age of five, he also lost his source of information. Perhaps this Chris was even younger than him... If not afraid of exposing himself, Rody really wanted to take out the Black Crystal Magic Mirror to check who Chris was.

    The next day, the handsome Chris followed Rody around, whether eating breakfast or during morning exercises.

    Rody ignored him. In the ten-kilometer obstacle run, he surpassed Jesse, the fastest, leaving a crowd of dumbfounded companions half a kilometer behind. Even Wood seemed to sense Rody''s fury and gave him a few more glances but said nothing.

    "You run really fast!" Chris, his handsome face covered in a thin sheen of sweat, which somehow seemed charmingly moist and odorless, unlike the stench of ordinary people''s sweat, let alone Stanley''s horse-like stink that could knock someone out from fifty meters away. He gently wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, smiling, "Let¡¯s practice together; I don¡¯t know how to use fighting spirit, perfect!"

    "How do you know I can''t use fighting spirit?" Rody¡¯s heart chilled; it seemed Chris knew quite a lot about him.

    "I not only know you¡¯re a genius from Kolo, but I also know all about your hobby of kicking people in the groin. Just don¡¯t kick me!" Chris''s smile didn¡¯t waver in the face of Rody''s coldness. He chuckled, "Since I was a child, my father always told me to emulate you. Honestly, I used to resent it, but now that I''ve met you, I feel I truly can¡¯t catch up with you!"

    "Are you mocking me? You know I''m just a one-star novice magic apprentice!" Rody snorted.

    "Rank doesn¡¯t prove anything. I''m also a one-star novice magic apprentice, just like you," Chris smiled, "Being able to cast magic is enough, it doesn¡¯t have to be a small fireball, right? The one-star novice magic apprentice Rody who claims he can''t even cast a small fireball?"

    "What else do you know?" A flicker of murderous intent crossed Rody''s mind; if this were the Land of Evil instead of the training field, he didn¡¯t doubt he would strike.

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    "A lot. For instance, your mother¡¯s name, your birthday, your childhood hobbies, and even the fact that you never wet the bed," Chris said. Upon hearing this, Stanley burst into laughter. Seeing Rody glaring at him, he quickly scurried away, preferring to offend Instructor Wood rather than Rody. Even Lopeck, who was nearly foolishly brave, wouldn''t dare to make Rody angry.

    "People who know too much often don''t live long," Rody coldly stared at Chris.

    "Don''t worry, I know what I should know, and I¡¯m completely unaware of what I shouldn''t. Besides, my teacher said when doing my fortune that I have a long life line and will live a long life, not a short-lived one..." Chris seemed oblivious to Rody''s threat, speaking with a smile on his face.

    "Instructor, I¡¯m sick and need to take a leave!" Only Rody dared to speak to Instructor Wood like this.

    "Come back in the afternoon!" Instructor Wood was exceptionally lenient with Rody, unlike his usual harshness. If Stanley or Lopeck had dared to speak like that, he probably would have ''cured'' them with his fists.

    "Instructor," Chris quickly raised his hand as he saw Rody storming off angrily.

    "You''re sick too?" Instructor Wood asked, feeling dizzy.

    "No, sir," Chris replied cheerfully. "I''m not sick, but I can cure it!"

    "Cure it before this afternoon!" Instructor Wood, seeing everyone staring at him dumbfounded, roared in anger: "If you don''t start practicing now, then you''ll be punished with ten thousand weighted frog jumps!" Terrified, everyone scattered. Although all were elite, they understood that among the elites, there were always the best. Since they weren''t the best, they naturally couldn''t enjoy the best treatment.

    Just as Rody lay down on his bed, Chris returned as well.

    He sat down beside the bed with a grin, "Do you need help with healing magic? That''s my specialty!"

    "If you stay away from me, I¡¯ll get better immediately!" Rody was infuriated. If it were anyone else, he would have pummeled them, but somehow he couldn''t bring himself to punch Chris''s grinning face.

    "Actually, I know what you need. You need a friend to talk to, just like me," Chris climbed onto his bunk and leaned down to smile at Rody. "Since we are similar, I find you very likable. How about we become good friends? You can tell me any troubles you have; I promise to keep your secrets!"

    "My only trouble is having you as a roommate!" Rody really wanted to kick him off the upper bunk, especially when he saw that smiling face, which made him particularly angry.

    "Is that so? That''s a shame; my opinion is the exact opposite of yours," Chris laughed heartily.

    Rody hit his head on the bed frame with a thud, almost passing out.

    It had always been Rody who infuriated others, but now someone seemed to be his nemesis. Who exactly was this Chris? If he was sent by the mysterious mastermind, it didn''t seem right for him to be so conspicuous. Wouldn''t being so close to Rody easily trigger his alertness? Of course, it could be a strategy: first anger and annoy him, gradually get close, lower his guard, especially on the battlefield, gain his trust, and then attack at the most trusting moment, dealing a fatal blow.

    Rody believed there was a reason why the mysterious mastermind didn''t kill him as an infant but instead fed him forbidden magic and martial arts. That person must have had some unspeakable purpose.

    Killing him would have been much easier, but he didn''t do that. Instead, he prepared the forbidden magic and martial arts and secretly threatened Father Cedric to feed it to Rody during baptism. Thinking it over, it seemed that the mastermind had this strategy even before Rody was born; otherwise, he wouldn''t have survived.

    How did the mysterious mastermind know he would have great potential?

    Could it be that his mother was not an ordinary person?

    A notion suddenly flashed through Rody''s mind, something he had never considered before. From Chris''s words, he felt a shock. Chris knew his mother''s name, his birthday, and his childhood hobbies. It seemed these three things were the evidence collected by his enemies. Could these three things really be special? His birthday coincides with the 380th anniversary of his ancestor''s birth. Could this hold some special significance?

    His mother''s name was Diana, a common name for maids, with many meanings like ''from the world of fairy tales,'' ''mother of gods,'' ''intelligent and pure,'' ''judged woman,'' ''feather on the scales,'' and ''daughter of a wise sage.''

    At first glance, the name seemed ordinary, but thinking about it, why did his grandmother name his mother Diana? Was there a secret in it?

    As a child, he had once heard his mother say her name was given by her grandmother, but she never told him who her grandmother was. He thought maybe his grandmother was no longer alive, and she didn''t want to bring up sad memories, but now it seemed the truth might only be known by asking his mother. Could this mysterious Chris be related to his mother?

    Rody''s mind was in turmoil. Finally, he decided to take a cold bath to calm down. The continuous training lately had caused him to lose his usual cool composure.

    "Taking a bath? Wait for me!" Chris, seeing Rody getting up to undress, also began to unbutton his shirt, revealing a jade-like body. Rody glanced and noted that Chris''s chest under his tank top was as flat as the famed Yuma Plains, obviously not a woman''s. Chris, noticing Rody heading out to bathe in shorts, asked, "Why aren¡¯t you taking off your shorts?"

    "I''m afraid you''ll feel inferior if you see!" Rody replied irritably.

    "Ha ha!" Chris was momentarily startled, then burst into laughter. Rody had just poured a bucket of water when Chris entered, carrying a large basin of clothes, wearing a tank top and shorts. Rody angrily said, "Stay away from me!"

    "Don''t worry, I''m not gay!" Chris laughed again. "My sexual orientation is very normal; I only like the opposite sex!"

    Rody was left speechless.

 Chapter 98: The Hand of Miracle

    "Why don''t you take off your pants when you bathe?" Rody found Chris a bit suspicious.

    "I''m afraid I''ll feel inferior compared to you!" Chris glanced at Rody and chuckled, "I''m envious of your muscular build; I can never seem to develop muscles like that! I heard Stan and the others calling you ''Bean Sprout'', but I think that title suits me better now!"

    "Really?" Rody took another look. Although Chris''s waist was slender like a woman''s, his chest was undoubtedly masculine. A woman, no matter how well disguised, couldn''t hide her chest. Even a grown woman, no matter how flat-chested, would have some slight protrusion, impossible to conceal completely. Even a girl like Jill, only fourteen or fifteen, would have small buds on her chest. If Chris were a woman, she wouldn''t dare to undress in front of Rody, unless he was a man.

    "Do you seek women to vent your desires?" Chris suddenly asked, almost causing Rody to fall over.

    "None of your business!" Rody was furious.

    "I bet you''re still a virgin, never having tasted a woman. You should try it; there''s a difference between a boy and a man. Without undergoing that transformation, you''ll never know what it means to be a man! Ha ha!" Chris sounded like an experienced playboy.

    "Go to hell..." Rody turned and left, no longer wanting to speak with him.

    Watching Rody leave angrily, Chris couldn''t help but giggle. After bathing, Chris returned to find Rody deep asleep and climbed onto his own bunk with a grin.

    Soon, he began to sing softly.

    The song, gentle and melodious, perfectly suited Chris''s voice - simple, long, and beautifully pleasing. Although Rody couldn''t understand the lyrics, he was captivated, feeling as if his soul had entered a serene realm. The song painted a picture of a quiet valley in a forest, undisturbed by humans, with deer drinking from a brook, squirrels jumping among the branches, birds returning to the green foliage, and a gentle breeze caressing the grass...

    "How was it?" Chris asked Rody after finishing the song.

    "It''s like a duck quacking!" Rody sneered. "If you''re not talented, don''t sing. But it''s good for one thing; if we catch any beastmen soldiers who refuse to surrender, your singing will guarantee their submission."

    "You''re just jealous!" Chris laughed proudly.

    "Don''t talk to me! I''m annoyed!" Rody turned over and went back to sleep, ignoring this naturally contrarian individual.

    "I sang in an ancient Elven language. This language is associated with a unique ''natural magic,'' accessible only to those who master it. This ''natural magic'' is a miraculous form of magic beyond elemental control. Even a magic apprentice who can''t cast a small fireball can wield great power with it!" Chris chuckled.

    "What?" Rody was shocked. If such magic truly existed, what was the point of the Forbidden Magic of War?

    "You don''t believe it?" Chris''s eyes sparkled mysteriously as he looked at Rody, asking, "Would you like to see this novice magic apprentice, who has only learned a bit of magic, demonstrate it for you?"

    "I just want to know, why are you telling me all this?" Rody stared intently at Chris.

    "Because I want you to understand that even if you can''t cast any elemental magic, you can still achieve great things and not be a miserable, useless waste," Chris said earnestly, losing his smile. "There''s not just one path to becoming a great mage in this world, but countless. Millions of ways can lead to it, as long as one has enough effort!"

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    "If you had told me this when I was five, I would have been grateful to you for a lifetime!" Rody grabbed Chris by the collar, angrily saying, "But now, it''s just nonsense!"

    "It''s not too late now." Chris chuckled. "I know you needed encouragement when you were five, but I hadn''t understood these things back then."

    "You better stay away from me. I may be a failure, but I don''t need your sympathy." Rody, holding back his anger, let go of Chris, withdrawing his gaze and lying back down. He didn''t know Chris''s background or why he was talking about ancient Elven natural magic. He might be trying to test Rody, use him, or have some other motive. Otherwise, he wouldn''t speak like this.

    "I''ve also drunk the Forbidden Magic of War..." Chris''s words startled Rody.

    Rody desperately wanted to use the Obsidian Magic Mirror to check this mysterious Chris''s identity. But he feared it was a test by his opponent. Revealing his true strength could bring endless trouble. The cold arrow from before made him cautious. This was Norren, not Filiac. Even in Filiac, there were traitors, like when Priest Sine sent him and Jill to the Land of Evil in front of Dean Buck.

    Teacher Margaret had warned: "Never tell anyone about your potential exceeding five stars, or you''ll be killed instantly. Even a god would kill a human with such potential!" This meant Rody couldn''t reveal his strength, especially not to the mysterious mastermind. If they knew about his mastery of spirit and soul magic, they''d likely use their greatest strength to eliminate him.

    "As a child, I was heartbroken, feeling ruined. A genius turned into a waste," Chris spoke softly. "My father consoled me, saying I should learn from you, calling you a strong man, especially strong."

    "Who is your father?" Rody had never heard of another magic genius from Mesnotania. Could Chris truly be sent by the mastermind to test him?

    "Simbak, perhaps you haven''t heard this name," Chris said softly.

    "No, I haven''t. Is your natural magic from an old sage who noticed your extraordinary talent and sold you the ''Natural Magic'' tome for ten copper coins, also advising you to uphold world peace?" Rody asked with a hint of sarcasm.

    "You''re funny, but completely wrong," Chris laughed. "The tome of natural magic is passed down in my family, and I have elven blood."

    "Is that so? Congratulations!" Rody said, picking up an alchemy book, flipping it open, and covering his face with it.

    "I know you''re jealous. You think after struggling under the shadow of the Forbidden Magic of War, and considering yourself a genius, you''ve become a strong person without elemental magic. Now seeing me do the same, you feel unbalanced," Chris, lying on his bed, peered down and said: "Am I wrong?"

    "Right, you''re absolutely right. You''re the smartest in the world, okay?" Rody admitted, feeling a bit jealous.

    "I''ve shared my secret with you. How about you tell me how you managed to overcome the seal of the Forbidden Magic of War? I''m really curious! You don''t use natural magic, so what method did you use?" Chris glanced at Rody, who seemed to be asleep, sighed softly, and lay back down.

    Both of them were actually awake, their minds filled with chaotic thoughts. Although their conversation contained probing elements, they concealed their intentions well, not letting the other discern anything beyond their expressed words, each keen on uncovering the other''s secrets. Ultimately, they both fell into a relatively silent state.

    During the sparring training, Rody got to experience the formidable nature of Chris''s natural magic. After chanting, Chris''s strength and speed increased more than tenfold. What truly alarmed Rody was that although Chris lacked expertise in martial skills, he could simulate them with magic. For example, when he aimed a punch at Rody, what was launched was not his fist, but a magical fist just like his, coordinated with his movement.

    Chris''s ability to use magic to simulate aura attacks was flawless, and Rody, not adept at mental magic, would have been unable to distinguish it.

    "My god, this effeminate guy is specialized in all kinds of weapons!" Stanley exclaimed as he saw Chris wielding a sword in one hand and a spear in the other. While attacking Rody, Chris was also able to draw the bow from his back for shooting, and sometimes, he even hooked up axes or chain hammers from the ground with his feet for powerful attacks. The flashes of silver fighting spirit made them think Chris was a sixth-order swordsman.

    "This freak Rody, he never put in his full effort in the previous trainings. I want to duel with him. He didn''t even use half of his strength when sparring with me before, which is the greatest insult. I''m going to kill him!" Lopeck roared in anger.

    "Except for you, there''s no one here who doesn''t know that," Jesse sneered. "Congratulations, your stone head has finally got it."

    Rody obviously wasn''t a swordsman. He didn''t know how to fight with spirit, nor did he know a bit of magic.

    But what he used to counter Chris'' fierce attacks was a remarkably magical vine. Everyone had seen him use it before, but didn''t pay much attention. In everyone''s mind, Rody was always known for his wisdom, not for his strength or skill. But now, everyone realized they were mistaken. Although Rody was at a disadvantage in his confrontation with Chris, he defended flawlessly without any leakage.

    Constantly dodging, the vine in his hands kept transforming - into a vine shield, a vine spear, vine armor, a vine whip. In the most critical moments, the vine would turn into vine claws, pulling Rody out of the battlefield, or flicking, pulling, rolling, whipping, drilling, sweeping, attacking, defending. The long vine in Rody''s hands was used so masterfully that it far exceeded everyone''s imagination.

    When Instructor Wood saw Rody''s vine weave into a spider web, or a beast trap for attack and defense, he was extremely surprised.

    He had seen many summoner magicians, but even the great Magic King, he believed, couldn''t possibly make summoned vines transform to attack or defend enemies. Frankly speaking, no one had ever thought of doing such a thing. People might teach a battle beast like the Flame Lion or the Holy Light Tiger how to attack, but no one would bother teaching a summoned battle beast, because it simply wouldn''t work.

    The Rody who stood before them, cultivating a man-eating vine into a transforming weapon, his creativity, his hands, were simply miraculous.

 Chapter 99: Looking for Women

    As the war approached, the training intensified significantly.

    Every day, the elite students were so exhausted that they fell asleep as soon as they returned to the dormitory. Few had the energy to joke or play, but everyone felt that they had learned a lot of combat skills during this period and their strength was rapidly improving.

    "Captain, give me another bottle of recovery potion, I''m so tired I''m cramping," Stanley said. After the big battle between Rody and Chris, he decided to support Rody as the middle squad leader, a sentiment shared by Jesse, another squad leader like himself. A middle squad leader could manage a hundred people, and they believed Rody would be the most suitable person to lead them.

    "Find Chris, he knows hydrotherapy magic!" Rody didn''t really want to stand out. He had erupted in anger that day when pushed by Chris. However, Instructor Wood appointed three middle squad leaders, and Rody was one of them. He couldn''t refuse the position, and Jesse and Stanley also supported him.

    "Captain Chris is too tired, I don¡¯t want to bother him!" Stanley said with a smile, stretching out his hand until he got Rody''s recovery potion.

    Chris, who had fought a big battle with Rody, also became a squad leader, taking over Rody''s vacancy. With his strength, he could have been a middle squad leader, but he chose to follow Rody. Instructor Wood didn''t object. Every day, besides a small amount of training, Chris spent most of his time enchanting everyone''s badges, looking pale from overexertion. Everyone almost wanted to worship him, fearing he would collapse from exhaustion.

    In the team, he was as popular as Rody. Both were relied upon by everyone.

    Rody, who could make Instructor Wood sweat in sand table simulation battles, could lead everyone to survival on the battlefield with his wisdom and strategy. And Chris could provide the best protection for everyone.

    "Gentlemen, the training is temporarily over," Instructor Wood announced, shocking everyone. "I think you should train for at least another half a year before going to the battlefield, but we don¡¯t have the luxury of time. Tomorrow, you will be deployed to the front lines. Fortunately, you won¡¯t be the frontline soldiers charging into battle, but logistics soldiers responsible for transporting supplies. I feel lucky for you, otherwise, each of you, living elites, would turn into lifeless corpses, buried underground, or become food for the orc soldiers, existing in this world only in the form of their feces."

    "Report, Instructor," the boldest Lopeck raised his hand and asked, "Why are we, the elites, assigned as logistics soldiers?"

    "This is a decision from above. Maybe they think you haven¡¯t trained in horsemanship, so they assigned you to logistics!" As soon as Instructor Wood said this, Rody immediately understood the good intentions of the bearded General Kunting. He didn¡¯t train them in horsemanship because he didn¡¯t want them to be frontline soldiers immediately upon entering the battlefield, but to adapt as logistics soldiers.

    The greatest loss of soldiers in war happens during the first battle of new recruits.

    New soldiers are not accustomed to the brutality of war, resulting in a high casualty rate. However, once the battle starts and the soldiers adapt, even in the fiercest of battles, the casualty rate significantly decreases. Especially experienced veterans have a survival rate more than ten times that of new recruits on the battlefield.

    This old fellow was indeed cunning, with a far-sighted vision.

    Rody admired him greatly. Being able to predict the decisions of the marshals above even before the war started, this unknown General Kunting seemed to be a remarkable and astute figure, a sly old fox.

    "If all 300 of you can stay together and watch out for each other, you would be much safer, but that''s not possible in reality. You will be divided into three parts and sent to serve in different military departments. From now on, you should follow your middle squad leaders and rely on your own abilities to survive on the battlefield. All we can do for you is to wish you luck. Good luck, soldiers!" Instructor Wood shouted, "You have a day off today. You can do as you please¡ªdrink, dance, find women, prepare your weapons and armor! Don¡¯t expect the military to provide any useful equipment; you''ll need to prepare everything yourselves if you want to protect yourselves with your weapons. Tomorrow at this time, I want to see every one of you, and I want to see the bloodthirsty eyes of hungry wolves. Always remember, you are soldiers of the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp!"

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    "Yes!" Over three hundred people roared in unison, their voices fierce as fire.

    After the dismissal, everyone gradually dispersed.

    In the tents, people were packing up, some were drinking, some singing, some dancing, some counting money, probably figuring out what kind of girl they could afford that night. Stanley was in a frenzy because his purse was as dry as the desert. Although he wanted to find a woman to vent, no one was willing to lend him even a small amount of money, not even a single gold coin.

    At this peak time, even the worst woman in the tavern, with breasts sagging like big sacks, would probably cost a gold coin.

    Stanley asked several of his close buddies for a loan, but as soon as he mentioned borrowing money, they immediately shook their heads and waved their hands.

    "You ungrateful bastards, I curse you to die on a woman''s belly!" Stanley was furious. These guys were really annoying, leaving him out of the fun. Didn''t they fear being drained dry by prostitutes and turning into skeletons? Everyone was willing to lend anything else. They were generous with the liquor they usually hid, but lending money was out of the question, as it might never come back.

    "Stanley, whose subordinate are you?" Rody asked, and the big black guy immediately realized, showing a grin that gave people goosebumps.

    "Captain, I''m of course your little brother. Do you have any orders for me?" Stanley got up from the bed, ready to polish Rody''s shoes, knowing that once Rody spoke, he would be in luck.

    "I have too much money and don¡¯t know how to spend it!" Rody tossed him a heavy bag of gold coins. "Don¡¯t come back to see me if you can¡¯t spend it all!"

    "At your command!" Stanley was so happy he nearly fainted.

    "My dear captain, perhaps you remember, your subordinate isn¡¯t just Stanley!" Many people rushed forward with towels, nearly tearing Rody''s shoes into eighteen pieces. Others rolled up their sleeves, ready to give the wealthy Felick a shoulder massage, while fighting over who would pour water for him, busily bustling about.

    "Go and flatter Stanley!" Rody said with a faint smile. "You should know that the current Sergeant Stanley has a hundred gold coins¡­"

    "Stanley, you look really good today. I woke up this morning because you were so handsome, it shocked me awake!" someone flattered him excessively.

    "We''re like brothers, always have been!" another person emphasized their relationship.

    "There''s a blonde, blue-eyed beauty in the eastern part of the city, her large breasts could squirt water, I know her well. Every time I visit, I get a 20% discount. Let''s go have a drink with her together!" someone offered, showing they had connections.

    "Keep talking, and don''t stop until I, Lord Stanley, am pleased." Stanley was now strutting around, full of pride.

    A large group surrounded Stanley, noisily heading out, leaving only Rody and Chris in the huge tent. Rody was sleeping lazily, while Chris, sweating, enchanted weapons for everyone. Two squads were leaving soon, and the chances of seeing them again were slim, so Chris felt the least he could do was enchant their weapons.

    Everyone in Rody''s middle squad consciously let the other two squads have their weapons enchanted first, as they would have more opportunities with Chris around.

    After half a day, Chris finished his work, sat tiredly on Rody''s bed, took a sip of water, and sighed. Seeing Rody ignoring him, he patted Rody''s shoulder, "Hey, why aren''t you going after those women who can squirt water with their breasts?"

    "Mind your own business!" Rody brushed his hand away and continued to sleep.

    "You''ll suffer from keeping it all bottled up. As a man, you should let loose when you need to!" Chris laughed heartily, seemingly experienced in such matters.

    "Why don''t you go?" Rody asked curiously.

    "What? Me? Ah, this... How do you know I''m not going? I''m going in a bit! I have someone who waits for me, freshly bathed in bed every day, I''m not in a hurry!" Chris grinned, "Virgin captain, are you too shy? Want me to take you for some fun? I guarantee once you try, you''ll crave for more!"

    "Stay away from me!" Rody turned and kicked at Chris, but he dodged easily, anticipating Rody''s reaction.

    "Ha-ha, someone''s angry!" Chris clapped and laughed, then said, "It''s getting late, I can''t make the beauty wait too long! Not a gentleman¡¯s act to keep a lady waiting, heh, I''m off. You can sulk here all you want. Want me to find you a woman? We¡¯re all friends here, I can treat you!"

    "Go to hell..." Rody was furious, suddenly remembering the tavern owner. If she were here, he could talk to her.

    Going to battle was indeed depressing. Despite possessing considerable strength, on the battlefield, one faces not a single enemy but thousands. A moment¡¯s lapse could mean death at the hands of an enemy. The battlefield was unpredictable, with constant threats of hidden arrows and magic. Unless one had the power of a king, no one could guarantee a safe return.

    If the tavern owner were here, even though she often spoke incoherently with a mouth full of alcohol, she was the best listener.

    Whatever he wanted to say, she would listen quietly.

    Sometimes, she would even hold him in her arms.

    Of course, the next day, she would claim she was drunk and didn¡¯t remember her actions. If it weren''t for the curse she bore, she would have been a great tavern owner... Rody sighed softly, his thoughts drifting to the two succubus sisters, wondering if their facial wounds had healed, if they were thinking of him.

    And Jill, knowing he was about to go to war, she must be worried.

    Just like his mother, if she knew, she would be deeply concerned, hoping the one-armed man could continue to keep it a secret...

 Chapter 100: Little Girl Dora

    Rody was in the midst of repairing Marcus''s body, just about to fix his skull back in place, when the skeletal rabbit guarding outside suddenly noticed someone coming back! This was really strange, as everyone was supposed to be out enjoying themselves. Who could be coming back at this time?

    Not wanting to think too much and knowing he couldn''t reveal that he was a necromancer, Rody quickly hid Marcus and lay back on his bed, pretending to be fast asleep.

    After a while, he felt someone gently lifting the tent flap and stepping inside.

    Who could it be?

    Curiously, Rody opened his eyes and got a big fright. The person who walked in, upon locking eyes with Rody, screamed in fear. It was a young girl, around thirteen or fourteen years old, with delicate and youthful features, wearing a pleated maid¡¯s skirt, and long blue hair with cute bangs.

    Her sudden appearance made Rody scream, but then she quickly covered her little mouth.

    "Who are you?" Rody asked in surprise.

    "I, I, my name is Dora!" The little girl politely curtsied to Rody, her manners reminiscent of those practiced by royal nobility, elegant beyond measure.

    "You''re here to find Chris, right?" Rody had a hunch, thinking this little girl was most likely here for Chris. Remembering Chris mentioning a beautiful woman waiting for him, Rody couldn''t help but chuckle to himself. A young girl like Dora waiting in bed for him would more likely be for a fairy tale story, which explained why Chris seemed less enthusiastic about finding a woman.

    "No, I, I''ve come to find you, Mr. Rody," Dora said politely.

    "I don''t think I know you?" Rody was stunned.

    "Miss Bic¨¦ sent me here," Dora nodded.

    "I don''t know Bic¨¦... wait, is Bic¨¦ a friend of Chris? Did Chris send you? Did he?" Rody was starting to understand, recalling that Chris had promised to find him a woman. It seemed that Dora was the one he had sent to tease him.

    "Miss Bic¨¦ said Mr. Rody must be very lonely tonight and needs someone to accompany him. But Miss Morin had to go out suddenly, so she sent me instead. If Mr. Rody has any instructions, Dora will do her best to fulfill them!" Dora was very polite, bowing slightly with each sentence, her voice gentle and refined, showing her excellent upbringing.

    "My instructions?" Rody raised his eyebrows and said warmly, "Can you take a message to Miss Bic¨¦ for me?"

    "What message would Mr. Rody like me to take to Miss Bic¨¦?" Dora asked softly.

    "I want to say ''thank you'' to her," Rody smiled. "Dora, go back now and express my gratitude to Miss Bic¨¦. I truly appreciate her thoughtfulness!"

    "Can it be tomorrow? Can I stay here until tomorrow?" Dora asked with her head lowered, hesitantly and awkwardly, "Dora is afraid of the dark and doesn''t dare to go back alone."

    "Ah..." Rody was initially intending to send her away, but he hadn''t expected this complication.

    "The butler has already gone back in the carriage. He won''t come to pick me up until tomorrow. And I''ve never been out before, so I don''t know the way back!" The words of the little girl, Dora, struck Rody like a bolt from the blue. He almost wanted to ask her if she had been weaned yet, wondering if he needed to find her a wet nurse. Was this the woman Chris had found for him? He must have done this on purpose, definitely! Rody was furious internally, but he couldn''t vent his anger on the innocent little girl Dora.

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    "Thank you for coming to keep me company. I am touched!" Rody was going crazy inside, but he calmly reassured the little girl, "If you don''t mind, the bed above is Chris''s. You can rest there!"

    "Mr. Rody, Dora can only rest after you''ve gone to sleep. As a maid, it''s Dora''s duty to serve Mr. Rody," Dora nodded in agreement.

    "I''m going to sleep now." Rody pretended to yawn and lay down.

    "Mr. Rody, you haven''t taken off your boots!" Little girl Dora approached, seemingly wanting to help Rody take off his shoes.

    "No need." Rody kicked off his boots under the bed and signaled to Dora, "I''m sleepy, you should rest early too."

    "It''s best to wash your feet with warm water before sleeping. It helps with blood circulation, makes you feel warm, and increases comfort, aiding in sleep. Mr. Rody, please wait, Dora will get some water for you!" Dora bent down to neatly place Rody''s boots and brought out a basin, which made Rody feel dizzy.

    "I''ve already washed, put the basin down." Rody hurriedly stopped her.

    "Would you like some milk? Drinking milk also helps with sleep!" Dora asked softly.

    "No need." Rody guessed that if he said yes, Dora might actually bring in a cow, and he quickly declined this kind of royal luxury.

    "Mr. Rody, would you like some fruit? No? Let Dora make you a glass of juice!" Dora asked again.

    "I''m not thirsty... I mean, I''ve already eaten!" Rody saw that little girl Dora looked like she was about to cry after being refused so many times, so he quickly comforted her, "Dora, I am not Miss Bic¨¦, so her habits of drinking milk and eating fruit are not necessary for me, do you understand?"

    "I understand, Mr. Rody," Dora nodded and replied softly.

    "Then, let''s go to sleep early..." Rody felt that being served sometimes could be quite troublesome, as if being shackled.

    "Mr. Rody, would you like a massage?" Dora still stood in front of the bed, hesitantly asking after a while.

    "No."

    "Mr. Rody, do you want a shoulder rub?"

    "No."

    "Mr. Rody, do you want a leg massage?"

    "..."

    Rody turned over to look directly at Dora, wanting to see if she was doing this intentionally, wondering if this little girl was deliberately sent by Chris to torment him. However, what he saw wasn¡¯t a sly, grinning fox, but a pitiful little girl about to burst into tears.

    If Rody¡¯s gaze had been any harsher, those tear-filled, large eyes of Dora¡¯s would have let loose a string of pearls.

    She looked like a child who didn¡¯t understand what she had done wrong, looking at Rody with a pitiful expression.

    Taking a deep breath, Rody tried to soften his voice and slow his tone, ¡°Dora, why do you insist on serving me? I don¡¯t need these things. You just need to go to sleep, and if I need anything, I¡¯ll call you. Okay?¡±

    ¡°But if Mr. Rody doesn''t need my service, then Dora has nothing to do,¡± Dora burst into tears, ¡°Miss Bic¨¦ sent Dora to serve Mr. Rody. If Mr. Rody doesn''t need anything, then Dora won¡¯t be able to report back to Miss Bic¨¦. Please, Mr. Rody, let Dora do something for you... anything at all, as long as you command.¡±

    ¡°Please don¡¯t cry, okay?¡± Rody was nearly driven mad by Chris. This was his doing, sending Dora to serve him, which was more torturous than having a brute whip him.

    ¡°Please let Dora serve you!¡± Dora¡¯s little face was a mess with tears.

    ¡°Alright!¡± Unable to withstand her crying assault, Rody surrendered, ¡°Dora, bring me a glass of water!¡±

    ¡°Yes, Mr. Rody,¡± Dora, upon hearing this, immediately switched from tears to smiles, happily going to get him water while secretly wiping her tears. If Chris were here now, Rody would surely chop him into eight pieces and throw him to the wild dogs in the wilderness. But seeing the still-wet tear streaks on little girl Dora¡¯s face, his heart softened again. He thought to endure it, as the night would soon pass.

    ¡°How did Chris come to know Miss Bic¨¦?¡± Rody decided to probe for some information about Chris from this innocent little girl.

    ¡°In response to Mr. Rody¡¯s question, Dora doesn¡¯t know,¡± Dora replied, hands lowered, respectfully.

    ¡°How long have you known Chris then?¡± Rody decided to try a different angle.

    ¡°I¡¯ve known him since I was very young, as long as I can remember,¡± Dora responded, which made Rody understand immediately. The relationship between Chris and Miss Bic¨¦ was deep, probably something like cousins. They must have been acquainted since they were young, so this little maid Dora had known him since her earliest memories.

    ¡°Who is Miss Bic¨¦? Is she a princess of King Norn?¡± Rody asked again.

    ¡°No,¡± Dora bit her lip, looking troubled, ¡°Miss Bic¨¦ said that if Mr. Rody asks, Dora cannot tell.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, I was just wondering who I should be grateful to.¡± Rody smiled slightly, thinking to himself that this must be another thing Chris taught her, to prevent him from probing into his affairs, so he didn''t press further. Seeing Dora''s apologetic face, he waved his hand, ¡°Dora, I¡¯m tired now, no need for further service, you should rest too.¡±

    ¡°Let Dora help you undress!¡± Dora said, but Rody had already undressed mostly by himself, as he was always quick.

    ¡°...¡± Seeing the little girl''s tearful eyes again, Rody couldn¡¯t help but sigh internally. He had had enough of Chris, the man who arranged for him to meet women. If Chris came back, he swore to deal with him severely, but for now, he stopped and nodded to the eagerly waiting Dora, ¡°Alright! Help me with my clothes.¡±

    ¡°Mr. Rody, please lie down, Dora will cover you with the blanket!¡± Dora helped Rody with his outer garment and then quietly covered him with the blanket.

    ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± Rody felt like he was back in his childhood, needing someone to take care of him even for sleep, and to tuck him in. It felt very awkward, but he didn¡¯t want to refuse Dora¡¯s kindness, most importantly, he didn¡¯t want to provoke another crying fit.

    ¡°Mr. Rody, what kind of music do you like to hear before sleep? Dora can sing songs from eleven ethnicities and in fifty-nine languages,¡± Dora asked finally.

    ¡°...¡± It took nearly all of Rody''s patience not to curse at Chris, and he swore that if that damn Chris came back the next day, he would hang him up for a beating!

 Chapter 101: Sent to Death

    The next day, Chris returned with a joyful expression, seemingly having had a great time the previous night. Rody charged at him, but Stanley and the others held him back tightly, fearing that Rody might kill Chris. That morning, Rody had been poisoning his dagger and preparing a charcoal fire to heat the iron red-hot; his appearance was not that of someone conducting an execution, but rather of someone who wanted to devour another person, so everyone desperately held Rody back.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Chris asked in astonishment, ¡°Didn¡¯t everyone have a great time last night?¡±

    ¡°Great time... but not for Rody!¡± Jesse firmly grasped Rody''s arm and quickly signaled Chris to step back to avoid Rody biting him.

    ¡°I heard our boss had to endure a whole night of Elven Moon Festivals, and of course, the Virgin''s Hymn and the Maiden''s Prayer,¡± Stanley said with infinite sympathy.

    ¡°Tragic, it¡¯s truly inhumane!¡± Everyone sighed in unison. No one could imagine what they would do in such a situation. Perhaps they would choose to end their own lives.

    ¡°What does that have to do with me?¡± Chris seemed not to realize that he was the root cause of the trouble.

    ¡°Chris, you had a good time at Miss Bic¨¦¡¯s, didn¡¯t you?¡± Rody suddenly smiled, a smile that sent shivers down everyone''s spines. Usually, such a smile was followed by something utterly terrifying and gruesome.

    ¡°Not bad, she¡¯s always been very passionate!¡± Chris nodded proudly, then probed, ¡°What¡¯s the matter? Didn¡¯t Morin serve you well? I specially found a hot girl to take care of your virginity... Are you trying to tell me your first time was a failure? Oh, dear Rody, I feel so sorry for you! But you shouldn¡¯t be too angry, many people fail their first time. Just learn from the experience. Rody, we all believe in you, you will surely succeed!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you!¡± Rody struggled fiercely while others hurriedly grabbed him, dragging him into the tent.

    ¡°Chris, are you really clueless, or just pretending? The person who came to our tent last night was a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, not yet fully developed, not the hot woman you described! You know, lolis and mature ladies are different; the former needs bedtime fairy tales, while the latter needs no words, just the skill to undress her. If a hot woman had come last night, do you think Captain Rody would be so furious this morning?¡± Jesse whispered, ¡°A little girl came?¡±

    ¡°A little girl?¡± Chris asked in surprise, ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡±

    ¡°Dora!¡± Stanley nodded.

    ¡°Her?¡± Chris¡¯s face changed immediately upon hearing this, then he asked anxiously, ¡°What did she do?¡±

    "We don''t know what happened at night, but we guess our boss had a tough night," Stanley shook his head and sighed. "When we came back, we saw her busily scurrying around while our boss looked like he was about to murder someone. That little girl was very polite, but it was terrifying. We watched her dress our boss, fold blankets, wash his face, hands, and feet, launder towels and clothes, pour milk, peel fruit, toast bread and spread butter. Oh, and she even went outside to pick some vegetables to make breakfast for our boss, saying it''s healthier to eat more. In the end, she sang the Song of Luck before reluctantly leaving."

    "When she left, all of us breathed a sigh of relief. Before that, everyone was holding their breath and heartbeat, fearing she might turn her attention to us, and have us washing clothes, making breakfast, or singing!" Jesse said, still shaken. "Even as a bystander, I fully understand Captain Rody''s pain."

    "If she did that to me, I''d kill myself!" Lopeck, who was usually fearless, was also frightened.

    "I get it now," Chris burst into laughter upon hearing this.

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    Everyone was puzzled by Chris''s reaction, but he refused to explain, enjoying the joke alone. He eventually stopped laughing, only to remember something and burst into laughter again. In short, he laughed continuously all morning.

    Everyone else was frustrated watching someone laugh like that, feeling quite awkward.

    Although everyone''s curiosity was nearly overwhelming, Chris still did not reveal the reason for his laughter. As members of the second and third squads came to say goodbye, Chris was still laughing non-stop, while Rody had to be tied up, lest he actually devour Chris alive. The slight sadness of parting with comrades was dissipated by Chris''s laughter that morning.

    However, when Instructor Wood came in the afternoon with a stern face, accompanied by a general, Chris immediately stopped laughing, and everyone gasped.

    "Hello, I am General Lotte, who specifically requested your transfer to the army. I am also the second brother of your squad leader Rody. Maybe some of you know me!" Lotte, clad in holy armor and sword, entered the tent surrounded by several silver-armored guards, smiling, "Although I am Rody¡¯s brother, as a general, I won¡¯t show favoritism! Dying on the battlefield is the glory of every child under the God of Light. Even if my brother dies in battle, I will not hesitate to send him out, rather than let him remain in the camp as a shameful deserter! Of course, as you all know, Rody is not that kind of person. He is a believer in God, the bravest warrior, and a brother I am proud of!"

    "The first squadron of the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp will be transferred to serve in the logistics department of the ninth brigade of the Holy Knights," Instructor Wood announced, his face dark.

    "Yes," Rody responded loudly, not even glancing at Lotte.

    ¡°In the army, you must absolutely obey the orders of your superiors. Remember, you are forever members of the Iron Blood Knight Camp! Good luck!¡± Instructor Wood seemed to glance at Rody before leaving. He obviously understood what General Lotte''s intention was in requesting Rody''s logistics team. General Kunting had strongly opposed it earlier, but military orders are absolute, and now they had to be executed unconditionally.

    ¡°Sergeant Rody, I am now going to issue an order,¡± Lotte said sternly once Wood had left.

    ¡°At your command!¡± Rody, along with his team, stood in formation, standing straight and disciplined like soldiers.

    ¡°Due to small-scale conflicts erupting on the front lines, our soldiers, who are the bravest, have voluntarily requested to go to the front lines. I am proud and honored by their bravery. But one thing I cannot allow is for such brave soldiers to fight on an empty stomach. Even if they are to gloriously sacrifice themselves for the God King of Light tomorrow, today we must ensure they are well-fed. We can bear the sight of thousands of soldiers dying in battle, but we cannot bear to see a single soldier starve to death!¡± Lotte commanded with righteous fervor, ¡°Therefore, I order you to abandon all weapons and armor and carry as much food as possible to our soldiers on the front lines! Do you understand?¡±

    ¡°...¡± Everyone was stunned upon hearing this, realizing it was practically a suicide mission. If they abandoned all weapons and armor, wouldn''t that be the same as placing their necks under the axe of the orc soldiers?

    ¡°Report, General, I have something to say,¡± Jesse raised his hand.

    ¡°Speak,¡± Lotte glanced at Rody, but Rody showed no emotion or reaction.

    ¡°If the General orders us to abandon our weapons and armor, won¡¯t we lose our ability to defend ourselves? In case we encounter orc soldiers, it would be difficult to ensure the safe delivery of food to the soldiers on the front lines,¡± Jesse carefully stated, wary of giving Lotte any pretext to accuse him of insubordination. He knew that if Rody spoke up, it would likely make matters worse, as he was the leader of the entire squad. Thus, as a squad leader, it was his responsibility to raise this concern.

    "We will arrange the most reasonable marching route; you won''t possibly encounter the enemy. Moreover, our air escort team is more than capable of ensuring your safety!" Lot snorted and said, "Soldiers, does anyone else among you have any questions?"

    "Those who defy military orders will be judged as deserters and beheaded for all to see!" Among the guards, a leader drew his silver sword and shouted loudly.

    "Yes, sir!" Despite the oppressive bullying, now was not the time to turn against them. Maybe Lot was just looking for an excuse to cause trouble; we can''t let his cunning plan succeed. Rody led everyone to stand at attention with a ''snap'' and loudly responded.

    "Haven''t you all eaten? Louder!" The leader bellowed with borrowed authority.

    "Yes, General!" Everyone, enraged, let out their loudest roar.

    "Everyone, don''t be nervous. We are all soldiers of the Justice Alliance. As long as you strictly obey the military orders, everyone will be honored as warriors of light, and ultimate victory will surely be ours." Lot laughed heartily and said, "Before everyone disperses, I want to have a few words with my brother, that is, Sergeant Rody. My dear brother, Rody, seeing you become a squad leader makes me truly happy from the bottom of my heart. In my heart, I have always hoped to see you transform from a nobody into a talent, and now, you have successfully proven this. You won''t know how happy I am. Rody, we are brothers, not born of the same mother, but I have always treated you as a brother! My dear brother, what do I want to say to you? If you can achieve military merits, I will definitely ask Father to revoke his oath of cutting off relations with you, and you will surely re-enter the glorious Rhine family! I believe in you!"

    "Thank you for your trust, General." Everyone heard Rody''s response, feeling a chilling coldness hidden between his teeth.

    "Do well, my dear brother, no, my logistics sergeant!" Lot laughed heartily and led the crowd away.

    "Ugh, I feel like vomiting!" Stanley immediately clutched his chest in distress as soon as he left.

    "Seeing such a hypocrite, I really want to beat him up hard, smash his nose into his butt!" Lopeck, the boldest, clenched his fists.

    "You''re no match for him." Rody coldly snorted.

    "Boss, things look bad. That guy is intentionally sending us to our deaths, what do we do now?" Stanley said anxiously, "Think of something quick!"

    "There will be a way." A cold smile flashed across Rody''s face as he said, "He has been wanting to kill me since I was a few years old, but to this day, I am still alive and well. Before it was just me, but now we are a hundred. What are you worried about? If you''re scared and want to leave the team, I will approve your transfer request immediately!"

    "Of course, we''ll follow you!" Chris laughed, "Because you are much more pleasing to the eye than that hypocrite... Everyone, help, it seems our stingy captain''s anger hasn''t subsided yet!"

 Chapter 102: Perilous March

    Although the Ninth Squadron of the Holy Knights is named a squadron, its organization differs from that of a regular army, comprising a force of five thousand regular troops. Moreover, it''s not even the largest unit. The First and Second Squadrons and the elite Holy Cross Knights Special Operations Team each exceed ten thousand members, and both the Pope''s Holy Ritual Guard and the Saintess''s Prayer Guard also number over five thousand.

    Upon arriving at the logistics department of the Ninth Squadron, Rody and his group found it to be a massive organization. The logistics department, serving the knights of the Ninth Squadron, consisted of nearly ten thousand personnel. Each knight had their own dedicated groom and one or two attendants, and some even had slaves and female slaves to serve them. The logistics department encompassed everything: food, equipment, horses, tents, carts, siege equipment, marching kitchenware, clothing, bedding, and so on.

    They were responsible for all aspects of daily life, including short-distance communication and the work of scouts responsible for messaging and reconnaissance.

    In a word, the knights were not here to fight, but rather to enjoy a leisurely outing! They didn''t have to do anything; everything was taken care of for them.

    Even their beloved horses were fed beans and oats, and some even drank milk and fruit juice, enjoying better eating and drinking conditions than Rody and his fellow new recruits! Not only were they not issued any equipment, but they also didn¡¯t even get a donkey. The hundred of them were simply given an order to follow behind the logistics grain transport''s ancient camel beasts, responsible for escorting food to the front lines.

    Most of Rody''s group were elites from various countries, with many possessing a small storage ring to carry their weapons.

    As for armor, Rody and Chris''s storage rings were packed full, but some items like shields and other auxiliary equipment didn¡¯t fit, so they had to be abandoned. Helmets were worn personally. Therefore, outwardly, these hundred men looked quite strange, dressed in ordinary clothes used during training, wearing combat helmets, with uniform hard-soled boots, but without weapons or armor, following behind the squadron with bare hands, looking even poorer than the most destitute militia.

    With a grand gesture from Lot, Rody and his hundred men set off on the road, following behind the several hundred militiamen who comprised the logistics soldiers.

    The ancient camel beasts moved slowly, especially since they were laden with heavy food, reducing their speed significantly, yet they were still much faster than the average walking speed of a person. Rody and his group, lacking mounts, had to jog to keep up, which led Stanley and the others to curse incessantly, as in their home countries they had never experienced such treatment, like following behind the dust of donkey-riding militiamen.

    Arriving at the land of evil, Rody noticed that the perimeter had drastically changed, with the construction of huge fortresses and camps.

    The teleportation arrays flickered continuously, with dignitaries from various countries appearing and disappearing. Of course, Rody and his fellow logistics soldiers couldn''t expect such treatment. Moreover, the teleportation arrays couldn''t transport hundreds of people at once, only a few at a time. After delivering their supplies to one of the newly established camps and following the camp''s orders, they headed deeper into the evil forest. Along the way, the militiamen in front of Rody''s group kept changing, but these hundred escort soldiers walked hundreds of kilometers without much rest.

    If we hadn''t undergone the strictest training, we would have collapsed from exhaustion by now.

    This is a deliberate hardship imposed by Lot, known to all.

    In the evil forest, a huge road has been constructed, winding and extending deeply into the unknown. After completing their task at the fifth station in the land of evil, Rody and his team received a new escort mission to transport urgently needed food to the vanguard army 300 kilometers away.

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    To prevent the militiamen from dispersing and fleeing, the fifth station, the Shield Camp, also dispatched fifty griffin riders for escort.

    The Shield Camp at the fifth station was the end of the road, the path ahead not yet excavated by the engineers. Because of their protest, the Shield Camp issued each of them a wooden spear, though sharpening the spearhead was a task for Rody and his team. According to the commander of the Shield Camp: "You are all very safe, our air force will protect you. The chances of stepping on a snake on the road are far greater than encountering orc soldiers. General Lot has already asked the priests to pray for you, and the God of Light will surely watch over you from the heavens."

    "Those guys in the sky, I bet they''ll be the first to run if anything happens!" Stanley snorted.

    "Don''t worry, if there are indeed enemy ambushes, they will be the first to be attacked, not us!" Rody said with a faint smile.

    "Why? I don''t understand!" Stanley couldn''t figure it out. Were the orcs really that foolish? To attack the flying griffin riders instead of the unarmed grain escort soldiers? Or do they prefer to chew on hard bones?

    "No, think about it. In their eyes, the griffin riders are the biggest threat, while we pose no threat," Rody explained with a smile. "If a fierce wolf and ten ants appear in front of you, who would you attack? Even a fool would kill the wolf first, then step on the remaining ants, right? Trust me, orc warriors are not only not foolish, some are very smart, even cunning!"

    "We are not ants!" Lopeck stubbornly retorted.

    "Blockhead, it''s a metaphor! You''re driving me crazy!" Stanley hit Lopeck''s helmet hard with a stick, making a clanging sound. He couldn''t stand anyone questioning Rody''s words.

    After two days of safe travel, it seemed as if the goddess of luck was watching over them.

    However, Rody''s brow was furrowed, deep in thought.

    "What are you thinking about?" Chris asked, coming over. "Are you worried about when the orc soldiers might appear? Don''t worry, they might not show up! I think this part of the land of evil is so vast, they probably haven''t infiltrated here yet. I believe within a thousand kilometers of the land of evil, it''s still under the control of our human alliance. We haven''t gone beyond a thousand kilometers yet, so we are still in a safe area. Besides, we have the vanguard army ahead of us, and mercenary groups patrolling!"

    "What if there isn''t?" Rody hummed lightly and said, "I suspect there isn''t any vanguard army ahead at all!"

    "What?" Chris''s face changed drastically upon hearing this, realizing the gravity of the situation.

    "We should hurry back!" Stanley, terrified, his dark face turning pale, urgently said, "If there''s no one ahead, no vanguard army, then Lot is clearly sending us as dinner to the orcs! Boss, let''s go back!"

    "If you go back, it''ll be perfect ¡ª a violation of military orders, execution by beheading! Even if General Quentin pleads for you, you''ll be treated as a deserter and will never be able to hold your head high again!" Rody looked at the griffins circling above and smiled, "Don''t panic, everyone. I''ve been through this evil land before. Although orcs are fearsome, as long as we march carefully and cautiously, there is still a chance of survival. On the contrary, I¡¯m more worried about those idiots in the sky. They are very likely to attract powerful magical beasts!"

    "Haven''t we already circumvented the territories of powerful magical beasts?" Jesse, who was looking at the map, got so scared that his hand trembled, and the map fell to the ground with a slap.

    "Some are unmarked!" Rody picked up the map, snorted, and said, "Be careful, especially at night. Maintain the highest alert. If you hear any noise or my signal, everyone gather immediately, ready to fight or retreat."

    "Are there powerful magical beasts nearby?" Stanley asked nervously.

    "We are currently marching on the territory of a sixth-tier Flame Lion." As soon as Rody said this, everyone''s faces changed dramatically, and Chris quickly gestured for everyone to be quiet with his finger on his lips. Rody whispered, "That''s why I suspect there is no vanguard army ahead. A large-scale march, slow and leaving obvious traces, would hardly escape the tracking and attacks of magical beasts."

    "Boss, how do you know the attack will only happen at night?" Stanley was almost paranoid about a Flame Lion jumping out from behind at any moment.

    "Because of the griffins in the sky, they are behaving very quietly, which isn''t a sign of an approaching powerful magical beast." Rody pointed to the sky and said, "Count them; there are forty-five riders now. Five riders have been missing since this morning. I guess they were luring the Flame Lion away."

    "Great, once the magical beast comes, we will suffer heavy casualties, and their air force will just watch. After we are all killed, they will return to report. What a great plan!" Jesse said with a bitter laugh.

    "A Flame Lion? I think I can handle it alone!" The only fearless one was Lopeck, the blockhead.

    "You alone might just be enough to fill its stomach, nothing more!" Stanley angrily kicked him away, then looked at Rody. His brain might not be the sharpest, but he knew Rody would have a way. He didn''t need to think; just listening to Rody was right. Everyone else thought the same. They were all elites, and in front of others, each of them would be the most capable. But in front of Rody, it was best to listen to him.

    "Jesse, keep an eye on those guys. As soon as the griffins take off, we move." Rody nodded and said, "When the time comes, I will use a secret technique to lure the griffins down to attack the Flame Lion. Then everyone hasten the ancient camels forward. After the Flame Lion has slaughtered the griffins and is full, it will sleep soundly for at least a few hours. We can retreat smoothly. We can''t abandon these ancient camels; they are our best tool for survival."

    "Yes." Upon hearing that there was a plan, everyone was overjoyed.

 Chapter 103: Military Mutiny

    At four in the afternoon, the griffin cavalry captain, Xiangdier, pretending to consider everyone''s fatigue from the march, ordered the grain transport troops to rest on the spot.

    Everyone knew his intentions weren''t good, but no one exposed him. In their hearts, they sneered at who would live or die that night, so they hurried to eat and drink their fill, took the time to rest, conserve energy, and quietly waited for the moment of the final showdown.

    Although aware of the plan, many were still extremely nervous and restless.

    "Requesting aid, urgently requesting aid!" During the rest, a group of disheveled mercenaries ran towards them, the leader a big-bearded man in broken armor, covered in blood. Upon seeing Rody and his group, he excitedly shouted, "Human army, please help us, we are being chased by a group of fierce orc scouts."

    "Orcs?" Captain Xiangdier of the griffin cavalry changed his expression upon hearing this and asked, "How many are there?"

    "Perhaps two hundred orcs, with about a dozen berserkers. They''ve surrounded and killed my deputy commander," the big-bearded mercenary leader gasped, "We were originally over three hundred, but now, only about fifty or sixty of us are left..."

    "We will immediately search for the enemy¡¯s trail. All of you, stay put and remain calm!" Captain Xiangdier paused slightly before ordering.

    "Thinking of running away?" Rody stood up and sneered, "Captain Xiangdier, I advise you to stay and fight the enemy with us. Otherwise, we will report you and your squad to the military court. Two hundred orcs are not invincible. We have nearly a thousand people here, including your fifty griffin riders. If we use the ancient camels as a base and combine favorable terrain with bows and torches, it¡¯s not impossible to fight the orcs."

    "You are all fools!" A griffin rider roared angrily, "What do you know? A bunch of rabble thinking of defeating orcs? Forget two hundred orcs, even a dozen orc berserkers could slaughter all of you!"

    "Sergeant, we are not trying to flee, on the contrary, we are going to fight the orcs and win a chance for everyone to escape!" Captain Xiangdier glanced at Rody and sneered, "In terms of rank, I am a lieutenant and you are just a sergeant. You must listen to me! Now that we''ve encountered the enemy, I order your squad to retreat, and the militiamen, too, must retreat immediately!"

    "If you tell the militiamen, you will incite a mutiny!" Rody looked at Xiangdier with a cold glare, "Think carefully, Lieutenant!"

    "The orcs are coming, make your decision quickly!" the big-bearded mercenary leader urged, "Whether you fight or flee, give us some food first. We¡¯ve lost our supplies and haven''t eaten for days, we¡¯re almost too weak to walk!"

    "Griffin team, prepare to take off for alert, Charlie, take four men to scout for the enemy!" Xiangdier issued the command.

    "Captain Xiangdier, I suggest you send another five men to fly back to the Shield Camp to prepare the garrison for battle. It would be best for you to go personally, to ensure speed and accuracy. Here, you are the most persuasive and hold the highest rank," squad leader Charlie reported.

    "I will go personally, but before that, I must order everyone to retreat. Bring me the leaders of the six militia groups!" Xiangdier instructed.

    As the big-bearded mercenary leader and his men were gobbling down food, the six militia leaders were brought over. Hearing about the orc soldiers, each of them showed great fear. Xiangdier comforted them and agreed to let them all retreat back to the Shield Camp.

    "You can leave the ancient camels behind. In war, we value human life the most. Although materials are the hard work of the people of various countries, human life is the most important," Captain Xiangdier comforted the six militia leaders. "Don''t be afraid, we will do our best to delay the enemy and ensure your safe evacuation! The God of Light is watching over us from the heavens. We will be fine! Now go back and lead the militiamen to start retreating!"

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    "No one is allowed to leave, otherwise, don''t blame me if you die from poisoning," Rody sneered, "In the roast meat sent to you, I added a mix of Saromanque snake and Thin-Waist Spotted Red-Eye Bee toxins. I dare say, if you run away, you will not see the sunrise tomorrow. Captain Xiangdier, if you dare to run away, I will immediately report this matter to the military court. Not only will you die, but you will also be disgraced, and the deities will surely cast you into hell after death!"

    "You..." Captain Xiangdier was furious, about to erupt, but Stanley and the others surrounded him, ready to rain down iron fists at the slightest provocation.

    "What are you doing?" Several griffin riders were taken down by Jesse and his team and tied up.

    "I declare you are relieved of your military duties!" Rody looked at Captain Xiangdier indifferently, "Based on your passive war avoidance and wrong decisions, I declare that from now, you have become a disgraceful war criminal! You have the right to remain silent, and the right to protest, but everything you say, I will treat as nonsense! Six militia leaders, if you want to survive, stay here; otherwise, lead the militiamen to retreat. I believe, before you even enter the Shield Camp, you will be killed as deserters!"

    "Captain Rody, we, we are poisoned too?" The six militia leaders were frightened.

    "No." Rody kindly patted their shoulders, "Don¡¯t be afraid. I was ordered by General Quentin to oversee the grain transport, only targeting deserters. I have no ill intentions towards you!"

    "Hey, hey, the food you gave us, it''s not poisoned, right?" The big-bearded mercenary leader turned pale with fear, "We will obey your commands!"

    "Who has so much poison to waste on you, all of you, move aside!" Chris chuckled secretly, amused by Rody''s bluff about the Saromanque snake, the Red-Eye Bee, and orders from General Quentin ¨C all big talks.

    "Chris, Jesse, you take a few men to ride the griffins and scout for the orc¡¯s trail," Rody instructed the six militia leaders, "If you want to stay, then look after the ancient camels. Blindfold them and tie them in the forest. If you have time, make some defensive structures for your safety, like traps. We don¡¯t need you to join the battle; you don¡¯t have to worry. Stanley, Lopeck, take twenty men and tie these guys up. If anyone resists, execute them according to military law, without exception!"

    "Yes!" Stanley immediately raised his axe towards Xiangdier, his fighting spirit erupting.

    Xiangdier initially wanted to resist, but seeing that his opponents were all five-star warriors and he was without his griffin and poisoned, he had no choice but to surrender meekly. Two griffin riders, seeing their companions captured and their captain surrendering with a long sigh, immediately chose to give up.

    The griffin riders from the distant camp were driven out by Stanley and his team. Some, seeing the military mutiny and finding themselves at a disadvantage, wisely chose to surrender. However, there were some who were blind to the situation, like Charlie, who felt superior and refused to obey orders, attempting to escape on a griffin. Stanley and others were prepared and shot him down with an arrow before killing him in front of everyone.

    Soon, the remaining dozen or so men quickly surrendered, dropping their weapons and pleading for mercy.

    Rody, taking advantage of the situation to instigate a military mutiny and turn the tide, found even himself surprised by how smoothly it went. He had expected some to try to escape into the sky, even releasing mantises to kill any airborne riders to prevent the leak of information. Being logistics soldiers in Lot''s army, they would have eventually been sent to their deaths. The perfect opportunity for reversal came when he thought they were surely doomed, just like the first time.

    If they didn''t revolt now, finding another opportunity later would be difficult.

    "What do we do now, boss?" Stanley knew that a military mutiny was no small matter. Even if they defeated the orcs, others might not believe their story upon return, especially since the griffin riders were one of Lot''s personal guards, and he would surely protect Xiangdier and his men.

    "Of course, I have a plan," Rody waved his hand, "Wait until Chris and Jesse scout the enemy, then I''ll tell everyone what to do!"

    "You''re the captain? So young... do you really have a plan?" the big-bearded mercenary leader asked doubtfully.

    "Of course the boss has a plan. Who dares to question him? He''s been praised as a military genius by my father, General Quentin, one of the top ten generals of Norn, and the first student who can defeat instructors!" Kase suddenly stood up, his words stabilizing everyone. With a military genius present, and the son of a general, they might indeed have a way.

    Chris was the first to return on a griffin, bringing not-so-good news to Rody.

    The orc soldiers were less than twenty kilometers away from their camp, numbering over three hundred, including twenty berserkers and two shamans. The only slight relief was that they were hunting wild animals for food, and they were expected to catch up after nightfall.

    "We can defeat them," Rody pondered for a moment, "We¡¯ll use ambush tactics after their meal. Orcs indulge in eating, often overeating, leaving them bloated and unable to exert their full combat strength. We¡¯ll strike then. Chris and I will assassinate the two shamans. Without their leaders, the orcs will go berserk, making them easier to lure. After several rounds of luring and ambushes, when few orcs remain, we¡¯ll lead them to a dangerous place, like a cliff, and annihilate them completely. The other orcs won''t know anything, and we can retreat slowly!"

    "Great plan!" Everyone applauded, feeling inspired by strategies of assassinating leaders, luring enemies, and total annihilation.

    "What about when we return?" Only a few smart people like Chris understood that these words were to boost morale; in reality, executing the plan would not be easy. Orcs were not simple foes; this was just Rody''s best current plan. However, these words were timely and precisely what everyone needed!

    "When we return, we will be welcomed as triumphant heroes!" Rody laughed, secretly using the ''Joyous Inspiration'' psychic magic to boost everyone¡¯s confidence, declaring, "I have prepared a one-way magical communication device. I¡¯ll report everything to the military now. I believe, when we return victorious, the entire army will cheer for us! Heroes, we seek a victorious return, not a shameful defeat. Follow me, and victory will be ours!"

    "Long live..." Under Rody''s psychic magic, morale exploded, and everyone was excitedly jumping, eager to go into battle.

 Chapter 104: My Name is Rody

    On the edge of the land of evil, at the Sanctus Fortress.

    In the upper levels of the magic tower, the magicians were busy receiving transmissions from dignitaries of various countries. Meanwhile, a dozen priests were continuously praying to replenish the magic for the massive transmission array. In the lowest level of the magic monitoring room, a giant magical instrument was slowly rotating, receiving messages from different countries.

    The night passed.

    As the dawn light started to emerge in the east, a few exhausted magicians were dozing off on their desks, while most had gone to rest. It was the quietest and most relaxed time of the day, the only golden time for everyone to rest peacefully.

    An old soldier-like man walked in, scanned around, and was about to leave when he noticed a magic receiver in the corner with a blinking signal, but unattended. The signal kept flashing persistently, indicating a military emergency communication, prompting the old soldier-like man to approach and turn on the receiver.

    "Calling Sanctus, calling the Human Justice Alliance... Ah, it''s connected, we''ve been calling all night, finally got through, boss, headquarters has received our call!" As soon as he turned it on, the old soldier heard an excited, hoarse voice shouting.

    He was astonished. The other party had been calling headquarters all night? But why hadn''t anyone answered? Didn''t anyone see the magic signal, or did no one care about the frontline¡¯s call for help?

    "I am an elite student from the Norn Ironblood Knight Academy, under the command of General Quentin''s Ironblood Cavalry Camp, my name is Rody. I am currently a logistics sergeant in the Ninth Squadron of the Holy Knights, located 65 kilometers ahead of the fifth station of the land of evil, Shield Camp. The military map coordinates are Holy Cross Left 42, Holy Cross Right 9518, Holy Cross Up 171. I am now reporting to Sanctus headquarters about the orc military movements." A clear voice from the magic receiver slowly spoke, and the old soldier-like man immediately extended his one arm to press the magic recording device, recording the frontline military intelligence being conveyed.

    "Boss, remember to tell them about our heroic deeds," a clamoring voice came from the other end.

    "Yesterday afternoon, we encountered orc scouts. The griffin cavalry captain in charge of security, Xiangdier, fled the battle, taking his fifty riders and abandoning us, six hundred militiamen, and a hundred logistics students." The voice in the receiver continued slowly: "For the glory of the God of Light, for justice, we all decided to resist to the end!"

    "Damn it!" The old soldier cursed bitterly, "The damned deserters! Those six hundred militiamen and one hundred students are done for¡­"

    "The orc scout troop had three hundred and nineteen individuals, including twenty-five berserkers and two shamans. By the grace of the God of Light, we were victorious." The voice from the receiver left the old soldier dumbfounded. Six hundred militiamen and a hundred logistics students defeated three hundred orcs? Was this a dream? But the following words from the man named Rody almost made him faint: "Although we were only issued wooden spears, with the help of the gods of wisdom and luck, we ambushed the orc scouts while they were feasting. They were full and not at their best, so we annihilated them relatively easily. Of course, there was a bit of trouble when dealing with the berserkers and shamans. A few comrades were slightly injured, fortunately, we secretly brought some medicines. Although this violates the orders from above, we are willing to accept punishment when we return, if we can make it back!"

    "Oh God, I''ve heard a miracle!" the old soldier exclaimed in amazement.

    "After reporting the good news to everyone, unfortunately, I have to report some bad news," the voice of the man named Rody came from the receiver, sounding particularly grave: "Thirty-five miles to our side, at Holy Cross Left 43, Holy Cross Right 9601, Holy Cross Up 185, an orc army of over ten thousand has appeared. They have at least three Bloodflower Axe Savages and two Shaman Warlords. Last night, they headed straight for the Justice Alliance''s fifth station, the Shield Camp. Chris and I rushed there to report, but we were harshly scolded and accused by the camp''s highest commander, Zunaid. He thought we were alarmist deserters and wanted to arrest us. When the orc army invaded, the Shield Camp was completely overrun. We were powerless to resist and had to escape back to our companions."

    "How utterly foolish, who assigned this guy to guard the Shield Camp? Damn it, how can we have such a commander!" The old soldier was extremely angry upon hearing this.

    "Now, we want to make a statement to the Sanctus headquarters," continued the voice of Rody from the receiver, filled with sorrow: "We are not deserters. Whether it''s the hundred students from our Ironblood Cavalry Camp, the Spurs Mercenary Group that fled back from the pursuit of orcs, or the six hundred militiamen, none of us are disgraceful deserters. We are warriors, and under our feet lie the heads of three hundred orcs. If we return now, the military court will immediately arrest us for disobeying military orders. So, perhaps there is no longer a vanguard army ahead, but we will still continue to carry out General Lot''s orders, moving forward to deliver the needed supplies to the vanguard army. May the God of Light bless us, long live the Human Alliance!"

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    "Long live the Human Alliance..." In that moment, the old soldier heard the shouts of hundreds of people and was deeply moved.

    "Foolish boy, if there''s an orc army of over ten thousand ahead, how could there possibly be a vanguard army! You are simply marching to your death!" The old soldier panicked upon hearing this, but he couldn''t warn Rody, as the communication was one-way, only transmitting sound back, and the other side couldn¡¯t receive any messages.

    With a beep, the other side cut off the magical communication.

    But the old soldier was so anxious that he jumped up and down. He didn¡¯t turn off the receiver, hoping to hear any new sounds from the other end. Just as he was pacing around anxiously, a sleeping magician was awakened by his loud voice.

    Seeing an old soldier operating the magic receiver, the magician became furious.

    "You, after sweeping the floor, get out immediately! Who authorized you to stay here, let alone operate this receiver? Which country are you from? Are you trying to spy on our military secrets? You have some nerve! Do you know how much energy this magic communicator consumes per minute? All your life''s earnings wouldn''t be enough to compensate for this. Turn it off now and get out!" The magician rushed over to inspect the receiver to see if it was still intact.

    "Although it''s not my job, I still took the magical communication for you. You should be thankful to me because an important piece of military intelligence was almost ignored by you," the old soldier said with a smile.

    "What military intelligence? Utterly foolish. Do you think such a message full of grandiose lies is true? You¡¯re an idiot!" the magician scoffed.

    "Did you receive this report earlier this morning?" the old soldier was shocked.

    "This guy sent the same message last night via text communication. He also reported an orc army attacking the Shield Camp. We asked Zunaid, the highest commander of the fifth camp, but he said it was absolutely not true and claimed they were just two deserters trying to escape punishment," the magician said with a sneer. "Anyone with a bit of sense would understand, how could six hundred militiamen and a hundred logistics soldiers kill over three hundred orcs? It''s impossible! It¡¯s a statement only a fool would make!"

    "But even if there''s a one in ten thousand chance it''s true, it''s worth recording!" the old soldier was shocked at the magician''s attitude.

    "Get out, this is not a place for you to speak!" the magician was furious, pointing towards the door for the old soldier to leave.

    "Military intelligence doesn''t distinguish between ranks. Even a stable boy, when he gets important military information, must report it to the general. I''m appalled at your attitude towards receiving intelligence. So this is how you handle it!" the old soldier sighed deeply. "So, that boy named Rody sounded so bitter and desperate, and you completely denied them!"

    "You, a mere sweeper, have no right to criticize us, the exalted magicians! We have the capacity to discern what intelligence is true or false. Such a laughable lie can only be believed by fools like you!" the magician yelled, "Get out! Now, leave immediately, you crippled stable boy!"

    "What''s all this noise?" A magical archmage, with the Big Dipper insignia on his robe, came in, sleepy and unconcerned, but was startled to see his subordinate pointing and screaming at the old soldier. He kicked the arrogant magician down and urgently said, "Your Excellency the Marshal, please forgive me... I''m so sorry, I, I..."

    "Marshal?" The magician fainted upon hearing this.

    "If you''re apologizing for me being pointed at and scolded, there''s no need. I''ve been scolded a lot!" the old soldier said sternly. "But you owe me an apology because your subordinate made the gravest subjective error in handling military intelligence. Now, immediately contact Commander Zunaid of the Shield Camp, if he''s still alive, have him come here bound to meet me! Also, send a few people to contact the generals, no matter what they''re doing, they need to come here for a meeting right away! Generals Lot and Quentin, I want them here in front of me within ten minutes!"

    "Your Excellency the Marshal, the fifth, the fifth station''s Shield Camp..." The magical archmage, upon making contact, cried out in shock, "The Shield Camp has lost contact, how is this possible!"

    "You''re still not awake!" the old soldier snorted heavily, "I don''t want to talk anymore, listen to this recording first."

    The old soldier played Rody''s communication recording over and over. The archmage''s hand holding the staff trembled, and he was sweating profusely. The surrounding magicians were terrified, shivering like feverish patients in ice water. The generals arrived one after another, and each time a few came, the old soldier made them listen to the recording, then watched everyone''s faces intently.

    General Quentin, with a goatee and covered in blood, entered and snapped to attention to report.

    "Where have you been?" the old soldier glanced at him and asked indifferently, "General Quentin, you didn''t seem to have a combat mission, did you?"

    "Reporting," General Quentin saluted sharply and said, "Your Excellency the Marshal, I received intelligence about an orc attack and teleported alone to the fifth station, Shield Camp, to warn General Zunaid. But it was too late; the Shield Camp had already been engulfed in flames. In the midst of the orc army''s siege, I only managed to save General Zunaid! I''m sorry, Your Excellency the Marshal!"

    "General Quentin, you indeed made a mistake. First, you should have brought his head, not the person!" the old soldier said sternly. "The second mistake is that you should have reported to me, not gone to the Shield Camp."

    "Reporting," General Quentin saluted again, "Your Excellency the Marshal, I believe the second point wasn''t a mistake. After receiving the message, I immediately reported it to your guard. He said you were en route to inspect the Iron Wall Fortress and the Valley of Winds. In the urgency of the situation, I decided to warn General Zunaid directly, so I went alone. Your Excellency the Marshal, if you return to your command tent now, you might find my deputy, Major Wood, still anxiously waiting to see you."

    "My leaving the command tent for an inspection was my mistake. But why didn¡¯t my guard report this to me?" the old soldier asked in astonishment.

    "Your Excellency the Marshal, because your guard was assassinated last night," Lot entered and saluted, "A dead man cannot report to you."

    "So, our enemies are not just the orcs and devils inside the land of evil!" the old soldier gave Lot a cold glance, then looked away and shouted, "Let''s not discuss my guard''s assassination for now. I want all of you to listen to the miraculous battle of a military genius who led a hundred companions and six hundred militiamen to kill three hundred orcs. Even though he downplayed the process, it made my blood boil! Tell me, how many days has it been since anyone has brought me even a bit of good news? Has anyone told me, ''you''ve won, you''ve annihilated the enemy''? You all should feel ashamed! This is a young man who just came out of the Knight Academy, a logistics soldier whom none of you respected!"

    "I am an elite student from Norn Ironblood Knight Academy, under General Quentin''s Ironblood Cavalry Camp, my name is Rody..."

    As the recording played, all the generals present remembered this name. And they were stunned.

 Chapter 105: The Miraculous Youngste

    Below a cliff in the land of evil.

    The six hundred militiamen, several dozen mercenaries, and over a hundred elite students no longer doubted Rody''s command ability or his leadership. Even many of the griffin riders were astounded. If it weren''t for the fact that the heads of three hundred orcs were piled up right in front of them, they wouldn''t have believed that Rody, with just over a hundred people, could have completely annihilated three hundred orc warriors.

    Stanley and his group were triumphantly dividing the spoils of war, even competing for the seemingly useless orc leather armors. The spoils always held a special significance.

    Those who could write were busily jotting down in their magic journals: on a certain year, month, and day, they followed Sergeant Rody and killed three hundred orc soldiers with just a hundred people, including twenty-five berserkers and two shamans. Some recorded the battle in great detail, describing how many times they struck the berserkers and how the enemies still fought back with their intestines dragging.

    Some dedicated their victory to their loved ones, fianc¨¦es, or girls they secretly admired...

    Before this, no one had imagined that they could actually win this battle, let alone annihilate the enemy so completely and neatly, including Chris, who had the most confidence in Rody. Of course, strategies like luring the Flame Lions to attack the orc camp and striking when they were embroiled in a bloody battle were beyond their imagination.

    And even if imagined, they wouldn''t dare to execute such a plan.

    Apart from Rody, the daring one, no one else had the courage to implement such a plan, certainly not Lopeck, the foolishly brave.

    "I''ve already reported the Holy Cross coordinates to the Sanctus headquarters. Those who want to follow me, pick up your weapons. Those who don''t wish to come with us can stay here and wait for reinforcements," Rody said to the griffin riders. "I''ll give you one minute to decide. Those who are coming can go to Stanley to get weapons and armor. And the same goes for everyone; I won''t stop anyone who wants to stay and wait for reinforcements."

    "You have to cure us..." Captain Xiangdier, knowing he was poisoned, although not dead yet, was really scared.

    "This poison can be cured with holy water, it won''t be fatal for a day or two," Rody snorted. He had used a bit of corpse poison on this coward, just to make Captain Xiangdier more compliant. As for their lives, he still found them useful.

    "Boss, it''s time to go," Stanley said, signaling the six militia leaders to lead the ancient camels. Seeing the griffin riders still lingering, he reminded them.

    "Jesse, take a few men and ride the griffins to scout for the enemy!" Rody glanced at Chris, who looked a bit pale. After enchanting everyone''s weapons and armors and then going through a big battle, he seemed a bit drained. Chris, however, waved his hand, indicating he was fine. Rody paused for a moment and said, "Rest on the ancient camel-drawn grain carts, you can''t afford to fall ill at this time."

    "I''m fine..." Chris replied weakly, but he didn''t overexert himself and did as Rody suggested.

    Out of admiration for the hero, a few griffin riders chose to follow Rody. Despite their companions'' lengthy persuasion, they didn''t want to return as deserters. They hoped to follow Rody and clear their names with victory. Though risky, this decision brought them some peace of mind. They chose the path of heroes, even though the chances of survival were slim, but with no regrets.

    After a day''s march, Rody ordered the troops to rest and then flew back to the original gathering spot alone on a griffin. He felt uneasy and needed to check for himself. Indeed, a chilling scene unfolded before him.

    After reporting their location, the first to arrive weren''t human reinforcements but orc wolf riders. Everyone waiting for reinforcements, except for the leader Xiangdier, was killed.

    More than ten wolf riders took Xiangdier away, while nearly a hundred others followed the direction Xiangdier had pointed out, in pursuit. Unfortunately for them, Rody and his group had taken a detour and deliberately walked through a stream, obscuring the massive footprints of the ancient camels with rainwater. Especially Rody, who had Jesse and his team kill small animals at every fork in the road, scattering blood to mislead the wolves'' noses.

    The wolf riders were fast and had keen senses, but in the vast evil forest, with its cliffs and hills and magical beasts everywhere, finding Rody''s marching troops was no easy task.

    Rody smiled coldly, controlling the griffin, circling, and then silently descending above the heads of five scattered wolf riders. The giant wolves sensed danger and barked loudly, but it was too late.

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    Psychic magic spells ''Hatred'' and ''Frenzy'' erupted, and the wolf rider''s squad leader was almost instantly hacked into mincemeat by his own comrades in a moment of madness. The five giant wolves also furiously attacked each other. When other wolf rider squads arrived, they were horrified to see this brutal infighting still ongoing. The last blood-soaked orc, after killing all its companions, even attacked other wolf riders.

    Just as this mad creature was killed, similar insane howls echoed from the other side of the forest.

    Within an hour, more than thirty of the hundred-plus wolf riders perished in this damp forest. The remaining wolf riders gathered together, terrified, and retreated. They weren''t afraid of death and could bravely fight any enemy, but they feared this horrific infighting, this madness that was even crazier than bloodthirsty berserkers under a shaman''s spell.

    They saw it as a curse from the gods and decided to retreat. In the orcs'' hearts, gods are invincible and deserve full reverence, regardless of the deity.

    When Rody returned to the temporary camp, everyone was still sound asleep, except for the elite students on guard duty. The others were exhausted from the overnight battle, being scared, and a day of circuitous marching, leaving them severely drained.

    Despite only using branches to sweep away tracks and scattering leaves to disguise their trail, the militiamen were still extremely tired.

    "How is it?" Chris, draped in a blanket, waited for Rody in front of the fire. Seeing Rody return with a troubled expression, he nodded and said, "I guessed this outcome. If there were no traitors among us humans, the orc army couldn''t have possibly known the exact location of the Shield Camp. Did the reinforcements retreat under the orcs'' siege?"

    "The human reinforcements haven''t arrived yet, but the orc army did," Rody replied with a faint smile. "I took care of a few of them on the way."

    "It''s not surprising to arrive late without the Shield Camp''s teleportation station," Chris reassured softly. "If Lot hadn¡¯t received your message, I believe reinforcements would have come, especially since you also messaged General Quentin. He definitely wouldn''t ignore it."

    "I''m very worried about General Quentin''s safety," Rody nodded. "The enemy hidden within the Human Alliance far exceeds our imagination!"

    "With you leading us, I don''t think there''s anything to fear. Let''s keep going this way, and we will surely make it out of the land of evil on our own," Chris said, then closed his eyes to sleep, seemingly exhausted from waiting for Rody. Rody shook his head, covered Chris properly with the blanket, and started meditating to recover his depleted spiritual energy.

    For five consecutive days, Rody led the team through the land of evil, circumventing territories of powerful magical beasts and evading the pursuit of orc wolf riders in treacherous terrain.

    When encountering smaller groups, he and Chris would sneak attack and kill them at night.

    Chris seemed to have a natural understanding of what Rody needed at any moment, and the two cooperated seamlessly.

    When facing orc troops of several hundred, Rody and Chris would lure powerful magical beasts to intrude upon the orc troops during their rest. Although the magical beasts were often killed or driven away, the orc troops were significantly weakened, either retreating to recuperate or staying put to wait for reinforcements. Once, Rody even led fifty elite students riding griffins to attack a hundred-strong orc detachment.

    Because the magical beasts had just attacked, only about a hundred orcs remained, and exhausted, they were easily overwhelmed by Rody''s lightning-fast assault.

    Rody''s psychic magic had a great effect on the orcs, whether it was the group fear of ''Heart-Pounding Terror,'' the morale suppression of ''Unwilling to Fight,'' or the madness of ''Frenzied Battle,'' causing the orcs immense trouble. The elite students, under the support of psychic spells like ''Joyous Inspiration'' and ''Bloodthirsty Battle,'' demonstrated greater fighting capabilities.

    Chris''s natural magic blessings were also a huge help, temporarily enhancing everyone''s strength and agility nearly tenfold. Although the effect was short-lived, it was highly effective for their attacks.

    With fifty elite students as a unit, riding griffins and repeatedly harassing and attacking, the orc scouts suffered heavy casualties.

    However, the orcs soon deployed their air force, consisting of large bats skilled in hunting and night battles. Rody and his group could not directly confront them, so they resorted to using the strategy of fleeing far distances, driving the ancient camels with full supplies of food, and heading deeper into the land of evil. The orcs could not find them, but they blocked the return route at the fifth station.

    Clearly, having learned of Rody''s presence as a military genius from the traitor''s information, the orcs were determined to eliminate him.

    The Human Alliance and the orcs engaged in fierce battles at the fifth station. Magic archmages were sent to teleport strong warriors into the evil forest, intending to retrieve Rody. But the orc army''s powerful figures also mobilized, hunting while preventing the human powerhouses from finding Rody, leading to continuous bloody battles.

    At the Sanctus Fortress, in the lowest level of the magic tower.

    The old soldier-turned-Grand Marshal had transformed this place into his own command center. According to him, unless the traitor managed to assassinate him, a Great Sword Emperor, they would not be able to disrupt frontline communications.

    He was extremely angry about the traitor''s leaks, considering it the greatest disgrace in human history.

    "Five days, it''s been five days!" The Grand Marshal scolded his generals, grumbling, "Tell me, what progress have you made? How many orcs have you killed? Not a single one of you has brought me any good news. When your kings and the Pope ask me about the war, what am I supposed to tell them? Oh, should I say that, apart from a hundred logistics soldiers and six hundred militiamen completely annihilating three hundred orc warriors, all of you generals are very brave, even though your casualties are more than five times greater, but you have shown glory and loyalty to the deity of light, so failure is temporary, and ultimate victory will definitely be ours? Is that what I should tell them?¡±

    The generals were scolded terribly but couldn''t retort.

    "I know the orcs are tough to deal with, I know they fight fiercely, I know they are physically strong!" The old soldier raised his amputated arm, shouting, "This arm was bitten off by a powerful orc! But how did I retaliate? I killed it and hung its head outside my tent. Doesn''t anyone among you have the capability to bring back the enemy''s head and hang it under a horse''s neck to cheer everyone up? Millions of people are watching you; they have donated everything for the fight, hoping you bring them good news of victory, even if it''s a minor one!"

    "Yes, Grand Marshal," the generals stood at attention.

    "Report," a guard entered and saluted.

    "I want to hear some good news, like finding that kid Rody or even just their previous campsite to know they are still alive," the Grand Marshal took a deep breath and said, "If it''s something else, or a damned failure, let me finish scolding before you speak!"

    "We haven''t found the campsite, but just now, the signal that was lost for five days started calling the headquarters again..." Before the guard could finish, the Grand Marshal immediately leaped forward, and the generals also excitedly ran over, eager to hear what the miraculous Rody would say this time. In the current deadlock, not only the common people but also the generals needed some good news to bolster their confidence.

    "Calling Sanctus headquarters, I am Logistics Sergeant Rody, calling..."

    "Quickly connect to this miraculous kid¡¯s signal, let''s hear what news he has brought back! My goodness, the god of fortune hasn''t forgotten my prayers, letting this lad survive!" the Grand Marshal exclaimed excitedly.

 Chapter 106: Gift

    "Calling... connection established? Sanctus Headquarters, our magic-powered ally is sick, the report can only be maintained for a very short time, but I will try to report as much information as possible to the headquarters." Rody''s voice came through, saying, "We regretfully saw that the orc troops arrived earlier than the human reinforcements, leaving us no choice but to evacuate. I suspect the enemy has grasped our method of magical communication, with the orcs, supported by the demon race, eavesdropping on our intelligence. Otherwise, our operations would not be so hampered, always losing the initiative."

    "Indeed, that''s a possibility." The Grand Marshal was startled, then thought to himself: If that''s the case, then the problem is serious, because those who control this magical communication are all decision-makers, and magical communication has always been top secret.

    "What?" The generals looked at each other, each having an epiphany.

    "Report to headquarters, we are now very safe, although occasionally there are wolf riders hunting us, but we have almost no casualties. Although Lopek insists that it was the orcs who hurt his ankle, I saw that it was caused by him falling off the back of an orc''s wolf, so I refused to credit him for bravery. Also, a few militiamen were stung on the soles of their feet by scorpions while walking, but they got better after applying some saliva." Rody''s words made the Grand Marshal laugh so hard that he almost cried, and even the generals, after their initial shock, clapped vigorously.

    Fighting against orc wolf riders was definitely extremely tough, everyone knew and had experienced it personally. If there were no casualties, then it meant this miraculous boy was truly extraordinary...

    With a hundred logistics soldiers and six hundred militiamen, he was able to evade enemy pursuit and still eliminate wolf riders.

    Even the proud generals had to admit their admiration.

    "Our performance these past few days hasn''t been good, having only eliminated five hundred seventy-one wolf riders and orc javelin throwers, and we''ve been constantly fleeing, with almost no time to report to headquarters. Of course, to prevent the military law office from questioning our claim of military achievements, we cut off the orcs'' ears. Actually, some suggested keeping the heads, but that would be inconvenient, so I decided to cut off ears instead. I sincerely hope that this bag of bloody ears will be accepted by the military law office. As for some spoils of war, we had to abandon them due to the burden of carrying them, which is a loss for the armory. If there''s to be a punishment for this from above, we hope it can be offset by our military achievements. Of course, it would be best if we could be absolved of any wrongdoing." Rody''s voice was calm, but it stirred the Grand Marshal and the generals'' blood.

    Never before had there been such a boastful boy, complaining that there were too many spoils of war to carry.

    Of course, the generals and knights all had plenty of logistics soldiers with them, not to mention spoils of war, they could even carry back a mountain. But, unfortunately, they usually had little in the way of spoils of war.

    So, a little bit of spoils of war became their bragging rights.

    Hearing this miraculous boy Rody''s words, one can''t help but feel so ashamed that they''d want to hit their head against a wall. His spoils of war are countless; with just a hundred logistics soldiers, six hundred militiamen, a few ancient camels, and some mercenaries, he managed to eliminate over five hundred wolf riders and giant javelin throwers, with zero casualties on his side. This is truly a miracle! An unbelievable miracle.

    Any general, no matter how famous or capable, couldn''t possibly achieve this.

    "In a chance encounter, we came across the orc''s Kodo Beast and Dragon teams," Rody''s voice gently came back, saying, "Faced with the huge Kodo Beasts, we timidly chose to flee, because we found that the wooden spears issued to us were practically useless against their skin. We hope the gods will forgive our avoidance of battle. As for the Dragon team, we noticed that the main group had flown away, leaving behind only three dragons. So, we plan to ask the orcs tonight if they are willing to transfer these three dragons to us. I believe, surrounded by an army of over twenty thousand orcs, having three dragons to help transport things would make the retreat of the main force much smoother. Wish us luck!"

    "This kid has nerves of steel!" exclaimed a general in amazement.

    "I must be hearing things!" said another in disbelief.

    In the war room, everyone was aware of the dragons'' power. Even just three dragons were not easy to deal with.

    Such an action could only succeed if they completely annihilated the enemy; otherwise, Rody and his team would be in danger of being discovered. If one dragon escaped, a large number of dragons would soon come, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

    The generals could only worry helplessly.

    Rody and his team were deep in the land of evil, with no teleportation array. Even if they wanted to go and lend a hand, it was impossible.

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    Now, the generals were eager to see what strategy this miraculous boy Rody would use to kill the dragons. No one, not even the most experienced generals, could come up with a plan. Of course, they didn''t believe that the spears in Rody''s hands were really made of wood; this was just the miraculous boy''s subtle protest to the headquarters.

    Everyone knew from General Quentin that this miraculous boy had an enormous storage space capable of holding many weapons.

    Moreover, the hundred students were elites from various countries, generally having storage space rings, at least capable of holding weapons. But no matter how much the storage space could hold, it couldn''t possibly include bed crossbows or city defense crossbows, as only these could directly harm dragons. Ordinary swords, axes, and spears would hardly scratch a dragon''s skin.

    The hardest part was that dragons could fly and wouldn''t just foolishly lie on the ground to be slaughtered.

    "You don''t need to return to the battlefield, just discuss it here! Whoever among you can come up with a way to kill three dragons under those circumstances, I''ll not only promote you but also award you medals and allocate an additional twenty thousand troops to your battle zone. Come on, my generals, it''s time to use your brains!" The Grand Marshal waited for Rody to end the call and excitedly pounded the table with his fist.

    "Let''s make some assumptions first..." As soon as the generals heard this, they immediately began a heated discussion.

    Actually, the promise of rewards didn''t excite them much; it was mainly a matter of military pride. As a general, it''s not surprising if you can''t defeat another general, but if you can''t even match a logistics sergeant, it leaves a bad taste. Whether they could match the miraculous boy Rody or not, if they couldn''t even think of what he could do, then their titles as generals would be in vain.

    Some magic masters and grandmasters also joined the discussion, using their perspectives and thinking to guess Rody''s actions. Thus, the entire afternoon was spent in intense debate.

    The generals came up with dozens, nearly a hundred hypotheses, including terrain, weather, weapons and equipment, personnel deployment, enemy reactions, magic and combat qi damage, and so on. They designed at least ten combat plans, but in the end, they reached a frustrating conclusion: it would be difficult to annihilate all three dragons unless there were at least three warriors of the Sky Knight level or stronger.

    The Grand Marshal sat motionless throughout, quietly observing the generals. He felt it had been a long time since his subordinates had discussed tactics so fiercely. Even in usual discussions, there was a lack of cooperation and nowhere near this level of full commitment to imagining victory.

    "This won''t work, unless we remove the limits," one general said, slapping the table. "I admit, I''m not as good in tactics as that miraculous boy. But I''m not convinced. Gentlemen, let''s compete again. Under the condition of having sufficient resources, who can use the least resources to accomplish this task! Let''s set a three-hour deadline. Whoever comes up with the quickest plan will be the king of tactics among us, but one thing, whoever''s plan wins, it must be scrutinized and approved by everyone."

    "If I had the resources, I could come up with the perfect combat plan within an hour," someone said, overjoyed at the prospect of victory.

    Halfway through the three hours, their combat plans were still being refined.

    Suddenly, a guard reported that Rody was calling Sanctus Headquarters again. The generals were all startled. How could the miraculous boy Rody be so fast? They hadn''t even finalized their plans on the table, and he had already achieved it? What kind of brain did this guy have?

    "I''m sorry, I told a shameless lie," Rody''s voice chuckled through the receiver. "When the Dragon Camp secretly transported Blood Flower Axe Barbarian and Shaman Witch King, my companions and I attacked the Kodo Beast Camp. I know Blood Flower Axe Barbarian and Shaman Witch King must be very angry, thinking their ploy to lure the enemy was successful. Unfortunately, I''m a big talker who likes to lie. Haha, it''s quite pitiful to see the mighty Blood Flower Axe Barbarian and Shaman Witch King disguised as ordinary soldiers getting drenched in the rain. I sympathize with you. Hahaha, to the orcs and demons eavesdropping on my communication, I want to say, don''t think I only lie. Eventually, you''ll understand my character. Sometimes, I do tell the truth, like how we indeed attacked your Kodo Beast Camp, killed dozens of wolf riders, and took away five of your Kodo Beasts."

    "My God, I''m going to faint," a general said, excitedly smashing the table in front of him.

    "The miraculous boy, truly incredible..." Many were stunned, jaws dropping. No one had thought of abandoning the dragons to attack the Kodo Beasts. This was what set the miraculous boy Rody apart.

    "Don''t ask me how I took your Kodo Beasts, nor how I fooled your guards and led my subordinates through your encirclement. Don''t even ask me when I crossed the ruins of the fifth station''s Holy Shield Camp, or why I sent six hundred militiamen back to the safe Justice Alliance and stayed in the Evil Forest myself. Just remember, we are always near you, everywhere. Want to capture us? Come on, I''m happy to play this game with you!" Rody hastily ended the call, leaving the generals somewhat baffled. What did all these words mean?

    "Have General Quentin report in within five minutes," the Grand Marshal ordered a guard to send the message.

    ¡°No need, Your Excellency the Grand Marshal, I have already returned!¡± General Quentin strode in, accompanied by General Lot, who looked somewhat unwell. General Quentin saluted and reported, ¡°Sir, General Lot and I led thirty thousand soldiers to prepare for a decisive battle with the orcs at a location 120 miles before the fourth station. However, the orc army was too busy hunting down Sergeant Rody to heed our call for a battle. So, when we retreated, we had to take back the six hundred militiamen who had crossed their lines with ancient camels!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve done well, and so have you, General Lot,¡± the Grand Marshal nodded and said, ¡°What about Sergeant Rody?¡±

    ¡°We didn¡¯t see him, only some of his subordinates escorting the militiamen,¡± replied General Quentin. ¡°Although they are my cavalry camp students, they refused my order to return and followed their sergeant instead.¡±

    ¡°Did you just watch them leave?¡± the Grand Marshal asked again.

    ¡°No, I gave them a military salute with the whole army,¡± said General Quentin solemnly. ¡°I think these young men deserve our salute.¡±

    ¡°Didn¡¯t that Rody bring me any gifts?¡± The Grand Marshal stood up abruptly, looking at General Quentin, ¡°Setting aside his disobedience for now, I assume he wouldn¡¯t falsely report his military exploits, would he?¡±

    ¡°Here are the orc ears you wanted!¡± General Quentin produced a large bag of bloody things from his storage space.

    ¡°Generals, this is the kind of gift I need!¡± The Grand Marshal grabbed a handful of ears from the bag and laughed heartily, ¡°What is this? The best spoils of war. Don¡¯t talk to me about treasures and magic crystals; they are all ephemeral. This, representing the honor of a soldier! These are the spoils of war earned through bloody battles, the most prideful and glorious thing for us!¡±

    ¡°Your Excellency, I want to tell you the real reason why Rody didn¡¯t return,¡± said General Quentin with a grave face.

    ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything; I¡¯m not blind,¡± the Grand Marshal snorted sharply, his gaze sweeping over everyone present like a sharp blade, and said authoritatively, ¡°Regarding the traitor who leaked top secrets, no matter who he is, once I catch him, I will send him to hell, regardless of his background! I don¡¯t care what Rody¡¯s origin is, whether he comes from Felic, or whether he is a waste without magic or combat qi. What I need is a military genius, a human genius who can make the orcs grind their teeth in frustration and helplessness!¡±

    ¡°No, Your Excellency, I want to talk about something you don''t know,¡± insisted General Quentin. ¡°His subordinates refused my orders because a human powerhouse attacked Rody a day before, severely injuring him. Someone, under the guise of rescue, is committing acts that break our hearts. Thus, the soldiers fighting bloody battles with the orcs in the Evil Forest misunderstood us!¡±

    ¡°What?¡± The Grand Marshal erupted in anger upon hearing this.

    ¡°When I saw the young warriors, covered in blood, accusing us, I, a hard man of steel, nearly cried!¡± Quentin said, his eyes bloodshot. ¡°All their wounds were caused by human assassins, not by orc weapons. This is what we gave them! Heaven bestowed upon us a genius like Rody, the bane of orcs, the nightmare of orcs! The orcs reached out to him without hatred, the Lionheart King of the orcs even willing to marry his most beautiful daughter to him! Yet humans sent assassins to stab him deeply in the heart... This is the gift we sent him! This is the ''assistance'' we humans gave him!¡±

 Chapter 107: Let Us Die in Battle

    In the land of evil.

    Everyone was resting wearily. Stanley and Lopek were on guard duty in the distance, while Jesse and Kaili, who had just returned from their shift, were so exhausted that they fell asleep on the ground without even changing their clothes dampened by the dew.

    Rody was in a low tent, studying the magical map for tomorrow''s marching route. Now, besides the hundred student companions, they also had over thirty volunteer mercenaries and a few griffin riders. Although their combat strength was far inferior to the elite students, being accustomed to traveling through the Evil Forest, they could keep up with the marching speed. Especially in these life-and-death trials, their potential had burst forth under the threat of death, each meeting Rody''s minimum requirements.

    Chris suddenly crawled in, first touching Rody''s forehead and then observing his face color, whispering, "You did it on purpose, didn''t you?"

    "What?" Rody glanced at him.

    "I mean letting that guy stab you through the chest. It was deliberate!" Chris hummed softly. "I was confused at the time and didn''t think it through, but now you can''t fool me anymore!"

    "Very smart." Rody smiled faintly. "I did let him stab me on purpose."

    "Why?" Chris didn''t understand.

    "He couldn''t kill me. Not just a sneak attack by an Earth Warrior, even a Sky Warrior couldn''t kill me!" Rody smiled mysteriously. "I want the soldiers in the rear to feel ashamed, angry, and disgraced. This stab can gain their support, their trust. You can say I''m calculating or unscrupulous. Actually, I have my difficulties, which you know some of, but there''s more you don''t know. I must have absolute support from the rear. Without the support of passionate soldiers, I would surely have no place to be buried in the future. Besides, those assassins indeed wanted to kill me and did strike a fatal blow; I just didn''t dodge it... This way, the orcs, demons, gods, humans, soldiers in the rear, and spies will all understand my strength through this stab."

    "You want to appear weak?" Chris suddenly realized. "Now I understand."

    "A person with a military genius mind, if also a strongman, would inevitably provoke fear. But if he has a fatal flaw, not strong enough, not knowing magic or combat qi, many people would feel much more at ease," Rody nodded. "I need to show them a weakness, make them think they can kill me anytime or easily control me."

    "Rody, you... have you thought about everyone?" Chris suddenly punched Rody''s pillow, angrily saying, "What if this stab had seriously injured you? What would everyone do? We need your leadership. Also, have you thought about your mother? She must be waiting at home for your safe return!"

    "I wouldn''t do anything I''m not sure about. Besides, before those guys even approached, I knew they would make trouble like this." Rody smiled, not angry, and countered, "Did you cry? I remember you seemed to cry."

    "No," Chris denied immediately, saying, "A real man doesn''t cry, only bleeds. How could I possibly cry!"

    "But I saw you crying!" Rody affirmed.

    "You were losing too much blood then, your vision was blurred! If you were gone, I wouldn''t have you as my biggest competitor anymore. I would only laugh happily, how could I possibly cry!" Chris smiled casually, implying that he was actually hoping for Rody''s demise. Rody looked at him skeptically, but Chris remained calm, letting him stare all he wanted.

    "Your illusion magic can make humans look like orcs, and turn ancient camels into Kodo beasts, fooling the orc guards," Rody said lightly.

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    "Now you know how powerful my natural magic is! Make sure to give me credit for this!" Chris boasted proudly.

    "Can your illusion magic turn a woman into a man?" Rody seemed to ask casually. Chris was startled and quickly waved his hand, saying, "Although theoretically possible, I''ve never tried it."

    "Are you really a man?" Rody tried hard to read something from Chris''s face, but Chris appeared very natural.

    "Haven''t I bathed with you?" Chris laughed. "Do you think a woman would undress in front of a strange man? Besides, it''s not just me with fair skin. You don''t have elf blood, but isn''t your skin also good? Sergeant Rody, if there''s nothing else, I''m going to rest!"

    "Although your chest is flat and doesn''t look like a woman''s, I don''t fully trust what my eyes see," Rody humphed. "Eyes often create illusions, especially under illusion magic. I find you very suspicious!"

    "Do you want to see again? My magical power is severely drained now, so even if there was an illusion before, it couldn''t be maintained," Chris asked, laughing.

    "No need to see, I want to touch!" Rody didn''t trust his eyes, especially knowing the other person was skilled in illusion magic. Only through the most real touch would he completely believe that the other person was a man.

    "You pervert!" Chris, hearing this, angrily punched Rody and left.

    "This temper, really hard to say..." Rody actually didn''t want to touch Chris''s chest, especially if he was really a man, that would be awkward. But Rody, being naturally suspicious, although it was a bit embarrassing to propose, wanted to test Chris''s reaction. Chris came from Mesbutania, Rody''s homeland, and bore no malice towards him, instead offering help at every turn. Rody speculated that Chris might be a relative from his mother''s side; otherwise, why would he be so kind to him?

    This attempt, though it angered Chris, left Rody still harboring a sliver of doubt.

    However, it''s quite normal for men of elven descent to be handsome, so it wouldn''t be surprising if Chris really was a man.

    Rody couldn''t afford to think too much about it; pondering over it was futile. He couldn''t just pull down Chris''s pants to verify, and besides, Chris had his dignity. Doubting him was an insult, and it was natural for him to be angry.

    The next day, Chris seemed to have cooled off.

    That was his way; quick to anger, quick to calm down. Rody sent Jesse and the others on griffin rides for cautious reconnaissance. Those without mounts rode the Kodo beasts slowly on the road. No one knew how Rody had tamed these Kodo beasts, but he went alone, and before everyone had killed the guards, he emerged leading the Kodo beasts, which obediently followed him as if he had raised them.

    It was precisely because of Rody''s miraculousness that everyone admired him so much.

    When the human assassins grievously wounded Rody with a sword and declared him guilty of war crimes, everyone unhesitatingly killed those who were mistakenly thought to be reinforcements. They scorned the divine blessings and promised official positions spouted by the assassins.

    The reason everyone willingly followed Rody was that he made them feel immensely proud, showcasing human intelligence and strength.

    Anyone who tried to smear their leader with underhanded tactics would have to step over their dead bodies first.

    A man could die on the battlefield fighting orcs and demons but not under the assassination and betrayal of his own kind. Thus, Stanley and others were extremely aggrieved. Seeing the human assassins stab Rody in the chest felt like their own hearts were pierced and shattered. When Rody made the orcs tremble in fear, when he led them to raid orc camps, when they sent the orcs'' ears back to the rear as war trophies, humans sent such ''reinforcements'', such a ''return gift''...

    After that stab, everyone swore never to accept any orders from the rear again. They would only follow Rody, even if it meant dying in this Evil Forest.

    "Comrades, we can only rely on ourselves now," Rody stood on the back of a Kodo beast, speaking aloud, "We have no more food supplies, no reinforcements, assassinations and persecution from the rear spies have chilled our warriors'' hearts, countless enemies lurk around us, and we navigate through perilous terrain with difficulty. It seems we have nothing left... But let me tell you what we still have. We have unending hot blood, soaring ambitions, endless wisdom, unity stronger than steel, a readiness to sacrifice, and brothers, follow me, I will lead you to the most honorable, proudest, and most glorious victory!"

    "Long live victory!" Hearing this, everyone''s blood boiled, they raised their weapons high, roaring passionately.

    "If you can hear this, please don''t send any more reinforcements. We are already scarred, both physically and spiritually, and we can''t withstand a second assassination." Chris secretly connected to the magical one-way communication device and whispered softly, "We are warriors, ready to die in battle, ready to drain the blood from our bodies. We are men as tough as iron, even if the orcs boil us in their huge pots, chew on our bodies, and cut off our heads as trophies, we will not cry... But when the reinforcements sent from the rear stabbed Sergeant Rody in the chest and then declared him guilty, we couldn''t help our tears and wept bitterly... We are willing to drench the land of evil with our blood, not our tears."

    In the Sanctus Fortress, at the lowest level of the magical tower, in the highest command room, the one-armed Grand Marshal, upon hearing Chris''s tearful plea, smashed everything around him like a mad lion, roaring thunderously, his eyes filled with tears.

    The generals also stood in solemn silence, fully understanding what that feeling was like. They were soldiers, and those in high positions knew best what things chill a soldier''s heart the most: betrayal and abandonment. When soldiers triumph, they need a heroic return, cheered and applauded by the people. When soldiers find themselves in dire straits, isolated and alone, they need relentless, unconditional rescue.

    At such a time, if they let a traitor stab them in the chest, that heartache is indeed the most painful and bitter blow in the world.

    "Let us die in battle!" Chris''s voice, full of sorrow, made everyone''s heart ache. His voice, full of emotion, made even the toughest of men unable to hold back their tears: "Please, let us die under the orcs'' battle-axes! We hope to die like heroes... Our mothers would not want to see their sons brought to a military court for trial, to be beheaded in front of thousands... Goodbye, mother, we are not deserters, we are not war criminals, we are your brave sons who fought the enemy..."

    "Goodbye, mother..."

 Chapter 108: The Soldiers Destiny

    The Grand Marshal roared at the generals, "Do you hear what our soldiers are saying? They are crying out! Their hearts are bleeding! Never in my life have I felt such shame. As an old soldier who has fought through bloody battles, I know what is more painful than death! It is betrayal! While we sit here in this safe rear, smugly counting our spoils of war, our soldiers are weeping tears, bidding farewell to their mothers, bravely facing death! Did their mothers hand their sons over to us just to watch them cry and die in battle?"

    "No, Your Excellency," the generals, with red eyes, shouted in unison.

    "When I heard that my soldiers were actually begging for my permission to die in battle, my heart was filled with nothing but grief and shame!" the Grand Marshal bellowed. "Dying in battle has become our soldiers'' extravagant wish, their only desire! They should have been returning triumphantly, receiving a hero''s welcome and treatment. But now, they can only request to die in battle! My soldiers told me, they are men of iron, even if the orcs boil and eat them, they won''t cry. But now they are crying because our own reinforcements declared them guilty and stabbed Rody in the chest. What is this? This is the greatest shame of the human alliance!"

    "Yes, Your Excellency," some generals couldn''t help but shed tears, replying in grief and anger.

    "Did you hear that? My soldiers told me they are willing to stain the land of evil with their blood, not their tears!" The Grand Marshal smashed the table in front of him in fury, "Did you hear that? My soldiers are begging, ''Please, let us die under the orcs'' battle-axes, we hope to die like heroes...'' That''s what they told me, that''s what kind of soldiers they are! These soldiers shine like gold, radiating a brilliance that the entire human army does not possess. But within us, there''s an invisible sword hanging over their heads, murdering them under our watch, viciously pushing them towards the abyss of death! Generals, are you going to stand by and watch? Watch our soldiers die in grief and anger?"

    "No, Your Excellency, never!" The generals erupted, extremely agitated.

    "Your Excellency, the enemy... the enemy requests to speak with you..." A guard reported, terrified under the Grand Marshal''s thunderous fury.

    "Put them through!" the Grand Marshal, hearing this, took a deep breath, suppressing his anger.

    As the generals prepared to step aside, the Grand Marshal signaled them to stay.

    Once connected, a voice speaking in slightly broken Human Common Tongue could be heard, clearly carrying a heavy beast race accent. "I am the general under the Eighth Marshal of the Lionheart King, named..."

    "I don''t speak to pawns; bring someone who can actually talk!" the Grand Marshal coldly interrupted.

    "Haha, Grand Marshal Fondsman, your pride is still intact," followed by a man''s voice with a very fluent Human Common Tongue accent, laughing heartily, "Fonds, long time no see. I am delighted to be your opponent once again. Think about it, life is lonely without an adversary! Fortunately, this century-long war came early, otherwise I would have been too impatient to wait."

    "Leon, the Axe King, decades have passed and your tongue has become smoother. I hope your axe blade hasn''t done the same," the Grand Marshal grunted heavily. "Spit it out quickly, I don¡¯t have time to waste with you!"

    "You must be busy looking for the miraculous boy Rody, haha!" Leon, the Axe King on the other end, laughed wildly before continuing, "I am truly grateful to you. If I could, I would invite your assassins for a drink! God, I used to be so jealous, wondering why such geniuses always emerge among you humans. But not anymore, because he will soon be ours, congratulations to us! Fonds, I''m delighted that none of your human kings thought of marrying their princess to little Rody, and even happier that you only assigned him as a logistics soldier. Blessed by the demon god, if you had made him a general, I think I would have had a real headache! Now it''s fine, you don''t want him, no problem, we orcs will welcome him! Just a nod from him, and our Lionheart King said he would immediately marry him to the most beautiful princess, lands and subjects as he pleases, as much as he wants! Hahaha!"

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    "What''s your princess worth? Do you think Rody would like a cat woman with a tail on her back?" the Grand Marshal scoffed coldly. "Outsmarting yourself!"

    "It doesn''t matter if he doesn''t like her. If he prefers human women, that''s fine too. Whoever he likes, we can provide for him, even your Holy Maiden. As long as he likes, we can capture her for him," Leon, the Axe King, said with a strange laugh. "I hear the Demon Lord Niyaruye is also very interested in Rody. His princess won''t be inferior to a human woman, right? Fonds, my friend, don''t worry, when I have Sergeant Rody under my command, I will definitely accept your congratulations. Goodbye, my dearest friend..."

    After the call ended, the entire command room fell into dead silence.

    The generals were sweating profusely; if the orcs got Rody, with his unpredictable tactics combined with the orcs'' bravery, the consequences would be unthinkable. Now that Rody and his subordinates were far in the land of evil, if Leon, the Axe King, discovered them in battle, they would undoubtedly capture him at all costs.

    If they somehow forced Rody to submit, it would be a nightmare for humanity...

    "Your Excellency, we can''t let the orcs find Rody first!" one general urgently said. "Rody can¡¯t use magic or combat qi, it¡¯s too dangerous if the orcs discover him!"

    "We need to send more powerful forces into the land of evil, especially magicians skilled in teleportation, we must rescue Rody!" someone suggested.

    "General Quentin, what do you want to say?" the Grand Marshal asked with a grave expression.

    "Your Excellency, I believe we should not send any reinforcements. There could be spies among them, which would not only expose Rody''s location but also pose a great threat to his life. We must trust Rody! Trust the soldiers in the land of evil! First, he will not betray us; second, we cannot repeat the same mistake and let them be heartbroken and cry again; third, what we should do is to officially engage in a decisive battle with the orc army. Under our powerful pressure, the orcs will not be able to divert their attention to hunt down Rody. On the contrary, if we don¡¯t do this, it would be playing right into the orcs'' hands," General Quentin reported firmly.

    "Go to war! The time for a grand battle has come!" The generals, upon hearing this, were invigorated, rubbing their hands together in anticipation.

    While the generals were discussing how to engage in a grand battle with the orcs, suddenly, a cardinal in red robes accompanied by several clergymen entered, reported by a guard and waited for the Grand Marshal''s audience.

    "Report..."

    "Let Cardinal Tramdo come in," the Grand Marshal asked with a stern face. "By the grace of the God of Light, what divine decree does the cardinal bring?"

    "The gods have descended in the heavenly realm, and the demon race, hearing this, are crumbling. They plan to surrender to the gods and are currently in negotiations. The orc army will also withdraw soon. The gods have decreed that the human alliance must strictly guard its lines and not launch attacks or provoke the orcs, to avoid worsening the entire war situation and giving the demons an excuse to break their promise. The Pope, also pitying the hard-fought human soldiers, has permitted the entire army to celebrate the victory for three days. The church, besides distributing holy water to relieve fatigue, has also sent female believers to form a Blessing Group to pray for the entire army..."

    "What?" This news was like a bolt from the blue, and the generals were about to faint.

    If they strictly guard their lines now and don¡¯t take the initiative to suppress the orcs, wouldn''t that mean handing Rody and the others over to the orcs on a platter? Why did the victory come neither sooner nor later, but just when the whole army was about to set out to rescue Rody and his team?

    Could it be that the gods are also jealous of Rody''s military genius and want to eliminate him?

    The generals broke into cold sweat, while the Grand Marshal¡¯s face remained as still as water, as if he had anticipated such an event.

    "Bullshit, this is complete bullshit! To hell with it, I''m going to send troops. There are five elites from my country in Rody''s team, national treasures, future great generals. I can''t just stand by and do nothing. How would I explain it to the king?" A hot-tempered general, without waiting for the cardinal to leave, drew his sword and shattered the chair in front of him, cursing loudly.

    "My country has twelve, nearly all elites are there!" another general also said gravely. "We request to send troops!"

    "Send troops, send troops, our country''s elites are all there..." the generals were extremely agitated.

    "Whoever dares to send troops and disrupt the covenant with the gods will be defying the gods¡¯ command! Face the consequences! Generals, think carefully!" the cardinal sneered, saluting the Grand Marshal slightly before leaving arrogantly.

    "Generals, now you understand why our soldiers cry, don¡¯t you?" the Grand Marshal scoffed. "How does it feel to be betrayed?"

    "Let us die in battle!" General Quentin knelt on one knee, giving the most solemn knightly salute, respectfully saying, "Your Excellency, as soldiers, whether it''s a sergeant like Rody or generals like us, or even the most ordinary soldiers, the last thing we can hope for is an honorable death in battle! We would rather die on the battlefield than in despicable political struggles... Let us die under the orcs'' battle-axes. This is our wish, the destiny of a soldier!"

 Chapter 109: The Recording

    "Report." At this moment, another guard entered and saluted the Grand Marshal, "General Buck from the Felic Iron Wall Fortress requests an audience."

    "A stationed general leaving his defense area?" Chief of Staff Gonzales of the Justice Alliance hummed lightly. He and his staff wizards were particularly sensitive to anything related to the nation of Felic, as it represented something contrary to the gods, although currently not a major threat and still reliant on Greater Frey. The Chief of Staff had a strong distaste for everything about this country.

    "Let him in," the Grand Marshal waved his hand, allowing the guard to summon Buck, who was waiting at the door.

    "Your Excellency, General Buck has left his post without orders, solely for one reason." Buck, not heeding anyone else¡¯s expressions, slightly bowed to the Grand Marshal and said, "Someone sent Buck a relic, still stained with his blood, and touched by the warmth of the blood still on it, Buck disobeyed orders to come here."

    "What is it?" the Grand Marshal asked sternly.

    "A memory crystal that records the elite students'' battles in the land of evil. It was secretly brought back by mercenaries and militiamen, intended as a gift for you, but it was hijacked midway. Survivors contacted the Thieves Guild and begged for help from Felic''s generals thousands of miles away. Our Felic''s strongest mobilized and fought a day-long battle in the land of evil to retrieve it. Just a few hours ago, it was being played in the tent of a Duke of the demon race in the Burial Grounds." Buck slowly extended his hand, presenting the blood-stained memory crystal to the Grand Marshal, then bowed slightly and turned to leave.

    "Stop, you have abandoned your post, you should report to the military court for punishment," Chief of Staff Gonzales snorted.

    "I¡¯m sorry, but in light of the Alliance''s persecution of our elite Rody, our king has declared our army''s temporary withdrawal from the Alliance until a satisfactory response is given. Until then, Felic''s forces will no longer serve the Alliance under the threat of assassination by its own," Buck said with a slight smile. "Chief of Staff, you may lodge a protest with our nation''s envoy, but you no longer have authority over me."

    "Felic is withdrawing from the Alliance?" the Chief of Staff was furious, glaring at Buck.

    "It seems not only our country wants to exit the Alliance. Nearly all nations with elites persecuted by the assassins are contemplating this, a total of nineteen countries," Buck said calmly. "Our soldiers came to the Alliance to die honorably under orc axes, not to suffer and die under the despicable assassinations of human traitors. Your Excellency, Chief of Staff, once you see this, you will understand why our king is so angry and why such an enraged decision was made..."

    "General Quentin, go and check on the situation of the militia and mercenaries immediately!" the Grand Marshal ordered solemnly.

    "No need, Your Excellency," Buck replied coldly. "If you are referring to the six hundred militiamen and a dozen mercenaries who escaped from the encirclement of tens of thousands of orcs in the land of evil, then there is no need for an investigation. They are all dead. The last survivor was found by me in the tent of a demon duke. We defeated the demon guards and repelled the demon duke, but we couldn''t save his life. It was the searing blood of a mercenary that touched my heart, which is why I decided to bring this memory crystal for you to see, Your Excellency. General, Chief of Staff, and gentlemen, you need to know more¡­"

    "All six hundred militiamen are dead? We just brought them back into the Alliance!" The Grand Marshal''s eyes burned with intense fire.

    "I think if they had known that the Alliance would secretly execute them or hand them over to the orcs and demons, they would have preferred to stay with Rody," Buck said somberly. "Regarding this matter, I just want to say, our nation will not let our people''s blood be shed in vain. Farewell!"

    After Buck left, the command room fell into dead silence.

    Although Felic was a small country and its withdrawal seemed insignificant, if, as he said, all nineteen countries of the elites withdrew, then several generals present, including General Quentin of the Norn Empire, were from within those nineteen.

    If the Justice Alliance saw the withdrawal of nineteen countries, it would face immediate disintegration. If the orc and demon armies attacked at such a moment, the consequences would be unimaginable. Thinking about the news of the gods'' victory and the three-day celebration, if this wasn''t a divine decree but a plot by human spies colluding with demons, then with the army divided and indulging in festivities, humanity could face a fatal catastrophe.

    The generals broke out in cold sweat thinking about this.

    "Play the recording!" The Grand Marshal thought further ahead than anyone else. He was filled with nothing but anger these days. If it weren''t for the emergence of a military genius like Rody, all the human spies wouldn¡¯t have been exposed so soon. If they hadn¡¯t been so eager to eliminate Rody, the conspiracy might have remained hidden until the day the army reached the city walls.

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    "Guard, secure the door." Although the Chief of Staff was against Felic, he still hoped for humanity''s victory, not its demise.

    Fearing that the generals'' indignation during the playback might let out some information that shouldn¡¯t be spread, he quickly ordered the guards to stand watch.

    The memory crystal slowly played the original recording. It was clear that the footage was taken in the Evil Forest, everything damp and wet.

    The filming started from the ground, showing disordered earth, broken swords, burning tents, and flags. Then came severed limbs and blood, a large area of scorched ground, and shockingly stained with blood, atop which lay countless orc heads.

    Then, a bearded mercenary came close and whispered softly, "My name is Maru, the leader of the Marspike Mercenary Corps. We were hired by the Mercenary Guild to enter the Evil Forest to track the orcs and film their gathering places. Sadly, we didn¡¯t achieve this and lost our deputy leader and over two hundred people. However, when I realized I had survived, I felt I still had some value. Although I can''t provide the Justice Alliance with the orcs'' gathering places, I can record a hero for them."

    The generals, seeing the piles of orc heads, felt their blood boiling.

    When they saw that the human militiamen were indeed wielding wooden spears, they were somewhat astonished. Were they really able to kill the physically formidable orcs with wooden spears? How was that possible?

    "Did everyone see that? That is the hero I wanted to film, him, that young man as handsome as a god," bearded Maru pointed at Rody, who stood atop the orc heads, calling out to everyone, and said softly, "I regret missing a victorious battle to film. It was a brilliant victory against over three hundred orcs, and Sergeant Rody, with just his hundred elite students, achieved such a victory. I couldn''t believe my eyes. But what can I say? The fact is right before me! In fact, I should have filmed Sergeant Rody like this since yesterday, but fear made me forget everything. Fortunately, I remembered this morning that I still had the memory crystal. Truly a blessing from above..."

    "That''s Rody?" The Grand Marshal stood up excitedly.

    Not only him, but all the generals present also etched into their memories the young man with a smile as bright as the sun.

    Under the dawn light, he truly looked as heroic as a god.

    "Comrades, look at what''s under your feet. What are you stepping on? Orc heads! Orc corpses!" They saw Rody in the recording shouting, "Are they strong? Are they terrifying? Are they invincible? Tell me, who toppled them to the ground? Who chopped off their heads?"

    "It''s us... Long live humanity!" Hundreds of voices erupted in a celebratory roar, many with tears streaming down their faces.

    "Long live humanity! Long live!" In the command room, the watching generals also shouted excitedly, again and again, feeling a fiery surge of energy within.

    "Is there anyone among us who dares not pick up a weapon to fight? Heroes, where are your weapons?" Rody in the recording, raising his wooden spear, shouted, "Follow me, and I will lead you to stand on the corpses of orcs and cheer for victory, time and time again!"

    "Long live victory!" Stanley and others rushed to Rody, cheering and tossing him into the air.

    "Long live..." The militiamen hugged each other excitedly, weeping, while others brandished spoils captured from the orcs, the frenzied crowd shouting victorious chants. Some students knelt on the ground, raising their swords, dedicating this victory to their loved ones or revered elders.

    "My father, your son is not a failure, I am a hero. Though you cannot see, I have not let you down!" When Maru came over to film, General Quentin heard his son Kaili''s crying prayer.

    "My son!" He, usually composed, jumped up excitedly, pointing at the screen and roaring proudly, "That''s my son! My son!"

    "I always said I was an elite, I''m a damn elite! I killed five orcs, five by myself! I''m so damn awesome! Did you see this handsome guy? Come on, be jealous of me!" Of course, the one who burst into expletives excitedly was Stanley, shouting loudly towards Maru''s camera, but soon, the mercenaries and militiamen lifted him up and tossed him into the air.

    "This is the head of an orc shaman. Although I didn''t kill him, I also stabbed him with a knife," Jesse, holding a head, boasted to Maru, "Quickly film me, capture my most handsome look, or I''ll fix you up! Hey, Lopek, don''t steal my head..."

    "Don''t film me, I feel sick!" another elite student who was vomiting.

    "Film him, this guy pretends to be refined. How come he wasn''t showing his knightly manners when he was stabbing the orc in the butt just now? Aim at him, film his face, let his fianc¨¦e see clearly, this guy is a maniac! He killed at least three orcs, one of which he stabbed to death in the butt with a long spear. Remember this freak... Erin, this guy has a special liking for butts, you still like me, right... Ah, help, this guy is going to stab someone in the butt with a wooden spear again!" A brother ruthlessly exposed him, angering the vomiting student who grabbed a militia''s wooden spear and chased him, shouting.

    "What an interesting kid, he still vomits after killing the enemy!" The Grand Marshal burst into laughter watching this.

    "Hahaha!" The generals also laughed heartily, as if they were transported back to their youthful days, just like these young men in front of them, enjoying jokes and playful banter, trying hard to impress girls.

    "Let me tell you the truth, actually, I''m the most handsome, of course, apart from the boss and Chris!"

    Before Lopek could finish, a flurry of mud flew over, smearing his face. Jesse kicked his face, smearing the muddy sole of his boot on Lopek''s nose, laughing uproariously, "Handsome, eh? Let''s see how long you can stay handsome!"

    In the subsequent intermittent filming, the generals began to understand how the miraculous boy Rody led the militia and companions in sneak attacks on the orc camps.

    First, careful reconnaissance by the air force, then luring magical beasts to charge into the orc camp. When the orcs were almost done fighting the magical beasts, a beautiful assistant magically enhanced everyone, and then Rody led them into the attack.

    Rody did not lead them in shouting and charging but silently, stealthily ambushing, assassinating the injured orcs, masking their actions with the roars of magical beasts.

    By the time the orcs realized the humans were there, it was too late.

    Often, the shaman and distant troll spear throwers were the first to be killed by the elites, especially the mana-consuming shamans, who were almost immediately assassinated by Rody and the beautiful assistant. With no one to command them, the leaderless orcs were quickly overwhelmed by the humans.

    The generals were surprised that most orcs seemed to chase after Rody, as if drawn by some allure.

    With the orcs outnumbered and mostly drawn away by Rody, the shamans dead early, and no one to command, the orcs were quickly slain by the elites. Subsequently, each orc chasing Rody was intercepted and killed by human warriors, and the last one to fall didn''t take more than an hour. The generals were shocked by this efficient stealth attack.

    A single human warrior indeed had difficulty killing a physically formidable orc, but when ten elite warriors attacked simultaneously, the orc had no chance to struggle.

    That''s why there were consecutive enemy kills by human elites, with zero casualties.

    As the generals watched this, their expressions suddenly became serious.

    The Grand Marshal''s body trembled slightly, as they saw another scene: the militiamen warmly welcoming the human reinforcements... the very ones who plunged a sword into Rody''s chest.

    "We''re saved! We''re saved! The Alliance hasn''t abandoned us! By the Light of God, they''ve sent reinforcements! Long live!" Maru''s excited voice nearly brought the generals to tears.

    Yes, soon, these reinforcements would turn into everyone''s nightmare...

 Chapter 110: Long Live

    The generals were solemn.

    Each one focused intently, eyes fixed on the eight human reinforcements, fists clenched.

    In the recording, the militiamen didn''t share this solemnity. They were cheering ''Long live the Human Justice Alliance'' and ''By the Light of God,'' clapping enthusiastically, and warmly welcoming the long-awaited reinforcements. Although only a few people came, they represented hope, the attention of the rear, and the human spirit of never abandoning each other in times of need.

    "Boss, we have reinforcements!" they could hear Stanley''s voice excitedly saying, "We have reinforcements!"

    "They will surely reward us. God, I didn''t change into new clothes today!" Lopek quickly bent down to wipe the mud off his boots and then took a comb to straighten his hair. Many elite students were tidying up their swords, ready to draw them in pledge of loyalty during the reward ceremony.

    The Grand Marshal and the generals watching this scene felt their hearts bleeding. They almost wanted to stand up and warn them to be careful.

    The reinforcements didn''t bring awards or rescue.

    They brought betrayal and assassination...

    "Long live the Human Justice Alliance, long live!" Stanley rushed out, raising his arms and shouting, triggering a wave of cheers, pushing Rody forward, eager to see his boss receive recognition from the rear. His actions reflected everyone''s sentiments.

    "Long live! Sergeant Rody, long live!" the militiamen cheered, thinking that soon they might address him as Staff Sergeant, Second Lieutenant, or even Lieutenant.

    A wave of applause erupted, and numerous faces glowed with excitement.

    Amid the cheers and welcoming corridor formed by the militiamen, the eight reinforcements approached Rody. The leader, clad in silver armor and wearing a full helmet, stepped forward and raised his hand for silence. Everyone quickly quieted down, holding their breath, eager to hear how this officer would praise Sergeant Rody and them.

    The generals, men of iron, almost couldn¡¯t bear to watch what was about to unfold.

    The next moment, a sword pierced through Rody''s chest...

    The most shameful, most despicable, and most heartbreaking betrayal of humanity was about to unfold, and despite deep hatred and revulsion, they were unable to stop it.

    The Grand Marshal''s fists were clenched tightly, his gaze sharp, trying to see through the silver helmet to identify the spy, as if trying to penetrate the conspiracy and see who had orchestrated it.

    The command room was deathly silent, even Chief of Staff Gonzales, who was most resistant to Felic, trembled his lips, as if to caution Rody.

    "The historical moment, I want this historical moment to be recorded! My God, I am witnessing the birth of a great moment! Everyone, come and see, this is our hero, Sergeant Rody! I can''t wait to cheer for him!" Maru''s soft commentary filled the command room with men of steel, who couldn''t help but have tears brimming in their eyes.

    When people thought the Alliance had brought them honor, awards, hope, and rescue, the reality was the exact opposite.

    The reinforcements brought a betrayal more painful than a nightmare and assassination.

    General Quentin saw his son''s excited face, unable to imagine how he would face the most severe blow in a moment. He had five sons, four of them stand tall and proud, only this youngest one had always been pampered by his mother, making Quentin uneasy. Finally, when he achieved some success, what awaited him was a fatal blow.

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    "Are you Rody?" the leading silver-armored swordsman asked seriously.

    "I am Rody, a logistic sergeant under the command of General Lot in the Ninth Squadron of the Temple Knights..." In an instant, before Rody could finish, a silver sword pierced through his chest like lightning. The generals could clearly see the pain, shock, surprise, confusion, and the sadness that emerged on Rody''s face in a flash!

    Yes, that was sadness.

    Every general, including the Grand Marshal, could feel something that made their souls cry.

    In Rody''s face as he fell, they saw a faint smile. That was like the last fragrance of a flower before it withered; like the last glow of the sunset before it fell... Although it was indeed a smile, the generals could see and feel that it was a laugh sadder than crying, more painful than loud weeping.

    Perhaps a young man as wise as Rody might have known early on that he was destined to be a sacrifice of betrayal.

    But he had no chance to resist, it was his fate.

    He was smiling at his fate and the betrayal of humanity...

    Blood splattered in the air, a shocking crimson, blossoming into blood flowers in the sky. In that moment, not only Rody''s heart, not only the hearts of the militiamen and elite students, but even the generals in the command room felt as if their hearts were pierced by a sword, experiencing indescribable pain!

    Hearts shattered!

    Everyone could clearly see the expressions on each person''s face, the shock and disbelief, the despair and fear, reflected on every face.

    All the militiamen had raised their hands, originally prepared to cheer and applaud.

    But after that one sword thrust, they could only stare dumbfounded, at a loss. In an instant, they were all stupefied!

    "By the order of the Human Justice Alliance, Logistic Sergeant Rody is charged with war crimes, desertion, and treason, and is to be immediately executed by military law. At the same time, it is announced that we will take over the logistics..." Before the silver-armored swordsman could finish, Stanley furiously lunged at him, his eyes bloodshot as he roared, "Fuck you, you son of a bitch!"

    "Drop your weapons now, and you can be pardoned; otherwise, you all will face military trial!" The silver-armored swordsman, well-prepared, released a burst of fighting energy and sent Stanley flying back, brandishing his sword and shouting sternly.

    "Kill them!" Rody''s handsome assistant darted out, screaming in a high pitch amidst everyone''s panic, "Avenge Rody!"

    "Kill..." The elite students regained their senses. Everyone, too hurried to draw their weapons, leaped forward.

    The generals felt darkness before their eyes as the recording stopped.

    Clearly, Maru had also joined the fight, abandoning the filming.

    The next scene appeared only a few seconds later, but the generals knew it was after the battle had ended. The dreadful scene they saw made everyone''s eyes blaze with anger. All the elite students stood bloodied. They were wounded all over, receiving first aid from the militiamen. Among them, a few had even lost arms.

    The militiamen wept bitterly, the mercenaries sobbed loudly, but the elite students stood firm, each with tears streaming down their faces.

    But none of them wailed or hung their heads in defeat.

    In their midst, the handsome assistant helped Rody sit up. He was not dead yet; he was still smiling.

    "It''s okay, everyone, don''t cry... As long as I''m alive, I''ll lead everyone out of the forest... cough... as long as I''m alive..." Rody''s face was pale, his breath weak, but the light in his eyes was still there, a resilient life force flickering in the depths.

    "What did we do wrong? You son of a bitch, what did we do wrong?" Stanley''s tearful roar questioned the heavens.

    This question brought tears to the generals'' eyes.

    As old soldiers, they could empathize with Stanley''s feelings more than anyone. They understood the heartache of such betrayal! The generals wept, unable to hold back their tears. Even the strong-willed General Quentin shed tears.

    Two young generals began to sob, releasing the bitterness in their hearts.

    The Grand Marshal didn''t cry, not a single tear fell, but the corners of his lips were stained with blood from biting down so hard on his teeth. Nothing was more painful or shameful than witnessing betrayal and assassination with his own eyes. If he could have prevented it, he would have torn those conspirators'' spies to pieces, but now, all he could do was sit in the command room, witnessing the event unfold.

    "Why? Why do our knights in the rear, who watch us fight desperately, treat us this way?" Jesse cried out in agony.

    "Not a single scar from an orc axe on my body, yet it was humans who cut off my arm! Mother, how I wish it was an orc berserker who did it!" Kaili knelt on the ground, extending his remaining right hand, shouting to the heavens, "You sent me to the battlefield, telling me that dying in battle would be your honor, your pride! You said that sacrificing for humanity was glorious, but look, mother... why? Why?"

    "My son." General Quentin extended his hand, wanting to stroke Kaili''s head, to make up for the many years of missing fatherhood.

    Only now did he realize that his youngest son, Kaili, far exceeded his expectations.

    He understood his son''s cries, his son''s pain... The assassin''s sword didn''t just pierce Rody''s body; it also pierced his son''s heart, and the heart of this old soldier.

    He, as a father, empathized deeply.

    Kaili lost his left hand, and it didn''t pain him, but seeing his son''s tears, his heart clenched and anger boiled within him.

    "No matter whether anyone sees this record in the future, I must say, we are not deserters, not war criminals, we didn¡¯t betray; we are heroes of humanity. Here, everyone is!" Rody, gasping for breath and coughing blood, said, "Whether it''s the six hundred militiamen, the mercenaries led by Captain Maru, the griffin knights who followed us, or the bloodthirsty cavalry elite students intent on killing the enemy, we are all humanity''s heroes, recognized or not... I am Logistic Sergeant Rody, and I want to say to all who see this record in the future, as long as I have life, as long as I can live, then I will lead them to victory, one after another! We are the rising sun of the East, nothing in this world can stop us, this is our era..."

    "This is our era!" everyone shouted in unison, their voices filled with sorrow.

    "Long live Rody!" Chris stood up, raised his fist, and screamed, tears streaming down his face.

    "Long live..."

    The shouts came not only from the militiamen and elite students in the recording but also from the generals in the command room, the first to roar furiously was the Grand Marshal, who had been gritting his teeth in endurance.

 Chapter 111: First Love

    In the Evil Lands, Rody and Chris lay hidden in a thicket of thorns two kilometers away from an orc encampment, stealthily observing the enemy situation. There were several large trees nearby, but they did not climb them, as the orc shamans had cast several Eye of Surveillance spells above. Normally, scouts would climb to high vantage points for better views, but not even the smartest shaman could outwit the highly intelligent and suspicious Rody and Chris.

    Rody had psychic sensing abilities, easily detecting the magical traps in the trees. Chris, too, seemed to have a strong sense of perception, seamlessly cooperating with Rody in their movements, never once falling into the orc shamans¡¯ magical traps.

    "Hey, look over there, there''s a beautiful woman!" Chris suddenly pointed at one of the orc tents, using magic to transmit his voice to Rody.

    "This is¡­" At first, Rody thought she was a human, but upon closer inspection, he realized she was anything but. The woman was exceptionally tall and muscular, her body exhibiting a strong, athletic build quite unlike that of a human. Her attire was bold; she wore only two leather belts across her chest, barely containing her ample bosom, and a short leather skirt that did little to cover her muscular thighs and long calves. What caught Rody''s attention was the lion''s tail trailing behind her, along with her flame-like hair, almost making him exclaim in surprise.

    "She''s an orc, probably the daughter of the Lionheart King," Chris transmitted magically. "Her presence here is no simple matter."

    "Good heavens!" Rody noticed two female orc berserkers dressed similarly but with longer, sharper tusks, carrying a long-handled axe five times wider than a regular orc''s axe. The fiery-haired woman handled it with ease, showcasing her terrifying strength. The blood-flower patterns on the giant axe were intimidating, and Rody realized she was a Bloodflower Axemaiden of the lion tribe, possessing strength equivalent to a human Sword Emperor. It was astonishing to see such a young female orc reach such heights.

    "I bet she¡¯s here for your pretty face!" Chris¡¯s words carried a hint of sourness.

    "Who''s the pretty face? You''re the pretty face!" Rody retorted angrily. If anyone was fair, it was Chris, an individual with elven blood, daring to call him pretty.

    "Shush!" Chris noticed the Bloodflower Axemaiden seemed to sense something and looked their way. He quickly pressed Rody down to hide.

    "Who''s there?" The Bloodflower Axemaiden, alert and swift, darted over, but all she saw was a thicket of thorns. Chris''s natural magic provided excellent camouflage in the forest, making it difficult for anyone to detect them, unless they were a flower sprite with a spiritual connection to the trees. The Axemaiden was suspicious of the presence of human scouts nearby but couldn''t pinpoint their location despite scrutinizing her surroundings.

    Rody and Chris lay flat on the ground, concealing their presence by drawing their breaths into their storage space, holding their breath in silence.

    They never expected to encounter such a keenly perceptive female beastman, who, with just a few extra glances, could detect their presence and accurately determine their direction.

    ¡°I know who you are, human scouts, you must be under Rody¡¯s command, right? Maybe, you are Rody himself!¡± The Bloodflower Axe Woman, Martina, who could speak fluent Common Human Language, said, ¡°I am the daughter of the Lionheart King, Martina, which in your human terms means a Female War Goddess! I am delighted to meet you today, the elite among humans, the leader among elites. Sergeant Rody, why not come out and greet me?¡±

    Rody thought, if you would throw away that giant Bloodflower Axe in your hand and tie yourself up, maybe I would come out.

    But for now, no way.

    ¡°You humans are all cowards!¡± Martina, failing to find Rody and Chris, mocked angrily.

    ¡°¡­¡± Rody and Chris exchanged a stealthy glance. Such mockery was child¡¯s play to them; even if it could provoke the dead to rise from their coffins, it was useless against them.

    ¡°You humans, all impotent, incompetent men!¡± Martina''s taunt might work on someone else.

    ¡°¡­¡± Chris winked at Rody, secretly snickering. Rody, infuriated, wanted to strangle him, scaring Chris into blinking rapidly as a sign of surrender.

    Two female beastman berserkers rushed over and, under Martina''s command, chopped down several large trees.

    In the thunderous collapse, the giant trees shook the earth.

    Rody and Chris dared not move. They would dare to ambush a Shaman Warlord because they were mages¡¯ nemesis. But facing a violent melee type like the Bloodflower Axe Woman, they preferred to avoid confrontation. Unlike ordinary people who would rather face a Bloodflower Axe Woman than a Shaman Warlord, as the latter were mostly more powerful, Rody and Chris would rather fight a Shaman Warlord.

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    If they couldn¡¯t beat a Shaman Warlord, they could flee, but facing a Bloodflower Axe Woman and losing would be dangerous.

    Besides, this Martina was obviously not a typical Bloodflower Axe Woman.

    ¡°The cunning humans, if I catch you, I will tear you to pieces!¡± Martina knew there were human scouts nearby, but after the trees fell, she lost her basic sensing ability. In anger, she picked up her oversized Bloodflower Axe and swung it a few times at suspicious places.

    For Rody, those swings were as catastrophic as the sky falling and the earth splitting.

    Because the axe''s force was cleaving near him, it seemed Martina¡¯s sensing was indeed accurate.

    After nightfall, only when they were sure that Martina had given up searching did Rody and Chris return with lingering fear. Both were covered in mud and dust, looking disheveled. After making several rounds and sending out mantises and rabbits to scout the area to ensure safety, they sneaked back to the elite campsite. That very night, they led all the elites away from this dangerous place.

    Rody would rather fight ten Bloodflower Axe Beasts without psychic sensing than face a woman like Martina with such acute senses. With her around, there was no chance of a surprise attack. And there was always the worry of her unexpectedly tracking them down.

    While leading the retreat, Rody suddenly thought of the lovely Jill. If she were there, he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about being ambushed, and they wouldn''t accidentally walk into an ambush set by the beastmen. Having her would make things much easier.

    ¡°What are you thinking about? Are you thinking about Martina with her... generous assets?¡± Chris asked with a grin.

    ¡°Shes all yours!¡± Rody said generously.

    ¡°I do like women with generous assets, but not so much if they''re beastwomen, especially not the rough ones,¡± Chris sighed slightly. ¡°I miss my Betsy, with her not-so-small assets and her gentle nature! I long for her rose-dew sweet lips; it¡¯s been so long since I¡¯ve kissed her¡­¡±

    ¡°So, you¡¯re not gay, huh?¡± Rody couldn''t stand Chris¡¯s infatuation and couldn''t help but tease him.

    ¡°Rody, that''s jealousy! Even though you won¡¯t admit it!¡± Chris burst into laughter.

    ¡°I can¡¯t be bothered with you!¡± Rody turned and walked away.

    ¡°Hey, why not tell us about your first love, Sergeant Rody. You don¡¯t have one, do you?¡± Chris¡¯s question piqued the curiosity of Stanley and others, all wondering what kind of girl Rody would like.

    ¡°I¡¯ve had many lovers, I¡¯ve forgotten my first love long ago!¡± Rody spread his hands, indicating that he was an old hand at love, unknown to everyone.

    ¡°Sure, pure little virgin, keep bragging!¡± Chris didn¡¯t believe him at all.

    ¡°Boss, you¡¯re too pitiful!¡± Stanley said with infinite sympathy. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, once we¡¯re out of the Evil Forest, we¡¯ll find you the best girl and settle this life event for you! By the way, boss, you really don¡¯t have a first love? I do! Why wouldn¡¯t you? What are you doubting? I really had a first love! As a kid, I really liked a little girl in the neighbor¡¯s house. I even secretly took candies from home to give to her, thinking I¡¯d marry her when I grew up.¡±

    ¡°And then?¡± Everyone was interested.

    ¡°She got married, at thirteen, to a sixty-three-year-old count,¡± Stanley said sadly, shaking his head. ¡°Before I came to the Iron Blood Knight Academy, I saw her sitting in the count''s luxurious carriage, accompanying that old man who indulged in wine and women, looking content.¡±

    ¡°Lance Corporal Stanley, you''re a hero, you know? Heroes are meant for princesses. Only the most beautiful princesses are worthy of you!¡± Rody gave him a slap on the back.

    "Thank you for comforting me, boss. I dare not dream of being the most beautiful princess, as long as I''m not the ugliest princess, I''m over the moon!" Stanley''s eyes gleamed with newfound optimism as he burst into hearty laughter.

    "A princess''s maid wouldn''t marry you either!" Jesse mercilessly teased him.

    "That''s not bad either!" Stanley was quite content.

    "I don''t want to marry a princess, I want to marry a queen!" Lopek declared, causing everyone to stare at him in surprise. Lopek sneered, "What''s so fun about a princess? Think about it, having a nation''s queen at your beck and call, that''s what makes a real man!"

    "You''re a real pervert!" Chris immediately labeled him as such, and the others agreed with him.

    "Speaking of first love, I, I like, I actually really liked a maid." General Quentin''s son, Kerry, said with a hint of embarrassment.

    "Don''t tell me she''s your personal maid, and it''s a case of love growing over time? Right, has she been in your bed?" Jesse asked curiously, voicing what all the men were thinking.

    "No, I''ve only watched her from afar." Kerry''s response was disappointing.

    "Congratulations, another lovesick fool!" Chris clapped and laughed, asking, "Who''s the girl you like? A saintess from the temple? A maid of the gods?"

    "No, how could I dare to defile a saintess! No, it''s not her!" Kerry shook his head vehemently, saying, "She''s my cousin, a bold female swordsman. I''ve only seen her a few times and never talked to her. Later, she was transferred to the temple to serve in the prayer guard squad of the saintess as a squad leader, and I''ve never seen her since. That''s all in the past, I''ve forgotten her over the years. It just came to mind when everyone brought it up."

    "So, she''s a maid of the saintess!" Chris chuckled.

    "Corporal Kerry, I hereby bestow this female swordsman to you!" Rody slapped Kerry''s shoulder with an air of grandeur, almost resembling the Pope.

    "Ah? Thank you, boss!" Kerry laughed heartily, saying, "Though I haven''t got her, with your blessing, boss, I''m already satisfied. After all, in everyone''s eyes, and in my heart, she belongs to me!"

    "Boss Rody, bestow the saintess to me!" The only person who dared to say this was the reckless Lopek.

    "Corporal Stanley, this guy dares to snatch my reserved girl, beat him up!" Rody waved his hand, and everyone immediately rolled up their sleeves to gang up on Lopek, all laughing heartily. After a while, Lopek emerged with a bruised face and said, "Boss, to make up for the physical and emotional trauma I''ve endured, you must bestow a girl with a chest as big as a cow''s, otherwise, I''ll turn against you!"

    "No problem, I''ll bestow a queen with an even bigger chest than a cow''s!" Rody''s demeanor was almost as majestic as the God of Light.

    "Wow, really? Long live Sergeant Rody!" Lopek was overjoyed, fervently imagining what a queen with a chest bigger than a cow''s would look like, almost drooling in the process.

    After some laughter and jokes, the group noticed the eastern sky growing lighter and the drizzling rain stopping. They quickly found a hidden spot to set up camp and rest.

    At this time, it was common for the orcs'' dragons to fly around searching.

    The low, green tents were set up in the bushes, covered with a layer of green plants for camouflage, so well-disguised that even birds couldn''t tell them apart. The men settled inside comfortably: some looked at nude picture books, some sneaked sips of wine, and some chewed on dry bread. The diligent ones meditated, while the lazier ones slept soundly. They were all quite accustomed to these days of fleeing in the Evil Forest.

    If a day passed without dragons or giant bats flying overhead, they would actually miss them.

    "Hey, you haven''t told me about your first love yet!" Chris barged in just as Rody was taking off his wet coat. Chris always had free access to Rody''s tent.

    "I''m tired, I''ll talk about my first love after I wake up!" Rody yawned, too lazy to bother with this guy more gossipy than a woman.

    "You''re in such a hurry to sleep, are you dreaming of Martina with the big... you know?" Chris''s imagination was beyond ordinary, linking sleep with something completely unrelated, yet he somehow made the connection. Rody paused for three seconds, then nodded vigorously, saying, "You just reminded me, I can''t miss this opportunity with such a great-chested woman, even though she''s a female orc, a savage with a bloody axe. But in my dreams, I believe she''ll be very tame!"

    "You''re kidding!" Chris snorted, "If you''re dreaming, it''s definitely about meeting your first love from Felick!"

    "It''s been a long time since I''ve dreamt about the female boss," Rody suddenly murmured to himself.

    "Who''s the female boss?" Chris perked up.

    "You guess?" Rody said this to pique his curiosity. Now that he had achieved his goal, he stopped talking, turned over, and went to sleep, leaving Chris frustrated.

 Chapter 112: With You by My Side

    Rody was unaware that, far behind the lines at the Saint Song Fortress, soldiers were tearfully watching his recordings. Thousands upon thousands of soldiers were chanting his name, and an equal number of girls were declaring their intention to marry him, the logistics sergeant.

    The number of young people enlisting in the army increased. They lined up to register their names, swearing to go to the battlefield and strike terror in the orcs just like Rody and his elite troops.

    As for the soldiers already enlisted, thousands formed suicide squads, petitioning their generals for permission to fight, to rescue Sergeant Rody. Particularly, the two hundred elite trainees who trained with Rody quickly became the spearhead troops among students from various countries, ready to head to the front lines for a decisive battle with the orcs. Despite being hindered by the temple and its followers, these trainees protested daily, their emotions running high.

    All of this was, of course, tacitly permitted and covertly supported by the Grand Marshal and various generals.

    In the nineteen countries represented by the elite students fighting in the Land of Evil, Rody''s recordings were broadcast, causing a sensation among the public. The mothers of these elite students were quickly summoned by the kings, bestowed the title of honorary nobility, and revered as heroes'' mothers.

    "Let us die in battle!"

    "Let us perish under the orcs'' war axes! We wish to die like heroes!"

    "We prefer to dye the Land of Evil with our blood, not our tears."

    "We are the rising sun of the East, unstoppable in this world, this is our era¡­"

    Countless people used the words spoken by Rody and Chris as slogans, chanting them passionately in protests to express their determination. This included not only soldiers but also ordinary citizens, and even frail girls. They protested day after day, pleading with the temple for permission to fight. No one cared about celebrating victories or holidays, nor about holy water and prayers.

    In their hearts, heroes were fighting bloodily at the front, while they tearfully watched from behind.

    Celebrating victory at such a time would be a disgrace.

    Just as people in the rear were shouting "Long live the hero, long live Rody," Rody, along with Chris and others, were running raggedly through the Evil Forest. The orc army, spurred by the human alliance''s ceasefire, deployed in full force, scouring the area for them. Hundreds of orc berserkers and shaman wizards rode dragons daily through the Evil Forest, and at night, they were replaced by Green Demon Guards, bat squadrons, and elite wolf riders in the search.

    They were almost turning every inch of the Evil Forest upside down to find Rody.

    Even if Rody couldn''t be captured immediately, they intended to force him further north, deeper into the Evil Forest, to prevent him from joining forces with human powerhouses.

    Blood-axe savages and Shaman Kings, besides preventing human powerhouses from entering the Land of Evil, had also infiltrated orc squads, preparing to ambush Rody and his companions during the search. This wasn''t the worst of it. One night, Rody and Chris discovered that a demonic army had appeared, quickly joining forces with the orc army. They intended not only to hunt Rody but also to launch surprise attacks on the human alliance.

    Rody dared not immediately report to the rear, as doing so would instantly reveal his location.

    "Boss, Jesse has spotted a large number of human-faced spiders to the west." Stanley, exhausted from the endless fleeing, cursed the demonic and beast tribes, hoping they would all be devoured by higher-order magical beasts.

    "The human-faced spiders are soldiers of the demonic tribe." Chris was alarmed, "We need to be cautious, the demons are ten times better at tracking than the orcs."

    "Chris, get ready to enchant with fire magic," Rody pondered briefly and then nodded, "We can''t retreat eastward due to the orc army, and going south is impossible. Our only options are west and north. If enemies appear in the west, it likely means there''s an ambush to the north. If we break through the west, it will catch the enemy off guard, but we must be quick as they surely have some form of communication. Stanley, Lopek, and Jesse, have everyone take out all the wine and oil captured from the orc camps. Before attacking, douse the human-faced spiders with these, then attack with fire-enchanted weapons for better effect."

    "Be careful of their webs," Kerry warned, "I read in my father''s study that human-faced spiders are excellent at climbing, web-making, and poisoning."

    "Start with long-range attacks," Rody smiled, "I''ll lure them riding the griffin, then you throw fire spears. Most importantly, timely throw the wine and oil, then cast fireball spells. Human-faced spiders aren''t that strong; though they are numerous, we can defeat them!"

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    The group was seasoned in battle, skilled in both ambush and encounter tactics, and had long since developed a tacit understanding.

    Rody repeatedly emphasized tactical coordination mainly because they faced demons this time, not the usual orcs and magical beasts. Humans have an innate fear of demons due to the temple''s propaganda, making demons seem more mysterious, terrifying, evil, and powerful, only suppressible by gods. Thus, Rody aimed to boost morale before the fight.

    They all lay in ambush, staring at the hills swarming with human-faced spiders, each larger than two horses side by side, causing their scalps to tingle.

    The human-faced spiders didn¡¯t actually have human faces; their backs had peculiar patterns resembling crying human faces, hence the name. In the demonic tribe, these spiders are known as Bloodthirsty Spiders, and their queen is called the Nest Blood Mother. Bloodthirsty Spiders typically live in groups, born from a single mother. Over ninety percent are male, and the few female spiders leave the group upon maturity to lay eggs and form new groups.

    There are also a few females, rendered infertile by the Nest Blood Mother, who care for the young, but they are rare.

    Faced with over a thousand human-faced spiders, not just Stanley and Jesse, but even Rody felt apprehensive.

    "Everyone watch, I''ll demonstrate how to kill these brainless creatures." Rody knew it was time to set an example. If he succeeded, it would greatly boost everyone''s confidence. Chris nudged Malu, signaling him to record Rody''s actions with a memory crystal captured from the orcs. This would be evidence of Rody''s fight against the demons, proof of his innocence and bravery if anyone later accused him of betrayal.

    Rody wanted to kill the Nest Blood Mother, but even circling in the air on the griffin, he couldn''t find the queen of the human-faced spiders.

    Killing the spider queen would surely cause the human-faced spiders to disperse.

    However, the cunning Nest Blood Mother was obviously hiding underground, knowing how to protect herself.

    Seizing the opportunity before the human-faced spiders noticed him, Rody dove from the sky on a griffin, like a fallen angel. At the moment he nearly crashed to the ground, Rody shot out vines from his hand, hooking onto a tree trunk to swing his body up. As he and the griffin ascended, he left a long trail of fire behind. Simultaneously, Rody released two mantises, sending them flying east and west to disturb the enemy.

    The human-faced spiders, aside from relying on their vision, also used the fine hairs on their legs to sense changes in the air and detect enemies.

    They were extremely sensitive to changes in the air, easily detecting enemies from afar. However, their only weakness was fire; if it burned their sensory hairs, they became as blind as a bat. Rody, who had studied Dean Buck''s magic notes, knew that human-faced spiders were vulnerable to fire, among the methods to defeat dozens of common demonic species noted there.

    As expected, the fire ignited by the oil Rody scattered did not harm them, but it threw the human-faced spiders into chaos. They screeched and scurried aimlessly, creating utter disarray among their ranks.

    A dark red human-faced spider appeared, ten times larger than the others, with purple patterns all over its body. It opened its huge mouth and exhaled a long white breath, extinguishing the fiery oil Rody had scattered. The startled griffin, mid-flight, was suddenly caught in a purple-black web that appeared in the sky, spun by the dark red spider, causing it to crash to the ground.

    No sooner had the griffin landed than several human-faced spiders pounced on it, tearing it to pieces in an instant.

    "Goodness, you can become invisible!" Rody threw a spore gourd, which releases a cloud of spores when ripe, at the Nest Blood Mother, enveloping it in a dense cloud. This was an effective counter to invisibility spells. Without magic sand to reveal the invisible in the Evil Forest, Rody luckily found this spore gourd as a substitute.

    "Now''s our chance, attack!" Chris, seeing Rody''s successful sneak attack, leapt up to give orders.

    "Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh..." Fifty short spears were lit and thrown by his comrades, all within two seconds. After five volleys of spear rain, Stanley and the others paused, conserving energy for more fighting. Meanwhile, the comrades with bladders of wine and oil, captured from orc camps, hurled them at the human-faced spiders during the charge. Several elite students capable of casting small fireballs had already conjured up their magic, following suit.

    The mercenaries and griffin cavalry, lacking their precision and speed, managed only to throw torches.

    The attack with fire spears left the human-faced spiders in disarray.

    They wouldn''t have cared much for a dense rain of arrows, but the thick fire spears, even when stuck in their bodies, didn''t extinguish easily. The subsequent wine and oil thrown into the air, igniting with the small fireballs, left the human-faced spiders unable to sense their enemies amidst the sparks. Their blurred vision made them aware of a powerful assault but unable to pinpoint its location.

    Their last resort was the magical guidance from their queen, which could command all human-faced spiders in battle.

    However, their queen was under attack and couldn''t direct them while defending herself.

    In utter chaos, the human-faced spiders fled, leaving the fire behind. Desperate to escape, some even attacked each other. Stanley and the others, torch in one hand and a sharp weapon in the other, hacked away furiously.

    Rody dodged the Nest Blood Mother''s venom spray and freezing magic, quickly casting spells like ''Weaken'', ''Damage'', and ''Blind''.

    Once the Nest Blood Mother was hit with ''Exhaustion'', ''Aging'', and ''Stiffness'', Rody released the dark slave, an old goblin wizard, and smashed a firebomb on it. The Nest Blood Mother, in agony, reared up its head to flee quickly. But Rody, now aware of his strength relative to his foe, unhesitatingly smashed a golden Spirit Hammer on its head.

    Instantly, the Nest Blood Mother''s head burst open, its long fangs and eyes flying out.

    Although the Nest Blood Mother didn¡¯t immediately fall and die, Rody knew it couldn''t survive.

    Once the Nest Blood Mother was gravely injured, all the human-faced spiders lost control, panicking and scattering in disarray. Almost simultaneously with the elite students charging, the human-faced spiders became utterly disorganized. Stanley and the others, besides grouping together to slay a few stray spiders, could only watch in astonishment as countless human-faced spiders fled in all directions.

    If it had come to a direct, hard-fought battle between humans and spiders, it was hard to say who would have emerged victorious.

    After Rody quickly dispatched the Nest Blood Mother, the battle came to an end.

    Dozens, nearly a hundred human-faced spiders lay dismembered and dying on the ground, many still squealing pitifully. Far away, the Nest Blood Mother, still alive, was rolling around in frenzy, spewing black-green blood. Rody carefully avoided the venom on the ground and walked back with a sunny smile, saying, "We''ve won, comrades, cheer!"

    The group erupted in cheers, having shifted from worry to victory in just a few minutes.

    "Long live the boss!" Stanley lifted Rody onto his shoulders, leading the cheers for their most revered leader.

    The people''s spirits were once again bolstered, further solidifying their belief that following Rody, their boss, would lead them to continuous victories. No matter if the enemy was the dim-witted orcs or the evil and terrifying demons, there was no need for fear.

    He might not be the mighty war god worshipped by the world, but he was the military god who led everyone here to victory.

    "That was too dangerous, Sergeant. Sometimes you shouldn''t try to be a hero!" Chris, however, was dissatisfied with Rody, expressing his complaint only after the victory when no one else was listening. Rody laughed heartily, putting an arm around Chris''s shoulder, saying, "With you by my side, I can confidently do anything! Chris, don''t complain, half the credit for this goes to you!"

    "Let go of me!" Chris gently pulled away, his face awkwardly saying, "Don''t let people think we''re gay!"

    Rody was speechless; this guy always sneaked into his tent, so why was he afraid of misunderstandings now?

 Chapter 113: We Also Want to Be a Hero

    One month later, news about Rody continuously returned to the rear. The troops at Saint Song Fortress learned that Logistics Sergeant Rody not only avoided capture by orcs and demons but also kept creating miracles.

    The Grand Marshal, with the entire army ready and morale high, ordered a strike against the orcs for a decisive battle. Despite warnings from the church emissaries, the Grand Marshal, citing ''A Hundred-Year Holy War, Resisting Invasion'', decided to engage in a decisive battle with the orc army. This move not only gained the support of nineteen countries but also the commitment of all soldiers. Selected from recommendations of over eighty countries, 500,000 elite troops, led by fifty generals and under the direct command of the Grand Alliance Marshal, Ferdinand, engaged in a final battle with the orcs at the site of the Fifth Station ruins.

    With advantages in numbers, equipment, morale, and command, the human alliance defeated the orc army of 170,000 and 50,000 demons.

    This battle was a bloodshed that lasted nine days and eight nights.

    The human alliance pushed the front line forward by 259 kilometers. General Quentin''s Iron Blood Knight Order and the elite student spearhead squad advanced to the location where Rody''s team had previously annihilated an orc patrol.

    Over 100,000 orcs died, and the battered orc remnants, led by the eighth Marshal under the Lionheart Throne, Leon Axeking, retreated. But the Blood-Axe savages and Shaman Kings, even after the end of the war, still refused to give up pursuing and hunting Rody''s squad deep in the Land of Evil. Over 40,000 demons perished, and the remaining few, under the command of the demon general Ambadaruye, fled into the Evil Forest, swearing to kill Rody, the human alliance''s rescue target, and their wondrous child.

    The Grand Alliance achieved a great victory, though at the cost of over 200,000 soldiers'' lives. For the first time in the history of warfare between humans and beast tribes, the humans emerged entirely victorious, decisively defeating the combined forces of orcs and demons on the battlefield.

    The splendid victory of mankind made all the kings ecstatic. The Grand Marshal gained countless honorary titles overnight: Iron Blood Marshal, Invincible Marshal, Justice Iron Fist, etc.

    Even the great Pope planned a personal audience with Marshal Ferdinand, intending to bestow upon him the title of ''Holy Warrior''. Despite all these honors, the Grand Marshal was not very moved. He often sat silently, contemplating the magical map. In his mind, winning this victory was natural. His side fought with high spirits, vowing to fight to the death, with all the elites participating, national support, kings delegating authority, soldiers committing themselves, and vastly outnumbering the combined forces of orcs and demons.

    Another factor was that the orcs had traveled a long distance through the Land of Evil to engage in this distant battle. Their soldiers were fatigued and scattered, not at all prepared for a major confrontation. Many of their stronger warriors were still in pursuit of Sergeant Rody, but the war had already erupted.

    They and the demons thought the Grand Marshal would obey the divine orders, cease fire, and sign a treaty.

    However, the human alliance''s spearhead vanguard secretly moved first, and the entire army surged forward only when the war began. By the time the awakening orcs and demons realized the human surprise attack, it was already too late.

    Another reason that made the Grand Marshal resolutely defy the divine orders and rebel was this:

    Rody, from behind the orc lines, constantly conveyed a message: the orcs were not ready and lacked the strength for a decisive battle.

    Consider this: even Rody''s elite squad could not be easily tracked down, demonstrating the orc army''s unfamiliarity and discomfort with the Evil Forest, as well as their lack of numbers and strong warriors. The Hundred-Year Holy War had caught the orcs and demons unprepared. Their negotiations with the divine about troop withdrawals and treaties lacked sincerity and were probably meant only to buy time.

    So, when Rody said, ''We are right beside you, everywhere. Want to capture us? Come on, I¡¯d love to play this game with you!'', the Grand Marshal understood what Rody was trying to tell him.

    Though it was just an implication, the Grand Marshal, who had experienced many battles, could discern the intelligence in Rody''s words. He understood that Rody was indicating the severe shortage of orc forces; they couldn''t even handle a small squad, and it was as easy as playing a game.

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    Moreover, Rody had pointed out several times that only tens of thousands of orcs were surrounding them, and the attack on the Fifth Station''s Holy Shield Camp was also by ten thousand orcs. While these might be easily overlooked by ordinary people, to a battle-hardened Grand Marshal, almost every word carried intelligence. He knew that Rody wouldn¡¯t report pointless or useless information to the rear.

    Rody and his squad, like an eye, had insight into the military strength of the orcs and demons.

    They wore down the orc patrol and scout teams. The orcs, having lost many wolf riders and scouts and always wanting to eliminate or capture Rody, the military genius stabbing them in the back, eventually fell under the Grand Marshal''s iron hooves without success.

    Although humans achieved a great victory and the war was nearing its end, they couldn''t possibly launch an expedition deep into the Evil Forest. Long-distance combat in the forest had a far greater impact on humans, who couldn''t operate without logistical supplies, compared to the orcs and demons who didn''t need them. Although the human alliance still had tens of thousands of elite troops, they were the precious forces of various nations. Once the threat of orc and demon invasion was reduced, the kings would be reluctant to send soldiers into the Land of Evil for an expedition. After the great war, the soldiers were exhausted, wounded soldiers needed treatment, and various issues related to the casualties were laid out before Grand Marshal Ferdinand. However, his only concern was how to rescue Rody and his elite squad.

    Because of the leaked intelligence and the great defeat of the orcs, all the orc elites would inevitably come out in full force to kill or capture Rody and his squad.

    The demons also harbored intentions to eliminate Rody, and even the divine in the heavens might have secret plans to erase him.

    The divine would not allow humans to break free and become independent, just as the demons would not easily let the orcs break away and become autonomous. The orcs gaining a military genius like Rody would be akin to a tiger growing wings, something the demons absolutely did not want to see. Similarly, the divine did not want Rody to return alive to human territories and become a second Marshal Ferdinand, or even a military god surpassing him, leading humans on an expedition against the orcs...

    How to rescue Rody and, once rescued, how to keep him safe were the most troubling issues for the Grand Marshal at the moment.

    In contrast, Rody, far away at a distance of two thousand kilometers, was having a cheerful conversation with Chris and others.

    They were already aware of the human victory.

    Even as soon as the human forces directly defeated the orc army, the orc elites turned around to hunt him down, as ordered by the Lionheart King, with the orcs vowing to capture Rody at all costs.

    Now, flying dragons and giant bats passing overhead would use magic to transmit various offers.

    If Rody surrendered, the orcs would appoint him as a lord and king, and the Lionheart King would confer upon him the title of the ninth Marshal, equal in status to the eight Axe Kings of immense power.

    "Comrades, I know you all want to go back, but what do I want to say?" Rody clapped his hands and said, "If you continue to follow me, you''ll never be able to return. To tell you the truth, I¡¯ve offended a very terrifying power, or maybe a group, whose strength is unimaginably vast among humans. I cannot contend with them. They will never let me live, not ever. Although there are some powerful beings opposed to this group, working to thwart their schemes, they can''t show themselves openly or guarantee my safety at all times. So, you all must leave, especially at this dangerous moment!"

    "Do you know why Rody can¡¯t use magic or battle aura? As a child, he was known as the genius of Koro." Chris nodded and said, "When he was one year old, he was fed the Forbidden Magic-Martial."

    "The Forbidden Magic-Martial?" The group gasped in shock.

    "In our historical countries like Mestudanian and Felick, all infants who might be a hope for the nation are poisoned with the Forbidden Magic-Martial, though the world does not know this," Chris spoke softly. "That''s what happened to Rody and me. And many others, born with high talents, were ruined by them."

    "Who did it? Could it be..." Jesse didn¡¯t finish his sentence, but everyone could guess, turning pale with fear.

    "So, dear comrades, we have come this far, to this moment," Rody took a deep breath and said, "It''s time for us to part ways. If you go back now, you will become heroes of the world, sons-in-law to kings, knights and generals celebrated in history."

    "I am like Rody, our paths are different from yours," Chris said with a slight smile. "But I am glad to have walked this journey with you all."

    "Boss, are you thinking of abandoning us?" Stanley jumped out and yelled, "What nonsense are you talking about? You''re so smart, how can you say something so stupid? When did we ever say we wanted to leave? No, on the contrary, we want to follow you, no matter where you go, to the ends of the earth! Didn''t you promise to always lead us to victory after victory, have you forgotten that?"

    "No matter what enemy, we can trample them underfoot!" Lopek spoke with conviction, unlike his usual brash self.

    "Boss, do you know what I want to say to you and Chris? I''ve kept these words in my heart and never spoken them out loud!" Kerry, standing out with his one arm, said, "I am a genius, I truly believe I am a genius! But, there are many kinds of geniuses, like me and like you! You are the genius among geniuses, understand? Geniuses like us should follow behind you, because only you can make us all into real geniuses!"

    "Kerry, if you keep following me, next time it might not just be your left arm that¡¯s broken," Rody said sternly, staring at him.

    "I''m happy because I lost an arm to follow you," Kerry replied, looking back intently at Rody, suddenly smiling, "Boss, you owe me an arm! You have to compensate me with more honors!"

    "I think no one here would disagree with what I''m saying. In a word, we follow you, no matter where you go!" Jesse''s statement was simple.

    "Right... we follow you!" Not just the hundred plus elite students, but also the mercenaries and griffin cavalry.

    "Rody, listen to me," Big-bearded Malu said with tears streaming down his face, "I''ve already died once, I have no further desires in life. I am extremely honored to have met a young hero like you. Maybe you''re worried about hurting us, and you don¡¯t understand that we are anxious at heart, unable to follow you. How many heroic deeds can one person accomplish in a lifetime? We mercenaries know best, spending our days drinking boringly, venting with women, then dying unknown at the jaws of a monster, on some road, in some grove, on some hill, forgotten by people, our bones gnawed by wild dogs, passersby unconcerned about the dead mercenary... You don''t know how much ordinary people long to become heroes! How much they wish to be remembered by the world after their death. And here, only you can make our deaths meaningful and regret-free. Please, let us stay! We too want to be heroes!"

 Chapter 114: Hypnosis

    The elite squad unanimously decided to follow Rody. In the battles against the orcs and demons, they had unknowingly formed an inseparable collective.

    The thought of going back now, parting ways with Rody and Chris, brought them an immense sense of unease. Leaving behind the glory and victory, bidding farewell to the brave battles, and returning to their previously obscure lives was not what they yearned for, even though it promised safety.

    Here, they could shout into the magic one-way communication device: "I killed two more Green Demons! When I woke myself up looking handsome this morning, I knew it was going to be my lucky day, just like yesterday. Everyone, cheer for me!" Or they could arrogantly say: "Hey, eavesdropping orcs and demons, can''t you send more minions to die? I''m getting a bit tired of killing human-faced spiders. Why not send some hellhounds next time?"

    They didn''t care whether their voices were heard by a famous human general or an orc Blood-Axe savage contorted with rage.

    This place had become their paradise.

    Despite the immense danger, they couldn¡¯t bear to leave, couldn¡¯t bear to part with Rody and return to the safe but dull human Grand Alliance. Perhaps flowers and applause awaited them, maybe even women with large chests and shiny medals to satisfy them, but what could compare to the thrill of beheading orc warriors with a sword? What could compare to the glory of standing victorious atop the corpses of demons?

    Following Rody, this was the only thought in everyone''s mind.

    As the days in the Evil Forest passed, encountering demons and orcs was commonplace. Fights could break out anytime, anywhere. If it had been earlier, they would have found it hard to believe in their own combat strength and resilience, but having come this far, they no longer felt it was especially hard.

    "Look, there''s a giant python, our dinner is settled," Stanley excitedly reported, spotting a forest python near a river.

    "No, something''s off about it!" Rody halted Jesse and others who were ready to kill the python, his expression serious, signaling everyone to maintain high combat alertness. Chris, hearing the news, hurried over and, seeing the languidly lying forest python, was also surprised, "Rody, this python has the aura of demons. It¡¯s one of them!"

    "Smart indeed, no wonder my subordinates can''t handle you!" Suddenly, the forest python stood upright, its massive head speaking.

    "A talking snake?" Stanley almost fainted.

    "I am the Demon Army''s Dragon-Eating General, Sergeant Rody, pleased to meet you!" A lump on the python''s head rapidly transformed into a humanoid shape, quickly revealing a man with an ugly face and green scales all over his body. He laughed weirdly atop the python''s head, his lower body fused with the python, but his upper body indistinguishable from a human''s.

    "Snake people? Or some other kind of monster?" Rody, who had not seen such a demon in Dean Buck''s notes, was puzzled.

    "My ability allows me to assimilate with any kind of snake," said the green-scaled Dragon-Eating General with a sinister chuckle. "I am the king of the reptilian demons. As long as there are snakes where you¡¯ve been, I can know everything about you. Sergeant Rody, you are a smart man, I don¡¯t need to say more. Please, come with me! I assure you, you will be warmly welcomed by His Majesty Demon King Nyarlathotep."

    "Do you have anything valuable on you?" Rody sighed lightly, "I really don''t want to go through the trouble of killing a demon general and end up with nothing!"

    "It seems you''re not as smart as I thought!" The eyes of the Dragon-Eating General flashed ominously as he snorted, "Are you going to fight me?"

    "As our dinner, what nonsense are you spouting? A meal should act like a meal!" Such words could only be uttered by Lopek in the group. Stanley, hearing this, looked uncomfortable; he could eat snakes, rats, even drink earthworm soup, but he couldn¡¯t stomach eating something that resembled a human.

    "If I don''t show you my abilities, you¡¯ll think a demon general is a title for nothing!" The Dragon-Eating General laughed coldly.

    "Everyone, retreat! Jesse, lead the team northeast. Chris, stay and cast enhancements!" Before Rody could finish, several giant pythons as thick as water barrels burst out of the river. If they were ordinary forest pythons, no one would care, but these pythons had horns on their heads and long fangs in their mouths, clearly not ordinary magical creatures.

    "Run!" Stanley was the first to dash away, always the quickest to execute Rody''s orders.

    "None of you can escape!" The Dragon-Eating General waved his hand in the air, casting a black light on the ground, summoning countless writhing poisonous snakes ¨C some with wings on their backs, some with horns on their heads, some with feet under their bellies, some with the bodies of wolves and heads of snakes, and others with the bodies of birds and heads of snakes ¨C an utterly horrifying sight.

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    Rody swung through the air with vines, with all the bizarre snakes chasing after him.

    Chris quickly buffed himself and, with an orc berserker¡¯s giant axe in one hand and a human barbarian''s giant sword in the other, crazily hacked away in pursuit. No snake attacked him; they all furiously chased Rody. The Dragon-Eating General, stunned, momentarily lost control of all the snakes.

    "Damn, you''re a mental mage!" The Dragon-Eating General, slowly emerging from the body of a pursuing forest python, brandished a long blood spike and shot it at Rody. It was common knowledge that mages feared close combat!

    Chris and Rody coordinated seamlessly, with Chris firing an arrow at the Dragon-Eating General.

    Unexpectedly, the swift and sudden arrow was dodged by the Dragon-Eating General twisting his body in mid-air, his body as flexible as a snake, rendering the sneak attack ineffective. The Dragon-Eating General was faster than Rody, his blood spike even capable of extending automatically, piercing through Rody''s vine shield and continuing to stab into Rody''s arm.

    "Hehehe, you''re done for!" The Dragon-Eating General landed triumphantly.

    "Rody, what''s wrong?" Chris screamed in shock, seeing Rody¡¯s face turn black in an instant.

    "It feels quite comfortable!" Rody replied and then coughed violently. Black blood flowed from his nose, covering his hands. He carelessly flicked it off, splattering a giant python. The python¡¯s skin rapidly decayed in pain, rolling on the ground and dying instantly. The other snakes, as if seeing a natural enemy, scattered in all directions, seemingly very afraid of Rody''s black blood.

    "This is a super poison concocted from 398 types of venomous snakes in the demonic realm, combined with the venom in my body. There¡¯s no cure for anyone who is poisoned," the Dragon-Eating General sneered sinisterly.

    "Rody..." Chris rushed over, but Rody kicked him away.

    "Stay away from me, now is not the time for you to cry." Rody lunged at the Dragon-Eating General, yelling, "Want me dead? You''ll be the one lying dead beneath me!"

    "Hmph, wishful thinking!" The Dragon-Eating General stood his ground, watching Rody charge at him.

    After running a few steps, Rody spat out a mouthful of black blood, staggering and finally collapsing to the ground. The Dragon-Eating General, knowing this would happen, laughed loudly. Enraged, Chris charged at him, exerting his utmost strength to strike with both sword and axe.

    The Dragon-Eating General dodged smoothly like a shadow and slid behind Chris, extending his blood spike, ready to strike.

    Chris dropped the axe and grabbed his bow, concentrating his battle aura into a sparkling silver star, then firing it with an arrowhead at the Dragon-Eating General. The general somersaulted to dodge and twirled up a tree trunk, whistling. Suddenly, Chris found himself surrounded by a swarm of snakes. After the Dragon-Eating General whistled, the snakes surged up, engulfing Chris...

    "Humans are indeed weak," the Dragon-Eating General shook his head and sighed, "What Rody, what genius, what elite, all rubbish!"

    "Smack!" Suddenly, the Dragon-Eating General was slapped on the face, followed by an angry roar, "Damn it, daydreaming is one thing, but cursing? Don¡¯t you know you should behave as a captive?"

    "What captive?" The Dragon-Eating General was stunned.

    Then, everything in front of him shattered like a mirror.

    The Dragon-Eating General hadn¡¯t figured out what was happening when he found himself bound, surrounded by a group of people ¨C the ones who had just abandoned their companions and fled. There stood Rody, curiously examining the blood spike, and beside him, Chris, who was supposed to have been torn to pieces by the snakes.

    "What¡¯s going on?"

    Impossible... The Dragon-Eating General was utterly confused.

    "Fool, you were dreaming! You fell for our boss¡¯s hypnosis spell, and you were wildly fantasizing just now! Did you really think you could defeat our boss? Idiot!" Stanley didn''t hold back, slapping the Dragon-Eating General hard, making his head spin.

    "Although hypnosis spells are somewhat sneaky, I''ve never seen anyone so clueless about being under a spell like you," Chris chuckled.

    "How did you even become a demon general? Hey, are you the demon king¡¯s mistress¡¯s brother? Or his catamite?"

    "I hate you; you''ve completely ruined the imposing image of a demon general I had in mind!"

    "Poor thing, he hasn¡¯t woken up yet."

    "Actually, it¡¯s normal to fall for our boss''s spell, but don¡¯t ever tell anyone how you died, because such a stupid way to die is really sad! Good heavens, how can there be such a foolish and naive demon in this world? I can¡¯t understand..."

    The crowd bombarded the Dragon-Eating General with words, leaving him utterly baffled and clueless about what was happening around him.

    Looking around, he saw that the snakes were already dead, scattered all around. Even a few guys were roasting snake meat.

    A big-bearded mercenary was vigorously recording him with a memory crystal. What on earth was happening? How could he, a proud demon general, be captured so easily without realizing it? He tried to struggle, only to find himself more securely bound than a mosquito on a sticky pillar. The silver chains binding him were tighter than the demonic chains used to suppress demons in hell, leaving him hardly able to breathe.

    "Don''t bother, it''s a Holy Silver Cross," Rody said as he took away the Dragon-Eating General''s venomous blood spike, patting his shoulder with a smile. "It¡¯s said that even a Pope can''t escape the binding of the Holy Silver Cross. Filled with the will and the power of the laws of the God of Light, the more evil one is, the more insignificant they become before it. So, I think it¡¯s better for you to keep fantasizing! Oh, and if you have any valuables, feel free to hand them over. The more you give, the quicker your death will be!"

    The Dragon-Eating General felt as if the sky had darkened. He wanted to die, but it seemed to be a bit difficult.

    "Keep hypnotizing him; he¡¯ll surely get carried away," Lopek shouted. "See if he has any naked paintings of demon women. I bet he does; my instincts are always right!"

    "Rody, I''ve got a great idea," Chris suddenly said with excitement. "Let me try using the ''Rooting'' spell from natural magic to let your man-eating vines root in this guy''s head and suck out all his brain energy. That way, your man-eating vines could evolve. Also, since your man-eating vines are your summoned creatures, everything he owns, including the items in his storage space, should belong to you."

    "Chris, you''re too cunning, but I like this idea!" Stanley clapped his hands.

    "Using the man-eating vines to pierce through this guy¡¯s head?" Rody pulled out his man-eating vines and let them slowly climb onto the Dragon-Eating General''s head, frightening him into fainting. He was willing to die, to sacrifice himself for the demons, but he was not willing to let man-eating vines root in his brain and suck out his brain fluid and energy...

    "What a demon general, no guts at all!" Jesse burst into laughter.

    "Good, now that he¡¯s fainted, we can take off his storage ring!" Rody pulled a ring off the Dragon-Eating General''s finger. Golden spiritual energy turned into numerous thin threads, consuming and driving away the Dragon-Eating General''s will. Rody''s other hand hovered over the general''s head, probing his mental fluctuations and memories.

    When the Dragon-Eating General finally came to, he found himself stripped to his underwear, with everyone around him clapping their hands and looking at him with enthusiastic eyes, as if staring at a delicious and juicy steak.

    "Please, just kill me!" The Dragon-Eating General was terrified enough to beg for death. He would rather die immediately than endure torture. If it weren''t for the Holy Silver Cross, he might have harbored hope of breaking free to fight again. But as a demon general, once bound by this artifact embodying the will of the God of Light, choosing to die immediately seemed like a blessing.

    "Don''t rush; our conversation has just begun!" Rody revealed a smile, making the Dragon-Eating General nearly burst into tears.

 Chapter 115: Who is Jill?

    After the incident with the demon general, everyone felt a bit exhilarated. Although they relied on the power of the Holy Silver Cross, capturing a demon general was no easy feat. To make himself look more impressive, Stanley specially trimmed his messy beard and even combed his hair when reporting boastfully to the rear.

    "Holy Song Headquarters, this is Sergeant Stanley from Sergeant Rody''s elite squad. Today, I have a small piece of news to report from the front," Stanley tried to make his voice more magnetic and deliberately reported in a deep, forceful tone. "The true purpose of the recent orc and demon invasion into the human Grand Alliance was not the Hundred-Year Holy War, but a plot, a battlefield sacrifice! They used this massive sacrifice, utilizing countless orc and human lives, to release Ogartral, the foremost of the three Great Demon Kings. Gathering the three Great Demon Kings, the demons will tear a larger rift in the space-time seal, initiating a new round of the Hundred-Year Holy War. This information was obtained from the captured Dragon-Eating Demon General, report complete."

    After the report, Stanley eagerly asked big-bearded Malu whether he looked handsome in the recording.

    Rody gave him a thumbs-up.

    He no longer reported to the rear and let the members of the elite squad do the reporting, aiming to raise their fame so that each of them would become well-known heroes upon their return.

    He led the elite squad at an unimaginable speed, quickly traversing the Evil Forest and leaving the orcs far behind.

    Ten days later, while the orcs and demons were still frantically searching the Evil Forest for them, Rody, along with Chris and others, had already arrived in the land of the dwarves. Walking back to the human Grand Alliance seemed improbable, as the orcs and demons continually pushed them further away from human territories, but Rody thought of a way to return.

    That was by airship.

    Although he was unsure how many people the magical airship could carry, Rody believed it wouldn''t be small enough to hold only a few people. It must have significant benefits for transportation or possess some special flying ability for the Tree Shepherd Elder Toka to remember it. Although they still had more than ten griffins, which were good for short flights, they couldn¡¯t carry riders thousands of kilometers. Biological creatures have fatigue, but a magical airship doesn¡¯t.

    The greatest advantage of the magical airship is its ability to fly normally at night.

    Griffins'' vision is greatly reduced at night, and they can only fly high, making it difficult to navigate through forests, unable to confront the orcs'' giant bats. This was why Rody and his team were forced to keep retreating. The orc bats excelled in night battles, dragons in day battles, attacking alternately. With strong beings like the Blood-Axe savages and Shaman Kings lurking, Rody and his team dared not risk a forced attack or even expose their whereabouts.

    If they had the rumored magical airship capable of traveling through clouds, they believed they could attempt a risky flight over the heads of orcs and demons.

    The orcs were conducting a carpet-style search of the Evil Forest, never imagining that Rody could fly overhead. Of course, this was risky, but Rody was willing to try.

    "Boss, are you sure the Fire Lord took the magical airship? If he has it, why doesn''t he use it in battle?" Stanley wondered.

    "First, he can fly on his own; second, he''s the Fire Lord, covered in flames, so the magical airship might not withstand his temperature," Rody said with a slight smile. "He took it not to use it but to prevent others from using it. Of course, I haven''t seen the Fire Lord; these are all guesses, and there could be other reasons."

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    "Why leave us in the land of the dwarves? Isn''t it better to fight together?" Kerry asked softly.

    "We will certainly fight together, but now is not the time," Chris nodded. "Because we don''t know the details about the enemy''s lair. Most people can''t hide their tracks when they move. Rody and I will scout the route and devise a battle plan, then we can all attack together. Everyone is tired from the journey, it''s a good time to rest in the land of the dwarves. By the way, Rody, it seems there are many dwarves in front of us, is that one wearing a red hat?"

    "The one who talks the most nonsense, that''s the one," Rody waved to the terrified dwarves in the distance, shouting loudly, "Bullhorn Helm, the tribal chief, it''s me, Rody!"

    "Ah, I''ve always said there would be no problem, look, my friend Rody is here, and he''s brought a large group of human warriors," the Red Hat ran out excitedly, babbling, "As the world''s smartest dwarf, of course, I guessed it was you, but I''m still very happy. My friend, what wind has blown you here? Did you know that I''m about to inherit the position of tribal chief and came all the way from Felic to congratulate me? I know, you''ve always been so thoughtful... Ah, why isn''t Princess Jill here? Ah, my goddess didn''t come, I''m so disappointed..."

    "Who is Princess Jill? Is she the female boss?" Chris immediately asked Rody upon hearing this.

    "Pah, when is it your turn, you exile, to be the tribal chief! Red Hat, you''re dreaming too early!" The dwarf guard also came running with a short spear, respectfully greeting Rody, "Welcome, Rody, the most respected friend of the dwarf tribe."

    "Rody, come, I remember there''s still some good wine hidden in the cellar," Bullhorn Helm, the tribal chief, also came over with a group of dwarves, warmly welcoming everyone.

    "When I get back, I must build a mushroom house, your houses are so cool!" Of course, this was just Chris''s opinion; Stanley and the others thought that colorful mushroom houses were most suitable for dwarves, and that humans should live in taller wooden houses. However, the tired group, entering the low dwarf territory, also felt a sense of coming home.

    "Last time you tricked those despicable guys really well, but you don''t know that I also played a part in it. I dare say, Knight Rody, without my help, they wouldn''t have believed it! Hey, I''m talking to you, you can''t just keep eating, it''s very rude! Especially to a promising dwarf master like me, you can''t ignore and neglect... Ah, are you going to use this piece of bread to apologize? Well then, the kindest dwarf in the world, Red Hat, will reluctantly forgive your rudeness!" Red Hat talked nonstop, and Rody stuffed his chattering mouth with a piece of toasted bread, seeing the situation turning bad, he immediately changed his tune.

    "Ha ha!" Chris couldn''t help but burst into laughter upon seeing this.

    "Are you a man or a woman? Good heavens, I''ve never seen a human man more beautiful than Rody!" Red Hat sighed in surprise.

    "A man should not be described as beautiful, but handsome or dashing, understand?" Chris laughed again upon hearing this.

    "Don''t mind this foolish Red Hat, guests, please try my mushroom soup!" A dwarf woman came up with a big plate of hot soup, making everyone cheer. They were tired of meat soup, vegetable soup, and even earthworm soup, but this fresh mushroom soup was just to everyone''s taste.

    While the elite squad was resting after eating and drinking, Rody and Chris immediately set off to gather information about the Flame Lord.

    In the huge cave that Rody had discovered earlier, he had encountered flame spirits transformed from small dwarves by the Flame Lord. They must know something about the Flame Lord. Previously, Rody, not strong enough, dared not provoke the Flame Lord, but now, with his mastery of mental, soul, and necromancy magic, and under the protection of the life source and soul fire, he felt confident in challenging the Flame Lord.

    What flame could compare to the indestructible divine fire?

    Rody''s soul was still burning, enduring the torment of the indestructible divine fire. Regarding the Flame Lord, who was also of the fire element, he was not afraid.

    Especially since he found his mental magic to be highly effective against demon generals, his confidence was a hundredfold. Would his indestructible divine fire be more formidable, or would the Flame Lord prove superior? Even if he couldn''t outmatch the Flame Lord, Rody, who wouldn''t die from being burned by the indestructible divine fire, had no fear of flames.

    "Hey, who is Jill? Is she your first love?" Chris kept asking along the way.

    "Would you believe me if I said she is?" Rody replied, unenthusiastically.

    "Is she the female boss?" Chris changed the subject.

    "No." Rody was puzzled why this guy was so interested in his first love. Could it be that he wanted to become a bard? To stand by the fountain in the city center, loudly singing of his heroic deeds and scandalous legends?

    "Is Jill a princess? The princess of Felic?" Chris asked, then shook his head, "No, Felic''s princess is named Ephis! Jill, Jill, that name, it must be a nickname for Gillian or Juliana, right? Is she your classmate at Felic Academy? Then she''s about your age? You two were desk mates, right? Did she secretly bring you breakfast?"

    "Yes, she also called me every morning, fetched water for me to wash my face, peeled apples for me, and oh, she used to sing the song of luck!" Rody bluffed.

    "Who are you kidding? Apart from that little girl Dora, no one would do that!" Chris laughed when he heard this. He remembered how Dora almost drove Rody crazy before they set off, recalling Rody''s dislike for formalities and rules, so Jill certainly wouldn''t be someone like Dora.

    "Are Jill''s breasts big?" Chris asked after a while.

    "They''re none of your business!" Rody snapped angrily.

    "Don''t misunderstand, I just want to compare her with Beatrice to see who''s a bit more outstanding," Chris quickly waved his hand, seeing Rody''s temper seemed not to flare up, he grinned and asked, "You''re not into lolis with small breasts, are you? Ha, I didn''t expect you to have such a taste!"

    "I have another hobby, and that''s hitting people!" Rody raised his fist, chasing Chris for five kilometers without stopping, scaring him into a frantic escape.

 Chapter 116: Undying Regret

    Re-exploring the nest of the fire spirits, the journey was surprisingly smooth.

    Perhaps a large number of demons had already moved to the front lines to battle the human alliance, leaving few guards behind. Walking through the vast underground cave, Rody had previously felt uneasy alone, but now, with his enhanced abilities and Chris''s company, he was full of confidence. Winding underground tunnels, with a slightly pungent sulfur smell, led them swiftly to a massive underground city looming ahead.

    Constructed mainly from stone walls, the huge cave housed many half-orcs and black little creatures of unknown race moving around. There were also creatures resembling large bats, flapping and circling around the cliffs.

    On the other side, there was a deep river of molten lava, with fiery red magma churning below, exceptionally hot.

    "This seems to be the nest of the Flame Lord. Look, there''s a huge crack in that lava river," Chris pointed out the crack, referring to a flame portal sustained by the heat of fire. Rody hadn''t thought of using the heat of molten lava to maintain a flame portal long-term, but he believed that apart from fire-elemental creatures, other demons would find it difficult to pass through it.

    "The Flame Lord doesn''t live over that lava river, does he? This guy is a freak!" Rody saw a glowing red rock over the lava river, with a cave-like entrance carved out, feeling that unless they lured the Flame Lord out, it was impossible for humans to enter.

    "Never mind that, let''s find where the magic airship is!" Chris simply couldn''t be bothered to think about the Flame Lord anymore.

    "Even if we find the magic airship, we still need an exit to ascend and fly; otherwise, it''s useless," Rody felt that unless they forcefully overtook the underground city, it wouldn''t be possible to fly the magic airship out. Most importantly, no one knew how to pilot a magic airship. Therefore, after finding the magic airship, it would be best to also find the magic notes of the Dwarven Mage Master, the Sage''s Crown.

    Under the guise of Rody''s mental magic and Chris''s nature magic, the two evaded the guards and searched for a long time. Finally, in an old, abandoned warehouse, they found fragments of the magic airship.

    This was within Rody''s expectations, as a hundred years had passed, and the existence and use of magic airships were not very likely. As long as it preserved some crucial parts, such as the flight array and principles, Rody was confident he could replicate a magic airship. After finding the fragments, Rody and Chris worked together, one studying the structure and principles, the other recording the arrangement of the magic array and magic crystals. Rody and Chris worked for two days and two nights, barely managing to understand the basic principles of the magic airship.

    Fortunately, only the occasional rat disturbed their work, or it might not have gone so smoothly.

    "Without the magic notes of the Sage''s Crown, it''s going to be tough to make, and whether it can fly or not is uncertain," Rody hoped to visit Elder Toka of the Tree Shepherds again for more information to complete the magic airship.

    "Rody, we need to leave immediately. The demon army is stirring," Chris observed a large number of fire spirits pouring out from the flame portal. If they were not remnants of a defeated force in the Evil Forest, then they were a new wave of demon reinforcements ready to invade human territory.

    Rody saw among these fire creatures not only small fire spirits but also tall, thin fire guards wielding fire spears, and a type of burning rock-like flame stone giants. The number of the flame army exceeded two thousand. As Rody and Chris sneaked away, more creatures emerged from the portal by the river of fire, including flame horses ablaze all over, most without flame knights riding them, which surprised them both.

    What could be the reason for these fire creatures being transported here?

    Although he had a bad feeling, Rody couldn''t be sure if it was the worst scenario he imagined. He was not like Jill, unable to sense the consequences of an event. He could mostly sense personal strength and hidden entities. If he had combat-sensing abilities, then Jill, far away in Felic, had foresight abilities.

    As for Chris, he seemed to have some sensing ability too, but Rody felt it was more of a mysterious intuition than actual sensing.

    "What exactly does the Flame Lord look like?" Rody was curious to see the Flame Lord, and, of course, he most wanted to kill him and take back the magic notes of the Dwarven Mage Master, the Sage''s Crown.

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    "Definitely not a beauty, let''s go!" Chris had no fondness for flame creatures.

    Returning to the land of the dwarves was one of the most unforgettable scenes in Rody''s life.

    In the sky floated a radiant angel bathed in holy light.

    On the ground, nearly a hundred paladins in full silver armor, wielding holy spears or swords, surrounded a group of bloodied soldiers. These soldiers, each one causing a sharp pain in Rody''s heart every time he looked at them, were elite students willing to follow him, chosen youths from various countries.

    Young people, once strangers, now fought bloodied battles for him.

    Because of him, each one was now covered in scars and bloodied armor.

    The land of the dwarves was filled with thick smoke, houses destroyed, trees fallen.

    All the little dwarves lay dead, a sight too horrifying to behold. On a cross, Rody saw Bullhorn Helm, the tribal chief, who was not yet dead. His stomach and limbs were nailed with sharp nails of sinful judgment, slowly bleeding, drop by drop staining the cross. He would not die until the cross was soaked in blood.

    This was a punishment of the temple for those who betrayed the gods, as painful as being burned at the stake.

    In the center of the bloodied warriors, only two little dwarves remained.

    One was Red Hat, crying and fallen to the ground, and the other, a dwarf guard holding a short spear.

    "Rody, let''s go!" Chris desperately tried to pull Rody away from the battlefield. If Rody showed himself now, things would become uncontrollable. Although Chris did not know why the Power Angel in the sky bore a grudge against Rody, from Rody''s expression, it was clear the Power Angel had come for him, and the paladins and temple warriors below were also there for him.

    "I want to die with them, they are waiting for me!" Rody stepped forward.

    "Fool, if you show up now, then they are doomed! Don''t you understand? They are luring the enemy, luring you to appear, otherwise, they would have already killed Stanley and the others!" Chris slapped Rody hard, tears streaming down his face.

    "I know, Stanley and the others are also waiting, waiting for me to appear," Rody continued walking, suppressing his excitement, "They are waiting for me!"

    "No, they don''t want to see you, absolutely not!" Chris, seeing he couldn''t pull Rody back, threw himself down and clung to his feet.

    "They may not show it, but in their hearts, they must be hoping to see me!" Rody pulled Chris up, spoke gently, "Chris, you are the smartest one besides me. You should know, one of us should survive to avenge everyone!"

    "That person is not me!" Chris cried, tears streaming down his face, "It''s you! Let me go in your place, Rody, you run!"

    "If you were me, would you abandon everyone and escape alone?" Rody smiled, put Chris down, straightened his collar, patted his cheek, and said with a smile, "Chris, if you are willing, then come with me! Even if we die in battle, we will come back from hell, I won''t leave you behind, no, I need you, my companion!"

    "I will always follow you..." Chris covered his face and wept, following Rody, shedding tears along the way.

    Rody felt that he would never forget this scene in his lifetime.

    Over a hundred bloodied, scarred men, all saluting militarily, watching his return. Around them, hundreds of vigilant temple warriors and paladins, and in the sky, a Power Angel chanting holy magic. As Rody and the ceaselessly weeping Chris slowly returned, Stanley and the others formed two lines, standing at attention, waiting for their leader to inspect them.

    "You fool, I thought you were the smartest human, but it turns out you are the dumbest!" Red Hat burst out, screaming with a crying voice, "I don''t want to see you again, you fool, get away from me now!"

    "No, I''m not a fool, I''m your friend, I''m your leader!" Rody patted Red Hat''s hat, causing him to burst into tears.

    The Power Angel in the sky stared intently at Rody, the human he could not kill no matter what, walking right under his eyes. He had thought this man would cry out in pain during the trial, but unexpectedly, he had escaped easily, causing a sensation across the land.

    Whether gods, demons, humans, or beastmen, everywhere discussed his name and deeds.

    The wonder kid, a logistics sergeant, made people of all ranks excitedly call his name. Because of him, people forgot to go to church for mass; because of him, countless young men queued to enlist, strengthening the human army; because of him, soldiers in the army defied divine orders, fought to the death, severely damaging the combined forces of demons and beastmen. For the first time, the glorious victory of humanity did not belong to the high and mighty gods of light.

    "If this human man doesn''t die, he will surely become a major threat!"

    Rody didn''t look at the Power Angel in the sky, nor did he glance at the temple knights. He just walked step by step, returning through the crowd.

    Finally, he reached the foot of the cross.

    The Bullhorn Helm tribal chief saw him and showed a faint smile, weakly saying, "Help me, young man, I''m old, I need your help!"

    "The dwarves are always my friends, Rody. Chief, please go ahead!" Rody straightened the chief''s hat and gently stabbed his silver dagger into the chief''s heart.

    "You see, Rody is an evil necromancer, a blasphemer against the gods! The glorious temple knights hear my command, judge the sinful! Logistics team''s student soldiers, you are deluded, unable to distinguish right from wrong. I order you, immediately lay down your weapons, abandon evil, and you may yet live. Otherwise, you will all fall to hell, suffering eternal torment!" The Power Angel''s majestic voice echoed through the skies.

    "Justice!" All the temple knights and warriors, in the holy light, raised their weapons and shouted loudly.

    "Long live Rody!" Quentin''s son, Cary, broke from the ranks, unsheathed his sword with one arm, and roared angrily, "Comrades, fight to the death! This is not justice. Justice is in our hearts, not in the hands of those executioners who slaughter innocents, not in their hypocritical shouts, not on the surface of their holy garments! We are the righteous, long live Rody!"

    "Long live Rody!" Stanley and the others exploded with all their strength, their voices thunderous.

    "Blind and fallen!" The Power Angel roared fiercely, "Unforgivable!"

    "I''m back." Rody ignored the Power Angel above, turned around, smiled softly at everyone, and said quietly, "Comrades, perhaps we will all die here today, but I promise you, even if we fall to hell, I will lead you to victory after victory! You are my comrades, the greatest heroes of our time, in our era, no one can stop us from shining!"

    "This is the era of heroes, our era!" Chris screamed passionately.

    "Our era! Long live!" Everyone raised their arms and shouted, then suddenly all knelt on one knee.

    "Boss!" Stanley knelt upright in front of Rody, tears streaming down his face, shouting, "Boss, you are the smartest and dumbest leader in the world! I''ve thought about it, the leader who follows him must be the most special man in the world, so it''s you! Hurry and tap my shoulder with your sword! I can''t wait to announce to the world that I am Rody''s knight, forever loyal to him!"

    "We are your knights, Rody! Forever loyal to you! To death do us part!" Everyone ignored the approaching temple warriors, the Power Angel preparing to strike with magic in the sky, each holding their weapons high, kneeling before Rody, shouting loudly.

    "Kill them all!" The Power Angel, hearing this, immediately unsheathed his holy sword and gave the order.

    "We are your knights, forever loyal to you, to death do us part!" Everyone, tears streaming, shouted in unison, again and again, their voices shaking the heavens.

    "To death do us part!"

    "To death do us part..."

 Chapter 117: Trying to Scare People, Huh?

    The Power Angel in the sky pulled out the angel''s horn and sounded it.

    As the beautiful and moving holy sound rose, holy light shone down from above the white clouds, turning into pieces of pure white light feathers, bathing all the temple knights and warriors. Each one received a powerful blessing, and behind each, interwoven light feathers formed immaculate wings. Just as they were shouting about justice, ready to charge at Rody and his companions, a massive column of fire erupted in the distance, blazing towards the sky.

    A man approached at incredible speed, arriving before the crowd in an instant.

    His appearance was vastly different from that of human men, but his hair was burning flames, rising and billowing, quite extraordinary.

    He was dressed in armor flickering with flames, a giant burning cloak draped behind him, hovering in mid-air. Even before approaching, people could feel a wave of heat.

    "Ha ha, what a lively scene, I love such excitement. Let me join in this good fun!" the newcomer laughed heartily.

    "Are you the Flame Lord?" Rody, seeing this flame-haired demon man, felt a chill. To him, this demon seemed more powerful than the Power Angel. When had he started following him? Was it in the lava underground city, or had he just come with the demon reinforcements? If he had discovered them earlier, why didn''t he attack him and Chris?

    "No, do you think someone as great as me would be a mere demon lord?" The flame-haired man laughed loudly, "In the demon world, besides the supreme Dark Demon God, there are the Four Emperors. I am one of them, the Emperor of Flames. Of course, few humans know of our existence. They are more familiar with the six demon kings who are less powerful than us, and even then, you mistakenly think there are only three. Those birdmen in the sky love to lie and deceive. It''s inevitable that you are fooled."

    "What Emperor of Flames, you are just an avatar!" The Power Angel sneered. Rody could see that although the Power Angel appeared calm, he was actually very wary of the man claiming to be the Emperor of Flames.

    "Ha, if my true self were here, do you think I would bother talking to you? I would tear off your wings and make them into roasted chicken wings!" The Emperor of Flames laughed heartily.

    "Justice will prevail!" The Power Angel pulled out a holy silver whistle and blew it.

    "Finally pulling out the angelic whistle to call for help! Ha, you birdmen are even more cowardly than a sesame seed." The Emperor of Flames waved his hand, and the ground trembled violently, nearly knocking people off their feet. The earth cracked open, spewing blood-red molten lava, followed by huge columns of fire and thick smoke shooting up. While people were terrified, the Emperor of Flames laughed, "When it comes to followers, we demons are no less than you angel birdmen! Come out, my subjects!"

    Knights riding flame demons rushed out from within the columns of fire, followed by devils with fiery wings, long-spear-wielding fire guards, floating fire spirits, and huge lava fire giants.

    These fire creatures were the same as those Rody and Chris had seen in the lava underground city.

    "But there were more of those demons with fiery wings, and in the thick smoke, strange beings that laughed eerily as they circled in the fire and smoke. Rody could recognize many of the demonic creatures, but there were a few he did not know. Clearly, they rarely appeared on the battlefields of humans and were not recorded in human history. In the blink of an eye, the number of fire-element demonic creatures that emerged from the pillars of fire had exceeded three thousand, completely surrounding the Temple Knights and the Holy Warriors on the ground.

    The Temple Knights and Holy Warriors were inwardly lamenting their misfortune, as they had not yet annihilated Rody''s elite squad within their encirclement, and now another circle of demons had appeared on the outside.

    Under this pincer attack, the battle had become unbearably dire.

    "Stay calm, our Angel Legion will soon descend, and the Temple will send more Temple Knights and Holy Warriors. The priests are chanting, preparing to open the teleportation gate. Once the gate is opened, thousands of reinforcements will arrive!" The words of the Power Angel brought some relief to everyone. If this were true, it would be a good opportunity to kill enemies and achieve merit.

    "What did you say? Angel Legion?" The Flame Emperor, upon hearing this, laughed as if he had heard the most ridiculous thing in the world. "A few hundred angels daring to call themselves an Angel Legion? You might deceive the ignorant humans, but don''t put on airs in front of me. Who are you trying to scare? Indeed, the Light God King is very powerful and arrogant, and there are many gods in your Light Divine Race, but so what? Can they descend to the mortal world without any conditions? The seals left by the ancient and prehistoric primordial deities, even the Light God King cannot leave the Divine Realm and descend to the mortal world without any conditions. No, please don''t dream! The Divine Realm is a place of no return, even if you have ten thousand deities backing you, they can only watch helplessly as we kill you all. They can do nothing about it!"

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    "This is the devil''s rumor, miracles are omnipresent, and deities can descend upon us at any time!" the Power Angel argued loudly.

    "So there are rules and restrictions!" Rody thought, feeling secretly pleased.

    The deities cannot directly descend to the mortal world, no wonder there was a need for a temple to restrain the hearts of people. It seems that the mysterious heavens are not as he imagined; even there, rules exist that bind the gods in the sky, not allowing them to do whatever they want.

    This also explains Rody''s previous doubts... How did the Earth God protect his descendants from persecution by the heavenly deities?

    The reason now came to light: without conditions, deities cannot directly leave the Divine Realm and descend to the mortal world. Therefore, although the Earth God could not directly confront the celestial deities, they could protect the hope of the earth through powerful beings on the ground, like the group of old men in the ruins of the divine domain, who were likely guardians.

    "Human beings, let me tell you a great secret that annoys the angels," the Flame Emperor said with a laugh: "The heavens are not the Divine Realm. The heavens are a place where angels and some extremely powerful beings live together, existing above the sky, but not among the white clouds, in another space. The Divine Realm is a higher, more beautiful, and larger space, said to be incredibly wonderful and splendid, inhabited by omnipotent deities! However, it is a realm of no return; even if a powerful being reaches the level of a deity, once they enter the Divine Realm, they will never be able to leave. Therefore, the great Light God King that you humans worship is not the real Light God King! He is just an eight-winged seraph of the heavens, and everything said in the temple is false! Ahahaha!"

    "Ah..." All the Temple Knights and Holy Warriors were stunned upon hearing this.

    "My God!" Not just them, even Rody''s elite squad behind him was terrified. The faith they had held for centuries was false, a shock that was hard to accept. Even more painful was another blow. The ''Light Codex'' stated that if believers devoutly worshipped the Light God King, they would receive divine grace after death, be freed from all worldly suffering, and enter the beautiful heaven for eternal life.

    Now, if the one they believed in was not the true Light God King, then wouldn''t the promise of eternal life in heaven be empty words?

    Had all the humans who died for the Light God King fallen into hell?

    Thinking this, all the Temple Knights and Holy Warriors were almost scared to death. In their minds, death was not to be feared, for after dying in battle, they could ascend to heaven and enjoy blissful eternal life. But now, if they died here, they might immediately be dragged into hell by demons!

    "It''s not like that, this is the devil''s slander! Wake up, don''t be bewitched by the devil! Holy knights, the Light God King is watching over you from the skies!" The Power Angel trembled with anger. He wanted to kill the Flame Emperor with one stroke of his sword, but he knew he didn''t have the power to do so before the reinforcements arrived.

    "Do you think many reinforcements will come to rescue you?" The Flame Emperor sneered. "The heavens are currently under a combined attack by the four emperors of the demon realm and the three saints of the earth. Your Archangel is overwhelmed and cannot spare anyone to rescue you. My true self is now in the heavens battling with the six-winged principal angel. Do you think there will be reinforcements from the heavens? My subjects, slaughter these fools, drag them to hell, and turn them into your food!"

    "Long live evil!" The fire army was exhilarated and boosted in morale, each brandishing their weapons and shouting madly.

    "..." The faces of the Temple Knights and Holy Warriors turned pale, and their morale plummeted.

    "Everyone, stay calm, the reinforcements will arrive soon!" The Power Angel hoped for a pillar of light from the sky or a teleportation gate to appear on the ground, but despite waiting and waiting, there was no response, and his face grew increasingly serious.

    "Let''s kill this birdman first, then capture the human soldiers for food!" The Flame Emperor erupted with a fiery blaze, rushing towards the Power Angel.

    "Righteous knights, I will personally ascend to the heavens and bring back reinforcements!" The Power Angel hurriedly left these words, his hand flashing with holy light, opening a small teleportation gate. Before the attack of the Flame Emperor reached him, he escaped and disappeared. Seeing the Power Angel shamelessly fleeing the battlefield, the morale of the Temple Knights and Holy Warriors on the ground plummeted again, with many drawing their swords, ready to commit suicide.

    They would rather die than be captives, and they could not accept the terrible reality of becoming food for the demon race.

    The Flame Emperor roared with laughter, his flames reddening half the sky.

    "Listen to me, all of you, drop your weapons, those who surrender will not be killed, otherwise, you will forever fall into hell! My blood pool has vacant spaces just for you to reside in, to taste the burning of molten lava consuming your bodies! Do you wish to become slaves, or food, the choice is now yours to make! My subjects, prepare to attack!" With the Flame Emperor''s command, over three thousand fire-elemental monsters immediately roared in unison, their formidable presence overwhelming the entire field.

    Humans were in panic and disarray, unsure of what to do. The blow of being abandoned by the Power Angel had not yet healed, and now they faced a bloody battle. Inside, they had the elite squad; outside, there were thousands of fire-elemental demons, and above them loomed the Flame Emperor, capable of frightening angels.

    Their hearts were in despair.

    The Temple Knights pulled out their holy swords, placing them against their necks, murmuring farewells to their families and loved ones. They felt not only despair but also heartbreak. They had fought for justice, for the Light God King, but in the end, the angel representing justice and the Light God King had abandoned them. They had always believed that dying in battle was an honor, that after death they would enter the fabled, blissful heaven, only to find out that it was all false.

    There was no heaven, no miracles of the Light God King.

    Everything was a deception by the angels.

    Before being captured by the demon race as slaves, before becoming their food, the only choice left for them was to end their own lives.

    "Flame Emperor, do you know what I want to tell you?" Rody suddenly stood up and shouted loudly, "You are an idiot! Are you going to make a move or just keep blabbering? Let your minions attack, capture us! I can''t wait to live in your blood pool hell! What now? How long are you going to scare us? Your true self is in the heavens fighting, where did you get these three thousand soldiers? As an avatar, do you really have the power to make the earth crack, to summon three thousand soldiers at will?"

    As Rody spoke, he walked forward, surprisingly unharmed on the scorching, bubbling lava.

    In the eyes of everyone in disbelief, he bent down, reaching his hand into the fiery molten lava.

    In the end, all he pulled up was a handful of fresh black soil. The illusion vanished, and in the sky, aside from the Flame Emperor whose face had drastically changed, there were only about two hundred sparsely surrounding fire spirits. The illusions of the earth cracking, lava erupting, flame knights with wings, molten stone giants, and spear-wielding fire guards, all disappeared without a trace.

    "Look, this is the earth spewing lava, so impressive, trying to scare us to death, huh!" Rody held the black soil in his hand, a smile on his face.

    That smile was like a ray of sunlight piercing through the clouds straight to the heart, and everyone who saw it felt their chests about to burst with an indescribable emotion.

    In the most desperate moment, when the angels abandoned everyone.

    He stood up.

    This man, branded as an evil necromancer by the temple, in the most desperate time, he stood up. He made everyone understand one thing: when people are at their most desperate, there are still humans to trust; there is this man, known to the world as the miraculous boy, worthy of trust.

    "Long live Rody!" Stanley rushed out, lifting Rody onto his shoulders, ecstatically shouting.

    "Long live..." Countless people uncontrollably surged forward, whether it was the deliriously happy elite squad or the reinvigorated Holy Warriors. Suddenly putting aside their hostilities, they lifted Rody up, tossing him into the air, and cheered for him unreservedly!

 Chapter 118: Atonement

    The Flame Emperor''s face turned pale, and the fire spirits, now devoid of their illusionary cover, were filled with terror and unease.

    When the jubilant crowd sobered up from their excitement and remembered that they were still enemies, everyone felt a bit awkward. However, before defeating the demon race, it was impossible for humans to start fighting among themselves. They absolutely could not give the Flame Emperor any opportunity to take advantage.

    "How did you see through it? Even angels cannot see through my illusion magic! What makes you doubt me?" The Flame Emperor was baffled. Was this human male stronger than the Power Angel, with even keener insight? Not only him, but even the Temple Knights and Holy Warriors were surprised upon reflection. The magic illusion just now seemed so real that not only seeing through it, but even harboring doubts seemed impossible.

    The Power Angel, who was high above and often battled with demons, was so scared that he fled.

    How did Rody see through the illusion?

    "Actually, it''s very simple. If you were really that powerful, you wouldn''t have talked so much," Rody said with a slight smile. "That''s how the strong are; if one sentence is enough to solve a problem, they definitely won''t waste effort on a second. If you were really strong, with many minions, it would have been straightforward to capture us first, and interrogate us while fighting. But you hesitated to act, only using words to intimidate, which inevitably raises doubts. Besides, you said your true self is fighting in the heavens, and this is just your avatar, but to possess such immense power doesn''t make sense. If the avatar is so powerful, why not go to the heavens to help your true self in the battle, instead of troubling us humans? In a word, you must be deceiving!"

    "Smart human, aren''t you afraid that I will go all out to kill you?" the Flame Emperor asked coldly.

    "Do you know what?" Rody laughed heartily. "That''s exactly what I wanted to tell you!"

    "Temple Knights, charge!" The leading Temple General raised his hand high and slashed it down. Over a hundred mounted Temple Knights spurred their demonic steeds, charging like lightning towards the surrounding fire spirits. As they charged, hundreds of Holy Shield archers had already coordinated in drawing their bows and arrows, shooting into the sky, suppressing the enemy.

    Fire spirits, engulfed in flames, had a great advantage over ordinary human warriors. However, they were no match for the Temple Knights protected by Holy Shield magic.

    Temple Knights, selected from the elite among humans, were not only exceptionally strong but also equipped with the best gear and enhanced by Light magic. Their combat power was sufficient to contend with the demon race''s death knights.

    The Flame Emperor was about to cast a magical attack, but he found that Rody on the ground had whipped up a person with a vine whip and was attacking him.

    With a tenfold enhancement, Chris''s sneak attack couldn''t injure the Flame Emperor but prevented him from smoothly casting his magic. After the heavy blow, Chris didn''t fall to the ground but instead used his strength to pull. Rody, rushing forward, used the vine in his hand and Chris''s pulling force to soar into the sky. At the same time, a golden spirit warhammer formed in his palm like a blazing sun.

    "Fire Shield." Almost before the golden spirit warhammer could strike, the Flame Emperor had already erupted with a huge fiery shield.

    "Too late..." Rody''s real sneak attack was not just the spirit warhammer but the Undying Divine Fire that he had refined into his own body. Was the Flame Emperor''s fire shield stronger, or the Undying Divine Fire, which could burn souls, stronger? Rody always longed for a weapon that could restrain all strong beings. Besides the obvious spirit warhammer, the subtle Undying Divine Fire was the best tool for a sneak attack.

    The golden warhammer shattered the fire shield.

    The enormous explosive force of the fire shield violently hurled Rody and Chris away, falling to the ground.

    However, to Stanley and the others'' astonishment, the powerful Flame Emperor was rolling in pain in the sky. He couldn''t maintain his human form and turned into raging flames, sometimes soaring into the sky, sometimes crashing to the ground, burning the Temple Warriors and Temple Knights who couldn''t dodge in time to ashes. Everyone knew Rody had attacked the Flame Emperor, but they couldn''t understand what method he used.

    After a while, the ten-meter-tall Flame Emperor used a fiery sword to forcefully cut off half of his body.

    His upper body floated up and reformed into a human shape.

    His appearance was not only disheveled but also in extreme pain. He stared at Rody as if he wanted to swallow him whole.

    "Ha, I know I am handsome and worthy of admiration, but I really don''t like a man looking at me like that!" Rody helped Chris up from the ground, dusting off his clothes, and laughed loudly, "Flame Emperor, how does it feel? You''ve never experienced being burned by flames before, right? How does it feel? Is it enjoyable?"

    "Divine fire, how can you possibly have divine fire in you?" the Flame Emperor roared. "You''re clearly human, how is this possible!"

    "Stanley, bring me some water, I need to moisten my throat, then I''ll think about whether to explain or not!" Rody said with a light smile.

    "The Flame Emperor is severely injured, let''s surround and kill him..." As soon as Chris spoke, not only did Stanley and the others burst with fighting spirit, but even the Temple Knights crazily spurred their steeds over.

    "I won''t forget you, Rody!" The Flame Emperor ascended into the sky with a whoosh, opened a fiery teleportation portal, and disappeared without a trace. But his voice lingered over everyone''s heads, continuing unceasingly: "When my true self returns, I will definitely kill you, no one can stop me! Human male with divine fire, you are destined to be hunted by all the strong beings in the world, just wait..."

    "I''m waiting!" Rody hummed.

    He revealed the Undying Divine Fire not just to show off his most hidden power for glory, nor was it simply to scare away the Flame Emperor. In front of him, there was another group of enemies - the Temple Knights and Holy Warriors. Although humans had been forced to unite in the face of imminent danger, now that the fire-elemental demons of the demon race had been annihilated, the Temple Knights might very well turn against and surround his elite squad if they did not feel sufficiently threatened.

    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

    But now, having made the Flame Emperor suffer and fall to the ground, he had demonstrated his formidable strength, making the Temple Knights hesitant to start a battle.

    Although revealing his power and inciting the jealousy of the world''s strong was somewhat unwise, his bloodied and exhausted elite squad needed his display of strength. If the elite squad were to fight again, they would likely be annihilated, which was the last thing Rody wanted.

    The Temple Knights chased and trampled the fire spirits under their demonic steeds, slowly regrouping.

    The atmosphere was now very awkward.

    The Holy Warriors and some of the Temple Knights, deep down, did not want to fight Rody again. They revered heroes and were grateful for Rody''s lifesaving grace. They preferred to resolve their enmity with Rody, especially after witnessing Rody and Chris jointly bring down the Flame Emperor, which filled them with awe and fear. But iron-clad laws and loyalty were their creed. If the Temple General ordered them to attack, they would find it difficult to disobey.

    Therefore, they were very reluctant to start a battle, fearing their superior would issue an attack command, each of them looking at their general.

    Several captains of the Temple Knights also had conflicted expressions.

    They too were looking at their leader. If they were now ordered to charge at Rody and his elite squad, it would be a shameful and painful act. Knights uphold eight virtues and the highest honors; if they were ordered to attack for the sake of slaying evil, they would not hesitate even in the face of death. But the man in front of them was a human brother, a lifesaver, a heroic figure...

    "Sergeant Rody, you can''t understand my feelings right now," the leading general rode out, his hand on his holy sword.

    "No, I understand," Rody slowly approached.

    Everyone''s heart was in turmoil, fearing that the two of them would command to start a battle.

    It was the last thing anyone wanted to see, but they, each representing the commanders of their respective sides, were directing the will of their forces. Though they were extremely reluctant, if they really ordered to start a battle, everyone would have to suppress their sorrow and launch an attack.

    "My faith has been shattered, my life is in despair. After this battle, I feel I have lost all my honor and pride!" the leading general said coldly. "All this, because of you, Sergeant Rody. If not for chasing you, I would still be kneeling in the grand hall of the temple, praying with devotion and hope."

    "Until I was five years old, I, like you, was full of hope. But on my fifth birthday, I understood what despair meant," Rody slowly looked at the Temple General on horseback.

    "Say your last words to me," the Temple General nodded and said coldly.

    Everyone''s heart tightened.

    Was this Temple General still not satisfied with the killings? Wasn''t the bloodbath in the dwarf territory enough? Was he planning to turn against Rody''s elite squad, stubbornly maintaining his loyalty to the angels and his beliefs? Was he going to kill Rody to salvage his shattered faith?

    "In my most desperate times, I chose to keep living, even though it was incredibly painful, I never gave up," Rody said solemnly.

    "So, you are you, you are Rody, the miraculous boy, the military genius!" the Temple General shook his head and said, "I am not like you. Since I was five, I have always been called a prodigy. At fifteen, I was the strongest in the Knight Academy. At eighteen, I joined the Temple Knights. Now, more than twenty years later, I have never doubted my righteousness and beliefs, nor have I felt shame or depression. The world calls me the perfect knight, the most loyal and outstanding among the nine squads of the Temple Knights. So, when the divine will came, whether it was to kill dwarfs or even my own father and son, I would do it, believing it to be absolute justice, even pursuing you, a hero of humanity."

    People were more and more alarmed as they listened, thinking the Temple General was set on his misguided path.

    Stanley and others clenched their weapons, ready to fight to the death.

    "Sergeant Rody, you are the only one who understands me. Please accept my crest. In my hometown of Niel, I have an eight-year-old son. I hope that when he grows up, he can follow in the footsteps of his father''s crest, as it represents his father''s proudest honor!" The Temple General took off the crest representing honor from his chest and threw it to Rody. He slowly rode back, looked at his subordinates, and slowly removed his helmet, revealing his golden hair.

    Like a golden lion, he sternly surveyed everyone.

    His hand slowly drew his holy sword. Everyone now understood what he was going to do, and they all pleaded with him, hoping he would change his mind.

    Several captains of the Temple Knights rode forward, each removing their helmets, looking at their general. They too hoped the general would change his decision, but more so, they respected his wishes because they had always held such respect for their general in their hearts.

    "Everyone can make mistakes, even a perfect knight like me is not an exception," the Temple General declared solemnly. "Everyone must pay for their mistakes, and I am no exception. You are not guilty, you are not wrong, but as the highest commander, I need to use my blood and life to atone for the innocent lives lost. When we cease to be just, we become the executioners of evil. I hope your captain can lead you on the path of righteousness."

    "General!" The Temple Knights and Holy Warriors cried out as they saw the Temple General place his sword against his neck, wailing loudly.

    "Farewell, my wife, my son, you deserve a righteous and honorable husband and father, not me, an unjust executioner. Farewell, my brothers, you need a perfect knight, not me! Farewell, my beliefs... Let me fall into hell! There I will atone for all my past sins!" With these words, the Temple General''s sword swung, his head fell, and blood spurted skyward.

    "General, you will always be our general, our perfect knight... Let us bear some of your sins, let us atone for you a little! Our hands, full of sins, should be severed!" A dozen Temple Knights rode out, along with several tearful Holy Warriors. They raised their holy swords and cut off their own arms, and two of the Temple Knights also took their own lives.

    "Sergeant Rody," a captain of the Temple Knights rode out, his eyes brimming with tears and his voice hoarse, he shouted at Rody, "We will exile ourselves, atoning for our sins for the rest of our lives, never to be enemies of humanity again. We hope one day you can invite us back to the battlefield, to campaign against orcs and demons."

    "That day will not be far away," Rody nodded.

    "Salute!" the captain of the Temple Knights loudly issued the command, and led a salute to Rody.

    All the Temple Knights and Holy Warriors took off their holy helmets and, led by the captain, slowly walked through the blazing dwarf territory, towards the corpse of the dwarf chieftain with the horned helmet. They threw away their holy helmets, discarding their identities. They then solemnly repented and tearfully set off, led by their captain, slowly leaving for the Evil Forest.

    At that moment, they became self-exiled wandering knights.

    When their faith in justice was shattered, when honor turned to shame, when the hope in their hearts was extinguished, all they had left was a life of aimlessness and atonement.

    The elite squad had originally resented this group of self-proclaimed righteous individuals, but now seeing them in this state, they felt great sympathy.

    What could be more tragic than a life where beliefs, honor, and hope were all shattered?

    Red Hat and the dwarf guards originally wanted to kill all the Temple Knights to avenge their loved ones, but now seeing these people in such a pitiable state, like walking corpses, they felt that their current suffering was worse than death. Watching the enemies walk away, the two dwarfs couldn''t help but embrace each other and burst into tears, realizing they were the only ones left of their entire race.

    "Stanley, bring down the body of the chieftain with the horned helmet. Everyone, gather the bodies and burn them, then we need to leave this place immediately. The Light Knight Regiment, reinforcements, and demon race reinforcements will soon arrive." Rody patted Red Hat''s head and said, "Stop crying, you two are warriors now. Dry your tears and come with me!"

    "I just want to cry, wuwuwu, my heart hurts, I''ll cry if I want to, you can''t control me, wuwuwu..." Red Hat sobbed loudly as he followed behind Rody.

    Chris fell to the ground with a ''thud'', blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

    He had been injured by the explosion of the Flame Emperor''s fire shield and had been holding on until now, but he couldn''t sustain it any longer.

    Neither his body nor his spirit was as resilient as Rody''s, who had been refined by the black dragon''s blood and the divine fire. Rody, even if grievously injured, could recover quickly due to the restoration of his life source, but Chris could not.

    "What a troublesome guy!" Rody smiled, walked over to Chris, and cut his own wrist with a dagger, letting the blood drip into Chris''s mouth.

    "Your blood is salty, salty and sour, it tastes terrible..." Chris opened his eyes and said this first.

    "Hey, want me to carry you? Although you''re annoying to look at, you''re still somewhat useful!" Rody bent down, reaching to help Chris up, then bent over to carry him. But Chris pushed him away, a sickly flush on his pale face, and shook his head: "Don¡¯t underestimate me, I''m also a tough warrior, a little injury won''t defeat me."

    "Suit yourself, I can hardly hold on myself, don''t want to bother with you!" Rody saw Stanley carrying over the chieftain''s body, gently adjusted the chieftain''s horned helmet, and said softly, "Chieftain, we''re leaving now. We''ll come to see you again. If there''s any hidden wine in the cellar, remember to bring it out for me."

    "Chieftain, I won''t fight for your position anymore, Chieftain... Wuhuahua! Wuhuah!" Red Hat cried his heart out.

    "I will carry on your will, reviving the dwarf race!" The dwarf guard also cried tears, but his eyes showed determination. He knelt down to swear, then reached out to Rody: "Great mage, please bestow upon me an iron hat, as a symbol of the sturdy friendship between dwarfs and humans."

    "Put on this hat, already redeemed with blood!" Rody picked up the holy helmet that the Temple General had thrown on the ground and slowly placed it in the dwarf guard''s hands.

    "The enemy''s blood, the friend''s friendship, the relative''s last wish, and the mage''s gift, I, the 1652nd dwarf chieftain Iron Hat, together with Red Hat, will guard the friendship between dwarfs and humans for life, revitalizing our hill dwarf race!" The dwarf guard slowly put on the holy helmet stained with the Temple General''s blood, tearfully swore to the sky, and then embraced Red Hat tightly, both weeping together.

 Chapter 119: Triumphant Return

    Rody knew that whether it was the gods or the demons, as soon as they had a chance, they would dispatch troops and rush over at the fastest speed. He led his elite squad, barely having time to bandage their wounds, and hurriedly left the dwarf territory.

    For the first time in his life, he felt that fortune had smiled upon him.

    When he and his exhausted elite squad were caught up by their pursuers, they were surprised to find that it was Dean Buke and the beautiful instructor.

    Dean Buke was slightly disheveled, his robe torn, apparently having battled with orcs or powerful demons. He was overjoyed to see Rody, hugging his beloved student tightly, nearly suffocating Rody in his embrace. The beautiful instructor was much better at controlling her emotions, merely ruffling Rody''s hair and patting his shoulder.

    The arrival of two absolutely trustworthy powerhouses greatly stabilized the minds of the elite squad, and they were extremely excited.

    In front of their teachers, even though they had been through many battles, they were still students from the academy. Their dependence and trust in their teachers greatly relaxed their tense minds.

    The dean and instructor, who even the head of their squad, Rody, greatly respected, were certainly a reassurance for everyone.

    "You all did well, but also stirred up a big mess," the beautiful instructor said with a smile. "However, it''s surprising that just a few kids like you could achieve this much. Don''t worry, everything is fine now. The allied forces of nineteen nations have sent troops to meet us, less than five hundred kilometers from here. And the vanguard commando units are only a hundred kilometers away. In those commando units, you will find many of your classmates."

    "Rest for half a day, then we''ll hit the road again," Dean Buke also comforted everyone. "Many powerful figures from the nineteen nations have come and driven away many sneaky fellows. For now, you don''t have to worry about orcs and demons."

    "Hey, why didn''t you ever mention you have such a beautiful instructor?" Chris quietly came over and asked.

    "What color is my underwear today? I didn''t tell you that either!" Rody didn''t understand why this guy was always concerned about beautiful women. If he was interested in beautiful women, he should have been like Stanley and the others, going over to woo the beautiful instructor.

    A golden rainbow streaked across the sky, and in a blink, another human powerhouse landed.

    Rody and the others looked over and saw it was the Drunken Swordsman.

    He was holding a bloody head in his hand, a stark contrast to his usual drunken state. He appeared like an unsheathed sword. Usually, the Drunken Swordsman lay on the ground like a lump of mud, unresponsive even if someone stepped over him. But now, Rody felt he couldn''t look directly at him, as his eyes ached faintly at the sight of him.

    "I bring you a gift, one of the traitors who betrayed you," the Drunken Swordsman casually threw the head on the ground and started guzzling from his wine flask.

    "Boss, is your teacher the Sword Emperor?" Everyone was extremely envious of Rody. Not only did he have a young and amiable dean and a beautiful instructor, but he also had a swordsmanship instructor who turned out to be the Sword Emperor. It was truly impressive.

    "I just found out myself," Rody chuckled. The Drunken Swordsman usually looked like a lump of mud, and Rody had no idea he was so formidable.

    After the beautiful instructor, Dean Buke, and the Drunken Swordsman joined them, the journey felt strangely easy for everyone. Usually, they would avoid high-level magical beasts and orcs, but now there was no need. They walked boldly, and everything in the Evil Forest avoided them.

    Had it not been for witnessing the Drunken Swordsman arrive like a golden rainbow, no one would believe that this staggering drunkard could be the Sword Emperor.

    It was also hard to believe that Dean Buke, who always bragged about his exploits and invited everyone to watch strip dances in lion cages, was a superpower. Such people were usually seen as boastful with no real strength, and it was hard to accept that such a lecherous man could be the dean of a magic academy.

    The deans of magic academies were usually serious old men, wearing tall mage hats, holding the best staffs, radiating divine and glorious light, speaking of virtues and kindness, and being highly respected.

    Everyone liked the lecherous and amiable Dean Buke. He suited their tastes well, but they just didn''t see him as a dean.

    "Boss, Dean Buke is so amiable, always smiling. How come you call him the Demon Dean?" Stanley couldn''t understand. If there was such a dean, he would rather trade places with Rody.

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    "You''ll know when the time comes," Rody laughed and did not explain.

    After a day, the leisurely walking elite squad encountered a large orc team led by Bloodflower Axe Barbarian, retreating from the Evil Forest.

    The elite squad thought they were in for a tough battle. The enemy had Bloodflower Axe Barbarian commanding, dragon cavalry in the sky, and Kodo beasts on the ground. Usually, facing such enemies, Rody would lead everyone to flee. But today was an exception. The beautiful instructor didn¡¯t intend to take a detour. She waved her hand, commanding Dean Buke and the Drunken Swordsman to clear the way like laborers.

    In everyone''s eyes, Dean Buke and the Drunken Swordsman were like summoned battle beasts of the laborer type for the beautiful instructor.

    They came when called, went when waved away, and if not careful, they would even get scolded.

    Everyone, excitedly holding swords and knives, prepared to follow Dean Buke and the Drunken Swordsman to gain some merit. They also wanted to show off their masculinity in front of the beautiful instructor, proving that they were not the children she spoke of, but real men of stature.

    However, once everyone saw Dean Buke and the Drunken Swordsman in action, they were all dumbfounded.

    True powerhouses were terrifying to this extent.

    Bloodflower Axe Barbarian, whom no one dared to ambush, was powerless like a child in front of the Drunken Swordsman. In less than a minute, the Drunken Swordsman, who had been lying like a lump of mud on Big Beard Malu''s stretcher, vomiting, had already brought back Bloodflower Axe Barbarian''s head. Everyone watched in cold sweat; it wasn''t that Bloodflower Axe Barbarian wasn''t powerful enough, but that the Drunken Swordsman was too terrifying.

    The ax aura unleashed by Bloodflower Axe Barbarian was split in half by a single stroke of the Drunken Swordsman''s sword. The Bloodflower Great Axe, reportedly forged from meteoric iron from the heavens, was also split in two.

    The sword used by the Drunken Swordsman was not the legendary treasure ''Red Dragon''s Tooth'' or the angelic ''Holy Sword''. He simply drew a rusty iron sword from Big Beard Malu''s waist and made a few slashes before returning with Bloodflower Axe Barbarian''s head.

    It wasn''t just the Drunken Swordsman who was terrifyingly powerful, but also another laborer, Dean Buke.

    Rody did not know the extent of Buke''s power before. He only knew that Buke was unimaginably strong. Now he realized that his previous imagination was completely wrong. Dean Buke was definitely stronger than his wildest imagination.

    Moreover, Dean Buke was a genuine mage, not a swordsman.

    His attacking style was somewhat similar to Chris, using magic to simulate sword aura to attack the enemy.

    But if Dean Buke was an eagle soaring in the sky, looking down on the world, then Chris was at best a just-hatched ugly duckling, completely beyond Rody''s imagination. He had never thought that magic could be used in such an attacking manner. Fireballs were not fireballs, and lightning was not lightning. The fireball spells cast by Dean Buke turned into swords of flame tens of meters long, and his chanted lightning spells became spears of lightning tens of meters long.

    Whether it was the dragon cavalry that had chased the elite squad in the sky or the Kodo beasts that were thick-skinned enough to ignore the squad''s attacks, none could withstand a single strike from Dean Buke.

    Hundreds of orcs disappeared in less than three minutes under the attacks of this demon dean.

    Seeing this killer return as if nothing had happened, smiling cheerily, everyone couldn''t help but sweat profusely.

    "Respected Dean Buke, you''re back, you''ve worked hard. Please have some water first," Red Hat reacted the fastest, rushing up to offer his services, "Do you want me to fan you to cool down? No need... Then how about some fruit? No need... Then how about looking at a nude beauty album? I know Stanley has a great collection of beauty albums, you''ll definitely like it!"

    "I''m guilty, I should die, I didn''t bring it out earlier..." Stanley, hearing this, quickly presented it respectfully.

    "Dean Buke, I have one too!" Everyone crowded around him, almost ripping off his boots to polish them. The Drunken Swordsman was either drinking or sleeping all day, making it impossible to get close and please him. But Dean Buke was different. He had common interests with everyone. With common ground, everyone hoped to get on better terms with him. Perhaps this demon dean, in a good mood, might give them a tip or two, benefiting them greatly.

    "Do you also have a nude beauty album? Can I take a look?" Chris asked Rody.

    "Go back to your Bic¨¦ and have your fill of watching!" Rody was thinking about how to transform his spiritual power into sword aura for attack, annoyed at being bothered by Chris.

    "You''re always suppressing yourself like this, it''s not good for your health," Chris said, not taking offense and smiling mischievously before running off to ingratiate himself with the beautiful instructor.

    Aside from Rody, Chris was the only one who could chat with the beautiful instructor for a few sentences.

    Seeing that even powerful figures like Dean Buke and the Drunken Swordsman were mere laborers for the beautiful instructor, no one dared to speak to her.

    After slowly walking for another two days, the beautiful instructor came to Rody, stroked his hair, and smiled, "The human allied forces have arrived. We''ll only escort you this far. Those guys won''t be happy to see people from Philek, and we don''t want to deal with them, so I''ll leave first. You take the team and relax for a while; I''ll come find you later. Here, this is something I wrote a while ago, take a look when you have time."

    "Your magic notes?" Rody was so thrilled he nearly jumped up.

    "Gill misses you, but it''s not appropriate for her to come out now. Once things settle down a bit, I''ll take her out for a walk!" The beautiful instructor handed Rody a book of magic notes, softly cautioned him to be careful, chanted a spell, and teleported away through a space-time portal.

    "Buke, where do you plan to lead our nation''s elite?" Not long after the beautiful instructor left, several silver or pale golden lights flew from the distance in the sky, led by a Sword Emperor adorned with a crescent moon. They released colorful magical fireworks in the sky, and soon, the powerful lights approaching Rody and his team from afar numbered more than a dozen.

    "It''s funny, I just came to find my student Rody, I don''t care about your people," Dean Buke laughed heartily, "You''re not birdmen, why fly so high?"

    "Hand over our elites!" another great swordsman with star-like silver light shouted loudly.

    "Say that in front of me if you dare." Buke patted his tattered robe and shook his head, "I seem to be regressing as I age. Even a minor Sky Warrior dares to shout at me. My nickname ''the demon'' is almost forgotten."

    "Buke, everyone is here to protect their nation¡¯s elites. Let¡¯s talk this out," General Quentin also arrived, descending from the sky.

    "Alright, alright, to avoid giving you guys a grand excuse to attack our nation, I won¡¯t take anything to heart. Ha, I might as well change my name to ''Good Guy'' Buke." Buke and the Drunken Swordsman stood up, surrounded by over twenty powerful beings, but they laughed heartily without fear and walked through the crowd as if no one else was there.

    Many people trembled with anger, some turned pale, clenching their teeth, hands on their sword hilts, but no one dared to draw their swords.

    Watching Buke and the Drunken Swordsman walk away, everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

    The silver and golden lights in the sky dispersed, and the powerhouses scattered. Some, before leaving, opened small teleportation gates, from which large numbers of troops and elite students poured out.

    Among them, from the gate opened by General Quentin, the elite of the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp, who had trained together in the past, came rushing over, cheering and shouting.

    Leading them was the instructor Wood, who used to scold them all the time.

    "Rody, you show-off, why didn''t you take me along! Now I''m still unknown, can''t even get a girl..." Rody couldn''t help but laugh when he heard this voice; it was Tommy, the loudmouth. His voice could be heard for miles. Not only Tommy was coming from a distance but also Thief Terry, Benson, Leo, and others.

    "Ah..." Countless people, whether they knew each other or not, rushed out, embraced tightly, and then surrounded the elite squad, cheering and throwing them into the air.

    "Son, welcome back victorious!" General Quentin looked at his son, tears streaming down his face, and embraced him tightly with his strong arms.

    "Welcome back heroes! Welcome back heroes..." Those on the outside, unable to push through, excitedly raised their weapons, cheering for them over and over again!

 Chapter 120: You Are My Soldiers, My Pride

    Rody and his elite squad passed through the teleportation gate, but they still walked through the land of evil for nearly half a month before returning to the Saint Song base camp.

    Along the way, soldiers cheered for them, and generals from various battle zones personally led their most elite soldiers to escort them. Sergeant Rody and his elite squad''s reputation represented not only the glory of human victory but also the pride of human intelligence. Defeating the orcs with brute force and armies would not be the most commendable achievement as it would result in a heavy cost and numerous human casualties.

    Like Rody, defeating the enemy with intelligence, manipulating them, killing countless enemies while keeping his own troops unharmed, was truly praiseworthy.

    In history, no human war against invasion was ever made public to civilians, as whether the human allied forces won or lost, it would lead to grief, with people lamenting their sons, husbands, and fathers dying on the battlefield.

    But now, all countries were broadcasting the footage of Rody leading his elite squad in guerrilla warfare against the orcs.

    Especially the kings of the nineteen countries, who had commentators highlight the elites of their own nations and promote their national war heroes. Soon, millions of people were familiar with Rody and his elite squad. In streets and alleys, people talked about their battles, and in markets, excited youths spontaneously gathered to cheer for the miraculous boy and celebrate the human victory.

    Rody and his elite squad had returned...

    This news spread across the continent, and countless youths flocked to the Saint Song base camp, ready to welcome the returning human heroes.

    When Rody and his team returned, seeing tens of thousands of people lining the roads to welcome them, with people everywhere and banners displaying classic quotes from Rody, Chris, and the elite squad. Phrases like "Let us die in battle," "Let us die under the orcs'' axes! We hope to die like heroes," "We are men of steel, even if boiled in the orcs'' cauldrons, chewed on, beheaded as trophies, we won''t cry," "We prefer to stain the land of evil with our blood, not our tears," "We are the rising sun of the East, unstoppable, this is our era..."

    As for banners and flags with slogans like "Salute to Sergeant Rody," "Long live wisdom," "Long live humanity," "Victory forever," there were countless.

    All nineteen countries sent their delegations to grandly welcome their national elites.

    Other nations also sent representatives to congratulate them.

    Flags of various countries fluttered in the sky, and everyone''s faces beamed with joy.

    As Rody and Chris rode at the forefront, escorted by soldiers, the excited crowd welcomed them with the warmest applause. Young men and unmarried women had already gone crazy. Not only were flowers scattered in the air, but continuous screams also filled the atmosphere.

    "Rody, I love you..."

    "I want to marry you, handsome Chris, I love you! I am madly in love with you!"

    The cheers of the girls were different from those of the men. While men mostly cheered or shouted classic slogans together, girls, apart from screaming, desperately threw flower petals and used their screams to express their feelings for Rody and the elite squad. Rody and Chris were the most popular, but Jesse, Stanley, and Cary also had their admirers. Some older women, apart from supporting Rody and Chris, also had a certain preference for strong and rugged men like Stanley; some women liked men with a melancholic look like Cary; others liked the fearless type like Lopek; and some liked Jesse, who recited triumphant poetry after battles¡­

    In short, the screams were incessant, rising and falling continuously.

    The soldiers lined up on both sides saluted ceremoniously as Rody led the elite squad past.

    Many people had volunteered to join the army after seeing the prestige of Rody and his elite squad; many soldiers, who were initially fearful and anxious of dying in the land of evil and being buried in the wilderness, were inspired by Rody''s miraculous performances and fought bravely; many people, who were initially opposed to the war fearing for the lives of their sons and husbands, changed their minds after witnessing the unyielding resistance and the glory of victory of Rody and his team, and personally sent their sons and husbands to join the army and fight.

    For the first time, humans united so strongly against the orcs and demons.

    Although there were a few dissenting voices, they quickly disappeared under the overwhelming wave of enthusiasm and oath-swearing by the young people and the military, fully supported by the kings and the public.

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    No one could stand against the unity of all humankind.

    Of course, the biggest orchestrator behind this event was the extremely patient Marshal Ferdinand.

    Normally inactive, but when he acted, it was with thunderous force. Many dissenters were simply overwhelmed and silenced by the massive campaign he initiated. As one of the three great marshals of the Human Alliance and the only one still active on the battlefield, the one-armed War King who had survived two hundred-year holy wars, he was not only deeply respected by various kings but also given due deference by the Church that governed justice and faith in the world.

    Mages shot magical fireworks into the sky, and magical reporters desperately recorded with memory crystals, jostling for good positions.

    Some countries'' mages, regardless of the cost of magic crystals, directly broadcast the grand welcome to their own nations, especially the nineteen countries with elite members, who spared no expense in showing the welcoming event to their capital''s citizens, sharing the joy with them.

    At the very front of the Saint Song base camp, the great Marshal himself, along with various generals, stood quietly at the end of the road, welcoming the return of Rody and his team.

    When Rody and Chris dismounted and led the elite squad towards the great Marshal, everyone erupted into the most enthusiastic applause and cheers, then quickly quieted down at the gesture of the Marshal. Everyone listened attentively, not wanting to miss a single glance or word. In the profound silence, only the raised fist of Marshal Ferdinand could be seen, with his subordinates behind him saluting spiritedly.

    "Do you know what I want to say to you? Smart Rody, and the human elites behind you, no, soldiers, people of all nations, none of you will understand what an old soldier like me feels. You will not know how excited I am in my heart." The lofty voice of the great Marshal, amplified by magic, thundered over everyone''s heads, and the entire human continent was simultaneously broadcasting his voice.

    Hearing him speak, everyone grew even more curious.

    Rody knew in his heart that the great Marshal was again pushing him into the limelight to inspire and motivate people. Of course, it also meant to show strong support for himself, giving those who secretly harmed him a cause for concern.

    "I am an old soldier who has been through countless battles and has become numb to life and death. If a general reports to me about the death of five thousand or ten thousand men, I would just nod my head, thinking more about the loss these five or ten thousand lives mean to the battle than caring about how important these lives are to their mothers and wives. Some say I am a war merchant, a warmonger, even a war criminal. None of these can shake my heart because I am an old soldier," the great Marshal said solemnly: "In my life, I have won countless victories but never fought a battle with zero casualties. Soldiers, people of all nations, you will not know my truest feelings when I heard Sergeant Rody''s report."

    "Sergeant Rody and his men, just a hundred students new to the battlefield, who had never experienced any battle before, armed with wooden spears and without armor, faced a 319-strong orc army and achieved zero casualties," the great Marshal continued: "I must admit, at the moment I heard his report, I felt jealous. This young man is too excellent, making me, an old soldier who has been through countless battles, feel utterly embarrassed. But a second later, my heart was filled with excitement and pride. Yes, this young man, he is our human son, our human genius, our human pride... He is not the bloodthirsty orc Behemoth, not the sinister and evil demons, he is a human, he is the son of our human land, he is the treasure bestowed upon us by the heavens!"

    "Well done..." The people were stirred by the great Marshal''s words, unable to help but cheer in unison, applause like a storm breaking out.

    "If a general tells me he won a victory with zero casualties," the great Marshal looked at Rody not far in front of him and spoke loudly, "I wouldn¡¯t be too surprised, because he is a hero among millions of elites, he is a general. But when a logistic sergeant tells me he won with zero casualties, defeating orcs with wooden spears, I am astonished... If a general achieves a zero-casualty victory once, it is enough to be talked about for hundreds of years, becoming a glorious page in human history. But when a logistic sergeant, leading a hundred students and a few mercenaries, along with a few griffin riders who were initially prone to fleeing, repeatedly defeats the enemy with zero casualties, I simply cannot describe this unprecedented victory in words..."

    "Long live Rody!" The people cheered again, the sound like surging tides, lasting for a long time.

    The great Marshal waved his hand, "I know you have heard it, but now that everyone is standing in front of Sergeant Rody, take another look at his achievements, and you will feel even more."

    The mages began to play the magical recording, projecting a giant image in mid-air.

    People could clearly see, as introduced by Big Beard Malu, Rody standing tall on a pile of orc heads, cheering up his companions: "Comrades, look at what you''re stepping on. Orc heads! Orc bodies! Are they strong? Are they fearsome? Are they invincible? Tell me, who brought them down? Who cut off their heads?"

    "It is us... long live humanity!" In the image, hundreds of militiamen and elite students erupted in a wild roar. Likewise, tens of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of thousands of excited civilians also shouted loudly in unison.

    Seeing Rody leading his subordinates to repeatedly succeed in attacking the orcs and winning time after time, the people''s applause was unceasing.

    But when it came to the part where the human reinforcements attempted the assassination, everyone fell silent.

    They had seen it, and they knew of this scene. The elite squad, which had always had zero casualties in battle, did not fall under the orcs'' lethal axes. Instead, they fell to the swords of the human reinforcements... When everyone saw the leading silver-armored swordsman declare Rody guilty and then attack him with a sword, the people boiled with anger, cursing continuously, and the girls couldn''t help but shed tears.

    When they saw Rody being assassinated, the pain, astonishment, surprise, confusion, and the fleeting sadness that emerged on his face, made everyone''s heart sting.

    It felt like watching one''s own proud child being harmed by a villain right before their eyes.

    Everyone could see on Rody''s face, as he fell, a faint smile. It was like the last fragrance a flower emits before withering; like the last light the sun emits before setting... Many people could no longer hold back their tears.

    When he became the pride of the people, having established countless merits, some conspirators committed such a universally despised and despicable assassination.

    "Do you know what I want to tell you? Sergeant Rody, and the elite behind you." The voice of the Grand Marshal roared like a lion, thundering out, "No matter how many people in the world want to harm you, no matter which country, no matter who, if they dare to do the same thing again, then I will bring the entire army to crush them into powder like bugs! As long as I am not dead, no one shall touch my soldiers!"

    "You are my soldiers, my pride. Whoever dares to touch you will have to step over my dead body! Rody, and the elite squads, I want to tell you, your blood will not be shed in vain!"

    "Your blood will not be shed in vain, not..." The people thunderously echoed the words of His Excellency the Grand Marshal, repeating them over and over, shouting towards the elite squads.

    Rody was a bit better, although moved, the hot tears did not fall from his eyes.

    But Chris, Kaeli, and Stanley, they cried like children.

    Although Rody knew that the Grand Marshal would definitely support him, he had not expected him to make such a solemn vow. A feeling of being protected by an elder grew in Rody''s heart, moving him inexplicably.

    "My soldiers, come out and accept everyone''s cheers! You are all heroes! All our pride!"

    The Grand Marshal, with the generals, strode towards Rody and the elite squad. They opened their arms wide, hugging Rody and the members of the elite squad tightly. Countless people surged forward, rushing towards the elite squad under the dazzling sky lit by magical fireworks, continuously throwing fresh flowers, splashing fine wine, and cheering wildly for them, congratulating them, welcoming their triumphant return.

 Chapter 121: Great Friendship

    In the rest room, Rody lay lazily on the bed, deeply asleep.

    Chris entered, sat down, and with a flick of his hand, pushed aside the magic book covering Rody''s face, only to find Rody glaring at him irritably.

    "Hey, why aren''t you attending the banquet? Do you know how many girls are dreaming about your pretty face? Do you realize how many hearts you''re breaking by doing this?" Chris said with a grin on his face, not at all angry. In the Evil Forest, he was Rody''s best partner, but once back at the rear, he turned into a mischievous imp who loved to annoy Rody.

    "Leave me alone!" Rody was in a good mood, but it was ruined upon his return.

    In the Evil Forest, he was the leader, and everyone listened to him. But upon returning to the original Iron Blood Cavalry Camp, everyone suddenly remembered that their leader was just a 16 or 17-year-old virgin. So, they enthusiastically found a voluptuous beauty to sneak into Rody''s bed, waiting for him naked.

    Rody, after a refreshing bath, returned in great spirits.

    But upon uncovering the blanket and finding a beautiful snake (metaphorically speaking), he finally managed to subdue her, then chased after his eavesdropping subordinates with a big knife.

    Such a strategy, without asking, was definitely Chris''s doing; others like Stanley wouldn''t dare. Rody wanted to settle the score with Chris, but the guy had already snuck off for a date with his lover, Betsy. Seeing Chris now, Rody really wanted to grab him, tie him up, and give him a good beating, but somehow, seeing his grinning face, Rody just couldn''t bring himself to throw a punch.

    "Staying a virgin isn''t bad, you''ll have a wonderful memory later when you and Jill have your ''coming of age ceremony'' together," Chris laughed heartily.

    "When are you marrying Betsy?" Rody asked, causing Chris, who was drinking water, to spray it all over the floor.

    "No way, boss," Chris mimicked Stanley and the others: "What era are we in now, huh? Still talking about such an outdated thing as marriage? Does being lovers mean we have to marry? Haven''t you heard that marriage is like a tomb? A dashing and handsome man like me would never dig my own grave. I want to wander through the sea of flowers, tasting the beauty of the world!"

    "There''s no Betsy, right?" Rody suddenly smirked: "I''ve asked General Quentin and Instructor Wood, and they''ve never heard of her!"

    "Haha, anyone else would''ve fallen for that," Chris was startled, but then clapped his hands: "You didn''t ask General Quentin. You didn''t even go to the celebration, how could you see them? And General Quentin took Kaeli home. You''re just testing me. Rody, I won''t fall for it, understand? I''m as clever as you, maybe a little less in tactics, but in life, I''m just as smart."

    "So you''re not admitting it, which means Betsy doesn''t exist?" Rody observed Chris''s expression, trying to find a trace of deceit.

    "I didn''t deny it either!" Chris looked very generous, even a bit cunning.

    "Fine, since we''re good friends, take me to meet Miss Betsy!" Rody sat up straight and looked at Chris: "I want to see what kind of beauty she is, to compare with my Jill and the lady boss."

    "You''re using reverse psychology on me, but I won''t fall for it," Chris laughed heartily.

    "Indeed, my Jill is a bit better," Rody lay back down, covering his face with the magic book.

    "Rody, although your reverse psychology is quite clumsy, as your friend, it''s necessary to let you know what a real beauty is! A green, inexperienced virgin like Jill simply can''t compare to Betsy!" Chris seemed to have already gathered information about Jill from disloyal fellows like fatty Tommy and skinny Terry, especially Red Hat, who was prone to leaking information.

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    "Let''s go!" Rody immediately rolled out of bed upon hearing this and said, "Take me to see for myself!"

    "So soon?" Chris couldn''t help but exclaim in surprise.

    "You can''t arrange it now?" Rody looked at Chris with a mocking smile. Seeing Chris''s skepticism, Chris was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered, nodding and smiling, "Of course, it''s possible. What''s my relationship with her? First love, the closest of couples in the world, understand? I can climb into her bed anytime, embrace her, kiss her¡­"

    "Really?" Rody expressed strong doubt.

    "Let''s go. If I don''t show you, you won''t understand the extent of my charm. Do you really doubt that someone with ancient elf blood like me could be unloved?" Chris slapped Rody''s shoulder, full of bravado, "I''ll introduce you to Betsy, and maybe even her female guard, Morin. Perhaps you''ll even have the chance to have your ''coming of age ceremony'' ahead of time."

    Rody snorted coldly and led the way out of the large tent.

    Far away, there were soldiers engaged in a merry bonfire, and the people sang and danced, with cheers erupting from time to time.

    The entire capital of Norne was immersed in joy. Such festivities had been going on for two days and a night, but the people''s enthusiasm had not waned, singing and dancing all night long. The energetic youth were not willing to sleep early, with young men seizing the opportunity to court girls. Under the round moon in the sky, countless romantic couples chased each other, held hands for strolls, embraced, and kissed...

    "Lieutenant Rody, Lieutenant Chris, please be careful. Also, have fun!" The guard at the gate saluted them sharply.

    "Thank you, Corporal." Rody, knowing how rare it was for guards to remain highly vigilant during such a festival, returned the military salute and patted his shoulder, "We won''t be out for long, but if General Quentin or His Excellency the Grand Marshal''s guards ask, you can tell them we''re going into the city to meet a friend."

    "Yes," the guard replied, visibly excited. Although Rody''s rank wasn''t high, he was well-known in the Norne Empire and even the entire continent, and the guard was more thrilled to see him than a general.

    "Please wait, Lieutenant Rody." Just after walking less than a hundred meters, someone chased after them; it was a personal guard of His Excellency the Grand Marshal.

    "Is this a letter from the Grand Marshal for me?" Rody skimmed through it and handed it to Chris.

    "Soldier, please relay to His Excellency the Grand Marshal that we will gather the elite squad tomorrow morning and set off immediately for the first matter. As for the second and third matters, we will act according to the situation, please tell the Grand Marshal to be assured." Chris burned the letter directly, even using magic to scatter the ashes. The guard watched the letter completely disappear before saluting and leaving.

    The two walked silently for a while, each emerging from their thoughts. They exchanged a glance and then each gave a slight nod.

    They had already formed an unspoken understanding, facing everything together, utilizing each other''s strengths combined with their own, striving for the best results. Although they hadn''t known each other before, their synergy seemed innate, as if they were born to be partners, and their way of doing things wonderfully merged into one.

    "The war has ended, and the proposal for the death training has resurfaced, and even more, there''s a new ''International Elite Magic Martial Arts Competition''. It seems some people are starting to stir again. But this is good, we haven''t settled our accounts with them, and they''ve come out on their own," Chris said with a slight smile.

    "I feel it''s not as simple as just a magic martial arts competition. There seems to be an invisible hand moving closer to us," Rody sensed.

    "In the Evil Forest, you led us to defeat the orcs decisively. Aren''t we capable of causing a huge stir in the capital of Kamaran? Rody, you know, whatever you do, we will support you," Chris said reassuringly.

    "Exactly because everyone is following me, I need to be extra careful and cautious," Rody knew the lives of over a hundred men were in his hands.

    "What others will do later, I don''t know, but Rody, you should know, I am your best partner," Chris looked up at the moon, silent for a long time. When Rody lowered his head in thought, Chris suddenly looked back and smiled, "Everyone needs friends. I used to be very lonely without any. Now that I have you to argue and get angry with every day, I find life quite enjoyable."

    "Chris, I still have some doubts about you," Rody said without looking at him, shaking his head slightly, "Please forgive me, but I really want to know who you are."

    "I can''t explain it clearly to you, because it''s difficult to clarify, and I have my own difficulties. Just like you wouldn''t tell me how you broke the magic martial arts taboo, what kind of extraordinary experiences you''ve had these years, how you''ve lived, what you''ve done before, etc. You wouldn''t tell me because that''s your secret. Everyone has secrets, and I''m no exception," Chris said with a smile, "But I am your friend, your comrade-in-arms, and I will not harm you. Of that, you can be absolutely sure."

    "Let''s go back," Rody stopped and said, "Whether Betsy exists or not, it actually doesn''t matter."

    "Of course she exists." Chris, looking at the moonlight in the sky, spoke in a voice as light as a gentle breeze wafting through the air, "She''s like the lady boss in your heart, not by your side, but still someone you miss."

    "Hey, how about we go for a drink? My treat!" Rody suddenly said something that surprised Chris.

    "You don''t seem like someone who drinks..." Chris was puzzled.

    "No, I just drink less, not that I don''t drink. What man doesn''t drink alcohol?" Rody smiled slightly, "I drink depending on the company and the mood. If I have friends with me, I might occasionally have a drink. How about it, Chris? Fancy a drink? Just not ''Snow Mountain Goddess'' Delight'' that costs a hundred gold coins per glass. I can afford to treat you to something else as Felic''s little rich man."

    "I know a martini called ''First Love Girl''s Tears'', it''s sweet and sour and quite interesting," Chris said cheerfully, "The rich man is treating me to a drink!"

    "It''s nothing. Don¡¯t just talk about treating; I can mix it for you," Rody said, surprising Chris even more.

    "You can mix drinks?" Chris asked excitedly.

    "Nonsense, I used to work at the lady boss¡¯s place. She is a master of drinking and mixing drinks. What drink can''t I mix?" Rody laughed heartily.

    "Since you can, then let''s not go to the bar. Let''s go back and drink together," Chris suggested, pulling Rody back to the dormitory.

    "Just the two of us?" Rody wondered. Isn''t it more exciting to drink with women sitting on your lap? Drinking quietly between two men can only get more depressing, and they might even end up fighting...

    "Cough cough, of course, it''s to celebrate our great friendship!"

 Chapter 122: The Saint

    Since the members of the elite squad belonged to the elites of various countries and were recommended to participate in the Magic Martial Arts Competition, they had to part ways immediately after gathering. However, they believed that after this brief separation, they would meet again in the various competition areas in the capital of Kamaran, Blay. The members of the elite squad joked about clearing the path for Rody and Chris to win the championship. Some, like Stanley, even declined their countries'' dispatch to participate in the elite competition, choosing instead to follow Rody and support him in the competition.

    After bidding farewell to each team member, Rody, Chris, Stanley, and big-bearded Malu arrived in the capital of the Kamaran Empire through a teleportation gate.

    The atmosphere in this country was distinctly different.

    Here, no one knew about Rody, Chris, and their elite squad, unlike in the Norne Empire where they were warmly welcomed everywhere. In Kamaran''s Blay, the magician who came to receive them didn''t even recognize Rody and meticulously registered him in the roster, completely unaware that this young man in front of him was the famous Rody, the sergeant who had shocked the continent by defeating the orcs and demons with zero casualties.

    "You''re Rody from Felic? A one-star magic apprentice? What''s going on? You can''t even cast a small fireball as an alchemy student, how did you end up in the Magic Martial Arts Competition?" the magician exclaimed in astonishment.

    "Boss, let me strangle him!" Stanley struggled to restrain himself, ready to throttle the magician then and there.

    "Participation is what matters!" Rody wasn''t angry and smiled, "Flowers need green leaves to set them off, right? How can the elites of your country stand out if not against those from other countries who can''t even cast a small fireball? What area are we assigned to? The West area? Thank you so much. By the way, I heard that each elite gets a subsidy, do we get one too?"

    "Go to the front desk. Each person can advance three silver coins, and if needed, you can also get a healing potion," the magician sniffed disdainfully, "I remind you to be careful. Although the elite competition rules prohibit killing opponents, you guys are really too fragile."

    "Thank you for your reminder, we''ll definitely remember it," Chris responded, grinning.

    "Is Kamaran an empire that exclusively produces fools? I never dreamed there would be people in this world who don''t recognize the boss!" Stanley and big-bearded Malu observed the magician carefully and realized he wasn''t pretending. His expression genuinely showed no recognition of Rody, unaware that the young man in front of him was the human who terrified orcs and demons.

    When they reached the front desk, an old magician was dozing off.

    Hearing that Rody and his group wanted to collect their three silver coins for food and lodging expenses and a healing potion, the old man''s face immediately showed contempt. He tossed out the silver coins as if they were beggars.

    "Welcome, ah, knight Uzus from Dafrey, are you an Earth Warrior? Such a young age... Dafrey is indeed a place teeming with talents. Just a few days ago, I saw your second prince, Vincent, here. He, a Sky Warrior, is a hot favorite to win the Magic Martial Arts Competition. Haha, I''ve already placed a heavy bet on His Highness... Here are your ten gold coins as an elite subsidy, please take it." The old magician, in front of Rody and the others, gave ten gold coins to the Dafrey elite swordsman who came after.

    "Hey, old man, what''s this about? Why do we only get three silver coins each, while he gets as many as ten gold coins!" Stanley couldn''t hold back any longer, slamming the table and shouting.

    "He''s an elite, of course, it''s different from you! Who are your competing elites? Two one-star magic apprentices, what else can you people do besides filling your stomachs? Leave now, or I''ll call the guards! I''m sure you don''t want to enjoy our prison''s free food and lodging before the competition, or maybe I''ll give you that opportunity to try it!" The old magician lost his temper, stood up, and banged his staff on the table, arrogantly snorting.

    "Don''t call the guards, we have no fondness for them," Rody said with a smile, patting the furious Stanley on his shoulder, signaling him to leave.

    "I feel like killing myself now!" Stanley was completely done with the people of Kamaran Empire. Not recognizing Rody was one thing, but they actually thought the elites sent by various countries were just there to eat for free, treating them like what?

    "Don''t mind it. Chris and I indeed are one-star magic apprentices, haha," Chris chuckled.

    "A bunch of trash. Humph!" The elite swordsman from Dafrey, who passed by them, arrogantly walked past Rody and his group, then picked up the reins of a steed at the gate and galloped away stylishly.

    "Boss, I want to participate in the competition and crush that egghead like a flea," Stanley was close to losing his mind.

    After checking into the reception dormitory, everyone found it was almost like a prison, narrow and dark, more fit for jail than living.

    The chubby lady in charge was quite enthusiastic, especially after seeing how handsome Rody and Chris were. Besides providing hot water and apples, she even asked if Rody and Chris were married, offering to set them up if they weren''t.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    Finding the room too stuffy, Rody and Chris decided to go out for a walk to get some fresh air.

    Once outside, they realized that no one in the capital recognized them, indicating that Kamaran Empire hadn''t used Rody and the elite squad for publicity, hadn''t broadcast the news of humanity''s victory, and might have even intentionally blocked their information, otherwise, the public wouldn''t be so oblivious. Rody and Chris didn''t mind, and Rody even felt a bit happy, now knowing that the mysterious person scheming against him had the closest ties with this nation.

    Perhaps it was this Kamaran Empire, maybe even Dafrey.

    On the streets, they saw elites from various nations, clad in shiny armor or stylish robes, discussing and flirting with flower-selling girls, or even dating bold Kamaran girls. There were luxury stores, jewelry shops, and houses of mystery, bustling with people. At the city center fountain, at least ten minstrels sang loudly, their songs unrelated to Rody and his elite squad, instead glorifying the young heroes of Kamaran.

    "Handsome and powerful mage, buy a rose! The goddess of luck favors the generous!" A little girl selling flowers approached Chris.

    "I like the description ''handsome and powerful'', but I''m not fond of roses," Chris said with a slight smile, his teeth white, and eyes shining like stars, instantly captivating a crowd of girls around him. Even the flower-selling girl, only eight or nine years old, was so mesmerized she couldn''t speak.

    "Pretty boy, how dare you insult our Kamaran national flower?" Someone saw this and immediately cursed out of jealousy.

    "They can''t afford the flowers, and even if they bought them, they have no place to put them in their dingy, low-grade reception," Uzus from Dafrey emerged from the crowd, sneering, "Everyone, come and see... two one-star magic apprentices, these are the ''elites'' their country sent for the competition! If not for a few bodyguards with them, I''d worry they might get hurt walking on the street and be unable to compete."

    "Ha ha ha!" All the onlookers burst into laughter.

    "If it were someone else, who insulted our Kamaran national flower, I would definitely throw my silver glove at him to accept my challenge to a duel," said a proudly looking man, laughing loudly. "But for a one-star magic apprentice, I can''t do that, as it would greatly diminish my reputation."

    "Really? Kamaran''s national flower is the rose? Fine, then I insult it! I say, roses are the worst flowers, representing promiscuity and affairs!" As everyone laughed triumphantly, a man with fiery red hair walked out smiling, waving at the proud-looking five-star swordsman, "Come on, mighty knight, throw your silver glove at me! I can''t wait to accept your challenge to a duel!"

    "Red-haired Sal!" The crowd exclaimed in surprise upon seeing him.

    "Wait a minute." Uzus from Dafrey grabbed the angry five-star swordsman, speaking on his behalf, "Sal, we didn''t provoke you!"

    "I know, but you provoked him, and that makes me angrier." The red-haired man pointed at Rody and smiled, "Although he looks jealousy-inducing, he is the person I admire the most and my target for a challenge. You guys aren''t qualified to challenge him. You don''t know who he is, I don''t blame you for that, but you should have heard of me. Want to challenge him? Challenge me first!"

    "No, Sal, he is my target for a challenge," a voice colder than ice beads, chilling to the core, sounded from afar.

    "Ice Demon Jiao..." Hearing this, everyone looked over and saw a young man with spiky blue hair like an ice person standing coolly by the fountain. The cold air from his body made the water in the fountain slow down and freeze, eventually turning the entire magic fountain into ice. Everyone involuntarily shivered, and many people quickly backed away as if they had seen the most terrifying monster.

    "You''re here too? I didn''t expect you to be interested in such an elite competition, haha, rare that we think alike this time," said the red-haired Sal, who could still smile.

    "I''m not interested, I''m just here for him," the ice person glanced at Rody and walked away.

    "Interesting," the red-haired Sal approached Rody, extending his hand with a smile, "We can''t compete now, but one day I''ll surpass you. Would you shake hands with me, Mr. One-Star Magic Apprentice?"

    "Don''t squeeze too hard, I''m afraid of getting injured and not being able to participate in the Magic Martial Arts Competition," Rody extended his hand, shook it, and smiled, "There are so many elites on the continent!"

    "There are many, elites everywhere, geniuses all around. But there aren''t many who really have the ability, except for you two, and that cool guy just now. Other than that, not many, of course, including me!" the red-haired Sal confidently nodded.

    "Let''s go..." Uzus from Dafrey and his companions, seeing the presence of red-haired Sal, retreated resentfully.

    At that moment, the sound of a magical clock indicated the passage of a most distinguished guest, prompting people to make way. In the distance, a magic carriage with a silver-topped floral crown slowly approached, pulled by four pure white horses, floating about a meter above the ground. A dozen female knights on magical horses guarded the front and rear, their armor radiating holy light, with flags bearing the image of the merciful Holy Mother.

    The crowd made way, with some women who worshipped the Holy Mother bowing reverently.

    Although the identity of the person inside the carriage was unknown, the sight of the temple''s distinctive silver-topped floral crown required even the elites from various countries to perform the minor knightly courtesy.

    The magic carriage slowly passed in front of the crowd, emitting a rich fragrance that spread gently, faint yet refreshing to the heart and spirit. Everyone on the street felt invigorated and joyful, as if cleansed by the fragrance. It was then understood by all that the person inside the carriage was the current Saint, the only one with the Divine Fragrant Body bestowed by the goddess of roses.

    Even red-haired Sal respectfully paid homage, his face shifting from a roguish smile to one of devotion and respect.

    Everyone hoped the Saint''s carriage would stop... If the Saint extended her hand to wave at them, it would be a death-free regret. But everyone knew it was impossible, as the Saint was pure and untouchable, and even the king and queen found it difficult to kiss the back of her hand, except for the most devout believers, as she wouldn''t glance at any mundane person.

    However, just as everyone was about to sigh in regret, the magic carriage suddenly stopped.

    The crowd was ecstatic, with some people quickly posing as devout followers of the Holy Mother, kneeling down in the hope that the Saint would come out to greet them.

    "Mr. Christian, Her Highness invites you," a valiant female knight rode up to Chris and performed a small knightly salute, delivering the Saint''s will.

    "Wow..." The crowd gasped in surprise. Chris was just a one-star novice magic apprentice; what merits did he have to be invited by the Saint?

    "Please tell Her Highness that I''m accompanying friends shopping today. Some other time!" Chris''s reply nearly drove everyone mad.

    A man actually refused the invitation of the Saint ¨C he must be insane. If he had a shred of rationality and knew right from wrong, he would commit suicide before everyone.

    Refusing the summons of the Saint to accompany friends shopping ¨C who would say such a thing? This magic apprentice must be a fool!

    Many hands gripped swords, ready to surge forward and chop the blasphemer into pieces at the Saint''s command. Envy played a large part in their reaction ¨C why did the Saint favor him? He was just a one-star magic apprentice, rejecting what everyone else dreamt of...

    "The Highness invites you to visit the Holy Grace Temple when you are free!" Another female knight conveyed another invitation from the Saint, showing that not only was she not angry, but she also invited him again, shocking everyone.

    After the magic carriage left, the crowd was still in a daze.

    Stanley and the others were too excited to speak for a long time, finally bursting out, "Wow, my god, you know the Saint? Captain Chris, I admire you so much!"

    "It''s nothing, which beauty in the world do I not know?" Chris replied nonchalantly.

    "It''s a bit strange... but I can''t quite put my finger on it," Rody frowned, seeming to be puzzled by something.

    "Forget about it, hey, Chris, take me with you to meet the Saint tomorrow, okay? I just want to look at her from a distance at the door! Oh my god, you''re my idol. No? I''m going to cry... Wait, your boots are dirty, shall I shine them for you? I''m really good at this!" Red-haired Sal''s offer left Stanley and the others nearly fainting ¨C could this really be something a super-strong fighter would say?

    "Hey, we''ve got that covered!" Stanley and the others laughed, finding a kindred spirit in red-haired Sal, and decided to have a drink with him.

 Chapter 123: The Test

    Chris never went to meet the Saint, but the news of her invitation to him had already spread throughout Blay, the capital of Kamaran.

    Almost all the young people were preparing to cripple this ''super pretty boy'' during the Magic Martial Arts Competition. It was clear to them that this guy, being a one-star magic apprentice, was just an easy target, posing no threat whatsoever. Of course, some were elite students who had participated in battles and knew Rody and Chris. However, they wanted to enjoy the spectacle and kept silent about Chris being the fearsome beauty who made orcs and demons tremble. Some even secretly instigated the ignorant ones, hoping for chaos.

    Various rumors surfaced.

    Some said Chris was the illegitimate son of King Mille, others said he was an elf prince, and some even claimed he was the great-great-great-grandson of the ''commoner magic saint'', Christian. There were also rumors that Chris was a powerful magician disguised as a one-star apprentice, or simply an incompetent guy relying on his looks to attract women.

    Regardless, Chris had made enemies with the elites of various nations.

    Every day, at least twenty servants delivered silver gloves from their masters, hoping Chris would accept their challenge to a duel.

    Every day, at least thirty servants brought roses from their mistresses, hoping Chris would accept a date.

    Chris ignored them all, resulting in the reception house run by the chubby lady being filled with various gloves and roses. Members of the elite squad from the West area came to see what was happening, not just for the spectacle, but also because they heard Stanley was fending off over forty thief spies every night and didn''t want to let him steal all the limelight.

    Fatty Tommy and Skinny Terry also returned. They hadn''t enjoyed the luxury of the teleportation gate like the elite squad, having walked out of the land of evil on foot. By the time they reached Saint Song, Rody and the others were already in Blay.

    "Let us go on the dates for you," begged Fatty Tommy with puppy dog eyes. "Chris, you might not care, but we do!"

    "You''re pathetic!" Rody punched each one of them on the head.

    "We haven''t seen a beautiful woman for months," complained Fatty Tommy, looking woeful. "Even a pig looks like a beauty to us now. Please, have some pity on us! Without the nourishment of beauty in our lives, we''re withering away... Stanley, I dare not say it to others, but you, you must understand, right?"

    "Of course, life without beauties to embrace is hell," agreed Stanley.

    "Don''t trust this lecher!" Red Hat exposed Fatty Tommy''s true colors, "This guy found a ''gold cat'' as soon as we got back to Saint Song! As a righteous and powerful dwarf magic master, I must reveal his ugly truth to the world."

    "I can attest to that because the ''gold cat'' was originally sitting on my lap, but Tommy traded her for his ''sheep girl''," revealed Thief Terry, always Fatty Tommy''s rival, never missing a chance to expose him. Upon hearing this, Fatty Tommy rushed to choke him, fearing Terry would reveal more of their escapades.

    "Stop your whining; there will be beauties," Chris said nonchalantly.

    "But to just stand there with a date and not go, leaving a beauty waiting, how can one bear that?" Fatty Tommy was almost in agony.

    ¡°I think if you go on a date, you won¡¯t be meeting a lonely, longing beauty, but a bunch of fierce, jealous men,¡± Rody said with a slight smile. ¡°So, going on a date is fine, but remember to order a tombstone when you pass by the stonemason''s. As for collecting your body, consider it done as a favor for a fellow student. I¡¯ll even give you a free epitaph: ''A stupid pig, who realized its foolishness only when it lay silently here.''¡±

    ¡°Ha ha ha¡­¡± Everyone burst into laughter.

    ¡°If among those ten dates there¡¯s even one true one, that would be a regrettable loss!¡± Fatty Tommy said, his heart bleeding.

    ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll introduce you to a woman who can stir up a wave of passion, guaranteed to make you ecstatic,¡± Stanley patted Fatty Tommy¡¯s shoulder warmly. He had heard that Fatty Tommy often went with Dean Buke to watch women undress in lion cages, knowing he was a favorite disciple of Dean Buke and shared a common interest, thus forming a special bond with him.

    ¡°Rody, we also hope to train with you guys,¡± Benson and Leo put forth a small request.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    ¡°Welcome aboard!¡± Chris responded with a smile. ¡°I just happen to need a few subordinates.¡±

    ¡°My magic isn''t something you can learn, but I¡¯ve thought of a new method for condensing and manipulating fighting spirit. It''s not yet perfected, but you can try it out. I got the idea from observing the attack methods of Teacher Buke and Chris; it might be useful for you,¡± said Rody, making Leo and Benson overjoyed.

    ¡°Boss, when can you get us each a summoned beast?¡± Stanley remembered Rody¡¯s casual remark in the Evil Forest.

    ¡°Wait until I learn summoning magic!¡± said Rody, causing everyone to collapse in laughter.

    The Magic Martial Arts Competition began.

    Due to the large number of participants, the preliminary rounds weren¡¯t held on the main stage and didn''t allow cheering squads like friends and family. The Kamaran organizers stated that to prevent low-skilled participants from getting injured in the arena, the preliminaries required passing tests in strength, agility, and magic power. Even the elites recommended by various countries couldn¡¯t proceed without passing at least one of these tests.

    Of course, some exceptionally famous knights and magicians, like Dafrey''s Second Prince Vincent, Kamaran''s Dragon Knight Nutidola, Naples'' red-haired Sal, and Mille''s Ice Demon Jiao, were automatically promoted.

    Early in the morning, Rody and Chris went for testing.

    Fatty Tommy, Thief Terry, Stanley, big-bearded Malu, and a bunch of others, as if they had won a great victory, went off to flirt with beauties.

    When Rody and Chris were around, they were too embarrassed to make a move. The two guys didn¡¯t like going to bars to watch stripteases; Chris might have high standards, but Rody was definitely a one-woman man, not willing to give away his virginity to just anyone. Everyone thought that for him to fall from grace, they would probably have to wait until Jill grew up.

    Now, some people in Blay recognized Rody and Chris, especially Chris, who had become the public enemy of all men in the Kamaran Empire.

    ¡°You¡¯re Mr. Chris, right?¡± A young and beautiful female magician in charge of leading them in came up to them. Upon seeing Rody and Chris, her eyes lit up, and she quickly approached them, leaving her companions behind. ¡°You don¡¯t need to test with those barbaric guys. Come to my magic laboratory, and I¡¯ll test your magic power for you.¡±

    ¡°But we don¡¯t have any magic power,¡± Chris said with a smile. ¡°We¡¯re just one-star novice magic apprentices; we can only test for strength or agility.¡±

    "The young female magician was greatly disappointed.

    ¡°Goodbye, beauty!¡± Chris winked at the young female magician, nearly knocking her out with his charm. She only came to her senses after Rody and Chris had walked away and entered the testing room.

    ¡°Two pretty boys, both are just good-for-nothings, why treat them so specially?¡± Her male magician companion commented sourly.

    ¡°I like them, is it any of your business?¡± The female magician was furious, angered that her colleague, whose face looked as if it had been trampled by a thousand and five hundred horses, dared to criticize others for being handsome. Didn¡¯t he realize that his mere existence was the greatest harm to women? Instead of hiding away and reflecting, he dared to be jealous of exceptionally handsome men, which was just too much...

    ¡°Hmph.¡± The male magician thought to himself that if those two pretty boys fell into his hands, he wouldn¡¯t be a man if he didn¡¯t disfigure them worse than himself!

    Rody and Chris were unaware that another couple was arguing over their looks.

    Upon entering the testing room, they found it filled with several hundred people.

    A test instructor, a full-armored swordsman, looked at their names on the list and then at their robes with one-star insignias, and he almost wanted to throw them out. This was a world of swordsmen, not a place for an alchemy student and a magic library administrator. Did they think their handsome faces would get them special treatment?

    ¡°There are ten tests in total, and you can choose any one of them. If you pass, I¡¯ll stamp your form; otherwise, get out!¡± The full-armored swordsman was obviously not in a good mood.

    ¡°Ha ha, look! One-star magic apprentices!¡± Many people gathered around to watch.

    ¡°Have they weaned off milk yet?¡± Someone jeered.

    ¡°What kind of elite are they from which country? My god, they¡¯re one-star magic apprentices, and that counts as a country¡¯s elite? I suddenly understand the importance of this test; it¡¯s crucial. Without it, I might have had to face a magic apprentice in the competition, oh, what a disgrace,¡± a seemingly strong contestant laughed boisterously.

    ¡°What¡¯s the easiest one?¡± Rody, unfazed, casually asked.

    ¡°Archery. As long as you hit the bullseye of a target 25 meters away with one out of ten arrows, you pass,¡± an old warrior assistant replied, still maintaining a sense of fairness.

    ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll choose archery,¡± Rody picked the smallest wooden bow, eliciting a roar of laughter from the crowd.

    ¡°And what¡¯s the most difficult one?¡± Chris politely asked the old warrior assistant, giving him a bow.

    ¡°Carrying wood.¡± The assistant nodded and pointed at a log ten meters long and so thick it couldn¡¯t be embraced with two hands. ¡°This ironwood log weighs over two thousand kilograms, equivalent to the weight of twenty strong men. If a contestant can lift it and carry it onto a two-meter-high wooden frame, they pass the initial test excellently.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll start with archery. Holding a bow and arrow without shooting makes me nervous,¡± Rody said with a slight smile, raising his hand to draw the bow and shoot casually.

    The crowd erupted in laughter, everyone ready to see him make a fool of himself.

    Such a carelessly aimed arrow was obviously doomed to miss, as even a blind person could tell.

    Rody shot nine arrows in a row, none hitting the bullseye. All nine arrows landed neatly around the edge of the bullseye, forming a circle around the small red center. The crowd, upon seeing this, were silenced mid-laugh, their eyes wide with disbelief. Achieving such a formation with nine arrows around the bullseye is a hundred times more difficult than hitting the bullseye directly, a feat only possible for a master archer.

    Even a master archer wouldn''t dare claim to achieve this effect randomly with a small wooden bow without aiming.

    ¡°You have one last arrow. If you fail, you won¡¯t be able to advance,¡± Chris reminded Rody with a grin.

    ¡°So, I need the heavens to bless this last arrow not to fail,¡± Rody said, shooting the last arrow high into the sky.

    The crowd was first stunned, then amazed. Was he intentionally avoiding advancement? Shooting an arrow into the sky, it would be a miracle to hit the bullseye. Could he be a master archer, hiding his skills, deliberately not participating in the Magic Martial Arts Competition? But then, why did he come for the test?

    As everyone pondered, the arrow that soared high came down and landed right in the center of the target.

    Everyone was dumbfounded...

    How was this possible?

    ¡°Ah, I was so lucky.¡± Rody tossed aside his wooden bow, took out his registration form, and handed it to the stunned full-armored swordsman. ¡°Could you stamp this, please? I was lucky enough to hit the bullseye.¡±

    ¡°Me too!¡± Amidst the shocked stares, Chris, with hands as white as jade, effortlessly lifted the huge log and tossed it onto the wooden frame above his head, causing a deafening noise and making the entire testing room tremble. He casually dusted off his hands and also pulled out his form, smiling, ¡°Could you stamp mine too, please? I was lucky enough to complete it.¡±

    After Rody and Chris left, the crowd was able to pick their jaws up off the floor.

    Many were speechless, their lips trembling.

    ¡°These two guys are freaks¡­¡± the full-armored swordsman instructor finally managed to utter, his voice filled with annoyance at being made a fool of.

    ¡°You two passed the test? That quickly?¡± The beautiful female magician was also stunned. Could it be that the testers inside, seeing their good looks, deliberately let them pass? Weren''t they just one-star novice magic apprentices? How could they possibly pass the test?

    ¡°Where is our location for the preliminaries?¡± Rody asked calmly.

    ¡°Beauty, would you mind leading us there? But it¡¯s not to the magic laboratory, okay!¡± Chris winked again, nearly causing the female magician to faint.

 Chapter 124: The Power of a One-Star Magic Apprentice

    The preliminaries of the Magic Martial Arts Competition had a distinctive feature. To prevent participants from being eliminated by encountering a super-strong opponent right away, the competition used a point system.

    A participant only needed to accumulate more than ten points to advance to the next round, the top 100 competition.

    This meant that even if a participant was defeated in a match, they wouldn''t be eliminated.

    Defeating an opponent earned three points, while a draw within the set time earned one point. The losing side received no points. Therefore, to enter the top 100 competition, a participant had to fight and defeat three opponents and draw with a fourth. The top 100 competition would be a ring match, presented in front of the people of the capital of Camalon. Every participant was desperately trying to make it into this round...

    In the preliminaries for the top 100 competition, lower-ranked participants were especially popular.

    Particularly participants like Rody and Kris, who were one-star magic apprentices, were considered treasures. In everyone''s eyes, they were just there to give away points, and nobody would want to miss out on earning a valuable three points from them.

    "Come on, sit down and rest for a while; you''ve worked hard in the preliminaries." As soon as a few guys saw Rody and Kris come in and realized they were one-star magic apprentices, they were almost overjoyed. They brought chairs, took their lists for signatures, and arranged the order of the matches. Naturally, they put their own names on the battle roster against the two.

    "You''re being too outrageous!" The beautiful female magician was furious, trying to stop this shameful act.

    "Thank you all, you''re really kind..." Kris, however, was grateful for their attentiveness.

    "Please be merciful," Rody said as he entered the selection area, bowing slightly to his opponent, a giant man who resembled a minotaur. The giant man buzzed, "Don''t worry, I''ll definitely be merciful. There''s a whole bunch of people waiting to fight you! When I push you, remember to fall out of bounds and protect yourself. Oh, and my friend brought some soft cloth tents, which might cushion your fall."

    Everyone was in high spirits, shaking hands again and again, delighted to have found two one-star magic apprentices as opponents.

    No one bothered to watch the matches, as they were certain of their victory.

    "Raisenet, it''s your turn," Rody called out in the arena. A tall swordsman raised his hand joyfully, saying, "It''s my turn already? Coming, coming!"

    "Akaralafabini, it''s your turn..." Rody called again, and a thin rogue ran over amid the cheers of the crowd.

    "Sergey, it''s your turn!" Rody was calling people so quickly that before anyone had a chance to take a sip of water, he had already finished four matches. Everyone cheered, hoping that Rody and Kris would stay and fight against a dozen or so people. After everyone had earned their ten points, they planned to let Rody and Kris draw ten matches so they could also advance to the top 100 competition.

    "Is it my turn?" Kris stood in the arena, clapping his hands and smiling, "Let''s see who my opponent is. The first one is Zeqiong Huanaidu, may I ask who that is?"

    "It''s me!" The fat man who had moved the chair for Kris laughed heartily, "Ha, I''m so lucky. But shouldn''t I have fought Rody first? Where did he go? Oh, he''s tired and needs to rest, right? Fine, he should rest. I''ll fight him after he''s had a break! Don''t worry, I''ll use the lightest force to push you off the stage, I promise you won''t get hurt!"

    "Thank you so much!" Kris beamed with gratitude.

    "Thankfully these guys want to score points and didn¡¯t hit too hard," the beautiful female magician said, rushing in with healing potions. Seeing Rody leisurely drinking water, she was relieved and asked, "Rody, are you alright?"

    "I¡¯m fine," Rody nodded, then asked, "I want to place a bet, bet some small money, where can I do that?"

    "That¡¯s not a good idea!" The female magician cautioned, "If others find out, they might suspect something. Generally, participants can''t bet on their own loss; it could be considered cheating."

    "I want to bet on Kris, is that not allowed either? Too bad!" Rody, realizing it wasn¡¯t feasible, decided to put his money-making dreams aside for the top 100 competition.

    "Boom..."

    A loud bang came from above, shaking the entire floor as if something had slammed hard against the wall.

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    This noise startled everyone.

    "Hey, Zeqiong Huanaidu, what are you trying to do? That''s too harsh! What if you injure someone?" Someone stood up and angrily scolded the fat man for possibly injuring Kris, shouting, "We haven''t even started the match, why are you going crazy? If you have that much energy, why don¡¯t you go find your lustful fatty to vent on? If you kill someone in the selection area, you¡¯ll at least end up in jail for ten days to half a month. Don¡¯t expect us to chip in for compensation, burial, and injury fees, you fool..."

    "I''m fine, next is Anzuxi, who is Anzuxi?" Kris waved to everyone, indicating he was unharmed.

    "Ah, it''s me!" A heavy swordsman heard this, immediately put down his greatsword, and approached with a bit of confusion, asking, "Where''s Zeqiong Huanaidu? I mean, that fat guy, where did he go?"

    "He was too excited and ran off there," Kris pointed to the opposite broken wall, "It seems he even knocked down a wall."

    "That fool lost five matches in a row and panicked. No wonder he was so excited!" The heavy swordsman understood very well. He thought he would be just as thrilled if he could earn six points from Rody and Kris, two one-star magic apprentices, because that would be incredibly lucky.

    "Boom!"

    Another loud noise, the ground shaking, and plaster from the ceiling falling.

    Just as everyone had sat down, the explosion scared them into jumping up again.

    "What''s going on? Anzuxi, have you gone mad too? Don''t tell us you''ve caught mad cow disease!" The crowd rebuked the heavy swordsman.

    "I don''t know. He seemed to have gone crazy with joy. He didn''t break the wall, but he smashed the door of the instructor''s rest room." Before Kris could call the next participant, a muscular man with a broadsword ran out, beaming, "Is it my turn? Don''t worry, I absolutely won''t use my broadsword. See, I''m putting it down now! Don''t be scared, I won''t scare you, and I won''t go crazy like them, just a gentle push of my hand..."

    "Something doesn''t seem quite right," the female magician felt something was off but couldn''t pinpoint what it was.

    "No," Rody shook his head, "Everything is normal."

    Indeed, the muscular man learned from the previous lesson and didn¡¯t cause a loud disturbance. He quietly completed his match. Kris then called the next participant, an ugly man with a certain resemblance to a gorilla, with very thick arms and a body like a wall.

    He too completed the match smoothly, without causing any disturbance.

    Kris leisurely came down from the stage, holding a list in his hand and happily tucking it into his chest.

    "Let''s go," Rody stood up and left with him.

    "Wait, we haven''t finished our matches yet!" The crowd hurriedly followed to stop Rody and Kris from leaving. Why were they leaving? Were they upset about losing repeatedly? If that was the case, it was negotiable. Everyone could take turns drawing matches with them. Normally, no one would feel safe letting others dictate the outcome of matches, especially during draws, as there was a high risk of being sneak-attacked and knocked off the selection platform. But with them being one-star magic apprentices, everyone felt completely at ease...

    "We''ll talk about it later! We''re tired today," Rody expressed his fatigue, unable to continue the matches.

    "Remember to come early tomorrow! Whatever conditions you have, just say them, like going to the tavern for drinks and girls... cough, we didn''t mean that. Actually, having Miss Olygaran accompany you should be enough." With no other choice, especially with the female magician glaring angrily, ready to blast a few fireballs as a reminder (since she was one of the organizers of the event), everyone reluctantly let Rody and Kris leave. They quietly reminded them to come early the next day and planned to bring them the finest magic art albums as gifts.

    This magic art album, of course, was of the kind that only men could appreciate.

    Before Rody and Kris could say anything, Miss Olygaran, the beautiful female magician, was already angrily pulling them away.

    Clearly, she knew about these kinds of magic art albums. Maybe she had confiscated such collections from students, or perhaps she had heard about them. In any case, seeing everyone sneakily talking about magic art albums and then suddenly becoming furious, she was afraid these rascals would corrupt the two handsome men who looked as divine as gods.

    "Don''t listen to them. Those guys are just old slickers who can''t graduate from the academy, just loafers waiting to die," the female magician said with a slight blush on her face. "Those magic art albums are nothing to see, only low-level magicians draw such things! They are of low taste, not worth our noble magicians'' attention. We should do something more meaningful. Are you hungry? I''ll treat you to a delicious lunch... I know a place that makes great steaks and desserts!"

    "Thank you, we are a bit tired and would like to go back to rest!" Kris yawned.

    "You don''t need to be discouraged. Competing with those brutes in terms of strength is unwise. We should think of other methods," Miss Olygaran comforted gently. "Kris, you and Rody don''t need to feel honored only by winning in the Magic Martial Arts Competition. Noble magicians can do many things that those brute swordsmen would respect. Don''t worry, I will help you!"

    "Let''s go have steak then!" Rody''s suggestion surprised Kris.

    "Really?" Miss Olygaran joyfully said, "Rody, that''s a great suggestion. Let''s go, Kris, what are we waiting for?"

    "Hey, you''re not falling for this lovesick fool, are you?" Kris leaned in and whispered.

    "I just want to go to her magic research lab to see her magic notes!" Rody grabbed Kris''s shoulder and grinned, "As my assistant, you should know what to do. Seduce her! Get her head over heels for you. I can tell she''s kind of interested!"

    "You jerk, you never have a good idea!" Kris was so angry he wanted to hit him. He broke free from Rody''s arm, but when the female magician looked over curiously, Kris immediately flashed a bright smile, his lips red and teeth white, his bright eyes shining like stars. His radiant smile was like a beam of sunlight breaking through dark clouds, dazzling the female magician. Kris winked at her and asked in a melodious voice like a stream over stones, "I love ''Flying Dream Boat'' made with elf honey. What about you, Miss Olygaran?"

    "I like it too, it''s my favorite!" Miss Olygaran, the beautiful female magician, immediately decided to make this dessert her lifelong favorite.

    Inside the selection match room, the instructor called for a dozen slaves, who gradually carried out the injured participants.

    Everyone gathered around, clicking their tongues in amazement.

    "These guys were beaten so badly, they''re completely disfigured. I bet even their mothers wouldn''t recognize them!" someone laughed heartily, making such a remark.

    "It''s a waste of money even to heal them!" another person laughed.

    "Did some super-strong competitor come by? Why are so many people down all of a sudden?" Finally, someone felt something was amiss.

    "Are these your companions?" the chief instructor sneered, "You should feel lucky. If you had been on the stage earlier, then you would be the ones unrecognizably unconscious on the stretchers!"

    "Instructor, we don¡¯t quite understand what you mean!" Everyone was still confused.

    "This is Zeqiong Huanaidu, the fat one among you. Although his face is ruined, you should recognize his pig-like body! This is Anzuxi. I can¡¯t recognize him very well either, but it should be him, or else this pile of mess is him. They all look the same anyway. As for this one behind, his face is not injured, just twisted in pain. He is Akaralafabini! Why is his face twisted? Ah, his ''eggs'' are smashed! Sergey is the same, and so is Raisenet and the others. They all got their ''eggs'' smashed! Poor things, they encountered a master at smashing ''eggs''!"

    "Instructor, we still don''t quite understand. Do you mean they were beaten like this by those two one-star newbie magic apprentices just now?" someone asked, scratching his head in confusion.

    "It seems you are still not awake... If not them, then who?" As soon as the chief instructor said this, everyone felt like they had been struck by lightning.

    "Yikes..." Everyone gasped in shock, unconsciously touching their own lower parts, almost thinking their ''eggs'' were smashed too. It was only after realizing they were intact that they knew they were sweating profusely.

    "Oh my God, I''m going to faint!" someone was so scared that they fell to the ground.

    "If this is a dream, please wake up now! I''m so scared!" another person was on the verge of crying.

 Chapter 125: The Guardian

    Once again, the Holy Maiden conveyed her command, summoning Kris to appear at the Holy Temple.

    To Rody''s surprise, the valiant female knight who delivered the message also said, "Her Eminence has ordered, Mr. Rody, please come along for the audience." Without Kris, Rody would never, even dare not, step into the temple, as it was almost synonymous with a death sentence. But he trusted Kris. Although Kris''s identity was dubious, as he himself said, he would never harm Rody.

    If Kris were an enemy spy sent to be by his side, he had plenty of opportunities to eliminate Rody in the Evil Forest.

    Moreover, without his natural magic amplification and blessings, Rody couldn''t claim to be invincible without any casualties.

    "Let''s go! I''ll take you to see the beauties! Not one, but a group!" Kris''s words made everyone drool, but he chuckled, "If your leader wins over the highest Holy Maiden, then distributing ten beauties each from the Prayer Guard Corps would be no problem."

    "Leader, for our brothers'' happy future, you must give it your all!" Stanley and others implored Rody to seize the opportunity.

    "Get lost!" Rody responded with flying kicks to these unprincipled fellows who were willing to push him into death for the sake of beauties. If he were to covet the Holy Maiden, he would be making enemies with the Church, all believers in the world, all the young people, and even the angels in heaven. He would not do such a thing even if he were kicked in the head by a donkey.

    "Come on, put on some nice clothes, and spray some passion perfume. Maybe the Holy Maiden will be moved and seduce you!" Tommy, the little fatty, was even more optimistic, thinking he had a great chance of getting ten beauties, depending on his choice.

    "Drag him out and beat him! Beat him into a pig''s head!" Rody commanded everyone before leaving.

    "Leader, no need to beat him, he already has a pig''s head. Beating him would make him look less like one! Don''t glare, we''ll definitely beat him, definitely follow your order! You guys go ahead! We can handle such a trivial matter ourselves, I assure you, when you come back, you will see a pig''s head standing in front of you!" Stanley patted his chest and promised.

    "..." Rody realized that this bunch was indeed a perfect match for each other in terms of their quirks.

    The Holy Temple was grand and majestic, with a huge holy cross on top, shining with pure white holy light.

    Outside, there were massive statues of power angels and a fountain with little angels playing music magic. Although this was not the main temple of the Holy Mountain, it was one of the nine great temples in the world, magnificent in scale. Not to mention, just the Holy Mother Hall and the Holy Maiden Hall, and the Prayer Hall where the Holy Maiden lived were as big as Rody''s magic academy in Filik. Even the Praise Guard Residence, where the Prayer Guard Corps lived, was bigger than the Iron Blood Knight Camp.

    Kris seemed quite familiar with the female knights of the guard. Many of them greeted him, and he responded with greetings along the way.

    After arriving at the Holy Temple, to Rody''s surprise, Kris left him behind and went inside alone to meet with the Holy Maiden.

    Rody was annoyed in his heart. Despite his jealousy towards the unprincipled Kris, he couldn''t deny feeling a tinge of envy. Although he had no connection with the Holy Maiden, seeing Kris freely go in and talk to her stirred some unpleasant feelings in him. The female knights brought fresh fruits and holy water for Rody, along with a few magic books, showing that the temple was well aware of Rody¡¯s interests.

    As Rody was looking around, the valiant female knight came over and said, "Mr. Rody, Her Eminence invites you."

    "Where''s Kris? Is he here?" Rody wanted to know if Kris had been melted by beauty.

    "He''s gone to the back to bathe in the Holy Spring. He said you could join him if you wish!" The female knight saluted slightly and added, "Do you need us to prepare clothes for you? Her Eminence has ordered that Mr. Rody may first join Mr. Kris for a bath before seeing her."

    "No need," Rody replied with a smile, but he wondered why Kris would suddenly want to take a bath in broad daylight.

    "Please follow me," the female knight led the way without further conversation.

    The Holy Maiden''s Hall was immaculately clean, a place of sacred purity. Rody felt somewhat out of place walking in but, being a proud person, he didn''t feel the need to bow and scrape like others. So, he walked in with his boots on, leaving a trail of footprints that left the female knights somewhat stunned.

    In Rody''s mind, the Holy Maiden should have been sitting high upon a throne, wearing a holy crown, and holding a diamond-studded scepter. Speaking with divine meaning, her eyes never looking directly at people, showing as much arrogance as possible.

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    However, when he saw the actual Holy Maiden, he couldn''t help but be taken aback.

    The Holy Maiden was not sitting high above on a throne. Instead, she was kneeling in front of the statue of the Compassionate Holy Mother. Her head was not adorned with a shining holy crown, but her hair was loose, hanging down to her waist. In her hands, there was no diamond-studded scepter, just her hands clasped together, seemingly praying softly to the Holy Mother.

    Her nearly transparent frosty long hair seemed extremely delicate, her slender body as if a gust of wind could blow her away.

    "Welcome," the Holy Maiden turned her head and smiled slightly at Rody. Her voice was so soft and gentle, like a frail grass in the wind. Rody felt as if his footsteps, even slightly louder, might hurt her soul.

    "Are you the Holy Maiden?" Rody was very surprised. He found that this world-famous Holy Maiden was even younger than himself, about the same age as Jill.

    "I am the Holy Maiden of this generation. The previous Holy Maiden retired five years ago to become the Daughter of the God''s Descent of the Holy Mother. The ever-young Holy Maiden in people''s eyes is actually a position renewed every ten years," the Holy Maiden said, still kneeling in front of the Holy Mother statue, slightly turning her body to talk softly to Rody. She seemed more like a devout ordinary girl than a Holy Maiden.

    However, she possessed all the characteristics of a Holy Maiden.

    Her fragrant holy body, unique to the Holy Maiden of this era, was unmatched by anyone else.

    What surprised Rody the most were the Holy Maiden''s eyes, like ice jade, colorless, without pupils. Could the previous Holy Maiden have been blind? How could that be possible?

    "My eyes cannot see, but I have a pair of heart eyes. Not only can they see the colorful world, but they can also see into people''s hearts. Just like your hidden heart, I can see a little bit of it..." The Holy Maiden''s words greatly startled Rody. If she could discern his secrets, wouldn¡¯t he be chased and killed as soon as he left the temple? The Holy Maiden seemed to see Rody¡¯s inner thoughts and smiled, "Don''t be afraid, I cannot see into the deepest secrets of others'' hearts, and I am also a person who can keep secrets very well. If you still don''t feel reassured, then let me tell you, I am the same as you."

    "What?" Rody asked, not understanding.

    "Like you, I am also one who has drunk the forbidden magic martial arts," the Holy Maiden said weakly. "All Holy Maidens are like this, or rather, any man or woman in the world who may potentially surpass four-star potential is fed the forbidden magic martial arts potion soon after birth."

    "How do they determine potential?" Rody paused slightly, then asked.

    "Prophecy," the Holy Maiden replied with a smile. "The ancient divine laws dictate that a human being born with potential surpassing ordinary people must be accompanied by a prophecy."

    "But prophecies can never be accurate. If they could be, then by preventing what is to be done in advance, the outcomes predicted in the prophecies would not exist," Rody said, knowing well that prophecies are rarely accurate, and most people believe in them more for peace of mind.

    "Prophecies are not accurate, and all prophets know this. For every hundred prophecies they make, only one is true," the Holy Maiden explained, and Rody understood that it was intentional.

    "So, anyone with a prophecy is made to drink the forbidden magic martial arts potion?" Rody finally understood why he had drunk it. The reason was simple: a star astrologer prophet once said, ''Within the younger generation of the Laine family, there is a very high chance of a once-in-a-century genius magician appearing.''

    "No, only children who are secretly protected and cause concerns are fed the forbidden magic martial arts potion. Ordinary children without protection are killed in their swaddling clothes or die in the womb. Children who are allowed to drink the potion are the lucky ones," the Holy Maiden explained, leaving Rody astonished.

    "When I was little and was fed the potion, if my family knew, why did they only tell me when I grew up? No, they didn''t know at all... No, that can¡¯t be!" Rody couldn¡¯t believe the pained and desperate faces of his parents were those of early informants. If that were the case, they would not have doted on him so much before then. Especially his father ¨C if he had known that Rody had been fed the forbidden magic martial arts potion, how could he have been so affectionate and hopeful towards him?

    He couldn''t understand, completely baffled by it.

    "Especially, if his father knew beforehand that his son would be a magical genius, why would he have him with a mother who was a maid?

    Why didn''t his father choose someone else? Why didn''t he have another son before or after him? Besides, with his strength just being a Sky Warrior, he wouldn''t possibly be able to oppose those powerful figures in the shadows. How could he protect himself?

    Moreover, the subsequent events also proved that his father was completely unaware. He wasn''t the one protecting Rody.

    And his mother had no power and wasn''t the one protecting him either.

    Father Cedo, the one who fed him the forbidden magic martial arts potion¡ªif he were the protector, he would surely have switched the medicine or tampered with it somehow. It¡¯s impossible that Rody was protected by someone else... Why is the Holy Maiden telling me all this? What else does she know? Could she be using my thoughts to probe my secrets?"

    Rody was startled by this thought.

    "Your heart is in turmoil now, filled with grief and resentment. Even I can feel immense pain just sensing it a little," the Holy Maiden said with tears streaming down her face. "It seems you live in more pain than I do, who lacks freedom, and have suffered much more."

    "Why are you telling me all this?" Rody asked.

    "Because I am the same as you, as well as Kris, Annebelle, and two other unnamed stars of hope," the Holy Maiden said, tears flowing continuously. "We are the hope of the earth warriors of this millennium. For our sake, countless guardians have silently died in battle. Rody, especially you, you are the most secretive one. Apart from a very few guardians, only our Holy Maiden lineage would know about you."

    "There are guardians protecting me?" Rody was shocked and could hardly believe it.

    "All your previous generation''s guardians have died in battle... In the younger generation, only a few remain, including Kris, Annebelle, and me, who are your new generation of guardians. Perhaps others know your secret, but they are few, and I believe they are either well-meaning or kind-hearted people! I can sense your soul, a kind attention, but it is definitely not from one of our guardians," the Holy Maiden spoke softly. "Rody, what''s most important for you now is to find a way to unlock the potential of the star... The first step is very difficult, maybe Annebelle has a way, but I think you need a trustworthy demigod to help you, because once you unlock it, you''ll be easily discovered by others."

    "How can potential be unlocked?" Rody urgently asked.

    "I don''t know. Through some kind of perception, I only know that it''s very difficult... The key lies with a girl who is very close to you, or with a woman who dwells in darkness. She might be Annebelle, but I cannot sense it clearly. Once you complete the first step of unlocking, you can come here to find me, or I will wait for you in the Wishing Temple. Once all your potential stars are unlocked, then you will know what to do..." The Holy Maiden coughed out a spurt of crimson blood, her brow furrowed in pain, "Prophecies come at a cost. I can only see so much. You must hurry, I don''t have much time left."

    "Are you alright?" Rody was shocked that the Holy Maiden had to pay a physical toll to prophesy for him.

    "In your journey through hatred and pain, you must maintain your reason and clarity, Rody. Always remember, you are everyone''s hope. You bear more, and that''s why you feel such pain. You are a man; bear more for us girls, okay? There''s very little we can do for you, but we will do our best," the Holy Maiden gently shook her head, "Hurry to find Annebelle. She''s in the Thunder Hidden Mist Land or Zefeng Forest."

    "I..." Rody had many more questions, but seeing the Holy Maiden''s pale and exhausted appearance, he found it difficult to speak.

    "Once the first star of potential is unlocked and you have the ability to protect yourself, then I can tell you more," the Holy Maiden said weakly. "Go back with Kris. We have kept everything from you, but one day you will understand our painstaking efforts, and hopefully, you can forgive our secrecy. Go now, and remember to find Annebelle soon!"

 Chapter 126: Night Talks of First Love

    When Rody came out, Kris had already changed into a fitting suit of silver armor. Already handsome, he looked particularly dazzling in the silver armor blessed with holy light magic, like a sparkling diamond.

    Rody looked at him and curiously asked, "Why this getup?"

    "Are you not planning to go to the Thunder Hidden Mist Land? It''s not easy to leave the city right now without dressing up as members of the Prayer Guard Corps," Kris replied with a smile.

    "But don¡¯t we still have the competition?" Rody remembered that the preliminaries were ending in a few days, followed by the top 100 competition.

    "You don''t know. Those who love to show off will throw a grand celebration after entering the top 100. After several days of festivities, some hopefuls or those with connections will be sent out on hunting missions. They will kill magical beasts and bring them back to the city in a grand display, so people cheer for them. Others will gather crowds to give speeches to promote their reputation. The actual competition is still far off! I bet the Magic Martial Arts Competition will proceed as it always has, with the ''Death Training'' format. It''s unlikely that Camalon will quietly hold this competition. Moreover, the envoys from various countries and spectators haven''t arrived yet. The top 100 competition will only proceed once tens of thousands of people come, increasing Camalon Empire''s prestige and income," Kris explained, pointing to the silver armor on the table, suggesting Rody to take a bath and change into it.

    "Why should I take a bath? Who loves to be vain like you!" Rody changed into the armor directly.

    "Dressed like this, you really look like a knight nobleman. Okay, I know you hate knight noblemen, I''ll stop talking!" Kris was struck by how Rody looked in the fitting silver armor. Rody, who usually wore a mage robe, now appeared even more heroic, like a deity descended to earth, causing Kris to take a few more glances involuntarily.

    "Indeed, it looks better than wearing a mage robe." The valiant female knight also nodded in agreement, leading the way.

    Outside, a female knight squad was waiting. Rody and Kris mounted their horses, and two handmaidens came over, each handing them a flag. Once they pulled down their windshields, no one could recognize that the two flag-bearing knights were the recently seen Rody and Kris.

    The twenty-plus member female knight squad set off thunderously, unobstructed and unquestioned, smoothly reaching the teleportation gate.

    The valiant female knight showed her token, then led Rody and the others. The twenty or so riders passed through the teleportation gate together, arriving at a directed small station in a wilderness area.

    Compared to the teleportation arrays in Filis that can only transport two people at most, the teleportation gates of the Camalon Empire are indeed much better. Rody found that not only could more than twenty riders and their horses be teleported, but they also landed very precisely at the directed station, without any vibration. If such teleportation gates were used in war, they would be incredibly effective for surprise attacks or secret crossings, making movements unpredictable.

    Of course, a powerful nation like the Camalon Empire, possessing tens of thousands of heavy armored cavalry and hundreds of thousands of ironclad warriors, might not need to consider such tactics.

    The valiant female knight led Rody and his group for half a day and then parted ways at a crossroad.

    "We will take our leave here. We wish you all the best!" She led her subordinates ¡®thunderously¡¯ in another direction.

    "She is the cousin that Kaylie has a crush on," Kris mentioned, and Rody suddenly remembered. In the Evil Forest, when everyone talked about their first love, Kaylie had said his first love was his cousin. Moreover, to comfort him, Rody had even said he would give Kaylie his cousin, never expecting to actually meet her today.

    "How do you know the Holy Maiden?" Rody asked Kris as they rode side by side. "Is the Holy Maiden Bicrystal?"

    "No," Kris shook his head but did not elaborate on who Bicrystal was.

    "Hey, are you really a... never mind." Rody originally wanted to ask if Kris was male or female, because he found that Kris never knew any men; all his friends were women. Moreover, more importantly, the more he observed Kris, the stranger he seemed, making Rody suspicious. But it was hard to believe that a woman would talk like that and be bold enough to bathe with him. If Kris was a man, how could he be so familiar with the Holy Maiden? If he was a woman, his personality and physique didn''t quite match.

    "Rody, we should compare our skills in bed sometime, then you¡¯ll know whether I¡¯m male or female! Hahaha!" Kris¡¯s comment immediately dismissed Rody¡¯s inner doubts.

    "Shut up!" Rody felt it was absurd to think a woman would talk like that.

    "Is Jill really that beautiful? To make you wait so devotedly for her to grow up. You know, most men wouldn''t do that," Kris asked again.

    "Much more beautiful than your Bicui silk!" Rody couldn''t help but strike at this inexplicable guy. Was Gill beautiful? Was that his business? He didn''t even covet his Bicui silk, nor did he inquire about his relationship with the Saintess, but he asked about Gill. Was Gill someone he could set his sights on? She was Felic''s hope... Right, the other two stars of hope mentioned by the Saintess, could one of them be Gill?

    Then, who could be the last star of hope?

    How exactly should one unlock potential? Can potential really be developed without training? Chris is also a star of hope, but how many stars of potential does he actually have?

    Rody really wanted to take out the ink crystal magic mirror to check Chris''s background, but felt that he should trust the other party.

    Despite riding the temple''s unique bright magic horse, which has great stamina, Rody and Chris, both enduring hardship, rode on the road all day, passing several small towns, but were still very far from the ''Lei Yin Mist Land''. The magic martial arts competition didn''t matter much to Rody; he was participating only to obey the Grand Marshal''s orders, representing the honor of the Grand Alliance''s military in secret, and also to regain some honor for Felic, repaying the efforts of Dean Buck and others who had searched for him from afar.

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    Chris, however, felt the sooner Rody''s problem was resolved, the better. They hurried until dusk, both man and horse exhausted, before stopping.

    He didn''t say it, but Rody understood very well that Chris must also long to unlock his own star of potential, to enhance his strength. And it seemed that unlocking his potential was somewhat related to Rody, hence his particular urgency.

    "I''m feeling a bit bored, keep me company and talk for a while," Chris suddenly crawled into the small tent during the night, lying down next to Rody.

    "Talk about what?" Rody gently closed the magic notebook of the beautiful female tutor and asked.

    "Anything, everything is fine," Chris turned over and even pulled Rody''s blanket over him. He wanted Rody to talk, but he himself closed his eyes as if to sleep. Rody wasn''t too surprised by this behavior, as Chris often did the same in the Evil Forest.

    "Do you have something on your mind?" Rody observed for a while and realized that Chris seemed off that day.

    "Who doesn''t have a little something on their mind? Are you saying you don''t?" Chris said angrily.

    "I didn''t provoke you!" Rody became even more puzzled.

    "Let me throw a couple of punches, I''ll cool down and go back to sleep! Just a couple of punches!" Chris made an inexplicable request.

    "Are you sleepwalking or am I?" Rody prepared to grab Chris and throw him out, but Chris turned over in a huff, back facing him, like a petulant child, making Rody wonder if he was dreaming.

    "I like someone, but I can''t let them know. It''s painful," Chris suddenly sighed softly.

    "Is it the Saintess?" Rody thought Chris might have feelings for the Saintess, but due to their different statuses, Chris''s unrequited love for the Saintess and inability to confess were normal. But then, wasn''t Chris in love with Bicui silk? With his friend heartbroken, Rody naturally tried his best to comfort him, gently saying, "Maybe the Saintess likes you too, just not saying it. How about I ask her for you?"

    "How could the Saintess like me? What nonsense are you talking about!" Chris was greatly annoyed.

    "If I hit a nerve, you should admit it," Rody became even more certain. When it came to Bicui silk, Chris was relaxed, but as soon as the Saintess was mentioned, he vehemently denied it, obviously hiding something.

    "Have you slept with the female boss?" Chris asked.

    "Hey, you''re heartbroken, but don''t drag me into it, or I''ll turn my back on you." Seeing what seemed like tears in Chris''s eyes, Rody dared not look anymore, fearing it would hurt his pride. He gently lay down, staring at the tent ceiling for a long time, then softly said, "I do quite like the female boss. Although she''s always drunk, she listens to my troubles. Whatever makes me unhappy, I can tell her."

    "I''m also your friend, but you never talk to me," Chris said resentfully. "You even doubt me!"

    "You never told me either," Rody quickly defended.

    "Did the female boss tell you? Do you know all her secrets? Do you know all of Gill''s secrets?" Chris angrily said, "Who doesn''t have a little secret?"

    "So, everyone keeps their own secrets. It''s fair that way," Rody nodded.

    "But you''re not fair. You tell the female boss your troubles, but not others," Chris latched onto that point, determined to make an issue with Rody.

    "I was in a bad mood at that time, so I wanted someone to talk to," Rody turned over, ready to throw this unreasonable guy out, but for some reason, he couldn''t do it and just lay down, whispering, "I was like you are now, in a bad mood, talking harshly. Actually, sometimes talking to someone about your troubles is quite comforting. I was feeling oppressed for a long time, and after talking to the female boss, I felt much better. You can tell me anything, too. After talking about it, I guarantee you''ll feel nothing''s wrong tomorrow, and you''ll be in a great mood."

    "I''m thinking about my first love, but I''m not their first love, and they probably don''t think of me¡­" Chris''s voice was tearful, and Rody pretended not to hear. He was especially afraid of people crying, especially men, simply not knowing how to comfort them.

    "¡­" Rody decided to remain silent, just like the female boss.

    "That''s not fair!" Chris stretched out his hand and punched Rody. At first, Rody was greatly annoyed, then he felt a lot of sympathy.

    "First love is nothing great. I don''t even know who my first love was." As soon as Rody said this, Chris couldn''t help but cry. Rody never expected Chris, who could withstand an orc berserker''s axe and was a man who would bleed but not cry, to cry over a first love. He felt both strange and sympathetic. For a handsome man like Chris, being rejected and ignored would indeed be heartbreaking.

    "You don''t know who your first love is? You must be kidding!" Chris threw another punch, apparently not believing Rody''s words.

    "I can''t tell..." Rody recalled the past and remained silent for a long time.

    "Tell me, I want to hear," Chris, who had stopped crying at some point, asked with a slightly sniffling voice.

    "Why are you so curious? I didn''t ask about yours... Alright, I''ll tell." Rody, fearing that Chris would start crying again, decided to share a little secret of his own. He was sure Chris wouldn''t mention it to anyone else because he still had the upper hand with Chris being a crybaby. After thinking for a while, Rody slowly said, "First love, I really can''t tell what it is. Maybe it''s the female boss, maybe Gill, or maybe an unknown Dark Elf whom I''ve never seen nor known the name of."

    "What?" Chris suddenly turned around, and Rody could see his face streaked with tears, looking quite pitiful.

    "Don''t look at me, wipe your tears," Rody felt a bit overwhelmed by Chris''s tears, finding it very strange. He wouldn''t feel a deep sense of pity if he saw another man''s tears.

    "Who asked you to look... Look up!" Chris pulled up the blanket over his head and started wiping his tears.

    Well, Rody thought his blanket was ruined.

    Having such a crybaby friend was just his bad luck. But this guy was quite capable on the battlefield, not shedding a tear or frowning even when injured, a truly tough nut. But the pain of first love was enough to make him cry. Rody thought about the Heavenly Fragrance Saintess, her unique and moving beauty, no wonder Chris liked her so much.

    "Keep talking!" Chris urged Rody to continue as he stopped speaking.

    "Talking about what?" Rody was puzzled.

    "Your first love, tell me about your Dark Elf first love!" Chris would make a great magic reporter, Rody thought. He had casually mentioned the Dark Elf, and Chris had firmly decided that she was Rody''s first love, something even Rody himself couldn''t confirm.

    "There''s nothing much to tell. I don''t know her name or what she looks like, I don''t know anything," Rody said offhandedly.

    "You''re lying! How can you like someone without knowing anything about them?" Chris was annoyed.

    "I don''t know if it''s love, but for so long, I''ve never forgotten that faint, blurry shadow. I don''t remember what she looked like... but her eyes seemed to emit a beautiful light. At that time, I was fleeing with my mother on my back. She could have killed me and my mother, but although she sounded cold, she was surprisingly kind-hearted. Even after knowing I was a necromancer, she didn''t harm us. Maybe it''s because she spared me that there''s the miraculous young Rody today!" Rody reminisced, thinking that if the Dark Elf had killed him with a moon blade, there would have been no hope for humanity.

    "..." Chris stayed silent under the blanket for a long time. Rody found it odd; the man loved gossip and wanted to hear, but then he didn''t believe it when he heard.

    "It''s true!" Rody emphasized: "Why would I lie to you!"

    "If that Dark Elf woman comes looking for you, would you still like her?" Chris suddenly asked very softly.

    "How could she possibly come looking for me? She doesn''t even know me. We just met by chance on the road! She was tracking down Terri and Lotte, who had stolen their clan''s moonstone, and had been discovered. She was fleeing when she encountered me. Besides, I was just a kid back then. I''ve grown up now; she definitely wouldn''t recognize me!" Rody laughed loudly: "Don''t take it seriously, okay? Do you think a Dark Elf who lives for hundreds of years would fall for a human?"

    "How did you deceive her? Using your charm, right?" Chris asked after a while.

    "Charm? I was a kid back then. What charm! But, I did use a strategy. Ha, I grabbed her breast, causing her to be mentally disordered. Then I said something so absurd it made her laugh and cry, infuriating yet amusing her. Eventually, her murderous intent was laughed away, and my mother and I were able to survive. Sometimes, people are like that. When they''re cold, they can be ruthless, but once their mind is disturbed, their hidden kindness emerges." Rody nodded: "If I see her again, I think I''ll apologize! I took advantage of her with my words."

    "You grabbed her breast? Was it big?" Chris was very concerned about this.

    "Pretty big, not like the elves in legends... Why are you so gossipy? Go back to sleep!" Rody got angry at such a question.

    "I think when you see your first love again, you should grab her breast again, take advantage of her again. I believe she will like you even more!" Chris climbed up, grinning. After talking with Rody, his mood seemed to lighten, but Rody himself was annoyed.

    "With that attitude, no wonder the Saintess doesn''t like you!" Rody was very angry.

    "Bad boys are loved by girls. Maybe it was your boldness back then that made the Dark Elf fall for you," Chris laughed: "If you were like that with the female boss, you wouldn''t be a virgin now! Okay, I''ll stop, don''t be mad. There''s nothing wrong with being a virgin. Keep your virginity, it will come in handy one day!"

    "How did I end up with a friend like you..." Rody sighed at his misfortune.

    "I think it''s not bad knowing you," Chris hurried out before Rody could hit him. Rody lay down angrily, covering his head with the blanket. Suddenly, he smelled a very faint fragrance. It was somewhat similar to the rich scent of the Heavenly Fragrance Saintess, but slightly different. Rody wondered, sniffing his own clothes, which had no such scent. Where did this fragrance come from?

 Chapter 127: War Song

    The next day, as they resumed their journey, Chris seemed very happy, always with a faint smile on his lips.

    Rody thought that Chris must have relieved his heart by expressing his feelings, hence the sunny, radiant expression. However, Chris being happy was much better than him sulking, and Rody certainly didn''t have the leisure to comfort this crybaby all the time.

    Racing along the road, a few days later, Rody and Chris arrived at the edge of the Kamarlon Empire, at Minnesota La Forest and Mirror Lake.

    Although Mirror Lake is neither the largest nor the deepest lake in the world, it is one of the top ten famous lakes. Fed by three tributaries, it harbors the continent''s marvelous aquatic species, including the world''s only freshwater mermaids. Most mermaids live in lakes and seas, but besides Mirror Lake, there are no other freshwater mermaids.

    In addition to freshwater mermaids, Mirror Lake is also known for producing the world''s largest pearls and freshwater scallops.

    Due to its proximity to Minnesota La Forest, which has the largest wolf pack in the world, Mirror Lake only has a small town on one side. People live on the alluvial peninsula at the lake''s edge, fishing in Mirror Lake and the three tributaries for generations.

    The locals revere Mirror Lake, considering it a divine gift, and never dare to fish in it.

    The mermaids, on the other hand, exchange pearls and scallops for items they need from humans, such as magic crystals and gems. Although the population of the small town by Mirror Lake is less than three thousand, there are over a dozen major companies with branches here, and over a hundred itinerant traders, making it a highly developed commercial area. The standard of living here is much higher than in ordinary towns. In the small town of Mirror Lake, one can see leisurely elderly people fishing in the river and basking in the sun everywhere, and people dancing joyfully to music.

    Rody and Chris needed to cross Mirror Lake and Minnesota La Forest and then travel a long distance to reach the Lei Yin Mist Land.

    Although the horses blessed with light magic could perform three kinds of magic¡ªlevitation, feather fall, and sky soaring, enabling short-distance flying over rivers and streams¡ªit was effortless for them. Yet, Rody and Chris, captivated by the beauty of the small town by Mirror Lake, decided to rest early and stay there for a night.

    "Hey, let''s go see the mermaids!" Chris was excited, eager to see the biggest local attraction.

    "Isn''t it said that freshwater mermaids only come out to sing on full moon nights? Now, with the sun shining and clear skies, not even a single fish is surfacing, let''s forget it!" Rody, engrossed in the magic notebook of the beautiful female tutor, didn''t pay much attention to Chris.

    "Then let''s go to the lake and pick up pearls and scallops," Chris insisted on dragging him along.

    "Oh my, it''s the time when the Minnesota La giant wolves are preparing their dinner. Let''s just stay safely in the city and enjoy the beautiful sunset. Besides, with your attractive looks, didn''t you see how many girls were throwing flirtatious glances at you just now? If you go out, the girls might divide you up before the giant wolves even get a chance!" Rody was preparing to write his own magic notebook, to deepen his memory of magic and understand it from multiple perspectives, so he didn''t want to waste time going out.

    "You''re just jealous! Besides, you also got plenty of flirtatious glances! Stingy!" Chris huffed back to his room.

    "The world has become peaceful now," Rody laughed, knowing that Chris wouldn''t be angry for more than half an hour.

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    As night fell, Rody was pondering how to start writing his own magic notebook when suddenly, a mournful lament drifted from afar. The language was unclear, but one could feel a deep sadness that welled up in the heart and spread through the body, bringing tears to the eyes.

    Rody keenly felt that this was not just a song, but a kind of mental magic.

    The singer was using her song to cast her mental magic, making listeners feel sorrow and grief. If Rody were to cast such mental magic, he could achieve this effect too, but only on a single individual or a small group of people, not like this, transmitting it across the wilderness through singing.

    The sad song brought Rody a kind of enlightening realization. He had always hoped his mental magic could spread further and affect a larger area.

    Especially in battles between armies, if he could only influence a few hundred or a thousand people, it would be insufficient.

    If there were a kind of mental magic that could affect tens of thousands, even a hundred thousand people, then the army under Rody''s command would truly become invincible. Otherwise, he could only rely on small surprise attacks against the enemy and could not annihilate the enemy on the main battlefield to truly decide the battle and dominate the campaign.

    Now, Rody knew how to achieve this effect.

    That is through singing.

    Yes, like the Silver-Eyed Singer, using singing to transmit to a larger environment, affecting more soldiers... Of course, not singing with the mouth, but singing with mental power.

    At that moment, Rody realized the method of singing with mental power.

    Although he hadn''t tried and created it yet, he was enlightened and felt that singing with mental power would be very feasible. The Silver-Eyed Singer was born mute, but the elders in the ruins of the God Realm said she could sing wonderful songs that moved all beings. Rody had always struggled to imagine what that kind of singing would be like, but now he understood.

    The key was not the voice, but the mental power.

    Although he couldn''t clearly hear or understand the distant lament, he could feel the sorrow of the singer.

    "Maybe, I can create a new kind of ''War Song'', like the Silver-Eyed Singer, using mental power to sing, but adding human vocalization to enhance the effect... Hmm, like the war songs and drums of the orcs, but a bit different. My War Song could maybe utilize the shouts of all soldiers to stimulate and amplify it. Yes, I should temporarily gather everyone''s mental power, to encourage our side and strike at the enemy." Rody got more and more excited as he thought about it, just as he was about to write down his first ''War Song'', Chris burst in, interrupting his great creation.

    "Rody, something''s wrong," Chris said anxiously.

    "What happened? Did someone steal our horses?" Rody asked in surprise.

    "No, it''s the mermaids... Didn''t you hear it? That''s the singing of the mermaids!" Once Chris mentioned it, Rody nodded, saying, "It''s very touching and beautiful! I didn''t know mermaids sang like this."

    "You fool! That''s not how mermaids usually sing! She''s asking for help, it''s a plea for help!" Chris was very annoyed.

    "Can you understand it?" Rody was surprised at Chris''s linguistic talent.

    "It''s a branch of the ancient Elven language, similar to what I chant. Stop talking, and come with me quickly, we need to save her!" Chris pulled Rody and rushed upstairs, but strangely, in the small town by Mirror Lake, people shut their doors at the sound of this singing, and no one was outside. All the singing and dancing men and women and street passersby vanished.

    "Guests, don''t meddle," the innkeeper whispered, "The army of the Redlands Kingdom, those executioners are hunting mermaids again. The gods will punish them, but you two guests, don''t get involved."

    "We''ll have a look and be right back..." Chris pulled Rody and rushed forward towards Mirror Lake.

    At first, Rody didn''t care much, but as they got closer to Mirror Lake, the singing grew louder, and the mental impact stronger. Being a mental magician, Rody could barely resist being affected by the sadness. If it were an ordinary person, they would have been crying in deep sorrow by now. Nearing the lake, Rody also heard wailing and prayers, the kind of sorrow erupting from the bottom of the heart, impacting Rody''s mind. But in the center of Mirror Lake, there was a huge warship with an army of over a thousand men, battling something.

    Rody couldn''t believe his eyes, was there really an army that could withstand such singing?

    If there was such a powerful army, wouldn''t his ''War Song'' be useless? Or were these soldiers all steadfast magicians?

    "They must have a treasure to resist or reduce the impact of mental magic, or perhaps a master of mental magic is casting spells, giving those guys mental resistance!" Chris''s eyes were red. His mental defense was far inferior to Rody''s, and understanding what the mermaids were singing about, he was nearly moved to tears.

    "What can we do?" Rody didn''t know the relationship between Chris and the mermaids. Starting a war with Redlands Kingdom was not his intention. Since he was a stranger to the mermaids, intervening and offending Redlands Kingdom would drag not only him into trouble but also General Fondsman who had high hopes for him, and even the Felic Principality. However, if Chris had a special relationship with the mermaids, he wouldn''t mind having one more enemy like Redlands Kingdom.

    He was willing to do anything for his friends, without any hesitation.

    If it were just for the sake of justice, Rody wouldn''t care. He would never expose the Felic Principality to war for some self-proclaimed noble justice, nor would he allow the hard-earned strength accumulated by generations at the Book Academy to be revealed to the world.

    "We must save the mermaids; they are related to us, very much so," Chris said anxiously to Rody.

    "Then let''s go!" Rody heard it; Chris said ''we'', not ''I''. It seemed that these freshwater mermaids were somehow related to him too. With this in mind, he couldn''t just stand by idly.

    "Change outfits!" Chris and Rody thought alike and decided to disguise themselves as righteous Temple Knights, letting the Temple take the blame.

    "Maybe in this battle, I can try out my newly conceived ''War Song''!" Rody and Chris summoned their light magic horses, changed into silver holy armor, disguised themselves as Temple Knights, and rushed towards the warship in the center of the lake.

 Chapter 128: The Cunning Rody

    "Justice." Rody and Chris, mimicking the tone of Temple Knights, quickly approached on their light magic horses.

    Rody conjured a stone and, imitating the gesture of Temple Knights throwing their holy hammers, hurled it at a soldier standing on the ship''s railing. The unfortunate soldier fell into the lake with a splash, likely to be welcomed by the fish and shrimp if the freshwater mermaids spared him.

    Chris, brandishing a holy sword and shouting loudly, secretly cast enhancement magic on both himself and Rody.

    Their appearance left both sides in the battle somewhat dumbfounded. The freshwater mermaids on the lake surface quickly disengaged and dove deep into the lake. The human troops, riding griffins and deerhawks, also took the chance to land on the ship, looking at Rody and Chris with confusion, not understanding their intent.

    The soldiers on the ship stared at Rody and Chris in astonishment.

    "Who are these fools daring to attack us?" someone on the ship laughed heartily, stepping forward. Rody and Chris frowned slightly as they recognized the man as a general with the strength of a sky warrior, not an easy opponent.

    "I am Colonel Terri of the Sixth Squadron of the Temple Knights, the Sky Cavalry. Soldiers, who do you serve? Report to us immediately." Fate has a way of bringing enemies together. Rody least wanted to encounter anyone from the Rein family, yet here he was, facing Terri, his older brother. Although not as accomplished as Lotte, Terri was already a colonel.

    "Ah, sir, we, we are under General Lotte, the Ninth Squadron..." Rody stammered in his report.

    "Lotte''s men? Don''t you know that when reporting to a superior, you should dismount and salute in front of the officer? Didn''t my brother Lotte teach you what a knight''s etiquette is?" Terri, hearing they were his brother''s men, became even more arrogant.

    Rody and Chris, riding their light magic horses, dismounted and approached Terri at the ship''s bow with a hint of fear.

    The crowd laughed heartily at the disheveled appearance of these two righteous Temple Knights.

    "Sir, we..." Rody and Chris stood in front of Terri, saluting him. But before Terri could mock them, Rody''s mental hammer struck his chin hard. Chris, ducking low, knocked the dizzy Terri to the deck. Rody threw several curses like ''Rigidity'', ''Paralysis'', and ''Weightlessness'' at Terri.

    Before the crowd could react, Rody had already removed Terri''s holy helmet, holding a sharp dagger to his throat.

    Two guards roared and lunged at them, but Chris sent them flying with a powerful punch. In mid-air, Rody''s vines whipped out, hurling them into the lake, splashing water everywhere.

    "What do you think you''re doing?" the Redlands Kingdom''s general furiously demanded.

    "We are righteous Temple Knights. We consider all evil our enemy!" Rody intended to fully blame the Temple.

    "Humanity and freshwater mermaids have lived in harmony for generations. You, for the sake of their ''Mermaid Tear Pearls'' and ''Mermaid Tails'', have so cruelly disrupted the order and laws set by the gods. We will not forgive you," Chris cited a moral high ground.

    "Are you out of your minds? Release Colonel Terri immediately, or you will have no place to bury your dead!" The general commanded his soldiers to surround Rody and Chris.

    "This is our answer!" Rody stabbed his dagger into Terri''s shoulder, causing blood to spurt out. He then kicked hard at a vulnerable spot under Terri''s armor, causing the paralyzed Terri to howl in agony and faint. Chris, fearing others would later suspect Rody, also punched and kicked Terri, covering up Rody''s action.

    "Stop, stop!" The general was very reluctant to see Terri killed because of his own tough stance, as it would cause big trouble.

    "Release the mermaids, or we can''t guarantee Colonel Terri''s safety," Chris demanded of the general, pointing to the mermaids in a magical cage on the ship.

    The griffin cavalry in the sky descended, intending to snatch Terri.

    However, it wasn''t their intention, but Rody''s mental power pulling and enticing the griffins beneath them. Chris, in perfect sync, executed a crescent slash mimicking a sword wave, slicing the griffins and their riders, causing blood and feathers to scatter in the air. Those who barely escaped to the sky were shot down one by one by Chris with his bow.

    The general was shaking with anger, pale-faced, having never expected two self-proclaimed righteous Temple Knights to disrupt the hunt.

    Moreover, they were so powerful.

    "Exchange, we agree to release the mermaids, but you must also release Colonel Terri. To prevent you from going back on your word, we decide to release the mermaids at the stern, and one of you should go there to monitor our actions. Meanwhile, the other one at the bow must simultaneously release Colonel Terri. Remember one thing, we will not let this go easily and will definitely hold the Temple accountable," the general coldly proposed an exchange method.

    "We''ll do it right here," Chris obviously did not agree.

    "We can release the mermaids, but if you don''t follow the agreement, then we''ll be deceived. You should know, here we have not only your Temple''s men but also the armies of Redlands and Greater Frey. Although we''re eager to ensure Colonel Terri''s safety, we will not fully compromise," another six-pointed star magician also refused Chris''s terms, supported by more soldiers.

    "You go and watch them. Only when all the mermaids are released should you signal me with the magic fireworks," Rody whispered instructively, but the opponents clearly heard his tense words.

    "Okay," Chris took Rody''s magic fireworks with a shaky hand, playing along with Rody''s tense act.

    He mounted his light magic horse, circled around the ship, and followed the six-pointed star magician and a squad of soldiers to the stern. Chris watched the soldiers slowly open a magical cage imprisoning the mermaids and threw the unconscious mermaids into the lake...

    After a while, a magic firework rose from the stern, brightly illuminating the night sky.

    "You see? We''ve kept our promise and released all the mermaids. Now release Colonel Terri, immediately!" the general roared.

    "My partner hasn''t come back yet! Wait until he returns, I must see him!" Rody, holding onto Terri, retreated to the very edge of the bow, anxiously watching the stern direction. However, Chris seemed to have vanished, not appearing at all. The general, with many soldiers, formed a semi-circle, trapping Rody at the bow, with magicians and archers aiming at him, and swordsmen ready to strike.

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    "He will be back soon, let Colonel Terri drink some healing potion first. How can you keep watching him bleed?" The general offered to send someone to hurry Chris, while negotiating with Rody.

    "I haven''t seen my partner, and none of you should come near!" Rody shouted tensely on purpose.

    "I''m back, are you okay?" Chris quickly returned, rushing into the circle and asking with concern. Rody handed Colonel Terri over to him and slowly took out a magic scroll, preparing to escape the moment he released the hostage.

    "I''ll count to three, and as soon as you let go, enter the small light gate," Rody instructed.

    "Start counting!" Suddenly, Chris punched Rody in the stomach and kicked the magic scroll out of his hand. To Rody''s astonishment, Chris transformed into someone else ¨C the six-pointed star magician who had been laughing moments ago. "Your partner has already run away, but we will catch him sooner or later! You will have the chance to discuss and repent your worse-than-dogshit justice in the cage. We will make sure you understand where you went wrong!"

    "Capture him!" The leading general also laughed loudly, rushing over to rescue Terri and signaling the soldiers to capture Rody.

    "You don''t know, I am the bane of magicians!" Rody snorted angrily. The six-pointed star magician, protected by a magic shield, was struck by Rody''s mental hammer, causing him to spit blood. Rody''s mental net wrapped around the overconfident man, and he held him up like a small chicken. In front of the soldiers preparing to pounce, Rody broke the magician''s fingers one by one and held a sharp dagger to his eyelid.

    "Damn it..." The leading general halted the soldiers but activated some magic mechanism. A magic light screen rose at the bow of the ship, enveloping the area and preventing Rody from jumping into the lake.

    In the sky, Chris returned on his light magic horse, but he too couldn''t enter.

    Rody gestured to Chris, who desperately shook his head. Finally, in anger, Rody raised his dagger to kill the hostage, prompting Chris to reluctantly leave on his light magic horse, frequently looking back.

    "You can''t escape. Release the hostage now, and we still have room for maneuver. Even if your superior, General Lotte, comes here, he won''t be able to save you! The reinforcements your partner brought will capture you, not stand by your side. You''ve caused trouble, listen, you must release the hostage immediately! Unconditionally release him, or I can''t guarantee your life!" the leading general sneered.

    "I won''t listen to your nonsense until my partner brings reinforcements!" Rody declared his trust only in the reinforcements.

    "Watch him!" The leading general ordered the soldiers to keep an eye on Rody while he took the severely injured Terri for treatment. He had plenty of time to spare and believed that even if reinforcements arrived, even if General Lotte personally came, they would only capture these self-righteous men, not blame himself. Hunting mermaids was a secret order from the Temple, which General Lotte certainly knew. Unfortunately, these two foolish soldiers were unaware of the details.

    An hour and a half later, the general comfortably finished his dinner and a few glasses of wine, then leisurely went to the bow to see how the other side was holding up.

    Under such intense mental pressure, it was believed that the enemy''s morale would be greatly undermined in less than half an hour.

    Being isolated and surrounded, such a blow would be unbearable even for the toughest person. The general didn''t really care about the life of the magic master; his concern was his own life. As a sky warrior who had been through dozens of battles, he had learned to be cautious. The opponents, though reckless and passionate, were quick and ruthless in their actions. Both Terri and the magic master had been captured without a chance to fight back, and the general was determined not to let such a thing happen to him.

    Self-preservation was his true path to success.

    "Report to the general, the pursuing air force has not returned yet," a guard reported to him. The general was pleased to hear this. He wasn''t aiming to capture the opponents but rather to find out if they really had reinforcements. If so, the arrival of reinforcements would be a good thing for him. Perhaps General Lotte would bring his subordinates bound to him for disposition.

    "How is the situation at the bow?" the general asked again.

    "Reporting to the general, they are still in a standoff," the guard, who had been watching for over an hour, was impatient.

    "Eh?" When the general, with his heavy belly, arrived at the bow, he found the situation was not as he had imagined. Inside the magic barrier, not a single soldier was standing; even his most capable deputy lay on the ground panting like a dog.

    The exhausted appearance of the soldiers left the general dumbfounded.

    Two to three hundred people surrounding one person, yet so exhausted? And looking at their dehydrated and dried-out state, it was as if they had been starving and thirsty for ten days and nights. The general couldn''t understand how the soldiers had become like this in just an hour and a half.

    "Um, delicious," Rody was sitting high at the bow, crisply biting into an apple.

    "Great knight, please give me an apple, I''m starving to death..." The general heard his deputy calling the enemy a great knight and went pale. This was a title he could never attain, yet his proud deputy was begging the enemy like a tail-wagging dog.

    "Who else wants an apple?" Rody pointed at the general and his accompanying guards, saying, "Take down that big-bellied fellow first!"

    "Roar!" Everyone, as if hearing a divine command, charged with weapons roaring.

    "What''s going on?" The general drew his sword in panic, slashing at his own men, but countless soldiers still crazily pounced on him, heedless of their own lives. Heads and limbs flew, blood and flesh scattered, but the soldiers charged like demons from hell. The general kept slashing, but none stopped their assault.

    "In this world, there is something called a time hourglass, which can accelerate the passage of time by a hundredfold. You''ve been away for an hour and a half, and if it''s accelerated a hundred times, I believe you would also end up like them. General, your time of death has come! Justice, must prevail!" Rody laughed heartily.

    "Who can kill me!" The general became furious, a sky warrior, thinking himself a tiger but treated as a sick cat.

    "General, you ate well, didn''t you? Ah, juicy steaks and sweet wine filled your belly. With your heavy stomach, how much fighting power do you have left? Surprised, aren''t you? You want to know how I knew what you ate, right? Let me tell you, it was I who suggested your meal, including what you ate and how much... all through my mental influence, just like now. While I''m talking, I''m also mentally suggesting - what am I suggesting? Dementia, brain damage, and despair!" With every word Rody spoke, the general sweated profusely.

    "Ah..." The general burst out his fighting spirit, turning to flee.

    "Too late," Rody sneered. "From the moment you stepped out of the cabin, you''ve been in my illusion. Did you really think that as a sky warrior, I couldn''t handle you? In my presence, even the strongest man is just a demented, slow-witted statue!"

    "Look here!" Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice rang out behind the general. His guard transformed into a silver-armored Temple Knight, heavily slashing his sword at the general''s neck.

    His protective fighting spirit couldn''t resist the sudden attack.

    As the general screamed in agony, fully regaining consciousness, he found himself lying atop a heap of mutilated corpses. Half of his neck was cut open, blood spurting out. He quickly drank a highly effective healing potion and immediately crushed a teleportation scroll, fleeing at the fastest speed of his life. On the other side of the cabin, the recently awakened Terri heard the fight and screams, got up with the help of his guards, and without a second thought, pressed a ring in his hand, opening a small light circle, and disappeared into it.

    The air force fled in disarray, and the remaining soldiers either despaired and jumped into the water or committed suicide with their swords.

    Some charged at Rody, but quickly turned on each other, hacking and slashing in a bloody frenzy.

    Those who could escape did so, while those who couldn''t surrendered and dropped their swords.

    In less than five minutes, Rody had locked all the survivors in the huge ship''s hold and calmly stopped the magic barrier mechanism, allowing the waiting Chris to descend, grinning.

    "The cunning man, can''t be helped, they''re just unlucky to have met you," Chris said, frowning slightly at the sight of Marcus in the holy armor. "You let your skeleton wear the hard-earned holy armor... Anyway, what''s going on with it? How come the undead aren''t afraid of holy light magic? Never mind, don''t ask. You had a chance to kill that guy just now, why did you let him escape?"

    "Letting a madman escape means no one will believe his words. The Temple will execute him or burn him at the stake; they won''t admit it was done by a Temple Knight. As for Terri, he will bite back to absolve himself," Rody laughed heartily.

    "You''re such a scoundrel, so cunning!" Chris nodded, also feeling that the unfortunate general had a great chance of becoming the scapegoat.

    "We should search the place and then leave as soon as possible." Rody, looking weary, said, "My mental strength is greatly depleted. It would be very dangerous if a powerful person were to arrive unexpectedly."

    "Who asked you to show off? Controlling three hundred people with your mental power alone, you''re simply a madman!" Chris laughed and spat, quickly going down to the cabin to search for useful items, while Rody dismantled the device for the magical barrier. He was very fond of this thing that had stumped even the mermaids. Having it would definitely be a great help on the battlefield.

    "Big haul, Rody, I also found a few beautiful ladies..." Chris carried out a magical cage, inside which were three mermaids.

    One of the mermaids, wearing a pearl crown on her head, seemed to have a significant status.

    Rody looked her up and down, noticing that the mermaid was indeed extraordinarily beautiful, especially the one wearing the crown, who had a special kind of noble and elegant demeanor, making her look charming yet unviolable.

    "Pervert, what are you looking at?" Chris, seeing Rody checking out the mermaid, said discontentedly, "Hurry up and help rescue them!"

    "Taking a look won''t cost me a piece of flesh. Besides, her chest is covered with scallops!" Rody found the mermaid''s attire truly mesmerizing. Apart from the pearl crown and necklace, her upper body was only covered by two scallop shells, gently enveloping her tender buds. The beautiful snow peaks were even more prominent under the partial concealment of the scallops, extremely tempting and provocative.

    As for the lower half of the mermaids'' bodies, there were no adornments at all, their lower bodies being beautiful fish tails.

    Each mermaid''s tail was slightly different, especially the one wearing the crown, whose tail made Rody think for the first time that fish tails could be beautiful.

    Chris was very dissatisfied with Rody''s lecherous comments, but he himself was no gentleman either. Not only did he break open the magical cage, but he also personally held the mermaids and fed them a magical potion, even refusing Rody''s help. He was a super pervert, and one with a strong sense of possessiveness at that.

    "Thank you for rescuing us, we need to get back into the water quickly, otherwise we''ll turn into foam and disappear..." The mermaid wearing the crown weakly thanked Chris and Rody. It seemed she hadn''t completely lost consciousness, just extremely weak.

    "You used a soul-dispersing spell? That''s really crazy!" Chris said a few sentences in ancient Elvish.

    "I''m so glad to see you, boo hoo hoo!" The crown-wearing mermaid suddenly hugged Chris and started crying loudly, and the other two mermaids also hugged and cried together.

    Rody didn''t understand, but guessed it had something to do with himself and Chris.

    Just as he was about to ask for clarification, suddenly, in the distant sky, a streak of golden light shot towards them.

    "Sword Emperor? Not good! Rody, quickly dive into the water, we are friends of the mermaids, it''s safe in the water!" Seeing this, Chris shouted.

 Chapter 129: The Mermaid Princess

    "I must kill that guy." Rody, looking at the golden light shooting from a distance, had his eyes full of anger and hatred.

    "The enemy is too powerful, a direct confrontation now would be futile. Let''s wait until your mental strength recovers..." Chris sent the mermaids down to the lake and then pulled Rody to jump into the water. In the sky, a sword qi slashed through the air, creating a huge gash on the surface of the lake. Clearly, the Sword Emperor had discovered Rody and Chris, but they were too far away for him to reach. By the time he flew over, Rody and Chris had already disappeared.

    "Damn it, let''s see how long you can hide! You will pay for this!" The Sword Emperor roared in anger, his sword qi crisscrossing, slashing the lake surface into thousands of sword marks, stirring up towering waves.

    Suddenly, thick smoke started billowing from the ship; Rody had set it on fire just moments before.

    When the Sword Emperor flew down, the fire on the ship was beyond control, driving him even crazier. He chopped down the mast and several decks to let the people trapped inside escape, while summoning reinforcements with a magical device. The one-armed emperor was so enraged that he looked almost cannibalistic, terrifying all the soldiers and servants to the point of trembling and turning pale.

    At the deepest part of the lake, in the coral palace of the mermaids, Rody and Chris were being warmly welcomed by the mermaid tribe.

    The mermaid wearing the crown turned out to be the princess of the mermaids.

    Her maid had gone ashore to exchange goods with humans and was captured. To rescue her maid, the Mermaid Princess went to negotiate, not expecting the temple''s representative, Terry, the fair mediator, to be the first to attack. Outnumbered, she was caught in a net that suppressed water magic, leading to the entire mermaid tribe emerging daily to fight fiercely with humans, even singing sorrowful songs for help, which attracted Chris and Rody, who understood the ancient Elvish language.

    The mermaids had always lived in harmony with humans for generations, but now even the people of the temple had become hunters, which greatly angered the mermaid tribe.

    However, they were very welcoming towards Rody and Chris.

    Especially Chris, who could converse with them affectionately in the ancient Elvish language, was treated like a relative by the mermaids. They curiously surrounded him, asking questions, and when Chris spoke of battles, they couldn''t help but clap and praise.

    Rody found these mermaids to be like innocent children, not knowing whether to laugh or be angry.

    Even the young mermaids were one thing, but the elder mermaids and the priestesses were not much different. They were so naive, almost like human girls. Of course, this was very beneficial for their peaceful coexistence and happy lives, but for battle, it was definitely a bad thing. Innocent warriors, no matter how strong, would be defeated by weaker but more cunning foes on the battlefield. No wonder they were not weak, yet humans could easily overpower them.

    What intrigued Rody was the magic of these mermaids.

    They could construct beautiful coral palaces under the water and even separate the lake water into three layers.

    The top of Mirror Lake was fresh water, the middle was still water, and the bottom was seawater. The fish living there included both lake fish and sea fish, which was quite peculiar. Moreover, inside the coral palace, they even separated the water up to the sky, forming palaces like those of human castles.

    Inside, not only could one breathe freely, but it was also very dry and comfortable, even with breezes blowing occasionally.

    "Honorable Mr. Rody..." The way the Mermaid Princess addressed Rody gave him a headache. She, a mermaid princess, calling him ''honorable'' - was that appropriate? After Rody corrected her, she changed her address to ''dear'', and upon another correction, it became ''beloved''. Rody really wondered if Chris had taught her to mock him.

    "Just call me Rody! You can dispense with ''Mr.'' and other prefixes." Rody waved his hand.

    "But calling someone by their name directly is very impolite," the Mermaid Princess said, reminding Rody of Dorla, which sent a shiver down his spine.

    "Call me whatever you like... Do you need something from me, Princess?" Rody asked.

    "Dear Rody, I have heard about your deeds and am delighted to see you. I am even more grateful that you saved our tribe." The Mermaid Princess''s face blushed slightly as she curtsied gracefully and nodded shyly: "If you are willing, I am prepared to give you our tribe''s secret magic book! Dear Rody, would you refuse it?"

    "No, of course not." Magic books were Rody''s favorite.

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    If it were some treasure, Rody might have refused, as he hadn''t saved people for the sake of treasures. But when it came to magic books, Rody simply couldn''t resist, whether he could learn the mermaid tribe''s magic or not, he always wanted to understand more.

    Moreover, the secret magic of the mermaid tribe would definitely be of great help to the new battle song he had come up with.

    It was like a thirsty person seeing a source of water; he would be strange to refuse.

    "Thank you, dear Rody. Before I give you the magic book, please stay with us for a few days. I need to teach you our mermaid language first, so you can perform our magic. Normally, I could use memory inheritance, but my magical power is greatly depleted, so please wait a few days." The Mermaid Princess''s face turned even redder upon hearing Rody''s words, her neck blushing as well.

    "No, I should be thanking you!" Rody quickly gave a small knight''s salute, saying, "Please forgive my greed, I only need to borrow your magic book for a few days."

    "How can I ask for something back once given? Besides, this book is merely a personal token from me. Just like this magic book, every generation of mermaid princesses has one," the Mermaid Princess replied gracefully, then happily twisted her beautiful waist and swam away. Seeing her slender waist, Rody felt a bit stirred. He felt he had really grown up; now he seemed to enjoy looking at women''s bodies, which was quite different from before.

    At night, as usual, Chris came to disturb him before going to sleep.

    After chatting for a bit, Rody suddenly remembered that Chris not only hadn''t taught him natural magic, but he also hadn''t taught him the Elvish language, which was really not enough for a friend. He remembered Chris saying he would teach him, but it never happened. Rody had shared quite a few magic insights with him, but Chris was keeping secrets from him, which was really infuriating.

    "Hey, why don''t you teach me the ancient Elvish language? You''re not even talking about natural magic. Forget it, I know you''re a miser. How about we exchange? You teach me natural magic, and I''ll teach you mental magic!" Rody suggested.

    "I can''t learn mental magic, no deal," Chris flatly refused.

    "That''s not right. Last time you were clearly interested, but I wasn''t in a good mood then... Now you''re playing hard to get?" Rody said annoyedly.

    "Do you think magic can be taught to just anyone? You, you big lecher, get dizzy at the sight of a beautiful woman, with absolutely no resistance!" Chris''s words baffled Rody. If anyone was a big lecher, it was Chris, who was laughing and frolicking among a group of mermaids. Yet, now he was the one accusing Rody.

    "Now I know what it means to be accused by the guilty party first..." Rody was almost speechless.

    "Anyway, you''re in the wrong. I only say this because there''s a reason. If you weren''t lusting after beauty, why did you agree to the Mermaid Princess''s magic inheritance?" Chris seemed a bit angry, upset that the Mermaid Princess''s magic inheritance wasn''t offered to him.

    "I just wanted to learn more about magic, how is that lusting after beauty? Are you jealous? How about I teach you after I learn?" Rody laughed.

    "Pighead, don''t you know? Magic inheritance can only be passed to a husband!" Chris, infuriated, threw a book at Rody, leaving him stunned.

    "Ah? It''s over, I misunderstood!" Rody quickly got up and said urgently, "What do we do now? Run away? I swear I have no improper thoughts about the Mermaid Princess, I just wanted to look at the magic book, God knows... I only saw her for the first time tonight, why would she offer me magic inheritance? Isn''t this a bit too frivolous? How can mermaids be so casual?"

    "How are mermaids casual? They reproduce asexually, giving birth only to girls. Haven''t you noticed there are no males? Only to the man they like the most in their hearts will they marry themselves off like human women. What do you take the Mermaid Princess for?" Chris seemed not to blame the Mermaid Princess, but rather Rody.

    "I''ll go and explain to her right away... right now!" Rody realized the misunderstanding was huge.

    "Go ahead! Once you explain to the princess, she''ll turn into foam and disappear from this world tomorrow," Chris said coldly. "Mermaids are extremely faithful in love. Once abandoned by their loved one, they die of a broken heart and turn into a pile of foam."

    "This is completely over!" Rody never imagined that just out of greed to peek at someone''s magic book, he ended up agreeing to a marriage proposal.

    "Congratulations, dear Mr. Rody!" Chris said mockingly.

    "Why didn''t she make it clear? If she had, this misunderstanding wouldn''t have happened. Right, it''s just a misunderstanding between us. Can you help me explain to her? How could I possibly marry her? We just met today, and there are no feelings..." Before Rody could finish, he was horrified to see the Mermaid Princess, who had come in with desserts, change from smiling to crying, dropping the plate in her hands with a crash.

    "Wait, he loves you, he just can''t say it." Chris punched Rody down and hurried after the crying Mermaid Princess as she left.

    "Dizzy." Rody wanted to follow, but he didn''t know what to say if he caught up, especially not wanting the situation to turn out as Chris had described, with the Mermaid Princess turning into foam the next day.

    Half a day later, Chris returned.

    He drank several glasses of water in one go before letting out a long sigh.

    Rody, anxious, watched him, fearing he would say something like the Mermaid Princess turning into foam the next day. But Chris, after making Rody suffer, stretched out his hand and said, "Give me your token. What are you looking at? How can I comfort the princess''s heart without exchanging tokens of betrothal?"

    "I thought you were going to persuade her, but it turns out you were just making things worse!" Rody was outwardly furious but secretly relieved.

    "Fine, I won''t bother with you anymore. Let your Mermaid Princess turn into foam before the sun comes up tomorrow!" Chris lay down comfortably and ignored Rody.

    "I, I don''t have anything..." Rody couldn''t think of what to give to temporarily appease the Mermaid Princess''s heart.

    "Just give one of the Mithril bracelets on your wrist." Chris suggested.

    "They were gifts from Heidi and Haini. I can''t give them to someone else. Besides, these two are linked together and can''t be separated." Rody flatly refused. The Mithril bracelets were memories of the succubus sisters, reminding him of the times he spent with them. They were a token of their affection and couldn''t be divided. Moreover, if their facial scars healed, they would surely come back to him. How would he explain then?

    "Rody, how many women do you have? There''s the female boss, Jill, and now Heidi and Haini. You, you big philandering lecher, you''ve gone too far!" Chris raged, going crazy.

    "They''re just my friends, good friends." Rody was puzzled, was this guy really that jealous?

    "How can there be just good friends between men and women? You''re fooling no one! I don''t believe you, and even a three-year-old child wouldn''t believe you!" Chris flatly disbelieved.

    "At least, it''s like that for now..." Rody thought of the succubus sisters who used to cling to him every day and couldn''t help but feel a sweet sensation in his heart. At the time, he found them quite clingy, like sticky candy beans, but now, recalling those moments, he found it very sweet, feeling a sense of being loved and entwined. Although this seemed a bit different from love, the feeling was very pleasant.

    A soft cough came from outside the door, barely audible.

    Upon hearing it, Chris extended his long hand to Rody, first hitting Rody''s arm hard, then whispered, "Whatever it takes, first appease the Mermaid Princess. Later, I''ll settle the score with you! Hurry up, she''s waiting outside right now."

    "Next time, you must clearly tell me about any racial rules. It''s okay with the Mermaid Princess, but if a Minotaur girl took a liking to me, I''d have no choice but to commit suicide!" Rody took out a wooden carving of his mother from his childhood, speaking softly, "I really don''t have anything else, do you think this will do? If not, there''s nothing I can do..."

    "Wait!" Chris glared at him, snatched it, and ran out, returning shortly after with a string of extremely smooth pearls, speaking in a feigned casual tone, "This is the Ice Crystal Tear Pearls that the princess gave you in return. Congratulations, the deal is done. Now, hand over the one million gold coins for the errand!"

    "Chris, I feel like you''re doing this on purpose..." Rody recalled the events and was highly suspicious.

    "Even if I were crazy, I wouldn''t do such a thing!" Chris snorted affirmatively.

 Chapter 130: Avatar

    Two days later, Rody and Chris bid farewell to the mermaid tribe and headed towards the Thunder Hidden Mist Land.

    Rody didn''t even dare to ask for the Mermaid Princess''s name, fearing that a single wrong word from him would turn her into foam. Had it not been for this, he would have outright refused. Although Rody left as if escaping, the mermaid tribe treated him with great respect, and the mermaid guards even addressed him as "Your Highness," which made Rody feel faint.

    "Did you receive Princess Sally''s magic book? Your Highness," Chris teased Rody all the way, causing him a headache.

    "I''ll hit you if you say that again!" Rody threatened.

    "You don''t need to rush your marriage. Mermaids live for at least two hundred years, and royal ones for three to five hundred years. Princess Sally is only in her teens, not yet of age, so don''t be too anxious..." Chris was driving Rody crazy. Couldn''t he be quiet for a while and stop joking about his unfortunate situation?

    If it weren''t for the Sword Emperor lying in ambush above, Rody would have left long ago.

    As for the Mermaid Princess, as long as she doesn''t die of a broken heart and turn into foam, let her keep waiting. Maybe with time, she will forget about him. And it was only a single meeting, the impression couldn''t be that deep.

    The Mermaid Princess wasn''t angry about Rody''s hasty departure.

    She had come to see Rody the night before and gave him a brilliantly shining pearl. When Rody accepted it, the pearl automatically flew into his brow and disappeared. Rody, who usually had difficulty sensing his soul''s presence, discovered at that moment a small soul flame next to his soul, faintly blue and very gentle.

    In that instant, Rody understood.

    The Mermaid Princess was not afraid of him leaving because she had already placed a part of her soul beside his own.

    Rody felt surprised and a bit curious. How did the Mermaid Princess manage to split her soul? It seemed somewhat similar to the Flame Emperor''s avatar. If that separated soul energy grew significantly, forming an avatar wouldn''t be difficult.

    Before leaving, he pondered deeply. If he could separate an avatar made of soul, spirit, and dark magic power to strike at enemies, it would definitely be a powerful method. Rody had already successfully used mental power to form combat weapons like a mental war hammer, mental net, and mental saw, but he had never thought of forming an avatar.

    Even if it lasted only a few seconds, an avatar under his control attacking the enemy would undoubtedly be a lethal strike.

    Regarding the soul, Rody''s own soul was not powerful enough to condense into a form, but he possessed his ''Undying Divine Fire.'' This ''Undying Divine Fire,'' as he continually refined the Heart of Flames with his spirit, would grow more abundant and larger. Even if not enough to condense into human form, it could still form a protective divine fire for a spiritual avatar.

    Thus, a wild idea took shape in Rody''s mind.

    Inspired unintentionally by the Mermaid Princess, Rody decided to develop a new combat magic: an avatar formed by mental power, using ''Undying Divine Fire'' and ''Mental War Songs'' as weapons to attack enemies.

    Moreover, Rody planned to use this avatar to cast magic, as it wouldn''t be restricted by the prohibition of magic and martial arts, being entirely free.

    After trying for a whole day, Rody managed to form a faint half-figure with his mental power, only to find that his mental strength was almost exhausted. In this comparison, he was somewhat amazed at the strength of the Flame Emperor, who could freely fight with his avatar. Rody''s ''Mental Shadow Avatar'' couldn''t last a minute, but the Flame Emperor''s avatar was not only real but also capable of casting illusion magic. This alone showed the strength of one of the six great Demon Kings, the Flame Emperor, who boldly challenged the angelic race.

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    "You fool, you really are a big fool," Chris scolded Rody when he learned of his idea.

    "Can''t you speak nicely?" Rody wanted to know his opinion, otherwise, he would have hit him already.

    "The Flame Emperor''s avatar is an innate ability of their fire demon race. Moreover, many demon races have the ability to physically split their bodies, it''s their talent, you know? I think there are not many people in the world who can use mental power to form an avatar like you and then add protective divine fire and make it sing war songs with mental power. You''re crazy. Even if you have the mental strength, it''s not meant to be used like this!" Chris''s words made Rody feel better; apparently, not everyone had this ability, and he might indeed be a genius.

    "I think this is good for training mental strength, especially since it allows me to freely cast magic," Rody said, somewhat proudly.

    "You''re a madman. With so much mental power, you could simply drown your enemies alive. Why bother doing this?" Chris admired Rody in his heart but wouldn''t say it out loud to avoid Rody bragging.

    Three days later, less than a hundred kilometers from Thunder Hidden Mist Land, Rody had learned to use mental power more efficiently and grasped new control methods.

    Chris saw a half-figure avatar resembling Rody, purely formed by mental power, faintly glowing with golden light, holding the Undying Divine Fire in its hands, and silently chanting ''War Songs'' with mental power, leaving him dumbfounded.

    Of course, Rody was still not completely satisfied with his success. The Undying Divine Fire should form a massive ring of fire or a fire shield, surrounding the mental avatar to enhance its power and maintain a better form. For the chanting of war songs, Rody thought it should not be vocal but formed into a musical instrument with mental power, like the Silver Eyed Singer playing the harp.

    Of course, the instrument is also a part of the avatar, allowing it to perform simultaneously, freeing up the hands to wield a mental war hammer and a mental saw for attack.

    Although mental power strikes are invisible and traceless, the dispersed mental power is far less effective than the concentrated strikes of a mental war hammer, especially when facing powerful opponents. The effectiveness of the mental war hammer and mental saw far exceeds the diffuse, invisible mental power strikes in the entire space.

    If this kind of mental avatar is successful, Rody further plans to use it to chant necromancy spells or other magic. Meanwhile, he can just sit back, watch, and cheer for victory.

    "Have you ever thought, what if there are many enemies, and some hidden enemies don''t attack your avatar but instead ambush your real body? What will you do then?" Chris raised a significant concern.

    "My real body also needs to be strengthened. Apart from finding ways to rapidly enhance my pets'' protective abilities, I also need to think of methods for myself," Rody nodded.

    "What methods?" Chris asked curiously.

    "I can''t say for now, I''m still thinking..." Rody smiled mysteriously, nearly killing Chris with curiosity.

    Chris knew Rody well and was aware that he would never leave a fatal flaw for the enemy. But suffering from the prohibition of magic and martial arts, what methods could he possibly have to enhance his combat power and defense? He doesn¡¯t know natural magic, and almost all his mental power is concentrated in forming the avatar. What method would he use in this situation?

    After thinking for a long time, Chris still couldn''t figure it out.

    Looking at Rody''s profile, for the first time, Chris realized that this guy was even more outstanding than himself, and he had to admit it.

    "How about I teach you natural magic?" Chris bit his lip and decisively said, "If you learn natural magic, it will definitely be of some help. But I must make it clear, you have to teach me more magic, or I won''t exchange. This isn''t an equal exchange; it''s me, your friend, gilding the lily."

    "Chris, it''s a good thing you''re not a woman, or I guess I''d have to run away from another marriage!" Rody laughed heartily.

    "You bastard, do I look that bad?" Chris became furiously angry.

    "If a man looks like you, it''s probably just passable, but if a woman looks like you, that would be terrible. I guess the world''s number one Princess Tai Ping would be you." Rody had barely finished speaking when Chris, huffing with anger, punched his shoulder and chased after him, saying, "Who''s Princess Tai Ping? What nonsense are you talking about?"

    Rody fell over laughing. This guy was male; why would he mind such words? Shouldn''t he be more upset if called a brawny man with big breasts?

    Perhaps people with elven blood, regardless of gender, are sensitive to words like ''small,'' ''flat,'' and ''plain.'' Thinking of this, Rody burst into laughter and ran off.

    Chris relentlessly pursued Rody from behind, adamant that Rody retract his words or there would be no end to it.

    Without their Light Magic Horses, Rody and Chris, though accustomed to swift movement through forests and having traveled day and night, both felt it was impossible to return in time for the Magic Martial Arts Contest. Chris wasn¡¯t particularly regretful, but Rody felt he hadn''t fulfilled the Grand Marshal''s wish. By prioritizing the rapid enhancement of his abilities and abandoning the Magic Martial Arts Contest, which represented the honor of the military, he felt somewhat apologetic.

    If the incident with the Mermaid Princess¡¯s plea for help hadn''t occurred midway, they believed everything would have proceeded smoothly. Moreover, without this event, a Mermaid Princess wouldn¡¯t have suddenly appeared, causing Rody threefold headaches. However, upon further reflection, Rody realized that without this disruption, he wouldn¡¯t have been inspired and certainly wouldn¡¯t have created the spiritual avatar...

    Rody felt ambivalent, unsure whether to be happy or worried.

    He felt that life was like a chain, with each link interlocked. Some things are unavoidable, seeming like a misfortune at first, but when viewed in the grand scheme of things, they appear inevitable or even beneficial. Perhaps, life is just like this, with events suddenly occurring and throwing one into disarray. Only after they pass does one realize that everything is a part of life.

    "I feel something is not right, but I can¡¯t quite put my finger on it." Chris became somewhat anxious after entering the Thunder Hidden Mist Land.

    "There''s been someone following us for two days. I didn''t say anything, just didn¡¯t want to worry you," Rody nodded lightly.

 Chapter 131: The Mysterious Smile

    Rody threw a stone into the darkness behind him, and Chris saw a sixth-order Shadow Thief slowly sliding out.

    It turned out that a Shadow Thief had been following them all along, no wonder he had felt an inexplicable sense of unease. Chris was surprised at the appearance of the Shadow Thief, and at the same time, he secretly admired Rody''s perceptive abilities. Although Rody didn¡¯t have the same intuition as him, his mental perception was astonishing. He not only knew they were being followed but also pinpointed the exact location of the enemy.

    "You are definitely not knights of the temple''s sanctum." The Shadow Thief sneered, "Who are you really? What brings you to the Leiyin Mist Land?"

    "When I capture and torture you, I might consider telling you," Rody replied slowly, his voice calm, "You have some nerve, following us within thirty meters. I ignored you before because you didn''t enter my three-hundred-meter attack range. But now, your audacity makes me think you believe thieves are invincible. If I don''t take you down, you might continue to think so."

    "I have already sent a magical message to Lord Jex. He will be here soon," the Shadow Thief laughed heartily. "I really hope, before Lord Jex arrives, you can entertain me in my boredom."

    "Weightlessness." Rody raised his hand, casting a black magic sphere.

    "Ah... Ouch!" The Shadow Thief turned to run, moving extremely fast. But suddenly, he lost control of his body and, with eyes wide open, crashed into a tree trunk, falling to the ground in a clumsy heap, unable to get up, as if his entire body had lost its spinal support.

    "Not every mage needs to cast spells personally. When you saw my hand, you were already cursed by my magic," Rody said slowly as he approached the Shadow Thief. He conjured the giant axe previously seized from an Orc Berserker, preparing to chop the scrambling thief in half. Suddenly, Chris screamed from behind, "Watch out! Ghost Stab!"

    Just as Chris spoke, a figure suddenly hung upside down from a tree.

    Positioned just above Rody''s head, the figure held a sharp, poisoned dagger, swiftly and skillfully slashing at Rody''s throat.

    Assassins and thieves have many similarities, such as their expertise in stealth and their astonishingly fast and agile movements. However, they also have many differences. For instance, in terms of attack, thieves may be fast, but they mainly practice how to stealthily pickpocket, while assassins never do such things. They only train to slit their target''s throat or deeply stab their hearts more swiftly.

    Rody, holding his neck, looked in surprise at Ghost Stab, who had ambushed him.

    "I never waste words with my enemies. I only speak to corpses, as it''s the safest," Ghost Stab coolly snorted.

    The Rody in front of him did not respond.

    As the hand was about to draw the sword for a counterattack, a red line appeared on the neck. This small red line quickly expanded, then burst open. As Rody drew his silver sword from his waist, the red line on his neck had already turned into a cascade of blood.

    Holding the silver sword, Rody swung it weakly a few times before his body thunderously fell.

    "Is there anyone in the world who can live with their throat slit?" Chris rushed over, looking at Rody lying in a pool of blood, muttering to himself.

    "Unless he''s a dead man, an undead," Ghost Stab said as he slid swiftly towards Chris, turning into a blur. The dagger in his hand shimmered with starlight. Chris leaped into the air, drawing his silver sword, ready to strike back with his fighting spirit. But from the darkness, a sharp arrow flew, deeply embedding itself in Chris''s throat, propelling him against a tree, where he was deeply impaled.

    "We are not alone. Shadow Thieves and Ghost Stabs always act together, and the Archer plays an important role in supporting attacks," the Shadow Thief stood up, sneering, "If you want to understand the rules of survival, you have to pay with your life."

    "The laws of the jungle are not something these noble young masters can understand!" A tall man holding a folded carving bow emerged from a distance.

    "Chop off their heads and bring them back to Lord Jex," Ghost Stab motioned to the Shadow Thief to proceed.

    "He was so handsome; it''s a pity he''s dead." The Shadow Thief swung his silver sword, chopping off Rody''s head, holding it high in his hand, laughing heartily. As he laughed most triumphantly, the tightly closed eyes of the severed head suddenly opened, flashing a faint green light, startling the Shadow Thief into screaming and dropping the head to the ground.

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    "What''s wrong?" Ghost Stab asked impatiently.

    "This man is so eerie, his eyes opened even in death..." the Shadow Thief''s voice trembled.

    "Impossible. His eyes were clearly closed. You''re becoming more cowardly as you live!" The Archer, having already chopped off Chris''s head and bagged it, picked up Rody''s head to take a look, casually threw it into the bag, and laughed, "Among the thousand people who died by our hands, which one became a vengeful spirit? Even if he did become an undead spirit, we have the Holy Staff to dispel it!"

    "Let''s go! Lord Jex is waiting!" Ghost Stab was the first to dart away.

    "This place is a bit strange..." The Shadow Thief looked around at the eerie silence, fear involuntarily rising in his heart. Seeing his companion leave, he quickly followed, not daring to stay a moment longer.

    Fifty kilometers away, there were several small tents set up.

    In the largest tent, a one-armed Sword Emperor was leisurely drinking wine. Two scantily clad and sensual female slaves, wearing only silk ribbons, were attending to him on either side. One was pouring wine, while the other massaged his legs. Sitting below the Sword Emperor were two great mages and a middle-aged man dressed as a general, all raising their glasses in salute to him.

    As the tent opened, a guard came in to report, "Lord Jex, the Ghost Shadow trio has returned. They have brought back the targets'' heads."

    "Let them in," nodded the one-armed Sword Emperor.

    "Lord, it went smoothly. We have brought back the targets'' heads. They were all mages, not adept at close combat, and we easily ambushed them. As per your instructions, we followed them for two days and found no evidence of any companions. Moreover, the two did not travel by the roads, so we surmised they were fleeing from crimes, not meeting with allies," reported the Shadow Thief, kneeling on one knee before the Sword Emperor.

    "No abnormalities were found in the Leiyin Mist Land. Our search indicates it''s completely a desolate forest," said Ghost Stab respectfully.

    "Lord Jex, here are their heads," the Archer pulled out a blood-soaked bag and slowly opened it. The two mages immediately stood up, and the general spat out his wine in shock. Only the Sword Emperor remained seated, though his expression turned very serious.

    "Awaken the Mind!" The two mages simultaneously waved their staffs and chanted a spell, casting it on the Shadow Thief, Ghost Stab, and the Archer.

    "To think that even Ghost Shadow has failed, haha, you brought back stones, not heads," laughed the general, slamming the table. His words shocked the trio, and upon looking at Rody and Chris''s heads again, they found them turned into round stones. Their faces changed drastically; failing to kill their enemy was a great humiliation, and to be deceived by an illusion was even worse.

    "Interesting, such an opponent is worth my personal effort," said the Sword Emperor, draining his cup.

    "Guards, bring the horses, we''re leaving," ordered the general, standing up.

    "No need... because we are already here," Rody''s voice came from outside the tent. Then, everyone saw him entering with several heads in his hands, wearing a faint smile as if he had done something trivial. His voice was very calm, "General, see if one of these is your guard''s head. What I brought is not stones; surely one of these heads belongs to your guard."

    "If not, you might find one here," Chris also came in with several heads, throwing them disdainfully in front of everyone.

    "You, you look familiar..." the one-armed Sword Emperor couldn''t recall where he had seen him.

    "People call me the Miraculous Kid, though you wouldn''t call me that. You disdainfully refer to me as the Bird Hunter of Koro," Rody said lightly with a smile. "As for you, Lord Jex, the Sword Emperor, if you have any memory of losing your left hand and right leg, you should know that when the Black Dragon Lord Alfred bit off your hand, a human was watching. That was me. Your disciple Vincent should have told you about me, but the proud prince probably disdained to describe my appearance much."

    "Is it you?" Upon hearing this, the one-armed Sword Emperor''s eyes immediately blazed with furious anger.

    If it hadn''t been for Rody arousing the suspicions of the Black Dragon Lord and the Nine-Headed Monster, his plan would not have failed. Watching two powers clash and reaping the benefits like a fisherman, he didn¡¯t expect to be ambushed by the Black Dragon Lord and the Nine-Headed Monster, losing an arm and a leg, and nearly losing his life. It was only by going on a frenzied killing spree with a bloodsucking dagger in a small town that he managed to survive. Due to the failure of the sacrifice, he was not only repelled by the strong ones in the town but also lost his arm and leg forever.

    A prosthetic limb made by an alchemist could replace the right leg, enabling him to walk with difficulty.

    But losing the left hand was a significant reduction in the power of a Sword Emperor like him.

    Every time he thought of it, the one-armed Sword Emperor felt as tormented as if ants were gnawing at his heart. He was a supremely talented and noble Sword Emperor, a superpower among men, with limitless potential. If he had obtained the dragon blood and dragon crystals from the Black Dragon and Nine-Headed Monster, his strength would have surely soared to new heights. But now, this youngster had utterly destroyed his entire life. If not for him, he could have stepped into the realm of a Great Sword Emperor, but now, he had become a disabled person with only one arm.

    "I''ve also been looking for you for a long time, Lord Jex, the Sword Emperor," Rody''s voice turned cold, like bursting ice beads, "Maybe you''ve killed so many that you''ve forgotten, but I need to settle this little account with you."

    "Good, very good," the one-armed Sword Emperor laughed heartily, "I admire your courage and am shocked at your almost foolish bravery for revenge!"

    "Is this your last word?" Rody smiled faintly.

    His mysterious smile was like a ghostly fire flickering stealthily in the dark forest, disappearing when noticed and mocking silently in the darkest place closest to the heart when ignored.

    The two great mages were secretly alarmed, trying to quietly chant protective spells, only to be shocked to find they couldn¡¯t recite any magic. Whether they tried to chant silently or aloud, it seemed some invisible force was controlling everything, preventing them from even opening their mouths. Even more terrifying, despite their desperate attempts to recall, the mages couldn''t remember any of their magical incantations. It seemed as if all the magic they had learned had suddenly been forgotten, leaving their minds completely blank.

    Seeing Rody''s mysterious smile only intensified their fear and heart-pounding terror...

    "Lord Jex, please give us a chance to wash away this disgrace," Ghost Stab bowed slightly to the one-armed Sword Emperor, requesting.

    "Before that, shouldn''t you ask your companions what they think?" Rody suddenly exclaimed, "Who is the most despicable person? Whose orders made you lose your honor and dignity? Who made you bow and scrape? Kill that most despicable person, kill him, and you can cleanse your great disgrace! Kill! I grant you the opportunity for redemption..."

    "Kill!" The Shadow Thief and the Archer''s eyes blazed with a blood-red light, their faces contorted in rage as they roared.

    They turned around, simultaneously drawing their daggers, and ferociously lunged at the one-armed Sword Emperor, their revered Lord Jex, like two mad dogs.

    The one-armed Sword Emperor grunted angrily, flicking his fingers to snap the blades of both daggers, sending them flying into the air.

    However, the Shadow Thief and the Archer, like mad dogs, continued their attack, opening their mouths wide to bite viciously and using their fingers to gouge at the Sword Emperor''s eyes. The two female slaves behind the Sword Emperor raised their hands, and swords, appearing from nowhere, swiftly pierced the throats of the Shadow Thief and the Archer. Yet, they didn¡¯t fall. Instead, they clung to the Sword Emperor''s body and legs, biting down ferociously.

    Golden fighting spirit erupted instantly, and with a flash, a crescent-shaped golden light easily sliced the two men''s bodies into several pieces.

    "Hmph, quite impressive mental magic," the one-armed Sword Emperor, with a fierce glint in his eyes, coldly snorted, "But you are gravely mistaken if you think mental magic alone can defeat a Sword Emperor."

    "No, I have prepared an even better feast for you," Rody''s face maintained its mysterious smile, causing everyone inside the tent to break out in cold sweat.

 Chapter 132: Hunting the Sword Emperor

    The one-armed Sword Emperor Jex kept his gaze fixed on Rody, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

    As a warrior seasoned in countless battles, he knew that Rody''s actions were a provocation and a strategy to make him lose his rationality. It was audacious of Rody to engage in psychological tactics and strategic maneuvers right in front of him. Of course, in the heart of the one-armed Sword Emperor Jex, there was also a sense of crisis.

    This was the super warrior''s intuition, honed through innumerable battles and trials, making crisis awareness his top priority.

    No fool could become a Sword Emperor, for they would have been killed by powerful enemies long before reaching maturity.

    What secretly alarmed the one-armed Sword Emperor Jex was that a young man without any aura of fighting spirit or magical protection could make him feel the presence of a formidable enemy. To him, people of Rody''s age were practically children, but now, the long-absent threat of death resurfaced in his mind. In the eyes of this young man across from him, he saw a killing intent that was no less intense than his own.

    Under his oppressive aura, not only did the young man manage to smile easily, but he also kindled a raging killing intent.

    Such a young man, if not killed today, would surely become a formidable enemy in the future.

    "Do you know what your biggest flaw is? Mental magic has no direct attack power; it''s more like a curse, a bewitchment of the mind. It''s effective against the weak, but do you think your mental magic will work on a Sword Emperor?" Jex decided to strike at his opponent''s morale. If Rody''s spirit wavered, he would immediately unsheathe his sword and kill the young man who posed a threat of death.

    "Is that so?" Rody coldly snorted, rapidly condensing a golden mental war hammer in his hand and swinging it at the silver-armored general.

    The silver-armored general dodged, his sword radiating a fiery aura that soared towards the sky, slashing back at Rody.

    Rody''s missed golden war hammer suddenly flew back, spinning like a wheel. In the astonished eyes of everyone in the tent, it struck the silver-armored general''s back. The moment it broke through the protective magic, the golden mental war hammer transformed into a wildly spinning mental buzz saw, slicing through the silver armor, with blood spraying everywhere.

    As the general¡¯s fiery sword wave neared, Rody extended his hand, creating a whirlpool-shaped ripple of spiritual force.

    The sword wave, caught in the vortex, spun and shot back at the general''s chest even faster. Caught between the mental buzz saw and the sword wave, the silver-armored general screamed in agony, stumbling back, ready to fall, as blood gushed from his mouth and nose.

    Ghost Stab disappeared, and when he reappeared, he was already behind Rody.

    His black dagger silently pierced Rody''s back garment, but just as it was about to touch the skin, Ghost Stab felt a stabbing pain in his own back.

    That feeling was indescribably strange, as if Ghost Stab was being stabbed by his own hand. He even believed that his agonized expression with mouth agape was identical to the countless enemies who had fallen before him. He couldn''t see it, but from the distortion on his face and the disbelief in his heart, Ghost Stab felt that those he had assassinated must have experienced the same shock and fear he was feeling now...

    A golden dagger slowly pierced through his chest.

    Ghost Stab tried to grasp it, as it seemed so unreal, so unbelievable. The enemy was right in front of him, yet his dagger managed to stealthily attack him from behind.

    He had never seen such an attack method in his life, one that was traceless and silent.

    Was it real? Even in extreme pain, Ghost Stab harbored a sliver of doubt about whether he was truly being stabbed through the heart. Was this an illusion? He wanted to touch it, to confirm his doubts. But before he could extend his hand, he found himself losing strength. He tried hard to stand upright, wanting to ask Rody a question from the bottom of his heart.

    But as he opened his mouth, he saw a long stream of blood gushing out.

    Ghost Stab''s last sensation was of falling into a pool of blood, at the feet of the young man he had intended to ambush.

    At that moment, the world around him started to blur...

    "Mental materialization?" The one-armed Sword Emperor Jex observed, appearing calm but feeling a chill in his heart. Even for a mage of the Holy level, it was rare to completely materialize mental energy, which represented a human''s pinnacle. If one surpassed this limit of mental materialization, it meant awakening to the power of laws, transcending humanity and becoming a deity.

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    Of course, this young man''s mental power was only close to materialization, still far from true perfection.

    But for his age, reaching a realm that would take a Holy mage hundreds of years was astonishing. The one-armed Sword Emperor Jex resolved to kill this young prodigy, to destroy a talent surpassing his own.

    On the path to heaven, he would not allow a more outstanding young genius to grow.

    "Let me take care of some small fries for you!" Chris said with a light laugh, "I''m bored and itching for action. How about you hand over these two great mages to me? If you don''t mind, I''ll also deal with these two women. You know, I''m much better at handling women than you are. General, you look so pale. Don''t push yourself, lie down and rest."

    "Pfft..." The silver-armored general spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to the ground with a thud.

    "I only want this guy, the rest are all yours," Rody kept his eyes fixed on the one-armed Sword Emperor Jex, as if worried he might escape rather than launch a surprise attack.

    "Ridiculous, do you think words can defeat me?" the one-armed Sword Emperor sneered, his sword flashing out of its scabbard like lightning, slicing through the air with such speed that the space itself seemed to tear, rapidly slashing across Rody''s waist.

    "Excellent swordsmanship!" Chris clapped his hands and laughed, "To the two great mages and two beautiful ladies, let''s step outside and have some fun!"

    "An afterimage¡­" The one-armed Sword Emperor Jex''s gaze turned icy.

    The Rody he had sliced at the waist turned into a fading shadow and disappeared. After the sword energy ripped through the tent, Rody reappeared, unarmed, and charged fearlessly at the Sword Emperor.

    The Sword Emperor Jex was momentarily taken aback, stepping back as a crescent-shaped halo of sword emperor light spun around him for protection, his sword pointing forward.

    Fighting spirit converged to a point, shooting like an arrow towards Rody''s heart.

    "Too late, soul burning," Rody flicked out an undying divine fire. In the shocked gaze of the Sword Emperor Jex, the arrow of fighting spirit was incinerated, and Rody continued his pursuit.

    "So you''re a follower of the Fire God!" Even if Jex had a water tank for courage, he wouldn''t dare to clash with the undying divine fire.

    This was the undying divine fire that burns the soul, something humans simply cannot resist. Now he understood why this young man with a mysterious smile was so arrogant; he possessed a divine fire granted by a deity, no wonder he dared to challenge the Sword Emperor. Unfortunately, he revealed his real strength too early. If he had used this undying divine fire when the battle was at its most exhausting, he might have had a chance to hit him.

    But now, that was impossible.

    Jex flew out of the tent in a flash of golden light, soaring into the sky.

    He was a Sword Emperor, possessing the ability to fly. This was his greatest advantage; no matter how powerful the enemy or what treasures they had, it was impossible to easily hit someone who could freely soar through the sky.

    "Kill them all!" Rody and Chris didn''t pursue; instead, they cooperatively launched a surprise attack on the two great mages trying to escape.

    "Ah¡­" The minds of the two great mages were overwhelmed, unable to chant their magic, allowing Rody and Chris to strike them down together, screaming as they fell. Rody drew out his man-eating vines, preparing to bind Jex''s two female slaves. However, these women were astonishingly capable, not inferior to the Shadow Thief, and highly alert. Seeing the great mages fall, they immediately fled towards their master for protection.

    "A bird in the sky can''t escape the hunter''s net," Rody first transformed the vine into a long spear and threw it, then changed it into a thin rope, weaving it into a huge net that fell from the sky.

    Chris, dragging his silver sword, gave chase. As Jex descended from the sky to swiftly rescue with his sword, Chris flicked his hand, tossing a person.

    Jex deeply regretted descending for the sake of his two female slaves.

    The moment he descended, he felt something was amiss. This was definitely a trap set by the enemy to lure him. If they really wanted to kill the two female slaves, they didn''t need to wait until they were halfway in the air to hurriedly throw a net. Moreover, that young man''s deliberate speech was a hint, misleading him.

    These two young men were incredibly cunning, constantly plotting against him.

    Jex kicked his Sword Emperor''s halo, using it to rebound and ascend.

    At the same time, he saw the young man, propelled by his companion''s force, rapidly chasing after him. The hand stretched towards his face held an even larger undying divine fire. This young man didn''t possess just a single flame of divine fire; even the act of flicking the divine fire at him earlier was a ruse to numb him, a grand conspiracy to mislead.

    Jex, realizing how crafty the young man was, exerted all his strength to dodge the hand.

    He broke out in a cold sweat.

    That was close, just a hair''s breadth away. If his face had been touched by that hand, consumed by the undying divine fire, his life would have been over.

    Despite his immense power, Jex felt constrained at every turn, unable to fully exert his abilities. In contrast, due to their strategies and traps, the young men were freely using their abilities and had him in a desperate plight. For the first time, Jex realized that strength wasn''t everything. For the first time in his life, he felt the difficulties posed by intelligence.

    It turned out that a sharp mind was even more challenging to deal with than great strength.

    "The battle is over. You''ve done well to push me this far. But, you still don''t understand what being a Sword Emperor means." Jex gathered all his fighting spirit, his entire being blazing like a radiant sun, illuminating the night sky like a massive meteor.

    Sword energy, emanating from Jex''s afterimage, sliced the earth into countless pieces.

    Finally, the immense sun-like energy crashed down.

    The ground where Rody and Chris stood was deeply indented by the sun-like energy blast, forming a huge crater as the dust settled and the earth was revealed. The surrounding trees had long been reduced to fragments in the shockwave, and several corpses caught fire on the ground.

    "Absolute power is the absolute guarantee of victory. No matter how clever the strategy, without matching power, it''s useless," Jex coldly said.

    "I agree." Jex was shocked to hear the voice of that arrogant young man behind him. Not only had he not been blown to pieces, but he had also managed to get behind him. How was this possible? But before Jex could turn around, he saw a pair of hands, each holding an undying divine fire, embracing towards his waist.

    "Ah¡­" Jex exploded all the fighting spirit he had, shattering all his armor and clothing.

    He thought the explosion of his unceasing fighting spirit would blow the young man to smithereens. However, the young man was unharmed, his hands ready to encircle Jex''s waist. If those hands with the undying divine fire embraced him, then it would be the end of him as a Sword Emperor. Jex''s Sword Emperor halo furiously spun around him for protection. But to his horror, it was ineffective. It seemed as if a divine force was protecting the young man''s hands, and the world''s strongest Sword Emperor halo could not cut through the young man''s arms.

    In a life-or-death moment, Jex shot up into the sky.

    Though a Sword Emperor, he couldn''t resist the undying divine fire, nor could he kill someone protected by a deity... At this moment, he only thought of fleeing.

    When his only remaining left foot was grasped by Rody''s hands, Jex didn''t hesitate to sever it from his body with his sword. After escaping several kilometers into the sky, he let out his first wail of pain. Though he knew the other couldn''t possibly follow, Jex dared not look back. Apart from feeling utterly humiliated, he also harbored fear towards that arrogant young man...

    He was always plotting against him.

    Unless he stayed far away from that young man, even his last remaining arm might not be safe.

    "One day, I will avenge this humiliation! You wait!" Jex nearly wept. In that moment, he no longer felt like an invincible Sword Emperor or a powerful being, but a pitiful swordsman manipulated by others.

    "I can''t kill him like this..." Rody, fading away in mid-air, was just a mental projection.

    Rody, at the bottom of the deep crater, watched Jex''s pathetic escape into the sky, shaking his head with a trace of disappointment in his eyes. He had done his best, but the gap in strength meant that his plan to hunt the Sword Emperor had not succeeded.

 Chapter 133: The Great Inventor Rody

    "You did very well," Chris appeared behind Rody, patting his shoulder and softly comforting him, "No one in the world has ever forced a Sword Emperor into such a sorry state except for you. Among your peers, no one else could have achieved this. Look, a mighty Sword Emperor, cutting off his own leg and fleeing in your presence... You shouldn''t be too hard on yourself!"

    "Chris, thank you. Without your natural magic''s enhancement and amplification, my mental strength couldn¡¯t have been doubled." Rody collapsed onto the ground, tiredly closing his eyes.

    "Hey, you don''t expect me to carry you, do you? Hey, wake up!" Chris sighed slightly upon seeing Rody''s pale, bloodless face.

    Fortunately, Rody was accustomed to overexerting his mental power; otherwise, such severe strain could have turned anyone else into an idiot. But Chris realized that without his natural magic''s enhancement, Rody wouldn¡¯t have been able to handle the crippled Sword Emperor. It seemed that he was still the most important partner for Rody, who wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything without him.

    Even if someone else had first unlocked Rody''s potential, Chris still believed he was the most important.

    The more Chris thought about it, the happier he felt. After cautiously observing the surroundings and finding nothing amiss, he picked up Rody and rushed towards the direction of Leiyin Mist Land.

    When Rody woke up from his deep sleep, it was already sunny noon.

    "You slept comfortably, and I''m half dead," Chris complained, "Are you a pig? You slept for three days and nights. I had to take care of you and travel at the same time, almost dying on the way. And damn Annie Belle, I can''t find her anywhere she might be hiding. Besides, Leiyin Mist Land is so vast, it''s impossible to find a person without a specific location!"

    "Since we can''t make it to the Magic Martial Competition anyway, let''s search carefully..." After his battle with Sword Emperor Jex, Rody yearned for more power.

    Even though it was his enemy¡¯s words, Rody felt there was some truth in what Jex had said. ''Absolute power is the absolute guarantee of victory. No matter how clever the strategy, without matching power, it''s useless.'' If he had close combat abilities like a Sword Emperor, killing Jex would have been like child''s play. Especially with the Magic Martial Forbidden, which limited his body without being unlocked, leaving him without fighting spirit or magical protection, challenging stronger warriors was impossible.

    The Saintess said Annie Belle might unlock his potential star, and Rody was eager to find her. Especially since Annie Belle was the one entrusted by the old men of the Divine Realm Ruins to teach him magic, she likely had a close connection with him and was probably the one who could unlock his potential star.

    Rody and Chris searched Leiyin Mist Land for nearly ten days but didn''t find any trace of living people.

    Leiyin Mist Land, shrouded in thick fog year-round, rarely saw sunlight, and was often drenched in torrential rain, extremely damp. An ordinary human would never choose such a harsh environment to dwell in. Of course, the mysterious Annie Belle might like it, but Rody also doubted she was there, suspecting another location, the Zefeng Forest.

    The Zefeng Forest was over one thousand five hundred kilometers away from Leiyin Mist Land, and without mounts, it was impractical for Rody and Chris to walk there.

    Eventually, they decided to return to the capital of Kamalon to seek advice from the Saintess, who might have better suggestions.

    Of course, Rody and Chris were also curious about the outside world''s reaction to their rescue of the mermaid princess and the hunt of the Sword Emperor. They wondered whether they would face criticism or praise. They suspected there might be no reaction at all, as Jex would not be foolish enough to reveal his humiliation, and the temple would remain silent due to the exposed mermaid hunting incident.

    When passing by Mirror Lake, despite Rody''s objections, Chris insisted on visiting the mermaid princess.

    This time, the mermaid princess genuinely gave Rody a magic book.

    The book, adorned with colorful pearls and strange magical arrays, could only be opened by her and Rody; no third person in the world could access or learn the magic within.

    Rody was grateful for the magic book, and Chris seemed somewhat jealous, looking at Rody with displeasure for the next two days.

    It was Chris who insisted on visiting the mermaid princess, and now he was the one who was unhappy.

    Sometimes, Rody really couldn''t understand what Chris was thinking.

    "Hey, you like mermaids, right? There are several mermaid elders and priests. Why don''t you go back to them? They seem to like you," Rody said, accustomed to Chris''s moodiness. He knew Chris would be back to his cheerful self in a day or two, like water flowing over stones, leaving no trace.

    "You think mermaids just marry anyone? You really don''t understand anything!" Chris and Rody hired a carriage and headed to a large city with a teleportation gate to the capital of Kamalon.

    Upon returning to the capital, Blay, they were surprised to find that the top hundred matches of the Magic Martial Competition had not yet begun.

    All over the city, new regulations and rewards for the Magic Martial Competition were posted. The first-place winner would not only be granted a title and nobility by Kamalon but also receive a treasure and five thousand gold coins from the new king. The second to tenth places would also receive various rewards, all far exceeding the original prizes. What surprised Rody and Chris even more was that in just about a month, Kamalon had a new king.

    During their absence, the old king was murdered by his two sons.

    In the fratricidal conflict, the younger son, William, supported by the military, defeated his brother Lorith and ascended the throne. He not only announced a year of tax exemption but also strengthened foreign relations, expressing friendliness to all nations. The Magic Martial Competition, which had been suspended during the civil unrest, was restarted by the new king with fifty thousand gold coins from the royal treasury. Nobles and merchants contributed nearly thirty thousand gold coins to sponsor the event.

    Prominent locations were already bought by various trade guilds, each displaying their banners.

    Some large trade guilds even hired beautiful women in sensual outfits to perform dances and boost morale, simultaneously promoting their guilds'' reputations.

    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    When Rody and Chris returned, the entire capital of Kamalon was engulfed in a festive atmosphere. The top hundred matches of the Magic Martial Competition were in full swing, with even the children running and chasing each other in the streets wearing clothes sponsored by a bakery, promoting meals for the competitors.

    "Boss, you''re finally back, great, we were just getting worried, your return is timely!" Stanley cheered.

    "What''s got you so worried?" Rody asked.

    "The first prize alone is five thousand gold coins, oh my, five thousand gold coins, how long would it take us to earn that? No, we couldn''t earn that much in our entire lives! Rody, don''t you want to roll in a pile of gold coins? I think that would feel even better than rolling around with women!" Tommy the plump boy couldn¡¯t stop talking about money and women.

    "I''m not thinking about the top ten, maybe I can make it into the top fifty," said Kaley, who seemed to have entered the competition with the support of his father, General Quentin. Despite losing an arm, his experiences in the Orc Demon Blood War had indeed given him substantial abilities.

    "I''d be satisfied just to make it into the top five hundred," Tommy sighed.

    "Tommy, did I hear that right? You''re also signing up for the Magic Martial Competition?" Rody thought the plump boy must be driven crazy by his desire for money.

    "It''s about participating," Tommy said, causing Chris to almost spit out his drink. He thought Tommy wasn''t so much about participating as he was about getting beaten up.

    "You don''t know, everyone who registers gets a seat for the competitors, and there''s free food and drink, everything provided without limit. If he doesn''t take advantage of that, he wouldn''t be the cunning merchant Tommy!" Terry, the only one bold enough to expose Tommy''s true nature, said. He and Tommy were actually very close friends, but they were used to teasing each other. A day without ribbing his friend felt like a day wasted.

    "I''m not signing up, that''s just asking for trouble. A seat? I''ll sit in the competitor seats of the boss and Chris. No matter how enthusiastically you look at me, don''t expect me to cheer you on!" Stanley might seem the most foolish among them, but that was far from the truth.

    "Rody, we''ve also signed up," said Leo and Benson, who had made considerable progress and seemed eager to prove themselves.

    "A bunch of lunatics!" Chris left the noisy group behind and went to seek an audience with the Saintess.

    To prevent his brothers from getting beaten up too badly, Rody thought of various ways to enhance their abilities. The group also openly shared their combat experiences and insights, which, combined with Rody''s organization, formed an effective set of tactics. The experience and insights of over a hundred fighters were not something ordinary soldiers could have. Especially Rody''s ''Mad Battle Rhapsody'' and Chris''s ''Aura Simulation'' benefited everyone greatly.

    Although Rody himself couldn''t practice aura or magic, he was familiar with and proficient in many techniques.

    After surviving the battles in the land of evil, Rody felt these men were valiant and worth befriending. He shared his personal insights to help improve everyone''s strength.

    Designing different strategies and tactics for each person was Rody''s forte.

    ...

    "The Saintess has already left. The temple took her away during Kamalon''s civil war," Chris soon returned with somewhat disappointing news for Rody. However, the Saintess had left a letter for Rody, which contained only magical arrays and no words.

    Rody couldn''t understand the meaning, and Chris just smiled mysteriously without explaining.

    Of course, Rody didn''t worry that the Saintess would, like the mermaid princess, offer something as a sign of betrothal, as the Saintesses were committed to eternal purity and could not marry. So, Rody accepted the letter, planning to study it slowly. The magical arrays were complex, with one interlocking with another, complementary and intriguing to him.

    "Everyone''s abilities can''t improve drastically all at once, but why not try suitable battle pets?" Chris suggested.

    "I''ll leave this to the boss, as I want wild summoning beasts, not those from pet stores. It''s not just about money; those beasts are usually bred by large mercenary groups or trade guilds. They look nice, but their combat abilities are nothing to boast about," Stanley declined.

    "You don''t have the money, even if you liked them," Tommy laughed heartily.

    "If there are pet eggs that complement personal attributes and enhance combat abilities, hatching and training them ourselves could be great. They might not be useful in the Magic Martial Competition now, but they will be in the future," Chris said with a slight smile. "If it weren''t for this guy''s abnormal sensing ability, I wouldn''t say this, but as long as you, Rody''s boss, are willing to carefully sense for them, you''ll definitely find the most suitable battle pets."

    "That''s going to cost a lot of money, right?" Leo and Benson, who weren''t wealthy, were quite concerned about the financial aspect.

    If they really were to purchase pet eggs, few could afford it, and they believed Rody would end up footing the bill. Buying for one or two people might be manageable, but for over a hundred, even a wealthy man like Rody could end up penniless.

    Of course, they were unaware that Rody and Chris had recently plundered a large warship used for capturing mermaids and killed several of Jex''s capable subordinates, including Ghost Stab, Shadow Thief, Archer, the Silver Armored General, and two great mages, all of whom had storage rings.

    From these two encounters, Rody and Chris not only obtained nearly a thousand gold coins in military supplies but also several storage rings. With Rody¡¯s exceptional mental powers, he quickly made these rings his own. Especially the Silver Armored General¡¯s ring, which contained over two thousand gold coins.

    Moreover, the spoils from the Orc battlefield hadn''t been touched yet. Rody felt it was entirely feasible to purchase pet eggs for everyone.

    Rody himself had bone pets like a rabbit, two mantises, and a vine-clawed tiger, which worked well in combat. He thought if others had battle pets like him, not only would their combat abilities improve, but it would also be less boring in daily life.

    "Let''s go see, and if possible, everyone can buy some cheaper pet eggs to try hatching!" Rody''s suggestion was met with cheers from the group.

    "Long live Rody!" They didn''t know where his money came from, but they knew their boss was a wealthy man from Felic.

    Pet Store.

    The pet stores in Kamalon were run by very famous and large trading companies.

    Due to the Magic Martial Competition, there was a constant stream of customers buying pets. But it was rare to see a big customer like Rody, bringing over a hundred people to buy monster eggs. Wherever Rody and his group went, they received enthusiastic hospitality, complete with personal attendants explaining everything and secretly slipping Tommy price lists and small gifts.

    Most of the pet eggs sold in the stores were of first and second-tier monsters, with third-tier being rare.

    Fourth-tier and above were treasures of the stores.

    Price-wise, first-tier monsters were the cheapest, with adult monsters costing between thirty to sixty gold coins. Young ones with promising potential or cute appearances could fetch ten to twenty gold coins.

    As for monster eggs, they were uniformly priced at five gold coins each.

    Since no one could tell what kind of monster was inside each egg or its potential, and not even what it would look like once hatched, the pet stores simply mixed all the eggs together and sold them at a standard price.

    If someone bought a satisfying pet, the store would use their image for promotion.

    The storefronts displayed photos of girls holding cute pets and walls had thank-you notes and group photos from famous mercenary groups, all part of their varied marketing strategies.

    "Does your Lieutenant have the ability to sense the potential of pets? That''s amazing!" The saleswoman clapped her hands, subtly probing Rody¡¯s reality. She noticed that unlike others who bought monster eggs based on color and appearance, Rody would pick them up, close his eyes, and quietly sense them.

    "If I had that ability, I''d open a pet store myself instead of being a poor soldier," Rody flatly denied.

    "The Lord is not poor, you are a wealthy man!" The saleswoman''s words echoed with the group''s agreement. Rody seemed like an alchemist who could turn anything into gold. With Rody around, everyone managed to visit a magic blacksmith shop to get new armor sets, and everyone had the chance to buy a pet egg.

    Chris went even further, designing a special emblem for the ''Magical Team'' at a boutique using magic crystals.

    Soon, the elite squad could likely be renamed ''Magical Team.''

    "Let''s buy these ten pet eggs today, and we''ll come back tomorrow to see if you have new monster eggs," Rody said generously. Within two days, everyone had obtained pet eggs that matched their attributes.

    "Lieutenant, please take your time," the store owner and the saleswoman personally escorted them to the door with great enthusiasm.

    Rody also placed an order at the Alchemist Guild for over a hundred pairs of glass sunglasses.

    Everyone agreed that these sunglasses were the coolest. The black sunglasses added an air of mystery and charm, enhancing one''s temperament. At first, it was a bit awkward to walk wearing them, but people like Tommy and Stanley, who loved to show off, wouldn''t even take them off to sleep.

    With over a hundred people wearing sunglasses on the streets, the turn-back rate was an astonishing 100%.

    Everyone thought Rody had come up with the idea to make everyone look cool and attract women, but nobody realized it was a test by Rody to see if anyone knew about the Wishing Goddess''s relic, the Obsidian Magic Mirror. If the world was unaware, Rody could switch to the mirror that could assess people''s combat abilities and potential while more people wore sunglasses.

    Even Rody didn''t expect that wearing these sunglasses would cause such a sensation.

    Especially among young men, who all wanted to wear a pair on their noses. Many followed Rody, offering money to buy them. The demand in the market was so high that the Alchemist Guild worked day and night to meet it. In just a few days, many men were sporting cool sunglasses.

    In Kamalon, if a man didn''t wear sunglasses, he would feel embarrassed to even look up while walking. As for dating, holding hands with a date without sunglasses was unimaginable.

    Rody was surprised that aside from the positive response, nothing unusual happened.

    Except for alchemists and merchants, no one cared who invented the sunglasses.

    It was said that Kamalon''s new King William II also wore a pair to a banquet at the Duke of Chauvin''s family, sparking a buying frenzy. Many nobles mistakenly thought the sunglasses were the king''s invention. The popularity of sunglasses soared, and Kamalon''s alchemists came to Rody to sign a new contract. Rody owned the invention and modification rights of the sunglasses, but he had to give the manufacturing rights entirely to the Alchemist Guild to mass-produce this fashionable item. He also had to transfer the operational rights to the Merchant Union for sales. The new contract stipulated that Rody would receive 5% of the profits from each pair of sunglasses.

    The signing of this contract delighted everyone.

    A pair of sunglasses was not very expensive. The cheapest cost one silver coin, and the better ones were priced within ten silver coins, with the best not exceeding one gold coin. However, the 5% profit from the millions of people in Kamalon''s capital was a considerable amount. Moreover, the popularity would surely extend beyond Kamalon to the entire human continent.

 Chapter 134: The Great Inventor Rody](Part 2)

    Although the invention of sunglasses did not cause any unusual problems, Rody always maintained a cautious approach to life. He didn''t just invent the cool accessory of sunglasses; he also created mercenary and military outfit sets.

    His intention was to divert people''s curiosity about him. If a person invents only one special item, it makes them exceptionally conspicuous. People would wonder how he came up with such an invention and might become overly curious. However, if one person invents many things, whatever he invents won¡¯t seem too special.

    He would be regarded as an all-capable inventor, and people would simply accept this without delving too much into the details.

    The mercenary outfit was a first on the continent. Mercenaries, being private organizations, never thought of having a uniform. Many countries'' armies, except for the regular forces, don¡¯t have uniform attire. Armies with strictly uniform clothing are usually well-organized forces like the Temple Knights.

    Rody¡¯s newly designed mercenary outfits were significantly different from the strict badge levels of the Mercenary Guild.

    Anyone with money could purchase and wear these outfits. There were four types of mercenary outfits: ''Jungle Set'' and ''Steel Set'' for combat, and ''Passionate Set'' and ''Honor Set'' for casual wear, colored ''green,'' ''black,'' ''red,'' and ''gold,'' respectively. The Honor Set was mainly for leaders such as mercenary group commanders.

    Big-bearded Maru, as Rody''s publicity representative, wore the Honor Set, accompanied by several subordinates in Passionate Sets. Their appearance on the streets attracted a large group of mercenaries eager to purchase.

    This time, the contract was not with the Alchemist Guild but with the Magic Blacksmith Guild, the Magic Fine Products Guild, and the Quick Tailor Guild. Their appetite increased, and the 5% of all profits was no longer satisfactory. Under Chris''s negotiation skills, they finally agreed to a new contract with a 15% sales profit.

    Tommy and his friends practiced the Iron Claw skill, preparing for the future counting of gold coins.

    As for the military outfits, Rody designed them and did not make them public. Instead, he directly handed them to General Quentin to present for review by the Grand Marshal. There were three types of military outfits: the ''Survival Set'' for field operations, the ''Bloodbath Set'' for head-on charges in army confrontations, and the ''Majestic Set'' primarily meant to exhibit military prestige.

    The first type of military outfit featured a camouflage deep green with interspersed spots, effective for concealment and tracking in the jungle.

    The second type was light blue with white decorations, primarily armor-based. In battle charges, if injuries and bleeding occurred, it allowed for quick identification of wounds, unlike the past where the entire army wore bright red, making it difficult to spot injured individuals and their locations. The third type was primarily bright, fiery red. Rody transformed this traditional uniform into leather and silk outfits, devoid of practical combat value and suitable only for everyday wear to reflect the military''s spirit.

    Or, during inspections by higher-ups, the uniform bright red attire, grand and striking, would impress those who pretended to understand military matters.

    Eliminating red from the human military was impossible. For centuries, it was deeply ingrained that human armies should be a majestic force in red. If Rody had designed the military outfits in black, some might have suggested burning him at the stake as a devilish heretic. Thus, in his designs, Rody focused on colors representing humanity, like sky blue, fiery red, and pure white, to avoid any unwanted attention from the temple.

    Reportedly, the Grand Marshal greatly appreciated Rody''s design, applauding and exclaiming ''good'' three times, though he didn''t offer any rewards.

    Chris complained about their hard work going unrecognized, feeling disappointed at not even being invited for a meal despite helping tirelessly with the designs.

    Rody, however, wasn''t bothered.

    His intention was only to divert attention from the sunglasses, not to achieve success in invention and design. Most importantly, he wanted to use this opportunity to identify those who understood the Obsidian Magic Mirror and ascertain how many friends or foes he had in the shadows.

    The mercenary and military outfits were never intended for fame.

    The outcome, however, was quite satisfactory.

    Besides earning the title of ''Great Inventor,'' Rody also brought significant attention to the elite squad in the capital of Kamalon. Initially unknown, now everyone in the city discussed the ''Righteous Battle of the Magical Boy and the Elite Squad'' at the Magic Theater, a belated victory news that had everyone talking.

    Big-bearded Maru, for his vivid record and narration of the entire battle, was invited by the organizers of the Magic Martial Competition to commentate the matches up to the top 36, a stroke of luck that nearly made him burst with laughter.

    Kamalon''s new King William II planned to summon Rody and the elite squad and had intentions of bestowing a title and rewards. However, upon hearing ministers claim Rody came from the rebellious nation of Felic, he temporarily withdrew the decree. He sent a minister to express that if Rody or the elite squad could make it into the top ten of the Magic Martial Competition, Kamalon would establish diplomatic relations with Felic and grant Rody the titles of ''Inventor'' and ''Baron of Anzunelzevella Island.''

    Of course, some were dissatisfied with bestowing the title of ''Inventor'' and a baronetcy to a youngster from Felic. Some Kamalon nobles argued that it was inappropriate to receive the title of ''Inventor'' merely for designing mercenary outfits. However, they were soon silenced by Rody''s series of new inventions.

    For example, the ''Triangle Spike'' for military use. Before its invention, no one had thought of the simple effectiveness of triangular iron spikes. Once Rody introduced it, it was immediately acclaimed. These spikes, each with three points ensuring one always faced upward when thrown on the ground, were effective in halting infantry charges. Simple yet extremely practical.

    Rody didn¡¯t secretly give it to the Grand Marshal because its simplicity meant that it would be quickly imitated once used on the battlefield. So he sold the design to Kamalon''s Magic Blacksmith Guild, exchanging it for a substantial amount of money. Along with the ''Triangle Spike,'' he also invented the ''Iron Tribulus Anti-Cavalry Net.''

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

    This was a wire net wrapped around wooden frames or stakes, twisted with numerous barbs and iron nails. The densely packed ''Iron Tribulus Anti-Cavalry Net'' was despised by all cavalry, including the Temple''s Knights, who publicly criticized it as an unjust and evil piece of war equipment. Due to the knights'' public protests, the Magic Blacksmith Guild hesitated to accept the work. However, envoys from various countries sought Rody for collaboration.

    King William II of Kamalon publicly joked that the ''Iron Tribulus Anti-Cavalry Net'' was a headache-inducing battlefield tool, stating that the cavalry-based Kamalon Empire would not use such a device. However, in reality, he offered Rody five thousand gold coins to transfer the exclusive rights of the ''Iron Tribulus Net'' to Kamalon.

    He even personally sponsored Rody with five hundred gold coins, requesting him to refine the design for easier transport and installation.

    Rody accepted the sponsorship, never refusing money, but he definitely wouldn¡¯t transfer the rights to a single nation, as it could bring the accusation of warmongering upon him if Kamalon used it in war against other countries. His detractors could use this as leverage for a trial. With Grand Marshal Fendesman of the Human Alliance protecting him, Rody could simply attribute the invention rights to the Grand Marshal, ensuring no one could accuse him of being a warmonger.

    Even if he invented the most malevolent military equipment, he could claim it was at the Grand Marshal''s request, thus avoiding being labeled a war criminal.

    From the ''Magic Damping Springs'' for carriages, to the wind-element ''Feather Falling Magic Array'' engraved on horseshoes, to the ''Concentrated Magic Tube'' formed by magic crystals through a light array for nighttime illumination, and the ''High-Temperature Baking Oven'' for heating food and the ''Frost Box'' for freezing drinks in the kitchen, when the Magical Boy invented these one after another, even the most critical people couldn''t help but marvel at this young man''s brain... How did he think of these things?

    Each invention, once created, seemed incredibly appropriate and easy to use. Yet, none of the seasoned farriers who shod thousands of horses, the night guards holding torches for decades, or even the busy cooks in the kitchen had thought of them. Only this Magical Boy, who probably had never shod a horse, guarded at night, or even entered a kitchen, could invent such impeccable items with a brain that surpassed everyone else.

    These things should have been invented long ago, but only he thought of them. Only the genius brain of the Magical Boy, who had defeated the orc and demon tribes on the battlefield with zero casualties, could conceive such ideas.

    If inventing sunglasses was for showing off, creating mercenary outfits for fame, and devising ''Triangle Spikes'' and ''Iron Tribulus Anti-Cavalry Nets'' were at the request of the Grand Marshal, then inventing the ''Magic Damping Springs'' for smoother carriage rides, the ''Feather Falling Magic Array'' to reduce horse fatigue, the ''Concentrated Magic Tube'' to replace torches, the ''High-Temperature Baking Oven,'' and the ''Frost Box'' for cooling drinks and preserving food, were definitely everyday items people could use daily.

    While some envied Rody''s brain, many excited civilians petitioned, hoping not to dampen the Magical Boy''s inventive passion and kindness. They requested the new king to grant him the title of ''Great Inventor'' and a noble rank, urging not to listen to slanderous rumors and consider the Magical Boy an evil war criminal to be expelled.

    Many magic journalists covered Rody and his elite squad daily, finding that featuring the Magical Boy in their magic newspapers significantly boosted sales.

    Some merchants'' magic newspapers dubbed Rody as the ''Magical Boy'' and the ''Commoner Inventor.''

    The Mercenary Guild also stated that the Magical Boy was a friend to mercenaries.

    Kamalon''s Merchant Union, Alchemist Guild, Magic Blacksmith Guild, Magic Fine Products Guild, and Quick Tailor Guild, all of which had collaborated with Rody, declared him their lifetime honorable member, granting him treatment above a master''s level.

    Not just Kamalon''s noble ladies, but also princesses from neighboring countries subtly expressed their admiration for Rody.

    Every day, the elite squad saw flowers and fruits piled up at their doorstep. They were either ''for beloved Lieutenant Rody'' or ''for beloved Lieutenant Chris.'' There were also many dating invitations at the same location, suggesting a crowd of love-struck women waiting for them. Even big-bearded Maru, previously unnoticed, was often stopped for interviews to inquire about Rody and Chris''s latest inventions or words.

    As for Tommy, he had already arranged with several magic newspapers to provide daily updates and photos of Rody.

    In the betting pools for the Magic Martial Competition, the odds for Rody and Chris kept rising, attracting more bets in their favor. Although people felt it was unlikely they would clinch first place, there was a strong belief that the Magical Boy and his handsome assistant Chris had a great chance of breaking into the top ten.

    The rise in odds was simple: Rody''s fame caused many to envy and vow to see the Felic native humiliated and driven out of Kamalon. Particularly, the reiteration of the incident where Chris refused the invitation from the Saintess added to the resentment against them.

    On the other hand, raising the odds attracted more bets on Rody, a cunning move by the organizers of the Magic Martial Competition''s betting pools to capitalize on their popularity.

    To Rody and the elite squad''s surprise, their fervent supporters from the Saint Song Fortress, upon hearing of their participation in Kamalon''s capital, organized groups to support them. There were many such enthusiastic supporters from various countries, especially young girls, who left everything behind. Led by the most ardent among them, they flocked to Kamalon''s capital, Bray, parading and gathering on the streets daily with great fanfare.

    Apart from financially supporting these passionate young women for their food and accommodation, Rody seldom met them; their interactions typically involved excited screaming and cheering.

    Chris, however, seemed to enjoy these fervent supporters and met them almost daily.

    Naturally, the elite squad also found various excuses to join in. They relished the attention of being surrounded by girls, signing autographs, or receiving flowers and gifts, considering it the happiest thing in the world.

    Chris even named the group of enthusiastic female supporters the ''Dear Love Fan Club.'' This name quickly became a sensation.

    Many knights tried to form their own ''Fan Clubs,'' but unfortunately, the girls did everything possible to join Rody and Chris''s ''Dear Love Fan Club,'' ignoring other groups like ''Rose Fan Club,'' ''Lily Fan Club,'' or ''Tulip Fan Club.'' No offers or promises could sway their hearts.

    This, in turn, deepened the knights'' resentment towards Rody and Chris.

    The Magic Martial Competition, with its numerous inventions by the Magical Boy and the influx of enthusiastic supporters from various countries, garnered attention from the commoners across the continent for the first time. Several nations sought broadcasting rights, especially for the events featuring Rody and the Elite Squad, which became a primary focus for international broadcasts. The nineteen nations affiliated with the Elite Squad had already sent broadcasting teams, preparing to cover the event with as much importance as they did the previous battle against the Orc and Demon tribes.

    This broadcasting led to a significant rise in public morale and increased the popularity of the kings in their respective countries. Other nations, not wanting to be outdone, sent their own teams of mages to cover the event.

    This development excited William II, the new king of Kamalon. Not even his coronation ceremony had attracted so many foreign delegates! This was an excellent opportunity to strengthen Kamalon Empire''s influence among the nations. With international focus and Kamalon''s vigorous promotion, the Magic Martial Competition became a well-known and grand event, symbolizing a competitive show of honor among the nations of the Human Alliance.

    Top elites from various countries, like Prince Vincent of Great Fley, the Dragon Knight Nutidora from Kamalon, the Red-haired Sarl of Naples, and the Ice Demon Gao of Mille, became well-known as strong competitors against Rody. Especially Red-haired Sarl and Ice Demon Gao, whose strengths were universally acknowledged among the contestants.

    Some young powerhouses, who initially did not register for the competition, were encouraged by their countries'' attention and Kamalon''s relaxed participation requirements. They signed up, eager to earn honor in front of the world.

    Even the Temple sent five of its most outstanding young Templar Knights to participate: Holly, Adelman, Pompeius, Charlewen, and Lot. It was rumored that, at the request of King William II of Kamalon and with a donation of six thousand gold coins showing his piety, the Temple also sent a female knight, although her name and details were not disclosed, keeping a low profile.

    Rody pondered the Temple''s reaction for a long time, suspecting that the arrival of the five knights might be an attempt to test him, and he remained quietly vigilant.

    "Master Rody, please design a set of clothes for us too! We beg you!" Every day, apart from the harassment of magic reporters, there were maids who took the opportunity to deliver food to plead with Rody for help.

    "Go back and tell your ladies that I don''t have time for these things. I need to participate in the Magic Martial Arts Competition, and it''s too late if I don''t train now. Maybe some other time!" Rody, overwhelmed by their persistence, explained that these maids were not asking for maid outfits, but rather, their mistresses had sent them to request designs for luxurious ladies'' attire.

    "Do you think our boss is a tailor? Get out of here!" Stanley, playing the bad guy, scowled and shooed them away.

    "We will come again tomorrow, Master Rody. Please, you must help, otherwise the lady... We will come again tomorrow, sorry to bother you." The maids had no choice, reluctantly bothering him but obligated by their mistress''s command. Moreover, they knew that truly talented people often have a stubborn personality and a bad temper, so they didn''t mind Rody''s refusal at all.

    "Focus on your training and don''t wander around, the top 100 of the Magic Martial Arts is only three days away," Rody reminded them.

    "Yes," everyone usually responded with a grimace.

    "Master Rody has never seen a woman''s body and lacks experience. Let me design a set of seductive lingerie for those licentious ladies! And by the way, let''s also design new outfits for our beloved fan club." When Chris said this, everyone stared at him dumbfounded. Chris paused, then laughed, and said to Rody, "See, this is the skill of a romantic playboy. Without the rich experience of seeing the bodies of a hundred or so women, it''s impossible to design lingerie for women. How about it? You''re envious of me, right?"

    "No, not envious, we admire you so much!" Upon hearing this, everyone drooled.

    "The applause should start now!" Chris hummed proudly.

    "I don''t care about you." Rody spent more time each day not inventing anything, but reading the magic book given to him by the mermaid princess.

 Chapter 135: We Are Brothers

    "Rody, I''ll be on the stage tomorrow. Teach me some secret techniques. I don''t want to be beaten into a pig''s head!" Little Fatty Tommy unexpectedly didn''t go out in the evening but came to find Rody.

    "Actually, I''ve wanted to find you for a long time." Rody put down his magic book, glanced at Little Fatty Tommy, and said, "Tommy, because of you, I specifically asked the Treant Elder Toka about the magic fruit, the source of your demonic power. Tell me, how did you come to possess this power? Tommy, I''ve always considered you a good friend and never asked you the reason. I hope you can tell me if you consider me a friend."

    Hearing this, a look of shock and sadness immediately appeared on Little Fatty Tommy''s face. For a long time, he didn''t speak, just sat dejectedly in front of Rody.

    Chris, who usually came to bother Rody every evening, pushed the door open, saw Tommy''s state, and was startled. "What''s wrong? Why do you look so troubled? Tommy, if you''re really scared of getting beaten, just withdraw from the competition tomorrow!"

    "I''ll only tell this to the two of you," Tommy seemed to have made some decision, a certain light twinkling in his eyes.

    "If it''s inconvenient, I can step out..." Although Chris said this, curiosity made him sit down next to Rody, looking at Little Fatty Tommy as if seeing him for the first time. Tommy now indeed seemed very different from usual, exuding the aura of a strong person, unlike his usual cowardly, greedy, lustful self.

    "Tommy, we''re friends, no matter what happens, you can tell me." Rody nodded, "We will keep your secret, forever."

    "My ancestor was a knight, the famous Mad Dragon Knight," Little Fatty Tommy slowly began, "He was very righteous, despised evil, and killed countless demons and evildoers in his life. But because of his strength and righteousness, our descendants have been retaliated against by demons and dark forces for generations. My grandfather was tragically killed, my uncle was cursed into a stone statue, and my two uncles were driven mad, killing their wives and children before committing suicide. My father, hiding his identity, fled to Felic with his pregnant wife."

    "..." Rody was surprised by Tommy''s background.

    "I was born in Felic and grew up there. I yearned to learn fighting spirit and magic like my peers, to become a majestic knight, but my father wanted me to be an ordinary merchant and never taught me fighting spirit or magic. I always disliked my father; I didn''t want to be a vulgar merchant but longed to be a hero known throughout the world. Unable to bear my pleas, my kind mother secretly taught me magic behind my father''s back, but basic magic didn''t satisfy me. I aspired to be a magnificent knight, a genius in both magic and martial arts." Tommy pulled out an exquisite pocket watch from his chest, gently opened it, and handed it to Rody, saying, "This belonged to my mother..."

    Rody and Chris saw a beautiful woman smiling in the photograph, radiant like a silently blooming carnation. A great maternal glow shone on her face, spreading in her smile.

    As Tommy took back the pocket watch, he gazed longingly at his mother''s photo, tears silently rolling down and dripping onto the back of his hand. His eyes brimmed with tears and pain as he sighed, "If... if I had listened to her, been her good son, how happy that would have been... but I destroyed everything with my own hands."

    "What happened? Be more specific," Chris comforted, "Tommy, what can we do for you now?"

    "No one can help me, because I destroyed my own happiness," Little Fatty Tommy slowly wiped away his tears, gave a bitter smile, and said, "Rody, Chris, do you know? Actually, I am quite handsome, not as much as you two, but my good looks have been famous in my hometown since childhood. Because I inherited the best features from my parents, I always felt that I should be a future knight-hero, not just a merchant''s son."

    "..." Rody and Chris, upon closer observation, realized that if Tommy lost some weight, he indeed resembled his mother.

    "When I was ten, a mysterious magician found me and asked if I was willing to save the world, to become a legendary hero admired by millions. Without hesitation, I agreed, as it was my dream," Tommy said with a bitter smile. "The mysterious magician taught me Holy Light magic, very grand magic, and I felt like I was just a step away from becoming a hero. But as a child, my magic power grew slowly, so the magician gave me a magic fruit to eat. Indeed, after eating it, I felt like an unbeatable giant, a feeling I can never forget. Unfortunately, the magic fruit''s power only lasted a short time. The magician said if I wanted to maintain it forever, I needed to make a sacrifice to the gods, to ask them for eternal power..."

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    "He took away one of your five senses? Or your personality?" Rody knew what making a sacrifice to the gods meant.

    "I ate a fruit that was said to transform me into an angel, and made a sacrifice to the gods in a magic circle. After the sacrifice, a golden giant hand descended from the sky and took away one of my personalities ¨C it took away my hatred. Later, that guy crippled my father in front of me, but I couldn''t feel any hatred towards him, couldn''t lift my sword to attack him... It was then I realized how terrible it is to lose a part of one''s personality. Each personality plays a balancing role in a person, and if missing, the corresponding personality becomes uncontrollable and extremely strong. I didn''t want to forgive him, didn''t want to forgive my enemy, but without the personality of hatred, I couldn''t muster the desire for revenge, even when I was fully conscious..." Tommy spoke, blood seeping from his mouth, his teeth almost crushed by the pain he held back.

    "Terrifying," Chris gasped, shocked by the story.

    If one is unable to feel the desire for revenge upon seeing their enemy, that indeed is a terrifying and sad thing.

    Rody could understand that fear. In personality, the more contrasting elements there are, the greater the effect, especially with contrasts like justice vs. evil and forgiveness vs. hatred. Personalities that seem unfavorable at first often play a certain role in handling situations. Once missing, the whole person becomes entirely different... No wonder the God of the Earth generally advocates removing one of the human senses, making life inconvenient, rather than removing a personality.

    "Actually, the fruit you ate wasn''t a sacred fruit; it was a demonic fruit, the magic flower fruit," Rody said softly. "The one who took away your ''hatred'' personality was the Dark God. Even, I can see, using a certain method, that you are a dark follower of the Dark God, your soul chained by him, but it seems there is some power that has sealed these divine shackles."

    "My mother... she sacrificed her life to the Goddess of Dawn she worshipped, in exchange for my freedom," Tommy wept profusely, crying out in sorrow.

    "What a great mother!" Chris''s eyes reddened.

    "Tommy, why did you go to the magic academy? And why did you become like this? Is it because you used demonic power?" Rody gently asked after letting Tommy cry his heart out.

    "Turning into this appearance is just the result of my own overeating. I don''t want to be handsome anymore; I just want to be a good son to my parents, a plain and ordinary merchant. How I wish to return to those days, to be by their side. But, seeing my father''s lonely and disabled figure, I resolved to go to school, to find a way to revive my mother! No matter the method, no matter the cost, I hope to revive her, to let her hear my repentance, to be her obedient son again..." Tommy choked up.

    "Although an Archangel and above can revive humans, such a miracle hasn''t occurred in hundreds of years," Chris didn''t want to shatter Tommy''s hope, as Tommy''s mother, who sacrificed her life to the gods, might be beyond even the most powerful angel''s ability to revive.

    "Revive..." Rody felt it was impossible because if revival were really possible, then the protection of the gods would be meaningless.

    Not to mention revival, even to restore a damaged arm, a huge price must be paid.

    Some nobles and knights have to sacrifice many slaves to the gods to heal their bodily wounds. Rody believed that the cost of revival would be the lives of hundreds, as the gods wouldn''t easily reverse the order of death and soul laws. Killing a person is easy, but reviving someone in the realm of death is definitely not a simple matter.

    "I won''t reach out to angels, nor will I plead with demons," Tommy said mournfully. "They are the same, that mysterious magician, he is the Cardinal in the temple, and also my grandfather''s archenemy."

    "Tommy, have you ever used the demonic power inside you?" Rody asked seriously.

    "I don''t know, I was crazy for a while, maybe not... Since that day, I''ve completely given up on power," Tommy replied, slowly shaking his head.

    "If you use the demonic power inside you, I guess you''ll transform into a demon, not an angel," Rody said gravely. "Listen, Tommy, I have a way to free you from the soul shackles of the Dark God, but it will be extremely painful, more than death. As for reviving your great mother, I can''t do it, but I can ask the Elder of Wisdom. If you want to use magic, I do have a way, but you''ll be limited to using only light magic from now on."

    "Rody, do you know? You are my goal. Seeing your relentless strength, I felt the urge to move forward for the first time," Tommy hugged Rody tightly, tears streaming down his face. "Dean Buck told me, he said you''re a hundred times stronger than me. Rody, I want to be strong. You should understand, my heart is like yours, wanting to become strong, a man standing tall. Rody, help me, I need your help..."

    "You can think about it first. It''s an unbearable pain that won''t go away quickly," Rody said softly.

    "Rody is talking about the Eternal Flame burning the soul, a pain that even a Sword Emperor would flee from," Chris now understood what Rody meant and advised, "Tommy, think it over. Once it starts, there''s no turning back."

    "Is there anything more painful in the world than watching your father fall in front of you, your enemy stepping on him and laughing, while you stand by powerlessly, unable to draw your sword to attack? Is there anything more painful than watching your mother kiss your forehead, smile and say goodbye, as you do nothing but watch her soul turn into light and vanish into the night sky?" Tommy shook his head, "No, there isn''t. Rody, Chris, you should know, the pain isn''t in the wounds, but in the regret of the soul..."

    "I, too, have a great mother," Rody thought of his own mom, nodded, and patted Tommy''s shoulder, "In front of a great mother, we are brothers."

    "We are brothers, waaah..." Tommy cried out loud, tears flowing like rain.

    That night, in Rody''s room, although Chris cast soundproofing magic around the room, everyone still heard a voice of agonizing wails throughout the night, sending shivers down their spines. The next day, Chris half-supported a physically and mentally exhausted Rody as they walked out slowly. Behind them followed a handsome man with white hair.

    Rody''s weakness due to the overuse of mental power was familiar to everyone from the evil lands, but the man following them was unknown. Who was he? Why did he come out of Rody''s room? And who was wailing in agony last night?

    This handsome man with white hair had a shocking calmness in his eyes, like a person made of ice.

    Seeing everyone''s astonished faces, the man extended his hand, making a gesture of counting money.

    "Ah, heavens, you''re Fatty Tommy!" Thief Terry screamed in disbelief, almost fainting. Of course, Stanley, Lopeck, and others felt the same sense of shock.

 Chapter 136: Top 100 Tournament

    The Magic Martial Arts Top 100 Tournament was not set up outside but indoors. Due to the large number of registrations and about a thousand people passing the tests, each venue held competitions with several participants at a time. Rody and the elite squad members, including Chris, were assigned to the West Zone through a draw, while Tommy, Karry, and others were allocated to other zones.

    All those not participating or who hadn''t registered came to support Rody and Chris. Of course, they were followed by the impressive ''Beloved Fan Club.'' Seeing thousands of beautiful women dressed in neat fan club outfits, cheering along the way, the streets were packed with onlookers.

    "Look, that''s the magical kid Rody, wow, I''m so thrilled to see him in person!" someone exclaimed excitedly.

    "This guy is nothing special, he looks like a sick man!" said someone else with intense jealousy, speaking carelessly. People around him quickly fled; such words could earn him a beating if overheard. Even if no one wanted to beat him up, if the ''Beloved Fan Club'' girls heard him, they would utterly despise him. Offending beautiful women could be more painful than death.

    So, as soon as he spoke, people hurriedly scattered, not wanting to be mistaken for his friend and suffer collateral damage.

    Numerous magic reporters with memory crystals took fervent photos. Magical kid Rody was one of the top ten popular figures; missing his photos could cause a slump in magic newspaper sales the next day. Not to mention, various guilds cooperating with him wouldn''t order magic newspapers promoting others. Plus, noble ladies secretly fond of him and lonely wives would be furious if they didn''t see his handsome photos and related reports.

    There''s only one Rody, but more than one magic newspaper. To firmly captivate the eyes of the people of Kamalon, the photos needed to be cool, and the content of the reports unique.

    "Fans, you''ve all worked hard, take a break! I''ll play a song for everyone! Oh, and Rody and I are composing ''The Song of Love for Fans.'' You''ll have your own group song soon!" Chris took out a silver harp, sat on the top of the carriage, waving to everyone, causing continuous screams from the Beloved Fan Club girls. He was the most popular after Rody.

    Chris''s handsome appearance, multi-talented nature, graceful demeanor, and gentle words were all mesmerizing.

    Even the most handsome and proud men would feel inferior in front of him. In terms of looks, it''s believed that no one except the gods in heaven could surpass this human man. As for his achievements, he is a human hero who has slain countless orcs and demons. Even generals may not have the opportunity to stand before Field Marshal Von Desman and receive his personal honors and awards.

    As for personal charisma, there''s simply no comparison. The Saintess of the Holy Temple would invite him to share her carriage, and he could even refuse. If it were any other man in the world, if the Saintess asked him to kiss the mud beneath her feet, countless proud knights would immediately bend their proud backs. Who else would have thousands of girls abandon everything and follow him fervently like devout followers? Who else would have thousands of girls travel from all over the continent just for a glimpse of him? Who else would have thousands of girls working day and night to make uniform fan outfits to cheer him on?

    Apart from the magical kid Rody, lazily sitting in the carriage reading a book, not even the handsomest prince could possess such charm. The only exception is that magical kid Rody, who has never entered a kitchen or shod a horse but could invent ''High-Temperature Baking Ovens,'' ''Frost Boxes,'' and ''Featherfall Horseshoes.''

    Only he could make an outstanding man like Chris willingly become his assistant. Only he could make the proud elites from various countries willingly follow him, obey his commands without question. Amidst the cheers, Rody and Chris entered the venue of the Top 100 Tournament. They had to pass through the elimination rounds according to the rules until about a hundred remained, then officially compete in front of the public in the giant arena.

    Rody and his team were highly popular contestants, but they did not request automatic advancement from the organizers of the Magic Martial Arts Competition; they followed the rules. Inside the venue, Rody''s opponent had arrived early, goaded by his companions, prepared to be the first to step out and take down Rody. He believed that by defeating Rody, he would win the hearts of thousands of girls and perhaps even receive a title from Emperor William II, with countless princesses of various countries crazily insisting on marrying this young hero. While daydreaming ecstatically, he suddenly saw nearly a thousand uniformed beauties cheering for Rody and Chris, turning his face ashen.

    "I must kill him, I must!" Rody''s opponent was so filled with hatred he nearly crushed his teeth.

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    "Yes, dismember him! And snatch those beauties behind him! Damn it, we don''t have a single beauty, yet he has a line of them. He really deserves to die, he must not leave this venue alive! Those beauties should be ours!" his companion agreed deeply.

    "Wipe your drool first!" Of course, there were those who had a good impression of Rody, as he was not only an object of adoration for girls but also an idol for military men.

    "You two little tricksters, stop right there, I''m very angry!" The one daring to speak to Rody like this was the beautiful magician, Oliga Lan.

    "Ah, Teacher Jialan." Chris winked at her and smiled, "Rody and I were planning to have steak made by you in your magic laboratory tonight, and we''re so glad to meet you here."

    "Really?" Oliga Lan was thrilled to hear this. She wasn''t really angry, just a bit annoyed that these world-famous youngsters didn''t tell her earlier, making her worry about them for half a day. Later, when she went to find them, the two guys had taken advantage of the pause in the competition due to internal chaos to go on a trip without even telling her. So she was just throwing a little tantrum, but now she was dizzied by Chris''s charming wink.

    "We''ll compete first, Teacher Jialan, come and cheer for us!" Chris suggested, and Oliga Lan immediately handed over her work to her assistant, happily following behind Rody and Chris, looking almost as fanatical as the Beloved Fan Club girls left outside.

    When it wasn''t his turn to compete, Rody was always slumped in the competitor''s seat, dozing off. Magic reporters captured his image and realized there was no help for it; even in sleep, this guy was exceptionally charming. It seemed that those lovestruck noble ladies and misses would be screaming again tomorrow. Some wondered whether the magical son was completely disregarding the competition, thus appearing so relaxed, or was he up all night thinking about some major invention?

    Regardless, Rody was set to appear in new photos again.

    When Rody entered the ring, he was still yawning, looking somewhat bored, in stark contrast to his opponent who appeared furious and ready to devour someone. As usual, three referees entered the ring, standing to the left and right, with the center referee announcing the rules: any contestant falling off the platform would be considered defeated, as would anyone knocked down for more than ten seconds. Additionally, contestants who severely injure their opponents, continue attacking after being told to stop, or kill their opponent would be disqualified and held accountable.

    "My pretty boy, on this platform, a pretty face won''t help you. This isn¡¯t a place where looks can get you through. Your opponent is me, a true five-star great swordsman, your terminator in this Magic Martial Arts Competition," Rody''s opponent mocked and verbally assaulted him.

    He was actually a bit cautious because, despite not bothering to watch Rody''s zero-casualty victory over the orcs and demons, he had heard of it. The magical kid Rody, after all, was someone who had survived the evil lands.

    If it weren''t well-known that he was just a one-star novice magic apprentice, he wouldn''t dare to face him. But a magic apprentice who couldn''t even cast a small fireball was nothing to worry about. Strategy, military command skills, and inventive talent were of no use on the platform. The only concern now was whether this magical kid had a powerful war pet. Without one, his defeat was certain.

    Indeed, Rody did have war pets, and more than one. Previous magic newspapers had reported that the magical kid owned a cute little rabbit, two strange mantises, and a green vine as summoned war pets, supposedly using them for almost all his battles.

    Now, Rody summoned that slender green vine. It didn''t burrow into the ground like a typical man-eating vine, nor did it fly towards his opponent to bind him.

    Rody, under the incredulous gaze of the audience, slowly formed a Thorn Tiger out of the intertwining vines. Although it was a plant-based magic creature, it took on the form of an animal war pet, very similar to an emerald-carved tiger. Rody''s opponent was stunned, stepping back until he nearly fell off the platform.

    "You think illusions can scare me? Dream on! I''m not afraid of your sinister tricks..." Rody''s opponent was clearly unnerved.

    "Done talking? Chief referee, can we start now?" Rody yawned, asking the referee to signal the start.

    "Begin!" The referee waved his hand.

    The opponent burst out with a huge surge of fighting spirit but didn''t dare to charge. Instead, he carefully circled Rody, looking for an opportunity to strike. Unexpectedly, with a flash of green, the vine-formed tiger moved swiftly, biting his hand, knocking away his great sword with its tail, and dragging him towards the edge of the platform, completely ignoring his punches.

    Rody stepped forward, and before he walked off the platform, his opponent was already dragged off by the vine-formed tiger, furiously yelling. The vine-formed tiger, with its paws spread, ran back to Rody, shaking its head. When Rody reached out to touch the leaves on its forehead, it wagged its tail contentedly, acting just like a real animal, astonishing everyone with its intelligence. The referee was stunned but quickly declared Rody the winner, as the Magic Martial Arts Competition had no rule against using war pets.

    Compared to Rody''s opponent, Chris''s was far more miserable. Chris kicked him so hard that he flew over ten meters and smashed heavily against the wall, knocking him unconscious. This completely terrified everyone who had been shouting about teaching Rody and Chris a lesson. Even the referees were stunned, but upon finding that the unfortunate fellow was just knocked out and not in mortal danger, they quickly declared Chris the victor.

    If Rody won with skill, then Chris definitely advanced in the competition through sheer power. A five-star great swordsman is not weak among the competitors, but being knocked out by a single kick from Chris meant that anyone looking to teach Rody and him a lesson would first receive a profound one themselves.

    "Wow, Chris is so amazing!" Oliga Lan now understood why there had been tremors and loud noises during the test day; it was the impact created by this seemingly frail Chris when fighting. The more she thought about it, the more excited she became, realizing that not only was Chris handsome, but his strength was also formidable, making him seem more perfect and lovable.

    "Is it over? That quick?" The elite squad, who had just come in after chatting with the Beloved Fan Club girls outside, found Rody and Chris already relaxing and drinking water after finishing their fight.

    "They''re too strong, they knocked down their opponents in less than ten seconds!" Oliga Lan completely forgot she was one of the organizers of the Magic Martial Arts Competition. She poured water for Rody and Chris, handed them warm towels, and even massaged their shoulders, making the referees hesitant to look their way. As for the other contestants preparing to face Rody and Chris, they gathered together, either discussing tactics or considering withdrawing.

    "I''m going to take a nap, wake me up when it''s my turn," Rody said and promptly fell asleep.

    "Sleep well," Oliga Lan nodded, "I''ll get you a blanket so you don''t catch cold... Hey, you there, help me get a blanket, a white one. Never mind, you''re all thumbs, I''ll do it myself!"

    "Mr. Stanley, Mr. Stanley..." the magic reporters wanted to interview Chris but were afraid of Stanley''s stern demeanor.

    "Why are we so unlucky!" lamented the contestants in the same zone as Rody and Chris. All day long, nobody cared about them, neither the magic reporters nor the girls. They were completely forgotten by the world.

 Chapter 137: Welcome, Rody

    "To all our viewers watching through the magic screen, respected elders, beloved children, ladies and gentlemen, this is the Top 100 Tournament of the Magic Martial Arts Competition. I''m Big Beard Maru, and I''m joined by the beautiful and charming Doll Miss to commentate on the upcoming matches. Let''s cheer together and rock the entire Kamalon Arena that can hold a hundred thousand people!" Big Beard Maru roared crazily into the magic loudspeaker, and the fully packed Kamalon Arena, with a capacity of a hundred thousand, erupted in cheers.

    "First, let''s warmly welcome the host country''s King William II and the Temple''s envoy, the Cardinal Gaopei Luo, to the arena," said Doll Miss, Kamalon''s most famous court musician and a beloved soprano idol among the nobility. Despite being only nineteen, she had been famous on the continent since the age of five.

    The number of men idolizing Doll Miss was no less than the number supporting Rody''s Beloved Fan Club. However, this doll-faced idol was more passionate about music than love, and her chastity and lofty pursuits gave her a near-Saintess-like reputation among the common folk of Kamalon.

    Getting her to host this Magic Martial Arts Competition was a feat; it''s said that King William II and the Queen had spent nearly a month persuading her, gifting her a sacred musical instrument as a present to convince this musical idol to appear before everyone. Everyone in Kamalon recognized Doll Miss, but they were curious why an ordinary-looking person like Big Beard Maru could host the Magic Martial Arts Competition in front of a hundred thousand people.

    With the arrival of Kamalon''s King William II and the Queen, the crowd welcomed them with waves of cheers. The new king''s rule differed significantly from the old king''s, with tax exemptions and aid to the poor, earning King William II great public support upon his ascension. The people felt that the vast empire needed fresh vitality and a younger, more dynamic king. Thus, the old king''s assassination and internal strife were quickly forgotten, with people now eager to please the new king.

    Cardinal Gaopei Luo, accompanied by several bishops and a dozen Temple Knights, appeared solemnly in front of the crowd. Unlike King William II, who waved and nodded to the people in a friendly manner, the Cardinal solemnly walked to his VIP seat.

    "I declare the Top 100 Tournament of the Magic Martial Arts Competition officially begins..."

    Invited by Doll Miss, King William II stood up, cleared his throat, and announced the start of the Magic Martial Arts Competition. Immediately, magical fireworks shot into the sky, with all musicians and minstrels, as well as the Temple''s chorus of young girls, singing in unison. War drums captured in the orc war, twenty huge drums, were played simultaneously by the strongest and most robust men.

    The dazzling fireworks lasted for nearly ten minutes, providing a visual feast. People''s palms grew numb from clapping along with the music... Just as a hint of fatigue began to show, the entire arena fell silent.

    Everyone held their breath in excitement, eagerly awaiting the main event to unfold.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, let us welcome the top 100 contestants of the Magic Martial Arts Competition to the stage!" Big Beard Maru shouted loudly.

    "Wait a minute," Doll Miss, the co-host, started joking with her partner. The audience saw her blinking her big eyes on the giant projection screen, playfully grabbing her hair, and asking curiously, "Who are you? Why are you standing next to me?"

    "Beautiful lady, please allow me to introduce myself, I am Big Beard Maru!" Maru quickly bowed to her in greeting.

    "Never heard of you," Doll Miss shook her head.

    "Maybe the name Big Beard Maru is hard to remember, but if I introduce myself like this, you might have some impression... I am Big Beard Maru, who was responsible for filming and reporting the glorious victory of Magical Kid Rody and his elite squad against the orc and demon invasion with zero casualties. I was the one who often ran behind everyone, excitedly shouting about our victory!" Maru explained in one breath, causing the audience to burst into laughter.

    "I''ve heard of Magical Kid Rody, but I have no impression of you running behind him," Doll Miss said, covering her mouth with a giggle. "By the way, Big Beard Maru, why were you running behind Magical Kid''s behind? Were you trying to research if his behind is also extraordinary?"

    The crowd erupted into laughter and applause at her words.

    "No, I have no interest in behinds. I followed Magical Kid because he was winning too quickly, and I wanted to pick up the slack, but my legs are short and couldn''t keep up with him," Maru replied with a regretful expression. "If I could have killed a few orcs or demons, maybe Miss Doll would have some impression of me."

    "Don''t bother with such useless endeavors," Doll Miss answered seriously.

    The audience was rolling with laughter, not expecting such a comedic effect from a pairing of a lowly mercenary and a famous diva.

    "Big Beard Maru, now I''m even more confused!" Doll Miss scrutinized her co-host, shaking her head.

    "What is it that Miss Doll doesn''t understand?" Big Beard Maru asked respectfully.

    "Why isn''t it Magical Kid coming? Why isn''t he your co-host instead of you, who has short legs and likes to run behind others'' behinds?" Doll Miss''s question had the audience almost in stitches, even the nobles who wanted to maintain a gentlemanly demeanor couldn''t help but laugh out loud.

    "Magical Kid has to participate in the Magic Martial Arts Competition," Maru answered earnestly. "Besides, if he stood here with you, it would be dangerous for many people."

    "Hmm?" Doll Miss feigned confusion adorably, bringing a smile to everyone''s face.

    "First, your supporters would clash with Magical Kid''s Beloved Fan Club, which would be a big mess... Can you imagine a bunch of handsome men and beautiful women angrily clashing? That''s something nobody wants to see! Moreover, with you standing here, half of the people in the arena, all the men, are only looking at you. If Magical Kid were also here with you, then the other half, the women, would only be looking at him, and nobody would watch the Magic Martial Arts Competition," Maru explained with a chuckle. "Miss Doll, the main reason I''m standing here is to reassure everyone to watch the matches. Look, I''m very safe-looking, extremely safe. So safe that even standing next to you, I can make everyone feel at ease to watch the competition!"

    "This guy, he''s killing me with laughter..."

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    "So funny!"

    The audience laughed heartily at the witty opening remarks of the two hosts, responding with warm applause. The atmosphere in the arena quickly heated up with their jokes, and everyone was full of anticipation for the contestants about to enter and the upcoming matches. As for Rody''s Beloved Fan Club, they screamed his name and stood up in their seats, frantically waving their colorful ribbons and balls. Over three thousand people dressed uniformly, creating a veritable sea of pink.

    Seeing their actions, countless magic reporters immediately pointed their memory crystals at them and started filming non-stop. Magic mages from various countries even switched to some of Rody and his elite squad''s previous battle footage to show the scenes of Big Beard Maru breathlessly chasing after the Magical Kid, which made everyone watching on the magic screens laugh until tears flowed.

    "Alright, since you look so safe, you can stay here!" Doll Miss laughed, "Actually, I do need a lackey..."

    "I volunteer, I''m particularly good at this job, did quite well under Magical Kid!" Big Beard Maru eagerly offered himself.

    "Lackey, go and bring me the crystal ball," Doll Miss pointed with her jade hand.

    "Yes," Big Beard Maru exaggeratedly rolled up his sleeves, dashed off, and returned holding a small crystal ball aloft as if it were a heavy boulder. He then knelt on one knee, offering it to Doll Miss.

    As soon as Doll Miss picked up the crystal ball, all the magical lights in the arena went out. The entire arena was left with only the faint light from the crystal ball. When Doll Miss suddenly covered the crystal ball with her wide sleeve, all the magical lights in the arena instantly came back on, making it as bright as day. To everyone''s surprise, in the brief moment of the lights going out and coming back on, nearly a thousand fully armored swordsmen and hundreds of robed mages had appeared in the arena.

    The swordsmen drew their swords and posed impressively, while the mages raised their staffs or wands, launching magical fireworks into the sky, eliciting rounds of applause with their spectacular performance.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, please look at our Top 100 contestants entering the arena. The first to enter are the twenty-five elite contestants from the host nation, the Kamalon Empire, riding tall and majestic horses, determined to bring glory to their country in the Magic Martial Arts Competition. Among them, the most popular contestants are the great swordsman Jelstoni from the capital Blai and the dragon knight Nutidora..." While the audience was absorbed in the performance, they hadn''t noticed that the contestants had already been arranged to enter at the entrance, a surprising move that caught everyone off guard and added to the excitement.

    "Jelstoni! Nutidora!" The people of Kamalon, of course, gave enthusiastic applause and cheers to their own country''s contestants.

    "Long live Kamalon..."

    All the swordsmen and mages quickly lined up in two rows, clapping and shouting, welcoming the top 100 contestants to the arena. In close-up shots, the excitement on each contestant''s face was clearly visible. As Kamalon''s contestants passed the main stage, they drew their swords and saluted to King William II, waving to the audience throughout, causing waves of cheers.

    Representatives from other countries politely applauded but were also on guard. There were only a hundred contestants in the top 100 tournament, including those from the Temple and the popular contestants who were automatically promoted, totaling 109. Unexpectedly, Kamalon alone had twenty-five contestants.

    King William II, though inwardly pleased, still felt it was insufficient. During the selection and elimination rounds, Kamalon''s contestants faced many strong opponents. The four contestants who exceptionally refused automatic promotion¡ªred-haired Sal, Ice Mage Jiao, Magical Kid Rody, and Elf''s Son Chris¡ªeliminated many potential contestants from Kamalon. Otherwise, Kamalon would have had at least thirty-five contestants advancing.

    The equally strong Noren and Gale empires each had over ten contestants. The most powerful Magic Empire, Mille, apart from two swordsmen, all the rest were mages, totaling sixteen contestants, the second highest after Kamalon. Among them, the most popular was Ice Mage Jiao, the hot favorite to win the championship. It was almost certain that the champion would be among him, red-haired Sal, Dragon Knight Nutidora, Prince Vincent, and the Temple''s Holy Spear Knight Holi.

    Magical Kid Rody, Elf''s Son Chris, Silver Fang Jelstoni, Temple''s Holy Eye Sariwen, and Demon Slayer Sword Lott were considered top ten contenders.

    In the previous draw, Magical Kid Rody was placed in the so-called Group of Death, otherwise his chances to reach the top three would have been higher. In Group C of the Death Group, there were not only Sky Knight Prince Vincent and Silver Fang Jelstoni but also Holy Law Adleman, former brother Demon Slayer Sword Lott, and even Ice Mage Jiao, making it a terrifying group. Escaping from Group C was more difficult than returning from a hell escape. Chris also drew the unlucky Group D, with Holy Spear Knight Holi, Dragon Knight Nutidora, and several other strong contestants from different countries.

    As for red-haired Sal, he was fortunate to be placed in Group A, which, apart from the Temple''s Pompeius, had no highly popular contestants. Holy Eye Sariwen in Group B faced almost no competition, considered a sure qualifier.

    "Ice Mage Jiao..." Countless people saw the cool Ice Mage Jiao leading all the contestants from the Mille Empire. Everyone betting on him cheered wildly, and the Mille delegation stood up, frantically waving their flags.

    "Red-haired Sal, red-haired, red-haired!" Naples, like Felic, was a tiny country, barely known had it not been for red-haired Sal. As the man with fiery red hair stepped out alone, the King and royal family of Naples stood up, cheering wildly and waving continuously at him.

    "If it weren''t for this young man, Kamalon Empire''s William II wouldn''t have arranged for this small country''s king to be seated on the main stage."

    One by one, contestants entered the arena, either walking, riding horses, or mounted on flying dragons and griffins, in the most flamboyant postures and proudest attitudes, following the announcements of Big Beard Maru and Doll Miss. The preliminary eliminations and strength tests had already made the audience somewhat familiar with them.

    Therefore, as soon as well-known contestants appeared, many people stood up to welcome them with applause. Although not necessarily from their own country, that didn''t prevent the audience from betting on and supporting their favorite contestants. The Temple''s contestants were few, only six, with five of them riding holy magic horses, waving kindly to the people in the holy light and saluting Cardinal Gaopei Luo at the main stage.

    As for the silver-armored lady knight at the back, wearing a silver mask and wielding a silver lance and armor, she looked gallant. Although her face was unknown, this female knight sent by the Saintess, who defeated the highly acclaimed strongest contestant from the Gale Empire, Kyo Jonadu, in the elimination round, had suddenly drawn attention. She was also a popular candidate among the top ten, but being in the same Death Group as Magical Kid Rody and Ice Mage Jiao, her chances of making it to the top ten seemed slim.

    Had she been in Group A or B, people would have bet heavily on her support much earlier. However, the Saintess''s female knight was also a welcomed figure, receiving applause and cheers, despite her cool demeanor and lack of populist gestures.

    The last to enter were Magical Kid Rody and his elite team. Although they were from different countries, they chose to enter together, symbolizing unity and friendship. The Temple had expressed dissatisfaction with this arrangement, as the last group to enter should have been them, representing the most authoritative and righteous of all people. However, the Magic Martial Arts Committee and King William II had considered that if Magical Kid Rody were to enter before them, they would likely not receive applause or much attention, as everyone''s eyes would be fixed only on the most popular Magical Kid.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, the most exciting moment has arrived!" shouted Big Beard Maru, his voice filled with excitement. "Friends, let''s give our loudest cheers, welcome our hero, our great inventor, welcome Magical Kid and his magical team, welcome you, Rody..."

    "Ah! Rody, Rody, Rody, Rody!" Almost everyone stood up, waving their arms to welcome the Magical Kid who walked out of the contestant area with his several companions. People were shouting frantically.

    "Clap, clap, clap, clap..." The applause rose like a storm.

    "Welcome, Rody!" Waves of people spontaneously formed, rippling sideways, with some nobles initially maintaining their dignity, sitting still. But as they felt increasingly out of place, they, too, stood up, elegantly raising their hands. The massive human waves, while spreading, also conveyed joy, bringing strangers closer in an instant.

    Everyone, hand in hand, regardless of gender, cheered wholeheartedly.

    They were not only welcoming the miraculous young man but also seeking to immerse themselves in the festive atmosphere of the Magic Martial Arts Competition, sharing in the joy with everyone.

    Not just the commoners, but even the young King William II, along with his queen and Prince Noren beside him, joined the crowd in creating joyful waves, laughing heartily without caring about the dignity of his kingly status.

    "Long live Rody, Rody, we love you, love you, love you!" The ardent fan group began dancing, following the choreography they had rehearsed in advance.

    They couldn''t leave their seats, but they expressed their feelings through synchronized hand movements.

    All the magic reporters were trembling with excitement. Apart from assigning people to capture the waves welcoming Rody by King William II, others were tasked with filming the dance of the fan group. A few even photographed the stoic High Priests sitting motionlessly. Of course, most focused their memory crystals on the young man whose smile was as radiant as the sun.

    Countless magic reporters, to the left and right in front of him, ran alongside as he moved forward, seeking the best shooting angle.

    Rody reached out to the audience above, and millions of hands responded immediately. Although they knew it was impossible to shake hands with him, people enthusiastically reciprocated his greeting, his approachability... The pop diva released her most stunning war symphony, accompanied by a thousand-voice choir and thunderous war drums, nearly exploding the atmosphere. Countless people were moved to tears, and many more were electrified by the ambiance.

    "I dare say, this young man might not be the strongest, but he is the most welcomed in people''s hearts, their champion. Even before the competition has started, he has already stolen it," King William II shouted to Prince Noren of the Noren Empire beside him. Despite being close, he had to yell due to the overwhelming cheers.

    "He''s stolen not just the championship but also the hearts of beauties," the old prince laughed heartily, clearly fond of Rody.

    "You''re right. I''m starting to regret bringing my queen here..." King William II watched his queen cheer passionately, as happy as a little girl, and couldn''t help but smile bitterly.

    "Hmph." From the distant temple seats, amidst the roaring of thousands, a meaningful snort coldly echoed.

 Chapter 138: Focus

    "Welcome, contestants. Before the top 100 open competition battles, I would like to interview a few popular contestants. Actually, it''s not just me, everyone wants to know what you''re thinking." The pop diva approached Red-Haired Saul, handed him a magic loudspeaker, and asked with a smile, "Red-Haired Saul, as one of the few commoners'' sons, do you think you can defeat all the knights and nobility''s elites to win the honorable championship?"

    "I think there''s a good chance..." Red-Haired Saul laughed heartily and said, "It would be a bit troublesome if Gao and Rody were in my group, but as you know, I''m lucky."

    "Do you mean that no one other than Ice Demon Gao and the miraculous kid Rody is your match?" the diva asked.

    "Victory of glory, sometimes, besides strength, luck plays a part," Red-Haired Saul glanced at the people around him, clapped his hands, and said, "At least now I don''t have to worry about getting out of the group stage, right?"

    "Hahaha, this guy must have had the god of luck over his head during the draw!" Everyone laughed.

    People didn''t think Red-Haired Saul was stronger than Ice Demon Gao, but his odds of winning were slightly higher because he drew a lucky lot.

    While Ice Demon Gao would struggle to emerge from the deadly group, Saul would wait effortlessly for his opponent.

    Moreover, Red-Haired Saul was also a strong contender for the top three, so some guessed he might laugh last and win the overall championship of the Magic Martial Arts Competition. As for Ice Demon Gao, due to the strong contenders in his deadly group, his previous odds were slightly reduced. In fact, not just him, but also the other contestants in his group, including Rody, saw a drop in their winning odds.

    Of course, these were still predictions for the top ten battles, and the actual champion odds would change significantly after the battles.

    "After interviewing the lucky Red-Haired Saul, let''s hear what the contestants representing the temple have to say," the pop diva moved to the temple contestants, ignoring Pompeius and Sariwen from the same group as Saul, and with no strong opponents in Group B. She circled around Demon Slayer Lot, Holy Spear Knight Holly, and Holy Mage Adelman, and finally settled on Knight Holly, asking, "Knight Holly, who do you think will be your greater enemy, Dragon Knight Nutidora or the Elf''s Son Kris?"

    "The greatest enemy in life should be oneself," Holy Spear Knight Holly gave a small knightly bow to the pop diva, saying humbly, "Dragon Knight Nutidora is a formidable opponent, of course, so are Elf''s Son Kris and the other contestants. Miss Pop Diva, besides praying to the God of Light, I will do my best to bring everyone a more spectacular competition!"

    "Knight Lot, if you were to battle Lieutenant Rody, what would you say to him?" the pop diva unexpectedly asked Lot.

    "Ah, on the arena, I treat all opponents equally," Lot revealed a brilliant smile and said slowly, "Lieutenant Rody had a bit of a relationship with my family. I also hope my father can recognize his efforts and accept him again."

    "Do you have anything to say now to Lieutenant Rody, who was expelled from his family?" the pop diva pressed on, not letting him off easily.

    "I''ve always treated him as a brother, always like this," Lot''s smile was as bright as the holy light.

    Upon hearing his words, people couldn''t help but applaud and cheer for him. Lot also bowed to the crowd, responding to their applause with extraordinary gentlemanly demeanor. Of course, those like Stanley, who knew the inside story, clenched their fists and cursed under their breath: "This son of a bitch, such an actor!"

    "I hope he encounters the boss first and gets a good beating from him!" Lopeck was also grinding his teeth in hatred.

    "Quiet, she''s approaching the boss now. Be quiet, let''s hear what she asks..." Everyone looked at the magic screen and hurriedly quieted the two men down.

    The pop diva walked over to Rody and Kris, sizing up Rody from top to bottom. Rody also looked back at her, surveying the pop diva from head to toe, and a smile appeared on his face. As soon as the huge magic mirror broadcasted his charming smile, countless girls'' screams erupted and lingered for a long time.

    "What do you think I''m going to ask you, Lieutenant Rody?" the pop diva asked with a smile.

    "I guess it''s not about asking for an autograph..." As soon as Rody finished speaking, the whole audience burst into laughter.

    "Actually, this question, I''m asking on behalf of everyone. As for what I want to ask, it depends on whether you''re willing to give me an autograph, then I''ll decide whether to ask or not," the pop diva said with a laugh, covering her mouth, and asked, "The one who defeated the orcs and demons, did you intentionally achieve a splendid record of zero casualties to inspire everyone, or were you just lucky not to encounter any real orc warriors?"

    "We didn''t have zero casualties..." Rody was taken aback, shaking his head, "We had injuries almost every day, and now Stanley and the others still scream at the sight of snakes and scorpions. In the Land of Evil, we would shake out snakes, scorpions, or toads from our tents every morning. Although their appearance provided us with a variety of breakfast options, we were never happy to see them. As for injuries and disabilities, many of our one-armed comrades left their limbs and blood forever in the Land of Evil... We weren''t there on a trip! The only thing to be thankful for is that more than a hundred of us struggled and came back alive!"

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    "Long live Sergeant Rody!"

    "Long live the Human Justice Alliance... Long live!"

    Rody''s words reminded everyone of the past, and they couldn''t help but stand up to applaud and cheer for the elite squad. At the same time, the magic screen showed footage shot by Big-Bearded Malu. It showed the elite squad trudging through pouring rain and mud, occasionally scraping blood-sucking leeches off their legs with daggers, and sometimes seen throwing poisonous snakes far away from the mud.

    In another clip, the orc army passed by, with all members of the elite squad lying in the muddy water, not daring to move. A swamp crocodile appeared nearby, dragging one of them down, but Rody and Kris immediately dived in with daggers to help. Soon, blood was seen flowing out, and then three mud-covered figures were seen struggling to climb out with the help of their comrades'' ropes. Besides their teeth being somewhat white, it was impossible to tell which one was Rody and which was Kris.

    In several consecutive clips, the extremely arduous battles and life of the elite squad were shown, prompting another round of applause from the people.

    Many people shed tears, realizing that behind the glorious victory lay a grueling battle.

    "Lieutenant Rody, I know that the incident with the assassin has deeply hurt everyone''s heart, but I still want to ask, if necessary, would you and your elite team be willing to escort food supplies to the uncertain existence of the vanguard army as you did before?" the pop diva asked.

    "We are soldiers... It''s a soldier''s duty to obey orders," Rody nodded, "No matter what the Human Justice Alliance needs from us¡ªblood, youth, or life¡ªwe will not hesitate. In fact, we are no different from other soldiers; we are all soldiers fighting for the Alliance. What other soldiers can do, we can do; what the Alliance needs us to do, we will do."

    "Rody..."

    "Miraculous kid, well done!"

    "We love you, love you, love you, Rody, we will always love you!" The fan group''s girls, overcome with emotion, jumped and screamed uncontrollably.

    People couldn''t help but stand up again to applaud and admire. Such soldiers were the warriors in everyone''s hearts; such warriors were the heroes whom people trusted to protect their lives.

    Not every person in the world needs the champion of the Magic Martial Arts Competition; that''s a glory for the noble lords and knights.

    But people need soldiers who make everyone feel secure and comforted, only their iron-like bodies can be the barrier protecting everyone''s lives!

    In the command room of the Saint Song Fortress, Marshal Fondsman was watching the magic image. Hearing Rody''s words, he and General Quentin, among others, burst into laughter.

    "This kid is just so popular, look how many people cheer for him? I dare say, this will greatly enhance the image of our soldiers," General Quentin applauded.

    "That''s not right," Marshal Fondsman suddenly frowned, pondered for a moment, and then lightly tapped the table, "This smart kid might have sensed some future threat, or else he wouldn''t say that... His words must have a certain meaning. I can''t figure it out now, General Quentin, go to Camalon. If anything unfavorable happens to that kid, use my Marshal''s command to forcibly bring him back! I absolutely will not let tragedy happen again, no one will dare play tricks in front of me this time!"

    "Your Excellency Marshal, please give me your command ring as a token," General Quentin nodded.

    "Report..." A guard came in with a magic letter for the Marshal.

    Upon reading it, Marshal Fondsman''s breath surged with anger, and he became furious like a fire lion. He said ''good'' three times, then fiercely smashed the table. Finally, his gaze lingered on Rody in the magic screen, filled with sorrow and guilt.

    General Quentin and the other generals carefully glanced at the letter, instantly stunned.

    "Your Excellency Marshal?" they asked softly.

    "Don''t go to pick up that kid for now, you guys prepare here first," the Marshal said, suppressing his rage, "You must wait for the most appropriate moment!"

    "What if someone obstructs us? Those guys won¡¯t let us do our job easily¡­" General Quentin said resentfully.

    "Military order," the Marshal said with utmost seriousness. "If there comes a day when I, Fondsman, am no longer here, and the ''Life-or-Death'' combat plan for humanity is initiated, then follow the one I have chosen as the commander. From today onwards, everyone present must enter first-level alert. If necessary, you are authorized to use force and wage war against any obstructing target."

    "Yes," all the generals stood up straight and saluted.

    "Your Excellency Marshal, actually, you could¡­" General Quentin''s face showed pain, his voice trembling, wanting to persuade, but not daring to.

    "What did that kid say just now? We are soldiers!" the Marshal said gravely. "Soldiers are warriors who don''t engage in dirty politics, with obedience to orders as their sacred duty. Although there is no higher commander above me, I am also a soldier, equally bound to be faithful to my position and mission! Gentlemen, we are all soldiers!"

    "Yes!" The generals saluted sharply, their voices thunderous.

    "Quentin, I appoint you as deputy commander, temporarily in charge of the command ring and my sword," the Marshal unfastened the treasures from his waist and tossed a ring. Looking at Rody on the magic screen, he nodded and said, "Rest assured, everyone, we will get through this. We have the strength of the younger generation, everything will get better."

    "Your Excellency Marshal, we..." General Quentin and the other generals knelt down, saying solemnly, "The Human Justice Alliance cannot be without you! You must come back alive! Those young people still need your support. They are like tiger cubs that haven¡¯t shed their milk teeth yet. The growth of young people needs more time, please be sure to come back!"

    "Of course, I still hope to see the splendid lives of those young people!" Marshal Fondsman laughed heartily and strode out the door.

    "The dawn of humanity is still far from arriving," General Quentin sighed heavily.

    In Camalon, in the coliseum seating a hundred thousand people with no vacant seats, the engaging conversation between the pop diva and Rody elicited cheers and applause from the crowd. They felt she not only voiced everyone''s thoughts but also heard the bold words of soldiers they wanted to hear the most.

    "To interview the miraculous kid Rody, everyone, especially the girls, would probably not have enough of it even after three days and nights. Regrettably, we need to hurry and ask more contestants!" The pop diva handed the magic loudspeaker to Kris and smiled, "I want to know, why, being as outstanding as you are, are you content with being Rody¡¯s deputy?"

    "Because it''s simple, he''s the miraculous kid!" Kris gracefully shrugged his shoulders, making all the girls swoon.

    "Have you never thought about surpassing him? Although you cooperate well with him, have you ever thought about making him cooperate with you?" The pop diva¡¯s questions were sharp and challenging, exactly what everyone wanted to hear.

    "I wish he would listen to me, but he won''t." Kris smiled slightly and counter-asked, "Do you have a way?"

    "It looks like you''ll have to figure it out slowly. I can''t help you!" The conversation between the pop diva and Kris also made everyone laugh heartily. Finally, the pop diva approached Ice Demon Gao, looked him up and down, and quietly asked, "Can you speak?"

    "Yes." Ice Demon Gao replied expressionlessly with a single word.

    "I thought you were an ice sculpture..." the pop diva exclaimed in surprise, prompting the crowd to burst into laughter. After the laughter subsided, she asked, "Ice Man, just thawed from the glacier, what do you most want to say to everyone?"

    "The champion will be either me or Rody," Ice Demon Gao coolly stated. "I want to tell everyone, if you want to bet, you''d better hurry."

    "Hahaha..."

    "My goodness, this guy actually has a sense of humor!"

    "I''m so happy, I dare say, this is the most exciting competition I''ve ever seen in my life... even though it''s just getting started! Haha!" Everyone was amused to find that he wasn''t as unapproachable as they thought, actually quite funny.

    "Next time I need to freeze mixed fruit ice, I''ll look for you! Now, I need a bit of warmth, not ice cubes." The pop diva turned and walked away, leaving everyone laughing so hard they almost cried. Then, she interviewed several other popular contestants and even some lesser-known ones, but their bold statements lacked the fun of the earlier few.

    "Everyone has been waiting, now, let''s have the contestants from the four groups start battling simultaneously in the ABCD arenas!" Big-Bearded Malu exclaimed, "My God, the random selection result is out, the first battle in Group C is Demon Slayer Lot against the miraculous kid Rody..."

    "The destined battle between brothers is about to begin, what will be the outcome?" the pop diva¡¯s words instantly heightened everyone''s excitement.

    "The glory of justice, the light of God, unstoppable..." People from the temple stood up, fervently casting holy light magic to cheer for Lot.

    "Spit, die already, god-stick!" Stanley jumped up, yelling, "Beat up that trash!"

    "Rody will win, Rody will win!" The fan group''s cheerleading motivated nearly ten thousand girls to join in unison, creating an immensely spectacular sight. The pop diva''s voice echoed through the magic loudspeaker throughout the entire coliseum, "The brotherly battle between Demon Slayer Lot and the miraculous kid Rody, starts now..."

    Amidst the intense music, magical spotlight shone on both Lot and Rody.

    For a moment, they became the focus of everyone''s attention.

 Chapter 139: Angels Descent

    "The magic sound amplification wizard, please amplify the sound a bit more. We want to hear any dialogue between the brothers before the start. Just now, I saw Knight Lot speaking; what exactly did he say?" The pop diva signaled the mage to amplify the sound so that everyone in the venue could hear clearly.

    "Miss Pop Diva, Knight Lot just said he would give Lieutenant Rody three chances to strike," a mage replied.

    "That''s right, because I have sacred armor, and also as an older brother, I am willing to let Rody strike three times without countering..." Lot''s gentlemanly demeanor made the crowd cheer and applaud for him!

    The temple''s morale soared immediately, with magic fireworks being launched fervently into the sky.

    On the elite squad''s side, there was nothing but cold sneers. Stanley was gripping his own neck as if he was about to vomit from disgust.

    "Knight Lot is giving you three chances to strike, Lieutenant Rody, what will you say?" The pop diva, ever eager to stir things up, prodded Rody, hoping to hear his bold and brave words. To her surprise, Rody smiled slightly and said, "I would say, thank you!"

    "Go Rody..." The girls from the fan group screamed in unison, cheering him on.

    "Come on, my brother, let me see how much you have grown!" Lot chanted a holy protection spell, fully prepared for defense, then stylishly gestured for Rody to approach. Rody walked over casually, empty-handed, with millions of eyes focused on him, everyone holding their breath in anticipation to see how he would unexpectedly attack Lot.

    In the other three areas, contestants also began their matches, but all attention was focused on the brotherly battle between Rody and Lot.

    With every step Rody took, he pulled at the hearts of the audience.

    Golden spiritual power quickly gathered behind Rody, forming a golden war hammer. Seeing the intensely concentrated spiritual power, everyone knew that the upcoming strike would be thunderous. Rody''s attack on orcs or demons using the spiritually condensed war hammer, as captured by Big-Bearded Malu, was not a first-time sight for the audience, but the sight of the glittering golden spiritual war hammer still brought them a special sense of surprise.

    Many warriors and mages with keen eyes couldn''t help but gasp.

    For an individual to concentrate spiritual power into an offensive weapon, let alone control a weapon with it, was extremely remarkable. Although the miraculous kid was only a one-star novice magic apprentice and couldn''t cast spells, it was unexpected that he could transform his combat power in this manner.

    Standing in front of Rody, Lot, seeing the golden spiritual war hammer, somewhat regretted his earlier words. He maintained a smile on his face, but it was obviously forced. If it weren''t for the hundreds of thousands of eyes watching, making it inappropriate to go back on his word, he would have launched an attack first. Lot was secretly on guard, slowly lifting his left arm''s knightly shield, readying himself for Rody''s attack.

    "The first strike..." Rody extended his hand, empty-handed.

    Not just the hundred thousand spectators in the arena, but even Lot, who was right in front of him, was stunned. The strongest Ice Demon Gao snorted lightly, and others like Red-Haired Saul shifted their gaze to Rody''s legs, where a sentient vine was rapidly extending. As Rody extended his hand, it transformed into a giant fist, slamming heavily towards Lot.

    Lot''s body flashed with a burst of holy light, and a magical aura suddenly expanded around him, repelling the vine''s fist.

    His sacred armor''s protective magic was so formidable that it turned many contestants'' faces grim.

    As the vine fist dissipated, it intertwined again into a bull, charging wildly at Lot''s body as the magic aura expanded. The dispersed magical aura couldn''t protect him in time, but Lot''s sacred armor and magical shield were there. Two of the shields were shattered by the bull, but the remaining two took the full force of the vine bull''s attack, even causing Lot to slide backward protected by the magical shield, unharmed...

    After stabilizing himself, Lot broke into a cold sweat, secretly relieved that Rody did not follow up with a strike from the spiritual war hammer, or else he might have been embarrassed.

    Just as he was about to say something knightly, he discovered something tugging at his legs.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    That damn vine hadn''t finished its attack yet; somehow, it had turned into a rope around his ankles. The vine bull was just a part of the attack, distracting the magical shields, only to reveal the vine rope trap below.

    If only he could draw his sword now... Lot suppressed the urge to draw his sword, trying to use his fighting spirit to forcibly pull back and snap the vine.

    But once he tugged at the vine rope, it lost all tension, and Lot suddenly lost his balance, staggering backward. Behind him, unbeknownst to him, was a six-armed vine giant, grabbing Lot''s shoulders and arms. The remaining two giant fists heavily slammed into his back.

    Despite the protection of the sacred armor, Lot still felt a heart-piercing pain, his body uncontrollably rushing forward.

    "The second strike..."

    Rody waited in front of Lot, his spiritual war hammer somehow already transformed into a long staff. He swung the spiritual staff, sweeping the falling Lot away. Opposite him, the vine giant transformed into a dual-armed green giant with a massive club, twisting and turning its body in impossible human poses, rotating several times to fling Lot into the sky with a strike.

    The crowd involuntarily let out a loud shout, seeing the action clearly on the big screen.

    Rody had almost calculated all of his opponent''s reactions from the outset. Of course, the vine''s magical transformations were so rapid that if the audience hadn''t seen them in Rody''s battles against orcs and demons, they would scarcely believe their eyes... The fan group''s girls went wild, screaming uncontrollably.

    "The third strike..." At this moment, Rody suddenly bent down to draw magic circles.

    As Lot was falling, he rapidly drew four magic circles, then looked up at Lot descending from the sky and slowly stepped back a few paces.

    Demon Slayer Lot seemed to still be in a daze, falling head down. However, before hitting the ground, his sacred armor shone with a holy light, gently protecting his landing. Even though he was not fully conscious, the armor''s automatic protection prevented a harsh landing, allowing him to float down to the arena as lightly as a feather.

    But just as the temple personnel breathed a sigh of relief, a huge explosion suddenly occurred on the ground where he was floating down.

    Lot was blasted into the sky once again, and this time, he was falling out of the arena...

    People didn¡¯t know what had happened, but they were sure it was related to the magic circles Rody had quickly drawn. Everyone was ready to stand and applaud for Rody. The miraculous kid was just so clever and likable. Giving him even the slightest chance meant inevitable defeat under his cunning strategy.

    Ice Demon Gao remained expressionless, while Red-Haired Saul gave Rody a thumbs-up.

    Dragon Knight Nutidora and Prince Vincent both humphed, their faces showing disdain but their eyes revealing shock and wariness.

    No one doubted Lot''s defeat, as he was sure to fall outside the arena, and the only one who could save himself from this fate was still dazed. The pop diva raised her magic loudspeaker, ready to declare Rody''s victory the moment Lot hit the ground.

    But then, an unexpected change occurred...

    A beam of holy light shot from Lot''s sacred armor, and a magnificent two-winged Power Angel emerged from the light, catching Lot''s body and flying him back to the arena. The audience was stunned. What was happening? An angel''s descent? Or what did it mean? Although the rules allowed contestants to use combat pets, even humanoid ones, surely even temple knights shouldn''t be able to bring angels directly into the fight?

    This was simply unfair!

    "I am the Power Angel of justice Lot Knight believes in. As his guardian angel, I cannot watch him suffer from schemes and treachery. This cunning human in front of you has used illusion and spiritual manipulation, exploiting everyone''s sympathy and an elder brother''s concession, shamelessly attacking Knight Lot. Such despicable methods should be condemned and judged!" The angel, who was always against Rody, appeared, eliciting a mocking smile from Rody.

    "That damn bird-man is here again!" Stanley and other members of the elite team jumped up, cursing loudly.

    "Cheating!"

    "Who''s the most shameless, those who ruin the competition are the most shameless!" The fan group''s girls, who would normally go crazy at the sight of an angel descending, were now furious to see him as Rody''s enemy, breaking the rules to rescue Lot, someone who should have fallen out of the arena and been declared a loser.

    "Interesting, really interesting!" Kris''s face was also full of smiles, shaking his head continuously.

    "Great and righteous angel, your descent is our honor, but this is a Magic Martial Arts competition, not a murder. Please put down Knight Lot and let him and Lieutenant Rody continue their match!" The pop diva reminded the angel not to think he could intervene anytime just because he was an angel. On the contrary, his appearance was not so welcome now, as he had disrupted everyone''s match and violated the rules of the tournament.

    "Welcome Phoebus, messenger of the God of Light, symbol of holiness!" People from the temple stood up, chanting hymns of praise.

    "I will not prevent Knight Lot from battling this cunning human. Although I have no fondness for this cunning human, my descent will only be to announce the will of the God of Light after the end of the Magic Martial Arts Competition..." The Power Angel Phoebus emitted a dazzling radiance, spreading throughout the colossal arena, dazzling and overwhelming people with the immense power of light.

    He took his seat at the center of the temple¡¯s main stand, under the respectful invitation of the Red Archbishop Gao Pero and King William II, overseeing the entire arena.

    The arrival of Power Angel Phoebus left people with mixed feelings. An angel''s descent is a joyous honor, but he came to disrupt the Magic Martial Arts competition, and it seemed not just to rescue Knight Lot. It appeared he had something significant to announce. Everyone was unsure what it could be. Was it about the orcs and demons invading again? That seemed unlikely, as they had been defeated, and such urgent war matters wouldn''t be postponed until after the competition... Could the God of Light be rewarding humanity or showing a miracle?

    Why didn''t the angel favor the miraculous kid Lieutenant Rody? Lieutenant Rody was not only a human war hero but also a great inventor benefiting the country and people. Why didn''t he win the angel''s favor? Was it just because he was an illegitimate child? Or because he represented the Felik Duchy? Or was it because Phoebus, the Power Angel, was Lot''s guardian angel, and seeing Lot defeated by Rody, he felt particularly disgusted with Rody?

    People couldn''t guess, but one thing was certain ¨C everyone was holding a grudge.

    Had the arrival not been an angel, boos and rotten eggs would have already been thrown.

    Whether Demon Slayer Lot defeated the miraculous kid Rody, or vice versa, everyone had no objections. Many hoped for Rody''s victory, but even if he lost to Lot, they would have accepted it. What was unbearable was that Rody had already knocked Lot out of the arena, but this angel intervened, violating the competition''s rules.

    Therefore, although no one dared to boo, they did not respond to the angel''s descent with applause or cheers. Instead, they protested in silence...

    "I, too, will give you three chances to strike," Rody said, smiling at Lot who had fully recovered and stood up in the holy light. "I did use a strategy just now, but now, it''s your turn to attack me. Knight Lot, I now return to you the opportunity to strike three times!"

    "Way to go, Rody!" The crowd erupted upon hearing this.

    "Wow, Rody, you''re the best! We love you, you''re the greatest man!" The girls from the fan group screamed excitedly. This was the angel in their hearts; this was their hero!

    "Clap, clap, clap, clap!" Applause rang out enthusiastically, as people vented their displeasure, clapping wildly in relief at Rody''s words.

    "Let''s see how long you keep smiling!" The Power Angel Phoebus''s eyes revealed hatred. Having been humiliated multiple times in front of Rody, he had never hated a human more. Seeing Rody''s mocking smile filled him with seething rage.

 Chapter 140: Persecution

    Rody turned the vine into a whip, wrapping it around himself, and beckoned to Lot.

    Lot snorted coldly and shot towards Rody like lightning, leaving a trail of afterimages in mid-air. Before he even arrived, his sword qi had already torn through the air. The hard stone surface of the arena was marked with a long crack by his sword qi, stretching straight from his hand towards Rody''s feet.

    With a nimble side somersault, Rody dodged the direct attack of the sword qi.

    He tucked in his knees and dodged Lot''s subsequent waist-high slash. Hitting the ground with one palm, his body bounced up, evading Lot''s whirlwind-like flurry of slashes for the third time. The vine rapidly spread on the ground, pulling Rody through the air, allowing him to glide effortlessly to the other side of the arena. Lot''s sword qi and flurry of slashes missed, and turning back, he found Rody standing steadily in his original position, slowly beckoning to him again.

    Lot was furious, but the audience applauded vigorously, cheering for Rody.

    Although just a one-star novice magic apprentice without a magic shield or fighting spirit protection, the miraculous kid''s agility and perfect coordination with the vine were truly astonishing.

    "Go Rody, you''re the best, we support you, keep it up, keep it up!" The girls from the fan group jumped and shouted.

    "Fight, hit him hard, make him lose his teeth!" Stanley jumped up excitedly.

    Lot swung his sword continuously, unleashing dozens of sword qi, surrounding Rody''s position. No matter where Rody tried to dodge, up, down, left, or right, he couldn''t escape the dense sword qi.

    Everyone''s hearts were in their throats, wondering if Rody could dodge it.

    There seemed no way for a one-star novice magic apprentice to evade such dense sword qi attacks. It was impossible to dodge without a magic shield or fighting spirit protection, or by flying into the air.

    Rody didn''t move; he lacked the ability to fly away.

    Countless sword qis slashed through his body, hissing as they left numerous marks, as if he was being sliced into countless pieces.

    People covered their eyes, unable to bear the sight of him dying on the spot. Without magic or fighting spirit protection, it was impossible for him to survive under such a barrage of sword qi. But when people moved their hands away from their faces, they were shocked to find Rody still standing in the same place, the stone floor beneath his feet marked with sword qi slashes.

    If not for those marks, they wouldn''t believe that Rody had just safely passed through the dense sword qi.

    "What exactly happened just now? Magic cameraman, please replay the footage and slow it down fifty times so that everyone can see how Lieutenant Rody did it!" The pop diva''s request echoed everyone''s thoughts.

    "Yes." The magic cameraman replayed the footage, slowing it down for a closer look.

    In the slowed-down replay, people could see Rody''s feet moving in a mysterious, incredibly graceful manner, akin to an elf wandering through a flower field or a white crane dancing in the snow.

    As Lot''s sword qi continuously attacked, Rody first moved slightly slower towards the later attacks, then towards those brushing past him. He perfectly glided through the tiny gaps between the sword qi, as effortlessly as a fish swimming through coral reefs, as easily as a dancer letting his partner pass under his arm, as naturally as a breeze passing through willow branches...

    The tiny gaps created by the swinging of the sword qi allowed him to precisely capture and navigate through them.

    Even in the replay, people watched with bated breath, not daring to disturb his fluid movements. Any slight error in such navigation could have disastrous consequences, but Rody''s movements were flawlessly executed, beyond criticism, only deserving of admiration. If an ordinary person tried to replicate his movements, not to mention avoiding incoming sword qi, even walking slowly in a fixed position would be difficult. Rody''s ability to capture and dodge the sword qi attacks was so impressive that even the agile Ghost Stinger and Shadow Thief were left astounded.

    "Clap, clap, clap, clap..." The audience''s applause erupted like a torrential downpour.

    There was no other way for them to express their excitement.

    Everyone wanted to cheer, but excitement choked their voices, unable to shout out at that moment. What they witnessed was not just a competition, but a perfect display of martial arts as an art form.

    "I wasn''t worried at all, you know? I knew he could do it! He''s our leader, understand? He''s the miraculous kid, he can do anything!" Stanley yelled excitedly, although he had been very worried, he would never admit he doubted Rody''s ability.

    "This guy is a formidable opponent!" Dragon Knight Nutidora and Prince Vincent exchanged glances, their eyes showing fear.

    "Good, good! I like that footwork, oh, I need to practice it!" Red-Haired Saul clapped his hands enthusiastically.

    "Interesting." Ice Demon Gao humphed lightly but nodded in approval.

    "There''s more interesting stuff to come. If you try, you''ll know his prowess," Kris said, standing not far from Ice Demon Gao. He smiled slightly, clapping his hands, his expression a mix of pride and arrogance.

    In the arena, Lot, hearing the thunderous applause, turned pale with anger, knowing the applause was not for him.

    He slowly sheathed his Demon Slayer Silver Sword and charged towards Rody.

    In the moment before reaching him, his treasure unsheathed faster than lightning, slashing powerfully at Rody''s waist. If the sword qi had been released earlier, Rody could have dodged, but if it was released at the last moment, could Rody still avoid it? In a situation where one couldn''t predict his own attack mode, any movement would only create an opening for his own attack.

    Lot didn''t care whether this sword strike would cut Rody in half. He only knew that killing Rody as quickly as possible was the best method.

    Every minute Rody remains on this stage increases the audience''s favor towards him.

    He must die, and the sooner the better.

    Rody allowed Lot''s sword to cut him in half, and his upper body somersaulted to the ground...

    "Wow!" the crowd exclaimed in shock.

    "My God! Rody, Rody is done for!" Many people jumped up in fright.

    "No! Don''t, please!" The girls from the fan group nearly cried in horror, hardly daring to look at what was happening in the arena.

    However, as soon as Lot sheathed his sword, Rody straightened up, unharmed except for a cut in his clothes at the abdomen. This left Lot completely dumbfounded, unable to fathom how Rody could have dodged under such circumstances.

    At the pop diva''s signal, the magic cameraman replayed the scene three times in slow motion.

    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    It took three viewings for the audience to clearly see what happened.

    At the moment of the sword qi''s impact, Rody''s eyes were closed, and as the sword edge passed, his upper body performed a forward somersault.

    While flipping, his legs kicked straight out, stretching his body in mid-air, allowing Lot''s Demon Slayer Silver Sword to slash just beneath him. The illusion of speed made it look like he was split in half and the upper half flew away.

    The audience didn''t have time to ponder why Rody could dodge Lot''s waist-high sword slash with his eyes closed; they just clapped frantically.

    It was thrilling!

    Among all the contestants, perhaps only the miraculous kid could perform such an incredible and beautiful dodge. As a novice magic apprentice, he stood his ground against the powerful temple knight, not only holding his own but also effortlessly outmaneuvering him.

    No wonder he was invincible on the orc and demon battlefield, returning triumphant with zero casualties.

    "God of Light above, mental imprisonment," Lot suddenly took out a scroll and unfurled it.

    A beam of light rapidly expanded, shooting out thousands of light strands, eventually engulfing the entire arena like a sea of light. When the light dissipated, Rody was found lying in the center of the arena, his ever-present life vine nowhere to be seen.

    The crowd was astounded. What kind of power was this, so domineering?

    The miraculous kid, impervious to sword qi, was now lying on the ground after a flash of holy light? Even his summoned vine was forcibly unsummoned and vanished? Those in the know turned pale, while those unaware were confused and still discussing. The fan group and the elite team all stood up anxiously, looking at Rody in the arena, their hearts filled with worry.

    Everyone knew that Rody was a one-star novice magic apprentice who couldn''t even cast a small fireball, using his mental power as his strength.

    If there was any power that could imprison his mental power, then he was in danger...

    Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands, Rody stood up.

    Rody''s face was expressionless, with even a hint of a mocking smile at the corner of his lips. Slowly, he drew a silver dagger from his bosom and made a cut on his arm. Blood dripped down, and the green vine, in response to the blood on the ground, shot out rapidly. Before the crowd could cheer for him, countless points of light emerged in the arena, forming a hand of light that grabbed the green vine and then disappeared with it.

    In mid-air, it seemed as if angels were chanting, with countless points of light forming light feathers that fluttered down. Amid these beautiful and pure light feathers, Rody seemed to be struck by a barrage of arrows, clutching his body in agony, blood gushing from his mouth. His golden mental power, not to mention forming a war hammer, didn''t even take shape as a single thread of light, dissipating into nothingness. Despite repeatedly cutting his arm and shedding blood, Rody couldn¡¯t summon the life vine.

    Lot charged at Rody, flashing past him.

    Rody roared and quickly took off his clothes, throwing them to the ground. The clothes shattered on the ground, turning into stone.

    Rody''s right leg, like his clothes, was also turning to stone. The black petrification rapidly spread up his right leg, stone-encasing it up to the knee in an instant. Then, Lot coldly smiled, waving his Demon Slayer Sword, slashing out continuous sword qi. With one leg petrified, it was impossible for Rody to dodge through the sword qi as he had before, requiring the butterfly-like coordination of both feet.

    Faced with continuous sword qi, what could Rody, with a petrified right leg, do? Lot didn¡¯t give him time to think, slashing out double the amount of sword qi. In the final slash, he sheathed his sword and rushed forward, preparing to deliver a waist-high slash to Rody, as he had done before.

    This time, without his right leg, could Rody leap like a fish as before?

    ...

    "Ahhh..."

    A scream rang out, but it wasn¡¯t Rody¡¯s; it was Lot''s.

    People didn''t understand what happened, although a few powerful beings like Ice Demon Gao did. The magic cameraman was the first to replay the footage in slow motion, slowed down to the limit, a hundred times slower, allowing everyone to clearly see the entire sequence of the fight.

    Amidst the countless sword qi, Rody didn¡¯t dodge. He protected his head and face with his arms and bent down.

    The sharp sword qi slashed across his body, causing instant injuries and blood to splatter. At this moment, Lot charged forward, his Demon Slayer Sword flashing out of its sheath. But Rody simultaneously reached out to forcibly grab Lot''s sword. Lot''s foot heavily kicked Rody¡¯s petrified right leg, toppling him, while the sword was pulled from Rody¡¯s hand and thrust into his left chest.

    As Rody''s body slid to the side, the bloodied sword slipping out, he somersaulted downwards, backward-kicking with his left leg towards Lot''s face.

    As his left foot repelled Lot, his right hand holding the silver dagger used the momentum of the kick to swiftly stab, stopping at Lot''s throat. Although the demon-breaking dagger pierced through Lot''s protective magic shield and fighting spirit, creating a red dot on Lot''s throat, Rody''s expression of anger softened, eventually withdrawing his hand.

    But as he withdrew, Lot thrust his Demon Slayer Sword once more, piercing Rody''s left chest completely through the back.

    The fierce expression on Lot''s face was clearly seen by everyone, forming a stark contrast with the sorrowful expression on Rody''s face. Once again, people saw that right after being stabbed, as Lot was about to punch Rody''s head, Rody lifted his left hand to block Lot''s energy-charged fist. Rody''s left leg kicked high, holding the demon-breaking silver dagger that had fallen from his right hand and nailed it into Lot''s left eye.

    That was the reason for Lot''s agonized scream.

    Lot, covering his face with his hands and bleeding profusely, howled in pain like a wounded hyena.

    Rody, standing not far from him, was covered in blood.

    He stood upright, slowly pulling the Demon Slayer Sword that had pierced his chest, eventually dropping the blood-soaked blade to the ground with a clang. Everyone watched him speechlessly, unable to offer any words of comfort. They couldn''t imagine the depth of sorrow Rody was experiencing. Betrayed and assassinated previously by strangers, and now once again under the eyes of a hundred thousand people, he had been betrayed by a family member, his own brother...

    In the last moments, he spared his brother, despite knowing his brother''s intent to kill.

    But he withdrew the demon-breaking dagger.

    The anger on his face softened in that moment, resembling a saint''s mercy. But Lot took advantage of that moment to thrust his sword straight into Rody''s chest. The fierce expression that appeared on Lot''s face in that instant sent chills down everyone''s spine. Such a terrifying grimace was something people associated with evil demons in the scriptures of light, yet it appeared on the face of a temple knight.

    And this knight, under the watchful eyes of everyone, plunged his sword into the heart of his own brother.

    Despite Rody being an illegitimate son and popular among girls, as an elder brother, he shouldn''t have struck such a merciless blow, something even a stranger would hesitate to do.

    "I didn''t know you hated me so much, nor that you wanted to kill me so badly!" Nearly everyone was moved to tears by Rody''s soft, sorrowful words, which were more heartbreaking than thunderous cries or roars of rage. The entire arena was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard, everyone holding back tears, listening intently to Rody''s words.

    "Lot, I never wanted to acknowledge this truth, never. General Quentin asked me if I wanted to investigate the nonexistence of the vanguard army. He knew you gave the order, that you couldn''t be unaware there was no vanguard army... But considering you were my brother, and since I returned alive from the land of evil, I didn''t want to bring up the past. Every member of our elite squad knew, even before we set off, that there was no vanguard army. By your order, we were sent to our deaths, transporting supplies... We are soldiers, duty-bound to obey orders! Lot, you exploited this, under General Quentin''s command, sacrificing our small unit, turning us, the elites from various nations, into unarmed logistics soldiers. We didn''t protest; we are soldiers!" Blood gushed from Rody''s mouth, contrasting with the blood from his chest, a harrowing sight.

    "..." The hundred thousand spectators silently shed tears. Although Rody didn''t cry out, everyone felt his pain deeply.

    "Losing you as a brother, I don''t feel regretful. In the land of evil, your captain of the guards'' sword strike gave me over a hundred brothers, not of the same blood but more than ten times closer. They shared life and death with me, not born of the same mother or father, but we are closer than brothers! I should thank you, Lot. I never had a brother''s affection, it was your assassination attempt that brought me these hundred brothers!"

    "Boss, oh... oh!" Stanley burst into tears.

    "I knew it was you, Lot, but I never said it. My comrades also knew it was you who sent the assassins, but they kept silent for my sake. Look at Keri, General Quentin''s son, this man who lost his arm for me, he is my true brother, my kin. He traded an arm for my life, and he even joked afterwards that trading an arm for the life of a military genius was a matter of pride and honor!" Rody coughed, blood spurting from his mouth.

    "Rody, my brother," Keri rushed out, shouting: "Not just an arm, even if it were two arms, or all of our arms, or our lives, we would not hesitate to exchange them for yours!"

    "Do you hear? This is the voice of my brother...cough, cough," Rody slowly sat down.

    "Rody, we are all here, always here! You have no brother, but we are all your brothers! Even if a villain betrays you, we will never, never do that!" The elite team, with tears streaming down their faces, shouted out loud. Keri rushed to support Rody, tears flooding his face, saying, "Let''s go, Rody, let''s go home! Mom is waiting for us at home..."

    "Mom..." Upon hearing this, Rody''s tightly closed eyes slowly opened, his pupils dilated and unfocused, muttering: "I think I see mom, she''s smiling! Hold me, mom..."

    "Give him to me, quickly!" Kris rushed out, taking Rody into his arms and feeding him a mysterious potion.

    In an instant, Rody''s body emitted a faint rainbow light.

    Kris conjured a white blanket, wrapped Rody in it, and gently picked him up. The elite team rushed forward, confronting the temple''s people attending to Lot. Kris shouted, "Elite team, let''s go! Knights of the temple, if you want to assassinate Rody next time, please don''t stab his left chest again, because his heart is located slightly to the right compared to normal people. Of course, it would be best if you could step over our dead bodies before doing so!"

    "This is slander, the greatest slander! You want to use malicious attacks to cover up your desecration of the gods!" Archbishop Gao Pero stood up and coldly snorted: "You want to use this to cover up that Rody is a necromancer? Ridiculous! People of the gods, Rody, your miraculous kid, is a wicked necromancer!"

    "Wow..." The crowd was not shocked but in uproar, unable to believe that the archbishop of the temple would say such things at this moment.

    "What else can you do besides labeling those you want to kill as evil heretics? What else can you do besides persecuting the heroes who have defeated orcs and demons in the land of evil, overshadowing the fame of your temple?" Kris scoffed, causing another uproar among the people.

    "In the land of evil, your people were the first to arrive for the rescue, why did you want to kill us to silence us? It''s because you are afraid of us..." Keri also shouted loudly.

    "You fear Rody, fear his military genius and wisdom!" Stanley roared angrily.

    "You of the temple fear Rody, fearing that he has stolen your people''s hearts and prestige! You bloated, useless trash! In our eyes, you''re worse than dog shit!" This vehement curse was, of course, from Lopeck.

    "Blinded Elite Team, you are deeply bewitched by evil, with only slaughter and bloodshed in your hearts, unable to discern right from wrong. No matter what you say, it cannot cover up the truth. Rody is a wicked necromancer! His blood is blasphemous. At the age of eight, the God of Light revealed that he is the source of evil. When Lot was about to burn him at the stake, he fled with his mother to the rebellious nation of Felik, gradually increasing his evil necromantic powers! You saw, in the recent divine law of the God of Light, Rody''s necromantic powers were imprisoned and sealed, while Lot, a knight of justice on the same arena, remained unharmed and even had his powers doubled," Archbishop Gao Pero exclaimed.

    "That scroll''s power of law would imprison not only Rody''s mental power but even my magical power," Ice Demon Gao coldly snorted.

    "Rody uses mental power, absolutely not necromantic power! There is no necromantic power in the world that shines bright gold. Only gods, benevolent sages, or powerful archmages possess such pure mental power!" Red-Haired Saul also stood up to refute loudly.

    "My arrival is to fulfill the will of the God of Light," said the Power Angel Phoebus, flying in mid-air and shining with thousands of holy lights, solemnly decreeing, "In the name of the God of Light, I pronounce the evil human male Rody guilty of blasphemy, necromancy, slaughter, and bloody destruction!"

    "Wow..." The crowd gasped in shock.

    Even William II and the other royals stood up in disbelief.

    To deal with one Rody, the temple had resorted to all sorts of means and now was forcefully suppressing the people with the will of the God of Light. Did they really have such a grudge against Rody that they had to destroy him?

    "We''ve always said, whoever wants to kill Rody must step over our dead bodies!" Kris''s statement put the entire Elite Team on alert.

    "Anyone defending the evil man Rody, the temple declares them complicit in sin, subject to judgment, no pardons!" Archbishop Gao Pero waved his hand, and all the knights and magicians of the temple surrounded them. Thousands of temple soldiers descended from the sky, filling the sky.

    "Can everyone listen to me for a moment?" Suddenly, amidst the chaos, people heard Rody''s voice...

 Chapter 141: Rody, You Are a Hero

    Everyone quieted down, including the weeping girls from the Qinqin Fan Love Group.

    Everyone wanted to hear what Rody had to say at this moment.

    Even Rody''s opponents, or those who saw him as a lifelong rival, felt that Rody''s life was like two extremes of ice and fire. On one side, there were comrades and girls who crazily supported him; on the other, powerful forces that wished to see him dead. Such forces were formidable enough to make anyone cautious, including kings who dared not utter a word against them.

    Was Rody really a necromancer?

    Was that why the temple was so desperate to destroy him, tearing apart its fa?ade of righteousness and charity? Unless Rody was an evil necromancer, offending the justice that the temple fiercely protected...

    Everyone, including his enemies, was watching him intently, curious about what he would say.

    "You must be wondering, how a novice magic apprentice, who can''t even cast a small fireball and is the most useless magician, could stand in the top hundred of the Magic and Martial Arts Tournament, competing with elites from various countries, even defeating powerful temple knights. How could a one-star novice magic apprentice be so strong?" Rody''s pale face showed a mocking smile, very light and faint, "If we go back seventeen years to the birth of the third young master of the Laien family in the Koro territory, people cheered for him because the Laien family had a once-in-a-century magic genius. Father Saito who baptized him confirmed this, noticing that the third young master''s mental power was like a rich gemstone mine, with unlimited potential for growth..."

    Many people knew a bit about Rody''s past.

    But more were unaware.

    "When he was five years old, the Laien family''s third young master was determined to have no magical sensitivity, turning a once-in-a-century future magic genius into a laughingstock! At eight, the temple declared his blood blasphemed the gods, refusing him the chance to become a sacred and great Light magician! Later, the third young master of Korodi was not only no longer a young master but became a bird catcher of Koro," Rody said with a faint smile: "After eight, he had to pick wild vegetables and catch fish to feed himself and his mother, his young mother weak and bedridden, longing for the man who had driven them out."

    Many people shed sympathetic tears upon hearing this.

    It was hard for them to imagine an eight-year-old child, abandoned by his father, struggling for survival with his mother.

    "To earn a bit of bread money, the young third young master would do any laborious work for others, shoeing horses, burning charcoal, chopping wood, cutting pig grass, herding cattle, washing clothes... He would do anything to survive, even without pay, even if it was just a hard piece of black bread. He survived and grew up, learning to hunt to make a living," Rody said calmly. "If he didn¡¯t have two brothers close to becoming temple knights, then Koro would have had one more outstanding hunter. But when he learned that a half-brother intended to burn him at the stake for blasphemy and evil, he fled Koro overnight with his mother, enduring hardships, arriving in Felik through a storm, hiding in this sparsely populated forest duchy until today. In his undisturbed days, he grew up cherishing his time. He didn¡¯t need magical sensitivity; with just mental power, he could become strong, so the world had one more Magic Kid Rody..."

    "Whatever you say can''t hide your evil deeds." Lot, whose injuries had greatly improved under holy light magic but was doomed to lose his left eye, roared angrily: "Why don''t you tell everyone that when you fled Koro, you used despicable means to kill my loyal servant Marcus and his wife?"

    "Everything you said, Lieutenant Rody, is not true, just an excuse to hide your identity as an evil necromancer. You exploit everyone''s sympathy, making them pity your plight. But, Lieutenant Rody, you underestimate the justice of the temple. For justice, no matter who you are, no matter how many people want to protect you, no matter how many are bewitched by your mental manipulation, we will judge you!" Archbishop Gao Pero declared solemnly: "In the name of the God of Light, we will not tolerate any evil on our land."

    "You keep saying Rody is an evil necromancer, but what proof do you have? You trash!" Stanley jumped out, roaring like thunder.

    "I''ll prove it." Suddenly, Temple Knight Terry, Lot''s elder brother, descended from the sky.

    "Everyone knows you''re a lapdog of the temple, get lost, don''t bark here!" Jesse and others immediately retorted, and the girls from the Qinqin Fan Love Group in the audience were crying and scolding Rody''s heartless elder brother.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, kings and distinguished guests, this is a message from my father," Terry raised a memory crystal.

    "..." Wawa, the little hostess, didn''t take it, but a magician beside her did and played the stored image. Everyone was extremely quiet, wanting to know what Rody''s father, who had abandoned him years ago, would say. The Elite Team and the girls from the Qinqin Fan Love Group''s hearts sank, knowing that this father, who had abandoned Rody early on, probably had nothing good to say.

    The magic image showed a study room. Lord Warren of Koro, the father of the Magic Kid, sat upright and serious, his face solemn and his eyes sad. He said slowly, "To everyone seeing this image, please listen to me. Do not be deceived by my abandoned son, Rody. He is indeed a necromancer, without a doubt."

    The crowd erupted in uproar, shocked that Rody''s father would speak such words.

    "My abandoned son, Rody, craved power and ceaselessly practiced evil necromancy. He accidentally discovered the skeletal remains of a necromancer imprisoned by our ancestors in a secret chamber in the mountains, inheriting necromantic powers, thus transforming into the so-called Magic Kid... I cannot determine whether he is my abandoned son or the evil necromancer Nicholas from three hundred years ago," Lord Warren spoke as if about someone else''s son, his expression stern and composed.

    The people clamored, too disturbed to listen to the rest of Lord Warren''s speech.

    Many felt sorry for Rody. Not only did he have two brothers intent on his death, but also such a father, a great blow in his life. Even if Rody was a necromancer, he had not harmed anyone and was a hero in the human protection war.

    Having suffered hardships and battled on the battlefield, he also made countless inventions to facilitate people''s lives. Now, the Temple and his father sought to kill him over a possibly untrue necromancer identity, giving him no chance to explain or defend himself.

    "Wawa, the little hostess, suddenly spoke: "Ladies and gentlemen, kings and guests, there is something we need to know about the difference between evil necromancers and ordinary people. Necromancers worship the dark gods and must sacrifice large amounts of blood daily to maintain their powers. The stronger the necromancer, the more blood is needed. They must kill daily, not only to drink blood but also to maintain their evil power. Though powerful, their bodies are corroded by dark elements, eventually becoming skeletal. Have any of you seen such signs in Lieutenant Rody? What does this mean? Maybe he is just mentally superior, not an evil necromancer!"

    "No, he is," Archbishop Gao Pero of the Temple immediately denied. "He absolutely is."

    "Terry, loudly addressing the kings, guests, and the wise little hostess, said, "What you see is an illusion. Rody is adept at disguising. He channels his blood sacrifices and lives onto the battlefield, making everyone see only his bravery, not realizing he is killing and sacrificing daily to dark gods. As for his body not yet being corrupted to a skeletal state, he hasn¡¯t reached that level yet and is very skilled in disguise magic. Plus, his reclusive nature has kept people from noticing any abnormalities in his body."

    "Use his blood to prove that this bastard is an evil necromancer!" After hastily bandaging himself, Lott jumped out and shouted, "Bring the holy water! Let his blood drop into it, and everyone will understand immediately!" Temple mages and knights brought a dish of holy water and two bottles. All the magic reporters crowded close, focusing their memory crystals on the holy water. King William II and many royals stood up, watching the upcoming test. Is Rody really an evil necromancer? If so, the holy water will react; if not, there will be no reaction.

    When the blood from the first bottle was poured into the holy water, it bubbled fiercely, settling down only after a while. The temple mage explained to the stunned crowd that this was the blood of an evil demon. The second bottle''s blood was gently dripped in, and the entire dish of holy water remained calm at first, but just as everyone was about to relax, it began to boil intensely.

    The crowd gasped in shock, Rody''s blood seemed even more evil than the demon''s?

    "Why are you all just looking at the dish in the temple mage''s hand?" Chris stood up, holding a bottle in his hand. He held up the prayer holy water, glowing with holy light, for everyone to see clearly. Then, he cut Rody''s hand with a dagger, letting his blood drip directly into the prayer holy water.

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    "Huh?" The people waited, but saw no reaction.

    Why did the same holy water and Rody''s blood produce two completely different results? Perhaps one party''s holy water and blood had been tampered with. Though unsure who did the tampering, the crowd was more inclined to believe in the authenticity of Chris''s side. Prayer holy water can''t be faked; it''s the strongest, purest holy water, feared even by demons, and can only be obtained by the most devout through prolonged prayer.

    As for the blood, Chris had cut Rody''s skin in full view of everyone, leaving no room for deception.

    "That Chris tampered with it, we should redo the test with our people!" Lott accused loudly.

    "Right, change to your people, so you can secretly replace Rody''s blood with demon blood and deceive the tens of thousands present," retorted Chris. As soon as he finished, the elite squad booed, and hot-tempered members like Stanley and Lopeck cursed angrily.

    "If you think this is the only evidence, you are greatly mistaken," Lott shouted, "Come out."

    A man dressed as a mercenary walked out timidly. Seeing him, the elite squad was stunned.

    Rody''s expression remained unchanged, but the mockery at the corner of his lips deepened. Chris looked towards Big Beard Maru, who was rushing over from a distance, and angrily shouted at the mercenary, "Bern, what are you doing here? Are you going to testify for the temple that Lieutenant Rody is a necromancer?"

    "Protect the witness!" Terry gestured, and a dozen temple knights surrounded Bern for protection. He pushed aside the angry Big Beard Maru and patted the mercenary Bern on the shoulder, saying, "Speak freely, tell everything you know. Under God''s glorious light, no one can harm you here! As a friend of justice and a witness against evil, you will be under the strong protection of our temple for life!"

    "Lieutenant Ro-Rody, he, he is a nec-necromancer, I, I have seen..." Bern, the mercenary, stammered out his testimony.

    He claimed to have seen Rody summon skeletons to fight against orcs and wield a dry bone hand to cast necromancy spells, even using evil necromancy during orc interrogations.

    Bern implied that Rody''s easy victory over orc soldiers was due to his use of evil necromancy.

    "You bastard, you... your conscience must be eaten by dogs, I curse you! Who saved you? Do you remember who saved you when you were poisoned by a snake? You trash! Who saved you when you were almost killed by an orc berserker? Who gave you food when you had none? Bern, I dare say, you are worse than a dog! If Rody had saved a dog, it would still loyally guard his door. You son of a bitch!" Big Beard Maru, with veins bulging in anger, wanted to rush and beat Bern but was kicked away by the temple knights. Keri pulled him back, and the elite squad members restrained him.

    "Be angry, because he spoke the truth, hitting right at your heart!" Terry laughed loudly.

    "Captain... I, waaah, waaaah!" Bern, the mercenary, collapsed weakly to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. He crawled towards Big Beard Maru, but before he could reach his captain, Maru''s furious punch sent him flying, blood spattering on the ground.

    "Don''t call me captain, you piece of shit, I don''t know you!" Big Beard Maru roared, seething with rage.

    "After the trial of Rody, we will judge all the crimes of you evil allies." Terry had the weeping Bern taken away by the temple knights and sneered, "Do you still need evidence? I know you won''t give up easily. Come on, play this again. When you think you can exonerate Rody after all your tricks, you won''t expect that we have secret footage that you don''t know about... God is omnipotent, watching you clowns from the sky. Do you think you can deceive the gods? Fools, let me tell you, that''s a big joke!"

    Another magician approached the memory crystal and played it. In the footage, people''s attention returned to the blood-and-fire battlefield of the land of evil. The number of orc soldiers far exceeded the elite squad, and everyone was retreating rapidly, with Rody and Chris at the rear, blocking the orc soldiers.

    People saw that besides the life vines, Rody summoned an old goblin wizard to help cast spells. But it was a drop in the bucket. As the elite squad was about to be overtaken, and the mercenaries at the back, including the big-bearded Maru who was delayed in retreating due to filming and the previously mentioned mercenary Bern, were caught up by the orcs. People saw Rody summon new war pets, two mantises, and a rabbit, attacking the orc soldiers swiftly.

    Behind Rody, a skeleton appeared, casting black magic with a bone staff, casting it on the two mantises and the rabbit. Most orc warriors were attracted by the magic, chasing the two mantises and the rabbit. But the orc berserker pursuing Bern was stronger-willed and farther away, and it wasn''t affected. At the critical moment, Rody, holding a bone hand, cast a black beam, stiffening the orc berserker. Then, two strange creatures, not quite human or skeletal, under Rody''s command, carried away Bern while fearlessly attacking the orc berserker.

    Countless orc warriors surged up, chopping the obstructing skeletal creature into more than ten pieces. Rody used the life vine to shoot and retrieve the skeleton''s head, then, pulling Chris, followed the main force at high speed. Along the way, he even summoned several clay creatures to stop the orc soldiers'' pursuit... In this battle, the skeleton mage, goblin wizard, and the sword-wielding skeleton creature were all left with only heads or half bodies.

    In the next battlefield, in a critical moment, Rody summoned them again, incomplete, to rescue his companions. Sometimes, in places with deep mud, Rody used them to explore the way. Or seeing a swamp crocodile, he would use a female skeleton creature to silently drain the life from the crocodile. When the elite squad was exhausted and asleep, it was Rody, using skeleton creatures to guard in the distance... Throughout the battle, Rody summoned and used undead creatures dozens of times, even several times seen using a bone hand to cast black magic.

    People were moved to tears, unsure of what to say. Everyone''s feelings were incredibly complex, filled with emotion, shock, disappointment, fear, passion, sympathy, and... heartache!

    The battle hero in the eyes of the world, that magical boy who seemed capable of anything, was actually a necromancer! The temple''s claim was true: he was indeed a necromancer! However, many were also touched by him. Rody never summoned skeleton creatures for himself. It was always when his companions were hurt or in danger. After battles, he would shy away from everyone''s gaze, silently picking up the skeletal remains on the ground, sitting far away, his eyes filled with sorrowful wounds, breaking the heart of anyone who saw him.

    Perhaps becoming a necromancer wasn''t Rody''s wish. Moreover, he was not like those evil necromancers people knew; on the contrary, he was greater, more luminous, and more righteous than anyone... People saw more than once how he drank holy water, and even the skeleton creatures he summoned showed no fear of holy water and holy light magic.

    This secret recording let people understand more about the hardships of the elite squad and the difficulty of their victories. Without Rody and his fearless, endlessly regenerating skeleton creatures, it would have been hard for the elite squad to survive countless battles unscathed, let alone make it out of the land of evil alive.

    Although it was confirmed that Rody was a necromancer, and people deeply believed it, they couldn''t bring themselves to blame or accuse him... This magical boy Rody, who created zero casualties in the great war against the orc demons, was not wrong, nor was he evil!

    ...

    "Ladies and gentlemen, you have all seen it, haven''t you? If I now say that Rody is an evil necromancer, I believe no one will have any objections! This is his true face; this is why our family had to cast him out; this is why the temple must judge him! In the light of the God, the truth can never be hidden!" Terry laughed triumphantly.

    "By the will of the God of Light, let us judge the evil necromancer Rody!" Phoebus, the archangel of holy light, solemnly declared.

    Thousands of temple knights and temple personnel swiftly surrounded the elite squad, with their spears pointed directly at Rody, who stood in the middle. Prince Norn sighed softly, and William II repeatedly shook his head, both sinking back into their seats, completely concealing themselves. As representatives of the state, they could not say no to the temple for the sake of one Rody, despite regretting his military talent and exceptional wisdom. Now was not the time for them to speak.

    The Queen glanced at her husband, her expression subtly changing. She looked towards the fan group, seeing them holding their heads in grief, and quietly sent a few maids over.

    "A bright and great angel, God''s mercy and majesty are with us, Rody is not at fault, why not let him repent and atone?" A woman''s shrill voice cried out, eliciting agreement from thousands, starting with the fan group, then softening the hearts of all the girls, and finally many men joined in, over and over again.

    "Forgive Rody, Forgive Rody, Forgive Rody..." Nearly a hundred thousand people were chanting in unison, more and more joining in.

    "Forgive..." In front of magic screens around the world, though knowing those at the venue could not hear, countless people still excitedly stood up, fists raised, loudly calling for ''Forgiveness for Rody''. This was everyone''s heartfelt desire, regardless of Rody''s identity as a necromancer, he was not an evil person, but just a child struggling in a cruel fate!

    "Impossible! People of the earth, do not be deceived and beguiled by evil, God''s will never changes!" The archangel Phoebus firmly refused the people''s request.

    "Charge, take down all the evil allies!" Lot shouted excitedly.

    "Wait!" Rody stood up, his face glowing, scaring the temple knights, who stepped aside to let him through. Rody looked back at the elite squad, seeing his companions'' faces streaming with tears and their look of despair, he smiled and said, "Yes, it''s evil me who deceived them. I admit, I am an evil necromancer, skilled in beguiling minds. I''ve manipulated the minds of every member of the elite squad, and even those girls in the fan group... they''ve been under my control without knowing, and are still not awake to this moment..."

    "Take him down!" Terry drew his sword and shouted authoritatively.

    "Why so hasty? Don''t you even have the patience to hear me out? Holy and righteous knights of the temple, is it your style to harm the innocent rather than protect the souls of mankind?" Rody laughed, "Everyone knows, when a necromancer dies, all his evil vanishes. So, when I die, everyone will wake up, including the elite squad and the fan group... Righteous knights, aren''t you here to judge evil? Come on, I accept your judgment! Hurry and take me away before I change my mind... The angel Phoebus surely knows, capturing evil me is not that easy..."

    "No, boss, what are you talking about?" Stanley shouted, "Why are you admitting this? Why are you doing this? You fool!"

    "We''ll fight them!" Lopek cried, "Do you think we''d let these scumbags take you away? Not even in their dreams!"

    "Brothers, attack!" Jesse also went crazy.

    "Who dares to move?" Chris slapped Jesse, and his hand didn''t stop there, slapping Lopek, Keri, Stanley, one after another, resounding slaps echoed. Chris, with tears streaming down his face, screamed, "All of you stand still, no one moves! Now I''m the deputy squad leader, Rody''s gone, you have to listen to me! Everyone drop your weapons, shut your mouths, and leave this place with me, now! This is an order!"

    "I can''t do that!" Stanley shouted, "I won''t leave, even if it kills me!"

    "I''ll kill you right now!" Chris hit him with several slaps, then punched and kicked Stanley down, yelling at Keri, "Drag this fool away, if you can''t, I''ll kill you too!"

    "You want to leave? Evil allies will be put on the pyre as well!" Lot signaled the temple knights to attack.

    "General Lot... We don''t know any evil necromancer, we have nothing to do with him!" Chris walked in front of Rody, looked at him tearfully, and loudly asked, "I don''t know you, do you know me? Evil necromancer?"

    "I don''t know you!" Rody smiled, "Leave now, I hate seeing men more handsome than me in my life!"

    "You heard him, he doesn''t know us..." Chris shrieked, waving at the elite squad behind him, "Let''s go, this is an order!"

    "Wait a minute, wait a minute! He said he doesn''t know you, Lieutenant Chris, and though I''m skeptical, I''m still pleased to hear such a statement!" Lot laughed loudly: "But just because the evil necromancer doesn''t know you doesn''t mean he doesn''t know your subordinates, and your subordinates might not be the same as you! Lieutenant Chris, have each of your subordinates ask him, otherwise, they cannot leave."

    "I do know him! Lot, you bastard!" Stanley charged out, embracing Rody, only to be knocked down by a heavy punch from Chris. Keri and several members of the elite squad rushed forward, dragging away the shouting Stanley, all while tearfully shouting ''I don''t know him''. Lopek at the back also started to cry and make a scene, and a group of people dragged the stubborn ox, quietly saying ''I don''t know him'', wiping the tears off their faces, and leaving disheartened.

    "Girls of the fan group, if you still wish, then follow me..." Chris didn''t look at those crying girls, but kept turning back to look at Rody. His tear-streaked face made everyone feel heartbroken.

    What were once the best of friends, the most in-sync partners, in such a dire situation, both chose to sever ties with each other for the sake of more lives.

    Perhaps their hearts hadn''t changed, but the situation forcing them to verbally disown each other was frustrating.

    The tears of Chris and the smile on Rody''s face broke everyone''s heart... A magical martial arts competition that was going well, unexpectedly, was changed by an angel from the heavens, bringing a nightmarish night to all. Nobody liked such an ending, nor the process.

    What people really needed was not to see the magical boy turned into a necromancer, but to be brought more surprises by him.

    No one wanted to see Rody judged and sent to the pyre to be burned... Everyone only wished to see his victorious moments, to hear about his new surprises. They might be jealous of his popularity, but even in jealousy, no one wanted to see him die in front of them.

    Because he was the hero in everyone''s hearts!

    No one wanted to see the hero they most admired, took pride in, and boasted about, suddenly destroyed, falling with the stigma of evil, ending his short life on the pyre.

    "Rody, we love you, forever and always, forever, forever! Forever..." The girls of the fan group cried and screamed.

    "You are our hero... Rody, you are the hero!"

    They were numerous and from all walks of life, connected to countless families, so the temple knights of the sanctuary, hearing them, pretended not to hear. While following Chris to leave, these girls of the fan group cried all the way, obviously knowing that thousands of unarmed girls and over a hundred elite members couldn''t stand against the temple''s army.

    Of course, they wouldn''t give up rescuing Rody, and that was precisely the reason they left with Chris.

 Chapter 142: Counterattack

    The citizens of Kamarlon, heavy-hearted, returned home, spending almost the entire night discussing the big event of the magical child Rody''s trial. The next day, they got up early, eager to know how the situation would unfold. What would be the stance of the Human Grand Alliance military? What kind of support would come from the nineteen countries, including Felik? What about the son of the elves, Chris, and the elite squad? Would the interrupted magical martial arts competition continue?

    Everyone left their homes filled with questions, but soon, upon receiving the news, they were all transformed into shock. The elite squad, including Chris, and the girls from the fan group, were taken away by the military overnight. General Quentin, with Marshal Fondsman''s ''Command Ring'', came to take Chris and his group. They had all left through the teleportation gate at midnight. The temple, not falling behind the military in its actions, held a trial meeting overnight and unanimously decided to try Rody at noon the next day.

    All teleportation gates were shut, and the capital of Kamarlon, Bray City, was under tight guard with its gates closed. All citizens were informed to gather at the Garden Square at noon to watch the angel and the temple judge the evil necromancer Rody...

    The magical broadcast repeatedly spread the news of the temple''s trial of the necromancer Rody, and countless people spontaneously went out, forming a huge crowd converging towards the Garden Square. There, the city''s garrison troops and the temple''s holy knights were already in a tight formation, with people only allowed to watch the trial from a designated area outside. Any attempt to cross the boundary would be considered an attempt to rescue the evil and would lead to arrest.

    Overnight, a huge pyre had been erected in the Garden Square. People were no longer strangers to burning evil, and many knew what was about to happen. First would come the holy light''s trial, the temple''s accusation of sins, the punishment of the wicked, followed by repentance and redemption. If the evil person was deemed irredeemable, this step would be skipped, and they would proceed directly to the burning punishment, letting the fierce flames completely consume the evil.

    On the high platform of the pyre, the magical child Rody was bound in magical shackles to a giant silver cross. A dozen holy knights and magic masters were guarding him, with thousands of holy knights below. In the sky were large griffin squadrons and deer-eagle cavalries, and around them were magical alert towers with archers and crossbowmen ready, fearing someone might try to rescue Rody.

    As for the temple''s side, the holy light was continuous, indicating more troops were continuously arriving. Seeing such a formation, people couldn''t help but sigh in despair for Rody...

    Even if the military wanted to intervene for a rescue, it seemed too late. Was the magical child Rody really going to be burned to death here? When everyone''s gaze turned to the high platform where Rody, bound in chains, they were surprised to find him reading a book.

    His hands were tied behind his back, but a magic book floated in front of him, turning pages as he read. The expression on Rody''s face was one of tranquil indifference.

    As if the person about to be burned alive was not himself, but someone else. When the holy knights tried to take his book away, the magic book automatically disappeared. After several attempts, all the holy knights pretended not to see this odd behavior of the magical child. After all, he couldn''t escape, and a magic book wouldn''t make any difference. If he wanted to read, let him read, as long as he didn''t try to beguile the hearts of the world, wasn''t that better? Everyone in the temple acted as if they didn''t see, allowing this magical child to read his book as if no one else was there... People knew Rody well, as gossiping magic journalists had already exposed his behavioral habits.

    The magical child Rody, when idle, liked to read books. But to be so calm and focused on reading a book, knowing that he was about to be burned alive, was beyond everyone''s expectations. Magic journalists used memory crystals to capture this moment, which might be the last surprise the magical child gave to everyone. The delegations from various countries, all in positions prearranged by the temple, set up magical broadcasting devices.

    Citizens across the continent could see the current scene. Last night, the magical child Rody, labeled as an evil necromancer by the temple, was bound under the pyre, about to face the angel''s trial. In the sky, a massive column of holy light descended, and angelic chants echoed throughout Kamarlon. Two four-winged Seraphim descended from the heavens, their divine and majestic presence, glittering like diamonds, made them impossible to look at directly. Following them were five two-winged Powers, equally majestic and sacred, with holy light emanating with every flap of their wings... People looked up, many who believed in the God of Light raised their hands to greet them, praying in unison.

    The red-robed Archbishop Gao Peiro knelt on the ground, hands flat on the ground to welcome the arrival of the two Seraphim. The previously arrived Power angel Phoebus also performed elegant rituals to welcome them.

    "We do not judge directly, nor do we intervene in any national affairs; everything is governed by the people themselves. But to prevent evil backlash, the respected Seraphim sent us. Besides bringing a divine artifact, we will also pray for the world in the main temple of the God of Light..." The pleasant voice of the left Seraphim captivated everyone, as if their souls were cleansed by his words.

    "This divine artifact, imbued with the will of the God of Light, will annihilate any evil under its strike," the right Seraphim granted Phoebus a sphere of holy light.

    After a soul-purifying prayer, the two Seraphim, at the kneeling invitation of Archbishop Gao Peiro, headed to the temple''s teleportation gate, preparing to go to the main temple of the God of Light on Mount Light, to personally pray for all the people to the God of Light, keeping evil at bay forever. Inside the temple, one by one, the red-robed archbishops appeared, and finally, even the current Pope personally welcomed the two noble Seraphim to the main temple of the God of Light on Mount Light.

    Throughout, the two Seraphim never glanced at Rody. Nor did they look at the common people of Kamarlon; perhaps in their eyes, humans were as insignificant as ants. Even when the dignified rulers of the earth, like King William II of the Kamarlon Empire and Prince Norn, paid their respects, the two Seraphim merely nodded slightly in return.

    Because of the arrival of the Seraphim, there was a delay, but the temple did not forget to judge Rody. The red-robed Archbishop Gao Peiro was commanded to step forward and loudly proclaimed the judgment. In the sky, the Power angel Phoebus hovered, quietly observing the people''s reaction to the judgment. What else could the people do besides sigh in despair?

    At this moment, not even a single person stood up to plead for Rody''s forgiveness.

    ...

    After hearing Archbishop Gao Peiro''s judgment, Rody closed his book, yawning with apparent boredom. "Judgment by the Holy Light!" commanded Archbishop Gao Peiro. The holy magic masters chanted, gathering a huge ball of holy light and hurling it at Rody.

    "Ah!" Rody yawned again. He was supposed to be struggling in agony under the holy light, but his expression showed no pain. The holy light, which could torment an evil necromancer to the point of wishing for death, was nothing but a bright glare to Rody. The people watched, a bit restless, and many shouted for Rody''s forgiveness, but since no one spoke up, no one dared to be the first to act.

    From this, the world could be sure that this magical child was definitely not evil. Even if he was a necromancer, he did not belong to the evil camp.

    "Light Arrows!" The Power angel Phoebus pointed at Rody, his wings unfurled, transforming the holy light into millions of light-feather arrows shooting towards Rody. "Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh..." More than a dozen holy knights also drew their bows and arrows, and under the enhancement of the holy magic masters, furiously shot their arrows at Rody, who was bound on the pyre. In an instant, blood splattered. Rody was hit by more than ten arrows, and by Phoebus''s even more ferocious light-feather arrows, his body was riddled with wounds. Yet, he indifferently looked at the arrows in his chest, at his blood-stained body, his eyes still as calm as ever.

    Even, through the enlarged images on the big screen, people could see a kind of silent mockery in his eyes...

    Perhaps there was also sadness, loneliness, and indifference, but more than that, people saw the almost cruelly calm expression on his face. On the battlefield in the land of evil, people had seen this expression on Rody''s face; when he was injured by the orc-demon soldiers, his face wore the same expression.

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    No anger, only that faint mockery, and a chilling calmness.

    The main purpose of the Holy Light Judgment was for the world to watch the evil entity struggle and wail in agony under the righteous holy light, but obviously, the temple had not achieved any effect on Rody. Rody did not struggle or wail, he didn''t even show any emotion. The arrows shot at him were blunt and did not penetrate deeply enough to cause immediate death, but those in the know understood that the arrowheads were coated with a toxin causing unbearable pain, a common practice among all nations.

    All the faces of the holy knights turned pale, unable to imagine how an ordinary person, even hit by one arrow, would go insane. But this Rody, hit by more than a dozen arrows, remained completely unmoved.

    Could it be that his nerves were made of steel?

    "The evil necromancer Rody, do you acknowledge your guilt?" Seeing the crowd becoming restless, Archbishop Gao Peiro hurriedly followed the usual procedure for interrogation. He was eager to burn Rody alive, but in front of hundreds of thousands of onlookers, he obviously couldn''t skip the step of accusing him. If the accused showed repentance, they could still receive the temple''s prayers and a reduction of sins after being burned. However, he suspected Rody wouldn''t cooperate with his questioning, so he planned to ask only once as a formality.

    As expected, Rody ignored him.

    "Next, we proceed with the whipping of the wicked... Does anyone have accusations against the evil necromancer Rody?" Gao Peiro asked again.

    "Pray for justice and redemption from the God of Light!" Some characters arranged by the temple appeared, crying out about the harm Rody had inflicted on them. For instance, the blacksmith Indel, whom Rody had injured as a child, complained that he still couldn''t have a normal sex life, claiming Rody''s attack had ruined his family, even though it was known that he was a bachelor.

    Besides those injured by Rody, there were also people unknown to him, crying about the harm he had done to them, like taking away their fianc¨¦es, daughters, or wives.

    Archbishop Gao Peiro commanded the holy knights to whip Rody with each accusation, ten lashes for each crime. However, when the knights approached Rody with the whip, they trembled, especially under the complex gazes of hundreds of thousands of people, making it hard for them to act.

    "Coward! Let me do it!" Lot snatched the whip and brutally lashed Rody, tearing his clothes and splattering blood.

    "Evil necromancer Rody, are you willing to repent under the radiance of the God of Light for redemption?" Archbishop Gao Peiro didn''t really want to ask this, fearing Rody would agree and the masses would seize the opportunity to plead for forgiveness. But the required question had to be asked, hoping the severely injured Rody hadn''t heard.

    "..." Rody remained silent, his eyes filled with even more mocking meaning.

    "Forgive him! Forgive this child! The God of Light is loving and kind to all people, selfless, great, He cherishes every person, including this poor child! Forgive him, forgive him!" An old woman cried out with tears, trying her best to shout towards the platform.

    "Forgive Rody, forgive him..." No one dared to be the first to speak, but upon hearing someone shouting, thousands of people immediately joined in.

    "No, no, impossible! Judging Rody is the will of the God of Light!" Archbishop Gao Peiro anxiously looked at the crowd, shouting: "Necromancer Rody is evil, he must be judged! This is the will of God, no one should disobey!" His voice was drowned out by the noise of thousands, and the situation turned chaotic.

    "People of God, why are you still deceived and beguiled by evil?" Phoebus flew out, shouting authoritatively.

    As soon as he appeared, the people quieted down.

    People could confront and protest against the temple''s red-robed archbishop. But when faced with an angel, everyone''s courage drained away. An angel represents the omnipotent deity, faith, and supreme authority.

    "I, the angel Phoebus of Heaven, will personally judge the necromancer Rody, skilled in beguiling hearts and spreading evil!" Phoebus''s words left all the spectators in despair. No one could stop the tragedy from happening, and the ending of the magical child Rody being burned at the stake became inevitable. Even if the military arrived, they could only watch helplessly.

    No wonder General Quentin and others only took Chris and the elite squad away, they had known the outcome all along.

    Archbishop Gao Peiro seized the opportunity to signal the holy knights and holy magic masters to ignite the wood beneath Rody. Lot also joined in nervously, quickly pouring fuel and lighting several spots with a torch, then watching with satisfaction as Rody was engulfed in the raging flames.

    "Great God of Life Water, if you think my heart is as pure as a spring, then please let a spring emerge under my feet." Rody''s voice came out from amidst the flames, speaking for the first time.

    ...

    A melancholic song seemed to sound faintly, as if it came from the far horizon, yet also as if it resonated deep within the heart. Everyone felt it, everyone heard it, someone was singing a sorrowful song.

    Magical ripples twinkled within the fierce flames, and a magical fountain sprayed out from the high platform amidst the fire.

    Everyone was stunned... Could it be that the God of Life Water really considered Rody innocent? Did the God think Rody''s heart, judged as evil, was as pure as a spring? This was a miracle; as soon as the magical child Rody prayed, the deities sang for him, and a magical fountain emerged to protect him in the midst of the flames.

    "Great God of Nature, if you think my kindness is as rich as the fertile soil of the earth, then please let the wood under my feet sprout tender buds and leaves..." Rody spoke slowly. With his second sentence, the flames around the wood quickly diminished and finally disappeared. On the charred wood, sprouts and green leaves began to grow.

    "It''s a miracle, a miracle!" People cried excitedly with tears streaming down their faces.

    "The gods don''t recognize Rody as guilty, he is innocent, innocent! Let him go, he is a good and kind person, let him go!" someone shouted, leading to thousands of people echoing in unison.

    "Let him go, let him go!" People excitedly raised their hands and shouted together.

    On the high platform, where the fire had just been raging, lush green leaves now grew, and unnamed little flowers bloomed rapidly. The holy knights were dumbfounded, and even Archbishop Gao Peiro didn''t expect such a move from Rody. This completely stunned him. If it wasn''t for the previous judgments that made it impossible for him to turn back, he would have wanted to lock up Rody and quell the surging public sentiment.

    But now, it was too late for him to turn back.

    Why didn''t this magical child do this before the trial? Why did he wait until now to pray for a miracle? Was he trying to strike at the entire temple and the angels of heaven?

    What exactly did he want to do?

    "Spiritual magic, elven magic, natural magic... you know a lot!" Phoebus scoffed: "But no matter how much magic you know, it''s just a joke. Don''t think that by beguiling hearts and playing some magic tricks, you can save your life!"

    "Are you talking to me? Foolish bird-man!" Rody''s lips curled into a mocking smile.

    "Listen, don''t get too complacent! Before you understand our true power, you can only make the most futile struggle! Everything will only become a laughingstock in the legends, a glorious and sacred exemplary event of the Light," Phoebus laughed loudly: "You don''t know, we have prepared a gift for you early on, this time, you will definitely be satisfied, because it is a divine artifact!"

    Phoebus launched a ball of holy light at Rody. Upon being struck by it, Rody shuddered and his head drooped. The magical fountain at his feet disappeared, and all the blooming flowers rapidly withered and scattered. The lush greenery visibly wilted, dried up, and died. With a wave of Phoebus''s hand, the fire reignited fiercely around Rody, engulfing him in flames...

    "Is it an artifact that restrains my spiritual power?" Rody''s voice calmly emerged from within the flames.

    "No, not only your spirit but also your soul will be forever imprisoned, never able to escape, forever suffering the torments of hell! This is heaven''s judgment on you!" Phoebus''s declaration reignited hope in Lot and others, who cheered. Rody''s two previous prayers and the resulting miracles had almost driven them to despair, but now, with this divine artifact, the detested bastard was finally going to be reduced to ashes.

    "Do you think earthly flames can burn me?" Rody, engulfed in flames, spoke clearly.

    "The Holy Silver Cross!" Seeing Rody break free from the magical chains in the fire, Phoebus immediately cast another holy silver cross to firmly bind Rody. As thousands watched in tears, Phoebus conjured an unquenchable divine fire and hurled it at Rody, shouting, "If earthly flames can''t kill you, what about divine fire? Under this annihilating divine fire, you''ll turn to nothingness immediately!"

    "It''s okay, the restraining artifact will protect my soul!" Rody laughed heartily: "Thank you for these long-desired gifts. Now, let me give you some small gifts in return."

    Rody, bound by the Holy Silver Cross, suddenly slipped out of its confines and caught it in his hand. To Phoebus''s astonishment, Rody patted off the flames on his body and smiled: "Sorry, this thing only judges evil, it has no effect on me! Of course, the will of the God of Light could restrain me, but I won''t resist, so its power will only be minimal. Ah, I wonder how it will affect you?"

    Rody threw the Holy Silver Cross at Phoebus, who screamed and shot up into the sky. But it was too late; the cross expanded instantly, silver chains flying out to bind him. When Phoebus fell back to the ground, Rody ignited the unquenchable divine fire on both of his knees. Smiling, he said, "I''ve wanted to do this for a long time, holding back just to let you show your endurance in front of everyone... Oh, it seems you lack it!"

    "Ah, ah, ah, ah!" In contrast to Rody, who was engulfed in flames, Phoebus, with only small flames on his knees, wailed in agony.

    His face contorted, tears and saliva flying.

    Everyone was stunned and disoriented. A human had just judged an angel?

    How is this possible? Is this a dream? How could Rody judge an angel? He even caught the pure angel with the Holy Silver Cross of the God of Light and remained unscathed himself. When Phoebus threw divine fire at him, he felt no pain, yet just a little bit of it on Phoebus''s hand caused such agony. Could it be that Rody truly isn''t an evil person?

    "I feel sorry for you!" Rody patted Phoebus''s shoulder, making his howls even louder because Rody''s body was all aflame, and the slightest touch reignited the fire on Phoebus''s shoulder.

    "No, don''t come any closer... stay away!" Lot and Gao Peiro were trembling with fear.

    "Don''t worry, my brother, I won''t burn you with divine fire, because you''re not worthy of it!" Rody raised his hands and pressed down towards Lot and the others. A golden wave of light shone brilliantly, and everyone touched by the light wave fell to the ground in agony, rolling around and howling in pain.

    "Please, this has nothing to do with me, I was just following orders!" Archbishop Gao Peiro, surprisingly unharmed, soon realized that Rody had deliberately spared him. His face turned pale with fear, and his diamond-studded high crown fell to the ground.

    He lay trembling on the ground, begging Rody, who was slowly approaching, to spare his life.

    "What Lot and the others are experiencing is ''soul cleansing'', which isn''t very painful. Even for the most evil, it feels as simple as taking a bath in lava. I know you wouldn''t like it, so I specially prepared ''soul redemption'' for you, Archbishop. You like redemption, don''t you? From now on, every time you do something bad or have a bad thought, you''ll be redeemed! Congratulations, your heart is not far from a pure soul! Of course, before that, you must redeem all your past sins!" Rody spat a golden breath at Archbishop Gao Peiro, causing him to fly painfully into the air, struggling desperately, then crashing to the ground, rolling around like a madman.

    "Terrifying, what kind of person is this guy?" King William II and the other royals were immensely shocked, feeling as if they were suffocating.

    "Rody... we love you! Long live Rody!" Some girls, unable to contain their excitement, cheered even though Rody had become a man of fire. With a wave of his hand, he had defeated the angel and the temple''s holy knights, reviving their hearts that had died in despair.

    "Wow, that''s terrifying!" The temple knights and holy magic masters, fearing they would end up writhing on the ground like their companions, all ran away, scattering in all directions.

 Chapter 143: Bella

    "How is this possible? Am I dreaming? How could Rody judge an angel? He even used the Holy Silver Cross of the God of Light to capture the pure angel, yet he remains unharmed. When Phoebus threw divine fire at him, he was unscathed, while just a little bit on Phoebus''s hand caused such pain. Could it be that Rody is truly not an evil person?

    "I pity you!" Rody patted Phoebus on the shoulder, increasing his howls of pain, as touching him with his body aflame caused Phoebus''s shoulder to catch fire again.

    "No, don''t come near... stay away!" Lot and Gao Peiro trembled in fear.

    "Don¡¯t worry, my brother, I won''t burn you with divine fire, as you''re not worthy of it!" Rody raised his hands and pressed them towards Lot and the others. A wave of golden light shone brilliantly, and everyone hit by the light wave fell to the ground, rolling in agony.

    "Please, this has nothing to do with me, I was just following orders!" Archbishop Gao Peiro, to his surprise, was unharmed but soon realized Rody had deliberately spared him. He was pale with fear, his diamond-studded high crown falling to the ground.

    Completely trembling on the ground, he begged Rody, who was slowly approaching, to spare his life.

    "What Lot and the others are experiencing is ''soul cleansing,'' which isn''t very painful. It''s as simple as taking a bath in lava for even the most evil person. I know you wouldn¡¯t like it, so I specially prepared ''soul redemption'' for you, Archbishop. You like redemption, right? From now on, every bad deed you do, every bad thought you have, will be redeemed! Congratulations, you''re not far from a pure soul! Of course, before that, you must redeem all your past sins!" Rody blew a golden breath at Archbishop Gao Peiro, causing him to fly painfully into the air, struggling desperately, then crashing to the ground, rolling around like a madman.

    "How terrifying, what kind of person is this?" King William II and the other royals were shocked, feeling suffocated.

    "Rody... we love you! Long live Rody!" Some girls, unable to contain their excitement, cheered. Though Rody had become a man of fire, his defeat of the angel and the temple''s holy knights revived their dead hearts.

    "Wow, that''s terrifying!" The temple knights and holy magic masters, fearing they would end up writhing on the ground like their companions, all ran away, scattering in all directions.

    Although King William II and other royals wanted the Pope to say something to comfort the people, after all, he is the spokesperson of God, strangely, the Pope did not comply. He only ordered his subordinates to send all the howling followers back to the main temple of the God of Light at Mount Light. Accompanied by a large group of priests, he used light magic to open a massive teleportation formation and quickly left under the watchful eyes of the masses.

    The five Powers did not leave; they continued to circle in the sky. Many of the temple personnel and holy knights, who had just been dispersed, regained their calm under the presence of the Powers, regrouped, and restored order in the Garden Square. The chaos persisted, with some remaining priests and red-robed bishops vociferously blaming Rody and defending the temple, but the people were too agitated to listen to them.

    In front of the magic screens, many of Rody''s supporters cheered excitedly for his successful escape. Yet, there was also concern because a Seraph was chasing him.

    "Regarding the judgment of the evil necromancer Rody, our temple will conduct a thorough judgment once the holy Seraph captures him! Everyone can disperse now... Please return home for now and wait quietly for the good news of light and justice triumphing over darkness and evil! The evil necromancer Rody will definitely be judged, definitely!" The Narri priest spoke assertively.

    "Eh? Did I hear Rody''s name?" Suddenly, a rainbow arched down from the sky, and people saw a beautiful woman in a bathrobe, elegantly sitting on her staff, descending gracefully.

    Hearing the Narri priest''s words, she blinked her beautiful eyes in surprise and asked, "Where is Rody? I''m looking for him!"

    "Are you a companion of the evil necromancer Rody?" The Narri priest stared, swallowing hard.

    "What if I am?" The beautiful woman, seeing this sleazy guy ogling her ample chest, couldn''t help but coldly snort in disgust: "Who are you? How dare you stop me from finding Rody?"

    "How dare you, you little vixen, to show up here! Under the glorious holy light, it''s not your turn to seduce men with your beauty! Of course, that''s your usual trick, just like your evil companion Rody seducing women with his charms! I believe all people with a sense of justice will not be tempted by your evil charms! Especially me, as a great priest, I utterly disdain your beauty! Guards, take this temptress down and send her to the temple''s underground prison, lest she causes trouble in the world..." The Narri priest shouted righteously.

    "You idiot, I don''t want to talk to you!" The beautiful woman kicked her crystal-clear bare feet in displeasure, pouting her lips.

    "What? How dare you insult me! It seems you really want to taste the judgment of justice..." The Narri priest, eyeing her perfect feet, was about to drool.

    "Silence!" a Power angel shouted.

    "The angel has commanded you to be silent, did you hear? He is angered by your shameless behavior!" The Narri priest gloated.

    ¡°I¡¯m telling you to shut up!¡± The Power angel swooped down and fiercely slapped the Narri priest, knocking out his teeth.

    ¡°Rite, why did you stop him from speaking?¡± The beautifully curvaceous woman in a bathrobe, sitting elegantly on her staff, looked displeased and coldly huffed, ¡°Kneel before me, Rite, and your companions! You low-level angels, how dare you allow your subordinates to insult the next generation¡¯s God-Will Angel! Before my fury ignites, you¡¯d better apologize quickly, or even the most powerful Seraph in Heaven, Lihua Du, won¡¯t be able to save your lives!¡±

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    ¡°Please forgive me, Rite is guilty!¡± The Power angel knelt down in fear, his usually proud head now hanging low, terrified to move.

    ¡°Welcome, Lady Bella, we are at fault, please forgive our mistakes!¡± The other four Powers, who were patrolling, flew back rapidly, all kneeling respectfully before the elegant woman.

    Everyone was stunned by this scene.

    Those who reacted quickly knelt down immediately. A rainbow goddess who even the Powers had to kneel before seemed to be an almost supreme being in Heaven. As mere mortals, how could they just stand and watch? Perhaps a slight offense could send them straight to hell. Of course, many were excited ¨C this elegant woman seemed to be from a different faction than the angels. Was she here looking for Rody?

    Could there be some connection between her and Rody? Rody had just called out her name, and she descended from Heaven in response. Was she Bella?

    As people were overwhelmed with excitement, the Narri priest fainted from fear. No one dared to approach the unfortunate man, as he was utterly deserving of death. Even his best friends quickly fled, fearing guilt by association. Insulting a noble goddess, whom even the Powers had to kneel before, surely meant the harshest and most terrifying punishment awaited him!

    ¡°Arros, did you think I wouldn¡¯t see you hiding in the temple? Come out and tell me what this is all about!¡± Bella looked around, her expression changing as she shouted loudly.

    ¡°Lady Bella, this is a misunderstanding¡­¡± The previously imposing Seraph flew out, bowing respectfully with his head lowered.

    ¡°Really?¡± Bella seemed skeptical of this explanation. She pointed at a priest and ordered, ¡°You, answer my question. Who was being judged here just now? Was it Rody? Look at me! If you dare turn your head to look at Arros again, I¡¯ll use my supreme power to punish you, turning you into a dog that bites its own tail!¡±

    ¡°I, I am guilty, please spare me!¡± The priest trembled in fear.

    ¡°If you can¡¯t answer my question, then I must punish you! I¡¯ll turn you into a mute who cannot speak!¡± Bella hummed.

    ¡°I''ll speak, I''ll answer your question, esteemed goddess. The one who was judged here was indeed Rody!¡± The terrified priest felt like his heart was about to burst, knowing he would likely face criticism for speaking out, but the immediate situation was the hardest to navigate. If he dared not speak, he risked being executed for defying the will of the gods, especially by those who bore him ill will and would be pleased to see him disobey.

    ¡°On what charges was he judged?¡± Bella demanded.

    ¡°...¡± No one dared to answer her question, fearing that this God-Will Angel, who seemed to have some connection to Rody, would erupt in thunderous fury.

    ¡°People of God, who will answer me? If the citizens of Kamarlon answer my question truthfully, I can pray to the Harvest Goddess to bless the Kamarlon Empire with three years of abundance! Conversely, if you refuse to answer my question, I will pray to the Fertility Goddess to bestow upon Kamarlon over a hundred mute babies, whether commoners or nobles!¡± Bella flew over the heads of the tens of thousands, her voice reaching the heart of every person.

    Now, everyone understood the might of this future God-Will Angel. She possessed the ability to communicate directly with the gods, capable of bringing either blessings or calamities. No wonder even the Powers and Seraphs trembled in fear. To oppose this future God-Will Angel was akin to defying the gods themselves.

    ¡°Noble goddess, allow a mortal woman to report to you,¡± the little doll-like superstar, holding a silver lyre, floated out with the Queen of Kamarlon, both bowing deeply to Bella. The priests and holy knights watched anxiously, fearing if they revealed the truth, the temple would lose all credibility and possibly face great disaster.

    ¡°Lady Bella, this is a misunderstanding, please hear our explanation!¡± Seraph Arros pleaded earnestly.

    ¡°I will listen, but not now,¡± Bella coldly hummed.

    ¡°Noble and powerful goddess, this mortal woman will answer your question truthfully,¡± the doll-like superstar spoke softly, ¡°Just now, indeed, the human male Rody was judged here because the temple proclaimed him an evil necromancer. We, the people of Kamarlon, had unanimously pleaded for his forgiveness, but Phoebus and the temple refused. In the end, during the judgment, Rody bound Phoebus with the Holy Silver Cross and burned his legs with divine fire... A Seraph is currently pursuing the fleeing Rody; he is the companion of Seraph Arros! Goddess, we do not seek earthly abundance, but we absolutely do not wish misfortune upon the Kamarlon Empire, and from the bottom of our hearts, we are willing to answer any of your questions!¡±

    ¡°Arros, do you know your crime? You judged my only God-Will Knight in the mortal realm!¡± Bella''s statement stunned everyone.

    ¡°He, he, he¡­¡± The priests nearly went mad. The very Rody they wanted to burn to death turned out to be Bella''s God-Will Knight. No wonder the Light Judgment had no effect on him, and he was unfazed by divine fire; Rody was her God-Will Knight!

    ¡°If he is a necromancer, then I am the Dark Demon God!¡± Bella raised her hand, and a thunderbolt struck Seraph Arros on the head, turning him completely charred, but Arros dared not move, gritting his teeth in endurance. Her willingness to punish him meant things were not too bad. If she didn''t personally punish him to vent her anger, then it would truly be the end. Bella''s anger unabated, she struck the five Powers with consecutive thunderbolts, scattering feathers everywhere. She angrily said, ¡°Am I a Dark Demon God? You idiots, I''ll kill you! How could Lihua Du have such idiotic subordinates? How were you born in the angel birth pool? Is your heart filled with nothing but light and justice?¡±

    ¡°Please calm your anger! Bai Li''er, Your Excellency, please calm your anger!¡± Quan Tian''s Angel Arouse and five Power Angels hastily apologized.

    ¡°Get out, immediately go and bring back Matifa, then get back to Heaven to be punished. I don¡¯t want to see you again!¡± Bai Li''er, unable to contain her temper, scolded fiercely: ¡°Let Liehuadu and Annilu, those two guys, wait. I won¡¯t let this matter go easily; they will have to pay a price!¡±

    ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Quan Tian''s Angel Arouse, leading the five charred Power Angels, fled in a sorry state through the teleportation light gate.

    ¡°Children of God, please do not worry, my wrath will not harm the innocent. As a return for your devoutness, the Kamalon Empire will surely have a bountiful harvest for the next three years.¡± Bai Li''er smiled and said: ¡°As for Rody, he is somewhat special, different from ordinary magicians, but he is not a necromancer. The biggest characteristic of a necromancer is faith, and all necromancers must believe in the Dark Demon God. Rody does not; his faith belongs to himself, and even I, who have chosen him as a God-willed Knight, cannot obtain it. Therefore, he is definitely not an evil necromancer!¡±

    ¡°Long live the Goddess¡­¡± The people cheered excitedly, each with tears streaming down their faces.

    This was not only Bai Li''er personally promising three years of bountiful harvest but also her justly clearing Rody¡¯s name.

    Only such a goddess is a deity in the eyes of the people.

    She treats evil like a Goddess of Vengeance, but towards truly kind civilians, she is like a merciful Goddess of Compassion. She does not favor her own Angelic race, and explains in detail about the God-willed Knight Rody, not putting on airs due to her special status. Instead, she is incredibly kind and approachable to everyone.

    ¡°It¡¯s not easy, this little guy finally summoned me. I had to rush down here in the middle of my bath, only to still be a step late. These annoying guys, making a mess of things, damaging my image. It seems the little guy won¡¯t accept the conditions to become my God-willed Knight for now. Ah, no, I must catch up and explain¡­¡± Standing closest to Bai Li''er, the Doll Little Empress and the Queen of Kamalon, hearing Bai Li''er¡¯s mutterings, couldn¡¯t help but be utterly amused. After all, who is whose God-willed Knight?

    ¡°The Goddess, please have mercy!¡± The temple¡¯s Holy Warriors and clergy knelt on the ground, realizing that they had done something thankless.

    Judging Rody, they hadn¡¯t anticipated causing such a huge mess.

    Not only did they fail to judge successfully, but they also collapsed the prestige the temple had built over thousands of years in an instant.

    If Rody had earlier stated he was Bai Li''er¡¯s God-willed Knight, such an irreparable incident wouldn¡¯t have happened. But he stubbornly kept silent, enduring various attacks without revealing it, until his dramatic reversal shocked the entire temple. With the hearts of the people and the protection of a deity, both the military and countries around the world would likely take this opportunity to trouble the temple, which was now truly in peril.

    Of course, the temple¡¯s clergy had not yet thought about what to do in the future; for now, they had to get past Bai Li''er first.

    ¡°I do not wish to intervene in mortal affairs.¡± Yet Bai Li''er did not glance at them once, speaking softly to the countless people: ¡°Perhaps, you know what to do! I must leave now. Finally, I want to tell everyone, deities will watch over all beings from the skies, whether angels or humans, no matter who is right or wrong, deities will see clearly, without bias.¡±

    ¡°Long live the Goddess! Long live¡­¡± For the first time, people felt the closeness of a deity, overwhelmed with emotion, tears flowing like rain, kneeling in worship.

    Bai Li''er, like a rainbow, swiftly disappeared.

    The Doll Little Empress and the Queen of Kamalon carefully noted that the goddess did not ascend back to Heaven, but instead headed in the direction the Quan Tian''s Angel had chased Rody. It seemed, her relationship with Rody was truly extraordinary.

 Chapter 144: Chains of Binding God

    Rody originally intended to teleport to the Saint Song Fortress to meet up with Chris and the elite squad, but unexpectedly, the divine fire on his body burned away the teleportation gate. He was engulfed by a spatial rift and lost his original teleportation coordinates.

    When he regained consciousness, he found himself in an extremely perilous environment.

    Around him, there were many spatial rifts, some slowly writhing, swallowing everything within their spatial range, including soil, trees, and any life forms unable to escape in time. Near these spatial rifts, there were volcanoes billowing with thick smoke, boiling lava lakes, black bizarre rocks, and trees resembling human-shaped monsters, even various odd life forms and monsters.

    Had it not been for the blazing divine fire on Rody''s body, he believed he would have been devoured by the various menacing monsters around him.

    The divine fire on Rody''s body burned everything around him, including trees and soil. The undying divine fire was terrifying indeed, capable of incinerating everything, be it life or matter.

    Rody, who possessed the regenerative power of the life source spring and had previously endured the soul-burning of divine fire, also felt immense pain.

    Fortunately, his soul had been tempered by the Flame of the Heart before and was now indirectly protected within the confines of that unnamed divine artifact. However, the overwhelming amount of divine fire still posed a danger to Rody. Should the regenerative energy of the life source spring be exhausted, he might be burned into an intangible soul, and moreover, a trapped one.

    To alleviate the power of the divine fire as much as possible, Rody, engulfed in flames, continuously ignited his surroundings while cautiously exploring the path ahead.

    In this bizarre place, all existing life forms were extraordinarily powerful.

    However, due to the divine fire enveloping Rody, no creature dared approach him. Each monster, no matter how powerful enough to reign supreme, hastily made way for Rody, avoiding the torment of being burnt by divine fire.

    Rody arrived outside a terrifying forest, where all the trees resembled human torsos and limbs, twisting their bodies in agony, a truly nauseating sight. Harpies, bird-bodied creatures with human heads, lived in the forest. They noisily devoured their prey and quarreled loudly. Their reaction to Rody¡¯s arrival was a mix of panic and anger, desperately shooting steel-like feather arrows at him.

    But those steel feathers disintegrated into vapor before even touching Rody, consumed by the divine fire.

    Some of the harpies with speckled feathers even chanted curses, but these had no effect on Rody.

    ¡°Could this damned place be Hell?¡± Rody seriously doubted he had teleported to Hell because the creatures here were rarely seen in the human realm. These harpy-like monsters resembled the legendary harpies of Hell.

    And those trees resembling human torsos seemed like the Filthy Forest where the souls of sinners were imprisoned.

    Rody tried approaching and set a tree ablaze with divine fire. The tree visibly trembled in pain, its branches, resembling thighs and arms, shook and struggled like humans. The entire tree twisted, with faces appearing on its bark, clearly displaying expressions of agony.

    The harpies screamed frantically, seemingly wanting to protect these trees and their utterly filthy homeland.

    The divine fire incinerated the trees, revealing several black souls wailing within the flames, quickly consumed by the divine fire, leaving only a pale soul. She actually bowed to Rody, showing an expression of freedom and joy on her face despite being tormented by the divine fire. In the end, she let out a sigh akin to happiness and gradually vanished into the air.

    Rody was dumbfounded, unable to comprehend what was happening.

    Perhaps these human souls were imprisoned in the trees, unable to be freed until now. Although Rody burned her with divine fire, she still felt the joy of liberation...

    Driven by this mindset, Rody turned the entire Filthy Forest into a raging inferno.

    The harpies were furious, but occasionally, pale souls would approach Rody, bow to him, then spread their arms and vanish into the air with joyful faces. These pale souls were men and women, old and young, and not only human souls. Occasionally, souls of elves, dwarves, and gnomes could be seen floating up from the burning trees, then vanishing into nothingness within the divine fire.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    More than two thousand harpy-like creatures circled above Rody, but they couldn''t harm him.

    If they flew too low, Rody accurately hurled burning stones at them, turning them into fireballs that fell from the sky.

    A beam of light descended from the sky.

    The beautiful song of angels resonated, causing countless creatures on the ground to flee, seemingly terrified of the holy light. Only a few powerful beings, filled with rage, looked up at the sky, unwilling to easily leave their territories, each showing hatred and resentment.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± A Quan Tian''s Angel flew out from the column of holy light, angrily yelling at Rody.

    ¡°Birdman, what the hell is this place?¡± Rody retorted.

    ¡°You dare to slander our great angels? You insignificant human, I will cast you into eternal hell, where you will endure endless suffering!¡± The Quan Tian''s Angel''s face twisted with anger.

    However, he did not draw his holy sword to attack, as the divine fire enveloping Rody made him cautious.

    He did emit holy light, frightening the harpies into fleeing like mice.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t this hell?¡± Rody curiously asked.

    ¡°You are an idiot, confusing the ''Exile Land'' with ''Hell''. It''s laughable. Let me tell you, this is the exile land for the evil souls of humanity! All souls that don¡¯t believe in God are exiled here¡­ How did you get here? Who told you the entrance? Ah, you dare to destroy the Filthy Forest imprisoning evil souls, that''s outrageous! You insignificant human will definitely face divine judgment and fall into eternal hell!¡± The Quan Tian''s Angel, seeing the raging inferno below, was furious.

    ¡°Come on, birdman, judge me!¡± Rody said nonchalantly with a smile: ¡°I¡¯m waiting, just afraid you won¡¯t come!¡±

    ¡°Insignificant human, you think I can¡¯t do anything to you? I¡¯m not the fool Philbis. He only used the ¡®Chains of Binding God¡¯ to imprison your soul and mental power. That fool, doesn¡¯t he know the power of divine artifacts? Ridiculous!¡± The Quan Tian''s Angel sneered: ¡°As soon as I chant the divine spell, you will become a puppet under my command!¡±

    ¡°Go ahead, chant it. I¡¯m listening!¡± Rody casually cleaned his ears and flicked his fingernails.

    The Quan Tian''s Angel chanted a very long spell, repeatedly making the sign of the cross, holding his hands in front of him, and praying continuously.

    Finally, a divine light rose above Rody¡¯s head.

    A crystal-clear, slender chain emerged slowly amidst the divine fire, showing no fear of the fire''s destruction. It wrapped around various parts of Rody''s body, making him feel as if he was entirely controlled by this divine chain.

    His mind was clear, his will his own, but his body was completely under the control of the divine chain.

    "The Chains of Binding God, leading the evil sinner to eternal hell, imprisoning him forever in the hell of despair, unless the day comes when the heavens and earth are overturned, otherwise the punishment will never end." The Quan Tian''s Angel solemnly issued the command, and immediately, Rody felt his body involuntarily moving in a certain direction, completely controlled by the Chains of Binding God, unable to struggle at all.

    "What kind of divine artifact is this? So powerful?" Rody still had the mood to turn his head and ask the Quan Tian''s Angel.

    "The divine artifact of the Earth God. Unless you can contend with the entire earth and reverse heaven and earth, you cannot escape divine punishment!" The Quan Tian''s Angel sneered.

    "I see." Rody nodded, appearing very satisfied with the divine artifact.

    The Quan Tian''s Angel was about to open a small light gate to leave the Exile Land, but suddenly, he was stunned. He heard a voice, the same divine spell he had just chanted, the complex and intonating divine spell, repeated verbatim by Rody.

    As divine light rose again above Rody''s head, the Chains of Binding God swiftly extended once more.

    "The Chains of Binding God, also leading the enemy behind me to eternal hell..." As soon as Rody spoke, the Quan Tian''s Angel screamed in terror, rushing into the small light gate.

    But the long Chains of Binding God were faster, pulling him back in the middle of the teleportation, completely ignoring the spatial transfer.

    The high and mighty Quan Tian''s Angel struggled desperately, but in vain. He was yanked down by the divine chain with a snap and fell to the ground.

    Rody smiled at him and said, "Welcome to biting the dust! Birdman, now, you must regret that malicious divine punishment, right? Congratulations, you have the opportunity to spend a long journey in hell with me, this insignificant human! Unless heaven and earth overturn, it seems we won''t be parting! Ha, who would have thought, birdman, that you would have such a day!"

    "How did you do it?" The Quan Tian''s Angel was shocked.

    "This divine artifact is not yours. Since you can pray to fulfill wishes, of course, I can too! Besides, your chanted divine spell, although complex, had a pattern. You thought I was too panicked to remember, didn¡¯t you?" Rody slowly extended his hand towards the Quan Tian''s Angel, who was being pulled closer, and smiled, "As fellow sufferers, let''s shake hands! If you don''t mind, I''m willing to share the exhilaration of being burned by divine fire!"

    "You madman!" The Quan Tian''s Angel roared furiously.

    "More madness is yet to come. I assure you, you''ll be satisfied, haha!" Rody laughed loudly, while the Quan Tian''s Angel shed tears of regret.

    He deeply regretted chasing this damned human. If he had not pursued him, leaving him in the Exile Land, Rody could not have returned. Moreover, even if he did pursue, he should never have used divine punishment. Now he had trapped himself as well... The Quan Tian''s Angel desperately thought of various ways to lift the divine punishment, but that was impossible.

    If it could be lifted, it wouldn¡¯t be divine punishment.

    The Quan Tian''s Angel could no longer bear the despair of being eternally imprisoned in hell and burst into loud cries.

    "Hahaha, it''s too early to cry now, it seems on this journey, you, the birdman, will have plenty to cry about!" Rody laughed loudly, extremely pleased with himself. All the monsters around, terrified by the divine fire and the divine chain, fled far away. The creatures that survived here were not simple; they had enough intelligence to understand the danger of these divine objects.

    Next, Rody began to torment along the way, and the days of suffering for the Quan Tian''s Angel officially commenced.

    The Quan Tian''s Angel was far more powerful than Rody, but he was helpless.

    Because both Rody''s soul and body were protected by the divine chain, even if the Quan Tian''s Angel swung his holy sword or used treasures, he could not harm Rody. Conversely, Rody''s divine fire made the Quan Tian''s Angel, adorned with treasures, extremely fearful. Even though the divine chain could protect his body from being burned by the divine fire, his soul had no protection. Rody could make him experience the torment of soul-burning by the divine fire whenever he wished.

    "Birdman, tell me, what''s your name?" Rody started questioning in a good mood, smiling.

    "..." The Quan Tian''s Angel was unwilling to engage with him, contemplating ways to escape.

    "Alright then, let me remind you!" Rody flicked his divine fire onto the Quan Tian''s Angel, making him howl in pain, then immediately withdrew it, and asked with a beaming smile, "Birdman, what¡¯s your name? Do you need another reminder? I¡¯m more than willing to do so!"

    "Matifa, you, you damned human¡­" The Quan Tian''s Angel, seeing the divine fire flare up in Rody''s hand again, quickly shut up.

    "Pleased to meet you, Matifa. As a Quan Tian''s Angel, you must have quite a few treasures on you, right?" Rody''s friendly smile was akin to a fox standing in front of a chick as he asked, "What do you have? Tell me, I''m sure there''s something I''ll like. Give me a few as gifts, I love receiving presents!"

 Chapter 145: Endless Extortion

    "Greed of mankind, ahhhh!" Before Quan Tian''s Angel Matifa could finish cursing, he was already rolling on the ground, burnt by the divine fire released by Rody.

    "Matifa, remember, you are no longer a high and mighty Quan Tian''s Angel, but a prisoner," Rody said with a smile. "As a prisoner, you should have the awareness of one. I know every angel has something called the Holy Silver Cross. Take yours out! I like that little trinket..."

    "As long as I am alive, you think you can use my Holy Silver Cross?" Matifa sneered at Rody''s ignorance.

    "No matter, I can refine your will with divine fire. I have ways," Rody chuckled. "Instead of worrying about this for me, you might want to worry about the torment of soul-burning by divine fire. I''m not always in a good mood. Maybe if I get angry, you won''t be so happy!"

    "You''re threatening me?" As a high and mighty Quan Tian''s Angel, Matifa couldn¡¯t stand being threatened by others.

    "As long as you have the value to be threatened, then I will do so! If not, I''ll just kill you outright!" Rody laughed heartily.

    "We actually have a way to lift the divine punishment, but it requires both of us to let go of doubts and suspicions, and work together..." Matifa suddenly softened his tone. "Rody, your name is Rody, right? Don¡¯t you want to be free? If you can trust me, then I have a way to lift the divine punishment, and you won''t have to go to hell and suffer. We just need two days, and then we can go our separate ways."

    "Really?" Rody looked at Matifa skeptically, as if looking at an idiot.

    "You have to believe me. As a distinguished angel, I absolutely will not lie!" Matifa almost seemed like he would swear on his life.

    "Of course, I believe you, haha. What are you? A distinguished birdman, right? You''re a natural liar, able to deceive without paying the price. How can I not believe you?" Rody chuckled. "If you could lift the divine punishment, you would have done it long ago. Why bother talking such nonsense with me!"

    "To lift the divine punishment, two people need to cooperate!" Matifa cried out in desperation, no longer caring about being called a birdman.

    "Really?" Rody yawned lazily. "Well then, beg me!"

    "What did you say?" Matifa was stunned.

    "Beg me, or I will not agree!" Rody said without even glancing at him.

    "Rody, you are too much! I have already been humble enough. I am a Quan Tian''s Angel, speaking to you so gently is already giving you a great honor! But you? You just make more excessive demands! Know this, freedom is for both of us. After lifting the divine punishment, not only I but also you can freely return to the human continent. Why wouldn''t you want that?" Matifa was furious, but his tone softened in the end.

    "Beg me..." Rody nonchalantly said, casually cleaning his ears.

    "Don''t dream, you, you''re just too much!" Matifa''s face changed color; this was more unbearable than killing him.

    "La la la, la la la, an angel is going to hell, everyone clap your hands to welcome him! La la la, an angel is moving, the devils will surely like him!" Rody sang a nursery rhyme, infuriating Matifa to the point of steaming rage. If it weren¡¯t for the protection of the Chains of Binding God, he would have drawn his holy sword and cut Rody in half. But now, he was utterly helpless.

    "I, I beg you..." After enduring Rody''s singing, Matifa almost spat blood and finally pleaded softly with Rody.

    Pride was hard to swallow, but not as important as freedom.

    Besides, if he really went to hell, he believed the devils and demons there would welcome him just as Rody sang. By then, losing face would be even worse. Currently, there was no one around except Rody. Begging him quietly now and killing him later to regain his freedom meant no one would ever know about this humiliation.

    Quan Tian''s Angel Matifa, after much thought, decided that this was not the time to worry about pride and thus spoke up.

    "Speak up, I didn''t hear anything!" Rody pretended to listen, putting his hand to his ear. Matifa, seeing the smile on his face, knew he was being mocked and felt like exploding in anger, but he was powerless against this unscrupulous human.

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    "Go to hell!" Matifa yelled furiously.

    "Oh, I heard that clearly!" Rody flicked a small ball of divine fire, and Matifa, despite being protected by the divine chain, felt his soul burning in agony and rolled on the ground in pain.

    He tried to beg Rody for mercy, but the pain was so intense that he could only scream in agony.

    Rody hummed a tune while dragging Matifa along.

    A huge shadow passed over the sky. Initially, intending to dive down at the sight of the four-winged angel, but upon seeing Rody enveloped in unquenchable divine fire and tormenting the Quan Tian''s Angel, it mistook Rody for an incredibly powerful being and hastily fled.

    "A hellish black dragon? There are dragons here!" Rody was startled too, but seeing the black dragon afraid of him, he felt reassured.

    "I beg you, please, I, I beg you!" Matifa, unable to bear the torment any longer, pleaded.

    "You''re not sincere at all, how can you move my heart!" Rody shook his head and sighed.

    "Rody, I beg you... Let''s talk nicely, let''s lift the divine punishment together, okay? I beg you..." Matifa felt that if his companions saw him like this, even if he survived and returned, he would be ruined.

    "Speak until I''m moved," Rody was unrelenting.

    "I beg you..." Matifa internally seethed with hatred, but he put on a sincere and pitiful face. Suddenly, he realized he was quite good at acting pitiful, almost moving himself.

    "Shed some tears! Maybe it will work better!" Rody suggested.

    "Rody, wuwu, I beg you, as a Quan Tian''s Angel, I''m humbly begging you, isn''t that enough? Wuhu..." Matifa cried profusely.

    "Almost there, almost! My heart is softening a bit!" Rody nodded affirmatively, saying, "If you keep crying for an hour, I believe I''ll be moved by your pleas. Ah, about the Holy Silver Cross you mentioned, don''t you have many at home? Give me the one you''re carrying, or else keep crying! It''s quite comforting to hear!"

    "Give it." Matifa originally wanted to say that each angel only has one Holy Silver Cross, and if lost, it takes great effort to obtain another. But he figured Rody wouldn''t listen to his explanation and saved his breath. After all, it''s just a demon-subduing Holy Silver Cross. Given!

    Reluctantly, Matifa took out the Holy Silver Cross, considering using it on Rody, but doubted its effectiveness due to the Chains of Binding God''s protection. Moreover, keeping it imprisoned here meant he had to stay alongside it. After much thought, he threw it to Rody, hoping the divine fire would destroy it, so Rody would end up with nothing.

    Unexpectedly, Rody flicked out a bit of his divine fire, quickly enveloping and easily securing the Holy Silver Cross.

    "Let''s talk about what treasures Heaven has!" Rody prepared to chat with Matifa about home matters. Of course, even if Matifa was a fool, he knew the greedy human''s intentions.

    "Don''t covet my things, Rody, you insatiable devil. Do you know how important the Holy Silver Cross is to us angels? It''s a symbol of our identity. After you''ve taken my Holy Silver Cross, don¡¯t expect to extort anything else from me! You damn vampire, you should fall into hell!" Matifa raged, growing more furious the more he thought, and couldn¡¯t help but curse out loud.

    "Calm down, let''s talk nicely," Rody said with a smile. "As fellow sufferers, we have plenty of time!"

    "You damn..."

    Three days later.

    Seeing the huge, mountain-like shadow in the sky getting closer, Matifa said anxiously, "Rody, it''s enough. Taking more treasures from me is useless! Understand? You can''t use my things! And the last treasure I already gave to you. I really don''t have any more!"

    "Is that the entrance to hell?" Rody chuckled. "Hell, here I come!"

    "I''m talking to you!" Matifa protested weakly.

    "Really? Say what you like, I won''t listen to an angel who has treasures but won¡¯t admit it." Rody whistled casually.

    "The last treasure, I really gave it to you! Otherwise, I¡¯ll give you some Heavenly Realm magic crystals, made of top-grade magic crystals with certain magical powers!" Matifa compromised again, not knowing how many times.

    "I think at the entrance to hell, using them to bribe the hell judge or the three-headed hellhound might be a bit useful," Rody showed no interest in the magic crystals, focused only on getting Matifa¡¯s treasures. Previously, Matifa claimed he had no more treasures, but Rody still successfully extorted five items, including two magic spheres, a golden scale, a feather of the Light God, and a treasure bottle containing the Heavenly Realm¡¯s divine spring.

    Matifa cried every time he handed over a treasure, each one being an object of envy in the Heavenly Realm.

    But now, he was forced to use them to please the damnable Rody in exchange for his final freedom.

    "Don¡¯t think about my holy sword; it¡¯s really my last treasure." Matifa begged desperately, hoping Rody would leave the holy sword for him, as Rody couldn¡¯t possibly use his sword.

    "No, keep the sword!" Rody shook his head. "I want something else, understand? Something suitable for me!"

    "Damn, I told you the last treasure is already yours!" Matifa yelled in frustration.

    "I have plenty of time. Think it over and then tell me." Rody took out a magic book, focused on reading, ignoring Matifa¡¯s frantic yelling.

    "You... Rody, alright! I compromise again, understand? As a Quan Tian''s Angel, I''ve already paid enough for freedom, and you''ve received enough. You should be satisfied, not so insatiable... Fine, as if I said nothing! Listen, in Heaven, there is a very powerful war beast that is almost impossible to see in the human realm, the Unicorn Divine Beast. This is its egg, formed after its death, which can be resurrected with the owner''s blood... Although it was my mount when I was promoted to Archangel, I give it to you! In Heaven, this is worth a hundred thousand magic crystals! Rody, tell me this is your last request, or the gods will surely curse you!" Matifa cried again for voluntarily chasing after Rody, wishing he hadn''t, and that it had been Arouse instead.

    "Quan Tian''s Angel Matifa, well done! I like this gift, but this won''t be my last request..." After receiving it, Rody still extended his hand, smiling, "I also like magic crystals. As friends, wouldn''t you give me some as a souvenir?"

    "You really are..." Matifa, exhausted from cursing Rody, took a deep breath and yelled, "I have nothing left!"

    "There are still magic crystals!" Rody asserted confidently.

    "If I give you those, what about me? I''m now the poorest angel in all of Heaven, what more do you want?" Matifa was on the verge of tears, wishing he could bang his head against a wall and die.

    "Then give me a time hourglass, or a space fortress, or an escape orb..." Rody was aware of many treasures in Heaven, things Philbis had used on him, so he remembered them well. If Matifa knew it was Philbis who informed Rody, he would surely deal with Philbis harshly upon returning.

    "Light God above, let me die..." Matifa cried out in agony.

    "Cry slowly, I have plenty of time." Rody''s words made Matifa cry even louder. In the sky, a huge shadow flew by, not a hellish black dragon but a terrifying demon with blood-red wings. Seeing the Quan Tian''s Angel being dragged by divine chains towards hell, crying all the way, it was terrified and quickly fled.

    One day later.

    "Really, this is the last item!" Matifa said with certainty.

    "Don''t rush..." Rody nodded, "Take your time to think, I have plenty of time..."

    Two days later.

    "This is really the last item, Rody, I beg you, let''s lift the divine punishment together, or it will be too late. I see the gates of hell, damn it, if we don''t leave now, we''ll be torn to pieces by hundreds of thousands of devils!"

    "Think about it again, I''m not in a hurry. If you had brought everything out willingly, we could have gone home by now!"

    "Ah, Light God, my Father God, let me die!"

    Creatures inside and outside hell, hearing the Quan Tian''s Angel''s miserable wails, were all terrified and fled. It was too horrifying; there was a creature that made a Quan Tian''s Angel beg for life and death. Was it a god descending into hell?

    Soon, all creatures that saw Rody and Matifa spread a terrifying rumor: a powerful god was born, not going to the realm of gods but dragging a Quan Tian''s Angel to hell with divine chains, punishing him with divine fire along the way, making the miserable angel wail every day...

 Chapter 146: Pluto Rody

    "The Chains of Binding God, in a world where heaven and earth are overturned, the sinner''s repentance has ended. Please lift his imprisonment and punishment. In the name of the Earth Mother Goddess, I sincerely beg for your kindness and mercy..." At a lakeside, Matifa held up a mirror, reflecting the blue sky in the lake water and the lake''s shore, finally chanting an extremely long divine spell.

    Divine light rose above Rody''s head, and the forced movements of both individuals came to a halt.

    The divine chains on Matifa fell to the ground and rapidly retracted towards Rody. Regaining his freedom, Matifa burst into laughter, soared into the sky, while Rody on the ground gestured to the divine chain in his hand, saying, "Matifa, why hasn¡¯t the divine chain on me fallen off?"

    "Call me the noble Quan Tian''s Angel, you insignificant and lowly human!" Once free, Matifa¡¯s attitude changed from the past few days.

    "You played tricks!" Rody realized and feigned surprise, "You actually deceived me?"

    "No, it wasn¡¯t deception, it was the judgment of justice!" Matifa laughed heartily. "This is the punishment you deserve, despicable and shameless human male. If you return all my treasures, I might consider helping you lift the divine punishment. Otherwise, in an hour, you will continue towards the despair of hell. Your eyes are moving, ah, you are memorizing the divine spell just now? Unfortunately, I added irrelevant parts, but only one part is effective, including what I muttered silently. Even if you recite it, it won''t work. Haha, you despicable and shameless human, you can''t escape your journey to hell!"

    "Noble Quan Tian''s Angel, I am very afraid, what should I do?" Rody''s lips curled into a mocking sneer.

    "Do you think you can still bind me with the divine chain? Stop dreaming. I won''t give you a second chance!" Matifa, not bothering to retrieve his treasures, feared Rody would chant the divine punishment again and hurriedly opened a small light gate, preparing to escape.

    "Hey, do you still have treasures?" Rody shouted.

    "Of course, but you no longer have the chance to extort them..." Matifa, proud at the light gate, laughed loudly, "When I bring the Silent Golden Scepter, I will definitely visit you in the despair of hell."

    "No, I''ll come to find you, please prepare the Silent Golden Scepter and other treasures," Rody advised Matifa in detail.

    "Whatever you say, I won''t stay here another second, you cunning human, don¡¯t think you can trick me again!" Matifa dived into the light gate and disappeared. Once free, he was truly pleased and spoke a few more words to Rody, but in his heart, no treasure was more important than freedom.

    If Rody secretly chanted the divine spell and the divine chain bound him again, he''d rather die.

    Therefore, Matifa preferred to leave his treasures rather than stay near Rody for another second.

    "Freedom is important, but wisdom is more so," Rody smiled slightly, musing, "If I meet him again, will he be scared to death by me? Haha, although this guy is like an idiot, he has quite a few treasures. As a treasure collector, he''s quite satisfactory!"

    Rody didn¡¯t immediately move towards the gates of hell. Instead, bound by the divine chain, he slowly began chanting the divine spell.

    He recited two sections of the extremely long divine spell that Matifa had chanted. Hesitating for a moment, he then omitted parts of the two sections and chanted again. After about half an hour of trying, when he chanted the combined spell, a streak of divine light shot from above his head. The divine chain, still wrapped around him, was no longer a restraint, and Rody laughed heartily.

    Rody knew that Matifa must have chanted the correct divine spell to lift the divine punishment, but the Quan Tian''s Angel definitely used some trick...

    Rody tried and finally figured out the method to lift the divine punishment. Of course, since Rody was the main recipient, what he lifted was the same divine punishment as Matifa''s, releasing the constraint of the divine chain, but not completely freeing himself from its imprisonment. His spirit and soul were still bound, particularly his mental power, which could only exert an influence finer than a strand of hair.

    The main reason why the divine chain did not completely imprison him was to maintain Rody''s thought processes and mental direction.

    "What is the despair of hell? In my heart, it''s different from what ordinary people think, ha." Rody was actually not worried about the divine chain''s punishment. He didn''t know what the despair of hell was, so the chain would only proceed to the most despairing place in his heart. Rody''s most despairing place might be the castle in the Korol territory. He imagined the gates of hell as the despair of hell just to extort treasures from Matifa.

    Now that Matifa had left, Rody also wanted to learn more about the divine spell.

    He didn¡¯t care about Matifa''s departure. In fact, the only value Matifa had left was chanting the divine spell, allowing Rody to learn more, to see if he could understand the language of the divine spell of the Heavenly Realm. Even understanding a small part would be greatly helpful for the future.

    Rody wandered aimlessly, carefully studying the divine spell.

    He wanted to issue better commands to control the ''Chains of Binding God''. With this treasure, his enemies would have no good end.

    As for the divine fire, Rody gradually refined it into his own...

    Although his progress was slow, over time, Rody gained more divine fire and even used the language of the divine spell to freely bind or release the divine chain. Unfortunately, Matifa did not chant more divine spells, or else Rody could have better controlled the chain.

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    His spiritual avatar, through a strand of spirit finer than a hair, finally formed a faint avatar after half a month of difficult concentration.

    Rody stored it in a mithril bracelet in his storage space, ready to use it in battle when necessary.

    Three months passed, and Rody still hadn''t left the Exile Land.

    Before this, he had set fire to dozens of Filthy Forests and killed thousands of various monsters, obtaining hundreds of magic crystals of third grade and above, including dozens of fifth grade or higher. The stronger ones were not that Rody couldn¡¯t defeat them, but they were too smart and fled long before he approached.

    News of a wandering god roaming the Exile Land quickly spread throughout the land and hell.

    This deity possessed great power, but for some reason, he did not go to the realm of gods, staying on the earth instead. Perhaps in a bad mood, he burned everything he saw with divine fire, leaving countless harpies homeless and numerous beasts dead.

    No one dared to provoke this wandering deity who refused to leave. Everyone only hoped he would soon find a way to the realm of gods.

    And so, half a year passed.

    This deity not only failed to find a way to the realm of gods but also couldn''t find a way to leave the Exile Land. Everyone speculated that he was the legendary ''Lost God'', a deity naturally lacking a sense of direction, otherwise, why would he stay in the Exile Land for half a year? Eventually, the hellish demon lords, fearing the ''Lost God'' might inadvertently enter hell and be unable to leave, ruining everything, decided to send a messenger to guide him to the Abyss of Demons. That place is the easiest route to Heaven, closest to the realm of gods, and perhaps the ''Lost God'' could find a way to ascend.

    Moreover, once he reached the Abyss of Demons, whether he found the way to the realm of gods or not was no longer their concern.

    "Noble deity, please retract your majestic divine fire and allow the Butterfly Demon of the Flowers to pay her respects to you." One day, as Rody was diligently enhancing his abilities in the Exile Land, a woman with butterfly-colored wings appeared before him. She had large eyes that sparkled like stars in the night sky, cute antennae on her forehead, and wore a vibrant, colorful dress, bowing and greeting Rody softly.

    "Uh? Little bug, who are you?" Rody knew that if the hellish demon lords and powerful monsters mistook him for a deity, he wouldn''t have peaceful days, so he decided to pretend to be one.

    "Great and majestic deity, why don''t you go to the realm of gods? Although the world yearns for your existence, your subjects are terrified by your power. We pray for your protection but hope more that you would watch over us from the sky. Great deity, we will build temples to worship you, and we are willing to become your subjects. Please, tell us your most illustrious and thunderous name!" the Butterfly Demon of the Flowers asked tentatively.

    "I, a deity who has not yet gone to the realm of gods and not yet recognized by the other gods, am pleased to have obtained divinity. You can call me... Pluto, Pluto Rody!" Rody felt that if he fabricated another god, he might be exposed, but the name Pluto had not been used before, and it sounded evil enough to scare them from getting any wild ideas.

    "Great and majestic Pluto, please forgive our ignorance," the Butterfly Demon was quite intimidated by Rody and repeatedly bowed in respect.

    "As Pluto, I indeed should have my own domain and subjects. The Dark Demon God, this monopolist of evil, one day, I will cast him down from the realm of gods, devour his divinity, and claim all evil for myself..." Rody expressed his shocking ambitions and desires, which would reassure the lords of hell and the Exile Land, making them think Rody was unfathomable and even more cautious about approaching him.

    "Great Pluto, the demon lords of hell, and the rulers of the Exile Land send their greetings. They are frightened by your majesty and dare not come in person, but they have sent me, Butterfly Demon, to deliver their most respectful gifts," the Butterfly Demon of the Flowers expressed her purpose respectfully.

    "They are afraid of me devouring them, huh? Haha, these cowards!" Rody ignited a sky-reaching divine fire, showcasing his might.

    "Spare us, Pluto, spare us!" The Butterfly Demon of the Flowers wanted to flee, but she was caught by the divine chain controlled by Rody. As a seventh-tier demon, she found struggling against the chain''s binding as futile as a mosquito trying to shake a stone pillar. Even though she managed to escape into the sky, the Pluto easily captured her, making it a hundred times easier than a child catching butterflies in a garden.

    At that moment, she completely believed that Rody was a deity.

    Perhaps he lacked divine light and a radiant divine body, but he was undoubtedly a deity. The reason for lacking divine light and body was likely due to not ascending to the realm of gods and not being recognized by other gods. Many deities on earth, who hadn''t ascended, had the bodies of mortals or demon lords, but once they became gods, they would be radiant and colossal.

    If this man enveloped in flames wasn''t a deity, how could his divine fire be so terrifying?

    How could his divine chain bind anything?

    Once bound, even gigantic magical beasts like the Earth Mammoths couldn''t struggle, and even she, renowned for her speed among seventh-tier demons, couldn''t escape... He was definitely a deity, and a powerful one at that.

    "I know, you want to expel me because my presence affects your rule, right?" Rody snorted, "I''m just attached to the earth and don''t intend to stay forever. These fools, once I ascend to the realm of gods and gain supreme divine power, I will inflict endless pain on them! I want to let them know the bitter cold of offending a deity."

    "Exalted Pluto, please forgive us, these lowly beings. We are as insignificant as ants on the ground. Please don''t be angry over such trivial beings, letting anger burn your heart." The Butterfly Demon of the Flowers quickly begged for mercy, knowing it was time to demonstrate loyalty.

    "Ha, even the servant of the Dark Demon God has a day to beg for my forgiveness." Rody of course gave her a chance.

    "We, the Butterfly Demon clan, are willing to become your slaves, offering you all our loyalty!" The Butterfly Demon of the Flowers didn''t mind having one more deity to protect her clan. Offending Rody was suicidal, and the Dark Demon God certainly wouldn''t protect them for a deity''s actions. Moreover, there were countless followers of the Dark Demon God, who wouldn''t even remember the existence of the Butterfly Demon clan.

    "Good, I like being the first race to swear loyalty to me. I''m pleased. Once I ascend to the realm of gods, the first thing I''ll do is grant you the chance to have your prayers and wishes realized." Rody felt he was quite good at playing the role of a deity, which wasn''t difficult, just replicating the stuff from the "Light Codex."

    "Thank you, great and powerful Pluto Rody. We, the Butterfly Demon clan, will forever worship you as our main god, eternally loyal!" The Butterfly Demon of the Flowers was overjoyed.

    "You may go! I have noted your words, but remember, in the second year of my divine arrival, your people better construct the tallest and most beautiful Temple of Pluto. Otherwise, you will witness the majesty of a deity! A deity must not be blasphemed, I believe you¡¯ve heard this saying!" Rody chanted a divine spell, releasing the Butterfly Demon of the Flowers. He felt he had played his part perfectly.

    "We will build the grandest Temple of Pluto before your divine arrival!" The Butterfly Demon of the Flowers, hearing the divine spell, was even more convinced of Rody''s identity as Pluto.

    "Although I''m fond of the earth, it seems I must leave..." Rody sighed, preparing to leave stylishly.

    He actually coveted the gifts from the demon lords and rulers, but as a deity, he couldn''t ask for them. Rody was reluctant but had no choice; it was the price to pay. Otherwise, if the demon lords knew he wasn''t a deity, it probably wouldn''t be easy to leave the Exile Land safely.

    Fortunately, Rody''s regret was short-lived. The Butterfly Demon of the Flowers, regaining her composure, not only presented the demon lords'' and rulers'' gifts as her own favor to Rody.

    She also subtly pointed out the way to the Abyss of Demons for Rody. In her eyes, although Pluto was powerful, his sense of direction was poor! As he started moving, he was actually heading towards the direction of the human world''s evil lands, which secretly worried her for the future great deity.

    Left with no choice, Rody accepted the gifts and turned towards the Abyss of Demons.

    He wanted to return to the evil lands because he had already discovered a slight method to get back there. He couldn''t directly leave from here, but he could use space-time rifts. Any giant space-time rift has different directions, like several southeast space-time rifts, where monsters common in the evil lands come and go, indicating they might lead to the human world''s evil lands.

    But if he walked that way, it might arouse suspicion from the Butterfly Demon of the Flowers and the demon lords of hell, so he temporarily turned towards the space-time rift of the Abyss of Demons...

    "Great Pluto, my master, Little Butterfly Demon can only take you this far. Once you enter here, you can go north and then find the space-time rift that passes through the realm of gods. There, you can easily reach the clean realm occupied by angels! An envoy will respectfully welcome you there!" The Butterfly Demon of the Flowers knew quite a lot. Rody didn''t dare ask her too much for fear of revealing his secrets.

    But she voluntarily and unintentionally mentioned many things along the way.

    Moreover, she respectfully escorted Rody to the space-time rift of the Abyss of Demons.

    This fervent respect gave Rody a headache.

    Well... Now, he could only make a trip to the mysterious Abyss of Demons, hoping the journey there would be more relaxed and enjoyable than the Exile Land. Otherwise, it would be terrible. Pluto Rody, under the kneeling farewell of the Butterfly Demon of the Flowers, set off with a stiff upper lip.

    Now, Lord Pluto was moving to the Abyss of Demons... wondering if anyone would clap their hands to welcome this imposter!

    Rody chuckled to himself.

 Chapter 147: Starlight Butterfly Girl

    The Abyss of Demons, in the minds of people, is merely a legendary existence.

    Many are aware of the Abyss of Demons, and ancient texts even recorded tales of holy magicians and temple knights battling against the lords of the Abyss. According to the "Light Codex," the Abyss has two great rulers: the Abyssal Demon Lord and the Hidden Marsh Witch Emperor. However, no human hero has ever reached the Abyss. Those strong enough to reach it were the ones who entered Heaven or the realm of gods, never to return. No one has ever come back from the Abyss.

    The Abyss of Demons is even more mysterious than hell. People know about hell and are familiar with the devils and demon lords residing there. But regarding the more distant Abyss of Demons, knowledge is scarce.

    Upon arriving in the Abyss, Rody discovered it was a dark world, where the earth and sky were black, and even the bright moon was dim and lightless. Looking around, everything was engulfed in endless darkness.

    Surprisingly, this world was not devoid of life.

    On the contrary, the Abyss was teeming with life, even more vibrant than the most flourishing lands of the human world.

    Around the black rocks, various demonic flowers and vines grew, along with colossal demonic trees. Countless demonic insects, big and small, crawled silently on the ground, appearing and disappearing. Here, anything that glowed was quickly attacked and devoured. Only those best hidden in the dark survived.

    There were also powerful beings that emitted weak lights to lure and then devour their prey.

    In this dark world, Rody was followed by thousands of demonic insects. After some over-eager creatures rushed towards him and wailed in agony from the divine fire, all the insects watched Rody from a distance, following him.

    Although these insects seemed foolish and clumsy, they were incredibly intelligent and could even be described as cunning. Foolish and clumsy beings had long been devoured by other demonic insects. Those that survived in such harsh environments were the most outstanding and intelligent. Because of the light from the divine fire, the sky was also densely covered with flying insects, obscuring the dim moon. Rody didn''t want to make such a commotion, but under the watchful eyes of countless demonic insects, he had to intimidate them.

    One after another, demonic trees were ignited, and patches of demonic flowers burst into flames.

    Where Rody passed, there was a long trail of fire.

    On the sixth day of reaching the Abyss, a humanoid creature appeared, capable of speech, but in a demonic language that Rody had never heard before.

    Seeing communication with Rody fail, the humanoid turned and left.

    Countless demonic insects, realizing following this fire-covered individual was futile and dangerous, and they could be hunted by even stronger beings at any moment, gradually dispersed. The number of flying insects in the sky, however, increased. They seemed to possess a strong curiosity about Rody.

    On the ninth day, another semi-transparent humanoid creature without legs appeared.

    It was proficient in more than ten languages, but Rody still couldn¡¯t understand any of them.

    On the tenth day in the Abyss of Demons, a demonic general riding a glowing insect and accompanied by airborne soldiers circled above Rody. They flew in a certain formation in the sky. Perhaps, they were prepared to guide Rody towards the path to Heaven or the realm of gods, but Rody couldn¡¯t comprehend what these creatures were indicating.

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    A day later, an even stranger event occurred. The second half-body, legless, floating humanoid creature also appeared with nearly a hundred airborne troops, gesturing for Rody to follow them.

    The direction they pointed to was completely opposite to that of the glowing insect demonic general.

    Moreover, Rody could tell that although these two factions had not waged war, they were like fire and water, not harmonious with each other.

    Both sides, wanting to invite or guide Rody, were on the verge of a massive battle. At that moment, stars appeared in the sky. It was the first time Rody saw stars in the Abyss of Demons. He realized those stars, when they drew closer, were actually enormous butterflies. They had no other colors except for star-like wings and a form similar to a young girl.

    They appeared incredibly delicate.

    They looked just like human girls, made of starlight, with an additional pair of starlight wings behind them.

    To Rody¡¯s surprise, these Starlight Butterfly Girls launched an attack with unimaginable speed, quickly capturing the scared and scattered glowing insect demonic general and the half-bodied airborne people within three minutes.

    They used a kind of starlight magic, with a single strike, the enemy would fall.

    The glowing insect demonic general didn¡¯t dare to fight, failing to escape even a hundred meters before being caught by a net made of starlight. Rody developed great interest in this novel magic of the Starlight Butterfly Girls. The speed of starlight magic surpassed that of the super-fast wind, thunder, lightning, and light magics, astonishing Rody.

    More than two hundred enemies, unable to approach, scattered and fled.

    The Starlight Butterfly Girls, numbering just over twenty, captured all the enemies in less than three minutes. Such efficient combat amazed Rody, once dubbed ¡®the Son of Blitzkrieg¡¯ by Marshal Von Desman.

    In the Abyss of Demons, such powerful beings existed, no wonder all who came never returned.

    Rody finally understood why the demon lords of hell and the Exile Land only dared to launch attacks on human lands and not covet the Abyss of Demons.

    Although angels were backing them, the influence of hell constantly infiltrated human territories, proving that demons, to some extent, were not afraid of the angels of Heaven. Rody thought of the Butterfly Demon of the Flowers who escorted him to the entrance of the Abyss of Demons but dared not enter. Her fear of the Abyss indicated its formidable power, far beyond common imagination.

    "Supreme Lord Pluto, you have finally arrived!" A leading Starlight Butterfly Girl gracefully greeted Rody, leaving him stunned.

    "You call me... Supreme Lord Pluto?" Rody was confused.

    This Pluto identity was something Rody had fabricated on the spur of the moment to deceive the Butterfly Demon of the Flowers. Could it be that these Starlight Butterfly Girls were in contact with her? But this was clearly the Abyss of Demons! Even if the Butterfly Demon of the Flowers had informed these Starlight Butterfly Girls, it wouldn''t have been so fast, would it?

    Rody was thoroughly perplexed. He felt that these Starlight Butterfly Girls were even more respectful towards him than the Butterfly Demon of the Flowers. And on their faces, there were tears of surprise and joy.

    He didn¡¯t know them at all, did he?

    Could they have mistaken him for someone else?

    "Of course, Father God, we are all your daughters!" The leading Starlight Butterfly Girl¡¯s words startled Rody so much that he almost fell on the black rock. If his boss or Jill heard this, even a thousand explanations wouldn¡¯t suffice. He didn¡¯t even have a wife, yet suddenly he had a bunch of grown daughters.

    "Respected Supreme Father God, please come with us! The Queen of the Underworld has been waiting for you, and we have been waiting for you too. Today, we finally welcomed you! Father God, please hold my hand, I want to take you to the Mother Goddess as fast as possible!" The leading Starlight Butterfly Girl extended her starlight-like little hand towards Rody.

    "This..." For the first time, Rody discovered that the girl wasn''t afraid of his divine fire, even the unrefined kind.

    "Supreme Father God, please rest assured to come with us, we are all your daughters and will not harm you." The leading Starlight Butterfly Girl held Rody¡¯s hand and smiled, "The Mother Goddess will explain everything to you. She''s waiting for you. Please nod your approval, otherwise, your daughters dare not lead your divine body!"

    "Then, let¡¯s go!" Rody felt that to clear up the situation, he had to go with them, so he agreed.

    "Father God, let''s go! Sisters, take these insects trying to deceive Father God with us, our demonic insects haven''t had a feast for a long time. Today, having welcomed Father God, we should reward them!" The leading Starlight Butterfly Girl, holding Rody¡¯s hand, flew through the sky at an unimaginable speed.

    Behind her, more than twenty Starlight Butterfly Girls joyously followed, using starlight nets to carry the captives.

    After reaching top speed, the leading Starlight Butterfly Girl drew a halo and then pulled Rody into it. Passing through each halo, Rody felt like he was being teleported. After the eighth halo, he finally saw a distant star.

    Passing through the ninth halo, Rody suddenly found himself in a city of starlight.

    The floating city was as resplendent as starlight, magnificently beautiful, with countless star colors, star rainbows, and halos shining above. On the ground, myriad demonic insects buzzed in excitement. They made sounds Rody couldn¡¯t understand, but it was apparent they were welcoming him.

    Nearly a hundred Starlight Butterfly Girls flew from all directions, with some ethereal starlight butterflies fluttering across the entire sky.

    "Father God, we welcome you!" Over a hundred Starlight Butterfly Girls danced in the sky, forming a giant image of a Starlight Butterfly Girl, gracefully paying respect. Thousands of starlight butterflies sometimes formed nine huge butterflies with wings hundreds of meters wide, and at other times, they transformed into nine pairs of girl''s palms, clapping in welcome with various patterns.

    "This is like a wonderful dream..." Rody couldn''t help but exclaim in amazement.

    "Father God, the Mother Goddess is waiting for you. Let''s go see her first!" The leading Starlight Butterfly Girl happily pulled Rody through the sky, eventually heading towards the grand city of starlight.

 Chapter 148: Star Goddess

    In the City of Starlight, at the highest point of a grand palace, there is a crystal ice stone.

    Upon it sits a weeping woman.

    She possesses hair as long as the Milky Way, dazzling and shimmering, but what surprises Rody is not this. Instead, it''s her hair color, which, like his own, is black. The woman sits atop the crystal ice stone, her slender legs clearly visible, restrained by a long, crystalline chain similar to the divine chain on Rody, but more translucent and sparkling.

    The woman looks at Rody, her gaze filled with the deepest dependency and longing for a loved one.

    Her eyes, like the Milky Way, are brimming with icy tears. On closer observation, her eyes are strikingly similar to Rody''s, both of a deep, night-like color.

    "You''ve come, after thousands of years. My tears have nearly run dry, my heart almost lost to despair, and you, you''ve finally arrived¡­" The black-haired, black-eyed woman extends her delicate hand towards Rody. Below her, the suspended crystal ice stone emits a dazzling halo, seemingly trying to hinder her movement. The Starlight Butterfly Girl, who brought Rody here, now flies slowly under the influence of the light, but she persists, bringing Rody before the crystal ice stone, then kneeling at the woman''s feet, covering her face in tears.

    "I, I am actually a human!" Rody, had it not been for the woman''s hair and eyes mirroring his own, would have earlier concluded that they had mistaken him for someone else.

    "Child of the Night, you have reincarnated dozens of times, even cast far from this world by the God of Fate. I was in despair, but unexpectedly, you returned. Although your memories were deeply sealed with each reincarnation, doesn¡¯t your heart feel the joy of reunion? If you truly are a human, wouldn''t you feel fear and awe upon seeing me, the Star Goddess?" The black-haired, black-eyed woman, upon hearing this, breaks into a smile through her tears. She extends her hand to Rody, saying, "Come, if you are a human, if you are not the Child of Black Hair, then you couldn¡¯t have passed through the halo sealing me... Child of the Night, come, sit by my side!"

    "This?" Rody feels a strong resistance from the halo, but it does not stop him.

    Step by step, he moves through the layers of light with some difficulty.

    The black-haired, black-eyed Star Goddess watches, laughing and crying. As the Starlight Butterfly Girl who flew in with him sees Rody moving through the halo, they all embrace each other in tears.

    The halo bursts into a blinding brilliance, pushing all the Starlight Butterfly Girls with an invisible force, far outside the palace.

    But Rody, gritting his teeth, endures. Finally, after the last great push, he feels a sense of relief. Stepping forward, he enters the halo, floating in mid-air, hovering in front of the black-haired, black-eyed Star Goddess.

    "Now you must understand, right? You are now human, this is your reincarnated human body, but your true identity is the son of the Goddess of the Night, the representative of the profound night and tranquil sky, the ''Child of the Night'', the father god of Xing Qing and Xing Guang, one of the two great God Kings of the ancient divine realm, and also the future husband of me, the Star Goddess." The black-haired, black-eyed Star Goddess, opens her arms, embracing Rody tightly, her tears falling like pearls onto Rody''s shoulders.

    ¡°What exactly is going on?¡± Rody had never heard of Pluto, the deity he fabricated to impersonate.

    ¡°Sit down, and let me explain it to you slowly.¡± The Star Goddess, with joy, kissed Rody''s forehead. Her face blossomed into a smile like that of a little girl. She held Rody tightly in her arms, not willing to let go for even a second, as if she feared Rody would vanish like a wisp of smoke the moment she released him.

    The Starlight Butterfly Girls saluted in unison and then quietly floated away. The Star Goddess then began to recount the past to Rody.

    ¡°Ten thousand years ago, the last of the ancient gods went to the Dreamy Divine Realm, leaving the Divine Realm without a ruler. The new generation of gods decided to elect a new God King. You, as Pluto, and Tai Hua, the God of Light, were evenly matched. After a grueling battle of ten thousand years and countless smaller fights without a decisive winner, the gods of the Divine Realm eventually supported either you or Tai Hua based on their own wishes. Thus, the Divine Realm came to have two God Kings,¡± the Star Goddess slowly explained. ¡°For tens of thousands of years, everyone coexisted peacefully. However, fifty thousand years ago, a human strong enough broke through their ancient seal and stepped into the realm of the gods, entering the Divine Realm.¡±

    ¡°So, a divine war broke out?¡± Rody had heard something similar from the old men in the ruins of the Divine Domain.

    ¡°Yes, at that time, you thought it was a good thing and were very supportive of it. But Tai Hua and his followers strongly opposed it, believing that the entry of new powerful beings into the Divine Realm would disrupt the balance. They were especially against the entry of human beings. Thus, the great war among the gods, which had been dormant for tens of thousands of years, reignited.¡± The Star Goddess nodded gracefully, continuing, ¡°The gods who supported you were mostly benevolent and peace-loving, respecting you but opposed to war. The newly joined human gods were still very weak and needed your protection. In that situation, to protect the God of Earth, you made your first concession, ceding one-third of your divine territory in exchange for the cessation of the divine war.¡±

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    ¡°This is undoubtedly feeding a tiger to prolong its life, how long can it last!¡± Rody deeply sighed for his past self, even as a God King, being too na?ve.

    ¡°No, you were smart and great,¡± the Star Goddess kissed Rody''s fingers, proudly saying, ¡°You certainly knew this was impractical, but according to the divine revelation given to you by the God of Ancient Wisdom, there was a prophecy: A divided divine realm would give birth to a beautiful Star Goddess in the dazzling starry sky. If you could marry her, the divided divine realm would be reunited. For my sake, you chose a temporary retreat. Had it not been for the betrayal of the traitor of darkness, who let the gods seal me here first and delayed my birth by fifty thousand years, you would have unified the Heavenly Divine Realm long ago!¡±

    ¡°Darkness? The Dark Demon God?¡± Rody was surprised, realizing that the Dark Demon God was once his subordinate.

    ¡°Yes, that traitor. During your duel with Tai Hua, he betrayed you, and along with the War God and other gods who favored war and bloodshed, purged your loyal subordinates and the Earth God who supported you. Even now, he continues to suppress human beings,¡± the Star Goddess said with hatred.

    ¡°Wait, how do you know all this? Didn¡¯t you say you were born fifty thousand years later?¡± Rody grew even more curious.

    ¡°My love, what¡¯s so strange about that? Although I had not yet been born, my divine spirit and divine nature already existed. Moreover, every hundred years, the God of Memory would send messengers to check on me. So, I am very clear about everything that has happened in the Divine Realm,¡± the Star Goddess smiled. ¡°My love, do you have any more questions?¡±

    ¡°Ah, you know, I am now a human!¡± Rody gestured to his own body and said, ¡°I¡¯m so weak, any deity could overpower me with just a flick of their finger. How could they let me continue to exist? I mean, why haven''t they killed me?¡±

    ¡°I think there are several reasons!¡± The Star Goddess said with a smile, ¡°One of them is that there are many laws above the Divine Realm, some set by the ancient gods and even the primordial gods as eternal laws. For example, murdering a God King will result in the stripping of divinity. You are a God King, and no deity dares to secretly murder you unconditionally. If they do, they would be stripped of their divinity by the laws set by the ancient and primordial gods, and you, at most, would just be reincarnated again. They certainly wouldn¡¯t be so foolish. The only thing you need to worry about is their challenge¡­ They have the right to challenge you when you, as a human, rise back to the divine level. If they defeat you, then they can take your throne as the God King.¡±

    ¡°What? The throne of the God King, sweat, the throne of the God King still belongs to me?¡± Rody was dumbfounded upon hearing this. He had not acted as a God King for fifty thousand years, and yet he was still one?

    ¡°My love, of course, what¡¯s yours is always yours, and nobody can take it away! In the Divine Realm, a few of the Earth Gods have grown up and have been maintaining your divine realm. Also, your most loyal divine generals have always been defending your divine realm. Although only one-third of the divine realm remains, over tens of thousands of years, no other gods have been able to invade even a bit of it.¡±

    ¡°What about Tai Hua, the God King of Light? What is he doing?¡± Rody asked after a slight pause.

    ¡°He must be feeling very lonely practicing by himself without you as his opponent. The God of Light, Tai Hua, seems to have the intention to go to the Dreamy Divine Realm, but with his power alone, it might take another hundred thousand years to reach there. Without an equal opponent, his progress is very minimal. Moreover, the other gods are also coveting his throne as the God King. The days of Tai Hua as the God King may not be any better than yours,¡± the Star Goddess said, making Rody suddenly realize that being a God King was indeed a tough job.

    ¡°¡­¡± Rody was still organizing his thoughts, but he was soon startled again by the words of the Star Goddess.

    ¡°My love, the Divine Realm is a place that is not easy to leave once you go there. Without conditions, no deity can leave. I have always been reluctant to go there, waiting to ascend with you.¡± The Star Goddess, kissing Rody''s cheek excitedly, said, ¡°I am very grateful for the restrictions of the gods, allowing me to meet you here. This must be the arrangement of fate by the Mother Goddess of the Night. I know, the omnipotent her knew about today long ago. I praise my mother; she is truly great!¡±

    ¡°You, you are also a daughter of the Goddess of the Night?¡± Rody¡¯s heart grew more fearful as he thought about it. Goodness, if that were true, wouldn¡¯t she be his sister?

    ¡°My love, the birth of divine sons and daughters by deities is not the same as in humans. The Mother Goddess gave birth to you, her only son, who possesses her wisdom, divine power, and authority. I am her youngest daughter, created by her supreme divine consciousness. I possess her beauty, divine will, and hope. Our union will be more suitable than yours with your divine consort, the Goddess of Dawn, and will enhance your divine power even more!¡±

    ¡°So, are you saying that you were not born of the Goddess of the Night, but created by her supreme divine consciousness?¡± Rody finally breathed a sigh of relief.

    "Deities don¡¯t necessarily need to carry a child for ten months like humans to give birth to divine sons and daughters!" The Star Goddess covered her mouth with a giggle and said, ¡°If I wish, I can breathe out and give birth to a daughter for you. Look, Xing Qing and Xing Guang, they are daughters born from my divine power when I longed for you! Each of them looks almost exactly like me and possesses the divine power I bestowed upon them. Especially Xing Qing, she will become the new Queen of Pluto in the Demon Abyss after I leave, managing our entire garden. This is our garden, where we can vacation if we can leave the Divine Realm one day.¡± Rody felt dizzy hearing the Star Goddess''s words, now understanding how he already had a bunch of daughters without being married.

    "This garden is a bit dark... Ah, I''m feeling a bit dizzy thinking about this." Rody wondered how he would explain this to his mother when he got home.

    Would he have to tell his mother that he is not her son, but a divine son created by the supreme divine consciousness of the Goddess of the Night, named Pluto, and the former God King of the Divine Realm? If that were true, he guessed his mother would cry to death!

    But if he didn''t want to acknowledge the Star Goddess, it seemed a bit regretful.

    The Star Goddess had waited for him for thousands of years in this dark Demon Abyss, creating over a hundred daughters out of her longing for him. If he refused to recognize her, it would likely leave the Star Goddess heartbroken and in despair. Moreover, deep in his heart, seeing the Star Goddess indeed stirred feelings of affection and warmth, as if she was inherently his kin.

    Rody felt a natural affinity for the black-haired, black-eyed Star Goddess.

    No one else was like him, only she, with black hair and black eyes, looked almost exactly like him...

    ¡°Don''t you like it?¡± The Star Goddess, observing Rody''s expression, cautiously asked, ¡°Is it because I didn¡¯t ask you and gave birth to so many daughters for you, you''re unhappy?¡±

    ¡°No, it''s not that.¡± If the Star Goddess were human, Rody would definitely have given her a slap, but since the Star Goddess created daughters with her divine consciousness and not in the way humans do, Rody could only shake his head. He looked at the Star Goddess and curiously asked, ¡°Why create so many with your divine consciousness? Over a hundred, I''m going to faint!¡±

    ¡°I was bored!¡± The Star Goddess hugged Rody and coquettishly said, ¡°When I missed you so much, I would create an avatar with my divine consciousness and then give her life, commemorating my longing. So, over time, there are over a hundred of them. The Underworld Butterflies too, are made by me casually when I think of you. If you don¡¯t like them, I can recombine them... Their bodies and thoughts are exactly the same, all manifestations of light, star power, and longing. If you think there are too many to handle, let them combine into just Xing Qing.¡±

    ¡°Is there another way for deities to have children?¡± Rody glanced at the Star Goddess and asked again.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The Star Goddess suddenly blushed, even her slender neck turning red. She lowered her swan-like neck, shyly saying, ¡°That requires your mischief. For a goddess to conceive a divine child, it¡¯s a big deal. My son would be the successor to the God King after you enter the Dreamy Divine Realm. You, you need to think carefully! I think the Goddess of Dawn, she might not agree¡­¡±

    ¡°Must it be a son?¡± Rody was curious.

    ¡°No, it¡¯s up to your wishes. It could also be a daughter. Do you prefer daughters?¡± The Star Goddess joyfully hugged Rody¡¯s neck, asking affectionately.

 Chapter 149: First Kiss

    Rody stayed in the City of Starlight for three days. Although the Star Goddess couldn''t restore his God King powers, she awakened his past memories.

    Despite being mentally prepared, Rody still felt a great headache.

    His God King memories were still deeply sealed, and only the various memories from his reincarnations were awakened, but even that made Rody feel dizzy and overwhelmed. The Star Goddess dared not awaken Rody''s final God King memories because once awakened, Rody would advance to the divine rank, making it difficult for him to continue living on earth. Moreover, the gods of the Sky Divine Realm, coveting his throne, would certainly take advantage of his still-recovering powers to seize it.

    The Star Goddess decided it would be better to slowly awaken his divinity when Rody''s strength was assured.

    Human progress is the fastest, and with Rody''s potential surpassing all, the Star Goddess believed it would take no more than a thousand years for Rody to fully recover his previous divine powers and return to the Sky Divine Realm... Of course, she also had a slight selfish desire, as Rody living with her on earth meant they could enjoy their world together.

    Once they returned to the Sky Divine Realm, that might no longer be possible.

    ¡°I want to learn divine spells, the language of the gods,¡± Rody felt he must release the divine fire and chains binding him, otherwise he always felt shackled.

    ¡°Your chain was forged by the Craftsman God, and the flame is a spark of the Fire God. They are both mid-tier deities, nothing extraordinary. If you wish, you can completely command them with the authority of a God King!¡± The Star Goddess said with a charming smile. ¡°Although you haven''t recovered your divine power, they fear you from the bottom of their hearts!¡±

    She drew a star-shaped pattern on Rody''s forehead with her jade hand and then gently kissed it.

    Rody felt an extremely wonderful sensation from her warm, jade-like lips, as if his wisdom was infinitely expanding. Finally, a strange yet familiar language awakened in his mind, feeling incredibly miraculous.

    With a bit of excitement, Rody opened his mouth and could fluently speak the language of the gods.

    The Chain of Binding Gods, under the command of the divine spell, quickly detached from Rody''s body. It coiled into a ball and finally condensed into a small orb of light. Rody was astonished by the authority of his command; even such a powerful divine artifact as the Chain of Binding Gods obediently followed his orders, proving his true identity as the former God King! Similarly, the blazing divine fire also rapidly left his body, turning into a hovering flame.

    ¡°These little trinkets dared to harm your noble body. As a God King, you should punish them!¡± the Star Goddess suggested.

    ¡°¡­¡± Reflecting on his thoughts, Rody almost wanted to praise them.

    Without them, he probably would have been fleeing from the angels'' pursuit until now.

    Without them, he would never have reached the Demon Abyss.

    Even if he had reached the Demon Abyss, he probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to smoothly arrive at the City of Starlight. Without the divine fire and chains to protect him, the countless demonic insects would have devoured him as a delicacy long ago. So, in his heart, Rody actually felt somewhat grateful for these two divine artifacts.

    ¡°How should they be punished? Can I turn them into weapons?¡± Rody found a method in the divine incantations of the deities to take divine artifacts for his own use.

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    ¡°That would be letting them off too easily! As items crafted by mid-tier deities, it would be an honor for them to become your weapons! You should grant them a slave-like existence, enslaving them forever!¡± The words of the Star Goddess startled Rody; wasn¡¯t that a bit too extreme?

    ¡°Right now, I need weapons and armor more. Turn this divine chain into a glove for my hand!¡± Rody thought, if he had a pair of divine artifact gloves that could grasp anything, wouldn¡¯t that be perfect? As for slaves, he could have as many dark slaves as he wanted through contracts, so why worry about not having anyone to command? Besides, he already had over a hundred ''daughters'' who, with their diligent and obedient nature, would probably make it difficult for him to find others to command.

    ¡°Drop a drop of blood on it, then draw this kind of divine contract¡­¡± Even if the Star Goddess hadn¡¯t mentioned it, Rody somewhat understood now, but he was still grateful for her careful reminder.

    ¡°Okay.¡± Rody was overjoyed to see the Chain of Binding Gods, which had bound him for half a year, transform into a right-hand gauntlet.

    ¡°Turn this ball of divine fire into a fire bird! It burned your body, causing you immense pain; it should be enslaved as penance!¡± The Star Goddess was constantly upholding Rody''s dignity.

    ¡°But my divinity hasn¡¯t awakened, I¡¯m not yet sufficient to grant it life!¡± Rody searched his memory and found his current capabilities were very limited.

    ¡°My love¡­¡± The Star Goddess, blushing, whispered something into Rody''s ear.

    ¡°This, there¡¯s no rush for now!¡± Rody felt his heart race upon hearing her, but he thought it was better to do something else first. There would be time to consider her suggestion of an adult ceremony later. Seeing the Star Goddess trapped within the halo, her feet bound by a chain stronger than his own, he asked, ¡°How can the chains on your feet be removed?¡±

    ¡°They can¡¯t be removed until you regain the power of the God King. It¡¯s the ¡®Chain of Suffering¡¯ made by the collective effort of the gods, and I must endure this hardship. But don¡¯t worry, I can move freely, just by turning it into boots. I don¡¯t want to do that because my feet are as perfect as the Silver-Footed Goddess of the Divine Realm. I don¡¯t like wearing boots, especially in front of you!¡± The Star Goddess smiled sweetly, ¡°I don¡¯t mind it as it is; I don¡¯t like to move around anyway.¡±

    ¡°Can I endure this hardship for you?¡± Rody felt deep sympathy, as the Star Goddess had been trapped here for thousands of years, her perfect feet bound by chains, which was a truly pitiable plight.

    ¡°Wuwu, I¡¯m so touched!¡± The Star Goddess cried, hugging Rody, her tears flowing freely.

    ¡°Wearing boots every day is nothing for me, if I can switch them¡­¡± Before Rody could finish, the Star Goddess, moved, kissed him on the lips. The wonderful sensation was like electricity flowing from their lips through their bodies. Instinctively, Rody embraced the still-crying Star Goddess in the midst of the wonderful kiss, passionately sucking the spiritual essence from her mouth.

    After a long while, their lips reluctantly parted.

    Strictly speaking, this was Rody''s first kiss. Although it was his first time kissing a girl, he almost made the Star Goddess faint. His past life memories seemed to lack this particular experience, but this was his natural instinct; without awakening or learning, just a moment¡¯s contact was enough to understand how to kiss dominantly and tenderly.

    The Star Goddess''s face was flushed, even her neck turned pink.

    She gasped slightly, her chest heaving, her lips kissed to a tender red adding to her enchantment.

    ¡°God King, my love, I wish to hold you like this forever...¡± The Star Goddess embraced Rody tightly, contentedly breathing in his scent.

    ¡°After performing that, I mean the adult ceremony, can it unlock my Star of Potential?¡± Rody suddenly remembered the prophecy from the Saintess, ¡®The key lies in a girl very close to you, or, in a woman who dwells in darkness.¡¯ Could it be referring to this Star Goddess?

    ¡°It¡¯s not for me to unlock your Star of Potential,¡± the Star Goddess kissed Rody''s forehead and smiled, ¡°It should be a human girl, right?¡±

    ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Rody wondered which girl close to him it might be.

    Was it Jill?

    Or the female boss? The Succubus sisters? He didn¡¯t seem to know many girls¡­ So, it was very likely among them. If only he could use the Dark Crystal Magic Mirror to find out, it wouldn¡¯t be such a hassle to search for them one by one.

    ¡°My love, I cannot unlock the Star of Potential in your human body, but I can grant you two ¡®Stars of Divine Power¡¯,¡± the Star Goddess boldly sat in Rody''s lap, pulled his head down, and gently kissed his lips, tenderly saying, ¡°I have prepared for you for thousands of years, my love. The faith of the entire Demon Abyss has been condensed by me. It can form the ¡®Power of Faith¡¯ for you, which will continually enhance your divine power through the spiritual power gained from devout faith! Furthermore, as your divine wife, I will also dedicate the purest ¡®Power of the Starry Sky¡¯ to you.¡±

    ¡°The Power of Faith?¡± Rody didn¡¯t need to ask what the Star Goddess¡¯s power was, but he was unclear about the Power of Faith, as his final God King memories were still deeply sealed.

    ¡°The ice crystal stone beneath me is where I collect the devout faith of all creatures in the Demon Abyss, like the demonic insects and demonic flowers,¡± the Star Goddess answered, leaving Rody stunned.

    ¡°So immense?¡± Rody knew the significance of tangible spiritual power. Even forming an ethereal avatar nearly exhausted all his spiritual power, but here was a tangible ice crystal giant rock. If it were purely formed from spiritual faith, how powerful must this force be?

    ¡°The thoughts of demonic insects and demonic flowers are minimal; they mostly rely on instinct to survive. They are far inferior to human spirits. Their only advantage is their devoutness. Once loyal, they are unlikely to betray easily. God King, my love, you must gain the faith of humans to rapidly strengthen yourself. Otherwise, even if you defeat the gods with millions of followers, they will recover through the unceasing power of human faith,¡± the Star Goddess suddenly bit her finger and drew a blood contract on the ice crystal stone.

    Instantly, the entire ice crystal stone trembled.

    Millions of streams of spiritual power flowed like creeks into Rody¡¯s mind, causing him to be engulfed in a sea of spiritual faith. Millions of faith powers rapidly condensed into a shining star in the depths of Rody¡¯s soul.

    The star flickered, absorbing more spiritual power, exponentially strengthening and brightening the ¡®Star of Faith¡¯.

 Chapter 150: First Time in Life

    When Rody awoke again, he found himself lying on a comfortable and warm crystal bed.

    The entire room was filled with dazzling starlight.

    He got up and noticed that his body was very different from before; it seemed as though he were sculpted from crystal and jade, his long hair falling down like the Star Goddess''s, shining like the Milky Way. A myriad of sensations surged within him, yet in an instant, they calmed down. If he focused on one, he would find it was a Dark Butterfly, excitedly playing and fluttering with its companions.

    Although he couldn¡¯t see with his eyes, this sensing was clearer than sight.

    Rody realized that if he wished, he could sense billions of demonic insects, demonic flowers, and thousands of Dark Butterflies, and simultaneously feel every movement of his ¡®daughters¡¯. He could even use their senses and eyes to see and perceive faraway places.

    This marvelous and wonderful sensory ability both surprised and delighted Rody.

    Could this be the Power of Faith?

    He could sense and manage everything through the power of faith, knowing all, understanding all. Although he was alone, he could simultaneously sense the existence of all his followers, continuously receiving their power of faith¡­

    In the deepest part of his mind, there was a vague sensing target.

    When Rody tried to sense her, her response merged rapidly with him; it was the Star Goddess.

    She immediately knew Rody''s condition and excitedly flew towards him, dragging the long ¡®Chain of the Gods¡¯ behind her. She burst into the grand hall, threw herself into Rody''s arms, and excitedly kissed his lips. Outside, the Starlight Butterfly Girls, knowing of Rody''s awakening, cheered, hugged each other, laughed, and danced happily.

    Millions of demonic insects and demonic flowers also expressed their celebration in their unique languages. Now, Rody had become the deity they worshipped.

    ¡°You scared me, do you know that? You slept for three whole months,¡± the Star Goddess laughed and cried at the same time. She held Rody tightly and excitedly said, ¡°You absorbed so much power of faith at once¡­ It''s my fault for not explaining clearly. Such powerful faith should have been absorbed and refined in multiple sessions, otherwise, the seal might have broken, and if you regained your divinity, automatically ascending to the Sky Divine Realm, I don''t know what we would have done. Luckily, your Star of Potential didn''t awaken, and nothing we feared happened! I''m so happy!¡±

    ¡°Wow, has my Magic and Martial Arts Ban been lifted?¡± Rody exclaimed in surprise.

    ¡°The Magic and Martial Arts Ban can only seal ordinary humans, how could it possibly seal you now that you possess the powers of faith and the starry sky! Right, maybe because the Magic and Martial Arts Ban was lifted, the deeper and stronger God King seal didn¡¯t break¡­¡± The Star Goddess clapped her hands, also happy for Rody.

    ¡°From now on, can I absorb and use the eternal power of the starry sky?¡± Rody felt inside his soul, in addition to the bright ¡®Star of Faith¡¯, there was an even more dazzling and bright ¡®Galactic Star¡¯. That Galactic Star was like a miniaturized galaxy, with millions of light points condensed together. The power was so immense that Rody, even with all his wisdom, couldn¡¯t imagine it.

    Unfortunately, he was still unable to fully utilize this powerful force.

    ¡°No wonder it¡¯s said that once I have the Star Goddess as my divine wife, I can defeat Tai Hua, the God of Light. Aside from everything else, just this galaxy-like immense stellar power is already a guarantee of victory.¡±

    ¡°My God King, please allow your humble wife to kiss your hand! Your return to your former divine glory is not far off, my lord. Hardship is receding from us, and happiness and hope are beckoning to us from not far away!¡± The Star Goddess deeply bowed, embraced Rody''s legs, and affectionately kissed his fingers. Her joyful tears fell like pearls.

    ¡°Words cannot express my gratitude to you.¡± Rody lifted the Star Goddess and kissed her passionately, this goddess who had waited for him for thousands of years.

    She had given everything for him, and all he could give her in return was this.

    Rody activated the power of the stars, chanted a divine spell, and gently unlocked the ¡®Chain of the Gods¡¯ on her jade feet, turning it into a pair of silver boots that he put on his own feet. The Star Goddess shook her head ceaselessly, but she did not stop him, just streaming tears, watching what Rody was doing for her.

    There was also a divine seal halo outside the Star Goddess, which Rody tried several times to break or change with his current power. Unable to do so, he reluctantly gave up. He absolutely did not want to see his divine wife sealed by the gods. The desire in his heart to increase his power grew even stronger.

    To quickly unlock the Star of Potential and rescue the Star Goddess.

    ¡°My lord, your actions move me. I want to cry out loud!¡± The Star Goddess hugged Rody, tears streaming down her face, saying, ¡°Thousands of years of waiting, and now you are here. This is like a wonderful dream! I love you, my king!¡±

    ¡°I love you too¡­¡± Rody lifted the Star Goddess, threw her high into the air, and then caught her.

    Their passionate kiss was fiery.

    Rody''s hands roamed over the Star Goddess''s body, heating her jade skin like flames, causing her to blush and perspire. Taking advantage of Rody''s loosened grip, the weakened Star Goddess, while struggling with the dizzying pleasure of Rody kissing her shoulders and neck, gasped and whispered in his ear, ¡°My love, my king, oh, wait a moment, please allow your wife to serve her husband in a bath!¡±

    ¡°In there?¡± Rody picked her up and rushed out.

    In a moment, they hurried back, kicked open the bathroom door, and together leapt into the magic spring.

    The Star Goddess intertwined with Rody in the water for a long time, then pulled Rody to the surface, produced a jade comb, and gently combed Rody¡¯s galaxy-like long hair, seeming to perform some ritual, her face becoming sacred. She kissed Rody''s hair and combed her hair together with his.

    ¡°To comb my lover''s hair is my wish and also part of the ceremony of becoming a divine wife,¡± the Star Goddess gently kissed Rody, her delicate hands slowly undressing him.

    ¡°You are so beautiful!¡± Rody, his passion burning, was fully aroused.

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    He gently undid the Star Goddess''s light silk divine garment, revealing her flawless and tender jade peaks to him.

    The peaks were adorned with two trembling, delicate red plums, so tender and fragile that it seemed even a light kiss might hurt their softness. Rody deeply adored these perfect treasures, which from now on belonged only to him. He gently kissed those red plum-like tips, marking his possession and conquest, declaring his sovereignty and dominion.

    When Rody buried his face in the snowy peaks and kissed them fervently, the Star Goddess involuntarily let out an intoxicating moan.

    She tightly embraced her lover, her body melting and gently collapsing in his arms.

    The last thread of her divine garment was also undone by Rody''s exploring hand, revealing a garden of unparalleled beauty to him. For the first time, this dreamlike realm welcomed a visitor and recognized him as its eternal master.

    Rody felt that all the words in the world could not describe even a fraction of the Star Goddess''s beauty.

    She was the most perfect goddess in the world and belonged to him...

    "Oh, my king, I, I feel like I''m dying!" The Star Goddess gasped for air but still felt it wasn''t enough. Under Rody''s fiery kisses, her body trembled, especially when he kissed her secret garden, eliciting a scream from her. Her hands reached into his hair, her shy yet tense legs unwittingly parting slightly.

    The sweet nectar with a mysterious fragrance quietly seeped out, moistening the delicate petals of her garden.

    Just a gentle kiss, and that secret and exquisitely beautiful nectar excitedly surged forth.

    In Rody''s fiery kisses, the Star Goddess felt her soul merging, her entire being soaring in extreme bliss as if rushing to the heavens, yet clearly in his embrace. She couldn''t help moaning forgetfully, indulging in his tenderness, unexpected cries escaping from deep within her...

    "You are so beautiful!" Rody, overwhelmed by her beauty, sighed while pressing down on the Star Goddess, feeling her soft and smooth body.

    "My king, you¡­ oh, your hand¡­" The Star Goddess felt Rody''s hand firmly kneading her fullness, while his other hand roamed over her thigh. Feeling his fervent heat scorching her skin, knowing that the moment of becoming a divine wife was near, her heart fluttered with both joy and fear. Smelling her own scent on his lips, she excitedly kissed him without any reservations.

    "I''ll be gentle!" Rody, trying to control his urge, slowly pressed himself onto the Star Goddess.

    "Ah!" The Star Goddess felt an immense heat slowly penetrating her, pain making her involuntarily cry out. She didn''t want to show her pain, not wanting to trouble her lover. She knew this was a necessary passage, and also the most blissful moment. But the tearing sensation was too painful, perhaps because of her lover''s intensity.

    Seeing the Star Goddess in pain, with tears streaming down, Rody quickly stopped.

    But the Star Goddess bravely embraced her lover, slowly drawing closer to him... When they finally united, the Star Goddess gasped in pain, her brows deeply furrowed. Two divine lights flew out above their heads, merging into an incredible halo. The heart-shaped halo signified that they were officially husband and wife, united as one.

    ...

    Although the Star Goddess was a deity, her body was delicate and weak, causing her to lie down for two days after their first time.

    She didn''t want to be healed, preferring to remain in pain.

    For the past two days, Rody had been by her side the entire time, sometimes sharing funny stories from his training, sometimes recounting battles in the land of evil with his elite squad, and sometimes talking about fleeing Koro with his mother as a child. Now, those once-bitter experiences had turned into sweet memories, precious upon reflection.

    Of course, Rody also mentioned the female boss Anastasia and Jill, the succubus sisters whose beauty was marred to protect his mother, even the mermaid princess Sally who insisted on marriage for learning magic, and Chris, who he always suspected to be a girl but had no proof.

    ¡°There must be a girl among them who will unlock your Star of Potential!¡± The Star Goddess laughed heartily when Rody mentioned Chris.

    ¡°You think Chris is a girl too?¡± Rody asked curiously.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Won¡¯t you ask her? Bravely strip off her clothes, and you''ll know!¡± The Star Goddess¡¯s suggestion was not very good; Rody felt that if Chris turned out to be a man, their friendship would be over!

    ¡°You¡¯re not jealous?¡± Rody wondered why the Star Goddess didn¡¯t seem jealous after hearing about the many girls he knew.

    ¡°They are human girls, why would I be jealous? If I were to be jealous, I¡¯d start with your divine consort and the goddesses you¡¯ve been involved with!¡± The Star Goddess said with a smile, ¡°Your Goddess of Dawn is quite a jealous type, but she couldn¡¯t control you, and neither will I. My king, when you¡¯re in my Temple of Starlight, you''re not allowed to think about anyone else!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve had relationships with many goddesses?¡± Rody asked tentatively, feeling a bit dizzy.

    ¡°Not many, you, as a God King, are quite faithful among the gods of the divine realm.¡± The Star Goddess covered her mouth and laughed, ¡°Maybe it''s because the Goddess of Dawn kept a close eye on you, so you didn''t have much opportunity for affairs.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s a relief¡­¡± Rody wiped a cold sweat secretly, realizing that if all the goddesses came to settle old scores, that would indeed be troublesome.

    "Actually, I can be jealous too. But those girls you know, they might be goddesses who died in battle for you and reincarnated. They waited for your reincarnation into this world for thousands and thousands of years, their fate as tragic as mine, so I can''t bring myself to hate them! Besides, if you know more girls, your Goddess of Dawn won¡¯t target just me, hehe. Although I¡¯m not afraid of her, it¡¯s still good to give her some face, right?¡± The Star Goddess¡¯s comment made Rody realize she was not only wise but also very shrewd.

    ¡°Many goddesses died in battle for me? Wait, how did I die in my past life?¡± Rody wanted to know who killed him.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s said that you were reincarnated as a human after failing to reach the Dreamy Divine Realm following a revelation from the God of Ancient Wisdom. No one is clear about the details. But your divine consort suspects that you reincarnated to revive the goddesses who died in battle and to break my seal. Of course, I think so too! My great God King husband, I love you so much!¡± The Star Goddess became more romantic as she spoke, her eyes filled with tender love, sweetly kissing Rody''s face.

    ¡°Let''s not worry about the affairs of the divine realm for now. First, I need to take care of you, my goddess!¡± Rody unveiled the snow-white blanket and pressed down on the Star Goddess.

    ¡°Spare me, my king, wait another two days. It¡¯s still too painful, too painful¡­¡± The Star Goddess quickly begged for mercy.

    ¡°It''s been two days already.¡± Rody, having tasted the sweetness, longed to relive it, but had been constrained by the Star Goddess''s frail body and had not been able to act on his desires. Now, with the beauty in his arms, it was not easy for him to let go.

    ¡°Then just one more day, only one day!¡± The Star Goddess gave Rody several sweet kisses, pleading.

    ¡°You said that yesterday too. Let me kiss you, be good, let go of your hands.¡± Rody really wanted to relive that dreamlike comfortable feeling, especially the sense of superiority in conquering a goddess, which was enough to satisfy him.

    ¡°How could you stop after just one kiss¡­ My love, who made you so powerful that it still hurts me?¡± Although the Star Goddess complained coquettishly, she was actually quite happy. Her hand stealthily moved down, discovering Rody''s excitement, her face flushed, her body trembling, and she whispered something in Rody''s ear.

    ¡°Really?¡± Rody excitedly hugged the Star Goddess and kissed her.

    ¡°You mustn¡¯t look! Otherwise, I won¡¯t speak to you!¡± The Star Goddess made Rody lie down, covered themselves with the blanket, and then bent down under the blanket, passionately entwining in a heated kiss with Rody.

    Her hand clumsily and excitedly undressed Rody, and after a while, she kissed down his chest, just as Rody usually kissed her.

    When she reached his fiercely aroused part, she gently held his treasure, shyly giving it a light kiss.

    Rody couldn''t help but lightly press her head, signaling her to let go and act boldly. The Star Goddess playfully hit him, making Rody, who had sat up, lie back down. She allowed his mischievous hand to roam inside her clothes, kneading her fullness without resistance. Her tongue gently licked the heated treasure, and finally, she boldly enclosed it with her lips¡­

    After an hour and a half, Rody still wanted to continue, but the Star Goddess playfully protested.

    ¡°No, I can¡¯t anymore. You¡¯re bad, I have no strength left, but you just won''t release. You said it was close just now, but it¡¯s still not happening. Let me rest a while! Am I doing it wrong? I did exactly as you told me, but you just won¡¯t release!¡± The Star Goddess exhausted all her methods, but Rody still wanted her to continue. She bit Rody''s arm several times in protest, shaking her head and refusing to make any more efforts.

    "Just a little bit more, my darling, one more kiss," Rody said with a big laugh.

    "Really just one more!" The Star Goddess, having no other choice, leaned down again.

    "You truly are my goddess! My precious one!" Rody was moved to see a goddess so submissive to him, striving to please him in every way. She was a high and mighty goddess, yet for him, she was willing to act in ways unbefitting her status.

    Apart from tightly embracing this goddess who loved him so deeply, Rody didn¡¯t know how else to express his feelings.

    The Star Goddess seemed to sense Rody''s emotions, crying and laughing at the same time, her teary face radiant with joy.

    But she was mostly embarrassed, hiding her face in Rody''s chest, reluctant to come out and face anyone. At that moment, she didn¡¯t resemble a holy goddess but rather a shy lover...

    In the month that followed, Rody and the Star Goddess indulged in the sweet pleasures of love, unable to resist once they had tasted the forbidden fruit.

    When the Star Goddess realized that her divine power was becoming uncontrollable due to their prolonged bliss, posing a risk of ascending to the divine realm, they immediately ceased their activities. It wasn¡¯t time to ascend to the divine realm yet. The Star Goddess didn¡¯t want to leave, hoping to stay by Rody¡¯s side until his ascension. And Rody didn¡¯t want the gods to know he had acquired the Star Goddess''s power of faith and starry sky.

    ¡°My king, I may need to hibernate for a while to suppress my divine power,¡± the Star Goddess said softly, lying in Rody¡¯s arms, reluctant to leave, ¡°Although I don¡¯t want you to leave, it¡¯s too lonely for you to stay in the Temple of Starlight alone. Go back to your friends! In a year, when I wake up from my hibernation, come and reunite with me.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t leave this Temple of Starlight?¡± Rody wanted to take her with him.

    ¡°If I leave, I won¡¯t be able to suppress my divine power and will ascend to the divine realm,¡± the Star Goddess lightly kissed Rody''s forehead and smiled, ¡°I don¡¯t care about other things, but you must protect your mother well for me. Don¡¯t tell her I¡¯m a goddess. Just say I¡¯m the Queen of the Underworld, the empress of the Dark Butterfly clan of the Demon Abyss. Don¡¯t let her know I¡¯m a goddess to avoid making her uneasy! Also, don¡¯t talk too much about me with other girls, especially about the embarrassing things you asked me to do. That¡¯s our secret! My king, just nod your majestic head and agree to my little request, okay?¡±

    ¡°Okay, in a year, let Xing Qing and Xing Yu find me!¡± Rody nodded, making the Star Goddess kiss him repeatedly in joy.

    ¡°Take them with you! If you think there are too many, just bring a few. They will be a great help¡­¡± The Star Goddess¡¯s face suddenly blushed, leaning to Rody''s ear and whispering softly, ¡°My king, before this long hibernation, please allow your divine wife to serve you one more time!¡±

    ¡°There¡¯s no danger?¡± Rody, seeing the Star Goddess''s expression and feeling no danger of her ascending, was overjoyed. He embraced the Star Goddess and tenderly kissed her, ¡°My goddess! Your husband is here!¡±

 Chapter 151: Mom, Im Back

    At the exit of the Demon Abyss, Rody, seeing the four ''daughters'' insisting on accompanying and serving him, felt a bit dizzy. The leader among the Starlight Butterfly Girls, Xing Qing, was the first one created by the Star Goddess in her longing for Rody, making her several thousand years old by human standards. As eternal and ever-youthful emissaries of starlight, they had no concept of time or much attachment to human affairs. In her eyes, Rody, her ''father,'' and the Star Goddess were equally majestic and revered.

    Human modesty was irrelevant to her. She would freely enter when Rody was bathing, boldly taking the Star Goddess''s place to wash his back and hair, indifferent to his nakedness.

    All the Starlight Butterfly Girls were the same, unaware of human norms and not understanding why Rody didn¡¯t want them to bathe him. In their hearts, Rody and the Star Goddess were the same, both beings they devotedly cared for and served. Created from light, star power, and longing for Rody, they naturally liked and yearned to be close to him.

    Their main characteristic was that they were as one individual; what one did, all did without any difference. Their thoughts and intentions were perfectly aligned, as were their bodies. They could easily merge into one entity or separate and assist each other. To ordinary people, these ''emissaries of starlight'' were incredibly miraculous beings, only appearing normal in the divine realm.

    "Actually, you don¡¯t need to come, or just one of you would suffice!" Rody felt that returning with the four ''daughters'' would surely cause misunderstandings with his mother and the female boss. After exchanging glances, Xing Qing and the others answered in unison, "Father, if you think one person is most suitable, we can merge into one to accompany you! If you want us to be unseen, we can become invisible, and no one will easily notice our existence. Mother specifically instructed us to take good care of you, father. Please allow us to stay by your side!"

    "I didn¡¯t mean that..." Rody felt it was inconvenient to have four ''daughters'' following him.

    "Then, when there are people around, we can become invisible star butterflies or wait in your storage space until you summon us?" Xing Qing and the others again unanimously offered this suggestion.

    "In the human world, many things are very complicated. If you don¡¯t understand, don¡¯t worry about it, and make sure to obey," Rody had no choice but to compromise.

    "Yes." Xing Qing took Rody''s hand, guiding the still inexperienced flyer through the sky at high speed.

    With Rody¡¯s current abilities, he could fly short distances. Having broken the Magic and Martial Arts Ban and acquired the powers of faith and starlight, he was transformed. However, due to limited practice, he was not yet adept at flying. Eager to return to Whitestone Town to see his mother, he let Xing Qing and the others accompany him. If they could remain invisible and avoid detection, it would save a lot of explanations.

    Xing Qing created starlight halos, pulling Rody through them. Each layer seemed to transport them hundreds of kilometers. After nine consecutive halos, Xing Yu took over, followed by Xing Hua, and finally Xing Yuan. Rody couldn¡¯t distinguish who was who, only knowing that the one always on his right, the future Queen of the Underworld, Xing Qing, was the eldest among them.

    The journey of tens of thousands of kilometers, which would have taken Rody a month to fly on his own, was swiftly covered with the help of Xing Qing and the others.

    In just half a day, Rody returned to Whitestone Town, a place he hadn''t seen for two years. Seeing the familiar valley beneath his feet and his mother''s cabin with its warm yellow lights, Rody''s heart trembled. Despite his relentless battles and barely having time to breathe, he always missed his mother after each fight. Alone in the quiet valley, she waited patiently for her son¡¯s return.

    She might not know that her son, Rody, had become the ''Miracle Boy,'' a military genius shocking humans, beasts, and demons alike. She might not be aware that her son had become a beloved ''Great Inventor''...

    Nor did she know that he had become a thorn in the angels'' side, someone they were desperate to eliminate.

    If his mother knew about the heartless words spoken by his father in Koro, Rody wondered how many tears of pain she would shed. He hoped no one would tell her; he didn¡¯t want his kind and compassionate mother to worry or grieve while waiting for him. A person as kind-hearted as her deserved to live every day in happiness and joy, not marred by any misfortune.

    Rody landed outside the wooden door, unable to knock for a long time. Hearing his mother¡¯s familiar evening prayer, which he had grown accustomed to over the years, brought tears to his eyes.

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    ¡°Merciful Holy Mother, please listen to your devotee¡¯s sincere prayers. I miss my son... I do not wish for him to achieve great honors, nor do I desire immense wealth for him; I don¡¯t hope for him to gain a high status, nor do I long for him to have unparalleled abilities; all I wish is for him to live each day in peace... Holy Mother of Light and Purity, if my dear child can occasionally show a smile, that would surely be your miracle¡­¡±

    ¡°Mom!¡± Rody knelt at the door, unable to restrain his choked sobs.

    ¡°Ah, Rody, my heart!¡± His mother was startled inside the house. Fumbling to open the door and discovering it wasn''t a dream, her precious son had truly returned, she screamed and rushed out to embrace him.

    ¡°Mom, I''m back!¡± Rody, strong-willed as steel, couldn''t help but weep in front of his mother.

    ¡°My dear baby, I¡¯ve missed you so much¡­ Ah, this is not a dream, it''s real. Holy Mother above, I sincerely thank you for your miracle!¡± His mother hugged Rody, crying and laughing, tears streaming down her face and onto Rody''s head and shoulders.

    Her cries alerted the neighbors, many old acquaintances came out, glanced at Rody, shared knowing smiles, then quietly returned home.

    The one-armed swordsman Gavin watched silently, without a word.

    ¡°Son, darling, sit down, don¡¯t move, let Mom get some water to wash your face. Look how dirty your face is! Ah, wait, are you hungry? Rody, I¡¯ll make you something to eat. What would you like? Just sit there, don¡¯t move, I¡¯ll be quick!¡± His mother was overjoyed, bustling about to get water for Rody to wash his face and then to prepare something for him to eat.

    ¡°Mom, I¡­¡± Although Rody wasn¡¯t hungry, he didn''t want to disappoint his mother¡¯s joyful heart.

    ¡°My baby has grown up, you¡¯re so much taller than your mother now.¡± His mother washed his face like she did when he was a child, but noticing how much taller and bigger he had grown, she nodded with joy. Suddenly, she peeked outside the door and curiously asked, ¡°Son, did you come back alone? Why didn¡¯t you bring any friends with you?¡±

    ¡°No, no one.¡± Rody knew what his mother was asking about. Although the four ''daughters'' were hiding in his storage space, he dared not tell her.

    ¡°After Stacey left, I never saw her again. Hani and Heidi did come once, but they stayed for a few days and then had to go back. Their fairy kingdom was invaded, they had to return... There are bloody wars everywhere these days, it''s so pitiful,¡± Rody''s mother sighed.

    ¡°She left? Where did she go?¡± Rody was surprised to learn that the female boss had left Whitestone Town. What exactly had happened?

    ¡°She heard that her enemy was close to finding her. The enemy was too powerful to confront, so her friends came to warn her in the middle of the night. She didn¡¯t want to leave, I¡¯ve never seen her cry so hard, but she still left that night. Oh, son, she left this for you.¡± His mother handed Rody a small, thumb-sized, and rather ugly wooden doll, intricately carved with extremely fine patterns.

    On the bottom of the doll, the nickname of the female boss was inscribed: Stacey.

    Rody didn¡¯t quite understand and guessed that the doll might be a self-carved image of the female boss, but what did those extremely fine patterns mean? Why would she carve such complex patterns on it?

    ¡°Mom, did Stacey say anything else?¡± Rody, not understanding the doll, asked his mother for more clues.

    ¡°She just cried. When I asked her, she just shook her head,¡± his mother sighed deeply for the female boss''s troubled fate.

    ¡°Did anyone from Felic Magic Academy come to deliver a letter? Mom, did you receive all my letters?¡± Rody, worried that news of his pursuit by angels might have reached here, first inquired his mother to see if she was well-informed before thinking of ways to cover up so as not to worry her.

    ¡°I received all the letters from a year ago, but none recently... Felic has fallen, the magic academy is dissolved, so of course, there¡¯s no more mail. I¡¯ve been worrying about you every day and night. Thankfully, my darling, you¡¯ve come back safely!¡± Rody was shocked by his mother''s words, jumping up in alarm and exclaiming, ¡°Mom, Felic has fallen?¡±

    ¡°You didn¡¯t know? There have been continuous wars for a year, and the capital was conquered by Great Frey and some other countries six months ago...¡± His mother looked at her son in surprise. How could he not know about such a thing?

    ¡°I, I went to the land of evil to cultivate, so I didn¡¯t know!¡± Rody, while covering up, felt shocked.

    Felic Principality, with strong figures like Dean Buck, the Drunken Swordsman David, and the beautiful instructor Margaret, had been conquered. Others might not know, but Rody was very aware of the true military strength of Felic. It was a nation that dared to confront gods, accumulating power for three hundred years. He never expected that even its capital would fall.

    Rody felt a sense of guilt for being unable to contribute to Felic''s defense during its crisis. Though Felic wasn¡¯t his homeland, the people there had treated him better than his own kin. It held a special place in his life, making its fall a bitter pill to swallow.

    He wondered about his friends who likely participated in the war. Were any of them, like Tommy, Terry, Leo, Benson, Elizabeth, Hila, and Sonia, casualties? What about Gill, who was under protection? Could the enemy have known Gill¡¯s true identity, prompting this war? If not for the backing of the temple and angels, how could Great Frey have conquered Felic? What was the situation on the continent now?

    Rody was full of questions, but he suppressed them. It wasn''t the time to ask his mother; further questioning would only make her more suspicious and worried.

    ¡°Did Hani and Heidi leave a message for me?¡± Rody thought of the mermaid sisters, worrying about their situation. Their fairy kingdom was also invaded? Where exactly was their fairy kingdom? Had he never heard of it? Was it in the Exile Lands, like the Butterfly Fairy''s homeland?

    ¡°They said they needed to find an ancient treant to help restore their homeland and asked if you could help locate one,¡± his mother recalled.

    ¡°To restore their homeland with a treant? Mom, I know where the treants are; they¡¯re in the land of evil!¡± Rody urgently asked, ¡°Mom, did Hani and Heidi say where their fairy kingdom is? How can I help them?¡±

    ¡°They didn¡¯t say where, only that it¡¯s far away, unreachable by carriage or boat,¡± his mother shook her head.

    ¡°Mom, I just came back from the land of evil and don''t know many things. I think I¡¯ll go out in a few days to find out more and then come back to stay with you,¡± Rody paused, feeling it best to gather information about everyone to ease his mind.

    ¡°That¡¯s alright, my darling. As long as I know you''re safe, that¡¯s enough for me,¡± his mother hugged Rody, tenderly kissing his forehead, softly saying, ¡°My son, Rody, you¡¯ve grown up. You should have your own will. Whatever you do, Mom will support you. Go out tomorrow, go where you''re needed more. Mom will wait here for you to come back, always waiting. You can come back anytime! Whenever you return, it¡¯s fine. My dear, don¡¯t worry about me. It¡¯s peaceful here, unaffected by the storms outside!¡±

    ¡°Mom, I, I will come back as soon as possible,¡± Rody embraced his mother. If it weren''t for his concern for his friends, he would have stayed to make up for the lost time with his mother.

    But the current situation made it hard for him to stay put.

    Stacey, Gill, and the mermaid sisters Hani and Heidi were all in danger, and he couldn¡¯t just stand by and do nothing!

 Chapter 152: Rody City, The City of Freedom

    The next day, Rody learned much from the one-armed swordsman Gavin. Although Felic had been conquered, it hadn''t perished. The king and the army, with nearly ten thousand people, had retreated safely into the depths of the Silent Forest, prepared in advance. Dean Buck and the Drunken Swordsman, leading a part of the army, resisted until the end. They dispersed after Great Frey¡¯s forces took the capital. Felic continued to resist, with skirmishes ongoing.

    Rody was relieved to hear this. He knew Felic wouldn''t easily fall as long as Dean Buck and the others were there; the nation could be rebuilt.

    With questions, Rody headed to the ruins of the divine realm. The leisurely old men were still sitting, lying, playing chess, reading books, seemingly detached from worldly affairs. Rody''s arrival surprised them, as they noted his significantly increased abilities, far exceeding their expectations.

    However, after their initial surprise, they affirmed Rody''s queries. They wouldn¡¯t interfere in human affairs unless they attacked heaven. The rise and fall of nations didn¡¯t concern them; they protected the hope of the earth, not a particular country. Therefore, they didn¡¯t assist during Felic¡¯s fall, and Felic didn''t need their help, having enough strength to protect the hope of the earth.

    Rody, having heard of Felic''s mysterious ''Land of the Seven Tribes,'' inquired about its location. The elders informed him that both the Land of the Seven Tribes and the Fairy Kingdom were in different spaces, like the Exile Lands, accessible only through rifts in time and space. Unlike the Exile Lands, which had constant rifts, the Land of the Seven Tribes didn''t have permanent rifts and required waiting for the right time, with only one opportunity each year. Thus, Rody couldn''t immediately go to find Gill or the mermaid sisters.

    Learning they were safe, Rody felt much relieved.

    ¡°Why worry about others? Focus on yourself,¡± the Saint of Suffering advised Rody.

    ¡°We¡¯re old and lazy to act, but you can do more. Whether you cause a stir or plan carefully, it''s up to you. We support you completely. When you''re ready to attack heaven, then come and call us,¡± said Elecres with a smile, enjoying seeing Rody¡¯s growth.

    ¡°Come back in a few years,¡± said the Saint of Wisdom. ¡°It''s too early now. The magic book and the crystal magic mirror are yours. The previous conditions were just to motivate you. Understand that artifacts change with different realms and will be useful later.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t rely too much on artifacts. The strongest should be the person,¡± Elecres advised, deeply impacting Rody.

    Leaving the ruins, Rody was contemplative. These elders could have ascended to heaven, especially the Saint of Suffering, Saint of Storms, and Saint of Wisdom. All of them could have lived in the beautiful heavenly realm, but they chose to stay on earth, silently waiting and guarding the hope of the land. Although they claimed indifference to worldly matters, Rody realized they must be secretly observing everything. Otherwise, in such an isolated place, they couldn¡¯t possibly know all that transpired in the world.

    They merely didn''t want to acknowledge their role in safeguarding, or perhaps, they didn¡¯t want to give anyone an excuse to find them and interfere in worldly matters. Rody suspected they might be bound by some law of the world, but he couldn''t confirm it.

    Rody realized he didn¡¯t yet have the strength to make a big scene, and his name had probably become taboo. If he appeared openly, the Temple might seize the opportunity to strike him down. Even if people sympathized with him, that didn¡¯t mean the Temple and its allied nations would consider public opinion.

    After much thought, Rody decided to gauge the military''s response to see if he could gain support from the Human Grand Alliance¡¯s military.

    In Felic, he was shocked to learn from the Thieves Guild that Marshal von Desman had gone to ''Mount God'' a year ago to duel with the orc warrior King Leon, resulting in mutual destruction. The Grand Alliance was now led by Marshal Trosky of the Kale Empire.

    No wonder the Grand Alliance allowed Great Frey to attack Felic. With Marshal von Desman dead, humanity was in a precarious situation. If the demon and orc forces attacked again, could Marshal Trosky lead the army to resist?

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    Rody was concerned about the lack of damage to the demon forces he saw in the Exile Lands, ready to strike again. He suspected a great conspiracy and felt a storm approaching.

    The Thieves Guild also had surprising news: in the Exile Lands, Chris and the elite team had built the ''City of Rody'', a city of freedom. With no taxes, numerous merchants and mercenaries flocked there, along with civilians close to Rody, especially the Rody Fan Club, which had over five thousand members and established a dedicated guard unit.

    Rody decided to visit this ''City of Rody''. Disguising himself, he wanted to surprise everyone who thought he was imprisoned in hopeless hell. This included friends, foes, and enemies.

    Half a month later, outside Rody City, the city had transformed from a simple wooden fence and few wooden huts into a green, thriving city with tall wooden buildings, lush trees, and abundant flowers. Situated in a valley with a clear lake, Rody City was more beautiful and safer than typical cities.

    Free from rogues, thieves, and bullies, Rody City even lacked taxes, attracting countless mercenaries and merchants. The city profited from selling land and local products. Chris and the elite team built tall walls, and the Rody Fan Club girls turned it into a garden-like city.

    With over twenty thousand mercenaries and merchants visiting daily and over fifty guilds setting up branches, Rody City became well-known. If someone hadn¡¯t heard of the capital of Kameron, it was normal, but not knowing Rody City meant they were utterly out of touch.

    Peace emissaries from orcs and half-orcs used Rody City as a trading hub, exchanging gold with human merchants for their needed goods.

    Rody City, unique in the world for receiving gold offerings from orcs, awoke in the early morning as the dawn''s rosy sunlight fell on the cool dew. The city, rousing from its nocturnal repose, began a new day. Merchants busily opened their stores, while diligent workers, drenched in sweat, transported goods. Guards on duty performed their shift change, taking up positions on the city walls, alert and spirited.

    Training soldiers, burdened with sandbags and stones, ran laps around the city, sweating profusely under the instructors'' shouts. Many mercenaries, eager to maintain their physical fitness, joined in.

    Like every other day, Rody City buzzed with life and vigor. However, as the city commenced its daily routines, the magical alarm bell, rung only in times of danger or special circumstances, sounded unexpectedly. It had been a long time since the city had heard this alarm, and people looked around in surprise. Those quick to react immediately grabbed their weapons and rushed to the city walls, ready to defend the city.

    This was seen as an excellent opportunity to earn merits. People wondered who would be foolish enough to attack Rody City.

    Their astonishment grew when they reached the city walls. In the distance, as far as the eye could see, approached a massive horde of demonic insects. These insects were enormous, rivaling even the gigantic mammoths in size, if not surpassing them. They resembled moving houses, their backs not carrying saddles but huge, soft beds.

    Each demonic insect, with sharp fangs and claws, obediently carried mountains of cargo. Leading the procession was a middle-aged mage wearing a monocle and waving a merchant¡¯s flag, guiding this caravan of demonic insects.

    Had it not been for this man at the forefront, everyone would have mistaken this for an invading army of demonic insects. Surprisingly, the guards of this insect caravan were dark knights and demon generals. Among the dozen or so guards, all were either dark knights or demon generals, fortunately holding banners symbolizing their master''s honor instead of weapons.

    "Who are you?" A rotating guard urgently reported the situation, and one of the personal guard captains, ''Phantom'' Terry, shouted, "Where do you come from?"

    "Human guards, we are a merchant caravan from the Infernal Realm of the Demon Abyss," replied the middle-aged mage with the elegance of a human nobleman, stepping forward with a smile. "Our Prince of the Night is very fond of human civilization, hence he has sent us to convey a message of peace. The Infernal Realm seeks to establish friendly trade relations with human nations. I stand before you as Nicholas, the servant and butler of the Prince of the Night."

    "Mogai? Infernal Realm?" The crowd was stunned at this revelation.

    "Please warmly welcome our noble Prince of the Night. His arrival is an honor and a blessing for all humanity," declared Butler Nicholas, dismounting from the demonic insect and kneeling in reverence to greet his master.

    "Prince of the Night, resplendent and radiant, revered by the world," chanted the dark knights and demon generals, all kneeling in unison.

    Approaching from the rear of the caravan was the largest and most ferocious demonic insect, its back adorned with a canopy and a large soft bed, covered in jewels and pearls. A man with hair like a river of stars lounged leisurely on the bed, surrounded by four girls with luminescent wings, feeding him crystal grapes.

    Wearing fashionable sunglasses that partially concealed his face, the man''s perfection still elicited involuntary admiration from the onlookers.

    "Black... Black Night Prince?" Terry''s voice trembled slightly, noting the black hair of the prince, reminiscent of the legendary Rody, said to be imprisoned in hell. Had it not been for the black-haired girls accompanying him, Terry would have suspected that this prince was Rody himself.

    "Hey Terry, who is he?" a member of the elite squad asked urgently.

    "I''m not sure; he looks a bit like Rody, but Rody wouldn''t just sit there upon seeing us, right? And since when is he interested in girls to enjoy such luxury? Then again, these girls are perfect, and all look alike. I''m dizzy... Who is this Prince of the Night from the Demon Abyss? Could he be Rody?" Terry was unsure and questioned his companion.

    "I can''t recognize him, but Captain Chris will surely know," the elite squad hurried to find Chris.

    "Tommy might also know. Someone, quickly fetch Captain Tommy! Wait, get everyone here, I''m dying to know!" Terry''s companions were also stunned, more by the identity of the Prince of the Night than suspecting him to be Rody.

    The Black Night Prince stood up, his hair dancing and shimmering golden in the dawn light. Summoning a fiery nightmare steed, he mounted it and hovered in the sky, surrounded by the four girls whose hair also turned golden in the sunlight. They accompanied him as he slowly rode towards Rody City.

    "Why aren''t the humans clapping to welcome me? Does the legendary City of Freedom not welcome my arrival?" The Prince of the Night''s commanding voice echoed through the sky. Terry, startled by the prince''s unexpected demeanor, noticed his resemblance to Rody, yet his speech was utterly different; this man exuded pride and authority, unlike Rody.

    "Welcome, Black Night Prince from the Demon Abyss," Chris appeared on the wall, speaking calmly, "Terry, please invite our distinguished guest into the city!"

 Chapter 153: The Prince of the Night

    As the elite squad respectfully escorted the Prince of the Night to the city lord''s mansion, Nicholas, the butler of the Prince of the Night, made a lavish gesture of distributing money. Anyone who came forward and said ''Welcome, noble Prince of the Night'' would receive a gold coin as a reward. Initially, only some children dared to come forward and welcome him, but when people saw that even the children received gold coins, many were tempted and lined up, shouting their welcomes loudly. Of course, some were fearful whether this was some kind of magic curse, desiring the gold coins but not daring to utter a welcome.

    Over a thousand brave people spoke the words of welcome, and as a result, they all received a gold coin from the hands of Butler Nicholas, the Dark Knight, and the Demon General. This extravagant act left the wealthy members of the Merchants'' Guild dumbfounded. Indeed, he was a prince of a nation, not someone ordinary people could compare themselves to.

    The cargo unloaded from the backs of magic insects included bricks of gold, bags of magic crystals, rare treasures like black jade, purple diamonds, and blue jadeite, as well as countless seeds of magic flowers, fruits of magic flowers, eggs of magic insects, and magic honey. As for the skins, teeth, horns, and claws of magical beasts, they could form a small mountain.

    Whether the Prince of the Night was from an evil or good faction was not the issue; he was definitely the most welcomed guest of the merchants. The mercenaries welcomed him too, for they were fond of the dark magical armors, swords, axes, etc., that he brought, some of which even had ''blood-sucking'' and ''magic-draining'' features. Though slightly evil, the mercenaries didn''t care about that; having suitable weapons and armor meant they could survive better.

    The eggs of magic insects and beasts were also welcomed by everyone. In short, no one noticed that there were any superfluous items among what the Prince of the Night brought.

    After Butler Nicholas donated ten gold blocks to Rody City, he announced the start of trading. He declared his intention to purchase all kinds of artworks and food, as well as some antiques and treasures, but he was disdainful of luxuries like spices, silk, jade, and magic crystals. This troubled the merchants, but the mercenaries were overjoyed, selling all the magical beast meat they had hunted to Butler Nicholas to feed the magic insects. In short, the busiest morning market outside Rody City revolved around several dozen magic insects.

    At first, people were somewhat afraid, but later they discovered that these fierce magic insects were incredibly tame, and some even boldly climbed onto their backs to move goods.

    Many merchants tried every means to trade and exchange goods, but soon realized that the other party had all kinds of luxury goods and didn''t covet them at all. However, due to the reasonable prices and the novelty and rarity of the items, the merchants saw a business opportunity and bought large quantities of items brought by the Prince of the Night. Regardless of whether the other party was a Demon General or an evil Dark Knight, at that moment, the plump merchants chatted warmly with the Dark Knights about prices, patted each other on the shoulders, and embraced each other to celebrate successful trades.

    If the clerics of the temple saw this, they would probably vomit blood and collapse.

    In contrast, the city lord''s mansion in Rody was a picture of tranquility.

    Everyone was quietly observing the Prince of the Night, sizing him up while guessing in their minds whether this Prince of the Night was Rody or not. If not, he must certainly be related to Rody in some way, perhaps a cousin or something of the sort. Otherwise, how could he look so similar?

    "You can call me Rody, because I have changed my appearance to look like him," the Prince of the Night seemed pleased that everyone suspected he was Rody, nodding and saying, "I admire heroes, so I wish my human form to resemble his. Where is your human hero? I would very much like to meet him, please bring him out to see me!"

    "Ah..." Everyone was speechless.

    It turned out to be a false alarm; this guy had transformed to look like Rody, no wonder they looked exactly the same.

    But, was he really not Rody?

    "Prince of the Night, in the realm of the Abyss, does everyone have black hair and black eyes?" Tommy, who was most suspicious, almost certainly believed that this tall and heroic Prince of the Night was Rody returned from Hell. However, since Rody refused to admit it, Tommy naturally did not want to expose him.

    "No, only the royal family has this appearance, about a hundred people or so!" The Prince of the Night pointed to the Starlight Winged Girl beside him, saying, "Just like her."

    "I see..." Doubts arose in everyone''s minds again, wondering if Rody was truly the prince of the Abyss.

    "Rody, he has been imprisoned in the Despairing Hell by the Chains of God, so he is not in the human continent!" Chris snorted coldly, "You should not transform into his likeness, Prince of the Night. You should meet people with your true face, as that is a friendly gesture. The image of Rody represents our honor, you cannot transform into him!"

    "I am different from him now, look, my hair has turned golden!" The Prince of the Night brushed his long hair, letting it cascade like a golden waterfall.

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    "You should not resemble him in appearance either. What about your original face? Change back to your original form!" Chris snorted.

    "No, I have no form, just endless darkness. If I change back to my original form, you will see nothing... I finally managed to transform into a human form, I can''t just change back at will!" The Prince of the Night refused.

    "Listen, Prince of the Night, Rody City does not welcome you!" Chris stood up, addressing the stunned crowd, "Escort the Prince of the Night out of the city, forbid him from taking another step into the city! Otherwise, consider it an invasion! In Rody City, there is only one Rody, there will not be a second. What are you all standing there for? Get him out!"

    "Yes." Everyone originally wanted to argue, thinking this was too hasty. They hadn''t clarified the situation yet, but since Chris had spoken, they had no choice but to comply.

    "Then tomorrow I will transform into someone else''s appearance to enter!" The Prince of the Night seemed a bit surprised, but still gracefully smiled, saying, "I didn''t expect that the hero Rody would hold such weight in your hearts, this is really surprising to me. Alright, I will transform into someone else to enter in the future!"

    "..." Everyone exchanged glances, Chris''s strange behavior of expelling the Prince of the Night, and the latter not getting angry at all, was indeed strange.

    The news that the Prince of the Night was expelled from the city for transforming into Rody''s appearance quickly spread throughout the city. On this matter, the Rody Fan Club''s girls strongly supported it, protesting against the Prince of the Night using magic to transform into Rody''s appearance, while mercenaries and merchants felt regret. Rody City, of course, has its own dignity; it was built in memory of Rody. It can be tax-free, free and unrestrained, without a hint of bondage, but if its dignity is touched, it will certainly face strong resistance from the city lord Chris and his elite team.

    Chris not only expelled the Prince of the Night but also returned the ten gold bricks he had offered as tribute.

    Although Rody City is a city of freedom, if the Prince of the Night does not immediately change his appearance from that of Rody''s, it would also refuse his trade...

    Unexpectedly, this move stirred the pride of the Prince of the Night. He transformed into dozens of appearances in front of everyone, but ultimately, he still felt that Rody''s appearance was the best. Thus, he adamantly changed back to Rody''s appearance. He would rather leave with his caravan than change his appearance against his will due to others'' disapproval. He was a lofty prince of the Abyss, with extraordinary pride and self-esteem.

    The Prince of the Night left Rody City frustrated, but still enthusiastically led his caravan along the main road towards the human stronghold of Saint Song Fortress.

    The news that a prince from the Abyss had come to the human world spread quickly across the continent. Almost every high-ranking individual was shocked at his appearance, but upon hearing about the Prince of the Night being expelled for ''changing faces'', they couldn''t help but burst into laughter.

    Many suspected that the Prince of the Abyss was originally very ugly, and having finally transformed into the handsome appearance of Rody, he stubbornly refused to revert to his original form.

    Kings and commanders inquired at the temples whether Rody was truly imprisoned forever in Despairing Hell by the ''Chains of God'' as the Archangel Mathifa had said. Was this Prince of the Night really not Rody? The temples prayed to the angels for answers, and eventually, Archangel Mathifa responded, stating that he personally escorted Rody to the gates of Hell, witnessing him fall into Hell, bound by the Chains of God, making it impossible for Rody to escape back from Hell.

    Mathifa revealed to the temples that this Prince of the Night was very likely a prince of the Abyss, and not an impostor sent by Chris.

    In the Abyss, indeed, there exist such giant magical worms and Starlight Butterfly Girls.

    Furthermore, there are three kingdoms in the Abyss, with the most powerful being the Underworld Kingdom, which has always avoided communication with any power. The Demon Kings of the other two Abyssal kingdoms and the Witch Emperor of the Hidden Marsh occasionally join the Hell forces in invading Heaven, but their territories in the Abyss are very small. It is said that over eighty percent of the Abyss''s land belongs to the Underworld Kingdom. The strongest being in the Underworld is the Queen of the Underworld, a mysterious figure whose true face has never been seen by even the angels.

    Heaven believes that the Abyss sending a prince to the human continent is possibly a precursor to an invasion, and advises all nations to treat this matter with caution.

    Saint Song Fortress, though instructed by the kings and temples of various countries not to provide any pretext for an invasion from the Abyss, still sent envoys to tactfully express that righteousness and evil cannot coexist, refusing entry to the Prince of the Night from the Abyss.

    Fortunately, the Kamaron Empire was the first to extend an invitation to the Prince of the Night, otherwise, he would surely have become infuriated by repeated rejections.

    Now, the focus of people''s discussions was no longer the appearance of the Prince of the Night, but his identity and the Abyssal powers behind him. If the Abyss finds a pretext to invade the human continent en masse, it would be a terrifying affair. Especially since if the Abyss mobilizes, the demonic races of Hell and the orcs would not sit idle and would certainly take advantage of the chaos.

    Even the self-proclaimed righteous temples did not dare to offend the Prince of the Night lightly at this time.

    Although the Prince of the Night brought a dozen dark knights and demon generals with him, everyone chose to ignore them. The knights and generals of the Underworld Kingdom, could they be anything but dark knights and demon generals? Thinking this, people found it quite reasonable.

    On their journey, a fervently devout knight led a team and rushed to uphold justice.

    However, to the astonishment of the Kamaron delegation, a Starlight Butterfly Girl effortlessly caught them with a Net of Starlight, and they all ended up in the belly of a magical worm. The leader of the delegation initially wanted to plead for mercy, but realizing that the Prince of the Night was unaware, as he was enjoying the service of a bath from the Starlight Butterfly Girl, the leader thought better of it. He guessed that disturbing the Prince''s pleasure might land him in the belly of the worm as well, so he quickly abandoned the idea of seeking an audience.

    The strength of the Prince of the Night from the Abyss, as estimated by the temple and representatives of various countries after careful observation of the recordings, was not beyond that of a Sky Warrior.

    It could be said that he was the weakest in the entire team.

    However, the four Starlight Butterfly Girls by his side were terrifyingly powerful. They appeared delicate, but their strength was believed to be at least that of a Mage King, or even at the level of a distinguished Golden Robe Grand Mage King. They excelled in high-speed flying and Starlight magic that required no chanting. A Starlight Girl with the speed of a Sword Emperor and the power of a Mage King was something even the angels greatly feared.

    No wonder the angels who ventured into the Abyss to explore in the past never returned; the Abyss harbored such formidable beings.

    Ten days later, the Prince of the Night and his entourage finally arrived at Kamaron''s capital, Blaye.

    "Welcome, Prince of the Night." Although Kamaron did not dare to hold a public welcoming ceremony during the day, they sent a grand welcoming delegation outside Blaye City. Emperor William II did not personally come out to greet him, but sent his most capable Finance Minister, Mike, and one of the five great Marshals of the world, Marshal Gordon, to welcome him. He entrusted Minister Mike to present a naturally formed ''Coral Beauty'' to the Prince, indicating his willingness to establish ties with the Underworld Kingdom.

    "I love the night!" The Prince of the Night thought that such arrangements were made to cater to his preferences, rather than to avoid public attention, and was very pleased. He handed a fist-sized perfect purple diamond to Mike as a reciprocal gift for William II.

    "By the heavens, His Majesty will be overjoyed..." Mike carefully held the priceless perfect purple diamond, swallowing nervously.

    While Emperor William II and the temples were all focused on the Prince of the Night, Chris from Rody City and a few elite squad leaders quietly arrived at a farmhouse on the outskirts of Blaye.

    Moreover, they had circled around the continent a few days earlier and secretly arrived here.

    They seemed to be waiting for someone, pacing in the house, occasionally running to the window to look at the sky. Even Chris, who was usually calm and seated, had his fingers trembling slightly unnaturally, betraying the nervousness within...

 Chapter 154: Body Fragrance

    In the middle of the night, the crescent moon curved like an eyebrow, with scattered stars dotting the sky.

    Silently, a starlight appeared in the farmyard. The Prince of the Night emerged from within the starlight. Tommy and others excitedly rushed up to embrace him but hesitated, while Stanley and Lopek hurried to check on Chris, who could best confirm if it was indeed Rody.

    "Damn you, you finally decided to come back!" Chris punched the Prince of the Night, knocking him down in anger, to the ecstatic joy of the others.

    "Rody..." Before Rody could get up, Tommy leaped on him.

    "Boss, I missed you so much!" followed Stanley and others, piling on top of each other.

    "My ribs are about to break, help! Oh, is this how you welcome me?" Rody finally crawled out from the pile, laughing heartily and embracing everyone. When it was Chris''s turn, he looked less happy. As Rody''s big hand embraced him, he punched Rody in the nose.

    "That punch was too light! How dare you disappear chasing girls? Don''t you know we were almost dying of worry?" Chris was more aggrieved than Rody.

    "You think it''s easy to come back from hell?" Rody laughed heartily, saying, "Actually, I just came back. If you had seen me earlier covered in divine fire, you would have run as far away as possible. Don''t worry, listen to me. Actually, I didn''t go to hell, but wandered in the land of exile for half a year. Then, mistakenly, I ended up in the Abyss, and finally returned to the mortal world with the help of the Queen of the Abyss. The twists and turns of the journey, even three days and nights would not suffice to explain! I first went to see my mother upon returning, and the news I got from her shocked me. Felic was destroyed, the Grand Marshal was killed, so I hurriedly bid farewell to my mother to find you all. Who knew that you had built a City of Freedom in the land of evil. I thought, why not appear as the Prince of the Night from the Abyss? It would make things much easier..."

    "No, that''s too brief." Tommy and others surrounded Rody, excitedly urging him to elaborate.

    "After the Archangel Matifa caught up with me, I knew my chance had come!" Rody began to describe how he extorted treasures from the Archangel in the land of exile, leaving everyone gaping in amazement. The guts to extort treasures even under the bondage of the ''Chains of Binding God'' seemed like something only Rody would do. But everyone cheered upon hearing about Matifa''s miserable fate, finding it immensely satisfying.

    "The things I extorted, I''ll share with my brothers. Do you think I''d keep them all to myself?" Chris said angrily.

    "I''m very generous, you should know that," Rody replied. He was only interested in divine artifacts now. According to the Starry Sky Goddess, using intermediate divine artifacts as weapons was overestimating them.

    Tommy chose the Invisibility Hat, and Rody strongly suspected that he intended to use it to peek at girls bathing.

    Stanley happily put on the Belt of Strength, laughing heartily.

    Terry put on the Pursuing Wind Boots, making his nickname of ''Phantom'' even more appropriate. The assassin Jesse eagerly grabbed the Dagger of Assassination. He had a fanatic love for daggers, of course, with his greatest hobby being using them to slit others'' throats. Keli chose between the Angel Feather Arrows and the Dragon Eye Ring, ultimately putting on the Dragon Eye Ring, to Lopek''s astonishment.

    He didn''t know how to shoot arrows, so the Angel Feather Arrows were of no use to him.

    Finally, Rody gave him a Bloodthirsty Demon Axe used by a demon general, not only with a blood-sucking magical effect but also with vicious curses of wound tearing and corrosion.

    Lopek happily accepted it. As for Leo and Benson, they didn''t compete with the others and gladly accepted the Dark Demon Sword and Fluorescent Demon Armor prepared by Rody for them. They knew Rody wouldn''t forget them, and their personalities were more like the elder brothers among the group, especially Benson, who was silent but the most mature and stable.

    "Looks like Matifa had quite a few good things!" Chris glanced at the Dark Demon Sword in Leo''s hand, incredulous that even a light angel would have dark weapons.

    "There are two small countries in the Abyss, called Deep Abyss and Hidden Marsh, and these are the weapons of those demon generals. Also, those demon generals and dark knights are all war prisoners who surrendered to the Underworld..." Rody certainly knew what Chris was thinking and casually explained. Then, suddenly remembering something, he asked, "Did Dean Buk mention anything to you? When Felic went to war, you all ran to support, right?"

    "Of course, Felic hasn''t fallen. It''s just temporarily relocated to the Seven Clans'' land." Tommy nodded, saying, "The Dean said our most important task was to find you. He guessed he would come out in the Seven Clans'' land to meet with us in about half a year."

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    "Now you remember Jill? If you really cared that much, you shouldn''t have been flirting with those girls!" Chris huffed.

    "When did I flirt with girls?" Rody was about to faint upon hearing this.

    "You didn''t?" Chris looked like he was seeing someone bitten by a snake yet denying it, almost punching him again. Tommy, Stanley, and others also looked at Rody with great envy, saying, "Boss, we support you! Wow, those four beauties, no need to say, they''re even more beautiful than saints! It''s rare they look exactly the same... By the way, do they have any sisters or cousins? Introduce some to us?"

    "No way." Rody absolutely refused to do so.

    "Boss, don''t be so greedy, pity us!" Stanley and others pleaded earnestly.

    "Xingqing, show yourselves and tell them what you call me!" Rody gestured, and Xingqing and the others appeared from invisibility, respectfully bowing to Rody and saying in unison, "Father!"

    "Pfft..." Tommy was about to drink water and ended up spraying it all over Stanley''s face.

    Everyone''s face showed shock, even Chris looked astounded.

    Their mouths and eyes all seemed to drop to the ground.

    These young girls actually called Rody "father." Could it be that they were daughters Rody had with someone in the Abyss? How could they have grown so big in just a year? Was time in the Abyss different from that on human lands? Or did people in the Abyss mature especially quickly, growing into young women in just a year?

    "I''m dizzy!" Terry collapsed to the ground, his legs twitching like a stepped-on cockroach.

    "You pervert... Don''t tell anyone you know me!" Chris, recalling the Prince of the Night''s enjoyment of being bathed by beauties, immediately changed his expression and, in a fury, grabbed Rody''s shirt and gave him a punch.

    "Xingqing, don''t do anything. Go wait in the storage space! You can''t understand these things!" Rody was preparing for Chris''s punch, but seeing Xingqing and the others ready to launch starlight magic at Chris, he hurriedly stopped them. He took another punch from Chris and quickly put Xingqing and the others away to prevent a fight from breaking out.

    "Father, are you alright? Please allow us to punish those who offend your dignity..." In Xingqing and the others'' hearts, anyone who raised a hand against Rody was a villain.

    "I''ll punish them myself. You go wait for my call!" Rody quickly ordered.

    "Yes, Father." Xingqing and the others turned into four points of starlight and floated into Rody''s storage space.

    Everyone was startled by the dialogue between Rody and them, thinking these ''daughters'' didn''t understand what friendship was as they were about to attack Chris. However, everyone thought that ''daughters'' who grew up in a year being obedient was already good enough, so they were reassured. It wasn''t too strange for anything to happen around Rody, as he was such an extraordinary person.

    If he were like everyone else, he wouldn''t be Rody.

    Chris, seeing that Rody was still favoring him despite getting punched, felt his heart soften, although he was still enraged thinking about Rody letting his ''daughters'' bathe him, behaving recklessly. If he needed to vent, he could find someone else; how could he involve his own daughters? It was just too much... Chris started to feel that his punch was a bit too hard, but then felt it was still too light, not enough to warn this guy whose reputation was about to be ruined.

    "Everyone, don''t misunderstand, they are not my biological daughters. But, I don''t know how to explain, in any case, they call me father. And they grew up in the Abyss, although it''s been thousands of years, they don''t know anything about human restraints and etiquette, so they just act according to their nature and understanding, which is very different from us humans." Rody tried to explain, but the more he talked, the more confused everyone became.

    However, when Rody mentioned that Xingqing and the others were already thousands of years old, everyone was quite shocked.

    Actually, even if Rody didn''t explain anything, everyone wouldn''t mind, no matter who Xingqing and the others were, whether they were Rody''s daughters, whether biologically or nominally, everyone would respect them the same.

    "They are such beings, the human concepts of lifespan and aging do not apply to them." Rody''s words made everyone extremely envious.

    "Wow, aren''t they like godly beings then?" Terry''s eyes shone with infinite admiration.

    "They are not gods... It should be said that, to humans, they are like eternal stars in the sky." Rody couldn''t explain more; he knew such an explanation would suffice for everyone else, but certainly not for Chris.

    "I have something to ask you, and you must answer honestly!" Chris said sternly.

    "Boss, I just remembered, I have an important appointment!" Seeing the situation was bad, Stanley quickly found an excuse to leave.

    "Stanley, what a coincidence, I have an appointment too! Shall we go together?" Everyone burst into laughter, no longer paying attention to Rody, shamelessly fleeing to avoid being caught in an awkward position between the two leaders. As long as they were there, Chris would definitely be more restrained, and Rody would be happy. But angering the petty Chris would mean trouble for everyone.

    Better to betray Rody than to offend Chris.

    Anyway, Rody was good-natured; a little betrayal wouldn''t lead to blame...

    Everyone rushed out, scrambling to be first, fearing being caught by Rody. Chris looked at Rody, signaling him to try catching someone to use as a shield.

    "I''ll be honest." Rody had no choice but to surrender, anyway, he also wanted to spend some time alone with Chris. Maybe he''d get scolded, but he was eager to clear some doubts.

    "Who is the Queen of the Underworld?" Chris asked a crucial question.

    "It''s not easy to explain in a few words..." Rody spread his hands, approached Chris, and whispered, "Let''s sit down and talk slowly."

    "Don''t touch me, I''m not gay!" Chris glared at Rody, stepped back, and sat down huffily on a chair, refusing to look at Rody again.

    "I''m not gay either, but don''t you think we''re missing a brotherly hug? Everyone welcomed me back from the Abyss with a hug, why should you be an exception? Chris, it seems we''ve never hugged, right? Even after a great victory, you just happily punched my shoulder. Do you have a fear of hugging?" Rody asked curiously.

    "No, hitting people is my unique way of expressing myself." Chris was a bit flustered by Rody''s question.

    "Chris, I really miss the days of training! When can we relive them?" Rody leaned closer to Chris, asking, "When can we bathe together again?"

    "Go bathe with your beauties, why all this nonsense? I want to ask you something, and you''re beating around the bush, what does that mean?" Chris became angry.

    "I got married." As soon as Rody said this, Chris jumped up.

    "It''s the Queen of the Underworld, I knew it..." Chris sat down gloomily, silent for a long time.

    "I told her a lot about the human world, about the female boss, about Jill, and about you." Rody looked into Chris''s eyes and slowly said, "She thinks you''re a woman. Chris, tell me the truth, are you?"

    "No, I''m a man!" Chris frantically pushed Rody away, exclaiming, "Stay away from me, or I''ll break off our friendship!"

    "Only a woman would care if I got married. If you were a man, you would just be happy for me." Rody caught Chris''s hand, looked at his flushed face, and said softly, "How careless of me to have had a girl by my side for almost two years without realizing it. I always suspected you were an enemy spy, otherwise, you wouldn''t have been so nice to me. Now, thinking about it, I realize how stupid I was."

    "I''m not, let go of me!" Chris struggled unsuccessfully, attempting to bite Rody but, seeing Rody''s grinning face, raised his hand to slap him instead.

    "Even if the Queen of the Underworld hadn''t said you were a woman, I had my suspicions." Rody caught Chris''s fist, leaned in close to his ear, and gently exhaled a warm breath, softly saying, "But since I married the Queen of the Underworld and began to understand women, I now realize what your scent is all about!"

    "Let go, release me!" Chris panicked. At this moment, not only Rody, but even Chris himself, could smell a fragrance quietly emanating.

    "Your body fragrance, it''s really nice!" Rody took a deep breath, opened his arms, and tightly embraced the trembling Chris.

 Chapter 155: The Kiss

    Chris''s body shivered, and he began to struggle continuously, hitting Rody''s back with his small fists, but seeing it was ineffective, he ended up embracing Rody and sobbing in his arms.

    Not knowing how long he cried, Chris suddenly struggled with force, escaping from Rody''s arms and raised his hand to stop Rody''s embrace.

    "Don''t touch me, you already have so many girls..." Chris wiped his tears continuously, chokingly said, "We should remain as before, just battle partners, just friends. Nothing happened just now, just pretend you don¡¯t know my identity! Your heart loves Jill, not me. Rody, listen to me, what you really need is not a lover, but a confidant!"

    "Chris... Who are you really?" Rody now seriously doubted if Chris was the seventh princess of Mesdonia, but he had never seen the princess and had even broken off the engagement early. She couldn''t possibly have transformed into Chris to help him.

    "I am no one, I am just Chris. Don''t ask anymore, I won''t tell you!" Chris pushed away Rody''s hand and shook his head desperately.

    "Alright, I won''t ask about your past identity." Rody caught Chris''s small hand, gazing at her tear-streaked face, and softly said, "Give me a chance, Chris. I need you. Before, I thought you were a man and didn''t open my heart, but now that I know, my heart does have a place for you, just like with Jill and the others. I miss you too when I am away from you¡­"

    "But Rody, you already have too many women." Chris covered his face and cried, "You just went to the Abyss and married the Queen of the Underworld, and you have so many daughters. You like the female boss, fancy the demon sisters, and think about Jill. What am I in your heart?"

    "Sit down, I want to tell you a story." Rody pulled Chris''s hand, indicating her to sit down.

    Chris initially resisted, but feeling Rody would hug her, she quickly sat down, again stretching out her hand to block him from getting closer.

    Rody moved a chair in front of her.

    There was a long silence until Chris looked up at him with tearful eyes. Rody looked at the starry sky outside the window, gazing quietly, his hand naturally holding Chris''s small hand, his mind seeming to drift in the starry sky.

    "What''s wrong?" Chris, seeing Rody lost in deep thoughts, initially wanted to pull her hand back, but instead held it and asked.

    "There was a child, born when a meteor streaked across the sky. He had black hair and black eyes that no one else had, and knowledge that no one in the world could understand. Sometimes, even he didn¡¯t understand how he knew so much..." Rody slowly said, "Although he was sealed with a magic martial arts taboo, his spirit was far superior to others. Given the slightest chance, he would become a wonder kid who could shake the continent or a great inventor. Why was his mind so smart? Why was he different from others?"

    "Is this why you married the Queen of the Underworld?" Chris, being very smart, immediately guessed part of the truth upon hearing this.

    "The wonder kid was different because he not only had the knowledge acquired over eighteen years but also memories from dozens of reincarnations. Previously, he hadn''t awakened these memories, and just the remnants in the sealed memories made him stand out... Of course, after awakening his memories, he found that a woman in the Abyss had been waiting for him for thousands of years. Although he knew nothing about it before, once the memories awakened, he was moved to tears. Imagine, a woman imprisoned in the eternal darkness of the Abyss, waiting painfully for her lover. Those starlight girls, they were created out of her intense longing, over a hundred of them, and the starlight Underworld butterflies, innumerable, all created in her painful wait. Just seeing the sky full of fluttering Underworld butterflies and starlight girls would irresistibly make you want to embrace her tightly..." Rody, recalling the Starry Sky Goddess waiting for him for thousands of years, couldn¡¯t help but get teary-eyed.

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    "She waited for you for thousands of years?" Chris was shocked upon hearing this and then felt immense sympathy.

    "Until now, she still can''t leave the Abyss." Rody nodded.

    "Did you tell your mother about your reincarnations dozens of times?" Chris, concerned, wondered how painful it would be for Rody''s mother to know this.

    "No." Rody shook his head, saying, "No matter what my past identity was, I will always be her son!"

    "I wondered why your mind was so much smarter than others. It turns out it''s just relying on memories from past lives!" Chris, thinking about the enduring love between the Queen of the Underworld and Rody for thousands of years, felt insignificant in comparison, and tears again stealthily slid down her cheeks. The more she thought about it, the more her heart ached, and with a hint of sourness, she asked, "How could she let you leave? Or did you sneak out on your own?"

    "Her power needed to be suppressed, she''s already in a slumber." Rody shook his head, saying, "Actually, she let me go to find you all."

    "Hmph, she''s quite generous..." Chris felt bitter inside, noticing Rody''s tone was very favorable towards the Queen of the Underworld, always speaking good of her, as if afraid of offending her.

    "Actually, Chris, you and Jill, might also have been my companions who died in battle for me in the past..." Rody caught Chris''s hand, speaking softly.

    "What? What are you saying? No, that''s impossible!" Chris was both shocked and delighted upon hearing this. If she had had a close relationship with Rody thousands of years ago, she wouldn''t feel inferior in front of that Queen of the Underworld. But she was afraid Rody was just saying this to comfort her, feeling very conflicted inside, deeply hoping she could remember even a fragment of her past life, even if it was just a vague memory.

    "Of course, you won''t remember who you were in a past life. I had reincarnated dozens of times, and before awakening my past life memories, I had no idea about my past. Even when fragmented memories seeped through the seal, letting me know knowledge unknown in the world, I still never suspected." Rody smiled slightly, saying, "Looking back now, it feels very miraculous. Chris, do you know? I once left this world and reincarnated on a blue planet for a long time. Everything there was completely different from here... After I remembered my past life, I felt like I wasn''t from this world, but more like a person from that planet..."

    "Did you once live on a star in the sky?" Chris, noticing Rody gazing at the starry sky, curiously asked.

    "No, that world is completely different from this one. I also don¡¯t understand how I came back." Rody shook his head, saying, "That world had no magic, no fighting spirit; they didn¡¯t focus much on pursuing personal power, but rather on a kind of technological power."

    "Do you miss that world very much?" Chris suddenly became anxious, worrying that Rody might have relatives and friends in that world...

    "I feel like I came from that world, not belonging here, but to that world. But earlier memories tell me it''s like I''ve gone full circle, back to the beginning. Of course, there are still earlier memories I haven''t awakened, I don''t know the final outcome. Maybe, the mother who gave birth to me was from that world... You know, in that world, billions of people look just like me, all with black hair and black eyes! Here, I''m the only one like this!" Rody indeed missed the past of his previous life, but he also knew that he couldn''t go back unless he regained the power of the God-King and broke the constraints of the divine realm.

    "But, Rody, you also said..." Chris anxiously clasped Rody''s hand, panickedly saying, "That''s just the memory of a past life."

    "I know, of course, I know." Rody nodded, saying, "Remember, no matter what, don¡¯t tell my mother."

    "Don¡¯t tell anyone else about this either, not even Tommy and the others. If you say it, you''ll really become the Prince of the Night from the Abyss. You have to be the leader for everyone, you must make them feel that you belong to this world, to the pride of humanity, to their hope!" Chris anxiously pressed Rody''s shoulders, saying, "Rody, promise me, think about all of us, everyone has sacrificed so much for you, you can¡¯t abandon everyone!"

    "You have sacrificed the most for me¡­" Rody couldn¡¯t help but tightly embrace Chris, kissing her tear-stained cheeks.

    "No, don¡¯t kiss me!" Chris¡¯s refusal was more of a reminder than a rejection.

    Her lips slightly parted, breathing warmly on Rody¡¯s face.

    Rody, seeing her enticing moist lips, felt a surge of passion, suddenly pulled her up from the chair into his arms, pressed his body against hers, and kissed her deeply...

    Chris shivered under his sudden attack.

    Her small hands tightly grasped Rody''s clothes. Although she intended to push him away, her hands went against her wishes, holding him tight, unable to let go. Lost in the electrifying enchantment, while feeling dizzy, she could hear her own moans, embarrassingly loud, as if she enjoyed his wild ambush...

    At some point, her lips parted under his kiss, her small tongue stealthily slipped out, allowing him to passionately suck on it.

    "No, don¡¯t... kiss me!" Chris felt almost suffocated, unable to express her true feelings. Finally, lost in the sweet intoxication, she simply let go of all reservations, clumsily returning his kiss, entangling passionately in a lip-lock with this man she loved...

    Tears of joy quietly slid down, adding a hint of bittersweet love to the sweetness of their mingling lips.

 Chapter 156: Hit Me

    The two couldn''t bear to part from each other, their lips meeting again and again.

    Even when their lips felt tired, they still held each other tightly, not fearing to let go, quietly nestled together.

    "Chris, let me see your true face, you''ve hidden it so well from me, I must see it to my heart''s content!" Rody suddenly broke the silence, recalling something. He wanted to let Chris''s golden hair down and restore her to her female appearance, but Chris caught his hand, twisting her body, unwilling to comply.

    "I have no breasts, no buttocks, there''s nothing good to see. Don''t you like big-breasted women? Better not look!" Chris suddenly said resentfully.

    "..." Rody was speechless, when had he ever said that?

    "Don''t even think about touching my body with your filthy hands, or I''ll bite you to death!" Chris felt she had nothing to threaten Rody with, and in the end, she just showed her small white teeth, menacingly shaking them.

    "Chris, how did you think of looking for me in the first place?" Rody suspected she was the seventh princess, but directly asking wouldn''t work; he had to beat around the bush.

    "Why do you care! You want to know who I am, huh? Well, I''m not going to tell you!" Chris, rejuvenated by love''s nourishment, glowed radiantly. Though still dressed as a man, her charm was overwhelming to Rody. However, her temperament reverted back to that of a wilful girl, no longer the Chris of before.

    "Let''s exchange information. You want to know about the Queen of the Underworld, right? You tell me one thing, and I''ll tell you one thing about her, how about that?" Rody knew Chris must be curious about the Queen of the Underworld and decided to trade information.

    "Hmph, I''m not in a hurry now." After establishing their relationship as intimate lovers, Chris felt more secure and cared less about the Queen of the Underworld.

    "Then you must be curious about my past, right?" Rody slightly smiled, saying, "You tell me a little secret of yours, and I¡¯ll share a memory from my past. How about that? Chris, at least tell me your full name."

    "How can there be someone as dumb as you in the world? I disguised myself as a man and called myself Christian; my original name is obviously Christina. You call yourself smart; I think you''re a big idiot! Can''t even distinguish between a man and a woman, and you dare call yourself the wonder kid? You''re more like the wonder pig! Is there any man like me in the world? Even if you think with your toes, you could figure it out. Hmph! And don''t you dare call my name, especially in front of Tommy and the others. You''re still the Son of the Night, and I''m still the Son of the Elf, Chris!" Chris glared at Rody lovingly and resentfully.

    "Christina?" Rody joyfully hugged Chris into his arms, about to kiss her, but she blocked him with her hand.

    "Enough kissing, I just want to talk now!" Chris, afraid that one kiss from him would make her spill everything, hurriedly stopped him, proudly keeping her little secret.

    "Alright, let''s talk first!" Rody curiously asked, "How did you disguise yourself as a man?"

    "Are you referring to the time we bathed together?" Chris blushed as she spoke, but then she laughed coquettishly, "I''m skilled in disguise magic. You never came close to see, so how could you break my magic? Besides, how would you think a girl would be so bold as to enter the bathroom to bathe with you? This unexpected move naturally fooled you completely, haha, thinking back, it still seems funny!"

    "Honestly, you don''t speak or act like a girl at all!" Rody paused briefly, then said, "In my previous world, about one thousand and several hundred years ago, there was a girl named ''Hua Mulan'' who, like you, disguised herself as a man to join the army and fought for over a decade without being discovered! Chris, I dare say, if my memories had awakened earlier, you definitely couldn''t have fooled me!"

    "I can fool you whenever I want to, you big idiot, I''ve fooled you so many times!" Chris giggled behind her hand, smugly.

    "Confess quickly, or I''ll use ''body search magic'' on you!" Rody raised his hand threateningly.

    "You wouldn''t dare!" Chris feared Rody taking advantage of the moment to touch her. Although she deeply loved the man before her, it would be too demeaning to let him take liberties with her right after kissing. Besides, once she let him touch her, wouldn¡¯t it lead to more? The more Chris thought about it, the more her body felt weak. She quickly steadied her mind and warned, "Before we get married, don''t even think about taking liberties with me!"

    "Marriage?" Rody was a bit stunned upon hearing this.

    "Let¡¯s talk about those things later, we can''t do this now." Seeing Rody''s expression, Chris softly pleaded, "Can you be patient for a while? This matter requires at least the consent of your mother and my parents. Are you feeling very uncomfortable? Can you be patient for a while?"

    "Chris, don''t be too nervous, I just want to know about you. Let''s start getting to know each other from now on. You tell me what you can, let me understand you, and I will also be honest with you, how does that sound?" Rody gently embraced Chris in his arms, softly comforting. Although he had indulged in passion with the Starry Sky Goddess, he had never thought of doing such things to Chris.

    "Rody..." Chris felt relieved, moved by his attitude.

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    Love encompasses many things, primarily love and sex. But in her eyes, love must be greater than sex; otherwise, people become slaves to their desires. Of course, she was confident in satisfying her loved one both emotionally and physically.

    Now, Rody''s attitude was the same; he cared only about her love, not insisting on pursuing physical pleasure.

    She disguised herself in the army, often seeing Stanley and the others, representing the elite youth of the continent, often seeking pleasure to satisfy their physical needs. Rody never behaved like them; he would rather spend his time practicing spiritual power or studying, so in Chris''s heart, he was always so different.

    Of course, he needed women, needed to vent, but he could endure.

    Even if Rody sought women to vent, Chris wouldn''t blame him, as it''s quite normal in the military. After over a year of being together, Rody was the perfect husband in Chris''s mind, except that he didn''t love her... because, on the surface, she was a man.

    She had secretly shed tears countless times, but each time, she forcefully suppressed them.

    Because only in this way could she possibly stay by his side.

    Reflecting on the past, Chris again felt that it wasn''t easy to have come this far with Rody, and she couldn''t help feeling some satisfaction and a bit of joy.

    "Do you think there is a tactic more formidable than your jungle warfare? Are people from that world so smart?" As they embraced and kissed, they spoke their hearts out. What they talked about didn''t matter to two people in love; as long as it was said by the other, it would be joyfully received.

    "The people of that world, especially a certain Dragon Race, have elevated tactics to an art form! The experience from thousands upon thousands of wars throughout history, if used on the battlefield against the Beastmen and Demons, could utterly fool the enemy into despair and suicide. That world is very different from here... The people there have complex thoughts, they can think about far in the future, plan ahead. Here, the intrigues among races and kingdoms pale in comparison to the bureaucratic battles of ordinary officials there... Even the lowliest merchants here could stir up huge financial storms in that world, forcing nations to compromise. Even some national leaders'' elections are manipulated by large financial groups..." Rody shared some of his past with Chris, smiling, "In my previous life, I was just a student, no different from ordinary people. Later, it seems I joined the workforce, but some less important memories are lost, and I don¡¯t understand how I came back... But in that world, there''s a concept known as ''transmigration'', or ''reincarnation'', and I think it''s very likely that I was a person from that world..."

    "Weren¡¯t you a person from here thousands of years ago?" Chris asked in surprise.

    "The earliest memories haven''t awakened. Perhaps, my first mother was from that world," Rody said, shaking his head slightly. "I don''t know, because my earliest memory is from a hundred thousand years ago. I need to become stronger to unlock the seal on my memories. However, since I''ve returned, whether I am a ''child of transmigration'' or a ''child of return'', I will live well... There¡¯s so much waiting for me to do!"

    "Rody, if I weren''t the girlfriend who died in battle for you thousands of years ago, would you still love me the same?" This was Chris¡¯s biggest concern.

    "I would," Rody gently flicked her nose, smiling, "You must be."

    "You¡¯re not allowed to go back on your word!" Chris felt blissful upon hearing this, naturally yearning to have died in battle for Rody thousands of years ago.

    Dawn arrived unknowingly, as they embraced and whispered to each other.

    The last morning star also faded away in the pale dawn sky, and the time for parting arrived. Rody had to return to his role as the Prince of the Night, and Chris couldn''t let anyone know her true gender, nor could she let the world know about her being together with Rody.

    "You must not show any flaws in front of Thomas Stanley and the others, otherwise, I''ll never speak to you again!" Chris, of course, hoped to stay by Rody''s side, but now Rody needed to use his identity as the Prince of the Night to disrupt the entire continent''s situation, then take advantage of the chaos to strike against the temple, preparing for the future takeover of human faith.

    Chris''s role had to continue in coordination, their cooperation, one in the light and one in the dark, would achieve the greatest effect.

    Although their sweet love made it hard for them to part, it only transformed into lingering kisses.

    Chris, reversing her previous passivity, embraced Rody and kissed him passionately. At the moment of parting, she ran up again to hold Rody''s back, wept for a while, and then reluctantly let him go. Her heart was tightly bound to this man, and as he left, he also took her heart with him, leaving her standing at the door for a long time, eyes brimming with tears, watching him disappear into the horizon.

    No one knew the identity of the Prince of the Night, nor did anyone know that he had met friends and embraced his lover last night.

    As dawn passed, the morning dew quietly dried like tears.

    The Prince of the Night, accustomed to waking up late, was still yawning at nine o''clock, with a lazy demeanor, eating crystal grapes peeled and fed by the Starlight Maiden, while absentmindedly listening to Finance Minister Cameron Mc discussing today''s itinerary.

    According to the Cameron delegation''s schedule, the Prince of the Night would visit several attractions, such as the Cameron Knight Memorial Hall and the Land of Glory.

    In the evening, Marshal Goton''s private estate would welcome the Prince of the Night to a salon banquet.

    Although officially unpublicized, the magic newspapers had already announced the arrival of the Prince of the Night. Not to mention the matter of the Prince of the Night being banished in the guise of ''Miracle Boy'' Rody, they detailed the number of giant magic insects, demon generals and dark knights he had, the amount of gold bricks and gems, magic crystals, and treasures he possessed.

    Some well-informed magic newspapers even reported on the Prince of the Night''s bathing habits, the number of beauties serving him, his favorite fruits, prestigious wines, glasses, and clothing preferences in great detail.

    One magic newspaper even released a special commemorative edition for the ''Prince of the Night.''

    They didn''t even change the cover of the previously released ''Miracle Boy'' Rody special edition, because the appearances of the Prince of the Night and the Miracle Boy were the same. The Miracle Boy was colder, absolutely the kind of person who silently intimidates others, and he didn¡¯t like to wear flashy clothes, with a quiet personality. The Prince of the Night, on the other hand, loved excitement, dressed luxuriously and nobly, acted arrogantly, was proud in character, laughed loudly when happy, and cursed loudly when displeased, completely opposite to the Miracle Boy''s personality, somewhat resembling the personalities of princes from many countries...

    The biggest difference between the Prince of the Night and Miracle Boy was that Miracle Boy Rody rarely wore sunglasses, even though he invented them.

    But the Prince of the Deep Abyss was different; he probably wore sunglasses all the time, except when sleeping.

    And he had over a dozen different styles, rotating them.

    For magic reporters, they relatively preferred the Prince of the Night. Because Miracle Boy Rody would absolutely not accept their interviews, nor respond to their questions, even getting a photograph of him was difficult.

    But the Prince of the Night was different; he would wave at the photographers, very gracefully, and was willing to accept interviews.

    Miracle Boy Rody had no scandals. His life was either reading or inventing something new. Even ascetics or celibates couldn''t compare to the austere life of Miracle Boy. His virtues were admired by the world, but for magic reporters needing scandals, it was almost deadly.

    Thankfully, the Prince of the Night came.

    This guy, on his first day in the city, not only whistled at the passing nuns but also pinched the breast of a noblewoman who dismounted her carriage to greet him.

    Sharp-eyed magic reporters swore to the God of Light that they really saw it.

    Some even quickly snapped pictures, but everyone tacitly agreed not to publish them. Because publishing them, while attracting attention, would definitely spoil the Prince of the Night''s grand plans for amorous adventures. They felt that they should create such opportunities for the Prince of the Night to freely play among the ladies, thus scandals would inevitably abound.

    "Count Mc, where do you buy female slaves? I want to buy a few sex slaves!" Only the Prince of the Deep Abyss, from the abyss, would dare to speak like this in public.

    "Cough, slave trading is illegal in our Cameron Empire," Mc said, a bit embarrassed.

    "Great Prince of the Night, please allow this humble person to speak," a magic reporter excitedly squeezed out, loudly saying: "As Finance Minister Mc said, we don''t have slave markets in Cameron, but there are prisoner redemption centers. There, you can find all sorts of prisoners, both men and women. I think, Great Prince of the Night, you will surely find suitable servants!"

    "What a smart man, Nicholas, pay him!" The Prince of the Night had a catchphrase, which was ''pay him.''

    Whether it was hitting someone or rewarding, the Prince was accustomed to saying this.

    Of course, because of this, everyone thought he was a true ruler. If one says ''I will hit'', that''s definitely a soldier! If one says ''hit them hard for me'', that''s a bodyguard captain; only those who say ''pay him'' are princes.

    The Cameron delegation looked at each other, but amidst the awkwardness, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

    As long as the Prince of the Night liked women, it would be easy to handle.

    Relatively speaking, humans lack many things, but not beautiful women.

 Chapter 157: Female Slaves, Miti Fairies, and Sisters

    In the capital of Cameron, the Prisoner Redemption Center.

    Broadly speaking, it is a joint venture of the temple and the state; in narrower terms, it''s a slave market. In this redemption center, all the prisoners are either poor or slaves, as no knight or noble needs to wait here for redemption. Even the sons of merchants and commoners are directly redeemed with money at the prisoner camp.

    Of course, prisoners are only a small part, including house servants redeemed by some nobles, as well as half-beasts or women captured by unscrupulous mercenaries.

    All male slaves are categorized into three levels.

    The lowest level slaves live in dark cells, without even a piece of clothing, leading a dog-like existence. They can be bought for a silver coin and are mostly sold to orchard or mill owners. These men are neither disabled nor ill; on the contrary, they must be healthy enough to be kept.

    Once they fall ill, the lowest level slaves are typically sold to nobles as lunch meat for their war beasts.

    The men of the lowest rank are either skilled in combat or exceptionally strong. They are often destined to be gladiators, or, if lucky during wartime, slave soldiers for nobles. But either way, they''re on the brink of death.

    Male slaves can at most attain a middle rank, comprising outstanding men, often selected by mercenary groups or nobles to form mercenary armies.

    These men are often the evil mercenaries who secretly capture women.

    Rody, the Son of Darkness, showed little interest in male slaves. In gratitude for a substantial reward, one subservient slave owner decided to gift Rody a hundred male slaves as gatekeepers.

    Although Rody didn''t yet know where his house''s gate was, this didn¡¯t dampen his enthusiasm.

    Female slaves were all middle rank or above, divided into middle, high, and top ranks. Of course, major slave owners often had unique top-quality female slaves as collectibles, generally not sold for less than ten thousand gold coins.

    "For female captives below high rank, you needn''t bother introducing them," Finance Minister Mc, who would never come here during the day to preserve his reputation, said. Now, he was accompanying the Prince of the Night; wearing sunglasses; and followed by magic reporters, so maintaining an upright gentleman''s image was impossible. So he decided to let loose, knowing tomorrow''s magic papers would only feature the Prince of the Night.

    "Understood, but for the top-quality female captives, please wait a moment, Your Highness. They need to prepare!" Several major slave owners were busy preparing for their VIP guest, knowing the ''packaging'' of their ''goods'' would determine their sale price.

    Slave owner Adken was the fastest. Knowing his female slaves couldn''t compete with others, he aimed to gain an advantage.

    He was the first to be ready and respectfully invited Rody and Mc over, with magic reporters, except for the lucky Ivanov praised and named by Rody, kept outside by the slave owners. Of course, each of the reporters received a female slave in their arms from the slave owners. Though they couldn''t take them away, the owners hoped for leniency in their writings in exchange for the pleasure, hoping for favorable coverage.

    On a large carpet, Mr. Adken had set up a half-human-height stage where he placed all his best female slaves.

    His method of presentation was to have no packaging.

    Many slave owners like him regretted not thinking of such an effective method. When Finance Minister Mc saw eight or nine naked beauties sitting or standing on the platform, he couldn''t help but swallow hard. This no-packaging method indeed attracted attention; it was easier to put clothes on these women than to strip them, which explained why Mr. Adken was so quick to prepare.

    "How white their skin is!" Magic reporter Ivanov, not as worldly as Mc, drooled at the sight of the naked beauties.

    "They are all virgins, washing their faces and taking care of their skin with milk and egg white every day, undergoing rose aroma therapy every three days, drinking a youth revitalizing potion every five days, and even receiving prayers and blessings from a holy magic priest every six months. Prince, what do you think?" Mr. Adken didn''t dare to be too complacent, as he knew his female slaves, although good, might not meet the Prince of the Night''s standards.

    After all, for a sex slave suitable for the Prince of the Night, ordinary quality would not suffice.

    Looking at the women around him, each not only as beautiful as goddesses but also as powerful as archmages, Mr. Adken was actually very anxious and fearful.

    "Have them put on clothes," the Prince of the Night simply said.

    Everyone was stunned. Wouldn''t it be better to choose from them naked? Even if not buying any, grabbing and pinching for satisfaction seemed ideal. Why have them wear clothes?

    Mr. Adken, however, was so ecstatic he almost fainted. This sentence was like a gospel to him.

    The Prince of the Night wanting these female slaves to dress meant they belonged to him, and he didn''t want others to see their bodies. My goodness, the Prince didn''t even ask the price, he was buying them all. Mr. Adken bowed and thanked profusely, hoping to sell a few female slaves to buy a noble title from the king. Now, not just a noble, but even a baron or viscount title seemed within reach.

    "Prince, thank you for your generosity, your starlight shines in the world''s night! Although you haven''t mentioned it, out of respect for your nobility and majesty, I''ve decided to offer you a 20% discount..." Mr. Adken was so moved he teared up.

    "Speak to my steward," Rody turned to inquire with other slave owners, saying, "If you''re not ready, I''ll come back later!"

    "No, please, you must come with me!" Major slave owner Barlovsky urgently pleaded, "I have a supreme, beyond-all girl that will surprise you. You might have heard about ''Miti Fairies'' in the fairy kingdom. They are the smallest, lightest, and sweetest women in the world, even referred to as ''Thumbelina'' because they can shrink to the size of a human thumb. Of course, they can also grow to the size of a human girl of eleven or twelve years old..."

    "Thumbelina? Miti Fairies?" Rody was curious not about these, but the fairy kingdom itself.

    "Please come with me, Prince. I have already ordered the magician to bathe and dress ''Miti''." Major slave owner Barlovsky slipped a gold bar into Mc''s hand, signaling him to speak up and persuade.

    "On the huge carpet, there was a half-human-height platform where Mr. Adken had placed all his best female slaves.

    His method of presentation was simply to have no packaging.

    Many slave owners like him regretted not having thought of such a simple yet effective idea. Finance Minister Mc, upon seeing eight or nine naked beauties either sitting or standing on the platform, couldn''t help but swallow his saliva. This no-packaging approach indeed drew attention; it was easier to put clothes on these women than to strip them, no wonder Mr. Adken was so quick to prepare.

    "Cough, Miti Fairies are indeed worth seeing. In the past ten years, Cameron is the first to capture such a fairy!" Mc hinted in agreement.

    "Mr. Ivan, with your broad knowledge, you surely know more, right?" Seeing the Prince of the Night''s lack of reaction, Barlovsky quickly slipped two gold coins to magic reporter Ivanov, hinting him to speak a few words for him. This normally unlucky fellow was lucky today, having gained the Prince of the Night''s favor, designated to help choose female slaves.

    "Great Prince of the Night, please listen to the humble words of your servant Ivan." Having received the money, Ivanov quickly spoke, "Among all the top-quality girls, Miti Fairies are definitely the nobility''s desire. They symbolize status. In the Cameron Empire, only the old king fifteen years ago owned one, but unfortunately, it died after just three years. If it weren¡¯t for His Majesty William II''s recent marriage to his favorite Afuniya, Mr. Barlovsky would certainly have presented her to His Majesty! This is a rare opportunity, having a Miti Fairy is a symbol of your noble status..."

    "Is that so?" Rody nodded indifferently, and with a wave of his hand said, "Let¡¯s have a look!"

    Unlike Mr. Adken''s completely unadorned style, Mr. Barlovsky paid great attention to presentation. The entire hall was decorated like an ocean, with corals, reefs, and magical lights, resembling a beautiful underwater world. In the center, a huge clamshell, half-open, inside lay a girl no more than eight or nine years old.

    She was sleeping quietly, her long lashes wet with dreamy tears, invoking pity.

    Dressed in a tiny princess dress, she lay half on the clamshell, her long golden hair contrasting with her snow-white skin. Her face, more tender and delicate than flower petals, seemed so fragile as if a breath could hurt her.

    It was as if in her sleep, she still couldn¡¯t be at peace, fearing this little darling would never wake up.

    "You said she was bathing... did you put her to sleep? Do you often do this? She looks very unhealthy!" Rody frowned slightly.

    "Prince, you don''t know, these fairies are very stubborn. They are also skilled in magic and would struggle fiercely once awake, making it impossible to see their faces calmly," Mr. Barlovsky quickly apologized, bowing. "Rest assured, I have two excellent taming magicians; they will surely tame this Miti Fairy for you."

    "Taming magicians?" Rody frowned again at this.

    "Yes, originally they were summoning magicians, noble young ladies from small countries. But when our great empire conquered their countries, they lost their parents and fell into captivity. They are rare top-grade female slaves here, and they are also twin sisters. If the Prince likes, I can also offer them to you... Although Marshal Goton intended to sell them, I believe he wouldn''t mind the Prince''s affection!"

    "Bring them up for me to see," Rody casually ordered.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "Clap clap!" Barlovsky clapped his chubby hands, and immediately the door to the inner chamber opened, and two blue-haired beauties dressed in robes walked out gracefully."

    Their features were strikingly similar. The blue-haired beauty on the left had her fringe and hair ornament styled to the left, while the one on the right had hers styled to the right, clearly a deliberate effort to distinguish who was the elder sister and who was the younger. Aside from this, there was no other difference between the two women.

    When the two women saw everyone¡¯s gaze, they did not panic or burst into tears, but instead gracefully performed a noble¡¯s courtesy to the crowd.

    Having lived here for so long, they had already accepted their tragic fate and the inevitable sorrowful end.

    "Cough, stand behind the coral reef and wait to be called!" Barlovsky reminded Rody to inspect the merchandise, but he did not know that Rody was completely unaware of his privilege to inspect.

    "Great Prince, please step over and take a closer look... they are wearing nothing under their robes, see if you are satisfied!" Magic reporter Ivanov, guessing the Prince from the abyss might not know of these human privileges, quickly approached and whispered to Rody using magic transmission: "We will wait outside for you. You have half an hour to inspect the merchandise... If you do not buy, please do not deflower them, otherwise that guy will insist you purchase them. Great Prince, these two women are worth at most eight thousand gold coins, and the Miti Fairy, no more than thirty thousand gold coins. Although you are rich enough to rival nations, do not let the cunning slave masters exploit your wealth; it would diminish your majesty!"

    "After this, follow me!" Rody said, patting Ivanov''s shoulder, "Hmm, I grant you the status of a low-ranking servant."

    "Thank you, Prince..." Although the title of low-ranking servant wasn¡¯t glamorous, being a servant of the Prince of the Abyss was a great fortune. Just considering his servants were composed of demon generals and dark knights, and his steward Nicholas was a powerful Dark Wizard, to become a low-ranking servant was an immense blessing. Ivanov quickly knelt down, offering Rody the most solemn and grateful bow.

    "Finance Minister Mc, Mr. Nicholas... everyone, and the fortunate Ivan, let''s go out for a drink!" Barlovsky, feeling confident that the deal was nearly done, was overjoyed and prepared to share his treasured wine with everyone.

    ...

    The blue-haired sisters waited for the buyer to come and inspect them, feeling very distressed.

    They feared that the buyer would be the corpulent Finance Minister Mc, a man notorious for his wealth and lechery. They believed he wanted to buy them before Marshal Goton could, thinking of the portly Mc as the man who would take their innocence made the sisters despondent.

    Although they were powerless here, they couldn''t help but wish for a handsome and powerful knight to rescue them and take them away.

    "However, the two sisters also knew that such an opportunity was very slim. Handsome and powerful knights usually don''t come to slave markets to buy female slaves. Those who do come are generally perverts, and then there are the noblemen who enjoy toying with women. Moreover, handsome and powerful warriors are usually quite young, with not much money or high status. To think of buying themselves out from the clutches of vampire-like slave traders, that was absolutely impossible.

    Besides, handsome and powerful knights are in demand everywhere, already targeted by noble ladies and young misses...

    ''Sister, you said that if we pray every day, the gods will save us, but sister, now, the gods have already abandoned us,'' the blue-haired sister said with a bit of anger and resentment, using magic to transmit her voice to her sister: ''Had we known it would be like this, we should have committed suicide earlier, it''s better than letting that pig Mack defile our virginity.''

    ''The gods won''t abandon us,'' the sister wanted to argue, but the footsteps of those coming to inspect the goods told her that daily prayers were useless.

    ''Here.'' The younger sister secretly handed her sister a beautifully crafted small dagger, her green pupils showing determination: ''When that pig tries to defile me, you use the dagger to attack him. Mack is good at magic and has many protective treasures on him. I will try to seduce him to take off his clothes, and you strike when he''s excited. Anyway, we won''t survive, killing a finance minister is still something!''

    ''Sister, I can''t...'' the older sister trembled with fear.

    ''We can''t trust in the gods anymore! Sister, I always listen to you, just listen to me this time!'' Although they looked alike, the younger sister''s personality was completely different from her sister''s.

    The sisters heard footsteps already close at hand, exchanged a glance, and then quickly lowered their heads again.

    The older sister, holding the small dagger, was trembling all over. She dared not even kill a chicken, but now she was being asked to kill a living person, which was really hard for her to do. But if she didn''t kill, her sister would definitely be defiled. Should she watch her sister be slandered? The more the sister thought about it, the more she trembled.

    ''Are you very scared?'' Startled by the voice, the sister looked up to find a young man standing in front of her, almost dropping the dagger.

    ''Is it you? What are you doing here?'' Seeing Rody, the younger sister couldn''t help but wonder: ''Are you here to inspect the goods? Could it be not Mack but you who wants to buy us? That can''t be, looking at how you''re dressed, you don''t look like a rich man at all... Sister, am I dreaming?''

    ''Dreams don''t come so early!'' Rody said with a smile: ''Can''t I buy female slaves?''

    ''Our minimum value is eight thousand gold coins, do you know how much that is? That''s enough to pile into a small mountain!'' the younger sister said anxiously: ''How many gold coins do you actually have?''

    ''I guess not eight thousand!'' Rody shook his head."

    "''You''ve fallen for that trickster Barlovsky''s scheme, you fool. You don''t have enough money to come here. That guy will extort at least ten thousand gold coins from you, and if you don''t have it, he''ll demand an upfront payment! Then he''ll exploit you for a lifetime, and we''ll be out of your reach! Shameless examples of such endless installment payments are all too common here. Tell me, how much did you spend just now for him to let you come see us?''

    ''Indeed, I spent quite a lot,'' Rody nodded.

    ''You, you''re really too foolish!'' the younger sister said angrily. ''You should have saved up enough money before coming! Otherwise, it''s just a waste!''

    ''Enough or not, you shouldn''t come...'' the older sister quickly said. ''We''ve already caught the eye of Marshal Goten. If you try to buy us, you''ll surely be secretly retaliated against by Marshal Goten. Knight, we appreciate your kindness, and I''m very touched. But we sisters are unfortunate people, and we can''t bring this misfortune upon you!''

    ''Sister, this is an opportunity!'' the younger sister said anxiously. ''He''s definitely better than that pig Mack! If he can buy us, we''ll have a much better life!''

    ''Well, I guess I do look a bit better than him,'' Rody agreed.

    ''I know you look so-so, but that''s not the point. We just want a master who treats us as human beings. If you had started undressing us as soon as you came, we wouldn''t be talking to you!'' The younger sister, unable to stand the smile on Rody''s face, lightly punched his arm and asked, ''Hey, how much money do you actually have?''

    ''I haven''t counted exactly...'' Rody couldn''t figure out how much money he had.

    ''I knew it. A pampered young master like you, who never lifts a finger, wouldn''t even know how to count!'' the younger sister asked softly. ''Are you a young master from the Kamarlon family? Does your mother dote on you? If she does, can you ask her for some private money to redeem us?''

    ''Mother, ah, she indeed loves me very much!'' Rody shook his head. ''But I guess she doesn''t have much private money!''

    ''Is there no other way?'' the younger sister said anxiously. ''In a month, Marshal Goten will take us away. His wife is a tigress, but she''s said to be going home next month. That will be our doom. Don''t you have any other way to get the money?''

    ''Is robbery an option?'' Rody suggested a method.

    ''Young master, please don''t walk the path of sin because of us!'' the older sister grabbed Rody''s arm, pleading, ''Please leave, just pretend you never heard what my sister said. We long for freedom, but we can''t bring misfortune upon you! Unless Marshal Goten won''t secretly retaliate against you or your family, you better leave!''

    ''Marshal Goten?'' Rody paused upon hearing this, both women looked at him worriedly, afraid he would change his mind and leave, but Rody just smiled slightly and said, ''I know him. He even said he''d give me two girls when he was drunk. Could it be you?''

    ''Only a fool would give us to you!'' the younger sister denied outright, snorting, ''Who would give away women worth eight thousand gold coins to someone else?''

    ''Young master, both of us are magic masters, although we specialize in summoning, specifically in summoning auxiliary combat beasts, which are beneficial for the military''s combat beasts. Moreover, there are often pet competitions among the nobility, and our summoned auxiliary combat beasts act as doctors for their pets. Therefore, Marshal Goten will not give us up! That''s why we are worth as much as eight thousand gold coins... Young master, I have a suggestion, redeem my sister!'' The older sister pleaded with tearful eyes, ''Please, save my sister!''"

    "What did you say? Sister, if we''re going out, we''ll go out together!" the younger sister exclaimed anxiously, "We agreed to do this together!"

    "Sister, listen to me," the elder sister said through her tears, "This is the will of the gods, and also my wish! If my sacrifice can exchange for your happiness and freedom, then that is what I most wish to see!"

    "I don''t want to hear it, sister. I will not leave you behind! He must have a way!" the younger sister also shed tears of sorrow.

    "Young master, please take good care of my sister!" the elder sister grabbed Rody''s hand, trembling as she gently kissed it, "I will bless you! Take my sister away! She will make a good wife, I wish you happiness, young master!"

    "Is that so?" Rody nodded, extending his hand to the younger sister, "Then come with me!"

    "What are you saying? If she doesn''t go, neither will I!" the younger sister angrily said to Rody, "I won''t go with you, unless you can buy my sister''s freedom too! If you want to have me, then find a way, you must redeem my sister, understand? If you can do it, then I will do anything! Find a way to gather the money... Yes, you must gather enough, not one gold coin less than eight thousand... Hey, say something!"

    "What do you want me to say?" Rody asked in surprise.

    "Oh, I''m asking how many gold coins you have, how much more do we need?" the younger sister urgently inquired.

    "About four or five thousand," Rody replied, indicating the number of coins he carried, not counting the gold bricks, of course.

    "That''s far too little..." the younger sister felt disappointed upon hearing this. If it were only a shortfall of a thousand or so, they might find a way, but half the amount? How could they possibly gather eight thousand gold coins in a month?

    "Young master, take my sister away!" the elder sister suddenly picked up a small dagger, holding it to her throat, determinedly saying, "Sister, if you don''t go, then I will die right before your eyes! Go, go now, and when the young master has money, he can find a way to save me... Young master, I am moved, thank you for your kindness, I will bless you!"

    "Sister, don''t be like this, let''s talk slowly, sister, don''t!" The younger sister tried to snatch the dagger from her sister''s hand but instead caused her to bleed, staining her robe with flowing blood.

    "Leave now, or I''ll pierce my own throat! Sister, I am happy, the gods have not abandoned us, you will be happy, and I wish you happiness, my dear sister... Say goodbye to me! I want to see you smile, smile for me! It''s been so long since I''ve seen a smile on your face!" The elder sister was resolved to die, as long as her sister left with the young master.

    "Sister, no, don''t do this, if you commit suicide, then I will too..." the younger sister cried, unwilling to leave.

    "You won''t, sister, my dear sister, you will live happily with the young master." The elder sister said through her tears, smiling, "Sister, I bless you, I will watch over you from heaven, goodbye, my sister!"

    After saying this, the elder sister raised the dagger high and slashed it across her neck.

    Crying out, the younger sister frantically lunged towards her sister, but it was too late. The elder sister had already collapsed in Rody''s arms, blood splattering the ground.

    "It''s all your fault, you caused my sister''s death!" The younger sister picked up the blood-stained dagger from the ground, crying and glaring at Rody, "If it weren''t for people like you buying female slaves, there wouldn''t be people like us. If it weren''t for this, my sister and I wouldn''t have ended up like this today. You want to buy me? Dream on, I''d rather die than let you succeed... You killed my sister, I curse you! You jerk, you brought us hope without having money, and now you heartlessly destroy our hope, it''s all your fault!"

    "It seems I have no choice but to persist in this mistake!" Rody slapped away the silver dagger.

    In front of the stunned younger sister, he took out a potion, applied some on the elder sister''s neck, and wiped away the blood with a thin gauze. To her surprise, the wound disappeared.

    On closer inspection, the elder sister''s chest was still faintly moving, indicating that she had just fainted and her life was not in danger.

    "My sister isn''t dead?" The younger sister was overjoyed, her face alternating between laughter and tears, extremely excited.

    "Apparently not," Rody said indifferently.

    "You, you already have enough money, don''t you? Just now, were you testing us? You, you tricked us so badly!" The younger sister was smart, quickly understanding, especially when she noticed the subtle smile on Rody''s lips, realizing that this annoying guy must have been confident to come here, not as worried as she had thought.

    "Spending eight thousand gold coins to buy two female slaves, of course, I had to be sure!" Rody said as casually as if he were buying two little ponies at a stable.

    "Hey, we are not female slaves!" The younger sister couldn''t stand his expression, feeling a mixture of hatred and an urge to bite him, though she also felt like giving him a big kiss, but she resisted this impulse.

    "That''s not how you speak to your master, is it?" Rody laughed.

    "Who exactly are you?" The more the younger sister looked at Rody, the more she felt he wasn''t an ordinary person, maybe even a prince with his haughty attitude.

    "I should be your future master," Rody said and then added something that scared the younger sister, "And also the master of over a hundred high-class female slaves in this slave trading house, even the master of ''Mitty Fairy''. Now, do you understand what I''m saying?"

    "I understand," the younger sister said, her cheeks suddenly blushing, her voice very soft, "But why do you keep looking at me?"

    "I heard that under your robes, you wear nothing..." Rody smiled slightly, "As a man, how can I not be curious?"

 Chapter 158: The Magic Spring, A Womans Deadly Poison

    As Rody took the two sisters out, Nicholas had already settled all the financial transactions. Since Rody had bestowed upon him a new life of darkness with a divine spell from his memory, Nicholas had transformed from a completely unconscious slave of darkness into a refined and courteous Dark Witch King. He was far more exceptional than Marcus, who had been renamed ''Maigu'' and became the Dark Golden Demon General, with a more independent consciousness and even possessing the elegant demeanor of a dark noble.

    "Master, I have honored your great wish and brought all the high-class female slaves under your command, allowing them to enjoy the eternal night of life under your brilliant starlight. The night is endless, my master!" Nicholas''s words would surely make the people of the temple vomit blood if they heard them.

    "Ha, just don''t scare my two little doves," Rody said with a slight smile. Behind him, the two sisters listened, dumbfounded.

    "You, you, who exactly are you?" the elder sister asked, trembling. She felt deceived, being a devout follower of the Holy Mother, and was almost fainting upon hearing Nicholas''s words.

    "Silence, lowly maid, you must use sincere and respectful language towards the master," Nicholas ordered. "Our master is the Prince of the Endless Abyss of Darkness. His greatness and majesty can make the world tremble. You two insignificant human females must show no disrespect to the master, or else the lowest layer of the Abyss, the nest of demonic insects, will be your prison!"

    "No, I can''t let a prince who worships the dark demonic gods redeem me!" The elder sister, though frail, was very determined.

    "Leniseya, Leniliya, your lives have already been sold by the great Prince of the Night. This is the will of the gods and the beginning of your happiness and freedom. It''s a fate to be envied! You must immediately retract your disrespectful words and apologize to the master!" Barlovsky, the major slave owner who received thirty-eight thousand gold coins from Nicholas, wished he could slap these two capricious women. If the Prince of the Night became annoyed and refused the deal, which had just been completed and the gold coins were still warm, he would surely die crying.

    "Are you really a prince?" the younger sister Leniliya, whose faith was not as strong as her sister''s, was more curious about Rody than resistant.

    "Ladies, forgive my frankness, but look, even the esteemed Minister of Finance Mack respects the Prince of the Night. How can you challenge his authority like this?" Ivanov, who had just become a lowly servant, hurriedly advised.

    "No, I can''t..." The elder sister had a favorable impression of Rody because no one had ever spoken to them, two sisters, with such kindness.

    Everything was so perfect; he seemed like a savior sent by the gods.

    At the most critical moment, in the depths of despair, he miraculously appeared before her and her sister. Although there were some tests, the elder sister felt that he had a heart. He definitely didn''t come to buy two female slaves, but sincerely came to redeem her and her sister. But why? Why was he, of all people, a prince who worshipped the dark demonic gods?

    In the heart of the elder sister, Leniseya, she wished she would never know this truth.

    She cried in pain, mourning the contradictory reality...

    "Who said I worship the dark demonic gods?" Rody asked in surprise. Everyone looked at him in amazement. Was he not a follower of the dark demonic gods, being from the Abyss? How could that be possible?

    "Our great Underworld worships the ancient Goddess of the Night and her son, the Supreme God of the Underworld. The dark demonic gods are lowly and unknown entities in our Abyss," Nicholas elaborated non-stop about the history of the Underworld spanning thousands of years. Of course, this creation story of the Abyss was somewhat similar to the human ''Scripture of Light'' but exactly the opposite, with the Abyss worshipping darkness and humans worshipping light.

    "Ah, truly magnificent!" Minister of Finance Mack clapped his hands in admiration.

    Although he had never heard of a Supreme God of the Underworld and even the Goddess of the Night was only mentioned briefly in human legends, as an ancient giant deity born in darkness, barefoot with black hair, draped in a mist-like light veil. When her black eyes opened, it was night in the world, and when they closed, it was daytime.

    Beyond this, there were no other divine acts of the Goddess of the Night.

    But in the presence of the Prince of the Night, not only Minister Mack but also a crowd of slave owners applauded, expressing their excitement at hearing about the divine might.

    "You, you haven''t lied to me, swear it, you haven''t lied to me..." The elder sister, Leniseya, felt somewhat relieved. Although the Prince of the Night was not a follower of the god of light, he was also not an evil heretic. Although he worshipped the Goddess of the Night, it instantly tipped her internal balance in favor of Rody.

    "That''s too much!" Nicholas posed sternly, like a serious manager.

    "Don''t worry, I will persuade my sister. I''ll have her apologize to Prince His Highness in a moment!" The younger sister was delighted, not caring whether her future master was the Prince of the Abyss or an evil heretic. All she wanted was for her master to cherish her.

    She noticed Rody smiling and not minding her sister''s rudeness, knowing he must be a good master.

    The younger sister, Leniliya, quickly pulled her sister aside to prevent her from further angering the butler.

    "Prince His Highness, this is a small token of my regard." The major slave owner, Barlovsky, presented Rody with a gem-encrusted magic book. Of course, it didn''t contain any magic but was a collector''s edition of the "Female Slave Training Manual" circulated among the nobility.

    "All training tools and items have been ordered by Mr. Nicholas. We will present you, Prince, with the most perfect equipment," Adken also said respectfully.

    "It seems I should buy a castle first; otherwise, the inn really can''t fit so many women!" Rody said, looking at the more than a hundred beauties waiting outside, and suddenly remembered something. Minister of Finance Mack, fearing that the Prince from the Abyss might really buy a castle, hurriedly advised, "Please hear me out, Prince His Highness, in our Kamarlon Empire, especially in our capital, castles cannot be bought and sold casually. However, if Your Highness needs a huge manor, that''s possible. A few months ago, an elderly Duke retired, and his Duke''s mansion, along with the suburban farms and the title of his deceased son''s baronetcy, is priced at fifty thousand gold coins and still has no buyers. If Prince His Highness..."

    "Bought." Rody''s tone was as casual as a noble giving away five copper coins to a little beggar.

    "Ah, this guy is really too rich!" The younger sister Leniliya nearly fainted upon hearing this. She could never have imagined that someone in the world could spend fifty thousand gold coins so casually.

    "Prince His Highness, your starlight can surely illuminate the entire Kamarlon!" Barlovsky was ecstatic, thinking if the deal went through, his referral fee would be substantial. He almost wanted to kneel down and thank Rody on behalf of the old Duke. Even at the minimum commission of five percent, it was equivalent to selling several high-class female slaves, not to mention the principal and taxes.

    "Wait a minute..." The elder sister suddenly came over again, loudly saying, "You don''t need the baronet title, the price should be discounted. Also, you should be able to negotiate the price and inspect the manor. There''s no need to rush to agree!"

    "Next time," Rody said indifferently, waving his hand, "What this prince says is like a divine promise, it does not need to be changed."

    "If you are very rich, extremely rich, then buy Mitty as well! She is so pitiful!" The elder sister pleaded again, "She''s a poor little fairy. I beg you..."

    Everyone burst into laughter.

    "Sister, he already bought her," the younger sister said, slightly embarrassed, pulling her sister away, whispering, "He told me just now. You see, that big group of women outside, all were bought by him. Here, it must be no less than fifty thousand gold coins, right? This guy is definitely not short of money! Sister, let''s say less and ask him when we get back!"

    ...

    By the time they left the war prisoner rescue center, it was already nearing dusk.

    The two sisters followed far behind Rody, feeling that this master was like a mountain, giving them an unparalleled sense of security. Despite their unfortunate fate, they finally felt happiness, like honey, nourishing their entire being as they walked out of the war prisoner rescue center.

    Although today''s dusk was no different from yesterday''s, the presence of Rody changed their entire world.

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    Everything became so beautiful, so incredible.

    It was like a dream.

    The two sisters walked out of the war prisoner rescue center, crying and laughing for regaining their freedom. Though still nominally maids, they felt that freedom had returned to their lives, and even immense happiness was on its way...

    Like the two sisters, the more than a hundred women who were redeemed were also in tears.

    Ordinarily, one might not realize it, but once experienced personally, one understands that in the course of life, nothing is more precious and worthy of cherishing than freedom.

    Rody did want to redeem more people and grant more freedom, but he couldn''t reveal his intentions too openly. He had to disguise himself as a lecherous man. If he bought all the slaves upon entering Kamarlon, it would attract the attention of the entire country and even other nations on the continent. The temple would seize the opportunity to fan the flames, accusing him of trying to gain public support for a future invasion of the human continent.

    Of course, Rody indeed wished to do so.

    But for now, he couldn''t let this be discovered... The timing was premature; he could only start by rescuing the most unfortunate girls, then gradually establish a firm footing in Kamarlon before making further moves.

    The evening breeze gently blew, reflecting Rody''s current mood.

    "Prince His Highness, you should attend Marshal Goton''s salon banquet now." Without needing Nicholas''s reminder, Minister of Finance Mack had already prepared the carriage.

    "I almost forgot. Nicholas, take them back and prepare a small gift for Marshal Goton," Rody commanded, gesturing for his newly acquired lowly servant Ivanov to follow.

    "Lucky Ivan, you''re not without a female companion!" Barlovsky, the major slave owner, pulled aside the magic reporter, who he wouldn''t have looked at directly the day before, and whispered, "My dear Ivan, now that fortune has smiled upon you, you must not forget us. Listen, my friend, if you can help more and make Prince His Highness satisfied, I believe the highest social circles of Kamarlon will warmly welcome your entry. I can introduce you, even to lonely noble ladies, understand? You are now a favorite of Prince His Highness!"

    "My dear Mr. Barlovsky, when have I ever disappointed everyone?" the magic reporter Ivanov straightened up and said with confidence, "As long as it benefits Prince His Highness, I will give it my all!"

    Perhaps the Prince of the Night was unaware of the human salon banquet rules.

    Maybe because the newly purchased female slaves were previously eyed by Marshal Goton, he didn''t want to bring them and offend the Marshal''s dignity.

    Anyway, he came alone, without a delicate beauty on his arm. Marshal Goton was secretly grateful for the Prince of the Night''s gesture. If the Prince had brought the recently redeemed Leni sisters, it would have been awkward for him, especially when His Majesty William arrived. If he, as per tradition, complimented the Prince''s female companion, he would have wanted to hide in a hole.

    "Welcome, noble Prince His Highness, in the night, your starlight shines even more brilliantly!" Marshal Goton firmly shook Rody''s hand.

    "The imposing Marshal, as a host, you look radiant today. Is this the effect of human wine, or is it joy from the heart?" Rody said with a slight smile, embracing the Marshal and then, surrounded by the Marshal, Minister Mack, and others, entered the Marshal''s residence amidst magical fireworks.

    The magic reporter feverishly took photos on the sides, calling out to the Prince of the Night, hoping he would turn, smile, and wave at him.

    Some clever fellows grabbed the lucky Ivan.

    "Damn it, Ivan, you bastard, have you forgotten how I gave you work when you were at your lowest, helping you survive until fortune came your way?" Ivanov looked up to see his boss, editor-in-chief Kava, dressed in an evening gown, her face angry.

    "Oh, my Miss Kava, who has offended you?" Ivanov quickly played dumb, running over to take her hand and fawningly said, "How could I forget, you are my lifesaver!"

    "Good that you remember, at least you have a conscience!" Miss Kava said with a smile, "What are you waiting for? Aren''t you going to invite me in?"

    "Could it be..." Ivanov asked in surprise, "You, you have already..."

    "I''ve already kicked that incorrigible and flirtatious Viscount to the curb. Tonight, I don''t have a male companion. If you don''t hurry up and invite me in, I''ll kick you out too!" Miss Kava''s words made Ivanov feel that fortune continued to shower upon him. His boss, who had scolded him just the day before, was now throwing him seductive glances, seemingly ready to surrender.

    "Thank God for my great master, ah, I feel like kissing the ground beneath his feet!" Ivanov nearly shed tears.

    Just by bravely stepping forward, he had gained the appreciation of the Prince of the Night.

    In one day, he had gained the fortune and happiness that he couldn''t have achieved in a lifetime, all thanks to the noble master who patted his shoulder and bestowed upon him the title of ''lowly servant''.

    Without the noble Prince His Highness, he believed he would still be the most ordinary, despised member of the ''magic paparazzi'' in Kamarlon''s capital.

    The ladies, both noblewomen and young misses, were dazzled and smitten by Rody''s arrival. His appearance was already imprinted in their hearts, as the Prince of the Night looked exactly like the ''Magical Boy''. To see his face, they only had to pull out the hidden photos of the Magical Boy from under their dressing tables. Compared to the Magical Boy, the Prince of the Night had more smiles, his hair shining like the Milky Way...

    Even a simple removal of his sunglasses and a polite smile were enough to capture the hearts of the noblewomen.

    Only in gazing at the glittering starry sky could one feel such dreamy sensations.

    The clergy from the temple, however, struggled to maintain their composure. Although the Prince of the Night came from the Abyss, they couldn''t easily offend the mighty Underworld behind him. So, even when some nobles flattered with words like ''eternal night'', ''starry sky'', ''darkness'' that conflicted with ''light'', ''justice'', ''piety'', they tried to endure.

    The Knights of the Holy Lance like Holley, Sariwen of the Holy Eyes, Adlaiman of the Holy Law, the Dragon Knight Nutidora, Jelstoni of the Silver Fang, and Prince Vincent had rather unpleasant expressions.

    They had always been the most welcomed young knights at the noble salons, receiving flirtatious glances from the noble ladies.

    But this Prince of the Night had stolen their limelight.

    What made them most uncomfortable was that this guy had even taken on the appearance of their arch-enemy, Rody. Using someone else''s appearance to show off, they felt extremely unbalanced. However, the Prince of the Night was not someone to be trifled with like Rody, even the temple and angels were wary of him. In this situation, Holley and the others had no choice but to endure.

    ...

    "Prince His Highness, please take a seat next to the Duchess," Minister of Finance Mack whispered to Rody, "The Duchess is the one you encountered during the day. Remember? Her temperament and etiquette are well-known, you will surely like her!"

    "Ah, I recognize you." Rody, who had just disguised himself as a lecher and groped the Countess''s chest during the day, of course, couldn''t deny it.

    Noble salon banquets generally start very late. Apart from waiting for the emperor, who deals with countless affairs, they also wait for the young and vigorous guests to have enough drink and dance. Generally, young people can eat and talk more than the elderly, winning the hearts of ladies and misses. To outshine the young at a banquet, one must have enough patience.

    Young people usually can''t resist, indulging in drinks and dance, quickly exhausting their energy. By the time the banquet officially starts, they are already mostly intoxicated.

    At this time, middle-aged and elderly nobles just need to put in a little effort, instigate a few disputes, and let them fight among themselves. In the end, these old foxes will have no competition.

    Hence, the banquet is sure to start late.

    This is also one of the traditions for middle-aged and elderly nobles to maintain their prestige and pride at banquets. Unless it''s the most energetic young knight, no one can compete with them. Of course, the noble ladies and misses understand that those who last until the end are them. The final choice, for experienced noblewomen and misses, is always the wisest... Who would want to spend the night with a drunken mess?

    "Lady, where is your husband?" Rody asked after sitting down, realizing that the seating arrangement was very clever.

    On this long, semi-circular seat, only two people could fit. Next to it were silverware, cutlery, various fruits, and chilled beverages. This seat was connected to the ones next to it, creating a lively and festive atmosphere, yet it also had its private space for individual conversations and laughter. Rody found the person who designed this seating to be a genius.

    It was hard for anyone opposite to notice what the other was doing, but they could still talk to each other across the table.

    The huge banquet table, with a magical conveyor belt in the middle, had countless foods moving back and forth slowly, allowing guests to choose their preferred dishes. The class distinctions at the banquet were clear, with lesser nobles like Rody''s servant Ivanov and slave owner Adken at the far end.

    Major nobles like Baron Barlovsky were in the middle.

    And the high-ranking individuals were at the front, like Minister of Finance Mack, a few dukes, and their companions.

    The empty seat at the head of the table was for Emperor William II. Rody''s seat was only seven or eight meters from his, separated by Marshal Goton''s and Prince Redlands'' seats. Diagonally opposite were the seats for the Red Archbishop and Prince Norn, which were still vacant. Directly opposite was Prince Vincent, and further down were seats for the Knights of the Holy Lance like Holley.

    They did not welcome Rody with a toast as others did, being preoccupied with their female companions while covertly observing him.

    The Duchess, who rose to greet Rody, was dressed very elegantly, adorned with sparkling jewels. The corset made her full, white breasts even more prominent, creating a deep and alluring cleavage.

    Her bowing and bending to greet accentuated the most beautiful part of her body.

    The Duchess felt slightly embarrassed by Rody''s question.

    She didn''t quite understand why the Prince of the Night would ask such a question, as at salon banquets, it was almost impossible for nobles to sit with their wives. Unless the wife was a fearsome figure, no one would do so. The purpose of attending the banquet was to find opportunities for romantic liaisons, not to sit with one''s wife.

    Nobles generally hoped that their wives would return home shortly after the banquet started.

    If they didn¡¯t want to go home, the nobles usually preferred their wives to sit with men of higher status and power than themselves, rather than with young, handsome knights who could offer no help in their careers.

    There were some nobles who, not wanting to sit with their less attractive wives, would bring beautiful companions to dazzle each other.

    And some noblewomen, powerful but not pleasing to the eye, often brought young and strong knights to the banquet. Only these people would sit with their companions, though this was rare. It was common for nobles to exchange companions at the banquet.

    "He''s sitting with the Countess," the Duchess said, glancing in the distance. Rody followed her gaze and saw that her husband was an old man, already smelling the coffin.

    "Very well," Rody sat down, leaving the Duchess puzzled about what he meant.

    "Prince His Highness, what would you like to drink?" To break the ice, the Duchess decided to start a new topic. It was rare for her to have the opportunity to sit with the Prince of the Night. She had defeated many rivals in secret to get this seat. If it weren''t for their chance encounter on the street, she doubted Marshal Goton''s wife would have arranged for her to sit next to him. She didn''t want the Prince to be bored.

    "Dark Magic Spring, ah, you humans don''t have this!" Rody casually produced a bottle and poured a small cup for the Duchess.

    "Thank you," the Duchess quickly lifted her skirt in a slight curtsy, gracefully extended her arm, took the cup, and sipped. She found that after drinking it, her whole body felt an inexplicable comfort, a wonderful sensation that moistened her throat and heart. She couldn''t help but exclaim, "Ah, I dare say, this tastes even better than the legendary Elven Moon Spring... Oh my, this is the first time in my life I¡¯ve tasted such a wonderful drink! Great Prince His Highness, what is the effect of this Dark Magic Spring?"

    "It can beautify women and rejuvenate their youth," Rody said. Upon hearing this, the Duchess''s hands trembled, nearly spilling her cup of Magic Spring.

    "Really?" The Duchess felt breathless. Was there really a magic spring in the world that could rejuvenate women?

    Although in legends, the Elven Moon Spring and Angel''s Holy Water were said to restore youth, they were never seen by anyone. These were just mythical existences. People could pray in temples and, with enough money or devoutness, get some holy water that could slightly slow down aging, but that was far from enough.

    Every woman longs to forever live in the youth of eighteen years old.

    Perhaps an eighteen-year-old girl is not mature enough and still a bit naive, but only those who have lost their youth understand how precious and prideful that bit of naivety is. Any girl eager to grow up will later regret her foolishness.

    The Duchess wasn''t old, having only left her eighteen years a few years ago, but she felt her youth fading.

    "One sip won''t do, you need to drink a full cup," Rody said with a smile.

    This was the magic spring he planned to promote in Kamarlon. It could beautify and slowly restore youth, but Rody didn''t mention that it was addictive. It was like a poison that could drive people crazy and obsessed. He believed no woman watching her youth gradually return would willingly give up this Dark Magic Spring.

    To make women even more obsessed, he added a slowly addictive, yet harmless substance from a magic flower, undetectable even by holy light magic.

    He wanted Kamarlon''s noblewomen and misses to become addicted both mentally and physically.

    With such an impact, he believed it wouldn''t be long before the people of Kamarlon sided with him, the Prince of the Night holding the Dark Magic Spring. Invading a country didn''t necessarily mean waging war; there were many ways. Culture could be used for invasion, which the temple was wary of, but they were helpless against economic invasion.

    Rody had the wealth of the entire Abyss. Although he couldn''t unleash it all at once to collapse the economies of various countries, just a small breach was needed.

    The dam that the temple had painstakingly maintained for thousands of years would also collapse.

    If Rody asked Nicholas to promote his Dark Magic Spring, the temple and countries would surely be wary and displeased. However, he could promote it through another means, like the Duchess sitting beside him...

    "I cannot express my feelings right now with all the words in the world. I want to praise you, but fear my clumsy tongue. I want to kiss you, but fear the presumption of my lips... Dear Prince, you are like a god in my heart!" The Duchess drank the Magic Spring, feeling completely intoxicated in a wonderful state, like a dream. The pleasant feeling, even more intoxicating than the climax, because it lasted long, from the tip of her tongue to the bottom of her heart, filled with sweet happiness.

    "Don''t tell anyone, not even your best friend," Rody said with a slight smile, "Because it''s not like ordinary spring water that can be dug up from the ground."

    "Prince His Highness, I swear I''ll keep this secret!" The Duchess excitedly held Rody''s hand, kissing it affectionately. Though she swore to keep it secret, Rody estimated that within three days, all the women in Kamarlon''s capital would know about it. By then, Kamarlon would be swept up in a huge storm because of the Dark Magic Spring.

 Chapter 159: I Hurt You, And Just Smiled Away

    Young noble knights, apart from constantly competing in drinking to show off their robustness, also courteously invited ladies and misses to dance, in a display of gentlemanly manners.

    This was a process of subtle competition, where one''s status was elevated by inviting more noble and beautiful ladies to dance, boasting among peers. A few, specifically targeting others'' companions, relied on their handsome and dashing demeanor to suppress rivals and smugly snatch away others'' companions under everyone''s gaze.

    As an unspoken rule of the noble circle, even if deeply annoyed, people refrained from reacting due to concern for their reputation.

    One of the five knights of the temple, ¡®Holy Wing¡¯ Pompeius, stood out among his friends in a game of rock-paper-scissors. With pride and a smile, he came to invite Rody¡¯s companion, the Duchess, to dance.

    Unbeknownst to him, his winning wasn''t due to luck.

    It was because other knights like Holy Lance Knight Holley, ¡®Holy Eye¡¯ Sariven, Prince Vincent, and others deliberately conceded. Otherwise, Pompeius, the weakest among them, couldn''t have continuously won against stronger companions. Dragon Knight Nutidora, Silver Fang Jelstoni, and ¡®Holy Law¡¯ Adlaiman watched coldly from behind, expecting Rody to get angry, leading to a verbal clash and physical fight with Pompeius.

    Such jealous squabbles were common among nobles, with their silver gloves prepared for such occasions.

    Once a glove was thrown at an opponent, it signified a challenge to a knightly duel.

    The Prince of the Night wasn''t very strong. If not for being laden with treasures, protected by a Pope-level ''Starlight Girl'', and backed by the mighty Underworld of the Abyss, human powerhouses would have assassinated him.

    But in a knight''s duel, one must face the enemy alone...

    Admittedly, while Rody wasn''t as strong as Pompeius, he had treasures for protection. Holley and others weren''t worried Pompeius would accidentally kill him, nor were they concerned about the Abyss retaliating and invading the human world. However, there was a chance Pompeius could beat up the arrogant Prince of the Night, leaving him disheveled.

    Prince Vincent and others harbored such thoughts, yet no one wanted to be the disliked initiator.

    Pompeius, younger and slightly weaker but eager to prove himself, was the perfect candidate.

    "Noble Duchess, beautiful angel, as your faithful knight, may I have the honor of inviting you for a dance?" As the youngest of the five knights of the temple''s younger generation, Pompeius had always wanted to prove himself in front of the world. Whether he could shake Kamarlon today depended on Rody''s reaction.

    He was prepared for Rody to react angrily and had his knightly glove ready.

    For fame, to prove himself, and to climb to a higher status, Pompeius felt he must seize every good opportunity.

    "Young knight..." The Duchess, under normal circumstances, might have accepted the invitation if it were someone else beside her, not the Prince of the Night. But at that moment, her admiration and fondness for Rody had reached its peak. She stole a glance at him and found that the Prince His Highness seemed indifferent to this matter, apparently unaware of the love battles among human men. Nevertheless, the Duchess still wanted to stand up for him. She smiled, gently holding Rody''s hand, and turned slightly to Pompeius, saying, "Thank you for your kindness, I am grateful, but young knight, I am currently in conversation with Prince His Highness and cannot be elsewhere. Young knight, there might be misses more beautiful than me at the banquet, waiting for your invitation! Please do not disturb Prince His Highness and me, okay?"

    "Ah?" Pompeius was not unused to rejection, but typically, when noble ladies and misses declined, it was a polite way to indicate they were already invited or waiting for someone else.

    However, a response like the Duchess''s, who clearly wasn¡¯t waiting for anyone else and bluntly refused him to save her male companion¡¯s face, was very rare. Pompeius thought even if he invited Emperor William II''s favorite concubine to dance, he wouldn''t face a more embarrassing and unmerciful rejection.

    Although the Duchess spoke politely, what she really meant was, "I''m having a pleasant conversation with the Prince of the Night, please leave immediately."

    "What is this fool doing here?" Rody looked at Pompeius strangely, his gaze like that on a clown. This contemptuous look and the blood-boiling question completely infuriated Pompeius.

    "He wanted to invite someone to dance, Prince of the Night, you know I¡¯m waiting for you..." The words of the Duchess made Pompeius want to hit his head against the wall.

    "Dancing is not urgent, haha, I really want to see your charm. How many fools do you think will invite you to dance tonight?" Rody joked with the Duchess, ignoring Pompeius who was still standing behind, trembling with anger.

    "Prince of the Night, I challenge you!" Holy Wing Pompeius, suppressing his rage, stepped back three steps and threw his silver glove at Rody, issuing a challenge.

    "Idiot, who cares about you!" The Prince of the Night obviously didn''t know the human knight''s challenge rules, where those who avoid a challenge are seen as cowards. However, from the Prince of the Night''s tone, it was more disdain for dueling the opponent rather than fear of battle. Marshal Goton and Minister of Finance Mack hurried over to dissuade them, and secretly felt relieved that the Prince of the Night didn''t know the knight''s challenge rules, otherwise the matter would have escalated significantly.

    "Hee hee hee!" The ladies and young misses covered their mouths with their fans and laughed because the expressions of the Prince of the Night and Pompeius were amusingly contrasting.

    The Prince of the Night was indifferent, ignoring the existence of the other.

    Pompeius, however, was alternating between red and white in the face, furious and exasperated, and even Minister Mack and several dukes couldn''t pull him away.

    "I know you''re a coward, a waste who dares not accept a challenge, even your appearance is borrowed from someone else. You vermin from the Abyss, other than seducing women at banquets, seducing other men''s wives, what else can you do?" Pompeius, in a moment of impulse, blurted out some words that shouldn''t be said in front of nobility. These words, one after another, immediately changed everyone''s expressions.

    Although seducing other men''s wives and daughters at noble gatherings was a kind of glorious tradition, it was an unspoken matter.

    These few shouted sentences undoubtedly tore off everyone''s fig leaf, making everyone feel naked. The most annoyed was Marshal Goton; he had finally hosted a salon banquet and did not expect to encounter such an embarrassment.

    If he had known Pompeius was so immature, he really should have kept this mood-dampening guy out.

    The second most embarrassed was the husband of the Duchess. He had intended to secretly please the Prince of the Night, as well as the King and Marshal Goton, by having his young and beautiful wife accompany the Prince at his table. However, after Pompeius blurted out his words, he became the butt of ridicule, so angry he almost had a heart attack, trembling all over.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, may I kill this mad dog?" Rody saw the opportunity and stood up to ask.

    "No, my prince, you must have enough grace. I also believe that you will not add blood and misfortune to my banquet. The banquet has not yet started, my dear prince, the noble you, need not bother with the human knight''s pointless challenge. Could you please join me in the side room for a rest? I will make sure he apologizes to you properly!" Marshal Goton almost said, ''Good, if you can kill this guy, that would be best,'' but he didn''t want the Temple to trouble him, nor did he want the Prince of the Night and Pompeius to have any accidents in a duel, so he forcefully suppressed his anger and tried to persuade with kind words.

    "Don''t think I will apologize to a dark devil. I am the embodiment of light and justice, the Holy Knight of the Temple, and I stand irreconcilably against evil." Pompeius, unable to step down, could only remain firm to the end.

    "Shut up, you should know where to stop." Before Marshal Goton could get angry, Minister of Finance Mack already started shouting. He pointed at Pompeius and coldly huffed, "Young knight, you are truly disappointing, lacking both manners and noble upbringing. You can say that you are a disgrace to the Temple. What you just said might have been appropriate at your swearing-in ceremony, but at a noble banquet, your behavior is simply inexplicable! Who among us here is not a devout believer? Among them are the Temple''s honored prayer knights and devout nobles, and even the ladies and misses respect the Light God King no less than you do. Why do we welcome the Prince of the Abyss? Do you think he''s an evil dark believer? Ignorant young man, let me tell you, the entire Abyss worships the ancient Goddess of the Night, just as we believe in the Holy Mother, the War God, the Fire God, and the Water God. Although he comes from the distant Underworld, he is our dear ally, certainly not an evil heretic of the dark demons!"

    "Ah..." Mack''s words shocked everyone present.

    "Bad luck for Pompeius now!" The Holy Lance Knight Holly, upon hearing this, immediately wanted to stand up and try to excuse his comrade.

    "My dear Knight Holly, my friend, if I were you, I definitely wouldn''t go out at this time, becoming the target of public criticism. Look at Marshal Goton and Minister Mack, they already have great anger in their hearts. Pompeius is unforgivable. If you stand out, it will only deepen their disappointment. See, even King William II will decree a punishment for the rude and ignorant Pompeius. Why should you be punished along with him?" Prince Vincent pulled back the Holy Lance Knight Holly, quietly advising him.

    "So, not accepting a challenge is a symbol of cowardice? Damn it!" Meanwhile, the Prince of the Night had already learned the meaning of a knight''s challenge from his servant Ivanov, and was furiously indignant. He stood up and stomped a silver gauntlet flat.

    "Prince..." Marshal Goton saw that things were going badly, as the Prince of the Night was about to explode, and hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

    "Respected Marshal, you shouldn''t advise." Rody snorted, his hands gathering dark magic, proudly saying, "As a prince of the Abyss Underworld, I cannot tolerate such impudent provocation. He is challenging the dignity of our entire Underworld! Moreover, he insulted our faith. I must punish him, but of course, I will spare his life according to your human rules."

    "Hypocritical prince, I must expose your evil true face!" Pompeius saw Rody gathering dark magic and was overjoyed in his heart, as his light fighting spirit was definitely the nemesis of the opponent.

    "Foolish!" Holy Lance Knight Holly snorted in disappointment.

    "This guy has completely lost the chance to be saved. Hmph, if he had just admitted defeat and apologized earlier, then Marshal Goton and Minister Mack would have stepped down, surely giving face to the Temple. But his stubbornness is undoubtedly sending himself to a dead end. I dare say, regardless of his victory or defeat, he''s finished!" Dragon Knight Nutidora also sneered coldly.

    "He was already a waste, nothing to regret." Saint Eye Sallywen was secretly pleased at this moment, as one less competitor remained.

    "Alas, too impulsive." Only Saint Law Adleman''s face showed a hint of pity as he slowly shook his head and sighed.

    ...

    "Holy Light Cross Sword Slash... Angel''s Wings!" Saint Wing Pompeius drew out his holy sword. Since things couldn''t be reversed, rather than that, he might as well knock down the Prince of the Night. If he could demonstrate his strength to everyone, he might still receive forgiveness and praise. He was skilled in quick, agile swordsmanship, as fast as the wind, as if he had wings. Among the young knights of the Temple, he was the fastest in combat. Even if he couldn''t defeat the Prince of the Night, Pompeius was confident in his self-protection.

    "Abyss Dark Tide Shockwave!" The Prince of the Night''s dark magic stirred up a terrifying tidal wave, engulfing Saint Wing Pompeius.

    The keen-eyed strong ones could see that the Prince of the Night was not using his own magic power. The entire dark wave was sourced from a dark magic orb he held in his hand. Using a super treasure, he naturally cast magic very quickly, and without any trace, invisible to ordinary people, except for those like the Holy Lance Knight Holly and Prince Vincent.

    Pompeius''s bright sword energy was swallowed by the dark wave, and he was shockingly thrown back dozens of meters.

    But as a Holy Temple Knight, he had holy armor to protect him, fearing nothing.

    He leaped high, slashing down from the sky like a large bird. If the Prince of the Night was a magician, then the best strategy was to get close, to fight at zero distance, which would greatly reduce the combat effectiveness of any magician, making it difficult to cast spells in time.

    "Night Death Eye..." The Prince of the Night raised a hand towards Pompeius, and in an instant, black light filled the hall, dimming the magical lights.

    "Ah." Pompeius cried out in pain, as his holy sword in his hand gradually petrified, and his holy armor exploded violently. The Prince of the Night leaped up, delivering a spinning kick, knocking Pompeius to the ground. Mid-air, he grabbed the holy sword that Pompeius dropped, and with a punch, turned the petrified sword to dust. The audience applauded loudly, knowing the Prince of the Night had won, but no one understood exactly how he achieved victory.

    Except for a few like the Holy Lance Knight Holly, Prince Vincent, and of course, Marshal Goton and some other strong individuals.

    The Prince of the Night had used some sort of treasure again, perhaps something akin to Medusa''s Eyes. However, to turn the most solid holy sword of the Temple Knight into stone, the power of that treasure was unimaginably high.

    "Holy Light Spear..." Pompeius, both ashamed and angry, lastly chanted a Holy Light magic blessing, launching a light spear with his fighting spirit, furiously shooting at his opponent.

    "Child''s play, Dawn''s First Light Arrow!" The Prince of the Night caught the opponent''s light spear, transforming it into ten light arrows, and shot them back. While Pompeius frantically dodged, the Prince of the Night unleashed another punch, shouting, "Starlight Splendid Carnival..."

    A starlight beam, ten times larger than the light spear, rapidly struck Pompeius in the chest, instantly shattering his holy armor.

    The audience saw the Prince of the Night raise his right fist, a grey mist crazily condensing into a sphere. With a move called ''Twilight''s Grey Dusk'', Pompeius screamed as he fell, blood spurting without the protection of his holy armor, completely losing his combat ability.

    With just one more punch from the Prince of the Night, he would surely die, his life hanging by a thread.

    The strong ones present knew that Pompeius''s defeat was not unjust.

    Under the relentless assault of numerous treasures, each at least of a holy grade, wielded by the Prince of the Night, the fact that Pompeius could resist several heavy blows in such a confined space of the hall was already remarkable. Even just one of the treasures used by the Prince of the Night would have been an insurmountable challenge for Pompeius. His disastrous defeat at the hands of the Prince of the Night could only mean that it wasn''t his weakness, but his misfortune, to have provoked a prince from the Abyss.

    The Underworld of the Abyss sending a prince, whose strength was just above that of an Earth Warrior, as an envoy to the human world, clearly couldn''t allow him to return beaten and humiliated. Now, Marshal Goton and others began to understand why the Underworld of the Abyss was so powerful.

    Just on the body of a single prince, there were at least five treasures of a holy grade or higher.

    Holy Lance Knight Holly and others watched, their eyes twitching uncontrollably, as each of them mentally calculated ways to counter the Prince of the Night. To avoid becoming the next Pompeius, they mustn''t let him speak. Because every time he called out the name of a technique, it was a unique incantation of magic, a signal to use a certain treasure to attack. Once the command was issued, even the not-so-strong Prince of the Night could easily defeat powerful opponents.

    Now, there were already five known treasures, but everyone believed that there were far more.

    Prince Vincent and others exchanged glances, each making a gesture. The lowest estimate was from Silver Fang Jelstoni, who guessed that the Prince of the Night had at least eight treasures. Most guessed ten, while Saint Eye Sallywen believed it would exceed ten treasures.

    Saint Law Adleman, known for his strong perception, estimated over twenty.

    He also used magic to telepathically warn everyone, saying that the Prince of the Night possessed at least one divine artifact, which further shocked everyone.

    "I can spare him. Killing him is no different from crushing a small bug." The Prince of the Night walked up to Pompeius and said something that slightly relieved everyone. People were willing to see Pompeius beaten up, but if it came to murder, then the banquet would be ruined. Facing such a bloody scene, even if King William II did not announce the cancellation of the banquet, no one would be able to eat anything.

    "My prince, your starlight and kindness can illuminate the entire night sky," Minister of Finance Mack quickly flattered, simultaneously giving the Prince of the Night an opportunity to step down gracefully.

    "As a small punishment for him and to restore the dignity of our Abyss Underworld, I decide to use my usual method to punish this human male who offended me." Everyone saw the Prince of the Night step on Pompeius and start singing loudly: "I hurt you and just laughed it off, you want to struggle, but you''re helpless..."

    Everyone was stunned and speechless, taking a while to come to their senses.

    This unique form of humiliation was fortunately not experienced by Pompeius since he had already fainted; otherwise, he would have certainly committed suicide. Holy Lance Knight Holly and a few others couldn''t help but shiver from deep within, feeling relieved that it wasn¡¯t them who had recklessly challenged earlier. Being stepped on and sung to with ¡®I hurt you, and just laughed it off¡¯ by an opponent was indeed the most shameful and pitiful thing.

    They believed they could never hold their heads high again in their lifetimes.

    As for the dominance displayed by the Prince of the Night, Marshal Goton and others felt extremely satisfied and excited. They believed that this would further elevate the status of the Kamarlon Empire, which was preparing to establish diplomatic relations with the Abyss, among other nations. Also, it would be hard for the Temple to make excessive accusations.

    Most importantly, the actions of the Prince of the Night had indirectly helped them regain a great deal of face.

    Nobles, ladies, and young misses all applauded, with continuous clapping and some young nobles even whistled.

    While Pompeius was being taken away for treatment and the banquet hall was being restored, Marshal Goton invited the Prince of the Night and the Duchess to rest in the guest room of the side hall. Of course, this was to provide the two with an opportunity to be alone. It was clear to anyone, after the impressive display by the Prince of the Night, that the Duchess was quite smitten. If they didn''t want to see her indiscreetly kissing the Prince in front of everyone, it was better to let her go to the guest room in the side hall.

    Of course, this was also arranged by King William II.

    He had arrived earlier and had been watching everything from a magic screen in a secret room. He was very keen on forming an alliance with the Abyss Underworld but needed to see the strength and value of the Prince of the Night. Now, he felt it was time to do something. Marshal Goton and Minister of Finance Mack took care of the guests and came forward quietly, asking respectfully, ¡°Your Majesty, what do you think?¡±

    "Indeed, the Prince of the Night is not the magical young lad Rody. It''s evident that he''s a prince proficient in both magic and martial arts, but Rody, he has only exceptional spiritual power, having drunk from the forbidden chalice of magic and martial arts." King William II, who had been harboring doubts, now let them go, nodding happily, "You did well, but there''s still more to be done. Go out and attend to the guests now, let everything proceed according to plan..."

 Chapter 160: The Little Maid and the Beautiful Lady

    The side hall was not large, but it had many guest lounges. After entering the guest lounge, one could further proceed through a secret door into a long corridor, which led to various floors of the Marshal''s residence. The Duchess was extremely excited, trying her best to control her heartbeat, clinging to Rody''s arm with an elegant smile on her face, leading Rody to the third floor, perhaps to a bedroom borrowed from the Marshal''s wife.

    She couldn''t wait to share intimate moments with this man who had captivated her heart, to compensate for the dissatisfaction she often felt with the Duke.

    The room on the third floor was not far away. The Duchess planned to passionately kiss him as soon as they entered, to show him how much she loved him, how much she missed him... Her heart was pounding like a drum, her steps getting weaker, and finally, she almost collapsed in Rody''s arms.

    However, a maid holding a lantern stood in the corridor, speaking softly, "Prince of the Night, the Queen requests your presence in five minutes for state affairs."

    "What? The Prince is my companion for tonight!" The Duchess nearly fainted upon hearing this.

    "The noble lady, would you like to revise your response? You must know that these words might anger a Queen more noble and majestic than you. If you wish, I can wait for your most suitable reply," the maid bowed and said.

    "Yes, I wish to correct myself. The Prince of the Night will go to consult with the Queen on state affairs in five minutes," the Duchess managed to suppress her anger and replied softly.

    "In that case, the servant will wait for the Prince at the corner ahead," the maid bowed again and said, "Noble Duchess, your handling is very generous and appropriate. The Queen said if you agree, the Prince will return to your room in no more than three hours to spend the remaining wonderful time with you."

    "Thanks to the Queen''s grace! May God bless the Kamarlon Empire, and may the beautiful Queen remain forever young!" Although the Duchess was reluctant, she could only swallow her pride and thank her with a bow.

    "Don''t you need to ask me?" Rody was about to ask in surprise, but as soon as the maid turned around, the Duchess pulled him into a room.

    She held him tightly and kissed him passionately.

    As if she would die in five minutes, she barely had time to speak, just holding Rody tightly, deeply inhaling his scent, kissing his fingers, his cheeks. Whenever Rody tried to speak, she stopped him with her hand. In less than half a minute, her whalebone corset was undone, revealing her beautiful bosom to Rody.

    "Prince, do you know? I''m going mad, that incredibly lewd Queen, she''s about to snatch you away from me!" The Duchess, with tears in her eyes, placed Rody''s hand on her bosom, pressing it tightly to make him feel her heartbeat, and wept softly, "Can you feel my love for you? My Prince, I''ve never liked a man as much as I like you. After being forced to marry the old Duke, my heart was broken. But today, it has just started to heal, yet now you must leave my side..."

    "I could choose not to go!" Rody knew it was impossible, but he said so to make the Duchess feel better.

    "No, my noble Prince, don''t let me affect state affairs. The Queen has a great influence over the King of Kamarlon. Her promiscuity has earned her many admirers among the ministers. You must go, understand? Although my heart is also broken, I cannot allow myself to turn you against her. I know what a woman unsatisfied can do!" The Duchess kissed Rody''s hand repeatedly, saying, "My Prince, please come back soon. Believe me, no matter how outstanding you are, the Queen will never love you as I do! She''s used to playing with men and must be skilled in physical trades. Before marrying King William II, she had already been married to five kings, all of whom lost their kingdoms. It''s because of her that Kamarlon and Mille were able to annex five smaller countries without bloodshed..."

    "Your Queen is a succubus?" Rody exclaimed in shock.

    "I don''t know if she''s a succubus, but there''s a joke about the Queen that circulates in the capital of Kamarlon," the Duchess said, eager to slander her rival to win back the Prince''s heart.

    "What''s the joke?" Rody was genuinely unaware of any jokes about the Queen.

    "Only men who have been intimate with the Queen, who have shared a bed with her, know and understand that joke. It''s their way of mocking her. My Prince, I''m not maliciously slandering the Queen; this is the truth, and you''ll understand soon," the Duchess whispered softly. "Because of her debauchery and indulgence, the Queen may seem decent in appearance, but her body is... How should I put it? The men joke that if everyone squats down and shouts ''I found a cave'' at the Queen, it would echo back ''a cave, a cave, a cave''!"

    "Really?" Rody was stunned.

    "My noble Prince, you must know that the Queen''s invitation, aside from venting her sinful lust, might be some kind of political conspiracy, so you must be careful and wary of her every word," the Duchess advised, almost like a wife.

    "Maybe I just won''t go? Could her figure be more beautiful than yours? No, your treasures are truly rare in this world," Rody feigned admiration.

    "You don''t know, in the capital of Kamarlon, I''ve always been privately known as the ''Lady with the Beautiful Bosom,''" the Duchess said with a blushing face, whispering softly, "They belong only to you, my Prince. Remember, I''ll be waiting here for you to come back, always here... I love you, Prince. Please give me a chance; I''ll show you the most wonderful lovemaking in the world, I will serve you with all my heart and body!"

    "The Queen is clever, only giving you five minutes, otherwise you might have done more," Rody laughed heartily.

    "My dearest Prince, you don''t understand the jealousy between women. I absolutely cannot stand her getting to you first, but I am powerless. Perhaps at the banquet earlier, I should have dropped a silver key to the floor and then pretended to pick it up, giving you a pleasant surprise, but... I really regret it, my Prince. You don''t know, my heart is shattered!" The Duchess daringly reached into Rody''s trousers. She initially wanted to undo them, but Rody refused, which made her behave even more like a resentful woman.

    "Wait for me to come back! I really like them!" Rody playfully kneaded the Duchess into a soft mess, laughing.

    "I''ll take a milk bath and wash myself fragrant waiting for your return! I love you, my Prince, my darling..." The Duchess, disregarding her naked upper body, chased to the door and embraced Rody, passionately kissing him.

    The maid nearby coughed softly, indicating that time was up.

    With tears streaming down her face, the Duchess had to bid a reluctant farewell. Rody followed the maid, turned up the staircase to the fourth floor, passed through a corridor to the fifth floor. The maid walked elegantly ahead, her shapely bottom swaying attractively, arousing Rody. He watched as she led him to the sixth floor, then down another staircase back to the fifth floor, leaving Rody puzzled.

    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

    "Hey, is the Queen waiting for me on the fifth floor or the sixth?" Rody, seeing they were going up to the sixth floor again, was about to lose his temper.

    "Don''t you like watching my little bottom? I''ll let you see enough of it! Hehe, what, you forgot how many floors we''ve gone up?" The little maid turned back with a charming smile, covering her mouth and giggling, "How about it? Who do you think is prettier, me or that Lady with the Beautiful Bosom?"

    "Are you really a maid?" Rody felt dizzy upon hearing this.

    ...

    "I am a maid, just not the Queen''s maid," the little maid turned around, handing Rody a small note, "Someone has invited you to this address tomorrow night. Remember, don''t be late, you little trickster!"

    "Who are you?" Rody desperately searched his memory for this little maid''s identity. Who could she be?

    She seemed somewhat familiar, as though she knew him, but he couldn''t quite recall who she was.

    Leaning in to smell her, he found her scent familiar too. But her fragrance was unique, not like Chris, nor like the Star Goddess or Jill, not like the female boss, not like the succubus sisters. Who was this person disguised as a little maid, coming to deliver a message to him?

    She called him a little trickster; could she possibly recognize him as Rody?

    How could that be?

    "Can''t guess, can you? Hehe, you''re such a dummy!" The little maid snorted through her nose, proudly swinging her cute little bottom as she walked ahead.

    "Hey, was the Queen''s invitation a fake?" Rody hurried after her to ask.

    "Of course, it''s real. Don''t you know where the Queen''s secret chamber is? Poor guy, you don''t even know the Queen''s secret chamber and yet dare to pretend to be a playboy seducing women," the little maid sighed, "The Queen has two secret chambers. One is on the fifth floor; you can enter any door, and she will see you. If you go in, like the Lady with the Beautiful Bosom said, you''ll find a queen who echoes when you squat and shout. If you don''t go in and turn to the sixth floor, then enter through a small window like a dog hole, you''ll find a..."

    Suddenly, the little maid stopped talking.

    Rody looked at her small face curiously, finding it increasingly familiar. He was sure he had seen this little maid somewhere before.

    But, for the life of him, he couldn''t figure out who she was. How strange!

    "What will I find?" Rody purposely moved closer, inhaling the pleasant scent of the little maid, and asked.

    "I don''t know, I''ve never been through the dog hole!" The little maid pushed Rody away with a hint of annoyance, then couldn''t help but giggle, baffling Rody even more. She stood at the end of the fifth-floor corridor''s balcony, struggling to suppress her laughter, "Go on, go find your Queen. Why are you following my behind? I won''t throw myself at you like the Lady with the Beautiful Bosom!"

    "Who are you, really?" Rody, seeing her chant an air-based flying spell and preparing to fly away, quickly grabbed her small hand and asked.

    "When you guess who I am, I''ll let you see my true face. Don''t you love watching my little bottom? Go back and think about it! Guess correctly, and I''ll let you see a beautiful woman fully naked! But, I bet someone as dumb as you won''t have that chance!" The little maid playfully patted Rody''s face, covering her giggling mouth with her hand, and swiftly flew away.

    "Who is this girl, anyway? When did I meet such a girl?" Rody was utterly confused.

    After thinking for a long time and still not figuring out who the little maid was, Rody had no choice but to go up to the sixth floor, looking for the ''dog hole'' like a small window.

    He wanted to meet the mysterious Queen, but certainly not one where you could hear an echo just by squatting down and shouting. The sixth floor wasn''t very big; above it was only the clock tower. The sixth floor seemed to be a study, but all the doors were sealed and locked, seemingly unoccupied.

    After searching for a while, Rody finally found a small hole in a secluded, dark corner, truly resembling a dog hole. Infuriatingly, there was even a new sign hanging above it: "This is a dog hole, human males are not allowed to crawl in¡­" Rody was certain there hadn''t been a sign there just before. He was being played again, which made him furious. He grabbed the sign and smashed it with his fist, then stomped on it several times.

    He sensed a very small secret room inside and even a fragrant woman.

    Rody thought, if he caught her, whether she was the Queen or not, he would question her first. This time, he couldn''t let her slip away lightly like the little maid. The small dog hole couldn''t stop Rody; since human males weren''t supposed to crawl in, flying in shouldn''t be a problem, right? He slipped in smoothly and nimbly through the small hole.

    Inside, it was pitch dark, and waves of feminine fragrance wafted over. As someone lifted the silk fabric above his head, Rody heard a woman''s voice trying to suppress laughter, feigning surprise, "Who are you? Why are you crawling under my skirt?"

    "I don''t care who you are!" Rody, regardless of whether the other party was a beautiful woman, grabbed her, placed her over his knee, and spanked her pert bottom ten times before pushing her onto a nearby desk. He caught her resisting hands and angrily said, "Let me tell you, the only time my head goes under a woman''s skirt is if she''s my wife ready for intimate fun. Even if you''re a goddess, you''ll have to crawl under me a hundred times as penance!"

    "Hey, you''re hurting me!" The beautiful woman seemed a bit frightened but her clever eyes twinkled. She defended herself, "It''s too small here and my skirt is so big. Who told you to crawl in? I didn''t mean to tease you, let me go! You''re hurting me, I''m going to cry, I really will cry! I told you it wasn''t intentional..."

    "You did it on purpose, not unintentionally!" Rody pressed her head down, saying angrily, "Crawl under a man as I did, and you''ll understand what shame is."

    "Fine, I''ll crawl!" The beautiful woman didn''t get angry, instead, she playfully crawled under Rody, then looked up and asked, "Feeling a little better now?"

    "What the hell, who are you?" Rody cursed for the first time.

    "Me?" The beautiful woman smiled charmingly, "I should be the Queen of this country, I guess!"

    "..." Rody was speechless.

    There really was such a Queen in the world, both amusing and exasperating. What exactly did she want to do? Rody felt that every woman he had met that night was not normal; the Duchess was like a woman parched for three years waiting for the first spring rain, the little maid like a mischievous sprite, and what about this beautiful woman?

    Like a lover playfully romancing her beloved!

    ...

    "I was really angry just now, why were you always looking at her butt? So I wanted to let you look at mine too, mine is no worse than hers. Who knew you wouldn''t like it, and even hit me, wuwu..." The beautiful woman started crying, her tears almost like a burst dam.

    "Just cry it out!" Rody was in a bad mood. If he wasn''t concerned about her crying so sadly, he might have even slapped her.

    "I''m not really crying, I was just fooling you!" The beautiful woman, seeing that her tactic wasn''t working on Rody, stopped her tears abruptly. Her eyes were still wet, but she was already smiling, then affectionately hugged Rody''s arm, coquettishly saying, "Hmm, good person, won''t you stop being angry? I''ve apologized to you. Or should I crawl under you again? Another hundred times? I was jealous because you were so nice to her!"

    "Jealous?" Rody felt like fainting upon hearing this. Jealous of whom? The little maid? How had he been nice to the little maid to make her so wildly jealous?

    "You were always looking at her little butt, of course I''m not happy!" That was the reason for the beautiful woman''s jealousy.

    "I''ll look at whoever I want, what''s it to you?" Rody produced a magical pen and paper like a magical reporter, interviewing her, "Could you tell me, beautiful lady, what''s our relationship? We don''t even have the slightest connection, why are you jealous of me?"

    "Haven''t we already established a relationship? You''ve been under my skirt, and I''ve crawled under you... If others ask, I can boldly tell them you were once under my skirt. Whoa, don''t be so rough, okay, I''ll be serious. I like you and am planning to marry you, to be your wife. Isn''t this just practicing flirting in advance?" The beautiful woman covered her mouth, giggling, but her reply left Rody speechless.

    "I heard you''re the Queen of Kamarlon?" Rody struggled to keep his anger in check.

    "It seems so, is there a problem?" The beautiful woman asked curiously.

    "Do you think your husband, King William II, would agree to this marriage?" Rody grabbed the front of the beautiful woman''s dress, asking coldly.

    "He would." The beautiful woman nodded incessantly.

    "Does he particularly enjoy being cuckolded? Can''t sleep without wearing a green hat?" Rody asked angrily.

    "No..." The beautiful woman shook her head repeatedly.

    "Is he impotent and needs to borrow seeds to have children? Or does he have a hobby of giving his wife away to others?" Rody was almost ready to kill this promiscuous woman. He couldn''t believe there was such a couple in the world, truly regrettable.

    "He''s not, right? I don''t know, but I guess he''s a very normal man, haven''t you seen that he even has a son? Also, he recently took a favorite concubine. If my brother were impotent, he wouldn''t need to show off like that," said the beautiful woman. Rody was confused, unable to make head or tail of it. How had she suddenly become King William II''s sister? Wasn''t she the Queen of Kamarlon?

    "You''re married to your brother?" Rody could only admire this beautiful woman more; what a royal family of incest.

    "Who said I married my brother?" The beautiful woman pinched Rody''s arm with her little jade hand, chiding him, "You know nothing and just guess wildly. He''s my brother! I''m not the original Queen of Kamarlon, nor is he the original King William II. They were replaced by us a year ago, or rather, we''ve been controlling everything in Kamarlon for a long time. It''s complicated, but for now, just decide to marry me, and I''ll explain everything to you later!"

    "Do you think I would agree?" Rody asked incredulously.

    "If you find it hard to propose in public, then we can do it here, just the two of us. Hmm, you can start now!" The beautiful woman smiled charmingly, as if Rody was already kneeling before her with a proposal ring.

    "I''d be crazy to do that!" The only thing Rody wanted to do was strangle this woman, if not for her somewhat endearing looks.

    "So, you want me to propose to you?" The beautiful woman, hearing this, immediately knelt before Rody, hugging his legs, and asked affectionately, "Would you marry me...?"

    "Hey, are you mentally okay?" Rody was almost driven crazy by her.

    "Silly, I was just teasing you. Why are you so heartless, beating me up as soon as we met!" The beautiful woman covered her mouth, giggling. Her action was very similar to that of the little maid earlier, almost identical. But Rody was sure they were not the same person, as their body scent and aura were similar, yet not exactly the same.

    "..." Rody sniffed the beautiful woman''s scent and sensed her aura repeatedly, finally confirming she was not the little maid from before.

    "Let''s be serious!" The beautiful woman smiled brightly, her intelligent eyes shimmering mysteriously under her long eyelashes. "With your mind full of anger and confusion, is there something you want to ask me?"

 Chapter 161: Pandora

    "Who was that little maid just now?" Rody slightly organized his thoughts and began to ask.

    "Why don''t you first ask who I am? This is so unfair, wuwu, I''ve been so nice to you, even crawled through your trousers, but you don''t care to know who I am, only concerned about her. I don''t want to live anymore, I''m going to cry to death, wuwu..." The beautiful woman was exceptionally good at pretending to cry, able to produce tears on demand like a water fairy. Her intelligent large eyes instantly filled with tears, making her look pitifully charming.

    "Go ahead and cry, I''m all ears," Rody said, knowing now how to deal with this beautiful woman.

    "I won''t, who would be so silly to cry for you? I''ll cry secretly when I get back, just to annoy you!" The beautiful woman made a cute face, her smile blooming on her face, and said, "My name is Mivis Oritavida Patricia Salina Gotranica Pandora, remember that."

    "I can''t remember..." Rody had heard long names before, like Belier''s, but this beautiful woman''s name was even longer.

    "Then you can call me Pandora!" The beautiful woman boasted, "Pandora means ''the first woman in the world'', ''noble'', ''the most beautiful flower'', ''the perfect treasure''. From now on, you can call me Pandora!"

    "Pandora also means ''envy of the gods'', ''misfortune'', and ''despair''," Rody countered.

    "Eh? You''re also knowledgeable about names?" The beautiful woman happily hugged Rody''s arm, saying, "We have a common interest. Living together after marriage will be fun!"

    "Why do you insist on marrying me?" Rody was puzzled.

    "Because I like you!" The beautiful woman''s reason was simple and sufficient, explained in just one sentence.

    "What benefits do I get from marrying you? Tell me!" Rody tried to view the situation from a third-party perspective, keeping himself detached.

    "Many, too many to explain right now," the beautiful woman cunningly smiled, her intelligent eyes twinkling, "Don''t be in a hurry, after we''re married, I can tell you slowly! Umm, don''t be angry! If there¡¯s anything, we can discuss it. You''re so heartless, it hurts me so much! By the way, you were asking about her, weren''t you? Promise to marry me, and I''ll tell you who she is!"

    "What have you been doing hiding here all this time?" Rody felt it was time to change the topic, otherwise, this marriage talk would never end.

    "Look, there are three magic mirrors here. Each one has a magic mirror sprite that helps me monitor every move at the banquet, including when you grabbed that Lady with the Beautiful Bosom''s chest, I saw it too! In the entire capital of Kamarlon, as long as I want to know anything, the mirror sprites will collect all the information in a few days, including about you, the fake prince. So, if you don¡¯t marry me, I''ll reveal your secret and tell the world!" The beautiful woman hugged Rody''s waist, coquettishly saying, "Prince, you may offend the Temple and the angels, but don¡¯t offend me, this beautiful woman!"

    "Who says I''m a fake?" Rody asked curiously, "What makes you think I''m not a prince?"

    "Intuition. Let me tell you, a woman''s intuition is very sharp!" The beautiful woman pointed to the middle magic mirror, and gentle magical waves flickered, showing Rody''s face. She pointed to another mirror and smiled, "Here''s Rody, there''s you, the Prince of the Night, identical. But on the surface, your hair and height are slightly different, even the arrangement of your eyebrows and eyelashes, under close observation, are a bit different. You''re clever; doing this dispels everyone''s suspicions. But do you know what a person''s pupils look like when they are enlarged? Magical lad Rody? My future little husband?"

    ¡°Huh? A galaxy?¡± Rody saw the two magic mirrors quickly enlarging the pupils, not knowing by how much.

    In both mirrors, the pupils displayed a spiral galaxy pattern. The magical child Rody''s pupils shone slightly dimmer, while the Prince of the Night''s pupils dazzled brilliantly.

    But the pattern arrangement was exactly the same.

    Rody was both surprised to find a galaxy pattern in his pupils and amazed at the beautiful woman''s observational skills; she actually knew how to scan pupils.

    ¡°No one in the world has identical pupils, so you must be the unfortunate illegitimate child, Rody. How could you possibly be a prince from the Abyss? But it doesn''t matter, in my eyes, you will always be a white horse prince. I like you! From now on, I''ll call you ''Prince''! Actually, I prefer the illegitimate child Rody... ''Illegitimate child'', how pitiful! Ah, Rody, don''t be sad, your sister cares for you!¡± The beautiful woman suddenly overflowed with maternal love, hugging Rody and trying to kiss his face.

    ¡°Why can''t the illegitimate child Rody be the Prince of the Abyss? You think the Underworld doesn¡¯t exist?¡± Rody laughed.

    ¡°The Underworld really exists?¡± The beautiful woman blinked her intelligent eyes, asking.

    ¡°Of course.¡± Rody snorted, ¡°Come on, polish my shoes. If this prince is happy, maybe I¡¯ll even tip you!¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s perfect, you''re a prince, and I''m a princess, we''re a pair.¡± The beautiful woman curtsied like a princess, her face beaming with a smile, ¡°Dear Prince of the Abyss, standing before you is Pandora, the eldest princess of the Mille Empress. What do you think of her? Was it love at first sight?¡±

    ¡°Knowing you is the unfortunate beginning of my life¡­¡± Rody sighed.

    ¡°My thoughts are exactly the opposite¡­¡± The beautiful woman, Pandora, smiled like a fox that had stolen a chicken, utterly proud of herself.

    ¡°Isn¡¯t Mille a peaceful country? How could you control the king and queen of the Kamarlon Empire?¡± Rody returned to the main topic, finding it very strange. The Mille Empire had always advocated peace. For a thousand years, each generation was led by an empress, but the empress''s duty was not to govern national affairs but to conduct rituals and stabilize beliefs.

    The Mille nation had the most comprehensive and rational parliament on the continent, with three major councils: the Military Council, the Political Council, and the People''s Council.

    Each council had clear responsibilities but was closely interconnected.

    The Military Council was responsible for military and national defense. As Mille was a peaceful empire, the Military Council was the smallest of the three, with the Mille prince, the head of the council, often leisurely going fishing. The Political Council primarily handled economics and politics, the largest of the three. The People''s Council dealt with various issues such as law, culture, faith, public security, public welfare, and foreign affairs, and had the power to elect council members and request the empress to dismiss incompetent officials.

    Mille had not waged war against neighboring countries for nearly a hundred years. Even when annexing small countries, it was typically due to internal collapses within those countries, followed by takeover and support.

    Is this beautiful woman, Pandora, really the eldest princess of Mille?

    ¡°We actually don''t have much interest in this human continent. What we desire is to return to the heavens. Our Mille royal family is descended from the celestial creatures and spirits of the heavens, just like the Moon Elves and many other noble races. We originally lived carefree in the heavens, but due to the expansion and aggression of the angelic forces, we were forced out and had to struggle for survival on the human continent," the beautiful woman sighed with a tinge of sadness. ¡°Here, our celestial creatures and spirits even adapt better than you humans. When your ancestors were expelled from the heavens, they had nothing. But today, humans are spread across the entire continent. If our celestial creatures and spirits did not have a foundation in the land of the Seven Clans, we might have been extinct by now¡­¡±

    ¡°Celestial creatures and spirits?¡± Rody had heard the term but knew very little about it.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    ¡°Rody, we need you,¡± the beautiful woman, Pandora, embraced Rody''s arm, softly saying, ¡°Although we are skilled in magic, war is not our forte. Rody, we need your help¡­ If you lead us to retake the heavens and return to our ancestral homeland, we yearn to return. The earth where humans live is not our destined home.¡±

    ...

    ¡°So, you want to use human power and armies to fight against the angels?¡± Rody suddenly understood.

    ¡°It¡¯s difficult, Rody, that¡¯s why we need you,¡± the beautiful woman, Pandora, pleaded, ¡°Our clan can produce countless powerful magicians and great wizards, but we lack military leaders and a qualified king. My two brothers, one is William, and the other is Gal. They both possess immense power, especially Gal, but on the battlefield, he is not a competent commander and cannot match even half of your strength!¡±

    ¡°Ice Demon Gal is also your brother?¡± Rody was greatly surprised.

    ¡°Don''t be fooled by his quiet demeanor, he¡¯s quite passionate inside. He admires you a lot, though he doesn¡¯t show it. Rody, you don¡¯t know, but it was he who strongly recommended you to our mother. He said only you could unify the human continent. He asked mother to marry me to you, to form a powerful alliance against the angels,¡± the beautiful woman, Pandora, blushed, saying, ¡°We have done a lot for you, even though you don¡¯t know¡­¡±

    ¡°How odd, why don¡¯t you seek the help of the strong warriors of Filik?¡± Rody paused and then asked, ¡°They are also strong adversaries of the angels!¡±

    ¡°Filik represents human forces,¡± the beautiful woman, Pandora, shook her head, saying, ¡°They are entirely dedicated to protecting human hope and cannot spare efforts for other matters. Moreover, they are deeply hated and watched by the angels. If we ally with them, wouldn¡¯t it reveal our existence to the angels?¡±

    ¡°So you mean to say, Filik and you are not allies yet?¡± A thought of refusal crossed Rody''s mind.

    He had many things to do. While having the support of the Mille royal family was beneficial, if he had to help them retake the heavens, help Filik regain their country, and even go to the land of the Seven Clans to find Jill and the succubus sisters, he would have too much on his plate. Rody had no particular liking or dislike for the Mille royal family.

    Since he already had too much to handle, he might as well decline Pandora''s proposal for an alliance.

    Even if he agreed to form an alliance and send troops to the heavens, it couldn¡¯t be now.

    ¡°Rody, I know you¡¯re likely one of Filik¡¯s hopes, and how could a man like you not be humanity¡¯s ¡®Child of Hope¡¯? I understand that allying with us might affect you, but on the contrary, our cooperation is a win-win. Without our help, it would be extremely difficult for you to defeat the angels... and without your help, it would be hard for us to return to the heavens. Previously, Mille and Filik didn¡¯t ally due to a lack of trust and Filik''s strong warriors being suspicious of all who approached the hope of life, seeing them as enemies. How could they ally with us? Now, the conditions are ripe. Just marry me, and by establishing a mutual trust alliance, we can surely defeat the angels together!¡± the beautiful woman Pandora proposed tactfully.

    ¡°You think a political marriage is good? I don¡¯t love you. A day before, I didn¡¯t even know you!¡± Rody stated clearly.

    ¡°I understand, but just because you don¡¯t love me now doesn¡¯t mean you won¡¯t in the future!¡± Pandora smiled faintly, ¡°Human emotions are strange. You might live with a woman all your life without loving her, or you might fall madly in love with a girl you just met. So, why not give me a chance? Maybe you¡¯ll fall in love with me? Just like I deeply love you!¡±

    ¡°Who was that little maid just now?¡± Rody suddenly asked again.

    ¡°Her? She¡¯s from a third-party force. She¡¯s both our friend and a friend of Filik¡¯s strong warriors, even able to maintain her composure in front of the Temple. She¡¯s from the Holy Mother faction... I can¡¯t tell you who exactly, how could I possibly tell you about my rival in love?¡± Pandora¡¯s face showed a mischievous smile, ¡°You¡¯re so keen to know who she is? Are you trying to change the topic to make me jealous? I won¡¯t get angry because the less you ask about me, the more it shows you¡¯re curious about me. Hehe, don¡¯t try to fool me, deep down you actually like me!¡±

    ¡°Wishful thinking!¡± Rody said, but his heart fluttered a bit because, aside from her looks, her intelligence and understanding alone were enough to captivate.

    ¡°I¡¯m not in a hurry, because one day, you will fall in love with me.¡± Pandora lifted Rody''s hand and gently kissed it.

    ¡°Then wait as long as you like!¡± Rody snorted.

    ¡°To show my sincerity, let me tell you a secret of the heavens, so you understand that the angels there are not so easy to deal with,¡± Pandora whispered, ¡°In the heavens, there are spacetime portals to the human continent and others to different places. The strongest angels have used human faith in the divine to build a powerful army in a secret spacetime unknown to us. Perhaps on another continent across the sea or in an independent spacetime like the land of the Seven Clans. In any case, once the time is right, the angels will officially rule the earth, taking all human faith. They are not loyal followers of the divine and will certainly not be content to remain under the gods forever.¡±

    ¡°What?¡± Rody was startled upon hearing this.

    It was quite possible, although he had heard from the Flame Emperor before, he did not believe there were only a hundred or so angels in the heavens.

    Where then did the angels born from the Angelic Birth Pool over the millennia go?

    Were they developing another land of faith? Human faith is complex and their beliefs fickle. If angels sought more power from faith, the current methods of the Temple would hardly suffice. But if they built their own army, massively invaded human territories, and then heroically ''dispelled'' their own forces, wouldn¡¯t that make humans gratefully worship them?

    Could the Exile Lands and Hell be where angels used human faith to build private armies?

    Could the devil and orc invasions every hundred years be commanded by angels? Was this their method of strengthening the collection of human faith?

    After the century-long holy war, the survivors, especially women who lost husbands and sons, would all go to the temples to pray for their ascent to heaven, free from pain... Could it be that the angels used racial warfare as a method to increase the power of human faith?

    The more Rody thought about it, the more likely it seemed, and cold sweat broke out on his back.

    Could it be that the angels saw him as a thorn in their side, a must-kill target? The reason for their relentless pursuit was his unintentional actions, stopping the orcs and demons from invading the human continent, causing people to take pride in humanity instead. The hoped-for increase in faith for the angels not only did not happen, but it even decreased... This line of reasoning made perfect sense for their desperation to destroy him.

    ¡°I dare say, it won¡¯t be long before you, the Prince of the Night, will be declared an enemy by the angels. Once they figure out the power of the Abyss, they will surely instigate the forces of the Temple to wage war against your dark forces,¡± the beautiful woman Pandora cautioned Rody to be careful.

    ¡°Hmph, they will never understand the Abyss,¡± Rody felt a chill in his heart but also had confidence. With the Star Goddess, the angels would not dare invade the Abyss.

    ¡°Today''s Rody, compared to the magical child who made angels flee in embarrassment, is very different; you''re more confident now.¡± Pandora joyfully kissed the back of Rody''s hand, smiling, ¡°I still prefer seeing you confident. Like before, when you were carried to the pyre to be burnt, that sorrowful look in your eyes was heartbreaking¡­¡±

    ¡°I can''t represent Filik, so let¡¯s not discuss the alliance for now. But if you are sincere in collaborating with me, I would like to meet your mother, the Empress of Mille,¡± Rody paused, setting a condition.

    ¡°That''s easy, my mother also wants to meet you sometime!¡± Pandora was almost overjoyed upon hearing this.

    ...

    After setting a secret meeting time with Pandora, Rody slipped out of the secret chamber, planning to return to the Duchess and gather more information about Kamarlon.

    ¡°Although Pandora and her brother William have already taken control of the capital of Kamarlon, the various forces and nobilities outside their influence are not fully supportive. Besides Mille''s aides, nobody knows that the king and queen are imposters; otherwise, the Temple would be the first to challenge them and take over Kamarlon,¡± Rody understood what needed to be done. As the Prince of the Night, he had to stir up chaos in the capital of Kamarlon to help William II and Pandora solidify their position.

    The best way to create chaos in Kamarlon was through cultural shock and economic invasion.

    If Rody could make a significant impact, the Empress of Mille would surely take him seriously, and negotiating cooperation later would be more appropriate. Kamarlon was like a pot simmering with meat stew, with William II, the Temple, the nobility, and Rody himself all waiting with spoons. Whoever acted first would get the most.

    The first step was not to reach into the pot with a spoon but to kick out the competition.

    William II could not be kicked out as he was somewhat an ally.

    Moreover, William II would be of great help in driving out the Temple. The nobility would eventually be cooked in the pot, so they couldn''t be kicked out either. Therefore, the one to be kicked out first and fast was the Temple...

    But the Temple was also the hardest to kick out. Rody needed a good plan, or else he might hurt himself in the attempt.

    ¡°You¡¯re here?¡± The Duchess nearly fainted with surprise when Rody knocked on her door.

    ¡°Ha, I have no interest in the queen. After calling out and listening to the echo, I found my Duchess more to my liking, so I came back early. My dear lady, did you miss me?¡± Rody quickly assumed the demeanor of a seasoned lover and swept the Duchess off her feet.

    ¡°I''m about to die, happiness is raining from heaven, leaving me dazed and confused.¡± The Duchess passionately kissed Rody, hastily undressing him.

    Soon, they were both nearly naked.

    Just as they were about to engage in close combat, a magical disturbance came from the roof, and a black monster descended from the sky, launching a dark ray at Rody''s back. Rody¡¯s back shone with a rainbow brilliance, dispersing the dark ray, but he and the Duchess both rolled to the floor, shocked and alarmed by the attack.

    The black monster¡¯s first strike having failed, it launched a second sword attack.

    A golden light tore through the sky, and Rody, holding the Duchess, dived to the side, narrowly escaping in a fluster. He then conjured a starlight shield to protect himself.

    ¡°Help! The prince is under attack...¡± Seeing the dire situation, the Duchess, not caring for her modesty, screamed loudly.

    "Be careful."

    The black monster swung its sword a third time, and Rody raised his shield to meet the attack. However, the creature flashed in mid-air, revealing another sword with a silver gleam, aiming for Rody''s flank... By the time the guards and Marshal Goten and others were alerted by the noise of the fight, the black creature had already vanished without a trace. Everyone saw the Prince of the Night half-naked, wearing only shorts, wrapping the Duchess, who was trembling in fear, in a blanket, angrily shouting at the guards.

    Marshal Goten noticed a bleeding wound under Rody''s ribs, not deep, and it was rapidly healing under the influence of magic.

    It was clear, however, that an assassin had injured the Prince of the Night.

    And this assassin, who could injure the heavily jeweled Prince of the Night and make him bleed, what level of power could they possess? A Sword Emperor? A Great Sword Emperor? Was it a powerful figure from the Temple retaliating against the Prince of the Night for his recent attack on Pompeius? Or was it an act of provocation by some force within Kamarlon, seeking to blame and instigate a war between the Prince of the Night and the Temple?

    The Holy Lance Knight Holly saw a feather in the corner and shuddered.

    Prince Vincent coughed, stepped forward as if inadvertently inspecting the scene, and stepped on the white feather. Holly and several companions gathered around Prince Vincent, pretending to inspect the scene... But all of this was noticed by the experienced Marshal Goten, who quietly ordered the Prince of the Night and the Duchess to be escorted to his private chamber.

    ¡°Marshal Goten, I expect a satisfactory answer from you,¡± the Prince of the Night was furious but left quickly following the marshal¡¯s persuasion for safety.

    ¡°How terrifying, the assassin was a devil¡­¡± The Duchess was still too frightened to recover.

    ¡°To the distinguished young people, have you found nothing?¡± Chancellor McLaughlin asked with a sly smile, ¡°Perhaps with your intelligence, you might find the assassin!¡±

    ¡°We hope so too, to ease Marshal Goten¡¯s worries would be our honor,¡± Prince Vincent, still stepping on the feather, said nonchalantly with a smile, ¡°This assassin is elusive, and we are still searching for clues. Perhaps Chancellor McLaughlin can offer some advice to help us find the assassin, providing an explanation to His Majesty King William II and Marshal Goten.¡±

    ¡°I only know how to count money, how could I offer you advice?¡± Chancellor McLaughlin chuckled darkly and left with his protruding belly.

    ¡°I bet he noticed something,¡± Prince Vincent''s expression darkened as soon as McLaughlin left. The usually silent Holy Wizard Adelman suddenly spoke, ¡°Although I don''t know who the assassin is, this room indeed harbors the aura of both devils and angels... I initially suspected the Prince of the Night himself, but now it seems there truly was an assassin.¡±

    ¡°If the Prince of the Night was staging this, he would have waited until after his liaison with the Duchess. Who would perform such a drama before accomplishing their goal?¡± Holy Eye Sarin disagreed.

    ¡°I wish it were a staged drama by the Prince of the Night; otherwise, Kamarlon won''t have peace from now on¡­¡± Adelman sighed softly.

    ¡°This matter will surely infuriate His Majesty,¡± the Dragon Knight Nutidora expressed his worry.

 Chapter 162: Economic Invasion, Dark Tide

    Indeed, King William II was furious and ordered a thorough investigation into the assassination attempt. The entire capital of Kamarlon was turned upside down by the royal guards. They arrested numerous criminals and escapees, found plenty of stolen goods and evidence, but the assassin who attempted to kill the Prince of the Night vanished like a shadow. King William II''s anger led to the execution of many thieves and escapees who could have otherwise escaped with bribes, as well as some officials and related personnel involved in cover-ups.

    Anyone not blind could see that King William II used the investigation as a pretext to tighten security in Kamarlon.

    To give an account to the Prince of the Night, the King decided to meet and console him personally. The previously unpublicized alliance document was officially signed, compensating for the Prince''s unpleasant experience in Kamarlon.

    During this time, the Temple surprisingly did not intervene in King William II''s actions and remained silent on the trade and alliance cooperation between Kamarlon and the Abyss. The assassination attempt on the Prince of the Night sent shockwaves through the capital. Who dared to infiltrate the Marshal''s residence to assassinate the Prince of the Night? Without inside help, how could the assassin know the Prince was with the Duchess in a secret chamber?

    Besides King William II, Marshal Goten also expressed strong anger. He publicly accused certain malicious individuals of orchestrating the terror attack as a provocation against the entire Kamarlon Empire. If the supporting force behind this was identified, Kamarlon would unite with all its allies to retaliate.

    As for the Prince of the Night, he expressed gratitude to the Duchess for calling the guards at the crucial moment. He gifted her a large bottle of ''Dark Magic Spring,'' which could restore youth, and planned to award her the Abyss''s Purple Diamond Badge, appointing her as a First-Class Loyal and Brave Lady of Darkness.

    The world ignored the title of First-Class Loyal and Brave Lady of Darkness, as it would have been strange if it were ''First-Class Loyal and Brave Lady of Light'' for an Abyss appointment. The Purple Diamond Badge was also disregarded, but when the news of the youth-restoring ''Dark Magic Spring'' was reported, all women were shocked and went crazy.

    People didn¡¯t have time to doubt the effects of the Dark Magic Spring, as the first to try it was not the Duchess, but the Queen. The beautiful Queen, upon hearing about the Dark Magic Spring, sent an envoy overnight with her diamond brooch as a small gift, hoping to exchange it for the Dark Magic Spring.

    The Prince of the Night didn¡¯t disappoint her; he reciprocated with a bottle of Dark Magic Spring and gifted her a hundred ''Fairy Fruits'' that could maintain a fairy-like beautiful figure. The Cardinal of the Temple, upon hearing this, reportedly tried hard to dissuade her. He said drinking the Dark Magic Spring violated the devotion to the God of Light and suspected that the Dark Magic Spring and Fairy Fruits could be harmful rather than beneficial to humans.

    The Cardinal''s view was that the human body, a gift from God, should not be altered at will.

    However, when the Queen saw her own obese cook transform from nearly three hundred pounds to a seductive, stunning beauty in just three minutes after eating a Fairy Fruit, she ignored the Bishop''s advice to dispose of the Dark Magic Spring and the Fairy Fruits. Instead, she asked the Bishop to leave the palace. She assured her devotion to the God of Light and stated she would never change her physical appearance. However, for the first time, she decided to ride in a magnificent magic carriage to parade through the capital, comforting the citizens shaken by the assassination attempt.

    Even a blind person could see that today''s Queen was remarkably different from usual. She was more beautiful, her figure ten times more voluptuous, radiating an enchanting aura that had every man in the capital swallowing their saliva.

    The Queen''s great deed of rising early to console her subjects was questionable, but everyone had to admit one fact: the Queen was in an exceptionally good mood today, her smile brighter than the morning sun...

    That day, all magical newspapers reporting on the Prince of the Night sold out. Magicians were exhausted from repeatedly magically duplicating the papers, which were snatched up by the public before they could even be packaged. Especially the reports written overnight by the Prince''s lowly servant, Ivan Yev, saw their prices increase tenfold, and still, there was a high demand.

    Through Ivan Yev''s firsthand report, the people of Kamarlon learned that in the Abyss, where the Prince of the Night resided, there were no ugly women. Not only did the Abyss lack ugly women, but it also had no incompetent men.

    Besides producing Dark Magic Spring and Fairy Fruits, the Abyss boasted many other astonishing specialties, particularly one that made all the men of Kamarlon feel rejuvenated.

    This item was called the ''Giant Fruit.''

    Of course, eating a Giant Fruit wouldn''t transform one like the Fairy Fruit does; it wouldn''t literally turn someone into a Titan. However, it was said to awaken a man''s strength, giving him the power of a giant. According to Ivan Yev''s report, even the weakest and most incompetent coward could become a powerhouse within a day of consuming the Giant Fruit... Ivan Yev warned that overly robust men should not consume the Giant Fruit, and one should ensure they have at least two female companions nearby when deciding to eat it, or else it could be a very painful experience.

    At noon, the Temple issued a decree, strictly forbidding devout followers from purchasing Dark Magic Spring, Fairy Fruits, and Giant Fruits, or any other dark specialties. The reason given was that consuming these dark fruits would harm the human body and corrupt their devout faith.

    The Temple introduced ''Angel''s Holy Spring,'' supposedly also rejuvenating, but only the most devout followers could obtain it. Everyone who hoped to acquire the Angel''s Holy Spring had to publicly renounce any connection with the dark and donate a significant amount of money. Many bishops visited King William II of Kamarlon, requesting the prohibition of dark specialty sales within Kamarlon, as it contradicted the teachings and laws of the light.

    King William II was visibly annoyed by this but agreed to the Temple''s request, consenting to the prohibition of public sales of dark specialties.

    Upon learning this, the Prince of the Night merely laughed it off, unconcerned.

    "I never intended to sell them... These things cannot be bought with money, and to me, money is as abundant as stones on a mountain and sands by a river, never lacking." The Prince of the Night''s words made the people of Kamarlon feel as if the end of the world was near. He possesses such wonderful things, yet he chooses not to share them with the world. How selfish is that?

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    "The Prince of the Night, I know him to be a generous man, his greatness shining as bright as the entire night sky," said Finance Minister Mack in the midst of the nobles, awakening them from their reverie. He said, "The Temple opposes Kamarlon selling dark specialties, and His Majesty agreed. The Prince of the Night is not in need of money, so why do you all crave to purchase? Is there no other way than this lowly merchant behavior? I think you should display the manners of nobility and visit the great guest from the mighty nation, the Prince of the Night."

    These words enlightened the nobles.

    Almost all nobles prepared their finest gifts and visited the Prince of the Night. Despite the crowd, everyone didn''t mind squeezing together. They weren''t there for the drinks but to get through the door. Whether the Prince of the Night came out to meet the guests was not a high expectation... Each person desperately handed their gifts to the steward Nicholas or the maids.

    Of course, when they left, they didn''t forget to receive the Prince of the Night''s generous return gifts from the demon generals and dark knights.

    That evening, at the salon hosted by Finance Minister Mack, everyone realized that each man''s companion was radiating beauty, unrecognizable from their usual selves. Some noblewomen, who usually avoided such events, graced the occasion in elegant dresses, introduced by Mack.

    Without Mack''s introductions, no one would believe that these women, once considered suicide-inducing at sight, had become so enchanting.

    Almost every nobleman puffed out their chests with pride.

    Only those who were loyal to the Temple looked gloomy and insecure, hiding in the crowd. Their companions, in contrast to the radiant noblewomen, seemed even more lackluster. Some of these women wept in sorrow, while others sought help from familiar friends...

    That night, the arrival of the Prince of the Night was met with a storm of applause, with the Duchess eagerly throwing herself into his arms. Kissing the Prince of the Night''s hand was a luxurious act, coveted by numerous noblewomen and ladies. Only those personally introduced by Finance Minister Mack had the privilege.

    Only noblemen of duke rank and above could shake hands and embrace the Prince of the Night. Even marquises and earls had to be outstanding individuals to approach him.

    With the red-robed Bishop of the Temple declining to attend, everyone unhesitatingly invited the Prince of the Night to sit in the Bishop''s reserved seat.

    "Before wishing everyone good health, I''d like to say a few words to my dear friends," the Prince of the Night raised his glass, prompting everyone to stand and join him in a toast. As he began to speak, the banquet hall fell into silence. The Prince of the Night smiled, "Some may have unnecessary worries, and others may have many accusations, but my dear friends, if you wish, you can drink the holy water along with the spring water; you can rinse the fresh fruits with holy water. The Gods have given us light, which is true, but they have also given us the night. This is not my greatness, but the gift of the Gods. So, what else can I say, other than wishing everyone health and happiness in life..."

    "To your health and happiness, dear Prince!" The excited crowd couldn''t help but raise their glasses to the Prince of the Night. The Prince had subtly made it clear that, although products like the Dark Magic Spring and Fairy Fruits are specialties of the Abyss, they are not evil products opposed to the light. On the contrary, just as day and night coexist, they are gifts from the Gods.

    The people were not at all worried about their faith being affected. The nobles believed that finding a truly devout follower amongst them was harder than finding a virgin in a brothel. The only concern was the duration of effects of the Dark Magic Spring, Fairy Fruits, and Giant Fruits; they couldn¡¯t last forever. How long would their effects last?

    No one was foolish enough to ask the Prince directly, so the steward Nicholas and lowly servant Ivan became the focus of the nobles.

    It was soon clear to everyone.

    The Giant Fruit''s effect was the shortest, lasting only a day. The Fairy Fruit lasted a bit longer, varying from person to person. The more perfect the original form, the longer the effect lasted. For a 300-pound individual, the effect would fade in less than two days. The advantage of the Fairy Fruit was that its effects could be stacked and didn¡¯t wear off as quickly as the Giant Fruit, which lost effect quickly after use.

    As for the Dark Magic Spring, its effect was quite durable, although it only worked on women. A small cup could prevent aging for two months, and the more one drank, the younger and more radiant they appeared...

    The subsequent concern was whether the Prince could continue supplying these products, as people realized they couldn''t live without them. No man wanted to return to weakness after experiencing strength, and no woman wanted to return to an aged and overweight form after tasting youth and beauty.

    Steward Nicholas reassured everyone: the territories of the Abyss were far larger than the human lands, with Dark Magic Springs as abundant as lakes and magical flowers and trees fruiting continuously.

    When asked how the Abyss managed its own consumption, Nicholas explained that besides the royal family, the Abyss was a world of magical creatures, all serving as slaves to the Abyss. The few humans like Nicholas, dark wizards, dark knights, and demon generals, were either war captives or slaves. There were no commoners in the Abyss, only royalty and slaves... The Prince''s gaze upon humans, as if they were mere insects, made sense as he didn''t perceive equality.

    Everyone envied Ivan for being a lowly servant to the Prince, considering him extremely fortunate.

    The Temple''s spies were shocked; the Abyss was not to be trifled with, for it was immensely powerful.

    Before the banquet, the Prince offered the ladies a drink of water, earning applause for his generosity. The Giant Fruit secretly placed in the figs surprised the men, who toasted the Prince thrice at Mack''s suggestion. Although a few clerics from the Temple were present, they did not refuse their companions from drinking the ''Dark Magic Spring'' and even sneakily consumed the ''Giant Fruit'' themselves, either eating it on the spot or pocketing it.

    Regarding the clubs among the nobility, the Prince of the Night expressed his willingness to join, regardless of whether he had heard of them or not. Of course, no one dared to charge him a membership fee. His joining was considered an honor, a glory even more exciting than a personal audience with Emperor William II.

    Some club chairmen secretly passed notes to Ivan, indicating various activities planned for the next few days and inviting the Prince of the Night to attend. Of course, they also slipped in some gold coins.

    The gifts given to the Prince of the Night by the nobility were never in the form of gold coins. That would be considered vulgar and insulting. Was anyone richer than the Prince of the Night? No, there were rumors that Emperor William II was even planning to borrow three hundred thousand gold coins from the Prince to address the national deficit caused by tax exemptions. So, giving gold coins directly to the Prince was tantamount to a death wish. To please the Prince, the nobility had to resort to art pieces, and thankfully, the Prince had a high appreciation for art.

    The noble families had many art collections, and as a result, previously undervalued professions like poets, singers, and painters suddenly became popular. Even street clowns and magicians were being brought into noble households.

    At the magic academy, students in the arts, who used to be the poorest, were now receiving substantial support. Funding for the arts had reportedly increased to levels near those of the clergy, ranking second only to the magic department. The nobles were clever; although the Prince was wealthy, he surely wouldn''t turn his gold coins into patterned bricks to build castles, right? That would also count as art.

    The Alchemy Guild designed five types of gold coin castles. One prototype, hastily completed, was already presented to the Prince by Finance Minister Mack. Though the Prince wasn''t interested in gold coins, he was pleased with the ingenious design of the castle and admired the exquisite patterns on it.

    Minister of Finance Mack deeply regretted not having the alchemists'' guild engrave the portrait of the Prince of Darkness on the coins. He believed if he had that idea earlier, the Prince of Darkness would have been much happier. Nonetheless, Nicholas, out of joy for his master''s happiness, secretly added a bottle of Dark Magic Spring as a gift from Minister Mack.

    For this loyal butler, his sole purpose in life was to bring more joy to the prince. Minister Mack clearly understood this. He knew that if his loyalty to Emperor William II was even one-thousandth of the butler''s devotion to the Prince of Darkness, the emperor would probably entrust him with half the kingdom. Pleasing the Prince of Darkness was challenging as he lacked nothing, but appeasing Nicholas, the steward, was easy. All he needed to do was put more thought into making the prince happy¡­

    ¡°Dear Prince, I know that on the 10th of next month is the annual horse racing festival in Bourse. But I was thinking, maybe we could also hold a horse racing event just among us nobles, racing with our fastest horses. What do you think? Would you be interested in participating?¡± Minister Mack planned to spend a week preparing for this horse racing event. He was confident the Prince of Darkness would join, as the prince owned a nightmare beast, making his chances of winning incredibly high.

    ¡°I don''t have a horse, but if a nightmare can participate, then there''s no problem,¡± the Prince of Darkness seemed intrigued.

    ¡°Great Prince, your horse can be prepared by the servants, this is absolutely not an issue, even if you need it by tomorrow,¡± Nicholas replied respectfully. ¡°Just give the order, and tomorrow morning, the finest horse in the world will appear before you.¡±

    ¡°No, I want to buy a horse, it¡¯s more interesting to buy one myself,¡± the Prince of Darkness laughed heartily. ¡°I¡¯ve decided to participate, and I¡¯ll compete using a horse.¡±

    ¡°Prince, I¡¯d like to have a private word with you¡­¡± The Duchess couldn''t wait any longer. Although it seemed there were many others waiting to discuss important matters with the Prince of Darkness, she really couldn''t wait.

    ¡°Hahaha, a beauty''s appointment is most important. Prince, we can talk about the event later, there''s no hurry,¡± Minister Mack prepared to congratulate the Duke in the distance, who seemed to be about to strike good fortune. The old Duke looked particularly rosy today, his white hair appearing especially spirited in contrast, having just returned from a rest not long ago. He was now having a lively conversation with the Baroness and the Countess, seemingly turning back time by forty years.

    ¡°A beauty''s appointment¡­¡± The Prince of Darkness smiled slightly, seemingly looking forward to what was to come.

 Chapter 163: The Beautys Kiss

    Behind the Heavenly Opera House, there was a small garden. A young maid stood quietly under the moonlight, holding a small lantern, smiling as she saw a figure gliding through the sky.

    However, when the man from the sky landed, her expression turned into a cute pout. She scolded the man with starry hair, "You''re late, a whole ten minutes late! Don''t you know it''s the worst for a man to make a girl wait?"

    "I didn''t know that," Rody laughed heartily. "I think, if a girl is willing to wait, not just ten minutes, she''d wait even ten days."

    "What did you say?" The young maid was about to get angry, clenching her little fists.

    "I said you look beautiful tonight. Ha, don''t be angry, getting angry often can cause wrinkles," Rody laughed again. "What did you want to see me for? A date? This place is nice, I like it!"

    "Don''t flatter yourself!" The young maid glared at Rody and led the way with her lantern.

    "Aren''t you going in?" Walking past the garden, Rody saw a small wooden house under a tall building, lit with orange light. The maid leading the way stopped and gestured for Rody to go in. Rody sensed someone inside using his psychic power, which the maid seemed to notice. She glared at him again and huffily left with the lantern.

    "I won''t speak to someone so suspicious and annoying!" The young maid was really full of character.

    "It''s okay to say you hate me on the surface, as long as you like me in your heart," Rody said, almost causing the young maid to trip.

    "You must be the most shameless person in the world, no doubt about it!" The young maid spat at him, but couldn''t help covering her mouth and giggling.

    "Thank you, being the world''s first in something is better than nothing," Rody laughed heartily, waving at the young maid as she walked away. He then gently knocked on the door. When there was no response, Rody boldly pushed the door open and was surprised to find a frail and praying girl inside, who was none other than the delicate Saintess.

    The current Saintess looked even more slender and fragile than before. A gust of wind seemed like it could blow her away. Her long hair and thin shoulders, along with her pale face and intertwined lashes, made her look pitifully charming, like she could shatter like a crystal doll if not handled with care.

    Rody was genuinely surprised to see the Saintess there. Even if he had seen anyone else in that place, it wouldn¡¯t have been as shocking as seeing her.

    Did the Saintess have something to tell him?

    When did she arrive in Kamarun? The Saintess''s every move was monitored by the temple, making it extremely difficult for her to come to the current Kamarun, let alone to meet Rody...

    The arrival of the Saintess certainly meant something significant, but what could it be?

    ¡°You¡¯ve come? You¡¯ve become stronger, Rody,¡± the Saintess said without opening her eyes, just nodding her head. ¡°Sit next to me, please! Wait for me a little longer, my prayer is not yet finished.¡±

    Rody was familiar with the Saintess''s prayers. Although it was the first time he heard her pray, he had heard similar prayers since he was young. Almost every night, Rody''s mother would say the same prayers, never missing a day unless she was sick or unconscious. Rody felt a deep resonance with these prayers; they brought tranquility to his heart whenever he heard them.

    After the Saintess finished praying, she slowly opened her eyes, which were as pure as a lake, and glanced at Rody. She smiled slightly at Rody, stretched out her hand, and patted the ground, signaling him to sit beside her. Seeing Rody sit down, she smiled again, her eyes shining like crescent moons.

    ¡°Have you broken the taboo of demonic martial arts?¡± the Saintess asked joyfully. ¡°I feel a vast power of faith and pure starry energy in you. You really have become much stronger. That''s good. I''ve always been worried about your safety. Now, seeing that you¡¯ve broken the demonic martial arts taboo and your strength is improving rapidly, I feel much more relieved.¡±

    ¡°Tell me, who was the first to unlock my potential star?¡± Rody asked softly.

    ¡°I told you before, didn''t I?¡± the Saintess smiled. ¡°You need to find it yourself. Fate has its own arrangements. I can confirm it was not me¡­¡±

    ¡°Who exactly is Annie Belle?¡± Rody asked again.

    ¡°You cannot truly find Annie Belle either in the Lei Yin Mistland or the Ze Feng Forest,¡± the Saintess¡¯s words surprised Rody. If not in these places, why did she tell him to look there? Why did those old men say the same? Could there be some hidden reason? The Saintess looked at Rody, nodded slightly, and said, ¡°If you draw a magic circle between Lei Yin Mistland and Ze Feng Forest, you will see that the center of this circle is Kamarun¡¯s capital, Blay. There has always been a legend of human hope living in seclusion in Lei Yin Mistland and Ze Feng Forest. Many who seek information are misled by the apparent locations, so Annie Belle can easily live among everyone without being noticed.¡±

    "Ah, I didn''t expect this..." Rody took out a magical map, thought of a few magic circles, and finally tried drawing a ''Sage''s Light'' circle. He quickly discovered that the center of the circle was indeed the capital of Kamarun, Blay, and even this Heavenly Opera House.

    "Now you should know who Annie Belle is, right?" the Saintess asked with a slight smile.

    "Is she that young maid from before?" Rody blurted out.

    "No, you haven''t guessed correctly," the Saintess smiled and shook her head. Seeing Rody''s astonished expression, she nodded and said, "You''ve only guessed her apparent identity, not who she really is."

    "I feel like I''ve seen her somewhere before," Rody tried hard to recall that memory, but couldn''t pinpoint it.

    "You can ask her about herself later," the Saintess said softly. "Her personality is very different from mine. All of us, whether it''s Annie Belle or Chris, each has a unique personality. Although I advised her to wait for you in Lei Yin Mistland, perhaps because you were with Chris, she came back early and didn''t meet you. Chris has her own temperament. I advised her not to go with you, but she wouldn''t listen. Although they are both a bit older than me, in terms of personality, they''re more like my younger sisters..."

    "Your body seems very weak?" Rody was about to offer healing, thinking his blood might benefit her.

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    "It''s okay, every Saintess''s body is like this," the Saintess said with a slight smile and a nod. "The power of a Saintess is in prayer, and physical weakness doesn''t affect it."

    "Did you seek me out for something important?" Rody asked.

    "Indeed, there is something important, but after seeing you, I''ve decided to talk about it later. Rody, you know? I also hope you can live happily, free from the shackles of fate, even if it''s just for a short time. Like a small flower secretly blooming in a corner, better than a weed always in the shadow of a large tree," the Saintess said softly, touching Rody''s hair with her finger. "There are always endless things to worry about, you don''t have to be troubled by everything. Let''s deal with it together later."

    "Is it very important?" Rody felt that if it was really important, it would be better to handle it sooner.

    "This matter is a bit related to both you and me, and not to others," the Saintess gently shook her head. "It''s okay, it can wait. I''ve heard about your matters and am happy for you. Rody, go back, I will always pray for you."

    "Related to both of us?" Rody had a sudden thought, held back his final question, and asked softly, "Can I come to see you again?"

    "I can only sneak out here, it''s not easy, I won''t be here in the future," the Saintess said, her pale face breaking into a smile. "Find me in the Prayer Temple later! Of course, you''ll have to regain Rody''s identity to do so. Otherwise, I won''t welcome the Prince of the Abyss. Though I don''t reject darkness, the pure Sanctuary of the Holy Mother cannot accept a playboy Prince of Darkness."

    Rody was slightly embarrassed upon hearing this; indeed, he had acted like a playboy before.

    ¡°If you ask me, I would say I admire the magical youngster Rody more,¡± the Saintess said with a charming smile. ¡°Go back! Next time you come to see me, bring Chris along, I don''t mind.¡±

    ...

    Rody left the small cabin and gently closed the door behind him. He saw the young maid still waiting in the distance, lantern in hand. It seemed she had something to say to him too.

    ¡°Hey, what did Her Holiness tell you?¡± The young maid was very curious and eager to know what the Saintess and Rody had talked about, especially when she saw the faint smile on Rody''s lips.

    ¡°She talked about how bad you are,¡± Rody chuckled.

    ¡°That''s impossible. Her Holiness would never speak ill of others. Her heart is like a flawless crystal,¡± the young maid didn¡¯t believe it.

    ¡°Of course, the Saintess wouldn¡¯t lie. Ha, she said you like me,¡± Rody leaned closer to the young maid, teasingly: ¡°She said you even call my name in your dreams. Is that true?¡±

    ¡°Are you feverish? Who would like a liar like you!¡± The young maid blushed upon hearing this but quickly recovered, extending her hand to check Rody¡¯s forehead and retorted with a giggle: ¡°Last night, I dreamt of a small dog chasing me to bite. It really scared me. I bet it had white teeth just like yours, and a silly grin. Was that you?¡±

    ¡°Hey, do you want me to spank your little butt?¡± Rody caught the young maid''s hand, pretending to be angry.

    ¡°No manners, huh? You can speak about others but can¡¯t take it when others do the same? That¡¯s so domineering. No girl will like you. Haven¡¯t you seen how boys in the garden woo girls? Some even lie on the ground to be ridden like horses, or bark like dogs!¡± The young maid struggled but couldn¡¯t break free, trying to step on Rody¡¯s foot. Failing to do so, she accused him of lacking gentlemanly manners.

    ¡°I only ride girls like horses,¡± Rody whispered into the young maid''s ear, his breath warm against her neck.

    ¡°If you keep teasing me, I''ll scream and let Her Holiness see your true colors as a wolf in sheep''s clothing. She has a good impression of you, and if you don''t want to ruin it, let go of me now,¡± the young maid said, feeling Rody''s warmth and getting flustered.

    ¡°I¡¯m so scared, what should I do?¡± Rody laughed heartily.

    ¡°Scared, my foot. Your face right now screams ¡®brazen¡¯!¡± The young maid wished she could bite him.

    ¡°Go back to your duchess... Huh? No, wait, you... you have her scent on you, you jerk, you touched me with the same hand that touched her, I''m going to fight you!¡± The young maid suddenly leaned in close to Rody, sniffed him, and then started pounding his chest with her little fists.

    ¡°You can even smell that?¡± Rody broke into a sweat. ¡°I¡¯ve taken a bath and changed clothes¡­¡±

    ¡°Don''t touch me, let go, I''m angry now,¡± the young maid said indignantly.

    ¡°If I let go, you¡¯ll be even angrier. So I won¡¯t let go, how about I tell you a joke to cheer you up?¡± Rody suggested. Letting go of a girl¡¯s hand when she''s angry only makes her angrier, and sometimes it¡¯s not good for men to be too obedient.

    ¡°Bark like a dog a few times, and I¡¯ll calm down,¡± the young maid huffed.

    ¡°I can roar like a tiger, but I can¡¯t bark like a dog. How about you show me how?¡± Rody chuckled. ¡°Miss Annie Belle, calm down, let''s talk. You see, I went to Lei Yin Mistland to find you and almost lost my life, yet I didn¡¯t blame you. You can see how broad-minded I am as a man. Shouldn¡¯t you be moved by that?¡±

    "You still have the nerve to say that?" The little maid was instantly furious upon hearing this.

    "What? Was it also wrong for me to go to the Lei Yin Mist Land to find you?" Rody feigned confusion: "I don''t understand."

    "You''re not just wrong, you''re wrong again." The little maid huffed: "You didn''t go to the Lei Yin Mist Land to find me, but to vacation with Chris, that busty lady, to have a world of two. Ah, I''ve seen you, so intimate, talking and laughing, even staying in the same room. So, I thought it''s better not to disturb you..."

    "Is Chris''s that big?" Rody blurted out in surprise, he really didn''t know.

    "You''re a liar, I won''t talk to you, you live with her, how can you not know? What are you pretending for? Unless you''re an idiot, otherwise, you couldn''t possibly not know!" The little maid didn''t believe Rody could be unaware.

    "I am an idiot¡­" Rody squatted on the ground drawing circles, looking pitifully like he was about to cry.

    "Don''t be sad, Chris is very good at pretending to be a man, it''s normal for you to be deceived by her." The little maid, seeing Rody''s state, believed him somewhat and quickly patted his shoulder to comfort him: "It''s already remarkable that you found out she''s a woman, so don''t be too upset. Come on, get up! Sister will give you candy!"

    "I know who you are now!" Rody suddenly jumped up excitedly, pointing at the little maid and exclaimed: "You, you are that..."

    "Which one?" The little maid waited for a long time, feeling both happy and anxious, quite conflicted.

    But, after waiting a long time, Rody''s about-to-spill name suddenly retreated, almost making the little maid want to kick him. This guy, he simply couldn''t recognize who she was, making her falsely happy just now.

    However, it would be strange if he did recognize, because they hadn''t spent much time together.

    Under those circumstances, it was impossible for him to have much impression of her.

    "Say something funny again, and I''ll remember." Rody felt the little maid reminded him of someone when she said certain things. But, he couldn''t recall the name of that person at the moment.

    "If I moan a few times, I guess you''ll turn into a pervert!" The little maid angrily punched him.

    "Try it, I really want to hear." Rody''s words earned him another punch from the little maid, this time, his big hand caught her small fist. The little maid stepped fiercely on Rody''s foot, but his legs clamped her small ankle between his knees. The little maid screamed, then remembered the saint in the distant cabin and quickly covered her small mouth with her remaining hand.

    "Let go of me quickly, if His Majesty sees this, I''ll have to throw myself into the river!" The little maid, seeing struggling was useless, pretended to be pitiful and begged Rody.

    "This is not how you ask for help!" Rody refused.

    "Who says I''m asking you? I''m commanding, commanding!" The little maid threatened: "If you don''t let go of me right now, I''ll tell your mom that you raped me and have her beat your butt!"

    "Go ahead! Don''t forget to tell her you''re already almost three months pregnant." Rody chuckled: "Mom would be very happy."

    "If someone becomes shameless, they truly are invincible!" The little maid sighed deeply.

    "Actually, we''re quite similar, let''s shake hands!" Rody agreed: "If you won''t punch me as soon as I let go, then I can consider it."

    "I''ll kiss you!" The little maid declared definitively.

    "Really?" Upon hearing this, Rody''s eyes lit up, like a wolf under the moonlight.

    "Come closer, I''ll give you a kiss and you''ll see..." The little maid invited Rody to come closer with an air of casual boldness. Hearing this, Rody knew that refusing would be foolish. He promptly moved his face closer, and of course, he did not forget to grasp the little maid''s other hand first, to prevent a possible slap.

    "I am grateful to the whole world, especially for this beautiful night!" Rody, seeing the little maid''s lips slightly parting as she prepared to kiss him, couldn''t contain his joy.

    "What''s there to be shy about? If I''m going to kiss, obviously it would be on your lips!" The little maid was quite forthright. Her small lips drew nearer, and she even extended her tempting little tongue to moisten her lips, seemingly preparing for the upcoming passionate kiss. Rody could already smell her sweet scent, feeling a thrill of excitement.

    Though he sensed a bit of danger, for a kiss from this beauty, he was willing to take the risk.

    The little maid was undoubtedly dangerous, but Rody was prepared. If she tried to kick him, he would block with his legs; if she cast a spell, he would counter with an anti-magic staff; if she unleashed fighting spirit, he would use a dark magic shield... In any case, he was determined to secure this beautiful kiss!

    However, Rody''s concerns were unfounded. The little maid didn''t attack him but instead gently pressed her lips against his.

    Her playful little tongue teasingly licked Rody''s lips, like a mischievous little red carp.

    At this moment, Rody threw caution to the wind, released her hands, and embraced her, ready to deepen the kiss... but unexpectedly, the little maid fiercely bit Rody''s lip.

    Blood mingled in their mouths, the taste of fresh blood exciting Rody. He suppressed the pain and continued to kiss the little maid intensely...

    Finally, as the little maid''s resistance proved futile, her once striking hands were now wrapped around Rody''s neck. Under the influence of Rody''s blood, her passion flared, and she kissed him back fervently and tenderly, a stark contrast to her previously fierce demeanor. The two became lost in their kiss, embracing tightly under the moonlit night...

    "Ouch!" Rody, deeply engrossed in the kiss and reaching towards a certain area, was bitten again by the fiery little maid.

    "Serves you right, that''s the fate of a big pervert!" The little maid, her face flushed and breathing heavily, didn''t relent with her words. She glared at Rody with big eyes and huffed through her nose, "I''m going to tell His Majesty, your image in her heart is completely ruined..."

    "You want to go and tell on me? Then I need another kiss," Rody demanded.

    "Why should I?" The little maid asked, puzzled.

    "The last one was too quiet, the saint must not have heard. Let''s do it again, louder, no, let''s go to the door and kiss, let her see!" Rody chuckled: "What do you think of this suggestion?"

    "I think someone with a thick skin like yours is truly unbeatable in this world," the little maid retorted angrily. "You''ve kissed and touched, now get lost! Go back to those women who''ll sleep with you. This place doesn''t welcome big perverts who disrespect girls at first sight. What, you say I seduced you? Say that again? You dare to say, I''ll, I''ll bite you to death!¡±

 Chapter 164: "The Commoners Hope, Rody Academy"

    If the Dark Magic Spring, the Fairy Fruit, and the Giant Fruit had already caused the temple to feel apprehensive, then the Night Prince''s subsequent actions made the temple feel even more suffocated. The temple side had not yet figured out a countermeasure, and the opponent further launched an attack, doing so brilliantly, leaving the temple with no grounds for accusation or defamation.

    People from the temple side dared to say that the things like the Dark Magic Spring were just the Night Prince''s way of attracting the world''s attention and were not his real purpose.

    His Majesty William II announced in the court meeting that the Night Prince and the Camaron Empire would jointly create the world''s first tuition-free magic martial arts academy, which meant it would be a civilian academy. The magic martial arts academy, funded by the Night Prince and built with land provided by the Camaron Empire and personnel dispatched, would admit young students from Camaron and all over the world for free. It would offer 25 subjects including literature, music, art, mathematics, philosophy, law, politics, magic, and knighthood. Even commoner youths without magical or fighting spirit talents could get good jobs after graduation, and the outstanding ones could even be directly appointed as officials, with limitless prospects.

    The idea of establishing a civilian magic martial arts academy had been envisioned centuries ago.

    Many people have dreamed of making a name for themselves worldwide, but this task is easier said than done.

    Not to mention other aspects, the funding alone is enough to make the wealthiest kings shake their heads and sigh. If a thousand commoner students were to attend, a country could just about bear the cost. However, once the door to free admission is opened, millions of commoner children from all over the world would come from afar to study for a better future.

    This free admission essentially opened the door of hope in the hearts of commoners.

    Centuries ago, wise men estimated that to establish a completely free civilian magic martial arts academy with scholarships, at least three million gold coins were needed. If the response from the commoners is enthusiastic, this amount would need to be doubled.

    No king in the world dared to do this, as allocating such funds, even for the largest empire, would mean draining the country''s resources.

    Thus, a free civilian academy remained a beautiful dream.

    Nobody expected that the first person to establish a tuition-free civilian magic martial arts academy on the continent would be a prince from the dark underworld. Regardless of his motives, he deeply moved the commoners of the entire world. He truly opened the door of hope in the hearts of the commoners, allowing countless parents to see a glimmer of hope for their children''s future survival.

    There were many magic martial arts academies on the continent, but none for commoner children.

    Unless they were exceptionally talented and outstanding commoner children, who received sponsorship from others or recognition from the state, they had no chance to enter a magic martial arts academy.

    But how many such people were there among the commoner children? Not to mention among them, even the descendants of the nobility and knights, who boast of their superior lineage, are few and far between. Now, the establishment of such an academy, which does not discriminate based on talent or status and does not charge tuition, has truly moved millions of commoners worldwide.

    Commoners do not need the Dark Magic Spring to regain their youth, nor do they need the Fairy Fruit to maintain their figure, nor the Giant Fruit to regain their heroic presence.

    What they needed was help.

    A kind of help they desperately needed, earnestly yearned for, and yet felt hopeless about...

    If the myriad yearnings were gathered and then fulfilled one by one, this fulfilling sentiment would be called hope. Among the common people of the world, they needed this hope, and for centuries, they had been longing for such a miracle to happen, always praying. Unexpectedly, today, it was brought by a prince from the abyss of magic.

    No matter where the Night Prince came from, no matter if his appearance imitated others, and even regardless of whether he was the legendary miraculous child, Rody.

    As long as he could bring such a miraculous hope to everyone, then he was everyone''s friend, everyone''s kin.

    The people of Camaron excitedly swarmed the streets and alleys. When His Majesty William II ordered the royal guards to escort gold bricks worth a million gold coins from the Night Prince''s manor, parading throughout the city for the commoners to celebrate, the entire capital of Camaron was abuzz. The Night Prince was not a man of empty words; he donated gold bricks equivalent to a million gold coins, full carts of gold bricks, carrying the hopes of all the commoners of Camaron and the entire world... People ecstatically chased after the golden carriage, cheering along the way.

    If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

    Countless people cried tears of joy, and many embraced strangers in celebration.

    If previously the Night Prince was only a friend of the nobles, now the commoners could proudly say that the Night Prince was their kin, closer and more heartfelt to them than the nobles.

    "You don''t have to thank me, thank the miraculous child Rody! I hope to be as outstanding and popular as him. He is your miraculous child in your hearts, able to invent countless items with his wisdom. I don¡¯t have this ability, but I also hope to be as popular as him! I hope that one day, when you see me, you will cheer for me just like you do for him. I like glory, and I like the smiles of humans..." The first time the magical newspaper published the Night Prince''s sentiment, countless people looked at his photo and wept bitterly.

    Everyone was moved by the Night Prince''s generosity and also reminisced about the various benefits of the miraculous child Rody in the past.

    If only the miraculous child Rody hadn''t been imprisoned in the Desolate Hell... He was definitely not an evil undead magician, but a kind-hearted great sage, an inventor of countless benefits. But seeing him sent to the stake by the temple, not a single person dared to stand up and help him.

    People remembered the sorrowful eyes of the miraculous child Rody on that day, remembered his prayers...

    "Great God of Life Water, if you think my heart is as pure as a spring, then please let a spring emerge under my feet."

    "Great God of Nature, if you think my kindness is as rich as the fertile soil of the earth, then please let the wood under my feet sprout tender buds and leaves."

    Miracles appeared, and the blazing flames at his feet sprouted a fountain, and those charred woods really grew tender buds and branches...

    A miraculous child for whom even the gods would descend miracles, a human son whom even the Prince of the Abyss admired and emulated, a war hero whom even his mortal enemies, the orcs and demons, were willing to recruit without past grudges, was sent to the stake by the temple as an evil undead magician and was secretly imprisoned in the Desolate Hell.

    Remembering these, people''s hearts were cut like a knife.

    Only when lost do they know to cherish, only when lost do they understand the value, only when people watched the precious son of the earth given by the gods being destroyed by the temple did they know regret. Only now do they realize and awaken, but it''s too late, too late...

    ...

    Due to public opinion, His Majesty William II, with the consent of the Night Prince, decided to name the civilian magic martial arts academy as Rody Academy.

    Everyone hoped that more talents like the miraculous child Rody would emerge from the earth.

    When the Truth Newspaper, controlled by the temple, published a commentary accusing the Night Prince of using Rody''s name to win people''s hearts and alleging that the civilian magic martial arts academy was actually the precursor of the Dark Temple, it urged millions of people not to be deceived. The enraged public quickly gathered tens of thousands of people. They not only marched in protest on the streets, but also, unable to contain their fury when passing the Truth Newspaper building, stormed in and smashed everything inside, causing the editor-in-chief, a priest, to panic and escape by jumping out of a window.

    People would not be fooled again, and the tragedy of the miraculous child must not be allowed to recur.

    If the temple wanted to act against the Night Prince, then unless they dispatched the Holy Knights to trample over the bodies of millions of people, the people would no longer watch the temple''s shameless attacks with their eyes open.

    Everyone understood that the God of Light was certainly benevolent and great, but his servants were not necessarily so.

    The ugly faces of those priests and cardinals in the temple had already been seen not for the first time. The various methods they used during the trial of the miraculous child had chilled everyone''s hearts. At that time, the people did not have the courage to resist, and the miraculous child was tragically imprisoned in the Desolate Hell. This heartache became an eternal, unhealable scar of shame in people''s hearts. Today, the Goddess of Night bestowed another prince to the world, just like the miraculous child Rody, as if the miraculous child had broken free from the chains of God in the Desolate Hell and returned... People would definitely not let him be sent to the stake by the schemers of the temple again; they cannot represent the will of the gods.

    Because they are also human, not gods.

    Countless poor people volunteered to participate in the construction of Rody Academy, without asking for payment, only needing enough food to fill their stomachs.

    Of course, their eagerness to participate in the construction was not only due to the hardship of life but also the hope that their children could enter the academy as soon as possible. Because the regulations of the academy were already clear, children over the age of six could enroll, which greatly relieved numerous poor people.

    The poor did not want their sons to be as impoverished as themselves, nor did they want them to become despised thieves and pickpockets.

    They hoped to build Rody Academy as quickly as possible, to free their children from suffering sooner.

    However, the first institution to be built was not Rody Academy, but a civilian vocational training academy. This academy, said to be for adults, was one of the future branches of Rody Academy. It was not as formal as Rody Academy, did not require full-day classes, and the content was focused on training certain vocational skills rather than studying knowledge.

    The only advantage of this vocational training academy was that after graduation, regardless of their status, everyone could get a job.

    Of course, these jobs were also provided by the Night Prince.

    The Night Prince, in cooperation with the Camaron Chamber of Commerce and various guilds, set up numerous large and small factories, some for food processing, some for planting magic flower seeds, and others for processing animal skins and wool. In short, these factories were unified workshops for producing daily necessities. With countless workers working uniformly and producing quickly.

    The opening of these factories urgently required numerous workers, which excited the civilians and the poor of Camaron immensely. Their employment was secured, and their lives had found a direction... However, before they could start working, they needed to be trained to work correctly. Thus, the vocational training academy, with tens of thousands of poor people working day and night, quickly rose.

    The rapid economic prosperity of Camaron drove the growth of all industries.

    Mercenaries no longer idly drank in melancholy and harassed tavern women. Their hunted animal skins were now bought at high prices, and the usually discarded meat could be processed into food, significantly increasing their income. The arduous jobs like logging and quarrying became popular professions, as no one knew how much more wood and stone would be needed for construction.

    The slaves from the slave trading posts were purchased in large numbers by the Night Prince and began to plant magical flowers and trees that could survive on human land.

    It wasn¡¯t just Camaron; merchants from countries around the world came upon hearing the news, and various goods rapidly circulated in the capital of Camaron.

    ¡°This is a new historical moment. We have endured tough times and have re-entered a golden age. If we have a sense of gratitude, we should thank three people. The first is the King of Camaron, for his enlightened policies and bold reforms have made Camaron what it is today; the second, we should deeply thank the Night Prince. Without His Highness¡¯s generosity and good deeds, Camaron would not have the free civilian academy, the free vocational training, or anything we see today. The third person, before I write about his greatness, I want to pray for him first, with the most devout heart in my life, hoping that my tears can move the gods to rescue him from the Desolate Hell¡­ Yes, the third person we should be grateful for is Rody. Without him, there would be no Night Prince, no golden age for Camaron, no dawn for Camaron, no awakening of the people¡¯s hearts¡­ We should erect a giant statue of the miraculous child Rody in the center of Camaron''s city, for everyone to come and thank him, to admire him, for all of us to pray for him, and at the same time, to be proud of him¡­¡±

    Historian De Luren Jefstol Oli the Sage, wrote down this passage excitedly in his magical notebook.

    He hoped that no matter how many years passed, even after thousands or tens of thousands of years, future generations would know the true history through his records.

 Chapter 165: "Accusations, The Temples Credibility Vanishes"

    "Rody Academy is doing well, but with this, the temple will hate you to the bone." One day, Chris secretly met with Rody again.

    "Sooner or later, I will confront the temple anyway. Besides, I enjoy seeing them in a state of frantic frustration," Rody laughed heartily. He wanted to get closer and kiss Chris, but she pushed him away because of the presence of a maid.

    "Don''t touch me!" Chris had, of course, heard about the Night Prince and the escapades with the Duchess, but that wasn''t what angered her the most. She was more upset about the appearance of Annabelle and Pandora. Although Annabelle''s involvement was inevitable, Chris was still irked that she had successfully attracted Rody''s attention. As for Pandora, although she wasn''t as big a threat as Annabelle, her backing from the entire Mire Empire, along with the god-like elves, also unsettled Chris... Rody was originally hers, along with Jill and the female boss, and at most, the succubus sisters. And she felt she occupied a larger part because she was with him every day.

    But later, not only did the Queen of the Netherworld join, but there were also several ''daughters'' who were willing to serve their ''father'' during his bath.

    If they had been waiting for Rody for thousands of years, it would have been understandable.

    And those Starlight Girls, who knew nothing but wanted to take care of Rody in place of their mother, were not too excessive, so Chris couldn''t be angry with them.

    But now, the appearance of Annabelle and Pandora truly displeased Chris. They were all in Camaron and could find opportunities to get close to Rody at any time, especially Annabelle, who had successfully attracted Rody. Chris heard that Rody had even kissed her, which made her exceedingly jealous. It took her more than a year to barely get a kiss from Rody, and this woman got close to him in just two days?

    So, Chris was very angry.

    Rody, however, was delighted. He guessed that if it weren''t for this reason, Chris wouldn''t have sneaked out to meet him today! He hoped that the more jealous Chris was, the more she would stay by his side.

    "Linenessia, Lineliria, I''m going to discuss some trade conditions with Mr. Chris," Rody waved his hand to send the sisters out.

    "Young master, let us stay to record for you!" The younger sister felt that Chris was somewhat different from other nobles and was reluctant to leave.

    "We need to discuss some secrets¡­" Rody, of course, was making an excuse.

    "Let them stay!" Chris was furious. It turned out that not only the Duchess was stealing kisses, but even the two maids by his side were the little lambs of a certain wolf, which deeply upset her. Pretending to be anything but chose to be a playboy, now surrounded by women, was really hateful. Chris glanced at the Linenessia sisters and suddenly smiled, "Night Prince, I like your personal maids. Give them to me!"

    "No! Young master, please, don''t!" The two sisters were startled and immediately begged pitifully.

    "Chris, why don''t you move in with me? I''ll agree to whatever you say," Rody whispered through magic, though he outwardly appeared to be deep in thought. He said, "If Mr. Chris is willing to open up Rody City, then I can consider it."

    "Who cares!" Chris snorted coldly. "Don''t I have personal maids too? If you''re so reluctant, I might as well give you two!"

    "No, if you send Dora to serve me, you might as well kill me!" Rody had now understood that the little girl, Dora, was actually Chris''s personal maid, and the Miss Betsy he had always been curious about was another identity of Chris.

    Just thinking about Dora''s service still gave Rody shivers.

    The Linenessia sisters watched Chris and Rody argue curiously, finding their interaction strange. They were both clearly male, and Chris was the miraculous child Rody''s assistant, but now he seemed very familiar with the Night Prince. The more perceptive older sister even suspected Chris might be a woman, and felt there was a deep connection between her and their young master. Despite their constant bickering upon meeting, they could be a couple.

    However, they didn¡¯t know who Dora was, maybe a great beauty and a key figure in their argument.

    "She''ll be here tomorrow, of course, you can refuse," Chris decided abruptly, giving Rody the feeling of being sent to the stake.

    "I''ll say welcome," Rody said, sweating inwardly but still smiling.

    Since Chris had decided, there was no point in arguing further, and it would make her feel better. Although the polite little girl Dora was very obedient, with some training, she could be manageable.

    Rody wouldn''t tease Chris like a little maid. His wish was to see Chris happy every day, with a beaming smile on her face.

    "Tommy and the others will sign up as volunteers. They''ll be able to gather some people in the future, otherwise what''s the point of running an academy? Opening Rody City is also okay, but the dark specialties must be prioritized. If you don''t strengthen your own city, are you just making a wedding dress for others? Fool, one last thing, be careful. Those waiting to skin you will come soon, don¡¯t expect me to save you!" Chris warned huffily.

    "You will come," Rody chuckled, holding Chris''s hand and not wanting to let go. "I''m glad Mr. Chris is fully opening up Rody City. To celebrate, I think we should have a drink. Ah, right, would you join me for dinner with this prince?"

    "Stop pretending, look at their eyes, they''re looking at you like you''re a fool!" Chris slapped Rody''s hand away irritably.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    "Mr. Chris is a girl, right?" the older sister asked cautiously.

    "She¡¯s my wife, ah, fianc¨¦e," Rody corrected quickly after Chris stepped on his foot.

    "But aren''t you the assistant of Rody, the child of the elves, Chris?" the younger sister was a bit confused, wondering how their relationship had changed so quickly from their polite entrance.

    "You''re smart, aren''t you? Take a guess!" Chris suddenly hugged Rody, gave him a quick kiss, then stepped hard on his foot and left.

    "She, she, she just kissed you, no, I mean, she just stepped on you, no, I mean, you, you actually, ah what I want to say is, are you the miraculous child? Young master, you are the miraculous child Rody, right? You''re not the Night Prince but the miraculous child Rody, I''m so happy..." The sister who believed in the Holy Mother had always found it hard to accept that the man she admired was the Prince of the Abyss, because he wasn''t evil, but he never belonged to the light. So, the thought of her young master being the miraculous child Rody made her extremely happy.

    "Sister, I told you he''s not a bad person," the younger sister didn''t care whether he was the Night Prince or the miraculous child, she just knew she liked this man.

    "Today''s weather is so nice!" Rody felt elated after Chris had just kissed him as a show of defiance.

    "Dizzy, it''s raining outside..." The two sisters saw the sweet look on Rody''s face and realized how much their young master loved the fierce, unreasonable Chris. They exchanged glances, boldly hugged him from both sides, and kissed him on the cheek. Before Rody could react, they ran out hand in hand, delighted.

    At that moment, they too felt the weather was nice.

    Mitty, the little fairy peeping secretly at the door, was utterly confused. She knew the dark-haired brother was a powerful person, as he had removed the magic restrictions on her. He also had delicious honey, but he was a strange man. Even with the succubus bracelet to guide him, he didn''t know how to go to the Seven Clans'' land, a hundred times dumber than her.

    Is kissing that enjoyable?

    Mitty suddenly thought of her mother''s kisses on her little face, and seemed to understand a bit. Kissing made people happy, but her longing for her mother surged up, and she couldn¡¯t help but burst into tears.

    "Don''t cry, little baby, don''t cry, brother will give you candy," Rody was more like a nanny than a prince at that moment, and not a very competent one at that.

    ...

    The prosperity of the Camaron Empire and the establishment of the free civilian academy earned praise from countries around the world.

    The Peaceful Nation, the largest magic empire in the world, Mire, was the first to make a statement. Her Majesty the Empress of Mire highly praised the actions of William II and the Night Prince. She met with the Speaker and members of the Parliament, agreeing to their near-unanimous new resolution, deciding to aid Camaron. The Mire Empire would send 500 magicians and 3,000 volunteers to Camaron, along with a donation of 500,000, with the Empress personally donating 50,000, to fully support the establishment of Rody Academy.

    The only condition of Her Majesty was that she hoped Rody Academy would open a branch in Mire within three years.

    William II and the Night Prince were very happy to agree. The emissary of Mire also signed a trade agreement with the Night Prince, welcoming the specialties of the Underworld to be officially sold within the borders of Mire.

    Compared to William II, Her Majesty the Empress of Mire was more assertive and prestigious. She disregarded the temple''s warnings, which had always been her attitude. The Pope also gave her some respect. In the face of Mire Empire''s assertiveness, the temple could only turn a blind eye. They only warned Noren and Galle, the two great empires, and of course, all other countries in the world, prohibiting the sale of dark specialties on the human continent.

    The temple attempted to counteract their declining influence with the ''Angel Fountain'', but people soon discovered that the effects of the Angel Fountain were far inferior to those of the Dark Magic Spring.

    Transforming human forms was not the forte of angels; it was a specialty of the abyss...

    Following Mire, the two great empires of Noren and Galle also sent emissaries to express support for Rody Academy. The Noren Empire pledged a donation of one hundred thousand gold coins, to be paid over three years, while the Galle Empire donated fifty thousand gold coins at once. Each sent groups of three hundred and two hundred swordsmen, respectively, to support the teaching at Rody Academy. However, they also indicated that in the coming years, at least fifty thousand commoner children would come to study and requested Camaron to be prepared.

    Countries around the world donated funds, with the most significant support being the number of commoner children enrolling for education.

    Despite Camaron''s appeal to stagger the influx of students, the count of eligible commoner children seeking education still exceeded one hundred thousand.

    All these individuals were over fifteen years old. If they didn''t receive education and training now, it would be difficult for them to make progress. Faced with an overwhelming number of students, His Majesty William II could only call upon the nation''s commoners to volunteer as laborers and expedite the construction of Rody Academy. The Night Prince also revised the curriculum, aiming to reduce the initial three-year learning period to one year, ensuring that the first batch of commoner students were educated swiftly and prepared for various social occupations after graduation.

    Sages and magicians from around the world gathered in Camaron''s capital, Blaye.

    Never before had so many sages been willing to serve as professors at a magic martial arts academy. Twenty sages and great sages came together, not only offering their services for free but also donating much of their collections to Rody Academy as teaching materials or research tools for students.

    Over a thousand magicians came forward to serve as teachers.

    Additionally, more than two thousand swordsmen and knights took up positions as coaches at Rody Academy. Except for a few, most of them did not charge any fees, selflessly imparting their combat skills and experience to the commoner students.

    Rody Academy, at present, did not have a single building.

    There were only grasslands and woods, but this did not hinder the sages'' teachings or the commoner students'' eagerness to learn. They sat on the ground, surrounding the group of teachers in the center, reminiscent of the legendary ''Sage''s Academy'', where nothing existed but teaching and learning. Anyone who saw the commoner children''s thirst for knowledge would be moved to tears.

    Rows of commoner children practiced under the command of the swordsmanship coaches.

    In their hands, there were no swords, spears, or armor; only branches. Yet, this did not impede their swordsmanship learning or their determination to become stronger.

    Magic journalists captured these scenes and broadcast them repeatedly to people all over the world.

    Everyone watched with tears in their eyes, not tears of sorrow, but of joy and delight. Hope and miracles were finally emerging in the world... Neither the scorching sun nor the pouring rain could dampen people''s eagerness to learn, nor could it obscure the light of their hope. After many years of anticipation, a tuition-free magic martial arts academy had finally been established.

    On the construction site, thousands of poor and common folk worked tirelessly.

    They were weary and exhausted, yet they worked cheerfully, with laughter frequently erupting on site. Those who volunteered to participate in the construction were poor people who had not even discussed wages with the Night Prince. Although the Night Prince''s servants had recorded their working days and prepared adequate wages, they were unaware of this.

    The Night Prince was eager to mingle among the people, but each time he appeared, he was surrounded by crowds.

    If he attempted to pick up a hoe to help, thousands would dissuade him from the labor.

    People were happy to see him, but also worried about his safety, as various rumors were greatly detrimental to the Night Prince. They preferred him to stay in the city, protected by the royal guards, safe from the attacks of dishonorable assassins. They would rather cheer for him on the streets than see him endangered by ill-intentioned villains during his site visits.

    His safety was of utmost importance.

    Even if the Night Prince did not personally inspect and direct the construction of Rody Academy, people were committed to fulfilling his objectives flawlessly.

    The common people wholeheartedly supported Rody Academy, though few donated money, mostly offering goods instead. Some donated half a bag of flour from their homes for the students'' meals, others gave clothing to ensure the students stayed warm, and some supporters sent a family member to help build the academy.

    Regarding Rody City, the city of evil, although there was still some resistance to the image of the Night Prince, appreciation was expressed for Rody Academy.

    More than a hundred elite teams, under the leadership of Tommy and Keli, came to train the commoner children, teaching them warfare experiences and jungle survival skills. With the elite teams'' participation, the commoner students who admired them were even more spirited and motivated.

    "I find the temple''s protest utterly baffling. What''s wrong with erecting a giant statue of the miraculous child Rody in the center of Camaron city? People need an idol, they need hope. Do they still think they haven''t destroyed our hopes enough? Apart from urging us to donate and preaching about light and justice, what else can the temple offer us? I, of course, believe in the greatness of the God of Light, even without their constant repetition. But how many truly great and kind people are there in the grand and majestic temple? At the very least, we haven''t seen them donate a single coin, yet they always have ¡®compassion for all, treating all beings as their children¡¯ on their lips..."

    Mike Bourg-Anton, a renowned magic journalist from Camaron, published an article criticizing the temple, the first of its kind in the world.

    Although the language and content were somewhat reserved and not too radical, people still cheered for his courage.

 Chapter 166: Laughter, The Night Princes Lament in Poetry

    The horse race that Finance Minister Mike had intended to hold was canceled, as all the horsemen had gone to help build Rody Academy. Noble knights, of course, couldn''t be expected to lead horses in a race, and the competing horses, due to lack of proper care, were not in good condition.

    Moreover, the most crucial reason was that the Night Prince, busy with the affairs of Rody Academy, had not found a horse to participate in the race.

    If the Night Prince didn''t participate, the horse race would be pointless.

    However, Minister Mike was not disheartened because the Night Prince suggested an even better idea, prompting him to postpone the horse race and focus on organizing a competition proposed by the Night Prince instead. This contest didn''t require horses; it was named ''Rody Cup ¨C World Record Challenge''. This challenge wasn''t limited to creative inventions but was open to any profession, any category, and any record to be challenged.

    It was a general term with many specific names within its categories.

    For example, in the mercenaries'' challenge, it was also called ''Rody Cup ¨C Strongman Challenge''.

    In the strongman category, mercenaries could participate in events like arm wrestling, discus throwing, javelin throwing, wrestling, weightlifting, boxing, sprinting, long-distance running, and many other sub-challenges. Each sub-category had gold, silver, and bronze medals, and anyone with confidence, not just professional mercenaries but even a blacksmith, could participate.

    Of course, since mercenaries were most likely to be powerful in this event, the contest also got its name as the Strongman Challenge.

    This was different from previous magic martial arts competitions and even more so from the brutal and bloody gladiator fights. ''Rody Cup ¨C World Record Challenge'' was expected to be entertaining and fun without any risk to life.

    If one couldn''t participate in the Strongman Challenge, then the ''Big Eater'' Challenge was open to everyone. Anyone confident in their stomach capacity could freely register. The Big Eater category had many types, including beer drinking, liquor drinking, spicy eating, and endless quantity eating competitions. Although the prize money wasn''t high, its announcement immediately caused a stir, attracting even children to sign up.

    The venue didn''t need special selection; it was right next to the Rody Academy construction site. Food was prepared, and the ''Big Eaters'', both young and old, were ready. At the signal, the competition began.

    Winning or losing wasn''t important; participation was what mattered.

    Over several days of competition, there were countless amusing moments, and the entire Camaron was immersed in a sea of joy and laughter.

    Finally, the day of the Big Eater final arrived, and it was held in the coliseum. Not only did all the nobility attend, but King William II and the Queen also came to watch with great enthusiasm. Needless to say, the Night Prince was one of the most important guests. Not only was he expected to attend, but everyone also hoped he would present the awards to the champion alongside King William II.

    To everyone''s surprise and delight, the pop starlet Baby was invited by the Queen to be the event''s host.

    Her co-host was the same bearded Maru from before.

    "Good evening, everyone. Today, I noticed a strange phenomenon. It seems that it''s been a long time since the people of Camaron have been as excited as they are today. Is today a holiday?" Baby asked curiously, while bearded Maru, playing along, pretended to be dumb and said, "With my wisdom, ah, Miss Baby, I''m afraid I can''t answer your profound question."

    The crowd erupted into laughter at their comedic pairing, especially as everyone was in a good mood on this special day.

    Baby was right; it had been a long time since everyone had been this happy.

    Fortunately, the gods had not forsaken Camaron.

    After the miraculous child Rody disappeared, the Goddess of Night sent the Night Prince, who was indistinguishable from the miraculous child. Sometimes, people really wished he was the miraculous child Rody. Regardless, the temple could not treat the Night Prince as they did Rody last time. If they wanted to take the Night Prince away, they would first have to ask the hundreds of thousands of Camaron citizens if they agreed.

    "If you''re asking me, you might as well ask a cow." Baby flew towards the VIP platform, landing in front of the Night Prince. She handed him the magical microphone and asked, "With your wisdom, can you answer my question?"

    "I thought you came to ask me out on a date..." The Night Prince, feigning surprise, then disappointment, asked, "If I answer, can we go on a date?"

    "Night Prince, please go buy a big pillow first!" Baby huffed.

    "I have one! Do you like big pillows?" The Night Prince asked excitedly.

    "No, I think you''d better stick to hugging a big pillow and dreaming! Hey, don''t you know I like the miraculous child Rody?" Baby''s statement indicated she was challenging the Night Prince, looking to deflate his arrogance. Everyone eagerly awaited their exchange.

    "Although I''m not him, I''m just like him! Where do you see the difference?" The Night Prince pleaded.

    "The brain is different," Baby tapped her head and said, "The miraculous child writes poetry. Can you? If you can compose a poem, maybe I''ll consider going on a date with you."

    "You might as well ask me to commit suicide," the Night Prince said, deflated.

    Everyone burst into laughter; it was easy for the Night Prince to scatter gold coins or treat everyone to a feast, but composing a poem in public was quite a challenge. Even King William II showed a faint smile, while the noble Queen clapped her hands in delight. It was a rare sight to see the usually haughty Night Prince flustered...

    Nearby, the nobility, especially Finance Minister Mike, who was close to the Night Prince, tried not to show their amusement.

    "I can''t compose a poem, I''m sorry," Baby said, covering her mouth and batting her large eyes in triumph. "I still prefer the miraculous child who can invent and compose poetry. If you want to date me, please get in line first!"

    "I will!" the Night Prince, determined for a date with the beauty, stood up and cleared his throat.

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    The crowd instantly fell silent, filled with anticipation.

    The Night Prince, who probably hadn''t even read a book of human poetry, was expected to compose one? Could it be that he possessed a hidden talent for poetry? Everyone held their breath, tens of thousands of eyes fixed on him.

    "Cough, cough, composing poetry is easy, I can come up with one right away." Though the Night Prince said so, it was evident that he was troubled. Composing poetry, even for a talented poet, was challenging under the gaze of tens of thousands.

    The Night Prince scratched his head, then suddenly exclaimed loudly, signaling the start of his lament.

    "Hush! Let''s listen quietly," the audience leaned in to hear what kind of lament the Night Prince would compose.

    "Ah, the sea, you are full of water! Ah, swift horse, you have four legs! Ah, beauty, you say you are so beautiful, yet a mouth sits beneath your nose..." As soon as the Night Prince''s lament was heard, the audience was stunned.

    "Ha ha ha ha ha!"

    Someone burst out laughing first, and like a tornado, laughter swept through the whole arena.

    Even King William II, who tried to maintain a dignified expression, laughed until tears streamed down his face, slapping the desk in front of him uncontrollably. The entire coliseum was in stitches, everyone doubled over with laughter. The poem was so brilliantly comedic that no one else in the world could have matched the Night Prince''s comedic effect, especially with that last line.

    It perfectly captured the Night Prince''s astonishment at human aesthetics.

    The coliseum erupted into laughter, a tumultuous sound that swept over everyone, unstoppable and irresistibly funny.

    After laughing for a full five minutes, people still rolled on the floor with laughter whenever they remembered the Night Prince''s lament.

    "My goodness, you almost murdered a hundred thousand spectators. Were you trying to kill us all with laughter?" Baby finally managed to stop laughing and said, "If we all died laughing, the temple would surely accuse you, the Prince of the Abyss, of murder! That was close; I almost cracked a rib laughing."

    "Was it really that funny?" The only one not laughing was the sulking Night Prince.

    He had hoped his poetry recitation would impress Baby, but it had only resulted in uncontrollable laughter. King William II and others quickly composed themselves, not wanting to hurt the Night Prince''s pride too much. It was rare for him to entertain everyone with a poem, and they didn''t want to dampen his spirit.

    Everyone truly hoped that the Night Prince would continue to produce such hilariously deadly poems, adding fun to their lives.

    "I dare say, if there weren''t a hundred thousand people sharing this joke, everyone would die laughing on the spot," Baby said as she flew up, covering her mouth. "I better keep my distance from you, so you don¡¯t come up with another poem and make me die of laughter."

    ...

    With the Night Prince''s lamenting poem as the start, the Big Eater competition became even more interesting.

    Although the first group of competitors started eating as the signal was given, many couldn''t get into the right mood. Many choked while laughing and eating, and one even sneezed out their spaghetti through their nose, causing an uproar of laughter. However, the more chaotic it was, the more everyone enjoyed it. Participating in the Big Eater contest was all about fun, with no one seriously aiming for the championship.

    "I must learn your spaghetti-eating skills someday, oh Lord, you have such unique talents, why didn''t you tell us earlier? I bet if you applied for this world record with Mr. Nicholas, no one would dare to challenge it!" Maru joked with the mercenary who sneezed out the spaghetti.

    "Hey, Finance Minister Mike, what are you doing here?" Baby interviewed Finance Minister Mike, who was participating in the contest, with a curious baby-like demeanor.

    "My goal is the championship..." Mike proudly raised his hand and proclaimed his victory, suddenly realizing he was surrounded by much taller and bigger contestants. He cried out in alarm to Maru, "Maru, you didn¡¯t put me in the wrong group, did you? I came for the Big Eater contest, not wrestling!"

    "Minister Mike, actually we''ve already made it easier for you, you know? Your group is already the smallest in size," Maru hinted him not to make too much noise.

    "No way?" Mike screamed, realizing his dream of the championship was shattered.

    If it were a fight, no one would dare to make a move, but when it came to eating, no one was polite. At Baby''s signal, everyone grabbed lamb legs and devoured them, pushing Mike aside. When he squeezed back in, the big guys had already eaten most of the food. Mike desperately tried to get some food while yelling for someone to share with him.

    The audience roared with laughter, finding Mike''s recent antics not too disagreeable.

    "Minister Mike, didn''t you have dinner?" Maru asked in surprise.

    "To participate in the Big Eater contest, I''ve been starving for three days," Mike lamented, searching for any leftover food in vain.

    "Go to the Night Prince! He distributes free rice and flour at his house. Just shout ''The Night Prince''s starlight shines bright'' and you''ll get some," Baby''s comment caused another round of laughter. Indeed, the Night Prince, concerned that some poor people might work without getting food, put out lots of food every day for anyone to take.

    "Minister Mike, although you invited me to see a strip show last night, without any achievements, I still can''t announce your advancement," Maru''s words triggered more laughter. Mike grabbed the magical microphone and yelled, "I swear, last night I only went with the Night Prince to see Beauty and the Beast... Ah, alright, I went with Maru to see a strip show!"

    Everyone really hoped the Night Prince would continue making such fatally funny poems to add humor to their lives.

    "It seems that Finance Minister Mike shares the same hobbies as the Night Prince!" Baby giggled.

    The audience responded with good-natured applause, many aware that the Night Prince had been busy designing the academy buildings with twenty sages the previous night, with Minister Mike and King William II in attendance. Mike and Maru''s comments were just for laughs.

    The Big Eater competition concluded, with two contestants weighing over five hundred pounds winning second and third place, and a skinny boy winning the championship.

    This result astonished everyone ¨C no one expected the small boy to eat more than twice his body weight. Especially when Maru interviewed him for his winning speech, the boy burped and said he would be really full if there were another roasted lamb competition.

    The audience was dumbfounded ¨C did this iron-ball-like kid still not feel full?

    There are indeed all sorts of people in the world, from mercenaries who can sneeze spaghetti through their noses to iron-ball-like big eaters and dwarves who drink beer like water.

    During the liquor drinking competition, the champion was simply the one who could still stand to receive the award.

    The second place went to the person who could barely reach out to accept their prize.

    And the one who could barely recognize Maru and Baby was the third place. The rest, either sprawled out or crawling on the ground thinking they were snails, were eliminated. The audience hurt from laughing so much, and even the most dignified ladies couldn''t help themselves.

    "The highlight of tonight''s event is coming up, the Big Eater ¨C Spicy Eating competition," Baby announced sweetly.

    "The spaghetti sauce you see now is fifty times spicier than regular chili sauce, don''t worry, it shouldn''t be lethal, but I advise kids not to try this," Maru said, holding a plate and told Baby, "Though I''m not competing, I can eat a plate, no, at least two, if there''s a prize!"

    "No prize, but if you can eat a plate, I''ll take care of another one!" Baby bet with him.

    "Do you want to see Baby eat something spicy? I''m going all out, here goes!" Maru took a big mouthful of the red spaghetti... and then collapsed straight away.

    "Wow! Talk about a dramatic exit, you''ve got style!" Baby smiled and said, "I keep my promises."

    She flew up, floating to the Night Prince, and said softly, "Your Highness, it''s time to be a gentleman. You wouldn''t want my tender throat to be poisoned by this, right? Come on, good man, eat it up! If you eat it and don''t die, I''ll consider going on a date with you!"

    "Really?" The Night Prince, hearing this, took the red spaghetti and poured it into his mouth like Maru.

    The Night Prince didn''t collapse, but he spewed out a burst of fire from his mouth.

    The audience laughed uncontrollably, knowing the hosts had set up the Night Prince, but didn''t expect him to actually eat it, and so boldly too. Especially the moment he breathed fire, the magicians replayed it in slow motion three times, prompting the audience to stand up and applaud the Night Prince.

    The audience really wished the Night Prince would continue to create such deadly amusing poems to add fun to their lives.

    "I can''t take it anymore, I also have a mother, wuwu, my family is so rich, why should I compete for this prize, I''m not competing anymore..." Before the Night Prince could protest, a contestant couldn''t take it anymore. A fat contestant started crying loudly, probably because the spiciness was unbearable, and used the opportunity to vent through tears. His crying led many others to give up, wiping away tears and withdrawing from the competition.

    "Useless!" Maru, somehow revived, kicked the crying contestant away, angrily saying, "What¡¯s this? The Night Prince just ate a hundred times spicier without crying, why are you wailing?"

    "I want to cry too, but it''s embarrassing with everyone watching," the Night Prince honestly replied, causing another burst of laughter.

    After the fifty times spicy challenge came the hundred times spicy one, the same kind Baby used to tease the Night Prince. Only fifteen contestants remained. Maru casually offered a plate for tasting, and everyone who tried ended up in tears, unable to suppress the spiciness. The hundred times spiciness was simply inhuman. King William II also tried a small piece of the purple-red spaghetti and finally, with teary eyes, said, "It seems I need to list this as one of the ten forbidden foods in the palace."

    After the hundred times spicy, came the two hundred times extreme spicy.

    Only three contestants remained.

    "Your Highness, won''t you join the competition? Maybe you could win the consolation prize. Don''t worry, we have prepared a prize for you if you participate," Baby desperately tempted the Night Prince to join.

    "No, I don¡¯t want to try the two hundred times spiciness; that stuff could tear your intestines and stomach," the Night Prince firmly refused.

    "Choose one out of three prizes for the consolation prize, and one of them is a date!" Baby said, and the Night Prince immediately leaped to participate. The crowd applauded him enthusiastically, even the three competing contestants excitedly shook hands with him. Maru roared, "Will the Night Prince, who composes lamenting poems, manage to win the consolation prize? Can he overcome the poetry challenge and secure a date? Let¡¯s encourage him with our applause!"

    "Although everyone is enthusiastic, I think perhaps composing poetry might be easier, at least it¡¯s not life-threatening," the Night Prince thought more and more that it was a bad idea, asking Baby, "How about I think of a good poem and ask you out next time? I really can''t handle spicy food!"

    "If you weren''t afraid of spicy, I wouldn''t have invited you to compete... ah, I mean, I support you, you have to try hard!" Baby covered her mouth, snickering.

    "Go for it, you must get a date with Miss Baby!" The crowd cheered enthusiastically, eager to see the Night Prince''s spectacle.

    "The first Spicy Eating King final starts now! Bring on the torture, ah no, the spicy noodles!" Maru waved his hand and howled like a beast, and his assistants brought up four basins filled with two hundred times spicy noodles. It was a challenge not just because of the spiciness, but also to finish the whole basin, and it seemed the organizers were determined to overwhelm the Night Prince.

    "Help!" The Night Prince saw his specially large and plentiful basin and cried out for help.

 Chapter 167: Son, Do Not Make Your Mother Cry

    Although the temple strongly opposed it, preventing the people of Camaron from erecting a giant statue of Rody in the city center, another proposal by the Night Prince was accepted and realized.

    In the city center, people flattened two streets into a giant crossroad wide enough to accommodate eight carriages side by side. King William II announced that in the future, all buildings along these two streets would be uniformly reconstructed, and the streets, originally mixed-use, would be converted into purely pedestrian thoroughfares. Starting from the central magical fountain, extending in all four cardinal directions, the unique ''Starlight Boulevard'' pedestrian street of Camaron was built.

    This plan received support not only from commoners but also from nobles and sages.

    Along Starlight Boulevard, historical museums, halls of heroes, and various parks and squares were established for rest and gatherings.

    Statues of all historical figures of Camaron would be erected in these places for future generations to admire. The world''s great sages, poets, singers, painters, and other artists could leave their handprints along Starlight Boulevard, along with brief records of their lives for passersby to see and admire.

    If completed, Starlight Boulevard would become the most distinctive street in the capital of Camaron and the finest scenery nearby.

    Although the compensation for demolition was not substantial, residents along the street willingly relocated.

    Many saw business opportunities, deciding to stay and secure a shop after reconstruction, anticipating that these shops would be the busiest places in the world. Wealthy businessmen bought properties in large quantities from commoners at high prices.

    One end of Starlight Boulevard stretched from the city center to the outskirts of the royal palace, while the other end extended to the gates of Rody Academy.

    To the east was Camaron''s largest opera house and the grand plaza of the Camaron Garden.

    The western end housed the Knights'' Memorial Hall and the Field of Honor.

    With the plan, Camaron suddenly became more beautiful and orderly. Previously, tourists often got lost among scattered attractions, wasting time and energy. But with the grand cross of Starlight Boulevard linking the four major zones, any building within them became instantly recognizable. With the construction of Starlight Boulevard, King William II decided to turn the capital, Blaye, into a garden city. The slums were cleared, old houses demolished, and dirty, disorderly, and unsafe areas were removed to build new wooden houses and markets for commoners.

    The poor borrowed money from the Night Prince to buy these wooden houses, and they could repay the debt by working on the construction site of Rody Academy.

    In just three months, the capital of Camaron, Blaye, transformed into a garden city.

    Its nightscape was rated as one of the top five in the world. Bathed in magical light, the capital shone brilliantly. Tourists walking on Starlight Boulevard were so delighted they didn¡¯t want to leave. There were elegant clubs for the nobility and pubs frequented by common mercenaries. Various specialties and cuisines from around the world could be tasted here.

    No one who visited Blaye could help but admire its civilization, beauty, and prosperity.

    Camaron was the only country in the world where every household hung their national flag from their windows and planted flowers and trees at their doorsteps, maintaining abundant greenery.

    If a tourist walks on the streets of Camaron, they would see more smiles, nods, and hat-tipping than in any ten countries they have visited combined.

    They would encounter more magicians, swordsmen, mercenaries, and artists in Camaron than in any other ten countries in the world.

    All of this is due to the influence of two people. One is King William of Camaron, whose enlightened policies have dramatically transformed the city. The other is the prince from the Abyss. Without him, even with King William''s reformative intentions, there would likely be neither the financial means nor the capability. It can be said that all the changes and ideas in Camaron, including the now-completed Starlight Boulevard and the still under-construction Rody Academy, originate from the ingenious ideas of the Night Prince.

    He generously spent money, not to flaunt wealth, but to assist the world.

    In this entire process, the Night Prince gained nothing materialistically, but he did harvest countless joys, gratitude, and respect...

    The people of Camaron are grateful to and respect him.

    The Night Prince''s status in their hearts, unspoken though it may be, has seemingly surpassed that of the king and even the Pope of the temple.

    People cannot repay him, for the Prince lacks nothing. He has everything. Except for continually praying for him in their hearts, people can do no more, and for this reason, the Night Prince appears even more noble in the eyes of the world. He is not human, nor a fellow countryman of the continent, but from the endless darkness of the Abyss. Yet no one sees him as an outsider; in everyone''s heart, he is a friend, even family.

    The magic journalists had people in over a hundred countries vote for the world''s most famous cities, and Camaron''s capital, Blaye, was voted as the "City of Smiles."

    Among the pictures used for voting was one of the Night Prince smiling.

    However, while people celebrated the gradual construction of Rody Academy and Blaye''s daily beautification, observant individuals noticed the Night Prince''s smile growing increasingly rare. He became reclusive, seldom appearing in public, his eyes gradually showing the same pained expression once seen in the miraculous child Rody...

    What happened to him?

    Was he ill? Homesick? Had he been away from the Abyss for too long and wished to return home?

    People speculated, but no one knew what exactly had happened.

    A month later, people noticed significant changes in the rarely-seen Night Prince during the award ceremony of the "Rody Cup ¨C Decathlon Final." He appeared paler and thinner, with longer hair, resembling a sickly person. The always healthy Night Prince seemed unwell, causing great concern among the people of Camaron. They prayed for him and inquired with Finance Minister Mike, who was close to the Night Prince.

    But even Minister Mike knew nothing...

    Nicholas the butler tactfully announced that the Prince was missing his homeland and would soon leave Camaron to return to the Abyss. Although the excuse was plausible, even a fool could tell it was just that, an excuse.

    Something must have happened to make the Night Prince leave Camaron.

    The first thing to rule out was the people''s respect for him, and secondly, King William II''s attitude towards the Night Prince. The King treated him like a brother, often sneaking out of the palace with the Queen to visit the Prince''s residence for intimate gatherings. Their relationship was very harmonious. The third possible influence on the Night Prince was the temple''s protests, but the temple''s voice was almost ignored by the people of Camaron. Though not everything went smoothly for the Night Prince, his numerous bold ideas were realized within Camaron, and even the dark products banned by the temple were quietly displayed on the shelves of shops.

    So, what was the reason for the Night Prince''s intention to return to the Abyss?

    The people were truly baffled...

    Nearly a hundred thousand citizens gathered on Starlight Boulevard to pray for the Night Prince''s health, hoping he would stay in the capital of Camaron, at least until Rody Academy was completed. If he did not attend the opening, it would deeply disappoint the students and staff of the Academy.

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    The Night Prince was moved and promised to stay as long as possible, living among them.

    A month later, to the delight of the people, the Night Prince''s health seemed to improve, and he began attending various events again.

    Except for a few anxious individuals, most people breathed a sigh of relief.

    Of course, people did not forget to toast to the Prince''s health before every drink. If the Night Prince remained healthy forever, it would be a blessing for the world.

    ...

    One day, an elderly woman knelt in front of the Night Prince''s door.

    Nicholas gave her some silver coins, but the old woman refused them, insisting on seeing the Night Prince.

    "Please, I want to see the Prince. I''ve come from far away and need his help," she pleaded. "Let me in to speak with him, even if just for a minute."

    "What does she want?" Rody asked, returning from outside.

    "Prince, please help me," the old woman cried, clutching Rody''s legs. "Great and majestic Prince, listen to an old woman''s plea. I have a son, tall and handsome, the bravest knight in the world..."

    "Do you want me to recommend him to the royal guard as a knight?" Rody asked.

    "No, he''s already the captain of the personal guard of the Lord of Bain. Here''s what happened, please let me explain slowly. The Lord of Bain has a beautiful daughter who loves my son, and he is smitten with her. They were about to marry, but my son''s rival, a noble from Bain, accused us of being lowly commoners unworthy of marrying the Lord''s daughter," the old woman sobbed. "Prince, as you see, I am a commoner, surviving by washing clothes for others. My son grew up in a poor area and had to lie about our family being minor nobility to enter the knight academy since they don''t admit commoners... Now, the Lord''s daughter, to verify that my son did not deceive her, has decided to visit us..."

    "I understand," Rody smiled. "How can I help you? Grant him minor nobility status?"

    "Though it''s presumptuous, Prince, I beg you for the Dark Magic Spring..." the old woman wept. "If the Lord''s daughter sees my aged face and tree-bark-like hands, she will surely see through my son''s lie. I''ve borrowed a small villa in the suburbs from my employers of thirty years, along with some old furniture. Just a little Dark Magic Spring from you, Prince, and perhaps the Lord''s daughter won''t recognize our poor status. Please, you can''t understand the pain in a mother''s heart. I gave birth to a son but had nothing to offer him, not even a decent home. Since childhood, I could only feed him leftovers from the masters'' tables. Just when he''s about to start a family, this misfortune strikes..."

    "You are a great mother. Before fulfilling your wish, I want to ask, are you still laundering clothes?" Rody inquired.

    "My son''s school fees were all provided by my kind employer. I pray to the gods daily, grateful for her kindness. She is more of a mother to my child than I am. Although I could pay off my debts in another ten years, I sincerely hope to launder clothes for my employer for the rest of my life, as I have no other skills to offer her," the old woman quietly replied.

    "One last question, how long has your son graduated from the academy? Did he just get promoted to captain of the personal guard?" Rody asked.

    "No, my son earned the Lord of Bain''s appreciation through sweat and effort. Though he became the captain just three years after graduating, he worked a hundred times harder than anyone else," the old woman proudly spoke of her son.

    "I see," Rody nodded. "If there''s time, have your son visit me, and I will give him the Dark Magic Spring."

    "But, Your Highness, my son has been injured by those villains and is currently bedridden. He cannot come here. Now, the only hope for my son and me lies in your grace. Please, I have heard of your kindness and generosity. Please help us, and we will always pray for you!" the old woman cried out in distress.

    "No, mother, don''t do this..." From afar, a young man leaning on crutches appeared, struggling to walk and shouting, "No, you can''t kneel before a prince of the Abyss, mother. We are faithful followers of the God of Light, pure and devout. You must not kneel to a follower of darkness for my sake. Get up, mother, I cannot ask him for help!"

    "What did you say?" an onlooker, a mercenary, roared. "Do you want me to kill you? You ungrateful brat!"

    "Kill him!" someone already drew their sword.

    "If I don''t break the other leg of this guy, my name isn''t Ganna. Damn it, you sanctimonious trash, how dare you insult the Prince? You should be licking the boots of the temple''s bishop, not barking here. Camaron doesn''t welcome you, understand?" A mercenary leader rushed forward, grabbed the young man''s collar, scolded him, threw him to the ground, and kicked him fiercely.

    "You dark followers, you can kill me, but you can''t insult me! I am a knight of holy justice, and you heretics! You are not fit to judge me!" the young man defiantly cursed back.

    "Stop, don''t hit him, please, I beg you, don''t hit my son!" the old woman rushed to shield her beloved son with her body.

    "Everyone, stop." Rody waved his hand, and the mercenaries and angry bystanders reluctantly backed off, staring at the young man with murderous eyes.

    "Mother, don''t beg that illegitimate child of the dark demon, the root of all evil. The priests and bishops in the temple have said, he''s a devil that tempts people, even his appearance is that of someone else. This person does not exist; he''s an incarnation of the dark demon... Mother, let''s go back! We are poor, but we have our dignity; we don''t need to depend on others!" the young man firmly got up, grasping his crying mother, and tried to leave.

    "Get out, and don''t let me see you again, or I''ll kill you!" the mercenaries would have attacked him if Rody hadn''t stopped them.

    "Wait," Rody called out to the young man.

    "I know you''ll be furious. You''ll execute me for offending you, you deceitful devil. Using your despicable and shameless ways, you''ve deluded the people. Have I spoken what''s in your heart? Come on, kill me! If I die, I''ll ascend to heaven and look down mockingly at your pettiness and insignificance," the young man said as he saw Rody approaching, continually spewing hateful words.

    "Speaking loudly doesn''t mean you are right," Rody slightly smiled and said, "Don''t worry, I won''t kill you. Those who can die by my hand are all extraordinary strong beings. Why would I kill an ant like you? I came here to tell you, you don''t deserve to be a son, especially this old lady''s son!"

    "What did you say? You devil!" the young man shouted in anger.

    "I''m not wrong, you don''t even deserve to be a man! Honestly, in my eyes, your pride and arrogance are worse than the lowest trash. You''re a waste of food living in this world!" Rody stared at the young man and said, "A mother, picking food from the trash, raising her son with hardships, sending him to a knight academy, graduating and becoming a captain of the city lord¡¯s personal guard, admired by the city lord''s daughter. How glorious and happy your son is, but what about her? Still laundering clothes for her employer to repay your tuition fees, kneeling before me, a prince from the Abyss, begging for help. Isn''t she pitiful? She is pitiable not because of her miserable fate, but because of you, for having a son worse than trash!"

    "You¡­" the young man was so angry he was speechless.

    "Look at your mother''s hands, dry and cracked like old bark. What does that say? That''s mocking your mouth!" Rody scoffed, "Look at your mother''s face, old and sorrowful, her head full of white hair. Now look at yourself, dressed in a knight''s fine clothes, and then look at your mother, her clothes full of patches, probably not changed for many years. Look, your great mother, how beautiful and noble she is, but what about you? You, full of sacred righteousness, how ugly and insignificant you are... You are like a vampire, sucking your mother''s blood and life, like a worm, hollowing out her youth and body. You''ve grown up, about to start a family, and you start to despise your ugly mother. She affects your future, right? Your fianc¨¦e won''t like her, a knight like you, your status doesn''t match her lowly poverty. She also affects your marriage, she couldn''t provide you a happy family, right? Young knight, stand in front of your mother, say you''ve never despised her, never felt inferior because of her poverty! Say you''ve always loved her, worked hard to repay and care for her in her old age, making her smile every day, deeply proud of her son. Are you really such a good son?"

    "You dogshit knight, even as a mercenary, I am a hundred times better than you. At least my mother never had to launder clothes every day to pay for my tuition. How dare you pretend to be holy and benevolent in front of us? Go to hell! Trash!" the mercenary leader Gan Na loudly ridiculed.

    "Facing this guy, I feel so proud of myself," a mercenary laughed.

    "I suddenly realized that I am actually a great filial son. Ah, it turns out that I, a small mercenary, am much better than a knightly lord!" someone mocked coldly.

    "Mother, I''m sorry, I''ve wronged you!" the young man wept bitterly, unable to argue back. Rody''s words pierced his heart like a knife, causing him immeasurable pain.

    Everyone around jeered at him, causing him to kneel down in defeat.

    He hugged the old woman, crying like a child.

    "Prince, you are right, but he is still my son, my pride, my hope. Please forgive him, he''s young and impulsive. I beg of you, please forgive him..." the old woman quickly kneeled before Rody, pleading earnestly, fearing that Rody might command her son to be executed. If they offended someone as revered as the Prince of the Abyss in the capital of Carmel, they could not hope to leave the city alive.

    "Young knight, see, your mother kneels for you again. Don''t you feel ashamed? Is this how you act as a son? I truly pity your mother!" Rody helped the old woman up, saying, "Old mother, you are a great mother. I respect you, and your request will be granted immediately. As for forgiveness, I promise you, there will be no hard feelings."

    "Madam, here is your Dark Abyss Spring," Nicholas, the butler, presented a bottle of the Dark Abyss Spring.

    "Thank you, Prince. You are as generous as the legends say. I will pray for you, thank you so much!" the old woman took it, thanking him profusely.

    "Also, you will receive a real house and the status of a minor noble." Nicholas handed her a badge, saying, "This is a noble badge given by Minister Mack, considering your son''s resistance and irrationality towards our prince''s identity. We, the Abyss, will not bestow upon you the title of a dark noble. As the prince''s butler, I respect you greatly, madam. But for your son, I am greatly disappointed."

    "Young knight, you rashly accused the prince without knowing the truth, which is an unforgivable mistake. As a knight of Carmel, you should have shown utmost respect to the prince, but you didn''t. Your actions, if not for the prince''s merciful forgiveness, even His Majesty would not have spared you!" Mack, the finance minister who came to greet Rody, sternly criticized: "Look around you, does anyone share your views? Understand this, your thoughts are a gross misjudgment! You should walk along the Starlight Boulevard or visit the Rody Academy to quickly understand what is right!"

    "I admit that I haven''t done enough for my mother, and I admit that the Prince of the Night has spent a lot of money in Kamarun, but, I am always a knight of God," the young man''s faith in God remained unshakably firm.

    "A knight of God? Ha ha." Rody laughed loudly: "Go back! Knight of God, take your mother with you, and don''t forget, you are still her son!"

    "No need to go back!" A woman''s voice, suppressing anger, said: "I say, knight of God, not only did you hide the duel from me, but also went to Kamarun to vigorously promote your righteousness. Good, I said I would go to your house to see, just to see if you would acknowledge your mother, but I didn''t expect it to embarrass you so much. You think I don''t know? The lady who has your mother doing laundry, she''s my aunt. If it weren''t for her, do you think any master would lend their house and furniture for her son''s wedding chamber? Bowen, you really disappoint me..."

    "Is it you?" The young man was stunned when he saw the beautiful woman emerging from the crowd.

    "If I cared about your status, would I be willing to marry you, the captain of the personal guard, or you, the knight of God? I like your effort and strength, but I very much dislike your inferiority, your inferiority disguised as arrogance in front of others. Your knight''s identity has become a shield to cover your inferiority, never willing to put it down! What do you want to tell me? Also that you are a knight of God, that I, a mundane woman, am not worthy of you?" The beautiful woman stepped forward and slapped the young man hard.

    "Well hit, this guy deserves a beating!" The mercenaries clapped and whistled.

    "Apologize! Apologize now!" The beautiful woman shouted angrily.

    "I, I''m sorry, Cecilia, I..." The young man was both embarrassed and ashamed, barely able to stand, and finally apologized in a low voice.

    "You''re wrong, completely wrong." The beautiful woman said shrilly: "You''re not aware of your mistake at all, I really can''t forgive you. Know this? The person you really should apologize to is not me, nor your mother, because a few words of apology can''t make up for her. The person you really should apologize to is the Prince of the Night standing in front of you! If he weren''t the Prince of the Night, replaced by another prince, you would have been sent to the gallows long ago, and your mother would have been kicked to the streets, maybe already dead, rather than holding the Dark Magic Spring and a noble crest! I say, knight of God, you really should be ashamed, I''m blushing for you. You accuse such a beloved prince, is it not because of jealousy? Don''t you feel guilty deep down? For the little bit that I still like you, this is the last chance, Bowen, if you are a knight of God, fine, then go! And never come to find me again, I like sons who honor their mothers, sons of the poor who work hard, not knights of God!"

    "Apologize quickly, apologize to the prince, you, you really anger me!" The old woman, who had never dared to hit her son in her life, couldn''t help but slap him, and then hurriedly knelt down to apologize to Rody.

    "No need..." Rody helped up the old woman, laughing loudly: "I don''t need insincere apologies, being able to see a great mother has already comforted my heart the most. I wish you happiness, old mother, and all the mothers in the world, including my own, eternal happiness!"

    "Please forgive me, Prince, I, I realize my mistake." The young man threw away his crutch, knelt down heavily, tears streaming down his face.

    "Go back," Rody said with a smile: "You don''t need my forgiveness, just now, I wasn''t speaking to you as a prince, but as a brother. The magical youngster Rody once said: In front of a great mother, we are all brothers. I envy you for having such a loving mother, and I am also proud, because I have a similarly great and loving mother. What a person does is not important, the most important thing is not to make one''s mother cry..."

 Chapter 168: The Fall, The Last Gift of the Prince of the Night

    The words, "Do not let your mother cry for you," deeply moved the people of Kamarun.

    Although there was no standard or directive from His Majesty, people suddenly started respecting their parents more. Even those who rarely cared for or looked after their parents, including some who had significant conflicts with their parents, gradually improved their relationships. Suddenly, one day, people realized that the streets were filled with more elderly faces, or rather, more smiling faces of the elderly.

    Because of this good atmosphere, His Majesty William II, after consulting with the Prince of the Night, decided to establish the ''Elderly Welfare Foundation.''

    This fund was to ensure the well-being of elderly people who had no children or whose children had died in battle. Many poor elderly people were brought into the capital of Kamarun and housed in warm wooden cottages, no longer having to worry about food and warmth, surrounded by their elderly peers.

    Once the Prince of the Night initiated donations, nobles also hurriedly opened their purses, eager to prove their moral nobility.

    Merchants who had business dealings with the Prince of the Night were even more enthusiastic in their donations. They did not want the Prince to think of them as people who disrespected the elderly or were unfilial. Regardless of their previous treatment of their parents, they immediately changed their behavior, especially those who had previously neglected or mistreated their parents.

    Some people with a more far-sighted view could see another aspect in this matter.

    Through the attitude of that young knight, people could see that the Temple''s smearing and attacks on the Prince of the Night had reached an unprecedented level. Perhaps they couldn''t do much in the capital of Kamarun, but in Bo''an City outside the capital, through the young knight''s hostile attitude towards the Prince of the Night, it was clear that the Temple had never stopped their schemes and attacks against the Prince.

    Magic reporters published some bold speculations and comments, causing the people of Kamarun, who had just relaxed, to become anxious again.

    Even some magic reporters suspected that the Prince of the Night''s several long periods of rest were actually due to assassination attempts by unknown forces. As soon as this speculation came out, the entire city of Kamarun was in an uproar.

    Regarding this, magic reporters skilled in digging up news, under the immense pressure of the city''s eager emotions, finally found a breakthrough. From someone well-versed in royal affairs, they learned that the royal guards had encountered several terrorist attacks while protecting the Prince of the Night, although the condition of the Prince''s health was unknown. It was certain, however, that almost every time the Prince went out for inspections, there would be attacks of varying severity, especially a recent one involving an assassin of the Sword Emperor level.

    This news shocked the people of Kamarun.

    No wonder the complexion of the Prince of the Night was getting paler; it turned out he was being attacked by assassins, he was injured... No wonder he wanted to return to the Magic Abyss. It turns out, the city of Kamarun had become an unsafe place to live, a battlefield with constant threats to his life.

    Who exactly attacked the Prince of the Night?

    Remember, as early as during the salon banquet hosted by Marshal Gorton, an assassin had once harmed the Prince of the Night, fortunately, the Duchess cried out for help in time.

    Unexpectedly, the Prince of the Night had never lived safely among us; he endured pain and built the Starlight Avenue and the Rody Academy for everyone; he bore the ruthless assassinations of mankind and established the Elderly Welfare Foundation for everyone; he walked under the shadow of death, attending the award ceremony of the Strongman Challenge. He gave so much for humanity, but in return, he received the most heartbreaking assassination.

    No wonder, like the magical youngster Rody, the Prince of the Night also showed that sorrowful look in his eyes. Because now, he, just like the magical youngster Rody of the past, in their most selfless and giving moments, were betrayed, assassinated, and abandoned by humanity¡­ The Prince of the Night and the magical youngster Rody, like twin stars, both had such heartbreaking fates.

    One possessed endless wisdom, comparable to a god. The other possessed countless wealth, rich enough to rival a nation. And what they did, was all for the countless people of the world, for the commoners they never knew. But they, who should have been worshipped like heroes of the world, respected like the sages of the world, shared the same fate.

    Could it be that history was to repeat itself? Was the tragedy to be replayed?

    The people of Kamarun were angered. They gathered in large numbers on the streets, spontaneously surrounding and protecting the residence of the Prince of the Night, taking turns with tens of thousands of people to ensure his safety.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    This deeply moved the Prince of the Night, and he repeatedly urged the people to leave and return home.

    "Kamarun can be without me, but Kamarun cannot be without you!" The captain of the mercenaries, Gana, greatly admired the Prince of the Night, but for the first time, he refused the Prince''s advice, determined to stay outside the Prince''s residence with his brothers to protect him. Although their strength was not strong and could not provide much protection, they still exerted their best effort.

    "Without me, the stars in the sky will still shine just as brightly..." The Prince of the Night uttered a very ominous statement, casting a shadow over many hearts.

    ...

    Half a month passed, and under the persuasion of the Prince of the Night, people gradually dispersed and returned to their work.

    Except for the stubborn members like Captain Gana who refused to leave, everyone else was reassured to let the royal guards take over the task of guarding, as His Majesty William II had already sent additional royal guards to protect the Prince of the Night multiple times.

    Just when people thought that the malicious criminals would be somewhat intimidated by the immense power of the people, they soon realized they were wrong.

    On a starless, cloud-covered night, the palace atop the mountain suddenly caught fire. Hundreds of powerful masked criminals were slaughtering the palace guards, attempting to break into the palace to assassinate His Majesty William II. Under the brave resistance of many court magicians and royal knights, a fierce battle ensued with swords clashing and magic flying, resulting in countless deaths and injuries. The flames that rose painted half the sky red.

    Generals like Marshal Gorton and numerous knights and magicians in the city all rushed to provide support.

    A bloody battle finally repelled the enemy.

    His Majesty William II only suffered minor injuries from the fierce assassin''s attack, and the queen was safe and sound, which initially relieved everyone. But people soon realized their mistake because the target of the enemy''s attack was not the heavily guarded palace, nor His Majesty William II, but the Prince of the Night.

    The assassins who attacked the Prince of the Night were not many, only twenty in number. But among them, nine were Sword Emperors or Magic Kings.

    The remaining eleven, who were either Sky Warriors or Earth Warriors, demonstrated formidable strength, causing the royal guards left behind to be almost instantly defeated. As for the mercenaries with weaker abilities, they all fell to the ground under the fierce shockwaves of the Magic Kings¡¯ magic. The assailants¡¯ attack was extremely brief, lasting only a minute, and by the time people arrived, the Prince of the Night was already lying in a pool of blood.

    The mighty Magic Generals and Dark Knights, as well as the Starlight Butterfly Girl, and all the treasures of the Prince of the Night, could not protect him. Because, the enemy used divine-level weapons.

    The fight awoke the entire populace of Kamarun. As everyone poured onto the streets in panic, they heard the Prince of the Night¡¯s farewell. The thing people feared and worried about most had happened. The Prince of the Night finally also stepped into the tragic destiny of the magical youngster Rody. Like twin stars, they were the most perfect men in the world, adored by the people, and at the same time, deeply loathed by criminals.

    ¡°I know, I am but a shadow¡­¡± The voice of the Prince of the Night spread throughout the capital of Kamarun, his last words on this human continent.

    ¡°In the Magic Abyss, I greatly admired heroes, hoping that one day I could also become a hero, a beloved figure, a man cheered by millions. I wished to be great, yearning for infinite wisdom, desiring outstanding military talent and unrivaled strength in the world, but I didn¡¯t have it¡­ Apart from being a prince of the underworld, I had nothing else. I wished to be like Rody, but I am not him, I could never replace his place in everyone¡¯s hearts¡­ Yet, even to be his shadow, I am willing. Without a fan club to cheer for me, it''s alright, I still wish to be Rody. Chris from Rody City resisted me entering the city, I don¡¯t mind, I still wish to be Rody. I can¡¯t replace him in everyone¡¯s hearts, but in my heart, I still wish to do something for everyone, to let everyone know, once there was my existence in the world¡­"

    ¡°Prince, woo woo woo!¡± Countless people, upon hearing this, were moved to tears.

    Everyone thought that the Prince of the Night transformed into Rody¡¯s likeness because Rody¡¯s appearance was very heroic and handsome, a perfect incarnation, so unique that he took on his form.

    But unexpectedly, the Prince of the Night transformed into Rody because he admired the magical youngster, hoping to be as outstanding and popular as him.

    People recalled everything the Prince of the Night did in Kamarun, indeed, in every deed, there was a shadow of Rody. Even if there wasn¡¯t much relation to Rody, the Prince of the Night still wished to be associated with the magical youngster, attributing the glory to Rody, not himself¡­ It turned out he so desperately wanted to become Rody, to become a human.

    ¡°I am a shadow, Rody¡¯s shadow. I cannot become Rody; I don¡¯t have his wisdom and strength. He alone can defeat orcs and demons, confront the Temple and angels. I cannot, I¡­ I am just a shadow.¡±

    ¡°The stars in the sky, though eternal, also have a day when they fall¡­¡±

    ¡°Actually, I am very afraid of death, always worried that my starlight will dim and then fall. Among the stars in the sky, the brightest one does not belong to me, but to the magical youngster Rody and his companions. I am just a very small star in the galaxy, unnoticed by anyone¡­ Coming to the human land was a very dangerous thing, I knew before coming that there would be an ending like today¡­ But, I have no regrets about my decision.¡±

    ¡°No, Prince, you will not die, the night always belongs to you, your starlight will never fade!¡± Hearing this, people cried out in pain.

    ¡°You will definitely be fine, please, we beg you, you must recover!¡± Someone cried until they fainted.

    ¡°If a star wants to become the brightest and most dazzling star in the sky, then it must burn itself, emitting its greatest light for people to see its existence. Just like me, I burned myself, coming to the land of humans, making every person in the world recognize me. Now, I have burned to the end... The day of my fall has arrived... I feel very peaceful in my heart, with no sorrow, only a bit of reluctance. People of Kamarun, I will always remember you, your laughter, your cheers, everything about you, are my most precious treasures.¡±

    ¡°No, don''t go...¡± The entire city of Kamarun mourned, everyone heartbroken, their hearts bleeding.

    ¡°I am an inconspicuous little star, a shadow in the darkness, I... am everyone''s friend. People of Kamarun, I love humans so much. If the Goddess of the Night hears my prayer, in my next life, let me become a human living among you all! Even if I''m no longer a prince, but an ordinary person, a boy who walks on the streets and smiles foolishly at everyone, that would be good too... Friends, although I am reluctant, I have to say goodbye to everyone... Before parting, I want to give you all one last gift. I wish for the underworld to rescue the magical youngster Rody from the despairing hell and return him to your side... He will surely do better than me. I believe he won¡¯t disappoint everyone... Friends, I will forever quietly listen to your hearts in the endless darkness, wishing you eternal happiness and joy¡­¡±

    The people of Kamarun all saw the starlight.

    In the night sky covered by dark clouds, a bright star appeared, drawing a long arc and rapidly disappearing into the night. Its appearance and disappearance were swift, that beautiful yet brief arc, as if also crossing the hearts of the people, leaving behind a bloody wound.

    The four Starlight Maidens, holding the Prince of the Night whose body was turning into dissipating starlight, shot into the sky, together tearing through space-time, tearfully returning to the Magic Abyss.

    The Magic General, the Dark Knights under the steward Nicholas, all abandoned everything, closely following.

    The Prince of the Night, like a meteor, amazed the whole world with his appearance, but soon, like a meteor, he disappeared, leaving the whole world grieving for him¡­

 Chapter 169: Mourning, The Lament of the People of Kamarun

    The fall of the Prince of the Night shook the world.

    His Majesty William II of Kamarun declared that this day would forever be known as the ''National Day of Mourning.'' He ordered a national mourning for seven consecutive days, with flags at half-mast and white flowers hung at every household, in memory of the greatest friend of humanity, the most intimate family member of the world, the Prince of the Night. His Majesty William II personally addressed the world in a hoarse and sorrowful voice, proclaiming the Prince of the Night as his brother, a son of Kamarun, a star shining in the human world. A colossal statue of him would be erected in the heart of the capital for all to admire. Any voice of dissent or opposition was considered hostile to Kamarun, and the people of Kamarun would retaliate against such enemies with war.

    ¡°If anyone protests or opposes my statue being placed in the city center, I will not be angry, for I am not yet great enough. But my brother, the savior of the people of Kamarun, the prince from the Magic Abyss, another son given to our human land by the gods, the Prince of the Night, if any force dares to oppose, we in Kamarun will regard it as the assassin of the Prince of the Night and declare war on it!¡± His Majesty William II was furious, like an angry lion.

    Although as a monarch, his words were a bit extreme, they perfectly represented the feelings of the people of Kamarun.

    At the same time, millions of angry citizens furiously stormed the Temple.

    Whether they were Temple Knights or Temple Warriors, or even priests and Cardinals, all fled in panic. Some Kamarun clergy announced their departure from the church, leading the angry crowd in assaulting the Temple.

    In the main chambers of the Temple, people found loads of gold coins, alcohol, and obscene books, and in the magic teleportation room, they found shattered swords, armors, and suspicious bloodstains. All these discoveries further fueled the madness of the people of Kamarun. For the first time, people toppled the statues of gods, for the first time, they set fire to the Temple of Light they had built themselves, and for the first time, they declared the permanent expulsion of the Temple''s influence...

    Without the assassination of the Prince of the Night, people would not have been so angry, nor would they have impulsively expelled the Temple¡¯s personnel, nor discovered the ugliness and filth hidden under the guise of sanctity.

    ¡°Give us justice, give us fairness, give us faith¡­¡±

    ¡°Expel the Temple, expel the evil!¡±

    Apart from weeping for the assassination of the Prince of the Night, the furious people roared throughout the night, demanding His Majesty William II to hold the Temple accountable. They piled up blood-stained armors, broken swords, obscene books, and magic paintings, all the illegal alcohol and hoarded gold coins, as evidence of the Temple personnel¡¯s crimes, high on a platform. Then they captured all this with memory crystals and broadcast it to the world.

    In Kamarun, everything related to the Temple, whether the Truth Report or the worship places where believers received communion and holy water, was smashed to pieces by the people.

    Many who declared their departure from priesthood bravely stepped forward, revealing various ugly truths about the Temple, causing public outrage.

    Of course, more people, especially women, gathered outside the estate of the Prince of the Night, mourning his assassination. In every corner of Kamarun, there were sounds of crying, every inch of land wet with people¡¯s tears.

    The capital of Kamarun, Blaye, tonight, was destined to be a city of tears.

    People desperately prayed for the night not to pass, for the dark dawn not to arrive, not to let the falling starlight of the Prince of the Night be obliterated¡­ But the brilliance of the sun did not diminish because of people''s prayers. On the contrary, it shone even brighter than usual. The night disappeared under thousands of golden rays, deepening the grief in people''s hearts.

    The sun rose, the night disappeared, and the death of the Prince of the Night became an irreversible fact.

    How the people of Kamarun wished that the four Starlight Maidens would bring the Prince of the Night back, descending slowly from the sky, returning to everyone¡¯s side. But as the sun rose, everyone¡¯s heart shattered.

    The dearest and most beloved star in everyone''s heart had truly fallen, fallen forever...

    The whole world experienced a tremendous shock at the moment of the Prince of the Night¡¯s assassination. People woke up in the middle of the night, startled by the spontaneous magic alarm bells of mourning from various countries, their hands and feet ice cold. The Prince of the Night was assassinated under the watchful eyes of hundreds of thousands of Kamarun''s citizens, leaving the world in misfortune. The farewell recording of the Prince of the Night was played over and over again, causing countless people to cry out in heart-wrenching sorrow.

    In front of the magic screens, people felt the world''s abandonment of them, their hopes shattered, mourning the departure of the Prince of the Night and their own abandonment of faith.

    In countless hearts, there was a sense of being shattered.

    ¡°I am an inconspicuous little star, a shadow in the darkness, I... am everyone¡¯s friend.¡±

    ¡°People of Kamarun, I love humans so much, if the Goddess of the Night hears my prayer, let me become a human living among you in my next life! Even if not a prince, but an ordinary person, a boy who walks on the streets and smiles foolishly at everyone, that would be good¡­¡±

    ¡°Friends, although I am reluctant, I must say goodbye to everyone¡­¡±

    ¡°Before parting, I want to give everyone one last gift. I wish for the underworld to rescue the magical youngster Rody from the despairing hell and bring him back to your side¡­ He will surely do better than me, I believe he won¡¯t disappoint everyone¡­ Friends, I will forever quietly listen to your hearts in the endless darkness, wishing you eternal happiness and joy¡­¡±

    The final farewell of the Prince of the Night left thousands of people in tears.

    A prince of the Magic Abyss, labeled by the Temple as the root of evil, showed no hatred for humanity''s ruthlessness after his assassination. He did not seek revenge from the underworld for himself. Instead, he hoped to be reborn as a human and for the underworld to attack hell to rescue the magical youngster Rody and return him to the human continent.

    The broad-mindedness and attitude of this prince from the Magic Abyss could move even the most hard-hearted and stubborn people to kneel and repent. Before losing him, people also had a bit of fear and worry in their hearts; after all, the Prince of the Night was not a human but a prince from the Magic Abyss, a terrifying place of legend filled with demonic creatures. The Temple was also capitalizing on this, desperately propagating the threat of the Magic Abyss. But what people didn''t expect was that in the moment of the Prince of the Night¡¯s death, he did not utter a single word about the underworld taking revenge on humanity. On the contrary, he was as kind and benevolent as a god.

    Only upon losing the Prince of the Night did people realize their regret, understand the value of what they had, and recognize how selfish and wrong their slight worries had been.

    With shame and grief, people wept aloud.

    People were grieving for the departure of the Prince of the Night, and they also felt ashamed of their own doubts and selfishness... Compared to the Prince of the Abyss, they, who considered themselves kind and just, were so selfish, so insignificant. Only upon losing the Prince of the Night did people realize that a treasure bestowed by the gods to save them had been callously shattered due to their own lack of appreciation... Before this, humanity had already lost the magical youngster Rody, and now, they had let the Prince of the Night meet the same fate.

    How could people not cry?

    ...

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    ¡°I always considered myself heartless, having been a magic reporter for decades, accustomed to life and death, unfazed by the corpses strewn across battlefields, by the sight of countless dying before my eyes. Yes, I am such a heartless man. I always thought my heart had turned into a piece of cold stone, but this morning, I discovered I am still human, still capable of tears, still normal. In the face of great sorrow enveloping the human sky, I cried... As I wept, I wrote this report, my tears wetting my manuscript... It tells me that a truly unfortunate event worthy of my tears has occurred! The Prince of the Night, whom I always feared would bring misfortune, has left... How I wish he could slap me hard, because that would make my heart feel a little better¡­¡± The white-haired war reporter Uso published his mourning report.

    ¡°I am a prince of humanity, and I think when I went to the Magic Abyss, it was impossible to build the Starlight Avenue or the Rody Academy for them. The actions of the Prince of the Night have left me utterly ashamed. Apart from paying my deep respects to him, I can¡¯t think of anything else to do.¡± Prince Norn Shrelix also published a mourning article in the magic newspaper.

    ¡°A great sorrow envelops the human sky, as that star falls, our most loyal friend leaves us.¡± The Capital Galle Express.

    ¡°The departure of the Prince of the Night is the greatest loss to the world.¡± The Morning News of Goth City.

    ¡°At the time of solemn mourning, what are the clergy of the Temple doing? We actually saw their smiling faces, they seem to be celebrating some kind of victory!¡± The newspaper of the Dennis Free Alliance not only published the sad news of the death of the Prince of the Night but also featured the smiling face of the local bishop of the Temple, causing great anger among the people. In the afternoon, the Dennis Free Alliance erupted in protest marches.

    ¡°Before our tears dry, the blurred vision from tears made me notice a terrifying fact, some assassins were actually holding divine weapons! Which country in the world has assassins with the strength of nine Sword Emperors and Magic Kings? Which country possesses divine weapons? Millions of people, let us call out together, we need the truth!¡± The ¡®Voice of the People¡¯ magic newspaper of Bo''an City pointed directly at the Temple, following the incident of the old woman blessed by the Prince of the Night, Bo''an City''s faith in the Temple plummeted.

    ¡°The departure of the Prince of the Night is regrettable.¡± The magic newspaper of the country of Redlands published a lukewarm sentence, causing strong dissatisfaction among the people.

    ¡°I just want to say, the Prince of the Night did not belong in the human kingdom, he should have returned to the Magic Abyss long ago, to be with the simple-minded demonic insects.¡± The magic newspaper of Great Frey even lacked a fair word, outright mocking.

    ¡°Although it might be a bit too much to say, I think humans should prepare for war, as the underworld will definitely not let this go. The Prince of the Night was undoubtedly great, but who can say that everyone in the underworld is as kind and benevolent as the Prince of the Night?¡± Some countries'' magic newspapers expressed concern over the incident.

    "The gods will punish us, for we have destroyed what they bestowed upon us, humanity will surely face retribution¡­" The King of Naples mourned sorrowfully.

    "Yesterday, we lost the magical youngster Rody; today, we have lost the Prince of the Night; what son of the earth will we lose tomorrow? Is this really the will of the gods?" The military representative of the Holy Sanctum Alliance issued a strong statement, expressing their determination to assist the Kamarun Empire in pursuing the culprit to the end, without compromise or tolerance for any force.

    "I will pray for him, the Prince of the Night, he was a friend of humanity, my friend." The pure Saintess issued a eulogy in her personal capacity.

    She was the only one among all the people of the Temple to publicly make a statement. Before and after her, the upper echelons of the Temple were dead silent.

    The Temple refused any interviews, the Pope was in quiet prayer, and the high-ranking Cardinals also remained closed within the Temple. Except for a few countries, most temples in countries that had a favorable view of the Prince of the Night canceled their worship and prayers, and some even closed their doors to take refuge, fearing that crowds demonstrating like the people of Kamarun would storm the Temple.

    But the demonstrations and protests erupted more intensely.

    People, apart from mourning the misfortune of the Prince of the Night, also needed to know the truth, to track down the real culprit, to vent their inner rage¡­

    "Previously not, but since yesterday, the Prince of the Night has become our brother." Chris of Rody City also published a eulogy, acknowledging the Prince of the Night for the first time. Despite his previous extreme dissatisfaction with the Prince of the Night for using Rody''s appearance, even expelling the Prince from the city, today, he led the entire city in silent mourning.

    "The Prince of the Night, he was like my son. I liked him from the first sight, never hiding my affection. I asked him to call me mother, let him sit beside me, I shared bread and cake with him, just like I did with my own sons and daughters¡­ Whatever he did was so endearing, sometimes I was really jealous of his mother, how could she have such a good son¡­ His departure, although I knew it was coming, still left me washing my face with tears. My dear, your departure is the biggest reason for your stay, the more you wanted to stay, the more reluctant to leave, the more the evil forces hated you, the sooner you left us¡­ My dear, how I wish you returned to the Magic Abyss, to live safely, but at the same time, I couldn¡¯t bear to let you go, my heart is so conflicted¡­ Now, my only hope is that when I look up at the stars, you can smile at me, just like you used to smile¡­ My dear, I can¡¯t bear to let you go¡­¡± Queen Mireille issued her mourning eulogy, a heart-rending and tear-inducing voice.

    After Queen Mireille''s eulogy, people learned another truth.

    Months ago, the Prince of the Night had been attacked multiple times and was gravely injured. But the requests of the people made him abandon the idea of returning to the Magic Abyss. He couldn¡¯t bear to leave everyone, although His Majesty William II and Queen Mireille repeatedly advised him to leave and return when it was safe.

    But the calls of millions of people, the requests of countless citizens, ultimately led him to choose to stay.

    This stay also meant he would leave everyone forever.

    When the people of Kamarun heard this news, many cried until they fainted. They never thought that they were the biggest reason for the death of the Prince of the Night. Their reluctance to let him go, paradoxically, gave those malicious assassins the opportunity they needed to ultimately succeed... Kamarun was a nation in mourning, a nation of tears.

    His Majesty William II, during the visits of heads of state to pay tribute and remember the Prince of the Night, publicly revealed the Prince''s will to the world.

    "I know that even eternal stars fall one day, perhaps that day is not far from me... Despite the repeated advice of His Majesty William and Her Majesty the Queen, I still chose to stay in Kamarun, among everyone. My time is running out, and even if I die, I wish to die by everyone''s side. May the Goddess of the Night have mercy on me to let me live until the unveiling of the Rody Academy... Anyway, I have to arrange my affairs first. His Majesty William II, my brother, if I unfortunately meet with disaster, then he will take over all my finances. The money I have left is not much, only half a million, and the expenditures may be more than this, but I trust that His Majesty William II will do well, I trust my brother... All the demonic insects and demon flower seeds are to be handed over to Mr. Chris of Rody City, for him to handle. This is my small apology to him; I used Rody''s image, and I hope these little things can be of greater use in his hands. I trust him because he is also my brother... As for the Magic Spring and various magic fruit, I wish to gift them to Queen Mireille, as a sign of my respect. The careful and kind-hearted Her Majesty will surely know better how to arrange and distribute them... Even though you want to hear it, I have never said ''I love you, mom'' to you. Dear Queen, I am shy and do not feel worthy to be your son, so I only write it here secretly... As for the people of Kamarun, the people of the world, I have nothing left to give, only hope and happiness to leave with you, finally, I wish you eternal happiness, forever, forever..."

    The last words of the Prince of the Night, his final voice and smile, left everyone heartbroken.

    He left everything to humanity, he left hope to everyone, yet he died at the hands of human assassins, especially knowing such an outcome and still facing it with a smile. This unregretful and unresentful attitude caused people to feel as if their hearts were dripping blood, filled with tearing pain... Why? Why couldn''t everyone prevent such a tragedy?

    It was because of people''s cowardice, their indulgence. If people had earlier forcefully expelled the Temple and fully protected the Prince of the Night, then he would not have been assassinated, would not have died.

    No, it was the same with the magical youngster of the past, also because of people''s weakness, such a tragedy occurred.

    Thinking of this, people felt even more guilty, more self-reproachful, and wailed in great sorrow.

    ...

    The great sculptor Cha¡¤Rodan, with a hundred students, pulled out his secretly made sculpture work from his studio.

    It was a colossal statue, fifteen meters high.

    In the colossal base of the statue, two figures were carved, two identical figures. On the left, the magical youngster Rody, bound by divine chains and burned by divine fire; on the right, the Prince of the Night, dressed in opulent clothes with long hair like a river of stars. Both stood on the base, reaching out to each other, as if wanting to embrace tightly, but their bodies were forced back by an invisible force. Their closest fingertips were almost touching, yet still a paper''s width apart, unable to meet.

    Beneath the feet of the over ten-meter-tall statues, there was a small protrusion less than three centimeters high, with a hidden cross symbolizing the obstruction of the Temple. It was this minuscule thing that forced the two figures apart.

    People saw Master Rodan¡¯s ¡°V¡± shaped twin star design and were utterly heartbroken, their cries of anguish rising.

    Everyone remembered the previous protests of the Temple and various persecutions.

    Without a doubt, if not for them, perhaps the magical youngster Rody and the Prince of the Night could have embraced tightly. These two outstanding ''twin stars,'' together, would have definitely become the star of hope for humanity. But now, people could only watch helplessly as the twin stars were forced apart and cruelly assassinated. The sorrowful look in the eyes of both the divine-chain-bound Rody and the pale-faced, starry-haired Prince of the Night broke everyone''s heart...

    The ¡°V¡± shape symbolizing victory was the twin stars¡¯ most heartbreaking form. Whenever people saw the magical youngster and the Prince of the Night reaching out to each other under immense pressure, their hearts ached.

    Many parts of the twin stars were stained with fresh blood, adding to the tragedy.

    This was the blood spilled by Master Rodan during his intense work, to complete it before the unveiling of the Rody Academy, as a surprise for everyone, for the Prince of the Night, and as a blow to the Temple. Master Rodan had exhausted his life''s energy. In just a few months of sculpting, he aged fifty years, becoming gaunt and white-haired, his once steady hands now trembling uncontrollably. Although the Prince of the Night''s ankle and a part of Rody¡¯s chain were not yet completed, the death of the Prince had deeply affected Master Rodan, leaving him unable to continue.

    People did not care whether the statue was completed or not. They only knew that Master Rodan¡¯s soul was in it, everyone¡¯s soul was in it, the souls of the magical youngster Rody and the Prince of the Night were in it.

    Through their sorrowful yet resolute eyes, people continuously understood the hearts of the magical youngster and the Prince of the Night.

    ¡°In my lifetime, the work I am most satisfied with is this one. They are not stone, but our souls, our hope. I will not sculpt any other statues in my life, because my soul, my blood, has already been fully imbued in it... If it were up to my heart''s prayer, my hope, I would rather shatter it, to let the real magical youngster Rody and the Prince of the Night stand upon it, waving at us. But all I can do is sadly present this memory with their cold forms... They were the gifts of the gods, the gifts of the gods, the treasures of the earth, they once existed..."

    Master Rodan sat beneath the statue, crying loudly.

    Beside him, hundreds of artists, magicians, and sages, along with millions of people, mourned in unison.

    ¡°When you see the stars in the sky, will you think, think of me¡­¡±

    ¡°Will you remember my face from those days, that smiled for you, more than the stars¡­¡± The little doll singer sang a poem that the Prince of the Night had contemplated before his death, turning it into a lament in the tunes of the Magic Abyss. In front of millions of people of Kamarun, she played a huge magic harp, using her voice to remember the Prince of the Night, with a voice like the sound of heaven, a sorrowful melody, and the inner touch of the Prince of the Night, all transformed into unstoppable tears of the people at that moment.

    ¡°When you remember the past, what will you do? Will you sigh gently in sadness, remembering me, who shone in your heart¡­¡± The voice of the little doll singer made people reach out their hands to the dazzling starry sky, crying out in tears.

    ¡°I was like those Milky Way stars, silently loved by you, and let that gentle light ease your pain¡­¡± The poor fainted on the ground.

    ¡°When you see the bright stars, please think, think of me. When you have seen the brilliant galaxy, please, in your heart, remember me!¡± The little doll singer sang the heart of the Prince of the Night, and at that moment, whether

    it was His Majesty William II, Finance Minister Mack, Marshal Gorton, the heads of state and envoys of various countries, all shed manly tears. At that time, Kamarun was a city of crying, a night of crying¡­

 Chapter 170: Forward, to the Mysterious Land of the Seven Clans

    In the land of evil, Rody led an elite squad to battle against the orcs. Around a small tent and a campfire, Rody resumed his own identity, sitting in the center of everyone present. There weren''t many people there, besides Chris, Tommy, Terry, and Stanley, there was also the Doll Diva disguised as a little maid, and the great beauty Pandora. After ending his role as the Black Night Prince, Rody planned to step into the land of the seven clans at the moment the space-time rift opened, in search of Jill and the Succubus sisters, also preparing for the miraculous return of Rody from hell in the future.

    When the temple secretly breathed a sigh of relief at the death of the Black Night Prince, Rody would return to give them a big surprise. By then, not only the temples in the country of Camalon would be burnt down and overthrown by people. Rody''s goal was to completely expel the temples from the human continent, take over humanity''s faith, strengthen his own power, conquer the heavens, and return to the realm of the gods...

    His current task was to quickly gain the support of each race in the land of the seven clans, preparing for the future flattening of hell and the attack on heaven.

    "You, always making things so tragic when you leave, making me cry non-stop these past few days, shedding so many tears for nothing," Pandora complained. Even in front of Chris, Pandora was fearless, boldly sitting next to Rody, acting coquettishly like a little girl.

    "Your tears weren''t shed in vain. In a sense, the Black Night Prince is indeed dead," Rody sighed slightly and said, "If there really was a Black Night Prince, and it wasn''t me in disguise, then he would have truly died at the hands of the temple''s assassins."

    "I cried too, it''s annoying. It was all fake, but it was so moving!" The Doll Diva, disguised as a little maid, remained in character until she played a trick on the Black Night Prince with spicy noodles in the arena, and Rody recognized her. She was mischievous enough as the Doll Diva, but as a little maid, she was even more so, giving Rody a headache.

    "Hee hee, I still like the Black Night Prince more because he was full of treasures and a prince," Pandora of course liked the Black Night Prince. She could always find an excuse to see him, unlike with the miraculous little Rody, who, as the nominal queen of Camalon, she didn''t really know.

    "The temple has suffered a heavy blow, I doubt they have much prestige left," Stanley laughed heartily.

    "Seeing them in trouble, it''s really unspeakably satisfying," Tommy and others also nodded in agreement.

    "No, they still have power. The chance for them to rise from the ashes is great. We must take advantage of our victory to hit them hard, to prevent them from regrouping and turning defeat into victory. During this year Rody is in the land of the seven clans, we must unite with Camalon and Mille and other countries to strike at the temple as much as possible, using all means, especially magical newspapers and other propaganda means, to use public power to overwhelmingly crush the temple on moral grounds. If we can force the temple to show its true colors in front of the world, then their grand and holy image will completely collapse in people''s hearts. But now, it''s still early!" Chris secretly kicked Rody, hoping he''d keep his distance from Pandora.

    "Everyone, try your best to enhance your strength! What we will face in the future are not only orcs and demons, but also the knights of the holy temple and angels. If you want to follow me to invade heaven, then train diligently!" Rody encouraged Tommy and the others.

    "Boss, don''t worry about that. A year from now, I guarantee I''ll at least be a Sky Warrior!" Lopeck and others were brimming with confidence.

    "I hope you all can become stronger, to become Sword Emperors, or even Sword Saints. Of course, this can''t be rushed, you must improve step by step," Rody said with a smile.

    "Ha, just thinking about becoming Sword Emperors and Sword Saints one day excites me. If I become a Sword Emperor, there will surely be lots of beauties throwing themselves at me. Oh my, then which little beauty should I kiss first!" Although Terry was still a small-time thief in terms of strength, his imagination was masterful. Hearing Rody mention Sword Emperors and Sword Saints, he really thought he could become such a powerful being.

    "I say, drag this guy out and give him a good beating!" Silver-haired cool guy Tommy couldn''t stand this guy''s fantasizing anymore; being around him was simply embarrassing.

    "All he thinks about are those dirty things, hit him a few more times for me!" the Doll Diva said, raising her little fist.

    "Miss Doll, we''ll definitely give him a good thrashing, break his ribs, but remember, later you have to introduce us to a few beauties from the opera house. Alright, we won''t say more, we''re leaving now..." The group left several beauties with Rody and dragged Terry away without any loyalty. Even a blind man could see the sparks flying between the beauties, staying here would sooner or later make them sacrificial lambs.

    "Rody, good guy, say something. My magic is so powerful, I can definitely help you, let me go with you!" The great beauty Pandora, seeing everyone leave, immediately clung to Rody''s arm, pushing up her ample chest and provocatively rubbing Rody''s arm in front of Chris.

    "Nobody is allowed to go with him!" Chris strongly opposed.

    "I think I can do it, with my singing voice and my proficiency in the Elvish language, I can definitely move freely in the land of the seven clans," the Doll Diva added to the chaos.

    "Young master, we also want to go with you. A year is too long, we, we can''t bear to part with you!" The Linessia sisters, having no significant status, did not dare to compete with Chris, the Doll Diva, and the great beauty Pandora, but they also quietly pleaded with Rody. The time rift opens only once a year, and Rody''s departure would mean a year, making them wait painfully for a year was indeed hard to bear.

    "What''s a year? Xingqing and Xingyu have been waiting for this guy for thousands of years, and they don''t whine like you!" Chris supported Xingqing and others to accompany Rody to the land of the seven clans because they truly had the ability to help Rody. Moreover, what reassured her the most was that Xingqing and the others'' attitude towards Rody was almost like that of a father or a god, more respectful than romantic, so she was certainly comfortable with them following.

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    "We''re not going, and you''re not allowed to go either. Why do you get to be with him every day?" The great beauty Pandora demanded that Chris also stay behind.

    "Right, right, you should stay. Rody is going to the land of the seven clans to find Jill. What are you going there for?" The Doll Diva, finding herself on the weaker side, temporarily chose to ally with the great beauty Pandora against their biggest rival, Chris.

    "I''m not going!" Chris huffed angrily: "Don''t worry, this guy has left me a big mess of things to deal with, even if I wanted to go, I can''t!"

    "Christina sister, let me help you," the Doll Diva offered sweetly, trying to ingratiate herself.

    "No need, I''m not very familiar with you, don''t call me sister." Chris huffed: "How dare I trouble the Doll Diva to do things for us! If the people of Camalon found out, they would curse me to death, the child of the elves. If I''m not careful, others might think I''m trying to pursue you! Forget it, just continue singing at the opera house!"

    "Sister, I apologize to you. I was wrong not to show up last time you went to the Hidden Mist of Thunder, but I saw you holding him... Never mind, it''s all in the past. Shall we talk?" The Doll Diva''s temperament was completely different when dealing with Chris and Rody.

    "You two talk, Rody and I are going to sleep," declared the great beauty Pandora, not following the sisterly route, but instead taking a more direct approach.

    "Good, that''s a nice suggestion!" Rody nodded.

    "In your dreams!" Instantly, both Chris and the Doll Diva''s little fists flew at him.

    "Poor young master, having too many girls you like also seems to be a problem," the Linessia sisters whispered to each other: "I heard that in Rody City there are thousands of girls in the Rody Love Fan Club. The young master is really miserable..."

    "Both of you, shake hands with me! Finally, someone understands my pain!" Rody gratefully grabbed their hands.

    "Taking advantage and still acting cute? Asking for a beating!" Chris and the Doll Diva were furious, about to hit him, but they found the great beauty Pandora sitting calmly, not intending to lift a finger, and couldn''t help but ask, "Don''t you find him detestable?"

    "No, such a man is good. The more people love him, the more it proves his excellence," Pandora smiled: "Besides, I''m busy thinking about Jill."

    "Jill?" Both Chris and the Doll Diva were startled.

    "I think the one who can make Rody rush to find her must be very obedient and cute. It''s because of your wild behavior that she seems even more obedient and cute. Ha, how could I be like you? I must be a lady, always giving him a good impression!" Pandora''s words made both Chris and the Doll Diva put down their fists, each grabbing one of Rody''s hands, their faces showing extremely tender smiles, and said in unison, "Silly, how could I bear to hit you? Don''t be afraid, I just want to steal a kiss."

    "The war between women is terrifying!" The Linessia sisters hugged each other tightly, shivering with fear.

    "It''s nothing now, but if the female boss were here, it would probably be even livelier!" Rody laughed heartily.

    "Who? Who''s the female boss? I don''t know about her!" The Doll Diva became anxious upon hearing this.

    "Hehe, I won''t tell you. You can guess!" Rody said mysteriously: "It''s late at night, I need to rest. If anyone is afraid of the dark, I can accompany her to sleep! Come on, raise your hand to sign up!"

    "Who dares to raise their hand?" When Chris saw that all the women were preparing to raise their hands, her temper flared again. She huffed, "We all sleep together, and nobody is allowed to make a move. Pandora, stop looking around, I''m talking about you! As for Rody, you big pervert, if you dare to make a move, I''ll tie you up and throw you out to feed the night wolves, just try it!"

    "Chris is so scary!" The two sisters hugged each other tightly in fear upon seeing this.

    ...

    After a night passed, no one had a good sleep.

    Due to constant movement, almost every half hour, someone would hit, kick, or bite, and the target was often Rody in the middle. No matter who moved, touched, or kissed, it was ultimately blamed on him. Fortunately, the threat of being tied up and thrown out to feed the night wolves didn''t happen, though his lips were bitten.

    After that night, Rody realized something.

    If a man stays with one woman, then in the long night, something is bound to happen.

    However, if a man stays with several women, then in the long night, amidst the fighting and fussing, it quickly passes, and nothing happens. Nevertheless, he took the opportunity, in the dark, to steal kisses from them, though he couldn''t be sure whom he kissed or if he kissed anyone twice in the darkness.

    The girls, however, were quite satisfied. Sleep was not the goal, nor were the kisses.

    Their goal was to prevent anyone from getting ahead and having something happen with Rody in the long night, and so, their purpose was achieved.

    After bidding farewell to brothers like Tommy and Terry, and to girls like Chris and the Doll Diva who were reluctant to let go, Rody began his journey to the legendary land of the seven clans. The affairs of the human world were wrapped up for him, leaving the rest for his brothers to complete, or for girls like Chris to take care of.

    Now, he was to set foot in the land of the seven clans, another mysterious space.

    The space-time rift of the seven clans was inside the Silent Forest, in an area where ordinary humans could not enter, near the divine mountain.

    Although Rody was anxious to find Jill, he didn''t forget to return to Whitestone Town, spending an afternoon with his surprised mother. Watching her live peacefully in this town, free from worldly strife, he was reassured enough to bid her farewell. Rody guessed it would be at least a year before he could see his mother again. Although he had reminded Chris to be especially careful about his mother''s safety, the various changes in the world still caused Rody some worry.

    He dared not let Chris bring his mother to Rody City, fearing the temple assassins'' plots, nor did he want to disrupt her peaceful and tranquil life.

    Unless he had enough power to ensure his mother''s safety, Rody hoped that a hidden place like Whitestone Town could shield everything, allowing his mother to live safely and peacefully.

    "Don''t worry about mother, my dear. The Holy Mother watches over all beings from heaven, and she won''t let mother encounter any danger," his mother comforted her son, kissing Rody''s forehead, reluctantly letting him go and watching as he gradually disappeared into the sky. She felt content, her heart filled with happiness and sweetness, because her beloved son had finally grown up. He could now fly freely in the sky with the wings of his dreams.

    This had always been her prayer.

    To let him fly freely and happily was the warmest blessing in her mother''s heart.

    In the deepest part of the Silent Forest, there were magical beasts everywhere. As Rody flew in, he discovered some extremely powerful magical beasts, some of which had never appeared in the world before. Perhaps these beasts were from the land of the seven clans, escaping through the space-time rift. Entering deeper into the Silent Forest, Rody saw dragons and young dragons more than once. Although these were just immature dragons, it was enough to prove that the continent originally did not have any giant dragons. They were a product of the land of the seven clans, just like how magic worms and magic flowers are products of the Abyss, the dragons came to the human world because of the space-time rift.

    This meant that in the land of the seven clans, Rody might have to face giant dragons as enemies.

    He still vividly remembered the strength of the Black Dragon Alfred from years ago.

    Although today''s Rody was no longer the same as before, if he encountered beings much stronger than the Black Dragon Alfred, he believed there would be a great battle.

    "Interesting, maybe I can turn Tommy and the others into dragon knights," Rody mused. With the help of the four Starlight Girls, Xingqing and Xingyu, and possessing several divine artifacts, he was truly looking forward to the land of the seven clans. He didn''t have a plan to counterattack heaven yet, but he already had an idea of forming a bone dragon squad and a dragon knight squad.

    In the deepest part of the Silent Forest, he could see the edge of the Divine Mountain in the distance. There were space-time rifts everywhere, with volcanic eruptions occurring.

    This place was very similar to the Exile Lands, yet different.

    The space-time rifts here were far more stable and fixed than those in the Exile Lands. They seemed to be restricted by some divine power, slowly rotating in place. He believed that each time they fully opened, it took a year. When Rody arrived, they were only slightly open. Only a few flying magical beasts were coming in and out.

    Carnivorous magical beasts chased herbivorous ones, and if they accidentally collided with the space-time rifts, they would scream and turn to ash.

    Rody cautiously used his psychic powers to detect and ensure safety before quickly passing over them. After a burst of magical light waves and transportation through different space-times, feeling slightly unwell, he stabilized his mind and found himself in the ''land of the seven clans'' of another world.

    This place was very different from the human continent, with magical elements as rich as air.

    Surrounded by tall fruit trees and endless fields of flowers, Rody was amazed. This mysterious land of the seven clans was a hundred times more beautiful than in the legends. Here, he believed that anyone who made a little effort could rapidly increase their strength and reach a higher realm of cultivation. Moreover, the space-time rifts here were unusually mild, without the catastrophic earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and billowing smoke like in the human world.

    Except for the barrenness around the space-time rifts, there were no adverse effects.

    Flying over the vast sea of flowers, Rody occasionally noticed the legendary thumb-sized honey fairies, flying around carefree and chasing each other.

    "Mitty, is this your homeland? It''s so beautiful!" Rody summoned Mitty, who was sleeping in the Mithril Magic Bracelet, gently woke her up, and asked.

    "No, this is the terrifying Butterfly Fairy Kingdom, brother, we need to leave quickly!" Mitty, however, looked terrified.

 Chapter 171: War, It Is an Art

    Rody looked around for a long time, finding not even a single butterfly. How could this be the Butterfly Fairy Kingdom? However, seeing Mitty shaking with fear, he decided to leave as she wished.

    Flying through this vast sea of flowers for two days, just as he was about to leave, Rody suddenly noticed a patch of colorful clouds in the sky, slowly drifting. Mitty screamed in extreme panic at the sight of these clouds. Rody quickly put her to sleep inside the mithril bracelet and went to investigate. To his surprise, the colorful cloud turned out to be a kind of colorful butterfly.

    They were extremely beautiful, with radiant colors like the world''s most beautiful butterflies. However, Rody''s psychic senses detected that these colorful butterflies possessed a strong killing intent and aggressiveness. They even knew how to use psychic waves to attack. Fortunately, with the ''Star of Faith'' and the ''Star of the Galaxy,'' Rody''s psychic power was far superior to these beautiful killers, or else he would have been knocked to the ground by the thousands of tiny psychic beams of the colorful butterflies.

    The moment these butterflies noticed Rody, they ferociously surrounded him, more savage than bloodthirsty orcs.

    They completely ignored Rody''s well-intentioned psychic ripples, exuding a murderous aura.

    "Great Air Shield." After unlocking the forbidden magic of war, although Rody hadn''t delved deeply into the various elemental magics, focusing instead on psychic, soul, and dark magic, he could still effortlessly cast expert-level or lower wind, fire, water, and earth elemental magic. Just like a Sword Emperor doesn''t necessarily learn certain sword moves, but can easily imitate a great swordsman''s techniques. No matter what kind of sword moves a great swordsman uses, they are no challenge for a Sword Emperor.

    The largest of the colorful butterflies were just over a meter wide, and the smallest were palm-sized. Despite their size, their method of attack was extremely ferocious.

    In front of Rody''s Great Air Shield, thousands of butterflies fluttered up and down, trying to pierce Rody''s body with their rainbow-like proboscises to suck his blood. However, waves of air pushed them far away. Rody''s Great Air Shield, cast with his powerful psychic power, was far superior to that of an ordinary wind mage. This shield, like an air fortress, protected his body, making it difficult for the swarm of colorful butterflies to get close.

    Realizing that neither psychic impact nor close-quarters assault worked on this formidable enemy, the butterflies began to vibrate the antennae on their heads, emitting strange chirps. At the same time, a kind of colorful powder rapidly spread from their bodies, filling the air.

    The powder expanded like mist, carrying an indescribable sweet scent, extremely pleasant to smell.

    Rody, however, was secretly alarmed upon smelling it. This colorful powder could cause intense paralysis in a person''s body. If his body hadn''t been tempered by divine fire and faith ice crystals, the consequences would have been unimaginable. In the midst of the cloud of powder, Rody released his psychic power to gather as much of the powder as possible, planning to collect it for use in battle.

    The angrier the butterflies became, the more powder they released from their antennae, making Rody even happier to collect it.

    Using this substance on the battlefield would spell disaster for the orcs and demons. Now Rody understood why there were fixed space-time rifts in the land of the seven clans, and why angels and other life forms couldn''t enter or exit the land of the seven clans in large numbers. The reason was probably related to these colorful butterflies. Unless there was a way to bypass their territory, he believed that even the largest army would be buried in this beautiful sea of flowers and perish under this colorful sky.

    Rody happily condensed the colorful mist in the sky into a powder ball and stored it.

    He was planning to find a way to anger the butterflies to make them release more colorful powder, but suddenly, a buzzing sound appeared in the sky.

    At the sound, the butterflies immediately showed panic, scattering and fleeing in all directions, no longer caring about Rody. From a distance, another small black cloud swiftly approached, turning into thousands of thin-waisted bees the size of fingers. These bees were faster and ignored the psychic waves and colorful powder of the butterflies, catching up to them and fiercely stinging them with their sharp tails.

    Some of the slower butterflies were stung and lost consciousness, dying and falling from the sky.

    Then, the thin-waisted bees, carrying the bodies, ignored Rody, the living human in front of them, and buzzed away as quickly as they had come.

    Rody caught a few of these thin-waisted bees, which were fearless of the butterflies'' paralyzing poison powder, and discovered that their bodies contained a type of bee jelly that naturally resisted paralysis, making him marvel at how one thing in the world could counteract another. On the surface, the thin-waisted bees looked extremely fierce, but they were harmless to humans, interested only in the bodies of the butterflies.

    Following these bees, Rody discovered that they used the bodies of the butterflies to feed their larvae.

    Their larvae were few, and more amazingly, the saliva secreted by these larvae was the bee jelly that the thin-waisted bees used to resist the paralyzing poison powder of the butterflies. By taking care of the larvae, the adult bees also ensured their own safety, as the adult thin-waisted bees could not secrete the bee jelly themselves.

    Rody conducted an experiment: he drained the bee jelly from a thin-waisted bee using psychic power and then sprinkled some colorful powder on it.

    The result was that the bee struggled for a while, quickly became paralyzed, and died.

    They were very fragile; without the saliva of the larvae, their bodies had little resistance to the paralyzing poison powder of the butterflies.

    Without hesitation, Rody caught a queen bee that was still in the nest and hadn''t flown out to mate, and turned it into a slave of darkness. As long as this queen bee kept laying eggs, there would be no problem with the larvae''s saliva. As for whether the unmated queen bee could hatch male and female bees, Rody didn''t think too much about it.

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    What he wanted were non-reproducing worker bees, not a large number of reproducing male and female bees that could pose a potential threat.

    One queen bee was enough; it could become the queen bee.

    Even without mating, she could lay a large number of eggs to hatch worker bees. Conversely, if she produced male and female bees, once the new queen emerged and took over, the old queen would be killed by her daughters, and the entire hive would fight and die, with the new queen taking over the nest and hatching new offspring.

    Rody did not want to keep signing the dark slave contract with new queen bees; he only wanted the larvae''s saliva.

    As for the colorful butterflies, their fate was a bit more tragic.

    After searching for a while, Rody caught up with the butterfly swarm again and turned ten of the largest butterflies, each over one meter in size, into his dark slaves. Rody needed them to continuously lay eggs, becoming food for the thin-waisted bees, thereby forming a food chain. This way, Rody could continuously harvest ''paralyzing colorful powder'' and ''paralysis-resistant bee jelly''.

    These would be Rody''s secret techniques to defeat his enemies on the battlefield.

    Once turned into dark slaves, whether the colorful butterflies or the queen bee, they lost their original consciousness. Their souls regarded Rody as their master and faithfully followed him forever.

    If it were in the past, those who became dark slaves would lose their own lives. But now, with restored memories and possessing the ''Star of Faith'' and ''Star of the Galaxy,'' Rody already had enough ability to grant them eternal life using either starlight magic or dark magic. As long as Rody, their master, was alive, they, like Nicolas and his kind, could survive in the world.

    Of course, since they were lower beings, Rody only retained their instincts and did not allow them to keep their previous consciousness.

    ...

    On the edge of the sea of flowers, Rody was astonished to discover the ferocity of the colorful butterflies.

    Besides these natural enemies, the thin-waisted bees, all the magical beasts deeply feared them. Seeing the ten huge butterflies behind Rody, magical beasts of all sizes frantically fled in chaos, even more exaggerated than when a dragon passed by.

    A slightly slower magical beast, resembling a hog-like creature, was taking a lazy nap in a mud puddle. It couldn''t escape in time when Rody''s butterflies swooped down. It managed to run only a few meters, freezing solid just meters from its burrow without dying. Rody observed that besides using their proboscis-like mouths to suck its blood, the butterflies also laid a few small eggs on its body.

    In the bloody water, these eggs hatched at a visible speed into extremely unsightly larvae.

    They greedily devoured the flesh and blood, growing rapidly.

    In less than ten minutes, the fattened larvae began to spin cocoons on the skin, and within five more minutes, they emerged from the cocoons, transforming into palm-sized fluorescent butterflies.

    This rate of growth left Rody dumbfounded. He had never imagined that the butterflies relied on flesh and blood for food and that their larvae''s growth rate would be so terrifyingly fast. If they were allowed to rampage in the human world, it could be a catastrophe for the entire human continent. Rody was about to kill these newly hatched butterflies, but he soon discovered that these butterflies, not subjected to the dark slave magic, still recognized him as their master. They, just like their mother, were bound by the contract and completely obeyed Rody without their own consciousness.

    In the following two days, Rody found that the larvae of the fluorescent butterflies grew incredibly fast, but their numbers were not large.

    Moreover, the larvae from the same mother would cannibalize each other when there was insufficient food. These carnivorous butterflies, with the most beautiful appearance, were the most terrifying killers. Fortunately, their main range of activity did not extend beyond the sea of flowers, or else it would be the most beautiful and terrifying storm in the world.

    Compared to the fluorescent butterflies, the thin-waisted bees'' larvae were fewer, and they had a much longer growth period, with a surprising appetite.

    They did not refuse any meat, but only by consuming the bodies of fluorescent butterflies could they secrete the bee jelly that resisted paralysis, making Rody marvel at the cycle of nature.

    After experimenting with hundreds of fluorescent butterflies, Rody no longer ordered the ten mature mother butterflies to attack and lay eggs.

    When resting, he had to store all the fluorescent butterflies in a storage space; only then would Mitty dare to come out to eat something. Otherwise, she would scream and tremble at the sight of them. Unlike those thumb-sized flower spirits, as she explained, those flower spirits close to elemental bodies had no physical bodies like air. Even dragons couldn''t harm them. It was these flower spirits that made the entrance to the land of the seven clans surrounded by such a vast sea of flowers.

    The fluorescent flower butterflies like to stay in places rich in elements, as constantly absorbing elements allows their bodies to grow slowly.

    Mitty estimated that the ten double-winged fluorescent flower butterflies over one meter in size, which Rody had, must have survived for at least hundreds of years, otherwise they could not have grown to such a huge size.

    "These colorful butterflies can transform into demon butterflies? Like humans with butterfly wings on their backs?" Rody remembered the butterfly demons he met in the Exile Lands. Could these fluorescent butterflies evolve into powerful beings like the butterfly demons? If so, could there also be space-time rifts connected to the Exile Lands?

    "It probably won''t be like Sister Xingqing and the others. I''ve heard about it but never seen it. I heard those demon butterflies fly very fast!" Mitty didn''t know much.

    "Do you know where the Butterfly Demon Kingdom is?" Rody casually mentioned, scaring Mitty so much that her little face turned pale, and she vigorously shook her head.

    Although Mitty was reluctant to say, Rody did not press her. Holding her, he slowly flew to the Fairy Kingdom. In this land of the seven clans, Rody felt the vastness of another space-time. Just the sea of flowers inside the Butterfly Demon Kingdom alone was larger than a small country in the human world, showing that the land of the seven clans was not smaller than the human continent.

    On his way to the Fairy Kingdom, Rody passed through a boundless forest.

    According to Mitty, this was the realm of the elves.

    However, Rody flew over the forest for a day and a night and did not encounter a single elf. He had expected to be welcomed by countless elf arrows, but this worry was completely unnecessary.

    Like when passing the Butterfly Demon Kingdom, Rody encountered elves only at the edge of the forest.

    Unlike the violent attacks of the fluorescent butterflies, these elves did not attack Rody. Most of them were girls with bows and arrows, and a few were men holding crescent-shaped curved knives and exquisitely crafted short spears. The elf troops were engaged in a war with an enemy, oblivious to Rody''s arrival.

    Before the elf troops was an extremely ugly monster.

    So ugly, in fact, that compared to the beautiful elves, they were unbearable to look at.

    However, Rody noticed that although the monsters were ugly, their fighting was not ugly at all; on the contrary, they were winning a splendid victory.

    The elf troops were three times the number of their opponents but were being pushed back on the battlefield. If it weren''t for a kind of giant bear blocking the enemy, the elf archers would have been killed by the ugly monsters at the edge of the forest, with no chance to escape. The ugly monsters, using nets and their thick-skinned bodies, wreaked havoc among the elf troops, completely ignoring their arrows unless hit in the eyes.

    "Ding, ding, ding, ding..." The sound of silver bells rang from the elf rear, and all the elves began to retreat.

    The bloodied bears roared, dozens of them stood on the battlefield, engaging in hand-to-hand combat with the ugly monsters to cover the archers'' retreat.

    Some elf mages floated in mid-air, constantly chanting nature magic, amplifying and restoring the bears'' strength.

    There were also a few responsible for casting healing magic, but it was like a drop in the bucket. Dozens of giant bears were almost powerless under the assault of hundreds of ugly monsters, screaming endlessly. Some bears collapsed thunderously under the heavy blows of the ugly monsters'' clubs...

    Seeing the elves retreating, the ugly monsters'' camp beat giant war drums with renewed vigor, booming and invigorating every monster.

    "My God, this elf commander is such an idiot!" Rody couldn''t help but exclaim in shock upon seeing this.

    "How dare you, despicable human, insult our most esteemed high priest. I challenge you to a duel!" Despite his inner anger, an elf man elegantly saluted Rody, raising his crescent blade over his head, challenging Rody to a duel. Next to Rody, several other elf men glared at him, but when Rody looked at them, they did not forget to maintain etiquette and politely bowed to him, very graceful and polite.

    "You''re an idiot too, no, you all are!" Rody became furious.

    Fortunately, these were unfamiliar elves; if they were his subordinates, Rody would have slapped them long ago. What duels and etiquette on a battlefield? In such a situation, they should defeat the enemy as quickly as possible, and even without asking, they should kill the enemy with a single strike; that''s what''s most important.

    Now, Rody somewhat understood why the elves, despite their numerical superiority, were continuously retreating.

    These elves simply did not know how to fight. By Rody''s standards, they were even worse than human children playing with wooden sticks.

    "You..." All the

    elves were stunned, never having seen such an impolite human.

    "Get lost, you disgrace the art of war!" Rody kicked the stunned elf man in front of him, flew into the midst of the battle, and shouted, "All you idiot elves, watch me and learn what fighting is!"

 Chapter 172: Damn, In the Eyes of the Moon Night High Priest

    Countless elves watched, dumbfounded, as a human man flew out from the forest and descended onto the battlefield, roaring like a dragon. He swiftly threw a short spear, impaling the furthest drummer in the monster camp onto a huge drum. Then, in the densest part of the monster group, he dropped a thunderous thunderball. The aftershocks of the explosion echoed in the forest, and amidst the smoke, countless splashes of blood flew as the monsters were decapitated and fell to the ground in agony. The man wielded a huge blood-red battle-axe, crazily slaughtering the monsters. All the monsters stood still, just waiting for him to behead them.

    Where he passed, a bloody path was carved.

    A distant monster leader tried to flee, but the man followed and split him in two with his axe.

    In less than a minute, this blood-covered human man slaughtered over a hundred monsters. He was like a god of war descending from the sky, his roar like thunder, shaking the earth. All the elves watched in shock as he single-handedly massacred the enemies, as if they were all having the same nightmare, witnessing this unbelievable scene.

    Strangely, not a single monster resisted or tried to escape.

    Until the last monster collapsed under the man¡¯s bloody axe, the elves nervously swallowed their saliva for the first time.

    As he walked slowly back towards the elves, carrying the blood-drenched axe, the towering bears and elf mages stepped aside in fear, intimidated by this bloodthirsty warrior...

    "Who, who, who are you?" asked a guard standing in front of the elf Moon Night High Priest, nervously, as the blood-soaked Rody approached.

    "Mind your manners, this is not how you treat a guest," said Rody, causing almost all the elves to fall to the ground.

    The man himself was a killing maniac, had just insulted and hit others, and violently killed so many enemies, yet he expected others to mind their manners? If he knew what etiquette was, he wouldn''t have continued slaughtering when the enemies didn''t flee or fight back.

    A man devoid of human decency and moral ethics, yet he asked others to mind their manners.

    Thinking of this, almost all the elves felt faint.

    "Young human man, may I ask who you are? Why have you come to our elf kingdom? Although your actions have greatly eliminated our enemies and relieved our plight, your merciless killing and bloodshed chill the heart," said the elf Moon Night High Priest, the only one among the elves whose expression remained normal. All the female elf archers around her trembled in fear upon seeing the blood-soaked Rody, some even vomiting.

    "Since you treat me with such an attitude, I have nothing more to say," Rody said, throwing a bone stuck to his shoulder on the ground. A female elf saw that it was half of a monster''s jawbone and cried out in fear.

    "..." A female elf next to the Moon Night High Priest wanted to retort but was stopped by the High Priest.

    Rody knew that if he wanted to form an alliance with the elves, ordinary methods would definitely not work.

    Elves are very proud and also quite strong. Especially since most of the elf clan has little ambition and lives a self-sufficient life, they don''t need to trade with humans. Without a bit of mutual interest, it is impossible to form an alliance. Even before proposing an alliance, if there isn''t anything sufficiently novel and attractive to them, they might completely disregard it.

    Their attitude towards humans has always been like this.

    Therefore, Rody tried his best to attack their self-esteem, to bring down those who felt good about themselves from their high clouds, to trample them to the ground. Only then, when making demands, he believed they would be effective.

    Under the watchful, wary, and fearful eyes of countless elves, the blood-soaked Rody sang loudly as he walked, showing great magnanimity.

    Walking on that bloody battlefield, his blood-stained black hair fluttered in the wind, accompanied by the majestic human war song, all the elves felt a fresh sensation. They thought this human was different, touching their souls, moving their hearts. Whether watching his crazy massacre or seeing him walking on the battlefield strewn with corpses, he had an extraordinary and powerful presence, as if this man was a legendary hero by nature, attracting attention.

    Despite the Moon Night High Priest''s order for all the elves to retreat to the forest, not only the male elves, but many of the female elves who had been scared to tears by Rody also watched the human man singing against the sun with strange eyes.

    Everyone wondered how this human man could do all this.

    How did he possess such great strength? How could he make all the monsters too scared to move? How could he ruthlessly kill all the defenseless enemies? Why did he help the elves? Why did he leave singing after the battle, without asking for any reward? What was the song he was singing?

    Although the song was neither beautiful nor pleasant, not blending with the natural essence, it had a soul-stirring echo.

    Who was he, after all?

    All the elves were abuzz about Rody''s arrival, some saying this human had previously accused the Moon Night High Priest with vicious words, calling the merciless and tragic war an art...

    ...

    "What is that human doing?" The Moon Night High Priest suddenly summoned her Moon Night Guards and asked.

    "High Priest, we, we don¡¯t know..." The two Moon Night Guards looked at each other, answering with unnatural expressions on their faces.

    "You don¡¯t know?" The Moon Night High Priest smiled. She casually glanced at the faces of the two guards, smiling, "Daughters of the Moon Goddess, don¡¯t lie in front of me, nor learn the bad habits of humans. Elves¡¯ hearts should remain pure and peaceful, always sincere and tranquil. Tell me, what is that human man doing?"

    "I''m sorry." The two Moon Night Guards quickly knelt down, the one on the left shamefully confessing, "Great High Priest, that human man is bathing in our sacred River of the Moon Goddess."

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    "We have already advised him, but he didn¡¯t listen... so, please punish us for our negligence, High Priest!" The one on the right even burst into tears.

    "Facing a barbaric human man, you have done your duty, I won¡¯t blame you. What did he say?" The Moon Night High Priest slightly pondered after hearing this. She could imagine, if that barbaric human man undressed and bathed in the river, then her Moon Night Guards wouldn''t dare do anything to him. More importantly, this human man¡¯s strength was astonishing, his combat skills miraculous, and probably for this reason, the guards were too scared to drive him ashore.

    "He, he said that no river in the world belongs to the Moon Goddess, and, and even if it did, he would still bathe..." The guard replied aggrievedly.

    "Is there any movement from the slope monsters?" The Moon Night High Priest asked again.

    "A group of more than ten people seemed to have arrived, but before we could figure out who they were, that human man killed them. He was too fast. He didn¡¯t declare war and attacked from hiding, he¡¯s a despicable murderer." Although the two guards answered in this way, their tone carried a hint of admiration.

    "This sounds like his style. If he had proposed a fair duel, it wouldn¡¯t be like him," the Moon Night High Priest pondered, suddenly recalling Rody''s bloodied face, his eyes filled with mockery, and the faint smile at the corner of his lips. Her heart raced at the thought. What did his final approach towards her mean? Was he showing off his power and strength? She had been among many elves, not dressed as a high priest, so how did he know she was the High Priest?

    Was this human man from the human continent or the descendant of some powerful being from the land of the seven clans? That huge blood-flower battle axe, was it the weapon of the Orcs'' Blood-flower Axe Savage? Could he not be human, but an Orc instead? But how could a brute Orc have such a handsome and heroic man?

    Especially that galaxy-like black hair, unique in the world. She had never heard of a human, Orc, or half-elf, or any other race, having a man with black hair and black eyes. Except for the Goddess of the Night... Could this man, who dared to defy even the Moon Goddess, be the son of the Goddess of the Night? No, that''s impossible, the Goddess of the Night is an ancient goddess who left the realm of the gods tens of thousands of years ago. Besides, even if he were the Goddess of the Night''s son, he would be a deity.

    Deities live in the realm of the gods, higher than the heavens, so if he were the Goddess of the Night''s son, he couldn''t be in the land of the seven clans.

    "Invite him to the outskirts of the Elf Forest. No matter what, he did help us repel the enemy, and we should show our gratitude," the Moon Night High Priest found an excuse for her own longing. Although she wouldn''t admit it, deep down, it was because of the human man¡¯s excellence and uniqueness that she made this decision. If he were a muscular, hairy Orc, she would have immediately ordered the elf troops to return to their country.

    "Yes." Strangely, the two Moon Night Guards seemed somewhat pleased with the High Priest''s decision, responding quickly.

    Half a day passed, but they still hadn¡¯t returned.

    The Moon Night High Priest grew anxious. She held a magic book in her hands, but she wasn¡¯t reading it.

    When she saw the two female guards return, her heartbeat quickened slightly, seemingly eager to hear news of that man. Why was she so concerned about a human man she had only met once? Was she still unsettled by his daytime performance?

    "He¡¯s arrived? Let him wait, I¡¯ll see him after I finish my book!" The Moon Night High Priest was eager to see him, but for some reason, she said this, as if trying to hide something.

    "High Priest, he, he didn¡¯t come..." The two female guards knelt on the ground, reporting in a low voice.

    "What? How dare he defy my will?" The Moon Night High Priest felt surprisingly angry; he had actually refused her invitation, unforgivable.

    "He, he said, if you want to see him, go by yourself, he won¡¯t come." The guards carefully said, "We begged him for a long time, but he wouldn¡¯t listen. Perhaps, High Priest, you should go? He doesn¡¯t seem to have any ill intentions, and he doesn¡¯t seem like a bad person! He¡¯s just a bit peculiar, but deep down, he seems quite kind..."

    "What are you saying? That murderer is kind-hearted?" The Moon Night High Priest was almost fainting. In just half a day, her own guards were speaking well of him.

    "High Priest, we misspoke," the two female guards hurriedly pleaded for mercy.

    "Tell me, how is he kind-hearted? What exactly did he say to you? What sweet talk made you think he had no ill intentions, didn¡¯t seem like a bad person, and was even kind-hearted?" The Moon Night High Priest saw her female guards defending a human man they had only known for less than a day and couldn''t help but feel angry.

    She was always known for her good temper, a role model for many elves, but today, she couldn¡¯t suppress her anger.

    Not to mention the two female guards, even she herself felt inexplicably irritated.

    ...

    "Hm? He''s with a little girl? Mitty, the fairy?" The Moon Night High Priest felt somewhat relieved upon hearing the explanation, as if she too was hoping that the man really had no ill intentions, wasn''t a bad person, and was kind-hearted.

    "Yes, seeing him wash his sister¡¯s face and carefully prepare food for her, we knew he was a kind-hearted brother," the guards admired, "Yes, I¡¯ve never seen Mitty, the fairy, get along so harmoniously with a human, hearing her happy laughter, I felt like I was dreaming."

    "When the starlight shone on his face, it looked good. I think he must be the son of the Moon Goddess, otherwise, how could he blend so well with the night?"

    "He is a great hero on the battlefield, invincible, but also a good brother who takes care of his sister carefully..."

    "His eyes are so beautiful, like the starry sky."

    The two female guards went on and on, leaving the Moon Night High Priest astonished. Who exactly was this man? How could there be such a unique man? He¡¯s clearly a murderer, claiming war is an art, a butcher with blood on his hands, but how could he have a sister like Mitty, the fairy, who is wary of humans?

    What exactly is he doing in the Elf Forest? Is he just passing by, or does he have some unspeakable purpose?

    "High Priest, will you go to see him?" The two female guards saw the Moon Night High Priest silent and quickly shut up, but they couldn''t help asking cautiously, driven by curiosity.

    "How could I! Who would go to see a human man? Besides, I suspect he has some kind of sinister plot. I will pray to the Moon Goddess and seek divine guidance. You may go! Tomorrow we all return to the Elf Kingdom, leaving only a few scouts. The slope monsters have been heavily hit, so I believe they won¡¯t attack for a while," the Moon Night High Priest thought she wanted to go, but she couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it.

    She couldn¡¯t just go because she was the High Priest.

    Even though elves don¡¯t have as strict a hierarchy and concern for status as humans, as the High Priest closest to the Moon Goddess, she couldn¡¯t go, absolutely not!

    The Moon Night High Priest stayed up until late into the night, eventually getting up angrily, deciding to go and see. Of course, her purpose wasn''t to see that extremely annoying man, but to check for any plots or schemes he might have. Perhaps he was planning to desecrate the Moon Goddess¡¯s miracle, so she must stop him. Yes, she was going to stop him.

    Using natural magic, the Moon Night High Priest floated out of the forest like a gentle breeze, heading towards the River of the Moon Goddess outside the forest.

    She saw a fire far away.

    This brazen human man dared to light a bonfire outside the forest. Wasn¡¯t he afraid that nocturnal magical beasts would devour him? But perhaps for a murderer like him, the arrival of magical beasts would suit his murderous heart. The Moon Night High Priest was somewhat dissatisfied because elves do not appreciate humans burning branches and wood for bonfires, even finding it distasteful.

    Approaching, the Moon Night High Priest noticed the man was rudely bare-chested, which further displeased her. However, when she saw a sleeping Mitty fairy on his clothes, she couldn¡¯t help but soften a bit, thinking his actions were considerate and even heartwarming. He preferred to lay his clothes on the ground for his sister to sleep on rather than wearing them himself, which was really... The Moon Night High Priest wanted to praise him, but still felt upset inside, torn with contradictory feelings. However, she no longer found his bare-chested appearance vulgar, but rather felt a sense of closeness.

    The Moon Night High Priest descended and waited for him to speak, but he was engrossed in reading a magic book, completely ignoring her.

    She wanted to kick him up into the sky. Pretending to read? Didn¡¯t he know she had come? Wasn¡¯t it he who wanted her to come? Was he pretending to like reading to gain her favor? She despised such hypocrisy. He was reading a book upside down... No, his book wasn¡¯t upside down. It was a magic book of godly elves. Was he possibly a prince of godly elves?

    "Hey, aren¡¯t you human?" Having waited for so long and being ignored, the Moon Night High Priest finally couldn¡¯t help but speak up. If she left without saying a word, she would feel too aggrieved.

    "You came? What are you doing here?" His response infuriated her.

    It was obviously he who wanted her to come, yet he acted innocent!

    Did he mean to imply that she shamelessly came to him? This man was utterly detestable; not killing him seemed insufficient to quell her anger. The Moon Night High Priest was about to cast a moonlight magic spell on him when he suddenly put his finger to his lips, motioning her to be quiet. Mitty, the fairy, turned over and fell back to sleep under his gentle patting.

    "Speak softly. She wakes up easily. If she cries in the middle of the night, it''s terrible. You don''t know the pain of soothing a child. Be quiet!" He even glared at her.

    "Who is she?" The Moon Night High Priest, seeing his tender care, couldn¡¯t help but soften and asked quietly.

    "My sister," he replied casually. "Did you come to find me for something? If not, go back. I don¡¯t plan to set fire to your Elf Forest. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll leave tomorrow. This place is gloomy, and I don¡¯t like staying here much..."

    "Can¡¯t you talk without being so infuriating?" She almost wanted to punch him.

    "I always talk like this. By the way, who are you? Why do you act so high and mighty?" He even dared to ask her that.

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 Chapter 173: The Past, An Unsolvable Mystery

    "Who exactly are you?" the Moon Night High Priest returned to her original question, unable to contain her curiosity.

    "Listen, pay attention, I am going to speak," Rody''s tone was like an emperor issuing a decree to his ministers, irritating her to the point of wanting to bite him. Rody stood up, imposingly declaring, "I am the youngest, most handsome, most powerful, and most secretly adored by beautiful girls, the invincible commander of the Human Justice Alliance. If you want an autograph, please queue up in advance. If you want a kiss, you must submit your measurements and a photo, and without meeting the beauty standards, your wish will be hard to fulfill..."

    "Heaven, I have never seen such an idiot in my life!" the Moon Night High Priest was about to faint. Who would want his autograph or kiss? He must be insane.

    "You are ignorant, I don¡¯t blame you," Rody generously replied.

    "Liar!" the Moon Night High Priest suddenly remembered that the commander of the Human Justice Alliance should be Marshal Ferdinand, snorting in anger.

    "What is this?" Rody showed the command ring given by Ferdinand to General Quentin and then handed over to Chris, indicating for the Moon Night High Priest to see, slightly smiling, "Would a liar have this? Ignorance is not your fault, but insisting on ignorance is. Don''t worry, I will still forgive you, because my heart is broad and my character noble and kind, unlike you."

    "What did you say?" the Moon Night High Priest found it impossible to have a proper conversation with him. He bragged and then demeaned her at the end. What kind of person was this?

    "I''m speaking human language. Ah, I forgot you don''t understand!" Rody laughed.

    "You, I swear I''ll kill you!" The Moon Night High Priest prepared to strangle this man alive, unable to swallow her anger.

    "Even though you won''t succeed, I still encourage you to try. Watching weak and ridiculous creatures flail about pretending to be strong and challenging beyond their means makes my life less boring," Rody said, a comment that would drive even the most gentle Water Goddess of Life or the kindest Holy Mother to madness.

    "Do you only feel happy after making people cry?" the Moon Night High Priest felt very wronged, wanting to have a serious conversation, but he made her furious.

    "Ha-ha, building happiness on others'' pain has always been my life pursuit... Ah, are you actually crying? Need a tissue for your tears? No? How about a tablecloth for your snot? Why are you hitting me? Cry your heart out, loudly, let all the elves hear and come to watch, see if anyone sympathizes with you..." Rody teased and frightened her, leaving the Moon Night High Priest crying and laughing at the same time.

    "Do you talk like this to every girl?" the Moon Night High Priest felt he was treating her differently, perhaps trying to attract her attention.

    "No, I only talk like this to silly girls who only know how to cry!" Rody''s comment left the Moon Night High Priest completely forgetting her status, biting his arm fiercely. Suddenly, she felt something was off, quickly releasing Rody''s hand, resuming the demeanor of a High Priest. She sneaked a glance at him and realized he didn¡¯t even look her way, making her angry again. Was this man an idiot? No matter her demeanor, he didn¡¯t care, really unbelievable!

    "What''s your name?" the Moon Night High Priest decided to ask his name.

    "Rody." Rody said his name plainly and clearly, without any self-praise.

    "Hm? I¡¯ve heard of you, it seems somewhere, ah, that''s right, I... really can¡¯t remember now." The Moon Night High Priest, seeing Rody looking over, couldn¡¯t resist teasing him.

    "Congratulations, you¡¯ve finally learned to smile," Rody said, seeing her smug smile and reaching out his hand.

    "Hey, I really have heard of you¡­" The Moon Night High Priest actually had heard the name ''Rody'' before. Realizing the strange man in front of her was the legendary Rody, she felt both surprised and excited.

    "Congratulations, you¡¯ve learned to lie," Rody disbelieved her.

    "Aren¡¯t you the amazing kid who defeated several orcs and boasted about zero casualties four times? Of course, I¡¯ve heard of you. When I first heard it, I thought the name was quite unpleasant, and it turns out to be you?" The Moon Night High Priest felt it was time for revenge. She imitated his tone, preparing to make him cry for a change.

    This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    "Yes, it''s me," Rody laughed and nodded. "Want an autograph?"

    "Who cares about that!" The Moon Night High Priest proudly shook her head.

    "Usually, only those who are very jealous and somewhat twisted inside would say such sour and pretentious words. As a mentally healthy person, I pity you!" Rody gently said, "I can introduce you to the great sage Lud in Kameron. He takes good care of any mental patient, and with his help, many have recovered, with a success rate of thirty percent... If you say I referred you, you''ll get priority treatment and an 80% discount on the consultation fee¡­ Why are you hitting me? You¡¯re too barbaric!"

    "I''ll hit you, I am barbaric!" the Moon Night High Priest huffed angrily. If all the elves heard her tone just now, they¡¯d probably faint.

    "Being too barbaric isn¡¯t good for a girl, no one will want you, staying a virgin and unmarried is embarrassing!" Rody worriedly said.

    "I like it, what¡¯s it to you?" the Moon Night High Priest was about to pass out from frustration.

    "You won¡¯t blame me if you can''t get married, right?" Rody asked worriedly.

    "I''ll blame you... ah, no, I mean, who would blame you! You big bad guy, you''re taking advantage of me!" the Moon Night High Priest realized she misspoke, her face turning red.

    "No, no, by the heavens, I am wronged! How could I possibly take advantage of an elf who has no chest or butt? Even if I were crazy, I wouldn¡¯t do that!" Rody protested innocently, looking more wronged than a saint slandered for drinking demonic blood. Hearing the description of ''no chest no butt,'' the Moon Night High Priest immediately pounced on Rody, baring her teeth, ready to bite him to death, to drink his blood, to eat his flesh.

    "You saying anything is useless, just accept your fate!" the woman angrily declared the man¡¯s death sentence.

    "Hey, I still have something to say..." the man hastily begged for mercy.

    "Who cares about what you say!" the woman was determined.

    "I''m not ready for this, it''s too fast..." the man panicked, talking nonsense.

    "I don''t care what you say!" the woman hummed triumphantly.

    "Help me..." the man''s screams of agony.

    ...

    One minute later.

    The conversation between the two changed, as did their positions. Initially, the woman was on top of the man, but now, the situation had reversed, with the man on top of the woman.

    "Help me..." The woman''s screams replaced the man''s previous cries of agony.

    "I''m not listening to anything you say!" The man laughed coldly.

    "I''m not ready, it''s too fast..." The woman pleaded pitifully like a little lamb, begging the man to spare her.

    "Who cares about you." The man completely ignored her pleas.

    "Wait, I still have something to say..." In a last-ditch effort to defend herself, the woman spoke up. Initially, she had pounced on the man not with this intention; it seemed he had misunderstood. She only wanted to bite him to death, not to do anything else. Now, he seemed to want to do something else to her, and if she didn''t stop him now, it might be too late.

    "You saying anything is useless, just accept your fate!" The man retorted.

    Just when the Moon Night High Priest thought her heart would explode from fear, she found that the man had risen. He hadn''t forcibly stripped her clothes or turned into a despicable predator, but was just looking at her with a strange smile.

    The Moon Night High Priest hurriedly got up, realizing her lying position might have been too inviting. Her heart raced, and for a moment, she didn''t know what to say. She felt like slapping him but couldn''t find a reason to. He seemed like a bad guy, but not entirely. At least in the end, he had let her go. When she was struggling helplessly and in despair, he hadn''t forcibly violated her or done anything that scared her.

    "How could a gentleman like me ever do something bad? Those who doubt me should feel ashamed and reflect," Rody said with a smile.

    "You''re a gentleman?" the Moon Night High Priest angrily retorted. "If you were, why did you touch my chest and kiss my neck just now? You''re clearly a predator!"

    "I thought you liked it," Rody replied as if it was an oversight on her part.

    "You..." The Moon Night High Priest was dizzy with anger. She had never encountered such a shameless person. Clearly lecherous, he still found such an impressive excuse. Just remembering his hands kneading her chest and his hot lips kissing her neck made her heart race and her face flush with heat.

    "The touch was nice, but a bit bigger might have been better," the man sniffed his hand with a lecherous smile.

    "Go to hell!" The Moon Night High Priest couldn''t hold back and struck him down with her staff.

    "Hey, do you know where the main settlement of the Dark Elves is? I''m looking for a female hunter..." Rody recalled a female hunter he had met in his youth, and it struck him as odd that she had a fuller figure than the Moon Night High Priest, which was rare among the typically slender elves. Perfect figures like the Moon Night High Priest''s were already rare. Rody remembered that female hunter being even more voluptuous, making him even more curious. Female hunters were extremely rare in the human world.

    Rody had gathered a lot of information and secretly investigated many places, but he never found any female hunter who used a moon blade instead of a bow and arrow. Unless that woman he encountered years ago came from the Seven Clans'' territory, how could she disappear without a trace when Rody became famous in the human world? Even if she didn''t fall in love with him at first sight ¨C the boy who had fled with his mother ¨C cooperating with Rody to retrieve the Moonstone was still plausible. However, several groups of Wood Elves came to Rody City for trade and communication, yet there was no sign of that female hunter from those years ago. It was extremely rare to find Dark Night Elves in the world. Where did Terri and Lotte rob her Moonstone that year?

    "Our Elven Nation is the dwelling place of the Dark Night Elves. What do you want with a female hunter? What''s her name?" the Moon Night High Priestess asked, feeling a tinge of sourness in her heart when she heard Rody''s purposeful visit to the Elven Nation just to find a female hunter.

    "I don''t know her name," Rody shook his head. "I just accidentally grabbed her chest a few years ago, and she cried and shouted that she wanted to marry me, so I came to see if she still remembers."

    "You big pervert, how can you... wait, female hunters are the faithful guards of the Moon God, how could they cry and shout because of your indecency? You must be making up stories. Where did you meet the female hunter? In Mesnotdania? That''s in the human continent, are you dreaming? Female hunters haven''t left the Seven Clans'' territory to enter the human continent for decades, almost a century..." the Moon Night High Priestess felt even more sour, feeling indescribable, but upon further thought, she doubted its possibility and felt embarrassed, guessing he was saying this to imply something about her.

    "Female hunters haven''t left the Seven Clans'' territory for decades?" Rody exclaimed in surprise. If the female hunter he met years ago was fake, then who was she? If she was fake, then she definitely wasn''t there to investigate the Moonstone. Did she deliberately approach him to talk? Did she know he was leaving and wanted to secretly protect him? She could really become invisible and even transform into a Dark Night female hunter. She seemed to know a lot about Dark Night Elves, so who could she be? Rody was baffled and surprised by the unexpected turn his casual inquiry took.

    "Liar, your lies have finally been exposed, right? You can''t fool me!" the Moon Night High Priestess was delighted, thinking she had won a great victory.

    "Ah, I''ve finally let go of a big burden in my heart. By the way, you''re not going to cling to me for the rest of your life because I accidentally grabbed your chest, insisting on marrying me, right?" Rody patted his chest and asked the Moon Night High Priestess after sighing in relief. This seemingly innocent question infuriated the Moon Night High Priestess. She suddenly pounced on him, pinning him to the ground with her beautiful eyes glaring furiously, "What are you saying? You did it on purpose, it was absolutely intentional!"

 Chapter 174: Oath, The Response of the Moon Goddess

    As dawn gradually approached, Rody suddenly stopped the playful fight. He carried the still drowsy Mititi, who didn''t want to open her eyes, and prepared to depart.

    "Will you come back to the Elven Forest?" the Moon Night High Priestess chased after him, asking softly.

    "No, I''m just a passerby," Rody replied with a slight smile. "I came to the Seven Clans'' territory only to find my friend. Maybe in a year, or maybe less, I will leave the Seven Clans'' territory. There are many things waiting for me to do in the world, so I probably won''t come back to the Elven Forest."

    The Moon Night High Priestess felt a wave of sadness upon hearing this, and tears slightly moistened her long eyelashes. "Goodbye, it was nice to know you!" Rody waved his hand and bid her farewell.

    Sometimes, fate is like two people brushing past each other, or like a beautiful meteor streaking across the night sky. Although people want to cherish it, they can''t. A brief encounter might leave an indelible mark in their hearts for a lifetime. That''s fate. Sometimes, two people can live together for a lifetime, meet often in streets and alleys, but have no connection and disregard each other.

    Some people, with just one glance, leave a shadow in the heart that lasts a lifetime. Others might spend a lifetime together, seeing each other every day, yet leave no impression.

    The Moon Night High Priestess felt like she was about to cry. She wanted him to stay, but couldn''t find a reason. He didn''t belong to the Elven race, or to her. Although he was special, he was just a passerby, a transient visitor.

    Should she chase after him and ask him to stay, or should she endure the heartache and watch him leave?

    "Do you need my help to find your friend?" the Moon Night High Priestess felt a strange pain in her heart, not intense, but deep, reaching her soul. Hesitating slightly, she bit her lip, decided to chase after him, and asked softly, "I''m familiar with the Seven Clans'' territory. Who are you looking for?"

    "A human, from the Philic people," Rody paused slightly and asked, "Do you know where they are?"

    "I don''t know, maybe in the Fairy Nation," the Moon Night High Priestess shook her head. "Our Elven race rarely interacts with the Fairy race, so we know the least about them. The Philic people, I know they have come because of human wars seeking refuge, but where they reside within the Seven Clans'' territories, I''m not sure. Maybe in the Fairy Nation, they have the closest relationship with Philic."

    "What are the other races in the Seven Clans, besides Elves, Fairies, Mythical Beings, and Fireflies?" Rody inquired.

    "Fireflies are not one of the Seven Clans. The Fairy race includes Succubi, Wind Spirits, Snow Women, Flower Bees, Fireflies, Green Skins, Big Ears, Dwarves, and Gnomes. They are collectively referred to as the Fairy race, and the Fairy Nation also hosts Dwarves and Halflings, and even some intelligent magical beasts. It''s the most diverse among the Seven Clans. The Seven Clans consist of Dragons, Fairies, Sea Beings, Winged Beings, Illusion Beings, Blood Beings, and Spirit Beings," the Moon Night High Priestess explained. "Our Elves belong to the Spirit Beings. Among all the clans in the Seven Clans'' territory, we have the least population and relatively weaker strength, but we also have many branches such as Dark Night Elves, Moon Elves, Lake Elves, Flower Elves, Water Elves, Wood Elves, and Little Elves, among others."

    "Are the Mythical Elves part of the Illusion Clan?" Rody asked after listening attentively.

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    "Yes, they are not elves but a life form similar to elves, existing between elves and fairies. They are not numerous but are highly skilled in magic," Moon Night High Priestess replied, reluctantly following Rody''s steps, answering his questions.

    She didn''t know when she should stop.

    But she understood that the moment she stopped, this unique human man would vanish forever from her life, becoming an eternal memory...

    "Then, are the Dragons the strongest of the Seven Clans?" Rody asked with a slight smile, handing her a fairy fruit from the Abyss.

    "No, individual dragons are powerful, but if we talk about overall strength, it might be the Winged Clan. They are akin to angels, believed to be descendants of angels in the Seven Clans. They have incredible reproductive capabilities; though individually not very powerful, their numbers are astounding. They control vast territories, not only dominating the skies but also the land, where their wild offspring with demon horses, a lustful and ferocious centaur-like creature, reside. They delight in warfare and are a scourge in the Seven Clans. Fortunately, they are far from our Elf Forest, or we wouldn''t have peace," the Moon Night High Priestess explained with a frown upon mentioning the Winged Clan.

    "Winged Clan? Centaurs?" Rody frowned slightly, suspecting that the urgency of the demon sisters to return might be due to these creatures'' attacks.

    "Not just centaurs, there are many beings on land that are the result of the Winged Clan''s promiscuity, including those Half-Slope monsters you killed earlier. They''re a vile breed from the territories of the Winged Clan, hideously ugly with short lifespans but frighteningly prolific, spreading like pests and quite detestable," she continued with visible disgust.

    "I''ve heard about the Blood Clan, but what about the Sea Clan?" Rody asked. He had read many vampire books and knew some details, but not about the Sea Clan.

    "The Sea Clan consists of beings known as Nagas living in the sea and on islands. Besides them, there are fish-men, lake monsters, sea demons, and lizard-people, but Nagas dominate. They are absolute rulers of the ocean floor and are formidable even on land, commanding respect even from the Winged Clan. The Winged Clan possesses sky islands and cloud temples, controlling the skies and vast lands. The Sea Clan has the seas and islands; the Dragon Clan occupies mountains and cliffs; the Fairy Clan, gardens, grasslands, and swamps; the Illusion Clan, magic caves, and crystal temples; the Blood Clan, obsidian castles, and blood pools; and our Elves, the Elf Forest and the Lake of the Moon Goddess. If you''re heading to the Fairy Kingdom, the shortest path goes through the Sea Clan''s territory, but a detour might be safer, though you''d have to cross mountains inhabited by reclusive dragons who aren¡¯t pleased with other beings flying above them..." The Moon Night High Priestess was unsure which route to recommend to Rody, as she seldom left the Elf Forest, and her every journey was meticulously planned by others.

    As Rody silently proceeded, the Moon Night High Priestess sweetly savored the fairy fruit.

    Although named by Rody as ''fairy fruit,'' it had no connection with fairies but was a product of the Abyss. Even for her, who had tasted all kinds of fruits in the Seven Clans, it was a new and unique flavor, and she never imagined there existed fruits in the world she hadn''t tried.

    The sweetness of the fairy fruit delighted her immensely, especially since it was given to her by Rody, making it all the more precious.

    "You sure it''s okay not to go back?" Rody asked curiously.

    "No, it''s fine," the Moon Night High Priestess replied a bit flusteredly. "I''ll use magic to inform Her Majesty the Queen, don''t worry."

    If the Elves found out that their High Priestess had disappeared, it would surely cause a stir in the Elf Forest. However, if they knew she had left for a reason, the Elven troops would not be affected by her absence, as they don''t really have a formal command structure. They were relaxed after the end of the war, not expecting that the Moon Night High Priestess would be led away.

    Rody, unaware of the differences between Elves and Humans, only knew that if a human leader suddenly disappeared, it would likely lead to rebellion.

    "Go back! Catch up after you''ve handled your affairs. I''ll wait for you here," Rody said to the Moon Night High Priestess, feeling a bit of fondness for her due to her pure elven nature, so different from the complex and suspicious humans. In human society, she would be considered an ordinary, almost na?ve girl, but among Elves, she was already a complex and thoughtful High Priestess.

    "No, if I go back, you''ll sneak away..." the Moon Night High Priestess shook her head.

    Ordinary female Elves would have followed his suggestion, but being the High Priestess, she was more aware of human treachery and reluctant to trust Rody, even though he was so unique.

    "Ha-ha, even if you don''t go back, do you think you can catch up with me if I decide to leave?" Rody laughed heartily. The Moon Night High Priestess clenched her fists, worried he might flee any moment, her face filled with tension. Rody pointed to a rock by the river and smiled, "I''ll wait here for you, but only for two hours. If you don''t come back by then, I won''t wait any longer."

    "Really? Will you really wait for me?" the Moon Night High Priestess, still easily trusting, especially Rody''s words.

    "I wouldn''t lie to you, not even to a small dog," Rody laughed, putting Mitilda down from his back and washing her face, giving her a bunch of crystal grapes, while he himself started eating a roasted chicken leg, waving at the Moon Night High Priestess to hurry back.

    "If I come back and don''t see you, let the Moon Goddess turn me into a weeping stone until your return," she swore, not asking Rody to promise but making a vow herself. To Rody''s surprise, a magical beam of light shone from the sky in response to her oath, startling him. Could it be that in the Seven Clans'' land, the Moon Goddess could hear her prayers? A miracle that was rare even in a decade in the human world could be realized here with just a few words?

    "Did the Moon Goddess just respond to your oath?" Rody asked in amazement.

 Chapter 175: Martial Skills, Memories of a Past Life

    "It''s not the Moon Goddess, but a messenger of the Moon Goddess," explained the Moon Night High Priestess with a smile. "The land of the Seven Clans was originally a part of the heavenly realm. Despite the fragmentation of time and space, it still has the capacity to directly communicate with the divine realm, unlike the human world. However, the gods generally don''t personally listen to prayers from the lower realms. In the main temple of the divine realm, there are divine messengers who manage and respond to these prayers. Of course, ordinary people''s prayers are unheard; only those of the High Priestess or a few elders have any effect."

    "Are there other entrances to the land of the Seven Clans besides the Garden of the Radiant Butterflies?" Rody asked, feeling something amiss. If everyone had to pass through the Elf Forest and the Sea Clan territory like him, how many would succeed? Not to mention these regions, the Garden of the Radiant Butterflies itself was probably a nightmare for ordinary beings.

    "There should be four fixed entrances. As for the fragmented spaces in time, they are extremely dangerous and generally not used by people," the Moon Night High Priestess replied, shedding light on Rody''s confusion.

    "How many are there in the Wing Clan?" Rody inquired.

    "The Wing Clan''s pure white-winged royalty is probably not numerous, just a few thousand. But there are many others like grey-winged, black-winged, bat-winged, spike-winged, and so forth, in huge numbers, though exact figures are unclear, with tens of thousands of warriors. Some of the Wing Clan don''t even have human forms; there are bird-headed humans, bat-like beings, and even those resembling evil demons of all sorts. Some have severely degenerated wings, others have none at all, like the centaurs and half-hill monsters; they''re all considered part of the Wing Clan, born from indecent crossbreeding, and are utterly repulsive," the Moon Night High Priestess detailed, causing Rody to shudder.

    Rody thought more and more, feeling uneasy. Angels might have been plotting against human faith based on the Seven Clans'' land for thousands of years. The half-hill monsters he had fought before were similar to the demon clan he had encountered, leading him to suspect that the entire demon clan might be a mutation of the angelic crossbreeds.

    As for another experimental site of the angels, it was probably the Exile Land. They threw a large number of monsters there, forcing them to invade the human world every few decades, which resulted in the ''Centennial Holy War'' between humans and the demon/beast clans. In this war, angels were the puppeteers, aimed at strengthening human faith in the divine. Humans, though physically weak, were numerous and complex in thought, possessing the faith power the angels desperately needed. For them, humans were like a mine of faith power.

    If the Centennial Holy War ended with human victory, not only did the angels not gain more faith, but their temple''s image also suffered greatly. Rody suspected that soon, the angels would initiate another war.

    If demons and beastmen invaded again, with Marshal Fondsman already dead, the human alliance would be leaderless. Even if the nations could resist, there would be an army of tens of thousands from the Wing Clan waiting.

    No wonder the temple dared to assassinate the Prince of the Night from the Abyss; they truly had hidden strengths. Were the angels preparing to betray the divine? Having taken over the faith and continuously building their power while the divine couldn''t leave the divine realm, could it be that the Seraph Luhuado of the heavenly realm already possessed the power to enter the divine realm?

    "You must wait for me, or I''ll really turn into a weeping stone," the Moon Night High Priestess finally decided to return. She held a hope that if Rody waited for her, it would prove her judgment of him was right. Otherwise, this small test would be the end of her life.

    To confirm the feeling in her heart, she was willing to try, willing to trust him. She not only wanted to prove to herself but also to the world that following him was the right decision, that he would wait for her. Of course, if she said she wasn¡¯t worried at all, that would be a lie. The oath she made and her numerous reminders indicated the contradictions and anxieties in her heart.

    She wanted to trust him, yet feared the harsh reality might break her heart.

    "Go ahead! I have some things to think about. There¡¯s no rush, but you should come alone when you return. It¡¯s best not to bring any guards or attendants, understand?" Rody took out a magic map of the human world and pondered deeply. If the angels sent demons and beastmen to invade again, how would it unfold? Where should the resistance start? Where should the defense be set up? What changes would occur among the human nations? While nations like Camaron and Mire didn''t need to worry and would fully support him, Norn wouldn¡¯t stand idly by either. However, the situation with Galle, Redlands, Dafrey, and many temple-controlled nations was uncertain. If they were to stab him in the back during the conflict, the human alliance¡¯s army would be doomed.

    Especially now that the commander was Galle''s Iron Marshal Torovsky, it was like exposing human secrets to outsiders.

    Rody pondered over the magic map, deep in thought. Humanity was facing its greatest crisis, yet no one seemed to notice or believe him. The only stronghold was his city in the Land of Evil and his loyal elite team, but they were few in number. Moreover, isolated in the Land of Evil, how long could they hold out against a massive invading force? The thought of the demon clan breaking through was unimaginable.

    What method could he use to thwart this vicious conspiracy? He frowned deeply, thinking of a hundred methods, but none seemed feasible with the limited resources at hand. Defeating the demon clan on a local battlefield was easy for him and his elite team, but protecting over ten million people deceived by the enemy was an almost impossible task.

    "What are you thinking about?" The Moon Night High Priestess returned, noticing Rody shaking his head in frustration.

    "Nothing," Rody replied, quickly waving for Mitir, who was chasing butterflies in the distance, to come back. The Moon Night High Priestess saw the little girl running with a face red from excitement, wearing a crown of grass and flowers, and couldn''t help but feel affectionate. She reached out to hold her, but Mitir, used to only Rody, skillfully dodged and leaped into his arms, warily eyeing the Moon Night High Priestess.

    "I''m not a bad person, you know!" The Moon Night High Priestess spoke a few words in fairy language, delighting Mitir, who started chatting happily with her.

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    "I hope there''s still time," Rody glanced at the sky, which was nearing noon. Despite thinking hard all morning, he hadn''t come up with a good plan. He wanted to return to the human world as soon as possible to prepare for the upcoming war, but also wanted to stay to observe the Winged Tribe''s movements and understand the enemy''s strength.

    If possible, Rody hoped to gain the support of several tribes in the Seven Realms. His focus now was not on attacking the Heavenly Realm, but on how to deal with the imminent ''Century War.'' Before defeating the demon clan, attacking the Heavenly Realm was premature. If humanity couldn¡¯t secure its rear, launching an assault on the Heavenly Realm would be perilously risky.

    "Walking is too slow, let''s ride mounts!" Rody summoned his ''Life Tiger,'' a green vine transformed creature.

    "You can turn vines into a tiger? That''s really surprising!" The Moon Night High Priestess was astonished to see a human harnessing such natural magic. She had always thought Rody was a brute, expecting his mount to be some ferocious beast, not a vine tiger.

    "Summon your white tiger as well," Rody suggested, mounting the vine tiger with Mitir in his arms.

    "What white tiger?" The Moon Night High Priestess summoned a lightning leopard, puzzled.

    "Aren''t you the Moon Night High Priestess of the Elves? Shouldn''t your mount be a white tiger?" Rody recalled a memory where elven priestesses supposedly rode white tigers.

    "My Natasha is a leopard, not a white tiger," the High Priestess clarified.

    "Aren''t you called Tyrande? I remember hearing the Elven High Priestess named Tyrande rode a white tiger and wielded a bow..." Rody was even more surprised. He was sure of his memory, but the Moon Night High Priestess in front of him was riding a shadow leopard and wielding a moon blade.

    "My name is Ainelu Ye Yue," the High Priestess corrected him, "Don''t impose memories of another woman on me!"

    "Goodness, I''ve just recalled a very important memory..." Suddenly, Rody felt a flood of memories overwhelming him, causing confusion about his true identity. When the image of a young man emerged in his mind, he gasped as the memories became clear.

    Rody''s memories had been static, awakening only when sought. This resulted in confusion; perspectives that once made sense seemed unbelievable now, and vice versa. This contradiction impacted his mindset after awakening the memories.

    Now, with a clear memory from his past life emerging, Rody felt a fusion of thoughts. His current life''s memories integrated fully with his past, creating a sense of thought convergence.

    The viewpoints and perspectives from Rody''s two lifetimes, both very reasonable, complemented and filled each other, along with his knowledge and thought realms. This fusion of memories brought Rody a sudden leap in thought, feeling as if the sky had become higher and the earth wider, his soul greatly expanded, almost boundlessly.

    The perspectives and thought realms from his previous life greatly assisted in elevating Rody''s mental state. "Hahaha, I get it now, that Tyrande isn''t real but a character from a game," Rody laughed heartily, feeling a qualitative change in his thoughts and spirit after fully merging his past life''s memories.

    "I have no idea what you''re talking about, Mitir, do you understand why he''s laughing so foolishly?" the Moon Night High Priestess asked.

    "I don''t know," Mitir blinked her big eyes, shaking her head adorably.

    "My memories are so abundant, so rich, so useful, hahaha, I can''t describe it, but this joy surpasses even that of gaining great power. I feel as if I¡¯ve been reborn," Rody continued to laugh heartily, a stark contrast to his usual cool demeanor, clearly ecstatic.

    "Is it because I helped awaken it?" The Moon Night High Priestess wasn''t sure what she had said to elicit such joy, but seeing Rody so happy, she couldn''t help feeling a bit proud.

    "It''s indeed thanks to you! I have things to think about, to resolve, I¡¯ll talk to you later¡­" Rody closed his eyes, beginning to ponder deeply.

    "This guy is really strange," the Moon Night High Priestess secretly observed him. Rody sat cross-legged on the back of the Life Tiger, his hands forming patterns reminiscent of magical arrays, changing slowly but gracefully. As Rody performed these motions, he seemed to grow taller and more imposing.

    For a long time, Rody remained silent, only moving his arms and fingers in rotation. After a while, an energy field emerged around him, invisible and colorless, like a magical aura. Mitir, initially clinging to Rody''s back, was eventually repelled by this invisible force, running into the Moon Night High Priestess''s arms in fright.

    The High Priestess and Mitir curiously watched Rody, noticing his energy field intermittently producing towering flames and wandering lightning. These flames and lightning seemed gentle, emerging around Rody and moving at his will, almost sentient. Eventually, the flames concentrated intensely in Rody''s palm, forming a tangible fire fist, while the lightning crackled at his other hand''s fingertips, transforming into an electric claw.

    Without using battle aura or chanting spells, Rody¡¯s body began to float. Then, in mid-air, he suddenly started to move.

    Rody''s movements resembled a dance, yet to the Moonlight High Priestess, they seemed like a kind of prayer ritual. The energy field expanded significantly, astonishing her with its ability to isolate all magical elements. Within it, it was like the ''power domain'' of Sword Saints and Magic Saints, belonging entirely to Rody.

    However, this energy field differed from the ''power domain'' as it was colorless, formless, and only perceptible in sensation. It was enormous, far surpassing the ''power domain'' of Sword Saints and Magic Saints by more than tenfold. The Moonlight High Priestess had never seen such a unique and vast energy, gradually filling the space.

    The mysterious energy, emerging slowly from Rody''s lower abdomen like qi, filled the entire energy field. The Moonlight High Priestess marveled at Rody''s skillful manipulation of this energy. He made it revolve like a celestial river in the sky, even condensing bright, sparkling stars. This powerful and beautiful energy transformed the surroundings as if the world faded away, leaving only Rody and the mystical star river slowly spinning.

    With a long howl from Rody, the star river spun rapidly and eventually turned into specks of starlight, returning to his body. At that moment, the Moonlight High Priestess saw Rody as if he had become a different person, exuding a divine aura, seemingly shining brightly. His black hair, reminiscent of the star river, had gentle streaks of lightning gliding through it.

    His eyes now contained the beautiful star river that he had just controlled. He had definitely become stronger, leaping a great bound in strength in just half a day. But the Moonlight High Priestess couldn''t fathom how much stronger he had become or what realm he had reached. In her intuition, he seemed like an insurmountable mountain, enigmatic and formidable.

    "Is this really the power I cultivated in just half a day?" Even Rody himself couldn''t believe it. He threw a punch towards the distant earth, unintentionally creating a fist energy so powerful that it almost tore the sky apart and stirred up a whirlwind. Overwhelmed with excitement, he stomped on the ground, making the Moonlight High Priestess feel as if the whole earth was shaking, dizzying her. Surprisingly, such a stomp didn''t crack the earth, nor did it leave any footprint.

    Rody then concentrated fire elements like battle qi and, using a technique from his past life, condensed it into a huge sword. He swung the sword forward in a frenzy, swiftly rotating and slashing horizontally. He then thrust the sword tip into the ground, reaching for the sky at its peak, and, with a powerful arm rotation, he chopped down as if splitting a mountain in two.

    As a result, a two-meter-deep, hundreds of meters long gash appeared on the earth. The Moonlight High Priestess and Mitil were stunned, gaping at Rody''s incredible attack method and its astonishing power.

    "The techniques of our ancestors are indeed magnificent; it really works, I''ve actually mastered martial arts." Rody''s expression was one of immense shock, but upon trying again, he expressed a hint of disappointment, "The sword energy was supposed to transform into a giant dragon. Why didn''t it happen? It seems I still haven''t fully grasped the profound essence. No, I need to practice more¡­"

    "Hey, you''re destroying the earth! Are you trying to kill us?" The Moonlight High Priestess screamed in terror.

    "Dizzy, I forgot about you," Rody muttered to himself, relieved. If his strike had accidentally killed them, it would have been a tragedy beyond repair.

    "What kind of magic is this? So terrifying? No, it''s battle qi, right? I can''t believe humans possess such miraculous battle qi¡­" The Moonlight High Priestess, holding Mitil tightly, was still feeling her heart race uncontrollably.

    She was extremely frightened. When Rody swung his sword in a rotation, it wasn''t without danger to her. Astonishingly, she didn''t suffer any harm as his attacks passed right through her body.

    "No, this isn''t magic or battle qi. It''s a martial art created by a great civilization, the essence of human skill, completely different from magic and battle qi¡­ It''s the opposite, relying not on external objects or elements but on energy cultivated within oneself, and technique¡­ Ah, but you wouldn''t understand! In short, it''s a magnificent combat technique. I never thought I could combine it with magical elements. Maybe it can also be combined with battle qi. I want to try it out later!" Rody explained excitedly.

    "Don''t try again. If you do, this world might be doomed," the Moonlight High Priestess said, half-jokingly, trying to hide her awe, "It doesn''t seem that impressive, just a bit more brute strength."

    "Amazing, brother is so powerful," Mitil applauded with her little hands.

    "No use explaining, you wouldn''t understand!" Rody, in a good mood, didn''t bother to argue. The skills he had cultivated were not something that could be described as mere brute strength. They would be the nightmare of angels, and he believed that even the gods in heaven would scream under the might of his continuously improving martial arts. With these techniques, Rody suddenly felt much more secure. Now, he could challenge saints without relying on divine artifacts.

 Chapter 176: Terrifying, Humans Have Arrived

    "The Sea Clan is a very stubborn and strange race, we rarely interact with them," the Moonlight High Priestess once said. Two days later, Rody and she arrived at a harbor town of the Sea Clan. The town wasn''t large but bustling with a variety of peculiar races. There were fish-people, lizard-people, snake-people, green-skinned monsters, large-eared creatures, centaurs, flower-clothed dwarves, powerful goblins, and even some species that neither Rody nor the Moonlight High Priestess had ever seen. These races each had their unique items for sale in little shops and stalls.

    When Rody and the Moonlight High Priestess arrived, many creatures stared at Rody with a strange gaze, as if they were seeing a monster. "Look, over there, a human has come, just look," a centaur pointed out. "Oh my, humans look so terrifying!" exclaimed a creature with a crocodile head, ironically. Rody almost fainted upon hearing this, considering that these creatures would be considered monstrous in human cities, but here, they were the norm, making him, the sole human, seem very out of place.

    Mitil, undaunted by the strange creatures, eagerly looked at the goods on the stalls, showing an interest in purchasing. In human cities, she was timid and would scream upon seeing strangers, quickly hiding in Rody''s embrace. However, here, among all these creatures, she felt normal, even friendly.

    "Little sister, let''s go, the terrifying human is here!" A large, sharp-toothed monster, upon seeing Rody, panicked and fled with its companion. "So scary, wuwuwu..." As a result, the sight of Rody in shock made the massive creature''s sister, who weighed at least 500 pounds, burst into tears. Rody stood with his mouth agape, never imagining he could scare someone to tears, especially a 500-pound monster sister.

    "You, what would you like to buy? Humans, we are creatures of the good alignment, and it''s against the rules to trade with humans. But if you insist on buying, that''s also possible. You must pay, though. We are law-abiding citizens, surviving on legitimate trade, please, you must pay..." A small stall owner, a fish-person with a large head selling shells and corals, saw Mitil pulling Rody over and seemed interested in his shells. He was troubled and spoke with a trembling voice.

    "What? Do you think humans won''t pay in a transaction?" Rody was puzzled and asked, "We humans are also of the good alignment!"

    "You can''t be considered entirely of the good alignment; at best, you''re of the neutral alignment with a slight evil tendency. Of course, some rare individuals, like you, this big lecher, might be classified under the good alignment," said the Moonlight High Priestess. Hearing this, Rody almost collapsed to the ground.

    In the Land of the Seven Races, humans were viewed so negatively. Humans have always considered themselves part of the good alignment, yet in the eyes of other races, the self-righteous humans were regarded as neutral with evil tendencies. Rody felt a need to correct this misconception. When he spoke loudly to clarify, the surrounding creatures retreated in fear.

    "Listen, humans are actually very friendly and kind. We love peace and are civilized," Rody said, his face almost turning red with the contradiction of his words. But to salvage humanity''s reputation, he decided to continue with the lie, coughed slightly, and announced loudly amidst the stunned creatures, "Human trade is fair. We not only pay, but pay the exact amount. How much for this shell? I''ll buy it!"

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    "What did he say?" some creatures who didn''t understand Rody''s Elvish language asked.

    "Ah, he seems to be saying humans are kind and merciful..." some repeated in disbelief.

    "You must have heard wrong," many creatures doubted, "Your Elvish is worse than that of the Donkey Tribe."

    "No, I clearly heard him say that, and he also said he would pay for things!" one creature argued anxiously. After a quiet argument, all creatures tensely watched Rody to see if he really would pay.

    "You''re really buying this shell? Six, no, just five Pukes will do. Or you can give three Pukes," the fish-person said, both surprised and delighted.

    "What''s a Puke?" asked Rody, causing all the creatures to fall over.

    "It''s a currency, similar to a human silver coin," Mitil knew a bit about the prices.

    "What? This lousy shell costs five silver coins? Ah no, what I mean is, I don''t have Pukes, you misunderstood. I''m not refusing to pay, I just don''t have Pukes. I said I would pay! Why are you crying? I will pay!" Rody struggled to explain and finally pulled out a handful of gold coins, loudly saying, "Look, I give you gold coins! I don''t have Pukes, but I have gold!"

    "We don''t want gold..." the fish-person looked unimpressed.

    "You don''t want gold coins?" Rody was puzzled.

    "Gold is rare in your human lands, but plentiful in the Land of the Seven Races. The Sea Clan''s palaces are made of gold. In short, gold isn''t valuable here, a gold nugget here is like a copper piece to you humans!" explained the Moonlight High Priestess, leaving Rody dumbfounded. He thought he was the world''s wealthiest man with all the gold from the Abyss, not knowing that in the Land of the Seven Races, gold was so common.

    Rody felt increasingly awkward. "No problem if you don''t want gold. You must want magic crystals, right? So many magic crystals, pick any!" Rody pulled out magic crystals, scaring off all the creatures around, including the stall''s owner. The fish-person also tried to leave but was stopped by Rody.

    "I won''t take money, please just let me go!" the fish-person trembled, appearing as if they were about to faint.

    "Put away the magic crystals, you''re scaring everyone. These crystals are soulstones in everyone''s mind, the most precious thing to them. They fear humans will cruelly kill them for these magic crystals... Just put the magic crystals away, the sight they fear the most is their companion''s soulstone," the Moonlight High Priestess explained, which Rody hadn''t known before.

    "Ah, these magic crystals, cough, were given to me! I''m very kind, I wouldn''t even step on an ant," Rody tried to reassure the fish-person with his friendliest smile, patting their shoulder, "Tell me, what do you want? I have everything. How about you name something you need, and we can trade, how does that sound?"

    "An ant wouldn''t be stepped on, huh, big talker!" the Moonlight High Priestess had seen Rody mercilessly kill, not sparing even the defenseless creatures, leaving none alive. His claim of not stepping on an ant made her blush for him.

    "Please let me go! I''m just a second-class fish-person merchant!" the fish-person shivered in fear, worried Rody might covet their soulstone.

    "Poor fish-person, it''s doomed now!" creatures in the distance felt sorry for the fish-person''s predicament.

    "We should run!" many creatures turned pale with fear.

    "Where''s the patrol guard? Help! If they don''t show up soon, that fish-person''s going to lose their life¡­" some creatures were anxious, while others held back the fish-person''s companion, warning, "Don''t go there, humans are very dangerous, he''ll kill you too!"

    "Brother, how can you believe what a human says, how can you ask him for money?" the fish-person''s sibling cried quietly, not daring to be loud.

    "Mitil, I don''t have the money to buy, put that shell down," Rody sighed, thinking he could redeem humanity''s reputation, but it only got worse. If he hadn''t taken out the magic crystals, it might have been slightly better, but now, the terrified creatures likely wouldn''t believe anything else he said.

    "Wah, I wanted the shell¡­" Mitil reluctantly put it down and threw herself into Rody''s arms, her eyes reddening.

    "Don''t cry, darling, it''s just a shell!" Seeing Mitil''s disappointed face, Rody''s heart softened. Remembering how Alice used to pester him for a windmill, only to be disappointed again and again, he gently stroked Mitil''s head, took off his shirt, and said, "I''ll dive into the sea and personally get you the biggest and prettiest shell, just wait here!"

 Chapter 177: Hilarious, The Sea Monster Captain

    Rody dived into the sea, searching among the coral reefs for a long time without finding a single shell. He figured all the nearby shells had probably been collected by the fish-people, making it unlikely to find any. He thought about going back several times, but the thought of Mitil''s expectant little face made him search the seabed over and over. Finally, in a seemingly hidden coral cave, Rody found many shells, all crowded together - big, small, of all kinds, packing the coral cave densely.

    Rody was puzzled. Why so many here when there seemed to be none elsewhere? Could this cave be like an elephant''s graveyard, but for shellfish? With no time to ponder further, he excitedly picked two shells with the brightest colors and most beautiful patterns, swiftly surfaced, and handed them to the anxiously waiting Mitil.

    Mitil joyfully leaped at him, peppering his face with kisses and cheerfully exclaiming how great her brother was. Her face beamed with happiness.

    "These are star-patterned and wave-patterned shells, whoa, did you steal offerings meant for the Sea God?" the fish-person cried out in shock upon seeing the shells in Mitil''s hands, tremblingly accusing Rody of offending the Sea God by taking the deity''s offerings.

    "..." Rody was speechless, the shells he fished up from the sea were offerings to the Sea God?

    "Human, we must warn you seriously. You''re suspected of committing theft and blasphemy. You have the right to remain silent, but everything you say will be recorded and submitted to the Sea Defense Union''s Grand Magistrate," a sea monster in armor, apparently the captain of a guard unit, appeared and addressed Rody. His companions surrounded Rody, all gripping their weapons, ready for action.

    "Come on, just picking up a shell from the sea and I''m accused of theft and blasphemy?" Rody was about to lose his temper.

    "Human, I advise you not to resist. We are well-trained soldiers with rich combat experience..." the captain said, consulting a book before adding, "If you resist, we are authorized to use force, without the limitation of one-on-one combat rules."

    "Captain, you forgot to report our badge number and work protocol," a sea monster teammate whispered a reminder.

    "Ah, I almost made a grave mistake. Cunning human, don''t think of exploiting any legal loopholes. We operate flawlessly, and you can''t escape judgment. We are Sea Monster Corps, Patrol Team 1295, working under the watch of the Sea God, in a just, fair, and transparent manner. If you have any complaints about our law enforcement, please contact the Fourth or Fifth Governor of the Sea Defense Union," the sea monster captain saluted Rody with his team, looking serious but then nervously asked his subordinate, "Did I miss anything just now?"

    The creatures around applauded, seemingly pleased to see a human''s misdeeds being punished. Some, too scared to come close, just peeked out their heads from a distance. The fish-person merchant now looked relieved, as if the sea monster guard team had boosted his confidence.

    Rody saw Mitil looking pale and trembling, on the verge of tears but unable to cry. Meanwhile, Moon Night High Priestess seemed to be stifling laughter. When she noticed Rody''s gaze, she turned away, clearly unwilling to help him in this predicament.

    "No, don''t arrest my brother," Mitil burst into tears. She placed the shells on the ground, spread her arms in front of Rody, and shouted for the sea monster guards not to come near. The thought that her beloved brother might be arrested just because she wanted a shell was unbearable for her. "He''s a good man, how can you arrest him?" Mitil thought, her heart breaking more with each sob. She cried loudly, firmly protecting Rody, yelling, "My brother is a good person, a kind human, no one can arrest him, you can''t do this. He''s a good person, a good brother, none of you are allowed to take him! Go away, go away, don''t come any closer!"

    "The little girl makes it difficult for us¡­" the sea monster guard captain, a massive creature weighing at least 500 pounds with eight arms, looked helplessly at Mitil.

    "Captain, in such a situation, we should first comfort the offender''s family," the sea monster team member who previously gave reminders spoke again. The captain, consulting his book, nodded and said, "Yes, article 792 lists ten ways to comfort children, such as giving them candy, which works well. Who has candy?"

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    "No one," all the sea monster team members shook their heads.

    "I have¡­" Rody said.

    "No, we can''t accept your candy; you are the offender," the captain declined Rody''s offer, pulling out a card that seemed to be a form of universal currency, and instructed a team member, "Go buy some candy; she''s crying too hard!"

    "I don''t want candy, I just want my brother¡­ You all are big bullies, I don''t want your candy!" Mitil cried louder when she heard they wanted to use candy to distract her and take her brother away. Her cries not only gave the sea monster guard team a headache but also drew sighs of sympathy from the surrounding fish-people and various creatures.

    "Little sister, we''re not bad guys; we''re the Sea God''s guard team, responsible for protecting everyone''s safety and property¡­ In short, we protect a lot of things, including you. Your brother stole offerings meant for the Sea God; he committed a crime and must be judged," the captain patiently explained.

    "He didn''t steal anything; my brother is a good person; he wouldn''t steal!" Mitil, in her heart, held an image of Rody as the world''s most perfect brother, incapable of being a thief.

    "You see, he fished these shells from the sea, right?" the sea monster guard captain reasoned, trying to comfort Mitil by bending down to her level.

    "I don''t want it anymore, I''m giving it back to you," Mitil immediately argued. "We''re not taking your things now!"

    "But that''s not okay, he clearly took it just now!" the sea monster guard captain said uncomfortably. "If he were a child, we could forgive his action, but he is an adult, and also a human with evil tendencies, so we must... okay, okay, don''t cry, can you stop crying for a moment?"

    "If you dare to catch my brother, I''ll bite you!" Mitil, desperate to protect her brother, shouted defiantly.

    "Be careful, Captain, she looks very angry. Captain, you should be aware of your safety," one of the sea monster team members warned loudly.

    "If letting her bite me would get her to listen, then let her do it. She''s small, a fairy, and probably doesn''t have venomous teeth. I should be able to withstand it," the captain bravely volunteered, yet stepped back and consulted his book, saying, "Maybe there''s another way. The book says giving her a favorite toy sometimes works well. What toy does she like?"

    "A shell, look, the human just fished one out for her," the fish-people vendor reminded.

    "I''m really stupid for not noticing this detail," the captain rejoiced, searching himself, but then slapped his forehead saying, "Oh, I left my big conch shell at home... Does anyone have one?"

    "No, we heard the alarm bell and were in a hurry, so we didn''t bring anything," the sea monster team members all shook their heads.

    "Mr. Captain, she seemed to really like this shell I''m selling. Why don''t you try giving it to her?" the fish-people vendor offered helpfully.

    "You''re really supportive of our work, we''ll pay you an extra 5% for your price. Thank you so much!" the captain gratefully saluted the vendor.

    "I don''t want it, who cares!" Mitil was angry and resented the shell. If only they could have bought it without money, then her brother wouldn''t have had to fish for shells and wouldn''t be getting arrested. She resented the shell and the fish-people vendor.

    "She likes the shells on the ground," Rody, seeing their dilemma, couldn''t help but speak up.

    "Really? Oh, but... we can''t thank you because you''re the offender," the captain hesitated to pick up the shells from the ground, remembering they were offerings to the Sea God and also evidence.

    "Wuu wuu, brother, Mitil is so sad!" Mitil, fearing Rody would be taken away, clung to his waist and wept loudly.

    "No choice, I''ll offer a hundred shells in prayer to the Sea God, hoping the great and merciful deity will forgive our mistake. No, the Sea God will definitely forgive us. He wouldn''t want to see a child cry tears bitterer than seawater... Poor little girl, don''t cry, these two shells are yours. May the Sea God bless you, don''t cry, little girl...¡± The sea monster captain struggled to console the crying child, preferring to fight a dragon than to appease a weeping little girl.

    "Don''t catch my brother! Wuu wuu wuu!" Mitil naturally cherished the shells Rody personally fished for her, clutching them tightly while also clinging to her brother.

    "There, there, don''t cry. The guards won''t catch me!" Rody wiped her tears and comforted her softly: "It''s okay, don''t cry!"

    "No, we can give her the shells, but you''re still a criminal," the sea monster captain emphasized. "You have the right to appeal, but you must come with us..."

    "Waaah, waaah!" Upon hearing that her brother was still being taken away, Mitil cried and made a scene, almost rolling on the ground in despair.

    "This is really difficult!" The sea monster captain found it hard to take Rody away at this moment. Seeing Rody holding Mitil, who was in tears, the captain scratched his bald head with his huge hand and said to his subordinates: "Let''s invite the Grand Judge here! It''s impossible to arrest the offender now because the relative is crying too hard!"

    "I agree! Agree, I agree too!" The subordinates voted on the spot, unanimously agreeing that it wasn''t appropriate to arrest the offender at this time.

    "Before the Grand Judge comes to judge your crimes, we will monitor your every move and word. Human, you temporarily lose your right to leave freely, understand?" the sea monster captain said, adding, "If you need, we can provide you with a lawyer, which is your right. You may also defend yourself, but all statements must comply with the maritime law and must not be unreasonable."

    "If human city management were half as good as you, the world would be such a beautiful place!" Rody couldn''t help but exclaim, "Although your minds are more rigid than stone, it seems not entirely a bad thing. If every guard were like you, indeed the world would have fewer crimes, because arresting with you is too troublesome and painful... This sea monster captain and your subordinates, if possible, I must invite you to the human realm to train human guards, to teach them what a guard should do! Although I don¡¯t want to praise you different species, you really did a great job!"

    "Captain, did you hear that? He seems to be praising us!" the sea monster team members were excited.

    "A human is actually praising us, how strange!" Some showed a hint of joy, nervously rubbing their eight large hands together.

    "Don''t be proud, everyone. Although human praise is rare, we must do our job well and not let humans look down on our sea tribe and marine guards," the sea monster captain said seriously, then whispered to his subordinates, "Did he really praise us? Are you sure? I was too nervous and didn¡¯t hear it clearly!"

    "See? Didn¡¯t I say the sea tribe is stubborn and quirky?" Moon Night High Priestess chuckled slyly, winking triumphantly at Rody.

 Chapter 178: Humans, We Have Changed Our Opinion of You

    "Wuu wuu wuu..." While waiting for the Grand Judge, a distant warning sound of a conch horn echoed again.

    "It''s so strange, it usually doesn''t sound even once in half a year. Why are so many things happening today?" The sea monster captain wondered aloud, surprising Rody. It turns out the sea monster captain''s unfamiliarity with his duties, always consulting books, was due to the inhabitants'' self-discipline and lack of criminal tendencies.

    Rody could hardly believe that this seaside town was such a paradisiacal place. No crime in half a year ¨C what kind of place was this? In human cities, it would be a miracle if half a month passed without crime. Rody had never even seen a human city maintain a half-day without crime.

    "Attention, the Winged Tribe is invading. Everyone needs to immediately enter the underwater defense shelters," announced a sea tribe wizard emerging from the water. "The Winged Tribe is very fast and is expected to arrive in ten minutes. Everyone, please abandon your belongings. If there are losses, our Maritime Defense Union can compensate eighty percent of the damage. Life safety is crucial, please follow me into the sea for shelter."

    "What? The Winged Tribe is coming?" The monsters were terrified, their colors changing.

    "So scary, they''re ten times more evil than humans!" Rody chuckled bitterly upon hearing a fish person''s exclamation, using human evilness as a benchmark.

    "Run for your lives! Forget the goods!" The fish person vendors and other monsters abandoned their possessions and fled.

    "Everyone, stay calm. We, the Sea Monster Corps Team 1295, will stay behind to ensure your safety. Women and children, please move to the front... Stay calm, we have the capability to protect you!" The sea monster captain ordered his team to maintain order and protect the vendors diving into the sea.

    "Brother, I can''t breathe underwater, what should I do?" Mitil, watching the monsters dive into the sea, was worried since she couldn''t swim.

    "Don''t be afraid, little sister, we will protect you!" The sea monster captain reassured her. "And you, human, we will also protect you. Even though you are a criminal, we treat everyone equally and will fully protect your life. But your trial will continue afterwards. If you don''t flee, we will commend your good behavior to the Grand Judge. Human, take your sister to the maritime defense''s underground shelter. Stay with the races that can''t live underwater. Remember, no matter what you hear, don''t come out. We will stand guard outside, just wait for the sea tribe''s army to rescue."

    "..." Rody never imagined a day when he''d be protected by monsters.

    "Let''s go, murderer," whispered the Moon Night High Priestess in Rody''s ear, seemingly preferring to avoid confrontation and hide rather than fight.

    Rody guessed that Moon Night High Priestess possessed at least the power of a human archmage, but she seemed to dislike fighting. Rather than confront the yet-to-arrive enemies, she preferred to hide. The world of the Seven Races was completely different from the human world, where the monsters were unlike humans in many ways, being kinder and wiser than expected. When humans thought themselves to be civilized, these ''monsters'' had already established excellent nations with simple yet effective laws and order.

    This trip to the land of the Seven Races was indeed an eye-opener for Rody. If human powerhouses had great strength, they would show it off for the world''s applause and admiration. Human nations with a bit of power would invade weaker countries, plundering their labor fruits to satisfy their conquest desires. In contrast, the Mire Empire, based in the land of the Seven Races, was far more civilized than other countries. Despite having an empress, it was the only human country with a parliamentary voting system, preventing the absolute concentration of power in one person''s hands. This showed the level of civilization in the land of the Seven Races and among these monster and fairy races, far surpassing that of humans.

    "Too late now, the mudskippers on the beach!" A sharp, piercing laugh rang through the sky as a beam of light descended, with dozens of grey-winged and black-winged birdmen emerging from a teleportation portal. These winged birdmen of the Aerial Race varied in appearance, some humanoid, some bird-headed, others human-headed with bird bodies, and various other bizarre forms, but all had massive wings on their backs.

    Their dramatic entrance, fluttering across the sky, surrounded all the sea creatures below. "The leader was right, these mudskippers are all so stubborn," a birdman with a sharp beak and grey-and-black feathers cackled loudly, diving towards Rody and the others, causing Mititi to scream in fear.

    "Wow, vice-leader, look, elves and fairies! Finally, we have elves to enjoy!" another birdman laughed heartily. "Catch them, don''t let the squid ruin our fun!" commanded a robust birdman with four black wings.

    "We''re not squid!" The sea monster captain unsheathed his water-dividing spike, roaring furiously. "Listen, despicable Aerial Race, we are the octopus clan''s sea defense force. You shall not harass our people. Call someone out for a duel; before all of us die, you shall not lay a finger on our people!"

    "Long live sea defense!" All sea monster troops bravely took their position at the forefront, brandishing their weapons, ready to protect their people. Fishmen and lizardmen fled into the water in fear, while many other monsters were driven back to the beach by the Aerial Race''s birdmen using bows and spears.

    Holding Mititi, Rody watched the unfolding battle with great interest. Moon Night High Priestess seemed to want to say something, but after sneaking a glance at Rody, she held back, quietly standing beside him, helping to soothe Mititi. The birdmen in the sky were not many, just over thirty, but still outnumbered the sea monster team by more than three times. Each of them was adept at flying, giving them a clear advantage.

    "¡­A duel between the strong? What, did I hear that right?" The four-winged birdman vice-leader laughed exaggeratedly. "Squid dare to call themselves strong?"

    "Kill these squids and make them into skewers!" the birdmen laughed heartily.

    "Vice leader, please allow me to fight!" The sharp-beaked birdman, who had earlier frightened Mititi, chuckled and said, "Just a few squids, I can kill them all! Vice leader, after you''ve enjoyed the elf, let me have a second go, how about that?"

    "The Aerial Race is full of lustful thoughts!" Moon Night High Priestess spat in disgust, then clung to Rody''s arm and coquettishly said, "You see others bullying me and don¡¯t get angry. I''m so disappointed." Rody was stunned to hear this. These few Aerial Race members were at most at the level of Earth Warriors. With Moon Night High Priestess''s abilities, she could probably shoot them all down from the sky with one spell. Why didn¡¯t she erupt in anger?

    "Wait a bit!" Rody took out a plate of honey chicken wings and started eating deliciously, saying, "Anyway, they are about to die. Let them jump around for a bit more! I can''t act too early; otherwise, it won''t be fun¡­"

    "Human, wow, what do I see? There''s a human here!" The sharp-beaked birdman shouted in surprise.

    "I''m not your father, don''t get too excited to see me!" Rody replied nonchalantly.

    "Ha ha ha, birdmen are all hybrids, they don¡¯t have fathers!" The sea monsters burst into laughter at this, especially the sea monster captain, who laughed extravagantly with his eight arms raised high. "Hybrid birdmen, listen, if you don¡¯t dare to come forward for a duel, then you are cowards! If you want a duel of the strong, then come up and fight me one-on-one!"

    "You are looking for death!" The sharp-beaked birdman, feeling greatly insulted, screeched and dived down.

    "I am a well-trained warrior!" The sea monster captain roared, catching the sharp-beaked birdman¡¯s sword with four arms, grabbing the birdman¡¯s legs with two arms, and stabbing him in the abdomen with the water-dividing spike. The birdman screamed and was thrown onto the sand by the sea monster captain. The captain¡¯s four arms were cut off by the sword, leaving one barely intact, dripping greenish blood, yet his face was full of pride.

    At that moment, he had injured his opponent severely while losing only three arms. The sea monster captain approached the sharp-beaked birdman, shouting, "You are now my prisoner. If your companions want to redeem you, then they must withdraw. Otherwise, all our sea monster defense forces will give you a heavy blow! Our reinforcements are coming soon; you must leave, or we will defend our territory at the cost of our lives!"

    "Well said!" The monsters applauded.

    "Brilliantly done, captain! You are our idol!" A sea monster troop exclaimed excitedly.

    "We won''t invade your skies, but you can''t invade our sacred sea¡­" The sea monster captain grabbed the pain-writhing sharp-beaked birdman, shouting at the birdman vice leader in the sky, "If you promise to leave immediately, I will release your companion!"

    "Bang!"

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    The birdman vice leader didn¡¯t respond but made a surprising gesture to Rody¡ªa hand gesture of firing a gun. Gunshots rang out at the same time.

    The sea monster captain roared and staggered back a few steps, then another muffled gunshot sounded, and he fell heavily onto the sand. Rody saw that the sharp-beaked birdman had a pistol-like weapon in his hand, smoking at the muzzle.

    "Foolish squid, do you understand what a squid is? It''s because you''re stupid! You''re foolish!" The sharp-beaked birdman gulped down a healing potion, enduring the pain with a cold laugh, "I haven¡¯t been defeated by you, self-righteous squid. You don¡¯t want to kill me, but that doesn¡¯t mean I feel the same way about you! How does it feel, squid captain? Fire elemental crystal bullets combined with electric shocks, must be especially painful, right? This is the Aerial Race¡¯s latest weapon developed this year, specifically to deal with you mudskippers and squids! Not just me, even an Aerial Race child could easily kill you with it. Heh heh heh, foolish squid, die!"

    "Firearm? Gunpowder gun? Or a magical weapon?" Rody suddenly pondered, realizing that if they had such a weapon, future battles would be even harder.

    "Captain¡­" The sea monster troops all cried out in alarm.

    The sharp-beaked birdman pointed the gun at the sea monster captain''s bald head and, with a vicious smile, pulled the trigger. A gunshot sounded, and blood splattered from the captain''s forehead. Mititi, terrified, clung to Rody, trembling continuously.

    All the monsters were stunned, unable to believe that such a small object could bring down the massive body of the sea monster captain.

    Moon Night High Priestess also frowned. She felt that although the weapon wasn¡¯t very powerful, its convenience in firing made it faster than the elves'' bows and arrows at close range. Since every Aerial Race member could wield it, it was indeed troublesome. She sneakily glanced at Rody, knowing that the bad guy had some mischief in mind, as indicated by the gleam in his eyes.

    "I''m fine!" The sea monster captain struggled up from the blood pool, standing unsteadily, waving his remaining five arms and declaring, "Just a scratch!"

    "Humph, take another Fire Crystal Stone bullet!" The sharp-beaked birdman aimed at the captain''s bald head again and fired.

    "I told you, it''s just a minor injury... Your new weapon, it''s useless against me!" The sea monster captain, bloodied but defiant, roared: "Do you dare to duel me? You despicable birdman, come! I''ve had enough of you. Now, let me send you guys to meet the Sea God! The merciful Sea God will bury you all in his bosom broader than the sea!"

    "Wow, vice leader, how is this guy still fine?" The sharp-beaked birdman panicked, firing several shots, but the sea monster captain kept advancing.

    "The power of the Fire Crystal glove is too weak, but if we use the Magic Crystal Cannon, its power is too great..." The birdman vice leader waved his hand and ordered: "Test over, everyone attack, kill all the sea monsters! Keep the elves and fairies, kill everything else! Loot everything valuable, don''t talk about kindness with these mudskippers and squids, that''s their most foolish trait!"

    "No, I don''t think so." Rody, savoring his chicken wings, shook his head: "Kindness might not always be good, but it''s definitely not bad!"

    ...

    "Someone, chop this chirping human for me, keep his head to feed my dog, and use it as its food bowl later!" The birdman vice leader, clearly disliking Rody, immediately ordered his subordinates to eliminate Rody as soon as he interjected.

    "I''m so scared, what should I do?" Rody pretended to be frightened, turning his face towards Moon Night High Priestess.

    "Hey, put down the chicken wings in your hand first, don''t stretch your oily hand towards me! Don''t touch me!" Moon Night High Priestess wanted to punch him for being so despicable, but eventually refrained and took Mititi from his arms.

    "Lowly human, you just insulted me, hmm, even killing you a hundred times wouldn''t quench my rage!" The sharp-beaked birdman raised his gun towards Rody.

    "I offer you my deepest sympathies, but I also have some doubts about your abilities," Rody said with a smile: "Many have been insulted by me, and many want to kill me, but so far, no one has succeeded."

    "Bang!" The sharp-beaked birdman answered Rody with a gunshot.

    As the smoke from the gun barrel cleared, the sharp-beaked birdman smugly blew away the smoke. However, unlike the sea monster captain, Rody did not fall. He continued to leisurely eat his honey chicken wings, seemingly oblivious to the gunshot. The sharp-beaked birdman was completely baffled, unable to comprehend how Rody remained unharmed despite being shot with a red crystal bullet.

    "Looking for this?" Suddenly, a hand appeared behind the sharp-beaked birdman, holding the deformed red crystal bullet in its palm.

    "Ah?" Everyone gasped in surprise and looked over.

    Behind the sharp-beaked birdman stood a formidable demon general, clad in dark golden armor and a terrifying demon mask. His aura was almost tangible, swirling with golden crescents, clearly a being as powerful as a human Sword Emperor.

    How could a Sword Emperor level demon general be here, seemingly aiding humans? Weren''t demons the mortal enemies of humans?

    "My most respected master, how should I deal with this birdman?" The powerful demon general suddenly knelt, reverently kneeling before a human, asking in a devout voice, "To appease your anger, may I break its wings, twist its neck? Would that be acceptable?"

    "Wow¡­" The sharp-beaked birdman, hearing this, was petrified with fear. Just as it was about to fly away, it was pinned down by the kneeling demon general.

    "Marcus, ah, I forgot I renamed you to Maigu after you became a demon general. How could you do such a cruel thing? We are humans, and humans are very kind!" Rody emphasized the kindness of humans, although the monsters and birdmen looked at him in terror. Smiling, Rody said, "If you don''t want it to escape, just pluck its feathers. Why kill? As your master, my heart is especially kind, have you forgotten?"

    "Yes, my master, Maigu will follow your will!" The demon general pinned the sharp-beaked birdman down and began to pluck its feathers.

    The sharp-beaked birdman, held by the Sword Emperor level demon general, couldn''t struggle at all. It screamed in agony as its feathers were plucked, unable to end its pain through suicide, as Maigu would not allow it. The birdman tried to use its gun for suicide, but Maigu crushed the gun barrel into scrap metal.

    All the birdmen were shocked to see this seemingly insignificant human have a Sword Emperor level bodyguard who was a demon general. The monsters were also worried about Rody''s potential revenge.

    "Noisy, can''t even eat in peace! Maigu, can''t you drag it further away before plucking? It''s so loud!" Rody expressed dissatisfaction with his subordinate''s performance, leaving all the monsters nearly fainting.

    "Yes, my master." The demon general dragged the sharp-beaked birdman by the ankle, ignoring its screams and pleas, and walked away.

    "What kind of person are you?" The birdman vice leader, sweating profusely, asked in astonishment.

    "Nicholas, do you think it''s appropriate for someone of my status to answer such a lowly birdman?" Rody casually asked the elegant butler, who appeared out of nowhere with a basin of water. He casually washed his hands and dried them with a white silk towel, behaving like a spoiled noble youth.

    "Not suitable, master," Nicholas nodded slowly and said, "The one who should be talking to them is the jailer in the prison."

    "Let''s go, this human is definitely a madman!" The birdman deputy leader wanted to take action, but not to mention the demon general from before, even the polite butler in front of him, he was genuinely afraid. Before the demon general returned, he just wanted to leave immediately and not talk to the crazy human in front of him anymore. Using a Sword Emperor as a guard, what an extravagant and insane thing to do.

    "Insulting my master will be the greatest sin in the world." Nicholas put down the water basin, his figure flashed, and when he reappeared, he was already floating in front of the birdman deputy leader. He performed an elegant noble''s bow and said with a smile, "If you receive my master''s forgiveness, it would be a very pleasant thing. Otherwise, I cannot ensure my goodwill towards you. Eh, it seems you did not listen carefully to what I said? Is that so? It seems I need to repeat myself! Sir, are you sure you want to do this?"

    While Nicholas was bowing, the birdman deputy leader had already drawn his sword, burst forth with fighting spirit, and fiercely slashed down. But at the moment the sword was about to strike, Nicholas caught the long sword with two fingers. His body was simultaneously surrounded by a halo and a crescent moon, revealing himself to be a strong practitioner of both magic and martial arts, a mage-king and sword-emperor. This almost scared the birdman deputy leader out of his wits. With his strength, barely approaching that of a sky warrior, to confront a strong man like this was more difficult than an ant trying to move a kodo beast.

    But why? Why would a strong man who is both a mage-king and sword-emperor be the butler of a young human male?

    ...

    "Mr. Nicholas, give me this birdman to eat!" A demon general from the demon race punched down a birdman next to the birdman deputy leader. It opened its bloody mouth, revealing sharp teeth, extended its long tongue, licked its lips, and hummed in a buzzing voice, "I am very angry with this birdman because it insulted the master. I want to eat it, starting from the feet and leaving the head last, then make it into a urine shell!"

    "No, this guy is my dinner tonight, do you want to fight me for it?" Another demon general also ran over, strongly protesting.

    On the ground, all the birdmen were being stepped on and immobilized by the continuously appearing demon generals and dark knights. At this moment, not only the birdmen, but also the monster and sea monster squads were trembling with fear.

    Mittir knew early on that Rody had such guards, and now she was not afraid but felt very relieved. She quickly ran back to Rody''s side, hugged his leg, and sneakily looked at the birdman deputy leader in front of Nicholas, making super cute and mischievous faces at him.

    "I say, how can you eat people?" Rody conjured a bunch of crystal grapes to eat, frowning, not because the grapes were too sour, but because he was dissatisfied with his subordinates, "Just now, Maggot plucking feathers was okay, but how can you be so barbaric to eat people? Although birdmen are not humans, eating them in broad daylight is not right."

    "Understood, master, we can''t eat them in broad daylight, so we''ll drag them to a secluded place to eat!" The demon army immediately bowed and replied upon hearing this.

    "No, you can''t eat people, that''s not what he meant!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night felt she had to speak up.

    "Can''t we eat them in secret?" Rody asked in surprise.

    "..." Everyone burst into a cold sweat.

    "Of course not, that''s too cruel!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night didn''t know if this guy was really crazy or just pretending to be dumb, but she had to stop this barbaric behavior, huffing, "These birdmen have offended you, just let your men beat them up, why be so cruel as to eat them!"

    "No choice then, just beat them up," Rody commanded.

    "Yes, my master, may I ask for how long?" the demon generals and dark knights asked for instructions.

    "No need to beat them for too long, just one or two hours will do." As soon as Rody said this, all the monsters fell to the ground.

    "I demand a duel of the strong, wait, I demand a one-on-one duel of the strong!" the birdman deputy leader called out loudly, pointing at Rody and shouting, "You are their leader, I demand a duel with you! One-on-one, no one else can interfere!"

    "How did your mother give birth to someone as smart as you?" Rody exclaimed in surprise.

    "No, you can''t agree to his request!" The members of the sea monster squad were anxious, as this human''s subordinates were very strong, either Sword Emperors or Mage Kings, but his own strength was weak. If he agreed, he would surely be defeated by the birdman deputy leader. This one-on-one duel of the strong could not be agreed to. Some of the sea monster squad members shouted loudly, "Despicable winged birdmen, why didn''t you agree to our duel of the strong just now? And you are already a prisoner, as a prisoner, you have no right to make such demands!"

    "Right, right, right, don''t agree to it!" The monsters also felt very angry, wasn''t this birdman clearly trying to bully humans?

    "This birdman is too despicable!" The monster sister who was previously scared to tears by Rody also became angry.

    "Human, don''t be fooled, even if you don''t accept the duel, it doesn''t matter, because you are a cunning human..." The fishman merchant emerged from the sea, shouting loudly. Seeing everyone looking at him in shock, he quickly waved his hands, "Forget what I said, forget what I said!"

    "It sees you as weak and wants to challenge you. It''s not a hero, but a shameless coward. You don''t need to accept such an unreasonable request. You can completely ignore its existence and exercise your rights to the fullest, because it is already a pitiful prisoner." The blood-stained captain of the sea monster squad also nodded, "I won''t ask for their forgiveness, but I want to state one thing, you are still our prisoner, even though you have saved all of us, we will still monitor your actions until the high judge declares you innocent..."

    "Alright, but I hope your high judge doesn''t fine me, because I really don''t have money to pay the fine!" Rody sighed, stroked Mittir''s smooth hair, and walked towards the birdman deputy leader.

    "Hey, human, although the legend says humans are not good, you have changed my mind. Humans are great, keep it up!" A voice suddenly shouted from among the monsters.

    "I support you too, you must defeat that birdman!" More voices joined in, cheering for Rody.

    "You are an excellent and admirable human male, I take back my previous misconceptions about humans! Salute!" The captain of the sea monster squad saluted Rody with his team members. With so many strong subordinates and still abiding by the law, could he not be from a good alignment? Seeing how he treated his sister, could he not be a good person?

    "I say, human, you can also have the shell I gave to your sister, of course, paying for it is best..." The fishman merchant''s voice trailed off in embarrassment.

    "If you don''t have money for the fine, we''ll all pitch in for you!" A horse-headed monster shouted excitedly.

    "Go for it!"

    "Defeat that birdman!"

    "Even if you get defeated, it doesn''t matter, we understand you, human, you have already been brave!" The crocodile-headed monster standing next to his horse-headed monster friend shouted, "My shop has powerful healing potions, and I am also a level three water healer, I''ll heal you for free, just fight well!"

    "I''m so moved!" Rody bowed to everyone with a very elegant noble''s bow and smiled, "I''ll try my best, fight carefully, and see if I can save your healing potions."

    "How long is this

    guy going to pretend to be dumb?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night nearly broke her ribs laughing but held back, complaining in her heart.

 Chapter 179ï¼šHey Hey, Whats His Name

    For Rody, who was drinking water, changing his outerwear, and doing warm-up exercises, the birdman deputy leader maintained the utmost restraint. He held his sword, watching Rody coldly.

    At this moment, Rody also took a thin sword, slightly larger than a toothpick, and approached the birdman deputy leader cautiously and slowly. Everyone watched him with great tension, feeling that as soon as he made a move, he would probably be sent flying by the birdman deputy leader. Without the powerful mage-king butler watching over, no one would have felt at ease letting Rody duel.

    At this time, the only one cheering for Rody was Mittir.

    "I''m going to attack now," Rody shouted, but he didn''t move forward at all. "Come on!" the birdman deputy leader snorted.

    "Cough, I''m really coming now, I''m starting!" Rody yelled again, but still did not advance, obviously very nervous. It was no wonder, a human swordsman dueling a birdman sky warrior was quite a stretch.

    "First, wipe your sweat!" the birdman deputy leader sneered.

    "Alright, I''ll wipe my sweat and then deal with you!" Hearing this, Rody turned around, took out a white silk handkerchief, and wiped his forehead.

    "Be careful, be careful!" the sea monsters screamed in fright.

    "It''s already too late... Human, stupidity is your fatal error!" The birdman deputy leader moved swiftly, getting close before the butler Nicholas could intervene, placing his sword across Rody''s neck, and then laughed proudly, "Tell your men to back off, or my sword will drink blood. Don''t try to attack; my sword is fast, it only takes 0.1 seconds to decapitate you."

    "Don''t hurt me, everyone step back," Rody, now controlled, hurriedly gestured for the demon generals and dark knights to back away.

    "The butler sir should also step back," the birdman deputy leader said, focusing entirely on Nicholas.

    "No, I must stay," the butler Nicholas slowly shook his head, saying, "Let go of my master, and I''ll let you leave. Otherwise, you will definitely regret it!"

    "Let''s do this! We each take a step back. You let the demon generals leave, and butler sir, you stay here alone," the birdman deputy leader negotiated reasonably, "I promise not to harm your master, I just want to leave. So, let the demon generals take my companions to a town 200 kilometers away. As soon as they release all of my companions, I will immediately return your master to you. Butler sir, what do you think of this proposal?"

    "I agree," Rody, the master, nodded, leaving Nicholas with no choice but to consent.

    The sea monsters couldn''t bear to watch anymore, how could a good situation turn out like this because of Rody''s appearance? However, since the birdman deputy leader was holding him hostage, they had to comply.

    In short, the birdmen were too cunning, and humans were too weak. The original decision to duel was a mistake. The captain of the sea monsters deeply regretted it, feeling that he should have foreseen this outcome earlier. Instead of encouraging the duel at the beginning, he should have stopped it. The human male was not strong enough, and supporting him in the duel was like sending him to his death.

    Now, being under the control of the birdman, it was truly a sigh-inducing situation.

    The demon generals, taking the birdmen, followed the route directed by the birdman deputy leader, flying rapidly toward the destination.

    "Butler sir, don''t be nervous, I will release your master soon. I will give you a magical device, you can watch it. As soon as my companions reach the destination, I will immediately release him!" the birdman deputy leader said, while tossing an object to Nicholas.

    "Ah!" Just as Nicholas was about to reach for it, he screamed in surprise. A huge silver cross rapidly expanded, and its chains tightly bound Nicholas to it. Despite his strength as a Mage King and Sword Emperor, he found it difficult to break free at that moment. This was the Holy Silver Cross of the Angel Clan, and it was unexpected that the birdman deputy leader would possess it. The sea monsters were stunned by this development, all of them gaping in disbelief.

    This birdman was too despicable and cunning, deliberately speaking to lower the butler''s guard, then using a treasure to bind his opponent.

    "Ha ha ha, the smartest race is indeed our great Winged Race!" The birdman deputy leader, proud and laughing, said, "Humans, oh humans, you are truly foolish! Is there anyone as foolish as you in the world? Ha ha ha, right, you''re just like those sea mudskippers, with your slimy octopus brains full of idiocy! Let me tell you, from the beginning, I was already plotting against you. I had already informed my superiors early on, and the Winged Race army is about to arrive! When you fools see the Winged Race''s light pillar descending and the teleportation gate opening, don''t be surprised, because your defective brains could never come up with a perfect battle plan like mine... Ha ha ha ha ha!"

    "Despicable!" The sea monsters were so angry they could hardly speak.

    "Curse all you want!" The birdman deputy leader coldly sneered, "As the weaker ones, it''s natural for you to feel regret and pain!"

    "Do you think the only strong one here is the butler?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night summoned her battle pet, a seventh-tier thunder system shadow leopard, startling the birdman deputy leader.

    The speed of a thunder system shadow leopard was unimaginable. Generally, when someone sees it with their own eyes, it''s their last sight in this world. The birdman deputy leader didn''t expect the elf dressed as an ordinary female archer to have such a high-tier magical beast battle pet. He secretly swallowed hard. Thankfully, he hadn''t released the hostage, or else his throat would have already been pierced by the shadow leopard...

    "I''ll release him, don''t worry, I am willing to release the butler first, let''s talk properly!" The birdman deputy leader was tense, fearing an attack from the shadow leopard at any moment.

    "Don''t trust this despicable winged birdman!" The sea monsters immediately shouted.

    "Release him, we will not listen to any more of your words, you cunning birdman, don''t think you can deceive us again with your smooth talk!" The sea monster squad captain said furiously.

    At that moment, when the birdman deputy leader was sweating profusely and paralyzed with fear, his savior finally arrived.

    A beam of light descended from the sky, and a birdman with pure white wings, tall and formidable, holding a sword, accompanied by a black, six-winged, one-eyed birdman, flew out of the light gate. Behind this four-winged white feather birdman leader, several four-winged grey feather birdmen followed, indicating the high status of this white-feathered birdman male.

    "General Xiangtian, and the leader, come quick, we''ve run into big trouble!" The birdman deputy leader cried out in surprise.

    "A seventh-tier thunder system shadow leopard?" The white-feathered General Xiangtian, upon seeing the ground, immediately halted his descent, snorted, and rose a dozen meters higher, looking at the female archer dressed High Priestess of the Moonlit Night, and shouted loudly, "Elf royal girl, this matter has nothing to do with you. You should leave immediately to avoid affecting the friendship between the Winged Race and your Elf Race!"

    "It''s your Winged Race that attacked my friend first, this time, I refuse to stand by." The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night was determined not to leave.

    "For the sake of our two races'' friendship, let''s discuss how to handle this," General Xiangtian, unwilling to descend to the ground and take risks, whispered a few words with the black six-winged one-eyed birdman in the sky, then said, "Since you have a high-tier shadow leopard, you must be a member of the Elf royal family. Out of respect for you, we have decided to have our Fourth Prince negotiate with you."

    "I just hope your prince won''t be as barbaric and belligerent as your subordinates!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night glanced at Rody and surprisingly nodded in agreement.

    Three minutes later, two more beams of light descended from the sky.

    After one light pillar''s gate opened, three white four-winged generals of the Winged Race appeared.

    The largest and brightest small light gate opened, revealing a single birdman. He was extraordinarily handsome, dressed in fitting holy armor, emitting a dazzling white light, almost like a real angel. Behind him were the most wings among all white feathers - six in total, and he was the only one standing on a Sword Emperor''s halo.

    With the appearance of this powerful Fourth Prince, the sea monsters realized they had been deceived again.

    The birdmen didn''t intend to invite a noble prince for negotiation, but rather brought this powerful Fourth Prince as reinforcement.

    "Use the Sealing Sphere to seal this space, so no one can enter or leave!" The Fourth Prince commanded without looking at anyone, as the four Winged Race generals flew to the northeast, southwest, and northwest, connecting a huge spatial magic array with a transparent crystal sphere, eventually shattering the floating sphere.

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    "Where are our reinforcements?" The sea monster squad captain panicked but was powerless to stop it.

    "I don''t know, but the most urgent distress signal has already been sent..." The sea monster squad members looked at each other in dismay, unsure if the reinforcements would arrive in time. Just as the sea monsters were about to despair, at the moment the sky''s crystal spheres shattered, the sea surface also flashed with a multitude of lights, like waves or a vortex.

    "Sea Monster Squad, you''ve worked hard, we''ve finally arrived in time." From within the vortex of light, a six-armed sea creature emerged, her upper body like a young girl''s, but her lower half resembling a snake, with a bizarrely shaped tail. She held different strange weapons in each of her six arms. Behind her were a dozen four-armed companions, each a female, dressed in spiky scale armor.

    "Winged Race''s Fourth Prince, who could it be? It''s you, the cunning white-eyed pigeon. Don''t worry, I''ve arrived in time, you won''t be slaughtering my people!" The six-armed girl split the waves, arriving next to the Sea Monster Squad, looking at the least Sword Emperor-level Winged Race Fourth Prince without fear, her expression serious yet undaunted.

    "Jekaterina Gabor Bidais, the youngest and most promising leader of the Sea Race, haha, I thought it was someone else, but it''s you!" The Fourth Prince of the Winged Race sneered, "Do you think you alone can intimidate me?"

    ...

    "Let''s leave the cursing and grudges for later," Rody stretched, yawned, and said, "I''ve been a hostage here all day, it''s time for me to make a few important statements, let''s have a round of applause!"

    "..." Everyone was dumbfounded, staring at him blankly.

    "Who is this human scum? Hey hey, don''t you know? I hate humans the most in my life, chop him up and feed him to the dogs, and keep his skull as a bowl for my beloved dog!" As soon as the Fourth Prince said this, it sounded familiar to everyone, as if the birdman deputy leader had already said it once before.

    "I''m so scared, what should I do?" Rody, upon hearing this, made the same expression and turned to ask the High Priestess of the Moonlit Night.

    "Hey, don''t take advantage of the situation!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night, seeing this big pervert reaching out for help towards her chest, was immediately angry.

    "A seventh-tier thunder system shadow leopard? Are you a member of the Elf royal family? And who is this human? What is going on here?" The six-winged Naga girl was increasingly confused, wondering about the man dressed as a butler, bound by the Holy Silver Cross on the ground. He seemed very powerful, but who was he? And the human male with weak strength but big talk, who was he?

    What exactly happened here?

    She couldn''t understand how the elves became friendly with humans and why the Sea Race suddenly started protecting humans. How could two strange humans appear here in the land of the Seven Races?

    "Respected Leader, both humans and elves are our friends. The despicable Winged Race suddenly attacked our bay, but this human stood up to stop their evil..." The Sea Monster Squad Captain described the events with great emotion, but the more he spoke, the more confused the Naga girl became. Since when did humans become so just and kind? This was completely different from the legends!

    "You mean this butler has the strength of a Mage King and Sword Emperor?" The Fourth Prince was startled upon hearing this. How could it be possible? It was already a stretch to use the Holy Silver Cross to ambush a Sky Warrior, let alone successfully bind a powerhouse with the combined strength of a Sword Emperor and Mage King. But the reality in front of him was undeniable.

    The Fourth Prince was equally confused, not understanding what was happening, but he knew one thing - his side had the advantage.

    "General Xiangtian, you four attack the elves together, take them down quickly and without harm. Four-winged guards, you contain the Naga female fighters; Captain Heimu, exterminate the Sea Monster Squad and all the sea mudskippers, then assist in attacking the Naga fighters; as for the deputy leader, what¡¯s your name? Never mind, we''ll talk about it later! Now, immediately kill that despicable human. I despise him from the bottom of my heart!" The Fourth Prince secretly calculated and found that his side was overwhelmingly powerful. Although his opponent Jekaterina was tough, with the generals joining him after their battle, it might be possible to capture her.

    "There are many who hate me and want to kill me, but none have succeeded so far," Rody smiled and said, "Although no one applauded, I still have to announce solemnly that from this moment on, you are all my captives."

    "Have you gone mad?" was the first reaction of the Naga girl Jekaterina.

    "Why does no one believe me when I finally tell the truth?" Rody said sadly, squatting on the ground and drawing circles, looking pitiable.

    "What an idiot, it¡¯s useless even if he doesn¡¯t die, kill him, quick!" The real reason the Fourth Prince wanted to kill Rody was that this human male was eerily handsome, more attractive than himself. He didn''t want to admit it, but he couldn''t hide the sour feeling in his heart. How could there be such a handsome human male in the world?

    "Do you think someone as foolish as this can restrain me? Can someone as brainless as this play schemes in front of me?" Rody playfully slapped the face of the paralyzed deputy leader, smiling, "In my view, it''s a hundred times more ridiculous than an ant trying to steal crumbs in front of me. If it weren''t for the purpose of drawing out you big shots, would I need to play the hostage so arduously? But I really didn''t expect a Winged Race prince to show up, what a surprise! Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll give you VIP captive treatment!"

    "What does VIP captive mean?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night was confused. Isn''t a captive just a captive? Are there levels to it?

    "You can ask His Highness the Fourth Prince later, he surely knows very well!" Rody said seriously, causing the Fourth Prince in the sky to be utterly infuriated.

    "Kill him immediately, or I will slaughter you all, I swear I will do it!" The Fourth Prince roared angrily.

    "Your Highness, please calm down, we will take action right now!" The four generals dived down in fear.

    "I like group fights¡­" Rody slowly raised his hands, skillfully weaving through thousands of sword energies, and landed a punch on General Xiangtian''s left jaw. The other three generals'' sword energies slashed him into dozens of pieces, scaring the monsters into screaming, but a second later, everyone realized it was just an afterimage. The real Rody appeared above General Xiangtian''s head.

    A powerful punch landed on the back of General Xiangtian''s head, sending him crashing to the ground. As he fell, the three generals arrived swiftly, combining their swords in an attack. However, Rody had already teleported beneath General Xiangtian, grabbing his body and slamming it hard into the ground. As Rody neared the ground, he flipped to negate the impact, but General Xiangtian crashed into the sand. Rody stepped between his twitching legs, and everyone seemed to hear something snap, their faces turning pale with fright.

    "Don¡¯t be afraid, he''s not dead!" Rody casually pulled General Xiangtian out of the sand, trying to reassure everyone.

    "Ah..." The sea monsters sweated profusely, thinking it might have been better if he had died.

    "You, you, you''re a swordsman, right?" the Sea Monster Squad Captain asked laboriously. The human male''s ability to easily defeat General Xiangtian, even amidst the combined attack of four Winged Race generals, was beyond comprehension. Was everything he had shown before just an act?

    "I''m a one-star novice magic apprentice; I can''t even conjure a small fireball, quite pitiful!" Rody replied, bringing up a sorrowful memory and squatting down to draw circles in the sand again.

    "Die!" The three Winged Race generals, both shocked and enraged upon seeing Rody stoop, quickly dove down for an attack.

    "Why bother with all this fighting? Why not play a game instead?" Rody raised his hand, and numerous elements began to converge in his palm, seemingly about to explode.

    "Run... Ahh!" The Fourth Prince, sensing danger, drew his sword to intervene, only to find Rody had vanished under the swords of the three generals, reappearing behind him. Rody roared and slashed his sword fiercely. The Fourth Prince''s sword crackled with intense lightning, enveloping Rody with countless bolts guided by the sword energy.

    "Nice sword, I like it." Rody elegantly dodged, moving smoothly in front of the Fourth Prince like a fish swimming in water.

    "Take my sword!" The Fourth Prince, angered by his previous attack''s ineffectiveness, roared.

    "I''ll try..." Rody moved his hands in a circular motion, finally pressing them together as if holding a ball, sidestepping at the moment the Fourth Prince''s sword energy was unleashed. The glowing sword energy, redirected by Rody, spun and thrust towards the three Winged Race generals. They awkwardly dodged, the sword energy slicing a nearly hundred-meter-long rift in the ocean, creating towering waves, like a storm raging on and on.

    "My goodness, is this guy even human?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night, aware of Rody''s capabilities, couldn''t help but marvel at his skill.

    "Such an odd way to deflect!" The Naga girl furrowed her brows involuntarily.

    "Huff, huff..." The Fourth Prince was gasping for air, utterly stunned.

    How could a human neutralize his thunder-imbued sword energy? It seemed impossible! Despite the human male''s apparent limited abilities, he had neutralized the Fourth Prince''s Sword Emperor-level sword energy, which was nothing short of a nightmare.

    The three Winged Race generals were even more terrified, having narrowly escaped death by their own leader''s sword energy.

    ...

    "Disappointed, aren''t you? Don''t cry, I have another little gift for you!" Rody, after concentrating for a while, finally produced a colorful elemental sphere in his hand. He gathered wind, fire, water, earth, light, dark, thunder, ice, and spiritual elements into separate, interrelated rotating arrays that merged into one, held in the palm of his hand. Everyone watched, heart-stopped, knowing that if these mutually enhancing and negating elements collided, the resulting chain explosion could pulverize everyone present.

    Everyone could never have imagined that a magician would be so crazy as to perform such a dangerous act. However, upon further thought, how could there possibly be a magician who can simultaneously conjure all elements? In this world, apart from gods, nobody could do that, not even the King of Elements. Could it be that the elemental sphere in his hand was just an illusion?

    As people were questioning whether Rody was just using it to scare them, he boldly reached into the elemental sphere, dividing it into three smaller spheres. He flicked them towards the three Winged Race generals. The generals, in a fluster, desperately beat their white wings to escape. If hit by such a terrifying object, they believed they would be blown to pieces, leaving not even bone fragments behind. The elemental spheres were not very fast, and the three generals easily dodged them. However, unlike the Fourth Prince''s sword energy, Rody''s colorful elemental spheres didn''t disappear after being dodged. Instead, they circled around and chased after the generals again.

    "Damn it, if you''re brave, take my sword head-on!" The Fourth Prince, enveloped in fighting spirit and shining with golden light, burst out with sword energy tinged with purple lightning.

    "Alright!" Rody agreed cheerfully.

    Everyone was stunned. How could he be so foolish? It was impossible, right? The Fourth Prince was also startled, but at the same moment, Rody''s fist came flying, striking the Fourth Prince''s nose heavily, sending him screaming and retreating through the air. In the distant sky, Rody, holding a giant club, was swinging it as if hitting a baseball. The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night was puzzled ¡ª why did he run so far to hit someone?

    Now everyone knew that Rody excelled in surprise attacks, especially from behind. But wasn''t that location too far?

    "Boom..." A blast erupted behind the Fourth Prince, with white feathers flying everywhere.

    The Fourth Prince had been prepared for a sneak attack, slashing behind with his sword, but there was no one there. Rody in the distance was swinging his club, sending fireballs flying over, which the Fourth Prince tried to defend against. When the sword energy met the fireballs, it resulted in a massive explosion.

    People were astounded by his cleverness. Not only did he outsmart his enemy, but he also cruelly toyed with them. Fighting him was utterly disorienting.

    "Damn it, I''ll kill you!" The Fourth Prince, charred black, furiously swung his sword at Rody, having lost his reason and determined to fight this human male to the death.

    "What did you say?" Rody pretended to listen closely but then struck the Fourth Prince with his club, sending him flying.

    The Fourth Prince had barely retreated a few steps when Rody''s club struck again, heavily hitting his back, causing him to plummet. However, Rody appeared mysteriously below the Fourth Prince, swinging the club upwards, striking him squarely. No matter where the Fourth Prince fled, Rody was always able to catch up in time and swing his club for a head-on hit. Even as the Fourth Prince tried his best to counterattack with his sword, Rody effortlessly dodged and struck again.

    After being hit consecutively more than a dozen times, the Fourth Prince spat blood in frustration.

    "Truly worthy of a prince, even spitting blood with such flair, impressive, impressive!" As soon as Rody spoke, all the monsters fell to the ground.

    "What kind of person is this guy?" The Naga girl was also dumbfounded, unable to believe that a human could be so powerful. What surprised her the most was that she couldn''t see through his strength. Without even exerting his full power, he had beaten a Winged Race Fourth Prince, of the same level as herself, to the ground, infuriating him to the point of spitting blood.

    Who is he, really? Why would such a powerful man willingly become a hostage? Could all that had happened before be his pre-planned setup? What could be the purpose of such a cunning and scheming human man coming to the territory of the Sea Race?

    "Hey hey, what''s his name?" The Naga girl, seeing her subordinates'' dumbstruck faces, figured they probably didn''t know much and decided to ask the High Priestess of the Moonlit Night. She was his companion and should know something, right?

    "Ah, I''ve been here for quite a while, and finally, someone asks my name!" Rody suddenly appeared in front of the Naga girl, excitedly extending his hands, "Let''s shake hands! I''ve always wanted to introduce myself but didn''t, fearing it might be too abrupt. Beautiful lady, I am Rody, known as the charming and outstandingly handsome youth among humans, adored by everyone I meet. But when I came to the land of the Seven Races, nobody likes me. Thankfully, you like me, I''m so touched, I just want to hug you and cry..."

    "Pervert, get away from me! Where is your hand going?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night kicked him away furiously.

    "Did he just touch me?" The Naga girl was shocked beyond belief, realizing this guy wasn''t a human hero but a lecher. He had taken the opportunity of a handshake to touch her chest, which was utterly embarrassing!

    "I was just too excited..." Rody denied vehemently, "As a gentleman like me, how could I do such a thing?"

    "Gentleman, where are your eyes looking?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night angrily reached for Rody''s ear.

    "I was just looking at the shell on her chest, wondering how it''s different from the star-patterned shell Mittir has. Oh, look, the Fourth Prince is coming!" Rody suddenly pointed to the sky. The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night and the Naga girl looked up, saw no one, and then turned back to Rody, who had already run far away... Both of them sweat profusely.

    "No matter how strong you are, you will die. I, I will make an exception and use our Winged Race''s most powerful weapon to crush you to pieces! I have never hated a human as much as I hate you, you truly deserve to die! I will never forgive you, even if it means perishing together, you despicable human, die!" The Fourth Prince frantically gathered elements, seemingly preparing for a desperate struggle.

    "Don''t rush, take your time to gather, I''m waiting for you!" Rody put away the Holy Silver Cross, released Nicholas, conjured a glass of wine, and drank elegantly. Seeing Mittir licking her lips, he shook his head, "Children shouldn''t drink alcohol, here, have some bubble gum! Wait, you have to guess a riddle first, are you ready? Here I go!"

    "This guy is crazy..." The Naga girl was almost fainting. Doesn''t he have any sense of crisis?

    "He''s not, but almost!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night couldn''t bear to look at Rody. She knew he had a plan, but under such circumstances, it was hard to endorse his behavior. The enemy was about to fight desperately, and he should at least show some seriousness and concern, right?

 Chapter 180ï¼šShocking, Rodys Astonishing Statement

    In mid-air, the Winged Race''s Fourth Prince gathered a massive amount of elemental energy, with a strange weapon on his shoulder. The weapon resembled a cylinder, covered with bizarre magic arrays and a large gem at its end, where countless elemental energies rapidly converged. The cylinder''s arrays slowly rotated, and intense energy flickered dazzlingly at the dark muzzle. Sensing the terrifying power of the weapon in the Fourth Prince''s hands, the Naga girl''s expression turned grave.

    "The Winged Race''s Magic Crystal Cannon, prepare the magic water mirror to refract the beam!" The Naga girl had a method to counter it.

    "Everyone, quickly come over here! Our hastily conjured magic water mirror is too small to protect the entire ground. Hurry to the rear of the water mirror!" Dozens of Naga female warriors chanted in unison, creating a huge vortex on the water surface, providing temporary shelter for everyone.

    "Mittir, let''s go too, don''t mind this madman!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night carried Mittir and left, no longer paying attention to Rody.

    "Rising Water Dragon!" Rody flew to the sea surface, and where he passed, a giant water dragon rose, fiercely accompanying him towards the sky. The Fourth Prince turned his cylindrical weapon towards Rody and fired. A beam shot from the weapon, lighting up the entire sky. For a long time, people''s eyes couldn''t recover from the flash.

    The entire sea was boiling, with waves rising tens of meters high. The shockwave spread across the sea like a typhoon, blowing everyone on the beach into disarray. The air was filled with steaming vapor and hot water droplets. The water dragon Rody had created was turned into steam and droplets by the beam fired from the cylindrical weapon.

    Yet, Rody, at the forefront of the massive water dragon, remained unharmed. He still held the cup of wine in his hand, not even a drop spilled. Rody glanced at the turbulent sea below, then at the dismayed Fourth Prince, and said lightly, "You should practice your aim!"

    "I don''t need to!" The Fourth Prince roared angrily, aiming the Magic Crystal Cannon at the people on the ground, sneering.

    "You plan to shoot them?" Rody asked, seemingly puzzled, "I''m right in front of you, aren''t I?"

    "If you don¡¯t want them shot in front of you, then use your body to block their death! Aren''t you powerful? Aren''t you the hero of humans? Come on, use your body to shield them from death!" The Fourth Prince¡¯s shoulder-mounted Magic Crystal Cannon began to glow again, making his already pallid face from the bright light look even more terrifying.

    "What a brilliant idea, how did you come up with it?" Rody clapped his hands, praising enthusiastically.

    "Now is not the time to praise the enemy, think of something!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night was angry.

    "I can''t do anything!" Rody shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands, indicating he was helpless.

    "You''re just going to watch it shoot us with the Magic Crystal Cannon? If you don''t want to block with your body, then attack the Magic Crystal Cannon, quickly!" The Naga girl Jekaterina, eager to fight herself, but considering the safety of her subordinates and civilians, stayed on the ground, repeatedly strengthening the magic water mirror with water magic. However, she had no confidence in completely deflecting the power of the Magic Crystal Cannon.

    "Can I attack it?" Rody asked, pointing at the Fourth Prince.

    "Nonsense!" Everyone rolled their eyes.

    "The Fourth Prince is about to cry, poor thing, let it fire one more time!" Rody spoke as if persuading everyone to let a child set off one more firework, not wanting the child to cry, giving off that kind of feeling.

    "Die, human scum!" The Fourth Prince, driven mad, raised the Magic Crystal Cannon, aiming at Rody in front of him, and the beam shot out.

    "Your aim is terrible!" Rody shook his head in disappointment. The massive beam passed right through his body and shot into the distant sky, seemingly piercing something, then the beam disappeared into the sky. The Fourth Prince''s eyes bulged in shock. At such a close distance, how did this human male dodge it? No matter the speed, it was impossible to dodge the Magic Crystal Cannon''s beam after firing, yet this human man did just that.

    "Brother is so awesome!" At this moment, the only one who could cheer was the naive Mittir.

    "..." Everyone was dumbfounded, staring at Rody in the sky.

    "Let me demonstrate how to fire this thing. Although I''m not very good at it, I believe I''m much better than you!" Rody reached out his hand, and suddenly the Magic Crystal Cannon was in his grasp. A half-clone emerged from his back, carrying the Magic Crystal Cannon, and began to gather elements. He actually knew how to use the Magic Crystal Cannon.

    The Fourth Prince shivered in fear, trying to dodge the aim. Suddenly, he found that Rody had multiplied into two, then four, each clone carrying an identical Magic Crystal Cannon. It was unclear which was real and which was fake. The four Magic Crystal Cannons aimed in different directions, leaving the Fourth Prince feeling cold all over, trapped within their firing range.

    Rody''s real body appeared, holding a small flag in one hand and a silver whistle in his mouth. "Human Cannon, first level ready; Human Cannon, second level ready; Human Cannon, fire..." With each command from Rody, the four Magic Crystal Cannons adjusted their angles once, and finally, all four fired beams, hitting the Fourth Prince and the four-winged birdmen guards, who screamed in pain.

    "Brother is so majestic! So majestic!" Mittir clapped her hands excitedly.

    "What an outdated command, so unpleasant to hear!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night and the Naga girl covered their faces, unwilling to watch.

    Although the four Magic Crystal Cannons fired simultaneously, their power was significantly reduced. The Fourth Prince, bombarded by the beams, understood that it wasn''t the power of the Magic Crystal Cannon that hit him, but the illusion magic beams fired by the human. Despite this, the realism of the illusions terrified him.

    By the time he stabilized himself in the sky and defended with his sword, Rody had already tied up his subordinates swiftly. Only the one-eyed captain struggled a bit, but the other birdmen guards couldn''t even resist in front of Rody. The one-eyed captain with six wings, having dodged the Magic Crystal Cannon''s firing, was no match for Rody, who smashed him with a holy hammer before he could swing his giant sword, causing him to spit blood and roll his eyes. He only struggled a bit when Rody stepped on his head, pushing it into the sand.

    "Nicholas, make sure everyone is thoroughly interrogated. Extract every piece of treasure from these birdmen, squeeze them dry!" Rody hadn''t finished speaking when everyone noticed the Dark Knights and Demon Generals reappear. It turned out the guards hadn''t left at all; it was only an illusion.

    "Yes, my master," Nicholas answered respectfully.

    "Prince, the game is over. I''ve taken the Magic Crystal Cannon and figured out how to use it. But I still have some questions about how it''s made, so please explain to my butler. Don''t worry, as long as you confess clearly, I will definitely let you go back to continue being a prince!" Before Rody finished speaking, the Fourth Prince soared up, trying to escape through the hole in the sky made by the Magic Crystal Cannon.

    "It''s escaping, why aren''t you chasing?" The Naga girl Jekaterina shouted anxiously.

    "It''s okay, it''s like a fly against a windowpane, bright future but no way out," Rody smiled slightly. The Fourth Prince crashed into the hole in the sky, hitting it head-on. It looked like a hole, but the Prince ended up dusty and bruised without passing through, a very strange sight.

    "What''s going on?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night was confused.

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    "Ah, it''s quite simple!" Rody patiently explained, "I stored the beam from the Magic Crystal Cannon in my storage space and created a fake beam. The hole in the sky is an illusion I created with an atmospheric force field; it doesn''t really exist. So, everyone need not worry about our dear Prince escaping! The spatial fortress created by him and the four generals is quite sturdy, it won''t be undone for at least two hours. Everyone can take a bath, change clothes, eat something, and then leisurely watch the Prince desperately search for an exit!"

    "..." Everyone sweated profusely after hearing Rody''s words, thinking it''s best not to fight with him, lest they be played to death without knowing how.

    "Dimensional Slash, Sword of Space and Time!" The Fourth Prince in the sky, furious to the point of vomiting blood, did not give up on escaping. He summoned the greatest fighting spirit of his life and slashed towards the void.

    "Don¡¯t worry, everyone, it won''t succeed!" Rody comforted them as he saw worry on their faces. "Look, its feet are already bound by my ''God Binding Chains.'' Even if it could escape from the spatial fortress, I can easily pull it back! Come on, let''s all have something to eat. Let the Fourth Prince do whatever it wants. We always need some entertainment during a meal, right?"

    "What?" The Fourth Prince saw a strange silver chain around his ankle, which he couldn''t sever no matter how he swung his sword.

    "Hey, it''s committing suicide, the Fourth Prince is going to kill itself!" The Sea Monster Squad Captain shouted to Rody, who was distributing food to everyone.

    "Don¡¯t worry, under the God Binding Chains, it''s impossible to commit suicide!" Rody''s words made everyone feel sorry for the Fourth Prince.

    "You, you are a devil!" The Naga girl, seeing that the Fourth Prince in the sky couldn''t even kill itself, began to cry bitterly, shaking her head at Rody, "You are a thousand, no, ten thousand times more terrifying than the humans of legend! Don''t talk to me, seeing you gives me a headache... Huh? What''s this fruit? It''s quite tasty!"

    "Sorry, I''m mute, I can''t answer," Rody laughed heartily, provoking both women to swing their fists at him.

    "Wahhh... I want to kill myself, I want to kill myself! Wahhh..." The Fourth Prince, seeing people on the ground ignoring him and only surrounding Rody eating fruit from the Abyss and drinking human wine, cried even louder in grief and bitterness. But even suicide was impossible under the chains, leaving it powerless.

    ...

    "Who exactly are you?" Naga girl Jekaterina asked.

    "I guess you must be a prince, a powerful human hero!" The Sea Monster Squad Captain saluted with endless admiration, "Thank you for saving our Sea Race and friends of the Sea Race. Please allow us to pay our respects to you!"

    "You''re welcome!" Though Rody said so, he unabashedly accepted the salutes.

    "How can you be so powerful at such a young age among humans? Are you a sword saint or mage saint who has regained youth?" Jekaterina questioned again.

    "Although I''m not a sword saint or mage saint, I am not young," Rody replied, leading everyone to believe he was an aged human powerhouse.

    "Respected human elder..." Everyone quickly paid their respects.

    "Everyone, please, no need to be so formal. Just bow casually," Rody, getting carried away, accepted their salutes again.

    "According to the Naga''s age, I''m eighteen today, but in human terms, I''m already one hundred and eighty years old. I won''t pay respects," Jekaterina felt Rody couldn''t be older than one hundred and eighty, though he was stronger than her. She didn''t want to perform the elder''s salute, feeling she could still be on equal footing with him.

    "By your calculation, I''m over three thousand years old in human terms!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night accidentally revealed her age.

    "Heavens, are you an old monster?" Before Rody could finish, the High Priestess of the Moonlit Night sent him flying.

    Everyone hurriedly paid respects to the High Priestess, knowing that the Sea Race also had long-lived individuals, but compared to the Elf Race, especially the royal members with tens of thousands of years of lifespan, they paled in comparison. The High Priestess, being relatively young among the Elf elders, didn''t involve herself much in worldly matters. She hadn''t been the High Priestess for long and didn''t know much. In elf terms, three thousand years was equivalent to only about sixteen or seventeen years old in human growth, otherwise, she wouldn''t have been so easily swayed by Rody.

    "Three thousand years is only sixteen or seventeen years old? Your lifespan is enviable!" Jekaterina was amazed, knowing the Elf lifespan was hard to estimate, but hadn''t expected it to be so lengthy. Hearing this, Rody immediately started shouting, "Quick, call me brother! You''re only sixteen or seventeen years old and dare to say it out loud? Let me tell you, it won''t be long before I reach my twentieth birthday..."

    "What?" Everyone was stunned upon hearing this revelation. They had originally thought he was a regressed elder, but he hadn''t even grown up yet! This human pretending to be old was just a sprout who hadn''t lived for even twenty years. Everyone was astonished and nearly fainted upon hearing this. A human who had only lived for twenty years, daring to accept salutes as an elder, had quite the thick skin!

    "You''re only twenty years old?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night grabbed Rody''s collar and grunted.

    "Not yet, my twentieth birthday is coming up. Prepare your birthday gift for me; I''ll let you know when it''s time!" Rody said cheerfully.

    "That''s not right, how did you become so powerful in just twenty years? Human growth is fast, but not to this extent! Humans typically start maturing at thirteen or fourteen, even if you''re special, starting at ten, it''s only been ten years. How could you possibly become a powerful Mage King?" The Naga girl Jekaterina questioned Rody, suspecting he was an old man pretending to be young.

    "I don''t know. Three years ago, I was a one-star novice magic apprentice. A year ago, I was a master magician. Now, I am a Grand Mage King. Hehe, it can''t be helped; smart people progress quickly. Aren¡¯t you envious?" Rody laughed heartily, leaving everyone dumbfounded.

    In just three years, he had transformed from a novice magic apprentice to a Grand Mage King, a speed faster than a magic firework.

    How is that possible? Even if human growth is fast and talents are exceptional, and even with strong teachers, reaching the level of an outstanding golden-robed Grand Mage King isn''t something one just achieves. It requires accumulation of knowledge, awakening of the soul, fusion of various energies, and communication with elements. Among the Elves, if someone could reach the level of Grand Mage King within three thousand years, they would be considered the most outstanding elf.

    The Naga race had had a hundred Grand Mage Kings in history, but none reached that level within five hundred years, not even historical heroes.

    A Grand Mage King is more powerful and harder to reach than a Great Sword Emperor. An equally talented person, practicing for the same amount of time, might become a Sword Saint but not necessarily a Grand Mage King.

    "That''s not right, a distinguished golden-robed Grand Mage King has a moonlight halo. Why don''t you have one?" The Naga girl quickly reacted, questioning, "You didn''t seem like a Grand Mage King just now; you were more like a close-combat warrior. Hey, are you lying?"

    "You caught me..." Rody squatted on the ground, drawing circles sadly, "Actually, I''m still a novice magic apprentice!"

    "Exactly, you liar!" The Naga girl was pleased to have exposed his deception. But then she thought again, how could he have easily defeated the Fourth Prince, who had the strength of a Sword Emperor, if he wasn''t a Grand Mage King? But if he was a Grand Mage King, why didn''t he have a moonlight halo? What was really going on?

    "Could it be that you advanced so quickly you didn''t have time to pray to the gods for the title of distinguished golden-robed Grand Mage King?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night realized part of the truth.

    "That''s right, poor me, still a one-star novice magic apprentice!" Rody was on the verge of tears.

    "So, you really advanced from a magic apprentice to the level of Grand Mage King in just three years?" Not only the Naga girl Jekaterina but everyone who heard this gasped in shock, including the Fourth Prince eavesdropping in the sky.

    "Actually, it''s been a little over three years," Rody calculated, realizing it had been almost four years.

    "I''m fainting!" The Naga girl felt dizzy upon hearing this.

    She considered herself a genius. In just one hundred and eighty years, she had reached the realm of Sword Emperor, and the realm of Law King was only slightly lacking in maturity. Given another fifty years, she was confident that she could become both Law King and Sword Emperor, and then start challenging for the titles of Grand Law King and Grand Sword Emperor. She believed that with her diligent practice, she would surpass her predecessors within five hundred years and become the first Naga to achieve the status of Grand Law King in just five hundred years.

    Unexpectedly, a human man achieved in three years what she aimed to achieve in five hundred years.

    This was quite a blow to her.

    "Hey, you''re not just a Grand Law King, right? I think your martial prowess is much stronger than your magical power. So, even if you''re not a Sword Saint, you should at least be a Grand Sword Emperor, no, you should be a Junior Sword Saint!" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night was very pleased to see the Naga girl disheartened by Rody''s excellence, feeling a surge of pride and deliberately revealing more about Rody''s capabilities.

    "Junior Sword Saint..." Everyone was stunned, and the four princes in the sky were so desperate that they collapsed to the ground, unwilling to get up for a long time.

    "You became a Grand Law King and a Junior Sword Saint in just three years?" The Naga girl, Jacqueline, almost grabbed Rody to ask him for his exclusive secrets.

    "Seems like it!" Rody deliberately furrowed his brows, recalling the past.

    "Sisters, surround him and beat him up. I hate such outstanding guys the most. Turn him into a pig''s head!" The Naga girl grabbed Rody''s arm and bit it fiercely. The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night saw this and thought it was too much. Why should this Naga be biting people? She grabbed Rody''s other arm and bit down hard, determined not to be outdone.

    "Hey, if you''re jealous, just say it. Why bite people!" Rody screamed in pain.

    Finally, the farce ended, and the women''s resentment dissipated.

    Elsewhere, Nicholas and the Demon General had already started interrogating the four Wing Generals and various guards, who were now considered prisoners. The Wing Generals dared not refuse to answer, so the Demon General recorded their responses while questioning. Only the four princes sat on the beach, dispirited and silent, allowing Nicholas to question them without responding.

    Nicholas was very patient. He repeatedly asked only one question: "What is your name?"

    The sea monster captain nearby was so annoyed by the repeated questioning that he hurriedly left. He couldn''t stand this kind of intangible torture. He would rather be beaten than endure this repetitive questioning, which would surely lead to a mental breakdown. The monsters enthusiastically applauded for Rody, and a fishman merchant secretly gave two shells to Mitty, who was in a good mood and happily accepted them without any complaints.

    "You''re so young, are you really the Grand Marshal of the Human Justice Alliance?" The Naga girl, Jacqueline, was no longer too surprised by now, as Rody had left her in shock after shock. This news couldn''t stir much in her numb heart.

    "You''re so young, how can you also be the great leader of the Naga Sea Tribe?" Rody asked back.

    "I''m different from you. My sister is Her Majesty the Empress. Also, I''m one of the three great leaders. Unlike your human Grand Marshals, you humans seem to only have one leader, right? I remember humans are particularly poor in discipline, requiring absolute unity in command. There can only be one Grand Marshal, otherwise, there will be internal chaos. You can''t tell me that''s not the case, can you?" The Naga girl, Jacqueline, knew quite a lot.

    "That''s right, you''re absolutely correct," Rody nodded and said, "Princess Jacquelintra, has your sister married yet?"

    "No, she hasn''t. Why do you ask?" Jacquelintra was puzzled.

    "How do you think I am? Can I be your brother-in-law?" Rody''s first question made Jacquelintra blush, but his second question infuriated her, and she punched him fiercely in the face with all six fists.

    "My sister is the Naga Empress. On the first day of her coronation, she vowed to marry the sea and remain unmarried for life. Stay away from me!" Jacquelintra was very angry, but the main reason for her anger was not that Rody had offended her sister, but that he had offended her. The audacity of him wanting to become her brother-in-law was intolerable!

    "This makes me much more relieved!" Rody patted his chest and said, "It''s best she remains unmarried for life!"

    "What, what exactly do you want to do?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night was also driven crazy. Was this philanderer eyeing the Naga Empress? He had never even seen the Naga Empress. Could he be aiming for a political marriage? Was this his purpose in coming to the land of the Seven Tribes? Despite his immense power, why would he seek a political marriage? If he were to marry the Naga Empress, then could she still follow him?

    "I want to form an alliance with her, but I was very worried she would propose a political marriage. So, I asked in advance to make sure. Now, I am relieved," Rody answered very gentlemanly.

    "Do you believe that, Jacquelintra? Do you believe that?" The High Priestess of the Moonlit Night felt that even a fool wouldn''t believe such words.

    "Only an idiot would believe that!" The Naga girl snorted. "This guy is definitely a big philanderer, I''m not wrong!"

    "Why is it that when I finally speak the truth, no one believes me..." Rody sighed deeply, which provoked the High Priestess of the Moonlit Night and the Naga girl to punch him wildly.

 Chapter 181: An Adventure, The Journey to the Fairy Kingdom

    Although Rody''s performance had greatly improved the sea race''s view of humans, the Naga girl Jacqueline still flatly refused an alliance with the humans.

    She stated that when Rody needed assistance, she could lead the sea race''s army to support him, but she would not agree to an alliance with human nations. Her reason for refusal was simple: Rody was not a king. The sea race, true to their extremely stubborn nature, wouldn¡¯t agree despite Rody¡¯s pleas. Only after Rody offered to help Jacqueline ascend to the ranks of a Great Sword Emperor and a Mage King did the Naga female commander agree to trade and commerce in her own territory with Rody''s forces.

    "You improve her combat ability in exchange for trading rights, and I get nothing!" The Moon Night High Priestess was somewhat jealous.

    "Elves are not suited for business trade; just let us handle the sales, no need to worry. Rest assured, I¡¯ll only take a fifteen percent profit!" Rody¡¯s comment would have surely been mistaken for one of his own kind if a vampire had heard it.

    "Let''s not stay with the sea race anymore. Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to go to the Fairy Kingdom to find someone? Let¡¯s leave soon!" The Moon Night High Priestess didn¡¯t care about money.

    "Hey, when will you come back?" Jacqueline, the Naga girl, asked with a hint of reluctance, then quickly covered it up: "You said you¡¯d help me improve my combat ability but didn¡¯t set a date. What if you never come back?"

    "Come with me!" Rody, using his people-smuggling trick, smiled and said, "I guarantee you¡¯ll become a Great Sword Emperor in three months!"

    "Really?" The Naga girl was obviously tempted.

    "Great Commander, you still need to go back to meet Her Majesty the Queen..." The Naga female warrior guard hastily reminded.

    "You guys go ahead!" The Naga girl thought for a moment and said, "I have to report something to my sister. Wait for me in the Fairy Kingdom; I''ll catch up soon! Let me make it clear, I just want to improve my combat skills, nothing else. Moreover, I can only follow you for three months, not a day more, understand? I just want to learn combat techniques from you!"

    "No need to explain, explaining is just covering up, and covering up means no ambition!" Rody laughed heartily.

    "Your Excellency Marshal, about what you said earlier, inviting us to train human guards, is that true?" The sea monster captain asked eagerly.

    "Of course." Rody, pleased to be addressed as Marshal, chuckled: "Unless you refuse to instruct humans, you¡¯ll be the chief instructors for the human guard corps. Imagine, thousands, nearly ten thousand guards, trembling like novices before you, and you, as instructors, standing high above them, shouting: Answer me, rookies, why are you here? And they will loudly reply: I am here under the orders of Marshal Rody to receive your training..."

    "Ah, we will definitely do our best!" The sea monster captain was boiling with enthusiasm, feeling exceptionally proud.

    "If you do well, I¡¯ll knight you, even make you generals!" Rody went around patting the shoulders of the sea monster soldiers, making each of them stand tall and proud, their faces flushed with excitement.

    "Yes, we will do our best, Your Excellency Marshal!"

    The sea monster captain, along with his soldiers, gave Rody a military salute in unison, completely forgetting that he was a human marshal, not their own commander.

    Unknowingly, they had been captivated and subdued by Rody''s personal charm and leadership skills.

    "Before you win over my soldiers'' hearts, at least say hello to me first?" Jacqueline, the Naga girl, hummed discontentedly.

    "What''s our relationship, huh? I am your boyfriend, ah ha, I mean a male friend..." Rody shook each of her six little hands in turn, smiling cheekily: "Since we''re friends, there''s no need for too much formality. You don¡¯t have to see me off or prepare gifts, but you must give me that string of pearls around your neck as a keepsake, which I will gladly accept..."

    The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    "What kind of person is this?" The Naga girl was about to faint.

    "Why don''t you ask her for those two shells on her chest?" The Moon Night High Priestess angrily turned and walked away.

    "Why would I want her shells? Hey, hey? Moon Night, you''re bad, but I like it..." Rody quickly followed with Mitir in his arms, earning him a roll of the eyes from the Moon Night High Priestess.

    "This guy really just leaves like that!" Jacqueline, the Naga girl, was quite surprised. She thought Rody would cling to her for a few more days and was not expecting him to leave without any reluctance. Although he was straightforward in his intention to ally with the sea race, she refused him, and he showed no disappointment. This human man was truly extraordinary!

    If you say he''s good, he''s definitely a big villain!

    But if you say he''s bad, this guy also has a charming side, especially when he''s not showing off his flirty smile and saying infuriating things, he''s actually quite likable...

    ...

    The Fairy Kingdom.

    Following the sea of the sea race, half a month later, Rody and the Moon Night High Priestess flew over two thousand kilometers to reach the Fairy Kingdom.

    In this realm of fairies, one must adapt to a different concept of size. For example, there were mountain top cave giants over ten meters tall, considered a type of goblin; at the same time, there were also fairies less than one centimeter tall living among the flowers. Their villages were larger than a beehive but otherwise no different from ordinary towns.

    In this village of tiny fairies, Rody learned a special transformation magic called ''Shrinking Technique''.

    Under his powerful mental force, the ''Shrinking Technique'' he cast could reduce a body as large as a mountain top cave giant to a size smaller than a dwarf. The Moon Night High Priestess initially didn¡¯t understand why Rody traded ten Mo Jade Purple Diamonds with the tiny fairies for this transformation magic. However, when she saw Rody practicing repeatedly, continuously shrinking a Kodo beast until it was as small as a groundhog, she finally understood. This guy was actually very studious and diligent, constantly improving his abilities.

    Many villages in the Fairy Kingdom were quite peculiar. Although there were many rules, once one integrated, they would discover the reasonableness and beauty of the Fairy Kingdom.

    Although every race is proud of itself, in fact, there is no racial or species discrimination here.

    Fragile dwarves don¡¯t need to salute strong elemental flower fairies, and delicate flower fairies and elegant mountain and marsh female immortals don''t show disgust when seeing crude wild boar people. Compared to this, self-proclaimed civilized humans are far behind. Even among humans of the same race, there are distinctions of nobles, merchants, commoners, and poor people. If in a human city, a knight sees a poor person daring not to salute, he would likely draw his sword and kill him to maintain his dignity. However, in the Fairy Kingdom, a mountain and marsh female immortal would not refuse to sit across from a wild boar person covered in stinky mud.

    Even Rody himself found it a bit hard to accept. Shouldn¡¯t this wild boar person have some self-awareness? Not to mention the appearance, status, and position of the mountain and marsh female immortal, just her combat strength alone is at least five hundred times stronger than his.

    If it were humans, a big-bearded mercenary would never dare sit next to a sage or magic grandmaster, especially a female one.

    But in the Fairy Kingdom, such incredible things happen.

    "Have you heard that those bird people from the Wing Tribe have invaded our country again? Pfft... I''m going to the front line to kill all those hypocritical bird people, make them completely wiped out with no return, pfft..." The wild boar person not only dared to sit in front of the mountain and marsh female immortal, but he also dared to chat with her.

    "You''re very brave, young man. Do you need help? Maybe, I can gift you a set of enchanted armor!" The mountain and marsh female immortal smiled faintly.

    "Ha ha, I don''t need too good armor, because I''m not good at defense... Pfft, I prefer attacking!" The wild boar man took out his spiked ball hammer, waving it roughly: "Don¡¯t worry about me, E''arlu. I am a true warrior. Although my strength is not as great as a Titan''s, I have the courage to face a dragon! Ah, where is my drink? Pfft, do you think I don''t have Puke on me?"

    "E''arlu, you indeed don''t have Puke because your last Puke was finished the day before yesterday." The dwarf bartender came over, holding a cup of yellow wine, and said in a sharp voice: "Drink this and then leave immediately. If you want to go to the front line, you should leave now, not stay here and brag to my customers!"

    "I, E''arlu, am not a coward, pfft, I just don¡¯t have the travel money!" The wild boar man took the drink, gulped it down, and stood up readily.

    "Wait a minute." Rody waved to the wild boar man named E''arlu, saying: "Warrior, you¡¯ll have the travel money soon."

    "Do you want to hire me? Aha, you have good taste! I, E''arlu, am quite famous around here, pfft, you must not know, if it wasn¡¯t for the emergency travel expenses for the front line, I wouldn''t even consider accepting your employment!" The wild boar man walked over proudly, sizing up Rody, and suddenly exclaimed in surprise, "Human, am I seeing right? Seeing a human again today, pfft, really surprising. Where¡¯s your merchandise, human man? I can show you my immense strength right away!"

    "Wild boar man with immense strength, here''s a thousand Puke." Rody took out ten magic cards, each worth a hundred Puke.

    "So much?" The wild boar man was stunned but immediately reached out with his large hand, joyfully saying: "E''arlu will make sure you feel this thousand Puke was well spent¡­"

    "I don¡¯t need you to move things." Rody smiled slightly, saying: "If you want the money, you just need to answer my questions."

    "Ten questions, a hundred Puke per question!" The Moon Night High Priestess chimed in at this time.

    "A hundred Puke, yo!" Mitir sweetly ate the magic abyss fruit, playfully joining in.

    "Ask quickly!" The wild boar man sat down, collapsing the stool, but he didn¡¯t care about his embarrassment, staring eagerly at the magic cards in Rody''s hand, swallowing hard.

    "First question, when was the last time you saw a human?" Rody pulled out a magic card.

    "Half a year ago!" The wild boar man couldn¡¯t believe it was so easy to earn money, but Rody really handed over the magic card, leaving him stunned. Money that was impossible to earn before was now so easy to get. Is this a dream? The wild boar man fiercely slapped himself, swelling

    half of his pig face, but he laughed happily and said: "Green Hat Tavern owner, you miser, bring the wine quickly, E''arlu has money to drink now, and there¡¯s a tip too, quick, bring the wine, pfft... Ah, I say, human sir, are you inquiring about a companion? I definitely won¡¯t be silent, you ask, ask quickly..."

    "E''arlu, have you seen humans from the country of Felick?" Rody took out another magic card and asked.

 Chapter 182: Subjugation, The Reason Behind Lavish Spending

    "I have seen them in the City of Chaos. Pfft, but I can¡¯t guarantee that those humans are still in the City of Chaos now." The wild boar man E''arlu answered.

    "The City of Chaos..." Rody took out another magic card and asked, "How far is it from here?"

    "About a thousand kilometers!" The wild boar man E''arlu was ecstatic, finding the questions asked by this wealthy human too simple, something even a child could answer. Earning these three hundred Puke was too easy, making him feel a bit embarrassed. After a pause, the wild boar man added, "Pfft, may I ask if you are going to the City of Chaos to find your companions? I¡¯ll escort you there, just pay an extra five hundred Puke, pfft, I mean one thousand five hundred Puke!"

    "I¡¯ll give you two thousand Puke." Rody, ever generous, smiled and said, "Listen, E''arlu, for every enemy you defeat for me, you¡¯ll get an additional ten percent of your employment fee as a bonus!"

    "Boss, you¡¯re really generous! I won¡¯t let you down!" E''arlu, though a rough-looking wild boar man, was not at all stupid.

    "Human male, pardon my frankness," the mountain and marsh female immortal suddenly spoke, saying softly, "Perhaps you don¡¯t know, but the City of Chaos is a place with extremely poor public order. It¡¯s like a cancerous tumor in the land of the seven races, also known as the City of Sin. There, crimes occur every minute, and anyone can be killed in the street without any reason. There, traitors and exiles from all seven races gather in large numbers, along with mercenaries from various races, some are fallen humans, and even some who went there for ascetic practice. It¡¯s a dangerous place, teeming with mixed elements. With the guards you have hired, it¡¯s hard to ensure your safety in the City of Chaos!"

    "Pfft, your words anger E''arlu, but it seems to be a fact. Boss, you need to hire more guards, as that is the safest approach!" The wild boar man didn¡¯t show off, straightforwardly admitting his own strength was not strong enough.

    "My brother is very powerful! Sister Moon Night is also very powerful!" Mitir felt there was no need for any guards.

    "We still need guards, but where can we find good mercenaries to hire?" The Moon Night High Priestess, a peace-loving elf who disliked fighting, certainly supported pacifism.

    "I¡¯ll be your guard, I¡¯m quite bored anyway." An elemental flower fairy, not much bigger than a fist, flew over, volunteering herself.

    "What can you do?" Rody was surprised, this little thing wanted to be a mercenary?

    "Natural healing magic, air magic, plant-based summoning magic, and many more!" The flower fairy boasted proudly, as if she were a magic grandmaster. Mitir didn¡¯t dislike her, even playfully touching the fairy¡¯s wings and sharing her favorite magic abyss dates with her.

    "What are your conditions then?" Rody, seeing the flower fairy eyeing his purple diamond ring, knew what she wanted.

    "I don¡¯t want Puke, nor gold Puke. I, I want the purple diamond on your finger, I need it for my electric magic staff I¡¯m currently practicing..." The flower fairy was straightforward, making Rody test her intentions easily.

    "I can¡¯t give you this purple diamond ring." Rody shook his head, causing great disappointment to the flower fairy.

    "Then forget it... Or, can I buy it from you for ten thousand gold Puke?" The elemental flower fairy flew out of the door somewhat disappointedly, then flew back after a while.

    "No need, money is meaningless to me." Rody casually handed her a larger purple diamond, containing enormous electric energy, leaving the flower fairy stunned. Rody presented the purple diamond to the flower fairy and said, "Purple diamonds are also meaningless to me, just like stones. This ring is what matters to me. By the way, I''m quite skilled at making magic staves. Do you want me to give you an electric magic staff?"

    "Are you a great sage of magic? Thank you so much!" The flower fairy, excitedly holding the purple diamond, flew around in the sky for a while before descending happily: "I''ve longed for a purple diamond for so long, but they are rare, especially one as large as this. It''s the first time I''ve seen one!"

    "Great, after you join us, I''ll finally have a fairy companion!" Mitir was the happiest, as she finally had a fairy companion.

    "So, you''re Mitir the fairy? Then you''re of the same origin as us flower fairies! Nice to meet you, I''m Icarus! I''m out on a training journey. Oh, were you captured by humans while on your journey and then sold to the human continent? How scary! Ah, did your brother save you? That''s great. Is this human male your brother? He doesn''t look very good, and he doesn''t have wings..." The flower fairy was lively and cute. Without waiting for Rody to speak, she flew onto Mitir''s shoulder and started whispering to her.

    "My brother is the best-looking, and he can fly without wings!" Mitir fervently defended Rody.

    "Boss, what''s your name? You must be no ordinary person among humans, right?" The wild boar man E''arlu, seeing Rody easily hand out rare items like purple diamonds, became very respectful.

    "Me? Of course, I''m not ordinary!" Rody chuckled twice and then said, "You can call me Demon Hunter Yudian!"

    "Demon Hunter? Sounds impressive!" The wild boar man, seeing Rody''s strength as at most a human swordsman and far below his own, still flattered him a little since Rody was the boss. The wild boar man saw the Moon Night High Priestess rolling her eyes at the side and knew she had a close relationship with Rody. He then asked, "And how should I address this beautiful female elf?"

    "She''s so close to me, of course, it¡¯s Mavi! Her name is Mavi¡¤Shadow Song!" Rody introduced.

    "..." The Moon Night High Priestess, under the table, furiously stomped on Rody''s foot to show her dissatisfaction but also spared him some face by not exposing him on the spot.

    "Strange human male, be careful, don''t always reveal your wealth, especially in the City of Chaos." The mountain and marsh female immortal smiled faintly, nodded at the Moon Night High Priestess, and gracefully left.

    "Why do you keep staring at her?" The Moon Night High Priestess couldn¡¯t help but stomp Rody''s foot again to express her dissatisfaction.

    "She''s so beautiful, I can''t help but look, but I can''t help it!" Rody shrugged his shoulders and laughed heartily, making the Moon Night High Priestess blush slightly at her own jealousy, and then she punched him.

    This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    With the loud voice of the wild boar man E''arlu, soon, the entire small town''s mercenaries knew about the arrival of a wealthy human.

    He was especially rich and spent lavishly, which was just what everyone wanted.

    Although heading to the City of Chaos was somewhat dangerous, many mercenaries volunteered their services, each charging at least a thousand Puke from Rody. The more capable they were, the higher their fee. Temporarily, the wild boar man E''arlu and another Minotaur named Buffon were appointed as the chief and deputy captains, forming a twenty-five-member guard squad to escort Rody to the City of Chaos.

    The Moon Night High Priestess, although not very experienced, could see that most of the guard team were idlers with little real combat ability.

    But she didn¡¯t stop Rody, knowing that if anyone could calculate him right in front of his face, it would have to be a god descending to earth, otherwise it was absolutely impossible. He must have some purpose in doing so, and although she couldn¡¯t understand it, he definitely wasn''t someone to suffer losses for no reason.

    Thus, a team composed of wild boar men, minotaurs, lizardmen, and goblins set off in a grand manner.

    Rody purchased a massive Ironskin Niondot Beast as his mount, with Mitir sitting in his lap and the Moon Night High Priestess excitedly sitting behind him, bravely wrapping her arms around his waist, feeling excited and sensing that their relationship had taken a significant step forward. In the sky, the flower fairy Icarus fluttered around excitedly, waving the small purple sandalwood staff Rody had carved for her.

    Originally, the journey to Tielu City near the City of Chaos could be shortened by using the transfer array, but because the team was too large, Rody chose the most primitive method of walking.

    The journey of over a thousand kilometers began at his command.

    ...

    Rody had traveled thousands of kilometers in the land of the seven races without encountering a single robber. Of course, there might have been robbers, but they never crossed paths.

    The moment he hired guards, it just so happened that they encountered robbers.

    Less than thirty kilometers after leaving the town, a large group of robbers surrounded them. To the Moon Night High Priestess''s surprise, these robbers were surprisingly weak, easily defeated by the guard team led by the wild boar man E''arlu, crumbling in a short while. The guards then surrounded Rody asking for extra bonuses, each claiming to have chased away more robbers than there actually were. Rody believed their exaggerated claims.

    He generously rewarded everyone with gold Puke and expressed that if there was another opportunity, the reward would be even greater.

    Moon Night paid no attention to Rody''s actions. She neither opposed nor approved, having no concept of money as the elven Moon Night High Priestess.

    Mitir clapped her hands, saying that the fight against the robbers was exciting and enjoyable, watching intently with Icarus while drinking honey.

    After traveling another twenty kilometers, the robbers appeared again, shouting loudly but weak in action, and were easily chased away by E''arlu''s guard team, pursuing them for several kilometers. All the guards were cheerful, each wearing a smile, except for the deputy captain, the minotaur Buffon, who seemed unhappy and often tried to approach Rody as if wanting to say something.

    But in the end, he remained silent, quietly following behind Rody''s mount.

    After being driven away twice, the robbers gathered more men, almost every few dozen kilometers, catching up for a big fight.

    They had been defeated several times, but kept fighting back. The one-eyed wolf leader seemed to have taken a particular dislike to the wild boar man E''arlu, vowing to kill him and make shoes from his skin.

    Therefore, every day, Rody sat leisurely on the back of the beast, sipping wine, and watching his men battle the robbers. These battles were very exciting and varied, but no matter how cunning the enemy or what formations and surprise tactics they used, E''arlu always managed to neutralize them effortlessly. Most importantly, these robbers were very punctual in their attacks, never ambushing at night, and even avoiding times when Rody was eating. Thus, Rody¡¯s journey was more about enjoying the show rather than hurrying on his way, making it a very pleasant trip.

    The guards were even happier, as Rody''s generous rewards in gold Puke allowed them all to don new, shiny armor. Passing through small towns, they even collectively indulged in debauchery at the taverns.

    Surprisingly, when the guards sought out women for the night, the robbers also maintained their regular schedule and did not appear.

    After traveling a few hundred kilometers, not only did the guards'' equipment improve, but even the robbers'' gear got better. They became more challenging to handle and even purchased some magic scrolls. However, their use of the magic scrolls was lackluster, akin to setting off magic fireworks, making noise but not even harming a hair on Rody.

    Timid Mitir often directed the wild boar man E''arlu to chase a certain robber, laughing joyously as she watched them flee in embarrassment.

    These robbers were not strong, but they were good at running away and were persistent, embodying the essence of never giving up.

    Despite being pursued by robbers, Rody and his group did not delay their journey and progressed smoothly. However, when they were about two hundred kilometers from the City of Chaos, another group of robbers appeared.

    The leader of these robbers was a demon in black armor, calling himself General Maigu. He led a motley crew whose expressionless faces made them seem like the dead. They were very different from the first group of robbers, extremely despicable. They ambushed while the guards and the first group of robbers were engaged in a fierce battle, heading straight for Rody and waving their weapons menacingly.

    The guards were stunned, but luckily, Buffon, the minotaur who had been quiet all day, was beside Rody.

    Buffon swung his massive double-handed battle axe, cutting down the intruders before the beast, unstoppable.

    If he had acted earlier, not a single robber led by the one-eyed wolf would have survived, let alone chased them. However, General Maigu''s robbers were not like the hit-and-run one-eyed wolf robbers. Although Buffon killed a dozen of them, they fought desperately, with no regard for their own lives, quickly surrounding Buffon.

    As swords and axes fell, Buffon killed most of them but still suffered injuries, roaring loudly in a blood-soaked battle.

    Seeing his bloody fight, both the guards and the one-eyed wolf robbers were stunned...

    What should they do now?

    If they didn''t go back to help, it would be too late. But if they did, they would have to ignore the one-eyed wolf''s group. Both were robbers, so how could this be justified?

    "Brothers, let''s retreat and protect the boss!" It took a while for the wild boar man E''arlu to come up with this idea. He hastily abandoned his robber opponent and quickly went back to help, with the rest of the guard team following as if waking from a dream. General Maigu''s subordinates were utterly insane in battle, fighting fiercely and recklessly. Although the guard team managed to kill some, they were outnumbered, and soon many guards were injured and lying on the ground in a critical condition.

    "Cough, I say, this guard team is our... cough cough, our enemy, we can''t let them die at the hands of others. Brothers! Let¡¯s go too, quick, hurry over!" Seeing the dire situation, the one-eyed wolf also led his men into the fray.

    After a bloody battle, apart from Buffon, who stood bloodied but majestic, no one else was able to stand.

    From a distance, General Maigu snorted coldly, turned his horse around, and left.

    Corpses littered the ground, the fearless robbers all slain, but the guards and the one-eyed wolf robbers were all injured and lay exhausted on the ground. For the first time, no one had the strength to go to Rody for the gold Puke reward, nor did anyone cheer as they usually did after defeating the robbers.

    Buffon, the minotaur, pulled up the massive beast, feeding it healing potions while pushing it forward.

    "Boss, this place is too dangerous, we need to leave immediately!" This was the first sentence Buffon spoke to Rody.

    "Is it okay to leave them behind?" Rody asked with a seemingly amused tone.

    "Boss, I''m only here to protect you, not them!" Buffon answered gruffly: "These guys have healing potions, they won''t die!"

    Five hours later, the wild boar man E''arlu and the guards caught up.

    Facing Rody, they were a bit embarrassed, but Rody didn¡¯t ask, so they all kept silent.

    "Long live the undead!" After General Maigu, another necromancer calling himself Nicholas appeared with a bone army, forcing the guards into another forced battle. Over the next few days, dozens of robber groups took turns attacking. Despite the one-eyed wolf robber group reluctantly helping each time, they were all exhausted.

    Because of their repeated assistance, Rody generously provided some healing potions to the one-eyed wolf robber group. The one-eyed wolf leader, slightly embarrassed, truly accepted Rody¡¯s healing potions with his men, then silently left.

    As they approached the City of Chaos, the guards became too exhausted to fight any further.

    The area was swarming with too many robbers. Despite Rody assuring that money and healing potions were not an issue, the guards couldn''t handle at least three battles a day. The constant life-and-death battles nearly drove them to collapse.

    "Boss, let''s join forces with the one-eyed wolf! Give them some money and simply hire them, otherwise we can''t handle it alone!" E''arlu, covered in wounds from the past three days, suggested. Though he was robust, he staggered as he walked. After that day¡¯s battle, he couldn¡¯t take it anymore and crawled to Rody, pleading: "Pfft, the one-eyed wolf isn''t so bad, you don¡¯t need to worry. Give us some money to buy magic scrolls, then we can escort you. Boss, please say something!"

    "Okay, I¡¯ll give you ten thousand gold Puke more. In the next town, you can all get the best equipment." Rody mysteriously smiled, adding: "You can leave now if you want, I won¡¯t say you broke the contract."

    "This, of course, we will honor the contract... pfft, even if it''s a verbal contract, it still has the proof of the contract god!" The wild boar man showed a hint of shame, whispering: "We will do our best to protect you, boss. After all, a boss as generous and forgiving as you is rare. We won¡¯t leave until we escort you to the City of Chaos!"

    "Is that so?" Rody chuckled: "You really are dedicated guards!"

    "..." Buffon, upon hearing this, blushed and felt extremely awkward, coughing twice before turning away. Even E''arlu awkwardly rubbed his large hands, chuckling and not knowing how to respond.

    "Why are you doing this?" The Moon Night High Priestess, unable to understand, asked.

    "Of course, there''s a reason. Sometimes, to win over a group of people, you can''t rely solely on money, charm, or brute force. It requires a combination of many things. Different people need different approaches. Don¡¯t understand? No problem, it''s good that you don¡¯t understand. It means your heart is pure. Stay that way, don¡¯t let it be tainted..." Rody laughed heartily, making the Moon Night High Priestess roll her eyes at him, but her heart felt a surge of joy.

    The City of Chaos was in sight, the tall mountain city looming on the distant horizon.

    It was right there before them.

    Two kilometers away from Rody, a vague figure stood in the darkness, looking at the light atop Rody''s tent, and said softly with a smile: "This mysterious human male is really interesting. Eh? Can he sense my presence? Is this mental thread searching for me?"

 Chapter 183: Mystery, The Human Male Yudian

    That day, the City of Chaos was again in turmoil.

    As usual, the Bloodwing King in the east district and Count Clark in the west district had a conflict over Lady Victoria from the south district. Their subordinates, armed with weapons, clashed in the streets. About forty to fifty people from both sides were killed before they each withdrew with their heavily injured bodies. This cease was mainly because the city''s lord, known as ''Chaos Roar,'' dispatched his personal guard to intervene, otherwise, the casualties would have been much higher.

    As for the Bone General in the north district, he was happy to receive dozens of free corpses, increasing the strength of his bone army.

    In the City of Chaos, a few deaths were nothing unusual.

    It would be strange if a day went by without any deaths.

    Although people died every day in the City of Chaos, corpses were actually a rare resource. Especially fresh corpses were greatly coveted by the vampires and necromancers in the city. In the necromancy shops, creating undead servants, slaves, bone guardians, and shadow patrollers all required fresh corpses. Rotten corpses could be used, but honestly, no one liked their smell. Some undead, especially after being injured, needed fresh corpses for optimal recovery, like ghouls and zombies. However, feeding fresh corpses to ghouls was like feeding fish fins mixed with pearl powder to a pig - an extravagant waste.

    In the City of Chaos, nearly thirty thousand undead and demons lived, among others. But corpses were not as crucial for other races as for the undead.

    "Everything''s fine now, continue drinking!" shouted the centaur captain of the Chaos Lord''s guard, as usual.

    "This blood smell is so enticing... what a waste spilling it all on the ground!" A vampire entered, ordering a ''Bloody Mary'' from the half-destroyed shop owner while casually picking up a chair that wasn''t completely shattered and sitting down.

    "I''m really out of luck today!" The shop owner, who suffered losses from the clash between the two districts, shook his head in distress.

    "Maybe some fool will come along and let you fleece him, then you''ll make up for your losses!" The vampire laughed weirdly, casually touching the curvaceous behind of a bunny girl holding a drink.

    "Unless that fool is you, I don''t think it''s likely!" The shop owner looked out onto the street and sighed deeply.

    On the street, the black-skinned dwarves were cleaning up when a group of mercenaries escorting a huge beast arrived. They were ten times more intimidating than the recent fighters. Almost every mercenary was covered in wounds, their gazes towards others aimed at vital points, their ferocious expressions even more terrifying than the most fearsome man-eating monsters.

    Upon smelling the blood, the leading wild boar man roared as if stimulated.

    All the mercenaries growled lowly, forming a defensive formation, their hateful and fierce eyes scanning any living being around. The black-skinned dwarves, frightened by these mercenaries, scurried to the sides of the streets, curling up and covering their heads in submission.

    The patrolling centaur captain was also startled. He had seen many mercenaries, but such ferocious ones were a first for him.

    "Don''t be nervous, everyone relax, let''s find a place to rest! I''m tired!" A beautiful, clear voice commanded, and all the mercenaries¡¯ expressions changed from ferocious to respectful. The defensive formation remained, but the leading wild boar man approached the shop owner, grabbed him, and barked, "We''re going to stay here, bring your boss out to welcome the distinguished guests!"

    "No need to bring him out, I''m already here." The shop owner came out with a forced smile, saying, "I''ll immediately go welcome the distinguished guests..."

    "Wait!" The wild boar man roughly searched the shop owner''s body, not even forgetting to grab his crotch, and finally found a short dagger at the owner''s waist, shouting, "Pfft, you''ve got some nerve, trying to assassinate our boss? You''re seeking death!"

    "Ah?" The shop owner almost fainted upon hearing this. Who in the City of Chaos didn''t carry a weapon?

    "Kill him!" A minotaur, wielding a double-handed axe, was about to split the shop owner in two when that beautiful, clear voice intervened, commanding, "Stop, he doesn¡¯t have murderous intent. Carrying a dagger might just be his personal habit. Forget it, I''m tired, I need a bed to rest, and you all should eat something!"

    "Understood." The minotaur''s axe stopped a centimeter above the shop owner''s head.

    The wind from the axe made the shop owner almost wet his pants.

    Although random killings were common in the City of Chaos without any reason, no one was wrongfully killed just for carrying a dagger. Even if someone was searched and found with a weapon when meeting the city lord, at most they would get slapped, not killed. What could be the identity of this distinguished guest that made the mercenaries so nervous?

    The vampire at the side didn''t dare breathe, fearing his fangs might also be considered weapons, sending him to hell.

    Descending from the beast was a human male with long hair like a river of stars, dressed in ordinary warrior''s clothes, yet with an indescribable fit and heroism. He wore strange sunglasses, adding to his mystery. Beside him was an elven woman, also wearing sunglasses, dressed like an elf archer, but her noble aura and elegant demeanor suggested she was no ordinary elf.

    In the sky followed a proud flower fairy, who rarely interacted with other races, joyfully flying around, seeming very happy to accompany the human male.

    The Mitir fairy holding the human male''s hand looked blissfully happy, puzzling the shop owner. Mitir fairies loved freedom, so why was she so dependent on a human? Her happy expression could make any lord or noble who owned a Mitir fairy envious and insane. How did this human male manage to make a freedom-deprived Mitir fairy so joyful?

    "After traveling for three days, we finally arrived at the City of Chaos," the human male gently picked up the Mitir fairy, saying, "Everyone''s tired, let''s rest here!"

    "This inn isn''t great, but it''s the only open shop on the street, so we''ll have to make do," the elf agreed.

    After the bunny girl led the human male and elf upstairs to rest, the shop owner remembered he hadn''t asked for payment.

    He didn''t dare to speak up, as the minotaur was still glaring at him, fearing the axe might split him in two. Rubbing his hands and coughing, he cleared his throat, planning to relax the tense atmosphere before bringing up money.

    "Here''s a thousand gold Puke. We might stay here for two or three days. You must be responsible for preparing everything," the wild boar man shoved a magic card into the shop owner''s hand, shouting, "Pfft, did you hear me? The food for the boss and the ladies is simple. Just follow this paper. If you do well, you''ll get an extra reward. If not, I''ll send you to hell for a redo! Pfft, understand? Our food can be simple, but it needs to be quick!"

    "Remember, all food must be clean and safe, or else I''ll strangle you with your own intestines!" the minotaur warned.

    "Understood, understood, please sit, I''ll bring your drinks and meat right away!" The shop owner, with money in hand, was willing to do anything. In the City of Chaos, money always came first, no matter the circumstance.

    The mercenaries filed in, not particularly strong tribesmen but rather a mixed group of mercenaries.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    Their equipment and aura were frightening, bearing scars and an air of having died multiple times and escaped hell. Individually, the vampire was confident in defeating any of them, except for the wild boar man, minotaur, and the one-eyed wolf man. However, if a hundred vampires of his strength battled these hundred-plus ferocious mercenaries, they would likely be torn apart within minutes.

    Their seating and posture were the most alert and prepared for combat. Although no one was attacking them, these mercenaries maintained a readiness for battle at any moment.

    The shop owner had no doubt that if there were an attack, in an instant, about thirty to forty people would retaliate.

    The centaur captain outside the shop frowned deeply upon seeing this.

    Who exactly was this human male? When did he gather these mercenaries, and how did he train them to be so frenzied and ferocious?

    What was his purpose for coming to the City of Chaos?

    Could this human male be an uninvited human slavemaster, with these mercenaries as his gladiator slaves?

    "Everyone, don''t be too tense... As a patrolling officer, I have the right to ask for your boss''s name. Who will answer me, noble and majestic human aristocrat, what''s his name?" The centaur captain entered and immediately realized he was at the center of everyone''s potential attack, sweating profusely and quickly putting on a friendly smile.

    "Demon Hunter Yudian. That''s my boss''s name, centaur captain. We''ve answered. If you head towards the stairs and disturb my boss''s rest, pfft, then don''t blame us for treating you as an assassin. A shameless assassination attempt already took place, and we won''t let it happen again, understand? We have a duty to guard our boss!" The wild boar man viciously gnawed on a bone in his hand, looking more intimidating than a werewolf.

    "Yudian? A good name!" Of course, the centaur captain wouldn''t do anything foolish. He laughed and left, but before exiting, he turned back for another look.

    "..." He found that everyone had stopped eating and drinking, glaring coldly at him, which scared him so much that he hurriedly left in large strides to report back to the city lord.

    ...

    "What? A strange human has arrived?" The Chaos Roar city lord didn''t take this matter seriously and waved the centaur captain away.

    "The city lord is too occupied with women!" The centaur captain sighed inwardly. He saw at least ten naked women around the Chaos Roar city lord, with a demon woman bouncing in his arms like riding a horse. Although the Chaos Roar city lord, equivalent to a human Sword Saint and one of the top ten powerhouses in the land of the seven races, was strong and powerful, he didn''t spend his days in arduous training like other top ten powerhouses but wasted his strength on women.

    As a personal guard knight, the centaur captain felt a bit regretful.

    He revered strength and enjoyed killing and conquest. He had some expectations for his city lord, hoping the Chaos Roar would actively attack and conquer the towns of the seven races, rather than confining himself to the mountain city, indulging in women.

    The four kings of the city''s districts were growing stronger, with Queen Victoria already possessing the strength of a Great Wizard.

    Both the Bloodwing King and Count Clark had the strength equivalent to a human Sword Emperor. As for the Bone General, although he seemed the weakest, he had the most undead subordinates, who were tireless fighting machines. The City of Chaos was seething with undercurrents, and any change could lead to unimaginable collisions and explosions.

    The centaur captain had repeatedly reminded the Chaos Roar city lord to be cautious with the affairs of the four kings.

    But the Chaos Roar city lord was intoxicated with his own power, spending his days in debauchery among the beauties sent by the four kings, completely neglecting the City of Chaos.

    As a warrior, the centaur captain felt that this human male was no ordinary person and had very suspicious intentions. He initially wanted to warn the city lord, but seeing that he was not listening, the centaur captain felt regret. Given the demeanor and aura of the human male, he was clearly not an ordinary person, and his arrival likely had a significant, potentially dangerous purpose. Had the city lord already forgotten the disaster brought by humans a year ago?

    "Although you haven¡¯t given an order, as part of my duty, I will still monitor that human male. I hope that after I collect evidence, you will take some actions to regain control of the City of Chaos!" The centaur captain looked back, noticing all the personal guards leering lasciviously at the city lord and the women in a brawl, paying no attention to himself.

    They were all waiting for the city lord''s leftovers and paid no heed to potential assassins.

    In the guards'' minds, the Chaos Roar city lord, as strong as a Sword Saint and one of the top ten powerhouses in the world, was not someone a fool would dare to assassinate.

    However, in the centaur captain''s mind, the contrast was stark. The human male had no enemies, no assassins trying to kill him, yet his guards were extremely vigilant. Even after he had left the room, their gazes still bore into him like knives, never relaxing.

    Such a stark contrast between the two!

    Pretending to be casual, the centaur captain patrolled near the small shop, peeking inside while pretending to be on a routine patrol.

    Several of the Bloodwing King''s birdmen subordinates arrived, with their usual arrogance, collecting protection fees from every household, even more adeptly than the centaur captain. Upon seeing the centaur captain, the birdmen simply snorted as a greeting.

    As they entered the tavern and saw someone sitting in their usual spot, they became furiously enraged.

    One leader quickly charged in, knocking the mercenary sitting in his spot to the ground. The birdmen companions laughed loudly, and the centaur captain saw the werewolf mercenary''s muscles twitch, his claws reaching toward his waist at least three times before retracting. He observed the other mercenaries exchanging signals almost invisibly.

    They didn''t move, but subtly, they had already surrounded the oblivious birdmen.

    The centaur captain watched in horror, his hair standing on end and sweating profusely.

    "Trash, this isn''t where you dogs belong. This is my spot, understand? Go eat shit, you eggs of a dog!" The birdmen leader arrogantly laughed, kicking the werewolf mercenary in the abdomen, making him stagger.

    "Hey, captain, look at its eyes. Look, it seems very dissatisfied, this dog-breed actually dares to be angry!" laughed another birdman.

    "If it''s not satisfied, I''ll beat it until it cries!" The birdmen leader slapped the werewolf mercenary several times in the face, causing his teeth to bleed, then taunted the other angry mercenaries, "What about it? Are you also not satisfied? Come on, draw your weapons and attack us! Do you know who we are? We are the Bloodwing King''s guards, noble winged beings, unlike you shit-eating dogs, understand? What kind of meat do you eat? Wait till I shit it out, that''ll be your food... Hahaha, do you dare to touch a single hair of ours? Here in the City of Chaos, we are the law, we are your masters! Kneel down and lick our asses. I''m in a good mood today, I''ll treat you to a meal!"

    "Shut up, you''re so noisy, can''t even sleep!" The flower fairy flew out from inside, sleepy and complaining, "Yudian boss wants you to clean up this trash immediately, as quickly as possible! Mitir has already been woken up and is crying!"

    "Understood," the minotaur stood up and answered gravely.

    "Let''s see if your bird head fits in your asshole!" The beaten werewolf mercenary, hearing his boss was angry, immediately jumped up, stabbing a dagger into the birdman leader''s abdomen.

    The birdman leader looked at the werewolf mercenary in astonishment, unable to believe it.

    He couldn¡¯t believe anyone would dare to attack him, considering he was a subordinate of the Bloodwing King, the ruler of the eastern district.

    The centaur captain saw the werewolf mercenary not only stabbing the birdman leader''s abdomen with a dagger but also viciously twisting it, making the birdman leader collapse in his grasp. The other birdmen hadn''t reacted yet when dozens of weapons had already struck them, dismembering their bodies into pieces in the quickest manner.

    One birdman, in his dying moments, drew his sword to counterattack, hitting a mercenary in the shoulder.

    That mercenary, undeterred, smashed the birdman''s head with a club.

    The centaur captain watched as the mercenary casually pulled out the sword from his shoulder, spat out a mouthful of blood, and sat down to continue eating and drinking. Such ferocious mercenaries were a first for the centaur captain, igniting a fire in his chest. He felt that only such an army had the true spirit of battle.

    There are many ways to kill, but the most ferocious is to disregard the opponent''s attack and one¡¯s own life and death.

    "Don¡¯t say you are the Bloodwing King¡¯s subordinate; even if the Bloodwing King himself comes, he can''t scare me! Trash, do you know who I am? I am a guard trained by my boss himself; you are nothing!" The werewolf mercenary viciously tore open the birdman leader¡¯s chest, pulled out his heart, stuffed it in the birdman''s mouth, and then kicked him away.

    ¡°Bloody mess, clean it up quickly. Miss Mavi hates blood the most!¡± The flower fairy instructed before flying back.

    ¡°These bastards still think we are the same riffraff from a few years ago. Damn it, I didn''t even get to kill anyone just now!¡± The one-eyed wolf leader grunted at the stunned shop owner: ¡°If you dare scream and disturb the boss''s rest, I will tear you apart! Talk outside if you have something to say. Killing a few birdmen is no big deal. Damn, what do you want to tell me?¡±

    ¡°Blood... Bloodwing King... revenge¡­¡± the shop owner stammered.

    The centaur captain noted that the werewolf mercenary''s and the shop owner''s trembling were entirely different.

    Suddenly, the centaur captain had a revelation.

    The werewolf mercenary''s trembling was one of excitement, similar to his own hands now, indicating an emotional thrill and a hint of bloodlust, not fear.

    ¡°I say, pfft, offending the Bloodwing King is no big deal, but disturbing our boss is a grave mistake. You¡¯ll wish for death. I advise you to quickly prepare the food. If the boss isn''t satisfied, I will dismember you bone by bone. Of course, if your preparation pleases the boss, he might reward you with another thousand gold Puke. Stop wasting time and do what you should do!¡±

    ¡°Captain sir, these are some trash. Please take care of them,¡± the minotaur directly approached the centaur captain.

    ¡°Trash is easy to clean up, but the problem is it usually keeps piling up!¡± The centaur captain saw a flash of murderous intent in the minotaur''s eyes, sending a chill down his spine, but his pride as the city lord¡¯s personal guard made him stand tall and meet the minotaur''s gaze without flinching.

    ¡°Small trash we handle; big trash, our boss personally takes care of. There¡¯s no trash in the world he can¡¯t clean¡­¡± the minotaur hummed heavily.

    ¡°Understood,¡± the centaur captain turned and walked away, then stopped, saying, ¡°Tomorrow night, there''s a performance in the arena. Your boss might be interested. Also, as part of my duty, I will report truthfully to the city lord. He might not listen, but I will speak. If you want to stop me, it has to be now.¡±

    ¡°No, go ahead and report!¡± the minotaur said gravely: ¡°Being responsible is a good thing; at least, it''s not bad!¡±

    The news of the mysterious human male Yudian appearing in the City of Chaos spread rapidly.

    Just on the first day in the city, he let his subordinates kill the Bloodwing King''s guards. His challenge to the eastern district''s ruler caused a stir in the entire City of Chaos. In the dark betting pools, bets were placed on Yudian''s time of death.

    The Chaos Roar city lord, after hearing the report, didn¡¯t care.

    He didn¡¯t believe mercenaries, at most equivalent to Earth Warriors, represented much. If he wanted, he could kill those hundred-plus mercenaries with a single sword strike. Thus, notions of murderous intent, vigilance, and discipline didn¡¯t leave an impression on him. He also didn¡¯t believe the human male Yudian could challenge the Bloodwing King, as even Count Clark could only barely hold a

    draw with him. Even if Yudian was a strong human, he couldn¡¯t possibly challenge the Bloodwing King.

    Moreover, in the eastern district, the Bloodwing King had at least five thousand subordinates.

    If human male Yudian thought he could defeat the Bloodwing King''s army with just over a hundred mercenaries, then each of his mercenaries would have to be Sky Warriors.

    ¡°Go, such trivial matters don¡¯t need reporting in the future,¡± the Chaos Roar indifferently hummed: ¡°Just because he¡¯s called Demon Hunter doesn¡¯t mean he can hunt demons! I doubt this Yudian has even seen a demon! Hmph, he must be some human prince, thinking he can run wild in my City of Chaos? He is courting death!¡±

    ¡°¡­¡± The centaur captain sighed inwardly. Although he had only seen him once, he felt that the mysterious human male was definitely a superpower. Even though he appeared as a human swordsman, could anyone reach the City of Chaos alive from the human mainland without absolute strength? Would he dare challenge the Bloodwing King without it?

    ¡°Captain sir, please deliver a message to the queen. The queen wishes to meet with Mr. Yudian!¡± The centaur captain, upon leaving the Chaos main castle, found a dragonfly-winged fairy waiting on the drawbridge, smiling: ¡°If you do well, Her Majesty will reward you handsomely. Otherwise, captain sir, you might want to write your will first.¡±

    ¡°Is this Her Majesty Victoria''s exact words?¡± The centaur captain listened, his heart chilling. He vaguely felt that the City of Chaos was about to change.

    ¡°Captain sir is wise; I believe you won¡¯t disappoint the queen,¡± the fairy smiled lightly and flew away.

    At that moment, dark clouds were gathering in the sky.

    Much like the centaur captain''s mood, heavy and oppressive.

 Chapter 184: Perfection, The Girl with Sword Qi Magic Illusions

    "Queen Victoria? I don''t know her..." Although separated by a door, the centaur captain could still discern the astonishment in the human male Yudian''s voice.

    "The message has been delivered, sir. Please allow me to take my leave!" The centaur captain, not wanting to get too involved, quickly withdrew.

    "Wait a moment." The clear voice from inside the room, however, detained him. "Although I don''t understand the meaning of Queen Victoria, I still thank you. As a qualified messenger, you can receive my reward! What do you need? Brave centaur, state your wish, as long as I can fulfill it, there will be no problem."

    "Thank you for your generosity, I currently only wish to return home and reunite with my wife and children," the centaur captain bowed respectfully.

    "Shari, centaur, one of the personal guards of Chaos Roar. Ten years ago, you were the deputy leader of the ''Sky Horse'' bandit group, roaming between Satrica Forest and Ailu Grassland, committing crimes. Opposing the leader''s slave trading, you fought a duel with the leader, but unfortunately lost miserably, leaving a deep scar on your chest. After the fairy alliance crusaded against the bandit group for their numerous misdeeds, the ''Sky Horse'' bandit group disbanded, and you led a dozen loyal followers to join Chaos Roar, achieving several outstanding performances over the years, and three years ago, finally promoted to the eighteenth guard captain. Within Chaos City, you own five female slaves and twelve servants given by Chaos Roar. As for a wife and children, I really do not know about that!" The voice from inside the door was very soft.

    "Huhuhu!" However, these words pressed down the centaur captain''s back, drenching him in cold sweat.

    Being just a guard captain, yet the other party had gathered so much detailed information about him. What would happen if it were Chaos Roar?

    The centaur captain wanted to jump up, rush out, and hurry to Chaos Roar to warn him of the danger.

    This mysterious human male Yudian is not simple; he must not be underestimated.

    His purpose in Chaos City is still unclear, but judging by heart, it''s definitely not goodwill. He, who came to Chaos City knowing its detailed intelligence, what he brings is likely a storm, not a song of friendship... Thinking of this, the centaur captain felt soaked in cold sweat.

    "The severe injury ten years ago left a shadow in your heart, of course, your body has not recovered well," the voice from inside the room said warmly. "Shari, centaur, who has silently trained for ten years but made little progress, I can help you leap to the realm of Punisher, that is, a human Sky Warrior, truly turning you into a sky-soaring Pegasus... I can give you many things, anything that the fool Chaos Roar can''t give you. Centaur Shari, do you want hope? I can bestow it on you!"

    "No, please do not insult my lord, otherwise, I will execute my duty as the guard captain!" The centaur captain wiped his cold sweat, tremblingly said.

    "Protecting its foolishness? Haha, Centaur Shari, following a lord who lives on women''s bellies every day has no future. Maybe you hesitate because you think it is strong enough," the voice inside laughed heartily. "But, insignificant centaur, can you discern from the ground which towering mountain pierces the clouds higher? Do you know that there are conquerors atop those mountains? You do not know, you will not know! Captain Shari, think about my words after you leave!"

    "Yes, please allow Shari to take his leave!" The centaur captain swallowed hard, suppressing the fear in his heart.

    Now he knew the purpose of this human male Yudian.

    He came for Chaos City.

    He wanted to immediately report to Chaos Roar, but he also knew Chaos Roar wouldn''t listen to him. If he told Chaos Roar, he might erupt in rage, throwing him out of his castle.

    For a moment, the centaur captain felt like the only guard left in the entire Chaos City. The hidden Blood Wing King, Queen Victoria, Count Clark, and the Bone General were all coldly watching him, while this newly arrived human male was steadily advancing. If he didn''t leave, the centaur captain felt he would go mad with fear!

    Walking out in a daze, the centaur captain returned to his residence without realizing it.

    Standing at his door was a dragonfly-winged female fairy.

    "It seems Captain has delivered the message. What did the human male Yudian say?" the dragonfly-winged fairy asked.

    "He, he said some other things, but didn''t mention the matter of the appointment..." The centaur captain suddenly remembered, shocked. He had forgotten the most important matter and returned without confirmation, which seemed to spell big trouble now.

    "His proud silence implies consent," the dragonfly-winged fairy said with a slight smile. "Well done, Captain."

    Watching the happily fluttering away dragonfly-winged fairy, the centaur captain shivered inside.

    The powerful Queen Victoria, second only to Chaos Roar, along with the mysterious human Yudian, could his dreadful guess become a reality? Impossible, right? Chaos Roar is one of the top ten powerhouses in the land of the seven races; how could anyone dare to target Chaos City?

    Even the Wing Race wouldn''t dare to easily offend Chaos City, so could the sky really be changing?

    The sky rolled with dark clouds, seeming to foreshadow a sudden downpour, mirroring the centaur captain''s mood.

    ...

    Although Blood Wing King was provoked by the human male Yudian, he restrained himself, not reacting immediately or making any statement.

    A whole day quickly passed.

    The next day, the unique gladiator combat event of Chaos City in the land of the seven races was held as usual.

    It''s said that only the barbaric and brutal humans have such gladiator combats. Of course, in the City of Sin, slave masters imitate human world''s bloody combats, sending their subordinates into the arena. The purpose, besides thrilling the residents of Chaos City, is to get them to spend more money on gambling.

    The residents of Chaos City, usually hard to squeeze money from and claiming poverty, are extremely generous when it comes to gambling on gladiator combats. There are often rich tycoons who bet lavishly.

    For the higher-ups, the greatest benefit of gladiator combat is to resolve daily grudges. Unlike human nobles who sit high and aloof, not participating in gladiator combats, in Chaos City, anyone can participate, including Chaos Roar himself. Anyone can challenge their target to a one-on-one death duel in front of tens of thousands of spectators.

    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    The winner immediately gains honor and wealth.

    The loser immediately loses everything, including their life.

    The death duels are so insane and thrilling, making the residents of Chaos City bet all their fortunes during the seven days of continuous combats. Some go from rags to riches overnight, and some wealthy individuals become beggars. Anything can happen in Chaos City without surprise.

    The dark gambling odds are set at 100 to 1, betting that Blood Wing King will kill the human male Yudian in front of everyone.

    Overnight, tens of thousands of people placed their bets.

    Ninety-nine percent of people were betting on Blood Wing King''s victory, with only a very few daring to gamble otherwise. They weren''t betting on the human male Yudian''s victory, but rather on how long he could last, with varying odds for lasting over three minutes. The odds of the human male Yudian defeating and killing Blood Wing King were staggeringly high at 12,500 to 1. Even the poorest beggar betting on this would become wealthy overnight if Yudian won. Such is the power of gambling, irresistible and more alluring than a goddess''s smile.

    As a captain of the guard, the centaur Shali arrived early at the gladiator arena. He noticed that the human male Yudian, contrary to rumors of fear, had booked a large box and attended punctually. His box was directly opposite Blood Wing King''s, as if deliberately opposing him.

    "Why are you still standing here, Captain?" a trusted subordinate of the centaur captain whispered, "It''s too late if you don¡¯t place your bets now!"

    "Are you betting on Blood Wing King and the human male Yudian?" the centaur captain asked, grasping his subordinate''s arm.

    "No, don''t be silly, my captain, your concerns haven''t materialized. I might be dull, but I know Blood Wing King is a thousand, ten thousand times stronger than any human. I only bet on Blood Wing King, not on Yudian. Let that 12,500 to 1 odds go to hell!" Lao Li wanted to bet big but felt it impossible, feeling frustrated.

    "Isn¡¯t anyone betting on Yudian''s victory?" the centaur captain casually asked.

    "There are, of course, there are. Chaos City never lacks fools," Lao Li replied nonchalantly, "Several hundred people have placed small bets. Oh right, one idiot, don''t know which crack in the door squeezed his brain, actually bet a hundred thousand gold pukes. My God, that guy must be crazy."

    "What?" The centaur captain was taken aback, looking towards the distant human male Yudian, who was enjoying a feast in his box, seemingly indifferent to everything around him, even the murderous stares of Blood Wing King''s subordinates. Today, Yudian hadn''t brought a single guard, only accompanied by the female elf, the Mititi fairy, and the flower fairy.

    "Captain, lend me some money. When I win, I¡¯ll treat you..." Lao Li grinned, reaching for the centaur captain''s wallet.

    "Listen to me, Lao Li, if you want to win money, bet everything on the human male Yudian! You heard me right, I''m clear enough! Don¡¯t let anyone know about this, go now!" The centaur captain handed ten more gold pukes to Lao Li.

    "My God, Captain, you are the craziest gambler!" Lao Li felt it was like throwing money into the sea, but he couldn¡¯t ignore the captain''s orders.

    The gladiator combat soon started, as bloody and brutal as ever.

    Many slaves fought to the death under the watchful eyes, falling in pools of blood. Some slaves rejoiced, others raged and roared. Some challenged beasts, jointly attacking in groups of ten or dozens, but the beasts devoured them, with only a few escaping to the edge of the arena, only to be shot down by their masters, not rescued.

    Only a few slaves, after sustaining injuries, managed to kill their opponents, earning honor and money.

    They were the lucky few out of hundreds of slaves that night, and out of thousands who perished in training throughout the year...

    The spectators weren''t concerned about the slaves'' lives or deaths; tonight''s main attraction was between Blood Wing King and the human male Yudian. Everyone had placed heavy bets on these two, and the dark gambling ring gave people the greatest confidence that in the final battle, Blood Wing King would repay the humiliation Yudian had given him a hundredfold, meaning he would take action.

    "At your service, my Lord," said Blood Wing King, speaking up after the gladiator event, at a time usually reserved for celebratory fireworks.

    "East District Overlord Blood Wing King, I''m listening. You''ve earned my recognition for your abilities and been granted the role of East District Overlord. My fondness for you is the same as for the other three district overlords. I hope you will continue to entertain me," spoke Chaos Roar. His words, though unsaid, already indicated his support for Blood Wing King''s next move.

    "I am honored to entertain you, my Lord. Haha, I want to dedicate this battle to all who support me!" Blood Wing King flew out with his blood wings, hovering in the sky above the arena, laughing, "Human from the world of men, the human male, Demon Hunter Yudian from the human continent, I hope you understand my words. Come out! If you can last three minutes and then apologize to me formally, I might forget the past, as pride is worthy of respect among the strong. Everything depends on whether you have enough strength..."

    "A challenge, is it?" All eyes turned to the human male Yudian, who stood up, stretched lazily, and said, "May I still place a bet? I bet on myself, a hundred thousand gold pukes! Of course, if the dark betting ring can accept and pay out more, I''m willing to increase the stakes!"

    ...

    The human male Yudian''s words caused an uproar. His arrogance was astounding. Who did this Demon Hunter think he was? Blood Wing King had surpassed the average human Sword Emperor and was incredibly powerful, yet Yudian completely disregarded him.

    "Interesting..." Blood Wing King was taken aback, suppressing the rage in his chest and folding his blood-red eight wings, silently chanting magic amplifications.

    Since his opponent was so confident, he had to be cautious and careful not to suffer a setback immediately, as even a victory in the end would result in a loss of prestige. Blood Wing King glanced at West District''s Earl Clarke, who seemed to be smirking at his misfortune. He then looked at South District''s Victoria Queen, mysterious, neither joyful nor sorrowful, inscrutable. As for North District''s Bone General, he sent a magical message of absolute support.

    Blood Wing King knew the Bone General was fickle, his support meaningless, but at least he didn''t have to worry about him stabbing in the back like Earl Clarke and Victoria Queen, lacking the power to do so.

    "Swooping Red Blood Decrease - Cross Kill!" Blood Wing King transformed into his most impressive Crimson Dragon Battle Armor. This armor, made from the skin of a slaughtered red dragon and enchanted by dozens of magic archmages, was second only to Chaos Roar''s Demon King Suit. In his hand, the Fallen Angel Sword, once belonging to a four-winged angel he killed, had been transformed into the dark Fallen Angel Sword after demonization, becoming the strongest dark holy artifact in Chaos City, next to Chaos Roar''s Thunder Axe and Victoria Queen''s Snow Staff.

    With this move, Blood Wing King believed that no one but Chaos Roar could withstand it.

    He struck with full force, holding nothing back.

    This was because Blood Wing King did not want a prolonged battle with Yudian, risking mutual destruction and giving Clarke and Victoria Queen an opportunity to exploit. The human male Yudian, no matter how strong or weak, would not be underestimated by Blood Wing King, a survivor of numerous life-or-death situations.

    His past experiences escaping from the Winged Tribe Sky City and various trials had taught him to respect any opponent.

    In Chaos City, Blood Wing King might not be the most diligent in practice, but he was certainly not lazy.

    His sword qi and magic combined, transformed into a blood-red flying wing with a cross in the center, hurtling at breakneck speed towards the human male Yudian. Chaos Roar, watching this move, nodded slightly. He felt that while Blood Wing King had improved considerably, he could easily break this move himself and continued drinking without much concern.

    Count Clark snorted. As the King of Vampires, although he is called a count, that was a title from two thousand years ago. However, he liked it this way; the more incorrect the title, the easier it was for others to overlook his true strength.

    He had seen the Blood Wing King''s fierce moves no less than dozens of times, but each time he saw them, he noticed significant improvements. This proved that the fallen bird-man had not wasted his time like the chaotic Roaring City Lord, who had spent all his time on women. He needed to hasten his own surpassing.

    ¡°Red Dust as a Dream¡¤Beauty Emerges¡¤Charming Red Makeup!¡± The people heard the human man imitating the Blood Wing King''s tone and movements, chanting a strange magic. His hands slowly moved as if trying to draw a beauty. The Blood Wing King''s ''Cross Kill'' tore through the sky and earth, slashing over his body.

    "Whoosh!" The crowd did not expect this human man to be so weak, defeated in one strike.

    But when they were about to stand up and shout out in disappointment and cheer for the Blood Wing King, they found that the human man, Yudian, was not dead, not slashed into four by the Cross Kill. Instead, as the Cross Kill passed over his body, it transformed and eventually condensed into a crimson-colored human girl. The magical wings on the cross became her peculiar clothing, and the cross''s sword qi turned into the dual blades in her hands.

    The appearance of this sword qi magic-formed beauty astonished everyone.

    She danced barefoot, her sword spinning with her body, cherry lips slightly parted, singing a human song more beautiful than the song of the elves, moving gracefully.

    Sword qi scattered across the sky turned into fluttering petals as she passed, accompanying her. She was like a playful human girl, around fourteen or fifteen years old, completely unaware of the dangers and brutality of battle, thinking it was all heroic and gallant.

    She sang in praise of heroes, her eyes filled with admiration and longing.

    Her perfect, flawless appearance moved many people''s hearts.

    It hurt so much; everyone knew she was formed from sword qi and magic, but she was too perfect, too pure... No one wanted her to turn back into sword qi and elements and disappear, but they also knew she would vanish, unable to stay among them...

    When she, singing and dancing, swung her sword at the Blood Wing King, the crowd shouted in fear, afraid that the Blood Wing King would destroy her perfection.

    But the Blood Wing King stepped back, sharing the same sentiment as everyone else, unwilling to destroy this wondrous beauty of the world, even though he knew she was just a fearsome sword move, not a real person. The Blood Wing King kept retreating, but the beauty, as if relentless, continued her song and dance. Her approach wasn''t fast, but the Blood Wing King did not want to evade, for he wanted to gaze at her, more beautiful than a goddess, for just one more second, even if it was just for a second.

    Maybe in the next second, she would disappear...

    As the Blood Wing King reached the edge, she finally faded away.

    As if aware of her fate to disappear, she did not show sadness. She smiled gracefully at everyone, curtsied, sheathed her sword on her back, one hand forward, bent one knee in front, and performed a certain human civilization-specific etiquette.

    As her smile bloomed, she dissipated into elements, vanishing into nothingness, as if she had never appeared.

    But the regret and pain in everyone''s hearts told them that she had been there, she had truly come... Her voice and smile still lingered in their hearts.

    "Die, you bastard!" The Blood Wing King was very angry, unwilling to admit his jealousy, but the sour pain in his heart triggered his rarely seen rage, and he shot a hundred sword qi at Yudian, the demon hunter who had conjured the sword qi magic beauty.

    Why? Why only he could conjure her?

    Having practiced this kind of fighting spirit for hundreds of years, he could only conjure wings and crosses with sword qi and magic. Yet, having just witnessed it, he could conjure her perfect form, which was infuriating!

    He was not a demon hunter; he was more like a demon.

    Since he had the heart to conjure her, only to let her disappear so quickly, knowing she would vanish, yet still conjuring her, such despicable means, absolutely unforgivable£¡

 Chapter 185: The Challenge, The Position of the Chaotic Roaring City Lord

    People thought that the human man, Yudian, would once again conjure up the sword qi magic girl from earlier, considering him a human who even sought perfection in battle. But in the next second, everyone was stunned by his action.

    A white shadow surged upward against the sword qi, brutally breaking through all the sword qi and landing a heavy punch on the Blood Wing King''s face.

    The Blood Wing King was also incredibly shocked, being caught off guard and sent flying into the arena, stirring up dust and mud.

    Yudian was seen, his clothes torn, covered in wounds and bloodstains. Now, he was a completely different person from the elegant image he had before, roaring like an orc, full of murderous intent. His fighting spirit and magic highly concentrated in his hands, forming a golden giant war hammer. As the Blood Wing King shot up from the dust, Yudian swung down the war hammer fiercely onto the ground.

    Yudian''s full-on attack and dominance dumbfounded everyone.

    Even the Chaotic Roaring City Lord never expected that this human man would possess such great strength, realizing he had underestimated him.

    "Thor Descends!" Yudian roared, his shout deafening everyone in the arena. An ultra-condensed thunderball shot from his hand towards the ground, exploding where the Blood Wing King fell, creating a massive crater. The whole arena shook, and the strong shockwaves made many people stumble and fall. People far away could hardly open their eyes, let alone imagine what kind of impact the Blood Wing King at the center of the explosion was enduring.

    "Hmph, not bad," the Chaotic Roaring City Lord thought to himself, confident in his demonic armor''s elemental defense.

    "A good show indeed. Fight, kill, the more intense, the better," Count Clark sneered, sipping his blood wine.

    Victoria, the Queen, remained mysteriously silent.

    The Bone General, lord of the Death Clan, had already risen from his seat, intently watching the unfolding battle. His eyes, burning with ghostly fire, occasionally emitted thick smoke, seemingly employing some kind of death magic to observe the combat between Yudian and the Blood Wing King.

    The deafening sound of the explosion continued, as did the battle between Yudian and the Blood Wing King.

    Amidst the waves of explosive shockwaves, finally, people could barely see blood amidst the dust and smoke, proving that the Blood Wing King was still alive and counterattacking Yudian amidst the storm-like assault. A series of explosions shook everyone to their core, with weaker individuals already knocked out by the noise, while those farther away and slightly stronger struggled to hold on.

    Lightning and explosions ravaged the center of the arena, with columns of blood rising amidst the dust and giant thunderballs shattering the sky.

    About three minutes later, the explosions stopped.

    For a long time, people''s ears had not recovered to normal, still feeling dizzy and nauseous.

    As people''s vision gradually returned, they discovered that the entire ground of the arena had disappeared, turning into a deep, funnel-shaped giant crater. Hovering above the crater were two figures, the Blood Wing King and Yudian. Both, previously elegant and handsome, now appeared quite disheveled, their clothes torn and stained with dirt and blood.

    The human man, Yudian, had his shirt completely destroyed, and his pants were tattered above the knees, looking like a wild man.

    The Blood Wing King''s snow-white wings were stained with mud and dust, with many feathers lost and hair scorched black, presenting an unspeakable disheveled and defeated appearance. Holding the Fallen Angel''s Sword and wearing the Red Dragon Battle Armor, he was forced into this state by Yudian... an outcome no one could have predicted.

    "Not bad, just a little more, and I could have killed you. But, unexpectedly, you managed to escape my attack," Yudian created a water ball for himself, washing away the mud and dust, returning to his clear and bright appearance.

    "Let''s fight another time! I''ve had enough for today..." The Blood Wing King huffed and left, sheathing his sword.

    People were astonished. Did Yudian just have the upper hand?

    How could the mighty Blood Wing King have been defeated? That''s impossible. But if not, why would he avoid the fight? His reputation had taken a serious hit, and if he couldn''t defeat Yudian, he would lose face completely.

    Was he conceding defeat voluntarily?

    The Centaur Captain, Shali, was sweating profusely, unable to see clearly the fight between the Blood Wing King and Yudian, even unable to open his eyes amidst the lightning.

    But he knew that the Blood Wing King wouldn''t willingly be at a disadvantage without a specific reason. In his years of conflict with Count Clark, he never backed down a step, and now he retreated in front of tens of thousands of people, surely a reluctant choice... Was he really afraid that Yudian would kill him? Could Yudian actually be that powerful?

    "Very well, human man, your hidden strength is surprisingly strong!" The Chaotic Roaring City Lord stood up and laughed, "Perhaps, it''s time to add a Middle District Overlord position. Victoria, Clark, and Bone General, do you have any objections?"

    "I''m just a woman, how could I have a say or power? Whatever the City Lord says is fine by me!" Victoria, the Queen, smiled faintly.

    "As long as you don''t carve out a Middle District from my territory, I don''t care!" Count Clark''s attitude was ''I don''t offend others unless they offend me.'' This stance was influenced by Yudian''s strength, not wanting to end up like the Blood Wing King, beaten embarrassingly in front of tens of thousands.

    Although the Blood Wing King didn''t use his full strength just now, the situation was extremely dangerous.

    If Yudian hadn''t let him off the hook at the last moment, it could have been a situation where both sides were severely damaged. The Blood Wing King didn''t fare well against Yudian, and Count Clark didn''t fancy his chances either. Considering Yudian still had plenty of strength left, Clark didn''t want to make him even more renowned by fighting two overlords in one night. Since the Middle District Overlord division was inevitable, why not go with the flow?

    "Congratulations!" The Bone General stood up and applauded, "I''ve always had a fondness for humans..."

    "I also have a fondness for the undead," everyone heard Yudian say with a slight smile, "Let''s not divide the Middle District Overlord. I don''t want to carve up everyone''s territories. The Blood Wing King is in the East District, General Clark in the West District, both deeply entrenched in people''s hearts. Queen Victoria, I don''t want to see a woman''s tears, so I thought about it and decided to discuss with the Bone General!"

    "What do you mean?" The Bone General''s skull face suddenly stiffened.

    Everyone was again shocked. Was there a human crazier than Yudian in this world? After battling the Blood Wing King, he immediately challenged the Bone General. The Chaotic Roaring City Lord had already decided to grant him the position of a Middle District Overlord, but he refused, instead opting to compete for the Bone General''s North District territory. Was this guy a born battle maniac?

    Although the Bone General was slightly inferior to the Blood Wing King, Yudian had already fought a tough battle before. With the Blood Wing King harboring resentment and watching closely, how could Yudian dare to challenge again?

    If he really had the strength, he could first become the Middle District Overlord and gradually encroach upon the North District of the undead.

    Why rush things?

    People couldn''t think of any other words to describe Yudian other than ''madman''. Challenging the Bone General now was different from the earlier battle with the Blood Wing King. The battle with the Blood Wing King was about a wager and the lives of some subordinates, not a fight to the death. But now, openly seeking to seize everything from the Bone General, wouldn''t the Bone General fight to the death?

    If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ...

    "If you didn''t hear me clearly just now, let me repeat," Yudian elegantly dressed himself, speaking softly, "I need a tireless skeleton as a gatekeeper. You seem suitable. How about becoming my Chief General of Gatekeepers?"

    "Is that so..." The Bone General''s skull face twisted into a grotesque smile, its teeth clacking.

    "Yes, if you kneel before me now, I might even bestow a name upon you." Yudian was also smiling, his smile charming.

    "Do you know what I lack? Heh heh heh, I''m in dire need of fresh flesh and blood to perfect my body! Rest assured, once part of you becomes me, naturally, you can also command the North District. Our desires will be fulfilled!" The Bone General brandished a dark scythe, forged from the horn of a black dragon, the tooth of a red dragon, and the spine of a titan. It was immune to all elements, could break any defense, and even the Chaotic Roaring City Lord secretly guarded against this weapon.

    The Bone General rarely used it, as this terrifying weapon, apart from absorbing the enemy''s blood, also slowly consumed its owner''s energy. It was a scythe of destruction.

    By choosing it, the Bone General indicated a readiness to fight to the death.

    Either kill the enemy or die in battle.

    There would be no third outcome.

    "Don''t smile if it''s ugly, don''t pretend if you can''t, because that looks foolish!" Yudian kindly reminded, "If you really can''t, then you can learn, or kneel at my feet and beg. Maybe, in a moment of soft-heartedness, I might agree to teach you!"

    "Die, you arrogant human! Who do you think you are?" The Bone General, completely enraged, brandished the dark scythe and lunged.

    People thought this would be an earth-shattering battle, a thousand times more intense than the previous one.

    But in reality, it was not so.

    People had once again misjudged Yudian''s actions. He was like a puzzle, unpredictable. As the Bone General rushed forward with the scythe, Yudian raised his hands high as if holding some divine artifact. But everyone could clearly see that he was holding nothing but air.

    Yudian''s strike came down heavily, and the Bone General could not sense any fighting spirit or magic.

    It was merely a gesture, a move without any force.

    The Bone General did not dodge or stop, swinging the scythe towards Yudian. But after the scythe''s wind tore through the arena, people were astonished to find that Yudian, hit by the scythe, was unharmed. Instead, the Bone General, struck by the air slash, had half of its body separated.

    "Ah?" The Chaotic Roaring City Lord threw away his wine cup and stood up abruptly.

    "It was this move just now..." muttered the Blood Wing King, his fingers trembling slightly. Others might not know, but he had felt the shadow of death pass over him under Yudian''s feigned slash. Yudian had spared him, merely cutting through the Red Dragon Armor and retracting his strike without harming his skin. But this time, he had cleaved in half the Bone General''s body, which was forged from the essence of tens of thousands of strong bones.

    "Close call, ha, Bone General is finished now!" Count Clark was sweating on his back, wondering if his ''Smoke Shadow Incarnation'' could withstand such an attack.

    Of course, whether it could fully withstand it or not, Count Clark had no desire to try.

    He clearly understood why Yudian challenged the Bone General. Although he had already defeated the Blood Wing King, he hadn''t gained any real power, just empty titles, with no real territory. Moreover, Yudian might also be showing his strength to the Chaotic Roaring City Lord.

    Count Clark glanced at Queen Victoria, smirking coldly.

    Although others might not know, it didn''t mean that he, the Vampire King in charge of the entire dark thieves guild of the City of Chaos, was unaware. Queen Victoria had met with this human man Yudian last night, surely agreeing on some condition. Otherwise, the Blood Wing King wouldn¡¯t have given up so easily just now, and Yudian wouldn¡¯t have boldly challenged the overlords of the East and North Districts one after another.

    Victoria was definitely his ally, very likely the human expert she had brought in.

    "Holy Silver Cross!" Yudian displayed the Holy Silver Cross, a treasure of the angels, and the Bone General quickly fled.

    This object, while not the strongest against other races, was the most terrifying thing for devils and the undead. In the City of Chaos, no one had the power to use such a treasure, as the user must pass the test of this holy object. But no one expected that this human man Yudian could use it.

    People only then remembered that he was called Demon Hunter Yudian.

    Not only could he strike like a Titan with thunder, but he could also use the angel''s demon-slaying treasure. It was unknown what kind of race''s ultimate technique was that ''Formless Slash'' he used just now.

    The Bone General escaped, but it''s not easy to bind a Sword Emperor-level powerhouse with the Holy Silver Cross. However, the Bone General''s separated half was doomed, unlikely to be recovered from the Holy Silver Cross unless a deity descended. People soon realized that everything Yudian did was pre-planned, including the opponent''s reaction.

    It can be said that even before the Bone General fought, it was destined to lose.

    ...

    "I relinquish my position as the North District Overlord..." The Bone General was reluctant to say this, but upon seeing the divine fire in Yudian''s hand, it quickly made a decision.

    For the undead, apart from holy light being a disaster, there is also divine fire.

    The divine fire that can burn souls is a catastrophe for the undead. The undead have superior innate conditions compared to any race ¨C immortal, hungerless, sleepless, tireless, and painless. If their bodies are injured, they naturally absorb dark energy and slowly recover. Some lower-level undead, like ghouls, can even rapidly heal by consuming corpses.

    As long as they''re not exposed to sunlight for long periods or doused with holy water, the undead are immortal.

    Among all attacks, holy power is the only thing the undead fear.

    Of course, there is also everything related to deities, such as divine fire. Divine fire, which can directly burn souls, naturally possesses holy power, as well as the will and power of gods, and the laws of divinity. All these are insurmountable for the undead. In fact, it could be said they are insurmountable for any race, including magic-immune black dragons, who also fear divine fire and everything related to deities.

    Only beings like the dark demon gods, who are already deities themselves with their own divinity and divine power, can ignore everything and become truly immortal.

    "I don''t need your position as the North District Overlord. I''ve said it before; I just want you to be my Chief Gatekeeper General," said the human man, Yudian, with a slight smile, then made a statement that shocked everyone, causing tens of thousands of people to disbelieve their ears and not recover for a long time, their jaws dropped. Yudian said, "Chaotic Roaring City Lord, aren''t you afraid of falling from sitting so high up? You''ve been sitting up there long enough; how about I take a turn?"

    "Wow..." The crowd erupted in shock and commotion.

    This human man, Yudian, was actually aiming for the position of the Chaotic Roaring City Lord.

    After battling the Blood Wing King and severely injuring the Bone General, was he now challenging the Chaotic Roaring City Lord, one of the top ten powerhouses of the Seven Clans'' land?

    The strength of the Chaotic Roaring City Lord was equivalent to a Demon King, akin to a human Sword Saint. Could this young Yudian also possess the power of a Sword Saint? With no foundation or followers in the City of Chaos, how could he confront the Chaotic Roaring City Lord? His personal strength and army were completely disproportionate to those of the City Lord. Why then did he directly challenge the Chaotic Roaring?

    "You are not the first human to challenge me! But you are the only one who dares to challenge me alone!" roared the Chaotic Roaring City Lord, floating in mid-air, his body erupting with a sun-like fighting spirit.

    The entire arena was like a fire, everyone baked in the heat, finding it difficult to breathe.

    The Blood Wing King of the East District ordered his mages to raise a magical barrier to protect the spectators. Otherwise, everyone would be roasted alive within three minutes by the Chaotic Roaring City Lord''s fiery fighting spirit.

    Quicker than him, Queen Victoria had already raised an ice and snow magical barrier. Inside it, there was no heat, but rather it felt like a cold winter.

    Count Clark and the Bone General, after their initial surprise, exchanged a mysterious smile and silently ordered their subordinates to raise magical barriers, waiting for the showdown between the Chaotic Roaring City Lord and the human man, Yudian. Since it had nothing to do with their status as the four district overlords, they were happy to see this. Regardless of who won or lost between the Chaotic Roaring City Lord and Demon Hunter Yudian, or if both were injured, it was all beneficial to them without any harm.

    "I know, a year ago, a female mage with two companions, a mage and a swordsman, challenged you and failed," said Yudian with a slight smile, speaking gently, "Do you know who she was? She was my teacher."

    "Really?" laughed the Chaotic Roaring, "I wonder who was so bold, turns out it was the disciple of a defeated subordinate!"

    "If the four overlords hadn''t helped you that day, my teacher wouldn''t have lost so easily to you," Yudian nodded and said, "Chaotic Roaring City Lord, do you know what I want to say to you the most? It''s disappointment! You have greatly disappointed me! I came here excitedly, ready to avenge my teacher, but I didn''t expect that in just one year, you''ve already regressed to this extent! The life of debauchery, indulging in wine and flesh, has completely deprived you of the qualifications of a strong being! I didn''t come here to challenge you, but to trample you underfoot, understand? Your body has already been corroded by the beauties you keep around, and I truly feel sad for you..."

    "I can still grant you death!" roared the Chaotic Roaring City Lord, his voice shaking heaven and earth.

    He glanced out of the corner of his eye at Queen Victoria, the Blood Wing King, and Count Clark, noticing their expressionless faces, and felt a chill in his heart. Over the years, the four overlords had been very obedient, sending different races of beautiful women for his enjoyment every month. Thinking back, it had been years since he last practiced.

    Indeed, he had to admit, he was no longer the mighty Chaos Demon King of his peak era.

    But he was still a super powerhouse, one of the ten greatest masters of the Seven Clans'' land, and a demon king that no mere human could underestimate or challenge!

    "Why don''t you ask everyone if they would approve of a demon king who spends all his time on women''s bellies as their city lord?" Yudian smiled, gesturing to the Chaotic Roaring to ask for everyone''s opinion.

    "Really? Does anyone think I should step down?" The Chaotic Roaring suppressed the rage in his heart and roared the question.

    "Lord City Lord, you always like to talk so loudly, you know, this can easily scare the children. This old habit of yours hasn''t changed, and I don''t think it''s very good. Maybe Yudian is right, you should stop this habit of speaking loudly before you continue as our city lord..." Queen Victoria''s gentle and soft voice struck the crowd like a bolt from the blue.

    She was the first to oppose, unexpectedly.

    Queen Victoria had always been a staunch supporter of the Chaotic Roaring City Lord, his right-hand woman. No matter the situation, she had always fully supported the Chaotic Roaring, even when the Winged Race launched a major attack and the Chaotic Roaring City Lord almost gave up the City of Chaos, it was her who stayed and defended it to the end, ensuring its survival.

    Surprisingly, she had abandoned the Chaotic Roaring City Lord, whom she had supported for decades, and sided with the human man Yudian, who had only been there for a day.

    "Of course, I support the city lord!" The Blood Wing King''s statement was very ambiguous. He supported the city lord, but who was the city lord? The winner is the city lord, so he was clearly supporting the victor!

    "Me too." This was the first time in over a decade that Count Clark had agreed with the Blood Wing King, leaving everyone feeling cold.

    "Demon Hunter Yudian, I swear never to coexist with you!" declared the Bone General, thankfully maintaining its usual sycophantic behavior, showing absolute support for the Chaotic Roaring! But everyone believed that as soon as Yudian won, it would obediently become his Chief Gatekeeper General, no doubt about it, as it was definitely a cowardly king of the undead!

    "Very well, it seems I have been somewhat complacent these years!" The Chaotic Roaring''s face became extremely dark, turning purplish.

    "You''ve done many wrong things, but not only have you indulged in luxury and arrogance, you are also proud and complacent. When you return to hell, you should reflect well." Yudian suddenly donned a pair of silver gloves and put on a pair of silver boots. Behind him, the pattern of Augur''s magic array appeared, dazzling like a slowly rotating galaxy. Immense psychic power quickly concentrated, forming a dark golden ''Whip of Punishment,'' reminiscent of the legendary whip in the hands of the hell''s judge.

    "Today seems to be a turning point in my life. I swear, after tonight, I will strive hard to maintain my position among the ten strongest and not be underestimated!" The Chaotic Roaring donned the Demon King''s suit and held the Demon King''s Thunder Axe, roaring his solemn vow.

    "It''s too late, understand? You''re too late!" Yudian laughed, "Some things, once delayed, can''t be turned back!"

    "Then, before my duel, is there anyone else who will stand up for my honor and cheer for me? I want to know if everyone in the City of Chaos has abandoned me as their city lord..." The Chaotic Roaring looked around the arena, but there was dead silence. At this moment, many wanted to stand up for the Chaotic Roaring City Lord and show support, but thinking that if he lost, such actions would be suicidal.

    If he won and everyone remained silent, including the four overlords, he would be angry, but the blame couldn''t be placed on anyone.

    Who would be the first to be singled out for punishment?

    Fools wouldn''t do that...

    "Lord City Lord, if you can truly reform, I am willing to defend you to death!" The Centaur Captain, Shali, suddenly came forward, kneeling before

    tens of thousands, tears streaming down his face, "Lord City Lord, what the human man Yudian said is correct, you indeed did wrong. You must change, otherwise, such incidents will happen again tonight! To be honest, I prefer to be Yudian''s subordinate. His subordinates are all iron-blooded warriors. Look at your guards; what are they? Besides playing with the women you reward them and gambling away their money, what else can they do? Lord City Lord, this time, please listen to me, you must change, you must..."

 Chapter 186: Inquiring, News of the Beautiful Tutor

    Hundreds of thousands of people in the City of Chaos witnessed the most shocking and high-profile battle in history.

    The Chaotic Roaring City Lord, a top powerhouse of the Seven Clans and a Demon King-level master of Chaos City, battled the mysterious human man, Yudian, a Demon Hunter who had defeated both the Blood Wing King and the Bone General.

    The battle between these two superpower entities was beyond the comprehension of the onlookers. Their speed was too fast, and the sound of their attacks was deafening. Many were left dizzy and seeing stars amidst the loud noises, unable to focus on the duel.

    The magical barriers repeatedly shattered under the Chaotic Roaring''s sun-like fighting spirit, with waves of heat hitting everyone''s faces. They were repeatedly raised again by the combined efforts of all mages. If it weren''t for the four overlords blocking the sword qi and fighting spirit at the forefront, the entire arena would have crumbled long ago.

    In the North District, due to the Bone General''s injury and diminished strength, many civilians on the edge who couldn''t escape in time were turned to ashes in the explosion. The same happened in the East and West Districts. Only the South District, where Queen Victoria, the strongest with the most powerful mages, was located, had no injuries.

    People endured the most terrifying ten minutes of their lives in the trembling and shaking arena, until finally, the ground''s trembling came to a halt.

    Lying at the bottom of the deep crater of the arena was the Demon Hunter, Yudian.

    Floating in mid-air was the Chaotic Roaring City Lord.

    Everyone had never seen him so disheveled and miserable. The strongest Demon King''s suit was shattered beyond recognition, revealing his charred skin. The Demon King''s body, which hadn''t been restored for over a decade, was now exposed to everyone. He was covered in blood, his eyes dim and lifeless, and his long tail was broken off in a large chunk. Blood dripped from his mouth, forming strands and droplets on his chest.

    Everyone was stunned, finding it odd that the Chaotic Roaring City Lord managed to win in the end.

    According to Yudian''s plan, he shouldn''t have made such a reckless challenge; he should have been sure of victory. Could it be that he underestimated the Chaotic Roaring City Lord''s capabilities?

    However, people quickly regained their senses, preparing to cheer and celebrate for the victorious Chaotic Roaring City Lord.

    Many were worried about retribution from the Chaotic Roaring City Lord and thought of excuses in their hearts.

    Especially his guards, who quickly knelt behind the Centaur Captain, Shali, to demonstrate their loyalty. Regardless, the Chaotic Roaring City Lord had won in the end, and people didn''t need to see anything else but the victor. Some shrewd individuals were still observing the situation, though the Chaotic Roaring City Lord had defeated Yudian. The attitudes of the four overlords, Victoria, the Blood Wing King, and Count Clark, were yet to be revealed.

    Their stance would determine the situation in the City of Chaos. Even a blind man could see that the current Chaotic Roaring City Lord couldn''t withstand another challenge.

    "Shali, my most loyal guard!" The Chaotic Roaring City Lord spoke, and indeed, his first thought was of the Centaur Captain, Shali.

    "Present, Lord City Lord, Captain Shali is always here!" answered the Centaur Captain, crying.

    "If only I had listened to your advice before! Shali, you are the most loyal guard, my life''s treasure, but sadly I realized it too late. Shali, if I had another chance, I would definitely reform, but it''s already too late..." The Chaotic Roaring City Lord coughed up a stream of blood, wracked with pain.

    "Whatever your final command is, Lord City Lord, even if it costs me my life, I will fulfill your wish!" Shali''s statement shocked everyone once again.

    Had the Chaotic Roaring City Lord been defeated?

    Yudian, the human man, lay at the bottom of the deep pit, lifeless, while the Chaotic Roaring City Lord hovered above, able to kill him with a simple gesture.

    Why did the Centaur Captain, Shali, say that? Were the four overlords betraying the Chaotic Roaring City Lord? The crowd saw that Queen Victoria still wore a smile, the Blood Wing King had a grave expression, Count Clark looked mysterious, and the Bone General, wrapped in the cloak of death, still maintained a loyal demeanor. The four overlords seemed normal, with no signs of betrayal. Why was that?

    "Yes, I am going to die, but as a demon king, I cannot die so miserably at the hands of another..." The Chaotic Roaring suddenly burst into laughter, roaring with spirit, "If I am to die, it will be by my own hand!"

    "No..." the Centaur Captain, Shali, cried out in tears.

    The Chaotic Roaring City Lord extended his demonic claw, deeply piercing his own chest, forcibly extracting his still-beating heart.

    Everyone was stunned, unable to comprehend.

    "Yudian, I have a son, born from my rape of a fairy, now six years old. The most despised bastard of my life, but now my only son. Can you let him live in this world?" the Chaotic Roaring slowly said, "I want to entrust him to the Centaur Captain, Shali, for upbringing, and also to become your slave. I offer him and the entire City of Chaos to you, can you accept this?"

    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    "When he grows up, I will give him a chance to challenge me!" A radiance rose from the pit bottom, forming an exotic beast with a dragon head, a slender and long body, agile claws, a tail like a fish, and a serpent-like body ¨C odd yet wondrous.

    Yudian rode on its back, floating in front of the Chaotic Roaring City Lord.

    At this moment, he appeared godlike to the people.

    There were few wounds on his body, just several purple scars, likely from the Demon King''s Thunder Axe. But those wounds were visibly healing rapidly, especially with the glowing effect from the dragon-headed beast beneath him, making Yudian appear almost no different from before the battle.

    "No, I hope he lives well and doesn''t do anything foolish." The Chaotic Roaring City Lord laughed, "I now understand, just being able to live well is the happiest thing. Goodbye, human strongman who defeated me... I have no regrets losing to you!"

    "Goodbye!" Yudian nodded, "Your son will live well, I promise in the name of the City Lord of Chaos!"

    "Thank you. I am inferior to you, lacking the magnanimity you possess, which doomed me to never become a peak strongman. Goodbye, I may die as the Chaotic Roaring, but I have no regrets for coming to this world. I did not die at the hands of a nobody, but in front of a more powerful hero. Death is my own choice... Even as a fallen demon king, I once shone in the skies of the Seven Clans'' land!" The Chaotic Roaring roared for the last time, crushing his heart in his palm, and his body burst into flames of fighting spirit, burning fiercely.

    With a fireball falling into the depth of the pit, the Demon King Chaotic Roaring declared his defeat and death.

    And in that moment, the City of Chaos gained a new city lord.

    The human man, the Demon Hunter, Yudian.

    "I pledge my utmost respect to the new city lord. The undead fully support and are forever loyal to the new city lord!" The Bone General, as expected, was the first to come out and declare allegiance. Although it had previously sworn never to coexist with Yudian and had half of its body sliced off by him, its attitude made a 180-degree turn at this moment.

    "The strong rule. I have nothing to say, as long as the city lord ensures the dignity of the Blood Wing race, then you are the city lord!" The Blood Wing King also acknowledged the new ruler.

    "I am pleased to have a new city lord, and I hope the new city lord will lead us to an even more prosperous and thriving future!" Count Clark performed a noble human gesture and smiled, "To celebrate the new city lord''s inauguration, we in the West District would like to offer five of our clan''s treasures as gifts, to show our submission."

    "I don''t have five great treasures, but I will attend meetings whenever the city lord needs me!" Queen Victoria was, of course, an absolute supporter.

    Now, what else could people say?

    Apart from cheering for the new city lord... Centaur Captain Shali, too, knelt before the new city lord, grateful for sparing the son of Chaotic Roaring.

    ...

    In the Chaos Castle, Queen Victoria sat in her usual South District Overlord''s seat, which she rarely occupied.

    "Rody, I disagree with your decision," Queen Victoria began softly, "You allowed Chaotic Roaring to choose a heroic suicide, rather than crushing him underfoot. While I don''t quite like it, I don''t oppose it. But accepting his son, that, I find very problematic. Chaotic Roaring died from complacency and lack of progress. Rody, I don''t want you to fall into the same trap, understand?"

    "Your Highness, the Ice and Snow Queen, you can see it as a hidden threat, an invisible spur," Rody replied with a smile, "Having the son of Chaotic Roaring, don''t you think I will be more vigilant and hardworking?"

    "I understand, but you don''t need to do this, you might leave behind trouble..." Queen Victoria shook her head slowly.

    "I think it''s a good idea. Kindness is the root of life," the High Priestess of the Night Moon strongly agreed.

    "The High Priestess of the Elves, if it were an elf or fairy left behind, I wouldn''t object, understand? I also like children, but what was left is a demon''s offspring, a son of a demon king. It grows fast. Chaotic Roaring killed hundreds of his sons, only sparing this illegitimate child. Why? Because it is exceptional enough!" Queen Victoria sighed lightly, "I know, Rody, you don''t want to stay long in the land of the Seven Clans, nor in the City of Chaos. You plan to return the city lordship to Chaotic Roaring''s son after seizing it, right? But have you thought about me? I chose to support you, not Chaotic Roaring and his son!"

    "Your Highness, Ice and Snow Queen, thank you for your support. In return, I offer you something." Rody nodded, "You always wanted to return to the heavens, right? Once I conquer the heavens, you can choose any place there for your Ice and Snow Kingdom. The land of the Seven Clans, the City of Chaos, is not where we belong for long. I promise you, it won''t be too long!"

    "Right, but Your Highness, please don''t claim our original elven lands!" The High Priestess of the Night Moon, naive to politics, spoke her mind.

    "Your Highness, perhaps you could listen to this slave''s metaphor to ease your mind," Nicholas elegantly bowed and said, "Many people in the world can only fish in the valley at the foot of the mountain, looking up at the high peaks. Some can hunt halfway up the mountain and boast about it. Few brave souls challenge the summit, and even fewer mighty beings stand atop the peak, looking down on all beings. But there is one person, unique in the world. When people think he can only fish in the valley, he sets out for the mid-mountain. When they think he hunts, he climbs the peaks. And when they think he stands proud above all, he surpasses everything, soaring freely in the sky, seeing all the earth has to offer... Your Highness, I believe you also know who this unique person is, so please don''t worry about him!"

    "Alright, I admit, my worries were a bit redundant!" Queen Victoria said, her mood greatly improved, smiling, "I never expected it! Mary Krig actually had such a good student, I''m a bit jealous!"

    "Your Highness, the Ice and Snow Queen, previously you said you''d tell me about my teacher after I seized the city lord position. Now that I''ve done it, can you tell me where my teachers are?" Rody''s interest in the lordship of Chaos City was minimal. He had learned that his beautiful tutor had once challenged Chaotic Roaring but failed due to Chaotic Roaring''s immense strength and the help of the three overlords.

    Victoria, who helped the beautiful tutor escape, was the only one who knew her whereabouts.

    For this reason, he agreed to her condition, publicly defeating Chaotic Roaring and seizing Chaos City in exchange for information. Of course, he also harbored a personal desire for revenge.

    "She took her people to the Stone Spirit Island. Due to the Winged Race''s crazy attacks, she used ancient magic barriers to seal the entire sky, making it dangerous even for Sword Emperor-level powerhouses to enter or exit. However, the dwarves of Iron Furnace City seem to have an ancient path that goes through the underground labyrinth to the Fairy Island. I haven''t personally traveled through those filthy underground channels, so I don''t know the exact way," Queen Victoria said with a slight smile, "Maybe you can find something useful in my magic map in the study!"

    "Don''t go, her eyes are full of ''Kaga Eines''!" the High Priestess of the Night Moon strongly opposed.

    "What is Kaga Eines?" Rody was surprised, "We''re among friends, why use code? And I don''t even understand it!"

    "Kaga is the Seven Clans'' name for the Goddess of Life, also implying a maiden! Eines means the Goddess of Fertility..." Queen Victoria explained, causing the High Priestess to scream in embarrassment and flee with Metiel. Nicholas and others also excused themselves, leaving Rody and Queen Victoria alone. Queen Victoria stood up elegantly, approached Rody, and smiled, "Kaga Eines, combined, implies a maiden in springtime. She''s joking that I''m in love!"

    "Your Highness, the Ice and Snow Queen, your beautiful eyes indeed are full of ''Kaga Eines''," Rody observed carefully and affirmed.

    "You spared Chaotic Roaring''s son, leaving hope in his heart, and also left a little hope for me," Queen Victoria suddenly sat in Rody''s arms, encircling his neck with her arms, speaking softly, "If you give me a son, then my heart can truly settle."

    "But Your Highness, can''t you reproduce on your own?" Rody felt the Ice and Snow Queen''s body warming up in his arms.

    "I can only give birth to daughters on my own, give me a son!" Queen Victoria gently kissed Rody''s cheek, whispering, "Maybe you think I''m heartless, always making conditions, but if you knew how I''ve supported myself over the years, how my people trust and support me unconditionally, you wouldn''t think so. Rody, I need hope, I need you..."

    "Doing that, are you sure to have a son?" Rody asked curiously.

    "Not necessarily!" Queen Victoria shyly avoided Rody''s gaze, hugging his neck, but bravely said, "But we can keep trying until we have a son!"

    "So, do we start now?" Rody, seeing her determination, realized he had to give her something in return.

    "No, not here, this is Chaotic Roaring''s place. Hold me, let''s go to my study. We''ll start by reading books to understand the process of reproduction!" Queen Victoria blushed, suggesting. Hearing this, Rody laughed, "Going to the study is fine, but we don''t need to read books. I can teach you what you don''t know, just listen to me!"

    "I know a little, though I haven''t tried it, I''ve read a lot, I... I''m just afraid you don''t understand..." Queen Victoria said, blushing deeply.

    "Then shall we study together?" Rody lifted her up, laughing heartily.

 Chapter 187: Edicts, Yudians Bold Moves

    With the inauguration of the new city lord, the great purge that the residents of Chaos feared did not occur.

    Including the original guards loyal to Chaotic Roaring, the new city lord Yudian did not reorganize or reduce them. Most unexpectedly, Yudian did not take the opportunity to levy heavy taxes; instead, he announced ten astonishing policies that left everyone in disbelief. People had prepared gifts and tributes, waiting for the new city lord''s request to present them as a sign of loyalty.

    But now, they need not bother.

    The first of Lord Yudian''s ten edicts: No gifts; stop tributes.

    Previously, Chaotic Roaring required every citizen to make different monetary tributes each month to live in the City of Chaos. Without tribute or registration, one could only wander the streets as a beggar or thief. Even to be a beggar or thief, one needed to make irregular tributes to the guards or the four overlords, or else be caught and thrown into the mine pits to work as slaves, never seeing daylight again.

    This edict of not accepting gifts or stopping tributes stunned everyone. If no tributes were collected, what would the city lord live on?

    People then worried about taxes, thinking the burden would increase. Many businessmen in Chaos felt as if a heavy stone weighed on their hearts. But when they saw the second point, they were shocked. They rubbed their eyes, blinked, slapped their ears, bit their fingers, and after confirming several times, still couldn''t believe it to be true.

    The second of Lord Yudian''s ten edicts: Three years tax-free, one percent tax for five years, five percent tax after ten years.

    The merchants surrounded the guards to ask repeatedly, hardly believing the reality of tax exemption. The City of Chaos was known for the highest taxes in the land of the Seven Clans, supposedly ten times higher than the Winged Race''s Sky City.

    In any trade or business, apart from fixed uniform city taxes, land taxes, and poll taxes, there were various transaction taxes based on the goods, with different rates.

    For transactions of magic crystals and valuable goods, the tax reached one hundred percent.

    There was a joke in Chaos City: a man accidentally dropped a magic crystal on the ground, and by the time he picked it up to trade again, he couldn''t make any profit. In anger, he canceled the transaction, only to end up losing half of it.

    Such exorbitant tax rates also forced merchants to often trade secretly. However, this led to another problem: without protection in their transactions, merchants risked being defrauded or robbed, often resulting in total loss. Doing business in Chaos City was like risking one''s life every day.

    People stayed in Chaos City for many reasons.

    One, all the races gathered there were outcasts, expelled or banished by their original clans, with no home to return to, or naturally thieves and robbers finding a haven in the city. There were also a few strong adventurers seeking challenges, possessing certain strengths, and not worried about money or living conditions. Of course, there were captives and slaves brought from other places, unable to escape.

    Another reason for people''s reluctance to leave the City of Chaos was its freedom. There were no fixed laws, and as long as one had strength and money, they could live as they wished. This was the aspiration of many; despite the high taxes, expensive living, and constant danger, nothing compared to freedom. Particularly for those who had broken the law elsewhere, they sought refuge here, where no one interfered as long as they had enough power.

    Now, seeing the second edict about tax exemption, the merchants could confidently display all their goods for sale without fear of crippling taxes.

    The third of Lord Yudian''s ten edicts was unexpected: Those facing financial bankruptcy could apply for safety protection, and the new city lord would provide assistance according to their needs.

    If one considered edicts four, five, and six, they would be even more amazed, feeling that the City of Chaos could now be called heaven.

    The fourth edict: Beggars will be recognized as a profession. If they take on daily tasks like cleaning and sweeping the streets, they can earn casual wages from the new city lord and get free bedding and personal tents. In designated areas, they can collect food with a beggar''s certificate.

    The fifth edict: Thieves and robbers, previously without official recognition, would now be certified and classified into five levels. If skillful, they could become training instructors. If they demonstrated valor against external enemies, they would be generously rewarded and awarded the Chaos Honor Medal. However, if caught committing crimes against city residents, they would face whipping and public shaming. If captured while committing crimes outside the city, they would be treated as prisoners of war and ransomed fully by the new city lord.

    People were surprised to see thieves and robbers gaining such status.

    The sixth edict: Abolishing slavery in Chaos City. The new city lord would forcibly buy and redeem all slaves. From now on, all slave trades would involve only one party - the new city lord. Slaves could obtain freedom certificates, and after serving the new city lord for three months to a year, they could regain freedom. All labor slaves would receive wage compensation and release. If they wished to continue working, they would be reclassified as workers, with residency and housing provided by the city.

    This edict was somewhat displeasing to slave masters, who relied on slave trade for major profits. However, with this new decree, they could still trade slaves, only selling to the new city lord. Although it might be hard to negotiate high prices, it was better than a complete ban. The major slave masters considered petitioning, but the four overlords quickly endorsed the edict. Count Clark, owning three thousand slaves, was the fastest to act, personally leading his slaves to Chaos Castle, selling them at a fair price to Lord Yudian, and then rehiring nearly half of them as casual workers for his estate.

    With the four overlords taking the lead, the major slave masters, no matter how bold, dared not oppose. They complied by first reporting the number of their slaves, then sought ways to sell them at higher prices.

    The seventh of the new city lord''s ten edicts: The City of Chaos needs re-planning, but people living in old buildings will receive compensation after reconstruction.

    The eighth edict: Families volunteering for military service against external enemies will be honored as ''Glorious Homes'' and receive monthly living subsidies. Soldiers who contribute or sacrifice for the City of Chaos will receive substantial compensation and honors, and those with outstanding achievements will be knighted, irrespective of origin or race.

    After reading these edicts, people felt somewhat guilty. They hadn''t contributed anything but were enjoying many benefits bestowed by Lord Yudian. Concern arose about the new city lord''s livelihood, hoping he wouldn''t become the poorest city lord due to the tax exemption.

    As people continued reading, they only sighed in happiness.

    The ninth edict: Treason leads to execution, but the family or clan of the perpetrator will not be punished.

    The tenth edict: Banning the glorification or excessive praise of the new city lord, prohibiting cries of ''Long live the city lord'' before or after meals, and abolishing previous punishments for verbal offenses against the city lord. The new city lord discourages public kneeling and grand ceremonies in his honor. Freedom of speech is upheld in the City of Chaos, and private discussions or religious promotion, unless for treason, are not crimes.

    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

    This tenth edict surprised everyone, showing how different Lord Yudian was from Chaotic Roaring, who enjoyed constant praise and submission. Yudian disliked all these.

    People had become accustomed to saying ''Long live the city lord'' before raising their glasses. Now, the explicit ban on such practice felt unfamiliar.

    Upon implementation, these ten edicts caused a bit of chaos in the City of Chaos, but within a few days, people adjusted, except for some hardliners. On the streets, laborers and slaves, usually unseen, timidly started shopping. The sight of patrolling guards no longer caused panic, as the guards had transformed into a disciplined force, no longer extorting money.

    It was said that on the first day, about five hundred people were punished under the new military discipline with whipping or harsher penalties. Over a hundred conspirators were executed. Lord Yudian, though generous, was ruthless in killing. His approach made it clear: either follow his lead and be comfortable, or oppose him and face execution.

    Being able to defeat the Blood Wing King, severely injure the Bone General, and force Chaotic Roaring to commit suicide, Yudian spoke softly and elegantly, like a nobleman, but he was unforgiving. He would not repeat orders, and those who opposed him had their heads displayed in the city center.

    People understood that with Lord Yudian, it was simple: comply and live, oppose and die.

    Riding on this trend, the four major overlords also took the opportunity to purge some people, most of whom were spies of their opponents.

    A small amount of bloodshed was still enough to intimidate many. Actually, no one wants to make life difficult for themselves, nor does anyone want to seek trouble or hardship. The new lord''s ten policies might not align with everyone''s interests, but overall, they were good. Nobody wanted to be the unfortunate one made an example of by the new lord to establish authority and set a warning.

    ...

    Inside the chaotic castle, in the great hall.

    The presidents and vice-presidents of the Dark Thieves Guild and the Dark Magic Guild, leaders of several thieves'' groups, leaders of large mercenary groups in the city, the head of the commerce association, the director of the Alchemy Research Institute, the archbishop of the Dark Religion, the high priest of the Witch Religion, various slave masters, and other notable figures from the City of Chaos gathered in the lord''s hall.

    "Gentlemen, just speak your minds, no need to beat around the bush," Rody raised his glass and toasted with everyone, saying.

    "To the Lord''s health!" The vice-president of the Thieves Guild, Pengke, stood up and bowed: "Lord, let Pengke speak frankly. As you know, our profession has always been unwelcome, but only our region in the Seven Clans'' territory offers us refuge. First, I wholeheartedly support the new policies of the Lord, but I''d like to inquire about the specifics. Not everyone can become a master thief, and if our members are caught by the patrols, it used to mean a dead end. Now, your decree has moved everyone, but with the fear of the Lord''s authority, perhaps many dare not act... I mean, some members might struggle to survive, as our members usually rely on ''stealthy hands'' for a living!"

    "Actually, I haven''t forbidden the use of ''stealthy hands'' in the city," Rody replied with a light smile. "On the contrary, do you think it''s likely to target someone familiar? Everyone guards against thieves, and many are already known faces, so no matter how skilled, it''s useless. I have a way that can let your members showcase their skills daily without worrying about getting caught, and even if they do, they''ll still be welcomed!"

    "What is this method, Lord?" Even the president of the Thieves Guild, Jacobin, got excited, having pondered this for decades without a solution.

    "The method is simple. I will turn the City of Chaos into a tourist city, attracting various races to visit. Of course, we have a traditional and unique program here, which includes theft. You can target them, but remember to return things like wallets, or else don''t expect repeat visitors. The mysterious thrill of theft will arouse some races'' curiosity. They might not be able to learn it, but they''ll still be willing to pay you to learn some basic skills of lock-picking and thievery. Then, dress them up as thieves and have them steal from their companions, playing a ''cat-and-mouse'' game with my city guards. Such exciting activities will surely bring them joy. You can operate openly, showcase your skills, and earn a substantial income. Why not? Of course, I can also arrange for cheap souvenirs for you to maintain the ''thief''s tradition''. What do you think? Consider it," Rody''s suggestion immediately sparked a wave of amazement.

    To be a thief in broad daylight, perhaps only the strategy of this Eudian lord could achieve it.

    How did he come up with this?

    Letting guests become thieves to lessen the public''s negative perception, enticing them to learn, bringing entertainment and income, a truly clever dual-purpose strategy!

    "No need to think anymore, let''s do it!" Jacobin, the president of the Dark Thieves Guild, was so thrilled he was nearly ecstatic.

    "We fully support the Lord! Long live the Lord!" Vice-president Pengke couldn''t help but exclaim loudly.

    "Don''t cheer ''long live the Lord''; it''s unpleasant to hear, so old-fashioned..." Rody said, and everyone understood why the new lord disliked such cheers. It turns out that in his heart, such a cheer was rather displeasing.

    "Can our bandit group do the same?" several leaders of the thieves'' groups asked excitedly.

    "Actually, for you, I have a similar but better idea, understand?" Rody smiled. "Why are you disliked and feared? It''s a matter of identity! Once your identity changes, your robbery will not only meet no resistance but will also be welcomed!"

    "My goodness, can such a wonderful thing happen? Are we dreaming?" the leaders of the thieves'' groups were almost fainting.

    "Of course, you are heroes! From today, you''re no longer bandits, but heroes!" Rody chuckled. "Think about it, how many heroes are there in history? Who do you all know? Freely impersonate them! Regardless of the race, you can impersonate them, and the more professional you are, the better the effect!"

    "Does the lord mean that we dress up as heroes to rob?" Some were still confused, asking excitedly.

    "No, you''re not robbing, you are heroes. How can you do such a thing? You are setting out against strong enemies, capturing them. Of course, you are elegant heroes, cultured and refined warriors. Imagine the grandeur when you shout and countless people surrender their weapons!" Rody smiled. "After you capture the guests, bring them back to the city, and I will redeem them! Of course, if the guests are willing, you should perhaps let them join you, understand? The time for you heroes to recruit soldiers has come, develop your teams freely! The joined members will willingly donate! Just let them thoroughly enjoy the thrill of a hero''s charge into battle!"

    "I get it, tomorrow, I''ll impersonate King ''Gosar'', no, first, I''ll ask actors to teach us makeup..." One of the leaders slapped his thigh, regretting how he didn''t think of such a simple thing.

    "Idiot, don''t you think King ''Gosar'' lacks an opponent?" another leader laughed. "Shall we collaborate, my brother?"

    "I think we should first toast to the lord. We will offer tribute proportionally, great Lord!" A one-eyed leader raised his glass excitedly toasting Rody from afar. "I have never admired anyone''s wisdom before. I thought I''d only respect the physically strong in this life, but now, I have to say, the power of wisdom also makes me prostrate in admiration!"

    "If you want to shine my shoes, come to sign up tomorrow morning!" Rody laughed heartily. "No need for tributes, but ensure the safety of the hostages, as they are my guests. If you want to get ransom, you should know how to proceed!"

    "I say, One-Eye, you''re still worried about the Lord''s income, just save your worries and obey! That''s what you should do!" Jacobin chuckled weirdly.

    "Partner, we''ll collaborate, but before that, I think we need to prepare. This is a big opportunity; I decide to invest heavily... By the way, Lord, can you buy us some regular army equipment, including warhorses, is that okay?" The one-eyed bandit leader requested.

    "Of course, all trade is fine. These matters will be handled by Steward Nicholas," Rody introduced Nicholas to everyone.

    "Wait a minute, One-Eye, take it slow with the matters you discuss with Steward Nicholas. We can''t wait, understand? We also need the Lord to guide us. Don''t fight over it... Hey, our Slave Association is more anxious, let me speak first!" The major slave masters, who initially thought there was no solution for slave trading, immediately rekindled hope upon seeing the thieves and bandits finding excellent solutions, and began clamoring anxiously.

    "Speak up, everyone. You are all leaders of the city. Let''s think of solutions together and make the City of Chaos better!" Rody smiled very amiably.

    "Not daring to disobey, seeking guidance from the Lord..." Everyone quickly said they dare not, and at this moment, they had completely forgotten the chaos and uproar. Even those dark mages and high priests who were calm enough to maintain their sanity deeply felt the charm of this human man, Eudian. He was a natural leader. Once he spoke, people couldn''t help but submit and follow him.

    However, they also secretly admired him.

    Being able to turn black into white, making thieves stealing openly on the streets popular, and turning the shameless robbery of bandits into heroic acts, probably only he in the entire Seven Clans'' territory could think of such a thing!

    After being busy for half a day, Rody handed over the follow-up of various matters to Nicholas to take full charge, and he himself went back to rest.

    The Moon Night High Priestess was waiting with Midy. The Flower Fairy Icarus was still flying all over, chasing after fireflies. The Ice Snow Queen Victoria was also there. Rody wasn''t surprised by her presence, but what surprised him was another familiar figure in the room. Her face veiled, she appeared mysterious, but through mental perception, Rody immediately recognized her as the ''Mountain Forest Fairy'' he had encountered before.

    Seeing Rody return, the Mountain Forest Fairy stood up to take her leave, very elegantly.

    Queen Victoria did not retain her, smiling and waving goodbye. From her demeanor, she seemed very familiar with the Mountain Forest Fairy.

    "Who is she?" Rody, now in a close relationship with her, sat next to her and asked curiously.

    "My friend. Big lecher, don''t tell me you don''t recognize her!" Queen Victoria initially feared Rody''s hands, but seeing the Moon Night High Priestess with Midy sit next to Rody, she immediately snuggled into his arms coquettishly.

    "Does being a big lecher mean I must recognize her?" Rody laughed heartily.

    "Brother is not a big lecher!" Of course, Midy opposed. She immediately occupied Rody''s embrace, refusing to let Queen Victoria snuggle into her brother''s arms. That was her throne; how could she let her occupy it? Even Sister Moon Night never fought with her for it, but this Ice Snow Queen, though a queen, lacked any grace.

    "Hey, I''m talking to a child, you''re young and don''t understand anything!" Queen Victoria hummed proudly.

    "I understand, I know all the intelligence questions brother gives me, I understand everything!" Midy thought Queen Victoria was talking about very difficult intelligence questions and immediately argued back, not to be outdone.

    "There''s ''Cagasianes'' again, you, your eyes even during the day have ''Cagasianes'', why are you always like this?" the Moon Night High Priestess quietly reproached. "Queen, there are children here, you''re too much! It''s okay for you to be mischievous at night, but now it''s daytime, you should restrain yourself a bit, not to influence Midy and Icarus!"

    "Don''t you have it? Go look in the mirror!" Queen Victoria said with a teasing smile.

    "What? Impossible! My eyes could never show ''Cagasianes'', I, I have nothing to do with him..." As a result, the innocent Moon Night High Priestess blushed and really ran to the room to look in the mirror.

    "Ha, this elf high priestess knows nothing!" Queen Victoria was extremely proud, almost about to dance.

    "The very knowledgeable Ice Snow Queen, can you teach me?" Rody embraced her and pulled her closer.

    "Don''t touch, not now, let''s talk at night, it''s daytime..." As a result, Queen Victoria, now devoid of her queenly demeanor, was scared and limp. She knew his capabilities, and this guy was especially bold. Last night, when Midy didn''t take her away, he couldn''t help but be mischievous, almost waking her up. Just thinking about seeing Midy turn over and talk in her sleep at the most passionate moment made her feel like her soul hadn''t fully returned yet.

 Chapter 188ï¼šDwarves, the Target of Rodys Deception

    At night, a little one insisted on sleeping with her brother, leading to this strange conversation.

    "Your Majesty the Queen, why are you also sleeping next to brother?" asked the little one before going to sleep, surprised to see the Ice Snow Queen also lying next to her brother.

    "I''m tired, just resting here for a while!" the Queen replied, her eyes twinkling with ''Cagasianes''.

    "Eh, Your Majesty, why are you kissing brother?" the little one asked again.

    "I''m not kissing, I''m biting!" the Queen playfully retorted.

    "No biting!" the little one protested.

    "Alright, I won''t bite, I''ll kiss then, is that okay?" the Queen, seeing no way out, changed her response.

    "I''ll kiss too! Hey, Your Majesty, why are you undressing brother?" the little one saw the Queen stealthily undressing her brother, thinking she liked the dazzling star pearls on his clothes like she did.

    "Your brother is too hot, it''s cooler if he takes off his clothes," the Queen made up an excuse.

    "But I''m not hot at all..." the little one wondered.

    "It gets hot under the covers!" the Queen pulled up the blanket, covering all three of them. Feeling sleepy, the little one soon felt drowsy. She hugged her brother''s arm, sweetly preparing to drift into sleep, when she suddenly noticed the Queen half-leaning over her brother and peeking at her, causing her to half-open her sleepy eyes.

    "Your Majesty, are you also very hot?" the little one sleepily asked, noticing the Queen seemed to be without clothes, her shoulders bare.

    "Very hot!" the Queen quickly hid back, while complaining to the little one''s brother, "It''s all your fault, you were so eager, and now she''s seen."

    "Midy, go to sleep!" her brother gently stroked the little one''s head and kissed her forehead. She sleepily heard her brother say to the Queen, "Maybe we should wait a bit more! The little one easily wakes up!"

    "It''s all because you spoil her. Just now, I told you to take her to Night Moon, but you insisted on keeping her here!" the Queen leaned over again to check if the little one was sleeping soundly.

    "Your Majesty, you move around so much, not behaving well in sleep..." the little one felt that the Queen was naughtier than she was in sleep, and surely her brother wouldn''t like her.

    "Right, she''s naughty, the best is Midy, sleep now!" her brother immediately praised, making the little one very happy. Overwhelmed by sleepiness, she quickly fell into a sweet sleep. But the Queen kept watching, finally sighing in relief. At that moment, her brother chuckled, "Your Majesty, how is it? Is sneaking around thrilling?"

    "If she remembers tomorrow and tells Night Moon, I''ll lose face!" the Queen climbed over and clung to her brother like an octopus.

    "It seems you get particularly excited when the little one is here," her brother teased.

    "No," the Queen denied, but deep down, she indeed felt a thrilling sensation, making her body warm.

    "Shall I start then?" her brother''s mischievous hands began to move. He had behaved well before the sister fell asleep, but now his true nature was revealed.

    "Be gentle, my body hasn''t fully recovered, it still hurts a bit. Why do you always have to be so rough... can''t you be a bit gentler? Bad guy, big bad guy!" the Queen coquettishly complained while lying on top of her lover, but her brother lifted her body, lightly laughing, "Don''t you enjoy it more thrilling?"

    "Don''t you dare say anymore..." the Queen blushed, and to prevent her brother from teasing her, she sealed his lips with her little fragrant tongue, effectively stopping his words. Indeed, he couldn''t speak anymore, but he still had his hands.

    In the room next door, the Moon Night High Priestess was extremely angry.

    Because she didn''t want to see the Queen staying in her brother''s room, yet she couldn''t think of a way to stop it. She too wanted to sleep next to him, but couldn''t bring herself to lose face, and also, she was a bit afraid of that big lecher''s antics! That Ice Snow Queen was just too open; how could she just get to know him and then... Losing to her was infuriating, especially since she herself was a bit prettier.

    She''s just got a bigger chest, what''s so great about that!

    Could it be that the big lecher likes that? He prefers women with bigger chests? It''s over, no wonder he''s not interested in me... No, I can''t let the Ice Snow Queen continue like this, I have to think of a way.

    Lost in her thoughts, the Moon Night High Priestess tossed and turned a few times but soon fell asleep due to her usual good habits.

    After all, a pure-hearted person finds it especially easy to sleep.

    ...

    In the Dwarven Mountains, Iron Furnace City.

    Rody, having stayed in the City of Chaos for half a month and seeing Nicholas managing everything in perfect order, set off confidently with the Moon Night High Priestess and others to Iron Furnace City. Of course, business was secondary; finding the ancient passage to the Island of Stone Spirits was the main goal. The beautiful teacher and Jill had been out of touch for a long time, and Rody was eager to find them to return to the human world, train soldiers, and prepare for the upcoming great war.

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    Wherever Rody went, Night Moon and Midy would surely follow, and the playful Fairy Icarus joined them too.

    Queen Victoria, after much consideration and seeing the Moon Night High Priestess going, set aside her pride and decided to join as well. But she was slightly more embarrassed than the Moon Night High Priestess because, upon meeting the beautiful teacher and others, the High Priestess could introduce her as a friend, but what about her?

    Too close was not appropriate, but just a friend didn''t seem right either. After all, as a queen, why would she follow him?

    "Ah? You''re the new Lord of the City of Chaos? You killed the Chaos Roar?" The Dwarf King Iron Hammer Moradin was extremely surprised, but upon receiving Rody''s confirmation, he laughed heartily: "Good, I''ve long disliked that Chaos Roar but couldn''t do anything about it. Your killing it is perfect! Ah, Queen Victoria is here too, dressed like that, I hardly recognized you!"

    "Shining light of Moradin graces the sky!" Queen Victoria greeted, very elegantly.

    "Everyone sit, bring out the ale for our guests!" The Dwarf King was very enthusiastic, stroking his beard and asking directly: "What brings you to my Iron Furnace City? Are you going to war with the Winged Tribe? Weapons and armor are no problem, forget alliances, we Dwarves are straightforward, nobody likes being friends with thieves and bandits. Of course, I''m not referring to you, Queen Victoria, or you, the new Lord. Don''t misunderstand, what''s your name? You''re human, right?"

    "Rody, a hearty king, you can call me Rody!" Rody toasted with the Dwarf King.

    "Actually, I want to say that I don¡¯t mind doing business with anyone, be it thieves or bandits. Although we dwarves prefer peace and don¡¯t wish our weapons to be stained with blood, it¡¯s not the weapons that kill, but the people who wield them. I understand this principle! Come, let''s have a drink. How many weapons do you want to buy? We have stock, and we can also forge on demand. If you want magical weapons, then you¡¯ll need to send thieves to get some magic crystals!" The Dwarf King spoke bluntly, treating Rody as if he were a bandit leader, making Queen Victoria somewhat embarrassed.

    "The current City of Chaos is different... Always talking about thieves! What do you take us for?" The Moon Night High Priestess felt that the Dwarf King was biased. Why should she, a noble elf, follow Rody if they disdain thieves and bandits? Besides, the City of Chaos was no longer the home of thieves and bandits as before.

    Her kind nature usually kept her from meddling in affairs, but she felt unhappy inside.

    With Night Moon''s muttering, the dwarves noticed her hidden under the cloak.

    "An elf, oh, you are a noble elf royal, wait, who are you?" The Dwarf King looked closely and finally exclaimed in surprise.

    "Me? I am the Moon Night High Priestess, Enilu Night Moon of the elf tribe," the High Priestess revealed her staff to prove her identity, something she wouldn''t usually do but felt compelled to due to the Dwarf King''s continuous mention of thieves.

    "Such honored guests! Ah, I didn''t expect this at all! Someone, bring our guests the magic spring water. How can we let the elves drink our ale? Even though our ale is top-notch, offering it to the elf royalty is a great disrespect to the Moon God! And the Flower Fairy and Fairy Midy, what would you like to drink? Alas, I have no honey..." The Dwarf King seemed to have a special fondness for elves and fairies, showing more enthusiasm towards the Moon Night High Priestess than to Rody, the Lord of Chaos City, and Queen Victoria.

    "Brother has everything!" Midy clamored proudly.

    "Yes, yes, but magic spring water would be nice for me too!" Fairy Icarus joyfully fluttered around.

    "Lord of Chaos City, have you already formed an alliance with the Moon Night High Priestess?" The Dwarf King asked curiously, noticing the close relationship between Night Moon and Rody.

    "Not only have I formed an alliance with the elf tribe, but also with the sea tribe. You may know, before this, I signed a pact with Jecatra of the sea tribe, the sister of the Naga Queen!" Rody told a white lie. In fact, he hadn''t reached a combat alliance with the sea tribe or even the elves, only a trade pact.

    "..." The Moon Night High Priestess twisted Rody''s arm from behind, disliking his lie but not exposing his exaggeration.

    "My goodness, really?" The Dwarf King was taken aback by Rody''s bluff, speechless.

    "I don''t believe it. How could the sea tribe and the elves be friends with the thieves of the City of Chaos? You must have coerced them into signing the pact, right? Otherwise, it''s impossible!" One of the dwarf elders, straightforward by nature, spoke without considering Rody''s feelings.

    "No, of course, they wouldn''t be friends with the thieves of the City of Chaos! They signed a pact with me because of my other identity, I am the Grand Commander of the Human Justice Alliance! They decided to ally with us humans for trade and mutual defense, to jointly oppose the Winged Tribe and the Demon Tribe! You should know, I didn''t take over the City of Chaos to become its lord, but to guide them from sin towards goodness!" Rody made himself sound very noble.

    "We kind of believe that!" The dwarf elders nodded, and even the Dwarf King thought it was likely.

    "You''re really the Grand Commander of the Human Justice Alliance? So young?" The Dwarf King was surprised by Rody''s youth.

    "Hearty king, you must know of the Command Ring, right?" Rody chuckled, showing the Command Ring, saying, "Though young, I''ve been trained since childhood by many human powerhouses, or else I wouldn''t have become the Grand Commander! If you knew who my teacher was, then you wouldn''t be surprised that I could kill Chaos Roar!"

    ¡°May I ask who your teacher is?¡± the Dwarf King inquired, astounded. Could it be that Rody''s mentor was one of the saints among humans?

    ¡°My swordsmanship teacher is called Aelikles, known as the Storm Saint. As for my magic teachers, they are known as the Sage of Wisdom and the Sage of Suffering!¡± Rody name-dropped some famous figures from the Sanctuary Ruins. After all, he had some slight connections with them, and a little impersonation wouldn¡¯t hurt. At Rody''s revelation, the Dwarf King and the elders, including Queen Victoria and the Moon Night High Priestess, were all stunned, as they had never heard Rody mention this before.

    ¡°Aelikles, sounds like a barbarian¡¯s name!¡± Fairy Icarus chuckled.

    ¡°Silence!¡± the Dwarf King and others shouted sternly, startling not only Icarus but also Rody. The Dwarf King exclaimed, ¡°Do not joke about the saints'' names; utmost respect is required! The Storm Saint, no, all three saints, are great and powerful, capable of stepping into the realm of gods, but they chose to stay to protect the creatures of the earth. The dwarves were almost annihilated by the Winged Tribe, and it was the Storm Saint and others who came to our aid, successfully repelling the Winged Tribe and forging the Moradin Pact with the celestial Lihuade, leading to today''s Iron Furnace City!¡±

    ¡°If you are a disciple of the Storm Saint, we agree to form an alliance with you, but you must prove it!¡± the dwarf elders were not fools, of course.

    ¡°I can¡¯t prove it; Aelikles didn¡¯t give me anything! But the Sage of Suffering gave me this ancient magic book, and the Sage of Wisdom gave me a divine artifact that I shouldn¡¯t show easily. Do you want to see it?¡± Rody pulled out the ancient magic book and waved it.

    ¡°Yes, yes!¡± the Dwarf King excitedly jumped up, grabbing Rody''s hand, ¡°That''s the style of the Storm Saint. If you could bring out a gift he gave you, you''d definitely be a fake! Now, we are convinced, you are indeed the disciple of the Storm Saint, because you started calling him by his name, not just his title! Please sit down, Rody, you said your name is Rody, right? Good, that''s a name worthy of the Storm Saint¡¯s disciple! Cheers to our alliance, put away the magic book; it''s also a divine artifact level relic. The Sage of Suffering gave that to you too, and the divine artifact from the Sage of Wisdom, no need to take it out, I know what it is, heh, just like the sunglasses on your face, haha! Alright, I''m talking too much, let''s drink and let the mug silence my big mouth!¡±

    ¡°Just now when I saw the sunglasses on his face, I knew he was the disciple of the Sage of Wisdom!¡± one of the dwarf elders boasted.

    ¡°Right, a disciple of the three saints taking over the City of Chaos, those thieves'' good days are over! I said how could the elf tribe and sea tribe ally with the City of Chaos, now it makes sense, I completely understand!¡± The dwarf elders were very pleased, drinking merrily.

    ¡°...¡± Rody never expected that the old men from the human continent, who were inconspicuous there, were so famous in the Seven Clans¡¯ territory.

    If he had known this earlier, he wouldn''t have used the identity of the Lord of Chaos City.

    Luckily, his impromptu impersonation worked. The three saints held such high esteem in the dwarves'' hearts that it seemed there would be no further trouble.

    ¡°You said you were the disciple of Buke, David, and Mary Magritte, didn''t you?¡± Queen Victoria, recovering from her shock, questioned. The Moon Night High Priestess also nodded continuously; she only knew Rody was here to find the beautiful teacher and Jill.

    ¡°Dean Buke, Drunken Sword Master, and the beautiful teacher are also my mentors, hehe!¡± Rody couldn¡¯t explain clearly.

    ¡°Eh? You are also a disciple of Buke? Ah, I''ve heard him mention you, right, so you are that pRodygious young Rody? Isn¡¯t it? Aren¡¯t you restricted by the taboo of magic and martial arts? You broke it? My goodness, you¡¯re even stronger than Buke, how could you possibly be his disciple? But it doesn¡¯t matter, you are still a disciple of the Storm Saint, naturally stronger than Buke! Are you really Rody? Really Buke¡¯s student? Wow, I¡¯m so thrilled!¡± The Dwarf King actually knew Buke and

    seemed quite familiar with him!

    ¡°Of course, where else could I be if not his student? He was the dean when I was studying at the academy! I came here looking for him!¡± Rody was both surprised and delighted to hear this.

    ¡°So, you are really one of us, ah, what a relief, I was worried about you being the Lord of Chaos City for nothing!¡± The Dwarf King''s words almost made Rody faint!

    After boasting for so long, it turned out these dwarves knew Dean Buke, and all his bluffing was for naught!

    If he had known this, he wouldn¡¯t have impersonated at all and just said he was Rody from the Ferec. The more Rody thought about it, the more he felt he had made a big deal out of a small matter!

 Chapter 189ï¼šPearls, Tears of Reunion after a Long Separation

    In the Dwarf Castle, Iron Furnace City.

    ¡°I say, Big Iron Hammer, what surprise do you have? Cut the chatter and bring out your best ale first, let me have a good drink!¡± Dean Buke still had his usual smile, without much change, but two scars on his forehead added a manly air to his appearance.

    ¡°No need for drinks, lest you get drunk and disrespect this old friend of yours! Come, Buke, let me introduce someone to you!¡± The Dwarf King playfully teased.

    Rody was so excited that he wanted to rush out and embrace Buke.

    His hands were trembling slightly. For this teacher, who had not spent a long time with him but had taught him a great deal, Rody really wanted to hold him tight. It seemed Dean Buke had gone through severe battles, as evidenced by the indelible scars on his forehead. At the time when he and Felic needed him most, Rody was far away in exile.

    While he and the beautiful teacher were retreating to the Seven Clans¡¯ territory and battling Chaos Roar, Rody was pretending to be the Prince of the Night in Camaron.

    Now, he had finally arrived...

    ¡°Who is it? If it''s a beauty, then it''s fine. If it''s some stinky man, I think it''s better to meet him drunk!¡± Dean Buke, seeing Queen Victoria coming out from behind the door, was momentarily stunned.

    ¡°The person I want to introduce to you is the Lord of Chaos City!¡± the Dwarf King proudly declared.

    ¡°What?¡± Buke was furious upon hearing this, his magical aura exploding and shaking the entire house. He roared, ¡°Big Iron Hammer, I consider you a friend, a brother, and you betray me? I didn''t expect it. The straightforward dwarves, even you have joined forces with the bandits of Chaos City? Have you also fallen? You want to ambush me in the shadows, Chaos Roar?¡±

    ¡°We dwarves have not only signed a trade agreement with the Lord of Chaos City but also a defense pact!¡± The Dwarf King laughed heartily.

    ¡°This is truly surprising, Big Iron Hammer. Let me give you another surprise then. This is the latest magic I''ve developed... capable of destroying the entire Dwarf Castle, though it''s claimed to be the most solid in the world!¡± Dean Buke''s magic power surged to its limit.

    ¡°Teacher, it¡¯s me...¡± Rody rarely called Buke ''teacher,'' usually calling him Buke or Dean in the presence of others.

    ¡°Who is it?¡± Dean Buke was startled. Upon seeing Rody slowly stepping out with tears in his eyes, he trembled all over, his face a mixture of shock and joy, his lips quivering, unable to utter a word.

    ¡°Ah, you fool Buke, who do you think I was talking about? The Lord of Chaos City I mentioned is this kid Rody!¡± the Dwarf King laughed triumphantly.

    ¡°Really?¡± Dean Buke couldn''t believe his ears, asking in disbelief, ¡°What about Chaos Roar?¡±

    ¡°It''s been taken down by Rody. Otherwise, do you think I''d join forces with Chaos Roar to ambush you? I could crush your bones with one hand, do I need to team up with anyone? My friend, you doubted our friendship, you''re finished, I''ll drown you in my ale vat! Haha, did you see just now? He was so agitated that he wanted to fight me, it was too funny!¡± The Dwarf King, probably for the first time in his life, played a trick on someone and was immensely proud, laughing loudly.

    ¡°You little brat!¡± Buke rushed over and, as Rody was about to embrace him, Buke punched him down, cursing, ¡°Big Iron Hammer that fool is one thing, but you dared to play tricks on me? Do you know I almost self-destructed! I¡¯m so angry!¡±

    ¡°Teacher, please calm down!¡± Rody quickly apologized, having no choice but to go along with the Dwarf King''s plan.

    ¡°It''s fine, it''s fine, you''re here, that''s what matters!¡± Buke pulled Rody up, hugging him tightly, then pushed him away, nodding happily, ¡°Good lad, quite different from your sickly look before. Have you broken the magic and martial taboo? That¡¯s great! You took down Chaos Roar? Wow, Mary Magritte must be so happy! But be careful, she''ll hit you when she''s happy, she always hits people when she''s excited!¡±

    ¡°You also hit people when you¡¯re happy; you just hit brother earlier, that''s a bad habit!¡± Midy felt sad about the punch just now.

    ¡°Haha, it''s okay, he can take it!¡± Buke punched Rody hard in the chest and then said to Midy, ¡°See, he¡¯s fine, right? Why don¡¯t you try hitting him too?¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t!¡± Midy flatly refused. Kissing him a couple of times would be okay, but how could she bear to punch him?

    ¡°Good lad, you''ve grown up and achieved so much in the time we haven¡¯t seen each other¡­ That Chaos Roar, I was just thinking about settling scores with it, and you took it down! Good job! That¡¯s a breath of fresh air for me! You see, this scar on my forehead, it was left by that thing. Now I can finally remove it, this disgrace is finally washed away! Not bad at all, I couldn¡¯t beat it, but my student did. This really delights my heart! Big Iron Hammer, where''s your ale?¡± Buke happily looked for ale, seeming to need three big cups to calm his excitement.

    ¡°Don¡¯t rush the drink, don¡¯t you think you should thank me first?¡± the Dwarf King teased, trying to take advantage of the situation.

    ¡°I do thank you, let me think, how should I thank you? I''ll tell Mary Magritte that you hid her favorite disciple from her, not letting her know. Hey, if she doesn¡¯t burn your beard, I¡¯m not Buke!¡± Buke, true to his nickname of the ''Devil Dean,'' came up with a mischievous plan.

    ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t tell that young lady, I¡¯m afraid of her, she¡¯s the only one in the world I¡¯m afraid of!¡± The Dwarf King had his nemesis too, the beautiful teacher.

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    ¡°Hahaha!¡± Dean Buke breathed a sigh of relief, feeling greatly relieved. Upon seeing Queen Victoria and the Moon Night High Priestess behind Rody, he frowned slightly and then asked with a smile, ¡°Queen Victoria, I¡¯m grateful for the help last time! But it seems... you greeted me? Ha, Queen Victoria greeted me, great job Rody, I never expected such an honor! Your Majesty, Queen of Ice and Snow, no need for formalities, just call me teacher like Rody, hey don¡¯t really call me that, Mary Magritte would skin me alive! Just call me by my name! And you, the elf royalty... What? You¡¯re the Moon Night High Priestess? My apologies, Buke here, you can call me by my name! Your status is too noble, and your abilities too strong, I can''t accept being called ''teacher''!¡±

    ¡°You''re biased, why don''t you ask about me and Icarus?¡± Midy felt neglected by Rody¡¯s teacher and was dissatisfied.

    ¡°Eh? There''s a little one, who are you?¡± Buke pretended as if he had just noticed her.

    ¡°I just spoke to you, you big forgetful!¡± Midy, holding Rody''s hand, said in a sweet voice.

    ¡°Really? What? You''re Rody''s sister? He has a sister I didn¡¯t know about? That¡¯s odd!¡± Buke blinked, scratching his head in a comical manner, amusing both Midy and Icarus.

    ¡°Teacher¡­¡± Rody started to speak, but Buke immediately interrupted.

    ¡°Alright, alright, we can talk after I¡¯ve had enough to drink. Stinky kid, don¡¯t call me teacher, it sounds weird, call me Buke!¡± Buke jumped on the table, raised his mug, and drank it all in one gulp, laughing loudly, ¡°Friends, it¡¯s time to celebrate, come on, raise your cups and drink with Buke! Do you want to hear me sing the ''Devil Dean¡¯s Song''? Come on, if someone claps, I¡¯ll show you what a golden voice is!¡±

    ¡°Sweat, is he really your teacher?¡± Queen Victoria was okay with it, but the Moon Night High Priestess was surprised.

    ¡°Yes, yes, I want to hear, I want to hear!¡± Midy and Icarus were already clapping their little hands, immersing themselves in the lively celebration. Rody laughed heartily, ¡°Don¡¯t you think having such a teacher is really cool? I rarely see him like this; he must be really happy today!¡±

    Rody rarely saw Buke like this because he seldom drank with him.

    If it were Tommy, he would definitely jump on the table and sing the ''Devil Dean¡¯s Song'' with Buke, as they were a perfect match in terms of temperament.

    ...

    ¡°Hey, what are you standing here for?

    Go to the teleportation portal, someone is waiting for you there, I¡¯ve already magically informed them! Hurry up, but don¡¯t expect me to accompany you!¡± Amid the revelry, Buke jumped up and quickly said to Rody, then picked up Midy and tossed her into the air, causing her to scream and then laugh.

    "Go ahead, I... we won''t go..." Queen Victoria and the Moon Night High Priestess wanted to go, but since Rody didn''t say anything, they were reluctant to speak up.

    "You can come later!" Rody thought for a moment and gently stroked their cheeks with his hand.

    Both women were slightly startled but did not shy away, instead blushing slightly.

    They exchanged glances and nodded gently.

    Rody''s heart began to beat faster and faster as he stepped towards the teleportation station in the Dwarf Castle. Even facing thousands of troops, or the charge of demon orcs, Rody''s heartbeat never quickened. But at this moment, it was pounding uncontrollably, beyond his control.

    Jill and the beautiful teacher, it had been a long time since their last meeting.

    Rody often missed them. During battles against orcs and demons with Kris, Rody often thought of them. Wandering and training in the land of exile, the lonely Rody frequently remembered them. Even when sweetly in love with the Star Goddess, Rody often talked to her about Jill and the beautiful teacher, and of course, about Kris and the female boss.

    When the two of them needed help the most, Rody was not by their side.

    After a long and winding search, finally, at this moment, they could meet again.

    Rody''s heart was filled with an indescribable feeling. He wanted to rush over and embrace them tightly. Yet, he also felt a fear of seeing their tears and broken hearts.

    Would they forgive him for his long absence? What would they say to him? Would they blame him for bringing Victoria and Night Moon to meet them?

    Despite Rody''s extraordinary wisdom, he couldn''t anticipate¡­ His heart was pounding wildly, his steps taking him towards the teleportation station. He knew they were there, his psychic senses already detecting their presence. They were waiting for him, they had arrived!

    Rody took a deep breath, gathering his courage, regardless of whether the beautiful teacher would slap him.

    Regardless of whether Jill would push away his embrace, Rody decided to step in. He was now a man who stood tall and proud, responsible for his actions, without any retreat or regret.

    As Rody stepped through the small door, he saw a scene he would never forget in his lifetime.

    Two tearful beauties, with blurred teary eyes, were looking at him both crying and laughing¡­ Before Rody could react, one of them had already sprinted over and plunged into his arms, weeping loudly.

    The other one, too, was covering her face and weeping uncontrollably.

    Their tears, like scattered pearls, covered the ground, and Rody''s heart ached.

    These were the tears of many nights of longing and anticipation, tears of hoping for a reunion¡­ Rody couldn''t count them, just as he couldn''t count the tears themselves.

    He might not understand their hearts, but he could read these tears. From the weeping in his arms, he could hear her missing him, hear her prayers for him, hear her secretly crying at night. The weeping person before him was akin to the Star Goddess in the Starlight Temple who had waited for him for thousands of years, similar to Kris who had disguised herself as a man and followed him into bloody battles.

    Only, their ways of expressing themselves were different.

    But their hearts were the same, identical in every way.

    ¡°Jill, Jill¡­¡± Rody couldn¡¯t help but hold the tearful woman in his arms tightly, unable to resist kissing her tearful eyes.

    ¡°Wuwuwu, I missed you, I missed you wuwuwu!¡± Jill cried profusely, tears streaming down her face. She clung tightly to Rody, her throat trembling, unable to utter his name. Although she silently repeated his name every day, at the moment of reunion, she just couldn''t call out his name!

    ¡°I missed you too, I missed you, Jill, don¡¯t cry!¡± Rody repeatedly kissed away the tears on Jill''s face, wiping away her tear stains, but the tears still gushed out, streaming across her small face. The tears of longing over the years, once erupted, were uncontrollable. She didn¡¯t want to stop crying because she needed to vent, to let out all her longing for him, every bit of it.

    ¡°Wuwu, wuwuwu¡­¡± Jill sobbed uncontrollably, while the beautiful teacher managed to hold back her tears with remarkable self-control.

    If not for the slight redness in her eyes, the moistness, and the slightly misted eyelashes, it would be hard to believe she had just cried. She walked over, seemingly trying to smile at Rody, but it turned out more like a cry. She reached out and gently stroked the top of Rody''s head, finding it a bit high, then stroked his face, her voice tinged with a sob, ¡°Good boy, you¡¯ve grown up, I can''t reach your head anymore!¡±

    ¡°Teacher¡­¡± Hearing this, Rody''s eyes, which were already warm, became moist again.

    ¡°You''re already a grown man, don¡¯t be childish! It''s okay, we''ve had a pretty good life these years, certainly better than you being bullied everywhere!¡± The beautiful teacher gently wiped away the tears at the corner of Rody''s eyes, smiling slightly, ¡°I heard you killed Chaos Roar? Not bad, even the three of us teachers couldn¡¯t beat that demon king! You''ve made your teacher proud!¡±

    ¡°Well done!¡± The Drunken Sword Master appeared out of nowhere, patting Rody on the shoulder and smiling, ¡°Rody, I''m going to drink first, we''ll chat later!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m leaving too¡­¡± The beautiful teacher wanted to leave Rody and Jill alone, but Rody grabbed her hand.

    ¡°Teacher, don¡¯t go!¡± Rody felt her struggle a bit, but he didn¡¯t let her pull away.

    ¡°Let go, Rody, let me go! Others will see! Let go of me quickly!¡± The beautiful teacher became somewhat panicked. Seeing Rody holding her wrist tightly, she seemed flustered and pleaded in a soft voice, showing a vulnerability Rody had never seen before.

    ¡°No, no, teacher, let me hug you, I want to cry, I want to cry in your arms for a while!¡± Rody tightly embraced the two women, choking up.

    ¡°You¡¯re already grown up... alright, just this once!¡± The beautiful teacher, seeing Rody¡¯s head bow down and noticing his unwillingness to show his vulnerability, softened her heart and instinctively embraced his head, letting him rest on her chest, warming him with her bosom. Outside, he had faced many storms and tribulations, and though she couldn''t help him with those, at this moment, she could provide a warm haven for him, embrace him, and warm him.

    He was the hope of many, with everyone demanding from him, but no one able to offer him much help.

    He was alone in his struggles, facing endless enemies and battles, a lonely child bullied by all. He had a mother but dared not stay long by her side, fearing to bring her harm. He had relatives, but they betrayed him, including his father. He had friends, but even they reached out to him for help, none truly able to assist him in moving forward...

    Perhaps he was tired, like an eagle weary from flying through storms, seeking a place to rest for a while.

    He needed a haven from the storm, but only he could provide himself a moment of respite.

    "Rody, it''s okay, we are all here! Everything will be alright, Rody..." The beautiful teacher, feeling increasingly sympathetic, couldn''t help but gently kiss his forehead. She knew that his mother must have kissed him the same way to bless her precious son. In that moment, she felt as if she were like his mother, who prayed every day in her house for her son, able to offer him spiritual solace.

    "Teacher, Jill!" Rody tightly embraced the two women, holding them firmly, not wanting to let go even for a moment.

 Chapter 190ï¼šExcellence, Design of a New Weapon

    In the Stone Spirit Island, Rody finally met the King of Philiq, a slightly plump middle-aged man. His attire wasn''t very formal, not quite resembling a king but more like a noble. He bore a slight resemblance to Buke but looked healthier, with a mature and steady demeanor, marked by a mustache on his lips. The King of Philiq warmly embraced Rody upon his arrival and also greeted the dignitaries, Moon Night High Priestess and Queen Victoria.

    "Mary Magritte, Buke, David, you talk with Rody! I can chip in on civil affairs, but don''t look to this old bone for warfare," said the King of Philiq, leaving with the dignified queen to entertain the Moon Night High Priestess and Queen Victoria, refraining from discussing warfare.

    "Never mind him; he''s indeed not much help in a fight!" the beautiful teacher remarked dismissively, even toward the king.

    "Jill, why don''t you and Midy go play?" Rody, worried Jill might feel bored, suggested she join Midy and Icarus at the royal banquet. However, Jill shyly shook her head, sitting behind Rody with a blushing face. Since their reunion, she had become his constant companion, hardly leaving his side. Though Night Moon and Queen Victoria wanted to communicate more with her, the timid Jill responded with nods and shakes, barely speaking.

    "Rody, let me introduce you to the warrior leaders of the Seven Races..." Buke introduced Rody to several people.

    The warriors supporting Philiq were brave individuals from the Seven Races or those who had befriended Philiq''s ancestors. They did not represent the support of their respective races, but all seven races had their warriors represented. There were winged beings, sea naga from the sea tribe, fairies, elves, succubi, druids, dragon tribe warriors, vampire barons from the blood tribe, dwarves, gnomes, and various other races, some of which Rody had never even heard of.

    The majority of these warriors were from the demon race, with fairies, dwarves, gnomes, and halflings constituting the bulk.

    It seemed that Philiq''s ancestors, renowned for their heroism, had made friends without regard to race. The loyalty and unity of these warriors over the centuries indicated Philiq''s ancestors'' extraordinary charisma and influence. The queen¡¯s nursing of wounded warriors from the Seven Races during a battle three hundred years ago solidified their unwavering support for Philiq.

    There, Rody saw a few familiar faces.

    Elizabeth, Hila, and Sonia were also representatives of the Seven Races'' warriors. Elizabeth, a green dragon representing the dragon tribe, was still very young. Her transformation was aided by the dragon elders, and once in human form, she couldn''t easily revert to a dragon and lacked the strength of other dragons.

    Hila, a unique Druid girl, partly inspired Elizabeth''s human form, making the two look somewhat alike but not identical.

    Sonia was a naga from the sea tribe. Her maternal grandmother, a descendant of the Silver-Eyed Singer, married into the human race, and Sonia''s mother, born from this union, was closer to humans than a naga. Sonia was the only girl in generations to inherit the Silver-Eyed Singer''s trait, and for a time, was mistaken as Philiq''s hope until Jill''s birth clarified the misconception.

    "Human growth is indeed rapid. In a blink of an eye, Rody has surpassed us all!" Elizabeth hadn''t changed much and still had her usual temperament.

    "This guy was never weak; he just knew how to hide it!" Hila, who, strictly speaking, was still in her youth and hadn''t grown up, had matured in thought and intellect far beyond her peers due to frequent contact with humans.

    "Please teach me when you have time." Sonia had changed a lot, significantly improving her strength, indicating her diligent training.

    "Spiritual magic suits you well. Next time, I''ll give you a few spiritual battle songs! They''ll be very effective for you!" Rody felt that Sonia, with proper guidance, could indeed be a powerful ally in battle.

    Another valiant female swordsman, Ollia, was of course recognized by Rody. Her strength had significantly increased, but it seemed that her height had grown the most. She was almost as tall as Rody, slender, with a giant sword on her back, exuding a particularly heroic presence. Ollia, seeing Rody, felt a bit embarrassed, as she had always looked down on him when he was just a one-star novice magic apprentice, even mistakenly thinking he was a girl, but she was completely wrong.

    Rody extended his hand to her, and she, slightly surprised, shook it with a hearty character as before.

    When the younger generation started to gather and chat, the older generation of the Seven Clans'' warriors had already sat together, engaging in conversation. Although they were allies, there wasn''t much interaction among them. Different races might be hostile outside, but here they were united and friendly, laughing and mingling regardless of race.

    Rody originally thought the succubus sisters were also among the Seven Clans'' warriors helping Flick, but, unfortunately, they were not.

    Jill had once searched for them on behalf of Rody, but the succubi were few in number, often hunted and elusive, with little contact among themselves. After their homeland was destroyed by the Winged Ones, they went into hiding and didn''t live with Flick''s people.

    There were only a few succubi among the Seven Clans'' warriors, all friends made by the beautiful instructor during her travels in the Seven Clans'' territories.

    They were unaware of the whereabouts of the sisters Haine and Heidi, but provided a few locations that might help Rody.

    Some young Druids were skeptical of Rody, particularly the Bear Druids, who always squeezed his hand with considerable force in a subtle competition of strength.

    "Wow, you have such a strong grip!" a Bear Druid said, shaking his hand unnaturally as he withdrew it, provoking laughter from his peers. One who could defeat the Chaos Roar and conquer the City of Chaos was not to be trifled with. But the young, after all, were young, and soon they were boasting of their heroic deeds in the lands of the Seven Clans, each not wanting to be outdone.

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    "To counterattack the Wing Clan, of course, I''ve thought about it, but the Sky City is too high, we need flying vehicles," Rody said to the war-eager Minotaurs.

    "Find the dwarves, these little guys can make anything!" a Minotaur stomped, almost stepping on a nearby Halfling.

    "If you want a fight, we''re ready to the end. Let''s see whether the Minotaur''s axe or our Dwarven axe is mightier!" It was easy to provoke a fight by calling dwarves ''little guys'', even though they knew it wasn''t about themselves.

    "I''m not afraid of you, you three-inch nail!" the Minotaur also had a fiery temper.

    "Everyone out! If you want to fight, then fight to the death!" The beautiful instructor spoke up, and everyone quickly dispersed with a smile, slipping away. To defy the beautiful instructor could mean becoming an ice sculpture in the garden for two or three days, or eating a fiery fireball barbecue. Even the Dwarf King feared her, and the young Dwarven warriors and Minotaur warriors were certainly terrified.

    "Teachers, continue talking, we''re going out to practice techniques!" In front of the beautiful instructor, no one dared to suggest going out for drinks, as it was a matter of life and death.

    "If any of you dare to cause trouble, I''ll dry him for three days. Try if you dare!" The beautiful instructor warned again, introducing Rody to the elders and leaders of the various races. Elizabeth and Hila were also a bit afraid of her, sneaking off to the side of Queen Flick, where Queen Victoria was generously giving gifts, trying to win everyone''s favor. They were also tempted. Sonia, however, sat down next to Rody, not much interested in war strategies, but always remembering Rody''s ''Spiritual War Song'', eager to talk to him at the first opportunity."

    "¡®Sister Ollia, come over here,¡¯ Jill said happily. With Sonia''s arrival, she now had company, and with Ollia joining them, it was even better.

    ¡®I... alright then,¡¯ Ollia, feeling a bit shy to sit beside Rody, thought it was fine since it was just to accompany her sister Jill. She came over and sat down, and the three women started whispering among themselves.

    ...

    ¡®Rody, do you mean to first defeat the demons and orcs in the human world, and then attack the Sky City?¡¯ asked the Dragon Clan Elder.

    ¡®That''s right,¡¯ Rody smiled slightly and said, ¡®I personally think that attacking the Sky City directly is not easy. First, we lack sufficient manpower; second, if we overextend ourselves achieving partial victories in the lands of the Seven Clans, we would lose our stronghold in the human world. Humans have a short lifespan, rapid growth, and large numbers. Angels and Winged Ones occupying the human hinterland could recover their strength in less than fifty years. If we first secure victory in the human world, it will force the angels and Winged Ones to come to reclaim their lost territory. We can then wait at ease and achieve a complete victory.¡¯

    ¡®But for us to go to the human world, Rody, to be honest, I am worried,¡¯ said the Dwarf King, his attitude reflecting what many of the Seven Clans'' warriors thought.

    ¡®Generous king, don''t worry, Rody will pave a friendly path for everyone''s arrival!¡¯ Rody chuckled, ¡®I don''t need you all to leave immediately; you can wait for the right moment. For instance, when the spacetime rift opens wide in six months, you can go then. By that time, I will have everything prepared in the human world.¡¯

    ¡®Can the Sea Clan and the Elf Clan really ally with us?¡¯ asked the Bear Druid Elder.

    ¡®Of course, but we shouldn''t expect them to cooperate with us immediately. My fellow kings and elders, we need to fight a brilliant battle, gain the greatest benefit, and make them drool with envy. Then they will come to our aid sooner and more vigorously than expected,¡¯ Rody nodded.

    ¡®Can you fully control the human armies? The influence of the angels is deeply rooted in the human world¡­¡¯ said the Vampire Baron with a hint of worry.

    ¡®That''s a thing of the past, elegant baron. If you go to the human world now, you will find that the image of the angels has already collapsed in people''s hearts. You might have heard of my deeds, but I tell you, you don''t know about the Prince of the Night, you don''t know the sensation and chain reaction my other identity has caused on the human continent!¡¯ Rody said with a slight smile, briefly explaining everything the Prince of the Night had done in the human world.

    ¡®Ah...¡¯ Not only the clan elders but also Buck, the Drunken Swordsman, and the beautiful instructor were somewhat stunned.

    Rody''s strategy was indeed ruthless. The Prince of the Abyss worshipped the magical boy Rody, transformed into him, made various contributions to humanity, but was assassinated by the angels and died. In his last moments, he asked the Abyssal Underworld to rescue the magical boy trapped in the Desperate Hell and send him back to the world of the living.

    The angels, having lost face in this incident, were plunged into a crisis of trust.

    If the magical boy Rody were to return, would the angels choose to kill him or make a superficial compromise?

    Regardless, Rody''s move had already given him an advantage. Even if humanity didn''t fully support the magical boy, they wouldn''t fully support the angels either. Cutting off the power of faith was undoubtedly the biggest blow to the angels. The Prince of the Night couldn''t possess military power or command human armies, but the magical boy could. Once he took out the command ring of Marshal Fvondesman, part of the human army, loyal to the Marshal, would come under his command.

    ¡®Rody, why didn''t you tell us about this step earlier...¡¯ the beautiful instructor was very surprised.

    ¡®We agree, but there''s one thing we need to raise,¡¯ said the Dragon Clan Elder, glancing at everyone, ¡®about returning to the Heavenly Realm.¡¯

    ¡®No problem, everything will be done according to the conditions agreed upon with the teacher. I respect the teacher''s decision. Even if I am the Grand Marshal of humanity, I won''t change my promise. The lands of the Seven Clans can also be preserved; I respect your living habits. Even if your people come to the human world to gain experience, they will be protected by law,¡¯ Rody, who intended to return not to the Heavenly Realm but to the Divine Realm, was happy to be generous.

    ¡°Great, that¡¯s the spirit of a Grand Marshal!¡± The various kings and elders were delighted, with the Dwarf King repeatedly toasting in celebration.

    ¡°King of the Dwarves, King of the Gnomes, and the Elders of the Mystical Elves, Rody has some designs that could enhance our combat power and reduce the loss of soldiers in future battles, but he needs everyone¡¯s full support.¡± Rody took out some meticulously designed blueprints and distributed them among the few.

    ¡°A Birdman magic hand cannon? No, this needs to be much longer¡­¡± the Dwarf King asked in surprise, ¡°Rody, lad, don¡¯t you want to make a magic crystal cannon?¡±

    ¡°The Winged Ones will make them, I just need to receive them, haha. Magic crystal cannons are too costly, and they can¡¯t be used by anyone less than a strong warrior; their firing time is very long, not suitable for regular soldiers.¡± Rody¡¯s words left everyone stunned; was this youngster planning to create magical weapons that even ordinary soldiers could use?

    ¡°My, my blueprint is for a magic airship, heavens, I never thought I would see a design for a magic airship!¡± The Gnome Elder was extremely excited.

    ¡°Enchanted magic array combinations, this is miraculous!¡± The blueprint for the Mystical Elves was the most complex, featuring over a hundred different magic array combinations.

    ¡°Got anything else good? Show me something to make me happy.¡± The beautiful instructor knew Rody definitely had more than this; she was eager to see and share the joy. Rody handed her a densely drawn blueprint. She looked at it for a long time, her expression odd, finally asking, ¡°What¡¯s this magic flywheel for? Transporting people? What about its speed?¡±

    ¡°This magic flywheel is for elite soldiers¡¯ assaults, like cavalry, but its advantage is stability. It looks like a dish, or a wheel, with soldiers standing around its 360-degree perimeter. Of course, it can also carry mages and archers for long-range attacks. Its flight height is estimated to reach only fifty meters, not high, but it can fly over most treetops except for ancient forests and plateaus. It is suitable for various terrains, including swamps and deserts. The speed? It¡¯s slightly faster than a warhorse, but the acceleration is not enough. The advantage is its ability to maintain stability over long periods. It''s a war tool designed for attacking enemy soldiers. Its creation requires the full cooperation of the dwarves, gnomes, mystical beings, etc., because the smelting of magical ore, mold making, carving of magic arrays, embedding of magic crystals, and enchantment of arrays all require extreme precision¡­¡± Rody gave a detailed explanation.

    In the end, the elders of all races were sprawled on the ground, observing and incessantly marveling.

    Especially the Gnomes, who were particularly obsessed with it, staring transfixed, unable to control themselves.

    ¡°Any other good stuff? Bring it all out!¡± The Dwarf King was like a robber at that moment, giving Rody quite a scare.

    ¡°I have limited time, didn¡¯t think of much, just some small magical weapons and such, see if there¡¯s anything you fancy¡­¡± The more modestly Rody spoke, the brighter the gleam in the Dwarf King¡¯s eyes became. When Rody mentioned giving him a hundred tons of magical ore, he almost wanted to hug Rody and give him several kisses.

    ¡°Never mind these lunatics, come here, Rody, you come with me, tell me about what you''ve been up to these years!¡± The beautiful instructor wasn¡¯t fully satisfied with what she had heard and insisted on Rody going into more detail. She glanced at the three women, Jill and the others, and called, ¡°Come along! Sonia, Ollia, prepare some snacks, we¡¯ll chat in the room. Let these drunken fools here drink themselves to death!¡±

    ¡°Cheers!¡± The Dwarf King and the others were cheering, toasting madly after each cheer, including the Gnome Elder who wasn¡¯t much of a drinker but was ecstatic.

    ¡°Who will drink with me?¡± The one probably most excited about drinking was the Drunken Swordsman.

    ¡°Shh, let''s compete after she leaves, everyone quiet down a bit.¡± Buck, the headmaster, warned everyone not to get too carried away, to avoid turning joy into sorrow.

    ¡°Jill, bring the human world''s magic map, let Rody point out on the map!¡± The beautiful instructor was in a good mood, ignoring the bunch of timid drunkards, and let them off the hook. Before leaving, she glanced at a corner where no one was, but it seemed as if invisible eyes were intently watching Rody, unblinking, filled with indescribable emotions, joy mixed with sorrow¡­¡±

 Chapter 191: Rody, the Brother Who Can Make Windmills

    At night, while everyone was still indulging in the feast and drinking, the Moon Night High Priestess, who maintained a good habit of early to bed and early to rise, said goodbye to the queen and prepared to rest.

    Suddenly, Queen Victoria also entered the room, which greatly surprised her.

    Usually, at this time, the Ice and Snow Queen would slip into Rody''s room. What happened tonight? Was she coming back to change clothes? The Moon Night High Priestess remembered that the Ice and Snow Queen had a very revealing outfit, wearing it was almost like wearing nothing, and she said that Rody liked that outfit very much. Could it be that she was planning some trick to seduce Rody again?

    ¡°Eh? Why are you in bed already?¡± The Moon Night High Priestess went out to check the moon, and it was indeed rising in the east. Why was the Queen acting out of character?

    ¡°You seem very strange?¡± Queen Victoria smiled charmingly and said, ¡°Do you think of me as a queen of lust who can''t live a day without a man? Before I met Rody, I didn''t have a man for over a thousand years, and I lived just fine. Actually, sleeping with Rody is not entirely for pleasure; being with him is especially comforting, it feels like having a companion and not being lonely and solitary!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand, I think sleeping alone is quite good.¡± The Moon Night High Priestess couldn¡¯t comprehend this feeling because she didn¡¯t know what loneliness was.

    ¡°I forgot you haven¡¯t grown up yet!¡± Queen Victoria covered her mouth and giggled, ¡°Living a long life is indeed troublesome. Not to mention humans, even the Dragon Clan matures after living three thousand years, but you elves still remain like young girls.¡±

    ¡°If you only want to talk about these things, then please excuse me, I can¡¯t keep you company. I have to pray to the Moon God and then go to sleep.¡± This was the Moon Night High Priestess''s habit.

    ¡°Wait, can¡¯t you chat with me for a while? Actually, I¡¯ve always hoped to ease our relationship a bit. Don¡¯t you think I have a bit of sincerity? Night Moon, I know you are a kind and good girl, pure-hearted, and as the High Priestess of the Moon God, you are free from distractions. In front of you, I feel a bit ashamed because I used means to take Rody away from your side. But Night Moon, do you know? A girl should actually be a bit braver. You don¡¯t necessarily have to share a bed with Rody or be intimate with him like I do, but you should tell him your heart. You like him, you love him deeply. If you don¡¯t say it, how would he know?¡± Queen Victoria sat up with the blanket, speaking very sincerely.

    ¡°I, I don¡¯t like him, it¡¯s just¡­ I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s liking¡­¡± Night Moon said, a bit embarrassed, hiding in her blanket.

    ¡°Silly girl, don¡¯t deceive yourself anymore,¡± Queen Victoria said affirmatively. ¡°Of course, you like him!¡±

    ¡°He knows, I can¡¯t say it, actually, I, I have already sworn to serve the Moon God for life, I can¡¯t break my oath.¡± Night Moon spoke softly, ¡°Although the Moon God is merciful, I don¡¯t want to anger the Moon God and bring down calamity, so, I can¡¯t say it.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to say it, but you can do something to show your feelings!¡± Queen Victoria advised, ¡°You can¡¯t go on like this because there are other girls who like Rody, not just you and me. First is Jill, she is Rody¡¯s first love, and now with her here, even I obediently come back to sleep. Don¡¯t you understand? There are other girls too, like Chris in the human world, she is Rody¡¯s most capable assistant. If Rody returns to the human world, it will be like now with Jill. She is equally important in Rody¡¯s heart.¡±

    ¡°What are you trying to say? Your Majesty, do you not like Jill?¡± Night Moon asked, not quite understanding.

    ¡°I do like her. Jill is just like you; you both are still young, with pure hearts, and endearing. But both of you are not brave enough. Perhaps Jill is a bit braver than you, at least she always stays close to the man she loves, no matter what happens, she follows him. Why don¡¯t you do the same?¡±

    ¡°Is Jill that brave?¡± Night Moon thought she could learn from Jill, but definitely not from Queen Victoria.

    The Ice and Snow Queen had slept with Rody just days after meeting him and even did those embarrassing things; Night Moon could never do the same. As the High Priestess of the Elves, the whispers of the wind spirits told her what happened at night. If she didn''t deliberately ignore Queen Victoria''s nightly actions, she would be terrified.

    Of course, even if she tried to ignore it, occasionally she would unintentionally hear strange noises, making her realize what the Ice and Snow Queen and Rody were doing.

    Night Moon was curious, but mostly she didn''t understand.

    Being with him should be comfortable, but was it necessary to cry out so loudly? Maybe this was the Ice and Snow Queen¡¯s unique way of expressing herself. The pure-hearted Moon Night High Priestess, though occasionally hearing certain sounds, slept peacefully every night, blessed by the aura of the Moon God and possessing the crystal-clear ''Elven Heart''. Her body, like a budding flower, was yet to bloom, so she couldn''t understand the reactions of some mature women.

    ¡°Night Moon, can I be your sister?¡± Victoria asked after a moment of silence.

    ¡°Why?¡± Night Moon instinctively felt the Ice and Snow Queen had a motive for wanting to be her sister, but it might not be malicious, so she didn¡¯t refuse.

    ¡°Actually, Night Moon, maybe Rody has many girls who like him, and he can¡¯t be with you or me every day, or with Jill, or Chris. But to be honest, I want to spend more time with him. Do you understand? I believe you feel the same, right? Night Moon, think about it. If the two of us become sisters and get along well, then when I''m with Rody, you can also be there, and vice versa. Don¡¯t you understand? I mean, if the two of us accompany him together, then we''ll have more time. You still don''t get it? It''s okay if you don''t understand now; you''ll understand it later!¡± Queen Victoria explained for a long time, but Night Moon didn¡¯t quite grasp it.

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    ¡°Your Majesty, do you mean, during the day, or at night?¡± Night Moon thought for a moment and asked in surprise.

    ¡°Are you afraid of Rody in your heart?¡± Queen Victoria countered.

    ¡°No, but I, when you both sleep naked together, I can''t be there because it affects my mind. My heart beats too fast, I can¡¯t sleep, and my will falters. Rody''s influence on me at night is too strong, I can¡¯t sleep with him. During the day, it''s okay, but Your Majesty, I can''t do that, I can¡¯t promise you¡­¡± Night Moon was somewhat panicky, feeling that the Ice and Snow Queen wanted to pull her into sleeping with Rody. If he made a move on her, she wouldn¡¯t know how to refuse!

    ¡°You''re grown up, you should learn some things. Maybe it''s a bit early for you, but for Rody, it''s just right. He''s a human; he can''t wait a thousand years for you. Night Moon, you like him, so it''s okay to give a bit earlier,¡± Queen Victoria said with a light laugh.

    ¡°I, I don¡¯t know.¡± Night Moon was actually undecided. She was passive towards Rody. Being alone with him was one thing, but she felt extremely shy with others present, unwilling to express her emotions too much. She thought it would be difficult for her to initiate something with Rody. If that bad guy tried something, that might be possible.

    ¡°If you¡¯re willing to listen, I can tell you a little about the joys of intimacy. Maybe you can learn to kiss,¡± Queen Victoria offered to teach the Moon Night High Priestess, although she herself had only recently learned.

    ¡°I¡¯ll listen, just listen, I can¡¯t be like you¡­¡± Night Moon felt it was okay to listen out of curiosity.

    ¡°It¡¯s too far to talk like this, some words need to be whispered in the ear, and I would feel embarrassed too. How about this, Night Moon, I¡¯ll bring my blanket to your bed and we sleep together, okay?¡± Queen Victoria¡¯s approach to getting closer finally worked. With sincerity, she successfully pulled the Moon Night High Priestess into her alliance. Although this alliance was just beginning and whether it would work out depended on the efforts of the Ice and Snow Queen.

    ¡­

    ¡°Marget, where¡¯s Jill?¡± Queen Flick asked the beautiful instructor who came out of Rody¡¯s room with a magic map, in a soft voice.

    ¡°She fell asleep, the little girl. She fell asleep listening to the exciting story. I haven¡¯t seen her sleep so soundly in years, so I left her inside,¡± the beautiful instructor said, rubbing her eyes and yawning charmingly, ¡°Queen, I¡¯m going to rest too, good night.¡±

    ¡°Wait, the knowledge I asked you to tell Jill last time, did you tell her?¡± Queen Flick asked again softly.

    ¡°I don¡¯t understand it myself. Isn¡¯t it your responsibility to tell Jill about men and women?¡± The beautiful instructor blushed and shook her head.

    ¡°Sigh, I¡¯m her aunt, an elder, it¡¯s hard for me to bring it up. If something happens tonight, then she¡­¡± Queen Flick was startled and whispered, ¡°Is it still possible now? Can you knock on the door and tell Rody?¡±

    ¡°There are so many people in the room, you don''t need to worry. Sonia and Ollia are there, along with the honey fairy and the flower fairy. It¡¯s crowded, Rody can only be a pillow brother, he can¡¯t do anything, rest assured! It¡¯s better if you tell Jill those things, I¡¯m also her aunt, and I''m not very clear about it either, you should teach her,¡± the beautiful instructor shook her head.

    ¡°I¡¯ll tell you first, then you can repeat it to her. I¡¯m the queen, it¡¯s hard for me to speak directly!¡± Queen Flick said softly, ¡°If you still can''t do it, then I will teach her. It¡¯s not that complicated!¡±

    ¡°Let''s talk about it later, I''m sleepy, good night!¡± The beautiful instructor, usually fearless, found this task from the queen a bit difficult and quickly excused herself.

    A while later, after the beautiful instructor went to rest.

    Queen Flick returned to her chamber, and King Flick came up to her, asking, ¡°Did you talk to her?¡±

    ¡°I did, but I didn¡¯t insist too much, afraid she would catch on! She¡¯s so smart, if I insisted even a little, she would have known I wanted to teach her, not Jill! Such a grown-up girl still as wild as a boy, how can that be? I thought Buck and David could catch her eye, but she surpassed both of them, scaring those two cowards away. Thankfully, Rody¡¯s strength can suppress her, or else I¡¯d worry she¡¯d end up alone! She¡¯s too competitive,¡± Queen Flick sighed softly.

    ¡°Rody, I think, is tough too. That boy respects his teachers greatly, not seeing her as a beautiful woman, but as a teacher. As for Buck and David, don¡¯t talk about those cowards. Not brave as men at all, what if they got rejected? You rejected me a thousand times and more, but now what? You finally became my queen! In terms of magic sword skills, I can¡¯t match them, but among the Three Musketeers, in terms of the courage of a real man, I am definitely the first!¡± The king spoke of the past angrily but also with some pride.

    ¡°Among the Three Musketeers, you¡¯re the one with the thickest skin!¡± The queen laughed and playfully flicked the king''s forehead with her finger.

    ¡°How can a man chase a girl if he¡¯s not thick-skinned?¡± The king laughed heartily, catching the queen''s small hand and pulling her into his embrace. After a long, tender gaze in their private world, they parted with a smile, ¡°Flick''s girls are rare beauties in the world, but being too outstanding, many end up lonely for life. We can''t let the same tragedy happen to Margret and others. My happy queen, you need to set a good example!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m not most worried about Margret, but about the one from three hundred years ago. Her status is extraordinary, and I''m just a junior in her presence, I can¡¯t bring myself to speak, ah... Seeing her drowning her sorrows in alcohol every day, I really feel¡­¡± The queen sighed deeply.

    ¡°We can¡¯t do anything if the princess¡¯s heart knot can¡¯t be untied. The day of the oath comes, and if Rody can speak and break the curse, things will improve. Otherwise, this tragedy will continue. How much longer, Flick, before you fully recover from the curse of the gods? So many have sacrificed their lives and blood for this, but so much youth and loyalty, so much blood and life, have been spent in vain, unable to break the curse of the gods... Flick, is there really no tomorrow?¡± The king held the queen tightly, his eyes filled with pain and tears.

    ¡°Rody, this magical boy, will definitely break the curse. He is our hope. As long as he lives, we will have a tomorrow!¡± The queen comforted softly, ¡°My king, show your courage. You are the king of all, the pillar of support. You must have stronger beliefs than anyone!¡±

    ¡°Yes, I am the king!¡± King Flick¡¯s eyes suddenly brightened, nodding firmly, ¡°I am the king!¡±

    ¡°Now, you need to stand behind everyone, be their steadfast support. When the day comes that you are no longer king, I will travel the world with you. My king, wherever you wish to go, I will always be by your side! But now, we need to show those children how we support them, let them fight the enemy without worries. The children are still young; they need our care!¡± The queen smiled gently, ¡°Seeing these little ones, don¡¯t you feel like a father?¡±

    ¡°Not only do I feel like a father, but I also feel like a nanny, worrying about these kids endlessly, even their love and marriage! Haha, this feeling is actually not bad, hahaha!¡± The king laughed heartily.

    ¡°Father, Mother, Brother Rody gave me a huge windmill, look!¡± A super cute little one peeked in from behind the door, waving her big windmill with her small hand, and asked in a babyish voice, ¡°Isn¡¯t it pretty? Alice doesn¡¯t have to ask this time; Brother Rody remembered to make a windmill for me, and it¡¯s colorful... Oh, I forgot to show it to Uncle Buck, Alice will show him my big windmill right away, hehe!¡±

    The little one happily showed off her windmill, completely overjoyed.

    The king and queen were a bit helpless and amused. Oh my, it seems their worries were far from over. When would this little one grow up? And when she did, would they have to worry about her love and marriage?

    Being a parent really is a lifetime of worries...

    Outside, another voice came, a tender child''s voice asking, ¡°Alice, are those your parents? Aren¡¯t they the king and queen? Are you a princess? Why aren¡¯t you wearing a princess crown? Are you afraid of being recognized? Is it bad to be recognized? Are there bad people? Oh, the human world is so scary... Mitty also went to the human world and was locked up, but later Brother saved me. How did he save me? Mitty doesn¡¯t know, but when I woke up, I saw Brother!¡±

    ¡°Uncle Buck, Uncle Buck, are you asleep? Alice is here, Mitty, nobody seems to be in Uncle Buck''s room¡­¡± The little cutie seemed to look around in the room for a while, then turned back into the hallway.

    ¡°We¡¯ll find him where he drinks, he must still be there! Let''s show him, see what¡¯s different about these two big windmills!¡± The two little ones excitedly set off, while the king and queen hid behind the door and watched, realizing they had never seen such a smile on their darling daughter¡¯s face before, feeling somewhat moved.

    ¡°Tomorrow, I¡¯ll learn to make windmills! Rare that she likes it!¡± The king decided, ¡°I can¡¯t

    let that Rody boy steal my darling daughter!¡±

    ¡°Are you jealous? What kind of father are you?¡± The queen chuckled, ¡°I¡¯d rather have Rody take care of the children, hehe, because he¡¯s indeed a qualified brother! Have you ever seen a warrior who remembers to make big windmills for children despite being busy? That¡¯s him. In this regard, I want to praise him. You as a father, still have a lot to learn!¡±

    ¡°Damn it! I¡¯ll make one right away, who can¡¯t make a big windmill?¡± The king, in a huff, forgot that he indeed didn¡¯t know how to make one.

 Chapter 192: Alliance, The Lionheart Kings Condition

    In the human world, in Rody City, on a silent night, the teleportation circle in the main hall of Rody Castle shone brightly. After three months, the large-scale teleportation array, collaboratively built by dwarves, gnomes, mystical elves, and human magicians, was finally completed. This was the first magic circle on the human continent, aside from those in temples, capable of connecting to different timespaces. It was a crystallization of Rody''s research and development, inspired by the numerous temporal doors in divine temples.

    This large-scale teleportation array, besides absorbing elements to maintain its operation, required the consumption of ten third-tier or higher magic crystals every second during the teleportation process to tear through timespace.

    Even so, if the temple''s holy magicians knew about it, they would be amazed by the ultra-low consumption of Rody''s timespace magic circle.

    Only in the capitals of great nations, in the largest temples, do large timespace doors exist. They are usually completely closed, unable to absorb elements to maintain operations. If opened, they consume fifty third-tier or higher magic crystals per second, and for the first ten seconds, they cannot stabilize teleportation; there must be a waiting period for the timespace door to fully open. Compared to that, the large-scale teleportation array in Rody City, after shining for a second, saw people rushing out at the fastest speed.

    "Quick, it''s burning money, every second is a huge consumption, damn it, move aside! Move, let me out!" Teleportation through timespace causes a bit of dizziness due to the difference in timespace, severely affecting the temper of many races.

    "I want to vomit!" exclaimed a lizardman from the Seven Clans'' lands.

    "My God, the human world is pitch black, who stepped on my foot!" a green-skinned gnome, still not adjusted, complained.

    "If you chaotic city thieves dare to touch my wallet amidst this chaos, I''ll chop off your claws with my axe, even if your Rody City master needs you scoundrels! Move, don''t block the way!" bellowed a short-tempered dwarf warrior.

    "Magicians, quick, use magic to help sustain it, reduce the consumption of magic crystals... Tommy, Terry, Stanley, hurry up and help, drive these guys away, let others rush out! Kaili, Jessie, Lopek, take these guys to the yard to gather, there are still many people behind, this place can¡¯t hold them all!" Chris commanded from a high position, swiftly and efficiently.

    "Listen, mercenaries from the Seven Clans'' lands, if you want to hear a welcome speech, then go to the yard, there''s wine and meat outside. Don''t make a ruckus here, or you''ll annoy our city master, and he¡¯ll send you to visit our dungeon first, and I believe you won¡¯t be interested in that!" Kaili shouted.

    "This way, idiots, that¡¯s the staircase, want to jump off the building, go that way!" Lopek yelled.

    "Move, the Minotaurs are coming, if we trample you little dwarfs, it¡¯s not our problem!" A group of Minotaurs wielding battle axes thundered out.

    "Stupid big guys, don''t you know there¡¯s also the sky for flying? Oh, I forgot you big fools don¡¯t have wings!" A team of red-winged Birdmen rushed out, holding the latest magic fire guns designed by Rody and manufactured by dwarves and gnomes, wearing triumphant expressions on their faces.

    "Birdmen, move, or we¡¯ll drain your blood!" Not only Birdmen, but also vampires could fly.

    "The Frost Monster guys are here, so cold, someone take me to get warm, my blood is almost solidifying. Just now, a Frost Monster girl behind me blew a breath on me, and I¡¯m frozen stiff!" A big-eared monster at the end of the line shivered, and Tommy kicked it flying. Behind, a group of wild boar men wielding clubs rushed out, and the temperature in the sky plummeted as the Snow Women and Wind Demons from the Frost Clan flew all over the hall.

    As soon as they flew out, the mercenaries of various races in the hall dispersed like birds and beasts. These Snow Women and Wind Demons looked beautiful, but they were as terrifying as dragons or Behemoth giants. Among the monster races, they were renowned killers. It was wise to stay away from them unless one wanted to become an ice sculpture or get caught in a tornado for half an hour. Their temperament was not much better than the electric-charged Thunder Elves or the fiery Lava Giants. The only mercenaries from the Seven Clans who dared to stay close to them were the four-armed Naga sea women from the Sea Clan.

    ¡°Honorable Chris, Queen Victoria sends her greetings!¡± The Snow Women and Wind Demons greeted and quickly flew away from the hall.

    ¡°Our great leader Jacquelinetra also sends her respects to the noble Chris!¡± The Naga sea women, gracefully swimming away with their long tails, also paid a quick tribute.

    ¡°Moon God above, we are the guardians of the Moon God, the Swift Shadow Huntresses and Silver Arrow Archers.¡± Following them were dozens of personal guards of the Moon Night High Priestess, the elves riding shadow panthers, with huntresses in front and archers behind. They also saluted Chris and then followed the Snow Women, Wind Demons, and Naga sea women out of the hall.

    Behind them were various elves and druids.

    The sky was filled with fairies and mystical beings, occasionally one could see succubi and intelligent magical beasts flying out, even young dragons.

    The last mercenaries to come out were the rogue gangs and thief groups from the City of Chaos. They were of various races, a motley crew, led by the boarman Earl and the minotaur Buffon, serving as Rody¡¯s personal guards, hence placed at the end.

    They differed slightly from other mercenary races. Their strength might not necessarily surpass other mercenaries, but their murderous aura and discipline were certainly second to none.

    When these rogues and thieves emerged, even Tommy and his men couldn¡¯t help but take a few extra glances, as their aura was all too familiar.

    "Shut down the teleportation circle, get the dwarves and gnomes to assemble the war machines immediately. The magic airships and magic flywheels must be assembled as quickly as possible, meanwhile, let those guys check their weapons and equipment. If they have beast mounts, let them out to adapt. Tommy, before dawn, I want to see them all neatly lined up outside," Chris paused, then added, "Your elite squad leads the way, show these guys human strength. March quickly on the roads you opened in the Land of Evil, as fast as you can. In no more than three days, I want to hear good news from the Flick border!"

    "Yes!" Tommy, Terry, and other elite squad members saluted solemnly.

    Countering Flick had always been their wish.

    Now, the opportunity had finally come. Not only did they have the elite squad and Rody City''s secret army, but also reinforcements from the Seven Clans'' lands and the rogue and thief groups from the City of Chaos. Those participating in the counterattack plan were elites meticulously selected from the Seven Clans'' lands. During the three months of constructing the large-scale timespace teleportation array, they underwent strict training. These powerfully strong racial warriors, lacking only a bit of battlefield slaughter experience.

    With their own strength, coupled with the training personally devised by Rody, they would become unstoppable killing machines once thrown into battle.

    This time, with the support of Rody¡¯s latest designed weapons and war machines, Tommy and his team were fully confident that the counterattack would not only reclaim Flick territory but also swallow the entire Great Frey, including the alliance supporting it from behind, burying them all in the Silent Forest.

    ¡­

    The counterattack plan had been scrutinized hundreds of times and practiced over ten times; Chris was not at all worried about any accidents.

    Tommy, Kaili, Stanley, and others are battle-hardened warriors. They had already accumulated rich combat experience following Rody in the Evil Forest, battling orcs and demon races. In recent years, apart from studying and teaching at Rody Academy in Camalon, they also trained day and night. Ever since the formation of the secret mercenary corps, they have been honing their skills in the Evil Forest without a day''s rest.

    Chris, in Rody City, mostly dealt with commerce and politics, leaving combat matters to the elite squad.

    As for the warriors from the Seven Clans'' lands, Chris was even more confident. Though these guys might not look likable, each of them possessed extraordinary strength. After racial combinations and mutual enhancements, they were like born killing machines. Chris believed that not just human armies, but even demon and orc races would suffer a crushing defeat against the Seven Clans'' warriors in a ground and aerial combined assault.

    Not to mention the powerful races like Snow Women and Wind Demons in the sky, even the combination of Birdmen armed with magic fire guns and Minotaurs was invincible.

    Gnomes piloting magic airships and magic flywheels, carrying elven huntresses and archers, could attack and chase at any time, making them a despairing prospect for human cavalry. In short distances, the huntresses'' shadow panthers could make any fugitives cry, while cavalry, facing the hovering magic flywheels, could only look up and lament in vain as elven archers drenched them with a rain of arrows, leaving surrender as the only option.

    Regarding naval battles, Chris couldn''t think of any race that could defeat the Naga sea women.

    In the night, vampires and undead knights, those of the undead race, owned the darkness.

    During the day, Rody''s personal guard from the City of Chaos, those shameless rogue thieves, would infuriate all enemies. They were naturally evil, excelling at mischief.

    Watching the magicians close the teleportation circle, Chris sealed the side hall''s door with a magic array and slowly ascended the stairs.

    Receiving the warriors from the Seven Clans was over, and now it was time to talk to some guests. These few guests had concealed themselves, flying out in the last ten seconds before the teleportation circle closed, very light, without alerting anyone, seen only by Chris. They quickly left while Chris was issuing orders to Tommy and went not to the outer courtyard to gather, but floated up the stairway to the third-floor small hall where Chris received distinguished guests.

    They were indeed guests of honor but did not wish anyone else to know of their arrival, except for Chris.

    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Seeing Rody''s dark servant ''Aika'' coming up with a tray of snacks, Chris took it, saying, ¡°You and Maigu go join the battle! If angels descend, report to me immediately. Also, tell Gagawitch to hurry up and clear out Flick''s goblin race. I''m unhappy with its slowness; though that''s its nature, now is the time of war, and it needs to act swiftly!¡±

    "Yes." Aika was actually a dark servant created by Rody using the beast card Tobrapas and the evil maid Emma from those years, later fused with multiple powerful magical beasts, becoming a violent soul-devouring demon. Her appearance was not beautiful, with protruding teeth, bulging eyes, bent horns, and sharp claws, more like an orc or a demon, but her strength was not far from her husband, the Dark Gold Demon General Maigu.

    She and Maigu, though not comparable to Nicholas in ability or wisdom, were far stronger and smarter than the goblin old wizard ''Gagawitch,'' the dark witch. Rody had always kept her in the human world for Chris to command.

    "Wherever he goes, he attracts a swarm of admirers. Why should I be the one to entertain this guy''s women? I must have owed him in a past life!" Chris grumbled to herself but still carried the fruit platter and entered the room. The women inside were surprised to see Chris with the platter, unsure whether to come forward to greet her or to open their arms for a hug.

    "I, I, I, I am Ye Yue..." The one speaking stammered, a high priestess of some elf tribe.

    "Don''t be nervous, Sister Ye Yue, I''m not a man-eating tiger. That guy is not here, let''s have a good chat, sisters!" Chris smiled upon hearing this and took the initiative to hold Ye Yue''s hand gently, saying warmly, "I haven''t welcomed Sister Ye Yue yet! This noble queen must be Her Majesty Queen Victoria, right? It''s an honor to have you here, Your Majesty. You must be Jacqueline, the great commander of the Naga tribe, right? I''m deeply grateful for the Nagas'' support and your trust in us humans!"

    "Actually, I just sent my personal guards here, just like Ye Yue. Sister Chris, I''ll call you sister too! You can just call me Jia Bao, no need for formal titles!" A Naga royal with six jade arms, who would boldly shake a fist at Rody, seemed much more demure in front of Chris, referring to herself as a younger sister.

    "Chris, it''s so nice to see you, can we hug?" Queen Victoria, usually the epitome of pride, did not seem very queenly at the moment.

    "My queen, of course, you''re more mature than me, and closer to that guy. You should be everyone''s elder sister!" Chris''s tone was slightly sour, making the Ice Queen very awkward, but she still warmly embraced Chris, kissing each other''s cheeks as a blessing.

    "Let me introduce you... This is the mountain and forest fairy, Setis. She''s a powerful magician, well-versed in enchantments and magical arrays. She has better modifications for magic flying wheels and magic airships and hopes to collaborate with you to improve and produce the second generation of these. Also, she is an expert in Augur alchemy and the principles of Augur space-time magic, and I want to ask for her help in improving the interdimensional teleportation array." Queen Victoria, unlike Ye Yue and Jia Bao, is a queen with political acumen. She wouldn''t meet Chris empty-handed, but brought valuable talents that Chris and Rody urgently needed.

    "Welcome, fairy Setis, your name, like the Silver-footed Goddess, is as beautiful and wise as the goddess herself!" Chris was delighted and opened her arms to hug the veiled Setis.

    "I am also pleased to see you," Setis said, slightly uncomfortable with the hug but still graceful and polite.

    "Everyone, please sit down. Sister Ye Yue, sit next to me!" Chris pulled the slightly uneasy Ye Yue to sit by her side, a gesture that deeply touched the priestess.

    Ye Yue had thought of many possibilities back in the Seven Clans'' territory. She believed Chris turning hostile was unlikely, but she was afraid of being ignored by Chris. Chris was different from Jill; they shared similar personalities, and although they didn''t talk much, they got along well. Chris was Rody''s right-hand, highly capable, and it would be very awkward if she deliberately neglected Ye Yue.

    But to her surprise, Chris was thoughtfully caring for her like an elder sister.

    Thus, Ye Yue was deeply moved.

    Queen Victoria could tell she had met her match in Chris. From the moment she personally brought in the fruit platter, engaged everyone warmly in conversation, and finally sat down, drawing Ye Yue to her side, the Queen realized that Chris''s significant place in Rody''s heart was well-deserved. Chris truly knew how to navigate complex interpersonal relationships.

    Chris seemed to adopt a close approach with Ye Yue and Jia Bao, but she was a bit guarded towards herself. It seemed that getting her to accept herself as a sister would take quite an effort. She wasn''t as easy to coax as Ye Yue and Jia Bao. Queen Victoria glanced at the mountain and forest fairy, hoping she would speak up and ease the relationship between herself and Chris. But the clever fairy chose to stay out of it, keeping silent, not taking sides.

    "Where''s Rody? I haven''t seen him in a long time!" Jia Bao, the six-armed Naga, was somewhat anxious, as she really hadn''t seen Rody for a long time. Among all the women, her relationship with Rody was the shallowest. Strictly speaking, she wasn''t even as close as Ye Yue, who followed Rody; she was at most just a girl with a secret crush. Of course, she wasn''t too worried, because the Empress sister had told her that if humans really wanted to form a firm alliance with the sea tribe, then Rody would definitely propose to her. So, she just needed to follow the Empress''s advice, come to the human world, and live with him for a while to cultivate their feelings.

    "That guy is busy with a lot of things every day, he can''t stay still. Yesterday he ran off to the Orcs'' territory..." Chris said with a smile. "He''ll be back soon, Jia Bao. Come, try some specialties from the human world. Oh, and also the fruits from the Magic Abyss."

    "I also brought a lot of things, but, maybe they''d need a warehouse to be stored." In fact, not only was Jia Bao''s storage ring filled with things, but everyone else was the same, Ye Yue, and Victoria all brought their items as much as possible. Especially Queen Victoria, who had already extricated herself from the City of Chaos, throwing the position of the four overlords of the City of Chaos to the Blood Wing King, Count Clark, and the Bone General for their open and secret struggles. She used not to care, but now she no longer wanted to be the overlord of thieves and robbers.

    "Show them to Rody when he comes back!" Chris responded with a lovely smile.

    "I know." In Jia Bao''s heart, she was, of course, willing to show off her things to Rody, to let him see her intentions. Now that Chris didn''t want her to take them out, she was grateful because Chris tacitly gave her the chance to show her feelings to Rody alone. In fact, some things, some items, she would prefer only Rody to see.

    Upon hearing this, Queen Victoria felt that Chris really understood people''s hearts. She didn''t do anything, just a sentence, and she had deeply moved Jia Bao.

    Indeed, this Chris was a formidable rival.

    Of course, Her Majesty the Queen was also a wise person. She chose not to confront such a formidable rival like Chris. On the contrary, she tried to lower her stance to please the other party. After all, she wasn''t worried, as she had already shared a bed with Rody. As long as her relationship with Chris slightly improved, she would still be the elder sister of Ye Yue and Jia Bao, still the object of everyone''s envy.

    ...

    The Orc Empire, the Lionheart Palace.

    Since the day humans had faith, since angels descended on the world, since the day history began to be recorded, for thousands of years, no human had ever stepped into the palace of the Orcs. Invading the Orc Empire was a legend from thousands of years ago when humans were very powerful, with many heroes, particularly brave. But humans had never tried to attack the Orcs'' palace.

    Nor had any human been a guest in the Orcs'' palace, unless it was to be thrown into the Orcs'' cooking pot - there might have been quite a few of those.

    Today, for the first time, a human entered the palace of the Orcs, and this person, whose hands had been stained with the blood of Orcs, was responsible for the deaths, direct or indirect, of tens of thousands of Orcs.

    Yet, in this palace, the highest seat of power in the Orc Empire, he walked in with his head held high, receiving the salutes of the Orc guards.

    This person was the miraculous boy, Rody.

    "Haha, welcome, Rody, the miraculous son of humanity!" Lionheart King, a lion-like being, large and majestic, wore no crown like human kings but dressed in armor made of dragon skin, with a giant sword hanging at his waist. This lion-like ruler was very hearty; he stood up from his throne, walked forward personally, and embraced Rody tightly, who was slightly bowing to him. He then patted Rody''s shoulder and laughed heartily: "I have been looking forward to this day, no, all of us Orcs have been looking forward to this day! Haha, do you know? When I heard you were coming, I ran to tell the leaders of the various tribes with my upper body bare. If it wasn''t for my queen insisting that I wear this, I would have forgotten the basic manners of meeting guests!"

    "Lionheart King, the mighty Sword Saint, seeing your hospitality has put me at ease," Rody also hugged the Lionheart King.

    "Do you think we Orcs would harbor hatred for past defeats? A defeat is a defeat; we admit it wholeheartedly. Besides, attacking the human continent was never our true desire; it was a reluctant choice. Countless century-long wars have drained our Orcish vitality, just like the massive deaths of your human warriors. We were coerced, and you were deceived. Of course, for a clear-minded and rational person like you, those angels would not let you be. Haha, but you can be our friend!" laughed the Lionheart King heartily.

    "Lionheart King, Your Majesty, this is also Rody''s intention for coming," Rody nodded and smiled. "Now, it''s time for us to strike back."

    "Good, good, this is exactly what we Orcs have longed for. Miraculous son, do you know? I have always hoped for this. To be honest, we Orcs are not lacking in brave warriors or fierce generals, but we lack a commander with vision and strategy." The Lionheart King took Rody''s hand and introduced him to the Orcish marshals and commanders on both sides.

    The Orcs attached great importance to Rody''s arrival; those in the palace were all marshals and generals or kings of various tribes.

    Some of them had even fought against Rody in the land of evil, but now they showed no anger, greeting Rody with respect.

    Apart from this miraculous boy, no one else has been able to cause such a stir in the human world and successfully dethrone the image of angels. Orcs admire strong warriors, but they actually admire wise and powerful individuals more. However, their race simply lacks such individuals, so among the strong of the Orcs, they always hoped that one day their race could produce a hero like Rody.

    Behind the Orc race, there are powerful demons.

    For centuries, they have been forced by demons to attack the human continent. Every hundred years, like humans, Orcs suffer severe casualties, with all their young warriors perishing in wars. Barely recovering, another century-long war would begin, never truly having a day of prosperity and rise.

    Of course, the strong among the Orcs know that this is the demons suppressing their race.

    But they are powerless to resist; opposing the demons is very difficult. Firstly, the Orcs have a deep-rooted fear of the demons; secondly, for centuries, the Orcs'' hatred has been directed at humans, not demons. Contrarily, just as humans treat angels, among the common Orcs, the powerful demons are seen as great, the idols of the younger generation.

    Generation after generation of Orc kings has wanted to break free from this situation.

    Just like human kings need the coronation of the temples to ascend to the throne, the control of the demons over the Orcs has reached extreme measures.

    "The human world is a bit more complex than the Orc Empire, but there are also clear-headed humans, like the hero Philek, who led the resistance against the angels. Of course, they were abandoned by the human world, but among the Orcs, all the clever races are part of the royal families of the Orcs, which is slightly better than humans. However, it''s even more difficult for Orcs to break away from the demons due to their inherent disadvantages.

    For example, food.

    Orcs are large in size and consume a tremendous amount of food.

    The terrain of the Orc Empire mainly consists of barren mountains, sandy deserts, and saline-alkali plateaus, where plants struggle to grow, and animals grow slowly. Moreover, Orcs prefer meat and overhunting has led to the extinction of many animals.

    Orcs have limited knowledge and wisdom, and their farming methods and animal husbandry are inferior to humans, leading to severe food shortages.

    The demons control the Orcs just by monopolizing their food supply.

    Furthermore, the Orcs'' military forces consist of all citizens, organized by race. The contradictions among various races are irreconcilable, creating a situation where it''s impossible to unite against a common enemy. Even if the rulers above wish for reconciliation and cooperation, the Orcs don''t understand how carnivorous races like hyenas, dogs, and wolves could cooperate with herbivorous races like horses, cows, and sheep.

    As for powerful races like lions, tigers, and leopards, they terrify all other races. No one wants to go to battle with them, as there''s a chance of being eaten by them halfway through.

    Lionheart King is a rare wise ruler in Orc history. He has spent nearly a century integrating the various tribes.

    For example, by marrying a princess from the tiger tribe as the queen, he united the powerful lion and tiger races, reducing the loss of elites from both races due to struggles for the throne. He has been waiting for an opportunity, like the emergence of an exceptional talent like Rody, which gave him a glimmer of hope. So, early on, when Rody was trapped in the land of evil, he had proposed that if Rody surrendered, he would be appointed as the ninth marshal of the Orcs and even offered his daughter''s hand in marriage, among other conditions.

    "Your Majesty, regarding the food issue, I assure you that it can be resolved. If we form an alliance, within a hundred years, humans will trade enough food, seeds, and livestock to the Orcs, and even teach them farming and breeding techniques for free," Rody went straight to the point, knowing that Orcs are direct and don''t beat around the bush.

    "Tell us your battle plan..." asked a leopard tribe marshal impatiently.

    "It''s simple. The demons are about to attack the human continent again, and I assume they have already issued a conscription order to you! Pretend to obey as usual, and come to the human continent with them. This time, with a heavy attack, the human allied forces will likely struggle to resist. You and the demons will push deep into human territory, and then retreat as usual under the intervention of the angelic army. I hope that when I give the signal, you will attack the demon army. Of course, my army will also strike at the same time. Together, we will annihilate the expeditionary demon force, and the demons preparing for reinforcements in hell will be forced to defend themselves due to the invasion of the Abyss," Rody said, keeping it simple for the Orc leaders to understand, outlining the basic plan.

    "Will the Abyss invade Hell?" Lionheart King pondered for a moment, finding the idea intriguing.

    "Rody, haven''t you considered the angelic army? They actually have some kind of secret pact with the demons and will definitely not let us easily annihilate the demons!" A fox tribe sage, leaning on a staff, asked worriedly.

    "That''s simple. As long as our human armies broadcast the battle process to all of humanity, then the angelic army won''t dare to assist the demons; they still need to maintain the angels'' image. Of course, they have the Winged Tribe; they might send troops and monster legions for support, but my allies in the Seven Clans'' territory will simultaneously harass the Winged Tribe''s Sky City. The reinforcements and monster legions that come to the rescue will be completely bogged down in the land of evil. Without logistics, these guys won''t last long against our relentless fatigue attacks unless they eat mud. As long as we keep a close eye on the angels not intervening, we have nothing to fear or worry about!" Rody, of course, had thought of countermeasures, otherwise, his visit to the Orc palace would be in vain.

    "You have allies in the Seven Clans'' territory too? The Sea Tribe? Do you have alliances with all seven clans, including the Winged People?" Lionheart King asked, somewhat astonished.

    "I have a group of subordinates in the Seven Clans'' territory, fallen Blood Angels, who are well-acquainted with the Winged Tribe. Although they can''t take down the Sky City, the Winged Tribe will definitely not have an easy time!" Rody said with a slight smile. "Actually, I have already prepared a plan, including a magical map. As long as you follow the plan step by step, you can break free from the control of the demons. This plan benefits both of us, and the only thing left is to sign an alliance. Orcs and humans have been fighting bloodily for thousands of years; now, it''s time to end it!"

    The Orc leaders spent a long time looking at the battle plan and the magical map, discussing in low voices. They all felt that the plan was advantageous and harmless to the Orcs.

    Now, everyone''s eyes were on Lionheart King, hoping he would make a decision.

    "Let me put it this way! Rody, I know your talent, and I know you won''t disappoint me. There''s only one thing that concerns me, your identity. You are human, and we are Orcs, understand? If you don''t belong to us, then, our hearts can''t be at ease! Clever Rody, if it were you, I believe it would be the same! What should we do? If you don''t want to join us Orcs, we can''t force you. So Rody, you need to show some sincerity. Here''s my proposal: I have a daughter. Marry her and promise that the son you have with her will belong to the Orcs. When the little guy grows up, let him participate in the challenge for the throne and become the king of the Orcs. That''s my condition. What do you say?"

 Chapter 193: Test, For the Happiness of a Daughter

    Rody had some reservations about political marriages, but he had anticipated this outcome before coming. No matter how willing the Orcs were to join forces with humans, they would insist on this point. If Rody had planned to avoid a political marriage, he could have just sent an envoy for negotiations instead of coming in person. His visit was to let the Orc rulers see him in person, to solidify their confidence, ensuring that at the last moment, the Orcs wouldn''t betray humans but would honor the alliance.

    A political marriage entails shared fortunes and misfortunes, so the Orcs would definitely not relent on this.

    Before setting off, Chris had told Rody to agree to any conditions, no matter how ugly or terrifying the Lionheart King''s daughter might be. He must endure it, as everything would be reconsidered after the successful counterattack of the human-Orc alliance against the demons. Once humans triumph, significantly impacting the angels'' actions in the Seven Clans'' territory, the powerful Sea and Dragon Clans would also opportunistically strike, attacking the Winged Tribe.

    Such a scenario would make the human counterattack on Hell, Sky City, and the Angelic Realm not just a dream.

    Everything was built on the firm cooperation between humans and Orcs.

    The initial battles would undoubtedly be tough, a significant test. Without this political marriage, the Orcs might not steadfastly side with humans and could potentially defect to the demons mid-way. So, according to Chris, even if the Orcs hadn''t proposed a marriage alliance, she would have suggested it to have Rody marry the Lionheart King''s princess.

    Lionheart King and the Orc leaders'' agreement with Rody''s nod was also expected.

    Their initiative in proposing the marriage alliance was a kind gesture, avoiding embarrassment for Rody and showing a more humble stance from their side.

    "Miraculous son, Rody, my son-in-law, come, sit beside me!" Lionheart King said, embracing Rody heartily upon seeing his acceptance.

    "Congratulations, congratulations, Your Majesty!" the Orc rulers and marshal generals all came forward to offer their congratulations.

    Rody was slightly worried in his heart, fearing that if Lionheart King''s daughter looked like a fierce tiger, it would be disastrous. If he refused to marry her afterward, the alliance would undoubtedly collapse, and it might even spark a new round of bloody conflict between Orcs and humans. But if Lionheart King''s daughter really looked like a female tyrannosaur, that would be quite a predicament for him.

    While Rody knew that inner beauty was true beauty, he still hoped that the woman sleeping beside him would be beautiful inside and out.

    He also hoped his wives would at least somewhat resemble humans and not monsters.

    Naga Jia Bao and the mermaid princess Sally, although Jia Bao had six arms and Sally had a fish tail, were beautiful and could magically transform into human girls when they came of age. Rody had no concerns about them. However, Lionheart King''s daughter might be different, potentially resembling other Orc women ¨C three meters tall, muscular, with sharp fangs and claws, like a tigress or lioness.

    Having a tigress as a mount wouldn''t be bad, but sharing a bed with one was quite distressing for Rody.

    Not many Orc women were beautiful. However, the half-Orc women like cat girls, rabbit girls, and fox girls were cute and charming. Rody hoped Lionheart King would adopt a half-Orc girl as his daughter and marry her off to him. Otherwise, he would need to figure out how to avoid a three-meter-tall tigress

    "Cough, Rody, you know, although this matter has been agreed upon by us superiors, you should also understand that as a parent, I too hope for my daughter''s happiness," Lionheart King put on a fatherly demeanor, implying that Rody should not disdain his daughter. Then, changing the subject, he continued, "I absolutely agree with your marital alliance. However, among the Orcs, there''s a small custom... You should meet my queen. As a mother, she has always been very concerned about your marriage to the princess!"

    "Alright," Rody felt dizzy upon hearing this. It seemed the Orc queen had some reservations about him, a human, and her approval was necessary for the marriage to proceed.

    Lionheart King encouraged him, expressing that a man as outstanding as Rody would surely pass the test, but what the test entailed was not mentioned. The various marshals and generals toasted Rody, asking about the war or clarifying doubts about certain battle cases. However, when it came to the crucial test, they all tacitly kept silent.

    It seemed the Orc queen held significant respect among the people, acting as a great help to Lionheart King in domestic affairs.

    Had Rody known this beforehand, he would not have agreed so readily and would have played a bit of Tai Chi to show some resistance. But now it was too late, and he had to brace himself to face the challenge, hoping not to disgrace humanity. If the Orc queen really disapproved of her son-in-law, it would be a huge embarrassment, not only for Rody but for all of humanity.

    The Orcs'' aesthetic standards are entirely different from humans''. They believe that both men and women should be physically strong and muscular to be considered beautiful.

    For example, the concept of a handsome, delicate-faced human man doesn''t apply here. Dressing, grooming, and manners are utterly boring to the barbaric Orcs. Orc women would rather prefer an Orc covered in tattoos and scars than the handsomest and most dashing human knight. The reason is simple: they admire warriors who can tear horses apart with their bare hands, not princes on white horses.

    Rody, who is incredibly charming among humans, may not be seen in the same light by Orc girls. To them, Rody''s physique might seem as unimpressive as a bean sprout.

    "Hopefully, the Orc queen won''t make me eat a whole cow and then carry a huge rock around the mountains!" Rody thought, quite frustrated.

    In Orc marital customs, there indeed was such a practice.

    If a princess of a king is to be married and there are many suitors, the Orc king might set a challenge, such as laying out dozens of cows and having the suitors kill and tear them apart with their bare hands, then eating them raw to demonstrate their strength. In Orc eyes, the more one can eat, the more manly it is. Eating steak with a knife and fork on a small plate, as human nobles do, is seen as the most worthless behavior!

    A true warrior, of course, swallows the meat raw and bloody, and has an astonishing appetite.

    If the suitor can eat everything and then carry several tons of rock forward, the higher he can carry it, the more his strength is proven, and the more favored he becomes.

    Rody had no objection to the stone-carrying test; he could carry even the largest stones. However, eating a raw, bloody cow was a bit too much! Seeing that Lionheart King only had half a say in the marriage, Rody despised him in his heart a hundred times, then helplessly followed the Orc female guards out of the palace towards the White Tiger Hall, where the queen resided.

    He prayed a thousand times in his heart that the Orc princess Lionheart King wanted to marry off to him wouldn''t be like the terrifying Orc female guard leading the way, who was even more horrifying than the violent, soul-capturing demoness Aika. Otherwise, he would have no choice but to consider suicide.

    The White Tiger Hall was guarded by dozens of Orc female guards, not one of whom made Rody break out in a cold sweat any less.

    As for the Orc Queen, ah, she too was exceptionally tall. Even sitting down, she was certainly much taller than the slender Rody, perhaps by a head or even two. The Queen¡¯s body was even more robust than a barbarian''s. Her face was covered with a golden veil, making it hard to see her features clearly, but her eyes were indeed shining tiger eyes, and a purple ''king'' character faintly visible on her forehead, exuding an air of majesty.

    Rody thought that for this mother-in-law to have a beautiful daughter would require a miracle, otherwise it seemed unlikely.

    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    "Miraculous boy Rody, I have heard a lot about you. Normally, I wouldn''t speak about the marriage of you and the princess, but as a mother, it''s my responsibility to choose the best husband for her, to ensure her future happiness!" The Orc Queen clearly stated her stance, indicating that a test for Rody was inevitable.

    "Although I''m not very good-looking and not very tall, I do have a sense of responsibility," Rody said, feeling dizzy. He was definitely tall among humans, usually standing out in a crowd, and his appearance was one in a million. But among the Orcs, despite being handsome, he seemed inferior to Orc lads with rugged faces and sharp teeth.

    Rody was having a hard time accepting the Orcs'' aesthetic standards.

    He felt like retreating. If it hadn''t been for Chris insisting that he agree to any conditions before departing, he really would have wanted to leave.

    "The dietary habits of humans and Orcs are a bit different. We can skip the raw tearing and eating of meat. Rody, please sit down, have some food, drink a few cups," the Orc Queen said. Of course, her words were not that simple; this was clearly the beginning of the test.

    The Orc female guards placed a roasted goat and five large cups of strong liquor in front of Rody. It seemed the Orc Queen was giving Rody some face, not pushing him too hard, otherwise, she would have brought a cow instead of a goat. Rody had a good appetite, but consuming an entire roasted goat alone was challenging. However, he wouldn''t actually eat it all.

    He ate only a small portion, stashing the rest in his storage ring.

    The five large cups of liquor were nothing for Rody. He drank them in one go, thinking he had passed the first challenge and wondering where the stone for carrying was. But as soon as he put down the cup, the Orc female guards laughed, and two fox girls began to sing, bringing another five cups of liquor. Rody was confused; was there something wrong with the way he drank?

    With doubts, Rody finished another five cups of strong liquor.

    Alcohol had no effect on Rody, but his stomach was uncomfortably full. Luckily, the cunning Rody had a secret technique to dissipate the alcohol, otherwise, he would have turned into a big-bellied frog.

    As the two fox girls sang and danced again, seemingly part of some ritual or test, the Orc female guards brought another five cups of strong liquor...

    Rody cursed this bizarre custom internally and quickly finished the liquor, not waiting for the female guards to leave, and placed his cup back on the tray. If the fox girls started singing and dancing again, Rody was determined to quit; this wasn''t a test of a man''s drinking capacity but his temper. Just as Rody was about to lose his temper, the Orc female guards and fox girls retreated. Perhaps he had passed the test?

    Was it about placing the cup back on the tray?

    Rody thought hard but couldn''t figure it out.

    "Good drinking capacity!" The Orc Queen clapped lightly. Those fifteen cups of strong liquor would have made even the toughest Orc warrior dizzy, but Rody remained unfazed. Although the Queen seemed to know Rody was using some tricks, she didn''t delve into it, as invisible tactics were considered skillful. She nodded, indicating that Rody had passed the test.

    ...

    "No more, if I drink again, I''ll throw up!" Rody said with a slight smile, standing up and bowing, "Respected Queen, may I ask where is the stone I need to move?"

    "A miraculous boy like you who can open mountains with wisdom, how can he not move a stone? No need to move stones, please wait here for a moment, I''ll go see the princess," said the Orc Queen as she stood up. Indeed, she was as tall as Lionheart King, though slightly smaller in build. Despite her feminine features, Rody suspected she couldn''t possibly have a delicate daughter, feeling a profound sadness in his heart.

    This visit to the Orc Empire was also a sacrifice for the entirety of humanity.

    Rody hoped he wouldn¡¯t break his ribs when embracing the princess... The more he thought about it, the more pessimistic he became. After waiting for a long time and the Orc Queen still not appearing, he felt the need to relieve himself, lest he face trouble during their conversation later.

    Despite some communication barriers, Rody still called over an Orc female guard to ask for a restroom.

    "Come with me," the Orc female guard, who understood a bit of the human common language, led Rody to a small room by the side door of a side hall, pointing to a large water jar for him to relieve himself. Rody, of course, didn''t hesitate, and once the guard left, he relieved himself copiously and comfortably, coming out to find the guard thoughtfully providing a basin of water for him to wash his hands.

    Upon returning to the main hall, Rody found the Orc Queen back in her seat and was startled, wondering if he shouldn''t have relieved himself.

    As he was internally regretting, the Orc Queen spoke.

    "I was always worried that as a human man, you couldn''t fulfill the princess''s needs or make her happy. But, judging by the urgency and strength of your urine and the masculine scent, we can deduce that you are a strong man with a man''s proud endowments. Therefore, I agree to marry my princess to you," the Orc Queen said directly. Rody suddenly realized that everything he had done was meant to make him go urinate.

    "Why didn''t you say so earlier..." Rody was sweating profusely.

    "Actually, this is the only true Orc custom. We Orcs need to ensure our offspring''s excellence and strong reproductive capabilities, so parents must find a suitable husband for their daughters. The acts of tearing raw meat and moving stones were just superficial tests. For everything you have done before, both His Majesty and I apologize, but Rody, please understand our feelings as parents! We sincerely hope that you and Martina will be a happy couple!" the Orc Queen said, nodding happily.

    "Martina..." Rody finally knew the name of his fianc¨¦e.

    "Now, it¡¯s none of our parents'' business. Martina is in the back; go find her yourself! Oh yes, miraculous boy Rody, in front of her, you must truly drink her under the table to show your affection. Martina''s ''Princess Blood Red Dress,'' is not the liquor from before, but a potent wine that''s been buried underground since her birth, only recently unearthed. I hope you won''t pass out before her, haha!" The Orc Queen evidently noticed Rody''s tricks but didn''t point them out, seemingly having already chosen him as her son-in-law.

    After the Orc Queen left, Rody asked the Orc female guard to lead him to the back hall.

    It seemed there was one last challenge to overcome.

    Rody thought, if he got the princess drunk and she slept through the night, he could make an early excuse to leave the next day and sneak back to the human continent. That way, the alliance would be settled, and he wouldn''t have to face the Orc princess every day. If Martina insisted on following him, he would head to the front lines, attacking Philek, confronting the human temple forces, and later the demon armies, the Winged Tribe, and the heavenly realms. The war seemed endless, but with the army as his home, life wouldn''t be too hard, except for the lost opportunities to sneak back and meet his women.

    "The princess is inside, please enter!" The Orc female guards filed out and closed the door heavily, as if worried Rody might run away.

    "..." Rody was genuinely worried that he might be knocked over by the dinosaur-like princess.

    The back hall was enormous, with no princess in sight.

    A staircase led to the second floor, where the rich aroma of wine suggested that Princess Martina was waiting upstairs to compete in drinking with him.

    Rody thought that since things had come to this, rather than being overthrown by her, he might as well overthrow her first. If he could get her drunk, so everyone could sleep peacefully through the night, that would be ideal. Steeling his heart, he went upstairs to a smaller hall.

    The hall was warm, heated by a blazing fireplace.

    The floor was covered with white fur rugs, and around fifty jars of ''Princess Blood Red Dress'' were arranged, making Rody''s scalp tingle.

    Was this for drinking or bathing? Rody was dizzy at the sight. To genuinely drink Princess Martina under the table seemed a daunting task. After inspecting the fifty jars of wine, Rody decided to see what the princess looked like. If she was a muscular, tattoo-covered, ferocious female dinosaur, he might as well knock her out with a punch.

    In the hall, a woman held a blood-flower long-handled axe, its blade five times wider than a regular axe, making Rody shudder with fear.

    It was over; Princess Martina was a formidable warrior with the blood-flower axe. The likelihood of her overpowering him had just increased by ten percent!

    Rody steadied himself and saw Princess Martina, tall and slender, probably a bit taller than himself. Her muscles were slightly pronounced, giving her a very athletic appearance, nothing like a typical human woman. She had inherited her parents'' robust physique, but fortunately, she only looked athletic, not unattractive. Rody almost wanted to thank the gods; Princess Martina didn''t look like an Orc, more like a human.

    In terms of attire, Martina, like all Orc women, was boldly dressed with only two belts wrapped around her chest, barely containing her ample bosom. Rody thought something was off about his perception, wondering if the alcohol was affecting him... Martina''s lower body was covered by a short leather skirt, unable to hide her strong thighs and long calves.

    Rody swallowed, admiring her long legs. They weren''t dinosaur-like at all. Was he hallucinating?

    Martina stood sideways to Rody, making it easy for him to notice her small lion-like tail, along with her fiery red hair, creating a striking visual impact. As long as her face wasn¡¯t dinosaur-like, Martina''s hot figure could score over ninety points.

    "Just don''t be a negative score, I''m not asking for extreme beauty, just not negative," Rody prayed as Princess Martina turned to look at him.

    From Rody''s experience over many lifetimes, many girls looked like fairies from behind, beauties from the side, but the front view could make one want to commit suicide...

    Rody hoped Princess Martina would be at least bearable to look at, not asking for her to be exceptionally beautiful.

    Just don''t shatter my heart.

    With immense tension, Rody felt like a year had passed in the second Martina turned to face him.

    "What are you looking at? You seem unhappy. What''s wrong with me? How am I less than your women? Is it just because I''m one centimeter taller than you? It''s not like I can''t stop wearing shoes to let you be taller, alright?" When Martina turned to face him, Rody was stunned. Martina was the blood-flower axe warrior who had once chased him and Chris.

    Not only was she quite attractive, but she also had a certain wild charm when angry, stirring something in Rody''s heart.

    How could it be her? Right... Rody remembered that Martina had indeed said she was Lionheart King''s daughter, called Martina, and arrogantly claimed herself as a female war goddess. He was too focused on escaping to remember this, but now that he recalled, Rody felt he had been unnecessarily frightened and silently chided himself for his folly.

    "Ah, how many daughters does Lionheart King have?" Rody wondered if Martina was not born to the Queen but perhaps Lionheart King''s daughter with a human woman.

    "Seventeen, and I am the seventeenth. What do you mean? Do you want to marry them all? Let me tell you, besides me, no one would like a cunning human guy like you! Mother just told me that you barely passed the test. Come on, let''s drink to determine the winner. If you outdrink me, I will listen to you from now on. But if you lose, you''ll have to listen to me!" Martina, holding the blood-flower axe as if it were a delicate grass, casually tossed it, hanging it on a distant wall.

    "Little guy, I can handle you!" Rody thought that he might not be able to predict the outcome in arm-wrestling with Martina, but afraid of her in a drinking contest?

    "Are you not convinced?" Martina hated Rody''s sly smile, knowing he was up to no good and couldn¡¯t help but get annoyed.

    "Do you prefer a literary or a martial way of drinking?" Rody approached Martina, observing her. Seeing that she was slightly avoiding his gaze, he knew she was somewhat nervous and laughed heartily.

    "What''s a literary or martial way of drinking? You humans really have a lot of tricks! Hmph, tell me, what is literary drinking?" The princess was intrigued by the novelty.

    "Literary drinking, of course, is not about mindlessly guzzling like a madman!" Rody gestured for her to sit down, taking a seat opposite her with a slight smile. "Here''s how it goes: I state a fact you don''t believe but can prove to be true, then you drink. Conversely, you say something I don''t know, then I drink."

    "No, you''re full of bookish knowledge, I won''t compete with you in that. Let''s change it!" The princess had self-awareness but didn''t want to give up on the concept of literary drinking.

    "I''ll tell a joke, and if I make you laugh, you drink... You can''t tell jokes? Poor thing! Can''t even bring joy to others. Wait, don''t get violent! Here''s the deal: I tell a joke, and if you don''t laugh, I drink," Rody proposed, and Martina agreed, determined not to laugh and make Rody drink like a big-bellied frog.

    Rody told ten jokes, all quite funny, but the princess stubbornly held back her laughter, making Rody drink.

    Ten cups were nothing to Rody.

    The real battle between men and women had just begun, and ten cups were just the start. As long as the princess became interested in the jokes, there were hundreds, even thousands more to come. The real winner would be whoever laughed last.

    "Not funny, not one bit! Tell another one!" Although the princess said this, she eagerly urged him to tell the next joke.

    "Don''t rush, let me drink first!" The worst was Rody''s smile; even now, while he was supposed to be drinking as a penalty, he smiled so sweetly, making the princess''s heart melt. She almost didn''t want to force him or thought of grabbing the cup to drink it for him. Or maybe he could cheat; why was he being so serious now? He was a scoundrel, so why so stubborn now?

    "Wait, I''ll drink later. Tell the joke first, please make me laugh. My mouth is dry; I want to drink too!" The princess made an excuse, her earlier eagerness to make Rody drink into oblivion long gone.

 Chapter 194: Busty, Fiery Warrior Goddess

    Rody had so many jokes that after a while, Martina, who had been holding back her laughter, couldn''t resist any longer and burst into laughter.

    Once she started, she couldn''t stop herself from laughing out loud.

    According to their agreement, laughing meant she had to drink. Martina¡¯s hand trembled as she lifted the cup, laughing so hard that she softened, and Rody''s jokes, each funnier than the last, left her no choice but to keep drinking. After about a dozen cups, Martina realized something was amiss; if this kept up, she would end up drinking all fifty jars of ''Blood Red Dress''.

    "Stop, stop, no more, you have too many jokes, I can''t compete with you in this. Come up with one yourself, and if I find it interesting, I''ll accept the penalty!" Martina set the condition, thinking Rody, known for his wit, might stumble if he had to invent a joke on the spot.

    "That''s easy," Rody chuckled and asked, "What do you want me to make a joke about?"

    "I''ll think of something, and you make a joke about it! Right, I just said ''don''t''. Make a joke about ''don''t''!" Martina believed this would be difficult, hoping to stump him.

    "There was a noble mother whose daughter was about to go to college, so she educated her daughter on how to avoid being violated by men. The mother said, when a man tries to touch you up here, say ''don''t'', and if he tries to touch you down there, say ''stop''. A week later, the daughter was still harassed. The mother was puzzled and asked why she didn''t follow her instructions, and the daughter said in distress that she did as told, but the guy was touching both places at once, so saying ''don''t... stop'' was useless!" Rody finished, and Martina didn''t laugh, but her face turned red as she glanced at Rody''s hands.

    He not only incorporated ''don''t'' but also ''stop'' into the joke, clearly mocking her earlier self.

    Martina felt both embarrassed and delighted, realizing Rody was truly talented.

    But what did he mean by that joke? Did he have intentions towards her? If he really touched her both up and down, what should she say? Should she say ''don''t stop''? Martina''s heart raced, feeling warm, especially when looking at Rody''s smile and his hands.

    "I''ve told the joke, now, Princess, please drink!" Rody hurried to pour the drink, intending to get the princess drunk and overthrow her as his main goal for the night.

    "Tell another one! Don''t talk about me, ah, I mean, make a joke about your human kind!" Martina''s hand trembled as she touched Rody''s while taking the cup, almost spilling the wine.

    "You say, anything is fine, just give me a topic!" Rody laughed.

    "Anything?" She had an idea and quickly said, "Make up a story about a knight, it must include ''knight''!"

    "Easy." Rody smiled and said, "There was a knight who died in battle, decapitated. His upper body was mutilated, leaving only the lower half. When his body was returned to his country, no one could recognize him. Eventually, several widows of dead husbands came to identify him. The first widow pulled down the knight''s trousers, shook her head saying it wasn''t her husband, and left heartbroken. The second widow came in, did the same, and also sadly confirmed it wasn''t her husband. The third widow came, looked, and told the other widows waiting outside: ''You don''t need to look anymore, that guy isn''t my husband, nor any of yours!''"

    "How does she know it''s not someone else''s husband?" Martina wondered.

    "..." Rody was speechless.

    Apparently, the princess didn''t even know words like adultery and promiscuity, but that was just as well, it showed the strict upbringing of the Orc Queen. If she had laughed immediately, that would have been a bit worrying. The more Rody thought about it, the happier he became. He picked up his cup and downed it in one go. Although he shouldn''t have been the one to drink, he did so with great pleasure.

    Martina felt something was off but couldn''t figure out what. Seeing Rody not explaining and just drinking, she felt a bit sorry. Surely what he said must have been interesting; she was just too dense to understand it. But he uncomplainingly drank for her... Martina felt sweet inside, thinking he was really nice to her and not angry even when she was wrong!

    "Tell another one!" Martina said softly, "If you tell a good one, I''ll join you in ''double river flow''."

    "Double river flow?" Rody found the term quite suggestive but liked it.

    "You first..." Martina''s face blushed, making Rody''s heart beat faster. Well, an Orc princess isn''t so bad, especially a busty one, quite a ''fierce and ferocious'' sight.

    "There''s Rody Academy, have you heard of it? Let me tell you a funny story that happened there! Some students were very young when they enrolled, knowing nothing. One day, a sage was teaching a group of children the word ''blanket''. The teacher stimulated their thinking, saying: ''This word is very simple, you often see it on your beds.'' Rody smiled and continued: ''The kids were happy and raised their hands: I know, it''s mother, we often see mother lying on the bed! The sage then prompted: It''s not mother, it''s something that covers mother, think about it.''"

    "Did the kids figure it out?" Martina asked.

    "No. The kids eagerly raised their hands and said: ''Teacher, we know, it''s ''father'', we often see father on top of mother.'' The sage was sweating profusely and said: ''No, no, it''s actually ''blanket'', don''t you have blankets at home?'' The kids shouted: ''When dad is on top of mom, the blanket is never on the bed, it''s on the floor!''" Rody looked at Martina, okay, she didn''t laugh, which meant she didn''t understand this adult joke.

    "?" Martina had questions in her mind but knew it must be her lack of understanding, not that Rody''s jokes weren''t good, so she didn''t dare to ask.

    Rody told three adult jokes in a row, and Martina didn''t laugh at any of them, nor did she grasp their true meaning.

    But her lack of understanding made Rody happy.

    "It''s okay, you''ll understand it later," Rody patted Martina''s shoulder and comforted her with a smile, "What is this ''double river flow'' you mentioned? Shall we start? What? It''s just two people drinking from the same cup? I, I was expecting something else... Alright, I admit, my thoughts were a bit impure! Drinking together isn''t bad, it''s like drinking ''wedding wine''!"

    ''Double river flow'' in Orc culture means taking a large cup, with both the man and woman cheek to cheek, drinking the cup dry. If any wine spills, they have to drink three more cups, and if they manage to drink ten cups without spilling, the man can kiss the woman''s face.

    Rody was dizzy upon hearing this. Thankfully, it was him; a regular person would pass out after ten cups, let alone think about a kiss!

    But on second thought, considering the Orcs'' capacity compared to humans, this rule seemed reasonable.

    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    "I''ve drunk too much just now, let''s just drink one cup!" Martina, fearing Rody might really get drunk, had restrained her laughter earlier, making him drink ten cups of the super strong and rich ''Blood Red Dress''. If he got drunk and lost, he would be very angry when he woke up. Although Martina outwardly insisted on winning, deep down, she hoped Rody would win and she could be his woman, allowing him to protect her proudly for life.

    During the ''double river flow'', because of Rody''s naughty hand around the princess''s waist, she felt both shy and shocked, spilling quite a bit of wine.

    The blood-red wine drops on her busty chest made a certain wolf''s eyes light up.

    "You spilled it, you must drink as a penalty, or else, you have to help me remove the ''red dress''!" Princess Martina, seeing the gleam in Rody''s eyes and feeling weak in the body and short of breath, said softly, "You have to drink, or would you rather help me remove these wine drops?"

    "Of course, this is removing the ''red dress''? My God! I¡¯m more than happy to!" Rody immediately agreed, not wanting to drink as a penalty.

    "But will this lower your dignity as a man?" Martina, living in a highly male-dominated Orc society, knew it would be difficult for an Orc to kiss wine off his wife''s chest, as they would rather drink a penalty. But for humans, probably no man would refuse, including Rody.

    "Usually you listen to me, let''s not worry about those things now!" Rody was driven by desire, not really forgoing his masculinity.

    "No, wait, there¡¯s still a ritual to be done..." Martina felt Rody¡¯s hot lips on her, burning like fire, spreading warmth throughout her body and into her heart. Unknowingly, she found herself in Rody''s arms, the ties on her back seemingly loosened. That big bad wolf wasn''t just removing the ''red dress'', he was kissing a broader area...

    "The ritual can be done later, don''t rush!" Rody kissed Martina''s lips, sealing her mouth, his naughty hands conquering territory, melting the Orc princess in his hands.

    "Don''t stop!" At first, Martina¡¯s mind was saying ''don''t, stop'', but under Rody''s invasive touch, she changed her mind.

    "Don''t hold back, if you want to shout, just shout it out!" Rody kissed her ear, making her tremble all over.

    "I, I don''t know how... you, you teach me!" Martina didn''t know how to express herself appropriately, feeling shy. She hoped he could teach her; she was indeed very nervous and wanted to let it out.

    "You don''t need to be taught, just shout however you feel comfortable!" Rody laughed heartily, "I can teach you other things!"

    ...

    With the princess''s eagerness to learn and her excellent physical condition, the battle continued for half the night.

    Despite the princess''s repeated defeats and collapses, her unyielding spirit and eagerness to learn led her to counterattack again and again. Despite repeated defeats, she remained undaunted and persistent. This delighted Rody immensely. He not only marveled at the princess''s excellent physical condition but also appreciated her obedience.

    Especially after performing a certain ritual, she completely became obedient, following whatever Rody said without hesitation.

    "You''re tired, sleep for a while," Rody, seeing the utterly exhausted princess, felt a bit of pity for her.

    "But you haven''t... What should we do?" The princess hoped to try a little harder to help that insatiable guy release his feelings, because both her mother and sisters had secretly told her, the way to make a husband happiest is to let him vent. Initially, she didn''t quite understand, but now she knew, because she had experienced what the most comfortable and happiest feeling was. She hoped this man, who brought her happiness, could be as happy and blissful as she was...

    "I''m already very happy because I know a method that''s not easy to release... You wouldn''t understand even if I explained. Don''t you feel our bodies are filled with a warm, circulating energy? Yes, I used that method... It''s good for your body. If we do this often, it can continuously enhance your abilities, including your fighting spirit and body, which is very helpful! Of course, it also maintains your youth... You might want to learn it too, but this method is profound and hard to understand. It''s a cultivation method that harmonizes Yin and Yang! No worries if you don''t practice, as long as you do as I say, that''s fine. You did very well last night, you were a bit nervous at first, but it got much better later, and it will be even better in the future!" Someone praised her a few times, making the princess overjoyed.

    During the day, when someone went out to discuss the war plans against the demonic race with the Lionheart King.

    The queen of the beast people and the princess'' sisters came over one after another, each wanting to know if the youngest princess was happy.

    "Mother, we forgot about the ceremony, but Rody is so good. I''m so happy you and father agreed to marry me to him. I feel like crying when I think about it now, I''m so happy!" Martina blushed as she answered a few questions from her mother. The queen of the beast people said it was alright and kissed her daughter''s forehead happily, telling her to rest well and that they could perform the ceremony later.

    "Ah? Oh my God, was there a world war here?" The gossiping sisters arrived and were shocked to scream.

    "No, no!" Martina quickly got up to tidy up. She now understood why Rody said the ''quilt'' would fall to the ground. But how could her sisters let her clean up the mess? They held her down, pushed her back into the hollow of the quilt, and bombarded her with questions. Some asked directly, others beat around the bush, some used metaphors, and some even collected data. In a nutshell, more than a dozen sisters wanted to know the details of last night''s events.

    Martina vaguely described some of the night''s events, shocking her sisters.

    "What? More than a dozen climaxes? We''re going to faint..." As soon as the sisters asked, they were all drooling with envy.

    "That really comfortable feeling, like you''re about to die, is that what a climax is? I didn''t count, but there were many, definitely more than a dozen. I don''t know how many exactly, I wasn''t in the mood to count at that time. Anyway, there were a lot, almost the whole night was in that feeling. Just a little while and I felt like flying into the sky. More than a dozen? Definitely more!" Martina asked back in surprise.

    "The strongest is the husband of the fourth sister, but even that crazy lion of her family can''t compare to Rody. The fourth sister had only five climaxes and she was blown away! I can''t believe humans are so powerful, Martina, you really have an eye for men!" The eighth sister couldn''t stop exclaiming.

    "What? That was in the past. Who still has five times now? At most once, a big explosive climax can happen twice, and I''m completely satisfied. I definitely won''t care if that guy messes around with fox girls, cat girls, rabbit girls, and ghosts! The guy in my house is amazing, but now he''s almost drained by so many women. I used to only envy mother, father only married two other concubines besides her, and she helped find them, maintaining his vigor! Now with this miracle boy, it seems Martina is also very blissful! Could this miracle boy really be that miraculous? Martina, can I borrow your husband for two days?" This was the fourth sister.

    "No, if you dare to seduce Rody, I''ll tell mother to deal with you!" Martina flatly refused.

    "Don''t worry, I was just joking!" The fourth sister was startled and quickly clarified.

    "I think it''s because of the younger sister''s excellent physique that she can achieve this. If it were you, even if the man was incredible, you couldn''t handle it! Of course, the younger sister''s husband is also impressive, the miracle boy, how could he not be called that if he weren''t miraculous!" The second sister spoke, her opinion quite fair.

    "Martina, don''t let those human women snatch away your husband, good things should not be shared!" Another sister said.

    "Rody says I''m not good enough, he even wants me to learn from Queen Victoria! Thirteenth sister, why don''t you keep an eye on your husband? How many concubines has he married? Aren''t you just turning a blind eye?" Martina decided not to listen to her sisters. She thought her mother was right; sometimes, to make her husband happy, not only did she need to try hard herself, but she also had to maintain good relations with his women.

    Rody had already liked a human girl before, and Martina, of course, knew that she was just a latecomer. How could it be her turn if the previous girls monopolized him?

    "I had no choice, did I? If I were as powerful as my mother, I would definitely keep my man in line, but who am I to fight! Martina, you''re different from me, you''re the youngest and most promising of the Blood Axe Barbarians, and moreover, you have the potential to step into the realm of the Axe King and Axe Saint!" Thirteenth sister laughed: "I dare say, the miraculous son is clever beyond words, but in terms of martial strength, he''s definitely no match for you!"

    "Are you teaching the little sister to fight? Shut up! Martina, don''t listen to her, she''s just jealous and has no good intentions!" The eldest sister commanded the thirteenth sister to stop, saying: "You should listen to mother, live well with the miraculous boy."

    "Yes, mother said, I should listen to Rody in the future, do everything he says, hehe!" Martina''s face was full of happiness.

    "I can''t stand it, I''m going back right now, making my man work hard, if he doesn''t make me climax over ten times, he''s not leaving the bed!" one of the sisters said sternly.

    "Your man? Hmph, I bet if that silly leopard could make you climax three times, he would run to the Beast God Peak and shout that he''s the strongest man in the Beastman Empire. Unfortunately, your silly leopard is naturally a sprinter, including in bed!" another sister scoffed.

    "At least he''s stronger than your Wolf King. Though he lasts for two hours, it''s just a long run without any sprint!" An argument immediately erupted.

    "How do you know about other people''s husbands?" Martina asked curiously.

    "Hey, hey, we''re not adulterous or promiscuous, it''s just hearsay. Don''t tell mother, or she''ll skin us alive to make a shawl! Martina, don''t talk nonsense, we''re just arguing, understand? I don''t know what her husband is like, I can''t even keep up with my own!" The sisters suddenly panicked, the strict upbringing of the Beastman Queen making them fear.

    In the Beastman Empire, there were three Axe Saints in total, one of them being the Lionheart King, and the only female Axe Saint, the Beastman Queen. When the Lionheart King seized the throne, it was the Beastman Queen who slaughtered the strong from eighteen clans and broke the Demon King aiding in the war, making everyone in the Beastman Empire fear the Queen''s ferocity and strength. The Lionheart King''s smooth ascension was due to this. Moreover, the Lionheart King reached the Axe Saint status fifteen years later than the Beastman Queen, who waited for him to become an Axe Saint before advancing herself. Otherwise, the first Axe Saint of the Beastmen wouldn''t have been the Lionheart King, but the Beastman Queen.

    The Beastman Queen, not involving herself in politics or military affairs, was extremely strict in her children''s upbringing. Apart from the youngest and most talented Martina, whom she doted on and rarely punished, all other sons and daughters were taught through fists and feet. The mere mention of their mother struck fear in everyone''s hearts.

    "Martina, after you go to the human world, we will miss you. We''ve brought some small gifts, hoping you''ll accept them. The miraculous boy is a good man, listening to him is right, but if possible, also talk to him about our Beastman difficulties. Our lives are not easy, not as you see. Martina, do you understand? Never mind, the miraculous boy understands, just make sure he always likes you!" After a long talk, the sisters realized the youngest sister, preoccupied with martial training and not paying much attention to state affairs, was oblivious to the concept of a political marriage. Perhaps that''s why the Lionheart King and Beastman Queen decided to marry Martina to the miraculous boy.

    Rody and Martina stayed for two days, then told the Lionheart King and Beastman Queen that they were returning to the human continent.

    As they parted, the Beastman Queen gave Martina a book, not about fighting spirit mysteries, but a magic picture book about married life, suggesting Martina take a good look, to soon have a baby with her husband...

    "My God, it''s really that busty Martina! I knew it would be like this!" Back in Rody City, Chris''s first words were an exclamation.

    "This female warrior''s figure is so hot!" The women looked, each feeling a sense of crisis.

 Chapter 195: Cough cough, a reformed flirt is worth more than gold

    Felik.

    The soldiers stationed in Felik by the Great Frey were very troubled. This resistance did not come from Felik''s civilian resistance organization. In fact, the power of Felik''s civilian resistance organization was much weaker than that of thieves and magical beasts. Every so often, Felik was invaded by pirates, goblins, magical beasts, and the like, leaving the soldiers of the Great Frey frazzled.

    Initially, everyone thought that going to this country known as the "Garden of Beauties" would mean many beautiful women waiting for them.

    In Felik, the more beautiful a woman was, the more patriotic she seemed to be. They had all left with the king''s army of Felik. The soldiers of the Great Frey, risking becoming dinner for magical beasts, searched the silent forest for months, to no avail, and were greatly disappointed. The stationed general, out of helplessness, called in a few hundred female slaves from his own country to soothe the soldiers'' restless emotions. The soldiers of the Great Frey called Felik a ''prison of withered flowers''. Standing on the street, they saw only men. If occasionally one or two women passed by, they were beauties from four or five decades ago, causing great distress to everyone.

    It was very dangerous for a soldier to patrol in a capital without city walls.

    Because at any moment, a magical beast looking for food might run past, or a poisonous snake might be lying in the grass. Two hundred sixty-five soldiers of the Great Frey died fighting the Felik army, but the number of those killed by attacks from magical beasts, poisonous snakes, pirates, goblins, and others exceeded three thousand, more than ten times higher.

    The Great Frey built low walls around the capital of Felik for the soldiers to patrol.

    The soldiers of Felik disappeared like wisps of smoke, and the soldiers of the Great Frey, finally idle, turned standing guard into a routine formality. Nine out of ten guards on duty had the smell of alcohol on their breath.

    "How boring, if only a wild dog would come by for us to have a bit of fun!" one guard said to his companion.

    "Yeah, yeah, hey, there seems to be a shadow over there, shall we check it out?" his companion noticed a figure.

    "Forget about it, catching a thief is just a fine of a few silver coins and then they''re released. The fines don''t come to us anyway. If you want to beat up those guys, the captain and others are in charge. The thieves are let go by them, why should we bother! Besides, it''s hard to walk in the dark, and if I fall and dirty my clothes, I won''t be able to wear them to the baron''s banquet tomorrow." The left guard took out a wine skin, took a gulp, and handed it to his companion.

    "I''ll be transferred in two more weeks, how about you?" the companion chugged and asked.

    "No way, I have no connections back home, and the paperwork won''t go through. Looks like I''ll have to stay here longer. This godforsaken place is called a garden of beauties, but what a joke! If I had known, I would have stayed back home. You don''t know, I knew a viscountess, a lascivious bitch, so wild and lascivious. If I had known there were no beauties here, I wouldn''t have come. I could have stayed back home, and maybe the viscountess would have helped me out..." the left guard sighed.

    "I know a place with lots of beauties!" a mysterious voice said.

    "Where?" Both guards perked up, their eyes brightening like wolves. They saw a thief standing mysteriously behind them, whispering, "I''ll only tell you, don''t tell others!"

    "Of course, we''ll keep it a secret! Tell us, quick!" they nodded eagerly, urging the thief to speak.

    "The place with lots of beauties isn''t far, it''s in, it''s in heaven!" the mysterious thief suddenly pulled out a dagger and lightly stabbed them in the chest, smiling, "You''ll know I''m right once you get there. I admire how lust-driven you guards are! Felik oh Felik, I''m back..."

    "You think coming back is such a big deal? You''re just a thief!" Behind the thief stood a handsome guy with silver hair, snorting.

    "Tommy, what are you doing here? I can handle this alone!" The silver-haired handsome guy was Tommy, naturally arguing with his natural nemesis, the thief Terry.

    "I''m the supervising combat team! Hurry up and act, you''re the slowest in the whole group!" Tommy snorted.

    "I was just testing the enemy''s alertness just now, but who knew these guys are beyond saving. Go supervise others, don''t bother me. I don''t need you to supervise my battle, what a joke! Wait for my signal, otherwise the reserve combat team shouldn''t act. We have the whole night, can''t you let us play for ten minutes? We need to wash away the shame of the past!" Thief Terry quickly stripped the clothes off the two guards, put on a set, and threw another set to Tommy, signaling him to clean up the aftermath, then swaggered off into the darkness.

    "If you mess this up, Chris will skin you alive!" Tommy, stuck with this troublesome friend, could only resign himself to cleaning up after him.

    Felik''s Royal Palace.

    This was a not-too-large castle, which had also become the temporary castle of General Rondo of the Great Frey. Out of boredom, General Rondo held ''Uncovered Meetings'' every day, letting dozens of female slaves run naked around the castle, while the guests chased and frolicked behind them.

    This method was very popular among his subordinates and knights, so morale improved significantly.

    As the saying goes, ''as above, so below,'' the knights also held similar ''Uncovered Meetings'' in their own camps each month. Naturally, the quality of the naked female slaves was much worse, usually women captured from other countries, but it was enough to satisfy the soldiers'' lustful desires. Unfortunately, with too many soldiers and too few captured women every month, the supply couldn''t meet the demand, and morale was just barely maintained.

    The Great Frey had thought many times about giving up this lacking Felik and withdrawing, but couldn''t lose face.

    Today, during the ''Uncovered Meeting'', the naked knights were chasing the naked women, laughing and frolicking excitedly. Since the knights were physically stronger than the naked women, they easily caught up. Some knights, wanting more fun, blindfolded themselves and followed the women''s cries, enjoying themselves immensely.

    The general''s wife was unhappy because the general, playing too much below, had no energy left, which frustrated her.

    Although there were many knights under the general''s command, few had real combat capability. The general''s wife hadn''t encountered a single man to her liking in the past ten days, leaving her very frustrated. The knights also avoided the fierce general''s wife, seldom daring to court her, leaving her lying in bed waiting for three days straight, her temper like a silent volcano, ready to erupt.

    "Someone!" The general''s wife tapped the bell to summon someone, lying in bed, casually instructing the servant, "Have Knight Zayn come immediately, and tell the knight, if he''s five minutes late, I''ll make him lick every one of my toes! Also, prepare ''Vigor Wine'' and ''Warrior Oil.''"

    "Yes, my lady!" The servant left.

    Five, then ten minutes passed, but Knight Zayn hadn''t appeared.

    The general''s wife was furious, pressing the summoning bell again. A soldier entered, and she scolded, "Are all you servants dead? I asked for Knight Zayn, where is he? And where''s my ''Vigor Wine'' and ''Warrior Oil''? You''ve brought nothing! I give you one minute to bring the person and the items, or I''ll break your dog legs!"

    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    "I know Knight Zayn, but what are Vigor Wine and Warrior Oil?" asked the skinny soldier.

    "You don''t know Vigor Wine and Warrior Oil? They''re for men to regain their vigor... Don''t you use these? Hard to tell, you''re so skinny. Hey, what''s your name?" The general''s wife listened, glanced at the soldier, noticed he was dark and skinny, not handsome, but there was a sparkle in his eyes, not like a coward, and she was secretly pleased.

    "Madam, my name is Terry," the soldier replied.

    "It doesn''t matter what your name is," the general''s wife didn''t recognize the name and assumed he was a new guard, casually ordering, "Take off your pants, let me see!"

    "That''s not very appropriate, madam. I''m afraid I might scare you!" The soldier shook his head immediately, responding with a bravado.

    "What? Yours would scare me? Pfft, how big can it be to scare me? Ah, maybe yours is a treasure?" The general''s wife sat up immediately, excitedly saying, "Take off your pants, now! If you can please me, I''ll have the general promote you! What are you waiting for? Take off your pants, now!"

    "Thank you, madam, but I guess if I take off my pants, the general will chop off my head. I, I''ll just go call Knight Zayn for you!" The soldier ran off timidly, leaving the general''s wife very disappointed.

    After a while, the soldier returned.

    "What are you doing back here? Where is Knight Zayn?" the general''s wife angrily asked.

    "I''ve called him for you. Which part of him do you want? His head, or his little brother?" Soldier Terry pulled out a bloody head, smilingly asking the general''s wife.

    "Ah! Help, someone help!" The general''s wife, seeing the head was that of Knight Zayn, whom she often indulged in debauchery with, nearly fainted from shock.

    "Madam, don''t scream so loud, the general might hear!" Soldier Terry put a finger to his lips, shushing her.

    "Help, help, someone! Guards, guards!" The general''s wife screamed desperately, wanting to alert everyone to prevent harm from the madman before her.

    "The guards are here, madam. What are your orders?" A group of guards rushed in.

    "Seize him, seize this assassin! Where is the general? Where are the knights? How can an assassin enter my room without anyone noticing? Damn it, you useless servants, guarding the door like this!" The general''s wife cried and cursed in fear.

    "Calm down, madam, the general is here!" A guard pulled out a head, looked at it, threw it on the ground, and muttered to himself, "This isn''t the general''s head, where is it? Not this one, no, not this one either. Ah, found it, here''s the general''s head. Madam, do you have any other orders?"

    "Ah..." Seeing the floor covered in heads, with her husband''s unblinking head placed highest, the general''s wife fainted from shock.

    "What are you doing coming in here? You scared the madam, get out!" Guard Terry scolded, "The general''s wife is so noble, how dare you rabble scare her? Look at how fair her skin is, how good her figure is, do you think you can sneak a look? Get out quickly!"

    "Yes, we were wrong, please forgive us, madam!" A crowd of guards picked up the heads and scurried out.

    "Don''t be afraid, madam, they were too reckless," Guard Terry said with a slight smile, "I''ve called Knight Zayn for you, I''ll leave right away. Oh, I was too anxious earlier and forgot to ask the general for the password to his magic safe. You must know it, madam. Please tell me, it''s inconvenient for me to disturb your alone time with Knight Zayn. Look, the magic key is around your neck, you must know the password, right?"

    "Who are you, really? Are you a powerful warrior from Felik?" the general''s wife exclaimed in shock.

    "Who I am isn''t important. What''s important is that I only have three minutes left. If you''ve forgotten the password, I''ll have to ask the general," Guard Terry smiled kindly, "Madam, please tell me the password quickly!"

    "You, you want to know the password? Take off your pants, and if you can satisfy me, I''ll tell you everything!" the general''s wife calmed down.

    "I''ll be damned, can''t you let my plan go perfectly for once? Damn bitch, someone throw this whore to those birdmen, let them screw her to death! Damn it, I''m so angry! Smash that damn box! I wanted to play the gentleman, but you just won''t give me the chance! I''m not playing the bad guy, you really think I''m a great sage!" Guard Terry grabbed his helmet, smashed it on the ground in a fit of rage, and thundered angrily.

    "Ha ha, a thief who can''t open a magic lock!" A handsome guy with silver hair stood at the door, clapping his hands and mocking.

    "Who says I can''t open it?" Terry grabbed Tommy''s collar, angrily saying, "It''s just this damn magic lock I happen to not know how to open. If it weren''t for the time constraint, I could have opened it!"

    "I''ll give you ten more minutes. Open it and get the Great Frey''s military magic map, and I''ll lose three sixth-grade magic crystals to you!" Tommy and Terry really wanted to get that magic map, but usually, the magic map is linked to the magic box, and opening it by force would destroy the map, which is why Terry resorted to intimidating the general''s wife.

    "You said it, give me ten more minutes!" Terry suddenly stripped off his clothes, cursing, "Bitch, I''m sacrificing myself for the country today!"

    "Wow, I really didn''t expect this..." The general''s wife was so pleasantly surprised that she almost screamed.

    Outside, the guards waiting for Tommy gathered around, asking, "Can Terry take down that slut in ten minutes? It''s said that the slut can fight six men without changing her face. Why don''t we make a bet?"

    Tommy couldn''t help but laugh loudly, saying, "If Rody knew about this, he would die laughing! Poor Terry!"

    An hour later, in several other military camps in Felik, thick smoke billowed and flames shot into the sky.

    The battle had already ended; this was the final fire set by the counterattacking army cleaning up the battlefield. The last ones left were the thief and bandit group from the City of Chaos, led by the Ealu boar people, setting fires everywhere, regretfully looking at the corpses strewn on the ground, saying, "What a waste, this is all money! Why didn''t these guys capture enemies? Damn it, we allied with a bunch of wastrels! If we had raided by drawing lots, how great that would have been! Ten thousand slaves, how much money would that be? Tsk, these guys only know how to kill, idiots, my heart is bleeding!"

    "Clothes are stripped, but what about helmets? Why leave old ones? That''s all money!" One-eyed Wolf also angrily said, "In future battles, we can use these things! The city lord said prisoners are people too, we have to take care of them, or how can we get high ransoms?"

    "Hurry up, we''re the slowest!" The Minotaur Bufon loudly reprimanded, he was a leader demanding both speed and efficiency.

    When Rody escaped the entanglement of the women and arrived in Felik.

    He found Terry, all sweaty and disheveled, chasing after Tommy, angrily demanding the magic crystals. The elite squad members were laughing behind them, and strangely, at the end of the group, there was a woman in a magic robe.

    "What happened?" Rody asked curiously.

    "He lost a bet to me, three sixth-grade magic crystals. Rody, this guy is a born deadbeat, trying to welch on the bet!" Terry immediately complained.

    "No, he didn''t win!" Tommy defended himself: "I said if he takes down that lascivious general''s wife within ten minutes, I lose to him, but he took too long, more than ten minutes, so it doesn''t count!"

    "I didn''t take too long, exactly ten minutes! Does it take no time to put on clothes? Besides, I was too busy unlocking the safe, I didn''t dress immediately, how could I have been late? Anyway, I won, hand over the magic crystals! Rody, I sacrificed myself for the country, isn''t Tommy bullying me? When there''s credit, he rushes in; when there''s dirty work, he leaves it to me, why am I so unlucky?" Terry almost cried.

    "It''s just three sixth-grade magic crystals, right? I''ll give you five, and an additional third-grade dragon crystal. Don''t you want a young dragon as a mount? With a dragon crystal, it''s much easier, this was also given to me by someone else! Knight Terry, you are loyal and brave, sacrificing yourself for the country is very noble. Please allow me to salute you and hope you continue this spirit of fearlessness and moving forward in the face of difficulties..." Rody praised him heavily, making Tommy and the elite squad nearly fall over laughing.

    "Report to the captain, next time we have such an opportunity, I think I need a partner to fight alongside me. I request Knight Tommy to be my partner, as he has always been my best partner!" Terry, with a determined heart, simply dragged Tommy into the situation.

    "Approved." Rody waved his hand, agreeing to the request. Tommy nearly fainted.

    "Are you Terry''s captain? May I ask you for a favor?" The woman in the magic robe approached, who was the general''s wife, usually not fond of wearing clothes.

    "Who is this?" Rody asked curiously.

    "That''s the lock, now that the lock is open, we forgot to throw away the lock head! Don''t worry, captain, I''ll dispose of the lock head right away!" Terry hurriedly tried to pull her away when he saw the general''s wife approaching. However, the general''s wife struggled, saying, "I am the lock head, but just now it wasn''t me. You also didn''t get the Great Frey army camp''s magic map. I have the Great Frey''s palace map. I used to be a cartographer, and my grandfather was even the magic master who designed the Great Frey palace... Captain, give Terry to me, and I''ll tell you everything I know!"

    "Shut up, what are you? Is this a place for you to speak?" Terry knew Rody disliked being threatened.

    "Give him to you? That''s not possible! He''s not my slave, just my subordinate, my brother!" Rody laughed, saying, "On the contrary, you are my prisoner of war, giving you to him, that''s doable!"

    "That works too! As long as I''m with him, I''m happy, I like this strong man..." the general''s wife exclaimed happily.

    "My image is completely ruined!" Terry lamented in sorrow.

    "People say ''a reformed pRodygal is worth more than gold'', and the same applies to women! Terry, I envy you! Mature women have their charms, you''ve tried it and know it better now! In short, it''s better to be liked by a woman than not at all, right? With her, you won''t have to join us in the bar drinking sullenly every day. From now on, you can lie in bed and drink, heh heh!" Tommy patted Terry''s shoulder, consoling him.

    "You know nothing, I might like eating eggs, but I don''t need to carry the hen around every day!" Terry angrily retorted.

    "Sacrificing for the country inevitably requires some sacrifices. It''s your fault for being soft-hearted and leaving this lock head, no, for being incompetent. You, a thief who can''t open a magic lock, should really brush up on this skill!" Jack also laughed, "Knight Terry, I hope you learn from this lesson. Next time you encounter a magic lock, don''t make the same mistake!"

    "Terry, I sympathize with you. Those who sacrifice for the country are not just you, but also me! You don''t know, at my family''s villa, I can hardly count on my ten fingers now. Later, when I go to pick up my mother, I really don''t know how to introduce her!" Rody was sympathetic, but he was more troubled than Terry. Terry had sacrificed for the country only once, but Rody had been through political marriages repeatedly in the Beastmen Empire and the Seven Clans, sweating profusely.

    "I can''t help with that, maybe Auntie is understanding. She loves you so much, it should be fine! Take your time to figure it out, we have other things to do!" As soon as Terry and others heard this, they all slipped away to avoid trouble.

 Chapter 196: The Shadow, the Return of the Miraculous Boy

    Great Frey, Royal Palace.

    His Majesty Adruger, known as the ''Iron Hammer Stepper'', had been cursing from morning until noon without a minute''s rest. All generals and officials were berated until they were metaphorically drenched in blood, and no one, including the queen, dared to interject. As the most ambitious king of Great Frey, Adruger had always yearned to turn Great Frey into an empire. He usurped the throne from his father, combining cunning diplomacy with iron-fisted tactics, and conquered territories east and west to build today¡¯s Great Frey.

    Just yesterday, he possessed over ten times the territory compared to his father''s reign.

    Yet, in just one night, Felik, which seemed to be cooked and swallowed, had flown the coop.

    Not only Felik, but several small vassal states on the border also fell overnight. Castles were captured, and lords who had previously submitted to him met untimely deaths. Of the nine administrative provinces within Great Frey, plus Felik and other conquered territories, totaling 160 towns, only 125 remained overnight.

    Over thirty towns fell, and more than thirty castles were captured by the enemy.

    How could His Majesty Adruger not be furious?

    If it weren''t for the fact that every hour, mages frantically reported more castles under attack, requesting reinforcements, only to receive news of their destruction before soldiers could be dispatched, Adruger would not have been so enraged. Knowing that the enemy was attacking his lands, yet unable to resist or counterattack, despite having over two hundred thousand elite soldiers, but being forced to watch helplessly as the enemy devoured his castles, was a frustration that nearly made the ''Iron Hammer Stepper'' vomit blood.

    The enemy moved rapidly and unpredictably.

    Their attacks were simple yet effective: they would mysteriously appear, first striking the teleportation gate magic towers, and finally seizing the castle, killing the stationed lords or castle masters, looting everything like robbers. By the time reinforcements arrived, all they could do was sigh at the sight of the city ablaze.

    Adruger knew who was behind this: the miraculous boy Rody and those elite squad members from Rody City!

    Apart from them, it was impossible for a second elite force on the human continent to carry out such a stealthy and surprising attack. Spies in Rody City also sent back magic messages saying ''the elite squad of Rody City has disappeared, and even the patrolling guards are gone''. However, even though Adruger knew it was the work of the elite squad, he had no evidence.

    Rody City was different from before, backed by the Kamaran Empire, and highly respected by the armies of the Human Justice Alliance.

    If he accused Rody City of invasion without evidence, and Chris, the Elf Son next to Rody, spoke out against him, then the world would stand by Rody City''s side, leaving Great Frey to suffer.

    His Majesty Adruger knew why the elite squad counterattacked Felik.

    He had stationed over ten thousand troops in Felik to defend against the elite squad''s counterattack, but he never anticipated that in one night, Rondo, that pig-headed general, would squander everything.

    Over ten thousand soldiers, not only protected by castle walls but also equipped with the best magic alarm devices. If Rondo had only stretched out his hand to press the magic alarm bell, Adruger''s bell beside his bed would have rung. Under such circumstances, Adruger believed that even if a pig were the commander, the entire army would not have been annihilated.

    Yet, this was the reality!

    "All of you, get out! Starting today, everyone must participate in the curfew rotations in the capital of Great Frey. Stay fully alert and don''t let anyone steal your pig heads! We will counterattack Felik once our allies arrive. Now, get out, I don''t want to see any of you!" His Majesty Adruger bellowed, allowing the generals and officials to breathe a sigh of relief. They all stealthily wiped their sweat and hastily bowed before leaving.

    "Father, don''t be angry. I think this matter is not so simple; there''s a bigger conspiracy involved," Prince Vincent, Adruger¡¯s beloved son, said as soon as everyone left.

    "What conspiracy do you see?" His Majesty glanced sideways at his son.

    "Those guys in Rody City have always been patient, like turtles hiding in their shells, unconcerned with worldly matters. Now they suddenly make such intense moves; it must be because that person has returned! I worry that what Prince Black Night said has become reality, that the Abyss has sent a large force to rescue the miraculous boy Rody trapped in the Desolate Hell. If not for this, those in Rody City would not have made such a big move." Prince Vincent, a clever man, thought far ahead.

    "Go on!" His Majesty Adruger, devoid of anger, became extremely calm, snorting softly, "Why do you think so?"

    "Yes, Your Majesty." Prince Vincent bowed and said, "Retaking Felik is meaningless. Killing General Rondo not only fails to weaken our strength but makes us more vigilant against them. Why would they retake Felik? The reason is to create a name, to embark Rody on a path of revenge! If we send a large force to Felik now, it will only play into their hands. Not only would it be ineffective, but it would also align with their objectives."

    "Are you saying we shouldn''t counterattack Felik?" the Emperor asked, seemingly casually.

    "Of course. If Your Majesty intended to dispatch troops, you would have done so immediately, not wait for our allies. Your actions are just to tighten the alliance, not letting them break away." Prince Vincent respectfully answered.

    "You''ve finally grown up a bit, Vincent," the Emperor praised, but then sneered, "However, if you view the battle situation with this mindset, it''s far from enough. I knew as soon as the news of the attack on Felik arrived last night that the miraculous boy had returned. He wants to incite chaos across the entire continent, and of course, he wants Great Frey to become a pitiful sacrifice in the maelstrom of continental warfare! How many people are in the elite squad? How many were the orcs and the demon race back then? Do you think the miraculous boy will engage us in a knightly duel? Do you know why he chose Felik to start a war with us? Vincent, you are smart, but you can''t compare to him! He indeed seeks revenge, but with his and Rody City¡¯s strength, it¡¯s impossible! Moreover, he also has to face the pressure from the temples and angels. Therefore, he only has a chance amidst the chaos on the continent."

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    "He wants to provoke a war between us, Kamaran Empire, and Norn Empire?" Prince Vincent understood some, but couldn''t guess it all.

    "Wrong, you are mistaken," His Majesty Adruger shook his head, "He wants to make Great Frey the common enemy of the world. If we dispatch troops, we would definitely be dragged into the Silent Forest of Felik, where playing hide and seek in the forest is his forte. Under his propaganda, we will inevitably become evil invaders. Even if the world doesn¡¯t attack us, they will isolate us, leaving us without support or allies."

    "Why? Why must we be restrained by him? Why can''t we take the initiative?" Prince Vincent was puzzled.

    "Because you are not the miraculous boy. Heh, if he didn''t have a way to garner the world''s sympathy, how could he dare to make a move? Another key point is the real Centennial Holy War. It won''t be long before the orcs and demons will invade in large numbers. Rody City, located in the Evil Forest, has become the first line of defense for humanity, and what about us? We are attacking Felik. In doing so, we could even be accused of colluding with the orcs and demons as human traitors! Supporting countries like Kamaran and Norn would gladly kick us when we''re down, and Great Frey would immediately become the target of public animosity. Do you really expect our allies to come to our aid? No, they would love nothing more than to divide the territory of Great Frey!" His Majesty spoke, leaving Prince Vincent sweating profusely.

    "Father, what should we do?" Prince Vincent swallowed and asked.

    "Of course, we are to rage, act like incapable fools, watching our territory being harassed every day, cursing loudly but doing nothing. That''s the right approach," His Majesty sneered and stared at Vincent, saying, "I know you want to defeat the miraculous boy, but I advise you not to be impulsive. Going out now to confront the miraculous boy Rody is absolutely foolish! Vincent, if you really are a fool, then go ahead!"

    "..." Prince Vincent had always thought his father was a tyrannical despot, hoping to replace him, but he never imagined that compared to his father, he was nothing.

    He had always felt he was a match and a formidable enemy of the miraculous boy.

    But now it seems, the one truly qualified to be the miraculous boy''s opponent was his seemingly foolish and impulsive father.

    ...

    Fifty kilometers outside the capital of Felik, in a forest tent, Rody was looking at a magic map with a few people.

    "Report, Great Frey has tens of thousands of troops moving at the border, but the most elite legions are all stationed in the capital, showing no movement. Also, Adruger has announced a curfew rotation, forbidding anyone from entering or leaving the city, even demanding generals and officials to cancel banquets and take turns patrolling the streets..." A thin thief came in and reported in detail.

    "Ha, seems the king of Great Frey is no simple character!" Silver-haired Tommy laughed upon hearing this.

    "I say he''s just a coward!" Stanley laughed heartily.

    "That''s not right, the king of Great Frey has some ability. I''ve heard my father say that this guy was quite exceptional in the military when he was young," Kerry, well-informed about notable figures on the continent, not only out of interest but also because of his father, General Quentin, who knew the continent like the back of his hand.

    "That makes it interesting. We''re in for a war of attrition, a battle of endurance and strategy. If he wants to play mind games, we''re up for it!" Chris snorted.

    "What about the temple? Any movement?" Rody paused and asked.

    "The temple has sent a cardinal to soothe the king of Great Frey, but the Templar Knights haven''t assembled..." the thief reported, "However, Great Frey''s allies, like the Kingdom of Redlands and others, have issued declarations of joint combat. Just Redlands alone will send over ten thousand troops, and with a dozen countries, the allied forces total over thirty thousand."

    "..." Tommy rolled his eyes upon hearing this.

    "Thirty thousand? What can thirty thousand do? Do they really think this is just a show?" Stanley clapped his hands and laughed.

    "The alliance of Redlands and other allies sending thirty thousand troops is just a ruse to incite Great Frey to send out troops! They want Great Frey and us to exhaust each other so they can benefit from it. Even a fool can see through this plot!" Chris smiled and said, "It seems we need to play along and add fuel to the fire, otherwise Great Frey won''t willingly step into the spotlight. Rody, my suggestion is this: let Jamie''s assassin team continue their attacks and the thieves from the City of Chaos to keep harassing them, so that Great Frey can''t extricate itself."

    "A harassment and attack for ten days or half a month won''t be very effective. The king of Great Frey seems to be a smart man. Let''s quickly station various races in the Silent Forest, accelerate training and adapt to the terrain battles of the human world. Great Frey is just bait; what we''re really fishing for are the demons and angels, two big fish. It''s still early; we need to wait quietly for the fish to bite!" Rody smiled slightly and said, "It seems it''s time for me to make an appearance..."

    When people opened the magic newspapers, they were surprised to see that Felik, previously occupied by Great Frey, had been recaptured by the Felik exile army.

    General Rondo was killed, and more than ten thousand stationed soldiers were annihilated.

    As everyone was discussing, the kings of various countries were thinking about whether to speak up and get their names in the magic newspapers for some publicity. Suddenly, in Kamaran, a magic newspaper exclusively reported a news that shocked the entire continent.

    The news stated that the miraculous boy Rody had escaped from the Desolate Hell!

    The origin was like this: Barash, a war correspondent who had been gathering news in Rody City for many years, was hired by a merchant group on the side to hunt magical beasts and record the scene. Of course, it was a very dangerous sixth-rank magical beast, and the main reason the merchant group recorded this scene was to sell it at a good price. However, they didn¡¯t expect that during the mercenaries'' hunt, they found the information was wrong.

    There were not one, but two sixth-rank magical beasts.

    All the mercenaries exerted their full strength but were still no match. At the critical moment, a mysterious figure appeared in the forest, effortlessly killed the two beasts, and then drifted away. Barash, severely injured and on the verge of unconsciousness, used his last strength to capture the mysterious figure.

    Although it was just a side and back view, the excited Barash insisted that it was the miraculous boy returning from the Desolate Hell.

    The people of Kamaran, when they opened the magic newspapers, all saw a familiar silhouette...

    Many were moved to tears, but some questioned the authenticity of the photos.

    In the silhouette, people saw many differences, such as the blurry photo where it was unclear whether the hair color was black or purple. The figure was somewhat distorted, with no legs visible, just a blur. And on the hands, there appeared to be claw-like things, certainly not a pair of human hands. People doubted it was some powerful magical beast, perhaps resembling a human, but it definitely was not the miraculous boy Rody.

    But more people were convinced that this was the miraculous boy Rody!

    The words of Prince Black Night before his death had come true; the Abyss had really rescued Rody trapped in the Desolate Hell and sent him to the human world.

    In many places where the mysterious figure had passed, people found scorched earth and charcoal ash, enough to prove these were the traces left by Rody, who burned with divine fire. The unclear silhouette, the twisted body, and the claw-like hands were actually the flames on Rody¡¯s body!

    For a time, the world was shaken.

    People''s opinions were divided into two major factions. One believed that Rody''s appearance was just a figment of people''s imagination, a reflection of their pursuit of something better and dissatisfaction with reality.

    The other group believed that the miraculous boy Rody had truly returned, and that was an undeniable fact. If anyone wanted to deny his existence, it was only because the evil forces that persecuted him in the past wanted to use this method to cover up their tracks and seize the opportunity to extinguish humanity''s hope! Especially in Kamaran, millions of people took to the streets in protest, gathering in front of the twin statues of Prince Black Night and Rody, chanting slogans to express their determination to protect humanity''s hope.

    Especially the teachers and students of Rody Academy were extremely excited.

    "When hope appears, what are we hesitating for? Are we waiting for those shameless assassins to get to the miraculous boy first? No, we can''t be numb anymore, we can''t wait any longer! We must take action, protect Rody, protect humanity''s hope! Brothers and sisters, the human tragedy of Prince Black Night must not be repeated!" Ivan Yef''s article, designated as ''Lowly Underling'' by Prince Black Night, was published and immediately reproduced by various newspapers in Kamaran. People, holding the magic newspapers, excitedly gathered overnight, demanding King William II to immediately go to Rody City and confirm the news of Rody''s return with the Elf Son Chris.

    "This is a lie, a complete lie! It seems that people in Kamaran can do nothing but daydream!" mocked the magic newspapers of the Kingdom of Redlands.

    "We wait quietly, although it seems far-fetched and unbelievable, we hope this will be a gospel-like truth!" reported the Denis Free Alliance newspaper.

    "Holy Mother, we have always been praying, please guide the miraculous boy back to our side!" declared the Naples newspaper.

 Chapter 197: Debate, Humanity First Engages in a War of Words

    Emperor William II of the Kamaran Empire personally went to Rody City, and two days later, brought back even more shocking news to the world.

    First, the speculation about whether the miraculous boy Rody had returned from hell was confirmed.

    However, this was not the most shocking part. Another piece of news, personally revealed by the miraculous boy Rody, took everyone by surprise. In the images recorded on the memory crystal, Emperor William II and the Elf Son Chris went to a clearing in the Evil Forest and saw the miraculous boy Rody, who had to stay away from people due to the divine fire burning on him.

    No hugs, no handshakes.

    The miraculous boy¡¯s return was such that the Elf Son Chris could only look at him with a mix of joy and sorrow.

    The unceasing divine fire burned on the miraculous boy, and the chains of the gods, tightly wrapping around his arms, were what people had seen as claw-like things. These were the chains that shackled Rody. The people of Kamaran, seeing this scene, couldn''t help but shed tears, sighing incessantly. However, there was also a sense of joy; although the miraculous boy had suffered such misfortune, he had finally returned from hell.

    Prince Black Night''s words before his death had finally come true.

    This was the greatest friendship he and the Underworld had given to humanity, a pity that this return came at the cost of his departure. People remembered the tragedy back then and felt heartbroken. If only Prince Black Night were still alive... If only the miraculous boy Rody and Prince Black Night could meet like the Twin Star Statues, understanding and cherishing each other, how wonderful that would be!

    However, humanity, while moved, also harbored new expectations. Now that the miraculous boy Rody had returned, what surprises would he bring?

    As long as Rody was alive, there was hope.

    Surprisingly, the knights of the Holy Temple, who had refused to return to the temple and self-exiled in the Evil Forest, were now all kneeling behind Rody... The temple had always accused Rody and the elite squad of killing them, but recently, mercenaries hunting them discovered that they were not dead at all, but were self-exiled in the land of evil, doing penance. People only then learned the true story from these self-exiled Templar Knights. Indeed, it was the angels and the temple that had ordered them to attack the miraculous boy, but when the Emperor of Flames attacked and the Force Angel fled, it was Rody and his elite squad that saved them.

    Their leader, the Perfect Knight, committed suicide as penance for ordering the massacre of the dwarves and the destruction of his faith.

    Many knights also mutilated their arms as a sign of atonement.

    These Templar Knights and Holy Warriors refused to return to the temple and continued their painful self-exile in the Evil Forest.

    After the lies were exposed, there was an uproar in the world, and the image of the temple and angels collapsed again. The temple immediately contradicted itself, claiming they were fallen knights, corrupted in faith by demons, but in the eyes of countless people, these self-exiled fallen knights were heroes atoning for their sins. They were heroes in tragedy, as well as wanderers who had found their way back.

    The fallen knights swore to fight only against orcs and demons for the rest of their lives. Now, following behind the miraculous boy Rody, what did that represent?

    "To all the people of the world, I do not wish to bring back unfortunate news, I do not want to become a harbinger of doom. But, for the lives of millions, I must tell you, the great catastrophe of humanity''s extinction is about to begin," said the miraculous boy with a grave face, announcing a message that shocked the world: "The orcs and demons are coming to attack again, and the Centennial Holy War has officially begun. The Lionheart King of the orcs has ordered a full mobilization, with over five hundred thousand orcs and over three hundred thousand half-orcs and goblins rushing day and night towards the Evil Forest. Behind them, there are three hundred thousand demons. If you ask the temple, they will tell you that prayer is the only option."

    With over a million orcs and demons on the resurgence, what kind of bloodshed and carnage will they bring?

    Now, without Marshal Von Desman, whom can people rely on?

    Can humanity hold out for long with just the few thousand mercenaries and over a hundred elites of Rody City? In the face of half a million orcs, will they be crushed into a bloodbath? If the miraculous boy Rody and his companions are all sacrificed, who can people depend on then? The temple? Indeed, they will tell everyone to pray! The Angel Legion will come...

    People are no longer the naive fools of the past, having learned from the mouths of the fallen knights that there are not more than a thousand angels.

    The invincible Angel Legion of legend never existed.

    It has always been humanity itself that has defeated the orcs and demons.

    Angels are merely spiritual support.

    The temple and angels have always claimed the glory of human victories for themselves. They do nothing but encourage humans to fight bloody battles against orcs and demons, leading them to death, and then claiming victory as their own after the battle.

    The words of the miraculous boy stirred up a huge wave in the calm world, causing a great commotion.

    Even the most devout began to waver.

    "The bastard Rody is a man corrupted by demons. He has been bought by devils in hell, has degenerated, and has become their accomplice, a spokesman for the devil''s alarmist talk. The human world is watched over by angels; there can''t be any great catastrophe! The God of Light watches over us from the sky, believers of the world, divine power is omnipotent, any sinner who dares to accuse or question the divine will fall into hell! Why did the bastard Rody fall? Why did he fall into the Desolate Hell? It¡¯s because he is full of sin!" The temple issued a strong statement, labeling Rody as a sinner.

    "Whom should we believe? Whom can we still trust?" The Denis Free Alliance newspaper published an editorial, "We truly wish to believe the words of the temple, as we have been devout believers for centuries. We don''t want our hearts to break like the Perfect Knight. We also want to believe the miraculous boy Rody, who has always been our hero. Now, we want to ask, whom should we believe?"

    "Welcome back, miraculous boy! But as we prepare a welcome banquet, we also need to prepare for war," reported the Naples newspaper.

    "The liar trapped in the Desolate Hell is back, lying in his usual manner. I dare say he must have struck some unspeakable deal with the devil. Otherwise, with his ability, it would be absolutely impossible for him to escape from hell!" the Redlands Magic Express.

    "I don''t understand why people, when facing death, still refuse to believe the words of the miraculous boy Rody. Yes, the temple told us the Centennial Holy War was over, they also told us the orcs couldn¡¯t possibly have an army of half a million, and the demons couldn¡¯t have as many as three hundred thousand. But if I tell you that I believe a word of what the temple says, I am a complete fool! What is the temple now, apart from politicians and conspirators? Are there any true clergymen praying for the people? No, at any time, you can find pornographic books and gold in the beds of the cardinals, that''s what the clergy are now... a bunch of hypocritical bloodsuckers and parasites!" Ivan Yef, designated as ''Lowly Underling'' by Prince Black Night, harshly criticized.

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    "Our soldiers are ready; now, all we need is a qualified leader!" said Emperor William of Kamaran.

    "The students of Rody Academy, except for the very young children, everyone will do their utmost to contribute to this war, even if it means sacrificing their own lives. The teachers in Rody Academy, whether they are great sages or instructors, will set an example as educators! Perhaps there isn''t much we can do, but we won''t just sit by and watch others fight," declared Rody Academy at a pledge assembly.

    "Regardless of whether the miraculous boy''s warning becomes a reality, we should all be prepared for battle. Friends, we can''t expect the orcs and demons to talk peace with us!" The capital''s newspaper of the Norn Empire mobilized people to enlist in the army and called for national soldiers to prepare for battle.

    "I pray for the world and will do my utmost to help the wounded in the war," announced the Holy Maiden.

    "I like Rody, just as I liked Prince Black Night. The armies of Mile, have never fought for aggression, but we will not submit to the might of the orcs and demons. Mile is ready and waiting for the call from the Human Justice Alliance. However, I am disappointed that Marshal Torosky of the Human Justice Alliance sent me a message saying that I, a woman, need not worry about military affairs. He also said that orcs and demons will not appear, implying as if I would help Rody usurp his position as Marshal. What else can I say? Other than ordering my troops to stay and defend our own territory, I can only smash vases in my room!" Empress Mile expressed her anger openly and did not mince her words, but she had the right to do so.

    "If indeed orcs come, then it is our inescapable duty, although our territory is currently harassed by bandits," said the King of Great Frey in a speech.

    "While the world is incessantly arguing, we common folk can only lament... Time passes day by day, the higher-ups continue their indulgent lives, while we commoners live in constant fear. When will this life, where we risk our heads every day, end?" lamented the Binzhenia Civil Liberty newspaper.

    "We have sent our best scouts, but have not received any news of an orc invasion. Apart from lamenting the miraculous boy''s lies, we can''t do much more. Everyone just sits at home reading newspapers. Those fools in Kamaran will sooner or later blush for their idiocy if they have a bit of self-awareness!" declared the Capital Ducal newspaper of Gale.

    Human nations'' major newspapers are engaged in a fierce war of words, with the sales of magic newspapers skyrocketing.

    Now, people simply do not know whom to believe.

    This is no longer just a confrontation between the miraculous boy Rody and the temple, but a confrontation between nations, a verbal battle between kings, and a war of words between magic newspapers. During this time, the temple repeatedly publicized calm magic images from the Evil Forest, proving that the human continent was not under orc invasion, and Rody''s words were completely lies.

    As for the miraculous boy Rody, he did not respond to any of the questions and doubts, focusing on leading his troops to dig huge trenches outside Rody City.

    They cut down the surrounding trees and urgently trained the soldiers of Kamaran.

    War supplies were also transported in large quantities with the help of merchants from various countries, showing a determination to fight the orcs and demons alone. People were moved by this, and many volunteered to transport supplies donated from the rear to Rody City. Many soldiers also volunteered to help guard Rody City. In less than ten days, about thirty thousand elite soldiers of Kamaran and several thousand mercenaries were urgently training outside Rody City.

    As for the reaction of Rody City, the temple and the Human Justice Alliance scornfully ridiculed it.

    They already knew that although the orcs were assembling, their numbers were not as many as half a million, and the nearest troops were thousands of kilometers away. Unless the orcs grew wings, it would be impossible for them to reach the human continent within two months. As soon as their main force entered the land of evil, the temple would detect it, and responding then would not be too late.

    As for the demons, unless the Gate of Hell opened and a few hundred small groups of demons came out to move around, it would be absolutely impossible for three hundred thousand demons to pour out of hell.

    Half a month passed, and the magic newspapers were still engaged in a fierce war of words.

    Gale and Redlands, among other countries, even gave Rody nicknames like ''Hell''s Fugitive'' or ''Black-haired Liar''.

    Countries supporting Rody were ridiculed as ''Brainless Sea Squirts'' and ''Pretentious Cowards'', among others, sparking anger among the people of Kamaran and similar nations. Protests were held daily, demanding their governments sever diplomatic relations with these shameless countries.

    The embassies of these countries were smashed and burned by outraged people.

    The citizens of Kamaran, Naples, and other countries angrily declared that if orcs attacked Gale and similar nations, their soldiers vowed not to rescue them, letting their men be boiled in pots by orcs and their women taken as slaves. Even a magic reporter sarcastically commented that one need not worry about powerful countries like Gale and Redlands, as their men¡¯s ignorance alone could build the thickest walls in the world. Even if boiled by orcs, their stubborn mouths wouldn''t soften.

    Neutral countries were unsure of what to do.

    Mobilizing troops would cost a lot of money, and the knights who had just finished fighting were reluctant to move again.

    But if they didn''t mobilize and the orcs really came, it could mean the end of their nations. Many kings shuttled anxiously between Kamaran, Gale, and other countries, each sticking to their own opinions, making decisions difficult. As a result, mobilization orders were issued, but soldiers were not required to report immediately; it was more of a long-term quota for reserves.

    At the height of humanity''s verbal battle, a war magic reporter, Burn, unintentionally captured a terrifying sight while filming the fortifications outside Rody City aboard a griffin.

    The orcs had arrived.

    Not only had they arrived, but their tents were also densely packed in the forests, indicating they had been there for more than a day or two.

    While everyone was still engaged in their verbal battle, the orcs were probably laughing secretly. They were less than five hundred kilometers from human kingdoms, but humans were still debating their existence... This reporter, trembling, conveyed the news to his newspaper, but the editor questioned whether he was dreaming. When this terrifying sight was broadcasted, everyone was stunned.

    Never before had so many orcs been seen, nor such well-trained orc armies.

    The orc armies were less than five hundred kilometers from human territories.

    They had bypassed Rody City, the forward outpost in the land of evil, and stealthily moved towards the Human Justice Alliance. From the beginning, the orcs had no intention of attacking the human outpost led by the miraculous boy Rody but chose to bypass him and directly attack the alliance.

    People did not know how the orcs had managed to elude the scouts in the sky and sneak in, but the fact was right before their eyes.

    The miraculous boy Rody''s warning was not wrong; the orcs indeed had an army of several hundred thousand, more, not less, than the estimated half a million. As for the demons, they were yet to be seen, but everyone believed that these terrifying creatures were also lurking somewhere nearby. What frightened people most was that, apart from Kamaran and other ridiculed nations, most were still in a non-war state.

    People soon realized the severity of the situation and panickedly gathered in the streets, seeking hope...

    The temple seemed to panic as well, calling for people to remain calm, promising the Angel Legion would descend to help humanity defeat the orcs. But now, no one was willing to believe the temple''s words; in the war of words, they had gained the upper hand, while the miraculous boy Rody remained silent.

    However, the facts ironically proved that the miraculous boy, who worked silently, was right.

    The numerous accusations and ridicules previously thrown at him now turned into slaps on the accusers¡¯ own faces. People not only felt ashamed but also humiliated. Once again, they had been fooled by the temple. Claims of calm seas, no orcs, and a hundred years of peace, all turned out to be complete lies.

    The one they criticized, the miraculous boy Rody, was correct.

    No, people now realize he has always been right; they just never believed him until the day of regret, when it was too late for remorse!

    Fortress of Saint Song.

    Marshal Torosky was woken up in the middle of the night and was somewhat at a loss facing the situation of hundreds of thousands of orcs pressing in.

    There had been no enemies during the day, but now, waking up at midnight, hundreds of thousands stood before them. Anyone would be frightened and at a loss in such a situation. Countless urgent commands and mobilization orders were issued immediately, but with the speed of the orcs, it would take only two or three days to cover five hundred kilometers. What could be done in such a short time?

    Apart from sighing and complaining, the commanders could do no more...

    With more human aerial scouts conducting reconnaissance, the orcs seemed to realize their whereabouts were exposed and immediately sped up their advance. A group of Blood Flower Axe barbarians with elite axe warriors ran through the night, and by dawn, this army, assisted by giant bats and dragons in the sky, advanced another two hundred kilometers.

    The orcs bypassed several small defense fortresses along the front line.

    They crossed mountains and hills, directly pressing towards the Human Justice Alliance.

    By sunrise, the main orc army had moved forward another fifty kilometers. People discovered their numbers in terror: at least three hundred thousand orc warriors and nearly a hundred thousand half-orc logistics soldiers. No demon soldiers were seen yet, but everyone knew the demons were nearby, moving under their eyes, yet to be found.

    In Rody City, people were preparing for battle tensely.

    The orcs did not attack here but left over fifty thousand of their army to stand off against Rody City''s troops. Their goal was clear: to hold back the miraculous boy''s forces while the main army attacked.

    They feared Rody with his thirty thousand soldiers but not Marshal Torosky with his half a million.

    "Rody, did you know about the orc and demon armies early on? They are right in front of us; why didn¡¯t you warn the world? Is this your revenge for their misunderstanding of you?" a magic reporter questioned Rody.

    "Watch your words!" Stanley grabbed the magic reporter and growled fiercely, "We warned you a month ago!"

    "But at that time¡­ you didn¡¯t say they were only five hundred kilometers away!" the magic reporter said tremblingly.

    "The orcs were indeed two thousand kilometers away at that time, but they have legs and can move. I can¡¯t restrict them to one spot and then show them to everyone, saying, ''Look, these are orcs, they have come!''" Rody snorted, "Would you have believed me then? If you had, you would already be standing behind me. Listen to what my supporting soldiers have to say!"

    "That''s right, we were ready long ago. You fools, it''s too late to cry and wail now!" the soldiers of Kamaran heard and shouted angrily in unison, "There are no orcs, if there were, you¡¯d have put them in an arena to perform like monkeys. Listen, this is what you said!"

    "Let your editor pick fleas off the orcs! Don¡¯t bother us!" Chris waved his hand, ordering the questioning magic reporter to be thrown out.

 Chapter 198: Threat, The Shadow of an Approaching Army

    The orcs were getting closer, with their vanguard only resting for three hours each day, and spending the rest of the time sprinting.

    The distance of five hundred kilometers was not very far for the physically strong orcs. The several defense camps and outposts set up along the way were completely ignored by the orc vanguard. They used flying beasts to traverse the mountain passes and fly over them. By the evening of the second day, the human armies could see the orc vanguard from the Fortress of Saint Song.

    Despite having over three hundred thousand troops in the fortress and another two hundred thousand hastily summoned reinforcements further back, the human army was reluctant to attack. In front of the five thousand orcs, who seemed exhausted from their constant running, even the knights of the temple, including the Holy Knights, shook their heads against immediate combat. They believed it to be a ploy, with the orcs'' best fighters waiting for the humans to leave the city and engage in battle.

    Quentin, the pro-war general, was criticized for not considering the bigger picture.

    The orcs were led by several Blood Flower Axe barbarians and ten Shaman Kings.

    If human soldiers rashly attacked, the knights believed they would likely become the orcs'' dinner that evening.

    Marshal Torosky of Fortress of Saint Song sent out pleas for help in all directions, turning grey overnight, looking a decade older. In history, orc armies had reached the gates of Saint Song City, but never without suffering heavy losses. Even during Marshal Von Desman''s time, the orcs could only roar in frustration under the city walls, having already paid a heavy price, and then retreat unwillingly.

    Now, how could Torosky achieve the same?

    He personally sent distress signals to several major countries, especially the four empires, dispatching trusted envoys.

    If it were not for his need to stabilize morale at the command center in the fortress, he would have personally visited the kings of the four empires. Like Fortress of Saint Song, the Empire of Gale did not take it seriously; their soldiers were just being drafted, and even if they sent troops, it would be at least half a month later. Who could say the orcs would patiently wait for human reinforcements under Saint Song City for half a month? Only a fool!

    The King of Norn was furious at Torosky''s incompetence, cursing him, but eventually agreed to send troops for the sake of humanity''s safety.

    As for Kamaran and Mile, which had been at odds with Torosky, only a few days earlier Marshal Torosky had mocked them as ''Brainless Sea Squirts'' and ''Pretentious Cowards''. Now, when Emperor William II of Kamaran saw the envoy, he directly ordered the guards to throw him out of the palace.

    Empress Mile, being older and more mature than Emperor William II, did not do the same.

    "Go back and tell your Marshal that I do not have the authority to immediately initiate the war preparedness proposal just rejected by the parliament. Whether to send reinforcements or not, the old fellows in the parliament will discuss it overnight. I can only say that if the proposal is passed, I will sign it immediately!" The words of Empress Mile left the envoy in despair, as waiting for a parliamentary discussion meant further delay.

    "Your Majesty, please use the royal prerogative! It''s a time of war and extremely urgent!" the envoy almost cried.

    "I do have that prerogative, but why should I use it? Should I send hundreds of thousands of Mile soldiers to you, Marshal, only for them to be senselessly slaughtered under Saint Song Fortress? Tell me, if I were to use the royal prerogative, why not send the soldiers to Rody City, which has been preparing for so long? There''s the miraculous boy Rody, who terrifies orcs, and there''s a well-trained elite force! And you at Saint Song Fortress, my ministers tell me that just two days ago you were still hosting knightly feasts, ridiculing my affection for Rody as lewd! My heavens, I regard him like a son, but your thoughts are so vile, it disgusts and angers me! What else can you do besides spewing filth?" Empress Mile seemed very angry, with serious consequences.

    "An orc army is attacking, human lives hang in the balance, please, Your Majesty, set aside grievances for now and cooperate against the enemy!" the envoy, an elderly mage, pleaded earnestly.

    "My soldiers are ready, but we have no confidence in Torosky. I''m not willing to send my soldiers to their deaths, nor let them be killed by orcs on the rescue path! If your Marshal can hold out for ten days, then Mile''s soldiers will arrive. But if you cannot, I will order them to turn back and retreat to the second defense line for redeployment. Don¡¯t tell me Saint Song can''t hold out for even ten days; if that¡¯s the case, what can I expect from you?" Empress Mile finally relented for the greater good.

    The envoy calculated that it would indeed take ten days for the Mile army to reach Saint Song in a forced march.

    He initially wanted to ask Empress Mile to send five thousand mages to Saint Song by teleportation, but seeing her displeasure ¨C probably deeply hurt by the knights'' jests about her ''cradle snatching'' with Rody at the previous banquet ¨C he sighed.

    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    A slip of the tongue can cause great harm. If the marshal and knights hadn''t been so arrogant initially, they wouldn''t have angered Empress Mile and King of Kamaran. Now, the two prepared empires were not fully supportive, while the two unprepared empires wanted to support but were too late. One word had ruined the whole situation, and if the orcs knew about this, even the Lionheart King would laugh his head off.

    "Who''s the brainless sea squirt? Us? My God, I thought I was foolish enough, but I never realized there could be someone even more foolish than me! I always said, if you piled up those fools'' ignorance, it would form a wall!" Ivan the Yeoman of Black Night Prince furiously blasted the entirety of Saint Song Fortress in a report.

    "I''m a blind man, living in a world without light, but even I can feel the approach of danger with my heart," the blind author Tiffin sighed to magic reporters.

    "Torosky''s greatest skill besides womanizing is lying! Maybe everyone shouldn¡¯t worry; Torosky can charm the orcs away with his lies, he¡¯s capable of that!" the Kamaran People''s Fast News sarcastically remarked: "People of Kamaran, if we send troops to Saint Song, maybe Torosky will wrap them up as a gift for the orcs. For our sons, for the husbands of our women, for the fathers of our children, we can''t let this tragedy happen! If we send aid, even the idiots picking up stones in the streets thinking they are gold know to send them to Rody City!"

    "Friends, I dare say, if ordinary people spent their lives studying ignorance and stupidity as subjects, they couldn''t reach the level of those in power in Saint Song! I''m shocked that they still have the face to live in this world!" remarked the Dennis Free Union newspaper.

    "I''m heartbroken!" The Holy Maiden expressed her grief through her female guards.

    "Many people are saying Rody is a liar, a fugitive from hell, a spokesperson for the devil," declared the King of Naples furiously. "But the truth tells me he is right! The real big talkers are those who were smug just two days ago. Now, they finally remember me as a friend, and I am delighted they are addressing me with kindness and respect for the first time! But today, I want to tell my people that the soldiers of Naples will not die for the ignorant and arrogant big talkers. They can die in battle, but they must spill their heroic blood under Rody City!"

    "The orc army is pressing down, we should put aside past grievances, unite, and jointly fend off the enemy!" Prince of Norn called for unity.

    "Without Rody in history, humanity defeated orcs countless times. Is it a joke that humanity will perish without him? Rody is just a little brat who rose to power by luck, he is nothing! We firmly believe that the righteous army of Saint Song will triumph under the blessing of angels, just like countless times in history!" nobles of the Redlands Evening News.

    "Gale sends a hundred thousand troops to support Saint Song. Additionally, we protest against the vicious attack on our vassal state, Filik, by unknown human forces at this time. Such acts of division deserve condemnation and eradication by the righteous forces of the world!" the King of Gale once again brought up the Filik war.

    However, at this critical moment, everyone chose to ignore it.

    If it were a normal time, the knights would have sent troops to earn some merit, but now with the orc army pressing down, who has time to bother with Filik''s affairs?

    The orc vanguard didn''t attack but crazily set up camp.

    It seems they''re not planning a strong attack like before but a long-term war of attrition with humans. Orcs, traditionally lacking logistical support and attacking recklessly regardless of casualties, were acting differently today. Are the orcs not lacking food anymore? The generals of Saint Song Fortress repeatedly judged and felt the necessity of a sudden strike, as once the orcs established their position, the arrival of their main force would be a nightmare for the human coalition.

    But as soon as the idea of a strike was proposed, it sparked a huge controversy.

    Most people believed that the orcs were short of food and building camps to lure humans into attacking, using human corpses for food. As long as the human coalition held firm, the orcs would starve to death under the city.

    Moreover, holding out would help in uniting reinforcements from various countries, while attacking was risky.

    The debate was unresolved, with General Quentin, who advocated attacking, feeling that even a blind mole as a commander should send troops at this time. If tens of thousands of orcs arrived, then Saint Song Fortress would be no different from a paper wall. But the temple suspected Quentin and others of collusion with orcs and demons, suggesting stripping them of their military power and sending them to do logistics in the rear.

    Although Torosky had not announced the order, it completely infuriated generals like Quentin, who left with their guards.

    Some went home to express their anger to their kings.

    Others directly teleported to Rody City, preferring to be old soldier captains in Rody City rather than being seen as traitors colluding with orcs and demons in Saint Song. Resisting orcs and demons was their lifelong honor, and they were proud of it. It was unimaginable that after giving their youth and blood, they were met with such vicious and shameless suspicion.

    Saint Song Fortress finally united in voice, and Torosky, driven crazy by the noise, also turned to support and encouragement

    Humans refused to battle, and the 5,000 elite orcs couldn''t make a dent against the 300,000-strong human coalition in front of the towering Saint Song Fortress. Angels also descended, and though the four Power Angels weren''t of much help in the war, they greatly boosted the spirits of the soldiers in Saint Song.

    Five days passed, and reinforcements from various nations began to arrive at Saint Song. Meanwhile, the orc army, delayed by clearing several fortresses and outposts, was still 200 kilometers away. To the delight of many, the orc vanguard seemed to be severely lacking food, with no cooking smoke rising for days, hinting at starvation. Without intervention, these orcs might retreat or die of starvation within ten to fifteen days.

    Torosky, whose ears had been filled with praise, finally had some relief. The newspapers of Redlands and Gale, which had been suppressed by Camaron''s magic press for days, were now buoyed by the turn of events. The human Saint Song Fortress seemed impregnable, but Rody City was in imminent danger.

    The previously unknown demons finally appeared, stationed 30 kilometers from Rody City. The demons, with six demon marshals and 30,000 elite troops, did not bypass Rody City like the orcs but headed straight for it, aiming to annihilate the so-called "human bridgehead" of Rody City and the "hope of humanity," Rody. The combined forces of 50,000 orcs and 30,000 elite demons could oppose 300,000 human troops, but Rody City had only 30,000.

    Many claimed that unless Rody could conjure soldiers from sand, this battle would be his tragic defeat and his last. Inside Rody City, however, the mood was not as the higher-ups of Saint Song Fortress imagined. Instead, every person was high in spirits, believing in Rody''s wisdom, which they felt was equivalent to the strength of 300,000 soldiers.

    General Quentin, along with several generals, arrived in Rody City and was respectfully greeted by Rody, Chris, and others, filling the old generals with pride.

    "The demons have arrived quickly, suggesting a deep connection with the angels¡­" Quentin frowned as soon as he met them.

    "The angels have opened the space-time portal, no wonder they arrived so fast!" Chris smiled, "General, don''t worry, we will give the world a surprise! To prepare this big surprise, Rody and I have been thinking for days."

    "Quick, tell us, I''ve been so anxious these past days!" General Quentin said excitedly.

    "Let''s discuss inside, there might be spies listening outside!" Rody gestured for General Quentin to lead the way, inviting the other generals to the command room for a more private discussion.

 Chapter 199: Shock â€“ Rodys Counterstroke

    Supported by nations like Camaron, Mille, Naples, and Mesnudanian, logistics and troops continuously arrived at Rody City through the magic tower''s teleportation array every day. Mille even sent a thousand magicians to participate in the defense of Rody City.

    As long as this protruding human bridgehead remained unconquered, the orcs and demons could never invade the human mainland with ease. As long as Rody City stood, humanity''s hope would never fade. This place, graced by the presence of the miraculous child Rody, undefeated against the orcs and demons, once led a mere hundred men to victory against tens of thousands of enemies. Now, with the support of great empires like Camaron and Mille and countless human elites, would he continue his undefeated legend against the ferocious orc and demon army?

    The world¡¯s most fearless war correspondents gathered in Rody City, ready to report the battle situation firsthand. As for Saint Song Fortress, aside from correspondents from Gale or Redlands, no one stayed to flatter Torosky. While these magic correspondents were eloquent, praising Torosky, who didn''t dare to send even 10,000 troops against a mere 5,000 orcs, was a difficult task.

    In comparison, the deer eagle cavalry in Rody City, paired in twos, dared to scout the elite demon troops. Although chased by hundreds of black-winged harpies, they returned in disarray, but their courage impressed the war correspondents.

    Rody City, built on a mountain, had a giant lake in the middle, surrounded by mountains. Although not very high, the mountains were almost carved into walls by the concerted efforts of tens of thousands of soldiers, leaving only steep slopes. The only entrance was through the mouth of a canyon. Rody City, now expanded several times, had a broader defense perimeter, but its advantageous high ground, well-prepared defenses, and spirited soldiers gave the visiting war correspondents a sense of security.

    When a demonic envoy arrived, typically to persuade Rody to surrender with rich promises, Rody ignored the messenger. Stanley, along with his soldiers, roared ''dream on,'' and the disheartened demonic envoy left. About an hour later, the demon army formally launched their assault. Elite squads led the soldiers to the top of the mountain city, with various weapons ready for battle. War correspondents followed, using memory crystals to capture the scene, hoping to bring the latest and most comprehensive news to the people.

    The human army appeared dense, but the demon army looked even more terrifying. They had giant monsters, human-faced spiders, demonic lizards, crimson horned pythons, undead creatures like ghouls, hellhounds, zombies, ghosts, dark wizards, vampires, dark knights, and even several zombie dragons and a massive bone dragon. The demon generals, riding huge hellhounds, emitting fire or frost, or riding dragons, looked fierce, hideous, and brutal.

    Seeing the formation of the demon army, everyone was chilled to the bone.

    The dark wizards started chanting evil summoning spells, calling forth countless skeletons and rotting corpses from plague carts, sending these undead towards the steep slopes of Rody City.

    "The demon army is attacking!" The war correspondents panicked, but the elite squads seemed unaffected, almost as if they hadn¡¯t seen the approaching threat.

    The skeletons and rotting corpses reached the base of Rody City''s mountain, the closest soldiers being no more than fifty meters away. Yet, Rody, commanding from the main tent, and the elite squad still gave no order to attack. Many soldiers, although not new to the battlefield, couldn''t help feeling tense, some with slightly trembling fingers or swallowing nervously.

    The war correspondents were terrified, seeing the skeletons and decaying corpses almost climbing up. Why hasn''t the battle started yet? They wondered in horror.

    Attempting to climb the slope, some rotting corpses even dragged their long intestines up nearly ten meters, terrifying the correspondents further. The enemy was about to breach the city, yet there were no orders to attack. What was going on with the Magical Child Rody?

    "Ha, looks like our slope is well-built..." Tommy, after observing for a while, laughed: "No worries, everyone. Go back and rest!"

    "Rest?" the correspondents were dumbfounded.

    "Relax, these skeletons and corpses can''t climb up. The demons are just using them to test us and hope we use up our defense resources like rocks and arrows, making it easier for them to climb. I¡¯ve checked ¨C the first ten meters are climbable, but a charge is impossible. For the next thirty meters, unless they are geckos, it''s impossible to climb! I reckon there won''t be a battle for now. They¡¯ll likely act tonight when their powers are strongest and human vision weakest. You can rest during the day!" Tommy reassured everyone and went off to rest, leaving a few mercenaries on the city wall.

    "Drinking on duty?" A correspondent was shocked to see a mercenary guzzling from a flask.

    "What are you talking about? Making a big fuss over nothing!" The mercenary rolled his eyes and retorted, "It''s water in a flask. I just use it to quench my thirst for a drink. Do you think I''m irresponsible? I''m Guard 1508, Gurid, once awarded for discipline! There¡¯s even a picture of me in the tavern with a quote: ''Drink like Gurid, at the table in the tavern, not sneaking in a tent and then vomiting on duty.''"

    After verifying it was indeed water, the correspondents realized that despite the apparent laxness outside, the discipline in Rody City was extremely strict, far stricter than in Saint Song Fortress.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

    In Saint Song, generals and knights casually drinking at banquets was normal, and soldiers drinking in secret were often just scolded. In contrast, in Rody City, even generals caught drinking would be publicly whipped, indicating severe military discipline.

    Suddenly, the demon army charged. Thousands moved in unison.

    "It''s over, the demons are attacking! Sound the alarm!" The correspondents panicked, shouting out warnings.

    ¡°What¡¯s the hurry!¡± The Gride mercenary first looked nervously for a while, then suddenly burst into laughter and said, ¡°Lord Rody of the city said that the demons will carry out at least three false charges. This is to scare us, no need to be afraid!¡±

    ¡°Is, is this a false charge?¡± The war correspondent couldn¡¯t believe it and asked tremblingly, ¡°Said by Lord Rody of the city?¡±

    ¡°Look how scared you are, wipe off some sweat!¡± Gride, seeing thousands of demons disperse 300 meters away from the city and then circling back to their own formation, also wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, but his face was full of smiles: ¡°The characteristic of the demon''s feint attack is that the army seems to move, but the headquarters does not budge, only a thousand charge forward. Now it looks exactly the same! I have said before, if the demons want to play tricks with our lord, they have to follow behind him and carry his shoes for several years! There are still two more times! Haha! You guys aren''t so scared that you wet your pants, are you?¡±

    ¡°Did Lord Rody really say there would be two more false charges?¡± The war correspondent marveled at Rody¡¯s foresight, wondering how he knew the demons would do this.

    ¡°You go ask the lord! I''m just acting according to orders. Unless the demon¡¯s command tent is dismantled, we can continue to chat leisurely until before dark!¡± Gride had not finished speaking when the demons launched an even larger charge, including flying and ground beasts, densely packed, covering the sky and land, an awe-inspiring sight.

    The war correspondents were so frightened that they were weak in the knees, but this charge again dispersed two hundred meters away.

    Only then did the dozens of war correspondents who risked their lives to come here truly admire Rody. Although the third false charge did not come, everyone was already in awe. What is a miracle boy? This is it! What is the first in strategy? This is it! What is a perfect war? This is it! Without losing a single soldier, waiting at ease, the demons ran back and forth with thousands of men, creating a massive momentum, but in front of the miraculous boy Rody, it was all an early anticipated joke!

    The third charge happened at dusk. The war correspondents were dining, and seeing the demons¡¯ entire combat forces moving, they were again terrified with racing hearts.

    Gride and the other mercenaries also clenched their teeth and persisted, because Rody had said there would be three false charges, and this should be false. But they were not sure, such a full-scale charge, could it be false too? They were ready to ring the alarm at any moment. Gride''s hand was trembling, he wanted to press it immediately, but he dared not really do it. Delaying action is a capital offense, but not following military orders and falsely reporting military information is also a capital offense... Dozens of war correspondents were watching his hand, wanting to urge him to ring the alarm immediately, to prepare all soldiers for battle, but they couldn¡¯t speak.

    Is it better to believe in the miraculous boy Rody, or to report the current situation truthfully?

    There are countless changes on the battlefield, unforeseen previously. If Rody¡¯s estimate is wrong, then this mistake might be the beginning of a nightmare for all humanity!

    ¡°Gride, what are you waiting for? The demons are here!¡± The war correspondents saw the demon vanguard army rushing within a hundred meters, their voices trembling with fear.

    ¡°No, wait a bit longer, the lord will definitely not be wrong! I believe in him, he won''t be wrong!¡± Gride bit his teeth until they bled, but his trembling hand never rang the alarm. In the city, countless dining soldiers were also startled by the noise, each putting down their food, standing solemnly, waiting for the alarm to ring. In this critical period, the mercenaries still chose to believe, astonishing the war correspondents.

    Finally, when the demons almost touched the city walls of Rody city, they stopped the charge, and most retreated.

    The Dark Knights angrily turned the skeletons and decaying corpses that were still climbing at the foot of Rody city, unable to climb any higher, into minced meat and bone debris. They felt angry, especially seeing the eyes of the mercenaries on the city walls, feeling immense shame. The enemy was completely unmoved, all their previous efforts becoming a joke. This situation, so devastating, had never been tried in human battles before.

    Humans, upon seeing the demons, would always panic and launch an immediate assault, allowing the demons to mockingly swat away their feeble arrows from a great distance. Now, not a single arrow was shot from above, yet the gazing looks of contempt from above were even more unbearable for the demons than the arrows, piercing right through to their souls.

    ¡°Give me some water to drink, I, I really almost wet my pants just now!¡± Some war correspondents, seeing the demons retreat, sat down on the ground, some gulping water, some vigorously patting their chests. An elderly correspondent took a deep breath and said, ¡°I feel a bit ashamed, just now, I doubted the miraculous boy''s judgment. We, we almost spoiled everything! Thankfully, thankfully¡­¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s okay, we also wavered just now, but in the end, we still believed in Lord Rody. He is the miraculous boy, he can''t be wrong!¡± The mercenaries, including Gride, were also drenched in sweat, looking as if they had been fished out of water, but their faces beamed with pride, especially when mentioning ¡®our lord¡¯.

    ¡°Elite squad, form up!¡± A person emerged from the main camp tent beneath the city, it was Rody himself, who shouted loudly, ¡°The enemy''s morale has plummeted, it''s the perfect time for us to strike. Let¡¯s give those demons an unforgettable dusk. Come on! My brothers, let the demons tremble just hearing you, the human elites, and let''s show these fools what an effective charge is!¡±

    ¡°Rody, victorious!¡± The elite squad, though only a hundred or so in number, roared with a voice that could shake the heavens and the earth.

    ¡°Victory¡­ Long live the lord!¡± Tens of thousands of soldiers, though not called by Rody for battle, were also boiling with excitement, shouting in unison.

    ¡°One hundred elites are going to pursue and attack? Oh my god¡­ the miraculous boy, this is the miraculous boy! Friends worried in the rear, open your eyes wide and see, what kind of pride we humans have! We have the miraculous boy Rody! We have the hope of humanity!¡± The elderly war correspondent, excited and flushed, shouted to the recording mage, ¡°Quick, film this, this is a historic precious moment, don¡¯t focus on this old man, aim there, towards the miraculous boy, now is the time for the young¡­¡±

    ¡°The war drums, beat them!¡± The one personally beating the Orcish war drums to amplify the momentum was General Quentin.

    ¡°Elite squad, target the lagging demon soldiers, kill!¡± Rody leaped down from the city walls, holding a giant black blade for slaying horses, pouncing on the lagging demon monsters and ghouls.

    ¡°Kill! Kill! Kill¡­¡± Led by Chris, the elite squad, each bursting with fighting spirit, flew down.

    Countless soldiers rushed to the city walls, countless eyes watching. Under the thunderous drumming, over a hundred human elites dove into the midst of the lagging demon army. Just like their previous battles, although the demons were elite forces, most chose to temporarily avoid and retreat due to plummeting morale. The few Dark Knights who met them head-on, and the Dark Wizards ordered to counterattack, were all slain by Rody and Chris.

    Huge explosions erupted in the demon battlefield, sending up thick smoke into the sky.

    A wall of fire rapidly ignited in the lagging demon camp, erupting violently from the ground, cutting off more than two thousand demon soldiers at the rear.

    The command tent of the demon''s rear command post rang out with the shrill sound of magical alarm bells. However, they were not for launching a rescue attack, but to prohibit attack and form a steel defense to prevent a human army surprise attack. Three of the six demon marshals appeared, roaring orders for the troops to quickly regroup. As for the more than two thousand soldiers cut off by the magical flames, they could only watch in pain as Rody and his elite squad slaughtered them like cutting vegetables.

    Faced with the human miraculous boy, although they saw only a hundred or so pursuing elites, they dared not sortie to rescue, fearing a trap.

    Because their opponent was the miraculous boy, Rody, who has never lost and always triumphed over his enemies.

 Chapter 200: Contrast, Troski and Rody

    ¡°Miraculous boy Rody, dare you fight a decisive battle with me!¡± A demon general, covering the rear, rode a Flame Nightmare Beast over the fire wall, roaring loudly in challenge.

    ¡°I don¡¯t talk to little bugs!¡± Rody ignored the demon general in front of him, his voice, transmitted through magic, resonated across the entire battlefield: ¡°I have nothing to say to you. If you surrender now, I might consider reading out our ten articles about war prisoners and slaves, as well as the terms for paying a hefty ransom.¡±

    ¡°Rody, although you have slightly more troops than us demons now, you are not stronger in terms of power!¡± A Ghost Eye Demon Marshal, riding forward a hundred meters, said.

    ¡°We humans have the advantage of intelligence, unity, and the spirit of sacrifice. Each of our warriors is determined to face death, resisting invasion with an unyielding shout from the heart, a righteous self-defense. Thus, we can rightfully slay each of you invaders, burying you here. Your ended lives will all become our collective human triumph, our honor, and pride!¡± Rody replied with a light smile: ¡°We believe in our abilities and in the ultimate victory. And you, from the moment you emerged from the portal, were destined to die a miserable death in a foreign land. Do you think you, mere pawns in war, will live to return home? No, even if you, the foolish, fight bloody battles with us, others will eventually step over your corpses as trophies of their victory.¡±

    ¡°Bravo!¡± The elderly war correspondent jumped up excitedly. Only this miraculous boy could speak such words in front of the demons!

    ¡°Long live humanity! Victory, victory, victory!¡± The soldiers of Rody city raised their weapons, erupting in a thunderous roar.

    ¡°As long as we conquer your place, the entire continent will be flattened by us demons. You will all become our slaves, or be gnawed clean by our ghouls, leaving no bone behind!¡± Another Horned Demon Marshal loudly retorted.

    ¡°You know how to say, ¡®as long as¡¯... Haha, what a ridiculous phrase. There''s a beggar in the capital of Noren who says, ''as long as'' he gets a chance to drink the magical spring water of Mire, he will definitely become an outstanding great magician! Ah, people believe him, but no one believes he can live to reach the Mire Empire! ''As long as'', such a heart-breaking word... There was a blacksmith in Camalon who said, ''as long as'' he had the best magic crystals and materials, he could forge the sharpest sword in the world. But in reality, he couldn¡¯t even forge four identical horseshoes.¡± Rody burst into laughter upon hearing this: ¡°As a Demon Marshal, you can''t just have a mouth like a ghoul; otherwise, I''m worried for you.¡±

    ¡°What? Damn it!¡± The Horned Demon Marshal became furious, but deeply concerned, he dared not advance to fight Rody.

    In front of Rody, the demon general riding the Flame Nightmare Beast, just as he raised his magic blade, stiffly fell to the ground. The beast, which usually spreads fear of life, changed its usual ferocious and fiery temperament, becoming very tame or extremely cowardly, lowering its head, with flames from its nose becoming very small, its tail swaying uneasily.

    A Nightmare Beast recognizes only one master in its life, not out of loyalty, but pride. Unless it is raised from a young age or bound by a contract, Nightmare Beasts never allow any other creatures to approach them. This pride is common in powerful creatures; the more powerful they are, the more apparent it is, just like dragons or golden lions.

    Although the Nightmare Beast under the demon general was not the highest tier, its appearance on the battlefield would usually cause most horses and human soldiers to panic, their hearts pounding as they scattered in all directions. Just moments ago, it charged fiercely, but in less than a few seconds, this Nightmare Beast abandoned its master, bowing its head in submission before Rody...

    No one knew what method Rody used, but the people in Rody City had already begun to cheer eagerly.

    The demon soldiers were slightly agitated upon seeing this scene. Not just the ordinary soldiers, even the Demon Marshals felt a chill in their hearts. If killing a Nightmare Beast required effort, they could do it, but to tame an enemy''s Nightmare Beast so easily on the battlefield, such a feat, even the Demon King would not dare to boast.

    The miraculous boy Rody, indeed the most formidable and troublesome enemy of humanity.

    At this moment, an invisible fear was planted in the hearts of all demons, a fear they had never experienced before facing humans.

    Contrary to the mindset of the demon soldiers, the soldiers and magic reporters of Rody City were excited to the point of tears. Although they had heard and even seen recordings of Rody leading battles, no one had ever witnessed it firsthand, felt it in person. At this moment, they finally realized what a proud and glorious thing it was to follow the miraculous boy Rody, to fight side by side with him.

    A sense of superiority, never felt before, swelled to its limit at this moment.

    Humans are a powerful race, a race that reigns supreme above all, not just ¡®two-legged sheep¡¯ to be slaughtered by orcs at any time, or bloody sacrifices for the mass rituals of demons...

    Hundreds of demons, unable to escape, were being slaughtered everywhere by the elite squad, forced to huddle together, screaming and howling.

    They hoped the Demon Marshals would counter-charge to save them.

    But the Demon Marshals, fearing a trap, exchanged glances and decided to abandon this small group of demon soldiers. They would rather see these incompetent soldiers slain by Rody and his elite squad than fall for another of Rody''s tactics. No one doubted that if the demons charged, this battle would likely turn into a nightmare, the demons¡¯ advantage in strength would be greatly diminished, eventually ending in a tragic fate like those previous demon orcs, becoming a grand victory recorded in human epic biographies, and a legend joyously discussed in everyday life.

    ¡°Soul, Judgment!¡± Rody¡¯s incantation was very simple, generally understandable by people.

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    Many magicians could do this, but casting spells without chanting, not praying to gods, not drawing magic symbols, not standing in a magic circle, not using a wand, etc., all affect the power of magic.

    Rody had a wand, one carved from green sandalwood, but it was an artifact, not a combat tool.

    Now, wielding this artifact wand, he casually waved it, scattering a swath of golden light. Hundreds of demon soldiers, surrounded by the elite squad, all howled in agony, a pain so intense it was unbearable to hear. Ghouls clawed at their own chests with sharp nails, human-faced spiders spewed green poison from their mouths, demon monsters crazily smashed their heads against the ground, some bashing their heads with huge clubs... The undead knights took their skeletal heads off their necks, wildly hacking with swords.

    The Dark Wizards, all emitted a mournful scream, akin to the wailing of ghosts.

    As for those ghosts draped in filthy rags, they let out strange screams, white smoke rising from their clothes, slowly fading away.

    If an angel were to cast a holy light, or chant a sacred magic to dispel the undead, it would cause great pain to the demons, but it''s incomparable to this soul judgment. The soul judgment in front of them is a thousand times, ten thousand times more terrifying than the tortures inflicted by the demon lords in hell. Witnessing Rody carrying out the soul judgment, tens of thousands of demons, accustomed to blood and horror, were scared into retreating dozens of meters.

    Demons possess great power and almost fear nothing, but they are terrified of the extinction of their souls. They were relieved that the Demon Marshal didn¡¯t rashly order a charge, otherwise, it would be themselves who were wailing. Hundreds of demons were torturing themselves, hoping to alleviate the pain of the soul judgment through physical suffering, but it was utterly futile¡­ The vampire ghosts were the first to perish, twisting and crashing aimlessly in the sky, screaming helplessly. The only ones who didn''t retreat were the three Demon Marshals. They too were utterly shocked; this miraculous boy Rody knew the soul magic that most troubled the demons, and moreover, he was a king-level mage, no wonder he dared to counter-charge with only a hundred men.

    ¡°Rody, you are powerful, but we are not weak either. You have soul judgment, we have dark sacrifices!¡± said the Ghost Eye Demon Marshal: ¡°I admire your wisdom and strength, but the human soldiers standing behind you are your burden.¡±

    ¡°We will definitely conquer Rody City, definitely, but not today!¡± The central Demon Marshal, who had been silent, ordered a full retreat as soon as he spoke.

    ¡°Come on! I can tell you frankly, we are not concerned about tens of thousands of demons. Humans will surely win. If one day the demons conquer this human bastion, then I swear, I will lead troops into hell, as a reciprocal gesture. Our human attitude is this: friends come, there is good wine; wolves come, there are hunting rifles. Demon soldiers, we are waiting for you in the city, welcoming you with bows and spears!¡± Rody laughed heartily, then turned and walked away, ignoring the Demon Marshals.

    The demon general who lay stiff on the ground suddenly moved. He raised his blade of darkness and, amidst the screams of the people, ferociously struck at Rody.

    Everyone was stunned.

    The demons¡¯ soldiers were overjoyed, but in an instant, their smiles froze like glaciers. Because the Flame Nightmare Beast, which had just been ridden by the demon general, opened its mouth wide, angrily spewing a burst of explosive flames at the general, then reared up high, trampling heavily on the back of its former master, burying the demon general deep into the ground.

    ¡°...¡±

    ¡°I, I''m fainting!¡±

    Not only the demons¡¯ soldiers¡¯ eyeballs, but even the human soldiers¡¯ eyes were all on the ground.

    How could this be possible? The beast, that was just being ridden by its former master, suddenly attacked in anger. Even if it was a betrayal, even if it was loyally protecting its new master, it shouldn¡¯t be like this, right? What exactly did Rody do? To make the Nightmare Beast so tame? To instantly turn it into his war beast?

    People looked at the hundreds of demons in agony, self-mutilating and rolling on the ground, at the demon general in pain, twitching with half his body buried in the ground, at the Nightmare Beast following Rody like a docile lamb, at the tearless expressions of tens of thousands of demons, at the fear in their eyes never seen before, and suddenly, excitement surged from the bottom of their hearts. In silence, they burst out, everyone rushing to embrace each other, old soldiers with tears streaming down their faces, young soldiers cheering and jumping...

    ¡°Long live Rody! Long live the elite squad! Long live humanity!¡±

    ¡°Victory, victory, victory!¡±

    In the soldiers'' eyes, demons were no longer fearsome, no longer strong, no longer an unstoppable force. They too can die, suffer, wail, and fear.

    Just as the elite squad flew onto the city walls, before they could even speak, they were surrounded by soldiers. People eagerly lifted them up and threw them into the air, cheering for them wholeheartedly.

    When Rody returned, the elderly war correspondent rushed to him like an arrow, embracing him tightly, tears streaming down his face: ¡°Seeing the demons wailing before us, I have no regrets in death. I have been a war correspondent for decades, always hoping that one day humans could stand proudly in front of the orcs and demons, cheering, while the enemy sheds tears in despair... Now, I have seen it, I have seen it! Thank you, this day is the happiest day of my life as a war correspondent, my youth spent in this evil forest, but seeing today''s victory, even if I die, I have no regrets¡­¡±

    ¡°Mr. Uso, I¡¯ve heard about you from Marshal Fendesman, you too are a hero of humanity, a brave historical hero who reports the truth!¡± Rody also embraced the elderly war correspondent, smiling: ¡°You are our predecessor, a role model for us to learn from, just like Marshal Fendesman!¡±

    ¡°If Marshal could see this scene, how happy he would be¡­¡± War correspondent Uso sobbed like a child.

    That night, seeing the live broadcast of the battle, the people of Camalon skipped dinner and went straight to the streets to celebrate.

    Different nations across the continent celebrated in their own ways.

    Some neutral countries or federations began to waver, believing that the miraculous boy was indeed miraculous. Troski, despite his hundreds of thousands of troops, disappointingly let thousands of starving orcs be blocked at the Fortress of Saint Song.

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to dampen the mood of celebration, but I must speak up, I must play the fool. When the miraculous boy led the elite squad to victory, what was our iron-fisted Marshal doing? People have the right to know this. Why does the miraculous boy Rody, facing tens of thousands of demons with only a hundred men, dare to counter-charge, while our Fortress of Saint Song, with nearly four hundred thousand troops, facing a few thousand starving orcs, cowers like a turtle? Our taxes and food are not for raising turtles! Our human lives cannot be entrusted to a bunch of fools and cowards¡­¡± Dennis Free Union Express, having been fooled by the temple and Saint Song¡¯s superiors last time, completely sided with Rody, fiercely criticizing the temple and the fortress daily.

    ¡°Do something, anything! Even if it''s just for a picnic! Besides holding your ground, can¡¯t you tell me some new plans? Get out, I''m tired of excuses!¡± This was not said by His Majesty William II of Camalon, but by the King of Noren, furiously scolding.

    Considering people''s complaints and anger, and discovering that the orcs below the city were really starving, Troski, after overnight consideration and convening three knight-noble assemblies, decided to launch a surprise attack on the orc camp. Worrying that the battle scene might not be exciting, he did not invite magic reporters to record the operation, but had it filmed internally, editing the most exciting parts before broadcasting them to the world.

    Twenty thousand elites and thousands of temple warriors, hundreds of temple knights, five hundred attack mages, and ten thousand griffin riders, even two strength angels to boost morale. With such a force comparison, and it being a surprise attack against starving orcs, Troski felt that even without swords, just the soles of their feet could crush the enemy.

    He donned a golden armor, personally commanding from atop the city walls, having the army''s mages record his most imposing appearance.

    When he saw human soldiers stealthily approaching the orc camp, with the enemy still soundly asleep, unaware, a smile finally appeared on his lips. He seemed to see the dawn of victory, imagined the Pope personally awarding him, saw kings who had previously criticized him raising their glasses in celebration, envisioned generals moved to embrace him, saw those contemptible commoners who had doubted him changing their faces to flatter him, especially those magic reporters who had run to Rody City, all coming back to congratulate him...

    What a wonderful imagination!

    ¡°Our elite troops struck, annihilating over a thousand orcs, showing the world that orcs are not invincible!¡± The next day, the noble Duke''s newspaper in Galle published an extensive report with numerous pictures as proof. The orc camp was on fire, humans dominated the attack, and Marshal Troski commanded imposingly.

    ¡°This is a great victory! If one adjective could describe this victory, it would be ¡®perfect¡¯,¡± reported the Redlands National Express.

    ¡°Troski is not like some frivolous youngster, who kills a few hundred and then gets overly proud. What is the art of command? That boy doesn¡¯t understand it, he¡¯s too young!¡± Cardinal of Saint Duri published an editorial.

    ¡°My God, this is the biggest lie in history. As a human, I am ashamed!¡± Old war correspondent Uso distributed a video to countries around the world, reportedly shot by the orc Shaman King and then given to Rody to embarrass humanity. It''s said that after the soldiers in Rody City watched it, ninety-nine out of a hundred cried uncontrollably, and the remaining one fainted from anger!

    What, then, is the actual truth?

 Chapter 201: The Truth, A Shocking Scandal for Humanity

    The story begins the day before the human attack on the orc camp. Under the magic recording of the memory crystal, people could clearly see a mage wearing a cloak and a golden mask stealthily infiltrating the orc''s front-line camp. Unexpectedly, this golden-masked mage was not attacked by the Bloodflower Axeman or the Shaman Witch King but was instead invited into their tent.

    The magical recording secretly captured all of this, and everyone who saw the recording thought they were going mad. Because this golden-masked mage began negotiating with the orcs.

    He offered food, gold, magic crystals, and women in exchange, negotiating with the orc leader, the Bloodflower Axeman Guleide. He said the higher-ups agreed to give the orcs ten thousand tons of food, three thousand pounds of gold, a thousand fifth-level magic crystals, and five hundred women, on the condition that the orcs retreat. The Bloodflower Axeman was tempted by the offer, but Guleide still flatly refused.

    ¡°I know you''re short of food, and you can''t last much longer. If you agree to my boss''s terms, you can get the resources you plundered without sacrificing a single soldier, achieving your invasion goals. Why not take it?¡± the golden-masked mage persuaded.

    ¡°No, we orcs value honor! Even though we would have the resources, our honor is not fulfilled,¡± Bloodflower Axeman Guleide shook his head.

    ¡°Don''t you want to claim some heads to present to your Lionheart King? That''s easy, we''ll send out a thousand slave soldiers to a designated location for you to kill. You can take their heads to appease your Lionheart King. I know you''re intimidated by the majesty of the Lionheart King, but with our help, defeating him and seizing the orc throne is also very likely. We humans have more powerful beings than you orcs, and we are adept at strategy and assassination!¡± the golden-masked mage enticed.

    ¡°Hey, don¡¯t think just because you assassinated the miraculous boy Rody you can boast to the heavens! Our Lionheart King is one of the three great Axe Saints, and the Queen is also an Axe Saint. The combined power of two Axe Saints can flatten a nation. Do you think mere third-rate assassins can harm the Lionheart King? What a joke! Among the eight marshals, six Axe Kings are from the lion and tiger tribes. Just based on that, we''re a hundred years away from challenging the Lionheart King! Stop persuading us to do the unthinkable, we orcs don¡¯t daydream!¡± the leading Shaman Witch King scoffed, rolling his eyes dismissively.

    ¡°Messenger, you¡¯d better say something useful. Anlinnaf Witch King is right, stop talking about being disloyal to the Lionheart King, otherwise, we''ll tear you to pieces!¡± Guleide was also very angry, as he himself was a lion orc.

    ¡°Forget it, talking to this guy is useless, let¡¯s cook him!¡± one of the Bloodflower Axeman drooled.

    ¡°Right, right, right, we haven¡¯t eaten for so long!¡± the other Bloodflower Axemen eagerly agreed.

    ¡°Wait a minute¡­¡± the golden-masked mage, scared, quickly produced a large amount of meat and wine from his storage ring, diverting the hungry Bloodflower Axeman''s attention. While they feasted, the golden-masked mage took the opportunity to persuade them, not only including lucrative conditions but also military intelligence about Rody City. He even said that if the orcs agreed to retreat, the Human Justice Alliance of the Saint Song Fortress would definitely not assist Rody City. When the orcs kill the miraculous boy Rody, the Alliance would additionally gift the orcs a thousand pounds of gold and five hundred fifth-level magic crystals.

    Finally, with his excellent eloquence, the orcs agreed to retreat and vacate the camp, cooperating with the human army to stage a show, but with the original terms doubled.

    The two sides signed a divine covenant in a friendly conversation. The orc leaders swore by the Beast God to retreat, allowing the human army to burn the camp tents and chase them, staging a grand defeat. The Human Justice Alliance, in the name of the God of Light, swore to provide twenty thousand tons of food, six thousand pounds of gold, two thousand fifth-level magic crystals, and a thousand women. They also agreed to send out a thousand slave soldiers for the orc elites to kill, to answer to the Lionheart King.

    Thus, the story of the following night unfolded. The memory crystal recorded everything, and the content matched closely with what the Saint Song Alliance announced to the world.

    The content showed human troops stealthily approaching the camp, then setting fires everywhere, burning tents, with deafening shouts and killing noises. Of course, in the memory crystal of the orcs, there wasn¡¯t a single soldier in the camp, only ten Bloodflower Axemen and ten Shaman Witch Kings waiting for the golden-masked mage. The golden-masked mage, leading several similarly dressed iron-masked mages, arrived first, and after a brief conversation, paid the gold and magic crystals.

    ¡°What about the food and women? Are you playing with us? You humans must know, our soldiers are still starving. If we don''t see the food, we won¡¯t retreat,¡± Guleide said.

    ¡°Just one roar from me, and five thousand orc warriors will turn you all into cooked meat in the pot!¡± Anlinnaf Witch King even threatened.

    ¡°The food and women are in another place, it¡¯s inconvenient to talk here. Come with us! Not a single grain of food or a single woman less, I assure you¡¯ll be satisfied!¡± the golden-masked mage said this as brave human knights were escorting half-orc slaves or captured wild men into the camp, slaying them mercilessly. Some mages, using memory crystals, captured the angles perfectly, showing human knights killing orc warriors, soldiers cheering while tossing orc heads.

    ¡°You can only act, what else can you do?¡± Guleide spat, seeing knights wiping blood on themselves for a heroic photo shoot.

    ¡°Don''t mind them. Humans and orcs have different ideals. We seek peace, you seek resources. Please lead your soldiers to retreat as per the contract! Once you withdraw fifty kilometers away, we will provide the food and women. Of course, please leave some items behind, make it look like a rout¡­¡± the golden-masked mage requested.

    ¡°You''re bluffing, how could our brave soldiers be defeated! Impossible, we must maintain formation in our retreat, otherwise, we fight!¡± Some Bloodflower Axemen firmly disagreed.

    ¡°Wait, fighting is not an option. Hurry up the retreat, and leave the rest to us,¡± the golden-masked mage persuaded: ¡°Think about it! Orc leaders, food and women are right ahead of you, don''t you want to get them quickly? With gold and magic crystals, the Lionheart King won¡¯t blame you, and with women and food, you can return to enjoy a good life, why suffer and bleed under Saint Song Fortress?¡±

    ¡°Retreat is fine, but if we don¡¯t see the women and food fifty kilometers away, those show-off soldiers will all become our dinner!¡± Guleide agreed.

    So, the orc soldiers ran far ahead, with the Human Justice Alliance¡¯s troops slowly chasing behind. The leading troops occasionally dropped orc flags, beast-skin clothes, ropes, wooden clubs, and damaged axes prepared in advance, even blood-stained half-orc claws, then the mages in the army took many photos. People saw these items in newspapers, never imagining that the trophies of human victory were captured in such a manner.

    The human army pursued for thirty kilometers, then stopped. The knights busied themselves wiping blood, taking imposing photos.

    All the participating soldiers were given gold coins and wine, celebrating the victory.

    Guleide and the other orc leaders were present the whole time, waiting for the promised food and women from the golden-masked mage. Some Bloodflower Axemen repeatedly threatened that if the delivery wasn''t quick, they would kill those proud knights, as they couldn''t stand the nauseating photoshoot. One of the Shaman Witch Kings secretly recorded everything, the orcs had planned to shame humanity from the start, documenting everything.

    In the middle of the night, while the human coalition celebrated their victory, the golden-masked mage led the orc leaders to a valley.

    Inside were carts full of food and women in cages.

    There were also about a thousand slave soldiers escorting the food and women, completely unaware of what was happening, and were surrounded by thousands of orcs, fainting from fear.

    ¡°Kill, kill these incompetent humans!¡± Some Bloodflower Axemen showed a bloodthirsty desire for slaughter.

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    ¡°You fool, get out of the way! What do you know? This is a disgrace to all humanity. If we kill them, there will be no evidence left. We must use them to shame humanity, to shame the miraculous boy Rody who defeated us time and again... If you don¡¯t understand, just get out of the way! The Lionheart King has already said, we''ll take the food, but these slaves and women are to be used in an exchange with Rody!¡± Anlinnaf Witch King scolded.

    ¡°Miraculous boy Rody, this is our grand gift to you. Hahaha, if you want these women and slaves back, it''s simple. Just promise us that you won''t rescue the Saint Song Alliance, and we''ll return a thousand slaves to you. Promise us that you won''t be the commander of the Human Alliance, and we''ll give you another thousand women! Think about it, miraculous boy Rody! Our demands aren¡¯t much, we always respected and feared you. But if you refuse, we''ll mercilessly eat these slaves you abandoned and violate these vulnerable women. Now, the lives of more than two thousand humans are in your hands. Think carefully, miraculous boy, we hope to hear your agreement... Finally, congratulations on defeating the demons, although we warned them early, but the self-proclaimed clever demons, as expected, were defeated by your hands. Haha, we are delighted that after patiently waiting, we got the opportunity to negotiate with you, all thanks to the Saint Song Alliance! Let human stupidity intensify! This is what we most love to see¡­¡± The voice of Guleide Axeman, like countless slaps, each word struck harshly on the faces of all human viewers, causing pain from their faces to their hearts, and into their souls.

    Such disgrace had never occurred in human history.

    Humans can lose battles, die in battles.

    But they cannot shamelessly beg orcs, deceive themselves, allow clumsy orcs to perfectly use their schemes against humans, and especially cannot trade their dignity and kin for superficial honor.

    Betraying the dignity of all humanity for apparent victory, such acts of deceiving the world and faking cannot be forgiven, let alone when such false glory, touted and celebrated, is built on the lives of a thousand slaves and a thousand women. Trading food for retreat, gold and magic crystals for temporary peace, slaves and women for false honor, using intelligence and plots for persecution... All these shameless actions left the viewers feeling as if the world was falling apart, completely dumbfounded.

    ...

    Throughout the night, the people of Camalon protested against everything that happened in the Saint Song Alliance.

    People tore the magic newspapers that published the victorious images of Marshal Troski in golden armor, made effigies of Troski for people to beat and burn, and even the flags of the Justice Alliance were trampled by millions before being thrown into the fire. Enraged, people howled to enlist in the army, to attack the Saint Song Alliance, to raze the once-prideful fortress to the ground!

    Overnight, the Fortress of Saint Song became the city of shame for humanity.

    The soldiers inside, who deceived the world, also became objects of hatred.

    The great sages of the Rody Academy, sitting in front of the ¡®Twin Stars¡¯ statue of Rody and the Black Night Prince, wept uncontrollably. Even in the most desperate times, these sages never lost faith and hope in humanity, always smiling and encouraging others. But at that moment, they felt utterly disgraced by humanity''s loss of dignity, weeping for the fate shamelessly betrayed by the superiors...

    Almost simultaneously, protests of varying degrees erupted in different countries, with angry mobs smashing shops and setting fires.

    Houses of knights recognized in the videos were destroyed, and many related to the videos ¨C families, shops, embassies, even temples ¨C were all targeted by the furious public.

    ¡°I deeply apologize to the world, for having a shameless son. From today, he is no longer my son. If I see this ugly and sinful guy again, I will kill him myself! The pride of my family for five hundred years, he ruined it overnight... I offer a reward of a hundred gold coins, whoever kills Dereklo and brings his head, I''ll immediately give them a hundred gold coins, and even gift them my sword, a true honor sword stained with orc blood.¡± Old knight of the Stine family, spitting blood in anger, issued a death bounty for his son in the magic newspaper.

    ¡°Seeing today''s news, I feel like I must be drunk or maybe, I''m going mad!¡± the usually abstinent Federal Chief Justice announced his resignation.

    ¡°Retreat, if anyone dares take another step towards the Saint Song Alliance, I''ll chop off his legs! I''d rather cut off my soldiers'' legs than see them recognized as soldiers of the Saint Song Alliance, which is more disgraceful than a brand on a mule''s backside. Damn it, how could I believe the envoy''s persuasion and send my soldiers to support the Saint Song Alliance? I must have taken the wrong medicine¡­¡± Queen Mire made her first public apology.

    ¡°I can¡¯t believe it, it hurts my heart!¡± The saint decided to no longer go to the Saint Song Alliance to save the wounded and dying.

    ¡°No more explanations, I''ve had enough! How much longer do you intend to fool me? Before my people attack my palace, get out immediately, or else, I''ll tie you up and throw you in the square to let the angry people tear you apart! Although I really want to do this, as a king, and you as envoys, I will spare your lives¡­ Get out now, I never want to see you again!¡± King Noren furiously waved his sword, chopping half of his throne to show the shame of listening to slander.

    ¡°I''m speechless, there are people in the world more shameless than me!¡± exclaimed the leader of the anti-human terrorist organization, Nuladeng.

    ¡°This is crazier than a nun getting pregnant!¡± exclaimed the elderly mother superior of the Sister Baptism Association.

    ¡°Saint Song Alliance, it was a pleasure working with you!¡± Orc Guleide sent a public magical signal.

    ¡°Well done, this is the first piece of good news I''ve heard since Rody defeated me. Keep it up, Troski, you''re cut out for this job!¡± The demon Ghost Eye Demon Marshal sent a sarcastic congratulation via the underground thief guild.

    ¡°A day ago, I was a guilt-ridden deserter. My wife was constantly in tears due to my cowardice and neighbors'' accusations. Today she kissed me passionately, saying it was the most brilliant and correct decision of my life. My neighbors came to shake hands and embrace me in the middle of the night. I''m happy that everyone''s opinion of me has completely changed, but honestly, I feel like crying!¡± Baron Yawen, who avoided military service by paying a large sum of money following his mother''s advice, expressed his feelings.

    ¡°Look, our iron-fisted Marshal has also dispatched troops, haha, he''s victorious! He defeated the orcs, killing more than a thousand half-orc slaves and wild men, no, orc elite axemen, right in front of ten Bloodflower Axemen and Shaman Witch Kings, look how imposing! And look, there, the human justice army driving the orcs into a rout, discarding armor and weapons, let''s cheer, all these clubs, beast skins, and broken axes on the ground, these trophies, how proud we should be! As for the slaves and women, let''s ignore them! Rody will rescue them, we don''t have to worry about that, and the food too, what''s twenty thousand tons? Just a trifle, Troski handed out forty thousand tons to beggars the other day with a flick of his hand. In his eyes, orcs are even less than beggars... What? You want to ask who the golden-masked mage is? No, how could such a person exist in the world! You must be mistaken, I dare say, he''s definitely not Cardinal Saint Duri, no, of course not, just because he looks a bit like him and sounds like him, can you confirm it''s him? This is obviously insufficient evidence, if you can find this golden mask in Saint Duri''s bedside table, then I''ll believe you! However, I guess Cardinal Saint Duri wouldn''t be so foolish as to keep the golden mask in his bedside table!¡± Dennis Free Union Express sarcastically commented and boldly speculated that the golden-masked mage was Cardinal Saint Duri.

    ¡°This is a slander, an evil defamation against me and the temple, I protest!¡± Cardinal Saint Duri personally protested.

    ¡°Would the Bishop please open his bedside table¡­¡± This was the rapid response of the Dennis Free Union Express after being warned by the temple.

    ¡°Marshal Troski, it seems you should say something.¡± Naples Report.

    ¡°Despicable orcs used illusion magic to fake this farce, aiming to undermine our confidence in the Saint Song Human Alliance. They were defeated by the justice army and are now trying to save face with this tactic. Only fools would believe such nonsense!¡± Redlands Nobility Report.

    ¡°We are all fools, compared to Marshal Troski, we would rather believe in orcs,¡± declared Ivan Yef, the ''lowly servant'' of the Black Night Prince.

    ¡°Alright, I need to write a poem to celebrate the great victory of humanity, especially the peace hard-earned by the golden-masked mage. Ah, he came gently, just as he left gently, waving his sleeve, not taking a single cloud with him... Let me dedicate this poem with a sincere heart to Cardinal Saint Duri, who does good deeds without seeking fame, may his divine light continue to shine on the land of humanity,¡± poet Warrenburn sarcastically remarked.

    ¡°A duel, I want to duel with that dog of a Cardinal Saint Duri, no one stop me!¡± the most polite sage of Landon cursed barefoot in the street for three hours.

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention Saint Song, Troski or Saint Duri to me, I feel like vomiting just hearing it,¡± King William II erupted in anger.

    ¡°We are fools, la la la, send our sons and women to Troski''s house, let him pack them off to orcs for peace, haha, we are all big fools, la la la!¡± Morning Newspaper of Mesbustania.

    ¡°Today, I first rushed into the editor''s room and punched him hard, because this guy, who curses me every day, actually made me publish the victory news of Saint Song, and I really did it for the damn salary. That damned guy, before he woke up, I wrote down my anger, but it was hard, I broke five quill pens, tore up ten drafts, smashed three desks, and even threw two ink bottles downstairs, finally calming down a bit. If I had a sword in hand, I''d have to kill someone first to be completely calm. I want to curse everything about the Saint Song Alliance, but me, known for my sharp tongue, couldn¡¯t find the words, because all the curse words I know can''t describe and accurately portray that ugliness and conspiracy. Now, I suggest everyone watch the video of Rody''s victory when he was seriously injured by assassins, or look at the Black Night Prince''s sincere farewell before death, maybe you''ll find their sorrow and sadness mirrored in our own eyes...¡± acerbic journalist Simpson.

    ¡°I''ll give half of my fortune to fight orcs; I''ll give all of it to fight demons, along with my most beloved son; to fight Troski, I''ll give my old life!¡± declared the disabled hero, old warrior Dono.

    ¡°We don''t criticize Troski, no, we won¡¯t do that, because we are busy sharpening knives now,¡± Camalon People''s Express.

    The orc''s secretly filmed video caused a sensation across the entire human continent. Overnight, the Saint Song Fortress plummeted from heaven to hell. Marshal Troski, who had earlier issued victorious statements with great pomp, now hid away, fearing that showing his face would lead to being torn apart by the people.

    No one from the Saint Song Fortress dared to come out and explain, and of course, no one would believe them anymore. Deserters from the Alliance were occurring almost every moment, and even angry soldiers rebelled, leading to bloody conflicts.

    Nations announced they would no longer support the Saint Song Fortress and began withdrawing their troops. Food and military supplies were also cut off. Except for a few countries like Galle and Redlands, most nations completely lost confidence. Many kings demanded that Troski immediately resign and hand over the soldiers and officers involved in the false victory report to face the people''s trial.

    Camalon and Mire decided to build a second line of defense at the Kast Fortress, located more than five hundred kilometers behind Saint Song, receiving support from many countries. However, the Kast Fortress only protected countries on the eastern continent, such as Mire and Camalon, and not western countries like Noren, Galle, Redlands, and Great Frey. This caused many countries to worry that if Saint Song fell, orcs and demons would invade, bringing a great catastrophe to the entire western continent.

    ¡°Queen Mire is said to be abandoning Saint Song and holding the Kast Fortress. Your hometowns of Mesbustania and Felik are on the western continent. If they are invaded by orcs, will you send troops to help? Will you agree to the orcs'' terms and rescue the thousand slaves and women? What do you think about the ¡®Night Visit Gate¡¯ scandal of Saint Song?¡± Almost all magic reporters rushed to Rody City to interview the miraculous boy Rody, to see his attitude, whether he would resist the orcs, whether he would agree to the orcs'' terms and not assist the Saint Song Fortress.

    ¡°We are troubled enough, leave us alone!¡± Stanley barked furiously like an enraged bull.

    ¡°Why should we clean up Troski''s mess? Look, how brilliantly the Marshal plays his role, and how pathetically we play the nanny,¡± Tommy scoffed.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we will try our best to rescue the slaves and women. As for the orcs'' conditions, they are laughable. I don''t have to be the Grand Marshal of the Human Justice Alliance to resist invasion. I care not only for my homeland but for any country in the world... As for Saint Song, I have nothing to say,¡± Rody did not criticize or accuse.

    Because he was now the backbone of everyone, the only hope, and couldn''t afford to be as agitated and fiercely condemnatory as everyone else.

    What people wanted to hear was his attitude, the kind of talk that stabilizes people¡¯s hearts.

    ¡°You''re asking about the ''Night Visit Gate'', that kind of thing? It''s their usual trick, we''ve long been tired of seeing it,¡± Chris casually dropped such a comment, causing a stir among the crowd. It seemed that there were many more scandals within Saint Song and the temple that had not been exposed.

 Chapter 202: Formidable Foe, His Majesty Adrujesa

    In the Grand Frey Palace, Prince Vincent knelt before his father, ''Iron Hammer'' Adrujesa, sweating profusely.

    Recently, Prince Vincent, along with the Holy Lance Knight Holly and the Holy Eye Scholar Sariven, had been striving for fame on the battlefield. However, he suddenly realized that everything he did was anticipated by his father. This included Marshal Troski being notoriously implicated in the ''Night Visit Gate'' scandal, Rody and his elite squad¡¯s great victory in the siege against the demons, and even Queen Mire of Mire and King William II of Camalon planning to build the Kast Fortress and a second line of defense. All these were within Adrujesa¡¯s predictions.

    Only now did he understand the exceptional wisdom of his father, whom the world called a ''Reckless Plunderer.''

    ¡°My son, there¡¯s nothing wrong with participating in the Night Visit Gate incident. Your only mistake was doing it in front of Rody,¡± Adrujesa said indifferently. ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever wondered why today''s orcs have become so smart? How could they, known only for killing, use strategies beyond their intelligence? Moreover, these strategies with multiple traps are difficult even for clever humans to set.¡±

    ¡°Father, are you saying it was Rody who instructed the orcs to do this?¡± Prince Vincent was reluctant to believe this seemed improbable.

    ¡°No, you might want to think differently. Rody cannot command orcs, but he can collaborate with the Lionheart King. As far as I know, the Lionheart King has always wanted to break free from the demons¡¯ control. The orcs lack someone like Rody as an excellent advisor. Now, various signs indicate they are cooperating. Perhaps Rody used this condition to secure temporary peace for humanity. Vincent, my son, haven¡¯t you noticed that Rody is never worried about the attack strength of half a million orcs? Even though he is miraculous, half a million orcs are equivalent to three million human warriors. Even if Queen Mire and King William II support him, how can they give him three million soldiers? It¡¯s impossible for Rody City with only thirty thousand soldiers to withstand an assault, unless the Lionheart King sends a fool as the commander.¡±

    ¡°Father, do you have evidence? We should report this to the temple and expose it!¡± Prince Vincent excitedly thought he saw an opportunity.

    ¡°That''s the most foolish thing you''ve ever said. Poor boy, I thought you had grown up a bit,¡± Adrujesa looked at his son as if he were a mere insect.

    ¡°Are we just going to watch Rody act arrogantly? That damned bastard, he''s stolen all the glory!¡± Prince Vincent said hatefully.

    ¡°He has the strength, Vincent. Don¡¯t blame others, blame your own incompetence, understand? The biggest difference between you and Rody is that he doesn¡¯t envy you, but you pitifully envy him. Envy is never the mindset of a strong person! If you don¡¯t understand this, how can you ever become a true strong person?¡± Adrujesa sneered.

    ¡°Father, then what should we do?¡± Prince Vincent, choked for words, asked quietly.

    ¡°From today, forget the temple, forget your fair-weather friends. Watch more, listen more, think more. The only thing you should do less is talk. You think you''re excellent, but you don''t realize there are many more excellent people in this world. Even if you don''t want to admit it, that''s the truth. If you want to surpass them, then you must work harder than them,¡± Adrujesa said with a faint smile. ¡°Of course, you can also do as you please. I won¡¯t interfere with your actions or blame you, including your foolish participation in the Night Visit Gate.¡±

    "Yes, Father, although I don''t understand, I will obey..." Prince Vincent had never been so obedient before.

    "What else do you want to know, my son?" Emperor Adrujesa asked.

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    "I want to know what Rody will do next. Will he rescue those slaves and women? If he does, the magic newspapers will be full of praise," Prince Vincent said bitterly.

    "Of course he will rescue them, but not now... Alright, go tell the temple envoy that I will send troops and food to Saint Song and will issue a statement supporting Troski, but I will not meet any envoy. I have nothing to say to foolish people; let them stay as far away as possible." Emperor Adrujesa waved his hand nonchalantly, sending his son away.

    "Yes, Father." Prince Vincent, respectfully leaving, had a flash of resentment in his eyes.

    My dear father, one day, you will regret never looking at me properly. I know whatever I do, you will never like or appreciate it. You are only satisfied with your own kingly power, suppressing everything with your lofty authority. My father, one day, you will step down from this position in disappointment, and then you will understand the anger of one who has been driven out of the palace... Prince Vincent didn''t say this, but these thoughts had circled in his heart thousands of times. He felt that one day he would say them to his father.

    Inside the palace, Emperor Adrujesa watched his son''s departing figure and sighed helplessly.

    His beautiful queen gracefully approached and knelt down.

    "My husband, what troubles you to be so worried?" the beautiful queen embraced Adrujesa, sitting in his lap and asking.

    "I have many troubles, but the biggest one is how to make my dozen sons smarter. Others have only one or two children, and they have sons like the Red-haired Sal, Ice Demon Gao, Elf Son Chris, and the miraculous boy Rody. I have more than a dozen sons, yet the best among them is the self-conceited Vincent. I feel sad for myself," Emperor Adrujesa sighed.

    "It''s my fault for not bearing a son for you, otherwise, he would certainly be the most outstanding hero," the queen said with a hint of self-reproach.

    "If you bore me a son with demon horns on his head and a tail behind, well, he''d be excellent, but everyone would immediately know he''s a demon descendant. My beautiful and charming queen, you would be known as a hidden female demon of terror in the human continent, how would I explain that to everyone?" Emperor Adrujesa laughed heartily, knowing his words could shock the entire human continent if they were spread.

    "I still want to have one when there¡¯s a chance. I must pass down your finest qualities," the beautiful queen laughed softly. "That fool Troski is planning to use Rody''s father against him. What do you think Rody''s reaction will be?"

    "Sorrowful, Rody will definitely be very sorrowful," Emperor Adrujesa, with a queen known as a female demon of terror, affirmed.

    "I think not only will Rody be sorrowful, but so will the people. In the end, Troski, that pig-headed fool, will be even more sorrowful. Look! Another drama that will lead to his disgrace is unfolding. It seems he won¡¯t be happy until he''s completely ruined himself. My husband, if it were you, what would you do?" the beautiful queen asked.

    "Rody has a mother, who is said to have been a maid of Lady Warren. But I find it suspicious. How could Lord Warren, so valiant and brave in those days, become such a person? Not only did he marry Lady Mary, whom he didn''t love, but he also seduced her maid. It''s unbelievable. My beautiful queen, if you think about it, you''ll find it very unreasonable. Rody''s mother has always been obscure. Could an ordinary maid give birth to such an outstanding son? Not to mention heredity or lineage, but just in terms of education, do you think a maid could raise a son like Rody? I once tried to track her down but found it extremely difficult because very few have seen her, and even fewer remember her appearance. If she was so ordinary, how could Lord Warren have been attracted to her? And why would he dote on her son Rody in his earlier years?" Emperor Adrujesa expressed his doubts about Rody''s mother''s identity.

    "Right, I also find that strange. Lord Warren was so doting on his son in the early years, but now he sees him as an enemy. Why is that? I''m sure there must be a reason, something unspeakable," the beautiful queen nodded in agreement.

    "This mother, always hidden from the world, I''ve sent people to scour all over Phrygick and still can''t find any trace of her," Emperor Adrujesa said.

    "I know where she is now, Rody''s mother is in Rody City," the beautiful queen affirmed.

    "Yes, of course, she''s in Rody City, but now we can''t touch her, the opportunity is lost. We should have found this mother in Phrygick, as she is Rody''s only weakness. It''s too late now, but fortunately, we can find some scapegoats to do this, and then think about how to exploit her," Emperor Adrujesa said.

    "Angels, I know, my husband, you want those birds of heaven to do this foolish thing," the beautiful queen chuckled.

    "This task requires not only the involvement of angels but also the secret cooperation of demons," Emperor Adrujesa pondered.

    "Don''t worry, my husband, leave half of this task to me. There won''t be any problems with the demons. You just need to spread the good news to the ears of the angels, and they will be eager to act. Coupled with the temple using Lord Warren to distract Rody''s attention, I think this will be very interesting. What are you worried about? The strong ones of Phrygick?" the beautiful queen asked curiously, seeing Emperor Adrujesa not making an immediate decision.

    "I''m worried about many things, but most of all, Rody. This boy is indeed the most troublesome opponent I''ve ever faced in my life. He disrupted my entire plan, forcing me to hide my strength and start all over again with major arrangements. I''m afraid to let him know of my existence too soon, to prematurely mark me as an enemy... There are not many things that can restrain Rody, and his mother, who is his lifeline, is definitely one effective means. I must be extremely cautious!" Emperor Adrujesa said solemnly.

    "Hehe, I just love your serious demeanor. Haven¡¯t you noticed? Ever since the miraculous boy appeared, you''ve been happier than before," the beautiful queen laughed.

    "It''s troubling yet exciting to have a formidable opponent. My beautiful queen, with you by my side, I''m confident in defeating anyone," His Majesty boasted proudly.

    "I believe in you, Adrujesa, my dear husband. One day, we will look down upon all beings from the heavens..."

 Chapter 203: Blood Battle, The Landscape of Rody City

    Tommy, one of the leaders of Rody City''s elite squad, announced to the world that Rody would negotiate with the fifth marshal under the Lionheart King, Colin, outside the city fifty kilometers away in half a month to rescue a thousand slaves and a thousand women. Although Saint Song Fortress denied exchanging slaves and women for peace, the orcs had already released a dozen slaves, showing the world their real existence and not a mere illusion by the orc shamans.

    Having food, the orcs were not in a hurry to attack. They recorded the battle scenes around the outposts and brought them back through the released slaves, showcasing them to the world. The battles at several small forts were extremely fierce. Due to Saint Song''s refusal to send reinforcements, the isolated human outposts could not be preserved like Rody City, even though their terrain and structure were more robust, located at each natural stronghold. They didn''t have as many human elites as Rody City, nor did they instill the same deep fear in the orcs.

    "Brothers, all we can do is hold our ground, stop the orcs'' advance..."

    "If we fall, we die without regrets! As long as we resist here for one day, Saint Song Alliance will have an extra day to prepare. We will die honorably, our ancestors watching us from above, fight!"

    Initially, the orc army met fierce resistance. Thoroski dispatched all the guards loyal only to the Alliance and former Marshal Fondeisman to the first few forts. Despite resenting their abandonment, these battle-hardened warriors fought to the last man, refusing to retreat even in the face of certain death. Rody and Chris repeatedly came on flying magical beasts to evacuate them, but all chose to stay and die honorably.

    Fondeisman''s guards demonstrated formidable combat power, dealing various degrees of damage to the orc army. Several forts fell with the last man fighting, an extremely tragic scene. But the orc army, numbering over three hundred thousand, overwhelmed any fort in less than a day. They occupied human forts, using them as camps, preparing for a long war with humans, rather than the previous blitzkrieg invasion. Anyone with a strategic eye could see that the orcs aimed to sever Rody City''s connection with the human continent. Even with an army, humans couldn''t support Rody City without a space-time portal, and vice versa.

    Transport through the portal required massive energy, and at most, only about a thousand soldiers could be sent per day, which was insignificant for an impending decisive battle. Especially during intense battles, to prevent spies from sabotaging the teleportation matrix, it would surely be shut down, cutting off the only emergency channel. People could only dispatch more soldiers and transport more food and war supplies to Rody City during peace times. However, using the portal as the sole transportation channel was an extremely inefficient and costly method.

    If Saint Song had heeded Rody''s warning earlier, dispatched heavy troops to the frontline, and cooperated with Rody City against the enemy, humans wouldn''t be in this predicament. Now, as the orc and demon armies pressed on and humans still struggled internally, it was a source of despair.

    The last Saint Door Fortress was defended by General Elvis and General Kino, former close followers of Marshal Fondeisman. Despite six magical communications and two personal visits from Rody and Chris for evacuation, they politely refused, choosing to die in battle.

    To prevent the soldiers from harboring any hope, the two generals destroyed the only teleportation portal that could have been used for escape and ordered a determined defense. Saint Gate Fortress, besieged by over five thousand elite orcs and an army of more than thirty thousand, fought a bloody battle for a day and a night, yet held firm. Gutried, the Bloodaxe Orc, noticing the high morale of the human soldiers and the heavy losses of the orcs, decided to play the ''Night Visit Gate'' video, which shattered the spirits of the valiantly fighting soldiers.

    While they fought to the death, not only did the Saint Song Alliance fail to send reinforcements, but they also betrayed them, rendering their efforts fruitless. Despairing soldiers began to commit suicide. The two generals used a magic communicator to publicly denounce: "We were so close to our last victory. When the Grand Marshal died, we thought we could inherit his will and die peacefully on the battlefield. We, the soldiers at the frontlines, didn''t find it unfair; we were glad because the Grand Marshal once said ''soldiers should die on the battlefield''. We are soldiers of the Human Justice Alliance, fighting for the safety of all humanity, never thinking of returning, only dying in our beds. But today, we realized our deaths are in vain, our blood wasted..."

    "Why were we abandoned? Just because we are old soldiers? Why were we betrayed?" General Kino, in anguish, committed suicide.

    "The peace brought by the sacrifice of women, the torment of women, is more unbearable than killing us! We can die, shed blood, and let our bodies be devoured by orcs, but we can''t tolerate peace bought at the cost of sacrificing women! No, I am a warrior, I don''t need to hide under women''s skirts and live in disgrace... Imagining their hopeless eyes, their miserable fate, I feel all my life''s honors turned into shame!" General Elvis, with the remaining two hundred blood-soaked warriors, jumped off the fortress cliff.

    The last human frontline fortress was lost. For the first time, the orcs didn''t consume the human soldiers'' bodies, and Gutried, the Bloodaxe Orc, built a grave for them. As usual, the orc shaman recorded everything and sent it to Rody as a gift to crush his morale.

    When this tragic battle video was released, the world mourned again. Knowing they would die if they stayed, these soldiers still chose not to leave, even when Rody and Chris came personally for them. They were so loyal, ready to give everything for Saint Song Alliance. But the Alliance''s return for their sacrifice was to give food, gold, magic crystals, slaves, and women to the orcs, even their lives and honor.

    No wonder the soldiers, upon seeing the ''Night Visit Gate'' video, were so aggrieved they committed suicide. What could be more painful than being betrayed by their superiors while fighting valiantly?

    Major magical newspapers again furiously condemned the actions, and people took to the streets in protest against the shamelessness of the Saint Song Alliance.

    Yet, the Alliance remained calm. There were rumors that Thoroski was willing to resign, but then he changed his mind for some reason. The temple also criticized, saying that this was the time to unite and resist the enemy, not to speculate and doubt the fictional ''Night Visit Gate'' event.

    The temple suggested putting aside the ''Night Visit Gate'' issue, focusing on resisting the invasion. The Force Angels also appeared before the public, promising to open the gates of Heaven, sending tens of thousands of angels from Paradise to easily slay demons and orcs. The human army only needed to hold out for half a month, then victory would surely be theirs. The temple repeatedly showed scenes of tens of thousands of winged beings flying, revealing for the first time that angels not only had white wings but also black, grey, and even red ones, in great numbers, living in a vast sky city beyond estimation...

    With these shocking images, many people again believed in the existence of the angel army, feeling assured that humans would inevitably defeat the orcs and demons.

    Thoroski might not have done well, but he managed to buy time. Many people fell silent, deeply fearful of the angels despite their dissatisfaction with the Saint Song Alliance. They were unaware of another world known as the Land of the Seven Tribes, or of the Bird People of the Wing Tribe, whose real strength differed greatly from that of the angels. They didn''t know these Bird People were the biggest invaders and plunderers of that world...

    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    They thought humanity was about to be saved, unaware of the great disaster looming. Magic newspapers in countries like Gale and Redlands praised the angels and the temple, while others like Camaron, though infuriated, had no time for mere words. With an additional twenty thousand reinforcements from the demon tribe, fifty thousand demons besieged Rody City day and night. Despite Rody and his human army repeatedly defeating them, nearly a thousand wounded were sent back to Camaron for treatment daily, and military supplies were constantly transported.

    Magic newspapers, tired of the ugliness of the Saint Song Alliance, now focused on Rody''s unbroken streak of victories. History had never seen such victories or such frenzied attacks. The demon tribe, hell-bent on capturing Rody City at any cost, relentlessly attacked without respite, determined not to let the human soldiers catch their breath. They wouldn''t stop until the perfect hero of humanity, Rody, was defeated.

    As for the Saint Song Alliance and the reinforcements from the Wing Tribe, the demons hardly considered them a threat. With the gates of hell open, the demons would swarm out, not even the archangel Rielhardt descending would deter the six demon kings. Now, it was a race to see who could act faster.

    The orcs prepared to attack the Saint Song Alliance, while the demons focused on defeating Rody. Without defeating this hero of unbroken human victories, the fear in the hearts of the demons and orcs would never dissipate. If Rody had only his elite squad of a hundred or so, defense would be doomed. The war, a struggle for people and money, saw Rody not falling short in either aspect.

    Supported by the empires of Camaron and Mille, with sufficient military supplies, well-trained soldiers, fortified cities, Rody''s renowned name deterring enemies, and high morale among the soldiers, victory seemed plausible. With Rody''s strategic wisdom, Chris and the elite squad''s coordination, and the secret aid from the Seven Tribes, the demon army''s attempt to capture Rody City was almost impossible.

    Every day, many demons were slain at the city''s gates, while many human soldiers were injured or exhausted, constantly replaced by fresh troops from Mille and Camaron. People marveled at the low casualty rates and high exhaustion among Rody City''s troops.

    The replaced soldiers were treated heroically. Emperor William II met them multiple times, encouraging their swift recovery and return to battle. Now, people could see the battlefield conditions between Rody and his enemies directly on the magic screens in the squares. War reporters shot footage at the city walls, presenting the brutal reality of war unedited, showing the cruelty of conflict.

    "Hurry up, we''re running out of stones! Move faster, the catapult is broken? Damn it, drag it away and replace it with a new one!" The commanding squad leader on the wall roared incessantly, his voice hoarse, lacking the robustness expected of a ''bronze throat''. However, seeing other squad leaders already voiceless from shouting, one could imagine the intensity of the battle.

    "The demons are coming!" A signalman shouted atop the wall, blowing a sharp silver whistle.

    "Ah? Wake up, everyone, those damned mixed breeds of demons are coming again..." These war reporters, exhausted to the point of deep sleep on the walls, looked haggard and unshaven. Hearing of the demons'' attack, they all rallied their spirits and resumed filming.

    "Beat the drums, the elite squad is here! Everyone get ready to follow orders, and stop your nonsense. If you can''t keep up, get off the wall right now. In my squad, there''s no room for incapability. You''re untrained, what are you doing here? Someone, throw these guys down. Ah, the lord of the city is here, everyone get in position, get in position..." Masov, known for his ''bronze throat'', kicked the inexperienced soldiers, rushing to the catapult, taking control of the firing lever, and loudly reported back. Each catapult crew had someone to control, load stones, adjust angles, and others holding signal flags waiting for orders.

    "Scorpion crossbow team..." Terry raced over from the other side, shouting inquiries.

    "Reporting, ready to fire."

    "Archers in position, spear throwers ready, mages ready..." A series of commands were issued. If one person had to handle all these, it would be overwhelming, but with everyone working in unison, the efficiency was incredibly high. The elite squad led the command, with soldiers below following the orders of their leaders.

    "Enemy attack, enemy attack! Man-faced spiders, zombies, and demonized monsters!" The messenger reported loudly on the main composition of the enemy troops.

    "Bring up the flaming oil and fire stones, quick!" Masov yelled at the inexperienced soldiers.

    "Where''s the fire oil?" The new recruit, pale-faced at the sight of the countless man-faced spiders below, trembled and asked, "So many man-faced spiders?"

    "Someone, get this guy out of here!" Masov lost his temper, furious that the untrained man dared to pretend to be a veteran on the frontline.

    "Help me with the filming!" A war reporter shoved a magic filming device into the new recruit''s hand, then picked up a barrel of oil, poured it over the round stones, ran to get a torch, and even had time to smile at the new recruit, saying, "You''ll get used to it. At first, I was worse than you! At least you didn''t wet your pants like I did when I first came, becoming a joke among my colleagues..."

    "Catapults, launch the fire stones!" Rody, standing at the highest point, oversaw the battlefield below and gestured commandingly.

    Thousands of ignited round stones were hurled into the sky, forming a meteor shower of fire raining down on the man-faced spiders below, creating a spectacular and shocking scene, which left the new recruit dumbfounded.

    Different attack methods were used for different demon troops. Man-faced spiders were targeted with fire stones, but zombies were not deterred by fire stones or scorpion crossbows, only magic was effective against them. Demonized monsters, highly resistant to magic but fearing lethal projectiles like arrows and scorpion bolts, were effectively halted by the dense arrow showers and powerful crossbows. As Rody issued commands one after another, soldiers on the walls did their utmost to coordinate, as the enemy was constantly moving and even intelligently dodging, necessitating constant adjustments of the various machinery to maximize effectiveness.

    After an hour, the new recruit realized that just watching was enough to strain his eyes.

    "The squad, attack! The demonized monsters and man-faced spiders are beginning to climb." The signalman waved the flag, and a bolt of lightning shot out among the demon hordes, turning the signalman to charred remains. But immediately, another signalman took his place.

    "Hidden dark mages spotted, assassination squad, go! Snipers, take your shot!" Jesse led a team of black-clad assassins, swiftly descending while magically concealing themselves midway. Ten snipers, under Carey''s protection, aimed their bows at the dark mages shielded among the demonized monsters. More dark mages emerged, casting spells towards the city walls.

    Dozens summoned giant brute giants, hurling huge rocks at the city walls.

    The fastest-climbing man-faced spiders had scaled the sloped walls, and despite being pelted by arrows and spears, they continued their relentless climb, desperately spitting venom.

    "Fighters with battle aura, attack and slay!" Rody issued another command, and all warriors adept in battle aura rushed out under Stanley''s lead.

    "A demon general spotted, a demon general spotted!" a thief shrieked, followed by a general stepping forward to confront it.

    "Fire oil... fire oil squirt gun squad, fire!" Lopeck, like an arsonist, clamped two flamethrowers under his arms, frantically shooting flames at the man-faced spiders to drive them back.

    After more than an hour of intense combat, the demons retreated once again.

    They left countless corpses behind as they withdrew under the leadership of the Ghost Eye Demon Marshal. The marshal wanted to charge many times but held back due to Rody and Chris''s combined efforts. In the past few days, two demon generals had been captured due to being too forward in command, and in front of Rody, the marshal could only command from behind, unable to exert his full power as he was not just an ordinary human commander but the remarkable Rody.

    If Rody ever got a chance, the outcome would be a tragic defeat for the demons.

    After the battle, human casualties exceeded a thousand. Although the demons were stronger, their losses were in the thousands after numerous attacks.

    The demonic forces were far greater than Rody''s city, but they were not concerned, as their strongest soldiers had not yet arrived. Lower-tier demons like man-faced spiders and zombies were plentiful in hell, and could have been used in a human wave attack to overwhelm Rody''s city, if only they could be transported through time and space.

    Humans were also not worried, for even against the mightiest demons, they could still triumph.

    Because humans had the extraordinary Rody.

    He turned war into an art, something to be manipulated with ease. No one could match his strategic wisdom, and no one dared to claim they could rival him.

    The new recruit realized after the victory that, apart from fresh soldiers like himself, no veteran cheered.

    Many silently bandaged their wounds or collapsed on the walls to snatch some sleep.

    Some wiped off blood while chewing beef jerky, indifferent to the grotesque corpses of demonized monsters before them. Others proudly read letters from home to their comrades, especially love letters, which were widely boasted about. Most were busy transporting war supplies or distributing food, with only those severely injured being carried down the steps to be replaced by new soldiers.

    "Captain, your face is injured!" The new recruit noticed Masov''s face was half green with severe burns and cried out in alarm.

    "Splashed by a man-faced spider, won''t kill me! I''ve taken the antidote, what''s all the fuss about? Don''t let others hear, stuff your mouth with a bun! And keep quiet when the patrol guards come, understand?" Masov, unwilling to leave the battlefield, clearly had his face partially ruined.

    "Use this to apply," someone tossed a bottle of medicine to Masov before striding away.

    "It''s him, the lord of the city, Rody!" The new recruit felt faint, realizing that the great hero of humanity had just passed by him...

    "Making a fuss over nothing..." Everyone rolled their eyes. Rody appeared on the city walls every day, fighting shoulder to shoulder with the troops. Was such astonishment really necessary?

 Chapter 204: Relatives, Please Do Not Forget Us

    The plan to rescue the slaves and women has never been abandoned by Rody''s city. Actually, the conditions set by the orcs to not act as a commander and not assist the Saint Song Alliance were relatively simple compared to the real challenge: How to safely rescue a thousand slaves and a thousand girls back to Rody¡¯s city? This was what truly concerned people. It was impossible for the orcs to come to Rody¡¯s city for negotiations; instead, it would be fifty kilometers away. For the powerful, fifty kilometers was a short distance, but for ordinary people, it was a long and treacherous escape route.

    It was certain that the demons would attack within these fifty kilometers. How could they safely rescue these two thousand people? Rody, Chris, and others were constantly discussing and designing the best rescue plan. Ordinary people knew that Rody''s enemies were the demons and orcs, but what they didn''t know was that the angels and the temple would not allow these two thousand people to return alive to testify against them. The main reason why Rody did not act immediately to rescue the two thousand people was the lack of an optimal rescue plan.

    According to General Quentin and others, rescue meant sacrifice. If human soldiers did not sacrifice to some extent, it would be impossible to ensure the safe return of two thousand people to Rody''s city.

    In Rody''s city, there was no shortage of soldiers willing to sacrifice themselves. On the contrary, there were too many candidates: Naples Warriors, Mille''s Four Elemental Mage Corps, Kameron''s Dragon Knight Corps, Kameron''s Silver Wolf Guards, Mesnotania''s Eagle Knight Corps, Norn''s Iron Blood Cavalry, Blood Drop Mercenaries, Silver Pegasus Mercenaries, and even the Prayer Guards sent by the Holy Lady volunteered for the rescue mission. But as a commander who makes life-and-death decisions, Rody did not want to see any troop sacrificed.

    These were the elite of the elites of humanity, and the loss of any one of them would be an irrevocable loss for mankind.

    How to rescue these two thousand people and ensure everyone''s safety was Rody''s most troublesome issue. Adding to his headache, almost everyone, for the first time, opposed his rescue plan. Rody''s plan was perfect; if executed, casualties could be minimized or even avoided altogether. However, aside from the elite squad, no one supported this plan.

    "Rody, I understand your intentions. You don''t want to sacrifice soldiers'' lives for victory. But as your chief instructor, I need to give you one last lesson. Rody, you need to understand, sometimes the world doesn''t need a perfect plan or a battle with zero casualties. War means death, something you can mitigate with your limitless wisdom, but still, there is only one miraculous child among humans. If people become accustomed to battles without casualties, what will happen when you''re not there? Will everyone try to avoid casualties? No. As a soldier, there''s only one thing I insist on: maximizing enemy casualties. If we can achieve this goal, then even if we die, we will have no regrets!" General Quentin did not support Rody''s perfect plan because he felt it necessary to let people know the dangers of Rody''s city.

    Rody''s city was in danger because of the presence of Rody and other human elites who repeatedly turned dangers into safety. In reality, this was very risky. If the enemy launched a more powerful attack than expected, it would be a horrific battle¡­ The elites of humanity would sacrifice themselves to maintain the hope of the people, their absolute expectation, and eventually die one after the other, causing true losses for humanity.

    Especially for Rody, Chris, Ice Demon Gao, Red-haired Saul, Silver-haired Tommy, and others, if the demons and angels seized any opportunity, the consequences would be unimaginable. The veteran generals absolutely trusted Rody''s military talents and strategic wisdom, but they also felt it necessary to tell the young people something. Death is not to be feared; sacrifice is inevitable.

    "Yes, I agree with General Quentin''s view," several generals nodded simultaneously.

    "We should not be concerned with temporary gains and losses, nor with the gains and losses of a single city or territory. You should know, I am the most opposed to holding Rody''s city because its defense has only symbolic significance. Rody''s city is the hope in people''s hearts, and it cannot collapse. But as an elder, I am very worried that this long-term defense will become an inescapable shackle for everyone. You young ones are our hope. What could be more valuable than you? As long as you are alive, hope will always be in people''s hearts. So, this rescue mission should be our responsibility," declared General Heta, whose wisdom and military achievements were only second to General Quentin.

    "I oppose your proposal, generals. I understand your intentions, but I must use my command authority to veto," Rody firmly denied.

    "I also oppose," Chris always stood by Rody''s side.

    "Rody, can we talk privately, not as the Grand Commander and his generals, but as Rody and us old folks?" General Quentin walked up to Rody and whispered, "There are seasons in the world, and life has its cycles of birth, aging, illness, and death. It''s a natural state. We are already old, at the twilight of our lives, with not much strength left to wield a sword on the battlefield. Rody, at the last moment, the setting sun emits the most beautiful light. Our twilight is here, child, do you understand?"

    "For a sapling to grow, it needs sunlight. If an old tree blocking the light doesn''t fall, the sapling will never grow into a towering tree! Rody, Chris, Saul, Gao, Tommy, what do you need? Sunlight, a piece of sky, a path to a higher and broader road," chuckled General Pufinellimor, the old general.

    "While we old folks can still wield our swords and make a difference, please let us pave a bright path of life for you!" exclaimed General Heta.

    "Young people, do not try to steal our last moment of glory. We are your predecessors!" smiled General Alarman.

    "We have a rescue plan too. It''s not perfect, but Rody, I ask you to use our plan. Sometimes humanity doesn''t need zero casualties. Let us use our blood and sacrifice to tell the world that the situation is perilous, not as optimistic as they imagine. Also, let us use our blood and killings to tell the demons and angels that humans have men who are not afraid of death. Erasing humanity''s hope is wishful thinking! My children, let us take this battle. When all of us are gone, then it''s your turn! This is our glory and brilliance, children, let''s go! This is our wish! Even in death, we will watch over you from the skies, the stars are our eyes, we will always be there!" General Quentin handed Rody a battle plan, making Rody''s hands tremble.

    He fully understood what General Quentin and the others intended to do.

    They wanted to seize this opportunity for a desperate battle, to heavily damage the demons and angels, while also warning the world that resisting the demons and angels required the entire nation''s effort, not just reliant on Rody''s city alone.

    These old generals all harbored a wish to die in battle, to give their last bit of strength in defense of humanity.

    Looking at the battle plan titled "The Old Soldiers'' Final Destination," Rody couldn''t help but have tears in his eyes. First, there was General Fendesman, who selflessly sacrificed for humanity, knowingly walking into a death trap, a victim of someone else''s conspiracy, yet he boldly embarked on a journey of no return. Now General Quentin and others were doing the same, knowing they could avoid this war and death, yet they chose to face it head-on and die heroically.

    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    With their sacrifice, Rody and the young elites will surely travel further on the life path paved by their blood. This is what they are teaching the younger generation. This is also what they are leaving for them...

    "Father, father," Kerry knelt before General Quentin, crying inconsolably, knowing that after this parting, they might be forever separated.

    "My good boy, don''t cry! You have grown into a man of stature! Seeing you grow up to this day is my greatest pride. You have not let me down. Very good. But my son, Kerry, your grandfather, a mighty and fierce old knight, also said goodbye to me like this. This is the legacy of humanity! Perhaps one day, you will bid farewell to your son in the same way because the era now belongs to your generation. We have fought all our lives, we are tired. Let us rest. My son, don''t cry! Dying on the battlefield has always been my wish!" General Quentin lifted his son and hugged him tightly.

    ...

    Rody''s city, led by a dozen generals, issued a conscription order, calling for veterans with over ten years of military service from all nations.

    They held a global press conference, announcing that the rescue plan for the thousand slaves and thousand women was entirely under their responsibility. As the hope of humanity and its elites, Rody and others must remain in the city to guard against demon attacks and prevent them from exploiting any opportunities to destroy humanity''s stronghold. General Quentin, holding General Fendesman''s marshal sword, declared that he would exercise the power of a deputy marshal once by taking full charge of the negotiations and hostage rescue.

    Nations were surprised by the actions of these old generals, with various speculations.

    Were these old generals not content with obscurity, seeing the young ones fight well and wanting to show off themselves? Were they trying to protect the young, especially Rody, from danger? Were they willing to bear the potentially painful outcome of a failed rescue to maintain Rody''s undefeated reputation?

    Countries published this news, but few commented, as people could not fathom the true intentions of the old generals.

    Only the magic newspapers of nations like Galle and Redlands harshly ridiculed the plan, even drawing a four-panel cartoon depicting General Quentin and others as hunchbacked old men riding skinny horses and holding rusty swords, negotiating with the beastmen half-dead.

    The happiest about this news were the forgotten old soldiers.

    Many had served for over twenty years, dedicating half their lives to the Saint Song Alliance. Most died in battle, and the few who retired and returned home found everything had changed. Many had lost their loved ones, living out their days in lonely drunkenness. They would have preferred to die honorably on the battlefield, like their comrades, than to live in such solitude.

    Upon the release of the conscription order, countless old soldiers polished their armor and sharpened their swords, heading to the recruitment stations in Camarron, Miley, and other countries, being transported to Rody''s city.

    It was hard to imagine how just days ago, these old drunkards were now radiant and energetic, seemingly rejuvenated by twenty years. Many old soldiers met and laughed heartily. They understood the meaning of the conscription order and willingly accepted this honor. General Quentin was preparing to lead them to their most glorious moment, to become heroes and then die, ensuring history would record this glorious page.

    As more and more old soldiers arrived, people began to grasp General Quentin''s intentions.

    Their hearts ached, yet they couldn''t stop this from happening.

    Knowing that these old warriors, who had fought for humanity all their lives, were preparing for one last battle, people could not stop them. Numerous condolence groups arrived, many spontaneously organized by civilians, and some representing various countries. Comrades who were too injured to fight again all gathered in Rody''s city''s grand square for a final farewell feast.

    The young soldiers looked up to these old warriors, learning from them a spirit of sacrifice, an unyielding human legacy.

    "Friends, let''s sing and rejoice tonight! This is a night for old soldiers!" General Quentin toasted to nearly twenty thousand old soldiers, prompting a thunderous response. Everyone raised their glasses high, standing like a forest of solidarity.

    "Rody, must it really be this way? I can hardly bear it," Chris rarely showed vulnerability, but now he couldn''t help but wipe away tears.

    "I could stop it, but we must respect their wishes," Rody declared, seeing the Elite Squad and other young elites tearful. "Soldiers, pick up your glasses, let''s see off the old soldiers!"

    "Yes!" every young man shouted, wiping away their tears and lifting their glasses.

    Regardless of whether they were fathers or strangers, from their own country or another, generals or soldiers, the young soldiers shook hands with each old soldier, embracing and bidding them farewell...

    Rody''s city that night was destined to be a shining moment in history.

    The next day, with barely three hours of rest, the spirited old soldiers lined up, full of morale, and set off. They were led by several generals. Before leaving, General Quentin and others, in their capacity as senior generals, bestowed junior general ranks to Chris, Red-Haired Saul, Ice Demon Gao, Silver-Haired Tommy, Dragon Knight Nutidora, Silver Fang Gerstone, and others, symbolizing the passing of the baton to the next generation.

    "Rody, from today, you are the marshal!" General Quentin personally adorned Rody with the marshal''s sword, smiling, "General Fendesman once said, if he didn''t return from his final battle, you would take his place as marshal. With the command ring and marshal''s sword, you are now humanity''s youngest great marshal! Marshal Rody, please give the order!"

    "Old soldiers, prepare, march!" Rody, with tears in his eyes, nodded, drew the marshal''s sword, and roared.

    "Yes," over twenty thousand old soldiers responded thunderously, saluting solemnly, and then marched out of the city.

    "Rody''s army, prepare, salute!" Rody, leading all the young soldiers, saluted the departing old soldiers for a long time.

    As a war correspondent, veteran war journalist Uso was the first to sign up, getting approval from General Quentin. With his magic device and the help of a few equally aged journalists, he documented everything along the way.

    The more than twenty thousand old soldiers started smoothly, reaching the negotiation site and holding talks with the beastmen''s representatives. Despite their long-standing hatred for beastmen, they showed human dignity, firmly yet politely insisting, leading to the Fifth Marshal Colincha of the beastmen conceding the first condition, agreeing to Rody as the human commander, but adamantly refusing to let him send troops to rescue the Saint Song Alliance. They added a condition that if the beastmen captured human soldiers, Rody must exchange them with food or logistical supplies needed by the beastmen.

    General Quentin agreed, signing on behalf of Rody the first public war treaty between humans and beastmen.

    The beastmen left behind a thousand slaves and a thousand girls, quickly departing.

    Just as people in the rear breathed a sigh of relief, Rody''s city faced the fiercest attack from the demon army. Thirty thousand demons charged madly, ready to storm the city at all costs. All six demon marshals were present, along with a masked demon king.

    While people worried about Rody''s city, they were surprised to find that General Quentin had no intention of rushing back to assist. He fortified the well-defended negotiation camp, seemingly preparing for a long holdout. People couldn''t understand why; if the beastmen reneged, the war treaty wouldn''t have been signed smoothly. Now that everything was settled, would they turn back to attack? That would bring no benefit to the beastmen, so why?

    The people''s questions were soon answered within half an hour.

    Indeed, enemies attacked General Quentin and his troops - creatures with the upper bodies of humans and lower bodies of horses, wielding long-handled axes and spears, and carrying bundles of short spears. There were over fifty thousand of them, all possessing the speed of cavalry. These centaur-like creatures, known from legends for their evil nature, brought devastation like hurricanes wherever they went.

    These creatures, once thought to be extinct in times when human heroes were incredibly powerful, have now reappeared in alarming numbers and terror. Which faction do they represent? Demons or beastmen? Why are they in this land of evil, and why do they appear simultaneously with the demon attack and the departure of the beastmen? Had General Quentin not fortified the area, the consequences of encountering them on the road would have been unimaginable.

    "Comrades, brothers, let''s show these bastards what human bravery is! Long live humanity!" General Quentin commanded, leading the old soldiers in a barrage of arrows that knocked down many centaurs in front.

    "Friends, relatives, this is my last report to the world," veteran war correspondent Uso, tearfully reported. "I''m honored to have been a war correspondent. Although I no longer have the strength to fight, I can still broadcast the bravery and sacrifice of these old soldiers, ensuring their memory lives on. Please, do not forget us, the old soldiers, and the glorious battles we fought¡­"

    The screen showed white-haired, weathered old soldiers firing arrows in rows towards the distant enemy. They weren''t young anymore, but their extensive combat experience made them even more capable than well-trained young soldiers. General Quentin and several other generals commanded from the highest point. The centaurs, arrogant and thunderous, continued their charge despite the arrows, hurling spears close to the human positions.

    Arrows and spears clashed mid-air, then landed on their targets. Both centaurs and human soldiers fell, a countless number of lives extinguished under the rain of arrows and spears. The battlefield turned into a massive meat grinder, relentlessly claiming lives from both sides.

    Ugly flying creatures attacked the humans with strange short tubes. Human mages retaliated with tornadoes and fireballs. As the archers shifted from firing downwards to upwards, their counter-attacks troubled the flying monsters, whose strange tubes required closer range. This slight distance difference became their death line.

    Horns sounded from behind the centaur army, as dozens of powerful monster leaders ferociously advanced. "Face them, long live humanity!" General Quentin commanded, as the human close-combat troops charged from the high ground. The two forces collided with a deafening clash.

    Many archers, drained of strength, unsheathed long tubes from their waists, unlike the flying creatures¡¯ tubes. These tubes, upon reaching a certain rotation, emitted white smoke. Holding these tubes, old soldiers charged into the dense formation of centaurs. Regardless of whether they fell to the enemy, the tubes exploded with tremendous force.

    One after another, old soldiers, with tubes in hand, shouted as they plunged into the enemy lines, detonating explosively...

    "Relatives, please don''t forget us, don''t forget us... We are old soldiers! Long live!" Uso, witnessing several centaurs approaching, raised his smoking tube and charged at the enemy. A deafening explosion ensued, and the screen went dark.

 Chapter 205: Post-War, Two Different Reactions

    The final outcome of the battle remained unknown to many, but after the demonic tribe''s frenzied charge was defeated by Rody City, Rody and Chris, along with their elite squad, rushed to the camp for a rescue operation. They found only a few dozen old soldiers remaining; General Quentin and a dozen other generals had all perished.

    Lying before them were the bodies of over forty thousand half-human, half-horse creatures, strewn across the hills and fields, a grim collection of bones and corpses.

    This battle, up until the very moment Rody arrived for the rescue, the camp had never fallen. The human flag still fluttered high.

    The survivors were a handful of old soldiers who were magicians.

    They had fainted from overexerting their magical powers, which was the reason they had not died in battle. A thousand weak slaves now took up the old soldiers'' swords and guarded the camp. Outside, thousands of half-human, half-horse creatures, weary and scarred, rested, waiting for reinforcements. They dared not cross the line again, as each probing charge was met with old soldiers rushing out in a suicidal attack, instilling deep fear in these creatures for the old soldiers'' fearless sacrifice.

    A thousand girls wept as they tended to the severely wounded old soldiers. In the absence of sufficient medical supplies, there was little more they could do.

    In the distant mountains, the beastmen had not yet departed.

    Their watchful gaze made the half-human, half-horse creatures hesitant to move rashly. These beastmen waited, seemingly eager to scavenge the remnants of the battle. But before the half-human, half-horse creatures could receive reinforcements, they were slaughtered by the elite squad that had hurried to the scene. Rody and Chris were the fastest, followed closely by Red-haired Sael, Ice Demon Gao, young powerhouse Nutidora from Kamaron, Silver Fang Jelstoni, and others. The frenzied onslaught of these young legions, especially the well-coordinated elite squad, decimated the exhausted half-human, half-horse creatures.

    After their victory in battle, the young soldiers tearfully buried the bodies of the old soldiers.

    Many of the self-destructed old soldiers were beyond recognition, and some, who had been completely obliterated, were represented only by a set of military uniforms.

    According to the wishes of General Quentin and others, they hoped to be buried alongside the common soldiers. Rody and all the young people dug a massive grave, the Tomb of Ten Thousand, placing the remains of twenty thousand old soldiers within it, and inscribed the names of everyone on a giant stele.

    The central stele, inscribed personally by Rody, read as their epitaph: "We will forever remember you, our fathers, please watch over us from the skies..."

    The remaining old soldiers, either surviving or severely injured, refused to leave.

    They wished to stay forever, guarding this grave until the end of their lives.

    Despite Rody''s repeated persuasion, the remaining old soldiers would rather threaten suicide than leave the Tomb of Ten Thousand.

    "Young Marshal, we belong here, let us stay. As soldiers, we have completed all our duties, and now, we formally apply for retirement. We won''t return, young Marshal. You can recruit the young to protect everyone; we are old now. This is the era of youth for you, and we can retire in peace... Here, we have our companions, our brothers; they need our company. Let us stay!" The last surviving old soldiers refused to return to Rody City, wishing to remain here as their final resting place.

    "Old warriors, don''t you understand? The moment we retreat, you will be subject to retaliatory attacks," Red-haired Sael also tried to persuade them.

    "We know, but that means nothing to us. Death is but a release for us. We wish to die here, in the company of everyone, not in our beds. That''s not our wish," the old soldiers laughed heartily, as if the return of the enemy was exactly what they desired.

    For the old soldiers who insisted on staying, the young soldiers had no choice but to salute them repeatedly, unable to express their admiration in any other way.

    A thousand slaves and a thousand girls were rescued unscathed, but twenty thousand old soldiers were gone forever.

    In their final moments, they displayed the heroic spirit and valiant determination of human heroes. Though old, their courage remained undiminished.

    Tens of thousands of half-human, half-horse creatures, emerging from nowhere, plotted to thwart the rescue mission. But the twenty thousand old soldiers showed them that humans are not afraid of death, and that there is never a shortage of brave warriors among them.

    Whether old and feeble or young and strong, all were capable of defeating the enemy.

    The old soldiers might not have had the strength of the young, but their spirit and experience were unparalleled. The ferocious and numerous half-human, half-horse creatures fell in droves in the glorious self-sacrifice of the old soldiers, becoming a testament to their victory. General Quentin, who had slain ten enemy leaders, and General Heta, holding a giant explosive, charged into the ranks of the half-human, half-horse creatures, taking out a thousand with them in a mutual destruction.

    Their bodies were obliterated, but their spirit will forever be a source of pride in the hearts of humanity.

    This is what old soldiers are.

    These are the old soldiers, long abandoned by the world, who, in their final moments, burst forth with the most beautiful and brilliant radiance.

    The glorious twilight of the twenty thousand old soldiers, their sacrifice and dedication, left anyone who witnessed the scene profoundly moved.

    When Rody and his troops withdrew, the beastmen waiting did not attack the old soldiers'' camp. Instead, they sent an envoy to Rody with a memory crystal, which detailed the old soldiers'' battle. From another perspective, it clearly and shockingly showed the fierce confrontation between humans and the half-human, half-horse creatures.

    In terms of individual strength, the half-human, half-horse creatures were far stronger and more formidable than the old soldiers. They possessed the attack power surpassing that of infantry, the speed of cavalry, and even ranged attack capabilities. With fifty thousand in number, plus aerial creatures attacking from above, it seemed impossible for humans to achieve victory. But the old soldiers did. They held their ground inside the negotiation camp, neutralizing the speed advantage of the half-human, half-horse creatures, then striking from a distance with bows and crossbows.

    Unable to overpower the enemy, the human old soldiers chose to sacrifice themselves in self-detonation.

    Not a single half-human, half-horse creature survived the explosions. Countless old soldiers, holding smoking barrels, charged into the enemy ranks one after another, trading their lives for victory.

    This video, filmed by the beastmen, moved people to tears, even the filming beastmen warriors expressed that they rarely saw such human soldiers. They were shocked, believing that even beastmen warriors would struggle to defeat them.

    "Human old soldiers are commendable; such a spirit of sacrifice is terrifying!" This was the assessment of the beastman''s Fifth Marshal, Colin Chax, the Axe King.

    "If every human soldier were like these old soldiers, like those of Rody City, then we should immediately retreat. Fortunately, our opponent is the fool Torosky!" Leshishisa, the Shaman Witch King, praised the old soldiers while not forgetting to mock the Sanctus Great Alliance.

    "We will not send any soldiers to attack the Tomb of Ten Thousand. The old soldiers there, we beastmen regard them as heroes," declared the Lionheart King to the world.

    ...

    "I am proud and honored, forefathers, you have taught us one final lesson," Rody expressed his feelings for the first time in a magical newspaper.

    "Tears can''t help but fall when you leave us, I realize that we have lost our most steadfast support, our best teachers, and elders. Through your astounding victory, we have understood and learned this spirit. Whether it''s the demonic tribe or any other monsters, we will not have a trace of fear. Inheriting your will, we promise you, we will not let their schemes succeed," Chris, the son of the elf, also published an obituary in the Kamaron magical newspaper.

    "Your blood, old soldiers, shall not have been shed in vain," Red-haired Sael.

    "Learning from you!" Even Ice Demon Gao, such a cold character, also expressed his feelings in the magical newspaper.

    "Father, please watch over us from the skies. In front of you, I am always the son who relies on his father, always the one you worry about the most, the son who never grows up... My father, please infuse courage into my heart, let me also be as brave as you; my father, please guide me from the skies, let me follow in your footsteps! Father, being your son is my lifelong pride, and if you wish, in my next life, still be my father! Father, the hero in people''s hearts, General Quentin, please allow this soldier to salute you!" The magical newspaper published Keli''s obituary for his father, General Quentin, causing a great sensation in the Norn Empire.

    "Salute to you, old soldiers, old heroes! We will forever remember you!" Kamaron People''s Daily.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    "Old soldiers, farewell," the Dennis Free Alliance Express.

    "General Quentin was my right-hand man, a great hero. Norn will erect a statue of him, enshrine him in the Norn Heroes Memorial Hall, a place not even I, the king, can be enshrined. Let the hero be remembered by history forever, always remembered by the Norn people," the Norn King, besides posthumously awarding General Quentin as the Iron Blood General and Grand Duke, also bestowed the title of Earl to Keli''s elder brother, along with a piece of land and a castle.

    "The glorious battle, in the old soldiers, I saw the greatness of humanity. But also in them, reflected the pettiness of some people. Besides mourning the valiant old soldiers, we should also loudly call out, not to let the old soldiers'' sacrifice be in vain, not to let their reputation be tarnished. Everyone says, should we let some idlers who occupy positions of power continue to hog the name of human soldiers? They don''t deserve to be soldiers, generals, much less marshals! They claim righteousness, yet engage in shameless betrayal and assassination plots. It is because of these despicable people that the beastmen and demons mistakenly think humans are weak and can be bullied. If not for their betrayal of humanity, would we still need to worry about the beastmen and demon army today?" Famous magical journalist Ivan Yev in the people''s magical newspaper directly targeted the Sanctus Great Alliance.

    "We are indeed disappointed, why do the abandoned old soldiers terrify the beastmen, yet the Sanctus with hundreds of thousands of troops dare not strike at five thousand beastmen? Twenty thousand old soldiers killed over forty thousand half-human, half-horse creatures, the Sanctus with four hundred thousand soldiers, how many beastmen can they defeat? Forty thousand? Four thousand? Don''t tell us, you can only defeat four hundred!" Mire''s magical newspaper also did not hold back in its sarcasm.

    ¡°Heroes will forever be immortal!¡± declared His Majesty William II.

    ¡°Mireille has designated this day as ''Veterans Day''. On this day every year, Mireille will lower the flag to half-mast to pay tribute to the veterans,¡± announced the Empress of Mireille.

    ¡°Indeed, veterans deserve praise, but I hope more for the Sanctity Alliance and Rody City to resume dialogue, not to fight each separately. This is the true blessing for humanity,¡± suggested His Majesty King Adrujeser of Great Fley, proposing a joint effort between the Sanctity Alliance and Rody City.

    ¡°For the life of twenty thousand, only two thousand were saved. Even a three-year-old child knows how to calculate this account!¡± critiqued the Redlands National Magic Newspaper.

    ¡°Recklessness! That''s the only word I can use to describe it. These veterans have already retired, they no longer have the strength to fight. But that magical kid Rody insists on sending them to their deaths, a foolish decision. As for the veterans, it''s an act of overestimating their abilities! We''ve also noticed something else: Rody City is using a despicable, powerful weapon, a magical cylinder that causes massive explosions. It must be a secret killing weapon developed by Rody, something against the path of righteousness. We should ban its appearance on the battlefield to avoid harming the innocent!¡± criticized the Temple''s Truth Newspaper.

    ¡°The position of Marshal is not for some self-righteous generals to decide. It requires authorization from the Temple and recognition from the heads of nations around the world. Who would recognize Rody, this mixed soldier, as Marshal? The true Human Alliance Grand Marshal is Trosky, our pride of Galle!¡± loudly condemned the Galle Ducal Newspaper, declaring Rody''s claim to be Marshal as illegitimate.

    ¡°Listen, banning powerful weapons from harming enemies, that''s the truth according to the Truth Newspaper!¡± mocked the Naples Newspaper.

    ¡°Go kiss the centaur''s behind! You hypocritical bastard, don''t let me see you, or I''ll blast you with the magic cylinder!¡± cursed the vitriolic journalist Simpson, deeply incensed by the comments of the Temple''s Truth Newspaper.

    ¡°If I use the magic cylinder to blow up the Temple and am condemned by the world, I wouldn''t be surprised. But what astonishes me is how the veterans using the magic cylinder to perish together with the centaurs has become a condemnable terrorist attack? Such a heroic act, even someone as cold-blooded as I am feels the blood boiling. How can those bastards in the Temple feel nothing? No, I suddenly realize I have more humanity than those Temple dogs, and that makes me sad!¡± exclaimed the leader of the anti-human terrorist organization, Buland, in astonishment.

    ¡°We no longer recognize Trosky as Marshal. Does he still have the face to represent us humans as Grand Marshal?¡± criticized the Mesdunia Morning Newspaper.

    ¡°Rody is indeed a suitable candidate for Marshal, but the transition to this position could have been handled better. If the Sanctity Alliance acknowledges Rody as the Human Grand Marshal, it would be beneficial for them in every negative aspect, and also for the fate of all humanity,¡± reasonably assessed Norn''s Magic Newspaper.

    ¡°Magical kid Rody is good at war, but not suitable as Marshal, he''s too young!¡± responded the Temple.

    ''He''s too young'', this response shattered the hopes in people''s hearts.

    Now, even a fool knows that the relationship between the Temple and Rody can never be mended. Even if Rody defeats the impending crisis of the demon and orc armies, the Temple will not spare him. It seems the next assassination attempt is not too far off.

    In such dire times today, when Rody has established his great military achievements, the Temple still cannot reconcile with Rody.

    Rody''s ultimate fate, no need to guess, is already imminent.

    But what can people do?

    ¡­

    ¡°We can also achieve victory! And a grand victory at that!¡± suddenly proclaimed Trosky, who had been silent all this time in the Sanctity Fortress.

    This message left everyone somewhat astonished.

    When did Trosky, the coward, become so brave? Could it be that besides his expertise in drinking and womanizing, he actually had a talent for warfare? For a moment, the world was abuzz with countless speculations and uproar among various nations. Some believed that if Trosky dared to send troops into battle, all the soldiers would end up being cooked in a pot by the orcs.

    Others thought that Trosky might have already negotiated terms with the orcs, preparing for another ¡®Night Visit Gate¡¯.

    In short, all eyes were on Sanctity, waiting to see a joke unfold.

    Several days later, the Sanctity Alliance''s army indeed fought a splendid battle, recording the combat and broadcasting it publicly, stunning the world. Of course, what shocked everyone was not the victory itself, but the incredibility of this victory.

    In this battle, the soldiers of the Sanctity Alliance were brave, not just holding their ground but confronting over fifty thousand centaur monsters.

    After two hours of fierce combat, the Sanctity Alliance''s air force defeated the flying monsters, and their magic legion destroyed nearly half of the centaur legions. The vanguards of both sides were ground into mincemeat. Eventually, the centaur monster army was forced to retreat, leaving behind over thirty thousand corpses and fleeing into the Evil Forest under the pursuit of the human cavalry and air force.

    After the victorious battle, there was no Night Visit Gate scandal, nor any negative reports.

    The battle was very real, with fierce fighting and significant casualties on both sides. Finally, the Sanctity Alliance won by sheer numbers.

    From any angle, this victory had no flaws and didn''t seem fabricated. Had it not been for the prior Night Visit Gate, people would have been eager to cheer, but now, except for the Galle Empire and other supporting countries, there was silence worldwide. No one questioned the victory, nor did they cheer. Everyone was waiting for the truth of the matter, or perhaps sending magic reporters directly to ask the magical kid Rody, what would be the result if he had fought this battle.

    Rody didn¡¯t answer; he only wished the Sanctity allied forces a grand victory.

    The magic reporters then caught hold of the Elf Son, Kris. What couldn''t be asked from Rody often could be obtained from him.

    "Our soldiers in Rody City couldn¡¯t have fought such a spectacular offensive battle. We can only defend, not attack, let alone achieve a glorious victory in an offensive. I find Trosky''s victory unbelievable and congratulate him on it!" Kris, the Elf Son, said with a cold smile.

    "If Trosky is capable, let him try fighting a battle against the orcs and the demons," suggested Red-haired Saul, adding to the confusion.

    What did he mean by fighting a battle against orcs and demons? Weren''t the centaur monsters attacking the Sanctity Alliance part of the orcs or demons? Did Saul mean the centaur monsters were Trosky''s allies? They clearly came to exterminate humanity and had previously attacked the veterans.

    The appearance of the centaur army was very mysterious, but judging from their form, they should be orcs or demons.

    "The play was well-performed," commented Ice Demon Gao, more directly, suggesting it was all an act.

    "Congratulations to the Sanctity Alliance for the victory, and congratulations to Trosky for using a hundred thousand army to defeat fifty thousand centaurs, killing thirty thousand of them with only a few thousand casualties. It''s quite remarkable. I, Guilede, am very impressed and plan to bring ten thousand troops to learn from this, hoping Marshal Trosky won''t refuse!" Orc Guilede directly challenged them to a battle.

    "The victorious battle, witnessed by all, clearly seen by everyone, is beyond doubt!" reported the Galle Ducal Newspaper extensively, engaging in utmost propaganda and national celebration.

    ¡°If anyone says no, it''s just blatant envy!¡± declared the Redlands Newspaper.

    ¡°Reward: A hefty reward of ten thousand gold coins for anyone who can provide the truth about the Sanctity centaur battle,¡± announced the Thieves Guild with an extraordinary bounty.

    ¡°I can''t tell with my own eyes, but I dare say, the truth will come out one day, and then let''s see what Trosky has to say. Dear friends, let''s wait, believing the truth isn''t far off! Think about it, if Trosky had the ability to defeat thirty thousand centaurs, then why would he stage the Night Visit Gate incident with just five thousand orcs? In a word, everyone knows, he''s an incompetent fool, such a miracle couldn''t possibly happen to him!¡± the People''s Voice of Kamarlon responded in kind.

    ¡°Everyone, pay attention, Trosky predicted his victory before this battle even started,¡± pointed out the Dennis Free Alliance Newspaper, also highlighting evidence.

    Countless magic reporters rushed to Sanctity, not to sing praises or interview the meritorious soldiers, but to exhaust every means to probe the truth of the victory. Every day, under the pretext of interfering with military matters, Sanctity expelled dozens of magic reporters, and all soldiers were under a gag order.

    However, under the scrutiny and search of the magic reporters, the Sanctity Alliance, before it could even cheer for its victory, turned to worry.

    Daily inquiries about the details of the battlefield also greatly annoyed the generals.

    It was unclear whether the magic reporters'' questions were about reporting their glorious victory or probing for flaws in the battle. Nearly every magic reporter had their pockets full of gold coins, ready to reward heavily anyone who could reveal even slightly useful information.

    The battle between the Sanctity Alliance and the centaurs was taken as a negative case study by various magic and knight academies around the world.

    Teachers and students alike repeatedly analyzed and practiced, trying to find flaws.

    Finally, from the mouths of bold young elites like Red-haired Saul and Ice Demon Gao, magic reporters ''sharpened'' a bit of a flaw. It was about the distribution of spoils and handling of corpses. Everyone knows that spoils represent honor; the wooden clubs and animal skins from the Night Visit Gate had become show-off spoils. If it weren''t for the orcs'' exposure, they would have continued to deceive the world!

    Now, after killing thirty thousand centaurs, where are all the spoils?

    The most crucial point, the veterans killed forty thousand centaurs, Rody and the human elites, along with a thousand slaves, took a whole day to hastily bury the mountainous corpses of the centaurs.

    Where did the corpses of the thirty thousand centaurs killed by the Sanctity Alliance go?

    Were they ''resurrected''?

    Although the Sanctity officials explained several times that the centaur bodies contained some toxin and their blood could impregnate women, so the Sanctity army buried them in the most concealed place. He also said they were worried about the demon necromancers turning the centaur corpses into skeleton centaurs, so the location couldn''t be disclosed to the public. As for which troops covered up the burial, he replied it was the Temple''s nine knight orders.

    ¡°Blow, keep blowing! Centaurs are poisonous, their blood can impregnate women, I''ve never heard of such a thing, this lie is getting bigger and bigger! We''re not in a hurry, just waiting for it to burst!¡± angrily accused the Wise Man of Landon, expressing his disgust at the fabrication and forced explanations.

    ¡°Reward: Capture a live centaur for three thousand gold coins, a corpse for eight hundred, and fresh blood also earns three hundred gold coins,¡± announced the Thieves Guild with a new reward.

    "The noble Templar Knights personally burying the dead, how remarkable. When did they start rushing to do the work of a slave legion? Would any general or knight come forward to respond, admitting they were part of the burial? Come on, humanity''s joke continues to play out. After the Night Visit Gate, Trosky has concocted an even more spectacular ''Burial Gate''. Although we haven''t found enough evidence yet, the truth is right under our eyes!" the Dennis Free Alliance Express pursued relentlessly, causing great annoyance to the Sanctity Alliance.

    The Sanctity Alliance protested against the world''s suspicions, stating that their blood and sacrifices to protect all humanity were met with merciless questioning, which was truly heartbreaking.

    This reaction from the world was not one of sympathy but even greater refutation.

    Newspapers around the world stated that due to the ''Night Visit Gate'' precedent, the Sanctity side needed to provide the most detailed explanations to regain people''s trust. Moreover, Sanctity''s protest against the reporting on Rody City and Sanctity indicated their own fault. In Rody City, war correspondents could go directly to the front lines, and everything captured was the absolute truth, including the enemy''s corpses in abundance. Rody, besides killing, also had to worry about burying bodies. But the Sanctity side had done it ''cleanly'', leaving nothing behind, no wonder the army was scrutinized.

    Moreover, declaring victory before the battle was a bit too much, no wonder everyone was analyzing the details with full force.

    In a word, if you have a clear conscience, why fear scrutiny?

    No one exposed or revealed anything, but due to the meticulous research and on-site investigation by countless magic reporters, Trosky''s victory leaned more and more towards ridicule, a disgrace even more notorious than the Night Visit Gate.

    The same victory, yet with entirely different outcomes.

    General Quentin led the veterans to a victory, and though they all died, people and history would forever remember this battle.

    Trosky also won a victory, but instead of cheering for him, people continuously sought the truth and authenticity of the victory, the hidden truths... These two different fates, apart from being ironic, also showed their different standings in people''s hearts.

    Pursued relentlessly to the point of breathlessness by not only human magic reporters but also orcs.

    Orc Axe Barbarian Guilede really brought more than ten thousand orc elites to the foot of Sanctity City for a challenge. At this time, the entire world''s gaze was on Trosky; he had previously won against thirty thousand centaurs, and now, if he could defeat the orcs who exposed the Night Visit Gate, then everyone would truly believe in him. Or, regardless of whether he had defeated more than thirty thousand centaurs before, as long as he defeats these ten thousand orcs, everyone would cheer for him.

    Ten thousand orcs, with no reinforcements, coming alone, even if all elites, should be a fightable battle.

    Inside Sanctity, there were as many as four hundred thousand troops.

    Kings of various countries made speeches, stating that if Trosky wanted to regain everyone''s confidence, then he should come out and fight.

    Especially King Adrujeser of Great Fley, who personally invited dozens of kings and deans of magic academies, formulated a combat plan that could be called perfect, and sent messengers overnight to Trosky. He also stated that the troops of Great Fley could fearlessly serve as the vanguard, as long as Trosky went to battle. Great Fley would then mobilize another hundred thousand troops in full support.

    With such enthusiastic support from King Adrujeser of Great Fley, the Sanctity Alliance had no reason not to send troops.

    Thus, everyone''s gaze turned to Trosky, waiting for his decision.

 Chapter 206: Gift, Rody Facing the Lionheart King

    In the Fortress of Saint Song.

    "Damn it, Adrugi Seth, this idiot, instead of properly being a king, he''s busy with these crappy plans!" Thorski raged, facing the plan that was sent to him. If before this, His Majesty Adrugi Seth had said he''d send another hundred thousand soldiers, he would have gladly accepted, but now, under the city were ten thousand elite orcs, not fifty thousand half-horsemen.

    "Don''t be impulsive and go to war, you need to continue enduring, our plan is just a little bit short!" Saint Duri expressed that the temple does not support going to war.

    "Then what else do you want me to do? I get scolded every day, people point at my nose and spine, I''m completely finished, that kid Rody took away all my honors, what''s left for me is just endless mockery and accusations, if I don¡¯t go to war now, how would the kings of other countries view me? Not to mention anything else, King Norn will flay me alive! I''ve had enough, understand? I''ve had enough!" Thorski screamed madly.

    "Victory belongs to the one who laughs last, as long as we win in the end, what happened before doesn''t matter!" Saint Duri advised.

    "Report." A guard outside the command room knocked on the door to report.

    "Get out, stay away from me!" Thorski was in a foul mood, he didn''t want to hear any intelligence.

    "Yes... but, King Norn and a dozen other kings have personally come to Saint Song, Your Excellency the Grand Marshal, are you really not going..." the guard cautiously reminded.

    "Damn it, Bishop Saint Duri, tell me, how am I supposed to talk to them?" Thorski almost fainted upon hearing this.

    In the city of Rody.

    Human elites sat around a room, discussing various war intelligence and formulating strategies at Rody''s big round table.

    Those present were all young people, the oldest being Wood, a coach left by General Quentin to help Rody train soldiers, but he was not good at strategy and only came to report training and listen to tasks. Almost all the old soldiers had been sacrificed at the forefront, now the entire city of Rody was filled with young people.

    "I heard that the King of Great Frey enthusiastically made a battle plan for Thorski, that guy must be crying to death!" The Dragon Knight Nutidora, who used to see Rody and Chris as enemies, came to support Rody City in cooperation with Kamarong. As the new captain of William II''s Knight Order, he, a young man, although proud, also hoped to become a hero like the warriors of Rody City. Moreover, the current Rody and Chris were no longer opponents he and his companion Silver Tooth Jerstoni could catch up with.

    "I dare say, as soon as he goes to war, he will be utterly defeated." Red-haired Sal is now one of the most outstanding young generals.

    "He has to go to war." Ice Demon Gao is not very good at leading troops, but the destructive power of the four-element mage group he led in bombarding the enemy is incomparable to ordinary people, and the strongest attacking force under Rody''s command was none other than his mage group.

    "That battle plan, seems a bit off." Benson slightly frowned, as the leader of the strongest defense corps, he did an excellent job.

    "Too bad we can''t get it..." Jesse, a famous assassin in Rody City, as well known as the thief Terry, made enemies tremble.

    "It''s just a battle plan, no big deal, Pandora has already sent someone to get it. The plan is good, both Rody and I have seen it, if we follow this perfect plan, we can definitely defeat the enemy." Chris placed a battle plan on the table, everyone scrambled to read it, but after reading, they were very confused and puzzled.

    ¡°If that''s the case, wouldn''t the King of Great Frey be a fool giving military achievements to others? Has he burned his brain?¡± Stanley asked.

    ¡°I bet he''s having an affair with Thorski''s wife!¡± The only one daring to say this in a military meeting was Lopeck, but before he could finish, everyone boomed him out. He came back with a big plate of cut fruits, and everyone reluctantly forgave him.

    ¡°The plan is perfectly made, but I feel something is off, yet I can''t quite put my finger on it,¡± Red-haired Sal said, scratching his head in frustration.

    ¡°I have a thought, but I''m not sure if it''s accurate,¡± said Silver-haired Tommy. Everyone immediately turned to him. Tommy, usually unassuming, was actually the smartest one next to Rody and Chris, a super villain who, after scheming against others, still managed to make them grateful. His words made everyone think Thorski was about to be unlucky.

    ¡°Let''s hear it,¡± Rody encouraged, smiling, liking everyone to use their brains.

    ¡°The plan is perfect, everyone has seen it, there''s no flaw, but that''s also the biggest flaw. Soldiers of the Saint Song Grand Alliance absolutely cannot execute such a perfect battle plan, because it''s too perfect, too complex, too interlinked. Not to mention Saint Song, even our soldiers, without Rody''s command, probably couldn''t achieve this. Does Thorski have the capability to execute such a complex and interconnected battle plan? Does he have that control over the battlefield? Does he have that prestige and credibility? Impossible!¡± Silver-haired Tommy stated plainly, and everyone suddenly realized.

    ¡°But it does look perfect, so you''re saying, the King of Great Frey deliberately sent Thorski to his death,¡± Keely nodded heavily.

    ¡°The King of Great Frey, let me check, he, he seems to be called Adrugi Seth, a very reckless and warlike king, known as ¡®Foot-on-Iron-Hammer¡¯. Unexpected that he could produce such a battle plan¡­¡± Thief Terry''s biggest interest was collecting information about famous people, of course, his purpose in collecting information about celebrities was completely different from Keely''s. He wanted to know about others'' wealth, preparing to be a gentleman thief.

    ¡°This can''t be the work of the King of Great Frey, he doesn''t have the ability. If it really was him, he wouldn''t have sent his son Vincent to the battlefield to die! Didn¡¯t you notice? The vanguard army is led by his son Vincent, if they really go to battle, his life is in danger!¡± Red-haired Sal didn¡¯t believe a fool could create such a battle plan, because even he and Silver-haired Tommy couldn¡¯t, in Rody City, probably only Rody and Chris had such capability.

    ¡°If not him, then who? It seems the Saint Song Grand Alliance also has its talents!¡± Jerstoni shook his head and sighed.

    ¡°If it really is his work, then we have a formidable enemy. I also hope it''s not him. As for who made this battle plan, Pandora and the others are investigating. This is a malicious conspiracy, not only intending to kill Thorski but also to weaken human strength. I highly suspect it''s a spy of the demon race mixed among humans,¡± Chris pondered briefly, then continued, ¡°Perhaps someone is manipulating behind the scenes, using the King of Great Frey as a front. Regardless, there¡¯s definitely a big hidden hand behind Saint Song. Remember? We once got poisoned in the Iron Blood Knights Camp, and it was corpse poison. Fortunately, there were no major casualties, which was the demon race''s plot to reduce the young human elite.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s indeed possible it''s a battle plan devised by a demon race powerhouse. The heavy casualties of orcs and human soldiers would benefit them most,¡± Rody nodded in agreement.

    ¡°Regardless, our first priority is to defend Rody City,¡± Silver-haired Tommy hinted everyone not to think about rescuing, because even if the Saint Song Grand Alliance is defeated, the angels will support them. They absolutely won¡¯t let the demon race and orcs sweep human lands. If Rody City falls, it would be just what the angels want. Tommy¡¯s main concern was to advise Rody.

    ¡°The demon race has opened a teleportation space in the Exile Land through the angels, and there''s also a lava thermal energy teleportation gate not far from the dwarf village. They can reinforce anytime with a hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, or even five hundred thousand. Rody, I think Tommy is right, we shouldn''t just consider the lives of the four hundred thousand soldiers of Saint Song, but the lives of tens of millions of all humanity. If Saint Song falls, we can retake it later. If Rody City, representing human hope, falls, then everyone will despair. You can''t afford to be merciful,¡± Chris also agreed.

    "I know, I understand, but... let''s see how it goes, hopefully it won''t be too bad!" Rody of course understood, but he still felt somewhat reluctant to see 400,000 soldiers watching as they were senselessly sacrificed by Trosky.

    But what could he do?

    The soldiers of Saint Song wouldn''t listen to him, even though he was the Grand Marshal. The soldiers there had long become just cogs in the machine, merely wanting to get by day by day.

    The truly spirited soldiers had already left Saint Song, heading to Rody''s city, or they were soldiers from some countries who had no opinions of their own and simply blindly followed orders from their superiors. Otherwise, how could they commit such disgraceful acts like the Night Visit Door and Burial Door incidents?

    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.

    "Rody, you are now the Grand Marshal." The biggest reason for Coach Wood to stay here was to remind Rody of his responsibilities. Only he, as a coach, could exert pressure on Rody. General Quentin had refused to take Coach Wood with him on that day, wanting him to stay and continuously serve as Rody''s training officer, reminding Rody at all times of his responsibilities as the Grand Marshal.

    "Have you heard that the people from the Temple and my two older brothers have started playing tricks with my father again?" Rody changed the subject and asked.

    "It seems their conspiracy this time is not small... Rody, you should be mentally prepared." Chris wouldn''t have told Rody this if there weren''t so many people present, to avoid upsetting him. Chris was saying this now to prepare everyone present, as the Temple slandering Rody had started their petty schemes again.

    "I''m fine, Chris, just protect my mother! And, don''t let her know about this." Rody had already given up on his father and two older brothers and was not too burdened psychologically, his only concern being his mother.

    ...

    Trosky finally decided to deploy his troops, although he was reluctant, knowing his limitations.

    But if he didn''t deploy his troops now, not only would the Dennis Free Alliance Gazette criticize him, but all of humanity would label him a coward. He hated King Adrugeser of Great Frey and King Norn to death. The former had sent him a perfect plan, and the latter had personally come to Saint Song, claiming that if Trosky didn''t fight, he would challenge him to a knight''s duel, wanting to rip out Trosky''s heart and liver to see if it was written with orc or human blood.

    Even if Trosky was strong, he wouldn''t dare duel with old King Norn. This old man, although aged, had almost reached the realm of Sword Saint in his youth.

    After his right hand tendons were destroyed by a demon clan powerhouse, causing his power to greatly diminish, he still had the strength of a Sword Emperor. Now, even though his hair and beard were white, Trosky might not necessarily be his match in a real fight. Besides, if Trosky dared to accept the challenge and duel with King Norn, he wouldn''t survive, as the strong men of the Norn Empire would all come out, skin him alive, and even invade the Galle Empire.

    King Norn, this old guy, was one of the three great old marshals above Vondesman. Despite being old and frail, his prestige was like an unshakeable mountain.

    Before deploying his troops, Trosky consulted with more than a hundred generals to discuss the battle plan.

    The battle plan was perfect, with nothing to correct. As long as Trosky followed it, he could win. This was the main reason King Norn came to demand a battle: with just 100,000 soldiers executing it strictly, it was simply impossible to lose, let alone with Saint Song''s 400,000-strong military force.

    For safety, old King Norn reminded Trosky to rehearse it a few times. Although it was a bit embarrassing, it was better than suffering a defeat.

    Trosky did as advised, conducting troop formations and simulations for three days. Feeling confident of victory even with his eyes closed, he finally announced to the world that the Saint Song Alliance agreed to the request of the orc vanguard and was ready to deploy troops for battle.

    King Noren originally intended to stay and observe the battle at Saint Song, but the temple and King Jiale believed that an army cannot have two leaders.

    Misunderstood and in a huff, the old king returned home.

    He had thought that if Tuo Luosi Ji made any minor mistakes, he could lead troops to rectify them. Now, however, he was mistakenly believed to be attempting a coup. The old man cursed continuously and returned to his country, frustrated. Nevertheless, before leaving, he was relatively assured because the battle plan was indeed perfect, and the rehearsals had gone well. He believed that even a fool as a commander could win; otherwise, he wouldn''t have returned home.

    The entire world''s attention was focused on the fortress of Saint Song.

    This time, Tuo Luosi Ji, following Rody City''s example, invited magic reporters to document the battle. Seeing the successful rehearsals, he gained some confidence, believing that defeating the orcs was absolutely possible.

    Four hundred thousand against ten thousand, how could they not win?

    According to this perfect battle plan, the human army was strategically arranged with dragons and griffins in the sky, heavy cavalry and armored infantry on the ground, spearmen on the sides, shield bearers at the front, archers in the rear, light cavalry encircling on both flanks, and mages within the ranks, ready to bombard the orc positions... In short, everything was prepared, just waiting for Tuo Luosi Ji''s command.

    The war reporters also nodded to themselves, thinking that it would be unreasonable not to win against the orcs with such preparation.

    The temple greatly supported the effort, with priests'' prayer groups enhancing blessings, and holy knights and temple warriors aiding. Various countries sent their elite, and some young, promising human elites even formed a group called ''The Holy Squad'', aiming to rival the ''Elite Squad'' of Rody City.

    Many powerful individuals, usually tasked with protecting the kings in their capitals, were also dispatched to help fight the orc champions.

    "If we don''t use Tuo Luosi Ji, and let the six-year-old child of my neighbor''s blacksmith, who plays with mud every day, command, we could still achieve a glorious victory!" said the sharp-tongued reporter Simpson.

    A battle awaited by thousands, the focus of thousands of eyes.

    Under the command of Tuo Luosi Ji, clad in golden armor, the battle officially began. Charging at the forefront was the vanguard of Da Frey, led by Vincent, the second prince of His Majesty Adrujeser of Da Frey. He had been hailed as a new military genius and a rising star by the magical newspapers of Jiale, Redlands, and Da Frey, gaining a reputation comparable to Kris, the Elven Son of Rody City. Of course, he was still slightly inferior to Rody, but if he could win this battle, his fame was expected to rival that of Rody.

    However, this was the view of the magical newspapers of Jiale and Redlands; countries like Camaron and Mile did not agree.

    They believed that if Vincent went to Rody City, he would have to wait in a long line just to carry the shoes of Kris, the red-haired Sal, or the Ice Demon Gao, and others.

    Once the war began, it was incredibly brutal. The battlefield was like a giant meat grinder, mercilessly devouring the lives of soldiers from both sides. The orc elite were ferociously unstoppable, often fighting until death, even with pierced stomachs and trailing intestines. Some, covered in arrows, still managed to chop and charge through enemy lines. Without the support of human mages, the vanguard would have almost instantly collapsed.

    Thanks to the aid of human champions, outnumbering the orcs by tenfold, and with constant reinforcements, the humans had no worries from behind.

    The orcs finally retreated, leaving over two thousand to cover their retreat, while Gulied led more than seven thousand orcs in a forced withdrawal. Their retreat was difficult due to the perfect battle plan, which had anticipated such a scenario. The light cavalry on both flanks, with their high-speed mobility, tightly pursued the retreating orc army.

    Flying magical beasts in the sky carried mages in batches, relentlessly pursuing the orcs, who found it nearly impossible to escape, leaving a trail of orc soldiers to cover their retreat.

    This desperate measure of cutting off the arm to save the body could only slowly diminish their overall strength.

    If the orcs had fifty thousand, then this strategy of sacrificing pawns to save the chariot would be effective. However, with only ten thousand elite orcs, it was far too few. By the time the third group of two thousand stayed behind to cover the retreat, only a few hundred of the orcs'' super elites remained behind Gulied. This battle could almost be described as a disastrous defeat for the orcs.

    The Saint Song Alliance was already preparing celebratory drinks, and the war reporters had thought of headlines for the next day''s newspapers.

    "Tuo Luosi Ji Achieves a Complete Victory, Redeeming Past Shame."

    "The Saint Song Alliance Rises."

    "Don¡¯t doubt it, Tuo Luosi Ji really ''toughened up'' this time, he¡¯s a real man!"

    As for the content of the reports, there was no need; just putting up some victory magic photos would do!

    Everyone felt it was time to cheer, although many human soldiers were also sacrificed. Still, defeating the orcs was, after all, a good thing.

    If the orcs could ''turn the tables'' at this point, it would take nothing less than the descent of the Orc God. Even King Noren, upon seeing this, sighed in relief. The old king decided to get a good night''s sleep, as he hadn''t slept well for many days due to worry over the war.

    "Your Majesty..." Just as the old king lay down, not yet dreaming, an attendant called him with a trembling voice.

    "Tuo Luosi Ji is inviting me to a victory banquet? No, I won''t go! Getting carried away after defeating ten thousand orcs, he should learn from the young Rody. How many demonic orcs he''s defeated, yet he¡¯s always remained humble and cautious, never heard of him throwing any victory banquet." In fact, the old king wanted to go, but it was also about maintaining some dignity.

    "No, the human, the human allied forces... have been defeated!" The attendant knelt down, his voice trembling with nightmarish news.

    "How is that possible!" King Noren couldn''t believe his ears.

    Wearing his robe, he rushed out, only to find the human army in a complete rout, fleeing in disarray, trampling each other, countless dead and injured. A small number of orcs were crazily pursuing them, with human soldiers being slaughtered like melons and vegetables, offering no resistance.

    The magic recording disappeared at this moment, but the old king still couldn''t believe it.

    He ordered the mages to play the earlier recording, and upon seeing it, he nearly vomited three large bowls of blood.

    The proud Tuo Luosi Ji had been relentlessly pursuing the remnants of the orcs, desperate to capture Gulied and his blood-spattered axe. Upon reaching a small forest, the human air force and light cavalry encountered an orc. This orc was extremely tall, sitting on the ground as tall as a normal person standing. Its appearance made all the fleeing orcs immediately kneel down.

    Because it was the most powerful and esteemed among the orcs, His Majesty the Lionheart King.

    Its appearance completely changed the course of the battle. The orc Axe Saint didn''t even need to lift a hand, but upon its arrival, all orcs went berserk. Regardless of generals or soldiers, they all transformed and counterattacked the human army. Only then did the human soldiers realize the true strength of these ten thousand orc elites.

    The human soldiers were like tiny dwarfs in front of the berserk orc elites.

    King Lionheart took step by step towards the human army, while the orc soldiers tore apart the bodies of the human soldiers one by one.

    The thousands of orcs who had previously covered the retreat all transformed into berserk states, displaying terrifying combat power. Even the severely wounded orcs turned into horrific man-eating monsters, destroying everything on the battlefield in a rampage of slaughter. If Tuo Luosi Ji had enough control, or rather, if he had enough courage, the humans would not have been utterly defeated. At worst, they would have faced a severe setback due to the orcs'' counterattack, with heavy casualties on both sides, instead of turning into a one-sided massacre.

    However, as soon as he saw the Lionheart King, his first reaction was to flee the battlefield, abandoning thousands of soldiers.

    With the commander gone, the human army was thrown into disarray. Soldiers who were originally killing orcs turned into fleeing deserters, causing more deaths from trampling each other than were caused by the orcs...

    "It''s over, how could I have trusted this guy? I''ve really become senile!" King Noren, who hadn''t shed tears in decades, cried for the first time.

    "Your Majesty, Your Majesty... The Miraculous Youngster, the Miraculous Youngster has come!" An old marshal with snow-white hair rushed in, disregarding all formalities and embraced King Noren, shouting excitedly: "Rody has arrived!"

    "Where? Let him go to Saint Song, why come here? Go save people!" Upon hearing this, King Noren yelled anxiously.

    "He''s outside Saint Song City, right now, just outside... Mage, open our secret magic frequency No. 67, our war correspondent is filming there, he just sent me this information." The old marshal didn''t wait for the mage to act, instead he himself rushed to the magic device, frantically adjusting the magic signal.

    King Noren was so anxious that he was hopping around. Just when he was about to lose his patience, an image finally appeared.

    Behind a large group of defeated soldiers stood a lone young man, very young, looking somewhat thin and frail, dressed in a white warrior''s uniform that had been washed pale. He stood quietly in front of thousands of blood-drenched beasts.

    None of the berserk, man-eating orcs dared to approach him; they all roared madly at him, trying to intimidate him.

    But this young man remained calm and unmoved.

    It was he who stopped the pursuit of thousands of berserk orcs. Without his presence, the entire human race would either have been torn apart by the berserk orcs or trampled to death under the feet of their own kind. This young man, wherever he appeared on the battlefield, was an object of fear for the enemy, even for an Axe King leading tens of thousands of orcs or a Demon Marshal leading tens of thousands of demons, neither dared to take him lightly.

    "Human soldiers, stop immediately and come back to my side," commanded the young man.

    His voice resonated through the skies. Although the scattered soldiers did not do so, they stopped their steps and secretly looked back, only to see such a young man behind them, and their trembling lessened.

    Many cried out in pain, afraid of death, which always seemed so close to them.

    They longed for victory, but victory seemed so far out of reach.

    In the moment they were about to be torn apart by the orcs, after being abandoned by generals and marshals, fortunately, this young man did not abandon them.

    "The Miraculous Youngster, I have a gift for you," the Lionheart King walked up through the split berserk orc crowd, stepping in front of the young man, looking down at him, his voice thunderous. He waved his hand, and the berserk orcs Gulied Axe-Man and Anlinnaif Witch-King threw the unconscious Tuo Luosi Ji heavily to the ground. He could not escape, having fallen into the orc''s trap early on.

    "King Lionheart, I also have a gift for you," the young man waved his hand, and a red-haired and a blue-haired young man flew down from the sky, throwing a magic-locked orc onto the ground. That was Colincha, the fifth marshal of the orcs.

 Chapter 207: Thunderous Roar, The Cry of a Hundred Thousand Soldiers

    "Miraculous Kid, do you think you can fight me? Behind you, I don''t see a single soldier!" King Lionheart laughed heartily.

    "Even if not now, there will be later," Rody said calmly with a smile. "Your Majesty King Lionheart, behind you, I only see a group of soldiers about to burst from excessive frenzy. Do you really think you can fight me?"

    "Faced with a vast defeated army, even a fool knows to pursue the victory," King Lionheart said, looking down at Rody from a high position.

    "Faced with soldiers about to reignite their fighting spirit, a wise man knows what to do... Soldiers, if you don''t want the orcs to tear your bodies apart, kill your parents, or devour your wives and children, then quickly pick up your weapons and stand behind me," Rody''s voice once again thundered, stirring some soldiers of the Sanctum Alliance, but the sight of King Lionheart and the thousands of frenzied, savage orcs scared them into inaction, with none daring to step forward.

    "Yes, Marshal," responded only the red-haired Sael and the Ice Demon Gao, supporting Rody.

    "Ha ha ha ha..." King Lionheart laughed endlessly, saying, "Very good, I like this situation. Miraculous Kid, tell me, with just three people, how do you plan to protect hundreds of thousands of cowards? Ha ha ha!"

    "With our three lives!" Rody''s voice remained calm, but everyone could sense the hidden sorrow.

    He never abandoned anyone. Even when the Sanctum Alliance declared him an unwelcome person, he still came. He was absent from the victory feast, but in this moment of human defeat, he came alone, calling everyone to take up arms and fight bravely. Yet no one listened to him, no one... He would never abandon the soldiers, but they abandoned him, for their selfish lives, for a fleeting existence in this world. Hundreds of thousands of Alliance soldiers left him standing alone before thousands of frenzied orcs.

    Only the red-haired Sael, who captured the fifth orc marshal Colincha, and the Ice Demon Gao, two young men from Rody''s city, resolutely stood behind him.

    Under the attack of King Lionheart and thousands of frenzied orcs, these three young men, though the proudest elites of humanity, likely wouldn''t survive.

    Were hundreds of thousands of soldiers expecting these three young men to shield them from the orcs, only to shamelessly flee for their lives?

    King Lionheart''s incessant laughter pierced people''s hearts like a sharp knife.

    Many felt their faces burn, as if invisible hands had slapped them repeatedly, the pain reaching deep into their souls. They seemed to see their hearts bleeding, not from others'' wounds, but from the sword of shame they had inflicted upon themselves.

    "Damn it, all these soldiers should be killed!" King Norn, like an angry old lion, cursed inwardly.

    "The Sanctum Fortress is close to collapsing..." Emperor Adrugsith sat on his throne in the palace, holding a cup of grape wine, sighing to himself. Beside him sat the beautiful queen, smiling, a hidden Fear Demoness among humans. Seeing the scene, she turned to ask Emperor Adrugsith, "All the human soldiers are trembling. Do you think anyone will respond to the Miraculous Kid?"

    "I don''t know about the Miraculous Kid; he has too much leadership charisma, a natural commander!" Emperor Adrugsith pondered and shook his head gently, "If it were me standing there, certainly no one would support, but with the Miraculous Kid, it''s hard to say. However, even if some respond to his call, it''s useless. The courage of human soldiers has been completely shattered by the orcs."

    "The real war is about to begin, and I quite like this prologue," said the beautiful queen, nodding and elegantly picking up her wine glass to drink with her husband.

    Below the Sanctum Fortress, hundreds of thousands of defeated soldiers trembled in fear.

    Not a single one dared to respond to Rody''s call and follow him to fight the orcs.

    Even in their retreat, a few continued to flee, seizing the moment of confusion to desperately run towards the gates of the Sanctum Fortress. These were mostly soldiers from the Temple''s army and those of Gare, their retreat causing even more panic, with more and more people uncontrollably fleeing backwards.

    In the midst of King Lionheart''s laughter, the frenzied orc army steadily advanced. There were few soldiers who could stop their feet from running away. A long line of routed troops formed, with the air force and cavalry fleeing the fastest, followed by mages and nimble archers, while the heavily armored infantry began to discard their shields and strip off their armor in a disheveled escape. Those who remained at the rear were slave legions armed with wooden spears and rusty swords. Although they too yearned to flee, their low status forced them to stay behind, as obstructing the knights'' escape route would mean certain death upon return.

    The closest to Rody and his companions were the war correspondents from various countries, capturing these desolate scenes with tears in their eyes.

    "Miraculous Kid, where are your soldiers?" King Lionheart approached Rody, grabbed him by the shirt, and demanded, "A human commander without a single soldier, what will you use to fight me?"

    "They will come, I believe in them," Rody''s voice was soft, but amplified by magic, it was heard by everyone.

    Even until this moment, he was willing to believe in his soldiers.

    King Lionheart was about to kill him, but Rody remained steadfast in his belief in the soldiers who had already abandoned him.

    This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    "Let go of our Marshal, Your Majesty King Lionheart. He still has us, we are his soldiers!" Red-haired Sael and Ice Demon Gao stepped forward together, glaring at the towering King Lionheart and shouted with suppressed anger.

    "Just you two?" King Lionheart, the Orc Axe Saint, roared and with a casual strike, was about to send them flying.

    King Lionheart''s giant fist shook the earth. In front of the invincible Saint-level powerhouse, red-haired Sael and Ice Demon Gao were injured with one blow, thrown dozens of meters away, but they struggled up from the mud and steadfastly returned to Rody''s side. King Lionheart raised his fist, intending to throw another punch to kill Sael and Gao.

    A seemingly delicate hand gently stopped King Lionheart''s giant fist.

    "Your Majesty King Lionheart, your opponent is me." Rody''s hand touched King Lionheart''s giant fist, and his whole body shook. A massive shockwave spread rapidly behind him, tearing the ground like a spider''s web, extending hundreds of meters to the fleeing soldiers. Rody took a punch, his complexion turned even paler, his lips lost all color, but his eyes remained as bright as the stars.

    "How many punches can you take from me? With just you and two soldiers, can you stop my thousands of orcs?" King Lionheart roared, and dozens of orc Axe Kings and Barbarian Witch Kings lined up. With a combined strike from these powerful beings, Sael and Gao would be reduced to dust.

    "He has more than two soldiers... he has me." Chris descended from the sky, his body covered in blood, a stark contrast to his usual cleanliness.

    "And us too!" Silver-haired Tommy and his elite squad arrived, each of them severely wounded, clearly having arrived after a fierce battle. It was hard to imagine what kind of battle had left these invincible human elites in such a state. Many who understood the situation knew it must have been the demons'' doing.

    If Rody had come to rescue Sanctum, then Chris must have been defending Rody''s city. The demons would certainly take advantage of the orcs'' victory over humans to launch a fierce attack. Without the demons'' powerful assault, the elite squad would not have been so grievously injured.

    "Foolish! With just over a hundred people against thousands of orcs, they shouldn''t have come. Rody shouldn''t have brought them to save those damned soldiers; let the orcs eat them! I don''t care, but these are the most outstanding and excellent young people of humanity. If King Lionheart kills them, it''s an irreplaceable loss for mankind, and it infuriates me! King Lionheart, you bastard, I''m going to fight you to the death!" King Norn wished he could immediately rush to Sanctum Fortress, but the teleportation portal was jammed with generals and knights fleeing from various countries, making it impossible to connect and receive transports.

    "The demons and centaur legions that tried to intercept were defeated by the elite squad? Rody''s subordinates are truly formidable!" the beautiful queen exclaimed in admiration.

    "Without half a million demons, it would be impossible to take down Rody''s city. However, with just two hundred thousand, we can force them to stay on the defensive. We don''t need to take down Rody''s city, nor do we need to kill the Miraculous Kid Rody. We just need a little bit of time. Ha, the centaur army sent by the angels really did us a huge favor," Emperor Adrugsith said with a nod and a smile.

    Beneath the Sanctum Fortress, most of the human soldiers had already fled inside the fortress. Those who hadn''t escaped were either the slave legions or the lowest-ranking infantry. They desperately retreated but occasionally scattered to dodge the trampling of the heavy cavalry. The ground was covered in a thick layer of bloody mud, composed of the bodies of soldiers trampled to death.

    After the last of the heavy cavalry entered the city, the generals on the city walls, indifferent to the nearly one hundred thousand slave legions, infantry, and logistics troops below, ruthlessly ordered the city gates to be closed and the drawbridge raised to prevent the orcs from entering and capturing the Sanctum Fortress. The despairing human soldiers cried out in agony. Some clung desperately to the gates and the edges of the drawbridge, only to be mercilessly shot down by archers on the walls.

    Countless people slipped into the moat from the drawbridge, screaming for help. Many more cried out in pain, begging for the drawbridge to be lowered and the gates opened, but as soon as they approached, they were met with a barrage of arrows.

    The ugliness, selfishness, and ruthlessness of humanity were laid bare in this moment.

    "Ha ha ha, Miraculous Kid, is this the result you wanted? Are these the soldiers you believed in? Ha ha ha, why don''t you turn around and look? Why don''t you listen with your ears? What are they doing? Killing each other! This is the humanity you''ve always protected! You humans think you are civilized, especially the noble knights, acting polite and graceful as if it¡¯s the only way to express their hypocrisy. Look! Miraculous Kid Rody, look at everything behind you, this is the behavior of noble knights! You sacrifice your life to protect them, but they, in turn, survive to continue killing others!" King Lionheart''s words pierced like needles into the hearts of all the onlookers in the rear, causing them to involuntarily shed painful tears.

    These tears were shed for one person ¨C Rody.

    Everything he did was to protect others, but those he protected abandoned him and used his protection to commit acts that shamed and pained all of humanity. The proudest Miraculous Kid of humanity, mocked mercilessly by the orc emperor, left people crying without tears...

    If the enemy''s shameful actions weren''t facts, people could ignore them, could be angry.

    But the enemy''s mockery was based on naked, bloody facts. How could people not be heartbroken, how could they not cry out in pain for the Miraculous Kid Rody?

    "Some of them are like that, but not all. I believe there are humans worth protecting. I believe in them!" Rody said firmly.

    Even at this moment, he still held on, still didn''t give up, still willing to believe in those human soldiers who abandoned him.

    For a time, the onlookers in the rear were so moved they knelt down. Mothers opened their arms, wanting to embrace this son of humanity. Men clenched their fists, wishing to rush into the screen to support him, to let him know that not everyone has forsaken him, that not all of humanity has abandoned him... Kings angrily smashed everything in their palaces, women shrieked sharply, and students waved their fists excitedly.

    "Sanctum Alliance bastards, pick up your weapons, go support Rody!"

    "Go, go support the Miraculous Kid right now!"

    "Damn these parasites, I''m going to kill them!"

    A wave of anger swept across the continent, but it was to no avail. Their voices couldn''t reach the front lines, couldn''t reach the Sanctum Fortress.

    King Lionheart laughed heartily, his laughter striking every human''s face like a slap. In contrast, the Miraculous Kid Rody, standing unyielding in front of him, appeared so lonely and helpless... Not that no one supported him, but compared to King Lionheart with his thousands of frenzied orc army, Rody only had a little over a hundred in his elite squad. He had always had only that tiny group of supporters, only them!

    "Me too!" A war correspondent threw away his magic filming device, trembling hands picking up a long sword from the ground, howling like a wounded beast. He charged out from the rear of the retreating troops, tears streaming down his face, rushing to the back of the elite squad, shouting, "I''m not a soldier, I can''t fight, but I''m signing up now, I want to join you!"

    "Welcome, you fool!" Silver-haired Tommy laughed heartily, pointing at the thousands of frenzied orcs ahead, "Dare you stand at the very front with me?"

    "I''m a fool, what''s there to fear!" The young war correspondent, trembling like a chick in a storm, followed closely behind Tommy, reaching the frontline, almost parallel with Rody, close enough to smell the stench from the orcs'' breaths.

    "Any more fools like this?" Tommy asked, supporting the young correspondent''s trembling waist, looking back.

    "Yes!" Another middle-aged correspondent threw away his magic device, not even bothering to pick up a weapon, charging forward barehanded.

    "And me, and me!"

    "I''m sick of living anyway. Rather than being looked down upon by you orcs, I''d rather fight you!"

    "Dying alongside the Miraculous Kid is my honor!"

    "I''m not a soldier, but I am a man!"

    "I''m scared of dying, but I''m more scared of the world pointing at my spine and calling me a coward! I''m coming! Damn orcs, come on, come tear my chest apart!" Many war correspondents who had been to Rody''s city were moved to action. Their blood boiling, they rushed out one after another, screaming towards the elite squad.

    "Brothers, we can''t survive anyway, might as well follow the Miraculous Kid!" Some leaders of the slave troops also responded.

    "If you want to live, follow the Miraculous Kid, he can definitely defeat the orcs!" Some still had faith in Rody, though mostly to encourage themselves.

    One by one, then dozens, then hundreds...

    Inspired by others and Rody''s unwavering stance, the war correspondents and slave legions willingly chose to die fighting with the Miraculous Kid rather than under the arrows at Sanctum Fortress. Suppressing their fear, they roared and charged towards the elite squad. This boiling blood tide of people stirred more and more soldiers to join.

    Infantry, shield bearers, and logistics troops, all excitedly ran towards the Miraculous Kid Rody.

    He was their hope. With him there, everyone believed they could survive.

    Because he would never abandon them, always believed in them, always protected them... A large group of soldiers, crying tears, reignited their morale. Encouraged by their comrades, influenced by the elite squad resolutely fighting the orcs, and supported by that glimmer of hope in their hearts, they gritted their teeth, overcame their psychological barriers, and returned to the battlefield.

    "Now, Your Majesty King Lionheart, I have a hundred thousand soldiers. Soldiers, let out a roar for the orcs to hear, let them hear the supreme fighting spirit of humanity, our powerful earth-shaking shout!" Rody raised his right hand high and swung it down.

    "Kill..." A hundred thousand tearful soldiers let out a roar they had never emitted in their lifetimes, like thunder on a plain.

 Chapter 208: Compassion, The Fool Who Moves to Tears

    At this moment, not only the hundred thousand soldiers, but also everyone watching the battle from the rear, shouted together. Tears streamed down their faces regardless of age or gender, all of them roaring at the orcs. For many years, humans had never faced orcs with such overwhelming morale. Humans always harbored deep fear towards orcs and demons, always on the defensive, always retreating. Just now, the Miraculous Kid alone stood against thousands of frenzied orcs and even King Lionheart, giving everyone an immense touch, absolute confidence, and a powerful hope.

    "Kill, kill, kill!"

    Humans kept shouting, not out of a desire for slaughter, but to break through their psychological barriers. At this moment, the enemy of all humans was themselves. They wanted to kill their past cowardly selves, awaken the bravest and most fearless part of their hearts, to burst forth with new life, casting aside all past cowardice and fear... Countless people, not just the elderly but also young people, men, women, even children, were deeply merged and moved by this wave of emotion.

    Old King Norn jumped up, waving his fists, jumping, shouting, losing one of his shoes without noticing. It was as if he had returned to his youth, to his proud and fearless youth. The old king cried like rain; in his life, he never admitted to being a coward, but at this moment, he realized he had never faced his mindset since the defeat. He felt his long-dormant passion boiling inside, and for a moment, he found himself still young and extraordinarily strong. It was not his body that was aged, but his mindset.

    "Kill, I want to kill, I must kill..." Old King Norn cried profusely, excitedly realizing that his former self had returned. Under the call of the Miraculous Kid Rody, his lost will to fight and spirit returned.

    In the Great Frey Palace, Emperor Adrugsith and the beautiful queen were stunned.

    It took them a long time to recover from their astonishment.

    "This guy is really godly, to turn things around like this. I wouldn''t believe it if I hadn''t seen it with my own eyes," the beautiful queen sighed in disbelief.

    "This is the Miraculous Kid, our formidable enemy," Emperor Adrugsith''s eyes gleamed with fervent battle spirit, staring intently at Rody.

    Under the Sanctum Fortress.

    King Lionheart tightly gripped Rody''s shirt, his right fist raised high, ready to strike with thunderous force. Thousands of frenzied orcs and a hundred thousand human soldiers roared, their battle spirit reaching a frenzy. With just one command from their leaders, even if it meant being decapitated or limbs torn, even if blood splattered five steps, even if reduced to ashes, not a single soldier would retreat.

    The great battle was on the brink of erupting.

    The Miraculous Kid Rody said just one sentence, dissolving the deadly struggle between humans and orcs.

    "Your Majesty King Lionheart, I can cure the orcs'' frenzy," Rody said. Orc frenzy is the beginning of their madness and also the start of their death. No Orc Witch King could use magic to cure an orc''s frenzy, though it has been their wish for thousands of years. High-ranking orcs could erupt with ten times their strength in a frenzy, the stronger the orc, the v

    Perhaps an Orc Barbarian''s frenzy lasts very long, ten times longer than that of an elite orc warrior, up to a day, even more than a day and a night. During this time, they are almost invincible, but once their life force burns to its peak, they will burst and die, leaving no trace of their existence.

    The thousands of frenzied orcs are nearly invincible, more terrifying than tens of thousands of demons. This is part of the reason Tharoski fled in fear, and also the real reason why four hundred thousand human troops rapidly disintegrated. Previously, in battles, the number of orcs that could frenzy was very few, seldom over a hundred. Humans could not imagine the orcs having thousands capable of frenzying, nor could they imagine King Lionheart appearing, let alone sacrificing thousands of elite orcs in a fierce attack on Sanctum.

    If Rody hadn''t spoken those words, regardless of whether the human soldiers erupted with fighting spirit, King Lionheart would have ordered the frenzied orc army to attack with all their might.

    What King Lionheart did earlier was just to crush the morale of the human soldiers, accelerating their defeat.

    If it wasn''t the Miraculous Kid Rody, the most intelligent and powerful human male, standing in front of him, King Lionheart would have already ordered the frenzied orc army to crush them.

    "No, don''t help them lift the frenzy. We can hold Sanctum, and eventually, all the orcs will burst!" Chris disagreed with Rody for the first time.

    "Chris, we all have parents. Every soldier has parents who gave birth to and raised them. Now, millions of fathers and mothers are watching. They entrusted their sons to us. Are we going to let the orcs tear them to pieces? Look, they stand behind us because they believe in us. If we decide to go to war, none of them will survive... With one word from me, I can decide their life or death, decide whether millions of fathers cry in pain or smile in joy, decide whether millions of women lose their husbands, decide whether millions of children lose their fathers. Chris, I''m not afraid of war, but I don''t like it... Our human blood has already been shed enough!" Rody gently took Chris''s hand, speaking softly.

    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    "You know, I always listen to you, but others won''t. As soon as you help the orcs lift their frenzy, tomorrow you will become the enemy of the world, a traitor to humans, a collaborator with orcs. In the minds of knights and nobles, a hundred thousand slaves are nothing. If you decide to negotiate and make peace with the orcs for these hundred thousand slave soldiers, what will everyone think? You will no longer be a hero, but a traitor cursed by millions!" Chris said tearfully, voicing many people''s fears.

    "I don''t care about others'' opinions or my reputation. I only care about life, living life," Rody smiled faintly.

    "If you can lift the frenzy, we orcs will not attack Sanctum for three months and swear never to attack Rody''s city. As long as the Miraculous Kid protects them, we will not kill a single person under your protection, and if you want to negotiate peace, we orcs are always ready. Is my condition good enough?" King Lionheart still clutched Rody''s shirt.

    King Lionheart was confident he could take down Sanctum. Though he only had thousands of frenzied orcs, in his eyes, Sanctum was as weak as a clay chicken or pottery dog.

    His real concern was only Rody.

    Of course, people could see that King Lionheart still valued the thousands of elite orcs. This was his biggest investment, and he didn''t want the elite orcs to be completely lost until the very end. Perhaps, dying together with Rody and his men was not what he truly wanted.

    Orcs, although they wanted to plunder everything from humans, wanted to do so at the smallest cost.

    Going to war with the Miraculous Kid Rody was never part of King Lionheart''s plan.

    "Brothers, return to your families and lead a good life! I absolve you of your slave status. Your bravery has cleansed you of everything. Heroes of humanity, please follow my assistant Chris and leave!" Rody turned and signaled the hundred thousand slave soldiers to leave. He had made his decision, willing to bear eternal infamy for the lives of a hundred thousand people. Perhaps this decision was a huge mistake, perhaps going to war now was the right thing, but he chose not to do the ''right'' thing. The Miraculous Kid, the hope of humanity, the hero of perfect battles, always prioritized the lives of his warriors, always sought victory with the least casualties. He never traded lives for victory, never piled up honor with soldiers'' corpses, never enhanced himself with others'' pain. This is the true Miraculous Kid Rody.

    "No, we won''t leave."

    "Marshal, let us die in battle! Even if we die, there are tens of millions of humans left, they are your soldiers!"

    "We are just lowly slaves, all of us together are not worth one of your fingers. Let us stay! You didn''t abandon us, and we are already content. To die by your side is an honor we couldn''t even dream of..."

    "Don''t let concern for our lives cast suspicion and blame on you, that would be humanity''s greatest loss!"

    "Let us die in battle, please let us die!"

    The hundred thousand soldiers knelt down, each extending their hands, tearfully begging to die in battle. Just a few minutes ago, they were trembling with fear, unable to respond to Rody''s call, but now, they hoped Rody would agree to let them die in battle, to sacrifice themselves for him...

    "You are no longer slaves, not just ordinary people, but heroes of humanity. Go home! Your loved ones are waiting for you, your elderly parents are longing for your return; your wives are tearfully praying to the gods for your safe return; your young sons need your care. It''s easy for one person to wish for death, but very difficult to live well. Soldiers, the battle between humans and orcs is over, enough soldiers have died today, enough blood has been shed... It doesn''t matter if the Miraculous Kid is called a traitor, I am still Rody, the same as before, and that won''t change." Rody raised his hand, his hands emitting a golden light brighter than the sun.

    In the supreme field of spiritual power, people forgot their pain and tears, staring dumbly at Rody, blazing like the sun. Millions of rays of light twinkled on him, dazzling but not blinding. Intense, yet not aggressive, extremely peaceful, bringing an inexplicable tranquility, not just in the body, but deep in the soul as well, peacefully breathing within the light, like sleep. At this moment, everyone was extremely lucid, yet not a single person spoke, no one breathed heavily, no one felt the urge to break this tranquility.

    Under the light, the frenzied orcs changed, losing their ferocious demeanor, their faces taking on the calmness of rest. One by one, the orcs transformed in the light, released from their frenzied mutated state, reverting to their original appearance. The orcs, who had turned into monsters, quickly stood upright, shrinking, returning to their orc form.

    Both the injuries on the human soldiers and the wounds on the orcs were healing visibly to the naked eye.

    Rody, suspended in the sky, sat cross-legged in mid-air, his face carrying a compassionate calmness, eyes closed, hands emitting endless golden light. In that moment, a feeling arose in people''s hearts: this was a deity. The deity most compassionate to all beings in legends should be like him, treating the lives of both humans and orcs equally.

    As the golden light flickered, although it was just a magical image, people in the rear were watching in utmost tranquility. Everyone felt their souls being purified, bathed in the intense yet gentle golden light.

    "Boom!" Five beams of white light descended from the sky, transforming into a thunderous aura slash, heavily striking Rody who was suspended in the air. In an instant, the golden light shattered, and blood scattered like flowers from the heavens, filling the sky.

    "Judgment!" The white light turned into angels, four two-winged angels and one six-winged angel, radiating fierce aura, and under the enhancement of a giant holy light formation, they slashed down again, tearing the sky apart. The elite squad was jolted awake by the attack, filled with rage, and each of them bravely charged to meet the attack. However, reacting even faster than them were the orc Axe Kings and King Lionheart.

    King Lionheart roared like thunder, leaping into the air, his fists pounding the sky, shattering the five sword auras chasing them down.

    Chris reached out to hold Rody, tears rolling down.

    "I told you before, doing this would only bring hatred¡­" Chris repeatedly wiped the blood from Rody''s lips, but the gushing blood was endless, just like Chris''s tears.

    "It''s okay, I knew this would happen," Rody said with a forced smile, pale as death, then fainted.

    "Let''s go, we should leave! Honor will never belong to us. You are a fool, and so am I. Let''s go, let''s return to our safe harbor, our home! We shouldn''t have come, shouldn''t have come¡­" The Elven Son Chris, holding Rody, ignored the battle in the sky, and set off on a lonely journey. Rody in his arms kept dripping blood along the way, strikingly vivid.

    "Let''s leave this place!" Silver-haired Tommy roared and shouted at the hundred thousand slave soldiers: "If you want to be a fool, then follow!"

    "Don''t leave us behind¡­"

    "We are fools, and we are willing to be fools!"

    "No, no, don''t die, we can''t be without the Miraculous Kid, let''s exchange our lives for his, let us trade our lives to bring him back!"

    The elite squad didn''t respond to the slave soldiers'' cries, lining up one by one, following closely behind Chris. Some war correspondents saw and hurriedly followed. Some infantry hesitated for a moment, but quickly realized the slave legions had already surpassed them and hurriedly followed suit. The hundred thousand soldiers passed by the orc soldiers, but the orcs, as if not seeing them, all watched the battle between King Lionheart and the angels in the sky.

    Several Axe Kings, dozens of Barbarians, and Shaman Witch Kings set up a net in the sky, along with the Saint-level King Lionheart.

    The five angels had no chance to escape. Under King Lionheart''s nine attacks, even the strongest six-winged angel fainted and fell, blood and white feathers filling the sky. They didn''t expect that their attackers would not be the elite squad, but the enraged orc warriors.

    "Miraculous Kid, this is my gift to you!" King Lionheart descended from the sky, grabbed the neck of the six-winged angel, and twisted it, killing him.

    "We orcs respect heroes and keep our promises. Originally, after Rody was assassinated by you, you had already nullified his wish, and we didn''t need to keep our previous agreement. But we still do, because Rody is a human hero we orcs cannot afford to offend! Go, Sanctum Alliance, and you angels, we''ll meet again in three months!" King Lionheart waved his hand, and the orc elite retreated like a receding tide.

 Chapter 209: Crisis, The Revelation Three Days Later

    After the war ended, two completely different voices erupted in the human world.

    One was led by countries like Galle and Redlands, accusing Rody of recklessly dispelling the frenzied state of thousands of orcs, committing heinous war crimes, and deserving trial by the Human Alliance. They ignored the defeat of Trosky and his four hundred thousand soldiers, focusing only on Rody''s unilateral decision to dispel the orcs'' frenzy, insinuating that Rody had long colluded with the orcs and was the greatest enemy hidden within humanity.

    The other voice was led by countries like Camaron and Mille, who almost unanimously supported Rody.

    "Perhaps, dispelling the orcs'' frenzy was a mistake, and this act might bring harm to humanity in the future. But we must pay attention to the words ''perhaps'' and ''might''. These are not realities, but hypotheses, mere speculations. They are like my sexual fantasies about the daughter of Galle''s Duke''s chief editor, which do not exist in reality. If people judge and consider me a sinner for my ''perhaps'' and ''might'' rape her, it would be a huge joke. I believe His Excellency the Chief Editor fantasizes about their queen a hundred times a day, and should have been sent to the gallows long ago. Let''s face reality! If Rody hadn''t acted, the frenzied orcs would have torn apart a hundred thousand slave soldiers and fiercely attacked the Saint Song Fortress. The Chief Editor would have fled back to Galle in fear, tremblingly writing full of lies to publish Trosky''s fabricated victory news, continuing to fool the people of Galle as always. We know some people have always been displeased with Rody because his kindness and morals make them feel uncomfortable, sitting on pins and needles. They never look at the hundred thousand slaves with their eyes. Hey, what else do their eyes see apart from money, power, and women''s nudity?" Ivan Yef, a famous magic reporter from Camaron, commented thus.

    "Rody''s actions have won my heart," the Queen of Mille personally affirmed Rody''s approach.

    "I''ve never doubted Rody''s actions, just as I''ve never doubted his victories," William II of Camaron also dismissed it with a laugh.

    "Thank you, miracle boy, hmm hmm hmm, apart from him, no one cares about our ant-like lives, no one... We''ve helplessly watched our husbands being taken away by knight masters, never hoping they could come back alive, just wishing they''d die comfortably, not under the knight master''s whip, but as vanguards under the claws and jaws of the orcs," Vincent Prince''s old maid Fari cried during an interview with a magic reporter, her son being one of the hundred thousand slave soldiers.

    "I know, servants have the fate of servants. No one in this world has ever said to us, ''I pardon your status as slaves,'' or ''You are no longer slaves, no longer ordinary people, but heroes of humanity.'' Until today, this miracle was brought to us by Rody. We can do nothing but be grateful and shed tears. For others, Rody is the miracle boy, but for us, he is our god, our lifesaver!" Annevia, a maid with the same slave status but freed after the war due to Rody''s request and the kings'' special pardon, came to the twin star statue in Camaron''s grand square with countless companions, crying out loud.

    "I support the marshal, just as I follow his commands and gather behind him," said Trafal, the young reporter who bravely faced the orcs first.

    "People, pay attention, Rody is actually an evil death mage," stated Redlands'' magical newspaper.

    "False benevolence and righteousness have always been the tricks used by the necromancer Rody to deceive the world. Except for the fools in Camaron, no one believes him!" Galle''s Duke''s newspaper.

    "Ha, we are fools! We are indeed fools! Facing thousands of frenzied orcs, the so-called wise warriors of Galle''s charming escape, their wisdom in discarding armor and fleeing, we are ashamed. We are fools, facing powerful enemies, each following the miracle boy''s commands, charging forward, rather than trampling human soldiers under hooves and fleeing to Saint Song Fortress! Look, the wise have come, the wise speak again, let''s listen, how pleasing, just as beautiful as their cries while fleeing!" the Camaron People''s Voice special edition.

    "I request that countries around the world establish a special war tribunal, not to put Rody on trial, but to judge the cold-blooded animals who closed the city gates and shot their own companions yesterday. As for Rody, I will lead in awarding him. If anyone dares to mutter, I will tear their mouth apart and then reason with them!" King Norn expressed his outrage in his first public support for Rody.

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    "Don''t talk to me about Trosky, I don''t know this person!" Prince Norn, known for his mild temper and broad diplomacy, also changed his usual demeanor today.

    "Humanity''s defeat was not at the hands of the orcs, nor at the hands of the Lionheart King, but a dismal defeat under their own feet. In this battle, the number of humans trampled to death by each other exceeded one hundred thousand. This is the glorious track record of humanity," reported by Naples News.

    "Rody is right, we only need to say one thing, because reasonable words do not need to be many," stated the Mestudanian Morning News.

    "I am pleasantly surprised to see that one hundred thousand slave soldiers could still survive," the Saintess expressed her surprise at the outcome.

    "If my rage could ignite, it would erupt like a volcano. If I were not so aged, I would personally go and kill Trosky," said Landon, the sage of humanity.

    "Vincent, my son was injured, I don''t praise him for being brave, nor do I think he is a hero. The real hero is Rody, who sacrificed his own reputation for one hundred thousand soldiers, something I cannot do and deeply admire. But I am also worried about the orcs'' return in three months, as the Lionheart King always keeps his word. Here, I urge Saint Song Fortress and Rody City to quickly reconcile and join forces against the enemy, as that would be the blessing for all humanity," King Adrujesse of Great Frey commented.

    "I am surprised that the warlike king of Great Frey could say such things, but obviously, he still holds hope. However, the cruel reality has already told us, Rody will never be recognized by the Temple, don''t forget, just one day ago, he was attacked by angels. He saved one hundred thousand human soldiers, and this is what he got," stated Boge, the representative of the radical faction.

    "The Temple and angels, we have long been disappointed in them," said Hasin, the leader of a civil organization, leading a protest march.

    "Attention, there is a special intelligence report that centaurs have an ambiguous relationship with angels, and a secret message indicates that the centaur legion is a murderer sent by angels to cleanse humanity," announced by the Thieves'' Guild, shocking the world.

    "The Temple once offered me a condition: if I attack Camaron and the countries supporting Rody, they would remove my title as the world''s number one terrorist organization leader. However, I refused. I guess those fat pigs in the Temple don''t know that I, Buladeng, and my followers are only interested in them. Who would attack Rody? Even a heartless person like me would break upon seeing his sorrowful eyes, almost unable to resist rushing out to stand behind and support him. As a human, I am, of course, extremely proud of such a man! I want to say, even if we are terrorists, we are still human, unlike the dog bastards in the Temple who could commit the shameless act of assassinating Rody under the gaze of millions," Buladeng, the terrorist leader, also expressed his outrage, feeling that the Temple deserved the title of anti-human terrorists.

    "I like this child, he is a gift from God to humanity," praised the head of the nun''s order for Rody.

    "No matter how the world doubts, the teachers and students in the academy take pride in him, we take him as a role model!" said the entire faculty and students of Rody Academy.

    "Rody was injured, but he will recover in a short time, no need to worry. As for accusations and doubts, assassinations and slanders, we have long been accustomed to them, and I don''t want to respond," Chris, the Son of Elves, refused to respond.

    "The demons are attacking, we have a lot of things to do, if you want to have a spit fight, don''t come to Rody City, we only need to fight here," said Captain Tommy.

    "Support Rody, assist Rody City!" the people of Camaron took to the streets day after day, in a massive show of support.

    "I won''t comment on Rody, because I don''t have the right to. He must be right, definitely!" said the Denis Free Alliance Express in an editorial: "We must not be distracted by those with ulterior motives. They want us busy arguing, overlooking a certain derelict commander. Everyone must

    not forget, that is Marshal Trosky, haha, he has won again, killing more than two thousand five hundred elite orcs, enough for him to boast for a lifetime. We must not pay attention to the number of human deaths, there are plenty of soldiers in the Saint Song Alliance, Trosky doesn''t care about the deaths of one or two hundred thousand, it''s a small number for him. Didn''t you see, he sent one hundred thousand infantry, giant shield soldiers, slave soldiers, and magic reporters all to the orcs? Let''s close the gates! Let the frenzied orcs roar loudly at the poor slaves! Don''t worry, the miracle boy will save them!"

    "Nobody knows Rody''s true character better than his father. Let''s listen to what his father has to say," the Temple announced. In three days, Lord Warren would personally come to the foot of the Saint Song Alliance city to reveal a shocking secret to the world, exposing Rody''s hideous true face.

    This news caused an uproar once it was made public.

    Countless people felt heartbroken for Rody. If outsiders attacked him, it would have been one thing, but Rody had repeatedly suffered merciless blows from his own family.

    Although even a blind person could see the Temple''s role in stirring up this situation, after all, it was his father. If some unknown secret was revealed, then those who are gullible or easily deceived would definitely harbor negative doubts about Rody. People felt that the Temple''s relentless targeting of Rody over his alleged necromancy must have some basis in evidence.

    In reality, anyone with a bit of sense wouldn''t believe Rody was a necromancer.

    Or, even if, for argument''s sake, Rody did study necromantic magic, he wouldn''t be an evil necromancer but the pride and hope of humanity.

    What would happen in three days?

    Many kings and sages gathered, hoping to pressure and use diplomatic means to make Lord Warren change his mind. However, the Temple protected Lord Warren, steadfast in their action against Rody. People could only hope that Rody City wouldn''t respond to this matter, as usual. But Rody, through a magical recording, made a very simple statement to the world, indicating that he would personally go to the foot of Saint Song Fortress to face his father''s accusations.

    "He is my father. As a son, all I can do is silently accept it," Rody''s words left millions heartbroken.

 Chapter 210: Son, You Will Always Be Mommys Treasure

    Many believed that the Temple was seizing this opportunity to strike at the miracle boy, Rody, using Lord Warren''s revelation to prepare for another trial against him.

    There must be some secret about Rody that they hold, which, once revealed, would lead to a crisis of trust among the people. If the Temple used this to strike, expelling or judging the miracle boy, then humanity would have no choice but to rely once again on the protection of the Temple and angels. Not to mention the demons and orcs, if the centaur legion truly colluded with the angels and the Cover-Up Gate incident was real, then humanity''s fate would inevitably fall into the hands of the angels.

    Now, even a blind person can see that Rody definitely stands on the side of humanity.

    Why must the Temple insist on his destruction?

    The reason is simple: because Rody is too outstanding, enabling humanity to be proud and independent, becoming a threat to their control over humanity.

    Although people still don''t know what the Temple wants by controlling humanity, from the initial assassination attempts against the miracle boy Rody, it''s clear that the Temple and angels do not judge him simply because of his necromancer identity.

    Kings and influential people from various countries have sent messages to the Temple, hoping that they would postpone this matter until after the demons and orcs are repelled.

    However, the Temple firmly refused.

    On this point, many strategic thinkers understood a truth: the Temple is not worried about the demons and orcs; from beginning to end, they are only concerned about the miracle boy Rody, and in their hearts, he is the only enemy.

    Apart from countries that absolutely support the Temple, kings from various countries sent magical messages to Rody, stating that no matter what happens, they would absolutely support him. The Queen of Mille and William II of Camaron issued a "Letter to the Nation," stating that the miracle boy Rody is about to be slandered and defamed by enemies, and the citizens must resist in their hearts, maintain trust in Rody, and completely deny all enemy rhetoric. The people of Camaron''s capital gathered all night, repeatedly broadcasting Rody''s moving deeds through magical broadcasts.

    King Norn also pointed out that people should soberly judge and understand the upcoming revelation, and not blindly believe it.

    Supporters of Rody surged towards Saint Song Fortress like a tidal wave, including representatives from various countries, spontaneously formed civilian organizations, school groups, professional unions, and business alliances...

    The hundred thousand slave soldiers, war correspondents, and Rody''s fan clubs from Rody City, led by Tommy and others, went to the Saint Song Alliance.

    The entire world was in an uproar, with over a hundred kings and royal representatives invited by the Temple.

    Most of them, despite declaring their neutral stance, actually sided with Rody. Their attitudes did not necessarily reflect their true thoughts. The Queen of Mille and William II of Camaron, kings who absolutely supported Rody, went directly to Rody City.

    The King of Galle and kings from Redlands and other countries stood with the Temple. Surprisingly, the King of Great Frey did not attend due to ill health.

    Prince Vincent represented his father, firmly supporting the Temple, and was granted the title of ''Knight of Holy Loyalty'' by the Temple. With fifty thousand newly dispatched soldiers from Great Frey, he was responsible for protecting the kings and maintaining order. Joining him were Holy Lance Knight Holly, Holy Pupil Sariven, and others, including the previously silent and newsless Demon Slayer Sword Lot, who reappeared. The entire Templar Knights mobilized, along with Saint Song''s elite hundred thousand soldiers, gathering over two hundred thousand people beneath Saint Song Fortress to prevent Rody''s supporters from disrupting the order and stop Lord Warren''s revelation.

    On Rody''s side in Rody City, there were also over one hundred and fifty thousand people.

    This included the one hundred thousand slave soldiers that Rody had saved, along with magic reporters from various countries, representatives, supporters from all walks of life, and Rody''s fan clubs, totaling over one hundred and fifty thousand. This time, Rody City also dispatched twenty thousand soldiers. If the Temple dared to judge Rody, Chris, the Son of Elves, would fulfill his vow to send troops to conquer Saint Song Fortress and expel all the Temples from the world.

    Surprisingly, the demons specifically supported this human movement, retreating a hundred kilometers back and vowing not to attack Rody City.

    As for the orc army, they also opened the gates of various fortresses along the way, allowing soldiers and slave armies from Rody City to come to Saint Song. The Temple seized these two points, accusing Rody of being an evil necromancer, conspiring with enemies, and betraying all of humanity.

    People had no interest in these reports, and except for countries like Galle and Redlands that absolutely support the Temple, other nations refused to publish negative news about Rody. Initially, Camaron and Mille empires were reluctant to broadcast live the revelation ceremony at Saint Song, but Rody felt that whether it was good or bad, there was no need to hide it. Tired of living in the shadow of being called a necromancer, he saw this as an opportunity for liberation, stating that broadcasting was fine. Only then did the Queen of Mille and William II of Camaron agree to broadcast the revelation ceremony at the foot of Saint Song City.

    Those who could accept that Rody had once studied necromancy would certainly be his staunch supporters later.

    Conversely, if they could not get past this, then everything else was in vain.

    Rody felt that the struggle between himself and the Temple had reached its end, and it was time to decide who would prevail. According to the support he received from the world, he might overturn the Temple''s millennia of prestige and become the sole reliance of all humanity.

    In some ways, Rody felt that his purpose was not much different from that of the Temple and angels; all sought to gain the faith of all humanity.

    There can''t be two kinds of faith in one world, and this collision must decide the victor.

    ...

    Almost everyone in the world knew about this, everyone except one person ¡ª Rody''s mother.

    For fear of the enemy attacking Rody City and abducting her, Rody and Chris secretly sent her to the Heavenly Opera House in the capital of Camaron, protected by powerful figures like the Snow Queen Victoria, the Elven High Priestess Night Moon, the Naga Grand Commander Gabo, and the Orc Princess Martina. Of course, Rody''s mother thought she was invited to watch a performance by the child star and had no idea that her husband was about to reveal to the world that her beloved son was an evil necromancer.

    Rody specially brought Gill, Alice, and Mitty from the Land of the Seven Tribes because they were the apples of his mother''s eye.

    Although the King and Queen of Felic did not return, the beauty tutor, Dean Buk, and the drunken swordsman were sent in their place. The King of Felic feared that the situation might be unfavorable to Rody and that only a few high-ranking individuals like the beauty tutor could persuade him in case of his anger.

    Before this, Chris repeatedly asked Rody to promise not to give up his beliefs, to persist no matter what, until victory tipped in his favor.

    She even personally discussed with the Queen of Mille for a long time, who seemed to have reached some agreement with her, indicating she would sit beside Rody with Pandora, fully prepared to prevent any impulsive outbreak from Rody.

    Rody, seeing everyone doing many unnecessary things for him, sighed inwardly.

    If I only had the memory of one lifetime, I might impulsively destroy everything, but now my mindset is excellent. After all, I am the former King of the Underworld Gods, one of the two main gods in the divine realm, and have been reincarnated dozens of times. Moreover, my most recent reincarnation was among the Yanhuang clan. Having experienced so much, how could I possibly care about a little setback? When it comes to cunning and strategy, what could be more formidable than the Yanhuang clan? In the long history of the Yanhuang clan, many people live their entire lives amidst strife, where a glance or a gesture holds special significance, especially in the officialdom, where the least cunning person is a hundred times more complex than the most sinister here.

    Having been tempered in such an environment, with the entire Demon Abyss and a part of the Seven Tribes'' territory as my backup, and now with the majority of humanity on my side, why should I be impulsive?

    This moment is merely an opportunity for the world to accept me more deeply.

    However, these thoughts are something Rody dares not to voice. Otherwise, everyone would think he''s gone mad. Even to Chris and the others, Rody has never revealed that he is somewhat of a transmigrator, to avoid explanations. With the help of the Starlight Girls like Xingqing and Xingyu, Rody returned to the Demon Abyss once more. The Star Goddess, although comforting with kind words, did not care about Rody''s current predicament. In her eyes, Rody is a God King, and the actions of humans and angels against him are as laughable as a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

    To protect her lover, the Star Goddess still sent over a hundred ''daughters'' back with Rody to protect him closely.

    Rody''s primary goal in returning to the Demon Abyss was to understand the path to the heavens.

    He felt that if he could bring down the Temple''s power in the mortal world as soon as possible and immediately launch an attack on the heavens, of course, he would first need to clear the obstacles of the Demon Clan and the Centaur Legion. Therefore, he did not reject the assistance of the Starlight Girls.

    Beneath Saint Song Fortress.

    Over half a million humans gathered here, with more than two hundred thousand being soldiers from the Temple and Saint Song, and over a hundred thousand were Rody''s supporters.

    Additionally, over a hundred thousand were commoners from Saint Song or nearby cities, who hoped for a reconciliation between the Temple and Rody, gathering to petition. Sadly, their wishes were destined to be in vain. Moreover, tens of thousands of representatives from various countries remained neutral.

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    A huge magical screen was set up, allowing magical broadcasts to be received everywhere in the world at the same time.

    Rody''s father, accompanied by the Pope, Cardinals, Holy Law Kings, Galle''s Great Sword Emperor, Redlands'' Sword Emperor, and other strong figures, arrived.

    In the final moments before he was to reveal everything to the world, King Norn and leaders from dozens of countries made one last attempt at persuasion. However, the attitude of the Temple and Lord Warren was firm and unshakeable. King Norn and others then turned to Rody''s side, urging him to temporarily avoid the situation, not to make it too big, and to stay calm as there might still be a chance. But Rody and Chris politely declined.

    Rody City and the Temple could never coexist, this was their first and last conversation.

    Under the direct gaze of hundreds of thousands of eyes and watched by millions around the world, Lord Warren, with his full head of white hair, stepped forward.

    His hair was neatly combed, his eyes devoid of any emotion. Although people called him ''the most heartless and venomous father who ever lived,'' this description seemed to have no impact on him. Lord Warren first bowed slightly to all sides and then proposed to have a final farewell with Rody.

    Rody agreed.

    Father and son, under the gaze of the world, walked towards each other step by step.

    Lord Warren''s steps were steady, his eyes devoid of any emotion. His recent proposal seemed more like a show.

    In Rody''s eyes, there was a faint, indelible sadness. He looked at the father in front of him who was about to condemn him to hell, feeling neither hatred nor pain, but rather a sense of reminiscence. This man had once loved him so dearly, often getting up in the middle of the night to tuck him in, always thinking of him first when it came to delicious food or fun things. The way he looked at Rody was with the most sincere and profound love of a father for his son, even with an uncontrollable pride... But all that was in the past.

    The Lord Warren who used to let Rody ride on his neck as if he were a great horse... had disappeared.

    Now, there was only this man with gray hair and bland, emotionless eyes.

    He looked at Rody as if he were a stranger.

    ...

    The short yet seemingly long distance of several meters they walked towards each other seemed to encapsulate a lifetime of a father and son''s relationship.

    When the two stood face to face, people couldn''t help but sigh.

    Why?

    Why must a father treat his own son this way? Lord Warren used to adore his son so much, but in a blink of an eye, he became heartless and merciless, determined to put his son to death. If Rody were truly an evil necromancer, people might not hate him as much. But Rody is the miracle boy, the hope of humanity.

    Could it be for power, for money, or for some unspeakable reason that one would betray their own son?

    Through the magic screen, seeing the slight sorrow in Rody''s eyes and the faint, almost imperceptible self-mocking smile on his lips, people felt heartbroken for him.

    "I have nothing to say to you... What about you?" Lord Warren was indeed just putting on a show; he had nothing to say to Rody.

    "Father, this is the last time I call you father," Rody said softly, lowering his head.

    The head of the miracle boy had never been lowered.

    Not even under the heaviest blow, the cruelest battle, the most despicable assassination, or the most venomous slander. He had always held his head high, even when the demon army charged at him, even when the angelic legions judged him, even when Temple believers accused him of all sorts. Rody always represented humanity''s victory and resilience.

    Never bowing, never giving up, never compromising ¨C that was the miracle boy, Rody.

    But, facing the father who abandoned him, he lowered his head.

    It was not a plea, but sorrow, not wanting people to see his reddened eyes, not wanting them to see the tears secretly sliding down his face, falling on the blood-stained ground. In this moment, he was no longer strong, no longer the strongest of humanity, but a weak, pitiful, abandoned illegitimate child...

    Lord Warren heard this but showed no reaction.

    He surely saw his son''s weakness, but his fatherly heart was like stone, his expression unchanging, completely unmoved.

    Rody watched him walk away, his hand stretching out as if to call him back, but in the end, he let it fall.

    People''s hearts also shattered.

    Many mothers wished to open their arms and tightly embrace this pitiful illegitimate son, giving him the fullest and most satisfying affection. The miracle boy, Rody, had given the world so much, but the world couldn''t give him even a little in return.

    Everyone could only watch as he was abandoned by his heartless father.

    "Rody, my former son, is a liar. He was born a liar, and everything he does is to deceive the world. Any random act of mine can prove that he is an anti-human evil child, not the hero in people''s hearts, not the miracle boy, and definitely not the savior of humanity. He is absolutely a devil deeply hidden among humanity!" Lord Warren stated emotionlessly.

    "..." People simply couldn''t believe that these words could be a father¡¯s evaluation of his son.

    At that moment, Rody still stood between the two camps, looking at Lord Warren, neither returning nor rebutting.

    Like a child begging for his father''s forgiveness, he was utterly unaware that his father had long abandoned him, still naively hoping that his heartless father would change his mind, embrace and kiss him again after the scolding. Looking at Rody''s lonely figure, his pale and bloodless face, his unwavering gaze, his deluded waiting, people wanted to rush out and embrace him, crying loudly.

    How they wished to have such a son, yet Lord Warren discarded a son akin to a deity.

    At the time when the miracle boy needed his family''s support the most, he was the first to come forward, casting his son into hell. This was the tragedy that people witnessed...

    Lord Warren''s words, of course, were backed by evidence, and plenty of it.

    Through magical recordings, people saw Rody''s childhood and his extraordinary aspects. These were not shown by Lord Warren and the Temple to praise Rody, but rather to prove that he was possessed by a demon. No child, they argued, would use mud to build a battlefield sandbox at the age they usually play with sand, a skill not even veteran generals could necessarily achieve.

    Rody''s childhood was presented in fragmented clips. What people saw was a shattered childhood but also glimpses of Rody''s astonishing nature.

    The critical evidence emerged when Rody was twelve years old.

    Once, Rody visited the Temple, and upon his departure, the priests found Father Cedo¡¯s body, still warm, fallen in the graveyard behind the Temple. Before that, aside from him and Rody, no one else had been there.

    Thus, Lord Warren conceived the idea of surveilling Rody.

    A few days later, the servant Marcus followed Rody into the forest. Rody hid in a cave, and when Lord Warren and his guard Ais came to search, they found Rody in a secret chamber, transformed into an evil necromancer summoning skeletons. At that time, Rody did not notice Lord Warren. He used the summoned skeletons to dig a tunnel and escaped back to his mother¡¯s cottage.

    But the next day, he murdered the servant Marcus, and then Marcus¡¯s wife, Emma.

    When he went to the town, he encountered the blacksmith and a group of people he had injured before. He deceived them with money and manipulated the corpse of Marcus to protect him. When leaving the town, he also encountered his brother Lot and Father Nari.

    Facing Father Nari''s suspicions and the holy light, the necromancer Rody once again resorted to deceit, using the corpse of Marcus to knock himself out.

    All of this was recorded by Lord Warren''s guard Ais.

    "Father, mother is sick! Please, save her... Father, you can disown me, but mother is innocent! Mother is dying, please save her! Father, save mother..."

    In the magic recording, Rody was seen carrying his mother with difficulty to the castle, shouting desperately.

    But Rody didn''t know that even his act of secretly feeding his mother a sleeping potion was observed by Lord Warren, so his deception did not succeed. Finally, Rody, controlling the corpses of Marcus and Emma, knocked himself out, leaving a trail of blood, then fled his homeland, the Koro territory, under the cover of a rainy night.

    During the pursuit, Lord Warren sent his personal guard Ais to chase after Rody, but by then, a dark elf from Felic was already there to receive Rody.

    ¡°Everyone has seen, because this demon was once my son, I made a mistake in letting him go. Today, he has become a traitor colluding with the demons and orcs, a human hero who deceives the world, and the miracle boy of humanity. In fact, he is just like those apostates from Felic, a scourge to the world¡­ During Rody¡¯s training in the Iron Blood Cavalry Camp, a poisoning incident occurred there involving corpse poison, known only to evil necromancers. Rody helped to detoxify, using this incident to gain General Quentin¡¯s trust, but in fact, it was all his own doing,¡± Lord Warren¡¯s words silenced hundreds of thousands of listeners.

    ¡°Why do we repeatedly try to assassinate Rody? Because we want to eradicate evil kin. We are not heartless, but we absolutely cannot allow a devil to live among people, deceiving everyone¡¯s trust,¡± the Demon Slayer Sword Lot also stood up and roared righteously.

    ¡°Rody, do you have any rebuttal? Is all this true?¡± The Pope, who had always been low-key, finally stepped forward and asked.

    ¡°...¡± Rody did not deny, merely nodding his head slightly.

    ...

    The people on the side of the Saint Song Alliance immediately erupted in uproar, cursing vehemently, with a storm-like sound of judgment, as if they had been trained for it.

    ¡°Judge the evil, judge, judge, judge¡­¡±

    ¡°Down with Rody, down with the liar!¡±

    The soldiers of Rody City remained silent, each tightly gripping their weapons.

    They didn¡¯t care whether Rody was a necromancer or not. What does it matter to kill a few people? Clearly, it was Marcus who tried to strangle Rody first, so at most, Rody could be considered to have acted in self-defense. Even a blind person could see that Lord Warren''s magical recording was edited, certainly hiding unknown facts. Otherwise, how could a child, who had taken a magic forbidden potion, have the strength to kill someone like Marcus, let alone Father Cedo?

    Perhaps the common people might be deceived by this magical recording, but shrewd old men like King Norn would never believe it.

    And even if Rody were a necromancer, how many enemies did he kill in the great battles against the orcs and demons? What contributions had he made to humanity? How could his entire existence be denied because of one identity?

    The soldiers of Rody City felt even more mixed emotions. Seeing Rody, a small figure, carrying his mother and fleeing in the rainy night, they were almost moved to tears.

    If Lord Warren¡¯s family hadn¡¯t abandoned Rody first, why would he have to flee with his mother?

    Many people in the world were confused, unable to discern the truth. They thought the miracle boy Rody was indeed a terrifying necromancer, using evil magic to kill people, even continuously using self-harm to deceive others. Such a terrifying person indeed deserved judgment and execution. But then again, he was the miracle boy ¨C what if he was being slandered and was innocent? Wouldn''t they be wronging him?

    He had always been accused by others, but in the end, it was always proven that he was right.

    What would they do if the miracle boy was burned to death?

    With the demonic and orcish armies pressing on, who could people rely on to save the world if he died? Without Rody, they would be without hope!

    "All friends from countries around the world, hear me out. No matter who Rody is or what his identity may be, we cannot allow an evil devil to continue colluding and deceiving the world, perhaps one day even betraying us all to the orcs and demons after gaining our trust. What are you all worried about? The angelic army has already descended, tens of thousands strong. They can easily crush the demons and orcs and help us humans achieve victory!" Cardinal Saint Duri stepped forward, releasing a magical recording.

    In the recording, tens of thousands of angelic troops were seen continuously passing through a spacetime portal, arriving in the capital of the Galle Empire.

    In the capital of Galle, countless people knelt down, cheering incessantly for the arrival of the angels.

    In the sky, divine light shone brilliantly, bathing the entire capital of Galle in holiness. Among them, a golden six-winged angel descended, radiant like a deity, even the King of Galle knelt before this heavenly angel.

    "Burn him, burn Rody, burn, burn, burn, burn, burn¡­"

    The soldiers of Saint Song chanted in unison, their morale high as if they were the embodiment of justice. The clergy shot pillars of holy light into the sky, adding to the sanctity.

    The soldiers on Rody City¡¯s side all looked towards Tommy.

    Tommy¡¯s hands were trembling, not out of fear, but anger. With just a gesture from him, everyone would draw their swords and launch a long-prepared attack on the enemy. Earlier, Chris had issued a strict order that in this battle, they must listen to him, not Rody. Regardless of Rody¡¯s wishes, if things turned dire, he would give the order for Tommy to lead an attack on the Saint Song troops.

    No one would be allowed to judge Rody again, not even angels, let alone gods.

    The sky, unbeknownst to anyone, had darkened, and droplets of rain began to fall, like the tears of the people.

    Rody reached out, catching the raindrops from the sky, looking upwards. The rain fell on his face, staining his cheeks. Rody did not cry, but people could see that his heart was shattered, more painful than crying. At this moment, Lord Warren¡¯s mercilessness had completely broken him down. No matter how strong he was, he was just a lonely, helpless child.

    King Norn and many other neutral kings were stomping their feet in anxiety.

    But what could anyone do? Should they comfort Rody or deny Lord Warren''s revelation?

    They knew it was impossible to burn Rody alive. The soldiers of Rody City would not allow it. The Temple''s real goal was to turn this last hope of humanity against the people, to make him fall completely on the opposing side.

    The Temple knew they couldn''t kill Rody; the conspirators'' aim was only to tarnish his reputation, making it impossible for him to stand in the human world.

    "Burn him, burn him!"

    "Judgment, judgment!"

    Excited individuals from the Saint Song troops rushed out, furiously roaring at the solitary Rody.

    Tommy''s hand gradually rose.

    The soldiers of Rody City didn''t need to shout or roar; they were all like silent volcanoes, waiting for the moment to erupt. With just a glance from Chris, Tommy would immediately signal the attack¡­

    Rody, in the center of the two armies, was in the heart of the brewing storm of war.

    Countless killings and bloodshed would soon envelop the battlefield beneath Saint Song City and even the whole world, all because of him.

    King Norn and the others were sweating profusely in their urgency, but in their desperation, they couldn''t think of a way to stop it. Once the tragedy erupted, Rody City would undoubtedly win, but Saint Song and the Temple would seize this to label Rody a devil against humanity. These passionate young men would ultimately be forsaken by the world, and the consequences were unimaginable.

    "Does someone want to burn my son? Is that so?"

    A pleasant yet slightly angry female voice cut through the battlefield''s shouts, clearly reaching everyone''s ears.

    The world was taken aback. Who was this?

    Hearing this voice, Rody himself was greatly shaken. He roared, like a wounded beast, his roar deafening, silencing all the enemy''s screams like thunder. People saw the usually calm and strong Rody, trembling like a scarecrow in a storm.

    "Mom... No, you can''t come here! Chris, did you do this... No, Mom, you shouldn''t be here!"

    Rody turned around, shaking his head and gesturing as if pleading with someone not to appear.

    However, in the midst of the drizzling rain, a woman''s figure gradually became clear.

    It was a young mother with raindrops on her face, wearing a simple white robe, barefoot, her beautiful eyes full of tears, taking steps towards Rody... Rody, however, kept retreating, as if he couldn''t accept this woman''s appearance. People saw the strong Rody, tears uncontrollably streaming down, vulnerable like a pitiful child.

    "Why can''t Mom come? Mom wants to come!" This young woman was Rody''s mother, and her appearance shocked everyone.

    She was younger and more beautiful than people had imagined.

    In this woman, people could see the most holy and purest motherly love, the most beautiful maternal radiance in the world. She could make the most beautiful woman in the world feel inferior, for her beauty was natural, like the tender moonlight, a rainbow after the rain, or a tranquil lake, a gentle breeze brushing the face.

    Seeing Rody''s mother appear, people couldn''t help but tear up.

    He wasn''t a completely abandoned orphan. No, he still had his mother, this young and loving mother.

    "No, Mom, you shouldn''t be here!" Rody weakly knelt down, one hand stretched out as if trying to prevent his mother from coming closer.

    "Lowly whore, your son you''re so proud of is an evil necromancer. He''s not only a bastard but also a murderer, a deceptive scum, garbage, scum of humanity!" the Demon Slayer Sword Lot jumped out, shouting venomously at Rody''s mother.

    "No, no, I''m not." For the first time, Rody refuted for himself, shaking his head: "Mom, I''m not!"

    "Rody, my dear child, no matter what you are in the eyes of others, in Mom''s heart, you will always be Mom''s good baby, always my little one in my arms, always my heart... Rody, Mom is here, be good, don''t be afraid!" The young mother walked up to Rody, opened her arms, and deeply embraced her trembling son.

 Chapter 211: Rody, We Will Always Support You

    At the moment when Rody''s mother embraced her son, the hearts of countless people around the world moistened.

    In contrast, Rody had the most heartless father in the world but also the kindest, most loving, and most tolerant mother. It was indeed her presence that had sustained the miracle boy until today. However, her appearance here was puzzling. Logically, the people from Rody City, to protect Rody¡¯s image in his mother¡¯s eyes, should not have informed her to come here. Moreover, this mother, without any means of self-protection, would be the first target of the enemy, and Rody City¡¯s people would not have allowed her to take this risk...

    Who informed her to come to Saint Song?

    "It''s that bitch, that shameless woman, who gave birth to the bastard Rody, who gave birth to a devil that deceives the world. Let''s burn her too, send her to the stake!" the Demon Slayer Sword Lot jumped out, yelling.

    "Mom, no, you shouldn''t have come here!" Rody, hearing his mother insulted, was in pain and rage, overwhelmed with grief and anger.

    "A mad dog''s barking, that''s all, darling, don''t mind it." His mother just smiled faintly, holding Rody tightly.

    "It''s time, Warren," the Pope stood up and called out gently.

    "Yes, yes, Your Holiness, kill that bitch, kill the scum Rody, kill that bastard!" the Demon Slayer Sword Lot, seeing the usually low-key Pope speak up, was overjoyed and immediately echoed loudly.

    "Shut up!" Lord Warren, expressionless, suddenly punched his son Lot, sending him flying.

    He drew his sword from his waist and walked step by step towards Rody and his mother. People were stunned again. Had Lord Warren gone mad? Was he going to kill his wife in front of everyone? Was he planning to kill Rody and his mother in front of the whole world? But why did he punch Lot just now?

    People were confused by Lord Warren''s actions.

    However, from his face, people could not see any emotion, completely like a stagnant pool.

    Rather than saying Lord Warren was a heartless and venomous father, it seemed more like he was a puppet without any thought. People began to look behind Lord Warren at the Pope, feeling that Lord Warren''s transformation must be related to the Pope, perhaps manipulated by him. Otherwise, how could there be anyone in the world so heartless as to kill his own son and wife?

    Lord Warren, holding his sword, stepped closer to Rody''s mother.

    Rody''s mother, holding her son in her arms, showed no sadness on her face. She was as calm as the surface of a lake under the moonlight.

    Seeing this, Tommy and others wanted to rush out to stop Lord Warren, but Chris, with tears streaming down her face, screamed shrilly, telling everyone to stand still and not move. Rody tried to stand up to protect his mother, but she just smiled faintly, standing in front of her son. No matter how weak she was, in front of her beloved son, she was the strongest mother in the world.

    Everyone''s tears couldn''t help but flow. Even the most heartless person felt their heart melting.

    "Lord Warren, if you are not insane, then stop immediately. Do you know what you are doing?" King Norn finally couldn''t bear it any longer, standing up and shouting loudly: "In front of you is your wife and your own flesh and blood, no matter what, you can''t do this..."

    "I''m telling you, Lord Warren, if you dare take one more step towards this mother, don''t blame me for taking action!" the Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather also angrily shouted, ready to draw his sword.

    "Man-eater, go to hell!"

    "The real devil is you, Warren, you''re the devil, you child-eating demon!"

    Tens of thousands of neutral people boiled over, shouting loudly.

    Although they had previously maintained a neutral stance, at this point, they couldn''t stand Lord Warren''s behavior of killing his own son and wife, each rising in anger.

    However, Lord Warren ignored all of this, still advancing step by step towards Rody''s mother. People''s disgust towards this devil-like lord reached its peak. Not just the powerful, even ordinary people roared in fury, wanting to tear this man apart, wondering if his heart was made of stone.

    Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather and King Norn flew out, seeing Lord Warren still approaching Rody''s mother with a sword in hand, their anger boiling over.

    "You must be insane!" King Norn was so angry that his hair and beard stood on end.

    "Lord Warren, a man like you is the most despicable person I''ve ever met in my life. Want to get past? Ask my sword!" Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather drew his long sword, a mere rusty iron sword of a common soldier, but in his hands, it was like a divine weapon. With a casual swing, he cleaved a deep fissure in the ground. "Stop, or die!" he growled.

    "..." Lord Warren didn''t respond or even glance at Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather. His gaze was emotionless.

    Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather swung his sword, and the sword qi surged towards Lord Warren like raging waves.

    Lord Warren didn''t dodge, walking through the sword qi, which cut him all over in an instant, soaking him in blood. Yet, there was still not a trace of pain in his eyes. He kept approaching Rody''s mother, as if determined to kill her.

    Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather was furious, his golden crescent moon swirling. This time, he was not going to hold back.

    King Norn pulled Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather back, signaling that Lord Warren was just a puppet being controlled by someone else. With Rody there, he would never let anyone hurt his mother. Now, the real person to defeat was the Pope, who had always remained low-key, hidden in others'' shadows.

    This guy was the real manipulator, the root cause of the whole incident.

    "Your Holiness, please come out, we need to talk," King Norn said, suppressing his anger.

    "It¡¯s time for me to speak as well," said the Pope, expression unchanging. In a flash, he appeared in front of King Norn and Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather.

    Lord Warren, covered in blood, walked past Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather. Just as Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather was about to attack, the Pope extended his hand, pressing in the air. Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather''s sword qi burst out, forming a golden sphere, but not a bit of it could leak outside. Despite his strength, Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather could only watch helplessly as Lord Warren walked by.

    People watched, drenched in cold sweat.

    The Pope, usually low-key, possessed such immense power that he could immobilize Great Sword Emperor Toward Feather with just one hand, a true powerhouse among the holy ranks.

    ...

    Seeing the Pope intervene, Rody was filled with rage.

    He felt he had found the mastermind behind everything - this low-key, deeply hidden Pope, who forced Father Cedo to feed him the ¡®Martial Arts Forbidden¡¯ potion, turned Lord Warren heartless and ruthless. It was he who turned Rody''s life gray, the mastermind Rody had been searching for.

    "Chris, take Mom away!" Rody shouted, his purple-golden fighting spirit rapidly condensing into a tangible crescent moon halberd.

    Facing Lord Warren, he hesitated no more. If he dared to swing his sword at his mother, Rody swore he would kill this man, even if he was his biological father.

    Rody''s mother slowly extended her hand, gently stroking her son''s face, her eyes brimming with tears.

    "Darling, leave the matters of adults to them. Just watch, Mommy is here," his mother stopped Rody from attacking Lord Warren.

    "It wasn¡¯t me, Mom, I didn¡¯t bring this on..." Chris flew to Rody''s side, crying and explaining. By then, Lord Warren had already approached Rody''s mother, covered in blood, holding a sharp sword, his eyes devoid of emotion, like a living puppet.

    People witnessed it, feeling their hearts wrench.

    Lord Warren had reached this point entirely due to the manipulation of the Pope. In Rody''s childhood, people could see how much he loved Rody. Even in the just-played magical recording, intended to reveal Rody''s startling childhood, one could see behind Rody the figure of Lord Warren, a father radiating pride and love. The affectionate father of the past and the corpse-like figure he was now were completely different people.

    Could he break free from the Pope''s mental control because of Rody¡¯s beautiful and kind mother?

    Or would he, deluded, kill his own wife?

    Rody, holding the crescent moon halberd, tears streaming down his face, looked at his biological father. If Lord Warren dared to swing his sword at his mother, Rody would not hesitate to skewer him on the halberd.

    Lord Warren raised his sword high above his head, in front of him, his wife, Rody''s mother.

    The mother smiled faintly, her eyes shining with tolerance. She seemed not to notice the sword in her husband''s hand. She even reached out her hand to Lord Warren, as if welcoming her husband as before. Maybe she would be killed in the next second, but she was still smiling, radiating the glow of motherhood, bravely standing in front of her son, protecting her beloved child with a mother''s strength.

    "Kill her, kill that bitch! Kill!" the Demon Slayer Sword Lot, his face bloodied, struggled to stand up, hysterically shouting.

    "No¡­" Mothers around the world cried out involuntarily.

    "That devil, damn it, I''m going to kill him!" Fathers around the world were enraged by Lord Warren, gritting their teeth.

    Stolen story; please report.

    Surprisingly, Lord Warren, who had raised his sword high, did not swing it down. Instead, he slowly knelt down, holding the sword above his head, deeply bowing in front of Rody''s mother. Now, he looked like a penitent believer, kneeling devoutly before a deity.

    Everyone was stunned by his actions, whether it was people from Rody City, the Saint Song Temple, or neutral observers.

    Even Rody, confused, stared at this familiar yet strange man.

    With his wisdom, he couldn''t figure out what Lord Warren was trying to do.

    "Everyone listen to me!" The King of Mesdutania suddenly flew out, standing between the two armies, tears streaming down his face, shouting: "You all misunderstood, Warren is the best husband, the most qualified father, the most devout knight, the greatest man! You all misunderstood, he is an incredible man, an incredible father!"

    "..." People listened, unable to believe their ears.

    Everyone, dumbfounded, watched the scene unfold. How had Lord Warren, who was just a child-eating demon, suddenly become the world''s best husband and most qualified father? If exposing one''s own son as an evil necromancer is what makes a qualified father, are there any unqualified fathers in the world?

    What on earth was happening?

    People suddenly realized that the whole affair was very chaotic. The more they watched, the less they understood, and the more they felt that more secrets were yet to be revealed.

    "I, Warren Rein, want to declare something to all the people in the world. I am not Rody''s father, nor the husband of Rody''s mother," Lord Warren stood up and made a shocking statement to the world, stunning Rody.

    Was this man, who once loved him, so heartless in abandoning him because he discovered this secret?

    People suddenly became angry, roaring.

    Was Lord Warren going to put Rody to death just because Rody was not his biological son? Maybe he said this to cover up the ugliness of his previous revelation. No, this might be another one of his conspiracies.

    Everyone was enraged by the cunning Lord Warren, shouting and cursing at him, their cries resounding.

    "People must want to know who this woman is, whom I, Warren, devoutly kneel before. Not only is she Rody''s mother, but she is also the woman whom I and other knights have protected all our lives. She is the previous generation''s ''Saint of Wisdom''!" When Lord Warren uttered these words, everyone was completely stunned. Rody''s mother was the previous generation''s Saint? How could that be?

    "Mom..." Rody exclaimed in disbelief.

    "My dear, don''t be afraid, I am your mom. Whatever my identity, that''s all in the past!" Rody''s mother held him tightly, but she did not deny the truth, affirming Lord Warren''s words.

    "This earth-shattering secret, we''ve kept it for more than twenty years, and today, it can finally be spoken," Lord Warren pointed at the King of Mesdutania, Helsinki, who was walking over tearfully, and said: "Back then, Helsinki, Cedo, and I were the Saint''s devoted knights and also disciples of Pope Fredrick. Apart from the four of us, only the Sage of the Winds and her disciple, the Sage Joanne, knew the truth of this matter."

    "Twenty-three years ago, the Sage of the Winds came to me. She said that the millennial prayers of the successive Saints had finally succeeded, and the deity was about to descend from heaven, reborn into our world, using a human body to save our world," the Pope released his hand and stood proudly, his voice deep and thunderous, resonating through the heavens: "This is the world''s biggest secret, absolutely not to be known by the so-called ''heaven'' who stole the name of the God of Light. For thousands of years, the faith in the God of Light has been stolen by the heavens. Now, our Lord God is not the God of Light, but the Lord of Heaven, the Eight-Winged Seraph, Lihuado."

    "Wow!" The crowd erupted.

    It was unbelievable that it was the Pope himself who said that the faith in the God of Light was stolen by heaven.

    If he were not the Pope, people would have thought he was insane.

    "The power of the deity is immense. Once it leaves the divine realm and appears in the human world, it would cause spacetime to collapse, and both the earth and sky would turn to dust. Therefore, although the deities knew of heaven''s actions, considering the well-being of humanity and the earth, they preferred to be falsely named rather than descend to earth and cause immeasurable harm to life on earth. The deities couldn''t descend directly, but we hoped for their blessing and didn¡¯t want our faith to be stolen. Thus, generation after generation of Saints and devout people prayed for the day when the deity would descend, hoping they would save people''s faith and change the terrifying fact of our faith being stolen by heaven," the Pope''s voice roared like thunder, shaking heaven and earth: "Every generation of Saint voluntarily offered her life to the deity, praying for their mercy to save us. Therefore, each Saint''s lifespan was very short; for a thousand years, almost none could serve more than ten years. Each generation of Saints silently called to the deity with their lives."

    "Twenty-three years ago, the deity finally responded," Lord Warren said: "A thousand years ago, a great deity gave up his divine body and power, exiled himself from the divine realm, drifting outside the world, consuming all his divine power and might in a place where it would not harm our world, and only then responded to our prayers, which was twenty-three years ago..."

    "This deity chose to be born into this world through a human fetus, but it would take three years, during which time it was easy for heaven''s thieves to discover. We couldn''t find a trustworthy mother to birth the divine child. Finally, the Saint of Wisdom stepped forward, volunteering to be the mother of the deity." The King of Mesdutania, Helsinki, pointed at Rody''s mother, tears streaming down his face, shouting to the world: "She is the greatest woman in the world, the greatest mother!"

    ...

    "You''re lying, Rody is not a reincarnation of a deity, he is a devil, an evil necromancer!" the Demon Slayer Sword Lot roared crazily.

    "It must be this bitch having an affair with you, getting pregnant, so you made up this lie!" Cardinal Saint Duri also stood up and shouted loudly: "What Saint, she''s just a whore. Without a man''s seed, how could she possibly have a son, Warren, you adulterer, who could be fooled by such an obvious lie?"

    "The Saint is always pure and untouched! Your thoughts are utterly filthy!" the Pope thundered in a deep voice.

    "I will show the world that the warriors of the Rein family are not adulterers who defile the Saint!" Lord Warren tore off his clothes with both hands, revealing his nearly perfect body under a steel-hard chest. But now, people understood that Lord Warren was not lying.

    Below his chest and abdomen, Lord Warren had a mechanical body made of steel, not a human body.

    "During the battle with the demon race years ago, Warren was bisected at the waist by the Demon King, but he endured the pain and survived. Moreover, to protect the Saint and the Godchild, he accepted such suspicion and scorn, willingly enduring the world''s curses to fulfill his duty of protecting the Saint. The Saint of Wisdom sealed her powers and hid in Coro, becoming Lord Warren''s maid. That''s the story everyone knows, about the meteor and various miracles. It''s not for other reasons but because a deity was born to earth. We did everything to cover this up, including Warren heartlessly abandoning Rody, to divert heaven''s attention, making the world think Rody became useless!" Helsinki knelt before Rody''s mother, revealing this secret unknown to the world.

    Rody was astonished; he never imagined the truth would be like this.

    The man who heartlessly abandoned him was so great, willing to tarnish his own reputation and endure the world''s spitting for his safety.

    At that moment, Rody''s world was turned upside down.

    From the Star Goddess''s words, and his own memories, he knew he was the reincarnation of the God of Underworld, but he didn''t know so many sacrifices had been made for him before his birth.

    "You''re lying, you''re lying! If father was bisected by the Demon King early, then who fathered me and my older brother? You''re definitely covering up for that damned bastard. It must have been recent! This is impossible, Rody is a bastard, he can''t be the Godchild, you''re all lying!" The Demon Slayer Sword Lot screamed hysterically.

    "He''s not lying!" Aes punched Lot in the face, sending him flying. Aes pursued and smashed Lot into the ground.

    Aes gently floated down, kneeling before Lord Warren.

    Lord Warren looked at Aes and nodded, saying, "Everyone, this is my son. As for Mary''s two sons, Gri and Lot, who their father is, she herself would know. She married me only under the orders of the Temple and heaven, to infiltrate us. And I used her for that purpose, to divert heaven''s attention from the Saint and Godchild. Her children have nothing to do with me."

    "No, you loved me the most, no, this can''t be!" The Demon Slayer Sword Lot howled in despair.

    "Lot, honestly, I never liked you. Your behavior disgusted me, especially your torment of the Saint and Godchild. I wish I could tear you to pieces. But for the sake of the secret, to avoid heaven''s suspicion, I''ve been indulging you until today," Lord Warren snorted.

    "We want to know more of the truth..." King Norn excitedly said.

    "No, they''re lying, Rody''s mother can''t be the Saint, what''s the proof? Saints can''t get pregnant, the Goddess of Fertility forbids pure Saints from intimate relations with men. Once she loses her virginity, she''s punished by the deity, turning into a crow or a bitch. Rody''s mother can''t be the Saint, even if not Warren''s seed, maybe someone else''s. It''s all lies, a conspiracy planned long ago!" Cardinal Saint Duri roared.

    "Rody''s mother is the Saint, carrying a divine fetus, pure and untouched, and would not be punished by the Goddess of Fertility. Instead, she would receive her protection. My teacher, the Sage of the Winds, personally took Rody from her womb. This great miracle is completely recorded in the memory crystal," Sage Joanne came out, holding a memory crystal: "Besides the Saint herself, no one else has used the method of cesarean birth."

    "I can also confirm, she indeed was the previous generation''s Saint," said the current Saint, who appeared out of nowhere.

    As the Saint stepped forward under the gaze of countless eyes, holding the Saint''s scepter, she paid her respects to Rody''s mother. She softly chanted, and a rainbow light slowly rose above her head, forming a beautiful and huge image of the Holy Mother. The compassionate Saint bent down from the sky, placing a beautiful rainbow crown on the Saint''s head, then embraced her, gently kissing her before fading into a rainbow. This unique mark belonged only to the Saint.

    Simultaneously, above Rody''s mother''s head, an even more colorful and magnificent rainbow light arose. A Saint''s image, ten times larger than that of the current Saint, appeared. She chanted softly, her voice light yet echoing through the heavens, causing the whole world to tremble. She bent down, not only crowning Rody''s mother but also embracing and kissing her forehead for a long time.

    No one doubted Rody''s mother was a Saint anymore; it was an undeniable fact.

    Now, people only wanted to know one thing: why had Lord Warren previously accused Rody of being an evil necromancer? Why did he produce that magic video, accusing Rody of learning necromancy and killing the servants Marcus and Emma? Why did he do this?

    The people couldn''t understand. If they could solve this puzzle, they would rejoice.

    Because the Magical Child Rody was indeed humanity''s hope, a deity reincarnated to save people''s faith, humanity''s hope!

    Now it was clear why Rody was so unique, so caring for humanity, so tolerant. Despite being maligned by humanity, he still believed in them because he was a compassionate deity, come to save the people...

    "Everyone must be wondering why I accused Rody. Now, I''ll play the whole process again, and everyone will understand why I did this," Lord Warren solemnly said. "The real truth will be clear to all upon watching."

    "Don''t watch, the angels will soon teleport here and destroy all the betrayers of God..." Cardinal Saint Duri screamed frantically.

    "I''ve already destroyed the portal. I believe we have enough time to see their vile other side before the angels arrive," the Pope signaled Sage Joanne to play the magic video. Saint Duri and others tried to stop it, but they were blocked by the Great Sword King Xiang Yu and other powerful figures from the world. Many soldiers from Saint''s camp, seeing the Pope''s betrayal and the dire situation, shrank back in silence.

    Some soldiers broke away from the conservative faction amidst the chaos, standing with the Pope and Lord Warren.

    They wanted to know the truth, not to remain ignorant.

    The magic video started again.

    Rody also wanted to know the truth, feeling deceived.

    Lord Warren and the others had been protecting him, but their act was too convincing, too thorough. Not only did they deceive heaven, but even Rody himself. He had always misjudged Lord Warren and mistakenly thought the Pope was the mastermind behind his troubles. In reality, these people had made countless sacrifices to protect him, going to great lengths, the magnitude of their sacrifice unimaginable.

    The video started twenty-three years ago, and from the recorded time, it was evident that Rody''s mother was not pregnant yet and even unaware of this event until she discovered the prayer ceremony prepared by the Sage of the Winds and the Pope.

    Rody''s mother conducted the prayer, divine light descended from the stars, and she became Rody''s mother.

    Following that, she completely sealed the Saint''s power, disguised herself as Lord Warren''s maid, and went to Coral to serve Lady Mary, who was sent by Heaven to monitor Lord Warren. For three years, she endured Lady Mary''s harsh treatment and was frequently poisoned by Mary''s children, Gerry and Lotte. Thankfully, Lord Warren and the secretly protective Sage of the Wind and Father Sido managed to neutralize the threats, otherwise Rody would not have survived even before birth.

    During childbirth, people saw the Sage of the Wind use holy light to form a small knife and cut open Rody''s mother''s swollen belly to take out a bloody infant ¨C Rody. At that time, a meteor streaked across Coral''s sky, flowers in the garden bloomed, and the dry well gushed magical spring water.

    Beautiful singing emanated from the forest cottage, as if elves were singing. To hide all this, Lord Warren trampled all the flowers, shattered the fountain''s statue, filled the well with mud and sand, and had his guards hunt and shout in the forest, particularly around the cottage where Rody''s mother hid for childbirth. The Sage of the Wind even created a tornado to sweep away the blooming flowers, gushing springs, and falling birds.

    Lady Mary, intoxicated by Lord Warren, still informed Heaven of these events.

    Father Sido, following Heaven''s command, fed Rody the forbidden magic during his baptism.

    What happened afterward is known, but if combined with the previous events, the whole picture changes. Father Sido was great. In feeding Rody the forbidden magic, he sacrificed his life to the Holy Mother, infusing Rody with the ''Life Protection Hymn''.

    Rody now understood why Father Sido died early and how he survived the Black Dragon''s blood.

    It was all exchanged for by Father Sido''s life.

    Rody, remembering Father Sido''s smiling face and gentle touch, couldn''t help but tear up.

    To divert Heaven''s suspicion, Lord Warren no longer spoke to Rody and instead doted on Lotte, donating substantial amounts to the Temple. The Pope also promoted Lotte to the knight''s group, abandoning Rody, who was initially a major focus. At that time, Rody felt immense pain, as if the whole world was mocking him.

    Now, looking back, Rody realized he overlooked something - not everyone around him was mocking him, and there were always people protecting him from the darkest corners.

    Rody thought his fall into the hole to obtain necromancy and his escape from Coral were unnoticed.

    In reality, as soon as he fell, Sage Joanne and Lord Warren rushed to the spot.

    Even when Rody was learning necromancy, Sage Joanne was secretly watching over him. When Marcus tried to kill him, his protector, Ais, was about to intervene. Rody killed Marcus without noticing Ais hiding behind a tree.

    People saw that Rody did kill the servants Marcus and Emma, but they were evil servants assigned by Lady Mary to murder Rody; he was merely defending himself. Sage Joanne repeatedly restrained Ais from intervening, even when Rody ate poisoned bread and convulsed on the ground until he fainted before administering an antidote.

    For a child without fighting spirit or magic protection, surviving amidst numerous assassination attempts was incredibly difficult.

    Rody initially thought he could handle everything, but in reality, he wasn''t doing enough. Without everyone''s protection, anyone else might have perished long ago.

    When fleeing Coral, Rody also thought he was undetected.

    But in fact, before Rody even started his journey, Lord Warren and Helsinki were already discussing whether to let Rody leave. Eventually, they all saw Rody off to sea. Moreover, when Rody and his mother were adrift at sea, suspicious angels caught up to inspect them, but the Sage of the Wind deliberately summoned a prolonged storm, misleading the angels into believing Rody and his mother perished at sea, thus allowing Rody to escape successfully.

    As Lord Warren, Helsinki, and Joanne bade farewell to Rody, people were moved both by these silent guardians and by Rody''s sacrifice of his own blood to quench his mother''s thirst. Their journey was anything but easy, filled with hardships and sacrifices.

    But such difficult life experiences and loyal guardianship shaped this magical boy, Rody. He isn''t just the product of his mother''s contribution; Lord Warren and other protectors played significant roles. Without their silent sacrifices, humanity wouldn''t have its future hope, the proud and magical boy, the Rody of today.

    "Mom¡­" Rody watched, tears streaming down his face. He never imagined that everything he once resented now turned out to be misunderstandings. What he once considered his sorrow was actually his fortune, his pride. His entire life perspective shifted at that moment.

    He once thought his childhood was unfortunate, dark, and filled with others'' disdain and mockery. But in reality, his childhood was fortunate, bright, and full of care and protection. Rody didn''t know how to express his feelings towards Lord Warren, feeling ashamed that this man he hated and sought revenge against was so great, leaving him feeling unworthy.

    He always thought he was alone, fighting a solitary battle. But he didn''t know that behind him, many people, including those who gave their lives, were silently contributing. These protectors never let Rody know, remaining in the dark and unseen. If Lord Warren hadn''t released this magical recording to the public, Rody and everyone else would have never known the truth.

    "Don''t cry, my son, wipe away your tears. You''ve grown up now, and there''s much awaiting you. You don''t need to cry or be sad. Everyone will always be by your side supporting you. Even if they have left, they will silently guard you from the heavens! Mom, Dad, Brother Ais, Uncle Helsinki, the Pope, Sage Joanne, the Sage of the Wind, Father Sido... and many more protectors have always been there, and will always support you! Remember, you are everyone''s hope. Don''t cry, don''t be sad. Your smile is our greatest gift!" Rody''s mother embraced her precious son, her face blooming with a smile like a rainbow after the rain.

    "Don''t cry, Rody, we will always support you..." Millions of people shouted in unison, their faces streaming with tears.

 Chapter 212: Peril, The Decisive Battle of Life and Death Has Arrived

    "The Angel Legion is about to descend, and you vile traitors against God will definitely be punished! You will all go to hell!" the Cardinal in red, Saint Duris, hysterically yelled. "God of Light above, everything you say is a lie! Do not believe anything these traitors say. The angels are merciful, they are the spokespersons of God, the merciful God of Light, who forever watches over us from the heavens!"

    "..." Everyone was speechless, witnessing what true obstinacy looked like in Saint Duris.

    "God''s spokespersons? Let''s see what these spokespersons of God have been doing behind our backs." The Pope handed another memory crystal to Sage Joanne.

    The magic recording played again. This time, it was not about Rody, but the angels.

    In the scene, dozens of dual-winged angels were arranged in a huge formation at a mysterious altar in the Evil Forest. Human soldiers stood nearby. The angels chanted and prayed for a while, then had the human soldiers step into the altar. Soon, all the soldiers screamed as their bodies melted into blood, collapsing on the altar.

    Through the sacrifice of thousands of human soldiers, mysterious lights flickered on the altar, and a massive pillar of light arose.

    The mighty angels continued their prayers. Meanwhile, a four-winged angel and two mighty angels arrived with the human Temple Knights, numbering over two thousand, escorting more than three thousand slaves. These slaves included humans, half-orcs, dwarves, and goblin goblins.

    This time, the ones sacrificed on the altar were not human soldiers, but these three thousand slaves.

    The Temple Knights herded the slaves into the altar, where they screamed and melted into blood, disappearing into the light pillar.

    The massive light pillar, fueled by the sacrifice of thousands of lives, grew larger and eventually turned into a blood-red portal in time and space. The colossal vortex spun wildly, flashing dazzling light.

    Everyone was already stunned, but the next scene filled them with righteous indignation.

    From the blood-red portal, a race considered inferior and a disaster to humanity since historical records began, appeared. They were centaurs, with human upper bodies and horse lower bodies, charging out of the time-space vortex.

    Everyone understood then.

    The centaurs, indeed summoned by the angels, were closely related to them. The information from the Thieves Guild was correct.

    All this time, the world had been deceived by the angels, fooled and played with without realizing it. The angels used these centaur troops to raid the human world, then appeared at the right moment to drive them away, earning human trust. This was a perfect strategy to kill two birds with one stone. People were so thoroughly deceived by the angels, living in lies for thousands of years...

    "Not just the centaurs, but also the demon race, are allies of the angels," the Pope revealed the shocking truth.

    Another scene showed Cardinal Saint Duris with the Temple Knights arranging the centaur troops. It was clearly recorded: Saint Duris not only provided the centaurs with abundant food but also sent human women in cages as gifts to the centaur leaders.

    Just as people were furiously about to tear Saint Duris apart, they saw him visiting the demon camp, delivering intelligence about Saint Song and Rody City to the Demon General.

    People suddenly realized why every demon raid was so timely and unexpected; a shameful traitor had been providing them with information all along. With such intelligence, it was no surprise that the demon army''s attacks were effective. Although people couldn''t hear the specifics of Saint Duris''s conversation with the Demon General, they believed that Saint Duris must have conspired with the demon race against Rody.

    The fourth scene depicted a meeting between a four-winged Archangel and the Demon Marshal.

    These two, seemingly discussing terms, stood face to face, pointing at a magic map like intimate comrades-in-arms, conspiring some unspeakable plot.

    The sight was so shocking that people would have never believed it to be true if they hadn''t seen it with their own eyes.

    The final magic image was even more infuriating. General Quentin led the veterans of Rody City to negotiate with the Orcs, but they were ambushed by the Centaur Legion. From another angle, it was seen that, several kilometers behind the Centaur army, angels were directing and healing the injured Centaur soldiers, constantly encouraging them to charge the veterans'' camp.

    Before Rody could arrive to assist, two mighty angels even attempted to deceive the veterans into opening the back gate of their camp for the waiting Centaur Legion to storm in.

    But General Quentin refused, and the enraged angels led the Centaur Legion in a frenzied attack from the rear, attempting to catch General Quentin in a pincer attack. Despite the valiant self-sacrifice of General Quentin and several other generals, they were still hard-pressed to resist. Just in time, Orc powerhouses stealthily ambushed and annihilated the Centaur force, with the Fifth Orc Marshal Colin Cha and the Shaman Witch King killing the two mighty angels, finally relieving the veterans¡¯ rear concerns... Soon after, Rody arrived with his elite squad, and only then did the distant angels command the Centaur Legion to retreat.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    If it hadn''t been for the mighty angels and the Centaur''s sneak attack, General Quentin and his men wouldn''t have died; there would have been no need for their heroic self-sacrifice.

    Once the truth was broadcast, the hearts of all people felt bloodily torn by the merciless reality.

    These angels, appearing holy on the outside, were committing acts even more dreadful than demons.

    Why did the angels and the temple insist on putting Rody to death? The reason was simple: Rody was a threat to their grand plans. These beings, more evil and hypocritical than demons, sought to control humanity. But Rody firmly opposed them, and thus, humanity''s hope, its hero, the miraculous young Rody, became a thorn in their side.

    "Kill Saint Duris, kill! We only need Rody, not these angels. Let them all die!" the people roared in anger.

    "Brothers, we must break away from Saint Song and follow Rody!" Parts of the Saint Song Grand Alliance''s soldiers also defected.

    "Unforgivable, absolutely unforgivable¡­"

    "Our only task is to slaughter these mongrels, kill them!"

    As the people howled in grief and anger, a huge pillar of light descended over Saint Song Fortress. The holy light shone brightly, piercing the dark, cloudy sky. Thousands of winged troops flew out from the massive pillar, led by a six-winged Principal Angel with golden wings. He roared loudly, thunderously angry at the Pope''s revelation and rebellion.

    From the distant earth, the sound of thunderous roars rose, like thousands of soldiers charging.

    Countless Centaurs appeared on the distant horizon, forming a line that thickened and drew closer, resembling a black tide with earth-shaking sounds, far exceeding a force of two hundred thousand.

    The encircling Centaur Legion was just a part, with even larger and more numerous human enemies coming from another side.

    Black and blood-red pillars of light descended, and countless ugly monsters never seen before by humans emerged, snarling and surrounding them. The demon army, which had been fighting against Rody City, also formed a huge swarm, countless in number, and surged forward like a covering blanket.

    Saint Duris, initially panic-stricken, immediately became emboldened upon seeing this scene.

    "Soldiers of Saint Song, listen to me. If you want to live, to be rewarded, to gain wealth and honor, then follow the command of Archangel Andrei. Listen, only by annihilating our enemies, the evil Necromancer Rody and his despicable accomplices, will you have a bright future. Soldiers, if you obey, countless gold coins and beauties await you, along with honor and status. Everything you need and desire will be within your reach!" The words of Cardinal Saint Duris stirred many soldiers¡¯ hearts.

    Working for anyone is still working, and now is not the time to talk about justice and truth.

    The Angel Legion clearly overpowered the pitiful human coalition, with the support of the Centaur Legion and the demon race. Opposing them now would be tantamount to seeking death.

    Seeing the unfavorable situation, the Saint Song Temple Knights and the soldiers of Gales, Redland, and Big Frey were the first to respond, choosing to stay within the Saint Song Grand Alliance. They felt that even if they did not participate in the battle, it was better than standing behind Rody and facing certain death.

    A few impassioned soldiers, shouting, ran towards Rody''s side, hoping for his protection.

    Meanwhile, the previously neutral soldiers and civilians, led by the elderly King Norn and the heads of various countries, quickly moved towards Rody City''s formation.

    "At this critical moment of human survival, the first thing we need to determine is our leader. We must have someone who can absolutely lead us out of danger to victory. Tell me, who do you wish this person to be?" the Pope came before Rody and shouted to the people.

    "Rody!" Millions responded thunderously.

    "At this moment of life and death for humanity, Rody, tell me, what do you want to tell us?" the Pope loudly asked Rody.

    "Victory!" Rody, shielding his mother behind him, raised his fist and roared fiercely.

    "Victory... Long live!" Everyone excitedly raised their arms, dense like a forest. In this moment, everyone''s hearts were united, feeling the power and cohesion of human unity.

    "Well done, Rody, this is exactly what I hoped for." A tall, one-armed old man appeared, slowly walking towards Rody.

    To their surprise, people recognized this one-armed old man as the legendary Marshal Vondesman, who was thought to have died in battle. He was alive! But upon closer inspection, people were saddened to see that Marshal Vondesman had not only lost an arm but also a right leg, and had a deep scar in his left eye socket. His chest, exposed outside his clothes, was covered with numerous scars.

    Marshal Vondesman had not died, but after such severe injuries, he still came to support them. Seeing this old commander, people couldn''t help but tear up.

    He had dedicated everything to the Saint Song Grand Alliance, but in the end, he couldn''t save it.

    Or perhaps it can be said that in the end, humanity didn''t save the Saint Song Grand Alliance for him. When this old commander appeared, people felt guilty, including King Norn.

    "Marshal..." Rody ran towards the old commander and embraced Marshal Vondesman tightly.

    "No, Rody, the Grand Marshal of humanity is you! Listen, the era of old soldiers has passed. Now, humanity''s hope lies only in you, the young! Grand Marshal, please allow Vondesman, this old soldier, to join the battle!" Vondesman, returning from the brink of death, raised Rody''s hand high, announcing to the world that he was passing the mantle of the Human Alliance''s Grand Marshal to this young man.

    "Annihilate the traitors against God!" The golden-winged Principal Angel Andrei drew his holy sword, pointing it as tens of thousands of winged birdmen, over two hundred thousand Centaurs, countless monster legions, and a countless demon army charged frantically towards the formation of Rody City''s soldiers.

    At this moment, humanity had nothing but their flesh and blood to defend themselves.

    Without walls or fortresses, no high ground or forests, not even marshes or trenches, the human phalanx lacked any form of cover. All eyes were on Rody; at this moment, people could only hope that this miraculous boy, as in the past, would immediately devise a perfect battle plan and continue leading them towards a miraculous victory.

    In terms of both combat power and numbers, the human side was at a significant disadvantage.

    Although their total number exceeded two hundred thousand, about a hundred thousand were either slave soldiers or logistics troops with almost no combat capability. Some were civilians who came in support of Rody, many of whom were weak women. The soldiers from neutral countries, coming from hundreds of nations, had never coordinated before and could only fight independently, mainly to protect the heads of their states, unable to form a strong phalanx.

    Many soldiers were limited by their profession in terms of combat power. For example, the cavalry, who now, even if they had horses, couldn''t charge; the strongest cavalry troops were reduced to their weakest.

    Could only the thirty thousand soldiers from Rody City protect the lives of the hundred and twenty thousand others?

    People dared not imagine, for their hearts held no thought of victory. Their only reliance was on the miraculous boy before them.

    Everyone could only blindly believe in him, hoping he could turn the tide and lead them out of the siege, achieving a miraculous turnaround¡­ That was all they could hope for, even though more people knew it was a vain hope, an impossible fantasy.

    The composed kings, some generals, and magicians, their first thought was not to fight, but to flee.

    They knew that victory was impossible in this battle.

    The only chance for humanity was to escape.

    As for how many could escape and how many would be spared, they couldn¡¯t imagine. In the hearts of King Norn and others, their hope was that Rody and his elite squad, these young people, could escape in time.

    Because as long as Rody and the young elites of humanity were alive, there would always be hope for humanity.

    "Rody boy, you are the smartest little guy. I don¡¯t need to say much, just one thing: you are always the most important. No matter what, you must survive for all of humanity, understand?" King Norn, like an old lion, grabbed Rody by the shirt and roared. He himself was prepared to fight to the death, but his only concern was that Rody might abandon everyone and flee alone.

    "We will definitely win, everyone believe in me, humanity will surely achieve the final victory!" Rody roared, his body shining with a golden light that illuminated the heavens and earth. His spiritual power permeated the entire human phalanx, infecting everyone with a fighting spirit of ''fighting to the last drop of blood'' and ''never surrender''.

    "Victory... Victory!" Not only the human soldiers in Rody''s formation, but even the people watching from the rear were tearfully roaring.

 Chapter 213: Miracle, A One-Sided Slaughter After the Turnaround

    Over two hundred thousand centaurs, with the fastest speed, charged like fierce horses towards the soldiers of Rody City.

    The monster and demon armies followed, while the winged tribe in the sky circled, ordering the human soldiers of the Saint Song Grand Alliance below to join the attack, not rushing in immediately. Everyone knew that Rody City''s soldiers would fight to the death. These loyal followers of Rody would not easily give up fighting, much less surrender. Thus, the cunning winged army did not attack immediately but let others take the lead.

    "Bowmen, step forward!" Rody, holding up a crescent halberd formed of concentrated energy, commanded.

    "Here!" Thousands of bowmen, led by the elite squad leader Kaili, proudly stood in front of everyone.

    "Fire!" Rody directed with his crescent halberd.

    "Whoosh whoosh whoosh..." Thousands of sharp arrows were shot into the sky, hitting numerous centaurs in their army, causing them to tumble to the ground, triggering a chain of collapses. But thousands of arrows were mere drops in the ocean against the two hundred thousand centaur army.

    "Crossbowmen, step forward!" Rody shouted again.

    "Here." Tommy, with the slower-reloading crossbowmen, rushed out in the moment the bowmen retreated. There was no need to aim; facing the two hundred thousand centaur army, the soldiers of Rody City just needed to aim their crossbows forward. Different from bow arrows, crossbow bolts could only be shot straight forward, but on flat ground, their killing power was greater than arrows, targeting the soldiers at the front of the charge.

    Following Rody''s direction, Tommy and the crossbowmen fired their crossbows forward.

    The vanguard of the centaur army tumbled and fell, causing more chaos.

    But more centaurs, unhit by the bolts, charged even closer, the fastest already within a hundred meters. The world anxiously watched, knowing that the combat power of cavalry and infantry was entirely different. These centaurs, being half-human, half-horse, not only had the agility of infantry but also the charging speed of cavalry, and could even throw projectiles at short range, making their combat power terrifying.

    Once the two hundred thousand centaur army got close, Rody City''s soldiers would inevitably be overwhelmed.

    What was even more terrifying was that behind them, an innumerable amount of monsters and demon armies followed.

    "Javelin throwers, fire!" Rody, calm and composed, continued to issue orders.

    Thousands of robust warriors from Rody City, led by Stanley, rushed forward, roaring and hurling a dark cloud of javelins into the distant sky. The power of the javelins was even greater than that of arrows and bolts. Although their range was shorter, under the enemy''s fast charge, the fierce rain of javelins was a deadly strike.

    After the javelin rain, Rody commanded the thief squad led by Terri to launch a stone attack.

    The thief squad used slings to hurl stones, spinning them with force before releasing one end, using inertia and centrifugal force to launch the rounded stones, which were also extremely powerful.

    "Mages, cast Meteor Shower, Thunder Strike, Great Blizzard, Fiery Explosion, magical bombardment!" Upon Rody''s order, magic squads led by red-haired Sal, Ice Mage Gao, and others from four different schools, who had taken time to chant their spells during the archers'' attack, all focused and maintained their magic, watching for Rody''s command. Upon hearing it, they immediately bombarded the densest areas of the enemy.

    The balance of the four elemental forces of fire, wind, water, and earth, once disrupted, results in even more terrifying power.

    The sky turned red as dozens of meteors fell from the blood-red sky, whistling as they crashed into the centaur army. Faster than the meteors were the huge columns of thunder, blinding everyone''s eyes. With a thunderous roar, forked lightning devoured all life below. Centaurs around the thunder columns were struck and turned black, falling dead without a sound.

    On another front, the atmosphere turned freezing cold as chunks of ice rained down from the sky, encasing all hit targets in ice.

    Earth mages shot countless light spots in parabolic arcs; these were ''Fiery Explosions,'' a spell of immense power but poor practicality as it required someone to step on it to explode. Thus, it was often disregarded by mages, since anyone could avoid the ominously glowing Fiery Explosions¡­ However, when shot into a charging army of two hundred thousand centaurs, it became a deadly strike.

    Even if the centaurs knew there were Fiery Explosions at their feet, the dense charge left no room to evade.

    Some centaurs might have leaped over, but those behind, with their view obstructed, trampled over them without hesitation. As a result, the massive explosions sent nearby centaurs flying into the air, turning into a rain of limbs and debris.

    After several strikes, at least twenty to thirty thousand centaur soldiers fell, reducing their numbers by more than a tenth.

    If they were defending Rody City, the people in the rear would have cheered for this perfect slaughter of the centaurs by humanity.

    But now, with no defenses to rely on, even the heavy losses of the centaur army could not stop them from advancing. Once the centaurs got close, with over a hundred thousand of them and countless monsters and demons, plus the human rebels of the Saint Song Grand Alliance and the winged birdmen circling in the sky, Rody City''s soldiers were in imminent danger...

    "Magic bomb throwers, get ready; close-combat shield bearers, get ready; axemen, get ready." Rody remained calm, seemingly oblivious to the centaur army emerging from the smoke, the fastest now within fifty meters, still commanding the soldiers of Rody City to take their positions.

    Stolen story; please report.

    The shield bearers shouted in unison, two people per shield, erecting them in front of the formation and supporting them with long spears, forming a shield wall.

    All mercenaries formed into axemen, standing behind the giant shields, ready to unleash their axes on any centaur that broke through. Squads of magic bomb throwers, holding the same type of magic tubes used by soldiers in self-destruct, tied them to short spears, waiting for Rody''s command.

    Jesse, upon seeing Rody''s hand signal, shouted and led the launch of the short spears.

    King Norn watched anxiously. Even with effective strikes, there was too little time left. The centaurs were less than fifty meters from the humans, and once the melee began, the consequences were unimaginable. But he had no way to stop the centaur charge and could only order his guards to release their fighting spirit, preparing for hand-to-hand combat.

    "Pope, fellow kings, Sage Joanne, and court magicians, please use ''Gentle Breeze'' or ''Magic Ripple''. If you don''t know those, then cast ''Magic Shield''!" Finally, Rody turned and gave an order to all the anxious kings and magicians. Although people didn''t understand how casting ''Gentle Breeze'' against an enemy army of two hundred thousand would be useful, they immediately complied.

    ''Gentle Breeze'' is a basic wind magic spell that even slightly trained magicians know how to chant. Its power is very weak; even when cast by a Wizard King, it can only blow dust into the enemy''s eyes. Would such a spell be useful against an army of two hundred thousand centaurs? Everyone was puzzled, but they followed Rody''s command. As for the water magic ''Magic Ripple,'' it''s even weaker than ''Gentle Breeze''. Its main effect is to make spells like ''Poison Fog'' last longer and infect more people.

    Could Rody be planning to use Poison Fog?

    But with two hundred thousand centaurs, the effect of Poison Fog would surely not be great. Moreover, Poison Fog takes a long time to take effect and is not the best choice for a battlefield, especially at such a critical moment. It''s like far water that can''t save a near fire.

    The court magicians of various countries, filled with extreme puzzlement and a sense of clutching at straws, did as they were told.

    The miraculous boy must have his reasons.

    People could only blindly trust him because he had always been so trustworthy.

    The Pope led the way, and hundreds of powerful magicians cast Gentle Breeze, stirring up a sandstorm that rolled towards the charging centaur army. This Gentle Breeze spell was really not very powerful; probably the centaurs would just close their eyes and continue charging, and then it would have no effect. If someone else had given this absurd command, King Norn would have strangled him to death. But the one who gave this absurd command was the miraculous boy Rody, making him so anxious that his hair and beard almost turned white.

    "Elite squad, step forward, ready to slay the enemy with me!" Rody issued another command, and the entire elite squad responded thunderously.

    "Chris, you command the archers and other long-range attackers; Ice Mage, keep the four-element mages conserving magic power, the first target is the birdmen in the sky, kill any who approach; Red Hair, Flying Dragon, Silver Fang, lead the elites forward, slay any enemy within a hundred meters, and immediately return if they go beyond that range."

    "Buck Teacher, David Teacher, you protect Felic''s mages, prepare to chant the ''Demon Expelling War Song'' as planned."

    "Grand Marshal, Pope, fellow kings, if you find any centaurs or winged birdmen breaking into our formation, immediately slay them!"

    Everyone was shocked when Rody issued this series of commands.

    To their horror, they found that faced with an army of two hundred thousand centaurs, Rody was not opting for strict defense but instead taking the initiative to attack. What was his courage made of? Did he really think that just with the elite squad and the thirty thousand soldiers of Rody City, he could slay the two hundred thousand centaurs? Behind the centaur army were even more monster and demon armies. An active attack was simply impossible to win. Was Rody already in despair, planning to fight a decisive battle with the enemy?

    "Yes." The soldiers of Rody City responded thunderously.

    "..." The kings and royal guards of various countries were a bit stunned. Did these soldiers trust Rody that much? With the dire situation before them, yet they executed the orders without hesitation. Did they never think that Rody could fail?

    The slaves, the original soldiers of Saint Song, and the supporting civilians all showed fear, feeling that their lives were hanging by a thread.

    Some scared fan groups also tightly huddled together.

    They had experienced too many wars in Rody City, but they had never seen so many enemies, without the security of a strong city, and under the threat of being attacked from both sides. These girls, who were absolute supporters of Rody, would be lying if they said they weren''t scared. But they didn''t scream; instead, they hugged each other tightly, encouraging each other, drawing courage from their companions, and stood firm behind Rody to support him.

    "People watching from all over the world, let me tell you, all enemies, under the wisdom of humanity, are just fish on the chopping block, at our mercy!" Rody, flying in the air, swung his crescent halberd in an arc, shouting loudly.

    "What?" Far away, the six-winged principal angel Andrei, watching the battle, was surprised to find that the front part of the centaur army suddenly stopped charging.

    They stood there, one by one, motionless, as if they had been hit by petrification magic.

    Rody, leading the elite squad, charged out and began to slaughter the centaurs at will. The centaur soldiers did not resist at all, standing motionless like puppets. Behind Rody, Red Hair Sal and others also formed into several arrow-shaped teams, rushing into the enemy crowd and wreaking havoc with blood splattering and heads flying. The front part of the centaur army became like fish on a chopping block, helplessly butchered by the soldiers of Rody City, dumbfounding everyone.

    "Ah, long live!" The hundred thousand slave soldiers and civilians erupted in an earth-shattering cheer upon seeing this.

    "It''s impossible, this can''t be happening!" This exclamation came not from the golden-winged principal angel Andrei, but from the excited King Norn.

    In fact, he wasn''t the only one in disbelief; everyone present found it incredible. How did Rody manage to make the centaur army completely defenseless? No one could figure it out, but the scene they were witnessing was real. Not just the centaur army, but also the flying demons and some of the winged birdmen who came within a hundred meters of Rody City''s soldiers, immediately lost their ability to fly and plummeted to the ground.

    It was as if there was an invisible circle, protected by divine beings.

    Once enemies entered this circle, they could only wait to be slaughtered, unable to resist the onslaught of Rody and his soldiers...

    The middle and rear of the centaur army, terrified, halted their charge. Many centaurs lost control and crashed into their front ranks. Just seconds ago lively and jumping, they turned into puppets as soon as they entered that invisible circle.

    Seeing Rody, like a god of slaughter, swinging his crescent halberd and releasing hundred-meter-long slashes of energy, each strike followed by a burst of blood, countless centaurs were killed without any resistance or evasion. Not only the centaur army but also the monster and demon armies behind them were terrified and stopped in their tracks.

    Some flying demons, driven by their generals, came forward, only to fall from the sky.

    Those flying high managed to come close but were shot down by the archers under Chris''s command or hit by the huge magic orbs conjured by the four-element mages led by Ice Mage Gao.

    This one-sided massacre frightened even the bravest soldiers.

    Under the watchful eyes of the world and to the stunned disbelief of the enemy, Rody and his elite squad slaughtered the enemy in front of them like mowing down grass. Rows of centaurs fell under the randomly swinging axes and swords, not even screaming, a terrifying sight that made all enemies'' souls scatter and bodies sweat cold.

    "Butterflies, Glowing Butterflies! Glowing Butterflies..."

    The centaur commander finally realized what was happening. It screamed in terror and ordered the centaur army to retreat quickly. Those who had been plundering in the Seven Tribes'' lands knew of a terrifying colored butterfly. Any creature entering their territory was doomed. These butterflies emitted a sweet-smelling colored powder that, unless one was an elemental body or a non-living machine, would paralyze any living creature it touched, leaving them defenseless.

    Obviously, Rody had used something like this.

    No wonder the mages of Rody City had released a burst of Gentle Breeze magic earlier; it was to accelerate the spread of the powder, not to cause damage. The Magic Ripple of the water mages was also to infect more centaur soldiers... It seemed that Rody had planned this in advance, a trap he had set long ago.

    The golden-winged six-winged principal angel Andrei flew to the centaur commander''s side, urgently seeking information.

    In the end, the side with the absolute military advantage was forced to sound the retreat horn.

    Over a hundred thousand centaurs, even more monsters and demons, along with hundreds of thousands of human rebels and tens of thousands of winged birdmen, could only watch helplessly as Rody and the human soldiers slaughtered all centaur soldiers within a hundred meters, unable to do anything.

    "Retreat in order, mages use wind magic to disperse it!" the golden-winged principal angel Andrei gritted his teeth and ordered the retreat.

    "Let''s wait a bit more, in case the effect is still there..." the centaur commander, frightened like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, hurriedly advised.

    Rody''s soldiers, the hundred thousand slave soldiers, the supporting civilians, the fan groups, the heads of various countries, and their guards were so excited that they jumped up involuntarily, cheering. Only then did they remember to cheer, only then did they believe that all this was real.

    What is a miracle?

    Any battle commanded by Rody is a miracle. There is no need to doubt because he is the miraculous boy, the hope of humanity, humanity''s pride!

 Chapter 214: Clever Use, Rodys Tower of Spirit

    During the enemy''s arrogant charge just now, Rody landed a heavy punch on them, leaving them dazed and confused.

    Facing 20,000 enemies with just 3,000 men, turning the tide into a one-sided massacre was a miracle that one would not believe unless seen with one''s own eyes. After this battle, many kings and leaders came to their senses, becoming calm. As the enemy retreated like a tide, everyone not only cheered but also spontaneously started building basic defenses.

    The elite squad continued to slaughter the remaining enemies, delivering the final blow to the half-dead centaurs.

    Rody pursued the enemy alone, wielding a crescent halberd and spearing the slower retreating centaurs.

    To the people of the world, the current miraculous child, Rody, was nothing short of a deity. Golden halos slicing through the earth, his nearly hundred-meter-long aura of fighting spirit not only terrified the centaur soldiers but also moved the onlookers in the rear to tears.

    Who else in the world could drive hundreds of thousands of troops single-handedly, if not Rody?

    Chris then ordered the slave army to dig trenches at the fastest speed. Victory was only temporary. Although the enemy was severely defeated, they were not crippled and could easily regroup and overwhelm Rody City''s allied forces with a sea of soldiers. How to keep these centaurs at bay within an effective range? How to avoid close combat chaos? The soldiers, trapped under the fortress of Saint Song, had no natural defenses and had to create a buffer zone to buy some reaction time.

    "What can we do?" Old King Norn embraced Rody with a hearty laugh and eagerly asked to join the fight as soon as he saw Rody return.

    "Your Majesty, it''s best if you leave..." Rody said with a slight smile.

    "What are you saying? If it were anyone else, I''d beat them! Do you think we are cowardly and afraid of death? No, this old body of mine might be rusty, but it''s still useful, not yet ready to flee the battlefield. Just digging trenches? I can do that!" Old King Norn rolled up his sleeves, actually intending to help dig trenches, but the others quickly persuaded him not to.

    "It''s best to leave, as this battle might last several days, or even half a month," Rody told the kings. "The soldiers of Rody City are well-prepared for battle, so you don''t have to worry. As heads of state, you have significant domestic affairs to attend to, and you can use the teleportation scrolls to leave. As for the war, let me put it this way: prepare some fine wine, watch from your palaces, and enjoy the spectacular reversal our Rody City soldiers will present to you! Regardless of the process being long and arduous, the final victory will surely belong to humanity!"

    "Listen to this, the young lad thinks we''re old and useless, wants to send us away," Old King Norn said angrily. "We refuse to leave. What are domestic affairs compared to the fate of all humanity? They''re trivial."

    "We''ll fight to the death, our sons will inherit," said the King of Naples, patting Rody''s shoulder. "Let us stay! We haven''t played the hero in a long time, let us old folks be heroes once more! The people at home are watching; we can''t and won''t sneak back shamefully. Rody, even if we just stand here doing nothing, you must let us stay!"

    "Nobody can drive us away... including you!" laughed the King of Helsinki. "We''re also part of humanity. Now that angels, demons, monsters, and centaurs are bullying us, can we just leave? These mongrels, we''ve tolerated them for thousands of years, no more tolerance today, we''ll fight them!"

    "..." Lord Warren stood silently among the crowd, watching Rody without saying a word.

    Rody parted the crowd and walked towards him.

    This was the second face-to-face meeting between father and son. Past misunderstandings, hatred, and pain had vanished with the wind, leaving only deep, spring-like emotions.

    Lord Warren, a man as sturdy as steel, couldn''t help but tremble slightly as he looked at Rody.

    He had endured and waited for so many years.

    Only today could he reveal the truth in front of the world, loudly telling his most beloved son that he was not the worst father who devoured his offspring, but rather his most steadfast protector. All the abandonment and heartlessness were but a protective shell, beneath which lay his most passionate heart.

    "Father¡­" Rody opened his arms and embraced Lord Warren.

    Lord Warren stood incredulously, accepting Rody''s tight embrace. It took him a while to respond with trembling hands, hugging his most beloved and proud son.

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    Seeing the father and son reconcile and recognize each other, everyone''s eyes heated up. Even the toughest men couldn''t help but turn away and secretly wipe their tears.

    Rody''s mother was shedding hot tears, laughing and crying as she watched.

    In the distance, the girls from Rody''s fan club were already crying in a group. They knew what Rody was missing ¨C a loving father. Previously, everyone thought Lord Warren was the most heartless father in the world. But in fact, he wasn''t. He was a father who sacrificed himself for others, willing to endure the world''s condemnation to steadfastly protect his son.

    "Ace, so you are my brother, thank you!" Rody wiped the hot tears from his face, turned to Ace, and extended his hand.

    "No big deal!" Ace laughed. Instead of shaking hands with Rody, he punched Rody in the chest.

    Rody pulled him in for a hug, embracing both Ace and Lord Warren, the father, brother, and son tightly hugging together, with Rody''s mother also embracing from behind. This once fragmented family was now reunited into a cohesive and happy home.

    Even the always calm and icy Pope couldn''t help but look up to the sky and sigh softly at this scene.

    The crowd erupted in warm applause, moved by the reunion of Rody''s family.

    "Father, I entrust mother''s safety to you!" Rody took his mother''s hand and placed it in Lord Warren''s large hand.

    "Don''t worry! As long as Warren and all the guardians are here, you''ll never have to worry about the safety of the Holy Maiden," Lord Warren said, bowing his head and gently kissing the back of Rody''s mother''s hand, kneeling devoutly. As Lord Warren knelt, Ace, Helsinki, Sage Joanne, and others also knelt down, placing their hands on their hearts in respect.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, I''m no longer the Holy Maiden. I''m just a mother to a child," Rody''s mother said, helping each of them up, shaking her head and smiling.

    "Rody, the enemy is preparing a meteor shower¡­" Chris came running from outside.

    "Your Holiness, please lead the mages to prepare a magical barrier," Rody immediately shifted from son to the grand marshal of humanity upon hearing this, commanding, "Ice Demon, lead the four schools of mages to draw the magic circles at each corner. Tommy, gather all the slave army units back, and let Rody City''s soldiers continue digging! The royal guards of various countries, I now summon you in my capacity as the Grand Marshal of the Human Alliance. Your first task is to set up two large tents as quickly as possible... Respected kings and leaders, please stand among the people and stabilize their emotions!"

    "Yes," everyone responded loudly, be it kings or soldiers.

    "Chris, use the Spirit Battle Song," Rody said, pulling Chris along as he rushed out of the crowd, issuing orders. By the time Chris reached the elite squad to command, Rody had already flown into the sky, his immense spiritual power separating from him and singing a unique Spirit Battle Song.

    The sky was blood-red, with layers of clouds flickering with eerie red light.

    In the distance, the angel army and the human rebel mage units were chanting ''Meteor Shower'' or ''Meteorite Descent'' within a huge magic circle. Although they couldn''t charge, in terms of long-range attacks, the angel army was far superior to Rody City''s forces.

    As long as the Meteor Shower, chanted by hundreds to nearly a thousand mages, falls on the soldiers of Rody City, their bodies, even if made of steel, would inevitably melt. The bombardment of thousands of fiery meteors and meteorites could flatten a small mountain; now the soldiers of Rody City, without any natural defenses, could only watch helplessly as the meteors struck above them. How could they not be defeated?

    If they fled, once they left the range of the glowing butterfly dust, the centaur army would launch a full-scale attack and overwhelm the human soldiers.

    The Archangel Andre with golden wings felt the scales of victory tipping in his favor once again.

    After all, his side, in terms of both numbers and strength, was many times greater than Rody''s.

    Chris, leading the elite squad, positioned themselves according to a mysterious magic formation, each pulling out a magic scroll. Under Chris''s command, they simultaneously activated them. Streams of golden spiritual light rapidly rose into the air, connecting with Rody''s spiritual clone, eventually forming an upward-tapering ''Tower of Spirit''.

    In this glittering Tower of Spirit, Rody was at the very top, with Chris and the elite squad at the bottom.

    Ice Demon Gao and the mages of all four schools surrounded them, collectively maintaining the entire Tower of Spirit.

    The enormous Tower of Spirit, supported by the spiritual power of numerous mages, expanded further, eventually covering the entire area of Rody City''s soldiers and even extending beyond by fifty meters.

    "It''s not enough. Don''t maintain the magical barrier for now. Although the Meteor Shower will cause vibrations and heat waves when it hits, we should first support Rody''s Tower of Spirit; its range is too small," the Pope understood Rody''s strategy. Rody intended to use the Tower of Spirit to forcibly defend against the Meteor Shower, planning to use its sloped surface to deflect the direct impact of the falling meteors and slide them away from the crowd.

    But there were too few mages in Rody City, and the protective range they could create was not large, nor could it be maintained for a long time.

    Like the spirit squad, they were not qualified mages, relying only on magic scrolls for support. Once the energy of the scrolls was exhausted, the effect would probably be weaker. The Pope thought for a moment and then shouted loudly, ordering many court mages to come out and support.

    "That kid is quite cunning, don''t worry about him," said the beautiful instructor with a smile to herself, obviously understanding Rody''s intentions better than the Pope.

    "Let''s all create a magic barrier together!" The Holy Maiden suddenly stood up and said to the girls in the fan club, "When I chant the spell, you don''t have to do anything, just silently chant ''Rody, Rody'' in your hearts, continuously repeating his name."

    "Your Highness, we, we also want to contribute. Can we also silently chant the lord''s name?" The slave soldiers and supporting civilians asked excitedly.

    "Of course, you can. The stronger and more focused everyone''s spirit is, the greater the power will be," the Holy Maiden replied with a beaming smile, starting to pray ''The Mercy of the Holy Mother'' with her knightly order. Rody''s mother watched and smiled slightly, but did not join in, just quietly watching. The beautiful instructor floated over, looking at Rody''s mother, seemingly wanting to say something, but her lips moved slightly without making a sound.

    Rody''s mother reached out, gently stroked the top of the beautiful instructor''s head, then took her hand, nodded at her, and smiled faintly.

    The beautiful instructor''s face seemed to blush for a moment, but it quickly disappeared, returning to her demeanor as a powerful figure.

    "I have no special relationship with him; he is just my student. And only for a few months," the beautiful instructor emphasized this point, as if she was afraid Rody''s mother might misunderstand something.

    "Rody is a bit stubborn, and everyone fails to persuade him. Please look after him in the future, he might listen to you more," Rody''s mother said softly.

    "No, there isn''t... I''ll try," the beautiful instructor nodded somewhat flusteredly.

    At this moment, in the sky, hundreds of burning meteorites fell like raindrops. The sound, initially muffled, became massive and eventually turned into a terrifying howl.

    Amidst the earth-shattering roar, hundreds of meteorites of various sizes fiercely struck the giant Tower of Spirit, supported by the spiritual clone of Rody''s hands. Surprisingly, the Tower of Spirit was not penetrated, and the meteorites did not shatter upon impact. There was no deafening explosion, not even a shockwave. Those fiery meteor showers slid rapidly along the sloped surface of the Tower of Spirit, descending towards the ground at high speed.

    Finally, the meteorites, surrounding the enormous Tower of Spirit, crashed heavily into the ground about a hundred meters from the Rody City soldiers.

    In an instant, the earth shattered, and countless shockwaves spread one after another...

 Chapter 215: Wisdom, Counteracting Move by Move

    Over three hundred years ago, in the kingdom of Phileck, human allied mages used the Meteor Shower to completely destroy the entire capital.

    The mighty army of Phileck, with nowhere to defend or shelter, almost entirely perished in battle. The Meteor Shower has always been one of the most common and effective mass attack spells in war, unbeatable in both field battles and sieges, especially when hundreds of mages summon thousands of meteorite showers together; it''s an absolute nightmare for the enemy.

    Today, as the soldiers of Rody City are surrounded under the Saint Song, without any natural defenses.

    What effect will the Meteor Shower, once again falling from the sky, have? Will Rody, the invincible miraculous kid, suffer a setback from the dense attack of the Meteor Shower?

    Everyone in the rear was holding their breath, watching with wide eyes and clenched fists.

    Giant and scorching meteorites, howling as they flew and crashed down from the sky, were stopped by Rody''s Tower of Spirit, deflected to land a hundred meters away. Once they struck the solid ground, they immediately exploded into earth-shattering shockwaves, shaking the entire battlefield. A single meteorite was enough to make the earth tremble, and hundreds to thousands of giant meteorites could flatten a small mountain...

    The slave soldiers, logistics troops, or supporting civilians, each was knocked to the ground by the shock.

    They lay powerless on the trembling ground, their bodies shaking and repeatedly falling.

    The girls from Rody''s fan club fared better. The Holy Maiden and her guards chanted spells, allowing them to hover slightly above the ground, unaffected by the ground shaking. However, the power of the shockwaves in the sky, after penetrating the magical barrier, blew them about like a hurricane, leaving them disheveled and distressed.

    The kings and knights struggled to endure the storm of the shaking earth, while the few powerful beings were more vigilant of the sky.

    The Great Sword Emperor Yu and a dozen super-strong beings hand on sword hilts, ready to strike at any moment to support Rody.

    If any meteorite slipped through, they would immediately shatter it.

    Rody''s Tower of Spirit, created by his spiritual clone, appeared fragile under the myriad meteor showers, seemingly about to break upon any impact. However, in reality, it was extremely sturdy, and people''s worries were entirely superfluous.

    Thousands of meteor showers fell, and apart from shaking Rody City''s soldiers to the ground and blasting everyone with a storm, leaving everyone dirty and dizzy, it had no other effect. Once the ground stilled and the last meteorite smashed into the earth, bringing a final gust of wind, they all climbed up from the muddy ground, a bit dazed but excitedly cheering.

    What is a miracle?

    What happened on the battlefield now was a miracle.

    Rody, he created another miracle. Under the bombardment of thousands of meteor showers, there was not a single casualty; this was his ability.

    What infuriated the Archangel Andre with golden wings even more was that, due to the sheer number of meteorites, plus Rody''s intentional deflection, a large area of hot meteorites now surrounded Rody City''s soldiers. These meteorites, initially intended to kill them, had now become a protective circle for the human soldiers.

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    For the miraculous human boy, Archangel Andre felt a sense of powerlessness.

    What method could truly defeat or kill this miraculous boy, Rody? As long as he lives, humanity still has hope, a spine to support the grand scheme. Rody must die, and he must be killed in front of all the humans worldwide; otherwise, humans will not feel absolute despair, and they will continue to harbor hope.

    But how to kill him?

    "Continue with the Meteor Shower!" Archangel Andre knew that even if Rody was incredibly strong and had abnormal spiritual power, he couldn''t maintain it for a long period.

    "Lord Andre, the mages have already exhausted a lot of magic power; it might be better to let them rest for a while... Lord Andre, I have a suggestion. We could use catapults and other siege weapons to strike at these blasphemers. This will not only exhaust Rody''s spiritual power but also buy time for the mages to rest. What do you think?" Cardinal Saint Duri of the Red Robes suggested.

    "That''s a good proposal, but the demon and centaur armies are far away," Andre was somewhat troubled.

    "Lord Andre, actually, what Saint Song doesn''t lack is attack weaponry," Cardinal Saint Duri replied excitedly: "If Lord Andre grants me authority, I will drown Rody in a rain of stones!"

    When the soldiers of Saint Song rolled out giant catapults, the kings and people of various countries were infuriated.

    They never imagined that the war machinery they supplied to the front lines would one day be used against their own people, which was infuriating.

    According to the plan of Cardinal Saint Duri and Andre, the dense attack of the catapults would have a certain effect. Even if Rody blocked all the stone showers with his Tower of Spirit, his spiritual power would be severely drained. Unlike the Meteor Shower, the catapults and stone projectiles were infinitely usable, not requiring a large amount of magic power, and could be operated by ordinary soldiers.

    The number of catapults and stone projectiles in the Saint Song''s arsenal was more than enough to drown tens of thousands of people and build a city of stones over them.

    However, once the attack of the catapults began, they realized they might have been na?ve.

    If Rody could be defeated so easily, he wouldn''t be the miraculous boy.

    The sky full of stone showers, coming down densely, was not countered by Rody with a spiritual clone forming the Tower of Spirit like before. Instead, he almost ignored the stone shower, conversing quietly with the Holy Maiden for a few moments, before bravely heading out himself to continue digging trenches near the hot meteorites.

    Inspired by him, the slave soldiers also rushed out, doing their part.

    The supporting civilians, forgetting their fear, clenched their fists and shouted Rody''s name passionately, in rhythm with the girls from the fan club.

    Through prayer, a soft column of holy light appeared above the Holy Maiden''s head.

    The giant image of the Holy Mother flashed and disappeared, and the celestial singing of the fairies resounded across the entire battlefield. Above the heads of Rody City''s soldiers, countless light spots fluttered down. Those were the petals of holy light, tender and beautiful, filling the sky and enveloping human heads. The dense stones came roaring, but as soon as they touched these petals of holy light, their howling power immediately vanished, turning into cotton-like lightness as they fell.

    "Damn it, this is the Featherfall Technique, a wide-range Featherfall Technique! The human Holy Maiden is using the power of prayer and then converting it into the Featherfall Technique!" Archangel Andre realized this and his face immediately darkened.

    "..." Cardinal Saint Duri was so despairing that he couldn''t utter a word, not expecting this method to break the stone throwing attack.

    People kept shouting Rody''s name, and with every loud call, a faint sparkle would emerge above their heads, eventually converging into a stream of light, continuously joining the column of light above the Holy Maiden''s head, making the column of holy light stronger and more enduring. The Holy Maiden, gathering all the people''s prayers, continually chanted spells with her guard.

    And now, the various kings and their royal guards on the ground finally had a role to play.

    Their time to showcase their skills had arrived.

    Although the stones, under the influence of the Featherfall Technique, wouldn''t hurt anyone when falling on their heads, the kings, having nothing else to do, voluntarily flew into the air, blasting the lightly floating stones in the sky far away, about a hundred meters away.

    Cardinal Saint Duri''s lips trembled with both anger and hate.

    This approach was not working; if they didn''t plan to gift Rody a city of stones, then the futile stone-throwing attack could be stopped.

    "Holy Battle Formation, prepare..." Archangel Andre, of course, had more than one attack method. Long before the fallout with Rody, the high-ranking angels had carefully and seriously discussed various tactics against Rody, like using this method of the Light Spear when Rody was burdened.

    On command, the Winged Tribe swiftly took off and formed five tiers in the sky.

    At the highest level were the Winged Tribe''s light mages, whose attack was the Dragon Ball Spit, combining everyone''s power into a light ball, smashing towards the soldiers of Rody City.

    Then came the other mages of the Winged Tribe, operating magic crystal cannons.

    The middle layer was the Winged Tribe''s archers, mainly responsible for widespread harassment and carpet-style attacks.

    The fourth layer consisted of the Winged Tribe''s fire crystal magic long spear soldiers, the most numerous, with four to five thousand, arranged in a dense formation. Each soldier, holding a fire crystal magic long spear, aimed at Rody City''s soldiers. They were confident that even the Featherfall Technique could not stop these bullets shot faster than the wind and lightning. Once fired in unison, except for the super-strong, ordinary soldiers and civilians would undoubtedly die.

    At the very bottom layer of the Winged warriors were the priests responsible for blessings.

    They chanted blessing spells, waving their magic wands, and spreading blessings of light, rising up, allowing every comrade above to receive the blessing...

    Facing such a three-dimensional attack from the Winged Tribe, how will the miraculous boy, Rody, resolve it?

 Chapter 216: Blood Red, Rodys Supreme Curse

    "Rody, Rody, Rody¡­"

    Now, not only the civilians who came in support, but also the hundred thousand slave soldiers, and even the kings of various countries and all their guards, were rhythmically calling Rody''s name out loud. Everyone no longer doubted, for they knew Rody would definitely stand up and solve the problem when people felt pain and anxiety.

    Faced with the three-dimensional attack of the angelic Winged Tribe army, everyone couldn''t think of a solution, but they didn''t need to be afraid, for they still had Rody.

    Indeed, Rody flew out.

    He held a crescent halberd, which no one in the world had ever used before, gathering the spiritual power generated by the Holy Maiden''s prayers in the sky, forming a giant ball of energy. The more people shouted his name, the louder and more excited they became, the more they would notice that the flashes emerging from their heads were getting bigger, and the ball of light above Rody''s head also grew larger.

    The Tower of Spirit appeared again, but this time it was no longer a conical shape.

    This time, the Tower of Spirit, held up by Rody''s spiritual clone, resembled a giant mirror that slowly rotated.

    The Winged Tribe''s light mages chanted a deadly spell, ''Dragon Ball Spit.'' If this spell hit successfully, tens of thousands of densely packed human soldiers would turn to ash in the explosion of the spell. At the same time, people also had to face the energy attacks from the Winged Tribe''s elemental mages operating magic crystal cannons. These attacks would sweep away all life in their path.

    Humans had to face not only magical but also physical attacks.

    The Winged Tribe''s archers and fire crystal magic long spear soldiers would first bring a rain of shots to the human soldiers. If people were overwhelmed, the subsequent strikes from the magic crystal cannons and Dragon Ball Spit would devour all the soldiers of Rody City...

    "Fire." Archangel Andre, with his golden wings, waved his holy sword, giving the order to attack.

    He didn''t believe that humans could simultaneously cope with two completely different types of attacks. Whether it was magic barriers, magic shields, Herculean shields, atmospheric shields, or giant force fields, none could defend against two completely different types of attacks simultaneously, and the larger the area covered by these magical protections, the weaker their power would be. How many human soldiers could survive the massive explosion of magic crystal cannons and Dragon Ball Spit? How many could live under the rain of arrows and magical long spear shots?

    Archangel Andre sneered in his heart. He believed that Rody, the miraculous boy, might be able to deal with either a magical or physical attack, but definitely not both simultaneously.

    Indeed, if someone had that ability, they would not be human, but a god that does not exist in this world.

    Rody could not simultaneously cope with two different types of attacks; he had to make a choice.

    Would he choose to defend against the more powerful magic crystal cannons and Dragon Ball Spit? Or the dense, indiscriminate killing of the rain of arrows and magical long spear volleys?

    People in the rear of the world, at that moment, watched with immense tension. They were even more nervous than those on the battlefield, as observers, they were more worried and anxious. The people of Kamaran did not stay silent like the rest of the world but, like the onsite civilians, raised their hands and shouted Rody''s name in unison.

    "Rody, Rody, Rody, Rody¡­"

    They too believed in the miraculous boy, absolutely.

    Although separated by vast distances in time and space, their support could not reach Rody''s ears, but the people of Kamaran would not let Rody fight alone; they would always stand behind the miraculous boy, forever supporting him.

    Millions of arrows and magical bullets rained towards Rody and the human soldiers beneath him.

    Without a magical barrier, Herculean shield, or giant force field, the human soldiers'' sky had nothing but Rody, no other defense. Andre watched with a cold sneer, thinking Rody had given up physical defense, focusing solely on the upcoming Dragon Ball Spit and magic crystal cannon fire.

    Just when Archangel Andre was at his most smug, suddenly, his smile froze, like a dead volcano.

    The rain of arrows and countless bullets suddenly changed direction slightly, all shooting towards Rody''s body.

    Rody''s spiritual clone was singing a war song, so clear that even a deaf person might understand it ¨C a large-scale ''Magic Attraction''. Damn Rody, he actually used a kind of magic normally used by noble magicians to lure magical beasts during hunting to attract arrows and bullets. What''s even more incredible is that this magic was effective. If the arrows and bullets hit the body of an ordinary human, they would cause absolute lethal damage, but what about shooting at a near-holy level powerhouse?

    The effect was clear; Rody''s protective aura and magic shield were shattered by the millions of arrows and bullets.

    But with a shake of his body, he shook off all the arrows and bullets, unscathed.

    The power of the Winged Tribe''s magic crystal cannons and Dragon Ball Spit couldn''t be attracted. Just when Archangel Andre was about to smile anew at the corner of his lips, Rody made another move that made him want to curse in frustration.

    Rody''s spiritual clone threw the giant mirror-like Tower of Spirit in the direction of the incoming magic crystal cannon and Dragon Ball Spit fire.

    The power of the magic crystal cannon and Dragon Ball Spit was unmatched and unstoppable.

    However, the function of this giant spirit mirror was not to block but to cleverly refract.

    It slightly rotated, refracting all the magic crystal cannon and Dragon Ball Spit attacks, just a small angle, but far away from the soldiers of Rody City, striking the dumbstruck and horrified centaur army... The centaurs were completely unprepared, having no idea the nightmare was falling from the sky.

    Except for the super-powerful who could react and desperately escape, the vast majority of centaurs only had time to let out a pre-death wail.

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    "Damn it, this is the Mirror of Pain, I''m going to kill this human bastard, he''s the most despicable and shameless scoundrel in the world!" Archangel Andre instantly realized, swearing profusely.

    The method Rody just used was an insane act that a normal person couldn''t possibly employ.

    The magic sphere he held up in the sky wasn''t a magic shield to protect human soldiers'' lives, but a sinister magic called ''Mirror of Pain.'' This kind of Mirror of Pain, unless used by some fanatical magicians under the Devil, wouldn''t be employed by anyone else. Because the power of this magic is related to the pain suffered by the caster.

    The greater the attack the caster suffers, the greater the pain, the greater the power of the ''Mirror of Pain.''

    Conversely, if the caster is not attacked or doesn''t feel pain, the Mirror of Pain will be powerless and useless.

    The power of the magic crystal cannon and Dragon Ball Spit was unstoppable, and Rody couldn''t hard-block them. However, he voluntarily stood out, enduring the pain of the arrow rain and bullet shooting, and then used the Mirror of Pain to refract the subsequent magic crystal cannon and Dragon Ball Spit away from the group of human soldiers. Because of his evil cunning mind and abnormal sacrificial spirit, Archangel Andre lost over ten thousand centaur warriors in a second.

    Under the explosion of the Dragon Ball Spit and the magic crystal cannon, the centaur warriors didn''t even have a chance to resurrect; they were completely vaporized.

    "Retreat the whole army two kilometers, Holy Battle Formation, prepare for the second time, reverse the attack sequence, Dragon Ball Spit and magic crystal cannon first, then cover the human soldiers with arrow rain and magical long spear volley!" Archangel Andre, with a twisted face, issued another order.

    He was determined, the Holy Battle Formation was invincible.

    This time, Rody using the Mirror of Pain would definitely not work, because the Dragon Ball Spit and magic crystal cannon were not attracted by magic, and he couldn''t endure the pain again and then use the Mirror of Pain to refract the arrow rain and bullets. Even if he could refract, all the armies had left the range, and Rody would just suffer the pain of the attack in vain.

    "Rody boy, are you okay?" Old King Norn and others, of course, saw this and shouted in concern.

    "I have always said that in the face of human wisdom, the enemy will perform their joke of a drama like clowns¡­" Rody''s words were not finished, already drowned out by the cheering of humanity, only Rody''s mother, with tears streaming down her face, looked at her beloved son with pride and heartache. This little guy, who always worried her, actually endured the enemy''s attack on behalf of everyone, transforming and refracting the enemy''s attack.

    "Everyone, continue to call Rody''s name, continue to support him; that''s the only thing we can do for him!" Tommy, with tears already in his eyes, shouted loudly: "Rody! Rody!"

    "Rody, Rody, Rody¡­"

    At this moment, almost in front of all the magic screens in the world, all humans erupted in the same shout.

    The only support they could offer him was their moral support.

    As long as everyone forever supports him, continuously cheers for him, and continually supports him with their spirit, then the miraculous boy Rody will certainly unleash greater power, protecting all the people in the world, bringing more and more perfect victories.

    At this moment, Rody was truly recognized by the world, truly supported wholeheartedly by the world, no longer fighting alone.

    Because, behind him, stood all the humans in the world.

    The Winged Tribe''s Holy Battle Formation, the Dragon Ball Spit, and the magic crystal cannon fire burst into a new round of attacks at Archangel Andre''s gesture... With the changed sequence of attacks, Rody''s previous strategy was no longer effective. How would he face this new round of attacks?

    ...

    If Archangel Andre could choose again, he would definitely not issue the command for a second attack.

    Because he felt a strong sense of being fooled and insulted, almost using all his strength to suppress the raging anger in his chest. Many times, he wanted to draw his holy sword and rush to fight Rody to the death. But every time he saw the slight mockery at the corner of Rody''s lips, he felt a deep chill in his heart; this guy was probably hoping for him to be impulsive.

    When the Holy Battle Formation fired the magic crystal cannon and Dragon Ball Spit, Andre thought Rody would find it difficult, a headache.

    But in fact, this abnormal guy came up with a way to break it.

    Who knows how his brain was formed, but the strategy he came up with was maddening. There''s no one in the world as crazy as him; he''s not a normal person but a madman.

    At the moment of the Dragon Ball Spit and magic crystal cannon bombardment, Rody flew over.

    His giant spiritual clone transformed into a huge mysterious spiral formation, with a black and white pattern in the middle, surrounded by eight shiny golden patterns. When the Dragon Ball Spit and magic crystal cannon hit, the spiral formation didn''t break or block but changed the direction of the attack. The attacks of the Dragon Ball Spit and magic crystal cannon twisted bizarrely, scattering across the sky, spectacularly streaking across the sky, disappearing into the end of the sky...

    If it were just that, Archangel Andre would not have been so enraged.

    A second later, the rain of arrows and bullet volleys arrived.

    Rody took it all, enduring the pain of a thousand arrows once again. This time, the magic he chanted was not the Mirror of Pain, but magic backlash and shared pain.

    At the moment this most cunning and despicable human spat out his first mouthful of blood, all the mages of the Holy Battle Formation fell from the sky, while all the archers and magic riflemen exploded into blood mist in the sky like popping beans. In the shared pain, they bore part of the pain Rody suffered from the thousands of attacks, bursting to death from unbearable pain.

    No one dared to approach the fallen mages.

    The terrifying magic backlash would turn anyone who touched it into an object of backlash, and the backlash force of powerful magic like the Dragon Ball Spit is not something a single mage could resist.

    Rody''s mysterious formation behind him was still slowly rotating, getting faster and faster; it was the main cause of the magic backlash. Now, it was reflecting the power of the Dragon Ball Spit and magic crystal cannon back on the casters through spiritual power, until all the power was gone. Archangel Andre forbade anyone from going to rescue because he saw that Rody was waiting.

    As soon as someone went to rescue, the power of the magic backlash would truly erupt.

    "Dragon Ball Spit? How is it? Tastes good, doesn''t it?" Rody laughed heartily, knowing no caster could endure the backlash of their own powerful magic, especially since all mages have relatively frail bodies. Moreover, magic backlash not only manifests in physical pain but also in mental agony. In short, the Winged Tribe''s mages must bear the full brunt of the magic they just cast to be relieved from the pain.

    Some of the Winged Tribe''s archers and magic riflemen who hadn''t exploded desperately flapped their wings to escape.

    Rody did not pursue. He waved his hand, took off his upper garment, revealing his pristine and perfect body. He tossed his crescent halberd, which his spiritual clone caught, and according to Rody''s will, swung fiercely, cutting a long wound on Rody''s back, splattering blood.

    "Ah?" People were stunned. What was Rody doing?

    "Bang, bang, bang, bang..." In the sky, the Winged Tribe''s archers and magic riflemen screamed, each bursting into blood mist, as the spiritual clone cut another wound on Rody. With each cut, dozens of archers suffered explosive deaths, their bodies bursting apart, turning into a rain of blood.

    The Winged Tribe''s archers and magic riflemen shared Rody''s pain under the curse of ''Sea of Blood and Deep Hatred'' cast by Rody''s spiritual magic. For every bit of damage the main body endured, the sharers received tenfold retribution, until one side died. So, with every injury Rody''s body suffered, countless archers couldn''t withstand the magic retribution and exploded to death.

    Their bodies, already at the brink of exploding due to shared pain, now faced additional curse retribution, inevitably breaking down like the last straw that broke the camel''s back.

    Over two thousand archers and four thousand magic riflemen couldn''t escape; they had flown up to a hundred meters in front of Archangel Andre, but still could not avoid the command to explode to death. Rody''s body was drenched in blood, ruthless towards both his enemies and himself. His spiritual clone spun like the wind, cutting hundreds of wounds on the main body in an instant.

    Rody, covered in blood, watched as the Winged Tribe''s archers and magic riflemen desperately wailed in the sky, each exploding into a burst of blood...

    "Winged Tribe''s mages, if you don''t want to die, then come and kneel before me, now!" Rody commanded coldly.

    With the slightest hesitation from the mages, the mysterious formation behind Rody spun rapidly, and hundreds of Winged mages screamed in agony, rolling on the ground, clutching their heads, rolling frantically as if mad. Andre watched with a twisted face and fiery eyes but was helpless; this evil magic was beyond his comprehension, and he had no way to counter it.

    Some mages, unable to bear the torture of pain, plunged daggers into their own hearts.

    But many more Winged mages did not have the courage to do so. Initially, only one or two of them, wailing, ran towards Rody, falling before him, extending trembling hands, begging for mercy... But this action triggered more to follow, and soon, almost all the Winged mages were crawling towards Rody, begging him to lift the magic backlash.

    "Ha ha, I am a merciful human, how can I not forgive you trash-like bird people? You must know, our human hearts are broader than the sky, how can we bicker with you? Of course not, I forgive you. Go!" Rody laughed heartily, turned around, and walked towards thousands of tearful companions. Hundreds of Winged mages followed him, rolling and crawling, volunteering to be his captives.

    They certainly understood that as soon as they left Rody''s side and returned to the Winged Tribe''s army, their brains would explode and they would die.

    Even if that didn''t happen, Lord Andre certainly wouldn''t spare them.

    Now, the only option was to follow this terrifying enemy, hoping that after the humiliation, he would truly spare their lives. A few Winged Tribe mages, believing this to be true, ran out less than a hundred meters before their skulls exploded with a bang.

    Others were shot into pincushions by the furious orders of Andre, dying without even a chance to scream.

    "Feathered Andre, did you see? I didn''t force them, but your mages insisted on becoming my captives. There''s nothing I can do..." Rody turned to face the distant, teeth-grinding Archangel Andre, spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and laughed carefreely: "Sorry, I accidentally destroyed your Holy Battle Formation, but don''t worry, I guess you have more than this little trick up your sleeve. Take your time to prepare, I''m waiting, not in a hurry at all, ha ha!"

    "I dare say, your triumph won''t last long!" Andre used all the patience he had in his life to suppress the urge to rush at Rody and fight to the death.

    "Maybe you''re right, maybe!" Rody laughed heartily.

    That laughter, like slaps, struck Andre and the countless assailants in the face. At this moment, including the most arrogant Winged Tribe and the coldest Demon Tribe, morale was incredibly low, each of them only wishing for the sun to set quickly, ending the day''s battle, waiting for the higher-ups to come up with a real solution to attack together. Otherwise, it was just rushing out to be humiliated by the miraculous boy, not to besiege humanity.

    When Rody returned, the human soldiers did not cheer for the first time.

    Their faces were all streaked with tears. The miraculous boy, although incredibly powerful, exceedingly intelligent, and foresighted, was still fighting alone, with no one able to help him...

    Seeing his blood-soaked body, the glaring blood red, like fire, seared everyone''s hearts.

    Shame, emotion, pride, and heartache ¨C all kinds of feelings surged in everyone''s hearts.

 Chapter 217: Smile, The Rainbow After the Storm

    Seeing everyone''s tearful eyes, Rody suddenly smiled.

    It was rare for people to see Rody smile. Normally, he was considered a very cool, miraculous boy. Seeing him smile was rarer than witnessing a shooting star. Even in people''s hearts, Rody, who had endured assassinations, difficulties, oppression, and ruthless abandonment, always had a hint of sorrow in his starry eyes.

    Now, as millions looked at Rody, they found him smiling under his blood-soaked body.

    It was like a dreamy rainbow appearing after a storm.

    This smile, against the backdrop of blood, seemed more intimate, more sincere, more joyful... What could have made Rody, who fought bloodily, smile so cheerfully?

    "Ha, don''t worry, everyone. My body has the ''Source of Life''; it can fully recover even under the burning of divine fire. A mere skin cut heals in a few seconds. Just now, to strike the enemy with the greatest contrast, I was a bit too much of a hero, stealing everyone''s credit. In fact, the spiritual power I used to retaliate and backlash against the enemy was all your spiritual strength." Rody''s face burst into a smile brighter than the sun, illuminating people''s hearts. He elegantly bowed to everyone, laughing, "I am always with you all, forever!"

    "We will always support you!" People shouted excitedly, their emotions uncontrollable, bursting from their hearts.

    What everyone wanted to see most was not Rody''s perfect command art, not a series of victories, but his joyful smile.

    Letting him feel no longer lonely, no longer sad, was what people most wanted to do. What could be more worth doing than making this miraculous boy smile? What could be more joyous than seeing a smile on Rody''s face? People always wanted to tell this pride of humanity, this son, that they would always support him.

    People did so much for him, hoping he could feel their intentions.

    Now, seeing Rody, covered in blood yet genuinely smiling, people were both touched and heartbroken...

    The young elites of various countries, the kings'' personal guards, had already rushed to tie up the Winged Tribe''s mages as captives. The elite squad, one by one, high-fived Rody in celebration. Chris chanted a water ball spell, cleaning the blood off Rody, and to everyone''s surprise, all the wounds on Rody''s body had healed, leaving only faint white scars, which gradually turned into fresh skin and disappeared.

    The miraculous boy, reborn from the ashes under the divine fire, was like the legendary phoenix, now immortal.

    The girls of the fan club cried with joy. Not only those present, but also the millions of spectators in the rear, felt relieved to see Rody''s wounds heal.

    The angels, Winged Tribe, monsters, Demon Tribe, centaurs, and human rebels, after consecutive blows to their morale, didn''t attack for a long time during the sunset. They retreated, regrouped, and surrounded from a distance, quietly waiting for their leaders to devise an effective battle plan. After these successive blows, they finally realized the formidable strength of the human miraculous boy.

    The once contemptuous leaders of various races now couldn''t help but feel a chill. Without an army ten times larger, the idea of keeping Rody''s human alliance under siege in Saint Song Fortress was pure fantasy.

    An entire night passed, and when dawn broke with a rosy glow, the enemy surged like a tide once again. But after one night, they were surprised to find that the human alliance had constructed a simple earthen city. Based on the small area impacted by the Meteor Shower, the humans dug deep trenches and then built a two-meter high earthen wall around the trenches.

    This simple and low earthen city successfully built everyone''s confidence, giving everyone a sense of being sheltered by the city walls.

    Now, they were no longer exposed to the enemy''s line of sight and attack range. A long-lost sense of security returned to every human''s heart, constituting an intangible defeat for the enemy. Surrounded by hundreds of thousands of enemies, the human army was not only not crushed but also successfully built a defensive fortress.

    No one understood how this earthen city was built.

    Even with enough soil and stones, and sufficient manpower, planning and stacking were needed. Building a sturdy wall was not as simple as one might imagine.

    How could loose soil be stacked into a wall? Before Rody revealed the method, people couldn''t even begin to imagine.

    But once he explained, everyone suddenly understood.

    "Place the stones at the bottom, pile up the soil, water mages chant ''Fountain'' to pour water on top, ice mages chant ''Freeze'' to turn the water into ice, turning the soil into hard frozen earth. Swordsmen help cut it into giant frozen earth bricks, then everyone stacks the bricks, cover with more soil, continue pouring and freezing, adding layers upon layers. After the earth wall solidifies, just cover it with another layer of soil," Rody explained with a slight smile, and everyone cheered excitedly.

    A hundred thousand slave soldiers and logistics troops, with the help of the mages, did this work handily.

    The personal guards of the heads of various countries also helped, and even some earth mages joined in, increasing efficiency. In just half a night, a two-meter high and four-meter wide earth wall was erected. The height of the wall might be insufficient, but its width was comparable to a regular city wall, and there was plenty of soil in this area.

    The defensive function of the earth wall was not significant, but it greatly boosted morale, providing everyone with a heightened sense of security and confidence.

    Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    With this rudimentary earthen city, the human alliance was not defenseless.

    "Charge! Saint Song army, launch a stone attack, Winged Tribe rain arrows, cover the centaur army''s frontal charge. The Fang Corps attack from the east, the Claw Corps from the south, the Demon Tribe Corps from the north, strike from all sides, kill!" Archangel Andre, no longer caring about appearances, focused solely on how to kill the miraculous boy Rody and annihilate his supporters.

    As Andre ordered the attack, another large force of the Demon Tribe also launched a frenzied attack on Rody City.

    At that time, Rody City was under the command of Queen Mireille.

    The elite soldiers of Camaron and Mireille''s mage army arrived at Rody City first to counter the Demon Tribe''s attack. The six demon marshals launched a crazy attack, not intending to capture this human stronghold but to hold back the soldiers of Camaron and Mireille, preventing them from reinforcing Rody''s army trapped under Saint Song Fortress.

    In terms of numbers, the human army was never inferior.

    The combined regular armies of the Camaron and Mireille empires numbered over five hundred thousand. Including temporarily conscripted logistics militias, the number could exceed seven hundred thousand. Most of the world''s heads of state were trapped under Saint Song, so nations sent elite troops to Rody City. The human army that could be quickly assembled exceeded a million, not to mention the temporarily conscripted militias and volunteers. All countries hoped to rescue their kings as soon as possible and send a large force to Rody''s side for him to command and defeat the enemy.

    If the six demon marshals relaxed even slightly, the human army of over a million would advance forcefully, heading straight for Saint Song.

    No one could imagine, if Rody commanded a million regular human soldiers, who else in the world could be his opponent.

    For both sides, angels and humans, it was a race against time. Rody City could not be taken, and taking it had no meaning. It had to serve as a point to hold the human army, a task the six demon marshals had to complete.

    For humanity, Rody City could not be taken. People had to ensure continuous support through the teleportation array. Unfortunately, Rody City''s teleportation array could only transport a limited number of people per day, not enough to send one million soldiers to Rody City all at once. Therefore, sending troops to support Rody''s army trapped under Saint Song Fortress had to wait.

    Despite this, the number of soldiers in Rody City continued to increase.

    Generals and knights from all over the world rushed to Rody City to follow Queen Mireille''s command in the rescue operation for their kings.

    "Ladies and gentlemen, the human world has reached a moment of life and death. We can no longer tolerate the thousands of years of exploitation and oppression by the angels. Citizens, let us rise and resist. While the miraculous boy Rody and his followers resist the colluding forces of angels and demons under Saint Song Fortress, what can we do? Apart from supporting from the rear, we can guard Rody City, protect this human stronghold, and also safeguard our hope¡­ Citizens, to cut off the wings of the angels, to weaken the strength of the evil alliance, we, who have maintained neutrality and peace for a thousand years, must now send troops to protect our world and preserve the last hope of humanity, to maintain true peace in the world¡­ I declare war on the evil Galer Empire, Ledrans, and all the evil alliances!" Queen Mireille declared war on Galer and other countries the next morning.

    "People of Camaron, I know your intentions. Let us scare the lackeys of the Galer Empire and Ledrans with our thunderous voices, our angriest roars, and our most righteous declaration of war!" Emperor William II also immediately declared war on Galer and other countries.

    "We have always opposed war, but now is not the time for peace. We will also send troops against Galer to fight this evil!" - Denis Free Alliance.

    "Send troops, we need to rescue our king, support Rody City, flatten Saint Song, and punish the evil Galer and other countries¡­ People of Naples, we need to tell the world that we are not just about Red-haired Saul, Naples has brave warriors who fear death not!" Naples, a small country with fierce folk customs, though not very powerful overall, was formidable in war.

    "People of Mesdaniya, we must remember, this is the miraculous boy Rody''s hometown, what can we do for him?" Mesdaniya quickly mobilized soldiers and resources, continuously transporting them to Rody City day and night.

    "I decide to sever ties with Galer and wage war on this evil country!" Surprisingly, King Adrujesi of Great Frey, who had been very supportive of the Saint Song Alliance and allied with the Galer Empire and Ledrans, responded to Queen Mireille''s call and announced the severance of the alliance with Galer and declared war.

    "Heretics, unjust troops, will be annihilated under the judgment of angels. We declare war on Mireille, Camaron, and all unjust evil alliance nations!" Galer Empire, after a moment of panic, declared war on Mireille and other countries two hours later.

    "All who betray angels and gods should fall into hell!" Ledrans took a hard stance, calling for total mobilization and declaring war on the world.

    While nations around the world declared war on each other and gathered troops, preparing for a world war that would engulf the entire human continent, the battle under Saint Song Fortress was also in full swing. The human alliance, defending the rudimentary earth city, repeatedly repelled enemy attacks under Rody''s command.

    But the enemy was too numerous, surging like a tide, wave after wave, endlessly.

    Gradually, the human alliance suffered casualties. Powerful demons and monsters repeatedly stormed the earth city''s walls but were forcefully driven back by the kings and their personal guards.

    Inside the earth city, the mages were completely drained of magic power, collapsing on the ground, exhausted and fainting.

    Swordsmen on the city walls repeatedly slew enemies who charged up... Archers'' arms swelled up, not to mention drawing bows and arrows, even lifting their hands became impossible. Human slave soldiers and logistics troops were still frantically digging soil, repeatedly repairing the earthen wall that was collapsed by enemy magic and catapult attacks. They carried injured human soldiers down from the city walls, back to the central tents for treatment by the girls of the fan club.

    The Saint and her guard squad did not stop praying for the entire day, and countless soldiers, healed under her holy light, dragged their weary bodies back to the battlefield, weapons in hand...

    Standing at the highest point of the city wall was always that young man holding a crescent halberd.

    As long as he was there, everyone never had to worry. As long as he was there, the earth city would never be breached.

    In half a day, he had battled with dozens of strong figures from angels, demons, monsters, and centaurs, slaying no less than a dozen. Throughout the day, countless centaurs, monsters, and demon soldiers fell under his crescent halberd, with corpses piling up at his feet like a small mountain.

    "Woo-woo-woo-woo-woo..." The horn of the angelic army sounded again, this time signaling a retreat.

    Finally, the enemy retreated like a tide, leaving behind tens of thousands of corpses.

    Among the humans, whether they were kings or soldiers, everyone was so exhausted that they slumped into the bloody mud of the city wall, not wanting to move.

    After a day of battle, after a whole day of sword fights and numerous close calls with death, everyone was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. At this time, being able to collapse and sleep on the ground was a luxury. The elite squad on the city walls was shouting, and anyone who tried to close their eyes to sleep would get a scolding, even a slap on the face.

    Even kings were not exempted.

    "Don¡¯t sleep, blockhead, if you close your eyes now, you¡¯ll sleep forever and never wake up! Be a man, get up, have some hot water, eat something, then rest. No one is allowed to sleep now! What¡¯s a small battle? You all are wimps, can¡¯t even handle a bit of hardship¡­ Someone, drag this guy down! Why are you still standing here trying to play hero with injuries? What''s that supposed to mean?¡± Tommy slapped at least eight kings and twelve city lords. Everyone''s face was covered in blood and mud, so no one could tell who was a soldier and who was a king, except those who got slapped. Tommy didn¡¯t care.

    "The battle will continue for several more days, trust me, the final victory will definitely be ours, everyone must persist!" Rody¡¯s face had a smile again.

    His body was covered in blood, redder than the sunset in the sky.

    But his smile was like a spring breeze.

    Seeing his smile, everyone felt a wave of warmth. Their tired bodies seemed to be cleansed, and strength slowly returned. Many struggled to stand up, helping those around them like the elite squad, supporting each other as they walked down the city wall.

    Slave soldiers and logistics troops had prepared hot water and bread. Although no one had an appetite, they mechanically stuffed food into their mouths.

    The battle would continue with the rise of the sun tomorrow.

    Humanity now needed not only Rody''s wisdom and bravery but also everyone''s endurance and perseverance¡­ Everyone believed that the final victory would inevitably belong to the human alliance, but no one wanted to fall at this moment.

    Everyone hoped to be the last victor, to witness that great and glorious moment.

    King Norn struggled to swallow a small piece of bread, looked up, and found Rody cheerfully standing in front of him, handing him hot water. His heart warmed, he grabbed the cup and guzzled it down.

    "Your Majesty is as brave as a lion, I truly admire you!" Rody said with a smile.

    "Stop flattering!" King Norn laughed proudly, "If I didn¡¯t have some skill, would I dare to come here and go crazy with you, kid? Although I¡¯m old, don¡¯t underestimate me, or I''ll challenge you to a duel! By the way, Tommy, was it you who slapped me just now? You''ve got some nerve!"

    "Your Majesty is magnanimous, I¡­ I''ll give you a massage!" Tommy, with silver hair, quickly joined in with a smile, flattering the old king.

    "Hmph, the best is yet to come, let''s see how long you can laugh!" Archangel Andre, seeing Rody laughing happily among the crowd, grunted angrily from a distance.

 Chapter 218: Peace, an Opportunity to Dissolve Hatred

    Five more days have passed. The human battle continues, with monsters and the demon race attacking the earthen city countless times, only to be repelled each time. Despite the angels, demons, monsters, centaurs, and human rebel forces outnumbering the forces of Rody City by more than tenfold, the human alliance has one advantage - the miraculous young man, Rody.

    As long as he stands, the city remains impregnable. Mountains of corpses and broken weapons accumulate at his feet; neither demon generals nor ordinary human rebel soldiers are spared. The human soldiers are wounded again and again, yet despite their grievous injuries, they keep sallying forth to stand behind the miraculous young man, ready to fight to the death.

    By the seventh day, Rody still stands firm atop the highest point of the city. However, the human alliance looks drastically different from seven days ago. Some soldiers have fallen in battle, and those who remain are almost all wounded. Worn out from days of desperate fighting, many can hardly lift their weapons...

    "Rody, if you''re capable, fight me!" A new demon race powerhouse challenges Rody. Rody, the miraculous young man of humanity, possesses an ability to remain unafraid of group attacks. The more he''s attacked, the more he borrows various powers to counter any opponent. Conversely, sequential individual battles are the best way to exhaust Rody''s strength.

    Archangel Andriel also possesses immense strength, but he refrains from joining the attack. Instead, powerhouses of various races have been wearing down Rody''s strength.

    "You will fall at my feet, becoming the sixty-second shameful loser!" Rody, needing rest, has no choice but to fight. The enemy exploits this, with each powerhouse resting until they reach their peak condition before emerging to challenge Rody.

    "Charge!" The moment a demon powerhouse challenges Rody, it''s also an opportunity for the angels, demons, monsters, and centaurs to attack the city.

    Compared to the precarious city, the defense of Rody City is much better. The demon soldiers continue their assaults, but facing hundreds of thousands of human reinforcements, they no longer pose a threat. Queen Mireille of Mireille has repeatedly tried to send troops from the city to support Rody, but due to the relentless, casualty-ignoring charges of the six demon generals, all attempts have failed. As the earthen city fights a bloody battle, the combined armies of Carmalon, Mireille, and other nations have invigoratedly entered the territory of Gale.

    The situation is entirely opposite to that under the Saintsong Fortress.

    Both sides, enemies and allies alike, are racing against time. The angel-demon alliance must eliminate all human elites and kill the miraculous young man Rody before the human reinforcement army arrives. Otherwise, this epic war will be declared a failure...

    Day Nine.

    People in the rear have been praying, trying everything to reach Saintsong to support Rody. But the enemy has also used every means to stop them. The human alliance under Saintsong Fortress, despite reinforcements from the angelic winged legion and centaur troops, as well as relentless charges by demon and monster soldiers, is dwindling. Of the humans still able to stand in the earthen city, less than twenty thousand remain, and of those, only about three thousand can still wield their weapons. Yet, this small earthen city has not collapsed.

    "Long live the Demon King!" Finally, a Demon King from hell, one of the six great Demon Kings, arrives. "I can''t describe in words the battle between the Abyss Demon King and the miraculous young man. The fight of the strong shook heaven and earth, eclipsing the sun and moon. To conserve his strength and combat power, the miraculous young man Rody maintained a defensive stance. After two hours of bitter fighting, the Abyss Demon King retreated in defeat, becoming the first demon king to be utterly defeated and routed by humans. This direct blow will surely make all demon races and other barbaric species intent on exterminating humanity understand the greatness and resilience of humans... The struggle for the earthen city is like a life-draining saw, countless lives have fallen in these battles. What makes me, an old man, proud and applauding is that we have not yet lost; the earthen city still stands tall, we still have the miraculous young man Rody and the elite team following him!" Historian De Luren Jefstol Oli, the sage, heavily notes this in his magical diary.

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    "The opportunity to change the tide of battle has appeared, but I regret that it wasn''t brought by our human reinforcements," says a voice in the magical newspaper of Carmalon.

    "At this difficult time, I feel I should stand up and say something." In the magical picture published in the magical newspaper, the image of the beastman Lionheart King is prominently displayed. His speech to all humanity is published verbatim: "If you humans can promise one thing, then our beast race army will lift the siege of the earthen city, allowing the miraculous young man to continue living. As long as you agree to let Rody marry my children, eliminate the thousand-year enmity between humans and beastmen, and form an offensive and defensive alliance, then fifty thousand beastmen will rush to Saintsong immediately to support the miraculous young man Rody and his followers, who have been trapped under Saintsong for ten days."

    Unbeknownst to Rody himself, great debates have erupted among the people in the rear. Some believe the beastmen''s alliance request should be rejected, considering them insincere and peace talks with a race they''ve been at enmity with for a thousand years foolish and terrifying. Others think if a simple agreement can bring back all happiness and save the miraculous young man''s life, then it''s worth it. Nothing in the world is more valuable than the hope of humanity, the miraculous young man Rody.

    While Rody and his companions continue to fight bitterly under Saintsong, nobles, merchants, civilians, mercenaries, and soldiers from various countries join the debate on whether to accept the Lionheart King''s conditions...

    In Carmalon and Mireille, the majority of the civilian population tends to agree. But in other countries, the public prefers to reject the Lionheart King''s terms, believing in Rody''s miraculous ability to completely turn the tide. A more rational and neutral group exists, not entirely agreeing to an alliance with the beastmen but also fearing their anger might drive them to join the angel-demon army attacking Rody City.

    The addition of fifty thousand beastmen to either side would tip the balance of victory.

    As the heated debate among humanity rages, Rody faces a combined assault from the Monster King, Centaur Commander, Abyss Demon King, and Archangel Andriel, intensifying the battle.

    Rody alone, yet he faced four enemies. The battle continued for two days and a night under the watchful eyes of the public, and there was still no sign of it ending.

    Day and night, the populace in the rear participated in the voting decision of the various national alliances, to either agree to let young Rody marry the daughter of the Lionheart King, accept the Lionheart King''s conditions and help, and get through this most difficult moment... or to decisively reject this goodwill gesture from the orc, believe in Rody to the end, pray for him, and then wait for Rody to defeat the four formidable enemies.

    Now, no one discussed a third solution, because time was already running out.

    "Save Rody, put aside your hatred, don''t let the blood of the miraculous boy be exchanged for our tears! Rody has done too much for us, now we have the chance to help him with our own will, this is the only time, if you don''t want to put aside a thousand years of hatred, then what we lose is not just peace, but probably also hope!" the Mile Magic Newspaper called out forcefully.

    "Humanity''s hope is in our hands, do we really want to strangle it with our own hands?" the Mesnotdanya Morning News.

    "It''s difficult to say ''agree'' because orcs have an irreconcilable hatred with us, but it''s equally painful to say ''refuse'', watching the miraculous boy fight bloodily every day, our hearts tremble and bleed every day!" the Dennis Free Alliance Express.

    "We have no right to make decisions for Rody, but when he is trapped in a hard battle, we must provide the fastest and best help." the Naples News.

    "Think about it! Do you want to kill Rody with your hatred, let the Angel Demon Race destroy our entire human world while sneering, let them mercilessly mock our cruelty and ignorance... or with a tolerant heart, bring real peace for humanity a thousand years later, eliminate the hundred-year holy war with orcs forever, never see the desperate tears of mothers who lose their sons and wives who lose their husbands, never hear the helpless and sad cries of children who lose their fathers. Perhaps the history books will record this, because of humanity''s persistence in hatred, they strangled the last hope, buried all the young elites, and then tragically perished, letting the enemy trample on their corpses, mocking and dancing at will! Dear friends, if we prevent this tragedy from happening, then a thousand years later, historians might record that humanity made the right move a thousand years ago, all of us benefit from this tolerant and wise decision, we are proud of our ancestors'' foresight and broad-mindedness, only we humans, the most intelligent of beings, can achieve this, can continue the flame of civilization..." the speech of Emperor William II was published in the Camaron Magic Newspaper.

    It was because of Emperor William II''s words that many people, who were initially opposed out of hatred, cried and changed their minds, casting a vote in support.

    Countless orphans and widows, gave up their persistence, choosing to approve of resolving the hatred with orcs, forming an offensive and defensive alliance, and rescuing the human elites who fought day and night in Tucheng.

    Those who lost their loved ones could most understand that piercing pain, and also most feel the importance of peace for humanity.

    "Peace, we want peace! Before true peace arrives, we want to resolve our hatred with orcs, form an alliance with them, repel the terrifying forces of the Angel Demon Race, we are now only one step away from peace, but we may also fall into the abyss because of this. Our choice, not only for the miraculous boy Rody, but also for ourselves, for the entire humanity, is crucial!" Old King Norn knew this, and he shouted loudly to the people in his country.

    "Rody is still fighting the enemy bloodily, to protect you, I only say this." Field Marshal Fondsman said.

 Chapter 219: Assault, The Grand Gift from Rody

    If the 500,000 orc army and the several hundred thousand human reinforcements were to arrive at the base of Saint Song City, then the Angel Demon Legion, even with additional reinforcements, would face complete annihilation. Merely Rody leading tens of thousands of elite humans and a hundred thousand slave soldiers, they were able to hold them off outside of Tucheng for half a month. If Lionheart King and Empress Mile arrived with their troops, the angels would know, just by thinking with their toes, that they would be defeated in this battle.

    "All troops charge, disregard casualties, until we take Tucheng and kill all the human soldiers!" Andre roared loudly as he broke away from the intense battle.

    "Kill..." The centaur legions, monster legions, demon legions, and human rebel forces surged everywhere.

    They too were waiting for this moment to charge, always waiting.

    Under the command of the miraculous boy Rody, the human strength was pushed to its limit. Previous numerous charges failed to take down the city, so they resorted to attrition and exhaustion tactics. Human soldiers, worn out by daily attrition and fatigue, severely weakened in strength and fighting ability, could no longer execute Rody''s commands as precisely as before. Casualties kept rising, and finally, less than one-tenth of the human soldiers could still raise their weapons in resistance.

    Now, the only thing the human soldiers could rely on was the great fighting strength of Rody and the elite squad.

    The angel and demon joint forces had reason to believe that in this final battle, they could completely annihilate the human soldiers, whether they were the elite squad, the king''s personal guard, or even the slave soldiers...

    Winged people, monsters, and demon soldiers, inherently far stronger than humans, had rested continuously for several days. Against human soldiers exhausted and scarred from continuous fighting, victory should be theirs, unless a god descended to protect them. The great commander of humanity, Rody, capable of turning decay into magic, was now entangled by Lord Andre and four other super-strong beings, unable to clone himself.

    Now, just by using the tactic of overwhelming numbers to flood Tucheng, this prolonged epic battle could end.

    The battle between angels and humans would be won by the angels, claiming the final victory.

    The elite squad, drenched in blood, stood on the high grounds of Tucheng, looking towards the horizon, how they wished their reinforcements could arrive in time. But in the race against time, the angel and demon coalition had the upper hand. While the human rear was still debating whether to accept the peace offer from the orcs, the angel and demon armies had already burst forth.

    When people sent out their willingness to accept peace and requested Lionheart King to send troops to rescue the human soldiers trapped in Tucheng.

    The angel and demon army had already received timely reinforcements, while the 500,000 orcs, still hundreds of kilometers away, with the nearest orc camp more than a hundred kilometers from Saint Song, would need at least a day to reach Tucheng for the rescue.

    Now, humanity had to pay the price for their disputes.

    If the wish for peace had been made a day earlier, the ice heart of resolving a millennium of hatred melted a day earlier, then the human soldiers inside Tucheng would not have been in such a perilous situation.

    Inside Rody City, Empress Mile dispatched 500,000 human troops from the city, and the six demon marshals could no longer stop the Empress''s crazy offensive. But their task of obstruction had already succeeded; the human soldiers were dragged in Rody City for ten days, only now able to send reinforcements. At this time, the human reinforcement army was 700 kilometers away from Saint Song Fortress. Even if Mile''s magicians could use short-range teleportation arrays, it would still take at least three days to reach Tucheng.

    Three days'' time was enough for the demon army to swallow the last bone of the human soldiers inside Tucheng.

    "Merciful Holy Mother above, please watch over the children inside Tucheng. I beg you, no matter what price humanity has to pay, it¡¯s acceptable. Please, you must bring forth a miracle, protect our last hope... Please let Rody survive, along with his companions, let the human soldiers of Tucheng return to us alive!" The only thing the people in the rear could do was to weep and pray.

    "We must believe in Rody... we must trust him!" Many kings addressed their people, hoping they would not panic.

    "Miraculous boy Rody is a son of God, he will definitely continue to create miracles, I have no doubt about it! I don''t want to blame everyone for not forgiving the orcs sooner, after all, for a thousand years, we have been fighting desperately against them, so many people have died in bloody battles with the orcs, so many people have lost sons, husbands, or fathers because of them. However, for the sake of preventing future generations from repeating our tragic path, making peace with the orcs is indeed a good deed for our descendants. Everyone should feel proud of their actions to live in peace with the orcs, feel proud of the forgiving nature of humanity. Although it¡¯s a bit late, it''s not too late. Rody and his companions must be very happy to see such support from us! What makes me happiest is that our people of Camalon have played a positive leading role in this everlasting covenant, you can proudly say to the world that no one desires peace more than you, no one supports Rody more than you!" Emperor William II issued a national proclamation, highly praising the people of Camalon.

    "Be alert, there are countless spies among us, we must always be vigilant." The Dennis Free Alliance urged the people in the rear not to be complacent.

    The prayers of the people did not have much effect. When the pillar of holy light descended from the sky, what emerged from it was not the protection of the Holy Mother, but the newest winged mage legion of the angels. For the final victory, they had almost called up all the mages of the winged tribe to the base of Saint Song Fortress.

    The demon reinforcements were not many, but to cooperate with the archangel Andre''s grand plan to kill the miraculous boy Rody, four of the six demon kings arrived.

    In human perception, it was always thought that there were only three demon kings, but now four of them had come. After fighting for two days and nights, Rody did not wait for reinforcements, but more enemies arrived. Four demon kings, two golden winged archangels, two monster kings, and three golden-armored centaur commanders.

    Seeing the angel and demon alliance, their eagerness to kill Rody had reached an extreme.

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    "I told you, don''t be too smug too soon!" Archangel Andre, high above, sneered at Rody below Tucheng.

    "Your plan is not bad, I admire you, only a foolishly arrogant creature like you bird people would dare to treat others as fools at this time. Birdman, I have nothing to say to you, just one thing, let''s see who ends up singing atop the other''s corpse!" Rody spat a mouthful of blood disdainfully.

    His attitude was always like this, forever driving the enemy mad.

    No matter what kind of disadvantage he was in, no matter what kind of situation arose, his spirit could not be shaken.

    Like now, even though Archangel Andre was high in the sky, in terms of determination for the final battle, he had to look up to Rody on the ground.

    "Little Rody, I''ll take care of one for you. I''m old, but killing one should be manageable," Field Marshal Fondsman stepped up beside Rody and waved towards the distant demon kings, "Pick any, I''d love to take a trip to hell, come guide me!"

    "Hmph, you''re no match for us." The four demon kings glanced at each other, and the Pit Demon King declined.

    "I''ve long heard of the strength of the former human Field Marshal, well, I too am a powerful commander. Ha, let''s see who between humans and centaurs, has the most legendary and powerful commander!" A centaur commander rushed out, but before Fondsman could confront him, Old King Norn suddenly burst forth like an arrow, shouting, "There¡¯s more than one former human Field Marshal, you beast hadn''t even started eating grass when I was conquering the world!"

    "What?" The three centaur commanders were enraged.

    "His Majesty is not wrong!" Fondsman laughed heartily, his golden fighting spirit bursting forth as he flew towards one of the infuriated centaur commanders.

    Behind him was the Emperor of the Great Sword, Xiang Yu, a superpower not belonging to any nation. His fighting spirit was boundless, and together with Fondsman, they faced two centaur commanders. In an instant, the three Great Sword Emperors and the centaur commanders were locked in a fierce battle, with sword energy crisscrossing and fighting spirit exploding. Wherever they fought, devastation ensued, with heavy casualties.

    The usually low-profile Pope also came out.

    After the Rody incident, he was recognized as the most patient, most mysterious, and most powerful Pope.

    As a supreme figure like the Pope, his ability to protect Rody, humanity''s last hope, under the watchful eyes of the angels, with such concealment and patience, was truly astonishing. He had never shown his power before, and people knew nothing about him, but when Lord Waren revealed the truth to the world, he stopped Emperor Xiang Yu with just one hand.

    "Son of God, let me also dispatch an enemy for you," said the Pope calmly, causing all the formidable enemies to change their expressions slightly.

    "Andre, let me judge this traitor of God! I will imprison his soul in the fiery hell forever, to suffer the torment of the flames!" Another golden-winged archangel, Fedanab, drew out his shining holy sword, pointing it directly at the Pope.

    "If you have the power..." the Pope replied indifferently.

    "Rody, do you have any more experts? You''re not expecting those little shrimps behind you to help, are you? They might be elite to ordinary soldiers, but to us, they''re just little bugs!" The Pit Demon King laughed heartily, openly mocking. Compared to them, the angels and demons had already calculated the number of strong fighters on Rody''s side, intending to overwhelm them with a decisive victory.

    "Laughing so hideously, you''re really asking for it! But I''m not interested in bugs that eat dung balls. Come on, you two dumb-looking monsters over there, don''t look around, I''m talking about you!" Dean Buck and the Drunken Swordsman stepped forward with a smile.

    "You, plan, to use, little swords, to pick our, teeth?" one of the Monster Kings roared thunderously.

    "Why are you wasting words with these beasts that can''t speak human?" the beautiful female instructor shouted angrily, scaring Dean Buck and the Drunken Swordsman into rushing forward, lest they be hit by her ice balls. A serene blue halo appeared under the feet of the beautiful instructor, and a round full moon rose behind her, like a flawless jade disc, emitting bright and soft light.

    "Eh? The outstanding golden-robed Grand Mage? You haven''t made a move for so many days, I actually overlooked you!" Andre snorted.

    "You''re just blind!" the beautiful instructor retorted coldly.

    "Four of you, now is the time to make a move. Before Lionheart King and Empress Mile arrive, we need to prepare Rody''s head as a grand gift for those traitorous orcs and hypocritical humans!" Andre raised his holy sword high, ordering the winged tribe, demon tribe, monsters, centaurs, and human rebel army to charge, to take Tucheng regardless of casualties.

    "Before that, let me give you a grand gift..." Rody waved his hand, and the elite squad and the mage groups from various countries immediately took their places in the formation of the Gate of Time and Space, each unfurling a scroll.

    Hundreds of scrolls shone with dazzling white light, and countless tendril-like light sprouts spread like they were alive.

    Finally, they intertwined into an immense net of light.

    The Saintess, with her Pink Love Group of girls, tens of thousands of slave soldiers, and supporting civilians, all prayed and blessed this net of time and space. A pillar of holy light surged through the net of time and space, filling it instantly, turning it into a massive, radiant, giant light sphere. The entire Tucheng was enveloped in aurora, almost obscuring all human figures.

    Just as Archangel Andre and the four demon kings were about to gather magic to attack, they saw the thick irony on Rody''s face and stopped immediately.

    Inside the huge light sphere, the first to burst out were the unique Snow Women and Wind Spirits of the Seven Tribes'' land. They whipped up a blizzard, instantly filling the entire sky above Tucheng. Emerging from the ground were four-armed Naga Sea Women who could wield bows and arrows with two hands and hold magic staffs and orbs with the other two. As soon as they appeared, they continuously bolstered the operation of the teleportation array.

    Thundering Minotaurs with massive axes charged out, replacing the exhausted human soldiers on the city walls and furiously hacking at the invading enemies.

    Dwarves, though slow, were no less skilled with axes than the Minotaurs.

    Supporting the Minotaurs and Dwarves in the air were the blood-red winged demon crystal gunmen...

    Magic flying wheels shot out, carrying Elven archers who rained arrows down, causing countless centaurs, the first to charge near Tucheng, to scream and tumble to the ground. A race unafraid of death appeared - the undead Vampires and Death Knights of the Death Spirit tribe. They emerged on the other side of the light sphere, replacing human soldiers to face the approaching monster army.

    Finally came the personal guards of the City of Chaos, these thieves and robbers, whose backs were laden with equipment, swiftly assembled catapults and trebuchets on the city walls.

    Fairies, Flower Fairies, Water Spirits, and other healing races, waving small magic wands, chanted spells to heal the human soldiers'' injuries.

    Orcs, Big Ears, Dwarfs, and Halflings helped with logistical work, taking over from the human slave soldiers and logistic troops who were already overburdened after days of exhaustion. The last to come out were the soldiers of Felik, predominantly female. Felik''s army, gathered behind the beautiful female instructor, were a small part of the Seven Tribes'' warriors, the most complex and adept at both close and distant support among all the human allied forces.

    "Seven Tribes'' soldiers? So, you still had the Seven Tribes'' soldiers as your backup. No wonder you''re so fearless!" Archangel Andre''s face changed.

    "Crossing the boundaries of different realms and time, the mages will suffer great exhaustion, and it''s also impossible to transport a large number of troops. A small number of Seven Tribes'' soldiers will not be a match for our allied forces. Demon soldiers, charge, grind everything inside Tucheng into dust!" The Pit Demon King commanded, urging the demons, who had been hiding behind the centaurs for sneak attacks, to charge.

    Now everyone knew that the race against time had begun again.

    Rody was using the Seven Tribes'' soldiers to buy time. If he succeeded in delaying for more than a day, the balance of victory in this great battle could very likely tip towards the humans and orcs.

    "Charge, full army attack, level Tucheng!" Not only the winged tribe and demons, but also the monsters and human rebel army, all crazily launched their charge.

    "Hold on, we must hold on!" People in the rear, watching the entire battle, shouted desperately with tears in their eyes.

    "Soldiers of all tribes, follow my command..." As soon as Rody opened his mouth, Andre and the four demon kings inwardly cursed their luck. This young human''s command ability and strategic wisdom were definitely more terrifying than his martial strength. Once he took over the command of the whole situation, he might indeed be able to turn the tide. Hearing this, the four demon kings and Andre hurriedly surrounded him from all sides and above.

    "Swarm him, don''t let him have the chance to speak!" Andre knew the best way to suppress Rody was to besiege him so intensely that Rody couldn''t catch his breath.

    "Am I hearing things?" Queen Victoria suddenly appeared, flashing behind Rody, and coldly hummed, "I think before you start ganging up on Rody, you should probably ask us first."

    "Whoever catches him, it''s their prey!" This was what Gabo said to Ye Yue.

    "We don¡¯t need one person for each demon king, we have too many experts. Let¡¯s you and I team up against one!" Priestess Ye Yue drew her Moon Blade.

    "My daughter, who should she team up with? Deputy Commander Kris, could you teach her something?" The one speaking was the most revered and strongest of the orcs, King Lionheart. Behind King Lionheart followed his daughter Martina, who was holding a huge Blood Flower Axe as if it weighed nothing, yet she obediently followed behind Kris like a shy girl next door.

    "Rody, little human child, don''t be afraid, Uncle Dwarf will protect you!" The only one who could say such words was the Dwarf King from the Dwarves¡¯ Castle of the Seven Tribes¡¯ land.

    "Your Highnesses, the Holy Mothers of Mercy, the Merciful Holy Mother has heard your prayers and sent me to support! Ah, if I had known earlier that you were the son of the Wisdom Holy Mother, I wouldn''t have wasted so much breath on you before, but it''s also not too late... What a lively scene, how is the human world under attack by the demon army again? Fortunately, I arrived just in time..." A strange portal of light opened in the sky, and a beautiful woman, wearing a robe and a bit sleepy, flew out. She sat atop her staff, speaking to the two Holy Mothers and Rody as if no one else was around.

    "Huh?" Andre and the four demon kings were dumbfounded by the continuous emergence of powerful figures in Tucheng, especially the beautiful woman in the robe who appeared last, chilling their hearts.

    "Now, who''s swarming whom, do I need to say?" Rody asked with a slight smile.

 Chapter 220: Divine Thought, Battle in My Name

    "How can you, Angel Bellaire, awaken at this time? Aren¡¯t you in a deep sleep during your advancement to the God-Desire Angel?" Archangel Andre''s face changed drastically upon seeing the arrival of the elegant beauty in a night robe.

    "No wonder Lethal Huade was so generous, gifting me three hundred years of human faith power to aid my advancement to God-Desire Angel!" Bellaire huffed upon hearing this: "So, while I was asleep, you secretly plotted to kill my God-Desire Knights. You really are audacious! Little Rody, don¡¯t be afraid, with me here, they won¡¯t hurt a hair on your head!"

    "Stay away from me, I''ve never had a day of good luck since I met you," Rody replied, ungratefully.

    "It''s not as bad as you say, I''m not the Goddess of Bad Luck!" Bellaire smiled sweetly, "You seem much stronger than before, what happened? Not only is the magic-martial prohibition gone, but I also can¡¯t see your true strength anymore. Who helped you unlock the Star of Potential?"

    "Now I don¡¯t have time for you, go away!" Rody replied to Archangel Andre and the four demon kings with a faint smile, "Finally, I want to tell you, never ever underestimate humanity. Whether it''s human wisdom, potential, unity, courage, belief, or spirit of sacrifice, they are all beyond your races'' imagination. When you think you are high above, that is the moment you are surpassed by humanity. Before your defeat and death, let me show you what real war is, how it is an art!"

    Rody shot furiously into the sky, and the divine chains that had bound his arms suddenly transformed into a pair of flawless starlight gloves.

    With the chains gone, his boundless might oppressed heaven and earth.

    The Chains of the Gods, which once shackled the Starry Sky Goddess, now appeared on Rody''s legs, turning into knee-high ¡®Boots of Suffering,¡¯ shining bright like stars. The ¡®Star of Faith¡¯ and ¡®Galaxy Star,¡¯ once no longer hidden, burst forth a thousandfold, but were controlled by Rody''s spirit, condensed into a starry halberd colder and brighter than the crescent moon halberd.

    Emerald, translucent life vines extended automatically, turning into a ¡®Tiger of Immortality.¡¯

    Like the life vines, Rody''s two mantises were not making their first public appearance. People had seen them when Rody led the elite squad in guerrilla warfare against the orcs and demons in the Evil Forest. But today, they were no longer the small creatures of the past, having evolved into giant Scythe Demon-Eye Mantises after devouring countless demon generals and dark crystals.

    Unlike Nicholas, Maigu, Eka, and other slaves of darkness, they, along with the life vines, had more potential and an easier-to-evolve physique.

    Though devoid of autonomous consciousness, through constant absorption of powerful energies, they had advanced Rody''s cultivation, surpassing the demon marshals and pressing close to the realm of demon kings.

    "Soldiers, history will remember this day," Rody''s voice thundered, "Today, the human and allied forces of all races will annihilate the angel-demon coalition at the base of Saint Song City! All soldiers capable of wielding weapons, heed my command and slay the enemies invading our human world. All warriors who are injured and unable to fight, please stand up, come to the city walls, and witness this historic moment!"

    "Kill..." The human soldiers, upon hearing this, boiled with enthusiasm, raising their weapons and roaring to the sky.

    "Boom, boom, boom!" In the distant horizon, a black line appeared, rapidly expanding and thundering towards them, the massive vibrations shaking the ground.

    The soldiers of the angels, demons, monsters, centaurs, human rebels, and other races stopped their charge in panic.

    Behind them, hundreds of thousands of orcs, like a black death tide, were rolling over.

    On the other side was the human army''s flag.

    Similarly, hundreds of thousands of human reinforcements, alongside the orc army, thundered across the ground with their horses, shaking the earth. The knights on horseback raised their lances like a forest and charged forward with shouts. In the sky, a dense, dark cloud rose, spreading across half the sky in an instant. The orc''s dragon and giant bat legions on the left, and the human''s griffin and deer eagle legions on the right, swept in like a storm.

    Above the heads of the cavalry of the Camalon and Norn Empires was the Mage Corps of the Mile Empire.

    Several orc marshals and Shaman Kings, leading ten thousand elite orcs, turned into a ferocious axe, cutting viciously into the rear of the monster army. At the same time, the human cavalry formed a sharp sword, piercing through the heart of the centaur army...

    "Damn it, this can''t be happening!" The Pit Demon King bellowed in frustration.

    "What do we do now? You said the orc and human reinforcements were hundreds of kilometers away. What''s going on?" the Red Flame Demon King roared in anger.

    "Calm down, someone must have betrayed us! We are not weaker in numbers or strength than the human allied forces. If we hold on, we can win! Soldiers, humans are not to be feared, and orcs are fools. Our vanguard will flatten Tucheng, and the rear will tear the enemy apart! Once the human cavalry lose their charge, they are nothing but cumbersome iron armors. If we withstand the first wave, we can win the whole battle! Soldiers, the gates of hell have opened, and the gates of heaven are also opening. We have endless reinforcements. As long as we reignite our fighting spirit..."

    "Well said, I agree with your sentiment, but your life ends here," Rody replied with a faint smile, casually throwing out a long chain of spirit, wrapping it around the arm of Archangel Andre.

    "Impossible, how can your will bind me?" Andre cried out in horror.

    "Little Rody''s current strength, even I can''t see through. Now, he has a will close to that of divine power. His progress is too fast. What happened during the time I was asleep?" Bellaire was the most surprised, knowing Rody''s strength best. The old Rody could be bullied by a two-winged force angel, but now, he was ready to slay a golden six-winged archangel.

    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    "In my name... the souls I slay shall never transcend, forever imprisoned under my will." Rody''s body radiated a seven-colored rainbow light, entwining around his starry halberd.

    "No, no!" Archangel Andre roared like a wounded beast, his fighting spirit bursting to the limit.

    "Run!" Seeing the situation turning dire, the four demon kings prepared to flee.

    But in the moment they tried to fly away, they found that a chain of spirit had somehow entwined around their waists. The discovery terrified them. Regardless of whether they had underestimated Rody''s strength before, with so many strong allies and reinforcements now on the opponent''s side and their own morale plummeting, being surrounded would be disastrous.

    The four demon kings turned back fiercely, ready to attack Rody together, only to find Rody''s spirit had split into four, each wielding a crescent moon halberd formed of fighting spirit, striking first.

    For the first time, they realized Rody''s strength was so formidable. The power he had shown in previous battles was just the tip of the iceberg.

    Just the spirit avatars alone were enough to forcefully repel the four demon kings, knocking them down into the battlefield, deep into the ground.

    "Long live Rody, long live..." People in the rear, moved to tears, couldn''t help but shout out loud. No one knew how Rody had transported half a million orcs and nearly a million human reinforcements from hundreds of kilometers away to the battlefield, nor did anyone question how he managed to bring them without the angel-demon scouts noticing. Everyone was too caught up in their emotions to care, just shouting out loud for what they felt in their hearts.

    "Sacrifice, I dare say, Rody used the corpses of the angel-demon coalition sacrificed during the defense battle of Tucheng to form a grand sacrificial array, opening the gate of time and space to summon reinforcements!" Inside the palace of Great Frey, Emperor Adrugeser applauded and praised, "Such a formidable magical boy, his scheming is everywhere!"

    "Such an enemy is truly terrifying!" The beautiful queen said with a serious expression, "Although we have been vigilant, we still underestimated him."

    "No worries, he has no time to pay attention to us right now!" Emperor Adrugeser said with a smile.

    "I think we should immediately send troops to Gale, otherwise, if we delay any longer, we won''t even get a sip of soup!" the beautiful queen said thoughtfully, frowning slightly.

    "My dear queen, it won¡¯t be easy for Rody to swallow the angel-demon coalition. He definitely can''t do it in one bite. To avoid choking, he will surely force the angels and demons to retreat to Saint Song and then command the large army to attack and force them to retreat towards Gale. My dear, we shouldn''t act too early, otherwise, it might alert this sensitive magical boy. Let''s wait a bit longer! My queen, let''s calmly watch Rody''s performance in the art of war. It''s indeed a delightful show!" Emperor Adrugeser, embracing the queen, who was the Queen of Fear Demons, sat on the throne, quietly observing the battle.

    At this moment, Archangel Andre was in utter disarray, his golden wings being repeatedly slashed by Rody''s starry halberd, scattering feathers everywhere.

    He understood that Rody had the ability to kill him, but Rody deliberately didn''t do so.

    Because this magical boy wanted to defeat him repeatedly in front of the angel-demon forces, causing their morale to plummet while boosting the morale and fighting spirit of the human allied forces. With such a shift, it was difficult for the angel-demon coalition to turn the tide of the battle.

    On the other hand, the four demon kings could barely protect themselves, let alone rescue him.

    King Lionheart was a saintly-tier fighter. Single-handedly, he could suppress one demon king, making it hard for the demon king to breathe. Except for the Four Emperors of Demon Hell, it would take at least three demon kings working together to defeat a saintly-tier orc fighter. However, the four demon kings could not fight side by side. Aside from the Pit Demon King fighting King Lionheart, the Red Flame Demon King was evenly matched with Queen Victoria.

    Although the Snow Queen was not of saintly tier, Queen Victoria''s unique abilities were enough to fight a demon king for hours without falling behind.

    Ye Yue and Gabo also teamed up to fight a demon king. With one attacking and the other defending, their combined power was no less than that of Queen Victoria. The Nightmare Demon King was in agony under the pure magic of High Priestess Ye Yue. Fortunately, the human world, unlike the land of the Seven Tribes, did not easily transmit divine power; otherwise, the Nightmare Demon King''s situation would have been a hundred times worse.

    Most importantly, Ye Yue, the Elven High Priestess, was not adept at combat. If she had Gabo''s combat skills, the Nightmare Demon King would have had an even tougher time.

    The Black Hell Demon King faced Kris and Martina, King Lionheart''s daughter. Martina was originally a human Great Sword Emperor-level fighter. Under Rody''s guidance, her strength improved rapidly. Kris, having spent the most time beside Rody, learned the most combat techniques. Usually, she kept her strength hidden, restraining herself to coordinate with Rody. In fact, diligent and perceptive, her strength was always above the other women.

    Although she didn''t unleash her full power, just assisting Martina was enough to give the Black Hell Demon King a severe headache."

    "Foolish birdmen, let me show you our true strength!" Tommy and the other members of the elite squad laughed heartily. Their strength, honed under Rody''s guidance, was far beyond what it seemed on the surface.

    "Kill! Our slaughter fest begins!" Red-haired Sael and Ice Demon Gao, leading their respective guards, charged straight out from Tucheng.

    "The moment of honor has arrived..." Dragon Knight Nutidora, Silver Fang Jelstoni, and other young human warriors also shouted loudly, leading the cavalry with raised weapons, erupting with maximum fighting spirit, and piercing into the enemy ranks like arrows. Many exhausted soldiers in Rody City, inspired by this, seemed to forget their fatigue, stood up excitedly, grabbed their weapons, and joined the main force to storm the chaotic enemy lines.

    "Don''t steal my prey, who''s this? Don''t block my way, damn Minotaur, you''re blocking my sight, get out of the way!" roared the Dwarf King, shamelessly charging into the midst of the soldiers and wreaking havoc.

    "Boom..." Archangel Andre was once again struck down from the sky by Rody''s starry halberd.

    Seeing the situation as hopeless, another Archangel, Fedanab, abandoned his fight with the Pope.

    He flew to the top of the winged and demon tribes, wildly swinging his holy sword, emitting thousands of sword light beams, and shouted, "All forces form a windmill formation, slowly retreat to Saint Song, and defend the city, awaiting reinforcements. We can annihilate the human allied forces."

    "Fedanab, you, no." Andre knew Rody was hoping for Fedanab to do this, and in great pain, wanted to shout a warning, but the beautiful instructor, who had been gathering magical power for a long time, smashed a star ice crystal pillar right onto him. As Andre shattered the ice, Rody, riding a silver dragon, plunged down from the sky, tearing through the air.

    Desperately, Andre watched as the angel and demon armies, under Fedanab''s command, step by step walked into Rody''s plan.

    The Pope chanted one tornado storm after another, further escalating the critical situation on the battlefield.

    The winged and demon tribes, being the fastest, rushed towards Saint Song first. Their departure caused the entire formation to collapse even more, with the weakest human rebels and centaur army suffering heavy casualties under the pincer attack of the human allied forces. The monster army was in chaos, fleeing everywhere. With low intelligence, they did not heed Fedanab''s orders and scattered, hoping to escape in the melee.

    But this played right into the hands of the Seven Tribes'' warriors.

    Dwarves, riding magical flying wheels with Elven archers, relentlessly pursued and attacked, and the blood-winged birdmen followed suit.

    Even more terrifying to the monsters were the Snow Women and Wind Spirits. Under their blizzard magic, all the monsters'' running slowed to a crawl, making them easy targets for the relentless archers.

    "It''s over." Archangel Andre groaned in pain, riddled with bloody wounds, severely injured and near death.

    Rody''s halberd tip could have easily pierced Andre''s throat, but he deliberately refrained from doing so. His goal was to crush Fedanab''s will, making him flee in fear while not getting so terrified as to abandon all his subordinates and escape alone. Rody needed Fedanab to replace Andre in commanding the battle. Although both were golden-winged archangels with similar strengths, Fedanab¡¯s command abilities were nowhere near Andre¡¯s.

    A commander can be mediocre in strength, but their leadership abilities must be unparalleled.

    Andre desperately wanted to warn Fedanab to flee back to heaven immediately and call for a stronger Seraph to take over the command. However, he had neither the time nor the opportunity to speak. His mouth was filled with blood, and before he could spit it out, Rody and the beautiful instructor struck him again.

    Hundreds of thousands of winged, demon, centaur, and human rebel soldiers retreated like a tidal wave towards Saint Song Fortress.

    All those who fell behind, all who were caught up by the human allied forces, regardless of their strength, were slain on the spot, with the human allied forces taking no prisoners.

    Fear spread among the disintegrating army, with countless angel-demon coalition soldiers trampled to death in the chaos. Many small regiments, when caught and surrounded by the human allied forces, could have resisted for a long time had they united. Desperate fights can inflict heavy casualties on the enemy. However, when the human allied forces opened a path of escape, everyone scrambled to flee first, allowing the human allied forces to easily follow and slay them, leaving none alive.

    "I won¡¯t kill you, because you will be my guide to heaven!" Rody said with a faint smile, causing Archangel Andre to weep in agony.

    "Let me die, let me die like a commander, please..." Andre tried to commit suicide with his sword, only for Rody to knock it away with his halberd. Andre collapsed to his knees, pleading in despair.

    "Do you know what divine thought is? It is to control everything under heaven and earth in my name! Including life and death!" Rody stood in front of Andre and spoke softly.

 Chapter 221: Son, I Am Proud of You

    After holding out in Tucheng for half a month, the human alliance, with the support of strong reinforcements from various tribes, finally turned the situation around and crushed the angel-demon coalition.

    Archangel Andre was captured alive, and the four great demon kings were severely injured, with only the Pit Demon King managing to escape.

    The three centaur commanders were killed in action, and two of the monster kings were pursued and beheaded by human warriors after fleeing ten kilometers. Numerous captives were taken from the human rebel army, including the demon-slaying sword Lotte, Prince Vincent, Holy Lance Knight Holly, and Holy Pupil Salirwen, with only Cardinal Saint Durie managing to escape.

    The Pope''s secret subordinate, Saint Law Adleman, who was left to guard Saint Song Fortress, rebelled during the battle, destroying the teleportation gate of the fortress.

    After the battle, the angel-demon coalition, having suffered heavy losses, was filled with wails of despair...

    In terms of numbers, the winged tribe, demon tribe, centaurs, and human rebels were not entirely at a disadvantage. When they retreated to Saint Song, they still numbered over four hundred thousand. Rody did not immediately command the army to siege the city but pursued and annihilated the scattered monsters and centaur regiments. All forces attempting to flee the battlefield were chased down and slain, with none surviving. Within half a day, the human and orc alliance had exterminated all resisting survivors and stationed their army at the base of Saint Song City, ready to attack.

    The human and orc camps even lacked any defensive measures, clearly determined to conquer Saint Song.

    The demoralized angel coalition, seeing the human and orc armies approaching like a tide from below the city, despite being protected by the ''Iron Fortress'' of Saint Song, couldn''t help but feel terrified and dared not launch a sneak attack.

    Rody took over as the Grand Marshal of the allied forces and announced that the army would rest and attack the city the next day.

    Archangel Fedanab immediately sought reinforcements from heaven. Finally, after sacrificing thousands of slaves, a golden-winged Seraph and two silver-winged Seraphs descended, but their arrival did little to reverse the deteriorating situation. In terms of command capabilities, Andre was the best choice, but he was now Rody''s prisoner. The Seraphs, though powerful and saintly-tier fighters, were not omnipotent with their great strength.

    The golden-winged Seraph Binnes flew around the front of the human allied forces but, under the watchful eyes of Rody and other powerful figures like King Lionheart, reluctantly retreated.

    Despite being a powerful being above the saintly tier, known for their sacred and invincible might, if he dared to descend, he would inevitably be encircled and captured by Rody and King Lionheart. Decapitation strategies only work in situations of extreme disparity in strength. Today''s Rody was no longer the young sergeant who could be easily pierced through the heart by a human assassin.

    Saint Song Fortress had never been breached since the day it was built.

    Neither orcs nor demons had ever managed to plant their flags on the highest point of this city. Today, humanity''s proudest and most formidable natural barrier had become a shelter for the enemy, and the one leading the attack was the human miracle boy, Rody, making it somewhat ironic.

    "Support Rody, long live Rody..." Seeing the victory in front, people from various countries cheered and celebrated.

    "We don''t lack a sturdy fortress. What truly protects us is not the cold city walls but the hope in our hearts, and the hope fortress built by the blood and lives of warriors!" The Dennis Free Alliance not only supported Rody''s aggressive attack on Saint Song but also suggested a two-pronged attack from Kast Fortress, to cut off the angel-demon coalition''s retreat.

    "Let Saint Song become the graveyard of the enemy; there couldn''t be a more fitting place!" The people of Camalon were the most jubilant, celebrating all night with singing and dancing.

    "Although I''m a layman in warfare, according to some experts, a strong attack on Saint Song would require at least three months or even longer. This is going to be a long siege and attrition war. It seems Rody will need our continuous support," the magical newspaper of the Norn Empire expressed some concerns about the consumption of a prolonged war.

    "Don''t talk about three months, even three years, we must fight," declared the Mille Council through the magical newspaper, expressing their unwavering support.

    Everyone speculated that this siege would be a long and arduous battle.

    Even though the Angel-Demon Coalition, protected by the Sanctuary Fortress, was at a disadvantage, they effectively halted the advance of the Human Alliance. Once they received substantial reinforcements, even Rody''s strong command could only result in a stalemate. Of course, everyone had a firm belief in victory; Rody had managed to turn the tide in difficult times before, and it was believed that no matter how strong the Sanctuary Fortress was, it couldn''t stop him.

    Stolen novel; please report.

    The question was, how long could Sanctuary delay Rody, and how long would it take for the Human Alliance to conquer the Angel-Demon Coalition and achieve final victory?

    No one could say for sure, as siege warfare is entirely different from open field battles.

    With strong fortifications, ten thousand soldiers could fend off an army ten times their size. Unless every life inside was exhausted, the fortress would not fall, especially with a powerful figure overseeing the defense.

    Conventional siege methods like digging tunnels, poisoning well water, scaling walls, and using siege weapons were impossible against Sanctuary.

    Strategies like assassinating the commander, disrupting morale, inciting rebellion, bribing insiders, and coordinating from within to open the gates were also not feasible at Sanctuary. Firstly, since Sanctuary was entirely occupied by enemy forces, tactics like incitement and bribery were out of the question. The commander was a Gold Wing Seraph, making assassination impossible. As for opening the gates from inside, that was even more unlikely.

    Sanctuary had six heavy steel doors, each separated by dozens of meters, requiring a hundred people to operate the winch.

    The moat outside was wide and deep, and the bridge leading to the drawbridge was steeply raised, forcing anyone trying to enter to first come under the aim of archers and heavy crossbowmen atop the walls. Once the drawbridge was raised, attacking Sanctuary across the moat would be as difficult as ascending to heaven.

    The easily defended, hard-to-attack Sanctuary was originally the human''s most confident ''Iron Fortress.''

    People believed that Rody could lead an army to conquer it, but no one could say for certain how long it would take. If it were someone else, they wouldn''t have any confidence, but this miraculous boy was sure to surprise everyone, as too many miracles had happened around him. The small Tucheng was built overnight and held for half a month, so naturally, the Sanctuary Fortress couldn''t stop Rody.

    For the Human Alliance, conquering Sanctuary was just a matter of time.

    "Lionheart King, how long do you think it will take for you to take down this huge city?" asked the Lionheart King, accompanying Rody on a scouting mission.

    "Lionheart King, what about you?" Rody replied with a smile, and Chris asked on his behalf.

    "Hard to say, maybe a month, maybe ten days, it depends on what kind of defense the Seraphs inside use¡­" Lionheart King paused slightly, then said, "Rody, you seem very confident. Don''t tell me you can take down this iron fortress within three days?"

    "By this time tomorrow, you will be able to stand there and express your amazement!" Rody said with a light laugh, pointing to the highest main tower of the Sanctuary Fortress.

    "You... I don''t want to talk about war with you anymore, it hurts my pride too much," Lionheart King said, staring at Rody in disbelief for a long time before finally realizing he hadn''t heard wrong, and sighed, "I dare say, you were born for war. My goodness, even if this Sanctuary was a paper castle, conquering it in one day would be too incredible!"

    "One day? No, half a day is enough," Rody turned to Empress Mille, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I would like to borrow your magician corps."

    "Earlier, you always refused my offer to send the magician corps to support you. I knew you must be saving them for a more important moment. It turns out you had thought of today''s siege half a month ago," Empress Mille was not surprised at whatever Rody said or did; in her heart, this boy was capable of anything.

    Humans successfully allied with the orcs, forging a thousand-year peace pact.

    On the same day, the miraculous boy Rody, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of powerful enemies, reversed the situation in battle. After the arrival of reinforcements, he defeated the enemy, capturing the enemy commander, the Archangel Andre, taking prisoner three Great Demon Lords, severely wounding one, killing three Centaur Commanders on the spot, pursuing and beheading two Monster Kings, and killing or capturing countless enemies. This marked the most glorious victory in human history against foreign races.

    When the beautiful night arrived, everyone in the world celebrated with drinks, toasting to the victory of mankind.

    People from countless towns gathered, singing and dancing all night long, with everyone intoxicated until they collapsed from exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.

    The long-standing tension finally eased, and the miraculous boy Rody had finally turned the tide and achieved a great victory. People saw the human alliance encircling Sanctuary like an iron barrel. Although they did not know when it would fall, the final victory was destined to be theirs, as humans had the most proud and honorable star of hope, the miraculous boy Rody.

    The next afternoon, many people woke up from their deep sleep at dusk.

    They held their aching heads, drank some cold water at home, and prepared to go to the central square for a second celebration, but soon, they were stunned by earth-shattering news...

    "People of all nations, let us now salute the greatest commander in history with our devout and worshipful hearts, our dearest and wisest miraculous boy Rody. He has led the human alliance to conquer the Sanctuary Fortress. Due to magical signals being disrupted by magical ripples from the battle for half a day, we couldn''t know the process of the battle, but that''s no longer important! We only need to cheer for victory, to shout crazily, to shout in unison to the miraculous boy Rody, showing our respect! Ah, the magical signal from the front line is back, dear friends, the miraculous boy Rody is now leading his righteous army into Sanctuary, let''s cheer for him! Hooray!"

    Through the trembling voice of the mage broadcasting the magical images, people listened in stunned silence to an impossible reality.

    Then, the magical screen flickered with images.

    The massive Sanctuary Fortress, with thick smoke billowing behind it, twisting straight into the sky. At the highest point of the main tower, the blood-red flag of the human alliance had already replaced the old one. Countless human soldiers on the broken walls were shouting ecstatically, like waves crashing against the shore, one after another.

    Below Sanctuary, standing atop the head of a Scythe Demon Eye Mantis, the miraculous boy Rody waved to his soldiers.

    Behind him, tens of thousands of soldiers saluted him in unison.

    Even the orc warriors bowed to him in respect.

    The huge Holy Silver Cross, with chains binding a severely wounded and unconscious Silver Wing Seraph... Suddenly, Rody jumped down and walked towards his mother. Kneeling like a knight, he said, "I want to dedicate this victory to you, my mother! And also to all the people who supported me, all the soldiers, those alive and those heroes who died in battle for me..."

    "I am proud of you, my son, my treasure!" Rody''s mother joyfully pulled her heart and soul into her arms, kissing his forehead.

    "Soldiers, let''s dedicate this victory to all soldiers who sacrificed themselves to protect the world of mankind, of any race, they are the heroes we will always remember. Prepare, salute!" Chris led, and all soldiers raised their arms, saluting solemnly, while magical cannons aimed at the sky, firing in unison.

    "Long live... Long live Rody!" Countless people in the rear, at this moment, were already overwhelmed with tears of excitement.

    No matter how people speculated or estimated, they would, in hindsight, feel ashamed to realize that they had still underestimated the miraculous boy Rody, that they hadn''t placed enough trust in him.

    A young man who can perpetually continue victory, he is never arrogant or complacent, never putting honor first for himself.

    He is the strongest, wisest, most perfect deity in the world, but he is also the closest, most heartfelt star of hope for the people. No matter how many times people betray him, he always trusts everyone, bringing hope to the world. He never asks for any reward, nor does he have desires for money or power that normal humans would have.

    In history, there has never been a commander who, after victory, first thought of the soldiers who died in battle.

    There has never been a commander who, after victory, would think of the people who supported him from behind.

    Only this perfect young man, like a family member to everyone, never stood high above, imposing kingly authority, distant from the world. He is like everyone''s son, always standing in the midst of everyone, and only stepping forward first in times of dire need in the world, leading his companions with victory after victory, comforting everyone''s hearts.

    "We are proud of you too, Rody, you belong to us, forever! You are, our eternal hope..." The commentator magician choked on his tears and couldn''t continue, but people had already erupted in the same shouts, over and over again.

    "Our Rody!"

    "Our hope..."

 Chapter 222: Majestic Presence, Equal to a Million Army

    The miraculous boy Rody, how he conquered the iron fortress Sanctuary, was not witnessed by the world due to the influence of magical ripples.

    By the time the drunken people awoke, Rody had already led his army into the battered Sanctuary. The corpses of the Winged and Demon races were strewn all over the city walls, clearly indicating that the attack on Sanctuary was an extremely fierce battle. However, under the strategy of the miraculous boy, they couldn''t defend even for a day before letting the Human Alliance conquer it.

    In the end, a Silver Wing Seraph was captured by Rody, becoming the highest-ranked angel ever to be defeated.

    People couldn''t imagine Rody''s tactics, and the magical reporters kept silent about it.

    It''s said that after the fall of Sanctuary, the kings and commanders present signed a ''Hundred Nations Peace'' pact, forbidding any nation from using Rody''s unique siege methods and strange tactics to invade neighboring countries for a thousand years. Violators would face sanctions from the hundred nations of the world. Rody''s tactics were compiled by many military scholars into a ''Miraculous Art of War'', but the pact stipulated that it was only to be used against foreign invasions!

    Major war academies, magic academies, and knight academies around the world added a course called ''The Art of War''.

    The purpose of this course was to study Rody''s command art in various battles.

    Whether the ''Miraculous Art of War'' or ''The Art of War'', people constantly added and refined them, hoping to obtain more battle recordings and more demonstrations of Rody''s almost miraculous feats.

    While people cheered ecstatically, the Winged and Demon armies retreated in gloom.

    At this time, they had less than two hundred thousand remaining, nearly half of the centaurs and Demon soldiers were slain by Rody within Sanctuary.

    Especially the low-ranking Demon undead who failed to escape and were executed, not one survived. Whether they were Demon generals, vampires, ghosts, zombies, or skeletons, all were annihilated while trying to stop the human alliance from pursuing. Those who managed to escape Sanctuary included the flying Winged people, swiftly running centaurs, and a few flying demons.

    The human rebels and crawling Demon soldiers were pursued for three hours by Rody with his elite squad and soldiers from seven races, including the Temple Knights, who were all captured.

    The Angel-Demon coalition thus declared a complete and utter defeat, with no chance of turning the tide.

    The Gold Wing Seraph Binnis, with two hundred thousand defeated remnants, retreated to the Galle Empire in dismay. Because of the previous Pope''s insider Saint Adelaide''s uprising, who destroyed the teleportation gate, if the Winged and Demon races wanted to leave the human world, they had to quickly reach the capital of Galle. Otherwise, pursued by Rody''s large army, the remnants of the Winged and Demon soldiers would be completely swallowed by the angry sea of the human world.

    Rody did not immediately order a full pursuit, but under Sanctuary, he presided over and witnessed the ''Millennium Pact'' of the hundred nations and beast races of the world.

    Apart from the rebellious nations like Galle and Redlands, all the kings were present.

    Led by Empress Mille, Old King Norn, William II of Camarone, they and the Lionheart King signed a next millennium peace pact, witnessed by Rody, swearing in Rody''s name. Both sides promised to forever forget hatred, with humans and beastmen becoming brotherly nations, supporting each other in defense and aid in difficulties. Any side violating the pact would face the joint punishment of all.

    Beastmen would exchange energy minerals, which were scarce in the human world, for human food, seeds, and various human technologies.

    Human professions such as swordsmen, magicians, mercenaries, and wandering minstrels could register at Rody City, obtain certification, and then freely travel to beastmen territories to gain experience.

    And beastmen could also obtain identity certificates in Rody City to work as mercenaries and other professions in the human world.

    The Land of Evil, renamed as ''The Eternal Land'', and Rody City in the Land of Evil, was jointly proposed by both sides to be named ''The City of Friendship''.

    After signing the Millennium Pact, the Lionheart King did not lead the beastmen army into Sanctuary; instead, he quickly departed with hundreds of thousands of beastmen. Under Sanctuary City, only one Blood Flower Axe Barbarian Gudelit and one Anlinnaf Shaman Witch King remained, stationed with the beastmen slave corps and half-beastmen army. They were reportedly preparing to build a passage for transporting minerals, in exchange for the urgently needed seeds and food for the beastmen race.

    The humans felt reassured and comforted by the actions of the beastmen.

    Many business groups came upon hearing the news, eager to get a share in this grand trade, but Gudelit declared that all transactions must go through Rody City, and all dealings would be handled by the staff of Rody City.

    People were initially puzzled, but soon understood the beastmen''s intention. They were not adept at trading and feared being short-changed, so they preferred to entrust Rody City.

    While major trade guilds, business groups, and caravans were negotiating day and night with Rody City''s logistical staff, Rody had already sworn an oath under Sanctuary City and set off. The elite squad and soldiers of various races, after two days of rest, were all in high spirits. Except for a few severely wounded soldiers who could not return to the ranks, the rest vowed energetically to annihilate the enemy and crush the human rebel states.

    Over two hundred thousand soldiers as the first wave, led by Rody himself, pursued the fleeing Angel-Demon remnants towards Galle.

    Several hundred thousand more soldiers, realizing they might not get a chance to fight, began constructing the ''Road of Friendship'' under Marshal Vondesman''s leadership, leading directly to Rody City and even to the beastmen territories, alongside the beastmen slave corps.

    Meanwhile, the kings of various nations also addressed their citizens.

    "In order to further strike and weaken the arrogance of the demons, the leaders of our hundred nations agree with the miraculous boy Rody''s suggestion to send troops to ''The Exiled Land'' and ''Hell''. Only by completely annihilating the demons can our descendants possibly achieve true peace. The expedition to Hell, to the very source of demonic evil, what an exciting and great deed! I am glad to participate, to be a logistics soldier!" said Norn''s old King, announcing he would personally send his two sons and five grandsons on the expedition.

    "According to Rody''s wish and depending on the will of the people of the world, this expedition is completely voluntary," declared William II of Camarone, announcing open enrollment for anyone who wished to join. Current soldiers would not be forced to accept military orders.

    "I just want to say, Mesudania will always be Rody''s hometown, always fully supporting him!" proclaimed the King of Mesudania.

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    "Rody only needs a hundred thousand men. If you also want to be a hero of the Hell expedition, mere fearless courage and a heart of honor are not enough. You need abilities beyond ordinary people, endurance as tough as steel, and a willingness to give without regret... Maybe you will sacrifice in the lands of Hell, but you will never be lonely, never forgotten. The world will always remember your great deeds, and Rody promises, he will take you to the burning Hell and also bring you back, with your spirit and ashes. Even if you pass away, he will place you among the stars, forever revered and worshipped by the world," Empress Mille issued a ''Letter to the Nation''.

    "I have never, like now, hated my belly. If I weren''t as fat as a frog, I would definitely rush out to sign up for the Hell expedition! God, as soon as I heard this plan, my blood boiled. I hate my obesity and corpulence, but what slightly soothes my regret is that I have a son, more handsome, taller, and stronger than I was in my youth..." The chief editor of the Dennis Free Alliance Express proudly published his son''s photo, as his commendable son had already qualified for the Hell expedition while others were still being tested.

    "The people of Vannari, perhaps you can consider, besides trading, are there any battle geniuses among us?" The King of Vannari strongly encouraged capable citizens to sign up, stating that anyone who passed would not only be awarded noble status and a baronetcy but also given a thousand gold coins and a precious sword.

    Moreover, the families of the selected would be cared for by the state and honored as ''Houses of Heroes''.

    Nations like the Kingdom of Vannari, offering substantial rewards, were not few; each country hoped for someone to bring glory in the expedition to Hell, which was undoubtedly a history-making, astonishing feat.

    Although Rody recruited a hundred thousand for the expedition, Rody City and the soldiers of the seven races already accounted for nearly a third of the number. Mille, Norn, and Camarone, three great empires with countless elites and capable people, ensured intense competition, especially for smaller countries, to seize this rare opportunity.

    The world''s people were excitedly discussing the Hell expedition.

    Rody, leading two hundred thousand soldiers, pressed on day and night. The castles along the way almost surrendered without a fight, offering no real resistance.

    Galle, with the collapse of the angelic image and the deep penetration of demon soldiers, caused widespread panic among the populace. With diminishing public support and morale, desertions occurred daily. There were successive uprisings among generals and declarations of independence by city lords, leading to Galle Empire''s complete collapse before Rody''s grand army even arrived, leaving only the iron triangle front, including the capital.

    The combined Angel-Demon army, Hell reinforcements, along with Galle''s rebels and conscripted civilians, totaling over a million, prepared to fight to the death against Rody''s two hundred thousand strong army.

    Rody, however, did not attack directly. He feinted and led his army towards the nation of Redlands.

    Redlands, more defiant than the Galle Empire, though not as powerful, fiercely defended the Windhowl Gorge with the support of the Winged race.

    Just when people expected to witness Rody''s miraculous siege tactics, unexpectedly, King Adrugeser of Great Frey personally led his troops to ambush from behind. While Redlands'' commanders were focused on Rody''s grand army, they achieved a surprise victory and opened the gates of Windhowl Fortress. Rody''s elite squad and vanguard forces coordinated the attack, leading to Redlands'' army''s utter defeat, with the commander committing suicide and the entire army surrendering within half an hour.

    King Adrugeser of Great Frey, abandoning the collection of spoils, disguised himself as Redlands'' remnants, deceiving and opening the gates of Redlands'' primary fortress.

    The same day, the four new-generation generals ¨C Red-haired Sar, Silver-haired Tommy, Ice Demon Gao, and One-armed Keri, leading elite squads and soldiers of seven races, launched a lightning-fast raid on the capital of Redlands. As Galle''s Winged and Demon races prepared to rescue Redlands'' capital, Rody and Chris, leading two thousand Norn Ironblood Cavalry, five thousand Camarone Dragon Knights, and three thousand Mille Magicians, appeared at Galle''s capital, thousands of miles away.

    Galle was in shock, and the Gold Wing Seraph Binnis canceled the large-scale rescue plan.

    Three days later, Redlands'' capital fell to the four generals using the coordinated ''multi-point blossom'' tactic. With the secret support of the angels, only the royal family and temple personnel of Redlands managed to escape, and Prime Minister Benjamin surrendered on behalf of the nation.

    Redlands was annihilated.

    King Adrugeser of Great Frey, known as ''Iron Hammer'', gave up redeeming his son Vincent with military achievements. He accepted his son''s trial by the Human Alliance but donated one hundred and fifty thousand gold coins to assist the displaced people of Redlands.

    Given the king''s understanding of the greater good, his belligerent yet straightforward nature, and his generous aid to the people of Redlands, the post-war Human Justice Alliance court proposed a motion to spare Prince Vincent from the death penalty. However, should he be found guilty of participating in ''Night Visit Gate'', ''Burial Gate'', and ''Siege of Tucheng'', he could face imprisonment of over five hundred years, with magic and physical labor restrictions throughout his sentence.

    There were many others like Prince Vincent awaiting trial, such as Saint Spear Holli, Demon Slayer Sword Lot, and others. They couldn¡¯t expect to be as fortunate as Vincent, having a father like Adrugeser. Even if the Human Justice Alliance Court didn¡¯t execute them outright, they would still be sentenced to solitary confinement for at least a thousand years, likely turning to bones in prison.

    Rody besieged the city for a month, during which he didn¡¯t launch a single attack.

    Every day, he trained soldiers under Galle¡¯s city walls, preparing for the future expedition to Hell. Human reinforcements from various nations arrived continuously, but they only participated in training and did not engage in large-scale sieges.

    Despite Rody not attacking, the immense psychological pressure caused Galle¡¯s populace to collapse. Daily uprisings and bloody conflicts erupted within the city, with countless civilians and soldiers fleeing over the walls. In just a month, Galle''s capital, initially stocked enough for a year, faced shortages of food and water due to the overwhelming demands of the Winged, Demon, and Centaur soldiers. The citizens suffered from hunger, their cries filling the air.

    The Demon soldiers often went mad under extreme pressure, secretly slaughtering humans to vent, further causing Galle¡¯s populace to break down.

    On the thirty-ninth day, a human general named ''Anzudanael'' killed the rotating centaur leader and, with his subordinates, opened the city gates to surrender to Rody...

    Rody entered Galle¡¯s capital alone. The desperate angels ceased their resistance; Gold Wing Seraph Binnis led his subordinates away with the Galle and Redlands royal families, abandoning nearly a hundred thousand demons, centaurs, and loyal commanders, fleeing back to Heaven.

    Angry human rebels and crazed Demon soldiers clashed, both suffering heavy losses.

    Demon General ''Flamewing'' and human rebel commander ''Debi'' surrendered to Rody as he entered the city.

    Human history proudly recorded: Humanity''s pride, the miraculous boy Rody, defeated the Angel-Demon coalition entrenched in Galle''s capital without deploying a single soldier. The enemy, in chaos, suffered over three hundred thousand casualties and surrenders, with eleven thousand six hundred active and eight thousand five hundred uprisings. Gold Wing Seraph Binnis fled, and the kings of Galle and Redlands, too, sought exile in another realm, declaring the extinction of both nations from human history.

    When the world beheld this miracle, people went insane. Everyone was prepared for a bloody siege, but Rody chose not to. Out of compassion for the civilians trapped in Galle¡¯s capital, he surrounded but did not attack, using his presence to cause chaos among the enemy, leading to their internal strife and ultimate surrender.

    Demons surrendering to humans was previously unthinkable, only occurring in dreams. Now, the Demon commanders, holding white flags, offering their black magic swords overhead, knelt before Rody, hoping for his acceptance. When Rody took the black magic sword from Demon Commander ''Flamewing'', the entire human world erupted... It was a historic moment as the miraculous boy Rody, representing all of humanity, accepted the submission and surrender of a commander-level Demon and his nearly ten thousand followers.

    It was this young man who truly taught people what it means to be proud, what it means to be proud of oneself.

    It was this young man who showed what kind of power could equal the might of a million soldiers!

    "Everyone, I really want to praise him, but I can''t find the words!" exclaimed the sharp-tongued reporter Simpson in his first social commentary on the event: "All words of praise seem so superficial and pale when used for the miraculous boy Rody! He always tells us with his actions that we''ve underestimated him again, no, our thoughts can never keep up with his actions. Poor us, no, fortunate us... to have a miraculous boy like Rody, who alone is equal to the power of a million soldiers, as our commander. What do we have to fear from the expedition to Hell? No, I''ll sign up right away, even if I''m not qualified to fight, perhaps with pen and paper, with memory crystals, I can record his miracles and share this shock and happiness with everyone!"

    "I dare say, even if a deity descended, his presence couldn''t be more effective than that of Rody!" Marshal Vondesman also deeply sighed, exulting at Rody''s ability to subdue a million rebels single-handedly.

 Chapter 223: Justice, The Journey to Burn Hell

    The responsibility of accepting, reorganizing, and managing the Galle Empire was handed over to Empress Mille and Old King Norn by Rody.

    He led the elite squad and soldiers of the seven races, escorting nearly a hundred thousand Demon soldiers, slowly returning to Rody City. Due to the miraculous boy Rody''s fame, nearly a third of the Demon soldiers decided to become Rody¡¯s slave army, participating in the Hell expedition to redeem themselves through military achievements. However, more Demon soldiers and Centaurs chose to pay ransom and serve hard labor to atone for their crimes, voluntarily exiling themselves to the ''Exiled Land'', never to return to the human world.

    The human rebel soldiers from Galle and Redlands were slightly more fortunate than the Demons and Centaurs.

    Except for some high-ranking officers, most soldiers were sentenced to ten years or less of hard labor. Many could reduce their sentences and earn basic wages by building the ''Road of Friendship'' in the ''Eternal Land'', previously known as the Land of Evil, connecting it to the beastmen territories.

    Hundreds of thousands of prisoners of war were escorted in batches to Sanctuary, where under Marshal Vondesman''s supervision, they were assigned to road and bridge construction.

    The generals and high-ranking officers responsible for the chaos, however, were not so lucky. They awaited not redemption, but severe trials.

    Rody announced the preparatory plan for the expedition, selecting elites from volunteers across various nations within a month, registering and testing them. Those who qualified joined Rody City''s soldiers for three months of rigorous training. Anyone failing to meet the standards during training could be eliminated again, while reserve candidates showing rapid improvement could regain their eligibility.

    In the fifth month, all ready soldiers would swear to embark on the Hell expedition.

    Soldiers unable to pass training could join the logistics corps, responsible for rear support, transportation, and battlefield cleanup.

    While Rody City was bustling with rebuilding, recruitment, testing, training, trade, and road construction, people in the rear, after long discussions, finally decided on the committee and jury for the trial of the human rebels'' ringleaders. The miraculous boy Rody declined to preside over the trial. The chief justice role, initially assigned to one person, was eventually split among three: the Pope, the Dean of the Rody Academy Zetadak, and the Chairman of the Dennis Free Alliance Dunepa.

    Nine associate justices, composed of great sages, kings, and sword emperors from around the world, were also selected.

    The jury, consisting of eighty-one members, included renowned figures from the great war, such as sharp-tongued reporter Simpson, sage Landon, lowly servant Ivanyev, various chief editors of magical newspapers, and ordinary citizens.

    People regretted that not only did the miraculous boy refuse the chief justice role due to his focus on training soldiers for the Hell expedition, but also Empress Mille, Old King Norn, and King William II, who always supported Rody, declined to attend the trial.

    Empress Mille stated that being on the battlefield and biased towards Rody''s side, she couldn¡¯t ensure fairness and refused to participate in the trial.

    Old King Norn and King William II expressed similar views, stating they were currently focusing on assisting Rody''s Hell expedition and leaving the trial to more impartial and fair personnel in the rear. When Marshal Vondesman was approached, he stated that he needed to rebuild Sanctuary, construct the Road of Friendship, and support Rody''s expedition, leaving no time to participate.

    As for the Son of the Elves, Chris, everyone knew without asking that he wouldn¡¯t attend.

    Surprisingly, King Adrugeser of Great Frey also declined the role of associate justice. His reason was that he had been misled into allying with Galle and Redlands and almost made a grave mistake, even submitting a ''letter of apology'' to the Justice Alliance court.

    On the day before the court convened, rather than trying the criminals, they announced the list of main culprits and the war''s damage to the world. The Justice Alliance Court declared that Rody''s battle was a ''Human Survival Defense War'' and the most just side. Any counterargument or discourse would be considered blasphemy, and if any criminal tried to tarnish this, their punishment would be increased.

    The Human Justice Alliance Court declared that, except for a compassionate Holy Mother who never involved herself in wars or interfered with human affairs, all deities in the temples were deemed illegal and false.

    No country, organization, or individual was allowed to worship and venerate these idols any longer.

    All temple personnel not belonging to the Holy Mother''s faction were to be expelled and examined for the crime of ¡®deceiving the world by impersonating gods¡¯.

    The world hoped to replace previous divine statues with Rody''s in the temples, but as soon as this wish reached Rody City, Rody issued his second official public address to the world: ¡°I understand everyone''s loss of faith and the emptiness it brings, but this approach makes me uneasy. I am just a human, regardless of who I was in a past life. Now, I live among you, not as a statue in a temple... The atmosphere of temples and the worship by clerics can easily lead to corruption and greed, which is why it''s so common to find large amounts of gold and indecent items in the residences of priests. I have always hoped that temples exist not in our reality but in our hearts. Like the ascetic nuns, they don''t need temples, they can pray to the Holy Mother and hear God''s voice even in an almost sealed room. So, no matter what everyone decides, I don''t wish to see my statue enter a temple one day... I don¡¯t need your worship or veneration, friends, family, I just want to live forever among you!¡±

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    Rody''s words moved the world. He performed innumerable, unspeakable miracles for humanity, yet he did not wish to be remembered for his astounding feats or worshipped. He only desired to be regarded as a friend, a relative, living among the people.

    The miraculous boy Rody was never a distant deity but a human son with laughter and tears.

    As suggested by Empress Mille and other heads of states, Rody''s statues were placed in central town squares worldwide, so he would always be among the people, allowing every person and future generations to understand and pay tribute to this human hero.

    He did not belong to the grand halls of deities, but to the people around him.

    People acted swiftly, not just placing Rody''s statues, but also reliefs of Chris and the elite squad, along with their war records, for all to see. The magic newspapers did this best, issuing special editions detailing previous and current foreign invasion wars. Some countries'' magic newspapers even compiled a thick ''Hero Handbook'' to commemorate and educate future generations.

    Rody voiced his opinions several times against this, but due to public enthusiasm, he finally requested that the war records be kept truthful.

    Chris, fearing that people might distort and misunderstand history, decided to write a memoir during his spare time, revealing truths and brutal battles unknown to the world. He aimed to show that Rody''s perfect victories required not only exceptional wisdom and strategy but also the bloody struggles and sacrifices of human soldiers, depicting their bravery to give a true understanding of each bloody battle.

    In the rear, while Rody''s heroic deeds were widely circulated, some magic newspapers also criticized war criminals.

    For example, the Dennis Free Alliance Express listed six major crimes of the former human rebel commander-in-chief Torosky: Dereliction of duty, treachery, collusion with demons, deceiving the world, overzealous and rash actions, and deserting during battle.

    Torosky, as the commander-in-chief of the human alliance, not only failed to lead effectively but also lived in luxury and indulgence, completely corrupting the Sanctuary Fortress and the alliance army left by Marshal Vondesman.

    As a human commander, Torosky infamously exchanged money, magic crystals, women, and slaves with beastmen for honors, resulting in the most shameful scandal in history, ''Night Visit Gate''. He and Cardinal St. Dury became the most despised people in the human world. His treachery extended beyond this, involving collusion with angels, Winged people, and Centaurs in a staged battle, ''Burial Gate'', arousing the world''s anger. Although he tried to cover it up, he couldn''t withstand the scrutiny of magic reporters.

    If the blood battle with the Centaurs was a sham, then Torosky not only committed the crimes of collusion with demons and deceiving the world but also the war crime of murdering his subordinates.

    In the decisive battle against ten thousand elite beastmen, despite having Adrugeser''s perfect battle plan, the overambitious Torosky, after achieving a small victory, made misjudgments in his command. His relentless pursuit caused the beastmen to fight desperately like trapped animals, leading to a massive defeat of the human army by the beastmen led by the Lionheart King. Torosky committed unforgivable war crimes but ultimately deserted the battlefield, abandoning hundreds of thousands of troops.

    If not for the timely arrival of the miraculous boy Rody, the human army would have been completely annihilated in that battle.

    Of course, there were others in the world more deserving of anger and contempt than Torosky. Torosky was relatively fortunate, having been captured early by the beastmen and then presented to the miraculous boy Rody as a gift. During the subsequent major battle of Tucheng, he was merely a prisoner and did not continue to harm the world.

    Another object of extreme hatred was the red-robed Bishop Saint Dury, who was presented as a gift to Rody by the Demon Marshal ''Flamewing,'' who had surrendered.

    When the trial was about to be conducted at the Human Justice Alliance Court in Mille, it was necessary to request twenty thousand heavily armored riot infantry from Norn and Camarone to stop the furious human onslaught. At least a hundred thousand people wrote petitions, demanding that the court dismember Saint Dury and distribute his flesh evenly among the people of all countries for consumption.

    "If it weren''t true, we wouldn''t dare believe that there could be such shameless and terrifying schemers among humans. His malevolence is more dreadful than that of a demon lord; seeing him gives a feeling of disgust worse than seeing a green-headed fly," lamented the sage Landon.

    "I am speechless about this man; looking at him makes me want to commit murder!" the sharp-tongued Simpson felt no words could accurately describe Saint Dury.

    Another voice existed in the world.

    That was the call for the expedition to the ''Exiled Land'' and ''Hell,'' which, under the propaganda of various countries, swept the entire human world.

    "Join the army! March to Hell; maybe this legendary and heroic deed will be accomplished by you!" Recruitment slogans were posted everywhere in towns.

    "The burning path cannot stop the steps of justice..." Every morning, students from various academies gathered to sing, and some even took to the streets to parade, showing support for Rody''s expedition to Hell. Although squeezing into the main fighting force of a hundred thousand soldiers was difficult, many more hoped to become logistics soldiers, willing to lend a hand in road construction or supply transport.

    Helping clean the battlefield would be an honor for a lifetime.

    People no longer doubted anything Rody did, nor the feasibility of the expedition to Hell. Everyone believed victory was inevitable!

    If anyone else had proposed this mission, it would have been questioned, but with Rody¡¯s suggestion, everyone only raised their hands in approval. Because the miraculous boy Rody was inherently a god of victory, worrying about him was the most redundant thing!

    In Rody City, Demon captives, Centaur laborers, and human rebel prisoners worked daily on the ''Road of Friendship,'' extending this vast pathway towards the beastmen territories, with the beastmen''s army paving from the other side. Numerous business groups and guilds transported mountains of goods, which were then transferred through Rody City''s hub to the beastmen territories. Over a hundred thousand soldiers, in the ''Eternal Land'' of the former evil forest, underwent strenuous training under the guidance of the elite squad members.

    Red-haired Sar, Ice Demon Gao, Silver-haired Tommy, and One-armed Keri had grown into independent commanders.

    They, representing Rody, trained the expedition soldiers step by step according to Rody¡¯s earlier plans. Meanwhile, Rody, seizing the opportunity, led a comfortable life, practicing martial arts, spending time with the women, or secretly enhancing the number and strength of his dark servants.

    Rody planned to establish an undead army of death knights before the Hell expedition.

    Three captured demon kings, a demon marshal, and several demon generals had already become Rody''s contracted knights.

    Archangel Andre and two Silver Wing Seraphs, with stronger wills, were still struggling under Rody''s mental pressure. Although willing to surrender, they refused to accept the master-slave contract.

    Rody was not in a hurry. Before leading the elite troops to attack Heaven, he had plenty of time to break their wills... His only concern was the safety of his mother. Rody''s mother''s identity had been exposed, making her a potential target for angels

    and demons. Now, even a fool knew that the miraculous boy Rody had only one weakness ¨C his mother, the former wise Holy Woman.

 Chapter 224: Cultivation, The Supreme Dragon Art of Heaven and Earth

    "Hey, hey, Rody, what kind of martial art is this? Why have I never seen it before?" Bai Li''er, the new generation Wishing Angel, has clung to Rody since she descended to the mortal world and refused to return to the heavens.

    "Don''t run around the garden in your robe... Don''t disturb my training, go find someone else. I don''t have time to play with you!" Rody was diligently practicing his martial arts. Golden dragons coiled around his body, emerging from the springs at his feet, spiraling upwards, then shooting high into the sky before diving back down, penetrating through the top of Rody''s head, forming a cycle within his body.

    Each cycle was a process of energy purification. The golden dragons became smaller and eventually turned into a blazing golden dragon.

    The spiritual energy between heaven and earth, under the guidance of Rody''s golden true dragon, faintly formed a beautiful energy field.

    Within this energy field, a rainbow-like radiance faintly emerged. The flowers and grass under Rody''s feet appeared exceptionally lush and vividly colorful. Bai Li''er found it hard to imagine that such powerful and unmatched energy could be so full of vitality and peace. Watching Rody repeatedly cycle and purify the energy dragon, Bai Li''er grew increasingly curious, her eyes fixed on him.

    "Hey, you''re too close! Go change your clothes..." Rody, seeing this beauty approaching closer, quickly ceased his training to rest.

    "It''s okay, no other man would come in here anyway!" Bai Li''er said with a smile, "To me, you''re just a child!"

    "I''m not a child. Even if no one else sees, running around in a robe is impolite!" Rody saw Bai Li''er wearing a robe without underwear, her chest like towering snowy peaks with barely visible buds, making him feel dizzy.

    Such bold attire!

    Although she is a celestial maiden, with no human moral constraints in her heart, she has lived in the mortal world for so long without changing her habits!

    "The creature emerging from your body, with a head like a golden dragon but a body slender and soft, looks quite nice. Is this summoning magic? How do you retract it into your body? This little guy is too cute, give it to me!" Bai Li''er fancied the energy dragon cultivated from Rody''s true essence.

    "This isn''t summoning magic. It''s not yet a living being, but the energy within me. It will eventually become a very advanced life form. Forget it, you wouldn''t understand!" Rody found explaining the Eastern dragon to Bai Li''er extremely difficult. The Eastern dragon and the Western dragon are entirely different beings. The more he explained, the more confused he felt. He simply changed the subject, "You''re really bored, find something meaningful to do!"

    "Teach me this martial art. I''m very smart, I can learn it!" Bai Li''er, usually lazy like a kitten, besides playing, loved to sleep and bathe.

    But now, she seemed willing to sacrifice some playtime or napping to train, greatly interested in Rody''s true essence dragon. She was endlessly curious about the true essence dragon, continuously using magic to imitate its appearance, letting it coil around her body. But even with her unparalleled magical control, she couldn''t replicate the appearance or the unique temperament of the Eastern true dragon. She was very anxious, tugging at Rody''s sleeve, insisting on learning this ''fun magic.''

    "I call this ''The Supreme Dragon Art of Heaven and Earth,'' a treasure passed down by my ancestors, a gem of the Eastern world. How could I teach it to a Western fairy like you? Besides, it''s a martial art for men, not suitable for girls!" Rody flatly refused.

    "I saw that one, that tomboy, she seems to know it!" Bai Li''er only knew Rody and the two saintesses, and couldn''t even recall Kris''s name.

    "She practices a different technique from mine, the ''Mysterious Yin Jade Cauldron Phoenix Descent Art,'' which assists my martial art cultivation. Want to learn that? No! That''s only for my wife to practice, understand? Her practice of it doesn''t involve power but merely assists me. Once I advance in my cultivation, I will enhance hers in turn. Anyway, it''s a technique that can only be cultivated by a couple together, you get it? It''s a martial art that can''t be practiced alone; it requires both a man and a woman to cultivate!" Rody explained.

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    "You are my Wishing Knight, can''t you teach me that? Tell me how I can assist you in practicing!" Bai Li''er said, not quite understanding.

    She felt her relationship with Rody was even closer than Kris''s with Rody.

    Although Kris is Rody''s best assistant, that''s in battle. Now we''re talking about magic cultivation, Bai Li''er considered herself a genius. If she had to collaborate with someone in magic cultivation, she was certainly the best choice. As for the marital relationship, in her mind, it was nothing more than a man and a woman standing before a priest, then each saying ''I love you'' and exchanging a prepared ring.

    In other words, in Bai Li''er''s mind, marriage was just a ceremony.

    "Let me put it this way!" Rody felt that talking to Bai Li''er was a complete waste of words. Simple things became complicated, yet when he tried to explain complex matters, she found them too simple. Her understanding was one-sided; she knew a lot but missed certain parts, leading to her thoughts and actions being especially unique. Rody took a deep breath, softened his tone, and said to Bai Li''er, "To practice this, in the later stages, a man and a woman must strip naked and embrace each other. Only a married couple can do this, so, I can''t practice it with you."

    "Ah, so it''s about using human lower-level reproductive mating for cultivation?" Bai Li''er had a sudden realization: "No wonder you have so many girls as wives. Does male-female intercourse help in energy enhancement?"

    "No! It''s only specific cultivation methods that require it..." Rody was speechless in front of Bai Li''er, who spoke of male-female intercourse so casually.

    She wasn''t ignorant; rather, she seemed to look down on human intercourse as a lower form of reproduction.

    Of course, higher beings indeed don''t need mating to reproduce. Some only require males, some only females. For example, the Wind Demon and Snow Woman tribe only need a mother to continuously give birth. Angels, on the other hand, just need males to deposit seeds into the birth pool, and after a hundred or so years, angel babies will be nurtured in the pool.

    Similarly, gods, regardless of gender, can create offspring with their divine thoughts. For instance, the Starlight Goddess used her ardent longing and star power to create a bunch of Starlight Girls as ''daughters'' for Rody, who in fact have no blood relation to her or Rody.

    In terms of blood relations, only humans or similar life forms have such a concept, no wonder Bai Li''er doesn''t understand.

    As for familial love and romantic love, most life forms don''t have these.

    Whether it''s animals, monsters, winged tribes, demon tribes, or even higher beings like elves and fairies, they all view these emotions lightly. Although every species experiences familial and romantic love, only humans place significant importance on them. Women like Ye Yue, Jia Bao, Victoria, if not influenced by Rody, might never understand what true love is in their entire lives.

    "Is there a way to cultivate with clothes on? Human mating is too awful. Besides, even though you''re my Wishing Knight, it seems a bit inappropriate for you to be on top of me... How about I give you ten beautiful female angels? You can cultivate magic with them and then pass it on to me, how about that?" Bai Li''er asked, somewhat distressed.

    "I told you, only a married couple can do that!" Rody said, frustrated: "You don''t understand at all, talking to you is a waste of words!"

    "Wishing Angel, please come here!" Queen Victoria, from a distance, beckoned Bai Li''er.

    "Do you have a way?" Bai Li''er asked, excited.

    "No, I want to ask His Holiness a question about love. Do you know what love is?" Queen Victoria asked.

    "Love, seen through divine eyes, is the secretion of a special substance in the brains of men and women, putting them in a state of mental excitement. Then their bodily senses are slightly attracted to each other, there''s a very slight magical flow between them, some even emit similar human glows..." Before Bai Li''er could finish, Queen Victoria collapsed to the ground.

    "Love is about liking someone unconditionally, from the bottom of your heart, the joy and longing that surge from your soul! For example, if you love someone, even a second away from your lover will make you miss him uncontrollably... Love is indescribable, it''s just a very, very special liking, a true liking!" Queen Victoria corrected earnestly, then asked, "Do you like Rody? Do you feel what I just described?"

    "I like him, but my liking for him is because he is special. I feel calm inside, I don''t feel what you described, no joy or longing surging from my soul..." Bai Li''er asked curiously, "Does this have anything to do with martial arts training?"

    "Of course, it does. Only when you have feelings for him can you truly synchronize with him in body and mind, enabling cultivation!" Queen Victoria said weakly.

    "No wonder they say it''s something only a couple can cultivate... I''ll go back and meditate to try and secrete a bit of that special substance in my brain, to see if I can feel a second of longing for him!" Bai Li''er had just finished speaking when Queen Victoria fainted again.

 Chapter 225: The Secret, Chriss True Appearance

    Rody was completely unaware of Bailey''s attempt to create ''love substance'' through meditation to learn his martial arts.

    Even Queen Victoria held no hope for Bailey''s success.

    Aside from Bailey occasionally interrupting Rody''s training, sometimes Pandora and Annie Bell would also come together to watch. They had no interest in Rody''s martial arts; they just wanted to sit quietly by his side, because only then could they joyfully accompany him for a whole morning.

    Normally, Pandora and Annie Bell were like water and fire, arch rivals. However, sometimes they acted in unison quite harmoniously.

    "Rody, how does my self-portrait look?" Pandora was an extremely talented girl, especially proficient in portrait painting. Her depictions of elves, devoid of any mundane aura and filled with ethereal mystery, could immerse one in a dreamlike state just by looking at them.

    "Don¡¯t be vain, you¡¯re not that pretty!" Annie Bell, usually mischievous, behaved well only in front of Rody''s mother.

    "Ladies, I''m quite busy, please give me some space to breathe!" Rody didn''t want to get involved with them, knowing that starting a conversation with either would make it impossible to get away for half a day. Their persistence was of a saintly level; reasoning with them would require a throat made of bronze.

    "Seeing me in the morning and not greeting me, and being shirtless, you¡¯re becoming more and more brazen!" The only one somewhat reluctant to see Rody was the beautiful tutor.

    It was unclear whether she was afraid of seeing Rody or something else.

    In any case, she always found some reason to scold him, emphasizing that she was a high and mighty teacher.

    According to Dean Buck, the beautiful tutor had a unique trait: the more unreasonably she scolded someone, the more it actually indicated her liking for that person. Her personality was so puzzling. Normally, especially when unseen, Rody often received a couple of playful punches from her.

    "By the way, while organizing my memories, I recalled a technique called ''Dog Beating'', no, ''Dragon Stick Method''. If executed with a long staff, it would be very advantageous in close combat! The user of this ''Dragon Stick Method'' was also a beauty, employing clever moves like ''using four ounces to move a thousand pounds'', suitable for your close combat!" Rody had always wanted to enhance the beautiful tutor''s close combat skills, but she strongly resisted learning the ''Xuan Yin Yu Ding Luo Feng Jue'', which other women were eager to learn, as if trying to prove she was just a teacher, not Rody''s lover.

    "This ''Dragon Stick Method'' is the beauty''s unique skill, how did you learn it?" the beautiful tutor asked with a hint of jealousy.

    "Dizzy, that''s from a book! It''s not real. But in my previous life, when I was bored, I used lots of materials and techniques to create an ideal ''Dragon Stick Method'' in my mind. Now, I''ve improved it into a staff technique! It has nothing to do with the beauty in the book, just the same name!" Rody quickly explained to avoid the tutor''s suspicion.

    "Really?" The beautiful tutor looked into Rody''s eyes, as if discerning the truth.

    "Even if I had the heavens as my courage, I wouldn¡¯t dare to deceive you!" Rody laughed.

    "Enough of your smooth talk, you little liar!" The beautiful tutor, seeing Rody''s bright smile, couldn¡¯t help but reach out to pinch his face, unable to bear seeing him too smug.

    "Let me borrow your staff, teacher. I''ll demonstrate it once. It''s actually not very complicated, I assure you''ll remember it at a glance." Rody seized the moment to enhance the beautiful tutor''s close combat abilities, as she always bravely charged to the forefront in battles. Fighting in the human world was fine, but if it came to battling in hell or heaven, that was definitely a matter of concern.

    "Today? Let me think, no, it won''t work! Come back tomorrow morning, but not too early, I need my beauty sleep!" The beautiful tutor cheerfully ruffled Rody''s hair and then left on her own.

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    "Well, at least now I have one less thing to worry about!" Rody returned to his bedroom and found Chris engrossed in writing something at his desk.

    "Don''t talk to me now, wait until I have a moment to breathe," Chris said without looking up.

    "..." Rody felt dizzy. Why were all the girls around him so full of character?

    "Christina, my dear, if I remember correctly, I haven''t offended you today!" As soon as Rody finished speaking, the maids Linessia and Lienlilia peeked out from the inner chamber, gesturing to Rody and then placing their fingers to their lips, signaling him to not upset Chris.

    "What''s wrong with her?" Rody wondered.

    "Young master, after your bath, just quietly go to Camaron. There''s a duchess who is critically ill... After her husband died of a heart attack a few months ago, she was kicked out of her husband''s family home. She was attacked several times by temple assassins due to the Black Night Prince incident, but luckily she escaped to the palace and was saved." Lienlilia, the quick-talker, spilled the beans.

    "Young Master Rody, you caused this mess, you can''t ignore it!" Linessia, as tender-hearted as her long hair, pleaded with strong compassion.

    "The Duchess..." Rody thought back and remembered.

    Indeed, while disguised as the Black Night Prince, he had a one-night stand with the Duchess, known for her beauty, to use her as a bridge for promoting magical springs and other products from the abyss. He also used her to stage a drama to prove the Black Night Prince was assassinated by an angel assassin, thereby undermining the temple''s credibility.

    After the Black Night Prince, disguised by Rody, died, he thought the matter was settled.

    Why was it resurfacing now? Could the Duchess be pregnant? With his child? But that was impossible! The timing was off; if there was a child, it should have been born by now! Or was she dying and wanted to see him one last time?

    Rody''s thoughts raced before he asked, "Does she want to see me, or the Black Night Prince?"

    "She''s nearly dying, her mind is foggy, she can''t even speak coherently, how could she make any requests?" Lienlilia replied.

    "Young Master, please go see her!" Linessia implored with a face full of sympathy.

    "Who decided to tell me about this?" Rody nodded and asked, "If it was because of the war, but it''s been half a month, why tell me now?"

    "The Duchess''s illness has been fluctuating, sometimes better, sometimes worse. She''s been like this ever since the Black Night Prince''s death. The ladies initially thought to cure her before telling you, but her condition has worsened, so they thought you should know and figure out a solution. Miss Christina visited the Duchess this morning. She said that if you go, the Duchess might recover..." Linessia said softly, "Young Master, if you can cure the Duchess, she will be very grateful, as saving a life is the greatest virtue!"

    "Don''t tell Mom!" Rody didn''t want his mother to think he was a frivolous, womanizing son.

    "It''s too late, Miss Christina already mentioned it," Lienlilia playfully stuck out her tongue, causing Rody to faint inwardly. It seemed his image in his mother''s eyes was now ruined.

    After his bath, Rody went to the front hall.

    Chris was still engrossed in her writing, not lifting her head as she continued her "Memoirs", holding a magic quill in each hand and writing on two magic notebooks. It wasn''t until Rody leaned over and blocked her view that she glared at him fiercely.

    "Your Highness, Seventh Princess, there was something I didn''t quite understand before, but now I''m starting to get it," Rody said with a smile.

    "What Seventh Princess? Stop calling me that. Do you really want the whole world to know I''m a year older than you to be happy? You have no shame, but I still fear others might mock! From now on, you''re forbidden to call me Seventh Princess, absolutely forbidden!" If Rody hadn''t seen Chris rush to rescue the King of Mesdastania, Helsinki, when he was in danger, he would never have guessed she was the same Seventh Princess to whom he was betrothed at birth.

    He had his suspicions, but Chris never mentioned the past, so Rody couldn''t confirm them.

    Later, learning that the Lord of Warren and the Helsinki were his mother''s guardian knights, Rody resolved many of his doubts and turned his most painful memories into sweet ones. Only then did he start to speculate about Chris''s identity.

    "So, my dear... what did you originally look like? You''ve never shown your true form in its entirety!" Rody asked again.

    "Guess!" Chris always answered Rody with this.

    "If I guess it, will you dress up as a woman for me to see?" Rody asked joyfully.

    "I''ll dress up as a woman, but only for you to see! You also have to promise me not to kiss or hug me in front of them. Whatever you do with them, I don''t care, but you can''t bring them into my room while holding them. I don''t want to see you being intimate with them in front of me, leaving me out in the cold!" Chris''s face thawed, and she gave Rody a light scolding look, her peerless beauty gently smiling, her eyes brimming with charm.

    "That elf huntress I met in the forest that day, was it you? I know it was you, don''t even try to deny it!" Rody confidently said.

    "If it really were the elf huntress, seeing a little pervert who dared to run away carrying his mother and still act arrogantly, she wouldn''t hesitate to chop off his head in less than a month!" Chris hummed lightly, wrinkling her nose at Rody in a playful and tempting manner. Because Rody had guessed the secret she had always kept in her heart, her peerless face couldn''t help but break into a smile, and she playfully scolded, "Only thinking of it now, so foolish!"

 Chapter 226: Foolish Love, The Rebirth of the Duchess

    "I''ve thought of it already, especially when you kept asking about my first love. I was suspicious then, but I wasn''t sure. Quick, put on women''s clothes, let me see your unparalleled beauty!" Rody happily held Chris''s face, insisting on kissing her.

    Chris blocked Rody''s lips with her hand and whispered, "Go see the Duchess and then come back... She''s really dying, hurry and save her!"

    Outside the door, a woman''s voice giggled, "I didn''t see anything, continue!"

    The speaker was Jiabao, who often accompanied Tian Tian and Ye Yue. Their relationship with Chris was even better than that with Queen Victoria of the Seven Clans. Whenever they had time, they would come to help Chris, although they often made things worse. But their enthusiasm made Chris very happy to see them.

    Jiabao, holding Ye Yue''s hand, swayed her long tail gracefully.

    Watching her move was a delight, especially with an elf like Ye Yue, who had slender legs, by her side. Their contrasting beauties were so stunning that it made one marvel at the creator''s greatness and magic.

    Ye Yue, under her long eyelashes, stole a glance at Rody and whispered through magic as she passed by, "The Duchess is outside!"

    "Take your time talking..." Rody didn''t need to guess; he knew it was his mother''s arrangement.

    When Rody went to find his mother, he found her praying with the Holy Maiden. Outside the door, the valiant female knight, Kerry''s cousin Eve, signaled Rody not to disturb them.

    Not far away, the one-armed swordsman Gavin and the Magic Thorn Crow were playing chess.

    Ever since Rody''s mother''s true identity was revealed, they, along with Lord Warren, Sage Joanne, and others, had been taking turns guarding her. Even the Pope and the mysterious Wind Whisperer had time-space scrolls that could teleport them directly to the Holy Maidens in case of emergency, so Rody wasn''t too worried at the moment. He was confident he could keep his mother safe as long as she was by his side.

    But if he had to go on an expedition to the Exile Lands, Hell, the Seven Clans'' territory, or the Heavenly Realm, his mother''s safety would be his biggest concern.

    It''s far easier to assassinate someone than to protect them.

    "Don''t worry, go about your business!" Seeing Rody, the one-armed swordsman Gavin smiled and said, "In these years, not only you have made great progress. Under the guidance of the Wind Whisperer, we''ve improved a lot. Crow is an expert in anti-stealth and anti-assassin tactics. With him here, you can rest assured and do your thing. The safety of the two Holy Maidens, leave it to us!"

    "Come have a drink when you''re free..." Crow nodded slightly.

    "Mr. Gavin, after I defeated the Archangel Andre, I got some good stuff. I''ll give you a ''Radiant Holy Sword''! It suits you better! Mr. Crow, I don''t have good assassin weapons, but I''ll give you a pair of magic boots I took from the Devil Marshal''s feet!" Rody took out the holy sword and magic boots, and Gavin and Crow accepted them with a smile.

    "The best weapon for an assassin, I have it ¨C it''s my hand..." Crow showed Rody his left hand wrapped in white gauze, pure white like jade, maiden-like.

    Crow''s right hand, which he normally used for drinking, was no different from a regular man''s hand.

    Rody looked at Crow''s left hand and nodded. That seemingly boneless left hand was indeed a terrifying weapon. Sometimes, a weapon''s quality shouldn''t be judged by its shape but by its lethality and usability. Rody''s hands were not muscular, but they were strong enough to flip mammoths and kodo beasts.

    "Little Rody, there''s something we need to tell you, but now is not the time," Gavin suddenly said, seemingly out of the blue.

    "Is it related to the missing Stacey? Where is she?" Rody, ever so sharp, immediately caught on.

    "When you need to know, she will let us tell you!" Gavin nodded, his voice gradually lowering, focusing on his drink, saying no more.

    "..." Rody thought of the female boss covered in curse marks. Maybe she hid herself fearing the curse would affect her. Does she still drink crazily every day? Back then, he was just a child, hindered by the taboo seal of martial magic, unable to protect her. But now, he was different. Why was she still worried?

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    Could it be that the one who cursed her was not a human, but a god?

    Rody''s thoughts were tumultuous like the sea. As he left Gavin and Crow, he pondered deeply while walking through the long corridor and then up the stairs to the third floor, where the ladies resided. Queen Victoria of Victoria silently pointed towards the far end of the corridor, indicating that the Duchess had already been brought over by the Holy Maiden''s guard.

    "How is the situation? Any good solutions?" Rody first tried to inquire.

    "Not very good!" Queen Victoria slowly shook her head, magically whispering: "Chris and I think using the Hourglass of Time, combined with your soul cleansing, to reverse time until her body returns to eighteen, and then you using the Rebirth Contract to grant her health and youth. But we estimate at least two possibilities: one is her body recovers but she forgets you; the other is her body''s rebirth fails, her memories and everything remain intact, becoming a soul entity, then under your Dark Contract, she turns into a Dark Banshee... Of course, there are other possibilities. Human bodies are too fragile, and their minds even more so, the slightest touch can shatter them, quite a tricky problem!"

    "I''d rather she forgets me than become my slave of darkness. She''s a human; becoming a Dark Banshee is a painful thing," Rody nodded, his mind made up.

    Pushing open the last room''s door, he entered a spacious room filled with fresh flowers and warmly decorated.

    On the wall hung a large photograph.

    It was of the Prince of the Night and the Duchess. In the photo, the Duchess smiled so sweetly, looking so plump and healthy. Dressed in noble attire, her half-exposed corset revealing her snowy white breasts and deep cleavage, showcasing her feminine charm. This was the Duchess''s most proud and treasured possession, known as the ''Lady of Beautiful Breasts.'' On the day of the photo, she specifically wore this outfit to display her sensuality and beauty, just for a casual compliment from her Prince.

    Seeing this enlarged photo, Rody was reminded of the past, feeling deeply moved.

    On the bed, a long-haired woman lay curled up, her face turned towards the dark, breathing faintly.

    The once plump and healthy woman had become a sickly beauty, so thin that Rody could hardly recognize her. Her hair was dry and yellow, her eye sockets deeply sunken. Beside her pillow was another photo, showing the bright smile of the Prince of the Night.

    She murmured in her dream, unclear what she was saying.

    Tears slowly slid down from the corner of her eyes, dripping into her hair.

    Rody reached out, gently wiping them away, then channeled the purest, most nourishing energy within him, gently transferring it into her body¡­

    "Ah, is it, is it you, Prince? Have you come for me? I, I''ve been waiting, you''ve finally come for me," the Duchess cried and laughed, wanting to embrace Rody, but she had no strength. In her mind, the Prince of the Night, already dead, had come to take her to hell or the abyss. She could no longer distinguish between dream and reality, causing Rody immense heartache.

    "You need to live well, recover your health, I will resurrect and come back to you," Rody wove a beautiful lie for her.

    "Really?" The Duchess wept and laughed, using her frail hands to tremble and stroke Rody''s face, choking up, "Prince of the Night, my love, just, just as I wake up, as the dream ends, you, you will disappear..."

    "This is not a dream, I really came back, as soon as your health improves, I will take you to travel everywhere," Rody earnestly corrected.

    "My dear, take me away! I, I don''t want this body like a withered flower anymore, my love, my love, I want to give you the best, I, want to give you the purest body. Take me to the Holy Land of Hell! There, in the Elys¨¦e Fields, I will serve you for a lifetime, sing for you every day, dance for you, is that okay?" The Duchess, resigned to death, did not hope to get better, on the contrary, she hoped to die from her illness and reunite with her love in the blissful world of hell.

    "If you don''t get better, what about the resurrected me?" Rody now understood why Chris and the others were at a loss, for someone determined to die, any treatment would not be effective.

    To bring the Duchess back to life, one must mentally reverse her thinking.

    But now, Rody saw that the Duchess had deep feelings of inferiority and guilt, feeling she had once married another man and was unworthy to be with the love of her heart. She longed to die, to abandon this body, and reunite with her love in the blissful world of hell with beautiful wishes. From the bottom of her heart, she did not want to get better, not wanting this body anymore, no wonder she was so ill.

    "Take me with you, Prince, I, I, I beg you, I can''t be without you..." The Duchess, with her frail hands, tried hard to grasp Rody.

    "Alright! I will take you, but I must be obedient!" Rody changed tactics, speaking softly.

    "I, I will definitely listen, as long as you are willing to take me, you can say anything, sob, Prince, as long as I am with you, I am willing to do anything, sob, my love, don''t abandon me, don''t..." The Duchess''s face showed a morbid flush, the excitement of her spirit giving her a bit of strength, she tightly grasped Rody, crying loudly.

    "Listen, I plan to cleanse all your impurities, from soul to body, then rebirth you, turning you into a brand new you, so you can be with me, so, you must be obedient, cooperate with what I say, understand?" Rody''s hand gradually gathered dazzling starlight, twinkling like the Milky Way, surrounding the Duchess in bed.

    "I will be obedient, I will listen... I want, to be with you, forever..." The Duchess cried like a spring.

    She thought her wish was finally realized.

    Her lover, finally came to pick her up.

    Whether it is the Holy Land of Hell, the Netherworld of the Abyss, or some other place, she didn''t care, she just wanted to be with her lover!

 Chapter 227: Twin Dragons, Awakening of a New Realm

    Rody reversed the hourglass of time, causing the Duchess'' physical age to regress, while simultaneously using the magic of ''Soul Cleansing'' to cleanse all sickness and toxins from her body. Her originally emaciated body gradually improved under the nourishment of Rody''s energy, and her skin-and-bones arms began to regenerate flesh and blood under the restoration of a few drops of the ''Source of Life''.

    Treating a body that was weak to such an extreme required extreme caution, as one misstep could be counterproductive.

    The skin and flesh were the relatively easier parts to handle, but for the internal organs, particularly for the Duchess who had severely lacked nutrition for months, careful attention was needed during restoration. Otherwise, the weakened heart and lungs could not withstand the rapid recovery and become overburdened.

    Rody controlled the restoration energy to the minimum, patiently and slowly recovering the Duchess'' body.

    The recovery process was happening throughout the body, almost imperceptible in its progress.

    After persisting for a day, a weary Rody finally saw the Duchess truly escape the threat of death, being saved by his hands.

    The power of the hourglass reversing time was immense. To prevent it from affecting him and reverting his own body back to the state of a fifteen or sixteen-year-old, Rody needed to suppress it with a completely different magical elemental essence. He concentrated the tremendous power of the hourglass on the Duchess, watching as she gradually regressed to the age of eighteen, observing her body slowly repair to a youthful state, becoming fuller, and step by step, emerging from the shadow of death, feeling an extraordinary sense of achievement.

    Granting a dark life to a dead soul was easy for Rody, nothing noteworthy.

    But saving a dying human was extremely difficult. Without personal experience, one could never truly understand the greatness of human life.

    "When you wake up, you will probably have forgotten me, but it doesn''t matter, as long as you can live well," Rody, having overdrawn his true essence excessively, couldn''t help but spew a mouthful of fresh blood, splattering the perfectly restored body of the young girl in front of him with a bright red hue. Unable to suppress the immense power of the hourglass any longer, Rody hurriedly put it away, while also dripping the divine spring from the heavens on her lips, nourishing her empty stomach.

    "In my name, I grant this young girl eternal health and youth, the contract to forever reside within my soul," Rody chanted the most difficult life contract, something that normally required divine power to accomplish, but he had to try.

    If the life contract failed, then to save the reborn her, a dark contract would have to be employed.

    Then, she would become a dark witch.

    Of course, Rody did not wish to see that. He concentrated the power of the stars of the galaxy and the stars of faith, forcibly executing the divine power contract. The backlash of the immense divine power nearly tore his body apart, blood gushing in his mouth.

    After ten seconds, the life contract was fulfilled.

    Already at his limit, Rody, covering the blood spraying from his mouth, took out a golden scale and eternally sealed the executing law within this artifact made by the Goddess of Order. Unless Rody died, the golden scale would forever execute Rody''s will, continuously using the power of Rody''s faith to maintain the operation of the law.

    The golden scale disappeared, turning into a speck of golden light, casting upon the sleeping young girl''s jade arm, and then vanishing in an instant.

    "Commanding Heaven and Earth..." At this moment, Rody''s eyes were pitch black, unable to see anything, but he knew the reborn girl would soon wake up. He needed to leave quickly and couldn''t let her discover the blood all over him.

    Rody summoned the last bit of his true essence, gathering all the blood in the room into a blood dragon, rushing into his mouth and down his throat.

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    He gently covered her with the quilt, then staggered out the door, almost falling. But a pair of soft jade hands supported him. She was always silently by his side, always his best assistant; no matter the difficulty, she would always be there to face it with him.

    "Chris, help me wipe the blood from my mouth. Mom mustn''t see it!" Rody''s eyes darkened with worry, not wanting his mother to worry about him.

    "..." Actually, Mom was standing right in front of Rody. She heard, shook her head slightly, and smiled indulgently. She took out a white handkerchief, gently wiped the blood from her son''s face, and silently signaled the women not to make a sound, letting Chris take Rody away. The women''s eyes brimmed with tears, each covering their lips, afraid they would burst into tears.

    "Will it be okay if she forgets everything when she wakes up?" Chris asked softly.

    "It''s okay, let her forget me!" Rody coughed faintly, his mouth bloody, but smiled, "This is a mistaken love! Love cannot deceive, nor can it be replaced. She loves the Prince of the Night, not me. So, don''t tell her anything; it''s for the best!"

    "We will help you maintain this lie, but I think differently," Chris said softly. "I believe love is just love."

    "Love is just love?" Rody pondered upon hearing this, struggling to speak.

    He felt as if his realm of thought had expanded, suddenly understanding many things he had never considered before, as if unlocking something hidden deep within his heart. It felt like looking up at the sky, seeing a meteor flash by¡ªa brief moment, yet a lasting memory.

    The depleted true essence in his dantian gushed out like a spring, flowing throughout his body.

    With the energy of the life source and the assistance of the true essence, Rody''s over-exhausted body was more purely and richly repaired.

    Rody felt an urge to howl to the heavens. The true essence he had painstakingly cultivated was now gushing endlessly, surprising him like an underground spring bursting forth after countless millennia. The life source turned the almost liquid true essence into life essence, flowing through his entire body, driving away fatigue and bringing waves of relief.

    More true essence, extremely condensed, formed a dark golden dragon on his body, spiraling upwards towards the heavens and then back down.

    When it rushed back into Rody''s body, forming a cycle, another dragon of true essence emerged from his feet, eagerly spiraling upwards... In this unintended enlightenment and advancement, "Imperial Dragon Jue" reached the ''Dual Dragons Spiraling'' realm.

    Rody stretched out his hand, and the twin dragons immediately spiraled out between his arms, playfully intertwining as if alive.

    "Wow, I did it, I''ve reached the ''Dual Dragons Spiraling'' realm!" Rody was so surprised he could hardly believe his eyes. Chris''s casual remark had inexplicably unlocked the invisible shackles in his mind, elevating him to the realm of the twin dragons.

    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± Chris was also puzzled.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know either. All I know is that I suddenly had an enlightenment, all because of your recent words... It appears that the ''Nine Dragons Ascension'' realm mentioned in the ancestral legends exists. I have successfully cultivated the ''Two Dragons Spiraling'' realm. My goodness, I thought I would always be stuck at the ''Primordial Dragon Returning'' realm. It turns out to be true, Chris, I did it!¡± Rody lifted Chris high up, excitedly shouting at her.

    ¡°Look at this child...¡± Rody''s mother shook her head with a mix of pain and annoyance from a distance, then quietly left, allowing the other women to come forward and congratulate Rody.

    ¡°Put me down!¡± Chris was initially overjoyed, but felt Rody''s large hand gripping her slender waist, his hand hot as fire. Seeing the other women approaching from a distance, she quickly struggled to get down.

    ¡°I want to kiss you, no dodging!¡± Rody was too happy.

    ¡°Alright, alright, we want kisses too, one from each person!¡± said those who never opposed kissing, including Pandora and Queen Victoria.

    They were the boldest among all the women, a hundred times bolder than the lioness warrior goddess Martina.

    As long as Rody wanted to embrace and kiss, they would never refuse, regardless of the situation or place. Perhaps they would be a bit more reserved in front of Rody''s mother, but in front of her, Rody was absolutely well-behaved, and it was impossible for him to be kissing them fiercely.

    While the women surrounded Rody on their way back to the living quarters, asking him to describe his recent advancement, someone woke up.

    She slowly woke up from a deep sleep, opening her eyes, still feeling the dream lingering by her pillow, as if it had just disappeared and she could reach out and catch it back. She couldn¡¯t remember what was in the dream, but she remembered that it was incredibly beautiful, filled with indescribable happiness.

    That sweet sense of happiness, as if she could still taste it by licking her lips.

    It seemed there was a man, or perhaps a prince, who made a promise to always be good to her...

    But she couldn¡¯t clearly remember his face.

    He felt so familiar in her heart, as if she could blurt out his name in an instant, yet, she furrowed her brows, thinking hard, and couldn¡¯t recall anything. His name, his appearance, his clothes, the horse he rode, the smile on his face ¨C she felt it in her heart, yet just couldn¡¯t remember.

    ¡°Let¡¯s sleep a little longer, maybe I can dream it again¡­¡± She suddenly pulled up the blanket, filled with endless hope.

 Chapter 228: Portrait, The Secret of the Beautiful Tutor

    As she was about to fall into a deep sleep, she felt as if she had seen something just a moment ago.

    Turning back the blanket, she saw a huge photo on the wall opposite her. In the photo, a man and a woman were both showing an unusually familiar smile, which surprised her greatly. She was certain she knew these two people, but now she couldn''t recall the names of the couple...

    Outside the door, two girls tiptoed in, each carrying a small bowl of steaming soup and some sweets.

    "Who are the people in the photo?" she asked, covering her naked body with the blanket: "Where are my clothes?"

    "Your clothes are here, please feel free to ask for anything you need! You can call me Lenesia, and she is my sister, Lenelia." The two girls looked exactly the same; if not for their introduction, it would be impossible to tell which was the elder and which the younger. The gentle-speaking elder sister produced two sets of pristine white robes and several exquisite dresses of various styles from a storage ring, piling them beside the bed.

    "He, and that woman, who are they to me?" She was eager to know the answer, but the sisters seemed not to understand at all.

    "Haven''t you noticed? She looks a lot like you but is a bit older... Actually, she''s your sister! And the man with her is the Dark Night Prince of the Demon Abyss, who was assassinated by an assassin from the celestial realm, and your sister later died of a broken heart! Did the assassins hit you with amnesia?" Lenelia, the younger sister, asked curiously.

    "It seems so, I''ve lost my memory. What''s my name?" She was very confused, not even remembering her own name, which was strange.

    "You''re Metis! Don''t you even remember your own name?" Lenelia seemed very surprised.

    "My mind is a blank, I can''t remember many things. Give me some hints!" Metis, reborn, felt a bit of a headache, not real pain, but a sense of emptiness and unfathomable anxiety.

    "It''s a long story, get dressed first, and eat something to warm up your stomach..." The elder sister considerately turned their bodies slightly away with her sister.

    On the other side, Rody was in high spirits, practicing newly understood techniques with the Starry Sky Spear.

    Chris, seeing that he had forgotten about his cross-dressing, secretly smiled and went back to continue writing her "Memoirs." Rody certainly wouldn''t leave any writings in this world; he would only leave behind miraculous legends. Whether in military tactics or the magical martial arts from his past life memories, he would not leave a trace in this world.

    Although he often instructed the elite squad in martial skills, it was limited to fighting spirit and magic, or practical techniques for combat.

    The martial arts mental techniques from his past life memories, even if taught to the women, were limited only to his faithful lovers.

    Chris understood Rody well, because if these things fell into the hands of those with ill-intentions, it would be a disaster for the world. Rody wouldn''t stay in this human world forever; he would eventually take everyone to the divine realm, and would not leave any hidden dangers in the world. All the magical techniques from the Eastern world of the universe would be taken away.

    What Rody would leave to the world would be magical weapons or magic and fighting spirit techniques that he personally improved, but there would be no trace of the Eastern world.

    In her memoirs, Chris would impartially record all her memories with Rody.

    But regarding everything about the Eastern world, Chris would respect Rody''s wishes and not mention those things that do not belong to the human world.

    Previously, leaders of a hundred nations had signed a thousand-year covenant, stipulating that no one should use the tactics Rody once used against the angel-demon coalition to invade other countries, to prevent a great catastrophe in the human world if the nations started warring without restraint in hundreds of years.

    "Little Rody, I need to talk to you about something." Marshal Feng Desman came, bringing a priest with him.

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    "Marshal, is it about the matters of Mount Light and the Temple?" Rody embraced Marshal Feng Desman and inquired. Seeing the marshal arriving, the women waved and left cheerfully, leaving them to attend to national matters like these.

    "You really can''t hide anything from me. The temple on Mount Light has been destroyed by the angels, and it''s now impossible to teleport to the heavenly realm from there. All the clergy inside the temple have been expelled, and it has become ruins even before King Adrugeser of Great Frey could attack. However, there is another place you might want to check out... On the day I dueled with the Orc''s Ax King Leon in the Silent Forest, we were both badly injured and sealed inside the God''s Tomb. It took a long time for Leon and me to break the seal and escape," Marshal Feng Desman recounted the past.

    "Do you want me to visit the ruins of the God''s Tomb?" Rody''s interest in hunting down angels was not as great as reviving the high-level life bones of the God''s Tomb ruins as his dark slaves.

    "You should go alone to this matter, and let no one know, as it''s a disturbance to the saints'' eternal rest," Marshal Feng Desman whispered.

    "Understood," Rody responded, then asked the priest, "Did His Holiness the Pope send you?"

    "Great Son of God, His Holiness the Pope said that the people''s hearts are very stable now. He suggests that you advise the nations of the world to re-establish wandering clerics to spread faith, to fill the spiritual emptiness in people''s hearts. His letter to you is here, please allow me to take my leave," the priest presented a magically sealed letter and then bowed and left.

    "His Holiness is right, little Rody, without the power of faith, humans will struggle to match the angels," Marshal Feng Desman said.

    "I might be a bit hasty. After returning from the conquest of hell, I will propose this plan to the kings of the world. For now, I can think of other ways to provide temporary spiritual solace, like entertainment and dance. I''ll have the girls from the Dear Fan Love Group tour and perform; it should be somewhat helpful," Rody had already discussed these matters with Chris. He deeply cared about human faith, and they had made comprehensive plans a few days ago.

    "Alright, I can''t help with these things. Here''s the map," Marshal Feng Desman drew a map of what he had seen and handed it to Rody.

    "Marshal, how is the training and road construction going?" Rody inquired about the situation in Saint Song.

    "Haha, everything is going exceptionally well. The people have never supported our work so much. The prisoners of war are a bit of a hassle due to their large number, but they are behaving. Don''t worry, the road construction won''t be delayed," Marshal Feng Desman patted Rody''s shoulder, declined his dinner invitation, and went back to busy himself in Saint Song.

    Rody wanted to talk to him about the God''s Tomb ruins, but Marshal Feng Desman seemed reluctant to discuss it further, so he let it go.

    Just as he was about to talk to Chris, passing by the beautiful tutor''s room, he suddenly remembered the promise he made to her, which was half a day overdue. He had planned to meet this morning, but treating Metis had delayed him.

    He knocked on the beautiful tutor''s door, found she wasn''t there, and then boldly opened the door to look inside.

    He discovered the room was very simple, filled with magical books and various complex magic circle diagrams. To Rody''s surprise, the beautiful tutor had drawn a picture of her own back, strikingly lifelike.

    In the painting, the ground was covered with green grass, and the sky was drizzling with light rain, appearing grey and overcast.

    Rody''s figure stood under a tree, and in the distance of the painting''s perspective, barely noticeable was a small dot, seemingly a little girl with an umbrella approaching slowly... Her face was unclear, but through the faintly pink umbrella, it was evident that her mood contrasted sharply with the grey rainy day.

    Was this painting a reflection of the beautiful tutor''s state of mind?

    Or perhaps, in her heart, there was some secret that Rody needed to explore slowly.

    The man in the painting was undoubtedly himself, as in this world, no one else had black hair and black eyes... Did the beautiful tutor want to meet him in the rain? Rody was somewhat astonished and pleasantly surprised.

    "What are you doing in my room? You''ve got some nerve. Can you just enter a girl''s room as you please?" The beautiful tutor had returned without him knowing.

    "I knocked, but when I found you weren''t here, I came in to wait," Rody made an excuse.

    "It''s not morning now, and I don''t have time to learn the ''Dragon Stick Technique'' with you. I''m very busy, extremely busy, do you understand? You should just sit quietly when you enter, not rummage through someone''s things, it''s despicable!" The beautiful tutor saw Rody standing in front of the painting, her face flushed with a hint of red, both annoyed and angry. She pulled Rody away from the painting and then punched him twice on the head with her little fists.

    "Have you had dinner yet? Shall we eat together?" Rody quickly changed the topic to avoid further awkwardness.

    "I''ve already eaten. I''m your teacher, of course, I dined with Her Highness the Sage of Wisdom. If you''re hungry, go eat, don''t make a mess here!" The beautiful tutor emphasized that she was Rody''s teacher, different from the other women.

    "Why hasn''t Gill been coming to Rody City lately? What is she doing in the Seven Clans'' lands?" Rody was curious. Obedient Gill always followed him, except when he went to battle. But recently, she had returned to the Seven Clans'' lands and hadn''t come back for over a month. Was she helping him with Sistace or the Succubus sisters?

    "She''s busy with something, unlike you, who''s always loafing around..." The beautiful tutor pushed Rody towards the door.

    "Gill?" Rody suddenly couldn''t help but think of that obedient little cutie in his heart. It had been so long since he had seen her. Was she alright?

 Chapter 229: Divine Rank, The True Strength of the Three Saints

    In the Silent Forest, originally known as the Silent Ruins, is a graveyard where saints or dragons and other high-level beings have been buried for thousands of years.

    Rody has always yearned for the divine tomb on God''s Mountain. Previously, he couldn''t venture there due to the unlifted ban on magic and martial arts, and lacked the strength. After lifting the ban, he had to hide his identity to avoid detection by the angels. So, before officially breaking with the angels and going to war, Rody had always suppressed his desire to visit the divine tomb. The great war between the angels and the demons had ended, and the visit of Marshal Von Desman rekindled Rody''s old thoughts.

    There lay the powerful saints and dragon skeletons, each of which presented a great opportunity to enhance the strength of the expeditionary force.

    Training a Sword Saint is far more difficult than contracting with the corpse of one and turning it into a Dark Ranger or an Undead Knight. An Undead Knight under contract is absolutely loyal, much easier to command than a human Sword Saint with independent thoughts.

    Moreover, the undead don''t tire or hunger, feel no pain, and fear not death, making them far more suitable for expeditionary battles than living humans.

    Dragons are proud beings, powerful, confident, and arrogant, unwilling to be controlled by others. But once contracted, whether as bone dragons or ghost dragons, they become completely dependent on their master, possessing great strength and absolute loyalty.

    The expeditionary exile lands, hell, and heaven, all need more and stronger allies. The powerful buried in this divine tomb are undoubtedly the best choice.

    Rody bid farewell to Kris and the women, and alone, returned to the Silent Forest. The magical map given by Marshal Von Desman guided him directly to the foot of God''s Mountain without trouble.

    God''s Mountain, seen from afar, is a strange peak with snow-capped tops and flaming foothills.

    Numerous space-time rifts caused many volcanic eruptions, turning red-hot magma into rivers and accumulating into lakes at the foot of God''s Mountain. Unless one is a Sky Warrior with the ability to fly or an even more powerful being, it is impossible for ordinary people to set foot on God''s Mountain. At the top of the towering mountain, due to extreme cold, perennial frost and snow accumulate, marking the resting place of the saints.

    Rody flew over the magma lake, avoiding the space-time rifts, and for the first time, set foot on God''s Mountain.

    The space-time here is very stable, showing no signs of collapse.

    The entire God''s Mountain seemed to be protected by a mysterious force, like an invisible dome, safely shielding it from all the surrounding space-time rifts and volcanic eruptions.

    On the mountain, there are birds and beasts, forests and rocks, flowers and wild fruits, varying with the altitude.

    It seemed as if the mountain had four seasons: the foot was a hot summer with tropical flora and fauna; the lower half was spring, with small animals darting in and out of the abundant flowers; the upper half was autumn, with fruit-laden trees; and at the very top, a harsh winter with coniferous forests standing tall in the snow, void of birds and beasts, with only the howling wind and snow.

    The divine tomb was not at the very top of the mountain, which was merely an entrance.

    A city of ruins larger than the capitals of great nations stood silently in the snow, silently telling of its past glory.

    In the large square, dozens, nearly a hundred huge magic array pillars, though abandoned, still maintained the city''s magical mechanisms for thousands of years. Ten-meter-tall puppet automatons have also silently guarded the city, now a graveyard for saints, with unchanged loyalty.

    Rody descended from the sky, and their eyes immediately lit up. Their frost-frozen bodies began to move.

    They rushed towards Rody, fulfilling their duty to guard and expel intruders.

    "I am the master, your master, the master of this place..." Rody extended his hand, his psychic power enveloping the space. These puppet automatons, operating on magic and psychic fluctuations, were unable to resist Rody without their master''s psychic control. Within seconds, Rody had imprinted his life mark on their psychic magic sensing devices.

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    The towering steel puppet automatons immediately lost their hostility, replaced by obedience and respect.

    Rody admired the great magician who created these automatons thousands of years ago. These steel giants were still functional as guardians after thousands of years, a testament to the perfect combination of science and magic.

    On the massive magic array pillars, countless names were inscribed.

    Every powerful being who had been here left their name on these pillars. The more powerful and wise, the higher their name and closer to the center of the pillar.

    Initially, Rody thought these were manually recorded as a sign of respect to predecessors. He found Marshal Von Desman''s name at a height of five meters on an outer pillar.

    "Von Desman, battled the Orc Axe King Leon at the peak of God''s Mountain, died without regret..." Von Desman''s name and inscription were in light blue, below him were names in cyan and dark green, and three meters down, in light green and gold. Names below two meters were in orange and fire red, and below one meter, there were very few names, all in pale red.

    Several meters above Von Desman were names Rody had never heard, all belonging to saints, inscribed in purple.

    After observing, Rody understood the hierarchy. It was categorized by the colors ''red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet''. Pale red likely represented Sky Warriors, present in very few names below one meter. Fire red, orange, gold, and light green represented Sword Emperors, with varying strengths. Dark green, cyan, and light blue were for Great Sword Emperors, with light blue being the strongest.

    As for the purple names, they belonged to beings of the saint rank.

    The names included not only humans but also angels, demons, dragons, elves, fairies, orcs, monsters, and other powerful beings. They were strictly ordered by their strength, whether Rody had heard of them or not.

    When Rody also inscribed his name, he immediately understood the process. With a thought, the magic array pillar shone brilliantly.

    Rody inscribed: "Rody, human, a man seeking to explore the limits of life and past and present lives..."

    Originally, his inscription was below Von Desman''s, but upon completion, it emitted a dazzling array of rainbow lights and disappeared.

    Rody searched for a while and finally found it on the most central and largest magic array crystal pillar. At this pillar, the names at the base, all in deep purple, while above the two-meter base, all names shimmered in rainbow colors. Each name had a different magic array pattern with a base color of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. Dozens of meters high, below Rody''s name, were a few names, all shining in rainbow brilliance.

    "These names, not only do they have multicolored magic arrays, but they also have unique halos.

    Rody''s name, too, had a galaxy-like rotating magic array pattern, along with a gentle silver halo.

    Every name on the magic array crystal column had an evaluation. Behind Rody''s name, it read: ''A human male with potential equivalent to a Main God, currently at the ninth level of Saint, just one step away from the God level, with an immeasurable future.''

    Above Rody''s name, there were only eight other names.

    At the very top was the ''Goddess of Wishes.''

    Her evaluation was: ''A human female of Main God level, infinitely wise, with a maximum strength of the sixth level above God, ranking first overall, already fallen in battle.''

    Below the Goddess of Wishes was a ''Goddess of Storms,'' whom Rody had never heard of before. She was also human, her strength reaching the sixth level above God, but ranked slightly below the Goddess of Wishes, presumably a goddess of the same rank but slightly less powerful than the Goddess of Wishes. Unique and unparalleled, this Goddess of Storms had also fallen in battle.

    The third was the surprising Ascetic Saint, an unimpressive and grumpy old man with a near-dead appearance, yet his strength had reached the eighth level of Celestial Gods. He was the only living human close to the ''God level.''

    The most terrifying thing about this old man was that he had already possessed the power of the ''eighth level of Celestial Gods'' before he even entered the realm of gods.

    Seeing this, Rody couldn''t help but be astounded.

    The fourth was a deity unknown to Rody, called the Proud Sky Mad God, belonging to the dragon race, not human. The fifth was the Moonlight Goddess of the Elves, which Rody seemed to have heard Night Moon mention. The sixth, seventh, and eighth places were all acquaintances of Rody. Ranked sixth was the Silver-Eyed Singer, and seventh was Azure, both super Saints who had led the resistance against angels hundreds of years ago with Philek; Rody knew their deeds by heart.

    The eighth was known as the Tempest Saint, Alecres, an enigmatic Sword Saint whose true strength was ''Celestial God third level.''

    As for another, the Wise Saint, Rody found his name in the nineteenth position below his own.

    Although the Wise Saint''s strength ranked below Rody, he was clearly a sage of the highest wisdom, and his own strength had already reached the sixth level of Saints, with undeveloped potential for the God level, remarkably considerable.

    Having seen this group of exceptional beings, Rody now understood why these old fellows could be so arrogantly complacent.

    It turned out that even the weakest among them had the strength of a Great Sword Emperor.

    Just pulling any one of them out, they would be a Sword Saint or Magic Saint. To be ranked on this central magic array crystal column, besides the three Saints Ascetic, Wise, and Tempest, there were actually nine other names, causing Rody to break into a cold sweat."

 Chapter 230: An Encounter, Not Enemies Unless Brought Together by Fate

    While contemplating, Rody suddenly felt a surge of magical power from afar. Two shooting stars streaked across the sky at an astonishing speed. As they approached, it was seen that one of the shooting stars was a large black dragon, followed closely by a man with an unusual appearance.

    "Hey, hey, hey, listen to me for a moment, okay? Hydras'' Grand Lord Xudela, now that we are here, our battle has become meaningless," the black dragon circled down, landing in the center of a large square, flapping its wings, emitting thick black smoke from its body, which then turned into a silvery glow. After a fierce magical fluctuation, it transformed into a handsome middle-aged man with silver hair.

    "Alfred, don''t think you can use any excuse to delay our duel. We have been fighting for two thousand years, and we must determine the true victor..." the man with the unusual appearance coldly snorted, "I won''t resort to trickery. If I unfortunately perish in battle, then you can boast to her about how you killed the dragon-eating Hydras'' Grand Lord Xudela. But if I ultimately win, I will bury you in this saint''s graveyard and then return to the land of the seven tribes, propose to her, and give her a happy home."

    "Old friend, there''s something I''ve been wanting to say to you for a long time, but I didn''t know how to start," the silver-haired middle-aged man, who was actually the black dragon Alfred that once doused Rody with dragon blood, said. Rody, hiding not far away, saw everything clearly.

    "If you''re trying to convince me to give up my love for her, then save your breath," the man with the unusual appearance, who was the Hydras from the previous battle with the black dragon, interjected.

    "Being a Hydras in love with a female angel is indeed a headache... Unfortunately, I''m also caught in the same situation. Whenever I think of her face, calm as a lake, her smile that makes flowers bloom, her pure and flawless wings, and her mercy towards weaker beings, my heart, no matter how full of pride, melts," the black dragon Alfred sighed deeply.

    "Don''t mention her in front of me. Talk about her after you defeat me," Xudela, the Hydras, said angrily.

    "Xudela, my old friend, once the closest of brothers, now enemies turned against each other... Love is so blinding, like a terrifying poison. If we had never met her, we would still be the ''Twin Dragons'' fighting side by side in the land of the seven tribes," the black dragon Alfred shook his head, "Do you know why I brought you here, dear Xudela, my friend?"

    "Could it be, you want this place to be the eternal resting place for one of us?" Xudela, the Hydras, questioned.

    "The crystal magic array pillar above the sacred tomb can determine the ability of any life... As long as you leave your name on it, there will be a ranking," the black dragon Alfred explained softly.

    "You don''t want to duel? You want to compare with me in this way? You should know that strength and combat ability are two different things. Combat ability involves morale, psychology, skills, and more. Even if your strength is slightly above mine, it doesn''t mean you are stronger. I have stronger regenerative and life force abilities. As long as my middle head isn''t smashed, I can recover as before. You, who have fought alongside me for thousands of years, should understand," Xudela, the Hydras, sneered.

    "No, I don''t want to compare with you anymore," the black dragon Alfred shook his head with a bitter smile.

    "You want to cede her to me? Why? Are you not fighting anymore? No, this isn''t like you, Alfred!" Xudela was stunned.

    "If she were still alive, I would never have let her go to you... Xudela, you are my friend and know me best. But like me, you are also a tragically fated old friend, we both are miserable creatures... How wonderful it would have been if we had spent those two thousand years with her, instead of wasting them in duels and fights!" The black dragon Alfred''s voice grew softer.

    "What? What did you say? She''s dead? How is that possible!" Xudela, the Hydras, roared angrily in disbelief.

    "Annie Lu also coveted her and forced her into marriage. When she needed help the most, we were too busy furiously dueling. Eventually, we even allowed the Dragon King and the Demon Emperor to strip us of our dragon and demon statuses, depriving us of most of our power, and expelling us from the land of the seven tribes... That was the foolishness we committed! Two big fools, engrossed in a deadly duel with their best friend, leaving their beloved behind in the land of the seven tribes, allowing her to be forced into marriage by a suitor she despised the most, eventually leading her to despair and suicide... Dear Xudela, this is the secret you didn''t know, and the one I least wanted to tell you!" Alfred, the black dragon, bowed his head heavily, his long silver hair hanging down, covering his face and the tears on it.

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    "She''s really dead?" Xudela collapsed onto the snowy ground as if he had lost his spine.

    "Right in front of me, on this crystal magic array pillar, is her name and her message... She came to the human world to find us, came to the Silent Forest to look for us. But at that time, we were both recovering from our brutal duel injuries, hidden deep underground." Alfred painfully stroked the pale blue words on the crystal magic array pillar.

    Rody, hidden, moved closer to look.

    The inscription read: "Alfred and Xudela, you are both big fools. I won''t wait for you here, nor do I wish to have my eternal rest disturbed. Go ahead with your duel, and when you descend to hell, I''ll personally tell each of you ''you deserved to die'', Pessanthus..."

    Below this sentence, in clear gray letters, it stated: "Eternally resting here, the sacred tomb number 369 crystal coffin."

    "Alfred, I appreciate you telling me all this." Xudela rolled on the ground in agony, roaring painfully. After a few minutes, his face streaked with tears, he calmed down and said, "Go away! Without Pessanthus, my life has no meaning. I will stay here with her. If you want to fight me, then kill yourself. I definitely won''t be slower than you!"

    "Stupid Xudela, my friend, if I wanted to seek death, why would I bring you here?" Alfred roared angrily.

    "Fine, if you won''t stay with her, I''ll stay alone," Xudela slowly stood up, drew out a black dagger, aimed it at his forehead, and softly said, "Alfred, as a favor to a friend, don''t throw my body off the mountain. Place me next to her, okay?"

    "You''re really a fool, don''t you want to avenge her first?" the black dragon Alfred rushed up and punched Xudela hard.

    "Avenge?" Xudela, thrown several meters, got up, wiping the blood from his mouth, and asked as if awakening from a dream.

    "Go after that birdman Annie Lu, tear him to pieces!" the black dragon Alfred roared like thunder, "I need your help, Xudela the Hydras. We are no longer rivals in love. Now, we need to return to being comrades-in-arms who fight and die together! We must avenge her, send the bastard who drove her to death to hell, and make him suffer eternal flames!"

    "But our powers have already been greatly stripped away by the kings of our two races. Now we are just lords of monsters, how can we avenge her against the eight-winged, brilliant, and glorious Seraphim?" Xudela stomped in agony.

    "This is the sacred tomb, buried here are many powerful corpses of the dragon and demon races..." Alfred''s intention, it seemed, was similar to Rody''s.

    However, the corpses of the powerful beings bound by Rody''s contracts were not for himself, but for an expedition to Hell and Heaven.

    The Black Dragon Alfred was driven by personal vengeance, but his goal was the same.

    Originally, in this reunion, Rody, whose strength had greatly increased, was ready to severely deal with this Black Dragon Alfred. At the very least, he planned to reattach the Dragon-slaying dagger to his forehead, drain his dragon blood, but now seeing him as a sentimental being, devastated by the tragic death of his lover, Rody couldn''t help but feel a sense of sympathy.

    Rody really never expected that someone like the Black Dragon Alfred could have such a side.

    If he hadn''t seen and heard it himself, he would hardly believe it.

    "You''re crazy, Al! If you steal the Dragon Crystals of the former dragon powerhouses, and if the Dragon King and the elders find out, you''ll definitely be stripped of all your powers and thrown into the eternal darkness of hell!" The nine-headed monster Xudela punched Black Dragon Alfred, vehemently opposing.

    "Our lives are already forfeit, what else do we have to fear in death?" Black Dragon Alfred roared with tears streaming down his face: "This is the only way now!"

    "Disturbing the slumber of the saints, not to mention the severe punishment afterwards, we won''t even be able to defeat the guards in the Tomb of the Gods!" The nine-headed monster Xudela also roared at Black Dragon Alfred: "You are no longer the strongest dragon general of the past, and I am no longer the nine-headed commander. Al, I agree with your proposal to tear up that birdman Annilu and am willing to die with you, but if you want to enter the Tomb of the Gods to snatch the Dragon Crystals, you have to defeat me first!"

    "Damn it, in this lifetime, you have always opposed me!" Black Dragon Alfred howled in rage: "If you stop me, I will kill you!"

    "That''s about enough, my two good friends. Now it''s my turn to say a few words." Rody revealed himself, with a bright sunny smile on his face, and said to the astonished Black Dragon Alfred and the nine-headed monster Xudela: "I have a very good idea, would you like to hear it? Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself, my name is Rody. A few years ago, when I watched you two fight, I also warned you of an attack, and, of course, successfully pulled a dragon-slaying dagger from Mr. Alfred''s forehead. If the noble Black Dragon lord''s head isn''t damaged, he should remember it."

    "Rody? The miraculous kid?" Black Dragon Alfred and the nine-headed monster Xudela exclaimed, their faces changing dramatically in shock.

 Chapter 231: Deadly, Rodys Charisma

    "I''m so glad you''ve heard of my name! Let''s shake hands!" Rody said with a sunlit smile, but Black Dragon Alfred and Xudela were sweating coldly at the sight of him. Encountering this miraculous kid in the Tomb of the Gods was definitely not a good thing. Especially for Alfred, who never thought that the child drenched in dragon blood would not only survive but also become the strongest human.

    "I''m open to discussion, but let me say this first, if you want to contract me as your mount, I''d rather kill myself!" Black Dragon Alfred laid down his basic condition.

    "Cough, miraculous kid, Al had some misunderstandings with you before. Why don''t we take this opportunity to talk calmly and forget about the minor misunderstandings of the past? Just name your condition, as long as we can agree, there will be no second thoughts," Xudela stood by his old friend''s side, not kicking him while he was down.

    "Haha, I''ve long forgotten about the past. Today, I didn¡¯t follow you two here, but just came to the Tomb of the Gods to pay respects to the saints and happened to meet you. It seems you two are in a bit of trouble, overconfident, and I want to suggest a foolish method, with absolutely no ill intentions!" Rody laughed heartily, but Alfred and Xudela dared only believe one percent of his words, fearing more trust might lead them to be sold out.

    "What do you want to tell us?" Black Dragon Alfred asked, remaining vigilant.

    "I suppose you know that angels are also my enemies. As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend!" Rody chuckled: "Since we are friends now, I can do a little favor for friends, like restoring your original power!"

    "Really?" Xudela was somewhat tempted upon hearing this.

    "What do you want in return?" Black Dragon Alfred felt uneasy, as he had never heard of this miraculous kid being at a disadvantage.

    "As friends, why talk about conditions. I will restore your power for free, as long as you do not become enemies of humans, we will always be friends," Rody said, leaving Alfred and Xudela stunned, such good fortune felt like a dream.

    When did the miraculous kid become so easygoing?

    Not only did he not pursue Alfred''s previous deceit and the pain of being drenched in dragon blood, but he also offered to help restore their strength for free. If there was no scheme involved, then he wouldn''t be the miraculous kid but a born fool!

    The problem was, no matter how much they pondered, they couldn''t figure out what was wrong.

    This was the most terrifying aspect of the miraculous kid Rody''s intelligence. Everyone was within his calculations, whether they were cautious or careless, no one could escape his schemes. Black Dragon Alfred and Xudela, though not often mingling in the human world, were well aware of Rody''s various deeds. Each of his enemies, whether they were equally young heroes, renowned commanders, respected red-robed archbishops, or even angels trusted by people for thousands of years, all fell easily at his hands, becoming objects of public scorn.

    Black Dragon Alfred and the nine-headed monster Xudela felt more and more uneasy, their faces pale as vampires.

    "Name a condition, otherwise we can''t accept your help!" Xudela and Alfred looked at each other and cautiously took the initiative to ask.

    "In that case... do you have any gold coins on you? Give me a gold coin as compensation!" Rody laughed, causing Xudela and Alfred to feel very ashamed; they had clearly misjudged his noble intentions with a petty mind. The miraculous kid clearly intended to help, yet they insisted on seeing him as a schemer.

    Black Dragon Alfred exchanged a glance with his old friend Xudela, conjured a gold coin, and handed it to Rody. Rody smiled lightly, caught the coin, and tucked it away. Seeing this, Alfred and Xudela felt even more ashamed. The miraculous kid did not hold any grudges and even used this gesture to dispel their concerns, showing his sincerity and magnanimity.

    What made Xudela and Alfred even more ashamed was that Rody immediately set to help. He placed his hands on their heads, infusing a beam of golden light into each. In just a few minutes, he restored about eighty to ninety percent of their former strength without any reservation.

    "Your bodies will need at least two weeks to fully recover your former strength, but the seal has been lifted. You just need your bodies to adapt to regain full strength. I didn''t expect your power before the seal to be so great. Impressive, both of you. I have other matters to attend to, so I''ll take my leave now!" Rody smiled faintly, nodded to Xudela, and walked away.

    "Why, why are you doing this?" Alfred couldn''t comprehend.

    This Rody left no contract, nor did he chant any magic. The method he used to break the seal was a kind of power never seen before, gently penetrating and melting away the stripping magic array left by the Dragon King and elders. He completely opened the places in their bodies that were isolated from magic and dragon qi, not only refraining from any underhanded tactics but even slightly purifying their qi and magic for them.

    He should have wanted to contract me as his mount, so why help me like this?

    What is this miraculous kid Rody really thinking?

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    Black Dragon Alfred, facing this enigmatic young human, was utterly baffled. Similarly perplexed was Xudela.

    "I''ve said it before, the enemy of my enemy is a friend," Rody turned back and chuckled, "As long as you are enemies of the angels, you are my friends."

    "Do you treat every friend the same way you treated us?" Xudela asked excitedly.

    ...Rody, known as the miraculous kid, is the most cunning and ingenious young man among humans, possessing wisdom and abilities beyond all. In any impossible situation, he can incredibly turn the tide, using the weakest and smallest force to defeat the strongest and most numerous enemies. His terror lies in his perfect strategy and deadly charisma. Those who follow him, who believe in him, do so with a devotion akin to an incurable addiction...

    This passage was the assessment of Socrates, the foremost judge of the world.

    Whether in Heaven, Hell, the land of the Seven Tribes, or the human world, there was no strong king who had not heard these assessments, nor anyone who opposed them.

    If one delves deeply into these words, much can be discerned.

    For instance, the loyalty and trust of Rody''s followers not only stem from his perfect wisdom but also from his deadly charisma. Why would Rody, a mere human, have many elite warriors of various races regard him as a loyal and reliable friend and comrade? One reason is his attitude towards friends, which is absolutely sincere, a heart for a heart. It has never been heard that the miraculous kid Rody ever did anything excessive to anyone other than his enemies.

    On the day when the angels strongly judged Rody, in order to protect a group of comrades who had shared life and death with him, Rody preferred to break with friends rather than involve them.

    Before Lord Warren revealed the truth to the world, Rody was heavily criticized, but he never retorted a word against his family, whether they were right or wrong, silently bearing it all. The demon-slaying sword Lot and others, under numerous pretenses, tried countless times to put Rody to death, but he never retaliated. Even after capturing them, he did not kill them, but instead transferred them to the Court of Justice of the Great Alliance of Justice in the world, without harboring any personal grudges.

    It was because of Rody''s heart-to-heart connection with friends and selfless dedication that he was embraced by the world...

    Upon thinking this, the nine-headed monster Xudela became excited and rushed forward, asking, "Miraculous kid, do you really consider us your friends?"

    "In my heart, there are three types of people in the world: friends, enemies, and strangers," Rody chuckled. "I have many enemies, but even more friends. No matter how many friends I have, it''s never too many; no matter how few enemies I have, it''s never too few. Now, tell me, isn''t it better to have two more friends than two more enemies?"

    "Rody, if we are friends, then I ask you for one thing," Xudela said excitedly, grabbing Rody''s hand.

    "Is it to resurrect your lover, Peshansos?" Rody smiled slightly, pointing to the center of the nearby magic circle, "I have two things to tell you: first, after resurrection, she will become a death angel and might not remember you; second, inside, I feel a powerful saint waiting for us, possibly the legendary Tomb of the Gods'' guardian. You must get her consent before I can resurrect Peshansos."

    "Can you really resurrect her? Really?" Black Dragon Alfred trembled.

    "As long as her soul is still there, no matter whether the body is destroyed or not, I can resurrect her, just like she was before!" Rody nodded affirmatively.

    "If she... if she can come back to life, then we are willing to join you in the expedition to Hell until the end of the battle," Black Dragon Alfred said, no longer caring whether Rody had any schemes or was calculating them. As long as she could be revived, nothing else mattered.

    "Once Peshansos is resurrected, she will need your long-term companionship, otherwise, she will feel empty and lonely. You don''t need to join the expedition to Hell. Inside the Tomb of the Gods, many saints lie in eternal rest, many of whom wish to embark on the expedition to Hell. As long as the Tomb''s guardian agrees, I can awaken them in the land of death to lend me their strength," Rody waved his hand, outright refusing Black Dragon Alfred''s offer.

    "Let us do something for you, otherwise, we cannot be at peace!" Xudela, with tears brimming in his eyes, excitedly grasped Rody''s hands.

    "Doing a little something as a gesture of friendship, why worry about it?" Rody laughed heartily.

    "Rody, the great commander of the human coalition, I, Black Dragon Alfred, and the nine-headed monster Xudela, petition to join the expeditionary army. Please assign us a duty, even as a cook in the army is fine, as long as you let us join!" Black Dragon Alfred''s temperament flared up. If Rody had forcibly contracted him, as a dragon, he would have rather died than submit. But if he refused his voluntary offer to join the expedition, his heart would be troubled, needing to prove his pride and strength as a mighty dragon, not to be overlooked by others!

    "I refuse. As a powerful being, you are strong and possess extraordinary power, but as a soldier, both you and Xudela are unqualified," Rody did not change his mind and flatly refused Black Dragon Alfred''s intention.

    "What? I must join!" Black Dragon Alfred became furious.

    Xudela was on the verge of fainting; his old friend had changed too quickly. Initially, he was the most skeptical of Rody and unwilling to serve him. Now, he was arguing to join the expeditionary army, even as a cook. Could this be the poisonous, deadly charisma of the miraculous kid?

    However, as a powerful being, being underestimated is indeed an irritating matter.

    He was about to say a few words of consolation when suddenly, a series of magical fluctuations emerged from the center of the magic circle.

    The central crystal pillar of the magic circle remained still, while the surrounding crystal pillars slowly moved, opening a circular entrance in the ground. A deep hole appeared with a shallow spiral staircase winding downwards. On the walls between the steps, numerous heroic legends were engraved in the form of pictorial runes.

    "Young man, I have been waiting for you for a long time... Come, let me see if you, with your black hair and black eyes, are truly the rightful opener of the Tomb of the Gods." A voice echoed up from the bottom of the hole, like bubbles emerging from a swamp, sounding particularly sinister and terrifying. Black Dragon Alfred and the nine-headed monster Xudela were very surprised. The Tomb of the Gods, which had not been opened for at least hundreds of years, actually had a living person residing inside?

    Before this, they had not sensed the presence of this voice''s owner.

    If they hadn''t clearly heard the speech, they would never have believed that within the emptiness and darkness inside, there really was a guardian of the Tomb of the Gods.

    At first, they thought that the guardian of the Tomb of the Gods was not a living being, but some kind of magical machinery or other non-living entity. But upon hearing that eerie voice, which turned out to be that of a human woman, it was truly unbelievable. They had no idea how old she was, but one thing was certain: the Tomb of the Gods had not been opened for at least three hundred years.

    "Grandmother, Rody has taken the liberty of disturbing your rest!" Rody first bowed towards the entrance of the hole, then floated down.

 Chapter 232: Resurrection, A Saint from A Thousand Years Ago

    Descending through tens to nearly a hundred meters of darkness, there lies a softly glowing graveyard below.

    Numerous crystal coffins, each neatly arranged. In front of every crystal coffin stood a tall crystal tombstone, recording the glorious deeds of the deceased, with some even depicting the portraits of the deceased in relief. At the very front, there was a small prayer altar. As Rody descended, the elderly person seated atop the altar suddenly opened her eyes, shining like stars.

    Her face was wrinkled and aged, with snow-white hair.

    Rody bowed deeply to this elderly lady. Regardless of her past status or level of power, the mere fact that she had guarded the Tomb of the Gods for hundreds of years deserved universal respect.

    "Ku and Lan have visited me and told me about you," the old lady, leaning on her silver staff, slowly stood up.

    "Grandmother, Rody has come here today hoping to awaken some saints who are willing to support my expedition to Hell. I need the help of my predecessors," Rody maintained a respectful attitude towards the old lady who directly mentioned the saints Ku and Ailekles. Rody estimated her power was no less than Saint Ku''s, but surprisingly, her name did not appear on the crystal columns of the magic formation.

    "Little guy, you''re quite likable and competent, no wonder those guys like ''Ku'' sing your praises," the old lady said, not even glancing at Black Dragon Alfred and Xudela behind Rody.

    "Rody is preparing to attack Hell and Heaven, please, grandmother, give me some guidance," Rody bowed again respectfully.

    "With your abilities, attacking Hell shouldn''t be a problem, and I believe attacking Heaven won''t be too difficult either. But to return to the Divine Realm with your current strength, you are still too weak. Fortunately, you are growing rapidly. I estimate with a bit more time and training, it''s still possible for you to surpass the ''Divine God Realm'' and reach the ''Supreme Divine Realm''. Like Ku and the others, I''ve grown accustomed to laziness. We won''t get involved in the attack on Hell and Heaven, but if you return to the Divine Realm, then let us lead the way!" The old lady nodded and slowly sat back down.

    "Grandmother, can you tell me about the Divine Realm?" Rody quickly asked for advice.

    "If everything in the Heavenly Realm is ten times that of the human world, then the Divine Realm is a hundred times that of the Heavenly Realm," the old lady indicated for Rody to sit in front of her, smiling, "In the Divine Realm, everything is a thousand times that of the human world. A person''s weight increases a thousandfold, food tastes a thousand times better, stones are a thousand times harder than those on Earth, flowers are a thousand times more fragrant... Thus, a very powerful person, who is invincible in the human world, becomes an ordinary person in the Divine Realm, even finding it difficult to walk a few steps."

    "Ah?" Rody hadn''t expected that the Divine Realm he originally lived in would be like this.

    "..." Black Dragon Alfred and the nine-headed monster Xudela behind him were even more shocked, finding it hard to believe that a strong person in the human world would become ordinary in the Divine Realm.

    "Your current strength is at the ''Supreme Saint Ninth Stage'', almost invincible in the human world. But in the Divine Realm, you are just an ordinary person, at most at the level of a divine messenger. You need to surpass both the ''Supreme Saint'' and ''Divine God'' stages and enter the ''Supreme Divine Realm'' to be considered a true deity and freely demonstrate divine power," the old lady said softly, "Little guy, your opponent, the King of the Divine Realm, the Light God King, possesses at least the power of the ''Supreme Divine Ninth Stage''. You are still very far from him."

    "I will definitely practice diligently to improve soon," Rody asked softly, "Grandmother, please teach me the method to enter the Divine Realm while still remaining in the human world."

    "..." Black dragon Alfred and Xudela pricked up their ears to listen, although they were far from the divine tier, let alone the saintly king tier.

    "You will be able to comprehend the method on your own later, and of course, there is nothing that cannot be said. As long as you continuously store your abilities that surpass the ''saintly king tier'' and maintain them at the saintly tier level, you will not ascend automatically. I see that you have stored a vast amount of magical power within you, your method is very clever, why ask me, this old woman?" The old woman smiled, and although she did not explicitly say so, Rody became even more certain that this old woman was no less powerful than the bitter saint.

    "Thank you, grandma, Rody is curious and wants to know why angels don''t come to disturb the saints'' rest, is there any agreement with them?" Rody tactfully probed the secrets of the divine tomb.

    "There is no such agreement. Angels and other racial powerhouses used to attack the divine tomb frequently, but all the invaders lie here now, those without tombstones and introductions. Not all angels are bad; there are fairy tribes, once followers of the Wishful Goddess. Their holy mother is the successor of the Wishful Goddess." The old woman''s words shocked Alfred and Xudela, making their hair stand on end.

    Fortunately, they did not enter the divine tomb to snatch the dragon crystal, otherwise, they might have ended up like the other invaders, killed by this mysterious old woman.

    They saw that over three hundred crystal coffins without crystal tombstones in the distance, obviously, those were the invaders, all turned into corpses by the guardian of the divine tomb and sealed in these crystal coffins.

    Among these tombless crystal coffins, a small part were angels, at least with six wings, and the most impressive was the golden eight-winged honor seraph.

    Some were giant dragons and hell demons, and a few were monster lords and human powerhouses. Regardless of the race, all were exceptional, their souls sealed inside the crystal coffins as living corpses. The capabilities of this old woman were beyond the imagination of Alfred and Xudela.

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    With such a powerful guardian, it''s no wonder no one dares to disturb the saints'' rest here.

    "Before you came, I already asked for you, only fifteen old fellows are willing to get up and go on an expedition to hell. These old fellows have lost their ambition, lying here for too long, their bones have rusted. Don''t expect them to be of much help to you. However, they are quite interested in entering the divine realm in the future. I say, young man, if you don''t mind the trouble, resurrect those invaders'' corpses as puppet minions! These guys are particularly incompetent, only capable of such a small role, just make do and use them." The old woman said, making Rody very happy.

    Alfred and Xudela were about to commit suicide, even the golden eight-winged honor seraph was considered a particularly incompetent guy, then what would be considered powerful?

    But Rody was not surprised.

    This mysterious old woman was probably a ''divine tier'' approaching ''godly tier'' powerhouse. ''Saintly tier'' and ''saintly king tier'' level angels, of course, were not in her eyes.

    Now, Rody somewhat understood why human powerhouses were not persecuted by angels, why people kept growing to the saintly tier without harm. The reason is actually very simple; human powerhouses reaching the divine tier did not ascend directly to the divine realm but stayed in the human world, guarding their descendants, until a successor appeared to ascend.

    Therefore, generation after generation of guardianship, humans appear to be in a difficult situation, but powerhouses continue to emerge.

    Even accumulating to this day, the saintly tier has at least three individuals, namely the ''bitter saint'', ''storm saint'', and this mysterious old woman. And the strong ones who reached the ''saintly king tier'', not counting the ''wise saint'' and Rody, humanity has at least eleven more, excluding the Pope and the Whispering Saint, the rest of the nine are all in the ruins of the divine realm.

    The powerful ones who reached the saintly tier are even more numerous, almost without exception, all of them are bitterly cultivating in the ruins of the divine domain.

    Upon careful consideration, the human guardians of the previous generation must be Philek''s Blue and Silver-Eyed Singer and others, and of course, perhaps also the saints who have already died in battle and rest here.

    "Tristela, father of Norn, personally founded the Norn Empire. In his lifetime, he was a sword saint, a fifth-tier saint, and 1,600 years ago, he died in battle alongside the seraph Victor, resting here everlastingly..." This is the inscription of one of the fifteen saints willing to follow Rody to attack hell. It''s this old fellow known as the father of Norn, who has been dead for over 1,600 years, yet willing to rise up and venture into hell and the divine realm, Rody couldn''t help but admire him for a second.

    "Rise, the divine son has arrived." The old woman tapped the crystal coffin with her staff, sending in a beam of golden light. The slumbering soul inside instantly awakened, entered the body, regained consciousness, and then opened the crystal coffin, slowly sitting up.

    "My head really hurts, how long have I slept this time?" Tristela, the father of Norn who had been dead for over 1,600 years, asked, twisting his neck.

    "I guess not too long, because I can still smell the wine I drank last time!" Another old fellow sat up.

    Rody stepped forward to look and found this old fellow even more impressive, having been dead for over 2,000 years.

    When the fifteen former saints stood in front of Rody, looking at him curiously, Alfred and Xudela stared dumbfounded at these old fellows. Here, even the one who died the latest had been dead for over 1,200 years, and there were two who had died more than 3,000 years ago. These resurrected old fellows were all powerful saints, the weakest among them could defeat Alfred and Xudela in their prime with one hand.

    "Remember, I resurrected your bodies purely for battle, don''t use these resurrected bodies to make a fool of yourselves in the world. You have to behave like senior saints in front of the younger generation." The old woman was not very polite, giving them a piece of her mind.

    "Rest assured, guardian, we old fellows are all dead, it''s not like we''ll marry and have children in the world. Please be assured, although our old faces are not remembered by the world, we still have some considerations and won''t bring shame upon ourselves!" Tristela, the father of Norn, laughed heartily and joked with his companions, "We have fought angels for many years and hardly ever gained the upper hand. Attacking hell was just a wishful thinking, but this young fellow has done it. Tell me, what is this kid''s brain made of? How can he be so clever?"

    "He is a bit clever, but the main reason is that you are dumb, that''s why you couldn''t defeat the combined forces of angels and demons." The old woman hummed lightly.

    "As long as we can win the battle, age doesn''t matter." A law saint from 3,000 years ago patted Rody''s shoulder, smiling, "Whatever you need us to do, just command. We are now your soldiers, young human commander."

    "With the support of the saints like this, it''s truly a blessing for humanity, and Rody is also very moved." Rody shook hands with each of the fifteen resurrected saints.

    "Divine son, with your current strength, resurrecting a hundred high-tier undead to serve as puppet knights is most suitable. Please follow me." The mysterious old woman led Rody to the tombless invaders'' crystal coffins and introduced them one by one for him to freely choose a hundred strong undead spirits as death knights. In the end, she said to Rody, "The armor left by the Wishful Goddess in the ruins of the divine realm, I believe you have seen it. The Storm Goddess also left a divine artifact here. When you return from your expedition to hell, I will unseal it and give it to you as a weapon for the counterattack against the divine realm. For now, it''s best not to use divine artifacts too much, focusing more on training and improvement is the most necessary thing..."

    "Thank you, grandma." Rody was overjoyed, having divine artifacts was of course desirable, although he couldn''t use them now, having them for the counterattack against the divine realm was certainly better.

    "Resurrecting a hundred high-tier undead will take some time, you should prepare first." The old woman then turned to instruct black dragon Alfred and Xudela, saying, "You two, as attendants, help move the corpses to the altar. Seeing you two looking so clueless, you''re really not qualified as attendants!"

    "We are attendants? And not qualified?" Black dragon Alfred and Xudela almost fainted upon hearing this.

    "You really don''t do a good job!" Tristela, the father of Norn, actually nodded in agreement: "Back in my day, my eight knights understood what to do just from a gesture or a look from me. You two are far from that level!"

    "Being attendants is fine!" Xudela thought it over, following Rody, who would eventually enter the divine realm, as an attendant wasn''t too bad. Who knows, one day he might become a divine messenger, or even a divine general. After all, in the human world, the lands of the seven races, and the divine realm, he would be revered as a god, wouldn''t that be impressive? Although now they were merely attendants, this miraculous boy Rody was no ordinary person!

    "Rody, remember what you promised us, about Peshansos..." The thing that black dragon Alfred was most concerned about was still his former lover.

    "I say, young man, your attendants really don''t know any manners! Calling their master by name is a great disrespect, and putting personal matters above the master''s affairs is outrageous. No, you must properly teach them, starting from the most basic things. I dare say, they are worse than the clumsiest of servants! Look, they can''t even carry a corpse properly!" Tristela, the father of Norn, sighed.

    Rody was about to say that it wasn''t like that when the 3,000-year-old law saint patted his shoulder, sympathetically saying, "Teach them slowly. Although black dragons and the nine-headed beast are quite dumb, their memory is fair. If you teach them slowly, they can still be of some use."

    Hearing this, Xudela and Alfred almost collapsed on the spot.

 Chapter 233: Lovers, Surrounded by Loves Embrace

    In Rody City.

    Under the cover of night, fifteen ancient beings, who had been dead for a thousand years and risen from their crystal coffins, followed Rody to a small island in the center of a lake. They were unlike Rody''s Death Knights, who were absolute loyal servants of darkness and could stay inside Rody''s storage ring without needing to breathe or eat, just like divine weapons such as swords and battle-axes, mere tools for Rody to wield in battle.

    These fifteen ancients had their bodies resurrected, regaining most of their former power, different from the Death Knights.

    Black Dragon Alfred and the nine-headed monster Xudra followed as well, accompanying a six-winged female angel with a somewhat bewildered look in her eyes. She was Peshansos, whom Rody had expended great efforts to resurrect. Unfortunately, the memories of Peshansos, deeply sealed in her soul at the time of death, did not recognize Alfred and Xudra anymore.

    "Who are these old geezers? Why do they all seem so imposing?" Stanley asked loudly, gaping.

    "A resurrection after more than a thousand years? That''s a miracle!" Tommy and others exclaimed in amazement.

    "What''s so surprising about that? Our souls stayed in the God Tomb, never journeying to hell or heaven, nor undergoing reincarnation, of course we could be resurrected," Norn''s father Tristela responded nonchalantly, laughing heartily.

    "Life is but temporary, our souls and bodies being together is also temporary. Within two years, we must return to the God Tomb to rest," the old mage Nadowenvado chuckled: "Life and living are things of the past for us, our resurrection is solely for battle, not for dwelling in this world."

    "Why not stay for another hundred years or so? The nations of the world need you..." Red-haired Sar tried to persuade these ancients to remain and live in the human world.

    "Our era has passed, haha, the future belongs to you young people!" the elders laughed upon hearing this.

    "Being able to rest eternally with friends, occasionally communicating through the spirit, is a very pleasant thing. You haven''t died, you wouldn''t understand the liberation and freedom of being free from the body, heh, you wouldn''t get it!" Tristela expressed a preference for ghostly existence over human life, confusing the younger generation.

    "I don''t want to understand. Just being alive is better than lying in a crystal coffin in a dilapidated house!" Thief Terry immediately objected.

    "Is being a ghost really that pleasant?" Some expressed doubt.

    "It''s actually not bad. I''ve died once, so I know... How to put it? The soul feels light and free. What? You say I''ve never died? Get lost, I''ve died several times in the great battles against the demons, not to mention dying from poisoning, only to come back to life again!" Lopeck, pretending to be a death expert, faced skepticism and finally retorted angrily.

    "I can attest, he really did die from poisoning once, but in the battle against the demons, he only sprained his ankle!" Jesse laughed loudly.

    "What interesting lads..." Old mage Nadowenvado shook his head, chuckling.

    "When we were young, we didn''t have their strength!" The ancients acknowledged the strength of the elite team, causing them to burst into laughter.

    "Hmph, I don''t think so. I find them severely lacking in strength. Although the Guardian resurrected us, we don''t have much time to stay, nor much to do. The future depends on the young, but these lads are simply not up to it. Hey, I''m not joking, your strength is too weak. Starting tomorrow, we will train you properly, otherwise, the title of human elites would be a joke to other races!" A very serious old knight stepped forward, huffing heavily.

    "..." Red-haired Sar, silver-haired Tommy, and other young elites had never heard anyone say they were too weak and a disgrace to humanity, leaving them astonished.

    "Who is this elderly predecessor?" Even Chris became curious.

    "Let me introduce him. This old knight is the Diamond Marshal of the Tiboli Empire from two thousand years ago. He fought on horseback for ninety-nine years, participating in over a thousand battles, large and small. He once single-handedly killed a Silver Eight-Winged Angel and defeated five great demons of hell. Under his command, the Diamond Knights, a hundred and fifty in number, with the weakest among them being a Sky Warrior, is the old hero with the most victories against foreign races in human history," Rody introduced with a smile.

    "Ah!" At this, all the young elites'' mouths were agape, wide enough to fit a Kodo beast egg.

    "Don''t take it too hard. Diamond here always speaks his mind, but indeed, you do need significant improvement. Not only do you have to attack hell and heaven, but you might also have to help Rody return to the divine realm. With your current strength..." Tristela, Norn''s father, didn''t finish his sentence, but everyone understood.

    "Please train us, any rigorous training is welcome, as long as it helps us improve!" Kaylee stood up, bowing to the Diamond Knight.

    "Agreed," the Ice Demon Gao uttered two words.

    The desire to become stronger and to catch up with the rapidly progressing Rody was also his wish.

    Although Rody often guided them, he couldn''t train everyone to death like a strict instructor. It was all up to self-discipline and personal effort. The elite team indeed needed the strict guidance of these veteran saints. And since they were battle-hardened old heroes, everything they brought out would be invaluable.

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    Chris understood that this was Rody''s intention and also realized that these ancient heroes, who had risen from death after a thousand years, were not resurrected for the glory of an expedition to hell.

    Instead, it was for the younger generation, preparing to pass on their knowledge and skills, which is why they were resurrected and returned to the human world.

    With these ancients, Rody was at ease leaving the elite team to their training and guidance. He left the elite team and the old saints behind, quietly leaving with Chris. The resurrected angel Peshansos, seeing no familiar faces around, hurriedly followed.

    "Peshan, these two are your knights; you can command them," Rody stopped and said with a smile.

    "But brother, I don''t know them..." Peshansos, who now only recognized Rody, who had resurrected her, felt like he was family, and everyone else seemed strange, making her uncomfortable. Thus, she always wanted to follow Rody.

    "This is Black Dragon Al, and this is Green Demon Xudra. They are your most loyal knights. Think hard, and you might remember a little. Brother is very busy. Let them take you to the garden to swing. Have you ever swung on a swing? Go on, there are many friends there!" Rody led Peshansos to the garden entrance, pointing to the swing frame inside, letting the angel, who had forgotten everything, play.

    "Brother, I''ll come to find you later... Are you really my knights?" After instructing Rody, Peshansos turned to ask Black Dragon Alfred.

    "Yes, we will do anything you command," Black Dragon Alfred said with tears in his eyes. As long as his beloved was alive, nothing else mattered. Seeing a smile on her face was the greatest happiness in the world.

    "Although you are ugly, you don''t seem malicious... Brother is right!" Peshansos gently nodded, talking to herself.

    "Yes, we are your ugly knights!" Xudra, on the verge of tears, burst into laughter: "Let''s go swing! It seems there are some kids over there, shall we join them?"

    "Speak kindly, don''t scare my new friends!" Peshansos, despite her amnesia, retained her kind heart.

    Rody and Chris walked a distance, discussing the love triangle between the Black Dragon, the nine-headed monster, and the female angel. Chris had heard about it. Even if it weren''t a love triangle, whether it was the Black Dragon or the nine-headed monster, falling in love with a female angel was an unfortunate beginning.

    Both of their races could never accept such a union; in the eyes of the angels, Black Dragons and nine-headed monsters are inferior and evil beings.

    And in the eyes of Black Dragons and nine-headed monsters, angels symbolize hypocrisy and conspiracy.

    "Perhaps this is for the best, though it''s a bit regrettable. But for Alfred, Xudra, and Peshansos, it''s the best outcome. This way, it can be a fresh start," Chris remarked, looking at Peshansos in the distance. Sitting on the swing, she laughed happily as she swayed, pushed gently by Black Dragon Alfred and the nine-headed monster Xudra, who also wore joyous expressions.

    "How''s the training of the soldiers going?" Rody changed the subject, inquiring about the expeditionary force.

    "Everything is underway," Chris paused, then added, "Lately, I''ve noticed some movements in certain countries. It seems like the angels and demons are trying to reignite past conflicts."

    "Let them come. Every time they do, we gain more support!" Rody snorted coldly, aware that the angels wouldn''t just give up.

    "I''m always uneasy since mom refuses to go to the land of the seven races. If we were to go on a campaign, Rody City might inevitably be targeted," Chris shared Rody''s concerns. They worried about angels attacking Rody''s mother, which could have incalculable consequences, yet she refused to leave.

    She knew she was a target for the angels and demons, but her kindness made her prefer to be killed rather than have the angels and demons extend their malevolence to others.

    If she left Rody City and vanished, the angels might turn to attack other leaders like Empress Mire, Old King Norn, William II of Camaron, and even more civilians whom Rody couldn''t protect. Therefore, she decided to stay as the enemy''s primary target, insisting on remaining in Rody City.

    As the previous generation''s wise Holy Woman, she preferred to take on the greatest peril herself or leave it to her beloved son, rather than see innocent people suffer from the angels'' and demons'' vengeance.

    "Mom, her intention, I understand completely. Now, there''s no other way but to protect her and confront the angels to the end!" Rody sighed softly.

    "There must be a way to persuade mom. Leave that to me. You should focus on your training. By the way, any trouble with resurrecting the Death Knights?" Chris inquired about the hundred Death Knights resurrected from the God Tomb as Dark Servants, still concerned despite Rody''s powerful contract abilities.

    "Those too powerful and mentally resistant, I''ll resurrect later. For now, I''ve only chosen the weakest hundred," Rody said, glancing around to ensure no one was watching, attempting to embrace Chris. However, she deftly dodged, and after a few attempts, he only managed to catch her hand. Chris''s face blushed, she scolded Rody with a glance and struggled lightly but didn''t truly break free.

    "The real targets of the angels and demons are actually you, so you must always maintain enough strength..." Chris whispered softly.

    "Let them come. I''m eager to test the power of the ''Supreme Dragon Art of Dominating Heaven and Earth''!" Rody, having been to the God Tomb, knew his strength had reached the ninth level of the Holy Realm. He was eager to battle strong foes, hoping to break through and enter the Divine Realm soon.

    "For training, seek Queen Victoria and Martina. I... I''m not ready yet!" Chris blushed even more at the mention of the Supreme Dragon Art.

    "Chris, once we conquer Heaven, I''ll give you the grandest wedding, right in the City of the Skies. Let everyone celebrate our joy, okay?" Rody knew what his lover was thinking. Although she always dressed as a man, her heart was filled with a girl''s romantic dreams and aspirations for an unparalleled wedding.

    "Let''s talk about it after conquering Heaven," Chris said, but the joy in her eyes already betrayed her inner happiness.

    "Gill seems to have been away for a long time..." Rody thought to ask Chris if she knew anything.

    "Jill, my little sister, is helping you find the Haini and Heidi sisters. They''ve been avoiding you. According to the people in the Fairy Garden, they''ve hidden in the Valley of Quiet Orchids. Perhaps it''s because the scars on their faces can''t be healed, they don''t want to see you!" Chris said softly.

    "The charming demon sisters, actually, they should know that I don''t care about appearances at all!" Rody really wanted to go find them himself, but at this moment, it seemed a bit selfish to leave the expeditionary army to find his lovers. Plus, he had always been waiting patiently, not knowing where the sisters were hiding, hoping that Haini and Heidi would change their minds and come back to him.

    What Rody was most concerned about wasn''t just the two sisters, but also the female boss, who had also been out of touch, as if she had disappeared from the world.

    But when Rody quieted his mind and sensed, he felt that the female boss was hiding somewhere, quietly watching him.

    It was as if she had never been far from him, just unwilling to show herself.

    The hearts of girls, a hundred of them have a hundred different kinds. Even with Rody''s clever mind, he couldn''t fathom what they were thinking... Rody looked at Chris and realized that she seemed to have a little secret from him too. He was initially tempted to ask her, but eventually just smiled.

    Who doesn''t have a little secret in their heart?

    Chris probably already knew where the charming demon sisters were, but she had promised Haini and Heidi not to tell him. Jill might be persuading the charming demon sisters to come see him right now. Surprisingly, not only Chris, but Jill was also helping him in this matter.

    The more Rody thought about it, the more touched he felt, overwhelmed by a sense of being surrounded by love.

 Chapter 234: Spiral, the Exquisite Martial Arts

    "You, who are you? You, you''re not dead?" Rody had just walked into the small building holding Chris''s hand when a girl in the hall stood up in astonishment. She sized Rody up and down, then trembled, "You are the person in the dream, no, you, you''re not dead?"

    "Mitis, you''ve mistaken him for someone else. He is Rody, not the Prince of the Night," Chris hurriedly explained.

    "I''m going back to my room..." Rody, seeing the resurrected amnesiac Mitis, immediately turned around to leave, not wanting her to recall the past.

    "Is that so?" Mitis was doubtful, watching Rody''s retreating figure for a long time, then looked at Chris, seemingly seeking confirmation. Chris, pretending not to see her inquiring gaze, elegantly sat down, opened her magic notebook, and began to organize her "Memoirs." The other ladies looked around, talking about other things.

    "He, he is Rody? I, I mistook him?" Mitis felt a sense of lost bewilderment in her heart, as if she had lost something very important in life, yet didn''t understand what it was.

    "Rody is back? Wow, I''ll go warm his blanket!" Among the ladies, only Pandora dared to say such a thing.

    "Didn''t Pandora go back to Mile?" Queen Victoria also wanted to warm Rody''s blanket, but she dared not say it aloud. When Pandora just shouted, she couldn''t stand up and chase after. Jiabao and Yeyue, of course, knew Victoria''s feelings at the moment, watching her restless, and secretly laughed. Martina stood up and sat down, then stood up again. When the ladies looked over, she quickly explained, "I''ll go check if the apple sweet jam cake in the kitchen is ready!"

    "It''s not ready," Chris said indifferently. "Martina, can you first help me find a book in Rody''s room called ''Theory of Space-Time Formations''?"

    "Okay!" Martina immediately agreed and ran over.

    "She''s not familiar with magic, she may not find the book. Anyway, I''m bored, I might as well help her look for it!" Queen Victoria also stood up, finding a very grand excuse.

    "Let''s eat the apple jam cake first! Who will help me bring it over?" Chris, after the two ladies left, twisted and asked Jiabao and Yeyue.

    "Hehe..." The two ladies raised their hands together, then held hands and went to the kitchen to bring out the fragrant apple sweet jam cake.

    "Really good, after we eat, you can bring some to Rody!" Chris smiled. Suddenly, Pandora came back in a huff, her lips red and lustrous, her eyes like spring lakes rippling, but her blushing face seemed a bit angry. Chris saw it and smiled faintly, saying, "Someone came out, it seems we don''t need to send it to Rody!"

    "You, the ''Theory of Space-Time Formations'' you''re looking for, isn''t it on the table? Why do you still ask them to find it in Rody''s room?" Mitis, seeing many magic books on Chris''s table, one of which was ''Theory of Space-Time Formations'', asked in surprise.

    "Is that so? I didn''t see it..." Chris listened and smiled again.

    "You''re talking about Rody? Rody is back?" Bai Li, wearing a bathrobe, with drops of water lingering on her body, her chest standing tall and proud with two red plums barely visible, was extremely enticing.

    "Aiya, how can you, how can you come out just wearing a bathrobe?" Mitis fainted at the sight.

    "Anyway, it''s all women here, you''re talking about Rody? He''s my godly knight, and still a child, it doesn''t matter!" Bai Li casually answered.

    "Rody is still a child? No, he''s a big pervert! Those two fairies haven''t even entered the room, and they''ve already left me with no place to stand! This guy is too hateful, indulgent and unprincipled, don''t mention him, I hate him!" If Pandora was alone, she would dare to lift her clothes to let Rody see her proudest chest, but she couldn''t do it like Queen Victoria, undressing and being intimate with Rody. Her face couldn''t bear it, fearing the ladies would laugh at her.

    Queen Victoria and Martina didn''t care, as they were both his wives.

    At first, they might not have been used to it, but later, they let go. The matter of two women serving one husband was not new to them.

    The most important thing was that once both women entered, they could drive Pandora away together. Pandora had the thickest skin among all the women. Fortunately, she was just one step away from Rody; otherwise, no one could outdo her.

    "I think you''re just upset that you forgot to close the door just now?" Chris hadn''t finished speaking when Yeyue and Jiabao couldn''t hold back their laughter anymore, covering their mouths.

    "Humans are really troublesome. Once mature, they need to vent their desires. The physical union of a husband and wife is also quite boring, but this is the only way humans reproduce, which cannot be done without." Bai Li was the only one who could say such things openly. Even the boldest Pandora couldn''t say it. Because of her different beliefs, Bai Li lacked human emotions and morals. She talked about human mating as casually as one would discuss the breeding of horses and cattle, without any sense of shame.

    "No, human love is a good thing," Yeyue disagreed.

    "Love is great. It''s unforgettable, haunts your dreams, feels like sickness of longing. Anyway, only those who have loved know growth, and that''s what makes a perfect woman," Jiabao said proudly, leaving the other ladies stunned.

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    "Did Rody tell you that? Or did you read it in a book?" Chris knew Jiabao too well; she definitely didn''t have such understanding and experience.

    "How did you know?" Jiabao asked in surprise.

    "If you could say what you just did and have such deep experience, you should be in Rody''s room right now, not here with us eating sweet jam cake! This jam cake is too sweet, who added the sugar? It''s cloying!" Pandora was in a bad mood, and nothing tasted right to her.

    "Hey, don''t you think you''re the only one who thinks that way?" Anniebelle arrived, still dressed as a mischievous maid.

    "Little pop star, not rehearsing at the Divine Opera House, what are you doing here?" Pandora hummed.

    "See, this is how rivals greet each other," Anniebelle smiled sweetly, not minding it. She sat next to Pandora, casually picked up a piece of apple sweet jam cake, and ate it, ignoring Pandora''s rolling eyes, laughing, "Things snatched from others taste especially good! Don''t worry, I won''t snatch yours, because I have my own!"

    Mitis nearly fainted, surrounded by a room full of beautiful girls, each with more peculiar thoughts than the last.

    Rody was unaware of the roundtable dinner meeting among the ladies because he was in a great battle with Queen Victoria and Martina.

    Rody practiced the "Imperial Dragon Scripture," which required the Yin and Yang balance with a woman practicing the "Mystic Yin Jade Cauldron Phoenix Descent Scripture" to avoid extreme pain and to advance greatly. Most of Rody''s progress to the ninth level of sanctity was due to the power of the Galaxy Star and the Faith Star, but also because of the breakthroughs in the Imperial Dragon Scripture.

    Although there were many girls who liked Rody, only Queen Victoria and Martina were truly able to assist him in his practice.

    Chris, Jiabao, and Yeyue hoped to assist Rody at a higher realm and were unwilling to easily lose their virginity, losing their most precious Mystic Yin essence. Even Pandora, who was most eager to establish a relationship with Rody, felt the same.

    Therefore, when she saw Victoria and Martina, she was a bit unhappy but quickly stepped aside, not preventing them from assisting Rody.

    The next morning, Rody sat quietly in the garden, practicing his energy cultivation.

    Mitis sat at a distance, curiously watching for a long time. She felt that this man was someone she had seen thousands of times in her dreams, likely having a very close relationship with her. But upon waking, she remembered nothing, leaving her feeling very conflicted and lost. Yet, if she was mistaken, wouldn''t it be a big joke?

    He is the pride of humanity, the amazing boy Rody, how could he have anything to do with her?

    Soon after, the beautiful female instructor came over, furious.

    Mitis was surprised to see, instead of the teacher instructing the student, it was the student teaching the teacher, holding her wand and repeatedly gesturing with it. The beautiful instructor tried to learn for a long time but couldn''t manage it, raised her fist and punched Rody several times on the head, then stormed off angrily.

    This beautiful instructor usually didn''t easily get angry and had a noble demeanor, but she would often impulsively hit her own student, which was indeed strange.

    "If you don''t want others to see, I''ll come to your room tomorrow morning," Rody whispered as he chased after her.

    "Don''t come, practice here in the garden. I can do it... Don''t knock on my door tomorrow, disturbing a teacher''s sleep is the most impolite behavior." The beautiful instructor had extraordinary comprehension of magic but found the ''Dragon Beating Stick Technique'' from the East challenging. She again emphasized to Rody that she was his teacher before disappearing in a flash.

    "This staff technique seems very complex, can Mary learn it?" The Drunken Swordsman appeared at some point, murmuring.

    "I feel the technique to turn it into a sword is similar. Little Rody, is that possible?" Dean Buck conjured a staff with magic, waved it a few times, then transformed it into a long sword, similarly simulating the movements.

    "You need to add a bit of spiral motion. Its cleverness lies in using spirals of varying sizes to dissipate the enemy''s attack and turn it into a counterattack. The more aggressive and domineering the enemy''s attack, the heavier the backlash they receive. Start with the smallest point of leverage, spiral to turn the enemy''s destructive force into your guiding force, then internally spiral to eliminate damage, reaching the critical point before exploding in a reverse, outward spiral to counterattack. David, try attacking me without skill, just brute force, the bigger the better!" Rody asked the Drunken Swordsman to cooperate in a demonstration.

    The Drunken Swordsman''s golden fighting spirit erupted, his sword slashing swiftly. The crescent blade aimed a heavy strike at Rody''s head.

    Rody raised his hand to meet it, moving not swiftly, but seemingly slowly rotating.

    The moment the sword contacted Rody''s hand, everything in space seemed to freeze, the light congealed, then suddenly exploded. The Drunken Swordsman cried out in shock, his body involuntarily thrown back. Fortunately, he was prepared and mindful, but still crashed onto a rockery, shattering the boulders, then awkwardly bounced back into the air, adjusted his posture, and floated down to the ground.

    Mitis, seeing Rody catch the sword with his hand, was initially scared out of her wits.

    But in the end, it was the Drunken Swordsman who was thrown out, while Rody''s hand remained unharmed. She then patted her chest and sighed in relief.

    "What was that?" The Drunken Swordsman flew back, curious about what Rody held in his hand that reflected all the attacking power back to him.

    "The tool is not important; I just wanted to demonstrate the technique!" Rody raised his hand, and the Drunken Swordsman and Buck were amazed to see he was holding a rose stem.

    With just a rose stem, Rody caught the Drunken Swordsman''s powerful strike and reflected it back entirely.

    And that freshly cut rose, drenched in dew, remained completely unscathed, its stem, leaves, and petals as they were.

    "With this spiral counterattack technique, all power-type brutes will cry in the future..." Buck exclaimed in shock: "David''s strength was bounced back, it seems few can take such a close-range attack!"

    "Two teachers, actually, the attacks of long-range and close combat are the same. It''s just that long-range attacks are harder to control in terms of spiraling and rebounding, while brute force in close combat is the easiest to decipher. In fact, at the extreme point, any attack is the same, all can be rebounded." Rody had Buck shoot a fireball at him, extended the rose stem to spiral around the fireball, then detonated it mid-air.

    Buck''s fireball, a concentration of fierce flames, was powerful, but the rose stem spiraled around it for over three seconds without being harmed, astonishing them both.

    Although the ''Dragon Beating Stick Technique'' wasn''t quite suitable for Buck and the Drunken Swordsman, Rody slightly modified it into a sword technique. And with the abilities of Buck and the Drunken Swordsman, they only needed to learn the technique, not restricted by the weapon''s method. By extrapolating from one example, they had mastered the basics of the ''Five Dragon Spirals'' that Rody had modified after three

    hours of practice.

    In a small building in the distance, the shadow of the beautiful female instructor could be seen at the window, watching...

 Chapter 235: Return, The Hope of Sending Off Children on a Far Expedition

    Somehow, the beautiful female instructor made significant progress in her studies. On the first day, she couldn''t learn anything and left in anger; on the second day, she managed to slowly execute the basic movements of the spiral; on the third and fourth days, she began to coordinate her body movements, moving her feet in sync with the rotating staff, enduring much hardship in this endeavor. She fell countless times due to failed coordination, but fortunately, she was as light as a feather, a great sorceress.

    However, with sweat-soaked practice, she gradually made fewer mistakes. Initially, Rody often demonstrated personally, but later, he just needed to correct her verbally, and eventually, he continuously fed her moves.

    "Wow, I said I could do it, such a simple thing, how could I not learn it!" exclaimed the female instructor, jubilantly like a little girl, jumping and shouting non-stop, as she spun Rody''s weapon out of his hands with a powerful strike.

    "You should have redirected the attack back at me, spinning me away while simultaneously rebounding the force of the hammer strike onto me," Rody reminded.

    "Stop nagging, of course, I know," the female instructor said, in a good mood today, not resorting to her usual playful punches.

    Quickly, a month passed.

    Rody held a flower branch in each hand, able to spiral catch Martina''s battle axe, Ye Yue''s crescent blade, Jia Bao''s six types of weapons, Victoria''s frosty snowballs, and even catch with his feet the close-range attacks of magic condensed by Chris. Pandora and Annabelle, who were not primarily fighters, watched from the sidelines, unable to join the fray.

    Bai Li''er frowned prettily, also wanting to learn this ''spiral rebound'' magical technique for its elegance. But she hesitated, knowing it required long-term practice.

    Mitis felt as if she was witnessing a deity. How could this be possible? Every time Rody finished practicing, she would check the flower branches, which initially often broke or got frozen. But later, they were mostly intact, with only a few petals and leaves falling off. Such delicate flowers capable of such divine skill were truly admirable.

    "If it were a sword, using it for counter-attacks and subsequent strikes would undoubtedly be a nightmare for the enemy..."

    "Don''t hit me, no tricks, and most importantly, no laughing," the female instructor set different rules from the others. Unlike the others who were Rody''s sparring partners, Rody was hers. He had many conditions, such as not exerting too much force to ruin the spiral, nor too little to make it ineffective. The female instructor maintained a ''teacher'' demeanor in front of the other women while practicing.

    "Alright, I''m going to attack now. While attacking, I''ll also shoot out leaves, like a thief''s flying daggers. Teacher, be careful," Rody knew the female instructor loved being called ''teacher'' in front of the other women.

    Although the female instructor had many restrictions, her strength improved rapidly. She could not only deflect Rody''s powerful strikes but also dodge hidden weapons and even occasionally handle the magic orbs launched by Chris in collaboration with Rody, turning danger into safety.

    Though she started practicing later, she was actually the best learner, even surpassing Martina, the orcish female war god, skillful Jia Bao, and Ye Yue, who was one with her mind and body.

    Another month passed, and Rody now could effortlessly maneuver between two saint-level powerhouses with a flower branch in hand. The fifteen ancients, who had risen from a thousand years of death, each unconvinced, lined up to spar with him, but none could defeat Rody.

    "It''s strange, this technique is really devilish. I''ve never been hit by my own Flying Slash before. It''s my unique skill, how can you rebound it? If I hadn''t held back a third of my strength, I''d have been blasted into the sky by now. My goodness, this spiral force is truly devilish!" exclaimed Tristram, the father of Norn, in utter disbelief. He could accept being unable to defeat Rody, a ninth-tier saint, but having his own move rebounded was too much for him.

    "Ancestor Father, this kid''s mind works differently from others, everything about him is different. Don''t be too angry," King Norn hurriedly soothed.

    "Of course, I''m not really angry, just a bit frustrated that I''m not his match," Tristram downed a few gulps of wine and then turned to the old mage saint Naduvindo, "You''re the last one. Show this kid some color, stop him from getting too arrogant."

    "Let''s see if my Storm Vortex can break through it then!" Naduvindo smiled slightly.

    He condensed a storm vortex almost similar to Rody''s spiral, highly concentrated, compressing the magical power to its limit, explosive upon touch. He made it rotate in the opposite direction to Rody''s previous spin, carefully throwing it towards Rody.

    If this storm vortex exploded, its power could lift the entire garden into the sky, turning houses and faux rocks into rubble.

    Rody, seeing this, didn''t dare to be careless.

    He inhaled softly, activating his Dragon Power Technique, letting dual dragons coil around his arms, his hands moving slowly.

    A dazzling galaxy appeared with his hand movements, millions of starlights forming a spiral. Several spiral arms drove the vortex, slowly meeting the incoming storm vortex. As they touched, all the powerhouses were on high alert, ready for disaster if Rody failed, which could destroy the entire garden.

    Chris and the other women immediately shielded themselves with magic, while the saints prepared to control the storm should it explode.

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    Just when everyone was on edge, Rody''s galaxy instantly condensed at the moment it touched the storm vortex, reversing its spin direction. Millions of starlights miraculously reversed, as if they had always been spinning that way, growing larger and engulfing the storm vortex entirely. The galaxy expanded to its limit, then rapidly shrank, condensing into a shimmering silver ball.

    Rody aimed at a distant lake and threw the silver ball far away.

    The ball entered the water without a reaction at first.

    But after a dozen seconds, ripples began appearing on the lake''s surface. Suddenly, a huge vortex emerged at the center of the lake.

    A water spout, roaring like thunder, swiftly rose from the lake, spinning rapidly, shooting straight into the sky, piercing the clouds, and even drawing a vortex-shaped hole in the clouds...

    This spinning force lasted at least five minutes before slowly dissipating, turning into raindrops falling from the sky.

    Rody City was quite accustomed to such ''man-made rain,'' as there were countless powerful individuals there, capable of altering the heavens and earth. More than a dozen could be named offhand.

    Everyone marveled, betting on which saint was responsible for this feat. Some bold people even flew close to the giant water column to take photos, indifferent to the splashing water. Fifteen minutes later, soldiers repairing roads thirty kilometers away from Saint Song Fortress were astonished to find a ''fish rain'' falling from the sky.

    Rain, snow, hail, and even fire rain and meteor showers from mages in battle were common.

    But a rain of fish was unprecedented. Could this be an omen of victory from the distant hell?

    Someone immediately reported to Marshal Fendesman that a fish rain had fallen from the sky, possibly a divine sign. Fendesman laughed heartily, rushed to Rody City, and upon inquiry, indeed found out it was Rody''s doing.

    "This technique, capable of backfiring an attack, is really deadly. Rody, anyone who battles with you on the battlefield is truly unlucky," Marshal Feng Desman was also very astonished. In Rody City, to whisk up the lake water and fish into the sky and to throw them hundreds of kilometers away is an incredible feat. If such power were to hit a person, even a Sword Saint''s protective aura might not withstand it.

    "It was very dangerous just now. It was a risk I took, and luckily it succeeded, otherwise, we would all have been blown into the sky..." Rody himself broke into a cold sweat. If it weren''t for his quick thinking, using the Dragon''s Chant in conjunction with the power of the Galaxy Star to create a black hole vortex of the Milky Way, it would have been a complete disaster.

    "That was close!" Everyone else was also patting their chests, relieved.

    The power of a Saint-level is so immense that if it were not diffused in this way, a direct confrontation would lead to the destruction of half of Rody City.

    Everyone had some regrets about the old Saint Naduvan''s action.

    Just for the sake of pride, if Rody couldn''t handle it, the consequences would be severe. Everyone might be blown into the sky. Not to mention, the small buildings and gardens where Rody lived would be gone, and the maids with no means of self-protection would be in danger.

    Through this experiment, everyone became aware of the miraculous kid''s latest spiral energy technique.

    Many hoped that Rody would share his insights, to give them more means of survival on the battlefield. But in reality, one in a million could understand and learn it. Even members of the elite squad often made mistakes, taking hits from the enemy without any effect of the spiral rebound. This tactic is only for those with special talents, otherwise, it would be a suicidal approach in combat.

    The elite squad learned a modified version of this technique over a month, a ''Sword-Twisting Art'' that reduced risk and power, parrying and deflecting enemy attacks. Each had endured hundreds of merciless hits before mastering this ''Sword-Twisting Art.''

    This art should not be used frequently and must be timed well.

    When the enemy attacks recklessly, first dodge, then use your sword to leverage the force of the enemy''s attack and twist their weapon away.

    Those like Red-haired Sal and Silver-haired Tommy who mastered it better could even twist the enemy''s body. But to do what Rody does, spiraling the attack back at the enemy, is impossible. Such skill requires ample talent and long-term training. It''s unrealistic to think one can master it in a month or two to counter every enemy attack. But with the Sword-Twisting Art, there is an added defensive tactic.

    Against brute force enemies, the elite squad will be more adept.

    Few soldiers in Rody City could learn the Sword-Twisting Art, but they quickly adapted, turning it into a dodging technique.

    If they couldn''t twist the enemy''s weapon away, why not dodge it? If using a sword doesn''t work, watch for the attack and dodge it, right? So, under the guidance of the Saints, the soldiers of Rody City extensively practiced an improved technique of dodging enemy attacks, a ''Sword Defense Art.''

    As the expeditionary army gradually finished their training and prepared for their campaign into Hell, the beautiful female instructor''s ''Dragon Striking Staff Technique'' had achieved even more astonishing progress.

    Using only her body movements, she could elegantly and effortlessly dodge Martina''s continuous slashing attacks, rarely facing danger.

    With the spiral energy rebound, she could deflect attacks from anyone at the elite squad level. Although she might not always rebound the attack back onto the opponent, at the very least, she wouldn''t get hurt. Even if the Drunken Swordsman and Buke teamed up to attack, it would take them hundreds of attempts to cause her to make a defensive error.

    The beautiful instructor was a master of long-range attacks. Rody, worried about her being ambushed by close-range assassins during charges, taught her this unique skill.

    This was not her main combat technique; it was enough as long as it ensured she wouldn''t be ambushed by enemies.

    With the ''Dragon Striking Staff Technique'' equipped with spiral defense and attack rebounding, it was believed that no enemy, including the demons of Hell, could ambush the instructor after her progress.

    "Little Rody, should we hold a swearing-in ceremony?" asked King Norn. He felt it was necessary to reassure the people.

    "Yes, before the ceremony, let''s show a video of the expeditionary soldiers'' drills. That will reassure everyone." Rody nodded slightly, then said softly, "Your Majesty, it seems that there are some undercurrents stirring on the continent. Have you heard anything? Angels and demons might create some disturbances while the expeditionary army is away¡­"

    "With us in the rear, you can go on your expedition without worry. Queen Mire, Marshal Feng Desman, William, and I have already had a meeting about this. You needn''t worry about these small disturbances; we can handle them. Otherwise, what''s the point of being a king?" King Norn laughed heartily.

    "I think it''s necessary to inform the public. If they are mentally prepared, their fear will be greatly reduced," Rody suggested.

    "Good, this is exactly what we should do," King Norn chuckled. "Little Rody, to speak selfishly for a moment, of my sons, you must at least bring one back. Otherwise, when I pass away, the Norn dynasty that has lasted for a thousand years will end with me. My ancestors are watching, Little Rody, don''t let me lose face."

    "Your Majesty, don''t worry. Our expedition to Hell won''t incur heavy casualties. Trust me!" Rody assured firmly.

    "Ah, I trust you, of course, I do!" King Norn''s heart was relieved of a heavy burden as he happily embraced Rody''s shoulders. As a king, sending his sons to the battlefield was an absolute support to the human expeditionary army; but as a father, he naturally had his selfish desires, hoping that while his sons fought bravely, they would also return safely.

 Chapter 236: Mom, Please Dont Cry for Me

    The day of the expedition to Hell had arrived.

    The eyes of the world were focused on Rody City. After strict selection and brutal elimination, 96,000 people became qualified expeditionary warriors.

    Those soldiers who failed to pass the final selection became part of the logistics army for the expedition, responsible for transporting food, supplies, and war equipment. As for those eliminated earlier, they had already become part of the army responsible for road construction, fortification building, and propaganda. Over three hundred war correspondents, rigorously trained and recommended by the public, became embedded journalists with the expedition to Hell, reporting the realities of war to the people at home.

    The swearing-in ceremony was held outside Rody City.

    Not just the expeditionary army, but also nearly a hundred thousand logistics troops participated in the oath-taking. They too were warriors, though they did not engage in direct combat.

    Knights and generals, clad in their most shining armor, mounted on majestic horses, faced the ceremony with solemnity. Soldiers from various countries, in rows as neat as forests, wore armors unique to their nations but uniformly adorned the ''Warrior Badge'' of the Hell expedition on their chests.

    Family representatives of the soldiers stood on the outskirts, wearing big red flowers on their chests, watching their sons with tearful eyes.

    Over a thousand children and young girls held flowers, ready to present them to the warriors. Representatives from various countries had also prepared wine and wreaths to offer to the soldiers. The flag bearers in the ranks stood tall and straight as spears. And on the outside, the people who came to see them off had already formed a sea of humanity. Countless people from all over the world came to bid farewell, waving flags of all sizes with unbridled enthusiasm, cheering for the warriors.

    The kings and heads of various nations had arrived, dressed in their most formal regalia, standing on the main stage.

    Countless magical reporters, both excited and tense, vied for the best positions.

    This historical moment was to be witnessed and recorded by them... Those watching in front of magical screens in the rear were equally excited and nervous.

    The war drums began to beat, ''dong dong dong dong dong dong dong,'' stirring everyone''s blood to a boil. Beating the drum for the expeditionary army was Marshal Feng Desman of the human race, the old commander staying behind to oversee the rear. Although he couldn''t join the expedition to Hell due to his duties, his heart was with everyone. The stirring and uplifting drumbeats represented his sentiments.

    The loud military horns followed, to everyone''s surprise, all blown by kings.

    King Norn, William II, Helsinki... Dozens of kings, holding golden military horns, looked up to the sky and blew the horns for the expedition together.

    "Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!" The salvo of magical crystal cannons shook the earth. The group of mages fired magical fireworks together, shooting into the sky and exploding into a myriad of colors, illuminating the entire night sky.

    Unbeknownst to when, people''s eyes were already brimming with tears.

    Excitement, pride, reluctance, and various other emotions mixed together, making people''s hearts surge like tides, unable to calm down.

    "Ah... Brave warriors of the expedition, as you embark on this journey, don''t forget the loved ones in your hometown, don''t forget the expectations of your mothers, always remember the way home, at the end of the earth, we will always be waiting... The stars in the sky, they are the eyes of mothers! Ah... Brave warriors of the expedition, as you embark on this journey, don''t forget the companions by your side, don''t forget the brothers around you, always remember the way home, at the end of the earth, we will always be waiting... The raindrops from the sky, they are the tears of loved ones... Come back, we will always be waiting, our heroes..."

    A mournful and plaintive song was sung by the little diva, moving millions to tears.

    The girls of the ''Dear Pink Love Group'' sang in chorus.

    The song, filled with sobbing, grief, and sorrow, perfectly expressed the sentiments of all mothers and wives in the world. As the song played, tears streamed down their faces.

    The soldiers of the expeditionary army clenched their fists, the iron-willed men stood silent and firm as mountains, straight as pines. Their eyes reddened, and their morale, paradoxically, soared amidst the sad song, almost exploding. Even the most battle-hardened generals and elite squads had tears in their eyes. Their hearts, though as hard as steel for the expedition, were still entwined with the love for their families back home.

    Who knew who could return victorious, to stand before their parents, their wives and children...

    But to be part of this army, to be a member of the expedition to Hell, was already the greatest victory and honor in life!

    Rody appeared. As the commander of the expedition, he was to personally inspect and command the entire army. Kris, Red-haired Sal, Silver-haired Tommy, Ice Demon Jiao, and others accompanied him. As soon as they appeared, they were engulfed in a wave of applause. People cheered his name, waving flags excitedly, turning the parade ground into a boiling ocean.

    People in the rear couldn''t help but place their hands over their hearts.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    As long as he was there, as long as the miraculous kid was there, there was no need to worry. He was the guardian of human victory. As long as the soldiers followed him, even if they marched through Hell, they would return safely.

    Rody did not give a speech. In fact, people did not need any assurances from him; his very presence was the biggest confidence booster.

    The kings came forward to greet the miraculous kid, Rody. Each extended a hand for Rody to lightly brush as he passed, imparting their blessings.

    People tried hard to wipe away their incessant tears, wanting to see clearly the miraculous kid who would lead them to another victory. He was the pride of their hearts, the greatest gift bestowed upon humanity by heaven. Under the watchful eyes of the world, he would lead their sons on the first-ever expedition to Hell, sweeping away the hellish scourges that had plagued mankind for centuries, and bringing true peace to the world...

    Rody stood at the forefront of the army, on the highest command platform, bowed deeply, placing his hand over his heart, saluting the people.

    Everyone understood what Rody wanted to say: he wanted to offer real peace, safety for future generations, and the ultimate victory to everyone!

    "I bless you, my dear children!" King Norn, representing all kings, read the farewell address with a trembling voice: "On this most glorious and proud day for humanity, I wish I could embrace and kiss each of you. You are all my sons, our sons. We take pride in you, we are proud of you! Brave children of the expedition, the burning Hell cannot frighten the human soul. You can loudly tell the evil devils that humanity will no longer be invaded or persecuted. The blood of humanity is enough to extinguish the fiercest fires of Hell. Children, follow closely in Rody''s footsteps. The miraculous kid will lead you to flatten Hell; he will lead you back to the earth... We will always wait, we will always bless you, my dear children, honor, and victory are with us!"

    "Long live humanity!" All the soldiers, raising their right fists, roared in unison, chanting it three times.

    "Long live..." All the watching people, with tears in their eyes, cried out.

    "As a soldier of the expeditionary army, I stand here, leading ninety-six thousand brothers-in-arms and eighty-five thousand logistic support brothers, to swear to the world." The late General Quentin''s son Kerry, standing below Rody''s command platform, clenched his fist, leading the entire army in swearing allegiance to Rody and the people.

    "Our lives belong to our parents, to our families, and to the Human Justice Alliance. We will strictly adhere to the law, obey commands, face strong enemies without fear, fight bravely, with human honor and victory above all!" With each statement Kerry made, the tens of thousands of troops echoed, their voices thunderous, even the battle-hardened war correspondents, shaking as they filmed.

    "The honor and victory of humanity above all else!" Not only the swearing soldiers but also the watching parents and people in the rear could not help but cry out.

    After the oath was taken, Rody bestowed a sword upon Kerry.

    Kerry took the sword, turned towards the expeditionary army, and raised it high, roaring like thunder: "Victory! Expeditionary army, victory!"

    "Victory... Victory, victory, victory, victory, victory!" Even the kings couldn''t help but shed tears of old age, rushing out and responding loudly. The human army shouted over and over, countless weapons raised high, standing like a forest. The salvo of ceremonial cannons roared and exploded, the whole earth trembling under the might of humanity''s will to fight; the entire sky lit up with magical fireworks, bright as day.

    Rody''s mother arrived, accompanied by the Holy Maiden.

    She was initially reluctant to bid farewell to Rody, fearing she would break down in tears and hug him, affecting his morale.

    But in the end, she came.

    She came to bid farewell to her beloved son, casting aside everything. At that moment, she was no longer the wise Holy Maiden of the previous generation but a mother, just like all the mothers in the world. She walked towards Rody, her face streaming with tears; she reached out her trembling hands, wanting to embrace her son.

    Expedition to Hell, that was a very difficult task.

    Even though she knew her beloved son''s abilities, the strongest in Hell were not the six kings, but the four emperors and the faithful followers of the dark demon god. Even if Rody possessed the strength of a ninth-tier saint, as a mother, she still worried for him. No matter how strong and outstanding this son was, he was still the apple of her eye, her little treasure she couldn''t stop worrying about.

    "Mom, please don''t cry for me! Please give us a bright smile, we need your smile to light up our sky..." Rody slowly knelt down, his voice tinged with pain, making the hearts of people all over the world tremble.

    "Mom, please don''t cry for me!" All the soldiers of the army knelt down and called out mournfully.

    "My son... My treasure, my beloved!" As Rody''s mother struggled to wipe away her tears and squeeze out a smile, all the mothers in the world also wiped away their tears, forced a smile, and opened their arms, just like Rody''s mother embracing her son, reaching out to their sons in the distance.

    The smiles had not faded, but tears could no longer be held back.

    At that moment, the hearts of all mothers in the world felt immense consolation, as if they had truly embraced and kissed their sons.

    "Brothers of the expeditionary army, depart, flatten Hell!" Rody broke free from his mother''s embrace, stood up proudly, raised the Starry Sky Halberd high, pointing in the direction of Hell, and roared with a voice that shook heaven and earth.

    "Flatten Hell!" The expeditionary army roared thunderously.

    Cavalrymen, led by generals, thundered forward, racing like a stream of iron towards the distant darkness!

    In the sky, the air cavalry split into two long wings, first circling over people''s heads, then forming a giant circle, converging above the heads of the iron cavalry below, speeding off just as quickly!

    The heavy-armored infantry all climbed onto the backs of war beasts like Kodo beasts and giant camels, while the mage legion drove magic flying discs carrying light-armored archers. Higher up, magic airships slowly loaded with vast amounts of supplies moved towards the pitch-black night sky.

    War magic reporters also mounted swift lizards, tracking and filming the entire journey.

    Countless people rushed forward, handing cups of wine to any soldier... National delegations adorned passing soldiers with flower wreaths and showered flower petals over their heads. The rear troops and the final command units were greeted by children surging forward, presenting bunches of fresh flowers. Some people brought out large drums and beat them fervently, boosting the morale of the expeditionary army.

    "Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!" The ceremonial cannons shook the earth one after another, and the war drums roared in response.

    A group of brides-to-be, with tears in their eyes, waited at the forefront, passionately kissing their loved ones goodbye.

    There were also white-haired mothers, with trembling hands, caressing their sons'' faces.

    The only reply the soldiers of the expeditionary army had for their mothers was: "Mom, please don''t cry for me!"

    This phrase, heart-shaking to hear, not only became a famous saying among humanity, but even thousands of years later, all soldiers going to battle, saying farewell to their loved ones, would utter Rody''s famous line to express their determination. And thousands of years later, all mothers, like Rody''s mother, would try hard to wipe away their tears, first showing a comforting smile to ease their sons'' hearts, then embracing them to show their support!

    "Mom, please don''t cry for me..." When the soldiers shouted this phrase, there was no one in the world who did not shed tears like rain.

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 Chapter 237: The Entrance, Rodys First Challenge

    The war reporters with the army broadcasted the advance of the expeditionary army in real-time.

    After five days of rapid travel, the human expeditionary army joined forces with the fifty thousand strong orc expeditionary army in orc territory, then together moved towards the time-space rift entrance to the Exile Land. Half a month later, the fastest human vanguard reached the entrance to the Exile Land. These were the magic airships and magic flying discs of the mechanical brigade, mostly composed of mages and archers, who had been flying day and night.

    The flying magical beast brigade, which could get tired, was still two hundred kilometers away.

    As for the heavy cavalry and infantry, they were still on a more distant route, stretching the entire expeditionary army into a long battle line.

    Each batch of troops was led by famous generals or knights, while Rody, the youngest commander of the humans, personally led the elite squad at the very front of the entire expeditionary force. People could see that the Resurrected Knight Regiment under Rody, entirely composed of resurrected undead, tirelessly raced day and night, forming the arrowhead of the whole expeditionary army.

    "Dear families back home, you can now see the entrance to the Exile Land. Here, volcanoes erupt frequently, and magma spews and churns underground. The climate is extremely harsh. Evil demons, to prevent the just crusade of the human expeditionary army, have summoned volcanic eruptions with fire magic, turning this place into a sea of fire! Look, our fire mage legion has arrived, they are chanting magic too, it''s the ''Flame Scorching Heaven'' spell. I don''t know why, but I''m sure, this must be the miraculous kid Rody''s command¡­" frontline war reporter Maven said from the magic airship, broadcasting to the people in the rear.

    "Dear families, this is Bin Hill, 500 kilometers from the entrance to the Exile Land. The abnormal weather has become an obstacle to our progress. It''s said to be extremely hot and a sea of fire at the front, but here we are facing storms! Our soldiers, in the cold rain, are moving forward firmly."

    "Dear friends and families in the rear, this is Neiwa Marshland. Just now, a powerful magical beast attacked our team, but Marshal Goton and the knights joined forces to slay it. This was a minor setback in our expedition, but it didn''t affect the progress of the large army at all. The soldiers are safe and sound, only two ancient camel beasts got stuck in the mud, and Marshal Goton is personally trying to pull them out with ropes. At this time, there''s no distinction between marshals and soldiers, everyone is covered in mud... This is reporter Luntair''s report from Neiwa Marshland!"

    "The pace of our orc allies is very fast. Their physique is strong, almost not relying on mounts, yet their speed is comparable to our cavalry..."

    "This is a report from the logistic unit to the rear. Our transport vehicles are full, moving slowly, and the muddy roads are slowing down our progress. Just now, General Fide urged us again, the front expeditionary army has already stretched at least five hundred kilometers ahead of us, we are trying hard to speed up!"

    "We are the second route of the expeditionary army, traveling separately, we will bypass the difficult Neiwa Marshland and Bin Hill. While they envy us for not being battered by the storm, we also envy them for not having to endure the scorching sun and heat. The area we are passing through is a desert, devoid of birds and beasts, withered trees, completely lifeless, our progress is fast, but the soldiers are feeling the heat and thirst..."

    "This is the temporary command post, Commander Rody is meeting with the generals. To ensure military secrecy, we can only watch from a distance."

    "Dear families, we are in the main troop, randomly interviewing a soldier to hear his thoughts... Hello, young warrior, tell me, what''s your name?" veteran war reporter Modon pointed the magic amplifier at a young soldier who looked only seventeen or eighteen years old. The young soldier smiled shyly and said softly, "Bolon, my name is Bolon!"

    "Louder, young man, with the fearlessness of flattening Hell, greet everyone!" Modon chuckled and patted the shy young soldier on the shoulder.

    "Hello, families back home, everyone, hi." The young soldier''s voice was very soft, and he looked quite shy.

    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    "Louder, young warrior, a man going to battle should roar..." Modon initially thought this young man was the son of some noble or lord sent to earn some reputation to take over the family business. He laughed heartily and asked, "I heard soldiers like to give

    nicknames, I want to know, what do they call you?"

    "Ah, they, ah, call me..." The young soldier was embarrassed to say his nickname, looking quite uneasy.

    "They don''t call you ''Shy Little Girl,'' do they?" Modon joked.

    "No, they, call me, ah call me ''Ghost Eye Killer,'' cough, it doesn''t sound very nice." The young soldier said, startling old reporter Modon. Such a shy young man with this kind of nickname, is it appropriate?

    "Don''t believe him, I''ll expose him, his real nickname isn''t that." A companion nearby seemed to disagree, laughing uproariously.

    "What do they call him?" Modon heard insider news and immediately pointed the magic amplifier over.

    "This guy is a relentless killer, bloodthirsty by nature, with an especially twisted ability. During training, he once killed over sixty fleeing Galle rebels barehanded and even bit through the throat of a rebel knight. He was nominated three times by our leader to be selected for the elite squad. Later, General Tommy personally chose him as a reserve member of the elite squad. Now he''s back leading troops, and look, his armband shows he''s a deputy commander. Damn it, he joined the army because of my recommendation, and now he''s my superior! Do you want to know his new nickname? We now call him ''The Bloodthirsty Ghoul''! Because once he''s on the battlefield, he greedily devours the lives of his enemies like a ghoul..." The chatter of his companions made veteran reporter Modon''s jaw drop.

    People are not always what they seem, Modon thought now.

    Who would have guessed that such a shy young man, like a timid girl, is actually a ''murderous maniac'', no, a ''Bloodthirsty Ghoul''!

    "Cough, cough, young man, what''s in this bag you''re carrying?" Reporter Modon decided to change the subject.

    "This is soil from my hometown. Each of us carries a small bag. If we die in battle, our comrades will burn our bodies to ashes, mix them with this soil, and then take it back. Because even in death, we wish to be in the land of our birth!" The young soldier''s words again made reporter Modon look at him with respect.

    "Dear folks at home, you must have heard the heart''s voice of an ordinary soldier. This is the wish of our sons, the wish of our human warriors. With a fearless spirit unafraid of sacrifice, they came here, but their hearts always remain in our human world, left with their loved ones in the rear... Let''s all bless these young warriors! They are our pride, and also our concern!" Veteran reporter Modon said emotionally, his old eyes turning red.

    At the time-space rift of the Land of Exile, Rody was commanding a large group of mages to trigger volcanic eruptions with fire magic.

    The greatest space-time magic master, Lady Shanze Xianzi Setisi, stood by his side.

    The demon race massively destroyed the time-space entrance, intending to stop the human crusade. If any other commander had led the attack, the demons would have scorned it, thinking they would retreat without even reaching the Land of Exile. But this time, it was the miraculous kid Rody leading the expedition.

    No one dared to question the abilities of the miraculous kid Rody. All demons, including the four demon kings, who tried to stand up to him, became his captives, slaves, and even his dark puppets. So, even though the demons were arrogant and overbearing, they did not dare to underestimate him. They took advantage of the time when humans were training soldiers for the expedition to massively destroy the time-space entrance and triggered volcanic eruptions on the ground, turning the blood-red magma into lakes, intending to stop the human expeditionary army''s advance.

    These actions couldn''t stop those stronger than sky warriors, nor could they stop the flying brigade.

    However, the human army couldn''t all be sky warriors or flying units. The most important components of the human army have always been the cavalry and infantry.

    "It''s not enough; we need a larger eruption of thermal energy to enlarge the time-space rift and create a new entrance. Moreover, the volcano will become stable after the eruption, making it safe for soldiers to approach," Setisi suggested Rody order more mages to chant fire magic.

    "Let us do it, Rody!" Fifteen resurrected millennium saints, usually not exposed to the public, wanted to help at this moment.

    "Wait a moment, saints..." Rody turned to Lady Shanze Xianzi Setisi and said, "I''m thinking of using a counteracting method, first dousing the volcano with a large amount of rainwater to plug it, then summoning the volcano along with earthquake magic. Wouldn''t it be better to have a more explosive eruption after suppression? If the force isn''t enough at that time, we can also summon fire meteors to strike!"

    "Although your method is good, it''s too dangerous," Shanze Xianzi Setisi was worried about the power exceeding estimates, causing casualties, or magical backlash.

    "Setisi, your method is very safe, but it consumes too much magical power from the mages and takes too long. Let''s proceed with my plan, and I''ll personally trigger the final volcanic eruption..." Rody was determined to enter the Land of Exile as soon as possible.

    "You''re the commander, so of course, you decide the final method," Setisi smiled slightly and said, "But don''t blame me if the fire burns your eyebrows!"

 Chapter 238: Breakthrough, Rodys Ascension to the Divine Rank

    If we talk about stormy magic, the most powerful is of course the Wind Demon and Snow Maiden clans. Queen Victoria arrived with her Wind and Snow clan, hundreds of Wind Demons and Snow Maidens joined hands to form a giant circle, chanting the blizzard. The dark clouds in the sky rapidly gathered together, the sky turned dark and gloomy, and the clouds thickened, pressing down to the eyebrows. Queen Victoria first summoned ''Blizzard'', countless ice spears rained down from the sky, bombarding the volcanic crater.

    The blood-red magma was smashed and rose, and at the same time, the high temperature turned the ice spears into a mist. Hundreds of Wind Demons and Snow Maidens then followed with their summoning, the cold wind howled, snowflakes danced chaotically, and more ice spears crashed down from the thick clouds.

    Initially, the magma devoured everything, and the ice and snow could not stop the high temperature. But as more ice spears crashed into the volcanic crater, the blood-red magma gradually turned black, and the temperature gradually decreased. Finally, countless high-temperature water vapors met the ice and snow, causing chaos between the two elements of ice and fire. Suddenly, there was lightning and thunder, and the water vapor turned into a torrential rain, falling back to the ground.

    The high temperature at the volcanic crater steamed the rainwater back into the sky, but it quickly turned back into rain and fell. Queen Victoria and her clan retreated a bit, and human water magicians took over, beginning to summon ''Storm''.

    Lightning exploded in the dark clouds, and the elements of water and fire transformed into lightning and torrential rain in the chaos, pouring down. In just ten minutes, when the water magicians retreated to rest, the heat of the volcanic crater was no longer enough to steam the rainwater. A large amount of accumulated water quickly cooled and solidified the black magma, accumulating in the volcanic crater and forming a small volcanic lake, eventually overflowing.

    "Victoria, next, ¡®Glacier Solidification¡¯," commanded Rody. The Snow Queen led her people into the sky, dropping cold magic orbs, solidifying the entire volcanic lake into a protruding iceberg, deeply suppressing the high-temperature magma below.

    "Earth magicians, follow up with the Earthquake Technique, shake the volcano!" Sethis signaled the human earth magicians to step forward.

    "We''re up too¡­" Seeing this, the fire magicians hurriedly flew into the sky, some chanting the ''Meteor Fall'' magic, while others chanted ''Volcanic Eruption'', coordinating to push this chaotic space of fire and water elements to the limit of explosion.

    The rumbling earthquake shook the temporarily silent volcano. The crater cracked open, the high temperature turned the water vapor into steam, shooting high into the sky, and the activation of the Volcanic Eruption magic made the whole earth tremble. Ice and fire were competing, and in the sky, huge meteors roared down, carrying burning flames, fiercely hitting the volcanic crater.

    In an instant, a shockwave spread across the land, knocking down many soldiers and horses.

    "Back off, I''ll deliver the final blow to this volcano!" Rody commanded, and all troops retreated.

    Fifteen saints then joined hands to condense an energy ball, slowly moving it towards Rody.

    A huge galactic vortex rose between Rody''s hands, completely swallowing the terrifying energy ball created by the fifteen saints, without any rebound for a long time...

    "This little guy is playing with fire, everyone run!" Seeing Rody preparing to reach the limit of explosion and then rebound, the fifteen saints hurriedly flew back, to avoid getting caught in the blast. Except for the most daring war reporters, everyone fled far away, and people in the rear, watching through magical broadcasts, were stunned to see the galactic ball in Rody''s palm getting smaller and smaller.

    "Oh my God, if this explodes, the entire volcano will probably shatter!" exclaimed King Norn and a group of kings watching in Rody City.

    The huge galactic vortex first shrank into a ball, then into a fist.

    Rody, drenched in sweat, his clothes and armor burst, his arms spinning slower and slower, as if held back by thousands of iron chains.

    At the top of his head and under his feet, a small dark golden dragon emerged, rapidly winding around his body, finally entangling Rody''s arms, seemingly fighting for the galactic star in Rody''s palm. Rody shot up into the sky, reaching the top, then spiraled down, plunging towards the volcanic crater that could explode at any moment.

    The twin dragons entwined the galactic star, forcefully thrown by Rody.

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    At first, thrown into the crater, there was no reaction, only to see Rody fleeing in a somewhat disheveled manner...

    Gradually, the entire volcano began to tremble. Rody had not yet managed to escape the explosion range when the rapidly spreading explosion caught up. A terrifying explosion shattered everything, faster than sound, a blood-red giant flame surged into the sky, and millions of rock fragments furiously shot into the sky under the spreading shockwave.

    Even the space shattered, and the flash of the great explosion turned the world into a blazing white, unable to recover for a long time.

    "Rody..." People in the rear exclaimed in alarm. Oh no, the miraculous youngster Rody had not managed to escape the range of the explosion.

    "May heaven bless him, he must be safe, he must return safely!" Countless people prayed desperately in their hearts, hoping Rody would be safe.

    "The power is too great, what should we do now?" King Norn''s eyes hurt from staring, but he still hadn''t spotted Rody. Everyone could only watch through the last magic signals, the screen filled with bright light. The front memory crystals for recording had failed; the magic elements were completely dispersed in the explosion, making filming impossible.

    After the bright light, at the center of the explosion, it quickly condensed again, eventually turning into a black giant hole.

    The black spacetime hole kept absorbing energy and eventually, in a wild state, rapidly evolved into a light-dark entwined spacetime rift. It was extremely violent before, devouring everything, but after reaching energy balance, it became unusually calm, forming an invisible bottomless spacetime channel.

    Rody''s plan was successful!

    He used the volcano formed by the demonic race''s destruction, first breaking the elemental balance, triggering a massive explosion, and then reaching equilibrium under the strong recovery and balancing forces of spacetime, directly creating a spacetime channel at this weak point in the spacetime wall.

    However, there was no cheering.

    Compared to the huge success of the plan, people were more concerned about Rody''s safety.

    His life was the most precious.

    "Rody..." Chris shot out, standing in front of the entire army, screaming excitedly.

    Her voice echoed through the skies, resonating for a long time, but Rody had no response, as if he had disappeared from the world. The hearts of the people were suddenly gripped by reality, everyone stood up in immense pain, staring at the big screen, praying in their hearts for Rody to appear before everyone.

    The world cannot be without him, the human world can do without anyone, but absolutely not without this miraculous youngster...

    "Look there!" Silver-haired Tommy pointed to a distant point, where a black dot was visible, and the water there was strangely converging into a vortex-like ripple.

    "Quick, rescue him!" The fifteen saints were also frantic, each bursting out with fighting spirit and magic power, shooting like meteors.

    The accumulated water on the ground had already formed a lake, murky beyond measure, and with the vortex getting more intense, Rody''s presence was completely invisible.

    Just as everyone was about to dive in, Chris loudly stopped everyone.

    Contrarily, Chris asked everyone to back away, as far from the vortex as possible, while she herself was very close, almost right above the center of the vortex. The murky muddy water spun faster and faster, a water dragon soared into the sky, shooting towards the heavens.

    Another water dragon emerged from the water, diving into the lake after reaching tens of meters in height.

    People could clearly see, these water dragons splitting waves in the water, and at the very center of the vortex, a slightly smaller water dragon was slowly spiraling up, as if climbing an invisible column. The three giant water dragons, as if called, roared and converged simultaneously, returning to the center of the vortex.

    The huge vortex, unnoticed when, was tinged with silver light, the originally murky muddy water turned into a galaxy of sparkling stars.

    A man, holding a sparkling silver halberd, danced gracefully in the air, and as the three water dragons collided, he leaped up, stepping on the void and ascending. The three water dragons merged into an even larger one, swirling up furiously, lifting his body, carrying him straight into the sky, then spiraling down, landing in front of the fifteen stunned saints.

    Upon a closer look, it was indeed the miraculous youngster Rody.

    His upper body armor shattered, hair disheveled, three golden dragons wrapped and danced around his body, and behind him, a mysteriously rotating shadow of the galaxy.

    "Rody, what kind of magic is this?" Saint Tristela, father of Norn, asked in surprise.

    "This is the phenomenon of my martial art ''Dragon Dance of Heaven and Earth'' advancing. I didn''t expect that just reaching the third level, it would have such earth-shattering power..." Rody himself was also surprised, looking at the huge dragon formed below, he couldn''t quite believe his feelings.

    "Have you stepped into the divine realm? Why haven''t you ascended?" Old Law Saint Nadouwenwa had heard that when a strong person is about to break through to the divine rank, there would be a shocking impact.

    "I don''t know, I feel that my ability has improved a lot, there''s a sense of sudden enlightenment in my heart, as if I understand many things, but I don''t

    feel like ascending... Just now, I really felt like I could dominate heaven and earth, with endless power, but unfortunately, it was just for a moment, I heard Chris''s call, and my feelings suddenly fell back to reality," Rody himself was also a bit confused and puzzled, knowing that his strength was already at the ninth rank of the saints, just a step away from the divine realm. He hadn''t even had time to prepare how to control the ascent, but he had broken through in this explosion crisis.

    "If I knew it was like this, I wouldn''t have called you," Chris was both shocked and delighted. She really wanted to hug Rody, kiss her lover, but with thousands of eyes watching, she couldn''t do so.

    "If you hadn''t called me, maybe I would have ascended to the divine realm. Haha, now I''ve advanced again," Rody was very happy, hugging Chris without any care.

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 Chapter 239: Butterfly Demon, Lucanasicas Surrender

    Exile Land.

    Compared to the volcanic lava lakes of the land of evil, the space entrance in the Exile Land was even more fiercely sabotaged by the demon race.

    Dozens of volcanoes erupted continuously, enveloping the entire sky in thick smoke. Blood-red magma flowed into lakes, forming a continuous expanse, a sight so red and striking it was truly startling. Over dozens of square kilometers, there was not a single place to set foot on. The high temperature and heat of the magma were unbearable. Rody, leading the fifteen millennium saints, flew in first, frowning slightly at the harsh terrain.

    Queen Victoria, along with the Wind and Snow clan, followed.

    They disliked these high-temperature areas boiling with fire elements. Each of them conjured frost armor, flying high in the sky, staying away from the ground.

    "If we turn all the volcanoes and magma into safe passages like before, it would take at least two to three months," the mountain fairy Sethis expressed her opinion. "In my view, it would be better to use a downpour spell to cool down a small passage for quick passage."

    "Crossing over five or six kilometers of volcanic lakes is too dangerous," Queen Victoria worried. If the demon army were to block the front, it could create a difficult situation for the human army, unable to advance or retreat. Even if the human expeditionary force got through, how would the logistics units cross these volcanic lakes to supply the expeditionary force?

    The entrance to hell was still very far from the Exile Land.

    It was impossible for the human expeditionary force to flatten an entire hell without logistical support.

    Rody pondered for a while, then asked Sethis several questions about the spacetime teleportation array. He asked the old Law Saint Nadouwenwa to summon a meteor of fire and smash it onto the volcanic lake to test the depth of the lava.

    The result was worrisome; the giant fire meteor created a deep crater, revealing that the lava was more than ten meters deep. Moreover, the volcanic group was still continuously erupting and flowing, and the depth of the lava would continue to increase. Facing such a large and high-temperature volcanic lake, the effect of completely extinguishing it with a downpour spell wouldn''t be significant. However, as Sethis said, it was possible to create a small passage.

    "Create a small area as a foothold for the army, then use flying vehicles to transport the troops to a safe place," Rody ordered.

    "Little Rody, if the demons intercept our transport in mid-air, or if the demon army blocks our vanguard camp at the forefront, it would be very dangerous," Norn''s father Tristela hastily advised. "Although it''s slower, we still need to prioritize safety. Of course, you are the supreme commander, and the final decision is in your hands."

    "In that case, follow my orders!" Rody suddenly revealed a mysterious smile.

    The demon race, Exile Land, the territory of the butterfly demons.

    The chief of the butterfly demons, Lucanasica, flew back to her territory like lightning. The warriors of her tribe paid their respects to her, but she, preoccupied, paid them no mind, fluttering her colorful wings, returning to her abode among the flowers.

    Now, she doubted whether the ''Pluto'' she personally sent away that day was the miraculous youngster Rody who invaded the Exile Land today.

    Previously, she did not know Rody, but after the demon army''s first major defeat in a thousand years and the detailed information gathered by the demon-human spies on the miraculous youngster Rody, she could easily recognize that this young human supreme commander, Rody, perfect and almost godlike, was the ''Pluto'' who had once given the demon overlords and kings a headache.

    Having personally sent him to the Abyss of Demons, no one would suspect his connection with ''Pluto''.

    But precisely because of this, Lucanasica was even more certain that the miraculous youngster Rody was the ''Pluto'' of the past. Soon after, a ''Prince of the Night'' who looked exactly like Rody appeared in the human world. After the assassination of the ''Prince of the Night'', the Abyss of Demons sent someone to rescue the miraculous youngster Rody, who was trapped in the Despair Hell.

    As far as Lucanasica knew, the miraculous youngster Rody had never entered the gates of hell, and the Abyss of Demons had never attacked hell.

    If the one engulfed in divine fire that day was him, then there was only one answer: the miraculous youngster Rody, after entering the Abyss of Demons, returned to the human world and did not ascend to the divine realm.

    If not for this, how could the powerful alliance of angels and demons lose under the command of a human?

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    There was only one possibility: the human commander was a powerful deity who had not ascended to the divine realm! Who else could rival a deity who hadn''t ascended? Therefore, the miraculous youngster Rody, in the incredible battles of entrapment, easily reversed the situation and maintained a perfect victory without a single defeat...

    He was a god, and thus, invincible in the world!

    This was the answer in the heart of Lucanasica, the chief of the butterfly demons!

    The three overlords of the Exile Land had decided to join forces with the remaining Fright Demon Queen and Blood River Demon King of hell, to strike against the human expeditionary force. The four more powerful Demon Emperors of hell, including the Flame Emperor and the Frost Witch Emperor, stated they would send all their forces to form a hell revenge army to extinguish the arrogance of the human expeditionary force.

    The Hell Black Dragon Queen also expressed her willingness to personally eliminate the miraculous youngster Rody, if necessary.

    Only the Devouring Evil Emperor had not yet clearly stated its stance.

    It dwelled deep in the bowels of hell, perhaps thinking that the human expeditionary force clashing with the three higher-level Demon Emperor armies above it would be a good opportunity for depletion, allowing itself to grow stronger in solitude, and thus it observed.

    Among the four Demon Kings who originally attacked the human world, Red Flame, Nightmare, and Black Prison became prisoners of the miraculous youngster Rody.

    The escaped Dungeon Demon King, heavily wounded, hid deeply and refused to fight again.

    Lucanasica felt very uneasy. If the miraculous youngster Rody was truly the ''Pluto'' she had met that day, then no matter how numerous or strong the hell revenge army was, it would undoubtedly be defeated. If her butterfly demon clan joined, it would be akin to seeking death. Facing any powerful being in the world was not as terrifying as facing a deity...

    The problem was, no one knew of her relationship with Pluto. Even if she wanted to side with the human expeditionary army, it was doubtful whether the humans would accept her.

    She sighed lightly, flew into her bedroom, planning to take a comfortable bath and then sleep well, temporarily escaping the fatigue bombing of the three overlords still ringing in her ears. If they were so confident in defeating the human expeditionary army led by the miraculous youngster Rody, they wouldn''t need to mobilize the entire forces of Exile Land and hell. If they were so sure, why bother causing volcanic eruptions and using lava lakes to stop the human expeditionary force?

    "Three fools, used by others and still unaware. I don''t want to go to my death..." Lucanasica shook her head, about to instruct her maid to prepare hot water when suddenly, she found a man sitting on her bed.

    "Little butterfly, where is my temple?" The man slowly turned his head, startling Lucana Sika so much that she almost screamed in fright.

    "Magical boy Rody, no, Lord Pluto, how are you here?" Although on that day ''Pluto'' was engulfed in flames, Lucana Sika could clearly see his appearance. The black-haired, black-eyed Pluto was a unique existence in the human world. This was why she was certain that Pluto was indeed the human world''s magical boy, Rody.

    Now, this man who arrived unexpectedly and looked at her with a smile was indeed ''Pluto'' from that day.

    What he asked about must be the temple of faith he had once promised him...

    Lucana Sika, frightened, jumped up and looked carefully. There was no mistake, it was him. The ''Pluto'' in front of her now was Rody, the great commander of the human expeditionary army!

    "Do you doubt that I am Pluto?" Rody smiled slightly and said, "Do you want me to demonstrate my divine power and destroy the entire homeland of your Flower Butterfly tribe?"

    "No, please don''t be angry!" Lucana Sika quickly knelt down and said in a panic, "Little demon didn''t expect that Lord Pluto would descend upon our Flower Butterfly tribe so soon. The temple of faith has already begun construction, but it''s very costly. The four Demon Kings and the three Overlords of the Exile Lands often collect tributes. We originally planned to build the Temple of Pluto for you within a hundred years!"

    "It doesn''t matter. Before that, I will demonstrate my divine power and first bestow a miracle upon your Flower Butterfly tribe," Rody said indifferently. "The three Overlords of the Exile Lands won''t take long to become my slaves, and the remaining two Kings, as well as the four Emperors of Hell who worship the Dark Demon God, will be the same."

    "Lord Pluto, as far as the little demon knows, the three Overlords are planning to use cunning strategies to launch a surprise attack on your expeditionary army''s frontline camp..." Lucana Sika secretly raised her head to glance at Rody, then whispered.

    "That''s exactly what I hoped for. If the three Overlords avoid battle like the Cave Demon King, I would have to go searching for them," Rody said with a cold laugh.

    "The little demon also thinks that the three Overlords are courting death, but what is your countermeasure, Lord Pluto? According to the strategy of the three Overlords, they plan to deploy flying troops to disrupt the transportation of troops using magic airships and launch a heavy attack on the frontline camp. If they cannot win, they will retreat to the Undead Gorge, using the natural defenses to ambush the pursuing human expeditionary army. As long as they hold the rear defenses of the Undead Gorge, with the support of the two Hell Demon Kings'' forces, they can sustain a long-term war of attrition. The human expeditionary army''s logistics and supplies, hindered by the Lava Lake, will be unable to continue, and the human expeditionary army will inevitably be exhausted..." Lucana Sika did not conceal anything and told Rody everything she knew.

    "Hahaha..." Rody shook his head and laughed.

    "Is what the little demon said incorrect? Or does Lord Pluto already have a strategy to deal with it?" Lucana Sika, having heard many of Rody''s miraculous legends, was naturally very curious about how he would defeat the allied forces of the three Overlords.

    "What you know is just the tip of the iceberg of the entire plan of the Demon Race," Rody snorted lightly. "Let me tell you, before I came here, one of the two Demon Kings of Hell, the Female Demon King of Fear, revealed to me the entire battle plan of the Demon Race''s allied forces in exchange for my trust in her defection."

    "What..." Lucana Sika was shocked, feeling like she had fallen into an icy hell. The Female Demon King of Fear, the mastermind behind the Demon Race''s allied forces'' strategies.

    Unexpectedly, the one who devised the battle plans was a spy for the human expeditionary army.

    In this battle, not just the magical boy Rody, even if a fool were to be the commander, victory was certain!

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