Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 267: Deep in the Shadows

In the past two years, the seven sets of large teleportation arrays that had gradually deepened have been repaired by experienced experts. While repairing the two sets of arrays closest to the bottom of the Abyss, the cold, sweat-soaked mages were preparing to escape every second.

However, the nineteenth generation Demon King was unexpectedly quiet. Except for the occasional rumbling sound from a distance underground, no sense of oppression leaked out.

Although scholars couldn’t determine whether the rumble was the migration of the lantern blind bugs or originated from other things, the Demon King didn’t come near the teleportation array, as Karapan from the Mooney Sect said, which was considered to be a good sign.

[While they were gathering for dinner, I asked Bagelmaurus to change the coordinates of the teleportation array. The teleportation array would take the expeditionary force to a more suitable location. The underground stone city has a lot of sharp corners, and I don’t really want to see a bunch of people falling from the sky and skewering themselves bloody on them.]

In memory, Nemo’s voice came from the phonetic crystal extremely clear, with a little bit of helplessness.

[Humans are relatively disciplined. Remember to keep an eye on the elves, and don’t let the Gatekeepers run around.]

His lover instructed in a rambling manner, his voice a bit vague. His Majesty the Demon King’s words were mixed with whispered crisp chewing, as if he was gnawing on fresh fruit.

In the past two years, a lot of images, sounds, and photos have been exchanged, but no kind of magic could replace the body temperature that the other party couldn’t touch. The longing didn’t diminish as a result, but only became heavier.

Oliver took a melancholy bite of a raw carrot and stuffed the leftover part to the black horse. The black horse raised its lips, sprayed its nose on the carrot in disgust, and then turned its head resolutely.

Oliver had to throw the carrot into the wide stone crevice in the distance and watch a small group of abyssal insects carry it away with joy.

Unlike the escort mission two years ago, this expedition would inevitably include top knights of various religions, as well as powerful mounts that were connected to their hearts. Not to mention the black horse or the fuller goat, even if the notorious Tumbleweed led a goose down, the human team could only turn a blind eye and didn’t bother to argue with such gangsters.

At present, the expeditionary force had just passed through two large teleportation arrays and was resting in a calm, windless zone. Looking down from the protruding cliff, the armies of various forces even had regular meals.

Of course, it was natural to ignore Tumbleweed that slipped onto the cliff.

“How are you feeling?” Adrian Cross patiently broke open a piece of soft cake sprinkled with sugar and handed the larger piece to Jesse Dylan.

“Well, just like I said before—Our Pillar of the World is awake, but he doesn’t regard me as a hostile object now. I’m so comfortable that I can sleep.”

Jesse chewed the soft cake and looked into the bottomless Abyss. “Is that parrot ready?”

“Bagelmaurus will not make mistakes on this kind of thing.” Oliver still stared at the organized army below.

“Don’t look. They won’t take the opportunity to get lost quickly if you turn away for a few seconds.”

“Anything can happen in reality,” Oliver responded worriedly. “It’s not convenient for us to let go of our aura, in case we suddenly encounter a demon similar to Witherspoon…”

The girl with braids sat in the distance snorting coldly. She played with the bagel in her hand casually, without meaning to eat it. “I have checked. There are no powerful demons that would threaten the army within 30 kilometers. In the past few hundred years, the route of the expedition has been relatively fixed, which isn’t unreasonable.”

“By the way, Witherspoon has moved to the area farthest from the scope of human activities.” The slender fingers poked into the hole of the bagel and spun it in circles at will. “I guess he hasn’t figured out what the hell’s going on with that flat snake. Well, his muscle brain will barely be able to discover anything—don’t worry about him suddenly popping up.”

However, these words didn’t have a practical effect, and Oliver still looked nervous. The fierce leader of Tumbleweed carefully rubbed off the mud spots on his armor while checking the surrounding conditions.

“I think our Mr. Ramon is nervous for other reasons.” Jesse dragged his cheeks with one hand, still holding the soft cake in his mouth. “Leave him alone, lovely lady.”

Telaranea thought for a moment and decided to pretend that she hadn’t heard anything.

The cliff was full of the smell of a picnic, and in the tent under the cliff, Godwin mechanically stuffed soft-boiled jerky into his mouth, devouring lunch like he was chewing wax.

“This afternoon, we will advance to the vicinity of Phantom Throat. If there is no reaction from the Demon King when we get there, I suggest an immediate retreat.”

The leader of the elves tapped his finger at a certain point on the map of the Phantom Throat, and a golden fork was left on the paper.

“It’s impossible for the nineteenth generation to fail to perceive the activation of a large teleportation array near the bottom of the Abyss. It would be more prudent for the army to retreat, with some of the scouts bringing along mages who are good at illusions to take the lead in feint attacks.”

“It will waste a lot of supplies to retreat!” The representative of the one-eyed dwarf screamed against it, “Judging from the changes in the landscape at the bottom of the Abyss, this may be a prolonged battle. Even if the supplies are sufficient, we must consider—”

The male elf leader next to him didn’t look very good. “To gamble with the lives of expeditionary warriors for a little bit of supply?”

“Since we are all here, whether for fame or profit, there will be no shrinking wimps!” There was a hint of mockery in the voice of the one-eyed dwarf. “Excessive caution equals cowardice, and we can certainly consider other solutions. As soon as we’re here, we decide that everyone should retreat… Ha.”

Godwin sipped the hot jerky soup from the bowl in silence.

There were a lot of people in the huge tent. Just as there were several powerful humans from various countries and political backgrounds sitting behind him, whether elves, dwarves, dragons, or other intelligent races, behind the silk threads were countless forces involved.

Of course, no one would really be timid, but no one wanted to be this heroic bird of prey.

If he didn’t know the situation of the Demon King at the bottom of the Abyss and was still himself a few years ago, he would probably need to use all his strength to suppress the boiling hot blood and the excitement inside, however…

Godwin gulped down a mouthful of soup. The sound wasn’t loud, but it was particularly clear in the silent confrontation. Although this was a nominal lunch gathering, in fact, he was the only one who was eating politely.

Everyone swept their eyes over it in an instant. The elf who had just spoken narrowed his eyes and looked up and down at the power man on the human side with a boorish gaze.

“You seem quite sure of yourself.” The voice of the male elf was very pleasant to the ears.

In the eyes of most humans, elves were undoubtedly beautiful, although their appearance was far from that of humans.

This woodland race had finer and softer hair than humans, with a soft glow like fine satin. The elves’ limbs were longer and slimmer, their noses more protruding, their large, moist, beautiful eyes tilted to the sides of their heads, and their eyelashes long and thick, full of the fragile beauty unique to herbivores.

Although elves and humans were more similar in size than the one-eyed dwarves or dragons, they preferred flexible and strong enchanted leather armor that didn’t make a sound compared to the cold armor of humans.

As an omnivore, Godwin Lopez slowly swallowed the bacon in his mouth and coughed. “Yes, Phantom Throat is still some distance from the bottom of the Abyss. Since many arrangements have been made at the bottom of the Abyss, I don’t think the Demon King will act so early—but this is just my guess. I understand your love for your people very well.”

The male elf blinked, obviously not buying this conciliatory speech.

“Then we see eye to eye,” he said coldly. “As agreed at the beginning, the plan must be adjusted accordingly according to the situation underground. I think this is the right time to adjust the plan.”

 “Perhaps a portion of the delegates can take the lead and the rest of the troops will follow in a triangle formation.” The dragon, who had remained silent, finally joined the conversation.

“The triangular formation must require a head formation. This brings us back to the topic just now, doesn’t it? No one wants to suffer.” A swordsman behind Godwin spread out his hands and swept the spoon toward the commander of Horizon in dissatisfaction.

“Just screen it according to the proportion. It’s the fairest way.”

“…We can transport most of the expedition warriors. Rashly putting dragons in the position of scouting is a bit inappropriate. The one-eyed dwarves focus on intelligence reserves and spell responses, while elves and humans are the most flexible races.”

“We are good at long-range attacks and are accustomed to acting in groups. Individual soldiers are only used for surprise attacks.” The male elf took a sip of leaf tea. “If you are not willing to mobilize manpower…”

“I am willing to take Horizon to the forefront.” Godwin put down the spoon and sighed.

“Lopez!” The mercenaries of Horizon were calm, while the other powerful men from other mercenary groups and organizations raised their voices in opposition. “You have to think about—”

“It will be fine.” Godwin waved his left hand; his tone was flat and determined.

With a spoon in his right hand, he stirred the cold broth. The commander of Horizon suddenly felt a little tired facing the forces surging in the peaceful atmosphere in front of him.

Unfortunately, the people following behind didn’t think so. Everyone present was a smart person who was proficient in human affairs. It was impossible for them not to hear the confidence and certainty in that sentence. It wasn’t blind confidence in his own strength. Godwin Lopez was very sure he could handle everything.

Maybe this was the real strength gap. With a hint of awe for the stronger, the part of the human warriors with impure intentions began to readjust the proportion of the interests of all parties in their hearts and pressed a few weights to Horizon’s side.

When the expedition army arrived at Phantom Throat, this indescribable sense of awe reached its peak…

The magnificent white ground of Phantom Throat was completely buried by black gravel. Here, they could even see sharp stalagmites from the bottom of the Abyss emerging from the gap.

Godwin Lopez didn’t show half a worry, as his command was calm and steady. All the way to the final large teleportation array, they didn’t know if it was a coincidence or the blessing of God, but they didn’t encounter any demons that could be considered opponents.

Facing the large teleportation array leading to the unknown, the leader of Horizon didn’t hesitate to advance, and according to the agreement, he took the lead in stepping in.

“The Pope of the Laddism Church won’t admit it, but I think he’s probably the swordsman of the prophecy.”

“…At this time, no matter what you say, we should let the Lopez of Tumbleweed go in first.”

“If Tumbleweed really fornicates with the Abyss, the situation over there would be difficult to control. There’s no problem with Godwin’s decision. Moreover, he himself rushed ahead. If he needs Tumbleweed, they have no way to directly refuse him—Those bastards have indeed done a bunch of appalling things, but cowardice has never appeared.”

The mercenaries’ guess was quickly “fulfilled”.

After crossing the final teleportation array of Phantom Throat, the army finally reached the bottom of the Abyss. And the moment they stepped on the ground and saw the scene in front of them clearly, almost all creatures shuddered…

Contrary to the previous peaceful and abnormal atmosphere, the fighting spirit and sense of oppression here was so heavy that people couldn’t straighten up. Unlike any previous expedition record, this time there was light at the bottom of the Abyss.

The skulls of hundreds of superior demons were bloomed with silver light, hovering over the bottom of the Abyss. The dark stalagmites were facing straight towards the surface, and the top couldn’t be seen. The black stones formed a weird lair, and the teleported army was in the center of a deliberately enclosed open field.

This site was square, and it wasn’t naturally formed no matter how you looked at it. The sense of horror that fell into the net was too strong, and several visitors who were relatively mentally fragile and were more like commanders than warriors softened their knees and sat directly on the ground.

Although Godwin Lopez showed a bit of surprise, he didn’t even frown.

The black-toned lair in front of him had a weird beauty, like a bustling town had died and dried up into a dark corpse.

The high “city wall” surrounded everyone’s sight, and under the light of the wandering skull, the solemn atmosphere made people unable to breathe. Coupled with the magic pressure poured from the distance, the expedition army froze in place for more than ten seconds.

Godwin drew out the holy sword, and the blade lit up with a hazy, warm halo. The Hero stepped forward indifferently, observing the terrain.

And as soon as he stepped onto the ruins, the entire ground trembled violently.

An exceptionally huge serpentine demon raised its head from the corner of this weird dead city, spitting purple-black flames, and the blood-red sparks flashing between the scales were almost connected into a line…

It opened its mouth and let out a sharp and unpleasant roar. Accompanied by the gas explosion generated by the sound waves, the poisonous smoke swayed around it, and stone debris instantly crumbled, creating dust everywhere.

There were no other tiny creatures living naturally in this dead city, and no one would think that this superior demon just happened to pass by.

“Oliver Lopez.” Godwin took a breath and immediately ordered. “This thing is yours. Can you handle it?”

“I said that Tumbleweed wouldn’t accept commands.”

“I’ll allow you to choose reinforcements. If you can kill it, its body will be at Tumbleweed’s disposal.”

“Well…”

The villain, who was wandering at the end of the team, finally pulled the reins and approached closer on his black horse. His tone of arrogance was as offensive as possible. “It’s not impossible if everything goes to us.”

“I need a more definite answer.”

“Yes.” The leader of Tumbleweed tightened the skeleton helmet on his head and glanced at the turbulent expeditionary force behind him. “But I don’t need reinforcements. Cross, Dylan. I’ll leave that thing to you. Go early and return early. Remember to bring back the most valuable part.”

“Yes, captain.” Jessie the viper blew a kiss. His voice was sweet and greasy. “Let’s go, darling Adri.”

“Two people?! Even if it’s Tumbleweed—”

However, before the human team had time to raise objections, a greater crisis came.

Behind the ominous serpentine demon, a larger demon appeared in shadow. It was still far away from them, but it was extremely large, and people could see it quite clearly in the dim light.

The four alien wings were spread wide, and the edges shone with an icy glare. The black beast bent its neck and let out a series of low growls in the direction of the expeditionary army. A hurricane with cold wind instantly rolled over, and the lights, which weren’t bright to begin with, dulled by even more.

Like a sponge soaked in water, the fear engraved in instinct was wrenched out of all the living creatures present by this roar. Several younger soldiers even peed their pants.

Compared with that aura, the extremely powerful serpentine demon in front of them became like a decoration.

“It’s the nineteenth generation Demon King.”

Whispers passed between the gaps of the army.

“…It’s the Lord of Illusion.”

But most of the people present were strong men who had been tested by life and death. Even under the pressure of this mind-swelling horror, the soldiers still barely maintained their formation and clustered together vigilantly.

There was still some terrifying calm on Godwin Lopez’s face. He shook his head and whispered in the ear of the leader of Tumbleweed, looking a little tired, but without the slightest fear.

After saying that, Godwin neatly adjusted the direction of the march, avoiding the serpentine demon, and leading the army in another direction.

In the mouth of the bard decades later, that whisper was the last warning to Oliver Lopez, who was hopeless as a blood relative.

However, in fact, Godwin’s words were unexpectedly brief.

“Take care of your parrot,” he muttered dryly.

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The author has something to say:

Godwin: I’m tired and don’t want to accompany the performance, but considering the peace on the surface… ugh. (dead eyes)

Expeditionary Force: Calm and composed, without fear! This is a real powerhouse.

Oliver on the other side: Cross, Dylan. That thing (Bagelmaurus) is up to you. Go early and return early. Remember to bring back the most valuable part (the flesh in the parrot). (We really can’t give that thing snacks and fruits in that size)

Battle of Legends (×

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 266: The Expedition Begins

Six in the morning.

At the end of the two-hour morning workout, Godwin walked out of the bathroom and wiped his blond hair with a bath towel. As soon as he changed his clothes and used magic to dry the last bit of moisture, there was a noise at the door.

“Captain. Breakfast, breakfast—” Debby held a small muffin in her mouth while holding two trays in her left and right hands at the same time, pushing the door open with her feet.

The secrets kept were too shocking. Not to mention the lively and outgoing Debby, even the steady Godwin Lopez needed to find a living thing to talk to. The relatives of the two members of Tumbleweed decided to support each other and took turns listening to each other for the sake of their mental health. Especially in the last two months, as the expedition approached, Godwin Lopez completely broke the habit of eating breakfast alone.

Unlike in the past few years, the content of breakfast now changes every day. The butter on the top of the muffin melted slightly, the vegetable soup with a little milk was steaming hot, the semi-solid omelet and bacon were fried just right, and the pear juice mixed with ice cubes was sweet and refreshing.

“Do you think, there really won’t be another team to make a move on Ollie and the others?” Debbie worriedly poked the broccoli in the soup with her fork. “It’s true that they’re still Black Chapters of the mercenary guild and that no one will be their opponent, but…”

“In this current atmosphere, except for the sensitive identity of Miss Savage, killing the members of Tumbleweed can gain a lot of notoriety. However, no one would do anything before the decisive battle against the Demon King and stupidly reduce the surface strength.”

“I’m afraid they really take ‘Tumbleweed privately maintains contact with the Abyss’ seriously and strike too early.”

“…That is indeed true.” Godwin chewed the bacon silently and pointed it out matter-of-factly.

“……”

Debby swallowed the broccoli on the fork in silence, choking for a long time before continuing. “If the conflict starts too early… Ugh, since he’s convinced you, why do you think Oliver can’t go to a few big names…”

“They’re not on the same power level at all. Even if hundreds of contracts are made, Oliver can break them at any time. Even I have to conduct countless spell verifications with Adrian Cross before I’m willing to be sure that he’s not lying—This is still under the premise that Horizon is investigating. If replaced me with those ‘big guys’ who are afraid of death, they wouldn’t trust Cross from the very beginning.”

After drinking half a glass of juice, Godwin pulled the corner of his mouth. “I am Oliver’s blood relative, and my investigation will not be taken into account. If he chooses to make the facts public, the uncontrollable power alone will make the expedition forces more than happy to deal with him first.”

“It’s the first time I’ve been involved in a plan, so… well, I don’t know how to describe it. Had I known it was so hard to see Nemo, I should have gone back to Roadside Town more often in previous years.”

Godwin choked on pear juice and coughed again.

“It’s been two years, captain. You should almost get used to Nemo. He’s—”

“No, stop… I need more time to adapt.”

“Alright, fine. It seems that we can only stick to the original plan.” Debby shook her head, the tips of her slightly cocked hair shaking with her movements. “Maybe if we’re a little more hostile, the others will be more than happy to wait and see what happens.”

As it turned out, Miss Light had a perfect fuse of hostility before the meeting began.

“Who is that young girl? Do you know each other, captain?” In a low shrill voice, Debby grabbed Godwin’s cloak and asked

“…” Godwin shook his head in silence.

He knew it, and Godwin grimaced helplessly. Oliver was definitely going to do his best to show how much of a jerk he was, but he really hadn’t thought of it that way.

As the leader of Tumbleweed and without a pre-registered assistant, Oliver was supposed to come to the meeting alone. Yet it was only when Horizon arrived early at the entrance to the venue, ready to enter on time, that the figure of the Tumbleweed leader appeared at the end of the street…

The knight in black armor rode his equally pure black horse, and the face under the skeleton helmet had no expression. The legendary “Knight of Ash” didn’t have a cloak behind him, but instead had a white ukulele.

He didn’t know if it was Oliver’s intention, but while it was obviously the height of summer, the air was suddenly a bit chillier.

Very unlike the season.

The horse was followed by a beautiful and lovely girl. She didn’t sit on the horse obediently but followed the black horse in a fast way. She looked no more than twenty years old, wearing a civilian-style dress, with two braids hanging from her chest, and little playful freckles sprinkled on her milk-white skin.

The girl’s expression was ugly, her face was drawn long, and anyone could see that she was reluctant.

She was obviously following Oliver Lopez, but…

“He didn’t even allow her to get on the horse. What a cold-blooded bastard.” There was a whisper a few steps away.

“That’s not a member of Tumbleweed. There’s only one woman in Tumbleweed. Ann Savage doesn’t look like this.”

“I want to take this girl in.” Oliver got off the horse, handed the reluctant black horse to the receptionist, and pointed to the braided girl not far behind him.

“Sorry, Mr. Lopez. Civilians are not allowed here—”

Oliver stopped talking and just looked at the man silently. The young man who received him didn’t know what he was thinking, and under that gaze, his face gradually turned pale.

“Sorry, sorry, Mr. Lopez. It was me who spoke too much, and you can certainly bring in your love, er, close friend.”

The face of the leader of Tumbleweed was slightly distorted, and the girl rolled her eyes wide. The reception simply said no more, shivering and getting out of the way.

Debby rolled up her sleeves and followed in aggressively, and Godwin had to hold on to her cloak and enter the door with her.

“This is the trick you’ve been playing, huh?” The girl’s tone was cold.

“Something like that.”

“It seems to be quite effective.” The girl’s tone was equal and casual. “But don’t get me wrong, Oliver Ramon. I don’t want Nemo Light to get the wrong idea, just because…”

“I know, it has nothing to do with Nemo. We’re just using each other for what we want. This is not a love affair of any kind.”

“It seems that we have the same view.” The girl with the twist braids played with the exquisite ornaments on her chest. The strong metal chain kept flashing, and the orange crystal pendant reflected warmly in the sun. “By the way, this chain is really good, I have to thank you.”

“It’s just a little sincerity. It’s more suitable for your appearance than a worn leather rope.”

“Calm down, Debby.” Godwin grabbed the back collar of the first-class mage. Debby was moving her fingers, breaking her joints. “Think about the identity of your eldest brother. Oliver, he won’t…”

“Old Patrick taught us, ‘always maintain a certain degree of suspicion, especially for those good-looking young men’,” Debby said solemnly, firmly pushing Godwin’s hand away.

“Anyway, Nemo is my eldest brother. He’s not here right now, so I have to help him figure it out—”

Before she finished speaking, Debby strode towards Oliver. Godwin got an exhortation that might not work for the rest of his life, and his hand stopped awkwardly in the air.

“He’s not here right now.” Listening to this, it was as if Mr. Light was just going on a business trip to the next town for a few days. Godwin wiped his face with a wry smile.

“Mr. Lopez.”

Today’s Debby had grown a lot, and she could pat Oliver on the shoulder relatively naturally. She swept a few glances at the other attendees who were surreptitiously casting glances at her, trying to watch the fun. Her face tensed and her tone was rather unpleasant.

“Long time no see,” she babbled word by word. “Is this a new member of Tumbleweed?”

“Oh, Miss Light.” Before Oliver could answer, the girl laughed first. “You should know the truth. Still thinking about your ‘brother’? This reaction is a bit interesting—”

“No, wait.” Oliver obviously noticed something. “I don’t think she meant it like that. Debby, she’s…”

Debby took out her short and delicate rod in her hand, raised her brows, and released a little murderous aura.

“This is Tela, you should have heard of her… Him, forget it, whatever.”

Oliver rubbed his temples.

“I don’t care if it’s Tela or Sarah, even if Nemo is separate from you… wait, Tela? Is it the Tela that I think it is?”

“I don’t like people calling me Tela,” the girl with the braided hair said lightly.

In a blind corner that no one else could see, she raised her head slightly, and one eye turned strangely blood red in an instant.

Debby coughed embarrassedly. She leaned forward two steps and gave Oliver a whisper.

“Sorry, Ollie. Your previous conversation was really a bit… When the meeting is over, I’ll buy you a drink,” she said.

“No, it’s okay. After all, with so many ears listening, we have a deliberate element.”

“…Sorry, you guys continue.” The female mage of Horizon raised her voice, took a few steps back blankly, and returned to Godwin. “Let’s go, captain.”

Godwin, who was very close, noticed the aura of Abyssal magic, and his gaze passed the girl with the braided hair. He frowned in the direction of the two of them, and finally no longer had to bother to disguise hostility.

The surrounding whispers become denser.

“I have to say, I have a feeling of being despised. Hearing the name, she didn’t even ask a few more questions.” After the two of them left, Telaranea shrugged her shoulders and muttered in a low voice.

“After all, the Sage of the Abyss has a reputation.”

“Having said that, Debby Light would actually worry about this kind of thing? Compared to you, who were born human, she obviously put Mr. Light first—that little girl really regards the Pillar of the World as her brother, and her thoughts were absolutely interesting.”

“Don’t get any ideas, Telaranea. As I said before, Nemo cherishes her.” Oliver’s tone held a hint of warning.

“Well, I’ll bear it,” the demon replied softly.

At noon, the meeting began.

However, during the entire expedition meeting, the notorious Oliver Lopez only made two demands.

“Since I have to come, I only have two things to say. First, this girl will go to the Abyss with Tumbleweed.”

His voice was indifferent and determined, full of impatience, leaving no room for refutation.

“…Second, Tumbleweed will not obey anyone’s command.”

Then he left, leaving the leaders in an uproar behind him, ignoring the “absurd” accusations that “you are asking her to die”.

What was too much was that he rudely pulled out the girl with braids who seemed to want to stay. The girl looked regretfully at the one-eyed dwarf who was presiding over the meeting, and then at the direction of Horizon, and finally let herself be pulled out.

That young girl definitely wanted to ask for help, and the human delegates let their imaginations fly, rapidly refining their own versions of the story.

The entire combat meeting lasted for several days, but Oliver Lopez never appeared again.

And when the meeting was over, seeing Oliver shrinking in plain clothing at the entrance of an alley with an apologetic face and the Sage of the Abyss with a mocking face on a human body, Godwin had been able to basically find his inner peace.

An hour later.

“Here’s the plan for the meeting.” Debbie took a small sip of her post-dinner iced juice while the leader of Horizon dipped his finger in the water on the outside of the glass and drew a trail of water on the dining room table. “Listen, I’m only going to say this once…”

“Once is enough,” the girl-looking demon said.

Godwin’s hand stopped moving, he narrowed his eyes, and the hostility in his body still didn’t dissipate.

“You’re still sitting here smoothly now because Oliver personally vouched for you.”

The leader of Horizon sank his voice. “Personally, I still care about your purpose—your body is in the abyss, and it stands to reason that you shouldn’t be so redundant.”

“I have never participated in a human expedition. How many intelligent races came to today’s meeting? Let me think about it, the elves of the Morpho Forest, the one-eyed dwarves who will never be absent from the expedition, a few dragons, and even the high-level Gatekeepers. How interesting, it’s worth experiencing.”

Godwin tapped on the table with his fingertips. “I’m afraid there’s more to it than that.”

“The rest is a little personal. Don’t look like that. Even I have personal problems.” Now, she was dressed as a boy who had to hide her ears, and her braids were hidden in her hat. The Sage of the Abyss held the glass of juice with both hands and responded while drinking.

“…Then let’s continue.” Godwin shook his head and made up a few strokes before the water stains were wiped out.

“This is the start of the meeting plan, Oliver, and the official start of your personal plan—”

……

There was no mistake in Godwin’s paraphrase. After just half a month, all the simple strokes turned into reality.

The semi-dry water marks schematically turned into pieces of an army, and the juice, with a little color, turned into an Abyss landscape.

The remote small restaurant and the somewhat dirty wooden tables were long gone, replaced by the dim lights of Roadside Town and the swarthy rocky cliffs.

An astonishing number of troops were gathering on a wide stone platform, waiting to set off towards the Carrion Stone Forest, where the first large teleportation array was set up. Powerful people from all races gathered together, as dense as flowing moss.

Staring at the scene in front of him, Oliver grabbed the reins in his hand and pulled his black horse, “Pope,” two steps back.

Tumbleweed was divided among the human ranks, and a few members stuck to the tail of the army. Horizon was surrounded in the first row, far apart. As the temporary leader of the human team, Godwin’s voice was enlarged by magic, calm and firm, with a slight soothing power…

“The expedition officially begins,” the leader of the number one mercenary regiment on the surface, Godwin Lopez, announced solemnly.

“In less than a month, you will face the most terrifying creature in the world. Thank you to Mr. Karapan of the Mooney Sect, and please keep in mind the valuable information he has brought.”

“The nineteenth generation Demon King, the ‘Lord of Illusion’, is by far the most powerful generation of Demon Kings. At present, we have only discovered one of its skills—imitating the aura of the past Demon Kings. According to this inference, perhaps it can also replicate the abilities of the previous Demon Kings. The geomorphological changes at the bottom of the Abyss have also been confirmed. Everyone is an elite, so please be vigilant at all times.”

Then his voice became cold, and Oliver seemed to be able to hear Godwin grinding his teeth.

“Finally, to a few people, I want to say… Put away the smiles on your faces. This is not a child’s game! No matter how powerful you are, you can still make just a small mistake. Don’t be too arrogant and don’t stop observing.”

It sounded like a name-calling irony to others, but when the words reached his target’s ears, the meaning completely changed.

“He’s caring about us. How sweet.” Jesse blew a kiss at the leader of the team.

“I’m afraid that’s not caring. I think Mr. Lopez meant ‘Please pay attention to the people around you and don’t let them die because of negligence’,” Adrian said very calmly.

“…Also, Mr. Ramon, maybe you really need to put away that smile on your face.”

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The author has something to say:

Oliver: The expedition has begun, nervous! (The corners of his mouth rise frantically)

Debby: Captain, can you approve family leave?

Godwin: ……………… I don’t want to be the leader. (Takes stomach medicine)

————

The nineteenth generation Demon King, the “Lord of Illusion”, is by far the most powerful generation of Demon King. Now please look to the back as his fiancé is there.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 265: The Demon King City

“Ollie!” Debby was the first to stand up and patted Oliver’s arm a few times.

Godwin politely bowed with mixed feelings inside—now they no longer resembled each other as much as they did two years ago.

Oliver Ramon’s time seemed to have stagnated. The leader of Tumbleweed’s eyes was calm and mature, but the contours of his facial features were still soft and unique to young people, which was the same as when they first met.

Oliver’s hair itself was soft, but now it had grown a little bit, making him look more innocent. The loose linen short shirt covered most of his muscle lines. Compared to the soldiers, Mr. Ramon looked more like a young employee of a fruit shop at first glance. Godwin had to admit, compared to a short, sharp hairstyle and close-fitting casual clothing of his own, Oliver looked much more harmless.

All kinds of terrible rumors about Tumbleweed filled various intelligence agencies. With the leader of that terrible team out of his armor, no one even noticed his arrival.

“A gift.” Oliver showed a big smile and raised the cloth bag in his hand to the two of them.

Seeing the shape of the cloth bag, Godwin didn’t hold back, showing an expression as if he had stomach pains.

“The tip of the tail of the swift poisonous lizard,” the leader of the Horizon murmured in a voice close to suffocation. “Don’t tell me…”

“Yes, I got it in the last mission.” Oliver pulled out the stool and sat down, scratching his head embarrassingly. “It was the one last month. The task of eradicating 50,000 swift poisonous lizards that were eroding the Morpho Forest.”

“Oh, Tumbleweed slaughtered 50,000 swift poisonous lizards overnight. I guess the truth is not like that, but you did hand in several carts of poisonous lizard tails—”

“Uh, how to put it. In fact, we shouldn’t have so many tails.”

Oliver scratched his nose embarrassedly.

“They were just looking for water and had no choice. Originally, we made an appointment with them, and Jesse and I joined forces to set up a space passage and send them directly to a barren swamp on another continent. This task should last until the ‘50,000 swift poisonous lizards mysteriously evaporate’. If Nemo was there, he alone would be enough.”

Hearing the name that made his nerves twitch, Godwin grinded his teeth. “So what’s the matter with those tails?”

“The poisonous lizards wanted to express their gratitude, but I haven’t had time to refuse. Jesse… let out his aura and howled. More than half of the poisonous lizards instinctively break off their tails on the spot. Those were all handed over to the guild.” Oliver gestured. “This one was voluntarily broken by the leader of the poisonous lizard before it left, and it’s more precious. I remember it seemed useful for yours and Debby’s leather armor, so I kept it.”

“So you spent the whole night picking up tails. This is great—it’s estimated that few people will buy this information when it comes out.” Debby swallowed the fried potato chips with a smile. “Ollie, this thing is worth a lot of money. Are you sure you don’t want to keep it for yourself?”

“The fee is already quite high for this task. We don’t need very good protective equipment, and I don’t lack this tail.”

“Thanks, Ollie.” Debby accepted the cloth bag generously. “Thank you on behalf of my captain as well. I’m guessing he intended to say it aloud.”

“…I’ll pay for this meal.” Godwin coughed dryly.

“Actually, I’ll just—”

“Close the shop temporarily! Hurry up!” A clerk who was as thin as a deflated bean pod rushed into the door.

The clerk quickly closed the store with a sign that said it was closed for business. The brightness of several magic lights was turned down, the store became darker, and the guests suddenly made a commotion.

“Everyone, sorry.”

After listening to the clerk’s whisper for a while, the tavern owner bowed.

“I’ll give you a discount on your bills in a while. The clerk of my shop found members of Tumbleweed at the carnival not far away, and this is the only tavern nearby. We don’t want to cause trouble and are trying to avoid the limelight for the time being. Please understand—”

Everyone calmed down instantly, and after a few seconds, they continued to talk as if nothing had happened. Several guests who had planned to leave also sat back in their seats, waving their hands and asking to order more.

“It must be Jesse… He definitely dragged Mr. Cross into it as well.” Oliver wiped his face with both hands, and there was a little more despair in his voice.

“Add a stew for this gentleman.” Godwin greeted numbly. “Another large glass of light fruit wine.”

“Where’s Ann?” Debby began to chew on the meat on the lamb chops in small bites.

“At the end of the last mission, she was caught by Marshal Gallagher on the spot and went back to handle business. Jesse and Mr. Cross were supposed to wait for me at a nearby inn, but if there’s a carnival… Haa, Jesse has never missed the chance to attend a carnival and his face is too recognizable.”

“…” After recalling the identity of Jesse Dylan for a few seconds, even after two years, Godwin wasn’t surprised to find that he still had a tendency that made his stomach pain worse.

“I heard it’s the apostate of Tumbleweed and Jesse the Viper.” The person sitting at the next table lowered his voice. “To be honest, when I think of Adrian Cross… what a pity. His strength seems to have recovered? Alas, if he’s willing to confess to Zenni and suffer for a few years, the Pope would definitely be willing to accept him.”

“Yes, that viper’s face is indeed flawless, but he’s also a tall man. If Cross just wants to covet beauty, if he returns to a high position in the holy church, there will definitely be beauties who will want to climb into his bed. I don’t really know what he’s thinking.”

“Maybe people like the dangerous smell of lawlessness. To put it bluntly, Zenni wouldn’t bless those who like men. Well, he already rebelled against the church, so playing around with a beautiful criminal isn’t a big deal.”

Oliver coughed a few times in extreme embarrassment.

The person at the table next to him immediately stopped talking and found that the person coughing was a young man in his early twenties, and several sturdy guests stared back unceremoniously. Fortunately, their attention quickly turned to the upcoming expedition, and they stopped talking about that suffocating topic with interest.

Godwin chewed the small round biscuit without saying a word and let out a long sigh.

“Did Cross really confess?” a few seconds later, Godwin asked dryly.

“Probably once… Mr. Cross emptied a milk bucket that Jesse was going to use to make snacks. It smelled sour, and he thought it was rancid. I have to say that Mr. Cross’ apology afterwards was quite sincere.”

Godwin looked solemnly at the ceiling of the tavern, trying to maintain inner peace.

“…But speaking of it, there is wind that Tumbleweed is involved in this expedition. Is it really okay? A few months ago, I heard people say that they had been in contact with something inside the Abyss.” The people at the next table began to chat drunkenly again.

“Oh, I know about it—their parrot, right? Someone saw it bring a package into the Abyss. At that time, everyone in Tumbleweed was outside, and God knows what they were in contact with. Having such a dangerous team join the expedition, tsk.”

“This expedition also has Horizon. I hope Godwin Lopez can keep an eye on Tumbleweed. Heck, if you really want to maintain the surface, he should take the opportunity to kill them.” One of the men made a rude gesture around his neck.

“Maybe. Doesn’t Godwin Lopez and Oliver Lopez have a bad relationship?”

“That’s what I said…”

“Brother.” Oliver sipped the fruit wine carefully. “Maybe I should pay the bill.”

“Like I can do anything to you. Just eat.” Godwin irritably pushed the dessert in front of him away.

“What happened to that package?” Debby pricked up her ears.

“Something for Nemo.” Oliver replied very naturally.

“……Wait?! You never went to see him, I thought—”

“Thought what?” Oliver stopped chewing, his voice a little nervous.

“I thought that my poor eldest brother and you were separated and putting on a sad drama of love and longing.” Debby covered her chest. “Only the demons can pass through the barrier and convey some verbal messages… and so on.”

“Ah. I promised him that I would put a ring on his finger when I go to pick him up personally the next time we meet,” Oliver replied awkwardly. “The two of us are now separated from each other and working separately. Last week I sent him the latest books and snacks, as well as magic photos…”

“…You did the right thing, Ollie. It’s good to hold back and not see each other. At least he still has you in his thoughts. As far as he is concerned, if you go down like this from time to time, Nemo would probably be too lazy to go back to the surface.”

Debby thought for a few seconds, nodded earnestly, and her tone became heavier. “You should just leave him there, I’m serious.”

“Can we talk about the expedition now?” Godwin interjected weakly.

“Of course, of course.” Oliver nodded quickly.

“First of all, it’s what we agreed to two years ago. Now I can tell you the whole truth—we are about to start cooperation soon, and you have the right to know the truth.”

The voice of the leader of Tumbleweed became serious.

The atmosphere suddenly became solemn, and Godwin and Debby glanced at each other.

“Let’s talk about the expedition first.” Godwin’s voice calmed down.

Oliver raised his eyebrows slightly.

“Well, regarding the so-called truth, I have the same attitude as Debby.”

Godwin Lopez threw a salty biscuit into his mouth, and the suffocating sense of deterrence had dissipated considerably.

“Just because the answer is there doesn’t mean we have to understand it. Since I know that things won’t change, even if I know, it just adds to my troubles. It’s pretty good just to live like this. Although it’s not a ‘progressive enough’ idea, now I think it is.”

The leader of Horizon raised the corner of his mouth. “Your ring alone has given me a headache for half a year. When, I really catch up with Flint Lopez’s state of mind, we can talk about this again.”

It took him two years to determine that there were indeed people in this world who couldn’t be surpassed, and nothing could be done about it. And now, he finally no longer needed to be too demanding on himself—this was a difficult change, but Godwin quite liked this result.

“…Until then, I am willing to help you complete your plan, Oliver Ramon.”

At least compared to many years ago, right now he could call this statement calm and peaceful.

Deep in the Abyss.

Nemo posted another magic photo on the wall of the illusory library. Although the content of that photo was confusing—the three members of tumbleweed stood in the middle of a pile of squirming poisonous lizard tails, throwing or beating each other with their broken tails, while Adrian Cross stood on the edge of the picture, pinching his brows fiercely.

After confirming that the location was appropriate, Nemo clapped his hands in satisfaction, took two steps back, and threw a butterscotch candy into his mouth.

The entire wall was almost plastered with letters and photos, and the phonetic crystal sent down on the wooden table was spitting out soft songs. In the illusory sunshine, Nemo stretched out his waist.

“Wait, Light.”

The gray parrot, who stopped on the bookshelf of the illusionary realm, opened its mouth and spoke solemnly.

“I suddenly have a feeling. Are you using me as a carrier pigeon? You are, aren’t you? How dare you—I’m sorry, how dare Ramon—”

“Nothing of the sort,” Nemo hurriedly denied. “This is an exchange of information that breaks through the surface and the Abyss. You are the greatest messenger of all time, Lord Bagelmaurus.”

“That’s more like it.” The gray parrot raised its head and swallowed a small piece of almond cookie.

“You can eat this. I scraped it off my… Uh, I don’t know what it is. I tried it. The effect is similar to bone jade.” Nemo held the cookie tin in his arms and filled a small plate of black scale fragments for the gray parrot. “Save me some, but you can eat to your heart’s content.”

“I will send a new one down! Although the scales are not bad…”

“After all, it takes up a lot of space. Weren’t you seen last time?”

“Bah, that’s the fault of those humans!”

“But—”

“You even raised a Pandorater while I was away. You see, have I complained about that? Huh?” The grey parrot flapped its wings vigorously.

“She has her own flock, but occasionally—”

“I don’t care! While she just eats and drinks, I’m sending you letters!”

Nemo returned the cookie tin in silence, and the gray parrot put away its sharp cry and chewed the cookies one by one.

“I’m going out first.” Nemo moved his gaze away from the cookie tin that was about to bottom out and huffed bitterly.

“Are we going to continue today, too?”

“Well, after all, Ollie isn’t lazy, and I can’t give myself too long of a vacation.”

“Go on, go on. I’ll go back over to the surface when I’m done with the cookies here.” The gray parrot groomed its feathers.

Nemo hastily tied up his scattered black hair and picked up the staff that had been repaired leaning against the door.

At the bottom of the Abyss, the phantom of Roadside Town was surrounded by the beautiful creation of the Demon King and maintained an unchanging clear sky. And on the outside, there was a sleeping creature—

There was no trace of the cold desert or the pile of corpses. The strange dark stones overlap each other, towering like mountain peaks, forming an endless nightmare city. The style was rough, and the structure was light. It wasn’t naturally formed at first glance, like a nest of something.

Unlike the previous “generations” of Demon Kings, the “nineteenth generation” was about to have a legendary demon city.

Nemo closed his eyes, smacked the unfinished candy in his mouth, and calculated the design of this huge undead city in his heart for a moment. Then he smiled and slightly raised the staff in his hand.

An earthquake-like tremor began, and in the rumbling noise, the mundane day began again.

The Demon King thought to himself that for the first time in his long memory, he was looking forward to the expedition.

“Come on, Ollie.”

Countless black boulders floated into the air, arranged quickly, and then smashed down heavily.

“Let’s have a good fight.”

---

The author has something to say:

Ollie: I work hard to run a business to make money and hack myself (?), to be a competent businessman.

Nemo: Eating takeout, receiving express delivery, frantically moving bricks.

……The two are seriously building the future for each other (×

——————

Jesse: Ah, when the yogurt is ready, I’ll make some yogurt snacks… (wags tail)

Adri: Is this milk spoiled? Let’s change it to a fresh bucket. (pours it out)

Jesse: …………………………………………

Adri: …I’m sorry.

Jesse: Lie down and say it again, and I’ll forgive you.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 264: The Plan Commences

After leaving his father’s memory, Godwin clenched the book in his hand and didn’t speak for a long time.

Oliver stood in place a little nervously, holding his breath.

“I once thought that maybe he was ‘wrong’ from the beginning, but I never thought that he was so ridiculously wrong.” Godwin’s eyes were a little red.

In the shadow of the crime of killing his father, he once thought that he would never be able to reconcile with himself.

By the end of his father’s life, he was still not good enough, not perfect enough—Godwin was somewhat aware of his father’s almost pathological paranoia and tried to break the chain. Unfortunately, that chain had been rooted in his soul for too long, engraved with order and justice, and he was unable to do anything about it.

Until today.

His father was just another “person”. An ordinary human with bloodstained hands, confused and small just like himself.

“Brother…” Oliver seemed to want to pat him, but he didn’t know how to reach out naturally.

“Thank you, Oliver Ramon. The apology he left… is very, very important to me.”

For the first time in a long time, Godwin found himself able to breathe freely. The burden with spikes on his back was removed in an instant, and his feet were a little soft. Sadness and anger still stayed in his chest, surrounded by soft relief, no longer making his heart ache.

He would still use the holy sword to defend mankind, but now, all that existed would be his own will. The spirit of his biological father, who was raving in his nightmare, finally left. After a long period of emptiness and falling, his pain finally hit the ground and came to an end.

In this gap between pain and ease, his thoughts were like being soaked in wine. Godwin slowly exhaled. “We can continue, Oliver, about your plan.”

He paused for a few seconds, trying to adapt to this new way of addressing for a while*.

*Clarity: He’s now addressing Oliver more familiarly by calling him by just his first name instead of Mr. Ramon or Oliver Ramon etc.

“It’s only been half a month, yet you already have a ring on your left hand. It’s a wedding ring, right? You don’t seem to be the type who will be so quick to jump to another lover, so I can guess—”

“Nemo’s not dead.” Oliver had no intention of concealing it.

In any case, Oliver couldn’t force himself to pretend to be in grief in front of Godwin, and he didn’t plan to use his unsuspecting cousin to complete his plan.

If it were the current Godwin, it would at least give him time to explain himself seriously.

“Looking at what you look like now, I’m not surprised. To be honest, I have never heard of a superior demon who has lost self-awareness, but if Mr. Light’s body is strong enough and his consciousness can withstand the destruction array, there is indeed a small possibility of survival.” Godwin nodded.

Then he frowned. “You’re wearing that ring… Wait, after that, have you met again?”

“Uh, yes.”

“Oliver, there is something I have to make clear. I am very grateful to Mr. Light for his dedication to the surface, and I won’t take this back, but if you want to sacrifice a human so that Nemo Light can use his flesh and return to the surface by demonic summoning—”

Godwin’s expression became serious, and he stared closely at Oliver’s eyes in front of him.

“No, no, no.” Oliver quickly shook his hand. “This is what I want to discuss with you. In a few years, Horizon will definitely be selected to participate in the expedition.”

“Well, that’s true,” Godwin responded neatly.

“I may need your help.”

“…What does this have to do with Mr. Light?”

“He is what you call the Demon King.” Oliver licked his lips nervously.

“……”

Godwin took a step back and began to seriously think about whether it was a mistake to drink that bottle of wine. It may not be a bottle of light alcoholic fruit wine, but maybe it was accidentally misplaced, and he was given something from a different shelf.

This must be the only possibility, otherwise he would not be able to explain the absurd sentence coming out of Oliver’s mouth right now.

The commander of Horizon turned his head stiffly. The guys in Tumbleweed must have heard it too, but the laughing and joking continued far away, and no one even batted an eye as a result.

“I told you, if you lie to me again—” Godwin said dryly, reaching out to hold the table beside him.

“I’m not lying to you. You can tell Debby that Nemo’s still alive. As for Nemo’s identity…”

“Karapan of the Mooney Sect felt like Ulysses under there. Although I am not familiar with the aura of Ulysses, I can at least tell that it’s extremely powerful.”

The voice of the commander of Horizon was mixed with bewilderment and suffocation.

“Clearly, there is already a Demon King active at the bottom of the Abyss. Light is the Demon King? This is impossible—”

“He is.” Finally, a few steps away, Adrian Cross, who was aware of Oliver’s predicament, spoke calmly.

Godwin suddenly hoped that Oliver was really lying to him this time, but it was a pity that the other party’s emerald eyes, which were very similar to his own, were full of terrible sincerity. Godwin subconsciously lowered his gaze and saw the wedding ring again—‘Well, the world might have gone crazy a long time ago,’ he thought numbly.

He could accept that his father was a paranoid murderer, and he could accept that Flint, the hero he had been chasing for more than ten years, was a phantom from the beginning. He could accept that the person in the prophecy wasn’t himself, and he could even accept the fact that he could no longer surpass Oliver Ramon in this life.

But to get him to accept that his cousin was engaged to the Demon King…

Godwin’s hand shook a little.

“That prophecy said, ‘His sword will bring the real end’ Oliver. It’s a ‘sword’, not a ‘wedding’. You know—Okay, let’s not talk about the thing at the bottom of the Abyss. Let’s assume that Light is really the Demon King. Now what? You even told me this and it’s still only ‘part of the truth’?”

“The remaining truth is not related to the safety of the surface—I can swear with all my heart that Nemo will not attack the surface. I have already made a pact with him, and he will definitely not take the initiative to take action on the surface.”

Oliver rubbed his hands together, unable to hide the happiness on his face. He took out a gleaming crystal and changed the subject slyly.

“This is a phonetic crystal with Nemo’s words recorded. I hope you can give it to Debby. It might make her better. Yes, the sound is real. Nemo’s body is still there. That’s him… uh, as the Demon King.”

Godwin grinded his teeth, and suddenly felt the urge to beat up this cousin. Under this terrifying topic, his thinking was like a rusty gear that could stop at any time, but the other protagonist of the dialogue behaved like a happy newlywed man.

“Your plan.”

He squeezed these words out of his teeth, one word at a time, full of chill.

“Your strength, your plan, show me now immediately. Otherwise—”

……

As it turned out, that “otherwise” couldn’t even do anything to Oliver Ramon.

Just like the legendary Tin Soldiers Mercenary Regiment, after that, Tumbleweed rose at a terrifying speed. Countless pieces of subsequent intelligence proved that the strength that Oliver Ramon had shown in front of him was just the tip of an iceberg.

In people’s rumors, Tumbleweed destroyed everywhere it went. No matter how unrealistic the task sounded, the team of only four people had never failed.

Pulling himself out of his memories, Godwin rubbed his temples fiercely and drank all the cold juice in the cup.

As it approached summer, the night came very late. It wasn’t long after dinner time, but it wasn’t completely dark, yet all the magic lights had been activated in the tavern he was in. Several mosquitoes flew around the lampshade, hitting the thin glass lampshade from time to time.

Tumbleweed truly became the terrifying “team of calamity” in people’s mouths. Two years have passed since the day the shocking news was received.

Two years.

At the beginning, under the serious guarantee of Adrian Cross and the demonstration of Oliver Ramon’s strength, he reluctantly accepted the message that “Nemo Light is the Demon King of this generation”, and it took three months to digest it before he returned to his senses.

“Captain?”

A plate of fried potato chips sprinkled with coarse grains of salt was placed in front of Godwin, and Godwin looked up to the docile hand.

Debby Light had grown a little taller, but her hair didn’t grow long. She looked a lot more composed than the lively and spontaneous image she had when she first joined Horizon.

Two years ago, according to Oliver, he gave the phonetic crystal to Debby. At the beginning, Debby only regarded it as a fake artifact forged by Tumbleweed to keep her from being too sad, and she firmly expressed her unwillingness to accept this kind of comfort.

And when he explained the terrifying information to the young female mage a little, Debby Light didn’t refuse and was shocked.

At first, she did show the same bewilderment as he had at the beginning, but that bewilderment didn’t last long, and was replaced by a smile.

Goldwin, who was still in a daze, was a little scared by that smile.

“Debby, he—”

“Is the most powerful demon. I heard you, captain.”

“You…”

“I’m glad you decided to tell me the news instead of blocking it and announcing that you are an enemy of Oliver Ramon.”

“…” The premise was that he still had the ability to fight Oliver, Godwin thought silently. In a sense, he was quite eager to beat Oliver up.

The problem was that Debby Light wasn’t a naive little girl. She had seen no less blood and corpses than anyone else in the world. In any case, this acceptance speed was too fast, and he couldn’t figure this out at that time.

“Well, my attitude may be difficult to understand. I know. Maybe I should take a stand and struggle with my conscience.”

Debby Light rubbed her eyes that were red and swollen from crying for several days in a row.

“Captain, I was a very annoying little bastard when I was a kid. Did you know? Every time I recall my childhood, I want to hang that child up and beat her to a pulp.”

Godwin frowned, wondering what this had to do with the topic they were talking about, but he still closed his mouth politely and listened quietly.

“Once, Jenna, who lived next to the Light Orphanage, had an extra dress. Her family was in the fabric business and is pretty rich. That dress was really beautiful—at least for me, who only had hand-me-downs from my brothers to wear, the attraction was irresistible. So I ran to Nemo and threw a tantrum, just asking him to buy me the same one. Of course, that is to say, I acted coquettish, but in fact, I didn’t have any hopes myself.”

“At that time, Old Patrick was on a long trip, and big brother was exhausted just from feeding a group of us children. If I was him, after seeing such a thing howling and rolling around in front of me, I would beat them up first. At that time, he was only in his teens… Well, now it seems that he should be in his teens.”

The young female mage rubbed the tip of her flushed nose and smiled embarrassedly.

“Nemo just told me to get up, stop making trouble, and hurry up to help peel the beans. He would find a way to get the dress… Captain, my eldest brother went to Jenna’s house as a porter for a few days and asked Jenna’s father to get a high-end cloth. Nemo stayed up all night for a week and sewed one for me seriously.”

Godwin thought about Nemo Light’s true identity for a few seconds and found that he didn’t know how to evaluate it.

“But when I was a kid, I was a complete asshole. The dress was great, but the style was completely different from Jenna’s. Now that I think about it, that color and style suited me… But I was wearing that dress and started rolling all over the floor again, screaming that I wanted the same dress. Even the gem buckle must be exactly the same.”

Debby covered her face with both hands and let out a low sob.

“Nemo still didn’t get angry. Instead, it took him a long time to fix it. During that time, our family’s money was tight. He was working for people everywhere, and he was obviously very tired. I… I cried and told him not to continue, but he still persisted in fixing it–although it was still different from Jenna’s, it was indeed a perfect dress. Until now, I have never seen anything more exquisite than it.”

“He told me that crying is not a good behavior, and he won’t respond next time.”

“’But this is a birthday present, Debby. I know Old Patrick made up our birthday, and it doesn’t count at all, but I still want to give it to you. You’re a genius, not destined to wear our old clothes and attract the attention of others by crying and acting coquettishly. You can go to higher places. I asked Jenna’s dad, that skirt is worth ten gold coins—I’ll sew it for you once, and the next one, I hope you can buy it for yourself.’ …He told me so.”

“Captain, that was the first time I touched something that didn’t belong in my world. It made me realize that there is at least one person in the world who thinks I am worthy of such a good thing and can even achieve something.”

“Whether he’s a demon or a Demon King, I don’t care. As long as he’s still him, then he will always be my family.”

“He’s still alive, right? I’m really… really happy.”

Debby Light, in his memory, had never smiled so brightly.

Godwin put the empty cup to his mouth, and then was instantly pulled back to reality by the sound of fingers in front of him.

“Captain, you are distracted again. The cup is already empty.” Debby retracted her hand, grabbed a piece of fried potato nugget, and carefully stuffed it into her mouth.

“I was recalling the past for a while.” Godwin pressed his temple again.

“I understand, I understand.” Debby, who was dressed in casual clothes, voice became lighter, and she tucked the hair hanging on her cheeks back behind her ears. “After all, I haven’t seen them for two years. I still miss Oliver and the others.”

“They should be here by now.” Godwin glanced at time.

“How do you suppose they’ll get here?” Debbie smirked, playing with the ends of her hair. “If they just put a banner of Tumbleweed—”

Her voice was a little higher, and when they heard the word “Tumbleweed”, several of the men who were drinking around choked and looked around vigilantly.

“If they hear that Oliver Lopez, the ’Knight of Ash’, is coming here, the people in this tavern would run out.”

“The Knight of Ash.” Godwin, who was also in casual clothes, smiled wryly. “If he hadn’t sent me those pile of unlucky letters like a sightseeing diary, I might be able to take this name more seriously.”

“Whose letters are you saying look like a sightseeing diary?” a smiling voice intervened.

Oliver Ramon was wearing simple linen clothing. His soft hair was a little long, but his face remained unchanged.

“Hi, brother,” he greeted him happily. “Now that the date of the expedition is set, it’s time to start planning.”

---

The author has something to say:

Nemo will definitely not wait dryly for two years, don’t worry XD

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Kinky Thoughts:

Two years!?!?!?! I’m happy that Oliver and Godwin had a similar relationship like their fathers, but at least Godwin is upright and isn’t jealous. So cute that Oliver sends him letters about his adventures.

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

---

Chapter 263: Calamity Comes Again

Godwin Lopez waited at the Mercenary Guild headquarters.

The agreed time with Oliver was three in the afternoon, but he happened to have an important task to finish in the morning. After submitting the mission-related report, Godwin had lunch at the headquarters and decided to leave after everything was settled.

If the information was updated for an ordinary leader, the Mercenary Guild usually didn’t require a witness. However, although the Tin Soldiers Mercenary Regiment disappeared from people’s vision, their reputation and power were still there. The Mercenary Guild would inevitably choose to deal with it carefully, and Godwin wasn’t surprised by this development.

Not to mention anything else, Flint Lopez, the leader of the group whose whereabouts were unknown, was still one of the topics of small talk that the mercenaries were passionate about after they were full of food and drink.

In the widely circulated version of the rumor, Flint Lopez, who had lost his powerful teammates, lost his right arm in an ordinary monster hunt. His wife was pregnant and unfortunately died of illness, and the fallen man disappeared.

Even if he didn’t know the truth about the past, Godwin didn’t think Flint was really “weak and was fishing for fame”, as the Alban royal family implied.

Rumors could never be believed.

The commander of Horizon sighed, recalling his cousin’s lover who died at the bottom of the Abyss for a few seconds.

Unfortunately, he hadn’t spoken much to Nemo Light before that.

He only knew that Horizon’s most lively first mage had been sulking for the past half month—When Debby Light first joined Horizon, she liked to chatter about her family far away in Roadside Town. When the other members were lavishly spending their pay on pleasure, the little girl held onto her pocketbook tightly.

“I have to find a chance to send some back to my family. Captain, I have to save a lot of money and surprise my eldest brother!” She said so at the time.

However, now, the young female mage who had always been with him directly asked for a long vacation and locked herself in the room. Debby took a small bag of gold coins and counted them silently; her eyes were red all the time.

For some reason, the empty reception room of the headquarters suddenly made Godwin feel a little irritable. He went to the vicinity of the headquarters to buy a bottle of light fruit wine with a very low alcohol content, drank a small sip in the inconspicuous shadow, and looked at the road wrapped in the afternoon sun.

Unlike the very depressed Debby, Oliver Ramon had simply disappeared after contacting him once. If it hadn’t been for the other party to tell him to send out proof of identity instead of an application for dissolution, Godwin would have suspected that his cousin would be upset because of this, and like Flint, disappear without a trace.

Until a few days ago, the shivering silly parrot of Tumbleweed unscrewed Godwin’s window with its beak and threw a letter directly in. The letter asked him to come to the headquarters of the Mercenary Guild to meet today and complete the final certification formalities. Unlike the inexplicably arrogant parrot, the tone in the letter was very polite.

Oliver Ramon even asked him in advance about the price of Horizon’s missed wages, with seriousness between the lines.

Godwin took a sip of the fruit wine and sighed again.

Although it wasn’t clear what Ramon planned with this mess, at the agreed time, he still sent a thick envelope marked “Tumbleweed” to the headquarters of the Mercenary Guild.

Now the aftermath of this behavior had appeared.

Outside the alley where he was standing, the mercenaries were already crowded into a pile, waiting to see the true face of the son of Flint Lopez.

Godwin naturally didn’t spread the information, but half a month had passed since the certification letter was sent to the headquarters of the Mercenary Guild.

This wasn’t a state secret, and the interior of the Mercenary Guild wasn’t an airtight wall. After half a month, the news spread like wildfire, covering most of the continent.

Until now, Godwin couldn’t guess what Oliver wanted to do. He used magic to crush the empty bottle into dust and patted the ashes on his hand. The conversations of the mercenaries were piled up, buzzing non-stop, as if there were more than a dozen huge poisonous beehives around his head.

“I heard from Tom that Flint Lopez’s son is coming here today to complete the certification formalities—Praise Zenni, isn’t Lopez’s son long dead?”

“Who knows? Maybe Lopez used some sorcery. Didn’t there used to be a guy that looked like a superior demon in the Tin Soldiers? Maybe…”

“Don’t forget the reason why Oliver Lopez became a Black Chapter, conspiring with a demon worshipper to kill his father. Doesn’t that mean he killed Flint Lopez? Oh my goodness!”

“I’m almost starting to sympathize with Godwin—being the leader of Horizon and not knowing he had such a terrible cousin. According to the regulations, as a member of the Lopez family, he really couldn’t push off this job of proving his identity. If I was him, I definitely wouldn’t want to have anything to do with a dangerous Black Chapter.”

Godwin took a step back into the alley and frowned.

“The team of calamity that circulated before is also Tumbleweed, right? Those people can really create chaos. But I must say, the leader of Tumbleweed is a kid from the Lopez family, which really makes sense. Weren’t they escorts for the reconnaissance team not long ago? As a result, the reconnaissance team came back literally half dead, and the Pope of the Laddism Church made a superficial effort, but he didn’t dare put up even a stink—”

“Hey! Even if you don’t believe in Zenni, can you show respect for my faith?”

In the bustling crowd, the short mercenary who was chatting gave the tall man beside him a kick.

“I apologize, I apologize—Hey, anyway, when the formalities are completed, Tumbleweed will definitely rise to the level of the eight-purpose spider.” The tone of the tall mercenary was very determined.

“Not necessarily. Didn’t a member of theirs die not long ago? They also stuffed a parrot into the team, which is crazy,” the short man muttered his objection, sounding a little angry.

“You don’t know that.”

The tall man squeezed forward again, lowering his voice. Unfortunately, he was less than ten steps away from Godwin at the moment. Godwin leaned against the old wooden box in the alley and could still hear him clearly.

“It was Oliver Lopez’s little lover who died. Some people said it was a demon warlock. Bah, how can there be a normal demon warlock like that! I have relatives in Roadside Town—That Light turned out to be a librarian. While he had a beautiful face, he didn’t have the slightest magical talent, so he could only be a demon worshiper at most.”

“Tsst… But Tumbleweed and the others…”

“Yeah, not to mention Ann Savage, Cross the apostate Chief Justice, was with half of the team that died along with the ‘Poisonous Viper’ Jesse, who is no better than Light.”

“Tumbleweed also got Light a powerful staff.” A new voice joined the conversation. “If Light and Flint Lopez’s son are in that kind of relationship…”

“The leader of the team was worried that his lover couldn’t protect himself and, as a result, he died on a dangerous mission, right?”

“The mission was quite dangerous. The Abyss isn’t a random place to take a stroll. The situation was probably too deadly that they had to abandon the one dragging their feet.”

“Oh…”

“Speaking of which, Savage is also a ruthless character. Before, she had a mysterious appearance, and kept rejecting the invitations of big mercenary groups. I never thought that it was her Royal Highness at the time. Fuck, if I had known—”

“Know what? It’s just a woman who murdered a blood relative and usurped the throne.”

Another new voice joined in, with a thick voice and a bit of sharp anger.

“Either that or she’s being controlled by Oliver Lopez. It’s fine if it’s a fight between men, but she’s a woman who’s been living in exile for years and doesn’t know shit about anything but fighting and killing. Does she deserve to sit on that golden stool?”

“That’s too much. According to the rules, she’s also a legal…”

“You are not Albanian, are you? Let me tell you, kid, Alban’s new regulations in the past few days have become more lenient towards demons. Is this what a normal-minded person would do? I admit that I was a little harsh before, but you know, it’s better to kill by mistake than to appease possible dangers—They must have something to do with the Abyss. How can there be a Black Chapter team with goats! Cult worship, it’s definitely cult worship.”

“…In that case, they were quite low-key before. How come they suddenly release the news with such fanfare?”

“Who knows? Well, everyone is crowded here to watch the fun. If you’re asking around, you must have come to see what Oliver Lopez’s plans are.”

The familiar aura appeared in the distance, and Godwin Lopez pulled on his cloak and walked out of the dark alley. The few mercenaries who were still talking eloquently in the crowd suddenly closed their mouths and instantly moved their eyes away.

Godwin snorted softly, raised his gaze, and looked at the end of the road.

There were only four figures, and at a glance, this team looked a bit lonely.

Oliver Ramon walked in front, and the black armor reflected a little dim light. The scratched skeleton helmet covered most of his face, and there was no expression on the exposed face. The “vicious” leader of Tumbleweed led a sturdy dark horse, without looking away, and walked straight to the headquarters of the Mercenary Guild.

On his left, Ann Savage covered the lower half of her face with a scarf. The Queen of Alban was still wearing the dark ordinary leather armor, with the hunting spear behind her. A gray parrot perched on her shoulder, bringing no substance to the entourage it was with.

On Oliver’s right side, Jesse, the “Poisonous Viper” who had just been mentioned, was leading a fuller goat, with a frivolous smile on his face, and talking to Adrian Cross beside him.

The apostate Chief Justice stubbornly wore his monk’s uniform with a calm expression and a slight smile. It was just that the sharp-eyed mercenaries could see that on the edge of the high collar of the monk’s uniform, there was a little hickey mark on the skin of Adrian Cross’ neck.

For a team with a dark tone and a dangerous aura, none of the members showed that kind of reputation.

“Oliver.” Godwin walked forward and stretched out his hand.

Oliver looked eager to respond for a second, and he even raised his hand slightly, but the next second, he quickly took it back.

Ignoring Godwin’s outstretched hand, the leader of Tumbleweed just nodded coldly, and then walked neatly into the door of the Mercenary Guild headquarters.

Godwin raised his eyebrows and watched the lively mercenaries take in a cold breath in unison.

Five minutes later.

“Sorry, brother!” Making sure the door of the reception room was closed, Oliver quickly lowered his head.

In the reception room, the atmosphere suddenly became lively. Ann pulled off the scarf, gasped for breath, and then played the game of I-throw-you-catch with cookies with the gray parrot. Jesse Dylan hooked an arm around Adrian Cross’ neck and kissed his cheek very nonchalantly—What made Godwin feel creeped out was that the former Knight of Judgement acquiesced to Dylan’s absurd behavior, without even showing a half-disgusted expression.

“Explain.” Godwin raised his arms and glanced at the ring on his cousin’s ring finger on his left hand.

“Like I said before, when everything is over, I will tell you the truth… If you still want to hear it then.”

“This can’t get rid of me, Mr. Ramon.” Godwin glanced at the ring inlaid with a black gem. “Including the performance, you just deliberately alienated me outside, I need an explanation.”

The gloom in Oliver Ramon’s eyes swept away as he took off the cold skeleton helmet. His emerald eyes gleamed happily. No matter how one looked at it, it didn’t look like a man who had just lost his lover.

“Oh, I think this is a good entry point.”

Oliver scratched his head embarrassedly, and the fierce look in front of the mercenaries was swept away. He skillfully took off the black badge on his chest, brought out the mission light screen, and threw it to Godwin on the opposite side.

Godwin twitched the corner of his mouth at the spider emblem on the Black Chapter, then squinted his eyes and looked at the task content on the light screen.

[Dealing with the plague dragon’s corpse deep in the Border Forest]

[Clean up the decaying swamp that keeps proliferating in the northern part of the Bale Rift Valley]

[This is urgent. Get rid of the heart-eating rats that invaded the Krabal Desert Kingdom]

……

The top ten tasks flickered with a low light, all marked as in progress.

“Are you crazy?!”

After quickly scanning the tasks whose titles made people’s hair stand upside down, the leader of Horizon raised his voice.

“These are things that no one will easily touch. At least five or more mercenary groups must join forces. There are only four of you! I’m sorry that Light has passed away, but that’s no reason for you to gamble with your own life and the lives of your companions—”

“…About this, let’s discuss it together—we decided to make Tumbleweed the most outclassed team of assholes in today’s era.” The smile on Oliver’s face became a bit stronger. “If the two of us get too close outside, it will have a negative impact on the reputation of Horizon.”

Having said that, Oliver hesitated for a few seconds. He flipped through the package he carried with him and took out a small book. The emblem of Clementine Academy was printed on the book, and the cover flashed quickly between black and white. Godwin squinted his eyes, trying to confirm the true color of the book.

Then his gaze was firmly fixed on the handwriting embroidered with gold thread on the spine of the book…

[Emanuel Lopez, the 368^th Knight of Judgment.]

“Brother, for some reason, I can’t tell you the whole truth. But about my own current situation, Tumbleweed’s plan, and the reason why my dad left your father without telling you—I’m willing to tell you properly, okay?”

Godwin Lopez closed his eyes and exhaled fiercely.

“…Then let’s hear it.”

---

The author has something to say:

It’s time to become a real team of calamity. XD

Ollie: Anyway, any task I pick will eventually become SSS-level in difficulty. It’s better to pick SSS-level directly.

What does this mean, friends? Ollie is going to be rich! (X

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Kinky Thoughts:

Well, one needs money to have a wedding, yes?

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<<< || Table of Contents || >>>

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 262: Answer to the Question

Oliver had never been so relaxed.

Nemo’s phantom had no temperature, and the behemoth under his feet would not disappear because of this relationship. The absurd and crazy parts of the world hadn’t changed, as if he seemed to be embraced by those cruel facts and become reassured in the deeper and darker night.

In the meeting just now, Nemo, the Pillar of the World, didn’t object to Oliver’s rescue plan. Everything returned to the right track and moved forward slowly over time. There were no more puzzles and no more panic in their lives.

Oliver leaned back on the shimmering Demon King’s skull, so comfortable that he almost fell asleep. The tired knight spread out his limbs on the stout branches and raised his head.

Nemo, who was sitting on top of the skull, lowered his head and smiled. His two hands gradually moved down from the top of his lover’s head, passing through the soft hair, passing by his ears, and finally his fingertips touched his chin, and his palms just covered most of Oliver’s cheeks.

“What do you want to talk about, Ollie?”

“Let me think about it… Why did you save me in the first place? Not the first time in the Border Forest, but it was the first time against Witherspoon. You hadn’t, uh…”

Oliver muttered. Just like the little boy who was overly enthusiastic and talked to himself about his imaginary friend dozens of years ago.

“…Hadn’t fallen in love with you yet.” This time his “imaginary friend” gave a gentle response.

“At that time, I thought that the courage of the son of Lopez was commendable, and it was a pity to die like that. With this human as a shield, I may be able to walk on the surface longer.”

“Son of Lopez.” Oliver stretched out a hand and poked the tip of the Demon King’s phantom’s nose. “This statement is really cold, Your Majesty.”

Nemo wrinkled his nose subconsciously but didn’t mean to avoid that finger. “Then what do you prefer to be called, my fiancé?”

Oliver’s ears instantly turned red.

“On this point, I miss the old you, Nemo.” Oliver coughed dryly, rubbing his ears to conceal it. “I’m the only one embarrassed. It’s a bit unfair.”

“I don’t think you’d hesitate to choose between ‘a little shame’ and ‘inhuman coldness’.” A bit of unconcealed amusement leaked from Nemo’s tone.

“There are too many things I remember, and many small things have become irrelevant—but that’s it. Don’t worry, I won’t go to the extent Jesse does.” Nemo showed a serious, thoughtful expression. “I think there is still a gap between ‘a little shame’ and ‘no shame’.”

“Maybe I can help you get it back in other ways.” Oliver turned his face away, rubbing his ears with increasing force causing it to glow red in the moonlight.

“I am looking forward to it.” Nemo raised his eyebrows.

Then he was quiet for a few seconds, as if thinking.

After half a minute of quiet silence, the Demon King spoke again. “When Flint Lopez mentioned you at the bottom of the Abyss, he probably never thought about the current scene.”

“I didn’t exist at that time, so why did Dad mention me?” Oliver looked at the twinkling stars.

He was a little aware of what Nemo wanted to do.

“Oh, his exact words were—‘Sonia and I agreed that if it’s a cute daughter, we’ll name her Olivia. If it’s a son, he’ll be named Oliver. By the way, I want a daughter more than anything else.’” Nemo cleared his throat, imitating Flint’s tone in his memory.

“…You don’t need to add the second half of the sentence specifically,” Oliver responded bitterly.

“It’s the truth.” Unfortunately, Nemo didn’t hold back and laughed outright.

Then his expression softened. “At first, Flint rambled with Ulysses, no, rambled with me all the way. About your mother, about you, about his future home. Ollie—Maybe he never mentioned your mother to you, but at the bottom of the Abyss, he repeated everything to me nineteen times.”

“Now I know Flint Lopez’s birthday, what his wife looks like, and I know the story between them very well. I heard him talk about his hometown, and I know his pain at the beginning… Would you like to hear it?”

“Nn,” Oliver replied gently, clutching the gold pendant in one hand.

That was the question he asked Nemo, who he was still unfamiliar with when they fled together in the Border Forest. Yes, his Demon King never forgot anything.

Just as in the not-so-distant past, Oliver’s voice had a little imperceptible choking.

“But there was at least one question raised at that time… I already knew the answer. I think you understand, Nemo.”

Can a person really love another person to that extent?

Now it seemed that maybe it was really possible.

He leaned on his “Mr. White”, but this time he wasn’t talking to it unilaterally. For the first time, Oliver listened quietly to the words from the depths of the Abyss, unwilling to miss even a word.

Until the stars faded away, the sky in the east began to turn white.

“…But, to be honest, I’m a little curious. “

Oliver, who hadn’t closed his eyes all night, moved his joints and rubbed his slightly sore eyes. “Nemo, what does Ulysses look like?”

Nemo’s expression froze for a second.

“No, no, I necessarily want to know. If you mind—”

“Mind? Naturally, I don’t mind, Oliver. I can show it to you directly… As long as you don’t mind.”

“Of course.” Oliver blinked.

His Demon King stood up from his skull, and then dissipated like smoke. Next, a terrifying head appeared in front of Oliver—the huge “Ulysses” floated in mid-air, with one eye locked on him, and his pupils were the Demon King’s cross shape he was familiar with.

With sickle-like forelimbs, the body lines were smooth and full of strength. A strange and shuddering image of a strange beast.

This was the Demon King who was “beheaded” by his father back then.

Oliver supported himself on the trunk of the tree with both hands, no longer leaning on the skull. He stood up straight and looked at the monster in front of him.

“According to human records, that humanoid body is regarded as the ‘nineteenth generation’. But in my memory, Nemo Light is the one hundred and twenty-seventh ‘Demon King’ I created. Expeditions on the surface began before humans appeared.”

That wasn’t the voice of Nemo he was familiar with. The tone was very mystical, obviously belonging to a creature other than human.

Oliver hesitated for a moment, stretched out a hand, and solemnly poked the position of the monster’s nose in front of him—or, what he thought was the position of its nose.

“Ulysses” several giant eyes widened slightly at the same time.

“You have more guts than I thought,” that monstrous voice said.

“Very, uh, spectacular, but it is difficult for me to define it in human aesthetics, and I don’t think we need that definition either.” Oliver commented matter-of-factly. “Nemo, your body at the bottom of the Abyss, shouldn’t it be…”

“Do you care?” The “Ulysses” in front of him tilted his head. Not knowing if it was an illusion, Oliver saw a bit of ridicule in it.

“You have acquiesced to my rescue plan and are willing to return to the surface. This means that you must maintain your human form or be able to change into your human form. Then… Then let me be honest.” Oliver sighed fiercely.

The Demon King stared quietly at the frowning human beings in front of him.

“…That pair of rings cost me all my savings and they were made in your human form.” Oliver scratched his hair fiercely. “I promise to put it on for you, but if I meet you at the bottom of the Abyss in such a form…”

He gestured with the ring in confusion to the huge monster in front of him, trying to find a place where he could put the ring on.

“This is a bit difficult.” Oliver’s voice became more sincere. “Promise me, Nemo. When I take it out, please cooperate and become human, okay?”

Ulysses’ figure suddenly disappeared. The Nemo he knew appeared again, sitting back on the top of his skull, with a helpless smile on his face.

“I still have my savings.” Nemo coughed a few times. “But I have to save it and find a suitable place to buy a house. You see, when all this is over, we can’t live in the Abyss, right?”

“…” Oliver choked suddenly. In some ways, his king was still very realistic, but it was a pity…

“Nemo, now that you’re presumed dead and there was no designated blood relative, your private assets were moved into Tumbleweed’s team funds,” he said bitterly.

Despite being a phantom, Nemo’s face paled a bit to the naked eye.

“Don’t worry. Ann and Mr. Cross won’t spend it indiscriminately. I will keep an eye on Jesse.” Oliver quickly patted his chest.

“…That’s good.” The Demon King breathed a sigh of relief.

As the sun was about to rise from the edge of the sky, Oliver turned his head sideways and looked at the Ash Mountain range with an extra golden border.

“Nemo.”

“Hm?”

“Look to the east.”

“The sunrise is beautiful, I know.”

“You just said that the only thing you don’t understand… is why Flint Lopez stole the skull from the royal family and put it on the top of the tree.”

“Yes.”

“I think I can understand,” Oliver said softly.

This tree was very tall, but it wasn’t even close to the fir tree in the backyard of the Ramon family’s inn. For many years, he climbed up and down without telling his father, and he was very familiar with the scenery there.

“When you were at the bottom of the Abyss, you once told him, ‘I want to take a look at the surface’, but you were sealed by the royal family in a box wrapped in layers and couldn’t see anything at all. Although this was wishful thinking and meaningless for the already ‘dead’ head, but…”

Oliver retracted his gaze, turned slightly sideways, and rubbed the pale skull beside him.

“He put it there, maybe because he wanted you to take a look at this.”

The Border Forest seemed to wake up in the golden dawn, and flocks of birds flew from the forest. The Ash Mountains were like a mutilated quaint picture frame between the sky and the forest. The burning sky with the morning sun clasped the whole world with a kind of magnificent emptiness, but full of vitality.

“It’s not ‘wishful thinking and meaningless’. Flint Lopez was successful.”

Nemo stared at the morning mist that filled the forest.

“…Because I did see it.”

Noer, nine hours ago.

Adrian Cross simply bought some supplies. He packed them skillfully and prepared to send them to Oliver the next day. Although it was impossible for Oliver Ramon to be weak from hunger or thirst in just one night, it was still better to live normally.

After counting the supplies, the paper was packed neatly and put firmly on the wooden table of the inn room. Adrian thought for a moment and decided to take a cold shower.

The cold water slid down the skin, causing a shudder. Adrian stroked his wet hair at the back of his head, and everything that happened not long ago kept spinning in his mind.

From a certain point of view, Ann Savage’s acceptance was much higher than his own. As a veteran Black Chapter, the new queen had been walking on the dark side of the world for too long and scoffed at the rules of the world. He was equally calm on the surface, but he was pretty sure his heart was beating too fast to be normal when he pressed his hand to the heart that had been restored in a horrific way.

The Pillar of the World, the floating cocoon. The truth of the Demon King in the Abyss, the body of the surface God.

And the newborn God of nature.

When he decided to act with Tumbleweed, he thought about seriously teaching Oliver Ramon swordsmanship and fighting skills. Perhaps that smart young man could protect one or two villages from robbers and bandits.

…One or two villages.

Adrian stroked his chest with his left hand and shook his head with a wry smile.

Adrian thought that he might need more time to digest this matter. First, he had to deal with the relationship with Jesse…

A wet black nose opened the bathroom door, and the beast’s long mouth squeezed in through the door.

“How long until you’re done washing? I brought cake.” Jesse’s tone was a little inexplicably solemn.

“I dispersed all suspicious animals nearby and stuck a do not disturb sign on the door. Miss Savage was sent back to the royal city by me, Ramon’s busy making out with Light, and the Pope of the Laddism Church won’t be coming with any letters right now—All in all, it’s now a safe time.”

“…” Adrian laughed. He changed into a bathrobe and wiped his short hair casually as he left the bathroom.

The window was wide open, and the curtains were fluttering in the night wind. His God should have come through the window, and he also brought a box that was obviously too big to be suitable for a human to handle.

The huge box that shouldn’t exist in the room had been opened. The cake was covered with finely processed fresh fruit, and the buttercream lace wasn’t damaged. Depending on the size of the cake, it was probably enough for two adults to eat for more than three days.

For some reason, Adrian could imagine Ann’s toothache expression after hearing the request.

After looking around for a while, Jesse twitched his nose in satisfaction. This time he didn’t come up with any strange mechanism and cut it neatly with magic.

A piece of perfectly shaped cake floated onto the small plate, and then floated in front of Adrian. Jesse himself remained in the shape of a beast, swallowing a large piece very happily, his long mouth full of cream.

Adrian didn’t refuse, and he obediently picked up the plate. The sweetness of fresh buttercream and fruit penetrated into his nose. He forked a small piece and ate it quietly. The long tail of the behemoth swept gently at his feet. Under his feet was a soft, thick carpet, and the long soft fur brushed against him.

“About Mr. Ramon’s plan—” Adrian took the lead.

“Hm? Adri, you have cream on your face.” Jesse’s attention seemed to be off the topic, and he swallowed another piece of cake. Beautiful blue beast eyes swept over.

Not used to his powers returning, Adrian subconsciously turned his head and looked for the clean handkerchief on the table.

Then a moist and warm touch swept across his cheek.

Adrian wiped his neck and the side of his face speechlessly—His God did remove a small annoying patch of cream only to paste more on with his tongue.

“Jesse…” He sighed and began to consider whether to use a cleansing spell.

The white behemoth made an airy laugh and rather unkindly added another lick. The cream on his skin suddenly increased by more.

Adrian abandoned the idea of using the cleansing spell. He rubbed his hands, stared at the tongue blankly, and recalled Ann’s action of catching it for a few seconds.

But this time he didn’t succeed.

The beast leaned forward and turned into a human form when he was just about to make a move. Unprepared for the impact of the airflow from the shape-shifting spell, Adrian lost his balance. The inverted figure certainly dashed his hopes of steadying his footing…

The beautiful blond young man straddled him, with the vertical pupils of the beast remaining in his eyes, and the fingertips that brushed Adrian’s chest still had the claws of a beast, easily leaving a few cuts on the nightgown.

Jesse wiped the cream from his mouth, thought for a moment, leaned down, and licked the remaining cream on the side of Adrian’s face. The tongue of the beast was okay, but when it was replaced by the tongue of a human, the atmosphere suddenly became ambiguous.

Then he stood up and looked seriously into the eyes of the believer under him.

“I have an idea,” Jesse muttered, sticking his fingers into the opening of Adrian’s robe. “The closest I have ever seen you to wavering was the night at Clementine Cathedral. Dear Adri, since you insist that you won’t falter, may I try again?”

He licked the corner of his mouth, stopped moving, and asked quite seriously.

The fingertips that retained the characteristics of beasts made the skin on his chest tingle slightly. Adrian stretched out a hand covered with cream by the beautiful, blue eyes.

The eyes were playful and confused, with a little competitive spirit, a little desire, and a little softness that their owner hadn’t yet noticed.

“Yes,” he replied.

At least this time he could see the end for himself.

‘He might not be the more shaken party in this,’ he thought to himself, giving his God a stoic smile.

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The author has something to say:

Nemo: It doesn’t matter if you have something like a little shame. The Pillar of the World smiled at the storm and was fearless.

Ollie: Your private account has been confiscated.

Nemo: ∑(;ω;)…… Where’s my money! Where’s the money I put in there!

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Kinky Thoughts:

Adri and Jesse get the best sex scenes. Ollie and Nemo need to take lessons from them.

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