Chapter 387: Never to Part (6K — Please Subscribe)

Herbert's current ultimate goal is singular: to successfully resurrect Nie Nasha and have her descend upon the mortal world once more.

To achieve this ultimate goal, several sub-tasks must be completed.

One of them is to re-establish the divine church belonging to Her.

Because this is not Her first apotheosis, there is no need to start from scratch — merely reviving the original church, which has already collapsed, will suffice.

Having a grand cause and a banner of revival in hand is far simpler than starting from nothing.

Regarding the composition of the divine church, Herbert has several preliminary ideas.

First, awaken more heroic spirits from the Mist Mountains.

Rehire these "unemployed" former staff to form the foundation of the divine church.

Although some special heroic spirits have long since struck out on their own, crowned themselves kings, and have no intention of obediently returning — or are not so willing to submit.

But Herbert believes that the vast majority of heroic spirits yearn for Nie Nasha's return.

On this point, there will certainly be difficulty, but the real resistance is not expected to be great.

Moreover, he can rely on the Heroic Spirit Pool to directly recall heroic spirits whose "accounts" had been "deleted" in the past, letting them shine and burn bright once more.

Currently, he has only obtained one of the three fragments of the entire Heroic Spirit Pool; once the other fragments are gathered and it is fully restored, its capabilities will surely be far more powerful than before.

Second, new members must also be recruited — preferably seasoned hands with church experience.

He has set his sights on the Mist Monastery, always looking for a chance to poach its people.

The original Herbert had talent to spare, but insufficient strength.

Although he had some ideas in his heart, as merely a high-rank cultivator he was not enough to establish himself as the leader of a faction within the monastery.

Some cultivators, though optimistic about his future, had held their forces in reserve, waiting for him to grow.

And now, having truly attained legendary strength, he can begin entertaining some small schemes and bring this matter onto the agenda.

As for how to poach people right under the Archbishop's nose — that is another matter entirely.

Finally, there is the small portion that Herbert must cultivate from scratch — true followers.

And among these three aspects, this one is actually progressing the fastest; he has already found some future candidates.

In the future, these three factions will form a brand-new divine church — uh, the Harmonic Divine Church?

Herbert mulled it over in his mind, then suddenly raised an eyebrow at the heroic spirits sobbing with emotion before him.

Wait a moment — something seems off?

"……"

He pondered for a while, then subtly drew in a sharp breath and asked inwardly: "Come to think of it, why are they all female?"

He took a careful look — although these seventy heroic spirits differed in appearance and race, they shared one common trait.

They were all female monster-girls.

Hold on, bro?

How is there an all-female group here too?

"Nie Nasha, your divine kingdom shouldn't only have female heroic spirits, right?"

Herbert carefully recalled and realized that, although few in number, he had encountered male heroic spirits in the Mist Mountains before.

Why is it that this time they're all female?

In response to Herbert's question, Nie Nasha unhurriedly asked back: 【"What, you don't like it?"】

"Hmm?"

Herbert was stunned for a moment and asked strangely: "I like it? Uh, should I like it?"

【"I think you should like it."】

【"Compared to those male heroic spirits, you should prefer these female heroic spirits."】

【"So this time I awakened only female heroic spirits; the male ones are still being nurtured in the pool water."】

!!!

What do you mean by that?

Herbert's eyes went wide as he vigorously refuted in his mind with righteous indignation: "I didn't! You've no proof — don't go making things up!"

It's not me, I didn't, don't talk nonsense.

"Slander! This is outright slander! You're slandering me!"

Nonsense!

Bloody lies!

I, Herbert, have lived an open and upright life — when have I ever had such a dark thought?

Even taking a step back — even if I did, when have I ever said it out loud?

【"……Heh."】

After quietly listening to Herbert's over-the-top reaction, Nie Nasha gave a soft hum and unhurriedly asked: 【"So, did I do it right?"】

【"Also, if you keep making a fuss, I won't do it this way next time."】

"I… oh."

Herbert, who had been passionately defending himself, fell abruptly silent upon hearing this. After a pause, he slowly nodded: "…That's quite right, ahem."

"Well done."

Five-star review for you, dear~

After the two of them bickered for a while, Herbert turned his gaze to the Heroic Spirit Pool fragment on the altar — its energy had been completely depleted.

If he didn't have faith in Nie Nasha, Herbert would truly worry that the Heroic Spirit Pool would be scrapped for good.

The Heroic Spirit Pool does not awaken heroic spirits out of thin air; it also needs to consume the energy it has stored.

The three chimeras are not heroic spirits. Although they became stronger than same-rank monsters thanks to the pool water, their demand on the Heroic Spirit Pool is not that great.

The entire pool water of the Heroic Spirit Pool — it consumed less than thirty percent of the total.

And this time, Herbert drained all the remaining seventy percent that had accumulated in the pool.

Seventy percent of energy awakened seventy Heroic Spirits, so under normal circumstances, a hundred Heroic Spirits could be awakened at once?

Of course, he knew the math definitely couldn't be done that way — this energy wasn't that easy to accumulate either.

"How long will it take to fully recover?"

【"A hundred years~"】

Nie Nasha replied as a matter of course, her voice brimming with delight.

【"Although the time is just a tiny bit long, at least the result can be guaranteed."】

Herbert:???

Are you fucking kidding me?

Where the hell am I supposed to wait a hundred years?

"... You're not joking, are you?"

【"Joking?"】

She seemed to freeze for a moment, then said with some displeasure: 【"What do you mean? You think I'd lie to you about something like this?"】

"You would."

Herbert nodded with certainty and said seriously: "I'm quite sure you'd make this kind of boring joke about something like this."

Why was Herbert so certain?

Because his personality and Nie Nasha's were remarkably similar.

And projecting from himself, Herbert believed he would absolutely do something like that.

Then, she would absolutely do it too!

Because I believe in myself, so I believe in you too.

【"Herbert, you actually think of me like this! In your heart, am I really this kind of deity?"】

Nie Nasha shouted, breaking down: 【"In your heart, am I not actually a gentle, kind, honest, considerate, generous, beautiful great Miss Xie Shen!!?"】

Herbert:?

Do you want to hear what you're actually saying?

Do those qualities up front even go with "Miss Xie Shen" at the end?

Although the content of Nie Nasha's tantrum was hard to keep a straight face at, Herbert did let out a sigh of relief.

He had now thoroughly confirmed — anyone who could spout such absurd nonsense was definitely just joking with him.

So he stopped engaging and quietly listened to Nie Nasha's "wailing."

Go on, keep performing.

I'll just quietly stay here and watch you perform.

I won't play along — let's see how long you can keep this one-man show going.

【"How could you think of me like this? How could you distrust me so much! You're so selfish! You... oh, cough, cough."】

After yelling for a while and seeing Herbert no longer paying her any attention, Nie Nasha coughed once and knew when to quit.

Pretending nothing had happened, she complained: 【"You're so boring, not cooperating at all! Your personality is truly terrible!"】

"Heh."

Herbert snorted lightly: "Cut the crap — when it comes to how terrible our personalities are, we're both just as bad."

We're both guilty of the same thing — I know your personality, you know mine.

Between the two of us, there's no need to figure out who's worse, is there?

You can't sleep two different kinds of people in the same bed — who here doesn't know who?

We're both thousand-year-old foxes — stop trying to play Liaozhai with me.

We were all taught by the same master — you can't break each other's moves.

【"Well, that's true..."】

Young Lady Xie Shen thought it over carefully and, quite convinced, accepted Herbert's reasoning.

Yeah.

We're all the same kind of bastard — let's stop comparing who's more of a bastard.

【"Fine, congratulations! You got it right! I really was joking with you~"】

She smiled, tossed the little interlude out of her mind, and said with a beaming smile: 【"It doesn't actually take a hundred years — in fact, it takes two hundred years!"】

Two hundred years!

Not only did the time not shorten, it doubled!

But Herbert remained unmoved and said woodenly: "Yes, yes, very scary, such a long, long time... so, the truth?"

【"This is the truth."】

Nie Nasha answered with a grin, but didn't keep playing around and explained:

【"According to its original condition, to accumulate a full pool of water would take at least two hundred years... and that's with no outside interference at all."】

The reason Herbert hadn't been that optimistic before was also this — because variables would inevitably appear during the pool water's accumulation.

If someone drained the pool halfway and exhausted it, the time for one accumulation cycle would be greatly extended.

【"But now, with me in control, it's completely revived! The time is greatly shortened — no longer need to spend a hundred years!"】

Nie Nasha hummed smugly twice, then added:

【"Of course, even based on the current situation, to recover to the point where the next summoning can be performed will still take at least a month... and I'm not joking about this."】

Shortened from two hundred years to one month — this improvement was by no means small.

Once a month?

It's acceptable enough.

Though he had already accepted it in his heart, Herbert still asked: "Is there a way to speed up the recovery?"

【"There is."】

Nie Nasha stopped fooling around and immediately replied:

【"As long as you obtain the remaining two fragments and restore it completely, the Spirit Pool can begin its internal cycle, and its recovery rate will increase dramatically."】

Under normal circumstances, the Spirit Pool in a divine realm never requires recovery time.

As long as you invest the devout souls of believers, it can continuously convert new spirits to bolster the divine realm's strength.

"The remaining two?"

Herbert frowned slightly, thought for a moment, then nodded: "I understand. I'll arrange it later, but there's no rush for now."

Of the three controllers of the Spirit Pools, the Chimera has already been eliminated; the other two are not easy opponents.

The Spirit Legion, needless to say, is already stronger than the Chimera, and can form battle arrays, greatly increasing their danger.

Though Valentina has advanced to Epic rank, she is not invincible—she still risks being overwhelmed if surrounded.

Even if we must face them head-on, we must let Valentina adapt further to her Epic power, and bring the other monster girls along.

When you don't speak, you're silent; when you speak, you astonish.

If we're going to act, we can't test the waters on a small scale—alerting them only makes them wary and adds unpredictable variables.

If we strike, we strike all at once, aiming to eliminate them in one blow.

All in!

When it's time to go all in, you must go all in!

Win, and you hit up the brothel with the young models.

Lose, and you become the young model at the brothel.

The other construct robot, though weakest among the three—even Sophiya couldn't forcibly detain it.

But its strangeness is the greatest.

The flesh spreading and growing within its body gave Herbert a deeply ominous feeling.

Twisted flesh grew and spread from within the mechanical structure.

It corroded the metal, replacing it with flesh.

It felt as if the machine had been corrupted by flesh…

In his past life, Herbert never believed in such mystical things as intuition.

But in this life, his spiritual intuition has always been sharp.

"About the flesh issue, I should consult Svan妮 more, or have her see it firsthand."

He had mentioned briefly to Svan妮 the construct robot corrupted by flesh, but without a physical sample, the Dark Elf couldn't make further deductions.

Now, having gained the ability to link the Law Keep and Eldar via teleportation, it's far easier to take Svan妮 there to witness it herself.

【"Hmm~ But I suggest you prepare a bit more. After all, the Spirit Pool you already have is sufficient for now."】

Nie Nasha didn't urge him—instead, she advised Herbert to prepare more.

Given Nie Nasha's status, she was actually the one most eager for Herbert to take risks.

If Nie Nasha were merely an ordinary corrupted deity seeking revival, she would most desire Herbert to risk his life gathering materials for her restoration.

Whether he gathered the materials quickly or died en route and she took over his body, both were better options for her.

But Nie Nasha gave them up.

At some point, she had completely stopped thinking about them.

Instead, she repeatedly emphasized to Herbert: 【"My dear ally, I don't want you to take risks."】

A ridiculous scene.

A corrupted deity urging a mortal to be cautious and steady, while the mortal recklessly charges toward death.

In the end, the deity succeeded in convincing the mortal—Herbert accepted Nie Nasha's suggestion.

"Fine, I'll listen to you."

【"Mm-hmm, good boy, good boy~"】

Nie Nasha soothed him like a child, making Herbert roll his eyes.

"Don't give me that."

Tsk.

Whoever you are, get out of Nie Nasha's body right now!

【"Hehe~"】

Miss Xie Shen chuckled merrily, stopped teasing, and said:

【"By the way, if you feel the number of spirits is already sufficient, you can switch to another summoning method."】

"What method?" Herbert was curious.

What?

Are there other options?

The answer is—yes, brother, there are!

【"Sacrifice a certain quantity to gain higher quality."】

【"As long as you consume enough soul cores, I can even awaken a Legendary-level spirit."】

According to Nie Nasha, this time, to obtain free labor, she had consumed vast soul cores but only awakened spirits no higher than high-rank.

But if you fuse all those soul cores into one, there's a chance to awaken a Legendary-level spirit!

"Hm?"

After hearing this, Herbert had only one thought—damn, isn't this a guaranteed pull?

Or rather, an exchange?

To him, summoning spirits was like gacha pulling—you never knew what spirit you'd awaken, what abilities, personality, or race they possessed, too many uncertainties.

This second method, however, fixed the rank of the summoned spirit, forcibly summoning a legendary spirit.

In games, the guarantee meant you had to pull beyond a certain number before receiving a consolation prize.

Now, it meant spending resources to directly exchange for a higher-tier gacha ticket.

"Can you even do something like this?"

But compared to this questionable, whether heartless or conscientious, operation, Herbert was more astonished by the extent of what Nenasha could accomplish.

Merging countless spirits into one to forge an entirely new soul.

Such a feat...

【"Of course."】

Nenasha sensed Herbert's thoughts, smiled calmly, and whispered: 【"Herbert, don't you forget."】

【"I am a god, you know~"】

A god.

As Herbert grew more familiar with Nenasha, he sometimes forgot her divine nature.

Nenasha is a god—and likely not an ordinary one.

She has never shown any reverence toward other gods; to her, all deities are merely minor players.

But merely talking like that means nothing—anyone can boast like that.

Herbert could even claim he's the chosen of the Sun God!

But Nenasha seems... actually capable of it.

Even in her current severely wounded state, she has already stolen the Sun God's authority, shaking the world.

If Nenasha continues to recover, how far could she go?

Sometimes Herbert refuses to even think about it.

He isn't afraid of future dangers—he's been mentally prepared since the day he became Nenasha's ally.

He's just... a little uneasy.

When Nenasha regains her full power, will she change?

Will she become someone he no longer recognizes?

When did he start becoming this sentimental?

【"I won't change."】

"Huh!!?"

As if hearing the mortal's inner worries, the god spoke gently.

【"I promise you, no matter what happens, I will remain the same—the very same person you know."】

The god makes a promise to the mortal that she will never change.

Hearing this sincere vow, the mortal falls silent.

「……」

The more Nenasha assures him, the more uneasy Herbert feels.

He has never hated his intuition so much.

He keeps feeling Nenasha is setting forbidden flags—like "we'll get married after the battle," "I'll marry you when I return," "I'll quit once I make enough money"...

Is this fate, predetermined?

【"I won't change, so you don't need to worry anymore..."】

"Tch."

Herbert, rarely swearing, muttered under his breath.

To hell with fate.

"Nenasha!"

【"Huh!?"】

Nenasha was startled—she didn't understand why Herbert suddenly became so emotional.

Herbert didn't explain; he simply declared:

"You won't leave me, and I won't leave you."

He wasn't hoping—he was stating a fact: "We will never be separated!"

Nenasha was baffled.

【"Huh? What's gotten into you..."】

She didn't understand why Herbert reacted so strongly.

And as if his promise wasn't enough, Herbert added: "Even death cannot part us!"

A death flag, huh?

You're making me uneasy, are you?

Fine—I'll say it too!

Let's see what this damn fate has in store!

【"... Pfft, hahaha."】

Nenasha didn't know what Herbert was fighting against, but she felt his defiance—he refused to accept it, fiercely.

No longer sentimental, she had returned to the arrogant manner He was familiar with.

Regarding such a change, He was actually very happy.

【"I'm very glad you can say such things, but... before you say that, you'd better get a bit stronger first~"】

He said with a grin, teasing: 【"Legendary isn't weak, sure, but it's still not strong enough~"】

If you want to protect me, you'd better go back and train some more!

Perhaps, one day you really will be able to achieve your goal and become stronger than me, able to protect me.

I believe you can do it.

But that will take time.

So, before that day arrives, let me protect you first.

"Hah! You fiend, cease your arrogance! Once I step into Epic, I shall surely cut you down!"

Herbert was unconvinced by Nie Nasha's words, muttering nonstop under his breath.

He had only just barely managed to advance to Legendary with great difficulty, yet he was already fantasizing about what would happen after he ascended to Epic.

【"Epic? If we're being honest, there are gaps between Epics too, you know; some Epics aren't much to look at either~"】

"Wait, I'm clearly Epic too, aren't I?"

Lukaliya twitched the corner of her mouth, and with a guilty conscience glanced at Valentina, who was curled up and sleeping peacefully on one side, carefully comparing the strength of both sides.

Hard strength — couldn't win.

Soft strength — also couldn't win.

Couldn't win — really couldn't win.

Total defeat!

Miss Mirror Demon muttered discontentedly in a low voice: "How can there be such a big gap?"

"Also, Herbert, just when are you coming back!?"

"Hurry up and take her away!"

(End of this chapter)