Chapter 317: 317 The Crocodile

Blood blood blood blood blood... Blood-Hair Ji ！！！

Seeing the red-haired beauty before him, her nose slightly wrinkled, and recognizing her identity through her brilliant crimson hair and the boundless sea of souls behind her, the crocodile god frozen stiff right at his own doorstep.

Director of the Clean-Up Bureau's Virgin Division, the most brutal executioner in history, who wiped out the entire Eastern Karlev Kingdom and personally sent one hundred twenty-nine million souls to the path of no return—the god of slaughter!

After the rebellion of the Clean-Up Bureau's Ophiuchus Division exploded, the Death-Omen Crows nesting at the entrance to the Underworld took flight—over one hundred twenty million of them—countless jet-black feathers swirling like a storm, weaving a vast curtain of death that completely obscured the sky of the Underworld.

At that time, looking up at the sky, even the sun was invisible—only a dark, sprawling fog stretching dozens of miles, and within it, countless pairs of crimson dots—the eyes of one hundred twenty million Death-Omen Crows!

One hundred twenty million of them!

Every time he recalled those sky-blocking crimson-eyed black crows, and the flood of souls surging into the Underworld like a tidal wave after the crows vanished into its depths, the crocodile god's soul trembled uncontrollably.

This red-haired woman before him, who looked almost kind, had sent one hundred thirty million souls into the Underworld in just over two minutes, and the "Path of No Return," which had flowed unimpeded for countless years, was choked for the first time by the frantic tide of souls.

Even though the rulers of the Underworld, noticing the crows' anomaly, acted immediately to ease the pressure, it was still like trying to stop a flood with a bucket—the number of souls kept rising, and every second, hundreds of thousands of souls were crushed off the Path of No Return and tumbled into the Yellow Springs below.

By the final half-minute, not only had the Path of No Return completely halted, but even the Yellow Springs River was blocked by the falling souls; the water, with nowhere to go, surged backward in all directions, flooding a vast, muddy swamp hundreds of miles wide near the entrance to the Underworld.

And that swamp, born from that flood, was precisely the place where he now lived...

Looking at the massive cavern at the center of the muddy swamp, the unlucky crocodile god, facing the red-haired woman who had "built his house" for him, felt his eyes well up—large, warm tears rolled down in torrents.

So that "partner" guarding the Underworld was you!

No wonder that old-land man pretended not to see me—with Blood-Hair Ji guarding the Underworld, he didn't need to lift a finger; I'd be dead the moment I returned!

Why are you crying?

Watching the crocodile god burst into tears the moment she caught him, without even speaking, the red-haired director blinked in surprise, then unceremoniously tossed her toothbrush into the Yellow Springs and marched over, frowning.

"Tell me, where did you come back from? What happened to Emma and the others?"

"They... they're fine..."

"You're lying!"

After slightly wrinkling her nose, the red-haired director's fox-like eyes narrowed; the hair cocoon binding the crocodile god dimmed slightly, shifting from bright crimson to the dark red of venous blood, tightening inward and biting deep into its carapace.

"Tell the truth! Don't think you're a god of the Underworld and I won't dare touch you!"

Smelling the scent of the Goddess of Wealth and an overwhelming stench of blood on the crocodile god, the red-haired director, worried for Li Ang and the others, had finally lost her temper.

According to her assigned missions, Emma was sent to purge the Scale Gold Cult, while Li Ang was to ambush the sky-ship—no matter how you looked at it, their auras shouldn't have appeared together; the only possibility was that Emma had been ambushed by the Scale Gold Cult, possibly even by the Goddess of Wealth herself.

And after Li Ang completed his mission and returned to the Bureau to report, he received Emma's distress signal, then was taken by Tang Mu—no! He dragged Tang Mu along to rescue her, and directly encountered the Goddess of Wealth!

Although I've been guarding the Path of No Return and saw no souls of theirs enter the Underworld, meaning they might not yet be dead, given the opponent is the Goddess of Wealth, the possibility they're already dead cannot be ruled out.

If it's because of my assigned missions that Emma and Li Ang were lost to the Scale Gold Cult...

As this thought tightened her heart, the red-haired director's grip grew heavier—fine, razor-sharp strands of hair pierced through the crocodile god's carapace and sank deep into its skin.

"No! I'll tell! I'll tell!"

Sensing the spreading blood scent from the dark red hairs, the crocodile god, still shedding tears, startled and stammered out everything it had seen.

As it spoke incoherently, the red-haired director's anxiety slowly faded, replaced by deep confusion.

Li Ang nearly killed the Goddess of Wealth?

And he's from the old land? Infiltrating the Clean-Up Bureau with sinister intent?

Then, caught in a trap by the Goddess of Wealth, forced to temporarily cooperate to avoid exposure?

What the hell is this?

"Everything I said is true!"

Sensing that Blood-Hair Ji might not be allied with the "old-land man," the crocodile god, reigniting hope of survival, feared this killer might turn him into sashimi if displeased, and hastily swore an oath:

"I swear by the Great Death—I saw it all with my own eyes! No lie!

And after he revived that male Clean-Up officer, he told the truth according to his agreement with the Goddess of Wealth—by then, the Goddess of Wealth had already left; why would he lie then?"

Not necessarily.

Recalling Li Ang and Emma's shared caution, the red-haired director frowned.

Given Li Ang's insecure nature, his silence toward Tang Mu was likely because he feared the Goddess of Wealth hadn't left yet—his "revelation" might trigger new trouble, so he chose to withhold it.

After all, although that black goat's soul vision was decent, it couldn't guarantee accuracy against a true god who could disguise their soul—the successful feigned death of the crocodile god proved that; Li Ang's choice to conceal it was perfectly reasonable.

As for the trump card that negated the Goddess of Wealth's power—it must have been that time he drank the wine given by the Bull Director and got utterly drunk; even my 【Blood of Slaughter】 had turned to illusion then, so it was normal the Goddess of Wealth couldn't harm him.

If I'm right, Li Ang probably scared the Goddess of Wealth off with some bluff—and that "old-land man" identity? Pure nonsense... hmm...

Or maybe not entirely nonsense?

Thinking of all the secrets Li Ang carried, the red-haired director hesitated slightly.

Though I know Li Ang isn't the type to scheme maliciously, he's full of oddities—even if he means no harm, it's best to check him thoroughly, lest he's been deceived by some strange entity.

Since I'm already in the Underworld, and nothing can hide its true nature here, why not simply bring Li Ang and the others down for a proper inspection?