Chapter 1779: Summer in Fool

In addition to Constantine choosing to open a branch of the Forgotten Bookstore in Cat Getan, Master of the Night Jim also reopened a Forgotten Bar in Cat Getan's Underworld, serving as a base for his team to operate in the Underworld and the Magic Academy.

The Master of the Night's team wasn't fully formed yet, but it already had several fixed members, such as Deadman Brand, Detective Chimp Bobo, Black Orchid Susan, Madame Xanadu, Vampire Bennett, etc. Currently, the Master of the Night was actively contacting Swamp Thing, Doctor Mist, and even reached out to Wonder Woman.

Jim stood in front of the bar counter wiping a glass. Detective Chimp sat backward in the bar counter, smoking a pipe, his two legs crossed, hands placed between his legs. He swung his long, black-furred feet and said in a deep voice that sounded like the roar of a primate: "Still worrying about recruitment?"

"How can I not worry?" Jim wiped the glass that was already polished to a shine over and over again and said, "Perhaps you think that since the Earth's magical defense network was built so easily, we should be happy. But after all these years, I know these mages too well. Do you really think they will be genuinely happy about this?"

"I've always been pessimistic about humanity," a chimpanzee sighed. This action looked a bit funny, and it wasn't that there was any extra comedic effect when a detective chimpanzee wearing a detective hat, a monocle, and smoking a pipe made a serious expression. That sigh sounded just as stressful.

"We used to argue about this topic." Jim also sighed lightly, lowered his head slightly, groped the bottom of the glass with his fingers, and said, "I thought you were too pessimistic. Humanity has developed to this day through hardships and has its own strength and resilience. But now I have to admit that luck plays a huge part."

"Have a drink, my old friend." Deadman Brand draped an arm over the bar counter and said: "Alcohol will massage your furrowed brow, and confiding in a friend will relax your tense heart. We all know you've been under a lot of pressure lately. Why don't you tell us about it?"

"I just... I just don't want to use this pessimistic atmosphere to make our newly formed team lose heart." Jim took a deep breath and said: "Since the vampire invasion, I haven't heard any good news, but the recent news is even worse."

Bennett, standing by the door, turned back, stepped over the threshold, and walked in, saying: "Even Constantine is standing in the sunlight again. What nightmares can we not shake off?"

Jim stood in place for a long time before saying: "That Green Lantern named Hal thinks I'm a good person who can take on the responsibility of watching over the magical defense network, so he gave me the deployment authority for the Green Lantern energy shield. Initially, I discovered many loopholes there."

Detective Chimp immediately furrowed his brows and said: "Is there a problem with the way we built it? Technical limitations?"

Jim shook his head and said: "No, someone tampered with the structure. They thought I would throw all the work to the visiting Supreme Sorcerer and Green Lantern. They probably didn't think I would check. The loopholes were obvious, completely uncovered."

"For whom?" Bennett asked with a feeling in his heart.

"Demons and angels, or powerful creatures similar to them. In short, not humans. But we all know that only human mages participated in the construction of the magical defense network."

Detective Chimp sighed and said: "That's why I think that guy named Stephen Strange is telling us fairy tales. How can he unite all the mages of humanity to block those monsters outside? As long as one person is tempted, everything is lost."

Jim could no longer control his sad expression. He slammed the glass onto the bar counter with a "clatter" and said: "I wouldn't be sad about those young people who were never firm in their will being shaken. But those who have the ability to tamper with the magical defense network must be Archmages. They have lived longer than anyone else and should have been firmer than anyone else."

"We even fought against the vampire invasion together. We joined hands to save London and humanity. We luckily obtained chips to negotiate with the devil on equal terms. But less than a year has passed, and they've forgotten it all!"

"Humanity is always forgetful." Bennett lowered his eyes and said: "It hasn't been long between Jesus saving the world and Judas accepting the silver coins."

"That's why you're in such a hurry to recruit people." Black Orchid leaned against the back door frame, hugging her arms, and said somewhat lazily: "Do you want to kill them?"

"I don't know." Jim gripped the glass tightly, shook his head, and said: "I don't know if the magical world can bear another slaughter like this. I don't know if I can do it myself. They were once our comrades-in-arms."

"They are no longer." Deadman Brand sighed, and the atmosphere became gloomy for a moment.

"Click!"

A crisp sound came from outside the door. Jim turned to look. He could see the flag on the mailbox outside the door stand up through the window next to him. He withdrew his thoughts and said with some confusion: "Mail? Did any of you fill in the billing address here?"

"Don't talk nonsense, Jim." Madame Xanadu walked down from the stairs on the second floor and said: "The delivery person who sends bills can't come here. Perhaps it's our old friend."

Bennett, who was closest to the door, walked out, pressed down the flag on the mailbox, opened the mailbox door, and found an exquisitely packaged letter.

The pattern on the wax seal was a bit unfamiliar. Bennett couldn't tell the other party's identity, so he handed the letter directly to Master Jim. Jim groped the texture of the wax seal and said: "It's a letter from Rodriguez Manor. Why doesn't Schiller just call me directly?"

Jim took out a letter opener from under the bar counter, gently sliced open the wax seal, and let out an exclamation when he took out the letter inside, saying: "Oh, it's an invitation."

Jim's mood finally brightened a bit. He opened the invitation while saying: "Schiller hasn't hosted a banquet for several years. When he lived in Maryland before, I attended one. The delicious food left a deep impression on me."

Jim instinctively pursed his lips, thinking of the taste of the food made his mouth water, so he opened the letterhead with a smile, on which was written in beautiful calligraphy:

"Through me, enter the city of pain; through me, enter the pit of eternal misery; through me, enter the crowd of no return, recording the great victory of humanity's ten-millionth time of no return. Please arrive on Tuesday afternoon..."

Jim felt a bit confused. Detective Chimp leaned over, read the sentence on the invitation, and said: "As expected, Dante."

"You read Dante too?"

"Your expression right now can be called discrimination. You think a chimpanzee can't read? When I was still in the circus, I snuck into those Tuesday afternoon book clubs of the rich. They didn't like Dante, but I felt there was a need to form a club for it."

"Then which sentence in it do you like best?"

"This beast... it will feel hungrier after a full meal than before." Detective Chimp held up a finger and said: "This reveals a great truth about humanity, which is just as you are worried about now."

"When you are in dire straits and facing death, you unite with the greatest will to survive, and even the devil will be divided and eaten by you. But when the crisis passes and everything gets better, an intense appetite that is hard to resist surges from your stomachs and hearts—not to devour enemies, but to tear at your own kind. It's not because you are hungry, it's just that you want to ride above all your own kind."

All eyes in the room focused on this chimpanzee, but Detective Chimp didn't feel shy or evasive. He just said deeply: "When you treated me as a monster, I only found it ridiculous, because watching how you opened your bloody mouths to tear a piece of meat from your own kind, I had long known who the real monsters were."

Jim couldn't refute, but this stirred his emotions. His fingertips holding the invitation turned white, and he said: "A long time ago, Schiller didn't participate in any social activities in the magical world. People said he was a freak, drifting outside the mainstream society."

"He once talked to me about how he had personally experienced the collapse of a greater kingdom in a dream, so he didn't care at all where the magical world was heading. In his eyes, that was too small and not worth mentioning."

"That is the fact." Madame Xanadu said: "If you had bathed in the flood of a dynasty's collapse, you would understand the countless times humanity repeats the same mistakes, because they are such idiots."

"Heh, then moving to Cat Getan (which means 'Fool's Village') is quite appropriate." Deadman laughed in a low voice and said.

"Alright, now let's decide who will attend the banquet and who will stay to watch the house. We have a lot of things to be busy with here."

"He only invited you, so..."

"With all due respect, he didn't write my name, but sending the letter here means he invited all of us." Jim shook the invitation in his hand and said: "I don't know if there will be a ball, so it's best to bring a female companion."

"I'll go with you." Madame Xanadu walked from the stairs to the bar counter, bent down, rested her forearms on the table, and said with one hand supporting her chin: "I miss that little guy with blue eyes a bit. The big commotion he caused last time scared me, but that just shows he is young, strong, and full of vitality. He will be a good rider."

"I'll go too." Bennett opened his mouth: "I guess Constantine will go too. I haven't asked him what he wanted from me last time."

Black Orchid yawned and said: "I'm not very interested in the ball, but I haven't had a proper meal for a long time. This damn heat."

"Is there anyone else going? Then that's it." Jim finally put the glass back on the rack and loosened his wrists, saying: "I remember I brought the formal wear I wore to the Maya Carnival before. I'm going to shave my beard first and then change into a formal suit."

Jim hurried upstairs. Bennett was a bit puzzled, and Jim turned back to explain to him: "Believe me, be a bit solemn. Schiller's banquets are usually worth all the careful dressing."

Madame Xanadu brushed her hair, stroked her wrist, and said: "Let me think about where I put that string of pearl bracelets Vivian gave me last time..."

In the kitchen of Rodriguez Manor, Pamela opened the door of the walk-in freezer, opened her eyes wide, and looked at the meat materials packed full inside, shocked: "You hunted all the deer in New Jersey?!"

"That's the ingredients reserved for the banquet." Schiller said while picking vegetables on the shelf next to him: "And that's only half. The other half of the raw materials for the most important main course is still in the basement."

Pamela's body stiffened significantly. Her heart rate soared to the peak with the fastest acceleration. She said in a trembling tone: "Then can I... have the honor to witness the processing of the other half of the raw materials?"

"Of course, Miss. My pleasure." ===== CHAPTER 1780 =====