Chapter 240

Bang!

A fine crystal wine glass was violently flung onto the floor; under immense force, it instantly exploded into a cloud of white powder that sprayed everywhere.

Damn Sanchester, I knew he was a traitor!

In the dining hall, King Salint Dang of Aaron looked darker than Black Stone, his entire being shrouded in fury.

The restaurant staff huddled in the corner, shaking with fear; they didn't dare to breathe deeply, even clenching their buttocks, terrified of letting out a deadly fart at the wrong moment.

Huffing and puffing

Dang panted heavily, his fury tinged with a profound loneliness.

No one remained.

No one could now wholeheartedly scheme for him in a crisis.

He realized that Sanchester had been forced away by him.

He had assumed the mage was old enough that even if he departed, he wouldn't cause much trouble.

But he hadn't expected that this old fellow would not only greatly boost his magic, but also become lively and energetic again.

He instantly realized this must be Duke Weilan's doing, leaving him feeling utterly helpless.

Indeed, mortals cannot stand against the gods.

He finally understood, but it was too late.

The elite Golden Lion First Legion had openly demanded his removal, sparking wave after wave of public opposition, and even the nobles he hadn't eliminated joined in, chanting revenge slogans.

At this moment, virtually all of Aaron was against him.

The only ones still at his side were a pack of jackals who did his dirty work.

These jackals' reputations were completely ruined; aside from continuing to follow him, they had no other option.

Being jackals, they have no morality or compassion.

Since they can brandish a butcher's knife at anyone, they will just as readily turn it on their king to save themselves.

Thus, Dang dimly saw his own fate approaching.

Heh, Sanchester turned out to be right after all.

The right path is paved with thorns; I walked a few steps and quit, and now I've indeed slipped straight into the abyss.

He instinctively reached up to touch his neck.

I don't know how many more days my head will stay on my shoulders.

Just as Dang was overwhelmed by despair, a smooth, gentle voice echoed in his mind: 'Your Majesty, it looks like you've run into serious trouble.'

Dang had never heard such a gentle voice; at first he thought it was a hallucination, so he paid it no heed.

Soon the voice spoke again: 'Your Majesty, doom looms, though it hasn't fully arrived—are you really intending to surrender?'

Dang finally snapped out of it, but he didn't answer immediately.

After all, he is no ordinary man; he knows many secrets unknown to ordinary people.

After a moment's thought, he realized the strange voice in his mind probably belonged to some non-human being.

Demon, get out of my head!

No, I'm not a monster; my name is Aoteluoweisen.

Indeed, some call me a demon, but many more call me the Savior.

I love rescuing those in trouble; when someone, thanks to my help, regains their former glory, I feel a deep sense of fulfillment.

Dang listened in silence, chewing his steak vigorously.

He's not easily fooled.

Tell me straight: how will you help me, and what do you plan to take from me?

Ah ha, Your Majesty, I like your manner of speaking.

Simply put, I want Your Majesty to find me a following, as large as possible—at least a thousand people.

As payment, I will endow these followers with great power and place them at Your Majesty's command; even if you order them to sacrifice their lives, they will do so without hesitation.

Hearing this, Dang wanted to laugh: 'Heh, you're a void demon; once you have enough followers, you can do as you please, and I have no way to restrain you.'

By then, the first to die at your hand will probably be me.

So if you can't offer a more sincere deal, let's end this conversation here.

The demon fell silent for a moment, then spoke again.

Your Majesty, if you are willing to become my follower,

He hadn't finished speaking when Dang cut him off.

I'd rather die than become anyone's follower.

All right, Your Majesty surely needs power; I can give you power you can control freely, without taking away your free will.

Only then did Dang slowly nod: 'Now that's somewhat interesting.'

Then, how much power can you give me?

I can forge a sword for you, razor‑sharp, a divine blade meant to slay legendary mages.

When you grip the sword with both hands,

He hadn't finished speaking when Dang cut him off again.

Does it have to be a sword? I'd rather have a spear than a longsword.

All right, I'll give you a divine spear; wielding it will greatly boost your strength, speed, and even the speed of your thoughts.

Your enemies will move slower than snails, and you can easily run them through with this divine spear.

Dang, however, wasn't very interested, because these days hardly anyone uses cold weapons.

When fighting breaks out, the mages like to shoot at each other with firearms, and they also carry explosive grenades on them.

Facing such a firearm mage, using cold weapons to fight is simply like an idiot.

He said lightly: "Sounds good, but actually it's not much use. Demon, you'd better bring out something real."

The demon was a bit puzzled: "Isn't such a divine gun strong enough?"

"Not enough, far from enough, and even a bit stupid. If you knew anything about my world, you'd know that weapons like swords and guns are long outdated."

"We're all using firearms now, understand, demon?"

Deng's tone carried a hint of contempt, as if speaking to a country bumpkin.

The demon understood.

He certainly knew new weapons had appeared in the mortal realm, but he hadn't had time to study them thoroughly, so for now he couldn't produce a new weapon that would excite anyone.

Thus, the demon Ottolovisen was momentarily speechless.

Deng, however, was a bit disappointed: "All right, demon, it seems you're also useless. Don't waste my time—get out."

Ottolovisen wanted to say something, but the more he thought about it, the more he felt he'd lose face.

Finally, he left without a word.

Deng still held some hope, but after a long time with no reply, knowing the demon had truly left, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Times are changing too fast; even the demon is falling behind, let alone me, a mortal."

Strangely, his mood improved quite a bit because of that.

But the Creator seemed unwilling to let him die just like that.

Not long after, another voice echoed in Deng's mind.

"Your Majesty, it seems you've run into trouble."

This is a middle-aged person's voice, with a mortal's warmth; likely it's a person.

And being able to penetrate the palace's layered defenses and silently transmit the message into his ears—definitely not an ordinary person.

Hope surged in Deng's heart: "Who are you?"

"Legendary mage Yastin, from the Radiant Empire. I heard Your Majesty faced trouble, so I came specially to help you overcome the crisis."

Deng instantly brightened: "Oh~ this is somewhat reliable."

"Oh? Could it be that someone else had seen Your Majesty before?" "Yes. It was a demon named Xueyan Salas, who said he wanted to help me and give me a divine artifact, but he produced a long spear, almost making me laugh to death."

"So it was him."

Mage Yastin's tone instantly grew much more serious.

"Your Majesty, never underestimate this demon; he is a legendary tier-4 demon, nicknamed the Bloody Baron, and he loves to carry out evil, bloody sacrificial rites in the mortal realm."

"Perhaps he can't bewitch Your Majesty, but he can bewitch your subordinates, causing great trouble."

Upon hearing how serious this was, Deng was startled: "What should we do now?"

"For now, no action is needed; recently, the Bloody Baron dares not cause too big a commotion in the mortal realm."

"Why?"

Mage Yastin chuckled: "Because lately, there are at least six legendary mages in Rhine City. If he stirs trouble, he could very well die."

This made Deng jump: "How did suddenly so many legendary mages appear?"

"The exact reason is hard to explain right now; you just need to know that these six legendary mages all support Your Majesty."

"Finally, the Lord of Radiance has me tell Your Majesty that he will greatly reinforce the Giant Fortress, ensuring the Lion's First Legion cannot attend to Rhine City."

"On fengbao yang, the Radiant First Fleet is also heading for the Gilded Strait, and will, when needed, cut off the contact between Weilan and Aaron."

"What Your Majesty must do is issue a suppression order, drag out all the leaders of the rebel forces in Rhine City, and execute them publicly!"

"I know this isn't simple, but don't worry—we'll help you find those rebel leaders."

Deng's mind eased considerably, and he asked: "What's next?"

"With no rebel leaders causing trouble, we'll leave two legendary mages to assist you, letting you firmly control Rhine City; then you can cut off the military supplies of Lion's Fang City, use that as leverage to remove the current commander of the Lion's First Legion, and find a way to open the Giant Fortress!"

"As long as the Radiant Legion successfully enters Aaron's Plain, the rest will be left to us to handle."

Deng listened intently, his spirit slightly trembling.

He clearly understood that this path was not much better than the one proposed by the demon.

Once the Radiant Legion floods into Aaron's Plain, his existence as king becomes unnecessary.

By then, it will be his true death, and even the entire Deng family will have to be buried with him.

Deng suddenly grew somewhat clear-headed, unable to help thinking: "What on earth have I done?!"

Anyway, we're going to die.

Why would he leave such a huge infamy and die?

Thus, he fell into silence.

Probably because the silence lasted too long, a voice suddenly sounded in his mind: "Your Majesty, do you regret it?"

Deng exhaled deeply: "No, I don't regret it, because I never truly intended to let the Radiant Legion enter Aaron."

At first, because of impulsiveness, he indeed had this idea and even took many concrete actions.

But now, he has seen the consequences of this idea.

The fire of impulsiveness has cooled, and his mind has cleared.

"You are regretting it."

"Fine, I am regretting it, but what can you do about it?"

"Hmph~ I just want to tell you, regretting now is too late. Because things are no longer up to you."

As the words fell, the restaurant door was kicked open.

A squad of twenty Aaron Night Guards rushed into the restaurant, their leader none other than Xueyan Salas.

He held his firearm level, his eyes blazing with intense light: "Your Majesty, sorry, I have no other recourse but to obey."

Dan Ge looked at the pack of jackals, let out a long sigh, and slowly set down his knife and fork: "Then you may act."

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The Aaron Night Guards did not hesitate to fire.

Whirr~~~

A thick frost shield suddenly materialized in front of Dan Ge, repelling all the gunfire.

It should be noted that the gun's attack strength reached eight rings, was rapid‑fire, and involved twenty people firing together.

It could not pierce the spontaneously appearing frost shield, leaving only clusters of white specks on it.

Dan Ge was startled: "What's going on?"

Then, two figures emerged from the trembling attendants hiding in the corner.

Both held exquisite crystal staffs.

One stepped in front of Dan Ge, shielding him from the betrayer's lethal strike.

The other pointed at the Aaron Night Guards plotting regicide and unleashed a powerful mass sleep spell.

When the spell was cast, twenty well‑armed Aaron Night Guards trembled simultaneously and fell limp.

Dan Ge instantly saw that the two mages were astonishingly powerful, beyond ordinary limits.

He asked in alarm: "Who are you?"

One mage stepped forward: "I am Kasading, and this one is Lanbuluosi."

"We are legendary mages from Weilan."

"By order of the Duke Weilan, if Your Majesty surrenders, we will protect your safety with all our might, and once the situation stabilizes, you can safely return to the Dan Ge family's fief."

Dan Ge suddenly felt a surreal, dream‑like absurdity, yet he did not hesitate to grab the rope hanging from the cliff above.

"I surrender!"

After his words, the restaurant's air rang with the voice of the legendary mage from before.

"Dan Ge, don't rush to surrender; the battle has only just begun."

As soon as the words ended, Kasading roared at the air.

"Yasiding, fellow Navat mage, I urge you to cease at once, or the consequences will be unpredictable."

A voice from the air said: "Kasading, Lanbuluosi, that's exactly what I wanted to tell you."

"We are three, while you are only two."

"We also have three legendary Elves mages on our side."

"In this clash, our legendary power holds absolute advantage; Duke Weilan is bound to lose. As his aide, you will not meet a good end."

As soon as the words ended, another young voice emerged from the air.

"Yasiding, stop the nonsense; I'm at the eastern outskirts of Rhein City."

"Aren't you just trying to deal with me? If you have the skill, come find me directly."

"Eh~~ Luosen, I didn't expect you to come in person!"

Yasiding's words were thick with surprise.

"Sasimal must spare your life, so we Navat mages won't kill you, but the three legendary Elves mages are another matter~"

"Therefore, I advise you to return to Weilan quickly and not risk adventure here."

The young voice rang out immediately.

"Legendary power is judged not by numbers but by a mage's wisdom."

"I alone am enough to defeat all six of you."

"Hmph~ Luosen, don't be overconfident."

"Our Navat legendary combat techniques surpass your imagination; we also wield powerful legendary crystal staffs, each brimming with mana."

"Even if it's just you, or even Kasading and Lanbuluosi together, there's no chance of victory."

The two even argued across the void in Dan Ge's restaurant, while Dan Ge, at the storm's eye, seemed invisible.

Such disregard made him fully realize his own standing.

"So… I'm just an insignificant clown?"

(End of Chapter)