Chapter 53

Luodewa moved forward with extreme vigilance, ready to act first if the woman showed any abnormal movement.

Luodewa deliberately made a detour; the woman hovered in midair, seemingly observing something, slowly passing the spot where she had stayed, but Luodewa never dared to look away.

Until his gaze met the woman's.

Luodewa felt a sudden daze and did not remember the woman's appearance.

Spiritual Mentor?

And still a War God-level Spiritual Mentor.

Upon realizing this, Luodewa grew more fearful and sped toward Flight Base City.

Upon landing in the city, Luodewa finally calmed somewhat and began to organize his thoughts.

Does the World Tree plan to use the dark web to kill me?

No, no, no; they want to kill me and don't need to ask for help.

Luodewa is merely an ordinary Planet-level expert; although he counts as a strong one on Earth, if the World Tree wanted to deal with him, it would absolutely not need outside help.

Others don't understand, but Luodewa knows best; otherwise he wouldn't have fallen from being the Northern strongest to his current state.

Moreover, they wouldn't, nor would they deign to borrow the power of those rats in the Earth Net, after all they don't even accept themselves.

Is it a case of "strike the mountain to shock the tiger"?

Luodewa took a long time to return home, and the servants' fear of him could be seen in their eyes.

The worse Luodewa's mood, the more likely the servants were to suffer; his mood was clearly bad today, so at times like this, one should try to stay out of the master's sight.

To the servants' surprise, Luodewa today seemed to have no mood to vent.

Over the following days, Luodewa never left his estate, not even his room; the household steward was somewhat worried, but the old steward who had served Luodewa for decades dared not step even halfway into the room.

On the sixth day of Luodewa's return home, a servant finally approached his room.

"Bang bang bang"

The gentle knocking was not due to extreme caution, but because the knocker had only that much strength.

After a while, the door to Luo De Wa's room slowly opened.

Already a planetary-level powerhouse, he had stayed in the room for several days, and from his appearance he still looked spirited.

Luo De Wa lowered his head and saw a simply dressed little girl, but she was not a face commonly seen in the household.

Before Luo De Wa could even ask, the little girl spoke up on her own.

"Lord War God, I… I am the household's newly arrived… newly arrived servant; the steward ordered me to bring you breakfast."

The War God does not refer to the War God stage, but is Luo De Wa's former title, called the Northern Brave, or in other words, the Northern War God.

Back then Luo De Wa felt that the title War God sounded more sonorous, so he favored it more, but as War Gods gradually increased, Luo De Wa also broke through the War God level, and slowly no one addressed him by that title anymore.

"A new servant? I recall I never ordered the recruitment of a new servant."

Of course, these matters naturally need not be handled by Luo De Wa; the recruitment and management of servants have always been delegated to the household's chief steward.

However, due to his gradual decline, plus the World Tree and Yugeli also having a set of management and protection systems for ordinary believers, the number of servants in the household has always been limited, and Luo De Wa generally knows this limit.

"Lord War God, please don't drive me away; I… I have always admired Lord War God, precisely because Lord War God's northern base brought peace, and Xiao Rou's family members were recently killed by villains—only thanks to Lord War God could I avenge them."

Luo De Wa felt a bit dazed; dazed, he didn't know how long it had been since he had received thanks in person, and he no longer knew how much time had passed.

Northern War God?

Just like that title, Luo De Wa hasn't been that for a long time.

Luo De Wa wanted to reach out and ruffle the girl's head, but his outstretched large hand halted in midair, his big palm almost the size of the girl's head, as if only a light pinch were needed…

In that instant Luo De Wa seemed to see all the souls that had died by his hand, among whom there were indeed admirers like the little girl.

Luo De Wa withdrew his hand, and the little girl looked at him somewhat aggrieved, thinking that her timidity had caused the "Lord War God" to lose his appetite.

"Send it to my room."

Seeing the little girl's smile like a blooming small flower, Luo De Wa suddenly decided that this kind of happiness was quite novel, unlike the glory he had previously enjoyed.

A fleeting smile seemed to empty the worries of these few days, along with anything else.

……

The servants seemed quite surprised that the little girl not only had nothing happen to her, but also appeared to have received Luo De Wa's favor.

Over the next few days, Luo De Wa's life returned to normal, or perhaps not quite normal.

The matter of the "Earth Net" had been settled, and Luo De Wa temporarily had nothing to do and didn't like going out, but if it were the past, Luo De Wa would always seek some amusement to vent.

This time, for some unknown reason, he simply sat quietly in the room, or took the newly arrived servant girl to the courtyard to water the flowers and bask in the sun.

Most of the servants in Luo De Wa's household have indenture contracts; otherwise, knowing Luo De Wa's former temperament, they would not continue to stay here.

For many years, Luo De Wa's household had always seen more arrivals than departures, but lately, for some unknown reason, Luo De Wa began to dismiss the household servants.

Food, clothing, housing, and travel—all gradually came to be handled by the newly arrived girl.

In the past, whenever a woman came to Luo De Wa's household, he would give her a completely new name, but this newly arrived little girl is different.

She is called Ahua; she was called Ahua when she arrived, and she is still called Ahua now.

I don't know how many days have passed, but the household's servants have all been dismissed, and the world outside the house seems to have turned into a void.

Luo De Wa lay with Ahua in the flowerbed, simply lying still; this lying down, again I don't know how long it has been.

Until the surrounding scenery disappeared, leaving only Luo De Wa and the girl named Ahua.

Not knowing how much time had passed, when Luo De Wa's gaze became clear again

"I never imagined that dealing with someone like me would require His Excellency the Eastern Lord to act personally; truly, I feel deeply honored."

Luo De Wa had already forgotten when he realized he was in an illusion, and also forgot that he initially pretended to be oblivious in order to feign loyalty in the illusion.

The boundary between memory and fantasy completely blurred, and Luo De Wa seemed to truly become the heroic figure from some little girl's fantasy.

But whenever Luo De Wa tried to think of himself as that hero, more sinister memories would surface in his mind.

What kind of pain that was, Luo De Wa also forgot.

Each time I forget, and then remember again, it feels the same, repeating over and over.

Until now, I have recovered all my memories…… possibly not all of them.

When it comes to illusions, there are few people Luodewa can think of; it should be said that there are hardly any on Earth. And at planetary level or above, to be hit without any defense, without any ability to fight back, Luodewa can only think of one.

The Seventh Chancellor of the War God Palace, Earth's foremost illusion master——Lord East.

"How about it, want to go out?"

"Lord East" countered in the form of the little girl Ahua.

Luodewa's eyes had lost all luster; the world perceived by his vision was just a blank whiteness, all perception seeming thus.

"Please let me die so carefreely."

"Like a hero, offer up a heart for the World Tree."

Although, whether in reality or here, I am merely a false hero. But if I can die as a hero, perhaps that would be my most perfect boundary.

I just don't know, in real time, whether there really is still someone like Ahua……

In the real world, Luodewa's body gradually lost 'gravity', faster and faster from midair, with a bang, fell to the ground.

A planetary-level corpse, although already dead, the surrounding monsters still dare not approach.

Under the clouds, Yunmengze bent half his body out and captured Luodewa's final expression before death.

In the illusion, to completely deprive a person of their desire for life, even someone like Luodewa, whose nature is wicked to the bone, would willingly sacrifice his life for the upcoming plan.

This is 'Mirror Flower, Water Moon', and also a unique power developed by Ayun through racial talent and mental power.

I just don't know, being killed by one's own sins—for Luodewa, is that a punishment or is it letting him off easy?

Little Ayun slightly savored the flavor of Luodewa, this mix of hero and villain, seemed not bad.

Looking again at Luodewa's corpse fallen in the wilderness, it still needs a bit of arrangement.

……

The news of Luodewa's death had not yet spread; in India, because of the 'Ground Net' news, with Ayun as the ultimate traitor of the Ground Net providing information, things were uncovered one after another.

And in this purge, the heroes who earned merit and could still survive were naturally all heroes absolutely loyal to the World Tree.

At the same time, the anger toward those sacrificed 'heroes' was slowly brewing.

———

While plans were secretly underway in India, on a small northern island of the EU, a figure in black combat gear lifted a huge fish only tens of meters long from the water, threw it hard, and tossed it to the island's center.

Another figure lightly leapt up in the island's center, a white light flashed, and the huge fish's body was cut in half.

A man and a woman, no others—precisely the Duxie and Tujiu couple who, after issuing a hundred-billion bounty in China and acting recklessly, should be standing trial in the War God Palace.

"Yao, big brother has news over there; he told us not to hunt lord-level or higher monsters here anymore."

Li Yao fell silent for a moment, setting his weapon aside.

"Did we reach a deal?"

Weinina nodded.

"All those forces that have turned toward the World Tree will regret it."

"Are they planning to betray humanity?" Li Yao is an extremely short-sighted selfish person, but not a fool; if humanity perishes, what good ending could he have?

"Of course not." Weinina shook her head.

"Doesn't the World Tree like to shape itself as a savior hero? Then let them be that."

"We merely continued the peace treaty with the monsters; the one who has always actively broken the peace hasn't it always been the World Tree?"

Li Yao nodded.

Letting the World Tree and the monsters fight, while silently developing strength, is also not a bad choice.

"Moreover, we won't lack input; our arms factories run anytime, we can also provide the weapons and war supplies they need."

America's technology had been unrivaled before the World Tree appeared; if war truly breaks out again, with the manufacturing power of the two countries, it can indeed provide considerable help to humanity.

Of course, these aids all cost money.

If the World Tree and other countries truly cannot hold up, America and the EU will also join the war in the guise of saviors; by then, the initiative will no longer lie in the World Tree's hands.

In another, worse scenario, the World Tree defeats the monster, leaving humanity without external foes; if two major powers take the lead, other nations may not even wish to fulfill the World Tree. Perhaps by then the World Tree will have exhausted itself too much, and the two great powers could instead become the ultimate victors.

Finally, in the worst case, the World Tree actually wins easily; after the war ends, it could defect, lay down its arms, and surrender courteously, thereby preserving its strength to the greatest extent in the new era's competition.

Having considered these three points, it is indeed a first-rate strategy.

"Right, big brother also said, once the war breaks out, we can also go back; now the first and second speakers are silent, the third and fourth speakers, and the fifth speaker has already decided to ignore the War God Palace's summons, making the War God Palace's regulations null and void."

Li Yao let out a sigh.

Everything will have to wait until the war starts; by then they won't possibly have the leisure to attend to us. It's just our son's vendetta—I don't know whether the true culprit has been resolved.

Venniya also felt somewhat unwilling; had she known this would be the outcome, she would have killed even more ruthlessly.

Just as the couple felt dejected, a certain Yun who had been monitoring them sent a message.

Ding-ding

The couple both froze.

Venniya was using a special-model communicator secretly developed by the HR Alliance; to be safe, this communication only had a solitary satellite network, unable to interconnect with other networks, and Venniya's communication number was known only to the patriarch of the Boulernas family—her own older brother.

And the sender of the message was an unknown signal.

Although it may disturb your vacation mood, we have an important matter we wish to discuss with you two.

Regarding the hundred-billion bounty you posted and commissioned me to investigate, I have already found the culprit, and I also possess absolute evidence proving this person is the culprit.

As for this hundred-billion, I suppose you two wouldn't default on the debt, would you?

Signature: Enthusiastic Fairy Miss

Of course, Li Yao and his wife would be more familiar with the sender's other name—Yun Mengze, who assisted them in China with numerous assassinations and, at the critical moment, rescued them beforehand.

The couple did not know how Yun Mengze learned of this communication, how he connected to it, and they had no inclination to care.

Because an attachment was included below the email, one of the videos was particularly conspicuous, and the cover image was exactly the place where their son Li Wei was before his death.

Below the video, there is also the current location of the murderer.

Dragon Gate.