Chapter 475: She Can't Be the Truth Mage, Can She?

If you think a demon lord is a clueless, dim-witted fool, there's only one possibility—you've been tricked, just like believing a swindler would run a losing business; if he does run a losing business, he'll definitely make it back somewhere you can't see.

The lava giant, which had looked on the verge of death, sputtering ash as if about to go out at any moment, suddenly straightened up, instantly growing a third taller, its surface becoming scorching hot, waves of heat rolling outward.

Any fool could see it was playing dumb. Connecting that with someone approaching quickly, the mage immediately shouted: "Strike with everything you've got, hack it to pieces—just don't damage the demon heart."

At this point, the mage still didn't want to give up a demon heart, and then he saw a sight that left him dumbfounded.

"Tremble in fear, foolish humans—let me show you what true terror looks like!"

The lava giant suddenly raised both hands high, and what surged up with that motion was the sand and stone of the ground—except by the time it sprayed into the air, it had already melted into scorching magma.

Accompanied by whispers that seemed to come from the depths of the abyss, the lava giant slammed its hands down—BOOM—the entire ground jolted, and from the point where its hands struck, a massive crack spread outward, extending like a spiderweb.

The crack's range encompassed where the swordsmen stood, magma surging through it—WHOOSH—a lava spike thrust up, piercing through the swordsmen's bodies and impaling them into the air.

Those struck in vital spots died on the spot; those who weren't screamed in agony. The lava spikes carried extreme heat, cauterizing the wounds so that even blood couldn't flow out.

The dozen-plus swordsmen surrounding the lava giant were all skewered through just like that.

The mage stared dumbfounded, his whole body trembling. From the moment the lava giant slammed its hands down, he felt an eruption of aura—absolutely not the aura of an ordinary lava giant, not even the aura of an ordinary greater demon.

The swordsman beside him, who had been holding his sword across his chest, stared dumbfounded as well; the sword slipped from his arms and dropped onto his foot, hurting him so much he hopped around clutching his foot.

A dozen-plus swordsmen hacking at it were wiped out in a single move—yet with such strength, it held back, playing with everyone the whole time, only showing its might when someone approached from afar.

"Wh-why? Why are you doing this? You clearly could have killed us all yourself—why toy with us like this?!" the mage demanded in a sharp, incredulous voice.

"Aiya, was afraid you'd run off, y'know. Your wagon's got good stuff on it—I can sense it. Of course you've gotta let the master come open the box, otherwise how's the master gonna know my hard work and contributions?" the lava giant said with a chuckle, unhurried and at ease.

"M-master? You have a master too?" the mage's voice was trembling. Such a cunning, powerful demon—and it actually has a master?

"Of course I do," the lava giant said in a tone that suggested the other was making a fuss over nothing. "Without a master, who'd shelter me? Makes no sense."

Shelter you? With your strength, you still need someone to shelter you? Just how powerful is the person who can shelter you?

The mage, trembling, crushed a ring on his hand; the energy fluctuations of the flying car beneath his feet rapidly intensified. Seizing the moment, the mage asked: "Demon, what work do you do? Why are you in this wasteland?"

The lava giant said, a bit embarrassed: "I'm a fertilizer."

"Fertilizer? You crafty demon, not a single truthful word out of your mouth. Even if I chopped you up and buried you, you'd just pollute the earth—fertilizer? My eye. Goodbye, you crafty demon," the mage cursed.

"Hehe…" the lava giant just chuckled, making no move in response.

Meanwhile, the swordsmen who hadn't yet breathed their last wailed piteously: "my lord, my lord, don't leave us behind! Don't leave us behind!"

PFFT—having pushed its energy fluctuations to the limit, the flying car let out a sound like a leak, and the energy fluctuations rapidly weakened.

The mage was dumbfounded. He stamped hard on the flying car beneath his feet, saying anxiously: "What's going on? Move! Why won't it move? Why isn't the teleportation scroll working?"

"Don't waste your effort. I could've smashed you dead, yet I still called the master over—it's precisely because I was afraid you'd run off, hehe. Leave the good stuff from the car behind, then run. I promise I won't chase you," the lava giant's voice was thick with a tempting, beguiling tone.

The mage's heart tightened; he hesitated. The flying car had a defensive array—if he didn't run, he could hold out for a while behind it, but could it really hold? Judging by the might with which the lava giant had slaughtered those swordsmen, the defensive array on the flying car definitely couldn't take more than a few hits.

But if he ran… could he actually escape? Just as he was hesitating, it went quiet behind him. He turned to look—the swordsmen behind him had already leapt off the flying car and were sprinting away into the distance.

The mage cursed inwardly, then hurriedly leapt off the flying car as well, slapped two acceleration spells onto himself, and shot off into the distance.

He had barely shot forward a few steps when a lava fireball came flying at him.

"Despicable! You go back on your word, you don't keep your promise!" the mage roared, dodging the lava fireball with a twist of his body.

The lava fireball landed ahead of him and exploded with a roar, sparks and magma flying in all directions; quite a bit of it splashed onto him, making his shield crackle and pop.

From where the lava fireball had burst open, a smaller lava giant slowly emerged, saying in a bewildered tone: "Going back on my promise? You got proof? Did we sign a contract? Pull it out and let's see. No proof, no evidence—don't go making things up, eh?"

While speaking, it fired off a smaller lava fireball.

The mage was so angry his face turned green. With a wave of his staff, two ice cones shot out—SWISH SWISH—the first shattered the lava fireball, the second struck the smaller lava giant.

The smaller lava giant shattered, but the mage couldn't be happy about it at all, because he sensed another, larger lava fireball being hurled at him from behind.

This demon had never intended to kill him at all—it was just stalling for time, preparing to capture him alive.

This won't do, he couldn't let himself be captured alive. The mage gritted his teeth and turned around, ready to fight to the death—but the moment he turned, he saw several figures rushing up.

The big cat perched on the little zombie's head like a furry hat opened its big mouth: "Aa—"

Space rippled in a way ordinary people couldn't perceive; in this unstable state, no teleportation scroll would work.

Luther waved his greatsword as he ran, shouting: "Where's the enemy? Where's the enemy? Witness the might of my Dragon-Grain Steel-Core Mithril Filigree Magic-Rune Earth-Covered Forge-Baked Gem-Enhanced Piercing Enchantment Exile Sword!"

Lord Nai Ge couldn't help but curse: "What are you yelling about? That's the Sword of Judgment and Exile—what kind of nonsense is that?"

"Sword of Judgment and Exile is too short, not imposing enough," Luther said.

He rushed over, looked left and right: "Huh? Where's the person? Volcanic Ash, was it you calling my lord for help? Where's the person?"

The Lord of Terror said in a muffled, deep voice: "Don't call me Volcanic Ash, I'm the Lord of Terror!"

"Alright, got it, Volcanic Ash—where's the enemy?" Luther asked eagerly. Seeing Ange had dumped him on the Prime Material Plane for so long, he hadn't run into a single fight—bored to the point his eggs were nearly hatching.

The Lord of Terror sighed: "Don't call me Volcanic Ash, you can call me Dark Smoke Rings—there's only one left, over there."

Luther took a look, startled: "A grand mage? One grand mage and you called for help? The kind you could kill by farting—and you called us over?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" the mage was unhappy. What do you mean, 'kill by farting'? Are grand mages worthless or something?

The Lord of Terror spread his hands: "His flying car has good stuff on it. I was afraid he'd run, so I called you guys over."

"Good stuff?" Luther's eyes lit up.

The little angel also arrived, looked around, and asked in confusion: "Ao?"

The Lord of Terror hurriedly said: "There's only one left. His team has good stuff on it. I was afraid he'd run, so I called you."

The little angel got anxious the moment it heard that. Without another word, it pushed both hands forward.

"Hey, hey, hey…" the mage realized no one was paying him any attention, and a fury of being ignored welled up inside him—he was a dignified grand mage, for crying out loud!

But before he could finish his 'hey,' someone did pay attention to him—the little angel suddenly spread two pairs of light wings, pushed both hands forward, and a pillar of light swallowed him whole. This kind of 'paying attention' was a bit too enthusiastic…

After firing off the attack, the little angel hopped once and let out a happy "Ao!"

Seeing Ange came running over with a scythe slung across his shoulder, looking completely bewildered.

The Lord of Terror quickly explained once more: "His flying car has good stuff on it. I was afraid he'd run, so I called you guys over."

After understanding the specifics, Lord Nai Ge said somewhat reluctantly: "If we can't find good stuff on that flying car, I'm throwing you into the sea."

Everyone returned to the side of the flying car. Because the Lord of Terror had scared people off, the flying car's protective barrier was completely intact.

The protective barrier was one-way — you could jump out from inside, but you couldn't get in from outside; it had to be torn apart by force.

Luther hurriedly said: "Let me do it, let me do it."

He channeled his battle aura and began hammering the protective barrier. After more than twenty consecutive punches, he forcibly smashed through the protective barrier of one flying car.

Being able to withstand more than twenty punches from a high-rank Sword Saint — this flying car's defense was quite impressive. This meant that without seven or eight high-rank Sword Saints attacking with full force, it would be very hard to break through the flying car's defense, especially when there was a Grand Mage inside casting spells while simultaneously piloting the flying car around.

"High-quality goods, huh." Luther was slightly out of breath, remarked in surprise, stepped onto the flying car first, and pulled open the door of the front cabin.

This flying car looked a lot like a seafaring ship without sails — a ring of deck around the perimeter, a raised section in the middle, with a half-recessed cabin door. This style of flying car was very common on this plane.

The main reason was that, with advanced alchemy and cheap magic crystals, everyone could afford to drive a car.

However, flying cars also came in different grades. Like the ones the goblins of the Sorcerer Alliance drove — although their grade was high and they came equipped with weapons, the main cost was concentrated on combat aspects.

But the flying car before them was different — it was a completely luxury flying car, with refined materials and craftsmanship. When the cabin door was pulled open, the interior decoration was even more lavish, and moreover…

"Whoa! Spatial folding expansion — just like so-and-so's carriage!" Luther shouted at once. After seeing the situation inside the cabin clearly, he let out another sharp question: "Who are you!?"

Lord Nai Ge Li Si squeezed in. It had grown up now — no longer the little yellow dragon of half a meter from head to tail it used to be — so fitting through a cabin door designed for humans was a bit of a squeeze.

The moment they entered the cabin, they saw four maids kneeling inside, and a woman half-reclining on a lounge chair, a thin blanket covering her, staring coldly in the direction of the cabin door.

Lord Nai Ge Li Si also noticed that where her hands and feet should have been beneath the thin blanket, there was now nothing at all.

Seeing Ange and the others also came in — inside the spatially-expanded flying car, there was almost enough room to partition off a three-bedroom-one-living-room space. Apart from the Lord of Terror who couldn't get in, everyone else could fit in without a problem.

Seeing that Ange's group actually included a little girl and a big cat, the cold-faced woman's expression relaxed a little, but she was still very cold.

After an interrogation, the four maids told everything they knew. They were servants of the Grand Mage Loxter, responsible for taking care of the woman behind them, and were heading to the Magic Star City to attend the Mage Convention.

"Then who are you? What's your relationship with Loxter? Huh? Soul Restraint Ring?" Lord Nai Ge Li Si noticed a ring on the woman's neck and recognized it at a glance — wasn't this the Adams Restraint Ring?

However, there shouldn't be anyone named Adams in this world, so it was better to call it by its common name — Soul Restraint Ring.

Seeing the restraint ring, Lord Nai Ge Li Si immediately lifted the blanket covering the woman, revealing a mutilated body. This woman's right hand was severed at the root, her left hand at the elbow, and both legs were gone below the knees.

Recalling that she hadn't said a single word, Lord Nai Ge Li Si pried open her mouth and discovered her tongue was also gone.

"Kuabada, who could be so vicious?" Luther said angrily.

The maid replied: "It was done by Grand Mage Loxter."

"Where is Loxter? I'll go kill him — too hateful, how could anyone be so cruel to a girl!" Luther asked furiously.

The maids exchanged glances: "W… wasn't he killed by you guys?"

"Oh, that charred corpse sprayed all over the outside was him?" Luther immediately deflated. So the villain was already dead — too easy on him.

Lord Nai Ge Li Si asked, puzzled: "What did this girl do? Why would that guy treat her like this?"

The maid replied: "The Grand Mage said that without doing this, he couldn't control her."

"She's not a dragon, why couldn't he control her? Wouldn't tying her up be enough?" Lord Nai Ge Li Si said, baffled, then turned to the woman and asked: "What's your name?"

The woman acted as if she hadn't heard, her gaze sweeping coldly over Ange and the others.

A bad premonition rose in Lord Nai Ge Li Si's heart. It twisted the woman's head and looked into her ears.

Sure enough, the woman's eardrums had also been pierced — and in a destructive way at that. If it had only been a small hole, the ear could still pick up some sound.

"What grudge, what hatred? Truly too vicious. Dying like that was too easy on him. Later we'll search his remnant soul and throw it into Soul Prison — kuabada." Lord Nai Ge Li Si was also angered, and turning to Seeing Ange said: "Ange, can you remove the Soul Restraint Ring?"

Seeing Ange came over to look, applied a spot-removal spell with a sizzle, and pried off the Soul Restraint Ring.

The woman was stunned. She looked at Seeing Ange's hand, then at the Soul Restraint Ring that had fallen to the ground, in disbelief.

What her eyes saw was hard to believe, but the magic power surging through her body wouldn't deceive her. After the Soul Restraint Ring was removed, her magic power had returned.

The woman's eyes reddened. She bared her teeth in a savage grin. Having lost her eardrums, tongue, hands and feet, and sealed by the Soul Restraint Ring, she had long since come to hate this world to the core. Having regained her power, the thing she most wanted to do was destroy everything before her!!

"Such powerful magic, so powerful — kuabada, she can't be an Archmage of Truth, can she? Not good, she seems to be going berserk." Lord Nai Ge Li Si said in shock.

Magic power erupted from the woman's body, first propping up a shield, then lifting her into the air.

But before she could float up, Seeing Ange's hand thrust in, bursting her shield — Dispel!

An endless stream of first-tier magic — Dispel — was driven into the woman's body. Before her stunned eyes, it forcibly scattered all the magic power throughout her body.

The woman was dumbfounded. What was going on? I'm an Archmage of Truth — how could my magic power be dispersed by a first-tier Dispel?

Seeing Ange gripped her neck, twisted her head around to expose her ear canal, dripped in a drop of Worm Ash Liquid — Heal. The other ear was treated the same way. Finally, he pried open her mouth, dripped Worm Ash Liquid onto the base of her tongue — Heal.