Chapter 139

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Protagonist:

Lin En

Lena

Lin En followed Calum into that magnificent restaurant.

The whole restaurant was decorated so exquisitely that one couldn't look away, and some statues were lifelike.

As if real humans had been petrified.

Some oil paintings were vividly colored, and even Lin En, who had appreciated the internet, found them novel.

It was just that the feel of those paints and canvases seemed strange somehow.

Finally they arrived at the main dining table.

On the long dining table, tableware was dazzlingly abundant, and attendants shuttled silently.

The head seat was empty, that was Karadong's place.

Calum asked Lin En to sit in the guest seat, and sat opposite himself.

Dishes were served one after another.

Snow beef, icefield fish, vegetables from Dolido Yun; in Brevis, these things were more precious than gold.

Every dish looked so delicious that Lin En couldn't help but swallow his saliva.

Lin En picked up his knife and fork, and cut a small piece of meat.

Put it into his mouth.

Lin En dared to affirm that he had never eaten anything so delicious.

He was not a glutton, but at this moment he actually couldn't stop eating.

And Calum opposite him smiled more and more brilliantly.

He had been observing Lin En, until Lin En raised his head and glanced at him.

Only then did he lightly taste a sip of thick soup, then furiously called for the chef.

That chef wore an airtight helmet, but his actions and words revealed immense fatigue and fear.

"This soup must be scalding like lava, but upon entry must have the aftertaste of Ice Plains Ancient Ice."

"How many times have I said it?"

This was the first time Lin En saw an expression other than a smile on Calum's face.

But as Calum's emotions fluctuated, Lin En felt as if he suddenly became a bit clearer.

He watched Calum berate that chef, watched that pitiful worm trembling as he knelt on the ground.

The first expression other than a smile to appear on Calum's face was anger.

Just at the moment Calum's emotions fluctuated, Lin En felt his brain "buzz."

As if a tightly closed door had suddenly been opened a crack.

He blinked, and only then discovered.

Where was Dou Dou?

That two-meter-six Ogryn, his Guard Team captain, had clearly been following right behind him just now, where was the person?

Lin En looked around; in the restaurant, besides him and Calum, there were only those attendants shuttling silently.

No Dou Dou and no one else.

And he himself, just now actually hadn't realized this at all.

He looked down at the plate of snow beef in front of him, more than half already eaten, and his stomach suddenly surged.

Wrong.

Lin En closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and silently recited in his heart:

"System!"

A pale pink translucent interface unfolded at the edge of his vision.

In that instant, the world in his eyes changed.

The "delicious snow beef" on the plate turned into a piece of meat he had never seen before, bright red chunks dotted with yellow fat.

That bowl of "icefield fish soup" had several chunks floating in the broth, unknown what they were.

And the precious "fresh vegetables" were a writhing mass of flesh with eyes growing on it.

Lin En's stomach spasmed violently, and he was about to vomit.

But he forcibly suppressed it, raised his head, and looked around.

The exquisite murals became twisted paintings depicting unspeakable lewd scenes, blasphemous works.

Those lifelike statues—where were they carved from stone?

They were clearly humans petrified one by one, their faces frozen with expressions of extreme pain and extreme pleasure mixed together.

Finally, he looked at Calum.

That elegant lord, handsome to the extreme, making one feel like basking in spring breeze.

At this moment, in Lin En's eyes, he had completely changed appearance.

His face was still that face, but his skin showed a sickly pale purple, and a curved bony small horn grew on the left side of his forehead.

His eyes were no longer clear green, but deep purple vertical pupils, with lewd flames burning in the depths of his pupils.

His smile was still perfect, but beneath that perfection was something that made Lin En's spine chill.

That was the satisfied look a predator wore when watching prey fall into its trap.

Lord of Lust.

Lin En silently spoke that name in his heart, and the hand holding the fork unconsciously tightened its grip.

The Lord of Pleasure, the youngest and most dangerous of the Chaos Four Gods.

His domain was the extreme of desire, the infinite amplification of the senses, the madness that followed the distortion of all normal emotions.

His believers pursued "the perfect experience."

And Calum had clearly fallen completely into it.

Lin En took a deep breath, calming himself down.

Although he seemed to be trapped, it was not yet a desperate situation.

And judging by Calum's confident appearance, he clearly had not yet discovered that Lin En had already "broken free."

Lin En thought quickly.

How much power could he use now? The system was still there, but he couldn't contact Lena.

And he discovered a strange obstruction within his body, as if something was suppressing him.

Making him unable to exert strength; it seemed those foods indeed had a problem.

But the system could let him see the truth, and that was enough.

He needed time, needed to figure out exactly what Calum wanted to do, and needed to find an opportunity to escape.

So Lin En lowered his head and continued cutting those strange pieces of meat, but after cutting for a long time, there was no actual progress.

After scolding the chef, Calum turned around, the anger on his face gone, once again wearing that perfect smile.

"Making Governor Sir laugh at us." He said, walking back to his seat.

"These servants are never attentive enough."

Lin En raised his head, wearing that "I just ate very happily" smile on his face.

"Where, where," he said.

"Lord Calum's pursuit of fine food truly makes this Governor admire him."

Calum's eyes lit up.

It was the light of "meeting a kindred spirit."

The following chat was more "deep" than before.

Calum began talking about fine food, art, and music.

His taste was indeed high, if one ignored the distorted essence hidden behind those topics.

A dish he described was, from the true perspective, a pot of writhing maggot soup.

A painting he praised was, from the true perspective, a woman being slowly sliced alive.

But Lin En listened, nodded, and showed an "admiring" expression at the right moment.

"So," Calum said, picking up the wine jug on the table and filling Lin En's cup with a purple liquid.

"Governor Sir, do you want to experience true extremity?"

He pushed the cup in front of Lin En.

The liquid bubbled in the cup, with a layer of strange colors floating on the surface, while emitting a cloying fragrance.

"This is the supreme treasure bestowed upon me by the Lord of Pleasure." Calum's voice became full of temptation.

"Drink it, and you will receive His blessing."

"At that time, you will experience unprecedented joy, and you will see the truth of this world!"

His gaze became fanatical.

As long as Lin En drank this cup of wine, he would unveil the secrets hidden in this man.

Receive more of His favor!

Lin En looked at that "wine," quickly calculating in his heart.

He could not exert strength now, had lost contact with Lena, and Dou Dou was nowhere to be found.

If they fought hard, he was probably no match for Calum.

But drinking this thing...

He looked at that pool of writhing liquid, and his stomach surged again.

Cannot drink, absolutely cannot drink.

He had to find a way to refuse, but he could not refuse too obviously.

Lin En shook the wine cup, just thinking about what to do, when Calum himself gave him an out.

"Governor Sir," he suddenly changed the subject.

"What do you think of Supreme King Karadong as a person?"

Lin En's heart stirred, here it comes!

He showed a hesitant expression on his face, looked left and right, then lowered his voice:

"To be honest?"

Calum leaned closer, a light of expectation flashing in his eyes.

"To be honest."

Lin En sighed.

"Too overbearing."

"I've been in Brevis for so long; if he wants to see me, he tells me to come."

"If he doesn't want to see me, he tells me to scram; this Governor of mine is probably just a decoration in his eyes."

Calum's eyes grew brighter.

"You think so too?" His voice trembled slightly.

"You've... had enough of him too?"

Lin En nodded, wearing an expression of "shared suffering."

"Who says otherwise."

Calum's defensive line loosened at that moment.

He began to speak.

He spoke of his childhood, his youth, and all his reluctance in this life.

"I've loved battle since I was young," he said, his eyes gazing into the distance as if recalling something.

"I first touched a Knight Mecha's control stick at eight years old, and I knew then that this was what I sought in life."

"I want to be a Holy Knight, to pilot a mecha at the Most Front, to let everyone see my radiance."

Lin En listened quietly.

"My talent is even better than my big brother's," Calum continued, resentment creeping into his voice.

"The Instructor said that if I were allowed to pilot a mecha, I could become one of the strongest Holy Knights in the history of the Saint Galus Family."

"But..."

He paused, a trace of pain flashing in his eyes.

"Just because I am the second son, just because the family needs an Internal Affairs Lord to manage those trivial matters."

"Just because of those damn rules."

"I was stripped of my qualification."

His voice turned sharp.

"My big brother can go to the Battlefield, can pilot a mecha, can become a hero."

"And I can only sit in the Castle, manage account books, handle disputes, receive guests."

"Do you know what that feels like?"

He looked at Lin En, something fiery burning in his eyes.

"Do you know what it feels like to watch others do what you love every day, while you can only do those boring, trivial, meaningless things?"

Lin En remained silent.

He didn't know what to say.

But he knew that what mattered most now was to let Calum keep speaking.

"Later," Calum's voice grew low, "I met Him."

Lin En's heart tightened.

"He made me understand that battle is not the only extreme."

"What is glory on the Battlefield? That is merely the shallowest pleasure."

"The true extreme is the infinite amplification of the senses, the infinite ascension of experience."

"Fine food, fine wine, music, art, and..."

He looked at Lin En, his gaze turning ambiguous.

"Something even more wonderful."

Lin En's sweat hair stood on end behind him, but he still wore that "understanding" expression on his face.

Calum was immersed in his own world and did not notice Lin En's small movements.

Lin En took the opportunity to pour the wine from his cup onto the floor.

The purple liquid seeped into the carpet, silently.