Chapter 3766: The Demons' Help

Xia De knew this cat was giving him a well-meaning reminder, but then felt that the cat the demon was disguised as seemed more like a real cat than Leaving Xiao Leaving Xiao Miya.

He shook his head to dispel the strange thought:

"I'm very interested in the next demon story too, but I really have urgent business to attend to."

He did not ask why the black cat and black dog were following Mr. Asmon, but instead asked:

"You should be able to sense that this area of the dock is now sealed off by an invisible barrier. Can you think of a way to help me break free from this space?"

The black cat and black dog clearly knew about this:

"You know, we don't have much power. Ston Ausont only summoned us with the wish of 'fighting demons,' but we couldn't deal with the Stone Mirror Demon-Goth, and in the end we were just left at the manor to look after Lady Ausont. If you hadn't rescued us, we probably wouldn't even have our freedom now."

Xia De of course knew this:

"But even if you don't have power, I still believe you have a way to let me leave here."

The black cat and black dog did not deny it, and the black dog continued in the voice of the former butler:

"You helped us, but the hints we gave you back then have already repaid the favor. We have a very good impression of you, and we're happy to help you once more, but if you accept our help, you must give something in return.

This isn't a threat—it's a rule we must abide by. If we helped you for free, that would be the real threat to you."

Xia De indicated his understanding:

"What do you need? Snake has part of the essence of the 'Weapon Demon' in his hands—do you need that? Or perhaps the Weapon Demon originally came to this snowy mountain to find a certain weapon; maybe you need that too."

The cat and dog remained crouched in the same posture:

"You don't need to test us—we don't have thoughts like those. The payment you need to give is very simple."

The cat raised its paw and licked it:

"After you've resolved your troublesome matters, remember to come find this scholar again and listen to the next part of the demon story. These ancient stories aren't just interesting to hear—sometimes they bring people unexpected gains."

"No problem, and I just promised Mr. Asmon, so naturally I won't go back on my word. But... will you two be following him from now on?"

The black dog nodded:

"He's a very good traveling companion, and the content of his research and work also suits our interests very well. When you encounter him in the next city, we should still be by his side."

"Is he...?"

The black cat shook its head:

"Kind sir, do you really want to ask that question now?"

The woman's voice from the cat carried a note of warning, and Xia De smiled:

"Alright, I understand, this question really isn't suitable to ask right now. I've had enough trouble tonight. Then let me leave here—ideally in a way that Mr. Snake won't notice my departure for a short while. Time is running short, the mountaintop still needs me."

The black cat and black dog did not consider Xia De's request excessive. The dog stepped to the side of the pier, barked "Woof woof~" a few times at the water's surface, and a small thing flew up from beneath the water.

It was a glass bottle, with a silver band firmly fixing the stopper to the mouth, and inside the bottle swirled seven-colored smoke.

The bottle landed with water beside the black dog, and as it rolled on the pier, the stopper popped open with a "Pop~", and seven-colored smoke surged from the mouth, finally transforming into a blue giant spirit with a translucent body.

This was the sage-level relic 【Greed's Reward】, and before becoming a relic, this blue giant spirit's true form was actually "Wish Demon-Zatanna," which was also Xia De's old acquaintance.

Its upper body wore a sleeveless vest with its buttons undone, and its lower body connected to the glass bottle in the form of clouds. After surveying the surroundings, it raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised by the current scene:

"What do you want with me? Oh, it's you."

The demon first asked the black dog and black cat, then saw Xia De.

The black cat looked up and said to it:

"I've come to make a wish: open an exit for him to leave here, and don't let the barrier's master notice."

The blue giant spirit did not deny possessing such ability. Although it was only sage-level, far inferior to Grace and Helen who also held Chosen One status, relics possessing demonic power could not be judged by normal standards.

"No problem, but I'm afraid I can't hide it from this place's master for too long."

The demon that drifted from the bottle didn't even ask the black cat for a price. It stretched out a hand, flicked forward, and peeled off a fingernail-sized piece of colored cloud from its body that flew into the air. Then that cloud traced a counterclockwise circular trajectory as it spun, growing larger and larger in the process until it formed a stable portal.

【Enhanced Spatial Perception】 told Xia De what location the portal connected to on the other side. He breathed a sigh of relief and said to the three demons:

"I still have urgent business, so I won't stay here any longer. I'll count this as owing you a favor, and I'll repay it."

The black cat shook its head:

"You don't owe us a favor—just remember what you promised. Leave now, the night is deep, and we need to head back too."

Xia De nodded, passed through the portal, and disappeared.

Only after closing the portal did the blue giant spirit, arms crossed over its chest, look down and ask the crouching cat and dog:

"You were willing to help him—was it because he's your traveling companion's friend, or because he's that psychologist's friend?"

The dog answered:

"Neither. Our help often brings disaster to those we help, but he's one of the few people who can accept our help. Besides, regardless of our stance, no one wants to bring about the apocalypse right now, do they?"

"Makes sense."

The blue giant spirit nodded, then gazed from afar toward that tavern, but in the end said nothing and simply shrank back into the bottle, not even collecting the price for the black cat's wish.

And as the bottle fell back into the water, the cat and dog also hopped away and vanished from the pier.

First came two unknowable-level relics, then three demons. The pier at Time Wheel City's dock had truly witnessed a legend tonight.

(Leaving Xiao Leaving Xiao Miya running...)

After walking out of the portal, Xia De appeared on the beach in western Time Wheel City. In summer this was a vacation spot for the nobles of the Lagsen Duchy, but on this fog-shrouded night the beach was deserted, with only the black shadow rapidly approaching from the direction of the sea standing out so conspicuously.

"Moonlight Ray."

A silver ray burst from his fingertip, and a few seconds later the monster's corpse—its head evaporated beyond any describable form—was washed up on the shore. It looked like a stitched-together creature of several kinds of fish, which reminded Xia De of that famous dish from Time Wheel City.

He didn't bother with the monster, released his perception to sense the surrounding environment, then took a step and vanished from the beach.

Half a minute later, when the belated third Fate Impact swept across from the mountaintop, Xia De had already appeared on the deck of the Radiant Messenger. To cope with the Fate Impact, the Radiant Messenger had made very thorough preparations, so the ship only trembled for a moment before returning to calm.

There were already people on the deck waiting for Xia De's return. The young witches' followers led Xia De into the cabin, and when Xia De appeared in the banquet hall, Luvia—who had been confirming the intensity of this Fate Impact with Miss Elze—glanced over at once:

"Xia De!"

She breathed a sigh of relief, ran toward Xia De quite excitedly, then reached out and gave him a firm hug. Xia De hadn't appeared for a long time, and Luvia had actually been quite worried. But after that hug, she didn't speak words of affection; instead, she regained her composure and spoke very rapidly:

The right eye of the Ouroboros has been located; we will use the power of this divine artifact to monitor the entire island.

But ten minutes ago, after Stella reached the peak, we lost direct observation of her movements; Elly and Leaving Xiao Leaving Xiao Miya vanished together before the game began, and Sylvia recently sent word that they, along with Little Liana and Flora, rushed into the ruins atop the mountain—and Elly suddenly became extremely powerful.

Adel Isabella came aboard the ship before midnight, but only stayed briefly to inform us that the Witch Council's follow-up reinforcements were imminent, then went directly to the peak; Hevi is now also at the peak—Sylvia says she has become a Thirteenth-Rank Great Witch, and this is connected to you, isn't it?

Connected, but we'll discuss this later—what is the current status of the five candidates?

Xia De asked. At this moment, Mathilda had already arrived with the three maid young ladies, bringing Xia De's battle equipment; as Luvia and Bella informed Xia De of the situation, they stuffed onto him two pistols, the Twenty-Sided Die of Fate, some of Leaving Xiao Leaving Xiao Miya's rings, numerous toys, and alchemical artifacts.

Bella led Xia De to one side of the massive sand table and gestured for him not to enter the range monitored by the long-range communication ritual:

"Stella, Old Master Zhalatu, and Kathrin Schwartz have already entered the ruins; Mr. Motis is still ascending and has been blocked—the priest from the 【Unity of Ten Thousand Numbers】 was severely wounded during the game, so he has not yet reached the peak.

The current battle situation is not optimistic; the fog's influence has already spread to the southern coast of the Old Continent, and coastal cities have reported incidents to their local churches—fighting may soon break out in those cities as well.

The town and Timewheel City have repelled multiple waves of monsters coming from land and sea; the town's situation is still manageable, as it is small and sparsely populated, and the Radiant Messenger is docked at the pier, providing significant support. But Timewheel City's situation is dire—before midnight, the monsters, led by a Ring-Bearer, nearly breached the northern defenses; a Twelfth-Rank Mr. from the Liming Sect, carrying the 【Hero】's Fate Ring, went to intercept them and was tragically killed.

If Danister had not rushed to their aid in time from the elf encampment, and if we had not already dispatched the support brought by the Council President, the northern district of Timewheel City would have already fallen."