abcnovels
Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Chapter 58: Greed
Translator: StarveCleric Editor: StarveCleric
That is an eight to nine-year-old Elf girl.
Under a parasol, she sits in her small chair. The little girl’s silky golden hair drifts along with the wind. While secretly giggling beneath her hands, she was tackling the lollipop in her hands with all of her strength.
Her white skin looks just as smooth as milk and her cute princess skirt has pictures of little bats on it. Her pink and chubby face has a shy and sweet smile on it, reminiscent of a little angel which accidentally descended onto the mortal world.
Noticing that I was looking at her, she immediately blushes red in embarrassment, but her pink tongue didn’t stop its motion. Instead, just like a hungry cat secretly sipping on a bowl of milk, she hastens her action. It didn’t take her long to digest over half of the lollipop.
The eyes of onlookers might just see an innocent little girl secretly smiling due to the joy from licking her delicious lollipop. However, I only got goosebumps watching at the sight.
“What a cute girl. Master, where did you kidnap her from?
Elisa has finally finished reorganizing her emotions and just when she steps into the room, she saw this unfamiliar little girl and was curious.
“Your senior, the ‘Omniscient One’ Harloys.
I reply her with a blank face. All of her reports that she was holding in her hand falls to the floor. Then, she props up her glasses and starts to pick them up silently.
“Why don’t you ask anything? Like why did the old granny suddenly turn young and where did Greed go?” This overly calm reaction makes me curious instead.
“No, the moment that I think of the fact that she was your mentor, she probably plays in part in why you turned out like that; I suddenly felt like I could accept it no matter what kind of person she was.”
What does it mean that it was acceptable because she was my master? It sounds like I was hopeless and unreliable.
“When have you been reliable? When has anything that you got involved it end up well? Stop guessing, I can’t read minds and you didn’t accidentally blurt it out. Even if you are wearing a mask, but when were you able to hide your emotions for me? It seems that you have forgotten that I have followed you for many decades.”
A venomous tongue as usual. Elisa, who seems to have regained her composure on the surface, lowers her head as much as possible to hide her swollen red eyes and I, who was feigning ignorance of it, didn’t know what to do.
Fortunately, there is a fool that can’t read the atmosphere by the side.
This granny seems to finally recall that she is the 3rd Senator, the Queen of Banshees, and it is unbecoming of her to be licking on a lollipop like a little kid. She first hid her lollipop behind her, intending to dispose of it later, but then she felt that it was a waste so noticing that we were still chatting, she immediately turns about and swallows the rest of the lollipop.
Afterward, before she could even finish swallowing all of it, she turns around...
“Haha, my good disciple. I didn’t expect your Undead Creation to have reached such mastery. Cough cough! ...Un, to be capable of making Undead regain their taste buds, wa kaka... cough cough cough, this body is really powerful. I can feel the God’s Bloodline circulating in my body. It is possible that I might even be stronger than when I was at my peak. Cough cough cough!!! ...I finally managed to spit it out, I almost died again.”
The wind created by magic lingers at her back, allowing her small physique to float slightly in the air. The words that she intentionally used an old and commanding tone to say, in the perspective of the listeners, didn’t have a trace of dignity it should have. Other than the exceptionally innocent and cute voice of a kid, she choked on a lollipop just after saying a few arrogant words and her continuous coughing were hilarious.
I can understand the agitation of an Undead who suddenly regained her taste buds, but it isn’t correct for her to act cute like this. Not to mention, the thought of her being an old granny dispels every single thought of her being cute. So, I laughed.
“Wahaha, Elisa, look at her foolish look. Being of such an age yet choking on a lollipop...”
But I stopped after a few seconds of mocking her. That is because Elisa’s gaze at me was full of sympathy, as though as I was an infant that was laughing at someone despite not being much better.
I can roughly get the message she was trying to express — “You probably would need a mirror. Remember that time when you used too much lubricant so many times to you were unable to fix your bones together properly? Afterward, I had to use glue to help you stick them back on. Back then, you probably looked just as foolish.”
Fine, it isn’t that I can read minds. Elisa has already said it out.
“Cough, Harloys, I...” Just as I was trying to change the subject, Harloys interjected.
“Call me master. I am satisfied with this body and your plan interests me as well. So, I will consider this favor and I hold off the matter of expelling you.”
Shaking my head, I don’t retort. It is just a name and besides, she has indeed taught me many things. If she is willing to continue being my mentor, then so be it.
“Fine, demon... Mentor, why did you turn into such a look? You have dozens of fixed looks for this physique, so you should be able to interchange between them easily. Maybe, it is your personal interest? You want to try to pretend to be young?”
Harloys sighs and shakes her head helplessly.
“It isn’t that. This is my true look when I died. When the soul and physical body is aligned, it is easier to it for resonate and merge together. In order to allow my physical body and soul to completely merge, it is better for me to maintain this form temporarily. Speaking of it, you all are probably the only ones who know the existence of this look of mine.”
“WHAT!!?” Hearing this, even me who knew her for a few centuries was flabbergasted. That is to say, this is the true look of the old demon granny’s soul. Back then, when she turned into an Undead, she looked so cute and innocent and she was just slightly bigger than this at her moment of death.
“What is there to be surprised about? Don’t you know about it? Undead are the product of lingering will and curse. The more pure and noble the soul is, the more it will despair under the darkness of reality, the more the vicious the curse it gives out would be and the easier it would be for a strong Undead to be born. Back then, you also...”
“Cough, let’s not talk about excessive things. Right, what is the progress with the Dark Elves?” I didn’t want my history to be dug up and so, it was my turn to change the topic.
Knowing that I don’t want to talk about these past matters, Harloys shakes her head and raises her hand. Sand float in the air and congregate to form a fortress. In it, countless sand men were moving freely and if one were to take a closer look, they would realize that they were no different from real people.
In the fortress, there were innumerable sand groups that were chasing the sand men. The moment they caught up, they would jump on it and merge together as one. When the sand group finally leaves, the sandman would be left on the spot without any equipment or clothes and would simply lay there paralyzed.
“The potential of the Child of Greed is limitless. Just by evolving a little bit, its offensive power can be increased by at least 10 times. If you allow me to use my human form to control and organize them into different armies and have them complement one another, I can guarantee that it is a simple matter to gain control of this city.”
[Child of Greed (Evolution)
Race: Half-Undead Slimes
Stats: All 5
Race Talent: Equipment Devour, Fiber-Decomposing Secretion, Rapid Regeneration, Single Elemental Control, Single Elemental Immunity, Paralyzing Venom, Fluid Transmogrification
System Evaluation: I have nothing to say. If you want to destroy the world, just do it. If you don’t want jelly to be the only thing remaining in the entire world, then control her properly.]
The God’s Bloodline is extremely powerful. It may seem like there isn’t much of a change with the Child of Greed, but the individual power of each and every one of them is at least 10 times stronger than before. Fluid Transmogrification allows it to have extremely strong resistance against physical attacks and depending on its color and composition, the Single Elemental Control and Resistance grants it a certain level of ability to cast spells.
In order to counter the Dark Elves, 90% of the Child of Greed she sent out were black-colored ones. Against the Lorci Priestess who specializes in curses and dark divine arts, these Black Slimes, who are completely immune to the Dark Element and negative energy, are their complete nemesis and their worst nightmare.
However, if we were to really do as she says and create Slime Warriors, Slime Mages and such to start a War of the Slimes, it might really cause the Underground World to think that another intelligent race against them have appeared. That would cause quite a bit of trouble.
“Right, my good disciple, can we negotiate?”
“Of course we can. I have always been one for negotiation. That is, except for dispelling the Magic Pet Contract.”
“I am the Omniscient One, the noblest and ancient Queen of Banshees. How can I become a foolish and lowly Magic Pet! That is the job of the foolish animals!”
“You are already a Magic Pet so stop playing little tricks. According to the contract, if I die, you would have to accompany me. If you die... I will try my best to squeeze out two drops of tears to grieve for you.”
Yes, in order to tie the toughest and most resilient metal chain on these extremely dangerous personnel, the Queen of Banshees Harloys has become my Magic Pet.
[Magic Pet: Harloys (Main Body of Greed)
Race: Unable to be classified
Strength: 22
Agility: 10
Stamina: 40
Intelligence: 28
Will: 25
Charm: Depends
Job: LV60 Mage/LV20 Omniscient Mage
Rank: Legend
Race Talent: Transmogrification (Myth)
System Evaluation: This is your Magic Pet, but she is constantly thinking of how to get rid of you within the limitations of the contract. You better keep her in check or maybe, wait for her to get the better of you.]
The only reason why Harloys is being so obedient is because she has signed a Magic Pet Contract with me. Under normal circumstances, a Necromancer might be able to sign a Magic Pet Contract with another Undead, but it was impossible with a powerful and intelligent being.
It is just that I made use of a loophole in the Rules. As a Necromancer, I am entitled to signing a contract with my own creation ‘Greed’ and Greed doesn’t have any soul, thus it is impossible to sign a Magic Pet Contract which requires the binding of souls. However, if we were to put the unconscious soul of Harloys into the body of Greed at this moment, the contract would naturally take the Harloys who had obviously lost all resistance as the soul of Greed. Thus, the contract was able to be successfully established.
As my Magic Pet, based on the basic Rule that the rank of a Magic Pet cannot exceed the Mage himself, Harloys strength went down all the way from Myth to Legend rookie. At the same time, she became much more obedient.
I also benefited quite a bit from the contract. A tenth of the basic stats of the Magic Pet would be augmented on its owner. To a normal Mage, it normally doesn’t have much of a use. After all, those ducks, black cats, bat, and eagles have pathetic basic stats. It is quite rare for a tenth of their stats to even increase one’s Agility or Stamina by 1.
However, my Magic Pet grants me Strength +2, Agility +1, Stamina +4, Intelligence +3, Will +2, effectiveness of Necromancy +30% and effectiveness of Elemental Magic +20%. It is really quite a big gain, not mentioning my Pet’s extremely high fighting prowess and the ability of the Child of Greed.
But to the end, the main reason why I signed this Magic Pet Contract with her is because I lack basic trust in her and don’t dare to keep her out of my sight.
“My Magic Pet Contract can be retained even after I revive. At that moment, even if this powerful Magic Pet ends up at LV1, it will still be a powerful force to rely on when starting on a clean slate.
According to my plan, it isn’t too far away from my day of revival. I should start planning ahead.
Thus. I looked at Harloys with bad intentions.
“40 points in Stamina. Such a high-quality meat shield and tanker. Teacher, I will be relying on you to act as my shield in the future.”
At this moment, Harloys suddenly shouts in shock.
“Hmmm!? Why did these fellows suddenly appear on the field?”
On the fortress of sand, a bunch of experts was moving towards the direction of the city gates. Looking at this situation, I smiled.
“Ever heard that there is a soul in the God Equipment that chooses its master?”
“Bullshit. The number of God Equipment that I have come into contact with is at least 2 digits and I have yet to seen a God Equipment that can choose its own master. No matter how powerful a God Equipment is, it is made for others to use. If a God Equipment were to gain self-awareness to the point that it chooses its own user, it would have long returned to the hands of their original user. Or perhaps, it might simply get annoyed by seeing those fools vie over it and choose to dig a hole to bury itself. A God Equipment choosing its own master? This is obviously some nonsense made up in knight novels to make its main character seem extraordinary. If a God Equipment can really grow its own legs to run, then don’t dream about getting the God Equipment to acknowledge you. The first thing you should suspect is whether you have walked into some scheme or trap.”
“It is a pity that some people didn’t think so. Or perhaps, they might be thinking that it is an exception and chose to go along with it.”
Looking at the crowd rushing out of the city on the sand field, I can’t help but sigh.
————–
Spatial Distortion is a natural passage. It normally appears in places where the fabric of space isn’t stable and the destination at the end of the passage is completely unknown. 90% of the Spatial Distortions are completely random Dimension Warps like this.
However, there is a connection between Spatial Distortions. The most likely situation for the destination of a Spatial Distortion is another Spatial Distortion. There are even some relatively stable connections between Spatial Distortions that are used as a tunnel for passage, as though walking across a bridge.
There are quite a few such stable tunnels in the underground world and they are view as normal tunnels. Underground city lords have viewed it as an important location for the accumulation of wealth and military presence, so they built a fortress around it.
However, the formation of Spatial Distortions is completely natural. There are much more Spatial Distortions in the spatially unstable underground world as compared the surface world. However, for a Spatial Distortion to appear around Vance City and for it to coincidentally lead to the vicinity of Sulfur Mountain City, the possibility can be neglected altogether. However, using an extremely profound Spatial Magic accompanied with a great price, it is possible to create a temporary tunnel.
That sudden and unexpected assault on Sulfur Mountain City back then was conducted through forcefully distorting this hidden Spatial Distortion in the mines here to activate and connect it with a cavern 30 meters South of Sulfur Mountain City. Then, the 2 Underground Autarchs brought their personal guards to conduct the assault.
Of course, from another angle, this means that they have started plotting against Sulfur Mountain City from a long time ago. Connecting two spaces needs to be done from both ends and requires great effort and time. It isn’t something that can be kicked up on a whim.
After the Beastman army was completely crushed that time, the Lion King runs all the way back to prevent the Spatial Distortion from being discovered.
The situation is much different this time. The forceful reactivation of the connection between 2 Spatial Distortion causes the unstable Spatial Connection to become stable. The temporary tunnel will become a permanent one. At the same time, the price to pay for reconnecting the tunnels increases exponentially.
In the mastery of Spatial Magic, if the Demons that plague the countless Dimensions in the Lower Realm were to say that they were second, there probably wouldn’t be a race that would dare to say that they are placed first.
This blood-red Demon Altar intends to use the unstable spatial fabric of this Spatial Distortion and a massive amount of tributes to open the gates to the Dimension of Demons so as to get back-ups and support. At the same time, the Demon Count who have been long-awaiting would personally active the Spatial Connection to Sulfur Mountain City.
“As long as Sulfur Mountain City disappears, what would the rest of those fools count as?”
Shou’s words may sound awful but he did accurately point out the weakest link of Sulfur Mountain City. Sulfur Mountain City has a weak defense and lacks a strategic vantage point. Furthermore, it only has one city.
“Hehe, what does a history of a century count as. If we were to break their nest, then no matter how strong Adam and that Wumianzhe is, they, who lost their roots, wouldn’t be able to overturn the situation.”
Of course, there are some words that they didn’t tell each other. For example, the leaders of both sides have requested for the release of the seal of the Fire Elemental God. For example, the intent to fall out immediately after getting rid of Sulfur Mountain City.
At this moment, countless soldiers are getting into formation and waiting for the Dimension Gate to open.
“My 12 armies, 79000 underground Beastman! In the face of my veteran elites, those cowards of Sulfur Mountain City aren’t even worth mentioning!”
“I will lend you four divisions. They might only comprise 30000 people, but there are 2 Mage divisions and 1 Shaman division in it. This should be enough to make up for the magic firepower you lack.”
The oppressing dark army starts to gather and silently, the flags started to rise up. This is the accumulation of the Underground Autarchs, the elite army of over 10 underground cities.
There was a considerable number of Legends and Saints in their midst. In fact, there are even a couple of Myth experts within their ranks. Different from the situation before, the Underground Autarchs are well-prepared this time.
Suddenly, Shou looks towards the sky of Vance City. He was delighted for a moment, then shocked before becoming angry and finally, he felt a trace of fear.
“Eternal Night Scepter?! It is flying here by itself.”
Yes, the sight here is just like what those knight novels normally depict. The God Equipment chooses his own master and flies over thousands of miles to seek him.
To the deeply poisoned Lion King, this is naturally something to be delighted about. But, what that made him shocked, angry and even frightened is those people who are chasing the Scepter. Apparently, they don’t believe that a God Equipment could have a soul to choose its own master.
“Don’t you dare to touch it. It is mine, Crimspur’s!”
“No, only I, Lamost, who has been said to be the one closest to the recent Undead Emperor is suited for this Scepter. I can already hear its calling.”
“You fool, that is just your misconception. The Scepter is obviously calling for me! This is its test for me!”
Those who are in the forefront are the 3 frenzied Undead Senators. Looking at the madness burning in the green flames in their eyes, it seems to be burning even their own souls. Behind them, there is everything.
It is really a mystery how the gigantic Nine-Headed Dragon Emperor could come here from the swamp it lives far away. Its gigantic body shouldn’t allow it to even pass through the underground passage.
Over there, a Great Angel carrying the Sun’s Bow is currently fighting with another Fire Demon who is dancing with his Inferno Whip while chasing the Scepter. In this instant, the Sand Dragon King from the desert is destroying the entire underground tunnel. The Elf Knights riding unicorns are racing with the Death Lords. Thousands of experts of different races are chasing the Scepter and the ones blocking them are the alliance army of the 2 Underground Autarch.
In this instant, Shou somehow remembered the words left behind by the man dressed in a long robe and hidden behind a mask a month ago.
“You, might regret it.”
Back then, he replied arrogantly.
“The Beastman Sovereign never regrets!!
Right now, watching as his army got involved in a battle due to some ridiculous reason, not to mention that they were getting suppressed and slaughtered by the experts of differing races, he feels a sensation of weakness which he had never felt before. Looking at the radiant Eternal Night Scepter in front of him, he senses the disappearance of Eduar, who has dumped his army on him. He has been forced into a corner in all aspects. The white-haired Old Lion could only sigh helplessly.
“Wumianzhe. You were right, I am regretting it now. But...”
“WAGHHHH!! Beastmen never surrenders!”
The next moment, after a deafening roar, the Lion King leaves another scar on his face that represents another score to settle. The undefeated Lion King has returned.
“The one who is even more cunning than the Devils, Wumianzhe! This old man admits that he is regretting it, but this doesn’t mean that I’ll lose! Wumianzhe! I will return it tenfold back to you one day!!”
“The First, Seventh and Ninth Divisions, face them head on! The Du Yan Division, get into formation, prepare to face the brunt of the charge! Let them witness the might of the Beastman army! The weak surface dwellers actually dare to mess around in the underground world! Kill them!!”
—————-
“Greed, it is forever the original sin that is difficult to suppress.”
Looking at the Eternal Night Scepter fan group that disappeared without a trace on the sand field, I stand up to prepare to move out.
“You aren’t waiting anymore?”
“Un, the Underground Autarchs aren’t that easy to deal with. We must also do some preparations. Elisa, help me thank Minial for the report he sent over. If he didn’t inform us about the gathering of the Old Lion’s army, we might really be outdone this time. Right, ask Annie and Adam to prepare to move out as well. It is time for the final battle.”