Chapter 413 - 329: That’s Right, It Was Me
Chapter 413: Chapter 329: That’s Right, It Was Me
But after staring for a while, it found that this was just an ordinary goblin. The massive, Divinity-filled eyes from before were gone, and the divine aura had vanished as if it had never existed.
’Strange. That powerful Divinity... it felt like something only the God who created me could possess,’ Lust muttered to itself. ’Why can’t I feel it at all now? Is it not the goblin, but something about this place?’
It stared at the goblin before it and walked over.
...
After Shire regained consciousness from that dark space, his mind was in a daze. When he saw the Feathered Serpent God using its Clones to slaughter his subordinates, he had blurted out his thoughts in a panic.
His mind was still fuzzy then. By the time he came to his senses, he saw Lust’s Clone had already stepped forward to confront the Feathered Serpent God.
He hid in the back and witnessed the entire fight, right until the Feathered Serpent Evil God fled.
And when Lust walked toward him, Shire immediately put on a smile. "Great Forest God, thank you for saving my people."
He watched Lust size him up with its sole remaining left eye. The sensation was strange. After all, while the Lust before him still maintained a goblin’s body, its appearance could only be described as "hastily put together." Its abdomen had vanished, and its entire upper torso seemed to be floating above its hip bones.
"Strange," Lust said, sizing up Shire.
Hearing its mutter, Shire remembered how he had seemingly commanded Lust unconsciously, and a wave of panic washed over him. ’I barely managed to drive away the Feathered Serpent; I can’t have just traded a wolf for a tiger.’
At this thought, Shire immediately put on a smile. "Great Forest God, for some reason, I think I blacked out for a moment just now."
As he spoke, he glanced down at himself. After confirming the [Group Language Curse] was still active, he declared loudly, "I never expected to wake up and see that you had defeated the Feathered Serpent God!"
Lust "stood" quietly in place, listening to Shire’s words. The corners of its mouth curled up slightly as it continued to size Shire up with great interest.
"Thanks to you, we can now complete our occupation of this area. I think there must be something here. I will immediately organize my men to patrol this entire region."
Only after Shire finished speaking did Lust tilt its head slightly, saying in a teasing tone, "You’re very interesting."
Those words made Shire’s heart skip a beat. ’If I have to fight a Demon Lord now, the outcome will be disastrous. Losing my life would be getting off easy.’
He fought to keep the smile on his face, not letting his expression falter as he looked at Lust.
After sizing Shire up a few more times, Lust finally ended its scrutiny. The powerful Divinity from before was now completely absent. It was certain now that this goblin had merely been an accidental vessel for some power. With no trace of Divinity left behind, any other explanation was impossible.
"Search this area thoroughly," Lust said, turning away from the goblin. It walked slowly and arrogantly toward a distant mirror shard. "You might find something unexpected here."
"Yes, Great Forest God!" Shire called out, his eyes never leaving Lust’s Clone.
"That Evil God shouldn’t be coming back. I’ve wounded it severely," Lust said as it reached the mirror shard, its left eye sweeping over Shire once more. "Don’t forget the contract you signed, Gre..."
For a moment, it couldn’t recall the goblin’s name. But it didn’t matter; it was just a goblin. Lust gave a contemptuous little laugh, and then its entire body, like a rapidly deflating balloon, zipped into a shard of mirror on the ground.
"Forest God?" Seeing Lust return to the Mirror World, Shire called out a few more times. Only after confirming that its marker had vanished from the Domain map did he let out a huge sigh. "Finally safe."
Thinking back on the fight between Lust’s Clone and the Feathered Serpent Evil God, it was clear that even though neither was at full power, the Demon Lord was still stronger.
And the "Sound of the Demon" that Lust had used sent a shiver of lingering fear down Shire’s spine. ’To control an Evil God with just words, and with only the power of a Clone... If Lust had used the Sound of the Demon on me, it might have found out about all my hidden abilities.’
’Still, it doesn’t look like Lust is in good shape either.’ Shire glanced at the mirror shards on the ground. ’That thing always deliberately takes on a goblin’s appearance when it shows up around me. From what it’s said before, other humans have signed contracts too. So when Lust meets them, it probably takes on their appearance as well. Its body was so damaged this time, and it still hasn’t recovered. Is its power affected, or is it just unable to heal?’
He rubbed his chin, his brow furrowed. ’And what Lust said before it left... that I might find something unexpected here?’
He wasn’t sure what Lust might have sensed. He recalled how the Angry Long Horn had attracted Lust before. ’Could there be "parts" from another Demon Lord here?’
The thought gave Shire a headache. ’It would be best if it’s the Eye of Lust or a part belonging to Envy. But there are six Demon Lords in total. Getting my hands on an item from another one would just be asking for trouble.’
"’Oh well, I’ll have to actually dig it up to know for sure,’ Shire sighed. He composed himself and started running. Pazani had been sent flying earlier, and there was still no sign of him. ’I really hope nothing’s happened to him.’
Just as Shire was running, a voice stopped him. "Leader! You truly are our leader!"
The voice made Shire stop in his tracks. He then saw the High Priest, clutching his Bone Staff, running up to him with a speed that defied his age.
"Uh, you’re alive?" Shire asked, looking at the dirt-streaked High Priest.
"Thank the Gods, I’m alive! The Feathered Serpent God’s Clone didn’t hit me," the High Priest said, his voice still trembling with fear. He was covered from head to toe in dirt, looking as if he’d just been pulled out of the earth. This made Shire wonder, ’You old rascal, don’t tell me you hid in a hole just now.’
"What happened to the Feathered Serpent’s Clones?"
"They’ve turned back into red liquid," the High Priest said, his eyes gleaming as he stared at Shire. "We suffered some casualties, but that’s not important. If it weren’t for you, there might not have been any survivors at all."
"No, I didn’t really do anything," Shire said, quickly waving his hands in dismissal.
"No, Bro, I saw the whole thing." A voice called out from a distance. The Naga Prince staggered over, clutching his chest, his voice trembling.
"Are you okay?" Shire asked, quickly walking over to him.
"Just a minor injury. Good thing I used an Ice Shield to block it, or that lightning bolt might’ve gone right through me," Pazani said gloomily, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "Bro, I saw everything. You dared to face the Feathered Serpent Evil God directly."
"Me? Directly?" Shire was taken aback, pointing a finger at himself.
"Yeah. I saw it while I was lying on the ground." Pazani nodded emphatically, but the movement pulled at the wound on his torso.
"I saw it too," the High Priest chimed in. "Though I only saw the beginning before I hid myself. But after the Feathered Serpent God fled, I saw you standing there all alone, looking like a victor."
"Me? A victor?" Shire looked from the High Priest to Pazani and suddenly understood. They must have mistaken Lust’s Clone for him. In all the smoke and dust from the lightning, it would have been impossible to see clearly anyway.
"Listen, it’s not what you think," Shire began, trying to explain that they hadn’t seen the whole battle. But then he thought about the consequences of mentioning Lust, not to mention the contract he’d signed to find the eye, and he hesitated.
"Yeah. I did it," he said with a nod and a wry smile.
"With just a few words, I convinced the Feathered Serpent God to seek its fortune elsewhere."