The tournament was only two days away, and word had travelled quickly that King Landhar III would allow the winner to marry the princess. The news had spread throughout the kingdom through the mouths of the banquet attendees, and it had caused quite a stir.
For a time, regardless of whether it was noblemen, ministers, wealthy merchants, or commoners, as long as they had a youth of suitable age in their family, those who were somewhat confident in their abilities all signed up for the Royal Academy to participate in the test. In just a day, the number of people signing up for the tournament at the Royal Academy had increased tenfold. Some faraway families even asked the King for an extension so that their family members could have time to rush there.
Some families even sent all their younger members to the royal city to marry the princess. After all, if they could not win, it would be quite reasonable to gain an advantage in numbers and eventually win by luck. For a time, the entire capital was filled with people. Even those who did not originally belong to the Holy Dragon Kingdom were drawn there, causing the number of geniuses in the Royal Academy of the Holy Dragon Kingdom to explode on an unprecedented scale.
Of course, those were all things to be discussed in the future.
The banquet ended with King Landhar III’s shocking words. After that, all the noblemen returned home.
At the Campbell family’s manor, in between times.
That room was the most important room for the Campbell family to study the holy relic. It stored the tools used to cast the relic, and there were all kinds of clocks and dials hanging on the wall. The hands on each clock dial pointed to the 12 o’clock mark. They swayed back and forth at the 12 o’clock mark, neither moving forward nor backward. It was as if time had stopped there.
The Campbell family had excavated a diamond-tier holy relic from the third era. Time stopped flowing in the space between time, and because of that room, the Campbell family could complete a large amount of research in a short period.
The space between those two times, however, was not without flaws. The people who entered that place had to bear tremendous pressure because of the time pause. Therefore, that place would only be used when conducting private and important experiments.
At that moment, Augustus was lying in the space. Amidst the stack of holy relics and various instruments, Armand, wearing a work uniform, was standing in front of him. He was looking at Augustus with a complicated gaze. “Augustus, are you sure you want to accept this surgery? Accepting this surgery means that you will fuse with the puppet, and from now on, you will become a half-puppet and half-human. You have to know that we developed the Puppet Modification Surgery in recent years, and we only completed the first stage of the experiment.”
“Yes, Grandfather, I will accept this experiment! Even if I lose part of my humanity after the experiment, as long as I can exchange it for enough power, I have no problem with that. Furthermore, the experiment is different from a complete one. I just need to replace parts of my body and turn them into parts of the puppet.”
Augustus lay on the bed calmly. However, flames were burning in his eyes.
That was an experiment that the Campbell family had been conducting in secret. The experimental subjects were initially rats and some low-tier magical beasts, followed by vagrants and slaves. The purpose of that experiment was to verify the possibility of combining a magical tool with a human body. It was something they might be able to mass-produce.
The Campbell family was able to create exquisite puppets because they had been experimenting on humans. However, that was the first time they had modified a member of their family.
Faced with Augustus’ determined gaze, Armand sighed again. “Your father was adamant in opposing this experiment. I don’t think this experiment will be of any help to your future either. Once you accept the modification, even though you can obtain great power now, your limit threshold will be lowered. ”
Augustus was the most talented genius in the Campbell family. He was already a peak gold-tier elite at a young age. He could even display the strength of a platinum-tier elite. Augustus would definitely reach the platinum tier in a few years. It was not impossible for him to become another Sword Saint or even surpass the diamond tier.
However, if he accepted the experiment, the power of the puppet parts implanted in his body would be fixed. If he wanted to improve further, he would have to get more powerful parts. It would be impossible for him to improve by training alone.
“Grandfather, I’ve made up my mind.”
“Augustus, I have to say that your personality is very similar to mine. Since you’ve made up your mind, it’s useless no matter what I say next. It might be a little painful. Bear with it.”
A sharp scalpel appeared in Armand’s hand, and he used it to cut Augustus’ body. Then, a scream was heard.
“Watson, just you wait! I may not be as good as you in terms of strength, and I’m not a match for you in terms of talent either. Since that’s the case, I’ll sacrifice my future in exchange for a chance to kill you. A week ago, you broke the bones in my body in front of everyone in the capital. Two days later, I’ll break your head in the competition in two days.”
His hands and feet were cut open; the bones had been taken out and replaced with holy relic swords that had been polished to diamond-tier brilliance. His flesh had also been dug out; the remains of the King of Time puppet left behind by Watson had been injected into his body. Augustus revealed a fierce expression.
The King of Time had been left behind after Watson had traded it for the Campbell family’s holy relics. The two pieces of the King of Time’s remains had been pieced together but not been resurrected. The Campbell family did not go anywhere to conduct detailed research on that puppet. As a result, they only had minimal results. Since the King of Time had fused with the Clock of Life, a significant amount of time and life energy had accumulated in its body.
When they fused the remains of the King of Time with rats or other magical beasts, the subject could gain the ability to pause time to a certain extent. That discovery greatly encouraged the Campbell family. At the same time, it was also the reason Armand had dared to use the puppet modification experiment on Augustus. His grandson was already very strong. If he could give him the ability to pause time, his strength would increase by ten times more.
Of course, the King of Time was fused by Watson. It was not realistic to simply use its power to defeat Watson. Therefore, Augustus chose to fuse all the holy relics in his family into his body.
The holy relics that were given to Watson were not all from the Campbell family. The Campbell family had more than a hundred holy relics, and at that time, to satisfy Augustus’ requirements, Armand decided to use half of them. More than fifty diamond-tier holy relics were broken and poured into Augustus’ flesh. Who knew what kind of monster he would be?
“Watson, you only have two days left to live. Savor the last remnants of your life! Remember my name? It is Augustus. That is the name of the person who will kill you. ”
Augustus was the name of a consul in the Tudor dynasty in the 12th era. It was said that the consul was extremely brutal and powerful. During his reign, he conquered more than seven kingdoms and massacred millions of people. Augustus’ father, Newman, gave him that name, hoping that he could become an official who could shake the kingdom like the ancient Augustus.
Augustus had always been proud to imitate that ancient archon. Since Watson had defeated him, his reputation had been ruined. In order to regain everything he had before, he had to be even more ruthless toward others and himself.
….
While Augustus was undergoing the puppet modification experiment, on the other side of the Saint Laurent family.
Nia was sitting on the balcony of a villa near the garden. One of her outstretched hands was covered in an icy-cold color, while the other was covered in darkness. At a specific moment, the black and icy snowflakes converged and turned into a dark color. When the dark snow fell on her, it immediately covered the balcony with a layer of solid ice. On the balcony, there were a few well-grown potted plants. The flowers on them maintained their blooming posture and turned into ice sculptures.
“Sister Nia, it’s already so late, and you’re still not asleep? Also, you’ve secretly released your power. You’re clearly forbidden to do that here. If the patriarch knew about that, he would definitely punish you again.”
Behind Nia, a woman’s voice was heard. Charlotte, who was wearing a white nightgown, came behind Nia with a conflicted expression. She looked at the solid black ice under her feet and shivered.
In an instant, the entire balcony was sealed in ice. One could imagine how terrifying that was, and that was even before Nia cast a spell.
“Charlotte, I just awakened the dark-elemental power in me during the day, so I want to test how different it is from my usual ice magic. Charlotte, am I wrong to do that? ”
Nia turned her head and asked expressionlessly, her eyes full of doubt.
“No, it’s fine if you want to practice magic, but your power is too strong. If you accidentally leak it, it might kill some of our family members.”
Charlotte hesitated for a moment but still reminded her.
As a member of the Saint Laurent family, it was her duty to remind Nia at all times. When she was with Watson, Charlotte secretly compared Nia to Watson, and in the end, she felt like Nia was stronger. It was not without reason that she would make such a guess—Nia was a monster. It was not the kind of monster that was used to describe people, but the literal meaning.
From the moment Nia was born, her body contained a powerful ice-elemental power. If it were just that, it would have been fine. As she had that power, Nia’s emotional awareness had always been weak, especially in terms of human values. Nia could not distinguish between good and bad. When she was young, Nia turned her friends into ice sculptures because she was playing with them.
However, the head of the family did not punish Nia too much. He only set a rule for all guests to stay away from the place where Nia lived. At the same time, everyone who came into contact with Nia had to remind her of what she should and should not do. If anyone were to die because of their own carelessness, the Saint Laurent family would not be responsible for that.
Nia, known as the Ice Demoness, and Augustus, known as the Flame Consul, had become the jewels in the royal city. However, Charlotte thought that the arrogant Augustus was not comparable to Nia. If the girl had not restrained herself when she was outside, Augustus would have died several times already.
“Charlotte, were you trying to comfort me?”
Nia remained expressionless after hearing Charlotte’s words. She clenched her fist, and the black snowflakes in her palm disappeared. The black ice on the ground also disappeared. However, the potted plant that had been frozen into an ice sculpture did not recover. It shattered with a crisp sound, and its leaves and flowers withered rapidly before they turned into ashes.
Looking at the bleak scene of the withered petals, Nia felt a little lonely. “I know that I’m different from normal people. I can’t feel what others can feel. What others find interesting seems boring to me. Most of my family members also don’t like to be with me. Charlotte, you are the only person who would accompany me. Thank you.”
“Sister Nia, you’re too kind,” Charlotte replied bitterly. She was not accompanying Nia because she liked her. Her status was similar to Nia’s. Her family sent her to take care of Nia.
“At the banquet tonight, you told me to spend a lot of money to buy that sun gem. I should thank you, even though I did not manage to buy it in the end! It should not be a problem for me to say thank you at a time like this, right? Or should I act regretful now?” Nia tilted her head once again.
“Just thank me,” Charlotte replied while sighing in her heart.
Nia did not have any human emotions. All her feelings were based on her experience and her daily imitation of humans. If someone told Nia to smile, Nia would laugh and remember that. In the future, whenever she heard something similar, Nia would laugh too.
Sometimes, when things get complicated, Nia does not know how to deal with them. For example, when Charlotte told her to buy the sun fruit, but she did not manage to buy it—should she thank Charlotte or express her regret?
“Is that so?”
Nia nodded. “The competition at the Royal Academy is in two days. The patriarch asked me to do my best on it. It doesn’t matter even if I kill the other party. This is the first time the patriarch gave me such an order. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Speaking of the competition, Watson will also participate, right? You said that he is a person who takes care of his friends. Killing him is definitely not a good thing, but disobeying the patriarch’s order is also bad. What should I do?”
Charlotte did not answer Nia’s question. She only pursed her lips, feeling conflicted.
She did not know what to do either. She could only hope that Watson was strong enough not to be afraid of Nia or that he would be eliminated before he met Nia. Otherwise, if he met Nia, he might lose his life.
At the banquet, the King had proposed that the winners of the tournament could marry the princess. Since some of the outstanding children in some families were not men, King Landhar III added another rule—women could also participate in the tournament. If a woman were to win, she did not have to marry the princess. Instead, she would receive a generous reward, reserved for the one who would inherit the throne.
‘The Royal Academy’s tournament in two days will be very tragic. After all, Watson invited Lily and me to enjoy fine wine and precious food in the Holy Dragon Tavern. I have to tell him this news! Even if I can’t let him win the match, I have to keep him alive. I’ll go and look for him tomorrow morning.’
The more she thought about it, the more worried Charlotte was about how Watson might be injured in the match two days later. She could not bear it and quietly clenched her fists as she made a decision.
….
King Landhar III’s bedroom in the palace.
“Watson, do you have the confidence to win the tournament that’s in two days?”
King Landhar III sat cross-legged by the bed as he held a crystal-clear grape in his hand. He raised his eyebrows and questioned the young man standing in front of him.
The hall was empty; it was the middle of the night. The moonlight shone through the huge window, turning the pillars and exquisite sculptures into silhouettes on the ground.
Watson replied calmly, “Your Majesty, no one knows the result before the competition begins.”
“So you’re saying that you don’t have the confidence to win?”
King Landhar III released his fingers and allowed the sparkling and translucent grapes to fall to the ground. Then, he stood up and crushed them with a stomp.
His face was filled with anger. King Landhar III said, “Watson, do you know why I prepared that event? I indeed wanted to use that event to rope in more geniuses and allow more capable people to come to the Royal Academy. However, I can’t bear to let my daughter marry an incompetent person. Her future husband must be someone from a good family with outstanding military strength and wisdom. Therefore, that event is meant for you. Now, you’re telling me that you don’t have any confidence in winning? ”
“Your Majesty, there are many capable people in the kingdom. I really can’t guarantee that I will be the victor! I saw many geniuses today, and more geniuses will emerge after your announcement, “Watson replied humbly, but he was unmoved.
King Landhar sighed helplessly. “Watson, I admit defeat. How are you so calm at such a young age? If it were me at your age, with such talent and strength, I’m afraid I would be a hundred times more arrogant than you. You’re so young, yet you give me the illusion of an old man. That is not a good thing.”
The King’s anger was feigned, but he spoke the truth. He had prepared that event for Watson. Previously, Watson had pulled him into the Severed Fingers Gang, which was equivalent to setting him up. It was his turn to set Watson up. He wanted to let Watson know that he was in charge of the kingdom.
In addition to playing Watson, he also wanted to bind Watson to himself. Previously, Watson had signed a soul contract with him, saying he would never betray him, but he did not feel at ease. If Watson could be with his daughter, Kiana, and the two of them had a child, then Watson would not have any ill intentions toward him for the sake of the child.
Marriage was a power tactic that most kings would use, and so would King Landhar III.
Watson was strong, so he must have good genes. Even if his child was not exceptionally talented, he could not be weak. Therefore, if Watson still bore him ill will even if he and Kiana were together, King Landhar III could eliminate Watson and raise the child to increase the royal family’s fighting power.
King Landhar III had thought a lot about that. When he raised his head, he found that Watson’s expression was even more sluggish than before. He even yawned lazily. The King did not know how he should react to that.
He did not know how to evaluate Watson. He thought that the young man was unparalleled in the world. He had strength and wisdom that did not match his age. He could rely on his own strength to suppress a vicious person with severed fingers. He even dared to plot against a king like him. It was not wrong to say that Watson did not know the etiquette and lacked the necessary common sense. He dared to hold that event because he did not believe that anyone could beat Watson.
He did not know how he got the precious fruits from the Forest of Eternity and even created many platinum-tier weapons. Those were things that even Antonio and Reid could not do, let alone the geniuses from the younger generation. One could imagine what kind of monster Watson was. At the banquet, King Landhar III claimed that he was the one who did all that. When he saw the crowd’s shocked gazes, he felt very comfortable.
At the same time, he wondered if those ministers would be even more surprised if they knew that the one who did all that was a 12 or 13-year-old child. King Landhar III was confident that he would not be able to accept it if someone from the younger generation could defeat Watson. After all, it was enough for the kingdom to produce one freak every few hundred years. If there were two, he was afraid that his heart would not be able to withstand it.
King Landhar III wanted to make himself clear. “Watson, what do you think of my daughter?”
“I do have some thoughts, but I don’t know if I can tell you, Your Majesty.”
Watson recalled the gaze that the princess threw at him at the banquet. He could not help but frown and reach out to stroke his chin.
“Oh? No matter what your thoughts are, you can say it. ”
King Landhar III’s eyes lit up. Watson, who had been vehemently denying the topic, seemed interested. If he had known earlier, he would not have asked Watson if he could have won the competition; he could have just asked Watson if he liked Kiana.
He was very confident in his daughter. After all, she was a princess. No one else could compare to her identity, education, abilities, and even beauty. It seemed like even a heaven-defying youth like Watson would be attracted to a beautiful girl. King Landhar III felt proud.
After hesitating for a moment, Watson asked, “Your Majesty, how do you usually treat your daughter? Do you often accompany her? In other words, how is your relationship with her?”
“Because I’m busy with official business, I can’t often accompany Kiana. It’s the same for the other princes as well! Although I can’t often accompany her, I still bring gifts when I visit her. I feel happy every time I see Kiana. That child treats my gifts given as treasures. Therefore, I think that my relationship with her is not bad.”
As if he did not expect Watson to ask that, King Landhar III continued to say, “Watson, why are you asking me all this? Are you trying to determine if I’m a good father?”
He had not even won the competition, yet he was already concerned about her as Kiana’s boyfriend?
The King thought that Watson’s only purpose for asking that was to make him smile. Since ancient times, a hero would always be troubled by beautiful women. He was not afraid of Watson’s outstanding ability, but he was worried that Watson did not have any weaknesses because people without flaws were the scariest.
“Yes, Your Majesty! If what you said is true, then I am even more surprised.”
“What’s so strange about it?”
“Why did Her Highness look at me so frequently at the banquet just now? Especially after you announced that you would betroth her to the winner of the competition! I thought that you might have some conflict with her, so you wanted to marry her off. And she was worried about her situation, so she kept giving me hints with her eyes, asking me to save her.”
“Watson, you”
King Landhar III stared at Watson for a long time. His expression changed from confusion to shock and then to disbelief. Finally, he moved his lips, wanting to say something, but he began to cough violently.
“Your Majesty, are you alright? Did my words make you feel awkward? Your Majesty, don’t worry. I’m a very tight-lipped person. I won’t tell anyone about this. ”
King Landhar III roared in his heart. His thoughts were completely different from Watson’s words. They were even on the same channel. He thought that Watson had taken a fancy to Kiana, which was why he asked so many questions. In the end, Watson only asked those questions because he was worried about Kiana. What was Watson thinking?
“Watson, other than the strange thoughts in your head, can we have a normal conversation? I’ll ask you directly. I have high hopes for you, so I want to marry my daughter to you. Will you agree?”
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Your daughter is a good person. It’s just that we’re not suitable—”
“Watson!”
King Landhar III interrupted him angrily. Watson had dared to use the “good person” excuse. He had been in power for so many years, and nothing could shake his heart. At that moment, he felt as if he could not control his emotions.
The King took a few deep breaths to calm his anger finally. His expression was still livid. He turned away from Watson’s innocent face, or else he might get angry again.
“Watson, I want to know why my daughter is not worthy of you? No matter what, I am a king. Even if you are Antonio and Reid’s disciple, marrying my daughter would not be a disgrace to your status, right? Not to mention that marrying my daughter would grant you the right to be a king. Is that not attractive to you?”
“Your Majesty, you must be joking. I did not say that Princess Kiana is not good enough for me, but I am not good enough for her! As for the right to be King, that is quite attractive to me. However, I am still young, so there is no rush. I am only 12 years old now. Even if I become a king, I might not be able to make the ministers submit to me. At least when I come of age, you might already be dead. Then, whether I become a king or not, it won’t matter anymore.”
“Watson, get lost!”
King Landhar III almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
If the person in front of him was not Watson, he really wanted to kill them. What did Watson mean he would be dead? He was still in his prime and could live for a long time.
“If there’s nothing else, Your Majesty, I shall take my leave now.” Watson scratched his head and turned to walk out.
“Wait, Watson, I have something else to ask you. I almost forgot the real reason I asked you to come.”
Watson had only taken two steps when King Landhar III stopped him. Judging from his voice, he had become much calmer, making Watson’s heart skip a beat. He had deliberately said something to anger King Landhar III, so that the King would chase him away in a fit of rage. Watson did not want to talk to the King alone because he had a feeling that something terrible would happen.
“Yes, Your Majesty?”
“It will be very tiring if I tell you about it. Come with me.”
King Lander III lifted the bed with a mysterious smile and opened a hidden door panel, revealing a slanted tunnel.
“This is my secret. Even my trusted aides and maids do not know about this. You are the first person other than me to enter this place. Come.”
Then, King Landhar III entered the secret passage that lit up with the orange glow of torches.
“Your Majesty, I suddenly have a stomach ache. Please allow me to go home and use the toilet.”
Watson raised his hand. It was just as he had expected. It was definitely not a good thing for King Landhar III to ask for him. It was so dark under the tunnel. He did not know what was there. What if there were many traps inside, or if King Landhar III had set up an ambush in advance so that he could control it after he entered?
“Watson, don’t perform that poor acting in front of me. Haven’t you already declared your loyalty to me? What? Are you going to disobey my orders?”
“Alright, Your Majesty, I’ll come.”
Watson could only sigh and pinch his nose as he entered the tunnel with King Landhar III.
The tunnel was very dark and long. As soon as they entered, they were greeted by a wave of damp and cold air. The air could not make an elite like Watson feel uncomfortable, but he still shuddered because there was an inexplicable smell in the air, as if something was rotten and smelly. After careful examination, he realized that it was the smell of blood. In short, it was filled with evil.
After Watson entered, King Landhar III looked backward at him. Without saying anything, he quietly walked in front with a torch in his hand. The passage was silent; they could only hear their footsteps.
After walking for an unknown distance, an open space suddenly appeared in front of him. King Landhar III’s voice said, “We’re here.”
Watson looked forward and found a secret room in front of him. Most of the walls around the secret room had collapsed. A few bookshelves used to store books were filled with dust, and cobwebs were on the bookshelves. The books on the bookshelves were not dusty. It looked like they were often flipped through, and a huge bright red magic circle was carved on the floor of the secret room. The stench that Watson had smelled came from the floor.
“Your Majesty, what is this place?”
“This is the secret place that I found in the palace. It should be an underground shelter built by a previous king. It had collapsed for some unknown reason, and from then on, it became the place where I met those guys. It’s time for you to see them.”
With a chuckle, King Landhar III inserted the torch in his hand into the ground. The flame instantly changed from red to green, and as the color of the flame changed, strange-looking shadows suddenly appeared on the walls around them. There were monsters with dragon tails and a human upper body. There were also monsters with panther heads, wings, and densely packed light wheels on their backs.
“King Landhar III, you are a man of integrity, indeed! I asked you to bring that young man here to sacrifice him, but I did not expect you to bring him to us so soon. We haven’t had the chance to descend yet, so I have to compliment you.”
The moment the strange shadows appeared, a terrifying pressure covered the entire secret chamber. At the same time, a neutral and ear-piercing voice sounded.
“Brat, I didn’t manage to kill you the last time I possessed the unicorn. Instead, you humiliated me! I am Goddess Sidi, one of the seven gods of the kingdom, and this time I will take revenge for what happened last time.”
“Seven gods? Sidi? What’s going on?”
As he felt the intense pressure from the wall, Watson stopped breathing for a few seconds. Even though he was a diamond-tier elite and could grasp the divine kingdom’s power, at that moment, his body trembled in the sticky air. The seven shadows that appeared in front of him were the projections of starlight-tier gods.
Unlike the last time, the gods’ projection was even more powerful, and there were more of them. The aura of the gods, which was different from that of human beings, was like an ocean that was about to drown the entire place.
“Your Majesty, you brought me here to kill me?”
Although he had a feeling that his previous actions would not convince King Landhar III entirely, Watson never thought that the King would actually want to kill him. He was even showing off the things he got from him at the banquet. He even talked to him about Kiana, and then he turned around and attacked him. That was too quick of a change.
“I’m sorry, Watson, you signed a soul contract with me and also agreed to let me join the Severed Fingers Gang! However, I made an agreement with these guys first. I’m a person who abides by the agreement, so I understand the rules. Of course, you agreed to be my friend. How about this? I won’t let you die, but I’ll give your body to these guys. I guarantee that I’ll find another suitable body for you.”
King Landhar III announced his plan with a sincere look on his face. Watson could not help but clench his teeth when he heard that. That cunning fox actually had that idea. It turned out that he wanted to separate his soul from his body, turning his body into a carrier for the gods. It would not kill him, but it was almost the same as killing him.
The powers that Watson had obtained after painstakingly using the fusion system would disappear, and it was not certain if he could retain the system without his body. With those gone, his idea of overthrowing the monarch would remain a dream.
‘Should I show my true strength here and kill King Landhar III?’ Watson thought to himself.
The King had already said that he did not intend to take his life. If he did not give up his body, it would be equivalent to betrayal, and the soul oath he had taken was fake. The King no longer trusted him. However, if he gave up his body, he would lose everything. Compared to the latter, the former was indeed more acceptable.
Watson looked at King Landhar III subconsciously as he thought about that. He realized that the King was also looking at him. The other party’s deep eyes seemed to have become bottomless under the illumination of the bewitching green torch, which made Watson alarmed. A layer of cold sweat appeared on his back.
Suddenly, he thought of a possibility. What if the King brought him there not to kill him but to see if he could resist the threat of the gods? What if King Landhar III did not fully believe in the oath he had made before and deliberately tested him? What should he do?
He recalled how King Landhar III had discussed his victory in the competition and whether he liked Kiana. In addition, the King had been secretly watching him with a scrutinizing gaze ever since he entered that place. Watson felt like the possibility of that guess was very high because if he wanted to kill him, he would not need to talk to him. The more important reason was that the King had just been angry with him. No one would be angry with a person who was about to die.
He was not sure if his thoughts were correct, but Watson was prepared to take a gamble.
“Since Your Majesty has said that, it seems that I have no choice but to agree.”
After exchanging a glance with the King, Watson smiled and looked around the walls. “As the seven gods that protect the Holy Dragon Kingdom, you are indeed powerful. I am willing to offer my body to you, but I have a question.”
“Brat, what question do you have? Since you are about to die, I will kindly answer it for you.”
The one who spoke was a female deity with a leopard’s head and wings on the wall.
“Well, you are a god, so why do you want my body?”
“Because there’s something we need in your body. We can’t tell you what it is.”
“Very well, since you’re not telling me that, then, I’ll ask again! My second question is, I only have one body, but you have seven. How are you going to divide my body? Do you plan to live in it together?”
After Watson asked his question, the surroundings suddenly fell into a short period of silence. Then, Sidi’s voice sounded again. “What a ridiculous child. Don’t tell me you’re trying to use such a childish question to split us. We’re tired of your little tricks.”
“So…”
“So, Brat, your body is mine, of course. I was the one who possessed the unicorn to take over your body. You even killed a part of my projection. If I don’t get it, it doesn’t make sense at all. I think the other gods won’t have any objections.” Sidi’s loud voice echoed in the secret room. As soon as she finished speaking, the other gods spoke.
“Sidi, what nonsense are you spouting? We do have a lot of objections to that.”
“I have to admit, Sidi, you did a very good job in that operation. We express our gratitude to you! But don’t be so ungrateful that you’d try to take that youth’s body.”
Watson let out a long sigh as the gods quarreled. As a mortal, all he could think of was the system. One system could not be split into seven equal parts. Therefore, even if the gods knew that he was trying to sow discord among them, they could only voluntarily fall into his trap.
