A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 982 - Chapter 982 Chapter 677 Return

Chapter 982: Chapter 677: Return Chapter 982: Chapter 677: Return The so-called trouble is really Olaya’s headache to deal with. After all, the Holy Sword has been extracted, the seal released, and then you go back and tell everyone the Demon King ran away early–isn’t that setting someone up for failure?

But if you say the Demon King was sealed, then the moment he shows up, your bluff is immediately called.

However, that’s Olaya’s problem to consider; Duanmu Huai doesn’t care about that.

But speaking of which, he’s quite familiar with this Hero’s shrewd move.

Selling out your descendants for power–well, a certain Emperor has pulled a similar shrewd move.

And he even tried to dodge the debt afterwards, but it turns out the creditor wasn’t so easy to mess with.

So what Duanmu Huai despises most are those who try to be clever, bold when they can afford it, timid when they can’t, and yet stupidly dance in a minefield, only to eventually explode. As the saying goes, you can’t keep walking by the river without getting your shoes wet. What’s the point of being clever? If you win, you can’t show your face; if you lose, it just shows you’re an idiot…

Gamers feel pretty much the same way about the Emperor. The more they know, the less they respect him. Any of the Emperor’s glorious deeds were basically him bulldozing his way through. Any trouble he got into was mostly because he insisted on showing off but ended up crashing. And it happened not just once, not just twice, but time and time again…

In the end, it all boils down to the Emperor being too full of himself.

Take the Imperial truth, for example. The Emperor’s intention was to block information about the Subspace and Chaos through the Imperial truth, but here’s the problem: the Human Empire is full of people. Can he swear that, from now until the future, not a single person will explore the Subspace? Be interested in Chaos?

Science cannot prove the existence of God, but are there fewer believers?

Moreover, the Evil God isn’t the final boss in a game; it doesn’t even move unless you poke it, but does that mean it won’t take the initiative to lure mortals?

Not to mention there are Psychics. The moment humans come into contact with the Subspace, their first reaction will be, this is different from what the Emperor said, huh? The second reaction, am I seeing things? The third reaction, I’m not seeing things, so the Imperial truth is just a damn lie? Is this idiotic Emperor deceiving me?

Wow, wouldn’t that just be a total disaster?

Therefore, the Imperial truth was a folly from the start, unless the Emperor controls the collective consciousness of all humans, preventing any individual thought from occurring, and then kills all Psychics. Otherwise, he’s just fooling himself.

Not to mention that the Subspace itself is chaotic. The players joked that even if the Emperor successfully promoted the Imperial truth and all humans believed it, the Subspace might just conjure an Evil God named “Atheism.” Then, all citizens of the Empire become followers of this Evil God, who then, seeing injustice, bellows out and devours all human souls to become the fifth Evil God. Wouldn’t humans then become the second Spirit race?

After all, the Subspace is right here, does your denial have anything to do with it?

If the world goes dark when you close your eyes, that’s your business; the sun doesn’t care a bit.

So, the so-called Imperial truth, from a player’s perspective, is just covering one’s ears while stealing bells–a pure joke.

Enough of that, let’s get back on track.

The current biggest problem is that Demon King.

From what we can see now, the Demon King should be about the size of an ordinary person, not a ten-meter-tall monster that breathes fire. And after running away for so many years, where on earth do you start looking for him?

However, since the Demon King and the Hero had signed a contract, it meant he definitely wouldn’t take action within five hundred years.

Had it already been five hundred years?

Although not finding the Demon King was a huge blow, fortunately, when leaving the fortress, Olaya acted swiftly and without fanfare, so most people were unaware of what had happened. After dispatching scouts to confirm that the demon beasts on the ice plains had completely dissipated, Olaya then declared the defense operation of the Northern Fortress to be successfully concluded, and the majority of the legion would follow her back to Luminas Royal City, leaving only a regular garrison to continue defending the place.

And Duanmu Huai naturally accompanied Olaya to the Luminas Royal City as well.

Upon hearing the news of the Monster Legion’s failed assault, Luminas was seething with excitement. When Olaya led the army through the city gate, petals danced in the wind, and cheering crowds lined both sides, while the resounding peals of bells echoed in the skies above the city.

As for Duanmu Huai……

“Hmm, I must say, this scene is indeed familiar.”

Watching Olaya walk through the streets showered with petals, heading towards the palace, Duanmu Huai murmured to himself. He reached out to catch a falling petal, only to see the delicate and vivid petal wither and crinkle at his fingertips. Afterwards, Duanmu Huai tossed the petal aside and continued walking forward.

Next, it would be time for Olaya to push the grand doors open, enter the Throne Room, and face the King, sword in hand to commit patricide…… Well, that was thinking too far ahead.

“You have returned safely, Olaya.”

The old man sitting on the throne looked gaunt and frail; if not for the fact that Duanmu Huai didn’t sense any undead aura from him, he might even suspect the old man was a lich.

“The fighting in the Northern Land, you did well…”

The old King was heaving for breath. To be honest, looking at the old man before him, Duanmu Huai suspected that without Olaya lifting a finger, he might just pass away on his own.

“It was everyone’s effort.”

Olaya bowed her head, her expression unchanging.

“Without the sacrifices and valor of our soldiers, we could not have defeated the monsters and achieved victory.”

“Yes, I know…… the sacrifice of our soldiers…… it’s heartbreaking. I will give them proper rewards…… Yes, rewards……”

The old man’s voice was slurred, making Duanmu Huai wonder if the King was suffering from senile dementia. In fact, throughout the conversation, his eyes seemed to see only Olaya; although Duanmu Huai was standing not far behind her, the King did not even glance his way.

Hmm, if he wasn’t blind, then his vision must be failing due to old age.

“Your Majesty, I have a very important matter to report to you……”

“Cough……cough cough cough……!!”

However, just as Olaya raised her head, about to say something to the King, the old King suddenly started coughing violently, his ragged, bellows-like wheezing echoing in The Royal Court. At that moment, a man dressed in a black robe, oozing “I’m suspicious” vibes, approached the King and whispered something to him. The King nodded and looked at Olaya again.

Then, the man raised his head and began to speak.

“Your Majesty is not well, let’s stop here, Princess Olaya. The military will handle the rewards for the legion,”

“…I understand.”

Olaya’s expression did not change in the slightest, her gaze also seemed very silent. She bowed respectfully, then turned and left the great hall, while Duanmu Huai cast a glance at the old King who was being helped up and walked behind, looking like a stroke patient who was half-paralyzed, and followed Olaya out.

“…Sorry.”

Outside the Royal Court, Olaya finally turned her head and apologized to Duanmu Huai.

“Originally, my father said he would grant you the title of Holy Sword Commander during this meeting…”

So, the player was supposed to get this title from this half-paralyzed old dementia patient?

That’s somewhat… huh!

“No worries, by the way, that person… his health doesn’t seem very good?”

“Yes, my father suffered a sudden illness two years ago, and his health has been declining ever since…”

Olaya shook her head as she spoke.

“Regarding your reward, it will take the military department a little time.”

“It doesn’t matter; I was planning to look around the Royal City anyway.”

“Okay, then… I will send Eirika to contact you later.”

“Hehe, then I’ll see you later.”

Duanmu Huai didn’t mind too much. After all, having reached the Royal City, he had accomplished half of his goal.

As for the other half…

“Master!”

As soon as Duanmu Huai stepped out of the Royal Palace, he saw Ogis and Gavi flying towards him, hugging him tightly.

“You’re out so soon?”

“Indeed, there wasn’t much to do… Ah, I misspoke, there’s still a bit to be done.”

“What is it?”

“Follow me and you’ll see.”

Duanmu Huai patted Gavi on the head, and Gavi threw a provocative glance at Ogis, proud of herself. Confronted with Gavi’s expression, Ogis’s eyebrows furrowed slightly before returning to her usual calm.

Duanmu Huai didn’t care about the affairs between the puppet sisters. He hadn’t forgotten that one of the reasons for coming to this world was to obtain the Holy Sword and the title of Holy Sword Commander–well, he might as well consider the Holy Sword secured, right?

The other reason was to recruit talent for his territory, and coincidentally, Duanmu Huai knew just the place in Luminas Royal City!

“Let’s go; we have plenty more to do next.”

In a dark alley of Luminas Royal City, there was a shop that was quite famous among players.

There were several reasons for its fame.

First, the owner was a beautiful girl.

Second, the shop provided genuine goods.

Third, and this involves the shop’s business… they dealt in human resources!

Indeed, just like modern employment agencies that introduce members, players in the game could trade with the store owner to obtain a series of “neutral” Soul Cards, many of which included talents in internal affairs and diplomacy. This was incredibly useful for players, especially for those with the Soul Messenger occupation.

Of course, these Soul Cards were quite valuable and cost a lot of money, but… fortunately, Duanmu Huai was wealthy enough not to worry about the expense.

Now, the hope was that the shop wasn’t just an official game website operating in cyberspace and nonexistent in reality, otherwise Duanmu Huai would be disappointed.

Thankfully, when Duanmu Huai walked into the alley and reached his destination based on his memory, he let out a sigh of relief upon seeing the familiar shop.

Then, Duanmu Huai reached out and pushed open the door.

“Dinglingling…”

The sound of the doorbell chimed as Duanmu Huai entered the shop and looked around.

It was almost no different from the game, with display shelves lined up against the walls on both sides containing numerous Soul Cards–yes, this was also the only place in the game that blatantly displayed Soul Cards for sale!

At the same time, a crisp and pleasant voice sounded.

“Welcome, esteemed guest, to the House of Illusions.”

With that voice, Duanmu Huai saw a girl with soft black hair and cloaked in a cape walking out from the inside.

“I am Stefal, the manager of this store. How may I assist you?”

Then the girl looked at Duanmu Huai with a smiling face and kindly asked.