Chapter 852 - Under the Starry Sky
Chapter 852: Under the Starry Sky
Auglas didn’t stay long in the Dark Moon and left soon. Perhaps he was worried about the flat-chested loli or perhaps he was even more worried about what kind of calamity the flat-chested loli would cause on Dragon Island.
Below was a small clip from the departure of Sir Dragon Emperor.
“With you guys taking care of Olypheus, I can leave with peace of mind.” Auglas took a few steps before he suddenly thought of something and turned around, “Where are the bones of Ukleus?”
“What?” Chen Rui asked Zola beside him.
“What?” Zola asked Chen Rui.
Auglas had an unpleasant feeling, “Bones?”
“Oh.” Chen Rui nodded.
“Oh.” Zola cooperated with her husband and nodded.
Auglas, “I’m asking about the bones…”
“Have a safe journey, Sir Auglas!” Isabella waved.
“Dad! Goodbye!” Ms. Black Dragon waved along with her sister.
Auglas, “…”
Watching Sir Dragon Emperor angrily disappear from sight, Chen Rui secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He had obviously fooled the Dragon Emperor. As a traitor of Dragon Island who was also hated by the dragons, the bones of Sir Dracolich Ukleus were successfully ‘kept for private use’.
Although the dracolich skeleton at the kingdom level was an excellent material to make some equipment, Chen Rui did not use it. Instead, he gave it to the corpse necromancer Guradam for research.
Previously, due to material limitations, Guradam had been stuck at the peak stage of the Demon Emperor. The 2 key upgrade materials he needed were the Siren’s Heart and Dragon Power Essence. The Dragon Power Essence had already been obtained, but he still couldn’t obtain the Siren’s Heart.
To get the Siren’s Heart, the siren must be willing to give it – if it was Athena or another beloved girl, there would be no problem. Unfortunately, the little mermaid princess could only ‘dedicate’ endless contempt plus vicious remarks to Chen Rui.
Nonetheless, if the little mermaid princess was really Chen Rui’s beloved girl, Chen Rui would definitely not allow it as losing the Siren’s Heart would greatly harm her vitality.
Because of this, Guradam’s strength had not been able to improve. Correspondingly, the strength of the undead legion that he controlled was also limited to a certain extent until the appearance of Ukleus, a dracolich skeleton of the kingdom level.
Kingdom level was too far for Guradam. This was no longer the difference between Demon Overlord and Demon Emperor, but Guradam’s accomplishments in undead magic were a level that even Lich King Glorios would be amazed at. Chen Rui used Guardam’s research results to attract Glorios’ attention when he was in the Land of Hatred.
As a dracolich, Ukleus’ biggest weakness was that he was disturbed by the rule of soul imprint, so he was unable to condense the most important soul essence of the lich and store it in the life box. This was exactly why he was completely annihilated by Chen Rui. Therefore, the essence of Ukleus’ life was all concentrated on this skeleton. Guradam’s idea was to merge his own soul essence with Ukleus’ life essence, converting himself into a dracolich or something similar to the dracolich. Because of the huge strength gap of the 2 sides, it required considerable time and materials. It was also accompanied by great danger. Guradam’s soul would most likely be annihilated because he could not carry the enormous strength.
Even if he succeeded, the original strength level of the dracolich would definitely drop significantly, but Guradam still didn’t flinch. In his original words, if it is successful, it will be the most outstanding piece of work of his life; if it fails, it would also be his greatest attempt.
Chen Rui knew that Auglas turned a blind eye to this matter for the sake of Olypheus (Lalaria). Ukleus matter had come to an end. At the same time, the large amount of thunder nitrate urgently needed for the titans had also been solved.
With a huge empire like the Fallen Angel Empire, it was naturally not what personal strength could match. The transportation and refining of the thunder nitrate as well as the collection of other materials was not a problem. It wouldn’t be long before Crystal Phoenix could start experimenting with making the titans.
The update and upgrade of the ‘Infinite Warrior OL’ were also in intensive preparations. This time, there were 2 updates. The first 1 was ‘race’. The concept of ‘reincarnation’ would appear in the game. When one reached a certain level and obtained the corresponding item, he could reincarnate to the corresponding race. After reincarnation, the level becomes level 1, but various basic attributes would be increased. For each level up, the reincarnated character would have higher attributes than the non-reincarnated character. Not only that, reincarnation would also manifest various race characteristics. For instance, a minotaur would be more powerful, a dark elf would be speedy and so on. Chen Rui’s long-term goal was to add the special bloodline talent of each race including the royal family, but considering the progress and balance of the game, as far as this update was concerned, there was no corresponding independent skill.
The second update was to enrich the game side missions and add timed activities such as monster siege, bounty missions and so on. This could increase everyone’s participation and cooperation ability while preventing the low participation rate in the dungeon due to its high difficulty.
What reassured Chen Rui was that the efficiency and allocation standard of the level 3 alchemy civilization city were much higher than the level 2 alchemy civilization castle. After these tasks were arranged, they could basically be handed over to the gremlins for specific operations and debugging.
Dark Moon City Royal Palace.
Athena stood on the roof platform of the palace while holding the railing. She looked up at the starry sky, letting the cool evening wind gently blow her short red hair.
“Looking at the stars alone?”
A familiar voice sounded in her ears. When Athena turned her head, she saw Chen Rui’s smiling face.
“How is Zola?”
“It’s alright, she should be fine.” Chen Rui held her hand. The great demon was a warlike race. Due to holding the sword for a long time, her hands were not as delicate as Kia and Isabella, but they were extremely warm. It was just like the feeling of holding it for the first time in the black rainforest.
After Chen Rui revealed the news about the great elder fairy dragon and the Elf King of the human world’s Dragon Valley to Zola, Ms. Fairy Dragon showed an unexpected silence. She locked herself in the Rainbow Valley, and even closed the space entrance.
In this case, only Chen Rui could enter the Rainbow Valley and only Chen Rui could comfort Zola. Chen Rui spent 3 days in the Rainbow Valley before he could unravel Ms. Fairy Dragon’s frustration.
Only by heart-to-heart conversation that Chen Rui knew that Zola’s marriage back then actually included the driving force of Dragon Emperor Pagris. At the time, Pagris newly ascended the throne, and he couldn’t unify the elders. Zola’s mother, the Great Elder Meria, had the highest prestige and belonged to the neutral faction while the Second Elder Pelin was Pagris’ uncle. He was the biggest supporter of Pagris among the elders. Therefore, Pagris’ purpose in promoting this marriage was to further stabilize the rule of the throne.
After Zola ran away from the marriage, the Elf King beat Pelin hard, and Meria also tricked Pelin. It looked like they were relieving their hatred, but it was also to give Dragon Emperor Pagris a chance to sell his favor in disguise. He had expressed his stance, so this matter was finally turned into a small matter.
At first, Zola was just running away out of unwillingness, but with the growth of age and experience, she gradually realized that no one knew the character of their children better than parents. Meria and Span should have done it on purpose, quietly condoning her escape from marriage and home in order to take the initiative in controlling of the situation in the Dragon Valley by retreating.
After realizing this, Ms. Fairy Dragon, who had always been spoiled by Meria and Span, felt that she was being used by the people closest to her. She was so devastated that she entered the Demon Realm in a rage and vowed to become stronger so as to firmly grasp her own destiny. Before that, she would not return to the human world nor meet Meria and Span.
Chen Rui talked to Zola for a long night and explained a few things to her. Meria and Span’s initial actions were not just to control the situation in the Dragon Valley. There was also an important purpose, which was to let Zola safely leave the Dragon Valley in a special way; it was also to protect Zola.
Power and struggle were like twins. Brutal battles were everywhere. Glorious thrones were often built with countless blood and skeletons regardless of the race. In fact, Pagris revamped the elders not long after. Many dissenting voices were permanently covered. Only Meria, who had reached a certain tacit understanding, remained firmly in the position of the great elder up till this day. However, these were unforeseen. If Chen Rui hadn’t met the couple, Zola wouldn’t have known about them.
Athena glanced at Chen Rui, “You must have been tired.”
“Why does this sound like Kia?” Chen Rui shook his head with a bitter smile, and put his arms around Athena’s waist lightly, “I’m sorry, I know that the most tired is my dear madam lord and general.”
Athena pursed her lips and smiled, “Then don’t disturb me from gazing at the stars.”
“May I suggest madam general, stargazing is not done that way.”
Soon, the 2 of them lay on the ground and looked into the endless starry sky.
“Athena, remember when we were in Mountain Xilang?”
“En…” Athena replied softly as she squeezed into his embrace. It was something she would never forget in her life.
Neither of them said a word, and they just stared at the sky silently.
“Chen Rui…”
“En?“
“Nothing.”
“Actually, I’ve noticed it earlier. You have something in your mind.” Chen Rui sighed, “I thought that there shouldn’t be any barriers between us.”
Athena lowered her eyes, “I just feel like I’m getting farther and farther away from you.”
“Why do you think so?”
“I don’t know either. Maybe it’s strength, maybe something else.” Athena closed her eyes, “Maybe it’s just that I haven’t figured out some things myself.”
“I’m sorry.” Chen Rui suddenly felt guilty.
“Have you ever thought about… returning to the human world?” Athena slowly opened her red eyes, “I remember you said that your status in the human world seems to be a bit special, and your relatives should be there. No matter what happened before, with your current ability and strength, you can already…”
Before she could finish speaking, Chen Rui blocked her with his mouth. Athena trembled slightly, but she did not struggle in the end.
After a long, deep kiss.
“I should tell you some things by now. I should be the Third Prince Arthur. Roland of the Dragon Bright Empire, 1 of the 2 Holy Empires of human beings, the controller of the Golden Estate. The reason why I say ‘should’ is because Arthur’s memory imprint has completely disappeared.” Chen Rui stroked Athena’s face, “No matter how I came to the Demon Realm, no matter who ‘Arthur’ is, what kind of conspiracy and interests are involved, those have nothing to do with me. Now there is only Chen Rui, Chen Rui of the Demon Realm. You can… think of me as a soul from another world who was reincarnated into this body.”
The last sentence had actually revealed the biggest secret facing the woman he loved most. Of course, Athena would not understand the true meaning of ‘reincarnate’ in this sentence.
“I never thought about the so-called ‘return’ even though I can easily travel between the Demon Realm and the human world now. The reason is simple: my loved ones are in the Demon Realm – You know, a true family whom I can give everything for.”
“En.” Athena responded again. Her eyes were already glimmering, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course.”
“I know your plan. If this plan is successful, the 3 empires will be completely under your control. What is your purpose? The supreme ruler of the Demon Realm?”
“You’re wrong, I never thought being a ruler was a good job, and I didn’t want to be a ruler.” Chen Rui stared at the starry sky as if he saw the serene black eyes behind a double veil, “My greatest wish is to put aside all constraints, take my beloved women to live in seclusion or travel around, and live a carefree life. However, as of now, I have not been able to make all of you completely abandon the responsibility on your shoulders. I can’t even control my own destiny. There are countless unmatched enemies and terrifying obstacles ahead of me. I can only keep moving forward, keep working hard, and keep surpassing myself.”
Not to mention anything else, Sariel was a powerful being that could not be resisted. Especially when he used the name of ‘Aguile’, plus the Evil Moon Sigil, so Chen Rui would definitely be unable to avoid going to that ‘mysterious place’. No one knew how many dangers he would encounter.
It was the first time he had spoken out these thoughts to anyone.
“I’m sorry.” Athena buried her head in his chest, “You have more things on your shoulders than I imagined.”
“Some battles are destined to be faced alone, especially men.” Chen Rui felt the heat wave that spread to his chest and the emotions contained in it, “Fortunately, I’m not alone because although I’m fighting alone, I’m not alone.”
Athena only felt warm in her heart. All the little scruples in her mind melted away. This was what he said to him back then in the Mountain Xilang’s green leaves forest. He no doubt always remembers it and has been doing it all the time.
“Tomorrow I will enter the City of Stars for closed-door training in the Blue Lake Mountain Range. This time, it will be a long time. Maybe a few months or even longer.” Chen Rui gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and smiled gently, “What I’m worried now is that if I haven’t seen my madam general for so long, will there be a greater distance?”
“Of course.” Athena showed a tender and generous smile, apparently regaining her self-confidence, “But there are some small tricks that should reduce this sense of distance such as a little story about the stars. It should be one that I’ve not heard before.”
“As you wish, my dearest madam general…”
Looking up at the deep and beautiful starry sky and lying in his warm arms, there was a peaceful whisper in her ears. Athena only felt tranquil as she gradually closed her eyes.