Chapter 118#
The Saint of the Fallen Evil God#
“In that bright, sunny spring, there was a blond-haired, blue-eyed youth…”
On the streets of the Royal Capital, a traveling bard plucked the strings of his lute. His voice, carrying a trace of hoarseness, echoed through the streets as he sang a never-before-heard ballad, drawing passersby to stop and listen.
The former traveling bard, then the Saint, and finally the Avenging Angel wanted by the Church—Lynn the Saint’s life was legendary. Especially the netherworld flames with which the Evil God incinerated one-third of the Royal Capital’s nobles that day; everyone present in the capital at the time saw it clearly.
After this song, which chronicled the life of Saint Lynn, was created, it quickly spread through every street and alley. Normally, such a song would have been banned immediately, but due to the Church’s fear of the Evil God, the ballad continued to spread and be adapted into dozens of versions in this cultural desert of a world. The name of Saint Lynn gradually became synonymous with resisting authority and seeking freedom.
“It seems we’ve succeeded.” Hearing people sing the ballad on the street once again, Ike couldn’t help but say to Maria beside him.
He now led the people of the Dark Temple in establishing their own merchant guild. Relying on the knowledge he had learned from Lin Xiaodong and the experience accumulated over the years, they had quickly developed into one of the top merchant guilds on the continent in just a few years.
Maria, who had become a female knight and was hailed as the “Guardian Deity of the Merchant Guild” and the “Goddess of War,” led her beloved horse. Looking at the prosperous scene on the street, she revealed a faint smile: “Yes.”
This song was created by them with the intention of having bards spread it. Even Maria and the others hadn’t expected it to have such a great effect.
She looked up toward the Light Cathedral. The massive, solemn statue of the God of Light with open arms still stood there, but Maria no longer felt the awe and humility she once had when she was forcibly brought to the capital by slave traders and looked at it. She calmly met the stone statue’s gaze, but what surfaced in her mind was that terrifying divine power that shook the entire continent that day.
It seems the Saint indeed found his way home, she thought with a sigh. The last trace of reluctance and regret remaining in her heart was finally completely resolved at this moment.
“However, I heard that a small group of nobles are still shouting outside the Church every day, demanding the Pope eradicate our merchant guild?” she asked casually, snapping back to reality.
“Yeah,” Ike shrugged. “Those people are basically those who didn’t make it to watch that ‘Trial of the Century’ for various reasons—remnants who slipped through the Evil God’s fingers. They won’t amount to anything. Besides, they’re only loud with their mouths; the Pope has long been sick of them.”
As the merchant guild grew, he, as the guild leader, inevitably had contact with the current Pope.
Probably scared by the scene of the Evil God’s rage that day, the Pope was terrified that the Saint might return to the continent with the Evil God one day. Therefore, during their receptions, his attitude toward Ike was very kind. Afterward, he was exceptionally cooperative, not only refraining from making things difficult for their merchant guild but even often turning a blind eye to their violations of church doctrine. He could be said to be very indulgent.
But several years had passed, and while the merchant guild’s development was flourishing, no one on the continent had seen the figure of the Avenging Angel with black wings, known as the nobles’ nightmare, again.
They bought some daily necessities and snacks like candy on the street. Maria also used her salary to buy some books for the children who had stayed at the Dark Temple—something that commoners wouldn’t have dared to dream of before.
“Do you think he’ll ever come back?” After a while, Ike couldn’t help but ask.
Although he didn’t mention a name, Maria knew almost immediately whom he was referring to.
She pondered for a moment and shook her head: “Probably not. But…”
As long as they were both happy, what did it matter if they were worlds apart?
But what Maria didn’t notice was that while they were talking, a youth dressed in a long black robe had been standing in the distance, quietly watching them. When they finally continued on their way, the youth stayed in place for a while before also turning and leaving.
“Actually, I think the two of them are quite a match, it’s just that Ike is a bit older,” Lin Xiaodong remarked. “But being older is good, he’ll know how to take care of someone. That way, I won’t have to worry about Maria being bullied.”
System: “Since when did you suddenly develop a hobby for matchmaking…?”
“Is this matchmaking? I’m just expressing my feelings!” Lin Xiaodong rolled his eyes. “Right, I haven’t asked you yet. What exactly does your headquarters want this God Core for?”
After the Evil God fell, he had intended to leave this world immediately, but the system told him that something like a God Core was too dangerous and the headquarters needed time to prepare for receiving it. As a result, he had been waiting for several more years.
Without the Evil God’s company, the abyss was boring as hell. Out of necessity, he could only return to the continent to see old acquaintances and pass the time.
System: “I’m not entirely sure either, but I can detect a trace of the power of Laws within it. This kind of thing is highly valuable. Headquarters has invested a lot of manpower and resources over the past few centuries just to slightly grasp some of the rules of how Laws operate. They might want to use this thing for research?”
“Is that so?” Lin Xiaodong lost interest upon hearing that. “Then hurry them up. I’m getting impatient waiting.”
The system had told him that time flowed differently in various small worlds. It was possible that only one day had passed at headquarters, while several or even a dozen years had passed in the small world. Just like the Heavenly Court—one day in heaven, one year on earth.
Thinking about having to stay in this world even longer, Lin Xiaodong couldn’t help but feel a sense of irritation.
It wasn’t that he disliked it here, it was just… as expected, he still preferred the days when the Evil God was by his side.
When Gu Xi opened his eyes, he hadn’t fully stepped out of the role of the Evil God.
He held his aching head and climbed out of the sleep pod with his lips pressed tight. The colleagues gathered around quickly made way for him, and someone asked with concern, “Are you alright?”
“…I’m okay.”
He gave a brief answer. The memories of several worlds were jumbled together, leaving him somewhat mentally exhausted. But he still forced himself to go to the office. Standing before the verification system provided by the headquarters, he used his iris to open the long-sealed office door.
Before him was a massive floor-to-ceiling window.
Outside was the vast and boundless universe. Huge mechanical planetary orbits circled the planet where the headquarters was located, moving slowly. But Gu Xi only gave it a brief glance before pressing a button on his desk.
“Beep—”
With a slight hum, the holographic projection device activated, and a tall god dressed in a black robe appeared in the center of the room. His appearance was exactly that of the Evil God from the last world.
“System, record the data,” Gu Xi said, leaning against the desk and staring unblinkingly at the Evil God’s model.
“Command received. Loading data…”
“20%, 40%… 100%. Recording complete.”
“The Law Collector is being retrieved by a subordinate system. By the way, the Research Department Director has a message for you.”
“Read it.”
The system simulated the Research Department Director’s voice: “How was that ‘God Core’? Consider this as me making up for my past mistakes. Boss, don’t forget to send me the data when you get back.”
Gu Xi sighed: “Understood. Give him a copy of the data as well.”
“Received.”
After a short pause, the highly intelligent system reminded him in a gentle voice: “Your mental energy fluctuation is high. The preliminary judgment is that it was caused by long-term low-dimensional projection. Do you wish to perform a repair?”
Gu Xi didn’t answer, but instead asked: “What about him?”
“Please wait a moment, I’m checking for you,” the system said. “The Heavenly Court office has confirmed that Immortal Lord Lin is still in the Cycle Realm. It is predicted that there are still two worlds left until the countdown to the Heavenly Tribulation.”
“Two worlds… not much time left,” Gu Xi murmured.
He set a two-hour alarm, planning to take a short nap on the office sofa. But before closing his eyes, the man took one last look at the ring on his ring finger, and his consistently serious expression gradually softened.
This time, he would definitely not break his promise again.