Chapter 18

The man's scrutinizing eyes made Elphis' heart tighten. He glanced at the very familiar scepter in the other's hand, and he felt numb.

The first time I picked up something, not only was it a treasure, but it was also a treasure that had an owner, and that owner was a ghost!

Oh, my life has been smooth sailing for twelve years, and it's so sudden that I've become so unlucky.

Perhaps it was because the other party's aura was a little scary and his expression was not very friendly, Elphis had already associated it with the matter of possession, and the more he thought about it, the more it fit the situation. Look, does this ghost seem to be picking out the body to use in the future?

The young man's face darkened and he cursed in his heart - when others pick up things, at most the owner will scam them and ask for money, but is picking up things risking his life?

Clemens observed the boy carefully. His first impression was that he was extremely handsome, but that was secondary. What satisfied him was the alertness and caution shown by the child, as well as the strong mentality that showed him being confused for a moment when he first arrived here but was quickly replaced by calmness.

When the child saw him, he didn't know whether he was a friend or an enemy, so he silently delayed time observing him and the unfamiliar environment around him instead of asking immediately. He was quite patient.

As the former owner of the staff, what satisfied Clemens most was, of course, the child's top magical talent and the small force of faith in his body - at this age, he could gain the respect and trust of many people, so he was probably a good and reliable child.

But, just one thing...

Clemens asked solemnly, "With such talent, why haven't you started practicing yet? Haven't the people in the guild or the academy discovered you?"

He remembered that after the War of Gods, he and his friends had emphasized many times that they would not allow any distinction between high and low, and that they would search the world for talented people and cultivate them with all their heart, and the dark system was no exception.

At this moment, such a genius who had no experience in magic was standing in front of him. Clemens couldn't help but wonder if the guild and the academy had been disintegrated?

Elphis didn't know that his behavior of never testing his talent had caused the two major forces to bear the blame. He saw that the other party was obviously unhappy, and he pursed his lips awkwardly, and finally said: "I'm sorry, sir, I don't understand what you are saying."

It’s not that I don’t understand the content, it’s that I don’t understand the language!

How can I communicate to save myself? Why do I have to go through the difficulties I just faced when I crossed over again?

He could only hear a few words that were somewhat similar to the language he used, and he didn't know if they were dialects from other places, or... this ghost had been dead for too long and was speaking an ancient language?

Anyway, he was speaking the common language. Even in a remote town like Lisse, this language is spoken. It should be popular in other places as well. It would be fine if the other party could understand it.

Unfortunately, Elphis clearly saw the undisguised doubt in the other's eyes - he understood that he would either be killed by this unknown old ghost, or be trapped for a while.

At this point, Elphis also believed in the existence of magic, and only those magical powers could construct this space.

Under normal circumstances, he would have been extremely excited, but at this moment, he was only worried about his life.

What a pity... I don’t know if I will have another chance to go out and see the world.

Oh, I don’t know what his health is like now. Are Grandpa and Winster worried about him?

Clemens was not going to communicate with a child by guessing through gestures. He had been strong all his life and had no intention of asking Elphis whether he wanted to learn magic or his language.

Because he simply couldn't imagine how anyone could refuse to learn magic and become an ordinary person!

I don’t know how many years it has been since the War of Gods, but even the language has become so unfamiliar.

Clemens suddenly felt lucky that his staff was not lost in an uninhabited place or taken by someone with average talent, otherwise he would never have been able to wait for the child in front of him.

In fact, he sealed his soul here not because he wanted to wait for a student and pass on his knowledge, but since a child who he likes appeared in front of him, he didn't mind teaching him.

Unfortunately, it takes a lot of time to cross the language gap, and the power of faith that protected his soul has dissipated. Clemens has no time to accompany his students as they grow slowly.

Elphis saw the other person staring at him for a moment, wondering what he was thinking. That serious face... seemed to become a little kinder?

Clemens was already approaching him. "Little guy, this is the only solution I have. It may be uncomfortable, but there are benefits."

Elphis still didn't understand, but seeing this unknown ghost approaching him, he wanted to hide reflexively - of course he couldn't hide, because Clemens moved in front of him in two or three steps under the horrified gaze of the young boy and floated into his body!

Are you really trying to take over my body?!

"Hmm..." Elphis had a splitting headache, and several images that did not belong to his memory flashed through his mind.

The young man fell to his knees, his face slightly distorted in pain, his eyes full of unwillingness and anger!

Damn! What bad luck!

He gritted his teeth and tried to stay awake. He kept recalling the memories of his two lives, trying to be careful about what he was forgetting...

A sigh suddenly appeared in my mind, "Stubborn little guy, you really can resist."

If he gave up on himself too quickly, he might accidentally squeeze out the child's consciousness.

Elphis's expression became even more solemn—he actually understood this strange language!

It seemed that the other party's memory invasion was faster than he realized.

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he seemed to hear satisfaction and relief in the man's tone? Oh, it seems he is still a pervert who likes to watch the weak struggling to survive!

Several unfamiliar memories gradually appeared clearly in Elphis' mind. He could even tell what the owner of the memory was feeling at the time. If he guessed correctly, this was the guy's most impressive memory...

Those memories of major discoveries and important decisions that could influence history made this man look like a pretty good magical genius, a great man that Elphis would definitely admire and respect under normal circumstances.

The young man sneered in his heart. It seems that the stronger a person is, the harder it is for him to give up his power and status, or to give up the peak of strength that he has not yet reached. Even a human guardian like Clemens is no exception - yes, he even "remembered" this person's name.

I don't know how long it took, but Elphis' mind was already filled with chaotic images of the battlefield. There were all kinds of strange races, some were enemies, some were friends, some were good-looking, some were not...

There are also those colorful magic moves that allow outsiders to see where the battlefield is from a long distance and sense how dangerous that place is.

The chaotic memories came to an abrupt end, and Elphis felt that the pain in his brain being squeezed suddenly stopped, as if... there were no more memories to be stuffed into his brain.

"call……"

The lingering pain still made him feel uncomfortable, but the boy breathed a sigh of relief as if the hard battle was finally over - he could vaguely feel that the soul was no longer there.

As soon as he relaxed, Elphis lost consciousness.

——

He seemed to have a lucid dream. Elphis saw a pale man wearing a black robe and a wide hood standing in the air not far away.

He was thin overall, but not at all weak. What was striking was that his lips were a striking black, and his bony hands were holding a nearly five-foot-long staff, with his exposed sharp nails also a creepy black color - everyone in the world knew that this was a weapon that was naturally poisonous.

The man had gloomy eyes, superior looks, and a purple-black mist lingering around him. This special feature gave him a gloomy beauty. When he was touched by the intense light not far away, he turned his head uncomfortably and squinted, like a patient who had lived indoors for a long time and finally stepped out of the room to see the sunlight.

But no one could feel the fragile beauty. When his calm eyes swept over them, the human hair stood on end and they only felt danger!

Because this person is a high and mighty god—a secondary god who holds the power over “epidemic”! When such a god appears, nothing good will happen!

It was clearly the first time they met, but the moment Elphis saw this person, he knew his identity.

The moment he saw the god, Elphis heard himself, no, this body speaking, the voice he had just heard...

Clemens narrowed his eyes, gripped his staff tightly, and said without any reverence for the gods: "Lord Plague God, as far as I know, the God War is not over yet. You have come to the wrong place. This is the battlefield for us 'lower races'. Should you go back to the Abyss, or to the God's Domain? There is no one to rival you here."

The God of Plague's eyes fell lightly on the ants standing on the city wall. He gently opened his lips and his voice was clearly heard by everyone present, "Human race, become my subordinate race, build statues for me, build temples, and offer sacrifices, and I will help you, how about it?"

Those who invaded the human territory were the high-level demons from the abyss and the ugly monsters with only bestiality, as well as the winged tribe from the divine realm and the bird-like monsters under their control.

Humans did not understand why they should participate in the war between gods, nor why the two opposing camps joined forces to cause trouble for them. They just thought that these guys loved chaos by nature, and would take advantage of the lack of a main god to control them to wreak havoc.

The enemy is naturally powerful, and the human race is mixed with good and bad. There will definitely be people who will be tempted by the protection of the gods, even if the other party is an evil god by nature who will be uncomfortable if he does not cause pain.

But most of the humans who came here were pioneers and their followers who slowly figured out the path to becoming strong in a situation where the magic system was imperfect and the level of sword skills was low. Needless to say, they were proud and strong-willed.

Facts have proven that humans can become stronger and even become gods through their own efforts. Although there are not many top-level masters at present, they are still able to defend the front. Why should they beg for mercy from a mere sub-god? !

All the humans present heard the words of the God of Plague, but no one was distracted from the things in their hands. Even if someone had some thoughts on the subject, they did not dare to say a word.

Clemens tapped the barrier in front of him with his staff, and once again gathered a large amount of light elements and injected them into it to strengthen the protective shield.

"What a coincidence! The three gods, Dream God, Lie God, and Greed God, also said the same thing a while ago. Unfortunately, they seem to be unable to bear the worship of the human race. They are somewhat regretful. Lord Plague God may also feel the same way. It is better to save some time and leave early."

Clemens' talent is the light system known for its protection and healing, but Elphis always feels that this person's temperament is not like that of a nanny.

Especially, his tone was always steady and every word was polite, but it sounded like he was implying disdain. If it was a nanny with weak fighting ability, she would probably have been beaten to death before she became strong.

Elphis secretly complained to himself. From his dean's temperament and steady appearance, he really couldn't tell that he had such a troublesome personality.

Sure enough, Clemens reacted immediately when the God of Plague took action, and no companions around him came forward to help. It was either because they had a bad relationship with him, or because they... had absolute trust in him.

Two balls of light, one white and one purple-black, kept moving above the battlefield. Sometimes the light purified the poisonous fog, and sometimes the poisonous fog eroded the light, with the two growing at the expense of each other.

Elphis no longer cared about what Clemens had done to him or what his current situation was. There was no point in being anxious. He was now fascinated by this magical battle. It was so exciting!

After failing to kill the ants that He had previously ignored, the God of Plague quickly turned from a careless expression to a serious one, and he gritted his teeth and said, "Fake God!"

Among intelligent races, those who are only one step away from condensing a complete godhood are called false gods.

They certainly cannot stand shoulder to shoulder with the nine main gods, but powerful false gods can also fight against the lesser gods!

What's more, Clemens is a light-type who is most capable of restraining the power of the God of Plague!

Having reached the level of a god of magic, Clemens no longer needs to chant any spells. He can mobilize the element of light with ease.

The strange thing is that every time Elphis saw him counterattack or defend, his mind would automatically pop up what these moves are - this is the light shield protection, this is the holy light purification, this is the imprisonment chain, and there is also the Judgment Sword, the Light Blade...

He even had a vague idea of how to chant a spell to unleash such powerful force.

I seem to have... Clemens's memories? Am I still me?

Elphis thought he had won the battle for the body before, but now he is not sure. However, he now has a clear sense of self-awareness and inexplicably has no sense of crisis. This should be a good thing?

There is no way to wake up from my body, so I can only watch the battle to the end.

The man held the white bow in his broad hands, placed three fingers on the string, and shot the magic-destroying arrow formed by a large amount of light elements towards the enemy's heart.

The God of Plague, who was bound by huge white chains floating in the air, no longer had the calmness he had just shown when he arrived. His eyes were bloodshot as he watched the powerful arrows of light coming at him. He felt angry but powerless. At this moment, he finally understood what this human had meant when he said, "The three gods cannot afford the offerings of humanity"!

"Human! How dare you kill a god--!"

The light arrow completed its mission of killing the enemy and dissipated into tiny invisible elements.

Only after Clemens confirmed that the god of plague's divinity was also shattered did she return to the city wall to continue working as a wet nurse.

A man with a severely corroded arm jumped up to him, propping up the ground with his long sword, and spoke with regret: "You are too quick to destroy the godhood, don't you feel bad? Amon hesitated when he killed the dream god the day before yesterday. Such a good treasure, what a pity!"

Clemens casually cast a healing spell over and warned solemnly, "Don't touch that stuff."

“Yes, yes, I was just talking. What’s the use of my godhood? I can’t protect those main gods…”

Elphis at the back didn't hear clearly because the swordsman named Conrad had already jumped off the city wall.

The human race was weak, but Clemens and his companions seemed to have no pressure at all. They regarded the enemy as a whetstone to hone their own strength, and even when they were seriously injured, they rarely felt the heaviness.

Through Clemens' perspective, Elphis saw what a magical world he had traveled to.

The Sword God, with his indestructible physique, could almost ignore all magical attacks and cut off the head of a sturdy Saint-level alchemical puppet with just a few leaps.

The wood mage caused several vines like giant pythons to break out of the ground and wrap around the troll which was over ten meters tall.

The wind system controls a terrifying tornado that rages in the sky, making it impossible for winged enemies to keep their balance.

The earth mage made the ground surge like waves, swallowing up the debris that didn't run fast enough, and then it became flat again. The crushed flesh and blood were buried deep in the earth, and the surface looked clean as if nothing had happened.

The gold element controlled the enemy's weapons and made them kill each other, the fire element summoned "meteors" falling all over the sky, the water element brought heavy rain to soak a large number of aliens, and the thunder element coordinated to drop deafening thunder and lightning...

Of course, there are only a few humans who can cause such horrific natural disasters with a wave of their hands. Elphis saw that other people participating in the battle often had to chant spells before using their ultimate moves.

As for some mages who were left on the city wall to help remotely, they had to recite a spell every time they released a magic spell.

Although they recited fluently and quickly and it didn't take much time, after watching the performances of the big guys, Elphis felt a little anxious when he saw the youngsters reading the lines and making moves.

Even though he disliked reading spells, Elphis still carefully wrote down the spells he heard, wondering if he could use them in the future...

Wait a moment!

Elphis suddenly remembered what Clemens said when he first met him.

He now has some of Clemens' memories and of course knows his language. The first sentence he said seemed to mention that he was talented?

Elphis didn't know which talent he was talking about. If he had to guess, his first reaction would be the light talent...

After all, Clemens wanted to take over his body, didn't he? He didn't know if he had been dead for thousands or tens of thousands of years. He had waited for so long and just wanted this body. He seemed very satisfied, so he should be a light system.

Thinking of this, Elphis' attention was focused on a senior light magician not far away.

——

In the cave, Samuel thought of the kid who had fallen into a coma for unknown reasons. For the first time in his long life, he felt it was a pity for someone to die.

He has devoted himself to washing clothes and cooking for one person for such a long time, and he still wants to wait for the little cub to grow up and enslave him back.

Leaving 'Winster' with the thought of going back to the church, Samuel sank into his consciousness.

Winster's consciousness came back online seamlessly. He didn't notice why his body, which was tense due to the nightmare, didn't relax properly. The pain in his heart also improved a lot.

After having such an ominous dream, the child now only wanted to go back and see how his brother was doing.

He didn't even light the lantern and hurried back under the faint moonlight.

In the familiar house, Pastor Calvin slept in Winster's bed - he didn't want to sleep at first, he had to take care of Al, and little Winster hadn't come back yet, which made him very worried, but the old man tossed and turned several times in worry, and then fell asleep...

He is almost 70 years old now. It is said that people of this age have light sleep and wake up easily, but Kevin is in good health and wakes up early every day. During the day, he either teaches the children, cleans the chapel, takes a walk, or works in his own or other people's fields...

After exercising his brain and body, it was normal for him to be tired and fall asleep soundly at night. Al, who was a few feet away, murmured from time to time, but it did not disturb his sleep at all.

Winster opened the door and frowned when he saw Grandpa Kevin, who he thought would be sitting by his brother's bed watching over him, sleeping soundly.

He approached Elphis silently. Winster's night vision has always been far superior to that of ordinary people. The faint silver moonlight came in from the door, and Winster could clearly see that his brother, who had hardly eaten for several meals, already looked weak. Anyone who had seen Elphis' healthy and confident appearance would feel sorry for him, let alone Winster who regarded him as the most important person.

Seeing that his brother's lips were a little dry, Winster took some water, carefully helped him up and fed him little by little.

It was hot during the day, so Grandpa didn't cover Elphis with a blanket, but it was already a little cool at this point, so Winster spread out his brother's thin summer blanket and covered him with it.

The child looked at the weak Elphis for a moment with red eyes, then turned around and packed up the package.

He had made up his mind to leave his brother as soon as possible, but because he was reluctant, he packed his things slowly.

But the only things Winster wanted to take away were the dagger his brother gave him in the cave, a gold coin given to him by the God of Wealth when he first mentioned it, the bow and arrow his brother gave him, a flint, a few clothes and daily necessities, and nothing else.

Even if we slow it down to a snail's pace, it won't take long to clean up.

He placed a small clay pot on the table. It was the money he had saved over a year from selling woven goods and dry goods after he moved in.

The small pottery jar was half filled with silver and copper coins. Winster didn't count how many there were, but it was definitely not enough to repay his brother...

The cold-hearted child in the eyes of outsiders stood in front of Elphis, his eyes moistened again.

My brother did nothing wrong. He just picked him up because he was too kind. As long as I stay away from my brother, the gods will drive away the bad luck that has befallen him, right? And then my brother will wake up.

If you say that Winster felt so guilty and sad because Elphis was his benefactor, this definition is too shallow.

This man, who was only three years older than him, was not only his benefactor who saved him from hunger, cold and displacement, but also his brother who ignored the voices of the whole world and firmly protected him. He was also his teacher who patiently taught him survival skills... He was food, winter clothes, shelter, moonlight and warm sunshine, spring flowers and winter snow - he was the best of everything in the world.

Other people in the town of Lissey also treated him kindly, but this was on the premise that Winster did not reveal his hair color. The only one who understood and accepted him from beginning to end was his brother.

Winster never minded living alone before, but at this moment, the thought of leaving such a good brother made him feel sore and uncomfortable. He knew he shouldn't get close to him, but he indulged himself for once.

Winster leaned over and hugged Elphis' neck, rubbing his little face against the boy's shoulders and neck, like a little beast that had retracted all its claws and fangs. Because he didn't get a response from his master, he shed tears of grievance and worry.

The hot tears fell on the unconscious boy's neck, without causing any reaction.

The next moment, Samuel took over his body irritably. He stood up straight, and the suffocating feeling of his heart tightening was still lingering.

Every time he comes out, he experiences a feeling that he has never experienced in his life for tens of thousands of years. It is strange and novel, but he doesn’t like it!