Chapter 466 Mouse and Butterfly
At the top of the Great Sage's Tower, Dosulfuk, who was meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly opened his eyes, and a look of surprise appeared in his cloudy pupils.
What surprised him was obviously not the "Angel's Coming", but the fact that the "Claw of Eternal Hunger" that sent its clone to the mortal kingdom retreated so easily.
What exactly happened?
Dosulfuk couldn't understand the dramatic changes happening before his eyes.
And the being hiding in his shadow also couldn't understand the regret and timidity revealed by the "Eternal Hunger Claw" before leaving.
A misty black snake crawled out from Dosulfk's wrist and gently spit out a faint tongue towards the crystal ball in front of him.
A mysterious whisper appeared in his mind, and there was a subtle alertness in the understated arrogance.
"That's very unusual."
"He has been preparing for this ceremony for a long time, even utilizing the Flame of Destruction's expedition. There's no reason for him to withdraw like this."
"unless……"
"Unless?" Dosulfk raised his eyebrows slightly and cast a questioning look at the voice that seemed to be hesitant to speak.
The mysterious voice pondered for a moment and did not directly answer his question, but left a meaningful riddle.
"You are ants moving through the material world. In your world, there are only things that have happened and things that are happening."
"But we who exist in the void are different. We are fish swimming outside the fish tank, ghosts outside the bottle, and shadows reflected on the wall."
"From our perspective, there are only things that are bound to happen, and things that are not necessarily going to happen."
If this is the past of "Novel", it makes sense that Urgos would choose to retreat.
In His view, the future of this universe is already determined.
Any extra energy wasted here is unnecessary.
However, Avano has a different point of view. He does not think that what "Urgos" has realized is necessarily the truth.
That guy is the evil spirit furthest away from the truth. His power often comes from the resonance of idiots, so it is normal for him to make mistakes.
So there is another possibility -
He was simply deceived by Novel's "Mad Talker".
Considering Colin's acting skills, this possibility is very high.
The dark shadow wrapped around the great sage's wrist let out a dry laugh, just like the shadow reflected on the wall, mocking another embarrassed shadow.
Dosulfuk fell into deep thought, and spoke after a moment.
“Could there be a third scenario?”
The mysterious voice paused for a moment.
"...the third scenario?"
Dosulfuk nodded slowly and spoke in a thoughtful tone.
"He is neither the 'Mad Whisperer' nor Norville's past, but... something else besides."
"What is that, the Chosen One of Saint Sith? Or the Devil?" The voice from the unknown was mocking.
"I have no idea."
Dosulfuk shook his head slightly.
"It's just a guess."
Extreme light will inevitably give rise to equal shadows. They are like the two sides of a coin, setting off each other and being each other's natural enemies.
The opposite of Saint Sith is the Devil.
He couldn't help but wonder, would Chaos also have its own "natural enemy"?
certainly.
All this was just his guess.
Even if such a thing existed, the Crown of Pride wouldn't tell him...
…
The black cloud hovering over Dusk City completely disappeared, and along with it, an inconspicuous butterfly.
The first thing that caught Luo Yan's eyes was a dazzling white light, followed by a scarlet wasteland.
He seemed to have passed through a barrier, and was then thrown out by a huge suction force... along with the evil spirits returning home.
"I'm Grove! Let me meet his parents! I've done great things for him! Let me see him again! Please!" A dark shadow screamed miserably.
It's finally back!
Get out of that damn place!
Luo Yan didn't recognize the evil spirit, but he guessed it was one of the chosen rats he had just seen. As the nests outside Dusk City collapsed, Urgos took their souls away.
It was like sardines stuffed into a can, being forced onto a baby abandoned on the roadside by an invisible big hand.
"No——" It wanted to escape in fear, but it had no control over where to go.
The poor little guy lay there without crying or making a fuss. He was already dead, his soul had gone somewhere else, or maybe he had never come here to suffer. Only an empty shell was left on the ground.
However, at the moment when the evil spirit possessed it, it suddenly opened its hazy eyes and let out a loud howl.
The crying seemed to be more than just a biological instinct, as if it was trying to vent the unexpressed sadness from the previous life, as well as the pain of this life.
Poor child.
Luo Yan mourned for it for a second, but he really couldn't help, so he looked away and looked at this new and desolate world.
The sky here is the color of solidified blood, the earth is cracked red soil, and there is no sound of wind around, only the silent sound of death.
This is……
Another universe?
The divine consciousness attached to the "Butterfly of All Things" emitted a ripple of surprise. Luo Yan's curiosity at this moment was no less than when he was pulled into the virtual realm No. 440.
This place is very similar to the planet Kao, but it is fundamentally different. On Kao, only fungi can survive, but here there are traces of human activities.
And there are quite a few of them.
In the distant wasteland, I saw a group of skinny people waving hoes stiffly like zombies.
At first Luo Yan thought they were farming, but he saw them turning the ripe crops into the soil, which could have saved their lives.
What puzzled him even more was that a man who was starving to the point of being half-breathed seemed unable to endure it any longer and tried to dig out the food buried in the soil, but was beaten to death by a group of fanatical believers.
The food cannot be eaten.
But people seem to be able to.
Luo Yan speculated that these cultists seemed to be performing some kind of evil ritual.
Only in this way can we explain why they would do something that is neither logical nor reasonable.
Grove's howling finally attracted someone's attention. A pale and thin woman was surprised to find it and quietly took it away.
As if realizing that it was not his mother, "Grove" struggled even more violently, with a hint of fear in his crying.
And regret.
I wonder if he was regretting not being braver and rushing ahead of the other little mice during the fight just now.
Such an ending is not necessarily much more decent than dying on the battlefield.
Of course, it may not make any difference.
There is no exit mechanism in Urgos's hive. Once you give your soul to Chaos, it is basically impossible to escape from the hive.
Death is not the end of everything, it is just the beginning of reincarnation.
Luo Yan, who was attached to the Butterfly of All Things, felt tired of the foolish behavior before him, and even a little disgusted, so he flew forward for a while.
Soon he came to a large settlement where sat a massive steel structure that appeared to be the remains of a starship.
And right near the starship, gray concrete buildings stood on the ground, like moss growing in the corner of a wall.
This place is probably the "wasteland".
And it is a wasteland that is similar to the past of Virtual Realm No. 178, but completely different.
There is no "ghost coke" here. People should be using nuclear energy or relatively primitive fossil fuels.
Luo Yan did not feel any fluctuations of supernatural power. He thought that the supernatural power here should be weaker than that of the virtual realm No. 178.
At least that's the case on this planet.
Just as Luo Yan was observing with great interest, he suddenly heard a long sigh full of resentment in his ears.
"Hey...I'm not clean anymore."
Luo Yan, who was controlling the Butterfly of All Things, looked to the side and saw a mouse hiding stealthily in the withered bushes.
That was Urgos's voice.
He seemed to possess the mouse.
This mouse was only of normal size, not as big as the ones outside Dusk City. Let alone harming people, it probably couldn't even beat a wild cat.
"I don't even dislike you, but you dislike me." Luo Yan stopped not far from him, looking down at him with an intriguing look.
Although this world does not have extraordinary powers, it does not prevent two gods from outside the domain from communicating seamlessly through the touch of the "Sea of Consciousness".
Perhaps it was because the strength restrained its temper, the mouse did not lose its temper like it did outside Dusk City, but just curled its lips at him.
"Tsk, what do you know? It's just a bug that happened to fly outside the window. If it hadn't stuck to my hand, you would never have been able to fly so far in your life."
It’s hard to say.
Luo Yan smiled faintly.
"There are indeed many things I don't understand, but even with my shortsightedness... haven't you been deceived by me?"
“…” Urgos was silent.
Luo Yan could clearly sense a hint of discouragement and suppressed anger in the change of his attitude.
Although He was unwilling to admit it and even tried to avoid it, He had obviously realized that He had been tricked.
And it wasn't Norville who was the "Strange Mist".
But by a bluffing native.
After a moment, the mouse hiding in the bushes slowly spoke.
"...You're such a nasty brat, can't you just keep pretending to be Novel? I didn't ask you."
The butterfly perched on a leaf gently flapped its wings.
"Is it fun to lie to yourself?"
"Don't be so complacent... We will meet again! Next time we meet, I won't let you go so easily."
"Then let's give it a try." Luo Yan smiled indifferently and continued, "But there is one thing I didn't lie to you about. I really am Novel's—"
The mouse squeaked and interrupted him.
"That's enough! I don't want to hear you! There's not a single word of truth coming out of your mouth!"
"That's wrong," Luo Yan smiled. "Every word I say is true, but I usually only tell half of it, and you only listen to the part you want to hear."
Urgos seemed unwilling to continue this topic. This guy's ability to quarrel was probably equivalent to that of two Tafus, no more.
"Is this your nest?" Luo Yan's voice turned into a spiritual whisper through the fluttering wings of a butterfly, asking about something that Urgos might be interested in.
He had a feeling that this guy's personality was like that of a giant baby, and this might be related to the source of his power. Most of the believers who worshipped him were like this.
Just as Luo Yan expected, when asked about his treasure house, those two little eyes as big as green beans suddenly emitted a show-off light.
"To be exact... not yet, but soon it will be, hehe."
Luo Yan looked at him in surprise.
"Like Twilight City? Were they driven away?"
The mouse clicked his tongue.
"Ha! It was Avano who was driven away, not me!"
"arrogant?"
"Yes, this was that guy's territory before, but that scornful fellow got careless and messed up, so I picked him up."
"Lost? Lost to whom?"
"A materialist who had never met Him, yet completely defeated Him. Unaware of His existence, he thwarted His plans time and again... His dejected appearance was truly delightful."
There seemed to be a hint of gloating in Urgos' voice.
But he soon got tired of this topic, and a hint of cunning flashed in his rat-like eyes.
"Since you're here, I'll take you to see something fun."
"What's fun?"
"Just follow me and you'll find out!"
Looking at the rats running towards the distant city, Luo Yan thought for a while and finally decided to follow them.
It won’t hurt to look at it anyway.
He was also very curious about what this guy was up to.
Urgos led the way in front, and Luo Yan flew behind, looking at the bustling settlement and comparing it with the outside of the settlement.
The situation in the city was slightly better than outside. Those who lived here were probably "thirsty people". People lined up to get bread. Although they were starving, they were not starving to death.
Luo Yan didn't understand the situation here, but referring to the Twilight Province of the Kingdom of Ryan, the serfdom practiced here should be similar to it.
That is, serfs were forbidden to leave their land and became the private property of the tyrant. As for the citizens of Twilight City, they lived on the king's land, could exchange taxes for relative freedom, and were protected to a certain extent by the laws promulgated by the king.
However, they are not completely similar.
There are still many differences in form.
A mouse and a butterfly just passed through the crowded settlement, and no one noticed the god passing by them.
There were several times when Urgos was almost caught by the hungry man, but he was able to dodge it every time by this cunning guy.
Looking at the desperate expressions of those people, the wretched little mouse seemed to feel happy from the bottom of its heart.
What a twisted guy.
Luo Yan followed Him and came to the palace-like starship, and next to the starship was an even more luxurious palace.
Urgos took him in through the back door, avoiding the heavily guarded guards, and came to the most luxurious room.
An old king was lying on the bed, with the table beside him filled with delicacies from land and sea, but his skinny arms could no longer hold the knife and fork.
He already has everything and seems to have lost interest in everything.
It was not until a servant came up to him and whispered a few words in his ear that an expression of excitement appeared on his wrinkled face.
"Headmaster...Sava has passed away!"
Hearing that his lifelong rival was dead, the king's face flushed with sickness, and he sat up from the bed with his decayed body.
"Hahahaha! Well done! This traitor is finally dead! Pass my order down, fire a salute... to mourn him!"
The servant didn't dare say anything more and retreated tremblingly, but he was worried in his heart how to make this beautiful story come true.
The room fell silent again.
Looking at the empty room, the old king suddenly felt a little lonely and couldn't help but recall his high spirits when he was in Golden Gallon Port.
At that time, he told Savoy in person that the most brilliant business was religion, and he also told the child many rare truths.
At that time, he had no children of his own and really treated that boy as the prince. No one could have imagined the "love and hate" that would follow for decades.
The air was eerily still.
He seemed to be back in that stormy night, anxiously waiting for the outcome of the conspiracy, always feeling that a pair of eyes were watching him in the dark.
He wanted to take a look under the bed.
However, as he was already old, he really couldn't bend down. Without someone's support, it was difficult for him to even get out of bed and take two steps.
"You brought me here just to let me see an old man who is about to die?" Luo Yan looked speechlessly at the interested mouse on the windowsill.
Urgos chuckled.
"Of course not. Guess where he's going next?"
"Your chosen one is simply going to your hive. Is that even a question?"
"That's certainly true, but it's too general. Okay... I'll give you another hint! You've already met him!"
Looking at the little mouse with an expectant and boastful look on its face, Luo Yan thought for a moment and answered in an uncertain voice.
"Silas?"
A hint of surprise flashed across Urgos's face, as if he didn't expect him to guess it so quickly, and then he raised a rat paw in appreciation.
"clever!"
This time the person who was surprised was Luo Yan.
etc--
Isn't this guy still alive?
How could it be——
Just as Luo Yan felt this confusion in his heart, he suddenly remembered what he had said to Urgos before.
"Time doesn't exist... You don't really understand this sentence, am I right? Bluffing little devil." Urgos smiled slyly, as if he was proud of winning the game.
However, Luo Yan just felt that this guy with a bad taste was extremely boring. He went through so much trouble just to prove to himself that he had not lost.
Is it interesting?
"Whether I understand it or not...I'm not sure."
Luo Yan thought for a moment, then said with a hint of laughter, "If I really don't understand anything, guess how this butterfly ended up in my hands?"
Hearing this, a hint of jealousy clearly flashed in Urgos' eyes, in addition to that, there was also a hint of greed and desire.
His followers far outnumber the Strange Mist by more than an order of magnitude, spanning countless universes, yet his lack of knowledge is his eternal torment.
Anyone with a little knowledge would either be snatched away by the Crown of Pride or deceived by the Mist of Deceit, and would never choose Him.
He also wanted to lead His children to conquer countless planets, delve deeper into the universe He was in, and expand the territory of faith, but unfortunately, it was simply impossible.
and--
He not only wants the secret treasure of the strange fog, but also the man in front of him.
He has ability, ambition, and desire!
If he could transform this guy into his chosen one, perhaps his territory of faith could expand by another order of magnitude!
It is such a waste of his talent to let him be the indigenous god!
"Kid, let's make a deal."
"oh?"
"That butterfly is of no use to you. You can't even fly away from your own planet, nor can you travel between universes. How about you give it to me, and I'll give you the nest of this world... No, I'll also give you a better one!"
Faced with the bewitching whispers, Luo Yan smiled faintly and turned his gaze to the king who was only half alive.
"And when I die, I'll be back in your hands, right? Just like those wild dogs we saw before, reincarnated in your lair."
Doing business with the devil means at most selling your soul in this life, but doing business with chaos means you will redeem your eternal blessings.
Besides, he didn't mean to laugh at this guy. How could he poach someone like that?
If he sold his soul to the "Crown of Pride", he could at least become a sage. But if he sold his soul to the "Claw of Eternal Hunger"... he didn't see any of them having a good ending.
Apparently, his thoughts were touched upon. Urgos, who was possessed by the mouse, froze in place, unable to utter a word.
He really thought so.
I just didn't expect to be seen through at a glance.
At this moment, the dying old man suddenly looked at the windowsill, saw the mouse and butterfly standing there, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.
Just a butterfly.
How could a filthy thing like a rat appear in his palace?!
Zayd was about to explode when he suddenly noticed something. A drop of cold sweat unconsciously fell down his face covered with age spots.
He vaguely heard from a witch doctor that mice and butterflies were psychic creatures. Although he always told people around him that he didn't believe in them, he was actually the most suspicious person.
Especially recently, he often dreamed about "Grove" and "Gopal", old friends who were killed by him many years ago. He always felt that they were not living well in the underworld.
He finally realized where that mysterious gaze came from. It turned out to be by his window, not under the bed.
He took a breath and spoke in an old voice.
"Where are you two distinguished guests from?"
Urgos was feeling upset and didn't want to bother with him, so he just said something perfunctorily.
"It has nothing to do with you, just go to sleep."
Obviously, Zayd didn't expect the mouse to talk. He was really scared and his face turned pale, but he still forced himself to remain calm.
"Are you from the lower level? Or the upper level?"
He asked tentatively, but the two gods ignored him and just chatted among themselves, ignoring him.
Zayd couldn't help but feel a little annoyed and wanted to explode, but he was afraid that these two people were here to pick him up, and it would not be good to hastily create bad karma.
Moreover, he also felt that he did not have much time left and perhaps had to arrange his funeral.
Changing his tone to a gentle one, he looked at the mouse that had previously treated him with respect, and spoke with a rare awe that he had not shown in a long time.
"Your Excellency... uh, Lord God, I don't want to trouble you with anything else. I only beg you to fulfill one small wish of mine. I will definitely repay you in the future!"
Urgos didn't say anything, but Luo Yan was curious about this king who had awakened his spiritual abilities, and spoke with interest.
"Oh? What wish?"
Zaid coughed.
"I have thirty children, but I haven't decided who will be the crown prince. I need to find someone to succeed me. Can you... give me some advice?"
Without waiting for the butterfly next to him to answer, Urgos replied impatiently.
"What difference does it make? None of them are yours anyway."
None of them are...
Zaid's face turned completely pale.
His despair was like that of Silas standing outside Dusk City, like a gambler who had won everything but lost all his chips in the last round.
When he thought that this guy would soon take his last breath and go to the Aos continent more than 20 years ago, and experience the despair he had just experienced again until the "Nest City" of the Dusk Province collapsed, Luo Yan didn't know whether he should feel sorry for this strange old man.
What a huge sin this is.
And at this moment, the originally continuous space suddenly spread out a circle of transparent ripples, pressing the pause button for everything in this world.
Or perhaps, the only things standing still are the mice and butterflies standing on the windowsill.
"Since you rejected me, there is nothing more for us to talk about. You can get out of my house--"
"I hope that next time we meet, you won't regret your choice today! I'll let you know what it means to be unable to live or die!"
There was a fierce light burning in the little mouse's eyes, and he uttered a cruel word in a vicious voice. The hatred was so overwhelming that it seemed as if he wanted to eat him alive.
Luo Yan knew that he was not that magnanimous. His indifferent look just now was all pretended. Now they were really at odds.
However, he is not such a shameless person.
Before being swept away by the ripples, the butterfly perched on the windowsill gently flapped its wings, just like its always elegant smile.
"I still say the same thing, let's give it a try."
"I'll be waiting for you in the 'future'."
The Carrion Clan, right?
Luo Yan remembered this name, and he believed that everyone in Twilight Province also remembered it.
After dealing with the chaos raging outside Dusk City, he turned around and killed the ratmen hiding in the Wanren Mountains!
The crimson sky receded like a tide, replaced by a deep blue. Warm sunlight shone through the cotton-white clouds, and the sky was clearer than ever before.
When Luo Yan opened his eyes again, he was standing under a decaying oak tree.
There were mottled shadows of trees nearby and cheers of victory in the distance. The previous hunger and death seemed like a distant dream.
Thanks to the "Claws of Eternal Hunger", he saw another "virtual realm", but unfortunately he didn't have time to take a closer look.
To be honest, Luo Yan was really curious about how the materialist mentioned by the "Claw of Eternal Hunger" could defeat the evil spirit from the void in one fell swoop without being aware of the existence of the "Crown of Pride".
If I'm not exaggerating, that guy is really strong.
certainly--
Perhaps this is related to the extremely rare supernatural power in that world.
After all, even the "Eternally Hungry Claw" can only be a mouse there, so it seems that the "Crown of Pride" has no better way.
By the way, in addition to gaining more insights about the void from the virtual realm he picked up for free, Luo Yan also gained some tangible benefits.
Just as the clone of the "Eternal Hunger Claw" fell, part of the "experience" seemed to be sucked into himself by his Butterfly of All Things.
Whether it was because he was close to the water and got the moon first, or because he had attracted too much hatred from Urgos, this was undoubtedly a pleasant surprise for him.
Taking into account the "experience" he had previously shared from Kailan, Luo Yan could clearly feel that his strength had increased a lot.
Although he has not yet broken through a new bottleneck, he can feel that he has taken another big step towards the threshold of becoming a grandmaster!
【
ID: Luo Yan
Race: Human
Soul Level: Grandmaster (Level Cap LV170)
Level: LV.141 (+10)
Constitution: 207 (+20)
Strength: 154 (+20)
Agility: 161 (+20)
Intelligence: 1061 (+120)
Spirit: 1041 (+120)
】
After confirming the changes in attributes and levels through the divine nature, Luo Yan closed the translucent attribute interface and looked up at the sky.
The angel shining with golden light had disappeared and was turning into feathers of light that fell into the sky and landed on the soldiers' armor.
After everything was over, He returned the sky to the people who looked up at it, even if they might be more grateful to someone else in their hearts at that moment.
At this time, a familiar cry came from a distance.
"Colin—!"
Luo Yan looked up and saw Irene, with silver hair, riding a horse towards him, her face full of worry and anxiety.
He was just about to greet her with a smile, but he saw a fast horse running towards him from the west, and riding on the horse was a girl with an olive branch on her head.
Luo Yan's smile gradually became a little subtle.
this……
It can’t be such a coincidence, right?
(End of this chapter)
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