Chapter 498
Chapter 498 - 478: Corner of the Wall
1,466 words
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8 min read
Spies have never been spoken of well.
They do the dirty work, they’re double-faced, double-agents....
"A bandit in ordinary times, only a spy when necessary?"
Evil Bone reveals his identity, only to be met with suspicious and hostile gazes.
A royal spy, such a big title, but when you cut through it, it’s really not that extraordinary, just some "special dispatch officers" with double identities.
Apparently the system here is a traditional feudal one, the king may be mighty, but he is not the only one. His agents operating in the territories of local lords will naturally be watched cautiously.
Hiding one’s identity is a common thing; having double or even multiple identities is normal. However, making it as the well-known bandit leader is somewhat out of the ordinary.
"...I didn’t want it to be like this, I just casually invested in a bandit leader with potential and he only went by Evil Bone then. I really didn’t expect it. Only a few years passed and I’ve taken over his territories and his name."
Those words seem plausible, but it would be an aberration if a spy ever spoke the truth.
This spy has been operating here for so long and has even stolen the local lord’s treasure...it’s easy to guess, he’s definitely out of control, perhaps he’s known the truth all along and plans to escape.
Otherwise, as a royal agent, he should be showing his loyalty to the king in the capital, right?
Now, perhaps when this double-dealer meets danger, he once again comes up with the "ingenious idea" to test out this role for size.
With their escape routes now blocked, it seems they are unlikely to be able to break through, so let’s "negotiate".
Lu Ping’an glances towards the distance, the scene doesn’t look good. The mother and daughter pair are forced to continually retreat...that giant God didn’t even raise his head to look at them, only kept his head low, enjoying the flesh and blood of his followers in pleasure and turning even more distorted and powerful.
Lu Ping’an knows he needs to make a decision soon.
The scoundrel in front of him is not trustworthy at all. Just looking at his smile, Lu Ping’an has the feeling of looking at a poisonous snake, a dangerous figure with a thorn in his back.
"Want us to spare your life? Okay, give me both the truth-level relics and I’ll agree."
Lu Ping’an’s smile lacks sincerity.
But the next moment, the bandit leader and spy made a bafflingly resolute decision.
The forked bone and the teapot, he threw them directly over.
"I trust you...." His overly sincere stance left Lu Ping’an a little lost for words.
"I’m good at observing, you’re not lying."
This guy is a gambler, but he’s also a ruthless character.
The usual greed has turned into decisiveness at this moment, he throws away the treasures in his hand without the slightest hesitation, seeking the chance to survive.
Lu Ping’an laughed even more happily, he checked the two treasures and nodded satisfactorily. Even if they were to return now, it would be considered a great harvest.
"Okay, join us in dealing with this thing. Let’s each go our own way after."
Lu Ping’an said he won’t kill him, but didn’t say he’d let him leave...this twist made Evil Bone furrow his brows, the minute expression change on the other party was supposed to be without deceit.
"That’s a resurrected Beast God, we can’t possibly..."
"No, that’s not a Beast God, it’s just a puppet imbued with a part of the will and blessings, it can’t even be considered as Divine’s Avatar, at most it’s a lower-level divine envoy, one that has fallen into complete madness at that."
Lu Ping’an gives the answer that Big Cat deduced, highly credible.
If it was a True God or a Divine Avatar, everyone here would be dead already.
But now, it should be just a puppet made up of bits and pieces of leftover divine power....If he were alone, Lu Ping’an would have chosen to retreat without any hesitation, but now, they might have a chance.
Evil Bone hesitated momentarily, but when he looked at the sea of corpses and the snake monster blocking his only route to escape, he could only take a deep breath and agreed.
"You go up first to test the waters."
"....Don’t overdo it! I am the king’s spy."
"If you die here, who can prove that?"
Lu Ping’an gets rid of the bridge after crossing the river fast enough.
There’s really no need to be scrupulous in dealing with scoundrels, just use them to the best extent.
Meanwhile, the giant God, having eaten all the meals available in front, now turned his attention on the opponents nearby.
All this time, the Great Priest has managed to survive just because she chose a more reserved strategy after seeing her daughter.
Summoning beasts as cannon fodder, buffing them continuously, and finally providing support with divine skills...Even though the end result only served as an additional meal for that creature, she at least didn’t die.
Perhaps, the creature only let her live because she was an excellent "chef", and that was why she managed to survive until the reinforcements arrived.
Catherine protected her mother as they continuously retreated, their persistence had allowed them to hang on this long.
The believers who knelt all along the way and became "dishes" bought time, but also made the giant God’s flesh more active.
The original rocky body was now covered with flesh and blood, the giant God’s expressions were more active, yet it was also more horrifying...The creature that looked like a human but had no human emotions, the non-human.
Big Cat’s judgment was not wrong, it was never a full resurrection of the Deity from the start, the ceremony had misfired from the beginning, success was never an option.
The will of the Deity...to be precise, the remnants of the Beast God which had been distorted into a monster, had been awakened and drawn here by the "Lighthouse’s" light, but had failed to find the entrance.
It found the "Stone Statue" before it was dragged back to the seal and "blessed" it.
It’s a projection of will, it’s the "Observer’s" alteration of reality, it’s the projection of high-dimensional will onto the material realm, but it definitely couldn’t be the True God itself.
In a sense, it’s just a clay doll, a clay figure filled with some "ideas" of the deity and shaped like the God’s body form, equipped with an external "Power Source" and forcefully driven...But he still surpasses the imaginations of mortals. Lu Ping’an’s reluctance to confront it was a suggestion from Big Cat.
The followers of Beast God were still kneeling, their minds were filled with nothing else but their passionate faith and devout prayers.
Their sacrifices became the new nutrition for the puppet of Beast God.
The initially incomplete soul was being completed, those absorbed "human faces" were not lying, they did indeed feel the joy of merging with the deity. But whether it was still the deity that deserved their faith is hard to say.
The puppet learns and grows through eating. As an entity holding Divine-Blood and the Deity’s will, no one knows how high its limits can go.
"Eliminate it before it grows any stronger..." Big Cat also made the right suggestion, now all that’s left is to carry it out.
The aberrations of the Beast God’s followers were due to their faith. Their forces brought about the return of the deity, but now they are being back bitten by the deity’s power...Mary Ann, the strongest one and possibly the least fanatical believer, has always persisted.
At this point, however, she received the most unexpected reinforcements.
"Get out of the way!"
The remaining bandits led by Evil Bone were actually daring to confront the Beast God’s "Stone Statue".
This scene, undoubtedly, was something new for the people there.
But they are not fighting alone...Lu Ping’an is there as well.
He’s not intending to help these people, but because this monster can’t be allowed to continue to grow.
Those Beast God’s followers who were kneeling on the road, outnumbered, lost their heads, then their bodies disappeared without a trace, Lu Ping’an was cutting its food supply.
Obviously, this act is highly provocative.
— End of Chapter 498 —