Chapter 504 (1): It Is Difficult Enough to Be a Spy, but Taking a Beating When the Mission Concludes?

It was proven that vermin were everywhere. Status didn’t matter, nor did the time periods or the occasions. Loyalty always begot just as many vermin. The two could not be separated.

Wayne was purely having fun with Saigner and Mauve, teasing them without actually making a move. He did the same to the master and disciple outside for no reason other than his own entertainment.

The door opened. Hearing Wayne’s voice, Ryza carefully walked in. Beside her, Sukra sauntered in completely unguarded, silently cheering her master on for her caution.

You don’t know Wayne, Master. He likes defiant ones like you. If you just lie down and surrender, he won’t even spare you a glance.

The bathtub in the room had been replaced by a chair, where Wayne was perched. Behind him stood Saigner and Mauve. Both had just had the octopi removed.

One of them had red-rimmed eyes, while the other’s eyes were still brimming with tears.

Ryza’s heart sank as she calculated how long it had been. She messaged Sukra and demanded an explanation.

“Didn’t you say that Wayne was trustworthy and wouldn’t do anything inappropriate? Is this what you mean by nothing would happen?”

“It’s my bad, Master. Do be careful and avoid going out at night. I have a feeling that the perverse knight is going to go after you next time.”

“...”

Ryza’s heart sank further. She thought so too.

Wayne watched the master and student with a smile, looking from Sukra’s unbothered expression to Ryza’s visibly alert face. He patted his lap and said, “Ryza, take your seat.”

Ryza retreated out of the door and said flatly, “Sir Wayne, the Underworld needs you. You’ve fought a bloody fight with a subordinate god and pushed yourself further to interrogate the criminals. You should be resting now.”

Her timid, pitiful look made Sukra laugh. She had trouble stopping her lips from curling up.

“If you don’t want this seat, fine,” Wayne said. “Sukra, come sit here and give your master a demonstration.”

“Huh?!”

***

The nine Night Gods gathered in the treehouse. Sukra and Mauve were tasked with guarding the door this time. They shared a faith and the experience of being teased by the Death Knight, so they had a lot to talk about.

Seeing Saigner wait behind Wayne like she had been bedded into submission, the nine Night Gods stayed silent and kept their heads lowered, daring not say anything or ask any question.

“You must have realized now,” Wayne said. “With my timely intervention, Saigner recognized her mistake and recovered her duty as a subordinate god. She’s willingly joined us in the fight to save the Divine Realm and awaken the goddess!”

His expression turned solemn. “Since her apology seems genuine, and her attitude serious, I showed her mercy and gave her a chance to prove herself. I hope you will set aside your prejudice when you look at her. She’s already given her everything to earn forgiveness from the goddess.”

Beauty was in the eye of the beholder, and those with their minds in the gutter would see nothing but filth. Wayne’s righteous declaration hit the nine Night Gods hard, laden with unspoken subtext. They all expressed their willingness to see Saigner in a new light and welcomed her with applause.

Saigner nodded faintly. She found the Night Gods unworthy of her attention.

She had handed Wayne the Authority over the Underworld, and he alone could save the Divine Realm. Even she had lost the qualification for the job, let alone the Night Gods, who had never been powerful enough to begin with.

She could easily find dozens of demigods who were just as strong among her subordinates.

“Sit, Saigner.” Wayne turned to the side and nodded. “You’re not a captive anymore. As a subordinate god, you may find your place anywhere in the Underworld.”

Saigner looked down at Wayne’s legs, wondering where she should sit. What if she sat in the wrong place?

When Wayne shook his head slightly, she took a seat that would suggest her inferiority to him.

Their open, unguarded exchanges stunned and unnerved the nine Night Gods. They had to wonder which among them was the captive and which among them had submitted.

“We’re running out of time. Let us march out as soon as possible. Rognes is waiting.” Wayne pointed at the Underworld’s map. “Our next target is Grau. Summon your subordinates and draw Grau out through provocation, Saigner. I’ll confront him myself.”

Saigner nodded, promising to complete the mission.

“Sir Wayne, didn’t you just—”

“That was then. This is now. Plans always require adjustments because of changing circumstances. You’ve failed to save the Underworld because your mindset is too rigid.” Wayne knocked on the table. “With Saigner’s help, I’ve recovered my energy. Every single bone in my body feels light. We should press our advantage and take down the next subordinate god!”

Only Saigner understood what he actually meant, while everyone else took it the wrong way and found the message grating. Wayne had singlehandedly lowered the average morality of the Underworld.

Also, they couldn’t believe Saigner would stoop so low!

Given that Wayne possessed both brain power and combat power, though, the Night Gods didn’t dare oppose him. They left the treehouse with their respective missions.

Among them, Saigner walked out first. She returned to her home base at once and summoned her strongest demigod subordinates. Following Wayne’s instruction, she led her troops into the Ice of Envy, the sixth level of the Underworld.

***

Just like the Summit of Pride of the eighth level, the Ice of Envy similarly represented the sins that a soul had committed in life. When Aztimor constructed the twelve-leveled Underworld, She had manifested envy as a blue, glacial world of infinite, harsh chill.

Blue was a cold color and a color of depression. It gave off the feeling of immaturity, sorrow, and disappointment. Moreover, blue represented the difficulty in communication.

The glaciers of envy were smooth like mirrors. They looked shiny and bright, but were impossibly thin and hid countless fine cracks underneath the surface. Like cracks resulting from envy, they were deep, long, and difficult to heal.

Cold blue fire flickered within the cracks, illuminating the deepest desires and grievances a soul held. When facing the fragile mirror, every soul would see their darkest side.

Inside the glaciers was a complex system of winding, twisted ice caves, well-connected, but leading nowhere. It resembled an envious heart’s complex feelings. Once one fell from the surface of the glaciers to the ice caves, they would have to watch out for sharp ice cones whenever they advanced and made a turn. They could fall at any time.

Envy cut the mind and twisted the soul, subjecting one to torturous pain and suffocating chill.

That, of course, was how the Sacred Tome of Death described envy. In Hell, envy had become synonymous with ‘clown’.

An oppressive army of undead arrived at the sixth level. Death energy permeated the air, shrouding the sky in a heavy layer of grey shadow. The dark clouds covered the silvery, mirror-like sky, keeping the light out. Undead creatures continued to flood out of the spatial rift in the distance, seemingly endless.

The precarious glacier whined and fell apart under the incredible pressure. The mirror surfaces on top shattered. The howling wind wove through the well-connected caves, singing in a muffled yet deafening, rumbling chorus.

An indescribable pressure filled the air, making it difficult for the demigods stationed there to breathe. The pressure didn’t only originate from the endless waves of undead troops, but also from the dozens of demigods high in the sky—in particular, the tall, slim figure leading them.

It was the Judge, Saigner the Soul-devouring Crow!

Even without the Authority over the Underworld, Saigner still possessed the demigod authority of an avatar, granting her a voice no matter where she was in the Divine Realm. Her appearance exerted tremendous pressure on the sixth level.

Only a subordinate god could fight a subordinate god!

Without hesitation, the demigods stationed in the Ice of Envy ran and sent an SOS signal to their leader: Saigner had invaded the sixth level with an army. If he didn’t intervene now, this territory would fall.

Then... Grau didn’t show up.

Or he had shown up, but hadn't appeared immediately, dragging his feet instead.

Saigner knew her colleague quite well. He was a mild-tempered demigod who seemed easy to get along with, and kicking him felt more like kicking a ball of cotton. But kicking him a few more times after that? Grau wouldn’t tolerate it.

As Saigner’s army occupied the entirety of the sixth level, darkness tore through the glaciers from above in the form of eight pitch-black pillars, breaking the glacial terrain apart. Violent gales swept past the area and sent the undead army occupying the land into the air.

In no time, the cave system was cleared.

A black light split the shadow in the sky, from which a white-robed man emerged. The man had short black hair and a young, handsome face. The slight curve of his lips would suggest someone born with an easy smile.

From his back, a black inverted triangle extended into eight tentacles of black energy, resembling a spider’s eight legs. They burrowed into the ground to detect everything taking place in this world.

“Saigner, this isn’t what we’ve agreed on,” Grau said in resignation, reaching Saigner telepathically by extending his thoughts like a thread. “Sizorn has secured the biggest portion of the Authority, making him the closest to the divine throne. He’s also occupied the One Universe and the Temple of Eternity, the heart of the Underworld. He is our primary enemy. If we fight, he’ll be the last one laughing.”

“No, I no longer crave the divine throne,” Saigner said icily. “I only wish to awaken the goddess.”

“What a noble cause. I feel ashamed and almost bought your lie.” Grau broke into a sarcastic smile, but then his smile froze on his face, and his pupils contracted. The shock of his finding cleared his head.

“Saigner, where did your part of the Authority go?” Grau exclaimed, stupefied. “Did Rognes take it? I heard that you locked down the eighth level and fought him, but you lost... No, did you actually give up on the divine throne?!”

He shook his head. “Impossible. If you were the kind to give up, you would’ve already done so. You wouldn’t have sat down and listened unless Rognes beat you to the point of begging on your knees, destroying your pride and dignity...”

“I got it now!”

His eyes widened in terror. “It was Sizorn. He’s acquired your Authority. You’ve formed an alliance with him!”

“You speak too much. Just as always, you never stop daydreaming.” Saigner scoffed. “If you’re right that Sizorn has gained my Authority and become the strongest, what would you do? Would you give away yours, or would you fight to your death and lose the Authority to him?”

Grau’s face turned grave. After some consideration, he turned around and bolted.

Clang!

He slammed into a transparent barrier.

While he was wasting time on chit-chat, the sixth level of the Underworld had been isolated, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. Space had become one frozen entity.

“Oh!”

“Oh?!”

Grau paused, then he paused some more. The Underworld’s Authority was necessary to seal up the sixth level. He had wondered if Sizorn had invaded, but when he reached out with his senses, he found out that Sizorn’s Authority wasn’t that much stronger than his. The corpse dragon definitely hadn’t claimed two-thirds of the Authority.

Saigner had surrendered her portion, but not to Sizorn!

“Was it really Rognes...?”

Grau couldn’t believe it. He didn’t understand how Rognes was able to defeat Saigner thoroughly enough to make her give up the divine throne.