The boundary between the Dea Plateau and the Southern Marshes was a sparse forest.
The deeper one went into the woods, the more humid the air became, until finally the endless marsh terrain stretched out before them.
After a rapid journey covering half the Dea Plateau, Truth finally slipped into the Southern Marshes.
At the same time, she fully extended her divine sense to continuously scan the surroundings.
Following a route familiar from memory, she arrived at the city gate of Thousand Lakes City.
But the majestic fountain gate she remembered was nowhere to be seen.
In its place was a dense swamp forest, with not a single trace of the city’s ruins remaining.
Though she had prepared herself mentally, Truth still hadn’t expected it to disappear so completely:
‘How strange… a city that large couldn’t just be abandoned on a whim. Those hundred-meter-high walls alone are infrastructure beyond the reach of this era. Any normal lord would want to claim them for themselves. And even if abandoned, there should be some trace…’
Truth buried herself in thought. First, the fact that Thousand Lakes City had vanished so cleanly was definitely man-made.
Second, the name “Thousand Lakes City” and its history had been deliberately erased. Clearly, someone really hated this city…
‘So why do the gods hate Thousand Lakes City so much?’ A new question emerged in Truth’s mind.
She didn’t have to think hard about who erased all traces of Thousand Lakes City—it had to be the current batch of gods.
After all, only they could completely wipe out a city of such scale and influence.
‘Seems like the history of Thousand Lakes City is worth investigating. For now, I’ll wander around and see if I find anything new.’
Truth pressed deeper, strolling through the ruins of Thousand Lakes City. Just as she was nearing the central area, she suddenly sensed a strange odor.
An odor that only demon races could perceive…
‘Wait. Could this be the place that breeding demon mentioned?’
Truth immediately rose into the air and located Water Marsh City, the largest city in the Southern Marshes.
Soon she spotted a brightly lit city on the eastern horizon.
Water Marsh City was more than five times larger and more prosperous than Deya City.
Low-rank adventurers were as common as dogs, mid-rank adventurers were everywhere, and in recent years, “quasi-high-rank” adventurers of the seventh and eighth ranks had become increasingly common.
If the Eighth Saintess Mary could have worked one more year to connect the entire Southern Marshes’ transportation network, the current lord of Water Marsh City would likely be a ninth-rank expert…
‘Starting from the west gate of Water Marsh City, after about five kilometers, you can smell something only demons can detect…’ Truth still remembered the words of the breeding demon Hera before she died.
She was currently west of Water Marsh City—the direction was right, but the distance was at least twenty kilometers, far exceeding five.
But maybe this odor extended from that five-kilometer point all the way here?
Truth tried following the scent’s guidance, continuing away from Water Marsh City until she stopped above the ruins of Thousand Lakes City’s “Thousand Lakes Arena.”
Here, the special odor was strongest. Then several weaker scents branched off toward very hidden locations. Truth frowned slightly:
‘Could it be that the demon arena that breeding demon mentioned is actually the mid-rank Thousand Lakes Arena?’
Following the nearest weak scent, Truth activated full concealment and arrived at a rotten log about two meters in diameter.
Beneath the log, she detected a very hidden entrance, with dense demonic aura seeping out.
Confirmed—this was one of the entrances to the demon arena. The Thousand Lakes City she was looking for and the demon arena were the same place.
It seemed the demons had built their own arena underground!
Then Truth slipped directly inside, not disturbing a third-rank crow demon on guard duty.
After swaggering through two checkpoints, she successfully reached the underground demon settlement.
She took a quick look around and was stunned:
‘Huh?! How did the Thousand Lakes Arena end up underground?!’
The main structure of Thousand Lakes Arena was just like a Roman Colosseum.
Over ten thousand demons sat excitedly on tiered steps, shouting continuously.
On the central arena stage, a fourth-rank dark demon was being brutally beaten by a fourth-rank thorn demon.
Every time the latter whipped the dark demon with its thorny vines, it drew waves of cheers.
Besides the main arena, there were many other areas of various sizes that the demons had put to use—taverns, markets, and other places mimicking human society.
Truth also found these areas very familiar:
‘Isn’t that cracked-open patch of open ground the original Thousand Lakes Square? And that tavern—the words “Thousand Lakes Adventurers Association” are still carved on the door!’
Now Truth understood. The entire Thousand Lakes City had been smashed straight underground!
That meant she couldn’t just suspect the gods—she also had to suspect a disaster named the Thunderquake Lizard…
……
Deya City, Church of the Goddess of Life.
Little Mist’s eyes darted around frantically. Her lips trembled slightly, but for a long time, she couldn’t form a coherent word.
Because the three words “Who are you?” had directly short-circuited her already not-so-bright mind.
On her first day filling in for Truth, Little Mist had been caught by her only disciple.
Faced with the disciple’s questioning, she looked completely helpless and out of her depth, which only confirmed Tia’s suspicion:
This person was definitely not Truth!
“Speak!”
Tia took a step forward, hands on her hips, and demanded.
Her powerful presence forced Little Mist to back away repeatedly until she stumbled and sat back down on the bench, her face pale.
“I… I…”
Then Tia reached out and pinched Little Mist’s face, tested the silky texture of her silver-white shoulder-length hair, and checked if she was wearing colored contacts—trying to find any clue of an impostor.
But unfortunately, Little Mist’s face customization was one hundred percent identical and flawless.
‘She looks way too much like her…’ Tia murmured quietly.
So much so that Tia began to wonder if maybe… Truth had lost her memory, or switched personalities or something?
“Cast a Mist Healing Art for me to see.” Slightly confused, Tia ordered Little Mist.
“O-okay… but-but you have to promise you won’t hit me!” Little Mist, having recovered a little, demanded.
Even though it was a demand, tears kept swirling in Little Mist’s eyes at that moment, making it look more like a plea to Tia…
So cowardly…
“Alright. I won’t hurt you.”
“O-okay…” Little Mist swallowed, then raised her right hand.
Soon, a chilly mist carrying the Element of Life began to flow slowly along her arm—a second-rank Hidden Healing Mist.
‘She can actually cast it?!’
Tia became even more confused. If she could use Mist Healing Art, then this little one also believed in the Hermit and was one of their own… Apart from her personality and behavior, she looked exactly like Truth herself.
But the more she resembled Truth, the stranger Tia found it!
‘Wait! Something’s wrong—the bracelet is missing!’ Tia then looked at Little Mist’s right hand and noticed that the pale gold bracelet Truth had been wearing for the past few days was gone!
“If you really are Truth, can you explain where the bracelet on your right hand went? I know Truth has been wearing it lately.”
“The bracelet is… here…”
Little Mist carefully lifted the hem of her priest’s robe, revealing her little feet that were white with a hint of pink. On her right foot, a silver anklet was very conspicuous.
And against the backdrop of the anklet, Little Mist’s feet looked even more tempting.
“Do you take me for an idiot? I asked about your hand, and you show me your foot. And the color of the bracelet is wrong!”
“B-but…”
“Alright, you don’t need to explain.”
Tia examined Little Mist a few more times. ‘This “Truth” now is not only a bit dumb, but also looks very timid. Maybe I can try to trick her?’
“It looks like I really need to teach you a lesson.” Tia then said coldly.
“Huh?! You said you wouldn’t hit me!”
“Heh. A lesson isn’t limited to punches, kicks, or slaps. Since you refuse to tell the truth…” Tia gently stroked Little Mist’s cheek with the back of her hand. “Next, I’m going to do something you’ll remember for the rest of your life!”
“No punches, kicks, or slaps… something I’ll remember for the rest of my life…” Little Mist trembled again. Could it be… that thing?
The Great Whirlwind?!
“I’ll talk, I’ll talk!” After some bad memories surfaced in her mind, Little Mist put her hands in front of her, and her body instinctively curled up like a snake…
‘Do I have no choice but to use the method Truth said I should only use as a last resort?!’ Little Mist thought.
During their imitation training, Truth had long considered that Little Mist would eventually be exposed.
So she had prepared a way for Little Mist to temporarily escape, though it would be particularly troublesome to deal with later…
After a long silence, Little Mist took a deep breath. Still avoiding eye contact, she stammered:
“My name is Zhen… Zhendi. I am Truth’s… younger sister…”