Late at night, in the underground prison of Campbell Castle.
Mann was bound hand and foot by chains made of magic-restraining materials.
He sat on the ground, unkempt and disheveled, looking quite ragged.
Outside the cell, scattered footsteps grew clearer.
“What are you doing here? Come to see your trophy?”
Mann raised his head and looked at the smug woman.
The visitor was Lai La, followed by Li En.
She looked down at the pathetic Mann, a scornful smile curling at the corner of her mouth.
“…Congratulations! You’ve achieved your goal!”
Mann tilted his head to one side and said weakly.
“Then I have you to thank, Mann Matthews. I was planning to use those two as leverage to force you to comply, but now you’ve saved me a lot of trouble.”
“You threatened me just to save people. Should I call you sentimental or stupid?”
She said, her gaze softening slightly.
“But I actually admire you. Rest assured, if you’re willing to cooperate, I can guarantee your safety. I could even be your wife in name.”
At these words, before Mann could say anything, Li En’s expression became anxious.
“Lady Lai La! This might…”
“I don’t recall giving you permission to speak?”
Li En, facing Lai La’s icy gaze, hastily stepped back half a step.
“Please forgive my impertinence…”
Seeing Li En’s reaction, Mann instantly confirmed his previous suspicions.
‘Finally found my chance. I’ll make you sick!’
“Is that so? Then I have no choice but to agree.”
“You bastard!…”
Li En took the bait, about to attack Mann, but was shouted down by Lai La.
“Li En, I’ll say it once more: Stand down!”
Mann still did not forget to add fuel to the fire. He looked at Li En with amusement:
“Tsk tsk tsk, go behind your mistress, little puppy.”
Since Lai La was still present, Li En could neither curse nor strike. He could only glare venomously at Mann, his molars nearly ground to dust.
“Hmph, you’re good with your mouth. Stay here until I need you. Li En, let’s go.”
“Have a nice trip, you two~”
Only after confirming the two had completely left did Mann let out a long sigh.
He closed his eyes, and his spirit entered the space where Helgort resided.
“Kid, I didn’t know you had such a venomous tongue.”
Helgort was still lounging sideways on the throne.
“What? You want a taste too?”
“…”
“If you’re smart, don’t bother me. I need to train.”
Mann closed his eyes and concentrated. The next moment, two black shadows appeared before him.
One took the form of Dulufu, the other the maid Mei.
“Oh? Are you sure you want to do this? In your current state with your mana sealed, even simulating one is a stretch.”
Mann just curled his lip in disdain and said:
“Everything is ready. I can’t be the weak link at the last moment, can I?”
“Do you really think this plan will succeed?”
“Whether it works or not, I have to try.”
Helgort heard this and gave a helpless smile.
“Then begin.”
As soon as his words fell, the two shadows charged at him.
Mann barely managed to block two moves, then due to death, his state reset and he returned to his original spot.
“Damn it! Again!”
Time passed second by second. Mann had lost count of how many times he had died.
Even Helgort, who had been interested at first, grew numb.
But fortunately, the gains were substantial.
He not only learned a new skill, “Assassination Technique of the Demi-Humans,” but also raised his Holy Light level to LV4.
Now, facing a two-on-one attack, he was no longer instantly killed. He could even leave a few wounds on Dulufu’s phantom, which was slightly slower.
But against the swift and cunning phantom of Mei, he was still helpless.
“Hey, that’s enough. Your mana is almost depleted! And someone is approaching you!”
“Wait!…”
Helgort didn’t give Mann a chance to argue and directly sent his consciousness back to his body.
The moment his consciousness returned to his body, Mann’s head felt like it was splitting apart.
The intense pain nearly made him faint.
Feeling the little mana left in his body, Mann could only sigh helplessly.
He shook the chains, the clattering sound irritating.
“I still need to find a way to get rid of these annoying things first.”
“Who?”
Sensing someone approaching, Mann looked outside.
‘It’s Duke Campbell? Why would he come to the dungeon at this hour?’
He looked at Mann mockingly, his eyes full of amusement.
“Oh, if it isn’t young Mann? How did you end up so miserable?”
Mann couldn’t be bothered to respond; he turned his head back and closed his eyes.
“Thanks to you, bringing the Griffin Mercenary Corps to cause trouble. We suffered heavy losses, so seeing you in such a state really makes me happy.”
‘So the Viscount was an imposter from the Heretic God Sect. Where is the real Viscount now?’
He thought this, but didn’t voice it.
“Did you come here just to mock me?”
“What else?”
Mann opened his eyes and looked disdainfully at Viscount Campbell.
“No wonder I smelled a stray dog from far away.”
“What did you say?”
“You think I wouldn’t dare to do something to you?”
Mann, upon hearing this, seemed to find it an enormous joke, unable to suppress a laugh.
“Then why don’t you come over? I’m in no position to stop you now.”
“Is it because of Lai La? She told you not to harm me, right? The renowned Heretic God Sect plays the dog for others—how ridiculous.”
“Hmph, go ahead and run your mouth. You won’t live long anyway. I look forward to the day you’re sacrificed.”
Mann’s eyes flickered upon hearing this.
From his words, he could essentially confirm that Lai La was not part of the Heretic God Sect.
And the terms of their cooperation likely involved his own ownership.
Rough estimate: Lai La wanted the Matthews territory, and the Heretic God Sect wanted a sacrifice to break the seal on the God of Destruction’s head. Both sides had their own ulterior motives.
But if that was the case, then it was easy to handle.
Since we’ve already fallen out, don’t blame me for being underhanded.
Thinking this, Mann’s mouth curled up slightly.
Just as Duke Campbell turned to leave, Mann called out to him.
“Why is it always the Heretic God Sect that suffers losses? Don’t you find it strange?”
“What do you mean?”
Seeing him stop, Mann felt a surge of delight.
‘Good, he took the bait.’
“It seems our misunderstandings run deep.”
“If I really had orchestrated the ambush on the Heretic God Sect, there would have to be a precondition: I would need to know in advance that you’d be attacked on the way. Right? But do you think that’s possible? After all, how could anyone predict the future?”
“You’re saying someone betrayed us? Hmph, a boring attempt at sowing discord.”
Mann saw that it had taken effect, but he didn’t intend to answer directly.
According to the original novel’s setting, the Divine Emissary only appears among descendants of heroes. So the content of their deal should be more than just himself.
Recalling Li En’s strange behavior yesterday, he decided to take a gamble.
“Li En is also one of your trade targets, isn’t he?”
“Go investigate him, and then you’ll come back to me.”
Campbell spun around sharply, his eyes full of wariness as he looked at Mann.
“Who exactly are you?”
‘Good, he’s starting to doubt. Now, I just need to mysteriously announce the name of the God of Destruction from the original novel…’
The moment Mann had this thought, he felt as if countless eyes had suddenly appeared behind him.
They stared at him motionlessly, as if expecting him to say that name.
That name, like a taboo.
The temperature around him began to drop sharply, cold enough to make Mann shiver.
The dungeon was rapidly eroded by darkness, and soon there was not a trace of light.
The abyss materialized, whispering softly in Mann’s ear.
It was a language with an ancient aura, but why…
“Can I understand its meaning?”
“And…”
“Who am I… again?”
“Come… child… speak that name… speak… our name!”
The eerie voice, with an unquestionable authority, directly entered Mann’s mind. Then his eyes gradually lost their light, and his mouth began to open uncontrollably.
“Traal…”
“Hey! Can you hear me? Don’t say it!”
Even Helgort, inside Mann’s body, sensed something wrong. But no matter how he warned, Mann had no reaction.
It was as if the connection between them had been forcibly severed.
The next moment, Mann, having suddenly regained his senses, found himself inside Helgort’s space.
And Helgort, sitting on the throne, had become somewhat transparent.
“Helgort? What… happened to you?”
“Heh… that was a close call… but luckily I skipped over the moment you spoke the latter part of the name.”
“Hey… your body…”
Helgort looked at his dissipating body, but he did not complain; he just smiled at Mann.
“Interfering with the operation of the world—this is the punishment I must endure…”
“I might sleep for a long time… You have to keep living.”
“Goodbye, Mann Matthews.”