Li Xiuman had underestimated it.
The ease with which he had dealt with the red dragon Orfen last time had caused him to underestimate the beast's power.
With just a single spell of dragon magic and its robust dragon body, it easily smashed the succubi's Skeleton Dragon Beasts to pieces in a few collisions.
And with his mana nearly depleted, Li Xiuman naturally stood no chance against Orfen.
“Lord Orfen, I think we can talk this out!”
“Roar!!!”
Orfen slammed its massive claw down toward Li Xiuman, lacking even the slightest interest in having a conversation with him.
After seeing the announcement Li Xiuman had posted, Orfen was dead set on biting him to pieces and swallowing him whole to get its revenge.
Left with no other choice, Li Xiuman could only pull out the Evil God Statue.
“Your devout believer prays to you!”
This time, Li Xiuman sacrificed a large quantity of art pieces.
He hoped that these abstract art pieces collected by Fantes would make the abstract evil god feel a touch of familiarity.
As for his valuable gear, Li Xiuman simply couldn't bring himself to part with it.
My bad. He was truly sorry for being such a miser.
Once again, he beheld that pitch-black space and the twisting, writhing green tentacles.
And deep within those tentacles, the horizontal goat-like pupil.
“Believer, oh, my believer.”
She locked her gaze onto Li Xiuman and spoke.
Then, space cracked open. From the deep darkness, slimy green tentacles reached out and wrapped around Li Xiuman's body.
“This is bad, bad, bad!”
The Omen Crystal on Li Xiuman's wrist turned a vivid crimson, trembling so violently it seemed on the verge of shattering.
Wrapped in the tentacles, his body felt a bone-chilling coldness.
The red dragon Orfen also stared at the green tentacles in surprise and uncertainty, pulling back its raised claw.
Then, flapping its wings, it actually turned around and flew away without looking back.
Leaving only Li Xiuman behind, tightly bound by the tentacles and unable to move.
“Giantification!”
Li Xiuman activated the Giant's Belt, hoping to break free from the constraints of the tentacles using the special effect of Giantification.
But it had no effect at all.
Then, Li Xiuman was dragged into the darkness inch by inch.
The black rift snapped shut right after, and Li Xiuman vanished from the spot.
“Lord Evil God, I am your believer!”
Deep within the pitch-black darkness, the writhing tentacles wove together to form a green world.
Li Xiuman could only cry out like this.
“The scent of Death?”
“Are you a believer of Death?”
A tentacle reached into Li Xiuman's chest cavity and plucked out his Rib Sword.
“No!”
“I'm not that unfaithful! I am your believer!”
“I'm highly devoted!”
Li Xiuman hurriedly denied it.
He wasn't familiar with Death at all.
No new voice came from the deep darkness.
Li Xiuman's heart thudded wildly in his chest.
His life and death were completely in the hands of this evil god.
What should he do? What could he do?
“Since you are my believer,”
“then I have guidance and a quest to bestow upon you.”
The voice echoed from the darkness once more.
“Of course, my sublime Lord.”
“Serving you is my absolute honor.”
Li Xiuman certainly understood the art of playing along for survival.
As soon as he got out, he would dump this Evil God Statue straight into the Goddess's cathedral in White Bear City.
He'd let this so-called evil god duke it out with the Goddess of Light.
From the deep darkness, squelching, writhing noises echoed.
A tentacle holding a broken sword stretched out toward Li Xiuman.
“What I want you to do is to slay a god.”
The evil god's words made Li Xiuman shudder.
He was just a double-crossing traitor; how could he possibly pull off something like that?
“My sublime Lord,”
“I am merely an insignificant skeleton. Entrusting such a task to me is far too demanding.”
“I fear I would only ruin your grand designs!”
“I believe my great and sublime Lord should find a far more suitable and powerful believer.”
Li Xiuman desperately tried to decline.
“My only believer... is you.”
“...”
Li Xiuman was temporarily speechless.
What kind of god did he worship anyway? Talk about pathetic.
“Comply, or die.”
The tentacle raised the sword, pressing it horizontally against Li Xiuman's neck.
“...I will do it. It is my honor.”
Li Xiuman raised his hands above his head and accepted the broken sword.
He was supposed to slay a god with this junk sword?
“Now, let us begin,”
said the evil god.
Eh?
Just like that? It's starting already?
Could she at least be a little less reckless about this?
The tentacles bent and joined together, forming a circular portal.
Then, the space within the circle warped, connecting to an unfamiliar domain.
“Go, kill the person on the other side.”
Li Xiuman wanted to stall for more time, but in the next second, a tentacle shoved him straight into the portal.
He arrived in an unfamiliar space.
This place was flooded with holy light, which beat down upon Li Xiuman.
It nearly purified him out of existence in an instant.
However, the broken sword in his hand immediately flared with a black glow, enveloping him in a protective barrier and shielding him from being purified by the endless holy light.
“Holy light...”
“No way. That evil god isn't telling me to...”
Li Xiuman lifted his head and saw a massive temple towering before him.
And at the highest seat of the temple sat a graceful, elegant figure.
Her face was veiled by holy light, preventing him from seeing her features clearly.
“That's her. Go and assassinate her.”
The evil god's voice echoed in his ear once more.
“If you don't kill her, I'll kill you!”
Sensing Li Xiuman's hesitation, the evil god threatened him.
Li Xiuman had no choice but to step forward, taking one tentative stride after another toward the goddess.
He drew closer and closer.
As the figure remained completely motionless, Li Xiuman built up his courage and slowly raised the broken sword.
Then, the goddess slowly opened her eyes.
Even though her face was obscured by the brilliant holy light,
Li Xiuman could feel that she was looking directly at him.
Panic—sheer, absolute panic!
“Your humble servant Xiuman has recently acquired a treasured sword to present to the Goddess!”
Li Xiuman smoothly dropped to one knee, offering up the broken sword as he presented it before the Goddess.
The surrounding world shattered into pieces in an instant.
Li Xiuman opened his eyes only to find his body still tightly wrapped in the tentacles.
There was no goddess, and there was no assassination.
“An illusion?”
“Hahaha!”
“Everything just now was an illusion conjured from your own subconscious!”
“I must say, your illusion was incredibly amusing!”
“You've got quite the imagination!”
A crisp, clear laughter echoed from the darkness.
Then, the evil god stepped out from the shadows, revealing her form.
She had a petite body and hair made entirely of writhing green tentacles.
Her eyes were green, sporting golden, horizontal slit pupils.
“I am the God of Darkness, Bamans!”
She patted her chest as she introduced herself.
“...You are a god?”
Li Xiuman tried his best to sound as polite as possible when asking.
“How incredibly rude!”
“Don't let my little girl appearance fool you. I am a genuine, full-fledged God of Darkness.”
“The God of Darkness who stands in opposition to the Goddess of Light!”
“O sublime and great God of Darkness, your humble believer offers you my highest respects!”
No matter what kind of god she was, when in doubt, sucking up and yielding was always the correct move.
“Just like in the illusion.”
“Not a single speck of faith power is coming from you.”
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