Attack

Facing the mysterious man's questioning, Dorothy hurriedly waved her hands. "No, no! I really didn't! I-I... I was just too impulsive. I really didn't mean to kill you!"

Desova quickly defended her as well. "Sir, Dorothy just has a short temper. She truly didn't do it on purpose."

Dorothy, who had been trembling with fear, suddenly turned to look at Desova when she heard him defend her. Her eyes burst with a light called surprise.

Witnessing this, Yu Sheng'an felt none of the complexities between men and women, only waves of chill in his heart. This world was even more terrifying than he had imagined. A noble young lady could decide to kill him just to vent her anger, and afterward, she still had the mood to be delighted by the change in the man's attitude.

Was she a lovesick lunatic who saw love as the only thing that mattered? Had she failed to realize the seriousness of this? Or did she simply consider it a trivial matter? Was her apology only because his identity seemed mysterious, a mere formality to give herself a way out? Honestly, Yu Sheng'an, who came from a country where guns were banned, was deeply disappointed by this.

He could not be bothered to reply and strode away.

After leaving the Mage's Hat, Yu Sheng'an followed the famous Fire Phoenix Avenue deeper into the city.

As the capital of the Kevil Empire—Willis City was among the most prosperous cities in the southern reaches of the Aizeya Continent.

Beneath his feet lay smooth roads petrified by Earth Magic, while buildings of all styles stood densely packed along both sides of the street.

A wind carrying a faint chill brushed across his face, bringing with it the freshness of a foreign land.

Today was his first time descending upon the Aizeya Continent in the form of a projection.

Before this, he had spent nearly every waking moment observing countless users, trying to gain a deeper understanding of this world.

Yet no amount of observation could compare to the impact of these past few hours. Everything was so fresh, and it gave him much to reflect upon.

From Dorothy's immediate use of Magic to kill him over a disagreement alone, he could sense the enormous cultural differences between the Aizeya Continent and Blue Star.

At their core, both sides defined order through violence.

But because the gap in individual strength was not great on Blue Star, violent incidents occurred from time to time, yet society remained largely peaceful.

This world, on the other hand? It was hard to put into words.

Honestly, if not for his concern over cooperating with the Kevil Empire, he truly wanted to slap Dorothy across the face.

What lovesick lunatic? She had simply been spoiled.

Whoosh! A sharp whistling sound pierced his eardrums.

An Ice Blade moving far faster than a second-tier spell pierced through Yu Sheng'an's chest and buried itself in a building along the street.

Yu Sheng'an lowered his head and looked at the hole punched through his heart, his expression unmoved.

The light of a Contract flickered over his body. His mangled chest squirmed and returned to normal, with only his bloodstained clothes proving that what had just happened was no illusion.

At that moment, a Lava Giant in the Abyss rolled over in its sleep, splashing vast amounts of dark-red lava. It did not notice the faint Vitality leaking from its body.

It only wanted a good sleep to make up for its miserable experience several days ago, when it had inexplicably been Summoned into a dark room, brutally beaten, and forced to sign an unequal Contract.

"This is the Magic Capital. No god is welcome here!" A low voice came from an unknown direction.

The night grew darker, and a thin mist spread across the streets, making the voice sound increasingly eerie.

"Buddy, your attempt at sowing discord is way too clumsy. Aren't you afraid they'll trace it back to you and wipe out your whole family?" Yu Sheng'an said.

"That is, if you can trace it back to me!" The voice suddenly turned vicious. "Die!"

The white mist filling the street abruptly boiled, transforming into high-temperature steam that sealed off Yu Sheng'an, the only living being on the long street, from every angle. That was not all. One lava monster after another suddenly emerged from the steam and pounced at him.

Yu Sheng'an did not move.

The instant the monsters reached him, they all vanished at once. The high-temperature steam also collapsed, and its surging heat spread into the surrounding streets after losing its restraint.

A six-pointed star shone beside Yu Sheng'an, and Dendall appeared within it.

The moment he appeared, he hurriedly shouted at Yu Sheng'an, "Don't misunderstand! Someone is trying to sow discord!"

Yu Sheng'an nodded. "I know."

Heavy footsteps sounded in the distance. A Demon three meters tall, with a pair of wings protruding from its back, slowly approached.

In its claws, it carried a human who had already lost all signs of life.

The Demon tossed the human before Yu Sheng'an, bowed, and vanished as a six-pointed star flashed beneath its feet.

Dendall walked over to the corpse. Rings of magical light flickered over his eyes. After a long while, his face darkened. "This is a Flesh Clone!"

"So we can't find whoever's behind this?"

"I will thoroughly investigate what happened tonight and give you an explanation."

Yu Sheng'an let out a breath, dispelling the discomfort of killing someone for the first time. He wanted to say something, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.

Then, without another word, he continued deeper along Fire Phoenix Street.

Dendall remained where he was, staring blankly at the Flesh Clone.

Half an incense stick later, Zimor and Bethany silently appeared beside Dendall.

Bethany, still charming despite her age, looked at the Flesh Clone collapsed on the ground and sighed. "Was wasting a Flesh Clone just to test him really worth it?"

Flesh Clones were unlike the rigid, lifeless Magic Golems.

They were Puppet avatars that their creators could control completely. In other words, the Puppet itself was an independent individual. It had flesh and blood, a soul, and could even cultivate.

It resembled a Divine Projection.

A Divine Projection was an avatar created when a god split off a portion of their flesh and soul.

It was called an avatar, but in truth, it was more like an extension of the god's true body. If it prospered, the true body prospered; if it was damaged... the true body would suffer severe harm as well.

A Flesh Clone was created according to this same principle, using special Magic to split off part of the caster's flesh and soul and cultivate it into an independent individual.

However, unlike a Divine Projection, which could be formed in one stroke, a mage without divine power often needed more than a decade to cultivate a Flesh Clone.

Not to mention the manpower and resources invested during that time, the mage also had to regularly possess the Flesh Clone and cultivate from the beginning.

This was also one of the ways many Magic Gods extended their lifespans and prepared multiple hiding places.

This showed just how important a Flesh Clone was.

"He was right. Everything comes at a price. If we don't test his bottom line before handing over such a vast Empire, can you really accept that?" Dendall said quietly.

Yes, Dendall had personally orchestrated this assassination attempt.

He had made the decision on a whim, so he had no time to make arrangements and could only use an exceptionally precious Flesh Clone.

He was very satisfied with the results of the test.

Yu Sheng'an's reaction showed that he valued the Empire greatly. Otherwise, he would only have used the opportunity to make trouble and demand more benefits.

Of course, even if that was not the reason, it still proved that he was a calm and rational god.

Mages liked those who were calm and rational, and despised those who were chaotic and foolish.

Furthermore, according to intelligence gathered from various nations, the Kevil Empire truly was the first stop for the spread of the Internet Divine Art.

This showed that the Kevil Empire's cultural environment was highly suited to spreading the Internet Divine Art, or perhaps that it was favored by the God of the Internet.

Therefore, the God of the Internet would not easily abandon this place. All of this would become bargaining chips for the Kevil Empire's negotiations.

"You've made up your mind?" Zimor asked.

"I have. The future he described... is far too tempting."

"What if this is a deception?" Bethany hesitated.

"If it isn't a deception, we have no power to stop it anyway, unless we allow the Five Great Gods to build churches in the Empire," Dendall said.

Zimor and Bethany fell silent.

In the end, they had to choose the lesser of two evils.

Seeing this, Dendall reassured them, "Don't worry too much. Judging from tonight's test, he values the Empire greatly. There is a good chance he will accept the Contract. As long as we sign the Contract, the Kevil Empire will remain the Magic Kingdom!"