Preparing the Puppets

The terrace suddenly fell An Jing, and even the servants around quietly withdrew, leaving only three people with different expressions frowning and deep in thought at the long table.

Cheng Shi thought that, according to Afros, gods like [Thunder] should be considered as Subgod of a certain [Path of Fate]. At least they are gods who truly possess independent Divine Authority and were once subordinate to a certain True God.

Most importantly, after the era has ended, they can start anew, accept the devotion of Believer, and then descend again.

In contrast, the so-called Emissary of today are more like dependents of the True God, who have retained their Memory under the protection of the True God, and then begin to carry out the will of their Lord of Grace again when the era returns. This seems a bit like high-level workers spreading the will of the True God, like... myself.

Therefore, rounding down, I am the Emissary.

Yes, that makes sense.

"..."

Cheng Shi was suddenly amused by his own thoughts, and the other two looked at him with curiosity when they saw Cheng Shi laugh.

"My brother, what have you remembered now?"

Cheng Shi shook his head. "No, it's just that I felt my answer to you was too rough and couldn't be considered an information exchange. Afros, you can ask another question."

Afros smiled in surprise, looked at Cheng Shi thoughtfully, and nodded, saying:

Generosity is a virtue.

Perfect timing! I have another question I'd like you to answer. I had convinced myself to believe your lies, but today, sensing the same aura of deception emanating from Lady Flazhol, I couldn't resist my curiosity and wanted to ask:

When you say you've lost your Memory, do you really mean you've lost Memory?

"!"

These words made Hong Lin nervous. She seemed to be looking at Afros, but in reality, she was already pleading for help from Cheng Shi out of the corner of her Cheng Shi.

However, Big Cat is a person who has seen a lot of the world. Ever since she attended the Gods' Covenant Assembly with her eyes closed, she has some confidence to face some beings below the gods. So she did not reveal any major flaws at the moment.

Cheng Shi was the same. He had been dancing on the edge of lies for a long time and had long been used to all kinds of storms. When he heard Afros ask this question, he glanced at the other party's expression and attitude, then gave a slightly mysterious smile and remained silent.

Because he could tell that Afros seemed to already have the answer in his heart.

As expected, Afros suddenly laughed because of Cheng Shi's "lack of response." Although the smile was full of sarcasm, he still tried his best to maintain the image of a good brother in front of Hong Lin.

"I guessed right, didn't I?"

Although I don't know how Lady Flazhol, who inherited the Divine Authority of [Prosperity], was affected, as I expected, you did not truly lose your Memory.

Especially you, my brother, Lord Foolish Play.

Perhaps your Mask has indeed shattered, but that is not the real reason you have lost your Memory.

I hadn't thought of any of this before, but after learning more and more about the great matters of "Nothingness" from you, I suddenly realized that "Nothingness" is influencing the Cosmos in a way that I can't see the pattern of.

And influencing the Cosmos means that they are 'eroding' [existence]!

So, your Memory are Memory with, right?

He is resisting the invasion of Nothingness in this way, slowing down the spread of Nothingness the Subgod.

"Ha, was I right, my brother?"

"..."

"..."

I thought you had a winning hand, but you threw me a pair of threes instead.

Yes, that's absolutely right, bro!

We can't afford it!

As long as you can convince yourself, whatever you say is right. In any case, no matter what you say, the fact that what I say is a lie must be true.

So I'll say what I want, and you can believe what you want. We won't bother each other, and this relationship is absolutely harmonious!

However, seeing Afros's confidence, Cheng Shi's performance became more and more engaging.

A fleeting look of embarrassment crossed his eyes. He opened his mouth slightly as if to respond to Afros, but quickly closed it again, pursed his lips, and casually looked away as if he hadn't heard anything, seemingly trying to hide his awkwardness.

These subtle actions all showed that he was trying his best to save face, but the more he did so, the more Afros felt that his brother was not as mysterious as he had imagined. At least, he still had joys and sorrows, and he still cared about his reputation.

I guessed right!

Afros smiled.

However, as a good brother, he naturally wouldn't tease him anymore, so he just chuckled, looked at Hong Lin, and changed the subject:

"Lady Flazhol, please forgive my intrusion, but for me, the perception of emotions is like a sixth sense beyond the five senses, which I cannot sever. So I can guess that you are not here simply to search for 'Memory', but seem to have something else to do."

After much thought, I realized that before we've even met, the only thing that could interest you is the "Decay" Believer left behind by my brother here.

I don't know much about Yog, but this [Decay] Believer is... open to any manipulation you may make.

Of course, if you have specific needs, I believe both Afros and Golis can offer some assistance in punishing 'blasphemers'.

After gaining a lot of information about the era, Afros finally began to show goodwill, which was an excellent sign for Cheng Shi and Hong Lin. It meant that what Cheng Shi wanted to promote had finally been successfully achieved at this moment.

Big Cat's intelligence channel is secured!

Hong Lin raised an eyebrow and readily agreed. She stated without hesitation that her purpose was to rid the world of its Decay, and as for whether her methods would help the Decay draw closer to Him...

She guessed that, at least not until prosperity completely overwhelmed Decay.

"I still lack some followers, although my followers are very devout. But prosperous people cannot do Decay things, so that [Decay] Believer is still useful to me."

You're right, I did come here partly for him.

Since Cheng Shi didn't object, it meant they had their eyes on this unfortunate fellow for a long time. Afros nodded and casually waved his hand, and a group of servants dragged Yu Mu, who was imprisoned in Golis's resentment, to the terrace.

Under His influence, Yu Mu's consciousness was far from returning.

He is now like a lamb to the slaughter, on the chopping block of the three "He", without the slightest power to resist, or even the thought of resisting.

This twilight Hunter probably never imagined that the cry of "Old Bow" he Chen Shu at the gathering of Fool's Society would become the swan song of twilight he would ever hear.

When Hong Lin saw that someone had arrived, a strange light flashed in her eyes. She immediately took out a piece of tree bark with a slightly bluish tinge from her spatial storage and smiled as she stuck it on Yu Mu's body.

Cheng Shi looked over curiously, and was about to ask what it was when he heard Afros, who was watching the show, exclaim, "Loyal Tree Contract!"

What is that?

"A servant contract that can grant the target tough bark and skin. The most powerful aspect of this contract is not its permanent defensive capabilities, but the fact that it does not require the other party's consent to be signed!"

This is a coercive contract that uses parasitism as a means; although it modifies the target's physical body, it also parasitizes the target's soul.

It was less a contract and more a torture device.

The parasitized individual loses its self-awareness and submits to the master, becoming a mindless, obedient Tree Servant.

As soon as Afros finished speaking, the slightly bluish bark slowly merged into Yu Mu's body. Suddenly, the old man, whose skin was covered with wrinkles piled up like mountains, had all the traces of Decay smoothed out by a power of prosperity. The wrinkled dead skin all turned into rough, hard bark similar to tree bark. His tightly closed eyes slowly opened, and a glimmer of emerald light flashed in his unfocused pupils.

Hiss--

Upon seeing this strange phenomenon, Cheng Shi gasped in shock.

"What's the difference between this and Desire Puppet?" He turned to look at the Big Cat and asked.

"Tree Servant have no self-desire, are more obedient, and most importantly, they can be treated as inanimate objects, and the income... you know."

Hong Lin was both wistful and excited when she saw that the second-ranked member of the [Decay] faction had been turned into her puppet in just a few words.

"This was a good haul. Not only did I gain an extra helper, but it seems I also made a... new friend?"

The identity of "Prosperity" is not suitable for too much contact with "Sinking," but I can occasionally be Flazhol.

A simple... [Nothingness] practitioner.

She smiled at Afros, only to see a glint in Afros eyes, as if to say, "Just as I expected," before he elegantly raised his glass and said:

"It is my honor to be Lord Flazhol's friend."

So what are you waiting for, my brother? Let's toast to our new friend...?

"Cheers!"

Hong Lin tilted his head back and drank the wine in his glass in one gulp, displaying extreme boldness.

In contrast, Cheng simply raised his glass along with the two men, and then put it back down.

Not only that, he even wiped his hands back and forth on his pants after letting them hang down from the table.

He didn't seem to care at all about Afros's helpless gaze and the Big Cat's astonished look, and smiled brightly.

You shouldn't drink things of unknown origin, including those given to you by friends. This is a lesson I've learned from others.

After all, this world is too complicated; it's better to be cautious.

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