Ten days

Ten days!

The promise rang out with the force of a military pledge.

Their grand undertaking would soon be accomplished, the future firmly in their grasp. With Rotten Ape's assurance, the matter was settled.

Then the Abyss Lord kicked them straight out of his domain.

They did not even get a meal.

By the end, never mind food—Rotten Ape had talked until his mouth was dry, yet had not managed even a sip of water.

Even after they reached the outskirts of the Sea Abyss, neither of them had quite processed it.

They exchanged looks, wanting to speak but holding back.

Seriously, was this Usurper that stingy? Forget letting them stay the night—he had raked in so much. Couldn't he at least make a token gesture and treat them to something?

Sorry, no.

Finished talking? Then get out!

The gates of the Sea Abyss locked shut again.

Not the slightest courtesy.

Ji Jue had no time for socializing with them. Maintaining a Usurper's imposing image had already exhausted him... all right, actually, it hadn't. He was in his element, enjoying himself so much that he had nearly forgotten everything else.

If he hadn't been afraid of talking too much and exposing himself, he would have kept acting a little longer!

Impersonating a Usurper was not actually difficult.

The main problem was remembering to hold back.

The Abyss Lord's combination of excessive caution, cowardice, and stubborn bravado was genuinely hard to nail. Several times, he had nearly let the commanding presence of the Evil Transformation Cult's saintly Sacrificial Master slip out...

An old bastard from the Flawless Temple and a fellow professional from Deepdark—their combined scheming outnumbered all the loans issued by the Federation and the Empire. Who knew which poorly delivered line might give him away?

Several times, Ji Jue