Lu Yin's thanks startled the Star Toad. It glared at him. "Hey, why are you thanking me? Don't be polite for no reason. Being this polite could get someone killed—no, get a toad killed, you know? What's this got to do with me?"
Red-faced Mebis smiled, her expression sincere. "If you hadn't forced Heaven's Punishment to unleash the Sequence Rule, it could have escaped. I couldn't have stopped it. You were the one who forced its hand, and from beginning to end, only you could hurt it. You really gave it a beating."
That was the truth. If it had only been Lu Yin and Red-faced Mebis, the two of them couldn't have forced Heaven's Punishment into a corner, much less hurt it and drive it to stake everything on one desperate move.
The decisive force had come from the Regent King, whom Elder Dan Gu had summoned, and his move, "No Heaven." But without the Star Toad, Elder Dan Gu wouldn't even have had the chance to summon the Regent King. Heaven's Punishment could have left the Mirage Domain, and Red-faced Mebis wouldn't have been able to stop it.
The Star Toad croaked, "Don't make things up! How did I beat it? What's that got to do with me? Don't slander me. That's wrong. That's immoral."
Lu Yin said gratefully, "Don't worry. I'll pay you for your help right now."
"Lu Yin, don't talk nonsense. What do you mean, 'pay me'? Are you crazy?"
"What, you don't want your lair back?"
"That's mine. It's not payment for helping you."
"Then what do you want? Just name it."
"I don't want anything. You didn't hire me. You're a total swindler, worse than Taichu. Don't drag this toad into it, I'm begging you. Don't say that."
"So you still don't want