Servant Sli

(This chapter is free)

In Aldas's laboratory in the outer court of the royal palace, familiar screams rang out early in the morning.

Even the brave, steadfast palace guards in the distance could not help showing fear when they heard those cries. In their eyes, bleeding or even dying on the battlefield was preferable to this terrifying torture, where one could neither live nor die.

The bottles and jars were the same as before; only the roles of the one administering the medicine and the one testing it had been switched.

"Sli, how does this medicine feel?" Chen Rui asked with interest as he looked at Sli, who lay on the floor gasping for breath.

"Master, this Soul Ripper Grass potion is too strong. Sli feels like his head is splitting apart. I'm about to die..."

"No, I misread it just now. This is actually Dizziness Grass potion," Chen Rui said, looking puzzled. "Did I use the wrong dosage? Or is it because Lesser Devils have unusual constitutions, causing the effects of Dizziness Grass to turn into something like Soul Ripper? No, that won't do! It would be best to cut open your head and take a look."

The Lesser Devil, who had seemed to be at death's door a moment ago, instantly flipped over and sat up. Clutching Chen Rui's clothes, he begged, "Great Master, your lowly servant merely feels a little dizzy. There is absolutely no pain at all! This dizziness potion is extremely, extremely effective! Please, do not cut open Sli's head!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the Lesser Devil saw Chen Rui casually shake the bottle before his eyes. Written on it were the words: "No. 81, Awakening Potion." It was clearly a beneficial potion meant to counter dizziness and sleepiness!

Sli nearly burst into tears. Everyone said that despicable cunning was synonymous with Lesser Devils, so how was this human even more cunning than a Lesser Devil?

"Omnipotent Master, your wisdom rivals the moonlit sky of the Demon Realm! Your humblest servant should not have allowed Fear to blind his eyes. Next time, even if Master tells Sli to go to Blue Wave Lake, I will bring that Poison Dragon back for you!" The Lesser Devil immediately began doing what he did best—singing praises. Where was even a trace of the former "Lord Sli" in that loyal, humble appearance?

With that kind of nerve, he wanted to bring back the Poison Dragon? Chen Rui smiled. "If not for that Master-Servant Contract from a few days ago, Lord Sli would probably still be waiting to drink my blood and eat my flesh, wouldn't he?"

At the mention of a few days ago, the Lesser Devil could not help feeling bitter. That had been the beginning of Lord Sli's nightmare—Lord Gauss, the Eldest Princess's most trusted subordinate, had brought this human before Sli. Lord Gauss was a Servant Demon proficient in magic, and with his help, Lord Sli had been forced to sign a Master-Servant Contract with this human. If Sli dared disobey Chen Rui, he would suffer severe contract backlash or even die.

At this point, the Lesser Devil could only accept his fate. Just as he was about to continue flattering his new master, Chen Rui spoke. "Sli, I know you are unconvinced. But when I revealed the secret of the inheritance to the little princess and the master that day, you were there as well. This time, when the Eldest Princess summoned me, she issued a gag order. Before I become a master, I cannot reveal this secret to anyone. You were originally meant to be silenced. I was the one who saved you."

Sli was startled. He then recalled the rumors about the Eldest Princess's cold and ruthless nature and immediately shuddered. It seemed his new master was telling the truth. But so what if this human had saved his life? The rules of the demon world were that the strong ruled, while Lesser Devils had always been famous for bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Yet Lord Sli was now serving a human even weaker than himself!

Even among Lesser Devils, perhaps even in the entire history of the Demon Realm, this was surely an unprecedented first!

Chen Rui seemed to see through Sli's thoughts and smiled. "Sli, your life is in my hands. If I wanted to avenge your past misdeeds, you would have already been tortured to death. But I do not wish to do that. The Eldest Princess personally promised me that once I reach the level of master, she will grant me the same honor and treatment as Master Aldas. What I need now is not a test subject, nor a clown who only knows how to flatter people. I need a follower who will truly serve me loyally."

Sli's mind immediately began racing. This human truly had the favor of the Eldest Princess and Master Aldas, and his prospects were boundless. If he could really become the follower of a master, it would not be a disgrace at all. It would be an incomparable honor.

Sli grew excited. Lesser Devils were Low-tier Demons who had always occupied the lowest rung of the Demon Realm. They were weak and constantly bullied. In the laboratory, Sli had originally been nothing more than a menial worker, not even worthy of being called a servant. Now that a heaven-sent opportunity lay before him, how could he let it slip away?

"Master, what do you want Sli to do?" Noticing that this master had little interest in excessive flattery, the clever Lesser Devil simplified his words and asked respectfully.

Chen Rui was quite satisfied with Sli's performance. He had learned that combination of threats and inducements from the Eldest Princess Shea and immediately put it into practice. There was no fear that the Lesser Devil would refuse to submit.

"Don't worry. I will not use you to test medicine again. I want you to learn some knowledge about herbs. In the future, you will gather all kinds of medicinal ingredients according to my instructions, and you will also gather information."

Sli's little eyes immediately lit up. Gathering herbs was already work that only apprentices could do, and his master even wanted him to study herbology and gather intelligence. It seemed he truly intended to cultivate him as a follower. The Lesser Devil gratefully prostrated himself on the floor and, out of habit, began a lengthy declaration of loyalty and praise. Then he remembered that his master disliked that sort of thing, and his rambling words abruptly stopped. He merely wore an expression of humble obedience, as though he wished to express all his loyalty through body language.

Chen Rui could not help finding Sli's appearance amusing. With the Master-Servant Contract plus the carrot and stick, the Lesser Devil should be completely subdued. Though he had secured a foothold in Darkmoon City through his wits, he was still human. Moreover, the Super System's progress still had one final portion remaining, which might require more herbs for experimentation. With Sli to run errands, he could avoid much trouble.

"Alright, take the master's book on basic herbology and read it. Start by learning to recognize the simplest herbs." Chen Rui handed the thick book to Sli.

Sli became excited. This was Master Aldas's book! He had heard that ordinary alchemy apprentices had to pay hefty tuition fees before they could study such knowledge, yet his master was simply letting him read it! This time, the Lesser Devil was sincerely overwhelmed with gratitude. He respectfully accepted the book and withdrew.

Chen Rui no longer needed the book. After his soul transmigration and the fusion with Arthur's consciousness, his memory had somehow improved by n times, and his mind had become exceptionally clear. Coupled with the benefits brought by the Symbiotic Contract, in only a few days, he had already mastered the entire basic herbology text.

The Super System's activation progress had the characteristic that the stronger the medicinal properties, the faster the progress. However, repeated medicinal properties had little effect; even Pagliu's deadly poison was no exception. The laboratory's poisons had nearly all been tested last time. Chen Rui wanted to determine the components of those potions, then try brewing new ones to activate the Super System as soon as possible. For now, he had not discovered whether other methods could accelerate the progress, so he could only consider potion-making.

Sli walked in again and said, "Master, Lady Athena has arrived."

Athena entered the laboratory, looked around, and saw that Aldas was absent. "Where is the master?"

"The master studied Diamond Chess all night last night and is still sleeping."

The day before yesterday, with Sli's help, Chen Rui had made a set of Independent Diamond Chess and given it to Aldas. Aldas had treated it as a priceless treasure and immediately immersed himself in it. Chen Rui suspected that if this continued, the potion master would defect to the artificer camp.

Athena casually said, "So that's what happened. Has Alice come looking for you these past two days?"

"She has." Chen Rui gave a bitter smile. "I sent her away with Independent Diamond Chess the day before yesterday. She wants novel things all day long. At this rate, I'll wrack my brains dry. Do you still want to hear Romance of the Three Kingdoms today?"

Athena's eyes brightened, and she hurriedly nodded. Over the past few days, Chen Rui had deliberately catered to her tastes by telling her selected passages from Romance of the Three Kingdoms. Naturally, to suit the setting, he had greatly mythologized the famous generals' abilities. Guan Yu's Azure Dragon Crescent Blade had become a divine artifact that slaughtered a thousand men with every swing; Zhang Third Lord's roar could make waterfalls flow backward; Liu Bei possessed water magic that could make tears flow for a thousand miles...

Athena revered mighty warriors with heaven-defying strength above all else, and she immediately became fascinated, running to the laboratory every day. However, Chen Rui only told these stories to Athena and had even declared them a little secret between the two of them. It was a small tactic.

"Wait, today... let's go to Blue Wave Lake," Athena suddenly remembered why she had come, though she could not bear to miss the entertaining story. "Can you tell it to me on the way back?"

Chen Rui finally remembered the Dragon Language Inscription matter. He had been enjoying himself these past few days and had nearly forgotten it, so he quickly nodded.

"I've already prepared the Triangle Rhinos. Let's leave now!"

Sli watched his master and Athena depart, his heart churning like stormy waves. How long had his master even been in the Demon Realm? Yet Lady Athena had actually taken the initiative to ask him out! One had to know that even General Allen could not get close to Lady Athena...

Filled with overwhelming admiration for his master, the Lesser Devil was more hopeful than ever for the glorious future of becoming "a master's follower."

Outside the palace, the two mounted the already prepared Triangle Rhinos. This time, both beasts were equipped with complete saddles and harnesses. Clearly, the human's treatment was entirely different from before. After smoothly leaving the city, they hurried all the way to Blue Wave Lake.

At the place where he had agreed to meet Pagliu last time, Chen Rui was astonished to see the Poison Dragon, in human form, still studying that crude set of Independent Diamond Chess with intense concentration. Clearly, he had spent all his energy on this thing these past few days.

Chen Rui told Athena to wait in the distance and walked forward alone.

The moment Pagliu saw him, he actually demanded fiercely, "Who are you?"

Chen Rui suddenly felt utterly defeated. Bad memory? Had he really forgotten this much already? This was obviously senile dementia!