Outside Ash Riya's Holy Maiden Hall, many shadow creatures were kept, including more than ten Commander-level beings, creating a gloomy, ghostly atmosphere.
Hailong looked at the tightly shut hall doors and sighed softly.
Ash Riya had shut herself inside the Holy Maiden Hall for three days. This could not go on.
A hoarse voice came from within the hall:
"Uncle Hailong, please tell them that I promise to retain Ningwei's Silver Moon captain position. Once Senior Old Connie retires, we will not select a new Golden Knight. We will keep the roster at eleven people and always leave a place for him."
"If they still want to leave after that, then I have nothing more to say."
Hailong gave a bitter smile. "Holy Maiden, since you were able to make up your mind to do this, why didn't you try to keep Ningwei at the airport that day?"
"If you had personally explained this to him, given the relationship between you two, he definitely would have been willing to forgive you."
Ash Riya: "..."
Hailong continued, "Priest Nuo Nuo originally decided to join us, but he now seems to be leaning toward Pamirs. I saw him having a pleasant conversation with Pamirs."
"I understand. Put the Faith Hall recruitment aside for now."
"Yes. Also, demonstrations have broken out in both Athens City and Tenomuche. Especially in Tenomuche, where Ningwei saved half the city's residents—they are questioning why our temple did not make Ningwei a Golden Knight."
"...I understand. I will head to both places later and publicly bestow blessings to calm the public resentment. Set it for one week from now."
"Also, news has come from the Divine Land. Ningwei has returned to the Mu Clan and helped the Judgment Association capture an entire city's worth of Black Pepper Court members. In addition, it is said that he is living with two girls from his clan."
"..."
"Holy Maiden? Holy Maiden?"
The hall doors opened.
Ash Riya wore a wrinkled black dress, her shoulders weakly leaning against the doorframe.
Her black hair hung in a messy disarray, and her face was pale and frail. Her eyes were red-rimmed. The sunlight outside stung her eyes, and she lowered her head before retreating back into the shadows.
Hailong felt some heartache. "Holy Maiden, you need to pull yourself together. Pamirs has been extremely aggressive lately. You must lead us in striking back."
Ash Riya lowered her head and said hoarsely:
"It was he who encouraged me and brought me this far, gathering Uncle Hailong and the others' support so that I could contend against Pamirs."
"Now that he has left, I have to protect what we built."
"I will have the maids tidy up my appearance shortly. Please inform everyone, Uncle Hailong. I want to meet them all."
Hailong sighed in relief and said happily, "It's wonderful that you can pull yourself together, Holy Maiden."
"Then when are we going to the Divine Land to invite Ningwei back?"
"..."
"Holy Maiden?"
Ash Riya bit her lips. "I... I'm not ready yet."
Hailong sighed softly. "All right. We truly aren't suited to welcome Ningwei back right now. Once the Golden Knight position reserved for him becomes vacant, that will be the best time to bring him back."
Ash Riya said nothing.
After Hailong left, she shut the doors and weakly leaned against the cold surface.
"Ningwei Ningwei Ningwei Ningwei Ningwei! I'm clearly the Holy Maiden, so why is everyone blaming me! He even found women as soon as he returned to the Divine Land—two of them!"
"Wuwuwu, I already know I was wrong, all right? Ningwei, forgive me and come back..."
Ash Riya's emotions instantly collapsed.
A few minutes later, Ash Riya wiped away her tears, bit through her lips, and clenched her fists.
"Why was your reaction so intense this time? As long as you had scolded me awake, I would have apologized to you."
"Why weren't you even willing to come find me? You clearly weren't angry at the time. With your influence, as long as you spoke up, you could absolutely have convinced Uncle Hailong and the others to support you again."
"Why, why, why..."
"Why are they all blaming me!"
"I will prove that even without you, I am still the Holy Maiden, still Ash Riya!"
"I will prove it to you!"
Ash Riya gritted her teeth.
In the abandoned city, before the municipal building.
"The building is still fairly intact. It wasn't destroyed by demons."
Zhao Manyan commented.
The gray high-rise stood alone, its surface covered in black climbing-vine-like plants.
The surroundings were spacious and open, making it an excellent resting point.
As they approached the municipal building, Mu Nujiao sensed that something was off and stopped everyone.
"There are demons inside the building... No, those plants are the demons!"
"My Plant Element has fused with a demon seed. I can sense that it is a very powerful opponent."
Mu Ningxue said, "A Plant Demon? It looks like a Pseudo-Terror Demon. No wonder the area is so quiet."
After thinking for a moment, Mu Ningxue decided to provoke the Pseudo-Terror Demon and lead everyone into a fighting retreat until they reached the edge of its attack range.
Then they would retreat another three hundred meters and set up camp.
"There definitely won't be any powerful General-level demons around a Pseudo-Terror Demon."
Everyone began moving, carrying out Mu Ningxue's plan and setting up camp three hundred meters beyond the Pseudo-Terror Demon's attack range.
Mu Ningwei sensed a powerful presence approaching. He opened his eyes and looked up at the sky.
"W-what is that?!"
Mo Fan's sharp eyes spotted the Giant Lizard Pseudo Dragon. His mouth fell open.
The terrifying dragon might of a Commander-level creature erupted, pressing down on them until they could barely breathe.
The Pseudo-Terror Demon inside the municipal building sensed danger. It frantically waved countless branches and slowly left the building.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~~~~!
The Giant Lizard Pseudo Dragon landed atop the building, folding its enormous fleshy wings. Its massive body was more than a hundred meters long, its thick skin covered in lumps, its long tail hanging halfway down.
Compared to it, the Pseudo-Terror Demon looked much smaller.
The Giant Lizard Pseudo Dragon pinned down the Pseudo-Terror Demon's body, opened its huge maw, and with a crunch, devoured its head. It sucked out all its sap, spread its wings, and flew away.
Rumble rumble rumble~~~
The municipal building collapsed, burying the Pseudo-Terror Demon's corpse.
The ground shook violently, and many demons in the surrounding area fled madly outward.
"Captain Ning Xue, are we still setting up camp here?"
"No, shouldn't we be considering whether to continue the assessment at all?"
"That was a Commander! A Commander! Giving up the mission is the sensible choice!"
Zhao Manyan and the others panicked.
This time, Mu Ningxue genuinely could not make up her mind. She looked toward Mu Ningwei as if asking for help.
Mu Nujiao took a deep breath. "Brother Ningwei, can you deal with that Giant Lizard Pseudo Dragon?"
Mo Fan's mouth hung open. "No way, Mu Ningwei, you can fight that giant lizard?"
Mu Ningwei nodded. "In the wild, dealing with unexpected situations is also part of the process. If we encounter the Giant Lizard Pseudo Dragon, I will protect your lives, but the mission will be declared a failure."
"For now, continue the mission."
Mu Ningwei did not have a habit of abandoning missions.
"Hiss—"
Everyone sucked in a breath.
Zhao Manyan cried out strangely, "Brother, give us the truth. Just how strong are you? That's way too awesome."
Mu Ningwei said, "You might not believe it if I told you, but I'm close to becoming a Super Tier Mage."
Zhao Manyan laughed loudly. "I believe you, brother. Even if you said you were Forbidden Curse level, I'd believe you."
They obviously did not believe him.
They were all the same age. It was already impressive enough for him to be a High-level Mage.
Close to Super Tier?
How could that be possible!
But Mu Ningwei's assurance gave them a great sense of security.
Bai Tingting, however, was very surprised.
So he was a High-level Mage?
She had thought that someone capable of capturing a ruler alive was already a Super Tier Mage.
No, capturing a ruler alive as a High-level Mage is even more monstrous!
Bai Tingting's eyes sparkled as she wanted to move closer, but Mu Nujiao blocked her.
Mu Nujiao crossed her arms and glared, fiercely guarding what was hers.
Bai Tingting puffed out her cheeks and squatted down to draw circles.
Mu Ningwei took a black seed from his shadow, stuffed it into Mu Nujiao's hand, and whispered:
"This is the Pseudo-Terror Demon's demon seed. Use the method I taught you to nurture it into a demon servant. Then have it consume the Pseudo-Terror Demon's remaining body, and you can gain a General-level servant."
Mu Nujiao's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously.
Mu Ningwei found a rock and sat cross-legged to cultivate.
He was about to finish refining his resources and reach full cultivation.
Thanks to "t5t," "Hopeful Return," "Salted Fish in the Sand," and "-▽-" for your support~!
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