Chapter 35

This world was made up of countless small worlds known as "planes." Some were large, some small. The smallest might only be useful as a warehouse, while the largest could contain mountains, rivers, sun, moon, and stars.

The Shadow Plane was a large plane. Like the central plane where most living creatures dwelled and multiplied, it had mountains and rivers, and all kinds of creatures bred there. But this plane was far more dangerous than the central plane, because the power of "shadow," which was bound by the laws of nature in the central plane, flowed freely there.

The free-flowing power of shadow wasn't particularly harmful in itself, but it posed a tremendous danger to adventurers traveling between planes. Because shadow power was so abundant and potent, many dangerous creatures existed in this world. They were both powerful and cruel, and often extremely cunning. So although the Shadow Plane held many rare resources and wasn't far from the central plane, most adventurers considered it forbidden territory, and few dared to venture into it recklessly.

After the unlucky Gerald was thrown into the Shadow Plane, he happened to land in a withered forest. An elderly treant lived there. Having devoured the vitality of the entire forest to prolong its life, it was incredibly irritable, and attacked Gerald as soon as it saw him.

The treant's abilities were terrifyingly powerful. Compared to it, the tree demon Granny from the movie A Chinese Ghost Story that Sui Xiong had seen in his previous life could practically be called harmless. Gerald used every trick at his disposal, yet the treant beat him into a wretched state. He fled wildly through the woods, but could never break out.

He couldn't find the treant's true body hidden among countless withered trees, and could only endure its attacks. Fortunately, the body Sui Xiong had made for him was truly powerful. It blocked the treant's attacks time and again. Though his situation grew worse and worse, he at least held out until Sui Xiong arrived to rescue him.

By sensing the soul avatar on the Bone Bracelet, Sui Xiong projected his will and power into the Shadow Plane. Having analyzed the divine power of that "Gatekeeper of the Dark Night Pantheon," he also knew a fair amount about shadow power. He hastily used shadow power mixed with ash to create an avatar, then engaged the treant in a fierce battle.

This time, Sui Xiong had truly met his match. The treant was practically the most powerful being in the entire region. It had even repelled several attacks by gods who wanted to kill it and turn it into a powerful treasure. Faced with Sui Xiong, who was trying to stop it from feeding, it flew into a rage and brought its full strength to bear.

The two unbelievably powerful behemoths fought with all their might. The heavens trembled and the earth shook; the winds and clouds changed color. Every monster in the vicinity, strong or weak, cried out and fled in a panic. The powerful factions that had been coveting the treant also hastily retreated far away to avoid getting caught up in the battle.

After a fierce fight, Sui Xiong finally found an opening. Using Palin as a point of reference, he opened a portal to the central plane and sent Gerald back.

Then, unwilling to waste any more time on the tenacious treant, he simply withdrew all his power, leaving behind nothing but ash and dust for the treant to thrash about against. He himself returned to his main body at his leisure.

The fierce battle left the already decrepit treant even weaker and more irritable. In the eyes of the factions coveting it, the old creature's life had entered its final countdown. Perhaps it wouldn't be long—fifty years, a hundred years, in any case, not too long—before their long wait ended and they reaped their reward.

Sui Xiong hadn't come away unscathed, either. Projecting his will and power across planes and fighting a legendary monster powerful enough to make even gods take notice had drained a great deal of his energy. He had never felt tired since crossing over, yet he was so exhausted that he had to sleep.

Well, he slept for... about five seconds.

When he woke and once again projected his will into the cave through the Bone Bracelet, Gerald and Palin were still stunned that "His Majesty the Void Mask could actually get tired." They hadn't come to their senses yet.

"Uh, I've had a rest. Why are you still standing there? Is something wrong?" Sui Xiong asked curiously.

Gerald and Palin looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

But even though they were silent, someone else was eager to speak. A man beside them was already prostrating himself on the ground, bowing repeatedly toward the air.

"O great Your Majesty! Satan, a student of the arcane mysteries, pays his respects to you! I beg you to accept me as your servant, and let me devote my humble life to the great cause of spreading your glory! Please grant me this honor!"

The mage lying face down on the ground was the very man who had once defeated Gerald with his impressive skills.

Sui Xiong was taken aback. A jellyfish-shaped apparition appeared and gazed at the mage named "Satan."

To be honest, he didn't dislike this mage. When two armies clashed, each fought for its own side; battle was always a matter of life and death. Faced with a powerful opponent like Gerald, Satan couldn't possibly have held back. And the fact that he had managed to defeat Gerald, whose strength far exceeded his own, through clever planning and the right spells was a glorious achievement. It was enough to make Sui Xiong willing to accept his surrender.

A good bird chose a good tree to nest in. Talented people always gathered under excellent bosses. The fact that he could attract more talent didn't prove that Sui Xiong was a great leader?

There was just one little problem that bothered him a bit.

"Satan... That name sounds familiar," he muttered. "But you don't have six pairs of wings, nor were you born with nobility and pride... You don't have horns, and there's no 666 on your forehead... You're not the world's greatest expert, and your hair isn't a mushroom cut... You don't fit as an idol, a powerhouse, or a comedian..."

After thinking it over, he sighed and asked, "Satan, would you be interested in taking up martial arts?"

Satan froze. He hesitated for a long time, then finally shook his head with a bitter smile.

As a mage who had devoted his life to pursuing the ultimate secrets of magic, he would rather die than abandon his dignity as a mage.

"Then there's nothing for it... What a pity," Sui Xiong said helplessly. "You could've become a superstar, but now you'll have to settle for being some old guy on the roadside selling secret manuals."

"Huh?" Satan had no idea what he was talking about.

"Basically, you could've been a major supporting character, but now you can only show up now and then at the beginning of the story. Your screen time will be greatly reduced," Sui Xiong explained.

Satan finally understood a little. "Your Majesty, do you need me to perform in an opera? To be honest, I know very little about that..."

"Your Majesty, Mr. Satan is a very talented mage," Palin couldn't help saying. "He comes from the Arcane Tower Federation in the south of the continent, a place known as the Mage Nation. Mages from there, whether in the breadth of their knowledge or the practical use of their spells, are far beyond ordinary mages! It would be such a waste to make someone like him perform in an opera!"

Looking at Palin's somewhat nervous expression, and seeing that Gerald also seemed concerned, Sui Xiong couldn't help laughing.

It seemed that this mage named Satan really was a talent. In such a short time, he had already won Palin over. Even Gerald, who had nearly died at his hands, respected him more than he resented him.

Such talent was truly rare!

So he said, "When did I mention opera? You're overthinking it. Satan, you're an outstanding mage, but do you know anything about handling government affairs and managing a territory?"

Satan thought about it and said, "I know a little, but those aren't my strengths. If Your Majesty needs someone with those abilities, I can find someone for you. When I was studying at the Arcane Tower Federation, I knew a nobleman's descendant who had lost his territory. He wasn't doing well and made a living copying books and teaching children to read. If you want to develop a territory, he'd make a suitable aide."

"Then have him come over. It'll take a long time to travel from the south of the continent to the Four Northwest Towns. In the meantime, we can start laying the foundations of the territory."

Sui Xiong said it casually, but Gerald trembled with excitement and couldn't help shouting, "Your Majesty, have you finally decided to establish your own church?"

"Well, without even realizing it, I've already got three subordinates. And I can foresee that our ranks will keep growing. Without a territory, it won't be convenient to settle everyone," Sui Xiong said. "Then it's settled. Let's get out of here first."

"Your Majesty, what about the treasure..." Gerald hurriedly reminded him.

"The treasure's right here. It's not going anywhere," Sui Xiong said with a smile. "Once we're out, you can move the metal plate with the teleportation array engraved on it. After we're settled, I'll make a slight adjustment to the spatial coordinates. Then we'll be able to teleport straight here from anywhere."

"Then it'll be like having a hidden warehouse!" Gerald's eyes lit up.

"And a secret laboratory where we can do anything without being discovered!" Satan's eyes lit up too.

Palin shrugged, deeply at a loss for words over his two colleagues' reactions.

It took them a little while, but the three of them got the still-sleeping thieves out of the treasure cave. When Gerald appeared in the forest, the thieves who had been left behind jumped in fright. Fortunately, the Thieves Guild's vice president kept them in check, so they didn't scatter and flee all at once.

If they had actually run away, the thieves, having abandoned all their supplies, would have had almost no chance of surviving the terrifying night in the Ash Forest. If one in ten made it back to Glimmerstone Town alive, they could count themselves blessed by the God of Thieves.

The vice president, nicknamed Grey Eyes, knew this well. So even though his legs were trembling with nerves, he still kept the thieves firmly in line. He stressed that running away meant certain death, and a much more miserable one at that, while staying might give them a chance to live. Only then did they summon the last scraps of their courage and stand trembling before Gerald.

Soon, as all the thieves who had gone in earlier were brought out, their fear and unease eased considerably. Since the others hadn't been killed, but merely put to sleep, surely they could survive too...

Their guess wasn't wrong. Neither Sui Xiong nor his two followers was fond of killing. Satan, on the other hand, was ruthless, but he was quick-witted. As soon as he saw that the god he had just pledged himself to was kind and benevolent, he immediately tossed thoughts of decisive slaughter far aside and firmly supported his own liege's decision.

Besides... he really didn't think a bunch of thieves from some backwater could cause them any trouble.

After all, even without considering the great god behind them, one outstanding mid-level mage and one powerful giant who was practically absurdly strong were enough to sweep through a small town on the frontier.

But Sui Xiong wasn't some utterly spineless good Samaritan with no principles. He could let the thieves who had simply followed orders go, but he would never spare the real culprit.

That was the despicable scoundrel who had deceived them: the president of the Glimmerstone Town Thieves Guild, Ryan "Quick Hand"!