[Legend]

[Legend]

A servant of the devil?!

If someone suddenly came up to you in all seriousness and told you he was a servant of the devil, you would nine times out of ten think he was crazy.

But what if that person had just performed astonishing magic before your eyes—walking through walls, conjuring a magnificent chandelier, exquisite candlesticks, and heaps of furniture out of an empty cave with his bare hands... turning a cold cave into a warm reception room in an instant...

Would you still think "servant of the devil" was a joke?

Du Wei wanted to laugh, but somehow he could not. The two women beside him clearly did not look too well either.

Anyone could see that this man before them, who possessed such formidable magical power, was not joking!

"Ha... haha..." Even Du Wei felt that his laughter sounded dry. "You, servant of the devil... may I ask what purpose you had in bringing the three of us here?"

"You may call me Chris." The devil's servant glanced at Du Wei, his gaze cold. Only then did Du Wei notice that the fellow's eyes were actually different colors! One was green, while the other was black!

"...All right, Mr. Chris." Du Wei took a deep breath. "You call yourself a servant of the devil, and you summoned the three of us here. What exactly do you want?"

Chris did not answer. His body drifted lightly to the other end of the rectangular stone table. "Young noble sir, may I ask... how do you view history?"

Du Wei's heart stirred, and he answered offhandedly, "History... is nothing more than lies written by the victors."

"Oh... an interesting notion." Chris smiled. "Dear little noble, I have been observing the lot of you these past few days... and I am especially interested in you. You have expressed some views that I found quite intriguing... For instance, you once had an argument with that female mage on the island, and at the time you declared... ah, let me think, how did you put it... Oh, right. You said, 'There is no such thing as justice or evil. Throughout history, whoever has the harder fist is justice; whoever has the harder fist has reason.' That was what you said, wasn't it?"

Du Wei nodded. "The wording may be a little off, but that was roughly what I meant."

"Then I have a request. Could you perhaps connect that view of yours to your understanding of history?"

Du Wei thought for a moment... What was there to say? Still, he answered casually:

"All right! In my view, so-called justice and evil are merely distinctions drawn from different positions... The victors are justice! The defeated are evil! Because history is always written by the victors, while the defeated have no voice and can only accept the verdict of evil. It is the simplest truth in the world."

"Excellent!" Chris was clearly delighted. He suddenly folded his arms across his chest, raised his head, closed his eyes, and sighed deeply. "Great Master, I have finally found another one of Your believers."

"Wait! You said... a believer? No, no, I am not a believer in the devil." Du Wei immediately retorted. "I am no one's believer! I believe neither in gods nor in devils."

"Then what do you believe in?" Chris smiled wickedly.

"I believe in myself... I believe only in myself!" Du Wei answered loudly.

Behind him, Joanna and Vivian's expressions changed at once. Both covered their mouths, and Joanna even let out a low cry. "Heavens!"

Chris's smile grew even more delighted. "You see, you said it yourself... you believe in no one, only yourself... That is precisely the creed of demonic faith!"

Du Wei was a little bewildered.

"All right, let us not speak of that anymore." Chris said blandly. "Relate your interesting views on history, victors, and losers to the matter of gods and devils, and think about what they really mean."

"Isn't that obvious?" Du Wei laughed. "When two powerful beings fight, the winner is a god, and the loser is a devil! The winner gains everything and possesses the right to speak; history is written by him as well. The loser can only be consigned to eternal damnation... Am I wrong? In truth, so-called gods and devils have no distinction between good and evil at all. There is only victory and defeat."

Joanna and Vivian both grew uneasy... To the two mages, Du Wei's views were simply outrageously bold! They were practically heretical and rebellious thoughts!

If such thoughts were voiced outside... he would certainly be judged by the Temple, perhaps even burned alive at the stake!

But Du Wei could not spare a thought for that now. He pondered for a moment. "Victory and defeat... Oh, speaking of victory and defeat... then Mr. Chris, you..."

"I belong to the losing side." Chris tilted his head. "Regrettably, in the last war, my master lost, and I too was on the defeated side... So this place is, in fact, a prison. And I am its prisoner."

Chris continued slowly, "I have been imprisoned on this island for a very long time... so long that I have even begun to forget some of my memories..."

"You said... island?" Du Wei immediately asked. "You said you were imprisoned on this island... Then we are on the island now too? You brought us back to the island?"

"More precisely, 'inside the island.'" Chris smiled. "Or rather, inside its body."

Du Wei's expression changed.

"Don't you understand yet..." Chris sighed. "That monster you speak of... is actually this island! It is not an island at all, but a monster. All these days, you have been living on the monster's back! And I... have been imprisoned inside its body... It is responsible for guarding me!"

At this, Chris waved a sleeve and stopped Joanna, who was about to speak. "No, no, do not speak. Listen to me first!"

"It has been too long—so long that I have even forgotten exactly how long I have stayed here... And over all those distant years, you are not the first guests to arrive here. Other humans have accidentally come to this little island before, and I brought them here as well. Some were clever, while others were fools... And you, dear little noble, the two female mages beside you are, in my eyes, the latter, while you are one of the clever ones!"

"Who are you calling fools?!" Joanna could not help snapping. "To you, a servant of the devil..."

"Oh, the mage is angry." Chris did not get angry. He merely looked quietly at Joanna, and those black and green eyes seemed to emit an eerie light! He gently asked her, "That god... claims that all power originates from him! Everything! The forces of nature, the power of magic. Therefore, you mages are all believers of that god. Is that right? But... I, as a servant of the devil, am no believer in any god! May I ask where my magical power comes from? Dear little mage, can you answer that question?"

The furious Joanna was instantly speechless!

Chris sighed and looked at the female mage with pity. "Unable to answer? Then let me tell you the answer... Because the god you believe in... lies! That the forces of nature originate from him? That is simply a monstrous lie!"

Joanna's face turned awkward. She felt as if her faith had been overturned! Yet she could not utter a single word in rebuttal!

Yes, from the moment she began her magical education, she had been taught its most fundamental creed!

This world had been created by the gods, and all natural power came from the gods! Through their devout faith in the gods, mages could borrow a portion of natural power from them when casting magic!

That was magic!

But now... a servant of the devil who did not believe in gods at all... possessed such powerful magical strength... How could that be explained? Could it be that when he cast magic, the gods lent him power as well?!

Otherwise... how could it possibly be explained?!

"See? I was right. Some are clever... and some are fools." Though Chris's voice was old and weak, the mockery within it pricked Joanna's heart like needles. "You are not the first mage to come here, so this question you face—and that expression you are wearing—I have not seen it for the first time."

Chris glanced at Du Wei. Only when he looked at Du Wei did his tone and gaze become a little gentler. "Dear little noble, you are a clever man. So I can speak with you in a clever way. I have waited here for far too long, and when it comes to clever people who arrive here, I have always been quite willing to make certain trades with them."

"...A transaction?"

"That's right, a transaction." Chris smiled, then the old man tapped his forehead. "Let me think. Who was the last person to make a transaction with me here... Oh, right. It was a fellow named Aragon!"

"Aragon?!!"

This time, Du Wei and the two female magicians cried out in shock at the same time!!!

For no other reason than that this name was simply far too resounding!!

Universally acknowledged as one of the few Saint Knights the continent had seen in centuries, a peerless powerhouse! Universally acknowledged as one of the very few supreme magicians the continent had seen in centuries, a peerless powerhouse!

The name Aragon itself meant a legend! He was the only legendary powerhouse in history who had managed to cultivate both magic and martial arts, while bringing both his martial skills and magic to their very pinnacle!!

Even Joanna... she was one of Aragon's admirers... which was why this female magician had chosen the path of dual cultivation in magic and martial arts!

And more importantly, the reason the three were astonished was not merely because Aragon had once been such a legendary powerhouse...

More importantly...

Aragon!

He was the founding emperor of the present Roland Empire!

The great Emperor Roland I! It was the armies he led that campaigned north and south, and after decades of war, united countless small nations, city-states, alliances, kingdoms, duchies... and finally established the Roland Empire, whose territory covered the entire continent!!

"No need to be so nervous. Aragon was the last human to come here and make a transaction with me."

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