Chapter 14: Ambush

Faced with the mysterious man’s questioning, Dorothy quickly waved her hand, “No, no! I really didn’t! I… I was just too impulsive. I really didn’t mean to kill you!”

Desowa also quickly defended, “Sir, Dorothy just has a bit of a temper. She truly didn’t mean it.”

Originally frightened and trembling, Dorothy turned her head abruptly when she heard Desowa defending her. Her eyes burst with a light called surprise.

Seeing this, Yu Sheng’an didn’t feel the complexity of romance. His heart was only filled with coldness! This world is even more terrifying than he imagined! A noble lady could try to kill him just to vent her anger and then still have the mind to be pleased by the man’s change in attitude afterward.

Is she truly a lovesick person who sees affection as the only thing? Or does she not realize the gravity of what she’s done? Or does she simply think this is a trivial matter? Is she only apologizing because his identity seems mysterious, just going through the motions? Honestly, coming from a country where guns are banned, Yu Sheng’an felt very disappointed.

He couldn’t be bothered to respond anymore and walked away.

After leaving the Mage’s Hat Tavern, Yu Sheng’an walked deeper along the famous Fire Phoenix Avenue.

As the capital of the Kewell Empire—Willis City was undeniably the most prosperous place in the southern regions of the Azaea Continent.

Underfoot was a smooth road, solidified by earth-based magic, with various styled buildings crowded on either side.

A slightly chilly wind blew across his face, bringing the fresh sensation of a foreign land.

Today marked the first time he descended onto the Azaea Continent in a projected form.

Before this, he had nearly sleeplessly observed many users, trying to gain a deeper understanding of this world.

But no amount of observation could compare to the impact of these few hours of experience! Everything was so new and left quite an impression!

Just from Dorothy’s hasty decision to kill him with magic, he felt the immense cultural differences between the Azaea Continent and the Blue Star.

Though both sides essentially define order through violence.

However, as individual power is relatively equal in the latter, while violent incidents occur, the general state is peace.

But this world? It’s simply indescribable.

To be honest, if it weren’t for the collaboration with the Kewell Empire, he would’ve slapped Dorothy hard.

What lovesick freak? It’s all because she’s been spoiled.

Swoosh! A sharp sound of something tearing through the air directly stabbed at his eardrums.

An ice blade, far faster than second-level magic speed, passed through Yu Sheng’an’s chest and embedded itself into the buildings along the long street.

Yu Sheng’an looked down at the gaping hole in his heart, his expression blank.

The light of a contract flickered on his body, and his bloody chest squirmed and returned to normal. The bloodstained clothes were the only indication that what had just happened was not an illusion.

At that moment, a magma giant in the abyss turned over, splashing a large amount of dark red lava. It didn’t realize that a tiny bit of life force had leaked from its body.

It just wanted to have a good sleep to make up for the recent experience of being summoned inexplicably to a dark room, getting beaten up, and being forced to sign an unfair contract.

“This is the City of Magic. No gods are welcome here!” A deep voice came from an unknown direction.

The night grew darker, and a thin mist filled the streets, making the voice seem even more eerie.

“Buddy, your attempt to sow discord is too crude. Aren’t you afraid of being found out and having your entire clan wiped out?” Yu Sheng’an said.

“But you have to be able to find out first!” The voice suddenly grew vicious, “Die!”

The mist covering the street suddenly boiled, turning into high-temperature steam that cornered the only living creature on the long street with no escape! But that wasn’t all, as molten creatures suddenly emerged from the steam and rushed toward him.

Yu Sheng’an did not move.

The moment these creatures leapt onto him, all of them vanished, and the high-temperature steam dissolved as well. The rolling heat, once freed, spread toward the streets’ surroundings.

A hexagram star shone beside Yu Sheng’an, and Dundar’s figure appeared within it.

The moment he appeared, he anxiously shouted to Yu Sheng’an, “Don’t misunderstand, someone’s trying to sow discord!”

Yu Sheng’an nodded, “I know.”

From the distance came the sound of heavy footsteps. A three-meter-tall demon with wings on its back slowly approached.

On its claw, it carried a lifeless human.

The demon tossed the human in front of Yu Sheng’an, bowed, and then, with the flash of a hexagram underfoot, its massive figure disappeared.

Dundar approached the corpse, magic auras flickering around his eyes. After a while, he frowned and said, “This is a flesh avatar!”

“So that means the mastermind can’t be found?”

“I will thoroughly investigate tonight’s events and give you an explanation.”

Yu Sheng’an exhaled, dispelling the discomfort from his first kill. He wanted to say something but then decided against it.

Then, without another word, he continued walking deeper down Fire Phoenix Avenue.

Dundar stood there, staring blankly at the flesh avatar.

After half a stick of incense, Zimor and Besse silently appeared beside Dundar.

The still-graceful Besse looked at the limp flesh avatar on the ground and sighed, “Wasting a flesh avatar just to test him, was it worth it?”

A flesh avatar is different from a rigid, lifeless magical puppet.

It’s a puppet avatar that the creator can control 100%. In essence, the puppet is an independent being. It has flesh and blood, a soul, and can even cultivate.

It’s similar to a divine projection.

A divine projection is a physical manifestation created by a god, using a part of their blood and soul.

It’s called an avatar, but in reality, it’s more like an extension of the god’s main body. Whatever glory or harm befalls it, so too will the main body either prosper or suffer.

The flesh avatar follows this same principle, using special magic to split a portion of the creator’s flesh and soul to cultivate into an independent entity.

However, unlike a divine projection, which is created swiftly, a mage without divine power can take decades to cultivate a flesh avatar.

The resources and manpower poured into it aside, the creator must also frequently possess the flesh avatar to continue its cultivation from the ground up.

This is also one of many archmages’ means to prolong life, as they say, ‘The wary rabbit has three warrens.’

This shows just how important a flesh avatar is.

“He wasn’t wrong; every action has a cost! How could we willingly hand over such a vast empire without testing his bottom line?” Dundar said somberly.

Yes, it was he who controlled the assassination.

And it was his spontaneous decision; since there wasn’t enough time to arrange anything else, he had to use a highly precious flesh avatar.

He was satisfied with the test results.

Yu Sheng’an’s reaction showed that he greatly valued the Empire. Otherwise, he would have used the situation to extort more benefits!

Of course, even if that weren’t the case, it shows that he is a calm and rational god.

Mages like those who are calm and rational and loathe those who are chaotic or foolish!

Moreover, intelligence gathered from various countries indicates that the Kewell Empire is indeed the first station where Internet Divine Magic has spread.

This suggests that the Kewell Empire’s cultural environment is very suitable for the spread of Internet Divine Magic, or rather, it is favored by the Internet God.

As such, the Internet God will likely not give up on this place easily! All of this will be bargaining chips for the Kewell Empire in the negotiations.

“So, you’ve made up your mind?” Zimor asked.

“I have decided! The future he spoke of… is too enticing.”

“What if it’s a scam?” Besse asked hesitantly.

“Even if it’s not a scam, we don’t have the strength to stop it, unless we allow the Five Prime Gods to establish churches within the Empire.” Dundar replied.

Zimor and Besse fell silent at these words.

In the end, it’s still a matter of choosing the lesser of two evils!

Seeing their reactions, Dundar comforted, “Don’t worry too much. Based on tonight’s test, he seems to value the Empire greatly, so the likelihood of him accepting a contract is high. As long as we sign a contract, the Kewell Empire will remain a nation of magic!”