"Valeria, it's too dangerous. Just stay here." Since Rocky knew that this task would be far too
dangerous than the previous ones, he didn't want Valeria to take the risk.
"Ha! You're trying to get rid of me again? No way! I will go with you this time, and that's final!" When
Rocky went to the territory of the human race alone, Valeria felt a deep sense of emptiness in her
heart. She clearly knew that it was because she didn't want to be apart from her husband. Hence, even
though Rocky wanted her to stay behind again, she would definitely not agree this time.
Hearing her firm response, Rocky could just shake his head and smile bitterly. It was not his intention,
but it seemed that he accidentally made Valeria really fall in love with him.
"All right. If you really insist on coming, then go with us," Rocky finally agreed, which actually surprised
Valeria.
"Really? You're serious?" Valeria thought that it would take more than that to convince Rocky, so she
did not expect that he would agree to let her come that easily.
"Yes, of course. After all, you are the Godly Genius of the Flower Fief. It means that you are also
qualified to compete to become the successor of the king. I think that it will be unfair of me to remove
that opportunity for you. So, yes, come with me and give it a try." The main reason why Rocky suddenly
changed his mind was that he had once promised Valeria to make the Flower Fief benefit a lot in
exchange for her agreeing to his plans. So, now that a rare opportunity presented itself, he thought that
it might be a way to fulfill his promise to her.
"What? Me, a successor? Don't joke around. I have no intention of taking that role..." Valeria
immediately dismissed the idea, a bit frightened of even thinking about it. After all, being a leader of a
fief was nothing compared to being a leader of the entire Shura Race. She thought that she would
never be capable of taking on such a huge responsibility.
"Ha-ha! Why are you being too serious and gloomy? I was just kidding. Even though we may not
become the successor, it will still be very advantageous for us to pass the challenges in the Ghostly
Demon Land. There is a huge chance that we are going to be promoted to become royal members. If
that happens, it will be beneficial for the Flower Fief. Don't you think?" Rocky elaborated what he was
really thinking.
"We can become royal members?" Valeria was a bit stunned as she repeated what Rocky said.
"Yes, Odin is right. Once you pass the training inside the Ghostly Demon Land and help Princess Layla
become the successor, then you are definitely going to be promoted and become royal members. It
also means that the Ghost Fief and Flower Fief will receive generous benefits!" Gilbert affirmed.
"I see. But I am not really after those things right now. I just want to—" "That's it, sir. Both I and Valeria
will go."
Before Valeria could finish her sentence, Rocky already butted in. He knew that Valeria was kind of
emotional right now, so he tried to redirect the conversation as soon as possible.
"Okay then. I will draw up a list of other warriors that will accompany you and hand it over to Princess
Layla later on. She will make the final call on who will go with her in the Ghostly Demon Land."
Then, Gilbert turned to Valeria and said, "Valeria, you can go back first. I just have something to
discuss with Odin in private."
Without any objection, Valeria just nodded and eventually left.
As soon as Valeria was gone, Gilbert asked Rocky with a serious expression, "Odin, let me be blunt.
Has your friend's army already retreated from the Shura Race?"
"Yes. He has already achieved his goal. Prince Zain has withdrawn his army and the human army was
able to recuperate. It's just what he wanted. By the way, he wanted me to thank you on his behalf,"
Rocky replied very naturally.
"During the meeting, it was revealed to us that this friend of yours is from an alien world. Is that right?"
Gilbert asked, trying to confirm if the information was accurate.
"Yes, he came from an alien world." Rocky surmised that the royal family must have already found out
a lot about his identity as Basil, so he had no reason to hide this fact from Gilbert.
"Then, how did you come to know each other? I am very curious about that." Gilbert continued to
probe, just wanting to clear out these vague details.
"He saved my life before. So, I can say that to some degree, he's like my savior." Rocky made up a
fabricated backstory and continued, "Before I met my master, I stumbled in the border of the human
race and was attacked by humans. I actually almost died, but fortunately, Basil saved my life. In order
for me to survive, he also gave me some treasures and even a method to cultivate my spiritual power.
It was thanks to him that I am still here today."
"I see. Do you know the extent of his strength?" Gilbert asked. It seemed that he was really very
interested in Basil
"I'm afraid I don't know either," Rocky responded, shaking his head.
"Well, your friend has been giving the royal family a lot of headaches. But it was all thanks to him that
Prince Zain failed on invading the human race. Otherwise, the king would have already chosen him as
the successor, and Princess Layla would not even have the chance to compete." Although Gilbert was
also a member of the royal family, it was just natural that he prioritized his own interests. He chose to
support Princess Layla, knowing that her leadership would be the best for the Ghost Fief. After all, if
Zain became the king of the Shura Race, it was most likely that he would declare a dictatorial
leadership, making the nine fiefs mere puppets.
In fact, even before, Rocky had already seen through Gilbert's mind, so he knew that his plan would
turn exactly in the direction that he expected.
However, getting the chance to enter the Ghostly Demon Land was something that he did not expect.
He was still confused as to why the king suddenly made this decision, and he speculated that
something bigger was brewing in their midst.
Before long, Rocky was able to confirm his hunch.
A day later, while Rocky was cultivating beside the lake, a golden light suddenly descended from the
sky and enveloped him. The next moment, he disappeared from the area without a trace.
Then, when he opened his eyes, he found himself in Mikayla's blossom garden. However, she was
nowhere to be found.
"Madam? I know that you summoned me here. What can I do for you?" Rocky asked while looking
around. He was not sure if Mikayla could hear him from where she was.
Then, out of nowhere, Mikayla's sweet voice echoed, "I just received the news about a sudden
announcement from the king. He allowed Godly Geniuses to enter the Ghostly Demon Land?"
"Yes, that is correct. Is this not a secret arrangement of yours?" Rocky asked. He actually assumed that
the deities were behind this because only superior beings could have influenced the king to do such a
drastic change.
"No, of course not!" Mikayla immediately answered.
"Really? So, this was just the king's own decision? He would go so far as to choose the best candidate
to inherit the throne?" Rocky asked, rather surprised at Mikayla's unexpected response.
"I am actually worried about the same thing. I do not see the king doing this on his own. I can only
assume that someone must be behind this..." Mikayla said as hints of anxiety could be heard from her
voice.
"Who is it then?" Of course, Rocky was certain that they were not dealing with an ordinary person.
"I believe you are going to the Ghostly Demon Land, right?" Mikayla asked, her tone suddenly
becoming serious.
"Yes, I am."
"I have another task for you this time, and the result may affect the safety of the Holy-Evil World.
Therefore, I'm afraid that failure is not an option," Mikayla sternly warned.
"Go ahead. I am listening."
"I'm sure you've already heard that the Ghostly Demon Land is no ordinary place. It was where the
ancestors of the Shura Race sealed the ghostly demons, as well as their leader. Phillip's soul was
sealed in the Demon Sealing Palace inside the Ghostly Demon Land. In fact, the ancestors of the
Shura Race only knew that Phillip was the master of the ghostly demons. However, the truth is that he
was actually a famous great demon who existed in the Holy-Evil World. Before he was sealed by the
members of the Shura Race, he first fought the deities, and he was seriously injured in that battle. After
that, he fled to the Shura Continent, together with his cohorts, creating chaos throughout the continent
and turning it into a living hell. Since the creatures of the Holy-Evil World could not just directly
interfere, we had to find a powerful race that could fight against Phillip. Hence, the Holy-Evil World
chose the ancestors of the Shura Race and taught them numerous powerful secret techniques to
defeat the great demon. It was also the reason why the Shura Race suddenly rose to power and
became a superior race. With our help, the ancestors of the Shura Race lived up to the expectations
and finally sealed Phillip's soul, as well as the ghostly demons. Afterward, peace eventually returned to
the continent..." Mikayla revealed, recounting the unknown ancient history of the Shura Continent.
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