Chapter 812: From Foe to Friend
After handing the Domain Robe to Lin Li, Nefa gazed at Rogge who was in the process of recovery. He sat down, and said to Lin Li, “Having trapped here by Geresco for over a thousand years made me think that I will be enemies with all humans. I wouldn’t have thought that we would be comrades against my own kind. But, you impressed me with your performance for your age. If I am not wrong, I sensed the abyssal force earlier on. I know that that is used by the ancient deities.”
“What was the situation, then? I suppose for his powers, Geresco did not have to use any deception to seal you here. I heard that when you were defeated by Geresco, it was Tutankhamun who pleaded with him to spare your life,” Lin Li responded without continuing the topic about the abyssal force. He was only curious, and did not intend to expose Nefa’s emotional wounds. He knew that Nefa would not weave a weak lie in front of Rogge out of his ego. The same matter could be interpreted differently by different people from different angles. Hence, Lin Li only wanted to know more.
Of course, Lin Li’s question was extremely straightforward. It was no different from exposing Nefa’s scars. Nefa could only shake his head and smile bitterly. He glanced at Rogge, who was meditating, and said, “I suppose you heard that from Rogge? That’s right, I have to admit that I wasn’t a match for Geresco. I was really defeated then. But, it wouldn’t be easy for Geresco to kill me. After all, the situation then was different than the battle earlier. If I wanted to escape, no one would be able to stop me.
“At that time, I wasn’t aware that I was Geresco’s target. I thought he was a friend of my brother. When he saw me and my younger brother, we were having a fight. I thought that it was normal for him to interfere to help my brother fight me. Hence, after being defeated by Geresco, I did not think of escaping immediately. Geresco probably knew that he would have to go through more hassle if I were to escape. So, he requested to strike a deal with me.”
“And then you agreed to it?” Lin Li asked skeptically. He was really doubting Nefa’s intelligence. How could somebody in charge of the Laws of Evilness be so gullible?
“I had no choice; I couldn’t reject Geresco’s offer. Also, I did not expect him to be like my brother after he destroyed the Tree of Eternity. He, too, was against the idea of me becoming the new Dragon of Destruction,” Nefa said with a slight sense of indignation. He was still unable to accept how there could be such a powerful human—the species he deemed as vulnerable and weak. He was unable to accept his inability to reach the peak despite being the descendant of the Dragon of Destruction.
“What was the offer that hindered your ability to reason logically?” Lin Li inquired curiously.
“He said that there was a huge crack in the Night Canyon that needed a powerhouse in the Sanctuary-realm to suppress the violent energy. As long as I promised to help with that, he would tell me more information related to the Dragon of Destruction, especially the truth of the battle that happened between the Dragon of Destruction and Immortal King,” said Nefa as he glanced at Rogge unhappily. It was obvious that Rogge had used the same tactic to implicate him.
Nefa could only feel indignant that he fell for the same trick twice despite being the master of the Laws of Evilness. He couldn’t help but acknowledge that his weakness made him really prone to such exploitation. Although he knew that it was impossible, that didn’t stop him from trying it out just for his dream. Now that they had overcome the crisis, Nefa only hoped that Rogge’s knowledge would be beneficial to himself.
“I don’t get it. Does this really matter to you? Don’t you already know the key information about the Dragon of Destruction?” Lin Li asked curiously after hearing Nefa’s complaint. Was knowledge of the battle that had happened between the Dragon of Destruction and Immortal King really important for Nefa?
“Imagine if there is someone who forbids you from progressing into the Sanctuary-realm, and he even threatens that he will kill you if you do. Do you proceed with the advancement knowing that you wouldn’t be his match? Or would you want to clarify his reasons before doing anything?
“Before being tricked by Geresco to come to this place, I only wanted to know how to deal with my younger brother. I wanted to know Immortal King’s intention behind setting my brother against me. After wrestling with Geresco, I finally understood that becoming the Dragon of Destruction would not be as easy as what I previously imagined it to be.”
In fact, Nefa had already known how to become the new Dragon of Destruction very long ago. There was a high chance that Azardas’ remains guarded by his younger brother Tutankhamun would play a crucial role in helping himself become the Dragon of Destruction. But, as Nefa got the answer to this question, new questions arose.
According to what was already known, Immortal King killed the Dragon of Destruction as he wanted to destroy the Tree of Eternity. But, Nefa was not entirely convinced this was true. It would be more reasonable to say that Tutankhamun was employed by Immortal King to guard the remains of the Dragon of Destruction to protect the Tree of Eternity. Nefa just could not understand why Geresco, the man who destroyed the Tree of Eternity, would want to prevent the rise of the new Dragon of Destruction.
If Nefa could not solve this mystery, he would not dare to take the next step even if the remains of the Dragon of Destruction were laid before him. Hence, the battle that ended the life of the former Dragon of Destruction was of great importance to him. He felt that understanding the battle would help him know the true motives of the Immortal King. That would help him make a more informed decision on what to do next.
Although Lin Li did not really like Nefa, he could not help but feel sympathetic towards Nefa’s fate. His desire to become the Dragon of Destruction was met with resistance from Immortal King and Geresco, the two deity-like powerhouses of Anril. That was a kin to cutting off the possibility for Nefa to progress further. This might mean nothing to a normal man, but to somebody with great ambitions, it was definitely the greatest tragedy.
“I see, seems like that is really of great importance to you. It was no wonder that it got you fooled. But, haven’t you considered the date of Geresco’s birth and that of the fall of the Dragon of Destruction? Do you believe that he would know the details of the battle that had no other witness?” asked Lin Li. He was certain that Nefa would have thought of this issue. Nefa’s persistence got him curious.
“At the start, I definitely did not believe him. But, he did the same thing as old Rogge. He revealed minute information about that battle. Although it was not any crucial one, it was a proof of his knowledge,” said Nefa as he turned to look at Rogge. The thought of his desperate encounter with the Flame Dragon, Lothar, made him indignant again. “Old Rogge, you have been resting for such a long time. I guess your injuries are no big deal now. Do not forget that I was at the frontline with Lothar just now. It is time to reveal what you know about that battle.”
“I did not expect that you’d be on my side then. That wasn’t the Nefa I knew,” continued Rogge with his eyes closed. Although his tone was riddled with sarcasm, it did not seem like it was out of bad intention.
Frankly speaking, Rogge had been astonished when he had seen the huge dragon body before him. Although it was partly because of the deal between the both of them, Rogge felt that there had to be other reasons that had motivated Nefa’s decision.
They had been enemies for over 1,000 years, and Rogge was aware of the catastrophe Nefa brought for the Darkness Shrine while he was asleep. Yet, Rogge could not help but gain a refreshed perspective of Nefa after they fought the Flame Dragon, Lothar, alongside each other.
“Hmph, your life wouldn’t matter to me if not for the information you know about the battle,” said Nefa straightforwardly.
“I know that. But, I am still curious why you have so much trust in me. What if Geresco is my only source of knowledge?” Rogge asked sarcastically as he opened his eyes.
Rogge had overheard the conversation between Nefa and Lin Li. He had been extremely surprised when he heard what Nefa said about Geresco’s awareness of that battle. But, he could not recall he ever told Geresco that. In fact, he had not told anyone about it. How on earth would Geresco know about it, then?
“That would not be a problem. I can compare your story with Geresco’s. After all, while Geresco might have lied to me, I don’t see a reason why he would do that to you when both of you were the closest comrades!” Nefa replied casually. He remained unaffected by Rogge’s words. It seemed like he had considered the matter before.
“Alright then. About that, I hope to hear from you what Geresco had told you,” said Rogge. No matter how hard he tried, Rogge could not recall he’d ever told anyone about what had happened then. Yet, it had been so many years. Even if the memory of a Sanctuary powerhouse was supposed to very strong, it was impossible for one to remember everything that had happened over a thousand years ago.
Nefa would not have agreed to Rogge’s request if it had been in the past. His prior knowledge was the most effective resource he could use to assess if Rogge had lied to him. If he were to tell Rogge what he knew, Rogge could very well exploit this information and build lies on it. When that happened, he could only allow himself to be fooled.
The experience of battling alongside Rogge helped Nefa be more trusting towards Rogge. Although he would not want to admit that it was a relationship between comrades, he managed to let go of his worries after a short hesitation and reveal his knowledge to Rogge.