Storm of Gods

Chapter 97 Gratitude and Revenge
Li Xin walked briskly along the road to the Academy of Teachings. Simmons was still wiping the floor, cleaning up the bloodstains and everything. This was a small matter that his overseas friend could handle.

Finally, there's some solid information about the honor of chivalry. Glory is honor; it can only be obtained because it exists. For example, in this four-nation tournament, the audience's recognition, the desire of the four teams, and so on all determine the value of the honor. The final winner will receive the "honor." If someone in the same group is throwing the game, the honor itself will be greatly diminished. Simply put, the stronger the desire, the more "willpower" is gathered, the stronger it becomes.

It is said that this accumulation is crucial for improving divine relics, especially as you progress. However, Simmons is unsure of its exact effect. Moreover, sometimes even victory can lead to defeat. Each family has its own set of views on the path, all accumulated through long-term exploration.

Besides, Simmons' main purpose in coming here this time was to make a deal with Zhao Qing. The Zhao family offered two hundred of the latest Hextech Demon-Sealing Guns at a price that was almost free, asking the Holy Ze Church to put on a show to help Zhao Qing rise to power.

. . .

In the distant capital of Moncaleta, in the royal palace, King Aura was at his wits' end. His crown seemed heavier than usual. A group of scholars and academicians were as if possessed, discussing the core issue of productivity.

Productivity is just labor, what's there to analyze or say? Why not just let slaves do the work? Of course, he only thought this to himself and didn't say it aloud, otherwise these old men would have been arguing for a long time.

In academic discussions, there is no distinction of age or status. Vladimir, as the leader of the Naturalist school, is being fiercely criticized by several people. They are all red-faced and somewhat agitated, and no one can convince anyone else. They all want to summarize and add their own contribution to this great theory. This is an opportunity to be recorded in history. Precisely because of this, no one will back down. Any loopholes in the theory will be ruthlessly attacked.

However, everyone's theories were either too superficial or too verbose. Some even used tens of thousands of words to explain productivity, which was completely unworthy of Her Highness's words of truth.

"Your Majesty, we believe we still need Her Highness the Princess to answer our questions." Vladimir was so angry that his beard was askew. He was the most concise, but he couldn't convince the others, and the others couldn't convince him either.

Of course, he himself felt that there were some flaws, otherwise he would not need other people's approval, his divine relic would react, such powerful force could extend his life by at least several decades.

Aura was secretly pleased, but she didn't show it on her face. "You are all pillars of the kingdom. What does Estella know? She herself said that it wasn't her idea. She received guidance from a mentor in her dream."

“Your Majesty, this mentor in the dream must be an incarnation of the Earth Mother Goddess; this is a divine method of sending messages through dreams,” Vladimir said. “The princess is deeply favored by the gods; if she is willing to pray to them, they are very likely to respond.”

Everyone pleaded, wanting to hear a sharp, incisive summary, a cathartic and liberating experience, since they couldn't stand each other right now.

"I can let Estella give this a try, but I hope you all don't have too high hopes, after all, she is still young," King Aura said. Since they had already put it this way, it wouldn't be good to refuse.

What remained was a room full of praise for His Majesty's wisdom, which was far more sincere than the usual eulogies.

The distant, labyrinthine city of ten thousand caves.

In the garbage dump of the West District, Cantona the Bull was like a sick bull trapped in a jar. Several Black Knights lay on the ground. His injuries had not yet healed, and the recent attack had caused them to flare up again. He was spitting blood all over the ground and could barely stand, staring at the traitor in front of him.

The one leading the hunt for him was Aili, the vice-captain of the Wind and Fire Brigade and the successor that Cantona was grooming with all his might. At this time, Aili was no longer wearing the lowly clothes of the brigade, but was dressed in a magnificent baron's robe of the Black Meteor Empire. He was surrounded by a circle of black knights of the empire. He had become a nobleman of the empire, a person above others.

The only unresolved issue was that Cantona hadn't been caught yet, but now that Cantona had finally been caught, Ari felt a genuine sense of pride and satisfaction, and the corners of her mouth couldn't be suppressed as they turned up.

Looking around, Cantona stopped running, knowing there was no way out. He had only gone out to buy medicine, and in just over ten minutes he was surrounded. This meant that the other side had already determined his approximate location and laid a trap. As soon as he showed himself, he would be discovered immediately, and if he didn't show himself, his injuries would not heal.

"I judged that you wouldn't sit idly by and wait to be caught, and sure enough, I caught you. Are you going to obediently surrender, or do I have to do it myself?" Ai Li said excitedly.

The living are worth twice as much as the dead. Cantona has a relic of the god of the underworld, which is of very high quality. Such a person is not worthy of possessing it. Once he is sent to the Papacy and the divine relic is retrieved, he will be given a chance to be matched. Even if he cannot be matched, wealth and glory will be within his grasp.

The long escape left Cantona filthy and disheveled, with an unshaven beard and a tall stature that no longer exuded his former aura; it was clear he was barely maintaining his last shred of dignity.

“I always thought anyone could betray me, but I never imagined it would be you. I’ve treated you well.” Cantona’s voice was slightly hoarse. Aili snorted coldly, “Here we go again. Do you know what I hate most? Every time I see you, it’s like a reminder that you saved me, you taught me skills, I owe you a debt I can never repay. The Phantom Troupe sees me the same way. My thoughts have never mattered. Everyone thinks I’m nothing without you. Everything I’ve done over the years has been erased. Without me, there wouldn’t be the Wind and Fire Phantom Troupe today. All you talk about is this and that, and you’re the most arrogant. Your mere lie-detecting ability is utterly useless, yet you think you can control everything. The worst thing you could do was betray the Empire, betray the God of the Underworld. You brought this upon yourself.”

As Ai Li spoke, she became more and more agitated, her face flushed, as if years of pent-up frustration were finally pouring out. "The Wind and Fire Brigade's success today is all thanks to my organization, planning, intelligence gathering, and risking my life. It's what I deserve!"

Seeing the undisguised hatred, Cantona understood everything. Great kindness can turn into great enmity; it's just human nature.

"Then let's settle things once and for all," Cantona said calmly, maintaining his composed demeanor.

Ari grinned maliciously; he hated this kind of attitude the most. "You and Sir Franz Joseph fought to the death, so there's no need for you to bluff here. I'll take the credit!"

As he spoke, Ai Li's eyes turned pale, and he activated his Eye of Insight. Although he did not have any divine relics, his extraordinary talent still gave him the extraordinary Pale Eyes, and his future was limitless. How could he live a life of hiding and hiding in a band of thieves in the dark?

Under the pale gaze, Cantona's physical condition was fully revealed, and it was extremely serious. His psionic energy was disordered, and although he had thought he could recover 10%, it now seemed to be just a facade.

Aili's longsword flashed out like lightning, piercing Cantona's chest without the slightest hesitation. Blood splattered, and Aili's expression changed from surprise to ferocious excitement. Just then, a strange premonition appeared, as if a black blade had flashed by.

The excruciating pain and the appearance of a wound followed immediately. It was clearly Cantona who had been stabbed, but the wound appeared on his own body. Not only that, but it also seemed that his own psychic energy was in a state of collapse, while Cantona on the other side suddenly regained his momentum. Although he still looked a bit disheveled, he was brimming with powerful strength.

Everyone got one thing wrong: Cantona's ability wasn't lie detection at all. He used to be a member of the Cardinal Council of the Underworld Church, and he could judge whether someone was lying by observing details such as facial expressions, tone of voice, and heartbeat. Of course, this was a probabilistic event, not 100%. When he was with the Phantom Troupe, he would selectively use his ability in certain situations, since no one could stare at a pale eye all day. It would be even simpler at the Round Table. In fact, the word "deception" is somewhat ambiguous, and normal people there prefer to start with a half-truth.

His true ability is to displace damage, after all, the divine relic within him comes from the Church of the Underworld, one of the Seven Gods.

Its function is to transfer the harm he suffers to others, but at his current stage, this ability has many limitations.

Aery perfectly meets the trigger conditions.

Even with Alley's psychic abilities, he could only recover about 70-80% of his strength and maintain it for a few hours. That kind of power was enough to deal with these small fry in front of him.

Before long, the entire squad of Black Knights was wiped out by Cantona.

The injuries that even Cantona struggled to treat were transferred to Ari, who was now on the verge of death.

Cantona looked at Alley, whose eyes were filled with surprise, regret, anger, and resentment, yet who had already collapsed, and slowly walked over. "In this life, who hasn't encountered a few ingrates? You're not the first, so you're a bit unlucky."

The knife slashed across, the head rolled to one side, and until the very last moment, Ai Li's eyes remained wide open.

Cantona did not show much emotion. He raised his right thumb, index, and middle fingers and bent the other two fingers, placing them on his chest in the Hades' "three-finger salute," signifying "death is also a destination."

Not long after, Cantona changed into clean clothes, looted some lira, stuffed a heavy bag into his arms, and quickly left.

He knew that Ariel was eager for great achievements, and only by capturing the person who made the greatest contribution could he obtain the opportunity to match the divine relic. Cantona knew that Ariel would definitely not miss this opportunity.

(End of this chapter)