Simulate the universe, starting with speedrunning Greek.

Lai Jin was taken aback and immediately became alert, visibly tense, as if worried that Ye Hui might suddenly make a move.

If it were just about being Harutmar's son, that wouldn't be a big deal.

But since the other party knows that he is Harutmar's son, he must also know that Harutmar has three sons, the 'eldest son' of whom is the infamous evil dragon Fafnir.

In mythology, the dwarf Harutmar and his sons used a magic potion to drug and imprison the gods Odin, Loki, and Frey, and then forced Loki to find enough gold to fill a water chestnut as ransom.

That water-covered cloth was enchanted; no matter how much gold was placed on it, it would keep growing larger.

Even with all the Rhine gold rings that could continuously gather and split gold placed on top, it still couldn't fill the gap. Finally, the ever-changing helmet was placed on top to plug the last gap.

This seemed to represent wealth symbolizing endless greed, richer than any kingdom in the world, and boasted gold and silver jewels that rivaled the wealth of the entire world.

However, much of this wealth was obtained through Loki's deception and originally belonged to the dwarf Mime, who possessed the most powerful dark magic. As a result, Mime placed a curse on the gold, which would cause anyone who obtained it to become greedy and lose themselves... eventually turning into a dragon guarding the treasure!

After Harutmar obtained the treasure, he was killed by his sons because he refused to share it with them. However, his eldest son, Fafnir, who possessed immense strength, took possession of the treasure and drove Ragin out of their home.

Leijin, who was exiled in the human world, had always harbored resentment about this and wanted to go back to take revenge and reclaim his share of the gold.

However, his power was limited, and he could not defeat Fafnir. The warriors who were tricked into fighting Fafnir were all killed in the end, and this process further spurred Fafnir to transform into a terrible dragon.

Originally feeling hopeless about revenge, Leijin would eventually see the powerful demigod blood flowing through Siegfried's veins and place his hopes for the great dragon-slaying mission on him, thus nurturing him.

Now, having just witnessed the terrifying power of the Night, he has developed expectations for this legendary hero who drew the Holy Sword, a demigod who also seems to have divine blood flowing through his veins and is beginning to awaken.

He wanted to go out at night to slay the evil dragon Fafnir! For this, he even took the lead in offering his loyalty to it without hesitation.

If it were a demigod who had awakened their bloodline, combined with that sword in the tree—maybe—it would work!

But before Lei Jin could find an opportunity to tell his story, Ye acted as if he recognized him, which made Lei Jin think more about it.

The other party knows him?! Could it be that they've been keeping an eye on him for a while?

Should he still choose this man to slay the evil dragon?

……

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Sigmund, who should have been the most shining hero of this era, had actually been away from the Gothic kingdom's capital for a long time.

After all, the time when Ye fired that arrow and the time when Sigmund escaped were not on the same timeline at all.

Before they encountered the soldiers at night...

Sigmund had already arrived in King Sonis's territory. Relying on the mysterious connection of his family bloodline, he did not find Night (of course, Night had no Odin bloodline, and different bloodlines could not resonate), but he did find Sigmund.

When he found Sigourney and recognized her, Sigourney was shocked to see Sigmund covered in blood and grime. She then went with him to find out what had happened, leaving Perthward alone.

It was as if fate had quietly turned...

At this moment, Woland suddenly sent someone to inform Princess Perthward that the forging of the Holy Sword had encountered some difficulties and that he needed to meet with the princess to seek her help.

Perthward, who originally did not intend to have any contact with Woland because of Night's previous words, was anxious and worried about Night's weapon when she heard that the Holy Sword was in trouble. She immediately set off for the place.

After all, Voland's feet are now pierced, and he can't move freely—he probably can't do much even if he's careful, but the Holy Sword absolutely cannot be damaged.

Without the Holy Sword, wouldn't Night lose his beloved weapon?

Chapter 172 Not only did the drugging attempt fail, but the Holy Sword also turned into a Demon Sword?!

Well, for Ye herself, this "beloved" is highly questionable.

However, the reputation of the Holy Sword is still very valuable in the eyes of others, so they naturally feel that the Night Society attaches great importance to this sword.

When Perthward arrived at the secret forge, he saw Woland constantly striking the holy sword.

Upon seeing the princess arrive, while working as a blacksmith and noticing that the princess seemed to have come in a hurry and was alone, Woland was immediately overjoyed, and a certain thought in his mind became increasingly twisted and uncontrollable.

Then, without changing his expression, he said, "Your Highness, you've finally arrived...!"

Persward stood a considerable distance from Wallander and asked warily, "What exactly is wrong with the Holy Sword?"

Woland: "The problem with the Holy Sword... well, more importantly—I'm a little thirsty. May I have a sip of water before I explain it to you in detail? Please rest assured, Your Highness, there were indeed some problems with the forging, but I have temporarily stabilized it. It won't make a difference if we wait a little longer."

Perthward nodded but did not reply, maintaining his distance.

Seeing that his enemy's daughter was so wary of him, Woland was a little annoyed, but he didn't lash out. Instead, he resolved to have some fun with this arrogant little girl later.

The forging of the holy sword is almost complete. At that time, he will be able to rely on the power of this sword to carry out his true revenge plan. Before that, he should collect some interest from this princess.

For example—…we could get the princess pregnant first, and then send King Sonos a precious grandson.

The thought of Perthward struggling and begging for mercy as he cried and screamed filled Wallander with excitement.

Crying, shouting, and screaming to vent violence will inevitably create the most stress-relieving music to release his anger.

The princess's first time was spent in this filthy forge, in this furnace-like room where she was drenched in sweat!

He also wanted to let the old man's daughter experience what it felt like to have her hands and feet bound by chains and heavy handcuffs, to let her experience the despair of being imprisoned.

Almost unable to hold back any longer, Woland, clinging to the last shred of his sanity, first poured himself a glass of water and drank it in front of the princess. Then he asked her, "Would you like a glass? I have some new, unused cups here. It's very hot here; if you don't mind, please have some water to quench your thirst."

Woland attempted to prove the tea's harmlessness by drinking a cup himself.

However, on the other side, upon hearing what Woland said, Perthward, who had only been inside for a few seconds and was already sweating and feeling hot from the scorching heat in the forge, was indeed a little thirsty.

But being wary, she still refused him...

"No... I'd rather not..."

However, just as Perthward refused, he suddenly felt drowsy, as if he were under some kind of magical influence, while at the same time, Woland had already approached from the other side.

Perthward was startled awake by the face that was getting closer.

At this moment, with an icy expression and eyes burning with endless desire, Woland held the teapot high above Perthward and poured the tea into his mouth.

"Just drink it when I tell you to!!"

Although his feet were unable to exert force due to the severed Achilles tendons, Woland's hands, which he relied on forging, were perfectly fine. In fact, because he often forged, his strength was enormous, and his power was far beyond what a little girl like Perthward could resist.

After restraining Perthward, a considerable amount of water was forcibly poured into the teapot.

Cough cough~!

"Let...let me go..." Perthward cried out in fear, tears welling in his eyes, as the tubes around his throat were being choked.

He was met with a vicious glare from Woland: "Let you go? Don't you remember that I was sleeping in my own country, in my own home, when your father tied me up, brought me here, took all my possessions and the jewelry I had painstakingly crafted, and even severed my Achilles tendons? Why didn't he let me go then?"

After saying that, Woland went into a frenzy.

...And just as he was losing his mind, a ray of light flashed across Perthward's body—she suddenly found an opportunity to kick his mutilated, nail-pierced feet with a powerful kick! Thud!

That terrifying blow had the power to kick through the air and create a hole in a steel plate.

Woland let out a scream and then stepped back.

Meanwhile, Perthward took the opportunity to run away, causing Wallander to completely miss the chance to catch his opponent.

He got away! That brat actually got away?!

Damn it—! Damn it! Damn it! Damn girl!

Woland broke out in a cold sweat, realizing that after this failure, if the princess returned... he would likely face execution.

They had to save themselves immediately! Voland's last hope was now fixed on the Holy Sword!

Fortunately—the holy sword is almost finished being forged; all that's left is to complete this final… step!

Woland forced himself to calm down and began to hastily speed up the final forging. In addition to customizing the new blade to fit Night's requirements in terms of length, width, and shape, only the final process of engraving the 'Runic Script' remained.

Even though it was his first time encountering such magical weapon enchanting, Woland handled it with ease. It must be said that as a man whose forging skills had reached the pinnacle and could rival those of gods, putting aside his twisted heart, he was indeed quite skilled.

Following the order mentioned by Ye, he began to inscribe runes with various attributes such as victory, penetration, and indestructibility onto the sword. The mysterious and ancient patterns made the longsword look even more beautiful, mysterious, and powerful.

Great, no rejection reaction!

Woland was overjoyed!

Everything was fine until Voland inscribed the last rune on the sword. Suddenly, the beautiful holy sword, which had been shimmering with golden and azure light like a clear lake, underwent a dramatic color reversal.

Originally, it was undoubtedly worthy of being called the holy sword among holy swords. Anyone who saw it would be captivated by its radiant appearance and regard it as the holy sword among holy swords. But now, the golden radiance and the reassuring azure blade have disappeared, turning into a pitch-black form. Then, an ominous dark red magic power rose from it, and the runes on the blade suddenly turned into a deep purple, as if an extremely terrifying change in nature had occurred in a short period of time!

"What... what's going on? I clearly inscribed the runes in the correct order!!" Woland exclaimed in shock, breaking out in a cold sweat. He was completely stunned by the horrifying scene before him.

Why did the radiance of the Holy Sword suddenly become so ominous and terrifying?

Chapter 173 A Panicked Perthward Seeks Night's Help to Clear the Waterways

...That sword, which seemed to be the reverse holy sword held by the black-haired man, could unleash the power of the lowly king's hammer at any moment, capable of swallowing all light, with a blade as black as a black hole.

"The Demon Sword"—!

Anyone who sees this sword at this moment will have a completely different impression from the previous holy sword.

And it was at that very moment, as the new Gram was forged, that the night knew…—'Finally finished? His new weapon!'

He had anticipated this night, and it could even be said that it was the result of his own guidance and arrangement.

The armory already contained far too many weapons with holy sword attributes, but he had never encountered a demonic sword before. It wasn't just a whim; there was also a part of the plan to trick the ill-intentioned Voland. When Night told Voland the runic text, he gave the last few characters to the clearly problematic runes.

That would have no effect on the night, but it was extremely dangerous for Woland, the blacksmith, who was facing the terrifying newly forged magic sword at close range.

Beginners can easily fall into depravity because they cannot control the power of darkness.

When it comes to demonic swords, the most famous ones in many worlds are none other than Apophis, Frostmourne, and the Seven Star Sword. If we don't consider only the sword shape, there are also various demonic swords with similar attributes, such as Dojigiri Yasutsuna and Muramasa.

They all share a common negative attribute: they affect the user's mind and cause a berserk effect.

While this would make the holder fearless of pain and greatly increase their power, the price of losing their mind is far too high.

If the user's will is not strong enough and their strength is too weak, they can easily be devoured by the demonic sword and become its puppet or slave.

No normal person would want to be a slave to a sword. Even though Woland clearly saw that something was wrong with the sword, he still couldn't help but reach out and grasp it.

Then--

*Pfft!* The sword hilt seemed to be welded to its body, then frantically absorbed its life force, before pausing slightly—and then a human-like feeling of disgust emanated from the sword.

Even though it was a sword without consciousness, it still found Voland's blood and energy too weak and spat it out. It even added some black stuff to it and poured it into Voland's body, which completely drove Voland's mind insane.

"Blood! Slaughter! I need the blood of the strong to give the 'Holy Sword' its final sharpening!!"

…………

It was hot; Perthward was burning up, but she was still managing to maintain a semblance of consciousness.

Like Woland, she also fell into a different kind of berserk state.