Man on the ark, forced to become king

She now understands her boss and future partner quite well. Putting everything else aside, this guy is absolutely a professional when it comes to underhanded tactics and inhumane behavior.

The fact that he could laugh so happily suggests the extent of Black Serpent's suffering. It's safe to say it was a double blow, both physically and mentally, and perhaps even worse.

"Actually, we didn't even exchange more than a few blows, I—"

"It was a destined death; he used the term 'destined death.'"

As the advertisement for the Ice and Snow Music Festival on TV came to an end, a large "Coming Soon" message flashed on the screen. Lani raised her eyelids and blurted out the answer first.

"Don't do that!"

It's not a pleasant feeling to have something someone else says first. Lin Lu let out a wail, tugged at Lani's cheek, and felt extremely annoyed.

"Can't you just let me say it myself? It's so painful!"

"Pfft~"

Theresa couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh out loud.

"Don't make trouble."

Lani slapped away the mischievous hand on her face, her small nose twitching slightly, just like a puppy sniffing out scents.

"I'll never forget that smell in my life, it was the black sword of Maricus, wasn't it?"

"Ah...where did you come from, little dog? You can even smell the prayer I used in my avatar?"

Slumped on the sofa, Lin Lu's face was full of helplessness, like a salted fish that had lost its dreams.

How can this be sensed?! This isn't scientific, nor is it magic!

"If you've ever killed yourself with that stuff, you'd become just as sensitive."

Rolling her eyes, Lani declared that no one understood the concept of destined death better than her.

At the border, in order to prepare for her grand plan and change her fate, she read through every piece of information she could find.

The blade, stained with death, pierced the body, and even half of the body could hardly withstand it.

Pure death extinguishes all life force almost instantly. If not for some special means, the death would not be limited to the physical body.

That feeling of despair in the face of death is unforgettable; no one who has truly experienced it will ever forget it.

As for why she was able to guess that Lin Lu was using Maricus's black sword...

As the only person the demigods feared, the shadow beast was incredibly intimidating; once seen, it was unforgettable. Moreover, she had secretly contacted it and gained a deeper understanding of it.

"A predetermined death."

Theresa only knew that that power was a means to kill the immortal god at its source, but her understanding of it was not profound.

But as a 'god' born noble,' suddenly facing a power that could completely kill Him, Black Serpent must have been quite frightened, given his cautious nature.

This is truly a double blow, both mentally and physically, and a very powerful one at that.

"Who makes the black sword more convenient to use?"

Lin Lu spread her hands, her expression strange.

The reason for using the black sword was that although there were many ways to completely erase the black snake's consciousness, the black sword was undoubtedly the most convenient and least likely to cause accidents. It was definitely not because he wanted to scare the old snake with his destined death.

"To be honest, the results this time were really beyond my expectations."

"It was just a random move. I never expected that the infected person I met in Chernobog who had a slight snake smell would actually be with the host that the Black Snake found."

"Oh, by the way, I can now announce that we have already accomplished one of our objectives in Ursus ahead of schedule."

"The prospective host that Black Serpent found is Talulah, the one we're looking for. Isn't that a coincidence?"

This was indeed something he hadn't expected, as if he and that black snake were destined to clash, yet they always seemed to run into each other.

All I can say is... he's just unlucky.

"This……"

Theresa was starting to lose her composure. Although she shouldn't say that from her current position... wasn't Black Serpent just too unlucky? How could this happen?

At that time, she found someone on the street through the passive effect of the Demon King's power. Lin Lu casually put a leaf on it, thinking that it might come in handy in the future. It was just a casual move, but it turned out to be a lucky accident.

Besides feeling unlucky, she didn't know what else to say.

"Are you sure it's Xiao Chen's sister?"

No matter how you look at it, it's too much of a coincidence. Theresa turned her head and glanced at the closed bedroom door. Chen should still be catching up on sleep, so there was no sound.

Ursus has a large land area and its cities are relatively scattered, with not very close to each other, let alone the fact that they started from the border.

The journey from Chernobog to St. Petersburg was arduous, a real ordeal for a young woman like her who hadn't traveled far from home much; she was the one in the worst mental state of everyone.

After booking her hotel for the music festival, she went straight to her bedroom and fell into a deep sleep, not waking up for several hours.

If Chen were awake now, she would probably jump for joy upon hearing the news about her sister, right?

After all, that child has never been good at hiding his thoughts; he's always been very straightforward.

"That's right, I've confirmed it. How should I put it... this world is both very big and very small. Who would have thought there would be such an unexpected gain?"

Lin Lu could pretty much guess how her silly apprentice would react upon hearing this news.

However, she's sleeping soundly right now, and if she wants to be happy, she'll have to wait until tonight. Maybe by then she won't even be in the mood to go to the music festival; her heart will be set on flying to the ice field.

"Talulah's situation was an unexpected bonus. That old snake wasn't of very high quality, but it had a good eye. Drak's bloodline has great potential, and if nurtured properly, its future is promising."

"But the biggest gain this time isn't her. Compared to the uncertain future, I value the present more. I found a Sarkaz warrior over there who is in the final stages of Oripathy infection. He's very strong, and you might even recognize him."

The future is the future, and there are too many variables.

Only those geniuses who grow up are true geniuses; those who perish halfway through are nothing. Similar things happen all the time on this land.

Admittedly, Golden Tree has recruited many promising talents, such as W at the beginning, Lappland and Texas later, and the recently joined Blaze.

Not counting Mostima and Fiameta, they are both powerful individuals with formidable strength, capable of traveling between countries on their own. Not to mention the fragments of gods like Nian and Xi.

However, it will take a long time for promising talents like W to grow to the point where they can stand on their own. Even with the support of the Golden Tree, it's not something that can be achieved in a day or two.

The Golden Tree is not an all-powerful babysitter; it can only provide them with a fairly reliable guarantee of life. When they can become mature and usable high-end combat forces still depends on their own efforts.

Compared to promising future geniuses, a mature combatant is undoubtedly more suitable for Golden Tree's current needs.

Bozokastie is that kind of person.

He possesses sufficient strength and rich combat experience. He only needs to use the power of the Life Furnace to regain his body to unleash considerable combat power.

Being able to kill three Ursus guards single-handedly would make him a formidable opponent in any country, enough to rise to a high-ranking position.

"A powerful Sarkaz warrior? I might know him? Indeed, I can vaguely sense a familiar aura; I must have seen him before."

Theresa nodded, her eyes showing a thoughtful expression.

Those Sarkaz who left a strong impression on her, who she felt familiar with just a hint of their presence, were mostly elite operators of Babel Tower, or powerful figures from the Sarkaz Royal Court, or old acquaintances from many years ago.

But how did those people end up in Ursus?

"Wait a minute, I've brought his soul back."

Lin Lu opened his palm, and a point of golden light shone from his palm, piecing together a blurry outline that gradually became clear. Then he nudged Lani next to him with his elbow.

"Do me a favor. His soul is a bit weak right now. Could you help me create a temporary doll?"

"trouble."

Lani was a little too lazy to move. It seemed that the princess had recently picked up some feline habits and was becoming increasingly lazy.

However, since it was Lin Lu's request, she still got moving and stopped slacking off.

Creating a doll that can temporarily house the soul of an ordinary person is not a particularly difficult technique, and it becomes even easier after acquiring the doll-making skills of this world.

Since it's just a temporary container, stability and structural strength can be appropriately reduced. It doesn't need combat capabilities; it just needs to be able to move.

Even the requirements for materials are not that high; even ordinary materials can have some defects compensated for with magic—provided that they are available.

Without any materials, even Lani couldn't create something out of thin air by hand; her authority rests on the stars and the dark moon, not on creations of the void.

Her eyes darted around, and she stood up. The princess walked around the living room, her gaze finally settling on the coffee table. She reached out and picked up the kettle that the hotel had placed in the suite.

The outer shell of this thing is made of metal, and there is a small Originium core inside, which is just right. If you want to summon other things, you will need to find a usable energy source to maintain the spell effects attached to it.

"Come on, breathe fire!"

Holding the kettle, Lani stretched out her hand and made a rather subtle statement.

"Where did you learn all this from? Stop following that homebody Xi's example. You'll only go astray if you keep going like this."

Lin Lu was heartbroken. The noble Princess of the Moon had gone astray!

What do you mean by "breathing fire"? I'm not a Pokémon!

"You're the one who's degenerate! Quick, breathe fire and melt this thing!"

Lani didn't take it seriously and continued to reach out.

"I'm not a flamethrower..."

An orange-red flame appeared quietly, but Lin Lu hesitated before moving closer.

"Are you sure this will work? It's just a kettle, won't it melt? Besides, it's hotel property, and we'll have to pay for it if we use so little..."

"Otherwise, you can find other ones."