Lord of Cinder in American Comics

"Thank me for what?"

"Thank you for letting Uncle Ross know about his child, thank you for letting me see Dr. Whitman's true colors, thank you for protecting Samantha..."

Laura blurted out everything in one breath, then stared at the greedy man, trying to get the answer she wanted from him.

But the greedy one laughed and retorted, "You're actually thanking a demon? Are you a demon worshipper?"

Laura stubbornly shook her head, disagreeing with the greedy man's assessment of her.

"You helped us, and whether you are a demon or not, you deserve our gratitude..."

Although in the game, the greedy can only observe Lara's stubbornness from an outsider's perspective, when they actually encounter her, this stubbornness can be a real headache.

So the greedy one simply put on the mark of the greedy one. The treasure chest head was put back on, and the limbs and torso were transformed into the shape of a demon.

Wielding his long, scarlet tongue, the Greedy One lowered his body, pointing his sharp teeth at Laura, and said, "Is that so? Is this something to be thanked for?"

Samantha was almost in tears, closing her eyes and not daring to look at the greedy man's current appearance, while Laura remained as stubborn as ever.

That stubbornness was truly impossible for the greedy man to overcome; he couldn't possibly lay a hand on a woman.

So he reverted to his previous human form, lying back on the recliner with an indifferent expression.

"Sir, I'd like to ask..."

Before Laura could speak, the greedy man made a shushing gesture, indicating that he didn't want to listen.

The Greedy One knew that she must have come to ask about Samantha, since the Greedy One had previously mentioned Samantha's identity and her connection to Himiko of Yamatai.

The reason for bringing Samantha to see the Greedy One this time was naturally to inquire about the specifics.

But a greedy person wouldn't prey on two innocent young girls, would they? It doesn't matter if they screw over S.H.I.E.L.D., since S.H.I.E.L.D. has money anyway.

What use are Laura and Samantha now?

Seeing that the greedy man seemed unwilling to pay attention to her, Laura and Samantha prepared to leave.

Suddenly, the greedy man stopped them and said, "If you're willing to sign an agreement, I can tell you everything about her and guarantee your safety..."

Upon hearing the words of the greedy man, Laura immediately stopped in her tracks, while Samantha, still with her eyes closed, tried to drag Laura away.

Instead of agreeing to the greedy man's request, Laura started a deal with him.

"You must ensure the safety of everyone on board! And make sure everyone can leave safely..."

Laura is the eleventh Countess of the Crawford family. Although she has just graduated, her father has already trained her in negotiation and transaction skills. This is a basic aristocratic course, not to mention that she is the only heir.

The greedy man began a long negotiation with Lara, during which Samantha, seeing her friend struggling to negotiate, blindly joined in and offered Lara advice.

Finally, a brand-new agreement was produced, detailing the requirements that both parties needed to meet.

The Greedy Ones demand that Lara explore two ancient tombs for him after her expedition to Yamatai and deliver specific items from them to him.

Lara demands that the Greedy Ones protect everyone on the ship and ensure their safe departure from Yamatai, and that the Greedy Ones also provide assistance for the next two expeditions.

Lara's demands were not entirely within the greedy man's purview. In the end, it was only after the greedy man imposed a series of restrictions on the exploration that Lara reluctantly agreed.

The greedy man changed his mind and chose to cooperate with Lara, simply because the golden apple stored in his backpack inexplicably started moving.

The golden apple pointed in the direction the ship was heading—Yamatai.

This attraction is clearly based on similarity; only things of the same kind can attract the golden apple.

Himiko's ability to gather a large number of believers while posing as a woman and descending in a divine manner perfectly aligns with the Golden Apple's ability to create illusions and control minds.

Himiko's frequent body changes are consistent with the condition that using the Golden Apple requires paying a price with one's life.

If Himiko had a golden apple, then do the other two tombs in Lara Croft's trilogy also have golden apples?

Simply looking at the second part, the prophet Jacob wanted his men to live forever, so he used the power of the Divine Source on his troops. Unexpectedly, they were turned into an undead army by the backlash of the Divine Source.

This aligns with the fact that the Golden Apple consumes life points, yet possesses the incredible ability to restore them. This bug-like effect perfectly matches the Golden Apple's properties.

Lara, with her tendency to cause chaos wherever she goes, is the best candidate to retrieve the two golden apples and destroy the tomb.

After watching Laura sign her name, the Greedy One slowly began to recount the past of Yamatai.

"Himiko can use rituals to rebirth her soul into another body, and Samantha is not only her descendant, but also the best body for her rebirth..."

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Author's Remarks

I watched Spy Playhouse today, Anya is so cute!!! So I forgot to watch it, there are only two chapters left.

2022-05-15 21:58

Chapter 240: The Old Demon King!

On the Resilience, after making his deal with Laura, the Greedy One did not interact with anyone else.

The people on the ship also avoided the greedy man, afraid of offending him and getting themselves into trouble.

The ship arrived near Yamatai the following afternoon. After eating the dinner prepared by Jonah, the Greedy One remained in the stolen cabin until Laura knocked on his door.

When Lara opened the hatch, she found that the arrangement and layout of the items inside were completely different from before, with various skeletons and smoked stones used as decorations throughout the cabin.

Without time to think, Laura hurriedly said, "The weather outside has completely changed. Do you have any good ideas?"

Seeking help from the greedy at this moment is the result of discussions among everyone.

Yesterday, a demon inexplicably appeared on the ship and took control of the entire vessel. This demon also wants to go to the same place with them.

If it weren't for the threat of demons, no one would want to go to that damned Yamatai, except for Lara.

Based on the years of experience of sailors and captains, the unusual celestial phenomena at this moment were clearly the work of Himiko, the Queen of Yamatai, who was about to arrive.

The increasingly bizarre storm posed a danger to the ship, putting it at risk of capsizing. For everyone's safety, it was decided to have Lara ask the outsider, the Greedy One, to fight the Yamatai natives.

However, the greedy one continued to toy with the skull in his hand, saying without even looking up, "Have Samantha stand at the bow of the ship. If Himiko sees Samantha, she will ensure the ship reaches Yamatai safely..."

After the solution was provided, the greedy man said nothing more, and made no response to Laura's anxious gaze.

Seeing that she couldn't get any more help from the greedy man, Laura stamped her foot and left.

However, once outside the cabin, Lara was no longer as anxious as before. When she returned to the captain's cabin, almost everyone was there waiting for her.

Jonah and Captain Conrad Ross, armed and ready to defend themselves against any potential dangers.

Taking the walkie-talkie from her waist and placing it on the table, Laura shook her head and said, "You all heard it too, he won't make a move at all..."

"It's not that I won't take action, it's that if I do it here, Himiko will sense the danger and run away. Only when I set foot on that island can I take control of the entire island..."

Upon hearing the voice of the greedy one, everyone cautiously looked around the entire cabin like rabbits, only to discover at the end that it was the walkie-talkie Lara had placed on the table that was making the sound.

Mechanic Jocelyn took out another walkie-talkie that everyone was using to eavesdrop on the Greedy Ones' conversation, and carefully turned the tuning knob to change the channel to another random channel.

However, this tactic was completely ineffective against the greedy man. All that could be heard from the walkie-talkie in Jocelyn's hand was the greedy man's emotionless voice: "It's no use. I've already told you, this ship is under my control. Your little tricks are just a trivial matter to me."

After she finished speaking, the walkie-talkie in Jocelyn's hand fell silent again, with only the static of electricity ringing out along with the storm outside.

Archaeologist Whitman, hiding in a corner, uttered a voice that everyone found utterly distasteful: "Let's just hand Samantha over..."

Captain Conrad Ross held this kind of person in utter contempt and threatened Whitman, saying, "Shut up! Whitman, do you know how many people fall into the sea from ships every year during voyages!"

The ship pitched harder and harder in the storm, leaping out of the water on a wave and then crashing back down.

This small vessel simply couldn't withstand sailing through a storm more than a few times.

In the end, Samantha took the initiative and, following the instructions of the greedy one, stood at the bow of the ship.

Braving the storm, Samantha, accompanied by Laura, and the two of them used a safety rope to connect to Jonah's massive body, and the three of them walked step by step to the bow of the ship.

Just as Samantha was blinded by the storm, the storm indeed gradually subsided, just as the greedy man had said.

Conrad Ross steered the boat slowly forward, and miraculously, whenever he deviated from the course, a side storm would blow the boat back to the designated spot.

Finally, under the storm controlled by Himiko, everyone safely arrived at Yamatai.

After passing through the storm, the environment around Yamatai was very clear. The devastating storm would only appear when people tried to approach or leave.

The group went up to the deck and met up with Laura Samantha.

Only then did everyone realize that this was a shipwreck beach. All sorts of shipwrecks and warships were piled up on top of each other.

Conrad carefully maneuvered the boat and moored it next to a World War II-era Fusō-class battleship.

The Resilient was situated between a beach and a battleship, with a calm stretch of water in between where it could anchor and rest.

Conrad looked at the battleships on one side and felt even more distressed about the situation. As a former soldier, he knew how difficult it was to trap an entire fleet on an island.

After finishing his last puff of cigarette, Conrad said to the others on the ship, "We'll stay on this ship and wait until that demon starts fighting the natives, then we'll leave..."

Only one person objected to Captain Conrad's orders: Dr. Whitman, the archaeologist.

Upon hearing this, Whitman jumped up and down, confronting Conrad, saying, "Are you creating opportunities for that little bitch Laura?! This is Yamatai, the history of the legendary Queen Himiko, and you can't stop me from uncovering its history!"

Upon hearing Whitman's words, Conrad grabbed Whitman by the collar, lifted him up, and roared at him, "Fuck, if you want to die, go outside yourself, don't bring the rest of the ship down with you!"

Whitman was stunned by the roar, but as soon as Conrad released him, he scrambled to his feet and ran toward the hatch.

As he ran, Whitman shouted, "Don't think I don't know, Laura made a deal with that devil, he's going to protect everyone on the ship! You can't stop me!"

Whitman's words echoed in everyone's hearts: Lara had made a deal with the devil to secure protection for them. Everyone pretended not to know, to avoid putting more pressure on Lara.

Whitman's outburst brought these issues to the forefront for everyone to see.

Laura looked at the people in the cabin, and everyone turned their heads away to avoid eye contact with her.

"Okay, I'm not a little girl anymore. I know what I've done..."

Laura's feigned strength prompted Jonah to step forward and embrace her.

After a brief exchange, Captain Conrad reassigned tasks, taking inventory of the ship's supplies and preparing to leave the island at any time.

Just as everyone was proceeding in an orderly manner, the lookout came to report that Dr. Whitman had set off alone toward the island.

No one said anything about Dr. Whitman's departure; ever since his terrible temperament was exposed, no one on the ship liked this selfish and indifferent fellow.

Just as the crew of the Endurance were preparing to leave, the Greedy One arrived at another location on the island.

Geothermal caves, located underground and riddled with mines, are a good place to hide.

Following his memories and gathering the treasures looted by the Brotherhood of the Sun, the Greedy One released an old friend from the underworld.

At the intersection of the largest tunnels, a demon emanating lava appeared before the greedy one.