Why can't humans do it too?

Yes, it's about scandals—after all, Xin Ke wouldn't personally handle something that could be solved with magic.

"Ah! Shinko... did someone else help you... take a bath too?" The one who spoke was a machine named Shubi. She looked exactly like a human child, and her words and actions had the feeling of a timid, frightened hamster. Not only was her voice weak, but she also spoke in several segments intermittently.

Simply put, it's very cute.

The content being said is a bit off.

"Also?" Shinko and Jibril asked in unison, turning their heads sharply.

"Hahaha, this child is still young, still young. She usually trusts Riku, so Riku usually helps her bathe. It's normal." Suddenly letting out a forced, dry laugh, Ke'er hugged Shubi next to her and kept rubbing her face with one hand.

Even though the settlement desperately needed a large population to grow, in order to ensure the safety of reproduction, Riku, on Sull's advice, still set an ironclad rule for the settlement that people under a certain age could not give birth, and Shubi's appearance at this moment was indeed quite young.

"Huh? Wait a minute?" After her body had instinctively done all this, Ke'er belatedly realized something. "Xin, Miss Xin, you also...?"

Even now, Xin Ke has not denied the question raised by Shubi, which makes Ke'er feel the muscles in her face gradually twitching.

"Just call me Xin Ke," Xin Ke said with a smile, showing no embarrassment at all, despite Ke'er's strange gaze. "That's right, it is indeed Su Er who helps me clean up my body."

"Eee ...

“No, that’s not true,” Xin Ke said calmly. “Su’er just takes care of my daily needs, so taking a bath or something is fine, right?”

"Mmm!" Shubi nodded quickly like a little animal, and whispered in agreement, "Taking a bath is so comfortable...so relaxing...being wiped down...they can clean the details...no need for the self-cleaning device..."

Although this machine-type creature spoke haltingly and incoherently, everyone present understood what she was saying in an instant.

"Don't agree with this kind of thing!!" Ke'er shouted angrily, reaching out to cover Shubi's mouth but being nimbly dodged.

"Ke'er... calm down..."

"How can I stay calm?! Ahhh! Nona! Nona?!"

Ke'er's shout turned into a panicked wail halfway through. When the eyes of several people turned to her, they saw the girl with blue-purple hair stare wide-eyed, her chin trembling as if she had been electrocuted, and her teeth chattering in a dense and crisp sound.

Clack clack clack clack.

"...So, Sister Xinke, you and Brother Suer have become that familiar?" After a long while, Nona finally caught her breath after Ke'er patted her back, and stared blankly at Xinke as she asked.

"Hmm? Familiar? It is indeed very familiar!" Xin Ke smiled and patted Nona's head before continuing, "From the skin to the muscles to every blood vessel, even the internal organs are crystal clear~"

"...How terrifying! What kind of description is this?!" Ke'er couldn't help but shudder and complain.

"Ah~, in short, it's even more than you imagine—"

Bang!

Clang!

Knowing perfectly well that Hinco's words were purely physical descriptions, the all-knowing Jibril, while suppressing a laugh, wanted to add fuel to the fire, but was interrupted by a loud noise coming from the cave where Sull and Riku were.

"Liku?! Sur?!"

She immediately stood up and shouted. Ke'er ran over and pulled open the wooden door, but was stunned by the scene inside the cave.

One leg of the wooden table broke off in the middle, and several chairs overturned on the ground. The contents of the table were scattered all around. However, what shocked her even more than the scattered debris were the two boys she regarded as her younger brothers.

Riku straddled Sul, who was lying face up on the ground, his raised fist still in place.

Chapter 232 Standoff

This was clearly not the first time he had raised his fist. One corner of Suer's mouth was red and slightly swollen, with traces of blood flowing from it.

bass--!!!

Completely exceeding the visual limits of Ke'er and Nona, they only heard a piercing sound that echoed in the narrow cave, causing them to ring in their ears. Overwhelmed by the pain that was about to become a tangible injury, they covered their ears tightly. When they finally came to their senses from the swaying dizziness, they found that the world seemed to have changed.

In just a moment, the pitch-black cave, which was barely illuminated by the orange glow of the mineral lamps, was now brightly lit by scattered bands of light, leaving no place for even the shadows in the corners to hide. Shubi, who was behind Koji, suddenly rushed to Riku's side, her mechanical wing outstretched, with elven sparks spreading out in a ring around it.

That was the attack Xin Ke unleashed in the blink of an eye. When the fragments of the emerald green light bullets landed on the ground, they even melted a layer of the hard rock. Layer upon layer of magical spells had already been unfurled around the forest elf with her pale golden hair. The abnormality in her eyes and ears was no longer concealed. These deadly spells spun around, ready to strike but never quite letting out a move.

The brown robe covering her body was torn in an instant, revealing Shubi's completely inhuman mechanical body. One of her arms had transformed into a silver-white blade, which was pressed against Suer's neck. This was the reason why Xin Ke stopped all her subsequent movements.

Acting simultaneously with Xin Ke, and even faster, Jibril ripped off the robe covering her body, her folded wings spreading wildly to the sides, and the halo above her head reappeared, spinning rapidly, with a bright white light gathering in her hands.

In less than a second, a standoff was formed, and it wasn't until several seconds later that the nerves and brains of the individuals belatedly realized what had happened.

"stop!"

"Stop it!!"

They shouted in unison to stop him. Suer tried to sit up but felt a sharp point on his neck and could only stare motionlessly at the top of the cave... and at Riku.

With Shubi's small body shielding him from view, Riku dared not make any sudden movements.

"Huh?! Hugh, Hugh? Sister Xinke?? Little Jeep?" Unlike Riku, who already knew the inside story, and Kole, who had already noticed the anomaly in the corners and had some expectations in her heart, Nona's brain was on the verge of shutting down when she saw the tense scene in front of her, which was obviously full of murderous intent and filled with the oppressive power of the elves.

The little girl with blue-purple hair couldn't understand the pressure brought about by the ethereal spirits standing so close to each other, but thankfully she wouldn't have to worry about it for long.

Just as Nona was trying to understand all of this, a green light struck her back, putting her to sleep. Her limp body was then magically lifted and moved to the stone bed on the other side, and the tense standoff continued.

"Ahhhhh! Everyone, calm down! Let's sit down and talk properly!" Ke'er was so anxious that she was stuttering as she poured out her words like beans from a bamboo tube. She waved her hands wildly in the air, trying to pull the other side back but was forced back by the bright lights.

"Oh my gosh~~~, finally a chance to make a move?" Completely ignoring Cole's words, Jibril's little face flushed slightly, and she smiled expectantly with a wicked grin. "A piece of scrap metal that has lost its connection and is acting alone, could today be my lucky day? The chance to get my hands on this ultimate head, which is even rarer than a Dragon Spirit head with a rarity of 5?"

The moment the machine named Shubi stepped into the cave, Jibril felt a burning desire to collect it burning within her, as if a kitten was scratching at her heart. If Sull hadn't poked her a few times with his eyes, Jibril felt she wouldn't have been able to stop drooling from her mouth.

Heaven knows how much pain she endured being in a room with such a precious head. To reduce the torment, Jibril could only force herself to lie flat and try her best not to let her eyes drift toward the direction of the machine gun. After all, given the current situation, this machine gun was still on her side.

Damn it... I have to be patient~

Fortunately, it seems we don't have to endure it anymore?

Jibril was eager to try.

"...First...you must not kill anyone..."

As if she hadn't heard Jibril's words, Shubi's eyes showed obvious signs of mechanical halos rotating. Her timid words were almost inaudible among the scattered voices of the elves if one didn't listen carefully. The voice of the machine race was trembling almost imperceptibly. Was it fear?

Do machines also experience fear?

Unable to know, the trembling words of the machine-like creature were still being muttered in a low voice.

"...Secondly...no one will die..."

It was as if it were her creed. Even though she didn't need to breathe, in Sul's eyes, the chest of this machine-type creature was rising and falling slightly, as if simulating a human deep breath. Her arm, which had transformed into a blade, gradually deformed and contracted after she finished speaking, until it returned to a normal palm covered by a material similar to human skin. However, the abnormality on her body could not be concealed no matter what.

The rapidly spinning halo above his head and chest gradually slowed down and dimmed, as if he had done something wrong, and the machine-type stood there blankly with his head down.

"...Put it away," Sull heard Schwie's words, unable to describe the emotions she felt at that moment. Was it anger? Or helplessness? Sull could only repeat herself to Hinco and Jibril.

a long time.

"...Tch," Jibril ultimately didn't press the attack, simply clicking her tongue in frustration. The gathered elves dispersed again, and Xinke also dispelled the dense array of magical spells.

Without the light of the elves, the cave was once again dimly lit. However, the strange phenomena on Nona, who had fainted to the side, and the non-human races meant that the atmosphere of their conversation could never return to the previous state of feigning ignorance.

"Thank you." To be honest, Jibril's cooperation made Suer feel a little relieved. The pink-haired winged creature seemed to be gradually coming out of the head-hunting frenzy. At least when they first met, Suer was quite sure that Jibril would basically hunt down the extremely rare head of Shubi at all costs.

After spending so much time together, he had gained an accurate understanding of the rating criteria for the Skywing species.

Chapter 233 Suer Cannot Agree

"Anyway, nothing's wrong here, don't worry," Su Er said calmly, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He turned his head and said, "Don't worry, it was just a little argument during a discussion. Can you give us some quiet space?"

“…Ah~, no problem, then I wish you a pleasant conversation in advance, okay?” Xin Ke nodded and said, her gaze sweeping over Su Er, Li Ku, and the furnishings inside the cave. As she spoke, the wooden door that had been torn off flew up and closed itself again, completely blocking out the sounds inside.

It's unclear how Shinko, Jibril, and Shubi, who have fully revealed their true forms, will communicate with Koro over there, or how Koro will try to mend the torn atmosphere in this situation. What Suer can't ignore at this moment are the two sentences that the machine race named Shubi murmured earlier.

Fortunately, we had lit several lamps to make the map clearer, so even after the table fell over and the things on it were overturned, there was still enough light in the cave, adding to the pervasive chill and silence that filled the cave.

Riku stood up from Suer's lower abdomen, swaying as he pulled up the overturned chair next to him and sat down, his arms resting above his knees, his fingers buried deep in his hair.

"...Has it already spread?" Finally breaking the silence, Suer lay sprawled on the ground, showing no intention of getting up, and simply muttered, "Your ridiculous rules?"

"...Is it ridiculous?" Riku chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Currently, only Shubi and I know about it. After all, the plan needs your opinion and the power of the Forest Spirits before it can be implemented...and maybe even the Skywings."

Yes, the words that Shubi just murmured were exactly what Suer had just heard from Riku. The new rules that this man claimed to be creating, new rules that could break the game between the divine species, but which Suer could not accept at all, along with the reason for the birth of these rules.

They even scoffed at it, regarding it as child's play.

"First, I cannot kill anyone... because if I kill someone, I will be killed, and I do not want to kill anyone."

In a low voice, Sull repeated the rules set by Riku without any emotion.

"Secondly, I will not let anyone die... because if I let people die, they will die, and I do not want anyone to die."

I really want to laugh.

"Third, you must not be seen through by anyone... because if you are seen through, you will die."

"Fourth, using any means does not count as cheating... because as long as it is not detected, it cannot be considered cheating."

"Fifth, their rules are irrelevant to us... because if we compete on the same stage, we are bound to fail, and our hearts will be rejected by those races that kill each other."

"And sixth, anyone who violates the above rules shall be deemed a loser... because incomplete rules are meaningless, and a victory achieved by violating the rules is worthless..."

He spoke faster and faster, repeating the rules set by Riku in rapid succession. These rules were not just something that flashed through his mind, but rather something that had been carefully considered and judged. It was precisely because of this that he found them even more unacceptable.

"Are you playing a game, Riku?" After a moment of silence, Sull asked softly, "You want to end the war, but you don't want any member of the entire race, including the gods, to die... What do you take this serious war for?"

"...It's a gamble where either we win the war or we perish, or we gain everything or lose everything...There are no draws or forfeits, it's just that kind of capriciousness that's more fantastical than fantasy itself," Riku answered, enunciating each word clearly.

“However, that is impossible,” Sur said without hesitation, standing up from the ground and gritting his teeth. “Victory without death and sacrifice is absolutely impossible.”

There has never been a revolution without bloodshed.

“...we just need to guide the battle from the sidelines,” Riku insisted.

"Even if it's just inducement, individual deaths will still occur amidst the shrinking power and mutual vigilance among different races, right? Or is it that as long as you don't kill them with your own hands or witness it, it doesn't count as violating the rules?"

However, such self-deception is clearly unacceptable, as it violates the second rule that Riku set for himself—a world where no one dies, where "no one" refers to any individual of any race.

"To take it a step further, according to your plan, we are 'ghosts' who lure the actions of various races from the sidelines. In order to avoid being detected as forest elves or winged elves, we cannot even use magic to disguise ourselves. We can only disturb the elves inside and outside our bodies by covering them with black ash or even swallowing it directly, so as to deceive and frighten those races with sensitive senses."

“Even if we can immediately use the decontamination fluid from Shubi or the magic of the Forest Spirits to dispel and heal the damage caused by the black ash, this is only based on the premise that everything goes smoothly and the time spent being infected by the black ash is not too long... How can we assume that every induction will be successfully completed in a very short time?” Suer further retorted.

The ability to consider the worst-case scenario is a quality that should be possessed when making plans.

"If too much time is spent, neither the stain remover nor the treatment will be able to save the body that has been excessively corroded by the black ash. In fact, the process is accelerated due to the differences in each person's constitution, and at that time it means death - the death of the 'ghost'."

[These physical injuries can be healed in an instant after obtaining the throne of the One God]—these words stuck in Riku's throat, unable to be uttered. He understood the meaning of Sur's words, which meant that in the worst-case scenario, there would definitely be "ghosts" who would die before the One God appeared.

Returning to the ocean of elves, they are indistinguishable from everything, beyond healing and resurrection.