Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

Don't let a fight break out in my City of Wanderings! Damn it, there are a lot of Andrei's Salvation Society members and demon lords on that entry list. Dad, at least do something! Damn, why are you going berserk too?!

As one of the instigators of all this, the three members of the Literature Club and the Demon Research Club began to panic. While they started beating up the three members of the Necromancer Figure Club, they were also communicating with each other.

"I'm delusional. I plan to write an 800-word epitaph. What literary form should I use to make it last for eternity?"

“Gentleman, as far as I know, you and your epitaph will be shattered into dust the moment Mr. Raymond makes his move, leaving nothing behind. Mr. Raymond will definitely kill us immediately.”

Just as everyone was praying for their fate, the motionless, deathly silence on the large screen in the center of the arena began to change slightly.

From the few remaining fleshy sacs of the demonic spinal wheels that had survived the explosion, amidst the blood, the remains of the young demon slid out. His body was relatively intact, with only a millstone-sized hole pierced through his waist and abdomen by bone spikes.

And so, this demon, who looked like a broken doll, opened his eyes and shakily got up from the ground.

On the soil of the hellish plane, a black, smoke-like substance climbed onto his body, filling and repairing the terrible wound. Soon after, the demon's body was completely healed.

That was the power of hell. As the children of hell, the demons finally managed to heal their injuries after enduring such an explosion.

There were only about a dozen young demons who stood up with him. They were all demons with relatively high power levels and closer ties to Hell. This allowed them to survive the explosion, instead of waiting to be reborn like the other demons.

The demon youth, now restored to his strength, surveyed his surroundings. The first footsteps became the starting point of their battle, and the revived demons began to fight each other.

"Ladies and gentlemen! The best of our demon race have survived the Plague Doctor's explosion. Look at them, the young generation who survived to the end. The winner of this competition will emerge from among them."

The rules of the Spine Wheel Race have been completely forgotten by the demons. What? The winner is the one who reaches the finish line? Then if I kill everyone else, won't I be the only one who reaches the finish line?!

In short, the demons got into a fight.

The battle in the Hellish plane has begun again, and the unrest in the City of Wanderings has escalated further.

What?! You demons are all fine, while our Plague Doctor Andrei self-destructed! How can you all be alright?! Go to hell and join him!

Just as the lich's collective will was about to be put into action, a heavenly voice of salvation appeared in everyone's ears.

That was the commentator for the Black Abyss Arena. After being beaten up, Mr. Bigby's voice was a little lisped due to his swollen cheeks.

"Look! Friends! What's that!"

The view on the screen was zoomed out, focusing on the edge of the demon battle, a hidden spot obscured by giant bone spikes.

The Hell Plane.

Lyle, hunched over, moved slowly and cautiously like a thief, heading towards the portal at the mountaintop. To conceal himself, Nia wrapped his entire body in a black camouflage that blended seamlessly with the hellish earth.

He was secretly raiding a house and heading towards the mountaintop alone.

"This is a speed race!" he thought to himself.

Damn Shining, manipulation, and opportunism. As the president of the Necromancer Figurine Company, Lyle certainly knew how the self-destruction spell of the Spinal Wheel was created. It was a topic he and Shining and the other two had been arguing about for a long time, about whether to leave the Spinal Wheel as a self-destruction function for summoned creatures.

Lyle initially refused; who wants their vehicle to suddenly explode? But Lyle eventually relented because the three of them strongly opposed the rule that spirit creations couldn't explode, as it violated tradition.

But Lyle was still wondering which unlucky soul would be the first to experience the Vengeance of the Dead spells.

It turned out to be him. Thinking about this, Lyle felt dizzy again.

Fortunately, those three guys had some conscience and equipped the giant spinal wheel with a mechanism to safely eject the driver.

This is why Lyle was unharmed. At the moment the spinal giant wheel self-destructed, the flesh encasing Lyle had already hardened and transferred matter, forming an escape pod that pulled Lyle onto a long, narrow bone spike. According to the original design, this spike would carry Lyle to safety a second before the first wave of impact from the explosion.

When the enemy is being pierced by the rain of bone spikes, who cares about the trajectory of a strange bone spike with a lump of flesh and blood at its end?

Lyle was shaken after the explosion and felt a little dizzy.

He originally thought he had won.

But who knew that the demons would be so monstrous, with limb reconstruction and super-fast regeneration? Isn't that the privilege of lich flesh and blood creations?

Demons are really monstrous, I'm outta here.

Lyle lowered his head a little further and, with Nia and the tentacle monster, quietly slipped away.

Chapter 397 Light of Hell

Lyle was unaware that his despicable and filthy demeanor was being displayed before all the residents of the Wandering City. Compared to the demon youth's waving fists and roaring, Lyle's thieving and humble posture was not pleasing at all.

Although the lich Andrei didn't care, after confirming Lyle's safety, the lich reverted to his carefree self and even carefully evaluated Lyle's actions.

"The plague doctor's actions were three parts caution, seven parts timidity, and ten parts humility. Look at him lifting his foot and touching the ground with his toes; that's a tentative test due to a lack of confidence, and there's also his concern as he looks back every few steps. That glance back was divine; it was as if the scene of Prometheus stealing the sacred fire was being replayed before my eyes!"

"The Plague Doctor is truly despicable; he is indeed worthy of being called a lich."

"Hehe, the plague doctor is still a bit too young. If it were me, I would definitely give those stupid demons a big gift while sneaking away."

"Despicable! Under heaven, who can be more despicable than you?"

"Hahaha, you flatter me. I think you're only slightly worse than me."

Words like "despicable" and "evil" are probably positive terms for liches, especially Lyle's actions, which gave Andrei and his group a sense of superiority as strategists behind the scenes.

Those foolish demons who only know how to fight, we liches will win in no time! Indeed, wisdom is more important than strength.

The demon, though somewhat displeased by Lyle's expression, didn't offer any further comment. Cunning was also a quality sought after by demons, even though the Black Abyss Demons prioritized power.

But they were anxious. Their own people were about to lose, and their base had been raided. How could they tolerate that? So the demons began to secretly curse and pray.

The demons' anxiety and the liches' ease became the best scenery for other races. Interestingly, not long ago, their roles were exactly reversed.

The three members of the Literature Club helped the three members of the Necromancer Figurine Club, who had been beaten to the ground, to their feet. The gentleman patted Shiny's shoulder, which he had stepped on countless times, and chuckled.

"You're such a naughty kid. You should have told us earlier that the doctor was alright. You made us worry all the time. Look at yourself, you actually fell like this. Don't be so careless in the future."

Shining didn't say much; as someone of his kind, he fully understood the hypocrite's true nature. Smiling and cheerful when things are fine, but deadly when things get tough. Such a awful personality—no wonder he's a colleague.

Thinking about it this way, it seems that only the head of the epidemic medical team is out of place.

The eight-person team reunited to watch the next part of the match.

"With the spinal wheel broken, the remote control is completely useless now."

"Yes, we can no longer lend a helping hand to the head of the epidemic prevention team. He has to rely on himself for the rest of the journey."

"Then let's wish him well."

"What blessings? Blessings for the doctor who is battling the epidemic, that everything goes well for him from now on?"

"I hope he doesn't make things too bad for us when he settles scores later."

Miracle and the reporter exchanged a glance, then shook their heads vigorously.

"What? What accounts? I never participated in any plan to harm the plague doctor, I wasn't even there, and I didn't play the game device. I knew nothing about it." Having had his fun, the next step was naturally to jump ship and run away, disclaiming all responsibility.

He smiled cryptically.

“The leader of the epidemic prevention team must have realized that the three of us have caused trouble. When the time comes, we will definitely expose you.”

"Make an exception! Don't go too far! We didn't know the Spinal Wheel would explode!"

He spread his hands and said, "Who knows if you don't know? As our comrades, and fellow sufferers of the epidemic, please help us out a little."

"How despicable, the Necromancer Figure Company."

"Not at all, not at all. Andrei's despicable name is known far and wide. And the two lawbreakers from the Magic Research Society shouldn't be modest either; they're both well-known figures in Andrei's circle."

On the surface, the three parties had reached an agreement, but privately they all planned to report the other two as soon as Lyle was released from prison. As for himself, he was just a despicable and helpless person, unable to stop it in time! Who are we? We are the Plague Doctor's best colleagues/friends/seniors!

Andrei's lich group got into an excited discussion, but Raymond just thought they were being noisy.

Lord Raymond Merlock, the Light of Andrei, is wholeheartedly concerned for Lyle's safety.

Lyle is despicable? Pshaw, you blind fool! That's the wisdom of the Holy Light! A paladin is not a fool who recklessly uses brute force. Although I often use brute force myself, who dares to call me a fool!

With the help of the hearing aid given to him by the dean, Raymond continued to listen to the ugly, short demon's explanation.

Raymond's hearing is excellent, but the dean insisted that he wear this hearing aid. It is said to be able to block the influence of the demons' corrupting demonic sounds on him. Although Raymond is not afraid of these things, he still equipped himself with this crown-like device under the dean's unreasonable and nonsensical insistence.

A headband radiating dazzling golden light, like an angel's headband, certainly looked quite appealing.

Hearing aids... This is the malice that the entire Andrei family has towards Raymond.

It is part of the plan of Raymondos, the fallen angel king of the abyss.

As mentioned before, thanks to the efforts of the literary society and Andrei, Raymond has a popular fallen angel persona among the demons, and even the Holy Light has begun to become popular among the demons, although it is almost impossible for these demons to learn the Holy Light.

The idol project continued even during the Wandering Contest.

That headband, ostensibly a hearing aid to block out demonic sounds, was actually a fantasy-distorting headband crafted by the illusionist Andrei. It processed the sounds emitted by demons, shaping everything Raymond heard into something that conformed to his own preconceived notions about demons and enemies of the Holy Light.

And now, a tiny error has occurred.

Bigby's commentary continues.

"Look! The Plague Doctor of Andre Academy, that despicable lich! While hiding from the demon race's infighting, he tries to steal the fruits of victory while the outstanding young demons are killing each other. How despicable!"

Through this twisting device, Raymond heard...

"Look! The Plague Doctor of Andre Academy, this wise paladin! He seems to be dodging the demons' battles, but while the evil low-level demons are slaughtering each other, he is preparing to launch a surprise attack and judge these evil creatures. How righteous!"

Raymond was stunned!

So that's how it is. The Pure One he favored wasn't actually trying to escape, but rather seeking an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow to the demons. Andrei only sought victory, while Lyle chose to punish the demons. He did this not for Andrei! But for the Holy Light! For justice! For his predecessor, Raymond, whom he so highly regarded!

Raymond was moved by his own actions.

He looked at the laughing lich beside him with disgust.

These guys, Lyle is fighting for you, and you're here mocking him for fighting alone. How shameful! In that dark and hopeless hellish plane, Lyle is the only one struggling! No! He's not alone!

Raymond suddenly stood up! He raised his right hand and pointed to the sky!

The power of holy light gathered in Raymond's hands, Raymond thought to himself.

The old stubborn dean wouldn't allow me to take action, but I had to do something.

Lyle the Pure One! May the Holy Light be with you!

A beam of holy light pierced the sky and disappeared into the distance.

No one reacted until an anomaly appeared on the screen, in the hellish dimension.

Can you imagine? In the dark and murky realm of Hell, a holy pillar of light pierced the dome, its radiance subsiding and transforming into a single beam that enveloped the location. Raymond's roar echoed throughout the entire Hell.

"Plague Doctor! Do not be discouraged! Do not lose heart! I, Raymond Merlock, will always stand behind you! I will watch over you with the Holy Light! O Pure One! Destroy these demons!"

Raymond's declaration echoed like thunder in the Hellish plane. No one knew how his voice appeared in the Hellish plane, nor did anyone care about the reason.