Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

Lyle looked up at the sky.

It was night, and the city of wandering had probably wandered into the Arctic Circle of the Southern Hemisphere, or some other magical place.

Only in the central area of ​​the main city, in that enormous Eye of the Hidden Hub, can these residents with disordered biological clocks tell them what time it is; it also functions as a clock.

Sin City is much more crowded than Black Abyss and Andrei, with denser houses and intricate alleyways, like stacks of tin cans piled up. As its name suggests, it is the dark side of the city of wanderers, where human trafficking and smuggling are perhaps the main businesses.

A commotion came from a small alleyway next to them.

"An opportunity!" William exclaimed excitedly as he jumped inside.

Has this guy lost his mind? Doesn't he consider the possibility of a trap? Lyle followed closely behind, took out a staff from his leather bag, and Medusa poked her head out from under her collar. Her talent orb turned into a transparent cloth and unfurled behind her.

Three demon children were bullying a small, huddled figure. Lyle didn't know anything about the lifespan of demons.

"Stop! This is mine!" William shouted, perhaps realizing he could win, and began to yell.

The boy with the single horn on his head, who was in the lead, immediately retorted, "An Andrei? Hmph, this piece of trash is yours? Then I'll beat this piece of trash to death too!" After saying that, he kicked the body lying on the ground again.

William's threats had no effect; he didn't understand Andre's ways. Lyle didn't stand idly by, because bullying was not a good thing, especially among a group of unruly children.

With a light tap of his cane on the ground, accompanied by a clear sound, the Plague Doctor emerged from the shadows. The talent orb transformed into a bluish-black liquid, spreading out from the Plague Doctor's feet and slowly flowing towards them.

The children were the first to succumb to the eerie silence brought on by the epidemic.

"You, you're going to save this good-for-nothing too? Andrei."

"Hehehehe," came the terrifying laughter of an owl from beneath its beak. "No, children, dead. It's the same experiment on me. I was worried about not having any living subjects, but... aren't there three here?"

The deep, hoarse voice drifted away like a thick fog.

“Grammer, are there three more useless kids here?” a trembling child asked his leader.

"Run! He said we're the test subjects!" The three mischievous kids yelled and ran into the depths of the alley.

“Perfect.” Lyle chuckled. The talent orb instantly crawled back into his body, and he twirled his cane in the air.

Lyle reached out his hand towards the figure at the bottom.

"They're gone, get up."

"Yes, sir." A slender arm covered in dust, with bruises at the elbow. A tattered, coarse cloth dress covered her body, but it seemed too bulky for her small frame. Beneath her messy brown hair, a pair of light green vertical eyes held fear. Her delicate features evoked pity, and even her fearful expression was alluring and sinful due to a unique charm.

"An immature succubus."

It was much older than I had imagined, standing at 1.6 meters tall. I never expected it to be bullied by children. Its thin body leaned against the rough wall, and under the gaze of William and Lyle, its two arms were helplessly held in front of its chest.

"Aren't you going to run?"

"I can't escape, I'm too weak." The gentle voice carried a hint of bitterness, but the silence was much better than Lyle had expected. After all, he had just disguised himself as the Great Demon King.

"Aren't you afraid of me?"

"afraid."

"Then why are you so calm?"

"My sister told me that when you meet Andrei, you can only reason with him, that way you can die more gracefully." Her voice broke into a sob at the end.

Lyle's face darkened; he had a bad reputation.

"My lord, I am willing to cooperate with you, but I beg you, let me give this to my sister. This is my last request." It opened its palm, revealing a black nameplate with the word "Anna" written in Latin.

“I don’t need your cooperation. It’s just a piece of cake to drive them away. You’re free.” Lyle realized he had to fight for Andrei’s reputation.

"Is this true?" Its face gradually filled with surprise, a sense of relief at surviving death. Hmm?

"Really, you can leave anytime."

"Thank you, sir." It bowed and prepared to pass by the two.

William stopped it.

"Shouldn't you show some gratitude to your savior?"

“But, my lord, I have nothing,” the succubus said, opening her palms. “I can only express my gratitude. I know thanks are inadequate, but…”

"Just sign your name here." William pulled out a parchment scroll with a pentagram drawn on it, along with some unknown demonic script; it was clearly genuine.

"what is this?"

"The Eternal Slavery Contract of the Demon Race".

The succubus stared blankly at William with her large eyes, her lips pressed tightly together.

Lyle said what the succubus wanted to say.

Are you the devil?

Chapter Seventy-Four: Beatrice, the Bar Owner

The bright red smile on the mask stretched all the way to the ears; one can imagine how terrifying it must have been in the eyes of a succubus.

William shook the parchment, like a succubus's frail body adrift in the cruelty of reality.

"This is a succubus, a popular character in those forbidden fantasy novels. You can imagine the drooling of those noble young men when they see her. No, probably all men would be captivated by her. As a mid-level demon, she is born with magical power and is a pretty good familiar. Moreover, isn't it only natural for her to repay a debt of gratitude by offering herself in return?"

Can a person be so shameless?

As Lyle re-examines his companions, the succubus struggles with herself.

"I'm very sorry, sir, but I'm afraid I can't meet your expectations. I'm just a half-demon. My father was an ordinary human. Apart from inheriting my mother's appearance, my strength is probably no stronger than that of an adult man."

"In addition, my appearance has caused trouble for others in the past, but I am a boy."

"..."

"..."

William stared intently at the succubus.

There were no demonic horns on her head, but there were indeed small crystalline patches on the side of her neck, which looked like light tattoos. But her face, no matter how you looked at it, was full of tenderness and affection. Should we marvel at the wonder of the Creator?

It's true that all the cute ones are boys.

“It doesn’t matter, boys can do it too if you want,” Lyle joked.

no reply.

William put the scroll back into his pocket.

"Right now, I feel like I've suddenly received a huge inheritance..."

"It turned out they were all counterfeit."

"Sir, um... what's your name?"

"candy."

“…A good name.” Lyle was stunned for a moment, then his body’s etiquette switch automatically switched to flattery, although it seemed rather forced at the moment.

"My sister gave me this name."

William quickly accepted the loss of his wealth.

He looked at the candy.

"Okay, it's not gentlemanly to make things difficult for a man, but, Candy, shouldn't we at least show some gratitude, or at least offer a token of appreciation?"

Candy pressed her hand to her cheek, tilting her head in thought. Her long, straight black hair slid across her innocent face like a clear spring flowing over pebbles. "Perhaps I can take you two to the Blood Rose Bar for a drink. I'm a waitress there."

"A free drink?"

Candy shook her head. "No, but I can serve the adults for free without asking for a tip."

Are you soliciting customers?

Candy hurriedly waved her arms, "No, it's just that besides simply serving tea and wine, I don't know what else I can do."

Seeing the succubus fall into a slump again, Lyle looked at William.

"Shall we go? Blood Rose."

"No problem. A free local guide is fine. As for the destination, I have no idea where I am, so it doesn't make much difference."

The three formed a team.

"I still don't know how to address you two sirs."

"Epidemic doctor".

"surprise."

William's clown mask makes the nickname quite fitting.

Why not fright?

"Surprises can make people relax and become more at ease."

Before leaving the City of Sin, the two were stopped because smuggling was rampant there, so the Secret Council had set up obstacles at the border, where those without identities would be blocked or even detained.

Lyle could produce the Andrei emblem, but what about William?

“Sir, these two gentlemen are with me.” At the crucial moment, Candy stepped forward. “This is my employee ID. I am Candy from Blood Rose. These two are our guests.”

The hooded human in armor carefully examined the identification. "Recently, several major cases have occurred. Unscrupulous individuals have impersonated members of Andrei, causing significant damage to the Academy's reputation. The Secret Council is currently conducting a thorough investigation. I'm sorry, sir, could you please explain your identity within Andrei to me in just a few words?"

The guard's eyes were as sharp as an eagle's, his gaze fixed intently on William.

“We are necromancy apprentices of Andrei, and our mentor is Mr. Dragon. We have come to Sin City to purchase the necessary materials. Is this enough?” Light gray magic flowed from Lyle’s hand, and the chilling aura of death was like a cold wind.

“No more questions, sir.” The guard stepped aside, and a few drops of cold sweat could be seen running down his forehead.

When the three arrived at the teleportation array in Dark Zone 3, William praised Lyle's performance.

"That was fantastic, Doctor! Your performance was flawless, just like the real thing. Look at the guard's expression, haha."

"Haha." Of course, that's perfect, after all, I'm good at telling the truth.

Candy led the two of them onto a teleportation array.

"We're going to the Light and Shadow Zone, which is the border area between the Light Zone 10 and the Dark Zone 10. It's a neutral zone in name and in reality, and it's also the commercial center of the Wandering City. There are quite a few races from both the Chaos and Law sides here."

"Bloody Rose is a bar open to all races. Our owner is Ms. Beatrice, but everyone likes to call her Ms. Rose, or Goddess?"