I'm not just human!

Lieutenant General Bedivere seemed to have been appointed as the human commander for this Fog Carnival. As soon as he entered the tunnel, he pointed to the empty seats on his left and chuckled:

“Princess Victoria, Xia Fa, you two can sit here.”

Xia Fa didn't think much of it and sat down casually. To be honest, he was a little curious about what the competition would be about this time, and that was his focus.

Prince Ariman frowned, quite dissatisfied with the arrangement. He could easily see through Lieutenant General Bedivere's little scheme. He was about to speak up to stop him, wanting Shafa to sit on the right so that Princess Victoria could have the row of seats on the left all to herself.

But then, Princess Victoria quietly obeyed Lieutenant General Bedivet's orders and obediently sat down next to Shafa.

She didn't seem to think much of it or feel anything was wrong, as if she was used to doing whatever others told her to do.

Seeing this, Prince Ariman finally couldn't hold back any longer and spoke up:

"Duke Victoria—"

"Wow!"

A cute and adorable scream suddenly rang out from beside Princess Victoria, startling everyone.

Annas, in particular, was so frightened that she trembled and tears welled up in her eyes.

She turned her head and immediately saw Benedict Cumberbatch making a face with her hands outstretched like claws. Her voice trembled with tears.

"Ugh... Benedict, you scared me again! I... I'll tell Her Majesty the Queen next time I go back!"

Benedict chuckled:

"Sister Anna, I wanted to give you a surprise. You've been keeping your head down the whole time, so you probably didn't even know I was here."

Anna still had tears in her eyes, but she lowered her head:

"No, no, I sensed you as soon as you came here, but I was just too shy to say hello."

Benedict hugged her happily.

"Wow, I knew it! You could definitely sense me!"

Anna shyly pulled away from her embrace and said softly:

"We are all doll girls from the Endless Realm, how, how could we not sense each other..."

This little incident made Prince Ariman shake his head helplessly, but he didn't say anything about Benedict's offensive behavior, especially since it almost frightened Princess Victoria, as if he had some reservations.

However, Prince Ariman didn't need to be too afraid of Shafa. He turned to look at Shafa and said:

"Xia Fa, you should go over there—"

"This...is this your doll girl?"

A soft, sweet voice suddenly broke the silence, interrupting Prince Ariman.

It was Princess Victoria. This extremely noble young woman timidly raised her head, her large black eyes looking at Xia Fa with a kind of expectation for communication, as if she had met someone with a common interest.

Sunlight streamed in through the tunnel, casting a captivating, deep blue hue into her dark eyes.

Prince Ariman suddenly fell silent, not only out of respect for Princess Victoria, but also because, by seniority, he was Princess Victoria's uncle and had every right to discipline her.

What truly silenced him was that Princess Victoria, who was usually as quiet as a rag doll, actually took the initiative to talk to someone!

This is unprecedented!

It's worth noting that Princess Victoria doesn't even speak much to her own brother, the current Prince.

It's not that the siblings have a rift; in fact, His Highness the Prince cherishes his sister very much. It's just that Princess Victoria is too quiet and doesn't talk much even when she's with her brother.

Prince Areman's mind raced. Firstly, Shafa was an extraordinary descendant of the Baal Beast and had awakened the rare talent of Elemental Expansion. Secondly, his first and second contracts were both high-level contracts, which seemed to... barely offset his commoner background.

Anyway, it's just that today is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for a commoner like Xia Fa to meet Princess Victoria and have her speak to him. It's nothing to do with it and won't tarnish the princess's noble status.

His Majesty the Emperor has mentioned more than once that he hopes his only daughter, whom he cherishes dearly, will have a more cheerful personality.

With so many thoughts flashing through his mind in an instant, Prince Ariman chose not to interfere further, but still stood a short distance away, keeping a close watch on Xiafa.

If Xia Fa dares to do anything disrespectful, he will definitely teach him a lesson, and no one can stop him.

Lieutenant General Bedivet burst into laughter and patted Prince Ariman on the shoulder:

"Don't be so nervous. Xia Fa isn't some street thug. Let the young people have a good chat. We old folks shouldn't bother them."

Prince Ariman glanced at him helplessly. As a prince, only Lieutenant General Bedivere dared to pat him on the shoulder like that, so he couldn't say anything.

Of course, he wasn't afraid of Vice Admiral Bedivere, but rather of the naval admiral behind him... a very important figure whom even His Majesty the Emperor relied on highly.

At this moment, facing Princess Victoria's question, Xia Fa smiled quite naturally and said:

"Yes, and what about you? Is that your doll girl?"

Princess Victoria nodded gently:

"Uh-huh."

Xia Fa suddenly realized that if the conversation continued like this, they would inevitably have to ask about the food their doll girls liked, which might expose the fact that Benedict liked supernatural dried fish, and might even lead to his disguised physical form, "Gluttony." So he forcibly changed the subject, saying:

"My name is Xia Fa, what's yours?"

Victoria said in a soft voice:

“I…I am Victoria.”

Xia Fa nodded:

"Yes, I know your name is Victoria."

Victoria raised her eyes in surprise:

"Then why did you ask?"

Xia Fa laughed:

"This is called casual conversation, you know?"

Lieutenant General Bedivere: ...

Prince Ariman: ...

At that moment, Prince Ariman suddenly felt that he... perhaps didn't need to be so wary of this boy named Shafa.

He seems a bit slow on the uptake...

Princess Victoria thought about it seriously for a moment, then nodded slightly, seemingly lost in thought:

"Oh... I see."

She suddenly looked at Xia Fa seriously and said:

"My name is Victoria, what's yours?"

Xiafa: ...

What the hell is this?!

This noble princess is putting her newfound knowledge to use, isn't she!

There was nothing he could do; after all, he had spoken first, so he could only reply:

"My name is Xia Fa."

Princess Victoria nodded slightly, then smiled happily:

"Okay, I've got it."

Lieutenant General Bedivere and Prince Ariman, in the distance: ...

At that moment, Prince Ariman sincerely wondered if Princess Victoria's quiet nature might be due to a mental deficiency...

Of course, it's more likely that they're just too naive.

From childhood to adulthood, she was well protected by His Majesty the Emperor, His Highness the Prince, and many elders of the Selene royal family.

After this strange conversation, the two suddenly fell silent.

Beneath and Anna sat down on either side of their respective masters.

Xia Fa waited somewhat boredly for the fog carnival to officially begin when he suddenly noticed several pairs of eyes looking at him from the opposite side.

Those were the other five contestants representing humanity, seated on the other side of the tunnel.

The gazes they cast were filled with curiosity, observation, and scrutiny, but Xia Fa didn't sense any hostility whatsoever.

He actually noticed these five contestants as soon as he entered the tunnel.

Based on the rules revealed in the fragments of conversation between the demigods, he could guess that the five opponents were each one of the following strengths: fungus, eagle, wolf, elephant, and whale.

As for the insect-level and demigod levels, that would be him and Princess Victoria.

Among these five contestants, there was a burly fat man gnawing on a chicken leg, a mysterious fellow shrouded in a black robe, and a young man lounging in a chair with his arms crossed, chewing on a cigarette. They all looked like extraordinary individuals.

It is said that since the Fog Carnival only covers Rum City, Brandy City, and Riverwind City, human contestants can only be found in these three small cities.

There seemed to be an opportunity to bring in outside help, but clearly, this time the help was used on Princess Victoria, perhaps because there were no demigods in the three small towns.

"It's about to begin."

Prince Ariman suddenly took out the pocket watch hanging around his neck, which was inlaid with various tiny gemstones, looked at it, and spoke in a deep voice.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines, and Xia Fazhi became genuinely curious.

Ultimately, what is this fog carnival really about?

It's impossible to just send them out to fight against the giants and blademen of the same rank, right?

That's absolutely impossible. If that were the case, the royal family, the military, and even the church wouldn't have gone to such lengths, no matter how generous the rewards for victory might be.

After all, none of these three parties are short of money.

A massive and thick fog suddenly descended upon the circular arena. After a slight ripple, the fog condensed into a humanoid figure that was a thousand meters tall.

In that instant, an indescribable sense of oppression, stemming from social hierarchy, permeated every corner of the Roman-style arena.

The cheers and shouts, which had been as loud and boisterous as the sea, suddenly stopped.

The giant boy and the blade-wielding girl, who were engaged in a theatrical fight, vanished instantly, as if they had been teleported away.

Xia Fa's pupils contracted slightly. From this thousand-meter-tall mist-man, he sensed an aura similar to that of Patriarch Osius, but much stronger than that of Dictator.

"This is the Mist King, the leader of the Mist People. Her Majesty the Queen said that the Mist King is a descendant of the [Silent Mist of the Earth], and seems to be the fifth generation descendant."

Benedict spoke quietly, her golden-red eyes sparkling with curiosity.