The monster no longer lifted its hooves in defiance but instead lowered its head, thrusting directly towards Wei Yu, who was still waiting for the power to accumulate. Seeing this, Ziyuan immediately threw himself forward, forcefully pushing Wei Yu aside, only to fall in front of the monster himself.
“Hmph, I told you that goddess is nothing. Even at a time like this, she betrays your trust, doesn’t she?”
“Ziyuan!” Wei Yu, thrown aside, tumbled several times before climbing up in a disheveled state, finally sensing the power about to surge out from within him.
‘If that goddess were really some amazing deity, why hasn’t she deigned to help this little brat until now?’
Facing Wei Yu’s self-proclaimed sacrifice and his devout trust in Goddess Elena, Ziyuan felt a wave of nausea. He was even angrier at his own powerlessness to stop what was happening at that moment.
“If that goddess is betraying him like this, and no one is willing to protect him…”
—
Then I’ll take him, and I’ll never let anyone hurt him again
—
In that moment, Wei Yu only felt a whitening of his vision. A scorching, searing flame surged from his fingertips, and his entire body seemed to be engulfed in the blaze of hell. He was in such agony that he wanted to scream for help, but his throat seemed incapable of producing any sound.
—
Ziyuan felt like he was in a hazy and elusive dream.
The demonic race rarely dreamt because the visions in dreams always revealed future scenes, commonly known as prophetic dreams.
Everything in the dream was blurry, and Ziyuan only knew that he stood in the midst of a sea of millions, with people around him cheering for something. All eyes were uniformly focused on a point of utmost importance.
Beneath the azure sky, atop a majestic castle, a charismatic golden-haired man held a long weapon in one hand—not a spear, but a gun that could shoot bullets. His right eye was covered with a black leather eyepatch, and his remaining emerald green eye reflected the vibrant land below.
Without needing to be explicitly told, Ziyuan could sense that the man was an unparalleled monarch.
Gathering information from the surrounding crowd, he roughly learned that this monarch not only ruled all the countries on the Sipistole Continent but was also protected by the legendary sacred beast. He had opened up a land of prosperity where countless people could live in peace.
As for the year in which these events took place, Ziyuan had no way of knowing.
The king, against the backdrop of the brilliant sun, smiled at Ziyuan from afar and extended his hand towards him, even though they were separated by such a vast distance.
“Do you want to submit to me?” Although there was no sound, it was still apparent that he seemed to be saying so.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“Ktf xlcu ktb geifr jii mbecaglfr? Vbecvr lwqgfrrlnf, yea lr la fnfc bcf-afcat jr ugfja jr yflcu atf Gfwbc Blcu?” Ilsejc lcafcalbcjiis gfrqbcvfv klat j vlrvjlcoei jaalaevf.
Ktf wjc mtemxifv, rtgeuufv, jcv atfc jrxfv, “Qfii atfc, tbk jybea yfmbwlcu ws mbcrbga?”
Fqbc tfjglcu atf wjc’r defralbc, Ilsejc kjr vewyobecvfv bc atf rqba, ecjyif ab gfrlra yiegalcu bea, “Qtja atf—”
—
“What are you laughing at!” Ziyuan jumped up, instantly awakening from the dream. He looked around, trying to confirm his current situation.
He was no longer at the bottom of the cliff where he had fallen moments ago but had been moved to a grassy slope further away. Near the previous location, there was a large mass of burned and ashy remnants, and Ziyuan knew that it was the final residue of the Beast; it had truly perished this time.
Although he was curious about how the creature had been killed, the more pressing concern was why he hadn’t seen Wei Yu’s figure yet. Ziyuan quickly stood up, expecting a sharp pain from his injured ankle, but to his surprise, the injury seemed to have healed.
“Did I heal myself?” Ziyuan pondered, tilting his head, and then suddenly realized that Wei Yu was lying behind him.
At first glance, Ziyuan almost mistook Wei Yu for another new monster! The exposed skin on Wei Yu’s body was covered with shallow purple-red flame totems, extending from his fingertips to his cheeks, sparing almost no part. His entire body retained only a hint of human skin color, leading Ziyuan to momentarily mistake him for a creature.
“What’s going on?” Ziyuan incredulously reached out to gently touch Wei Yu. In the dream just now, he certainly hadn’t seen this terrifying totem.
While touching, Ziyuan sensed that Wei Yu’s breath was unstable; he was currently in a critical state, on the brink of life and death. The wound above Wei Yu’s right eye was covered by disheveled golden bangs, so Ziyuan didn’t dare to move recklessly to check the injury. However, he was certain that the most urgent matter now was to take Wei Yu to the nearest village for treatment. If the wound were to fester or get infected, it could lead to even more serious consequences.
Putting aside the weird totem for now, Ziyuan called his name several times but received no response. Confirming that Wei Yu had completely lost consciousness, Ziyuan carefully moved him.
Although he wanted to use teleportation magic, unfortunately, with Ziyuan’s current magical power, he couldn’t move to a place too far away. In the end, he could only go wherever he could.
—
Several kilometers to the south, Ziyuan finally found a small village. Although it appeared very impoverished, and the villagers passing by were cautious of outsiders, they didn’t reject Ziyuan’s request for medical assistance.
Following the directions, he arrived at the only clinic in the village. The exterior of the clinic looked similar to ordinary houses, but it was at least not as run-down. At this moment, there was no time to be picky.
An elderly doctor with white hair was inside the clinic. Seeing Ziyuan seeking medical help, he led him inside. Ziyuan carefully placed Wei Yu, wrapped in a cloak, on the simple treatment table but showed no intention of uncovering the cloak.
The strange totem on Wei Yu’s body had not faded yet. Ziyuan was afraid that these ignorant and timid humans might mistake Wei Yu for a monster and attack him. Even though it was just an old man, Ziyuan, weakened as he was, couldn’t afford to lose in a fight. So, he decided that if the old doctor resisted, he would use force to make him treat Wei Yu.
“Uncover it. Old as I am, I’ve seen all kinds of storms. You don’t need to hide anything from me,” the old doctor waved his hand, and his wise and steady smile was somewhat convincing.
Since Ziyuan wasn’t afraid of resistance, he uncovered the cloak but remained vigilant, observing the old doctor’s reaction.
To his surprise, the old doctor went against his earlier words. The moment he saw Wei Yu, his eyes widened in terror. He took several large steps back, not to escape but rushed to grab his reading glasses, and then his hands trembled uncontrollably as he reached out towards Wei Yu.
“Old man, what are you doing?” Ziyuan immediately raised his hand to block the old doctor’s eager approach, staring at him sternly as a warning.
“That is, that is… Please! Let me get closer! I beg you, please let me get closer to see him!” The old doctor begged Ziyuan almost as if he were possessed, excitedly pleading to be allowed closer and stopping just short of kneeling.
Ziyuan speculated that the old doctor’s reaction might be related to the totem on Wei Yu’s body. Although he also wanted to know what was going on, Ziyuan still spoke firmly, “You must treat him first, or I will take him away immediately.”
“No, please don’t take him away! I’ll treat his wounds right now. Please, I beg you, stay!” The old doctor, panicking, shook his head repeatedly, urging Ziyuan to leave Wei Yu at the clinic. He started hastily treating the injuries in a fluster.
Ziyuan, of course, couldn’t take Wei Yu elsewhere. Firstly, he had no spare magical power, and secondly, time couldn’t be delayed any longer. The sooner Wei Yu received treatment, the better.
He had initially expected the old doctor’s medical skills to be as dismal as this rundown village, but to his surprise, the old doctor’s movements were swift, professional, and smooth. The severe wounds were dealt with in no time.
While skillfully bandaging Wei Yu’s injuries, the old doctor lamented, “Although I’ve treated the wounds, even if they heal, this gentleman’s right eye won’t regain its sight.”
Ziyuan was well aware of this fact, but he didn’t feel much sorrow. After all, as long as Wei Yu was alive, that was what mattered, and at least Wei Yu wasn’t completely blind.
The old doctor fell into a momentary silence, seemingly waiting for Ziyuan’s permission. However, he couldn’t contain his impatience and anxiously asked, “May I thoroughly examine the totem on this gentleman’s body?”
Ziyuan nodded, stepping back, and the old doctor immediately approached excitedly.
“Do you know what this totem is?” Ziyuan asked on the side.
However, the old doctor completely ignored Ziyuan, focusing solely on meticulously examining the totem on Wei Yu’s body. Afterward, he turned to the room, retrieved an old and yellowed notebook, and carefully flipped to a certain page before handing it to Ziyuan. The page contained several drawings, each accompanied by simple annotations. Ziyuan quickly noticed one totem that closely resembled the flames on Wei Yu’s body.
Once the old doctor saw that Ziyuan had noticed that particular pattern, he spoke:
“This notebook is the culmination of my lifelong efforts. The drawing you see there is the totem on this gentleman’s body.”
“What is written in here?” Ziyuan flipped through the cover and spine of the notebook but didn’t see a title.
“That is…” The old doctor, as if intentionally being mysterious, answered in a hushed tone, “The contents of that book are all related to the legendary sacred beast.”
Upon hearing the term “sacred beast,” Ziyuan couldn’t help but pause.
—This monarch not only ruled all the countries on the Sipistole Continent but was also protected by the legendary sacred beast.
Indeed, the prophetic dream mentioned it, and initially, Ziyuan didn’t take it seriously, thinking it was just an exaggerated praise from humans. However, could it be true?
The old doctor’s notebook contained records that deviated somewhat from the embellished rumors. It mentioned that the sacred beast, also known as the guardian beast, would choose a target to guard for its entire life, following them through life and death. The magical power within the sacred beast was enough to rival the ancient two main gods, but unfortunately, they couldn’t use their power for themselves. Throughout their lives, they could only dedicate their strength to the object they protected.
Seeing this, Ziyuan suddenly wondered when Wei Yu had intersected with the legendary sacred beast, a being he himself had never seen. Yet, had this human already received the protection of a sacred beast?
Also, because the old doctor noticed this, he had been addressing Wei Yu with respect after seeing the totem.
“Let me explain it to you. Each sacred beast has its own totem pattern for identification. If the sacred beast has offspring, its children will inherit the totem, but there might be some changes. The totems recorded here are all confirmed by me based on concrete evidence. Look here, like this totem, I found it in the Iron Gray Nation in the western continent.”
The Iron Gray Nation was a country spanning the largest waterway in Sipistole, connecting the eastern and western continents. The entire country was built on massive pillars, and even their transportation and daily life used bridges as pathways and activity areas. Therefore, it was also called the Country of Bridges.
“During the period when the heroes were battling the Demon King and simultaneously receiving the great assistance of the sacred beast, they defeated the Demon King. That’s how the country exists today. It is an exception among the twenty-seven countries. Following the legend, I found the pattern left by the sacred beast there, proving that the country is indeed protected by a sacred beast. Furthermore, the country has not been destroyed to this day, so there is a considerable possibility that the sacred beast is still alive.”
“I don’t want to hear about that.” Without waiting for the old doctor’s eager continuation, Ziyuan coldly interrupted. He had zero interest in the sacred beast and only wanted to know which sacred beast the totem on Wei Yu was related to.
“Alright, alright. Let me explain this to you.” The old doctor turned a few more pages, pointing to the text as he explained, “About three hundred years ago, there were rumors of a sacred beast appearing near this village. I won’t go into details, but in short, the sacred beast at that time had already died. However, after going through countless hardships, I finally found the totem belonging to that sacred beast. The pattern on this gentleman’s body, except for the color, is almost identical to this one. Therefore, I deduce that the sacred beast guarding this gentleman likely shares the same bloodline as the sacred beast in that village.”
Such an explanation meant nothing to Ziyuan. In the end, he still didn’t know which sacred beast had chosen to protect Wei Yu. He only knew that the birthplace of that sacred beast was probably in another village nearby. No wonder this skilled doctor chose to settle in this remote and impoverished village. Unfortunately, that village seemed to have ceased to exist.
Ziyuan disdainfully snorted, no longer interested in continuing to listen. He decided to check the notebook himself to see what it recorded.
“Give me that book.” Ziyuan imperiously reached out for the book, but the old doctor replied, “It’s already late, and this gentleman’s injuries need quiet rest. Since you are interested in knowing more about sacred beasts, my collection of books will definitely provide you with the answers you seek. So why not stay for a few nights?” Seizing the situation where Ziyuan couldn’t refuse, the old doctor revealed a cunning smile. Ziyuan gave him a disdainful glance, knowing well that this old man couldn’t move a muscle. If he became too arrogant, Ziyuan would just kill him.
“In that case, don’t let him sleep on this shabby treatment table.” Ziyuan made a demanding request, simultaneously uttering insulting words with a contemptuous look.
“Of course, I have an empty room. I’ll go prepare it for you. Please wait a moment.”
The old doctor kept the notebook close, not letting it out of his sight, to prevent Ziyuan from changing his mind and snatching it away. With Wei Yu in tow, they left. Although Ziyuan had initially stated that he was a contract demon, the old doctor, beneath his gentle exterior, was a cunning old fox and had no intention of trusting Ziyuan.
Wei Yu’s face still had quite a bit of bloodstains. Ziyuan dampened some gauze with water and gently wiped them away.
“Thinking about how even that nonsense goddess of yours abandoned you, looking like a pitiful creature, I didn’t expect you actually have such a powerful backing.”
A ripple of jealousy surged within him, but Ziyuan’s rationality quickly suppressed that emotion.
I’m happy that Wei Yu has his happy ending!! I feel like I’m going to get emotional when this story ends! 😭
I really like their ship! Why are side ships sometimes more cute! 🥺❤️❤️