Book 4: Chapter 127: Trap After Trap, As Always
A bead of cold sweat rolled down Rosdellâs forehead. It took him a long while to recover his wits from the extreme shock.
Almost⦠He almost became a sieve. Given how thick the spikes were, had he messed up, he would lose an arm or a leg, or worse, have a huge hole opened in his body.
Just the thought of that made him shudder.
Diana peeked her head into the pit and blinked when she saw Rosdellâs predicament.
âOh my, senior Rosdell, did you wet your pants?â she teased.
âWHAT?!â
Rosdell blushed and instinctively reached to feel his crotch, only to find that it was dry. Knowing that he had been bamboozled, he flew into a fit of rage.
âB̲i̲t̲c̲h̲, how dare you make fun of me? Get me out of here right now!â
âB̲i̲t̲c̲h̲?â
A ball of transparent liquid formed in Dianaâs palm as she faked a smile. âIâll give you another chance to rephrase thatâ¦â
âHoho, amusing. You think Iâd be threatened by that droplet?â
âI sure doâ¦â
Dianaâs smile turned as warm as the sun in spring, the very same one that Lilith saw on their first meeting. But anyone who knew Diana well knew that this wouldnât lead to anything good.
She tossed the small blob of liquid into the pit casually, then took out her spectrum stone and started snapping away at Rosdell like crazy.
âWhat are you doing?â
âTaking photos.â
âPhoto? For what?â
âTo immortalize the moment when our Great Rosdell peed his pants.â
Laughing cunningly, Diana waved the spectrum stone in her hand.
âThisâll probably fetch me a fortuneâ¦â
âPeed my pantsâ¦?â
The smug look on Rosdell face immediately faded as he reached for his crotch againâ¦
This time⦠it really got wet.
â¦â¦
Shaking a large bag of gold coins, a delightful smile bloomed on Dianaâs face when she heard the coins chinking in there.
Those images indeed fetched a fortune, not only did she earn back the loss she made from employing Lilith but also she also made a lot of profit. This meant the magic wand that sheâd been eyeing on all this while would soon be hers.
Under Rosdellâs furious gaze, she bowed to him respectfully like a waitress would when seeing their patrons out. âThank you for your patronage~,â she smirked.
âYOU!â
This thoroughly provoked Rosdell as his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He was glaring daggers at Diana, but in the end he had no choice but to clench his teeth and suppress his anger.
He might be short-tempered, but he was no fool. The trap that suddenly sprung out of nowhere had consumed half of his courage.
It wasnât wise for him to fight back now, butâ¦
Both Durance and herâ¦
Heâd make sure they paid back for all this humiliation St. Caroline Academy put him through!
Rosdell crushed the one-use spectrum stone that he bought off Diana with a high price, wishing so badly that this was Diana herself.
As their name suggested, these one-use spectrum stones were only good for one use. Not only were their durability weak, so was their performance. He had no idea for what purpose Diana brought so many with her.
After bagging a fortune, Diana walked over to Lucas discreetly.
Seeing Diana approaching him, a bad feeling instantly crept up on him.
âWhat are you doing?â Lucas asked warily.
âThat⦠You have it too, rightâ¦?â Diana leaned into his ear and whispered.
âThatâ¦? What?â
âRosdell peeing his pants. You definitely caught that just now.â
Lucas instantly tensed up and a serious look appeared on his face. âOh my goddess, a gentleman like myself would never stoop to such despicable acts.â
âA split of seven-to-three. If you refuse, Iâll tell Rosdell so he can beat you to death.â
ââ¦Two-to-eight.â
âF̲u̲c̲k̲ noâ¦â
âThree-to-seven, I canât go higher than thatâ¦â
âEqual split. I wonât settle for less. If you refuse, Iâll tell him now.â
The expression on Lucasâ face turned bitter. âFine, whatever you sayâ¦â
âGood⦠Birds of a feather flock together. Letâs make money togetherâ¦â Diana patted Lucasâ smooth head in relief.
âIf I find another way to make money, Iâll remember to bring you alongâ¦â
Lucas pouted, obviously not trusting her.
âEnough with fooling around, President Diana. Time to get serious.â Durance, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke.
âI remember you are the second among us who wanted a showdown with the Golden Demon.â
He looked at Diana out of the corner of his eye.
âHehe, I was just trying to liven up the atmosphere since everyone looks so nervousâ¦â Diana scratched her head and chuckled.
But the mirth in her eyes soon fadedâ¦
Lilith.
That pathetic martial aunt of hers reappeared in her mind, along with her martial master who had seemingly aged a few decades overnight after receiving the bad news.
The successor that he had been looking for for decades was gone. This was no doubt a huge blow to him.
As that old manâs disciple for more than a decade, she must do something for him.
So⦠Golden Demon, Htilil. It is only a matter of time before we fight!
Taking a deep breath, Diana recomposed herself before turning to Durance with a smile.
âSo, what do we do now, senior?â
âThe operation is already underway, we cannot stop halfway,â Durance stroked his chin thoughtfully.
âIt just didnât occur to me that a saint-level powerhouse like Htilil would resort to cheap tricks like setting traps. Looks like we have really underestimated her. If what Professor Marlin said was true, then the Golden Demon is definitely humanâs worst nemesis.â
The resolve in Duranceâs eyes grew stronger. âThis is why⦠even if we canât defeat her here, we must at least gather more information on her. When it comes to strong enemies, intels are always more important. The more we manage to gather, the higher the chances we can kill her next time!â
Everyone nodded in agreement, and surprisingly Rosdell didnât even try to argue either.
The point that Durance made everyone realize their current responsibility was no longer as simple as distracting Golden Demon Htilil and letting the rescue team save the princess.
They were the scouts for the human race and the first line of defense against the Golden Demon. They must crack the mask that Golden Demon Htilil hid herself so well behind!
Forcing Golden Demon Htilil to show as many cards she had up her sleeve would very likely change the fate of the entire human race!
A flame known as a sense of mission started burning in everyoneâs heart.
Theyâd be⦠the heroes of humanity!
With the same thought in mind, everyone felt a sense of pride. They could hardly wait to fight Golden Demon Htilil, even if it meant doing it for three hundred rounds.
Lucas was an exception.
He was picking his nose in a daze, still hung up about the loss of half of his potential earnings.
All the stuff that Durance said, not even one went in his ear.
In fact, just before his departure, the Pope told him something.
[ Donât mess with that Golden Demon, Htilil. You either ignore her, or get along with her. The latter will surely do you good. ]
Although he didnât understand what the Pope meant, being a lapdog wasâ¦
HIS HIDDEN TALENT!
By the time he finally met her, heâd hug her thigh, lick it with all his might and make sure sheâd feel so good that she was in seventh heaven.
Fufu, only the goddess knew how many noble ladies in Aria had fallen for his technique. He was convinced that not even Golden Demon Htilil could resist it!
âHaha. Let us proceed with caution from now on. Otherwise, we might find ourselves dead by the traps here before we even meet the Golden Demon.â
Lucas took a step forward and instantly, all colors drained from his tanned face.
He turned his head around stiffly like a puppet, only to realize thatâ¦
The toe of the foot he just put forward had caught a barely visible thread.
He lifted his head, then gave others a helpless smile.
âHaha⦠I knew it⦠Iâm always quite the unlucky oneâ¦â
ââ¦..â
BOOM!
A loud bang resounded across the sky.
â¦â¦
âHuh?â
Seated on a stump while contemplating her next plan, Lesiah snapped her head up and looked in the direction where the explosion had taken place in the forest.
The explosion chased the frightened birds and beasts away and caused the trees to sway in the strong gust it generated.
The princessâ lovely brows knitted into a frown.
The black devils⦠Theyâve arrived so soon? That shouldnât be the case.
Lesiah looked at a severed hand at the side.
It had five slender fingers attached to it, but the skin was already all shriveled up and full of wrinkles. Rather than calling it skin, it was more like a piece of rag wrapped around a bone.
There was neither blood nor flesh on it, but she could clearly see the broken black bone inside.
Confusion filled her eyes.
If her theory was correct, the black devil shouldnât appear at this timeâ¦
Could this beâ¦
The princess suddenly recalled another group that she had nearly forgotten about.
The corner of her mouth twitched as she thought about the possibilityâ¦
Just when she got up and was about to check it out, Titan 12138 arrived on the scene with a few other titansâ¦
âWhat happened, queen?â she looked into the depths of the forest and asked in concern.
She also knew what the king and queen had set up there, so the rest had been warned not to get close to that area. With such a huge commotion, it was only natural for her to assume that the queen had done something.
âNothingâ¦â Lesiah shook her head and smiled. âSorry to make you all worryâ¦â
âButâ¦â
âItâs alright, really. Please return to your workâ¦â
âIf you say soâ¦â Titan 12138 sighed.
âBut please call for us if you need anything, queen. In the absence of our king, we are yours to command.â
Just when the old titan was about to turn and leave, she was stopped by Lesiah.
âUm⦠Titan 12138⦠Do you think⦠youâve ever done something wrong?â
âWhat do you mean, my queen? Who has never made a mistake in their life? Iâm afraid that even real deities would make mistakesâ¦â
âYouâre right⦠who never made a mistakeâ¦â
Lesiah nodded thoughtfully, then smiled at the old titan kindly. âItâs alright, youâre all dismissed.â
After Titan 12138 left with a confused look, Lesiah looked at the place where the explosion occurred.
âAlright, it just so happens that my plan is missing something important. I hope all of you all arenât killed by the trap Iâve set upâ¦â