Do not engage in underworld operations in the human world!

Nordens's words finally explained the whole story clearly.

Although the possibility of Nyarlathotep having other conspiracies cannot be ruled out, 80% of the troubles in the underworld and the netherworld can almost be attributed to Nodens.

He wanted to find an ally and train a newcomer with a clean background, and the first person he set his eyes on was Jiang Lu.

So something happened in the underworld.

Nyarlathotep was also a bully who only bullied the weak and feared the strong. It was clearly something that Nodens wanted alone, but he actually assassinated Jiang Lu directly.

He didn't even ask Jiang Lu if he was willing to do so. After discussing it, it might not be impossible for Jiang Lu to join the Old Days.
Then there is the underworld. As a backup, Hades dragged the underworld into the abyss.

Finally, and now, there is Zeus.

Although Nodens did not seem to have any intention of training him to become an ancient god, he still faced the threat of being besieged by the alliance formed by the Yin Emperor.

In short, it seems that no one who gets involved with Nordens has a good ending.

"Could it be that"

What Lucifer realized:
"That Nyarlathotep thought that I might be chosen because all the people chosen by Nodens were the rulers of the world of the dead. That's why he planted his spies in Hell under the pretext of renovation. In fact, I was the one who suffered an unprovoked disaster?"

"If it's an unprovoked disaster, then I should be the one complaining, right?"

Jiang Lu just felt aggrieved.

It was obvious that he did nothing and was not involved in anything. He was also unaware of anything that Nordens had done. As a result, Nordens, who came up with the idea, got nothing wrong, but he was implicated instead.

Even though he himself has never been a person who likes to hold hatred in his heart and lives with a heavy burden, he has never had too many subjective opinions about Yin Di, and being his enemy is more of a last resort.

He can accept that the reason he suffers is that he has done something wrong. Maybe he doesn't feel it, but he has indeed hurt others. He just treats it as a game with wins and losses.

But he could not accept that he suffered an unexpected disaster without doing anything. This made him feel no meaning of his existence. It was as if he was just a person who lived his life peacefully and had not offended anyone. However, just because of his existence, he was an eyesore to some people and was suppressed and persecuted. He wanted to ask, why?
"Strange, really weird."

He said to Lucifer in a somewhat incomprehensible way:
"It's the same with Nodens and Nyarlathotep. One of them never asked me if I was willing or not, and just made the decision on his own. The other one never thought about getting my opinion, and just targeted me because Nodens made the decision.

Is the world these people live in a diode?"

But Lucifer was a bystander and he knew clearly why Nodens and Nyarlathotep behaved like this.

"It's not surprising." Lucifer gave an example: "Think about it, when you were looking for female companions in the underworld, did you ever consider whether they were willing?"

Jiang Lu found it funny: "How could I not be willing to do that? I, Jiang, am well-known for my generosity. Not to mention my female companions, when I am happy, they don't have to pay anything and I will give them generous rewards. Besides, I am known as the succubus of the underworld. Which girl would not be reluctant to leave after having sex with me?"

"I'm not asking you about after the fact, I'm asking you about before the fact." Lucifer pressed, "Before you started, did you specifically ask if they were willing?"

"Hmm" This question stumped Jiang Lu.

He frowned: "Does it matter whether you ask or not? They will agree in the end anyway."

"That's it." Lucifer spread his hands. "He probably has the same idea. From his perspective, he trained you to be an ancient god as a favor to you. It's a great thing for you. You have no reason to refuse. And now you are complaining because you had a bad experience. If everything had gone well back then, you might not have the same idea as you do now. You might also become the kind of person you said who is addicted to it and can't stop wanting to leave."

"I"

Jiang Lu was speechless for a moment.

The roles were reversed and he understood it all at once.

He would give many benefits to the women who accompanied him, but he also never asked those people whether they were willing to accompany him.

Before today, he might not even have considered the necessity of thinking this way.

It's your honor that I like you. How can you refuse?

He made the same mistake as Nordens. The reason for this was that he had such thoughts because he was used to thinking highly of himself and took everything he thought for granted.

Nordens didn't think about whether Jiang Lu was willing or not, because in his opinion it was a win-win situation with no harm. Jiang Lu should be grateful to him so how could he refuse?

In the final analysis, this is a kind of self-righteous behavior. If you think something is good, then other people must think it is good too. When you give this good thing to others, you never think about the possibility that others don't want it, because subconsciously you think this is simply impossible.

The same is true for Nyarlathotep. Since it was decided by Nodens, no one else can change it. Things that cannot be changed are facts even if they have not happened yet, so he strangled the fact that should have happened in the cradle.

Neither of them considered Jiang Lu. Although this was hard for him to accept, the fact was that he was just a chess piece in the game between the two at that time.

Jiang Lu sighed: "If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have realized how annoying I was before."

Some things can only be understood through empathy and personal experience. The more he dislikes Nordens now, the more he can roughly imagine how much some women in the past disliked him at the beginning.

"I often do this, too." Lucifer shrugged, as if to comfort Jiang Lu: "This is actually not a bad thing. Sometimes when you know that what you are doing is right, you don't have to care too much about others. Being tougher may save you a lot of trouble."

"So you also think that as long as I give enough benefits, it won't be against the woman's will, right?"

Lucifer was silent for a moment: "Don't misinterpret my meaning."

The depressed mood was slightly relieved, but Jiang Lu could understand Nordens, but it did not mean that he accepted it.

"If I was backstabbed because of you, then you should feel guilty."

He said coldly to Nordens:

"Don't expect me to be the kind of person who is grateful for suffering. Suffering is suffering, and it has never been a good thing. To say that suffering can temper one's will and is the only way to success is bullshit in my opinion. It is obviously a last resort. If you endure it without suffering, you are an idiot!"

"He can't hear either." Lucifer reminded in a low voice.

"I know." Jiang Lu patted the edge of the boat: "But I feel uncomfortable holding back these words."

"And isn't that off topic? I didn't say that." He snorted coldly, "Don't disbelieve me. I can guess what this bastard is thinking. He might use this reason to persuade me to let it go in the next sentence."

As expected, the next second, Nordens comforted Jiang Lu: "And think about it from another perspective. I have helped you, haven't I? Judging from your mental state, you are still very young, and in a short period of time, your mental arc has expanded to such a terrifying extent, which is enough to prove how much benefit the current adversity has brought to you. This is the progress you originally cultivated for thousands of years to achieve, but how long has it been now, a few years? Or a dozen years? Don't even think about it, you will definitely achieve better results in this life than in the last life."

His words and deeds were all meant to convey friendship to Jiang Lu, as if he was showing off: Although I cheated you, I actually helped you, didn’t I?

"Look." Jiang Lu pointed at Nodens and said to Lucifer.

"Really." Lucifer nodded in surprise: "How did you know?"

"Because I used to use this rhetoric to deceive people."

Jiang Lu was obviously very familiar with this:
“Education through hardship is simply the cheapest means of mental control. It encourages people who know nothing to endure more hardships. It may seem inspiring, but it is actually nonsense and has a completely distorted outlook on life.

He is saying this now, but what if I really died back then?
If you can only succeed after ten thousand hardships, you are lucky. Most people are drowned, and the remaining one is also awesome. What does it have to do with your suffering?
Even without him, I am still the Lord of the Underworld. Can't I make further progress on my own?"

"That makes sense."

Lucifer nodded in approval.

He has the most say in this.

Speaking of suffering, falling from an angel high above to a demon in hell should be considered the highest level of obsession.

But he did not lose heart, instead he found himself.

But he never thanked God for pushing him into hell, because he was born the most powerful angel in heaven. Even if he fell, he would naturally become the most powerful devil in hell. This was attributed to himself, not God.

From his own personal experience, suffering was more like an obstacle, but his strong will allowed him to ignore the pain and suffering, but that might not be the case for others.

So he should be more grateful that he was not affected, rather than grateful for the things that almost affected him.

Thinking of this, Lucifer smiled and asked, "So what do you mean? Do you have a new goal now?"

Jiang Lu was a little confused: "What goal?"

"Nodens," Lucifer said seriously, "Do you have a desire to burn him to death?"

"Pagans, huh?" Jiang Lu shook his head. "We don't like that over there."

Seeing that Jiang Lu was avoiding the subject, Lucifer simply asked directly: "Anyway, I don't think you really want to help him, but Nyarlathotep is the one who directly harmed you, so I am curious about what you plan to do?"

"do not know."

"do not know?"

"I have not decided yet."

Jiang Lu did not hide his thoughts and expressed them:
“Now it seems that everything stems from the struggle between Nodens and Nyarlathotep, and their struggle stems from the ancient gods and the Great Old Ones they represent. You, I, and Hades are all innocent victims.

If I am already a victim, do I need to consider which side I have suffered more and then decide to help the other side? I am not that mean. "

"so."

"So I don't want to help." Jiang Lu said confidently: "Didn't Nodens also tell me to consider the choice myself, so of course I came here based on my own preferences."

Lucifer was silent for a while, as if thinking about something, and then he slowly said: "But some things cannot have nothing to do with you just because you don't get involved."

"I didn't say it had nothing to do with me." Jiang Lu asked back: "I am already the victim, how can I stay out of it?"

Lucifer was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "I understand. Not helping anyone doesn't mean not getting involved. So you want to deal with both sides at the same time?"

"They are allowed to mess with me, but I am not allowed to mess with them. There is no such thing in the world."

Jiang Lu put his hands on his waist and said seriously:

"And they are the root of all problems, so as long as we deal with them, all problems will be solved. It is actually a very simple matter."

After a pause, Jiang Lu continued:
“Actually, considering Zeus, I was leaning towards Nodens, but now I’ve changed my mind.

Nyarlathotep is doomed, that will not change, and as for Nodens, he can stay, but he won't have an easy life."

"So in the end, we still gave Zeus a favor, didn't we?" Lucifer shook his head and laughed, then asked with interest, "So what are you going to do?"

"Why are you asking so many questions?" Jiang Lu felt strange: "Now that Hell is temporarily safe, whether it is destroying the alliance or attacking Nyarlathotep, it has nothing to do with you, right?"

"That's true," Lucifer said worriedly, "but this is only short-term. Nyarlathotep's hand has already reached into Hell. It's always a hidden danger. Do you think I can really rest assured until it's completely resolved?"

Jiang Lu thought about it and felt that it made sense: "If he really starts a world war, then it will be just like what you said. Some things cannot be ignored by you just because you don't get involved."

"That's right." Lucifer nodded. "As long as he's alive, there will be one more day of hidden danger, and I will have one more day of poor sleep, so he must not live."

"Then take care of him first, and then I'll find a way to take care of Nodens."

Jiang Lu seemed to be the chief judge, and said carefully:
"His crime is less serious, but he can escape death but cannot escape punishment for his crime. All the Old Ones will be exiled and all the Ancient Gods will be locked up. That's it!"

Lucifer waved his hand: "Don't rush to pick me out. I also have a matter to settle with Nodens."

"How to say?"

"Why do you and Hades think they can become ancient gods, but you never considered it when it comes to me? I must have a good talk with you about this." Lucifer was very dissatisfied and felt resentful about it: "We must settle accounts."

Jiang Lu said, "We must settle accounts!" (End of this chapter)