Simultaneous Travel: Becoming a Legend in the Heavens.

Chapter 573 Do you like married women?

"Collecting Great Runes is a much simpler task than you think."

Luke smiled, took Melina's hand, and snapped his fingers.

To the astonishment of the other party, the surrounding scene instantly transformed from the magnificent city of Stoneville into a scorching lava cave, with scorching air currents emanating from it.

A sea of ​​red stretched before my eyes, with a churning pool of lava ahead. The walls of the lava cave were stained a dark crimson by the lava, and every fold was inlaid with flowing flames. Even the air was tinged with a distorted orange-red, turning into scalding smoke when inhaled.

The surrounding area was littered with corpses, and countless skulls were piled up in this scorching land to form mounds of bones, telling the story of how many heroes had been buried here.

"No need to search for keys, mechanisms, or levers; no need to pay attention to the monsters on the road; no need to avoid traps or play jumping games; and no need to light up blessing points."

Luke released Melina's hand, his gaze fixed on the colossal creature that was faintly visible in the lava pool, his voice calm and composed.

"We strike at the heart of the matter, getting straight to the point."

This is below the Volcano Mansion, the hiding place of the demigod Raccard.

This "judge," whose strength was low among the demigods, refused to submit to fate and secretly raised a god-devouring serpent in his territory. He not only fed himself to the serpent but also had his wife recruit heroes from all sides to come to the Volcano Mansion, where he devoured them one by one to increase his strength.

Melina opened her mouth slightly, her expression quite remarkable, a thousand words ultimately condensing into a sigh of relief.

"It looks like Lingma Torret is going to lose his job."

Huge ripples spread across the surface of the lava pool, with bubbles constantly churning out. The enormous creature inside seemed to sense the presence of living beings and began to stir and rise to the surface.

bang——

From the viscous, reddish-gold liquid, a massive serpentine body, almost occupying the entire lava pool, suddenly emerged. Its body, covered in black scales, reflected the light of the lava, like red-hot iron armor. Two bloody arms, twisting and turning, grew from the middle of the coiled serpentine body.

God-Eating Serpent!

The enormous serpent, whose body occupied almost half of the lava cave, looked at Luke and Melina with greedy eyes. It could sense that the two "ingredients" in front of it were of very high quality, and that as long as it could eat them, it would surely undergo a transformation.

"Sigh~"

As the sound of its tongue flicking out rang out, the enormous body of the Devouring Serpent writhed, its snout opened to reveal its pink mouth, and its writhing esophagus contracted, greedily craving flesh and blood for nourishment.

boom! boom! boom!
The enormous serpent head crashed into the two with a whooshing sound. The simple attack, combined with the indestructible body of the God-Devouring Serpent, instantly created a qualitative change, and the entire lava cave began to tremble.

With the agility of a black-blade assassin, Melina easily dodged the clumsy attack, leaped into the air, and unleashed several holy blade flames radiating golden light.

The dazzling blade light far exceeded Melina's expectations in terms of power. It easily pierced through the tough skin of the God-Devouring Serpent, leaving several unforgettable wounds. This caused the serpent to roar in pain, and its huge tail swept indiscriminately across the entire lava cave.

She's actually that strong?
Melina herself was somewhat surprised by the power of this move. Although she was also a descendant of Marika, Melina's main role was as a tool to ignite the fire of the evil god, and she did not possess any particularly strong combat power.

She performed only so-so when she fought against "Blood King" Monger, but after spending some time in Stoneville with Luke, her strength actually improved a lot.

What does this mean? Is choice more important than effort?
Before she could even finish her thought, Lu Ke's figure leaped high into the dust from the impact of the snake's bite, crashing down on the head of the God-Devouring Serpent like a meteorite.

Rumble!
The earth trembled violently, and a deep, abyss-like fissure opened up from its center. The entire lava cavern began to shake violently, even affecting the volcanic mansion above.

The Devouring Serpent only felt a blur before its eyes, and the next instant, a terrifying force came from above its head. The unimaginable impact slammed the huge serpent head and its entire body into the ground, and its human-like eyes revealed a look of horror.

Before it could beg for mercy, Lu Ke calmly looked down at the God-Devouring Serpent, which was barely clinging to life, and slowly raised his right leg, stomping it down hard.

boom! ! !
An even stronger impact than the first one emanated from the landing point, unleashing a violent storm. The enormous snake head was compressed to its limit in an instant, finally exploding with a "bang," spraying out large amounts of blood.

Nearby, Melina, who had just drawn the "Great Serpent Hunting Spear" from the Jingguan, saw this scene, looked down at the weapon in her hand, and was speechless for a moment.

You make me look silly...

"Your strength... and my strength, what's going on?" Melina walked up to Luke, looking at the headless snake body, and was very confused about the current situation.

Lu Ke used his index finger and thumb to make a tiny distance, "It's obvious that my strength increased a little bit during the time I was cultivating as the city lord of Stoneville City."

Melina glanced at the headless God-Eating Serpent again, her face filled with doubt: "It doesn't look like it's just a tiny thing."

At least back then, "Blood King" Mongo was able to fight Luke for a while. How come the tough-skinned God-Eating Serpent was instantly killed in its home arena now?
"You still found out. I studied and practiced diligently day and night in Stoneville City, honing my martial arts skills, which is why I have the performance I have today. I just didn't tell you."

Luke looked at Melina earnestly: "I owe everything I have today to my own hard work, really!"

Melina was speechless for a few seconds after hearing that.

During the day, he was always causing trouble and providing her with material for complaint letters. At night, he was either in his own room or sneaking into Saint Torina's bed. Where did he find the time to study and practice diligently?

"shameless."

"Little Wooden Head has such a sweet tongue~"

"..."

Melina resisted the urge to roll her eyes, feeling that her humanity had indeed become more abundant since spending time with Luke.

I was mainly angry!

Just then, the God-Devouring Serpent, which was thought to be dead, suddenly twitched a few times, and its flesh and blood rapidly multiplied to form a head, which stood up again.

This time, however, the snake's eyes lost their liveliness and became dull. In contrast, a face that still vaguely resembled its original majestic appearance appeared on the snake's winding body.

"Blasphemy King" Raccard, the demigod who fed himself to the serpent, had his previously suppressed soul regain control of his body after the destruction of the God-Eating Serpent.

"Not bad... This is the first time I've felt such a complete sense of self. It seems you've thoroughly destroyed that snake's consciousness."

Lakad let out a pleasant laugh, looking at Luke and Melina with considerable satisfaction.

"So this is the right path. Letting the Devouring God devour me is only the first step. Someone else needs to help me kill it once so that I can fully control this body."

"From now on, I can keep devouring and growing until I can truly devour gods!"

After delivering a passionate speech, Lakard glanced coldly at Luke and Melina, waving his bloodied arm.

"I'm in a good mood today, so... you two can leave!"

"Then what if I don't leave?"

Lu Ke stood still, squinting his eyes and revealing a mocking smile.

Lakad: "..."

"Hmph! Faded One, my patience has its limits! I'm only letting you go out of kindness. If you don't leave, I'll have to teach you a lesson!"

Rakad flew into a rage, raised his hand and pulled a longsword wrapped in countless tiny blood-red tentacles from the snake's head, handing it to Luke. "This is the 'Desecrating Holy Sword.' You can keep it for your enjoyment. After all, he helped me out, so he deserves some reward."

"reward?"

Lu Ke raised an eyebrow, rolled up his sleeves, and raised his large palm.

"and many more!"

A few drops of something that could be either sweat or magma dripped from the face embedded in the snake's body of Lakad. At the same time, two bloody hands pierced into his body and tremblingly pulled out an object that emitted a golden luster.

One of the "Great Runes" that make up the "Elden Ring"!

"I suddenly remembered that I no longer need this thing after embarking on the path of devouring gods. Please dispose of this junk for me when you leave."

Lakad's gaze drifted elsewhere, and he nonchalantly handed over his Great Rune as well.

Seeing this, Melina realized that although Rakad's soul had been suppressed, it seemed that he could still see what had just happened through the eyes of the God-Eating Serpent.

Lu Ke remained standing there, a smile playing on his lips. "You mean, I'm a junk collector?"

Lakad's body visibly trembled, he coughed twice, and even the body of the God-Eating Serpent shrank back as he gave a dry reply.

That's not what I meant...

"Then what do you mean?"

"This king... this..."

Lakad's face was covered in sweat, and his massive body suddenly collapsed, kneeling before Luke with his head bowed, his voice already trembling with sobs.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency Faded One, I... no, it was me, I was wrong, I was really wrong. Take whatever you want, as long as you spare my life!"

"The entire volcano mansion can be given to you, and my forces and the snake people will be under your command..."

Seeing that Luke remained unmoved, Lakad showed signs of struggle, as if his heart was bleeding, and forced out a smile.

"If you prefer married women, then my wife, Tanis..."

Luke's eyes lit up, and just as he was about to speak, he suddenly felt a murderous intent coming from the side. He slapped Lakad with his backhand, the powerful force sending the "blasphemous king" flying and smashing a large hole in the lava cave.

"Hetui~"

"I thought that someone as 'blasphemous to the monarch' would have some profound insights, but I never expected him to utter such vulgar words!"

"Not only did he hand over his lifeline, the Great Rune, just to save his own life, but he also wanted to give away his wife. He's utterly shameless! We Pure Love Party members despise this kind of scum!"

Luke quickly put away the "Desecrating Holy Sword" and the "Great Rune," and then righteously and sternly cursed at Raccard, who had fallen into the Boiling River Lava Lake, looking ashamed to be associated with him.

Melina put her hand to her forehead, not understanding why she had ever fallen for someone like him.

No, thinking about it carefully, it doesn't seem like she chose him, but rather the spirit horse Torret did. And it seems Torret didn't initially want to choose Luke; he was just lured in by that shameless guy with food...

Melina glanced at Luke, who was secretly watching her expression, and gave him a helpless smile.

Since I've already chosen Lu Ke, I have no choice but to accompany this shameless guy on his path to becoming king.

However... what is the current situation of the faded one who will actually be chosen by Torret?
…………

Galeide, Gale Tunnel.

Within the confined space, the lava dragon roared and charged about with its heavy body, its machete sharp and deadly, launching surprise attacks on the enemies before it.

The girl, who nimbly dodged the dragon chariot, held a flowing sword. The sword light was sharp and smooth. She paused slightly in the air, held the flowing sword and assumed a starting stance. At the same time, she touched the ground with one foot and stood gracefully on the water.

The next second, her body began to spin, and the flowing sword in her hand unleashed a series of beautiful and fierce attacks.

It was a dance technique resembling that of a waterbird, beautiful yet deadly. All the faded ones who had experienced this move would instinctively feel fear upon seeing it, as well as a sword technique that made them grit their teeth in hatred.

"Water birds are flying everywhere!"
The Valkyrie Malenia's signature technique, inherited from the Flowing Swordsman who sealed the God of Corruption, is one of the factors that contributed to her reputation as "invincible in battle and unconquerable in attack."

The continuous slashes brought forth large sprays of blood. The lava earth dragon's eyes turned bloodshot, and it unleashed scorching fireballs from its mouth, but it could not hit the girl who moved like flowing water. Instead, it fell into the rhythm of the opponent's attack, and many deep wounds appeared on its body, revealing the bone.

"Now, Miss Preer!"

The Faded One, hidden in the shadows, suddenly rushed out, his katana unleashing a sharp, blood-red light as he slashed repeatedly at the Lava Earth Dragon's wounds. Finally, he raised it high and delivered a heavy slash!
The struggling body of the lava dragon suddenly stopped, the light in its eyes dimmed little by little, and finally turned into ashes, leaving behind only a snow-white, chilling "famous sword Moonshadow" and a dragon heart.

After the battle ended, the handsome young man, who had been watching the fight gently from the sidelines, stepped forward and applauded the two girls who had cooperated so well.

"Millison, Prell, you two coordinated perfectly on this hunt."

Preel sheathed her sword, a smug look on her delicate face. She snorted, "Just an earth dragon. I've killed countless dragons."

"You flatter me, Lord Luke."

Millison shook her head modestly, "If it weren't for the Dragon God you and Lady Prell believed in sending an envoy to purify Gailid, I wouldn't have had a chance to catch my breath. I can never repay your kindness."

She looked at Preel, who was wearing the female Rathalos armor, with curiosity, and said in a soft tone, "However, Lady Preel is really amazing. The Lava Earth Dragon that you killed... its body disappeared in an instant."

Prell unconsciously touched her head. "Aren't all those who have faded like this?"

Millison shook her head: "No, I've never heard of a monster's corpse disappearing after a Faded One defeats it. You're... special."

"After all, I'm the main character, so this is a very normal thing!"

Prell gave a nonchalant reply and stealthily moved closer to Luke.

"Hey honey~ I worked really hard today, right? How about we have a celebration party tonight...?"

Upon hearing this, Millison blushed, her gaze drifted elsewhere, her fingers trembled slightly, and she swallowed hard, clearly knowing what a "victory celebration" meant.

"Sure, but I've told you many times, don't call me wife."

Lu Ke sighed at the clueless "player," knowing full well what the other person's next line would be.

He is Luke's main body separated to monitor player Prell, who can completely "dataficate" the semi-real, semi-game world, and the other half of him who uses her "forced punishment combat" feature to complete the Dragon Offering Ritual.

"Okay, honey, no problem, honey!"

Lu Ke: "..."

Are your players' preferences a bit too broad? Why is Lu Ke being called "wife" by other people?
(End of this chapter)