Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 275 Please open your mission log
Noon had passed, and the sunlight shone on the flower field. Looking out, there was an endless sea of ​​golden flowers in the distance, and a cool breeze was blowing on our faces. It must be late spring.

Crowley leaned against the oak tree, gazing at the distant flower field. The air was filled with a sweet fragrance. This scene had always been in a corner of his mind. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had returned to this place.

This is not Oak City, and there are no longer those people wearing golden masks.

After thousands of years, Crowley finally got a chance to rest. He no longer needed to serve the rule of the Golden King, nor did he need to think about potential traitors. Instead, he could live as a man named Crowley.

Revolving lantern.

These words came to Crowley's mind.

He had heard some people say that when a person's life comes to an end, they will see those important scenes from their memories, and at that moment they will face their own inner self.

The person who told him these words is long dead; even their name and appearance have become blurred, except...

What kind of person was the King of Gold?

Such a question came from beside me.

Crowley paused, not turning around immediately, but remaining silent for a long time until his left hand was grasped by a warm, rough hand.

"……not bad."

He gave a false answer.

Crowley suddenly realized he had lost the courage to turn around. At this moment, he did not want to mention the Golden King, nor did he want anyone he knew to know what he had done afterward.

It's all fake.

He so comforted himself.

But the voice seemed unwilling to let him off so easily, "So, how have you been all these years?"

"……not bad."

"That's good."

"I have to go."

Crowley took a deep breath and said without turning his head, "The sword hanging diagonally at my waist is not an obsidian dagger, but an iron sword that can be found anywhere. This iron sword was forged by the village blacksmith as a gift for me to embark on my adventure, and it was also the first companion that accompanied me on my adventure."

He gradually remembered.

At the end of the flower field stood a wooden cabin, located in the northwest corner of the village. Like countless other passionate young men eager to embark on adventures, he carried the gift the blacksmith had given him and declared to his parents that he would become the greatest adventurer in the world.

At this time of year, Crowley remembers his mother, dressed in a floral dress, standing under the grapevines, smiling as she said to him, “Go ahead, but don’t forget, if you’re not happy living in the big city, you can always come back.”

Speaking of which, how did he become the greatest adventurer?

Was it because he hunted monsters that threatened the town, or repelled the invasion of dragons? Or perhaps he helped the royal family quell a rebellion, and led the Royal Knights to conquer one place after another?
All the figures who had fought against him overlapped at this moment, making it impossible to distinguish one another. Perhaps, as those people said, when he faced his inner self, those victories were actually insignificant.

Crowley finally remembered why he was there.

When he finally returned to the small village one day, he was greeted by a tombstone and his mother lying in a hospital bed, coughing incessantly.

This village has never had any powerful enemies that would be recorded in history. The reason for this is that a contagious disease broke out in the village not long ago, killing many people, and my father did not survive it.

One morning, he left home in a daze and came to this oak tree. He always used sword and courage to solve problems, which made him invincible on his adventures. But now, he had encountered his most formidable enemy—death.

Perhaps he should seek other methods, but his time was running out, and Crowley could already sense that death was approaching.

The scene in his mind gradually became clearer. The person he met under this tree that day was not his mother, but a strange man wearing a golden mask.

"What you need is a miracle."

The man wearing the golden mask said, "I can offer you a miracle. I'm curious, what price are you willing to pay for it?"

……

Yes, as long as the reign of the Golden King continues, the miracles he has created will continue.

Crowley clenched his fist.

The world before him was instantly engulfed in darkness. His body regained consciousness, and the tearing pain awakened him. It took about ten seconds for his vision to clear before he could finally see the scene in the room.

The memory of the previous second was still that of him holding the obsidian dagger, about to slit Ethan's throat.

Now, he lies on the cold ground, and not far away is a familiar figure.

Wearing a mask of sorrow, Charman leaned against the wall, slumped on the ground, blood flowing down his sleeves.

The memories of that time have vanished. Crowley can't recall what happened during that period, and he can hardly imagine what kind of terrible spell could have so severely injured two ministers who had been given artifacts by the Golden King in an instant.

Over the long years, he has forgotten what it feels like to be injured.

Did they fail?
No, it doesn't seem to be that simple.

The house was mostly destroyed by the strong impact, and the entire roof was blown off. Golden light shone into the room, and Crowley noticed that Ethan didn't seem to be in good condition either. Although there were no visible wounds on Ethan's body, he was lying in the corner of the room covered in dust and dirt.

Not far in front of him was a yellow head emerging from under the floor; from this angle, only her shoulder-length yellow hair was visible.

Princess Vivian lay sprawled on the ground, her fate unknown.

"Little potato, what are you thinking? Answer me!"

Ethan's voice sounded harsh, as if there was some internal strife.

only……

Who exactly is this little girl hiding in the floorboards? Is she Ethan's accomplice?

Crowley was filled with doubt.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Little Yellow Potato maintained her posture of looking up at people, with an extremely innocent expression. If someone who didn't know better saw her, they would probably think that the evil Ethan was a heinous criminal who was bullying a child.

But it was this innocent-looking little kid who just blew the whole house up.

Even Ethan experienced the feeling of flying.

Although elemental magic couldn't harm him, the aftershocks of the explosion still left him covered in dust and dirt.

"You said it!"

The little yellow potato was indignant.

"What did I say?"

"You told me to lie in ambush first, and wait for the King of Gold's minions to make the first move, then I would launch the attack in the form of a potato mine."

She even consulted her friend, the Wind Element Girl, about the meaning of landmines.

"Since it's a landmine, it's bound to blow the whole building to smithereens," the erudite literature-loving girl remarked.

Little Potato thought he had done a great job. Now, everything above them was bare, with no roof left. Crowley, who stepped on the potato mine, was blown away. Even Charman, who rushed into the house right after him, was affected and passed out.

"You, me, you...!"

Ethan was speechless for a moment.

He did say that, but it was more of a metaphor. What really puzzled him was why the earth element would explode.
He finally understood how Mr. Charman had been "tripped up" last night, and he'd noticed that when Crowley was blasted away, his obsidian dagger had vanished before it even hit the ground. This earth elemental seemed harmless enough, but it turned out he was a repeat offender. But now, he had to say something to break the awkward silence.

Ethan got up from the ground, dusted himself off, wiped his face which was blackened by smoke, and walked over to Crowley, who was lying on the ground unable to move.

"The Sands of Fleeting Moments is the trump card you have always relied on. Under its influence, no act of defying the King of Gold can be accomplished."

Ethan knew of the powers of these artifacts long before he went to Oak City.

With the "Mage Slayer" who can break all magic and seals, and the "Fleeting Sand" who touches the laws of cause and effect, Crowley, as one of the earliest followers of the Golden King, is almost invincible. Cynthia advises them to avoid his sharp edge.

No matter how powerful the spell or how vast the magic, it's all for naught if it can't be unleashed.

Cynthia couldn't imagine how to break the Sands of Momentum. Not long ago, at the purification ceremony, the followers of Caesars had personally experienced the power of the artifact of causality.

All their plans came to naught; in fact, they did nothing and were never going to do anything in the first place.

However, Ethan spotted a flaw in the Sands of Time.

This room is the battleground against the Sands of Fleeting Moments. The location of the "Shadow Lamp" is where the will of the Golden King cannot reach. Therefore, as a mechanic-based boss, the correct strategy for Crowley is to lure him into this room surrounded by the Shadow Lamp to break his power over the Sands of Fleeting Moments, and then fight him to the death.

Ethan skillfully exploited Crowley's anger, luring him step by step into his trap.

"Based on the principle of stopping short of a point, you've already lost."

Ethan coughed lightly and said.

"A house built from shadow lamps, is this your plan...?"

He hadn't spoken a word in a long time.

The mask of anger shattered in the explosion and scattered all over the ground.

Crowley, as the strongest fighter under the Golden King, immediately understood everything. He used the Shadow Lamp to block the power of the Sands of Moment. Ethan was indeed the first enemy in thousands of years to make the Golden Kingdom feel troubled. He understood the true meaning of the "Will of the Golden King" - that is, the golden radiation created by the artifact "Gospel".

However, the atmosphere of the conversation was somewhat awkward.

Ethan devised a perfect plan, but something seems to have gone wrong during its execution.

The house built with shadow lamps was blown up by him, so that when this conversation took place, golden radiation was shining continuously on Ethan's back.

Forget it, let's just pretend nothing happened.

After careful consideration, Crowley decided to follow Ethan's example and temporarily set aside these trivial matters. "Since you know about the existence of the Sands of Time, it proves one thing: Cynthia is still alive, and she did indeed betray us."

Cynthia had always been a key target of his surveillance.

The other members of the Council of Six all believed that Cynthia had died in her duel with Ethan, but he did not.

Cynthia is a potential traitor, but at the same time, no one understands Cynthia's resilient soul better than Crowley, whose burning passion has remained unchanged even after a thousand years.

This is why the King of Gold values ​​Cynthia so much, regarding her as his most interesting toy.

Now, Cynthia has found new allies, or at least that's what she thinks.

"Is this your plan...?"

Crowley laughed, wanting to mock the two men, but in the end, only bitterness remained.

By exploiting the loopholes in the artifact's power and racking their brains to win battle after battle, Ethan and Cynthia might actually be able to defeat the Council of Six, and even superficially win this war of conquest.

However, all of this was just another game played by the King of Gold.

After that, they will earn themselves a chance to face the King of Gold.

Then came true despair.

"Before the king left, he asked us to pass on a message to you."

Crowley said, “If you can prove your worth to him, he will welcome you in the Golden City—time coordinates are 407, where he will introduce you to an old friend.”

"Very well, is this your defeat speech?"

After defeating the enemy's officers, they obtained intelligence on the next operation.

Having quelled the unrest in Oakwood, the next "main quest" is to travel to the capital of West Valantine, defeat the remaining six council members, and then obtain the method to travel through time to 407.

It's starting to resemble a game more and more. Ethan is certain that the King of Gold is a game enthusiast, and he even left him with the kind of stage hints that traditional adventure RPGs use.

Ethan wholeheartedly agreed that games can bring out the darker side of human nature.

As a phantom thief, he used to play games where he would often pull NPCs out of their cars, kick them, and steal their vehicles.

In the instant the mask of anger shattered, Ethan saw the memories of an NPC.

A hero who purchased a miracle from the King of Gold in order to save his only family member's life.

From the player's perspective, it might just be an NPC with a special side quest.

Farewell, hero.

Crowley was stunned by the address, and before he could speak, the next sound sent chills down his spine.

"You're the same way, aren't you?"

He vaguely saw a white-haired woman with red pupils. She was barefoot, and wherever she walked, she left behind a layer of scarlet ice.

The woman's face was beaming with a fervent yet sweet smile.

"Is the game fun?"

The woman followed Ethan quietly.

Crowley also noticed that the moment the white-haired woman appeared, the little girl with blond hair vanished in a flash, dragging the unconscious Princess Vivian along with her before she left.

The little girl who had apparently blown everyone away seemed terrified of the white-haired woman of unknown origin.

Moreover, he didn't even notice when the white-haired woman appeared.

Before the two left, Crowley made eye contact with the white-haired woman.

That was a look that held a deeper meaning.

She simply raised her index finger, and the crimson ice gathered along the edge of the broken house, instantly mending the damaged parts.

It has always been bathed in the glow of gold.

But this time, even the will of the King of Gold could not stop its spread.

When Crowley looked out the window again, the golden light had been extinguished sometime earlier.

Oaktown welcomed a long-awaited night.

But in the night sky, a moon like a red pupil silently looked down on everyone.

(End of this chapter)