Man on the ark, forced to become king

The surface was smooth and delicate to the touch, and the warm, smooth feel made Lin Lu a little embarrassed. She tried her best to suppress the restlessness in her heart and spoke softly.

"W, open your eyes."

"Open your eyes, W, it's me, Lin Lu."

"Um……?"

A gentle warmth flowed through her body. W groggily opened her eyes, but upon seeing the large face so close to hers, she instantly snapped back to reality. Her first instinct was to back away, but then she realized that she seemed to be being held in someone's arms, with a chill running down her back...?

not dead?

Once she came to her senses, she immediately realized her predicament. No matter how good the quality of her clothes was, they couldn't withstand the fire, let alone the fact that what she was wearing wasn't exactly high-end fire-resistant clothing. It was impossible for them to last long under the scorching heat of the flames.

In other words, now...

The firelight surrounding the two gradually faded, and a distinct chill pressed against her back, causing her to shiver and her face to flush.

"The fire seems to have gone out?"

From a distance, Hadley watched the two figures shrouded in crimson firelight with concern, and asked Ines beside him uncertainly, instinctively leaning forward to get a better look.

Bang!

A pale fist was pressed against his eye socket. Ines snorted coldly and then stomped hard on his foot.

"Don't look at what you shouldn't look at!"

"I didn't see anything!"

Hedley cried out that he was innocent, covered his eyes and lowered his head, then realized what had happened and quickly turned away, not daring to look in that direction again.

"Little Mo? Fiameta?"

Lin Lu awkwardly hugged W, whose mind was blank, and called out, signaling them to solve the problem.

Mostima and Fiameta exchanged a glance, then walked over and took off their coats, draping them over W's shoulders—one on top and one underneath, covering him completely.

None of them had brought a change of clothes, so they had to make do for the time being.

As the warm body left, Lin Lu felt a little uneasy, but she didn't pay much attention to it.

Anyway, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future, and what's meant to be his will eventually come to him.

"how do you feel?"

Melina appeared silently to the side and asked a question with a subtle expression.

"Not bad, quite tender... No, I didn't do anything!"

Lin Lu answered instinctively, but then immediately realized her mistake and quickly tried to explain.

Heaven has mercy, he really only touched his back and did nothing else. In public, it wouldn't be convenient to do anything else, would it?

"Humph!"

Melina's eyes were full of disdain. She glared at the innocent-looking Lin Lu with annoyance, then glanced at W, her gaze suggestive.

"What are you going to do after this?"

"What should I do? Salad!"

Lin Lu looked up at the golden tree, whose branches and leaves were becoming increasingly lush, and her eyes seemed to be burning with flames.

"The Flame of Annihilation has the power to burn gold... Since she has this talent, we can't waste it. As long as they are our own people, there's nothing to be afraid of. Her little fire is far from enough to burn my tree."

"You're planning to teach her fire prayer?"

"Why not? The fire of the evil god can burn gold, and it can also bring destruction to the enemy. I believe I can control it."

Lin Lu, on the other hand, didn't care at all, unlike Melina who was worried.

It's just a W, who knows how many years it will take for him to grow to truly possess that power. As the King of Stars, would he really be afraid of his subordinates?

Without absolute confidence to suppress everything, how can one be worthy of the title of king?

Although he didn't want to actively spread the Flame of Extinction, since W had gained the ability to control flames by sheer luck, he couldn't just leave it unused. It would also save him the trouble of figuring out how to train her. He only needed to teach her Flame Prayer, and she would soon be able to form a stable fighting force. This was a good thing for the currently weak Golden Tree.

"I hope you're right this time too."

Melina gave W, who was huddled up at the foot of the golden tree, a long look, and then stopped objecting.

"Of course, I'm always right."

Noticing that W, who was crouching under the tree, seemed to be peeking in their direction, Lin Lu smiled gently and waved to her.

"..."

W hurriedly lowered his head, his heart filled with mixed feelings.

No matter how crazy or manic she usually is, she is still just a girl who is not yet twenty years old. What happened today is simply beyond the limits of her brain's capacity.

Being burned for no reason, being seen naked by someone for no reason, and even being touched inappropriately—it would be a lie to say I didn't care at all.

Some things you can say that you can't fool yourself, and she had to admit that the man had left a faint mark on her heart, something that had never happened in the past ten years.

Schemes, killings, betrayals, wailing and carnage are the main themes of this land, so she is unwilling to trust anyone.

Just surviving is already exhausting enough; how can one have the energy to think about anything else?

But now things seem different. The look in that man's eyes was something she had never seen before. There was no discrimination, no contempt. Those eyes reflected a 'human being,' not a tool that could be discarded at will.

Not only him, but also Sakta, Liberi, and that elusive woman whose race was indistinguishable—W could sense that their gazes were unambiguous.

equality.

These two simple words are precisely what is furthest removed from the Sarkaz race. As human beings, who truly enjoys being treated as a tool and a expendable commodity?

Perhaps she should try to truly connect with their circle?

Even if the hope is slim, and it seems like a beautiful bubble... but... what if?

Chapter 83 The King Standing on the Edge of His End

"Kal'tsit, I've read the mission report this time. You actually have a moment of such disarray?"

In the rather simple office, a woman in a white dress looked up from the pile of documents and gazed at Kal'tsit as she walked in, a faint smile appearing on her face.

She had long, flowing pink hair and a slender figure. Her pale pink eyes seemed to be filled with gentleness and warmth. Unlike other Sarkaz, two jet-black, crystalline horns grew from the sides of her hair, pointing straight up to the sky.

She is the Demon King, the most legitimate ruler of Kazdel, and a war hero who once led the Sarkaz to resist foreign enemies; her achievements are still sung about today.

Today, she is Theresa, the creator and leader of the Tower of Babel.

"Everyone will fail sometimes. You should understand that I am not omnipotent."

Kal'tsit didn't take Theresa's teasing to heart.

She never considered herself an omnipotent god and had experienced many failures. If she really had that ability, how could the Tower of Babel have ended up like this?

It is a disgrace that the rightful rulers of Kazdel have been forced to this point by a usurper, and that they are even actively seeking another way out and fleeing the country.

"Okay, that's true. So what do you want me to do? Gather elite operators and get revenge?"

Lazily stretching her waist, Theresa's smile widened. Those who knew her well knew it was just a joke; she was never that kind of person, and Kal'tsit knew this better than anyone.

"The soldiers and operators were unharmed. Further research into that power has begun and is being handled by Logos."

The white-haired Felin clearly had no intention of laughing or joking, or rather, she never laughed or joking with anyone under any circumstances.

"That power called 'Blessing' is something we've never encountered before. As one of the blessed ones, after detailed testing, I discovered that the spread of Oripathy in my body has indeed been suppressed. The fusion rate between my cells and Originium is no longer increasing, and the density of Originium crystals in my blood has even slightly decreased. We all understand what this means, so I had an idea—"

With her pale green furry cat ears swaying gently, Kal'tsit looked at Theresa with a solemn expression.

“Your Highness, your physical condition is not optimistic. That thing can only be used as a last resort. Now, we may have a new option.”

"My body can hold on for a while longer, don't worry, Kal'tsit. I won't fall until our ideals are achieved."

When this topic was brought up, Theresa's expression dimmed for a moment, but she quickly recovered and shook her head with a smile: "Even if that blessing can indeed suppress or even cure Oripathy to some extent, it also has unknown constraints. Given my status, it is impossible for me to accept restrictions of unknown origin."

“A king should not be branded by others, I know that very well, so I’m not trying to persuade you to contact the Blessing. What I mean is, since they possess mysterious methods that we don’t know about, they might also have a way to deal with Oripathy, so perhaps we can make deeper contact.”

"Deeper contact? Aren't you already doing that?"

"No, research alone is not enough, Your Highness."

"Alright, alright, I'll leave this matter entirely to you."

Theresa waved her hand helplessly, and for the first time since the conversation began, she suppressed her smile and became serious.

No one knew her body better than she did. It wasn't just Oripathy; the Demon Lord's power, passed down through the Sarkaz royal family, brought unparalleled strength, but it was also a heavy shackle, requiring a heavy price to be paid every time it was used.

For this reason, she wore rings on all ten fingers for sealing, but even so, she didn't have much time left.

The power to potentially cure Oripathy is indeed important, and it could become a crucial pillar of that glorious ideal in the future. If possible, she doesn't want to go down that path. After all, who would want to die when they can live?

However, even if the 'Blessing' could suppress the spread of Oripathy, it could not save her already terminally ill body. Therefore, she had to devote her limited time to more important matters and seek a stable way out for the Tower of Babel.

The future is up to the new leader; all she can do now is pave the way for the new king.

“Kal'tsit, there’s been progress on Rembiton. The Rhodes Island is about to be powered up again. We need to bring it here intact. This is the most important thing. So, you will be in charge of the Babel Tower affairs from now on. I will be heading to Rembiton.”

"Is it fixed yet?"

Upon hearing this news, Kal'tsit was somewhat surprised. She thought she would have to wait another month or two, but she didn't expect things to progress so quickly.

"It's not fixed, it can only move. There's still a lot of work to be done, but as for my brother... they might already know something. Rembiton is no longer safe."