Forests Don't Support Idle Goblins

Upon hearing the screams, Sharten jumped out of bed and found a human male corpse beside his bed.

The corpse's face looked grotesque, as if it had died in great pain.

"Who is this?" He circled the corpse, examining it. Judging from its clothing, it seemed to be a mage, wearing a half-length mage's robe, with a staff of unknown material lying nearby.

Furthermore, the corpse had no external injuries, its clothes appeared intact, and there was no blood on the surrounding ground. "How did it die? Electrocution?"

Charles walked to the wall, looked at it, picked up the angry horn from the ground, and tried to pry open the mage's corpse with it. "He looked to be about thirty years old. How could he have died next to my bed?"

"And how did this guy get in?" He rubbed the mage's robes, fearing there might be something hidden inside.

Fortunately, after this guy died, everything was safe and nothing strange happened. This made Charles frown. "It must have been that chimera mage, or maybe he was commissioned by Valentine to assassinate me?"

He walked to the table and placed the Angry Horn in his hand on it. "It's still not safe. This guy may have cast an invisibility spell on himself and then entered the fortress. Those nobles would set up defensive magic barriers around their bedrooms to deal with possible assassinations, but I don't have that kind of equipment here."

"And another thing," he said, examining the corpse, "is, "how did he die?"

It can't be that "I have a habit of killing in my dreams," Ciel raised his hand and rubbed his temples. He had been thinking about the whispers in the forest before, but he didn't expect it to "come true" so quickly.

"That was too dangerous," he turned to look at the mirror next to him, where he saw a smiling reflection. "Thank goodness, I'm still alive."

Charles lowered his head and let out a soft breath, but he immediately realized something. He looked up sharply, his eyes fixed on the mirror, where he saw himself still smiling.

"I..." He hesitated, reaching out to touch his cheek. After confirming that his expression was not a smile, but a furrowed and serious look, the hairs on the back of Charles's neck stood on end.

"Who are you?" he asked calmly in front of the mirror after taking a few slow, deep breaths.

"You see me?" the "Charles" in the mirror said with a smile. He had an innocent smile on his face, as if the magician who had just died had nothing to do with him. It was probably nothing to him to kill a mid-level magician.

"Yes," Ciel nodded, his eyes never leaving the mirror. "You saved me just now, didn't you?"

"That was just a small favor," the "Charles" in the mirror waved his hand. Behind him, a phantom soul appeared in his palm, its face resembling the corpse on the ground. This soul was struggling and screaming silently, but all its efforts were in vain. The expression on its face revealed its current pain. "I feel that helping you is helping myself."

"Help you?" Charles frowned slightly. "If there's anything, we can talk about it in person."

He felt that since the other party hadn't resorted to dangerous methods but had instead saved him, it meant the situation wasn't life-threatening.

"You are very clever and restrained." The "Charles" in the mirror retrieved the mage's soul, then looked up and "walked" out of the mirror, as if emerging from water. The mirror surface swayed slightly, like ripples on water.

"I do want to ask you to do something." The person in the mirror slowly walked up to Charles and stood in front of him, maintaining a smile the whole time. But Charles felt that the smile looked dangerous, just a fake smile.

"So what kind of request is it?" Charles stood still, not frightened or shouting at the various actions of the person in the mirror. He simply secretly brought up the other person's panel.

【Name: [Consciousness clone]

Race: Demon

[Danger Level: ? You're probably doomed.]

[Personality: Evil and insidious]

[Title: One of the Six Great Demon Lords]

[Personal Status: Consciousness Clone Form (Negative)]

"Damn it," Charles cursed inwardly, "As expected, I've attracted something incredible. This time, it's a clone of the Demon Lord coming after me. If this guy wants to kill me, it'll probably only take a thought. And what the hell is this 'wait to die' danger level? The danger description I'm seeing right now is only 'slightly dangerous'."

Charles recalled his own description, "trash." Now, facing such an opponent, God, what are you playing at? Is this it?

"As long as it's within my capabilities and your offer satisfies me, I generally won't refuse a commission outright." Although his heart was churning with turmoil, Charles remained composed, even managing a forced smile. "Can we sit down and talk?"

"Tsk tsk tsk," the "Sharl" in the mirror curled his lips and shook his head slightly, "Your behavior is nothing like that of a goblin. To be honest, you are much calmer than those powerful human mages."

"It's nothing, anything can happen in Nightmare Forest," Charles said casually. He then walked to the table, pulled out a chair, and gestured for the other person to sit down. "Sorry there's no hot water tonight, so we can't make tea. We'll have to talk like this for now."

He did his best to control his body and facial muscles to make himself appear more natural, and then the two sat down at the table.

"I need you to help me find something, in exchange for some magical abilities," the person in the mirror said, placing their hands on the table and resting their chin on the back of their hands. "If you can find it, then perhaps I can grant you one wish."

"Looking for something?" Charles tried to sit more naturally, crossing his arms in front of him and twirling his thumbs as he talked to the "self" in front of him. The feeling was somewhat strange. Even though he knew that the other party was a transformation of the demon lord's avatar, Charles still felt a little uncomfortable.

However, he believes the other party will not reveal their true colors to him. "If it's not too difficult, I can consider agreeing."

With a "whoosh," a burst of sparks suddenly ignited in the air, and then, as the flames swept downwards, a yellowed parchment floated in the air.

"This is the contract," the person in the mirror said lazily. "You can take a look at it first."

After the sparks died down, Charles reached out and grabbed the parchment. The first thing he saw was a picture.

It was an eye that was a mix of red and blue, and it looked so alive that wisps of red mist were constantly rising from it. Looking directly at it would give you a sense of disorientation.

Read Chapter 186, "The Demon Lord Arrives," now to begin your exciting day.