Lord: I can see loyalty.

Bordeaux village, the lord's residence.

The mountain of documents almost buried the long table. Vio rubbed his aching temples, tossed aside the stacks of "intelligence," and felt a little helpless.

Like this one in his hand: it depicts a cactus with human limbs, which he calls the so-called "Erosion God Messenger"...

After sifting through the information for a long time, nine out of ten of them were either random messages or old stories from the Southern Reach, with less than ten actually being of any use.

He let out a long breath and was about to ask the servant to pour him a cup of tea to calm down when there was a knock on the door.

"My lord, someone requests an audience," came the voice of Vincent, the captain of the personal guard, from outside.

"He's gone today." Vio closed his eyes. After he pacified the southern border, all sorts of people came to see him every day.

"But he said...it was about that god-eating thing."

Vio immediately opened his eyes, sat up abruptly, and said, his drowsiness vanishing, "Bring him in."

Soon, two guards led in a man wrapped in a gray cloak. The man was completely covered up, but the dry, cracked skin on his chin could be vaguely seen.

"Sir, I've searched you, you're not carrying any weapons."

Vio nodded, and the moment his gaze fell upon the other person, that familiar panel appeared before his eyes:

Name: Duke Aston Monroe

Race: Human

Age: 456

Hobbies: Casual chatting, sword practice

【Characteristics: Archery, Horsemanship, Vengeance, Cursed, Immortal Body, Combat Experience, Magic Apprentice, Advanced Basic Swordsmanship】

Loyalty: 40%

456 years old? Vio's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't show anything unusual on his face. He quickly calmed down and looked at the other items.

Like the alpha wolf Malankik, it has the [Curse] trait, and the seemingly exaggerated [Immortal Body]... Of course, Vio knew the panel wouldn't be wrong.

He slightly raised his hand and said to the two tense guards, "You two can go out now, and close the door behind you."

"My lord?" The guard was taken aback, his sharp gaze falling on the gray cloak. This guy looked dangerous no matter how you looked at him.

Even the figure under the gray cloak seemed to pause for a moment.

Vio didn't repeat himself, he just waved his hand.

"...Yes, sir." The guard didn't waste any more words. With the soft sound of the wooden door closing, only Vio and the other person remained in the room.

"Speak," Vio spoke first, getting straight to the point: "Tell me about where you came from, and about the news concerning the 'God of Eclipse'."

The figure under the cloak paused for a moment, then, as if making a decision, slowly raised his hand and pulled down the hood.

In the candlelight, there was a face covered with cracks, like a piece of pottery that had been smashed and glued back together, and the empty eyes above it made one feel uneasy.

Vio simply stared at the other person silently, without fear or surprise in his eyes. A slight fluctuation appeared in the eyes of the figure under the gray cloak; the other person's composure had exceeded his expectations.

"My name is Duke Aston Monroe, and I come from the depths of the desert," Duke said in a low voice, "I was once a member of the Immortal Army under the command of the God of Eclipse."

"The Immortal Army..." Vio leaned forward slightly, speaking with interest, "Under the command of the God of Eclipse, so you've come to kill me?"

As he spoke, his gaze swept over the other party's panel, which showed that [Loyalty: 41%] had not decreased but had actually increased.

Duke's stiff, cracked face seemed to twitch, showing some surprise: "No, my identity as a member of the Immortal Army is in the past. Now I am just a sinner burdened with a curse."

He paused, then continued, "Before becoming a member of the Immortal Army, I lived deep in the desert. Back then, this land was known as the Kingdom of Emory, and the desert wasn't as desolate as it is now. My family also became wealthy because we discovered and mined a special mineral."

A faint light appeared in the other person's empty eyes, and Vio seemed to see that golden age in them.

"Until someone dug out a stone we'd never seen before from the deepest part of the mine." His voice grew lower, "It was covered in magical runes that were ancient even to us at the time, and nobody knew what they were..."

"And then?" Vio asked, raising his eyes slightly as the other person stopped speaking.

"Then, the Eclipse awoke," Duke said calmly. "Or rather, we released it unintentionally, and overnight, the entire city was turned into a wasteland."

"Most people died on the spot, while a small number, including myself, were cursed by his power and turned into unconscious immortal soldiers."

"I have no memory of what happened after that. When I regained consciousness, I don't know how much time had passed." He looked up at Vio.

"When I woke up, I was already in the Cavill Fortress. Emory had long been destroyed and transformed into the Kingdom of Rovia. I also heard that the Eclipse God had been sealed away once again in the depths of the desert."

"After that, I wandered aimlessly until the bandits of the Southern Border appeared, and you, Lord Vio, wiped out the wolves." He looked at Vio: "And then, I saw your announcement."

After he finished speaking, his previously steady tone finally showed a slight fluctuation: "A hundred years... no, longer."

"Finally, finally someone dares to venture into the depths of the desert again! Dares to confront the Eclipse God!"

His empty eyes were fixed on Vio, seemingly filled with an unreadable fanaticism: "Given how you were before... perhaps you really could have done it."

A brief silence fell over the room, broken only by the crackling of the candlelight. Vio leaned back in his chair, his fingertips interlacing, his gaze fixed intently on Duke before him.

As Vio digested the information in the other person's words, he combined it with the intelligence he already knew and tried to connect the dots.

Finally, he leaned forward again, looked at Duke in front of him, and slowly said, "So, Duke Aston Monroe."

"You want to take revenge on the God of Eclipse, right? Then tell me everything you know about the God of Eclipse."

……

A moment later, as Duke told Vio everything he knew over the past few hundred years, Vio also gained a general understanding of the Eclipse God.

The Eclipse God possesses the ability to bestow curses, such as Duke's immortality and the Longevity Army, and the "Light Arrow Magic" manipulated by the alpha wolf Malankik, all thanks to the Eclipse God.

Thinking of this, Vio couldn't help but frown.

So, did Neil go deep into the desert because he also learned about the curse and went to find the God of Food?

"As for weaknesses..." Duke's expression darkened slightly, then he continued, "As far as I know, the Eclipse God also possesses an immortal and indestructible body, and also wields magic that ordinary people cannot understand."

"So far, the only thing that can restrain Him is a seal, but ordinary seals obviously won't work..."

Vio frowned as he listened to the news. If he could meet the Eclipse God in person, he might be able to discern something from the panel...