On my second playthrough, they were full of malice towards me.

The flames of gunfire and explosions engulfed Charlotte, and in the next moment, Charlotte could only watch helplessly as armored vehicles exploded out of thin air, and the Kyle Tech soldiers around him were killed by their own bullets.

After a bloody storm.

An entire Kyle Technology unit came to support his elite forces, and in the end, the only living thing left standing was Charlotte, who had done nothing.

Oh no, and there's also the beast that Charlotte is carrying.

"You're actually wrong. The person I'm dealing with isn't that Empress. But you're right about the so-called revenge of the Old Alliance. I really don't care about that anymore, because in my eyes, nothing is more important than 'Mother.' Do you understand?"

"I will do anything for my mother, to help her get everything she wants, even if it means betraying my comrades—no, colleagues would be a more accurate word."

"So in my opinion, it is a real pity that Bal used so many years of accumulated evil to destroy the Dragon Kingdom. Offering these evils to Mother would be the best way to end them. However, Mother is always loving and will not take away her child's fruits. So, I am the only one who can play the villain."

Charlotte's eyes widened when she finally learned the truth behind it all. It turned out that the failure of their Dragon Kingdom plan and the death of Lord Baer were not only caused by the Empress, but also by Hero's machinations and the trading partner Hero had mentioned before.

Just as the minister from the Dragon Kingdom was about to say something, Hero didn't give him the chance.

"You've lived this long, you should be content. Now give back your power."

As he spoke, Charlotte stretched out his hand. Immediately afterward, Charlotte's body began to twist and contort. Countless filthy black mud flowed from his seven orifices, rushing towards Charlotte. Charlotte tried to hold onto the black mud with his hands, but it was all in vain. After a series of whimpering sounds, Charlotte was like a sponge that had been drained of water, revealing his originally decaying and rotten body. Without the black mud to fill it, all that remained was a withered human skin on the ground, called "Charlotte".

After calmly completing all of this, Hero finally turned his gaze to the last living creature left in the area, the pack animal Charlotte had used for her escape.

It might have been terrified by the series of terrifying events that had occurred before, or it might simply have been completely ruined due to overwork and constant beatings and exploitation.

The pack animal only whimpered a few times symbolically at Hero. Instinct told it that Hero was in danger, but it was too weak to even run away.

but.

"It's alright now, you're free." Hero reached out and stroked the pack animal, his voice gentle, making it hard to believe that he was the same Hero from before.

He did not do anything to harm the pack animals; on the contrary, when he saw the bloodied and battered parts of the pack animals, he showed a hint of pity.

Hero looked at the black mud he had just pulled from Charlotte's hand, as if he had thought of something.

He poured the black mud directly into the beast's wounds, causing it to struggle and writhe. The beast was being transformed by the will of the turbid calamity, causing it immense pain.

Hero wrapped his arms around the pack beast, and no matter how the beast twisted its body, it could not break free from Hero. However, soon, the beast's struggles became less and less intense, and instead, its aura began to surge. The beast's fur began to turn black, sharp fangs grew from the corners of its mouth, and the claws on its limbs became longer and sharper. Its docile temperament completely disappeared, and its eyes were filled with savagery. It had completely transformed from a pack beast into a brutal beast.

That's right, that's it.

Looking at the beast in front of him, which he had modified and given a "second life," a smile appeared on Hero's face.

But the next moment.

Such a smile is fleeting.

Because opposite him appeared the figure of a succubus.

Chapter 146 She'll Like It

"Have you considered giving it a name?" Lena glanced at the new type of monster next to Hero, which had been modified by Zhuo'e and could no longer be described as a "beast-bearer".

Seeing that the man in black opposite her didn't answer, as if it were expected, the succubus chuckled, then changed to a regretful tone and said to the modified monster:

"It's truly pitiful that someone forcibly alters one's fate without giving it any new meaning. In the end, one remains merely a tool, a tool for others to achieve self-satisfaction."

"What do you think, Representative Herlo?"

The succubus's voice always seems to have a kind of magic, capable of touching people's hearts and making them waver, especially when the person standing opposite is one of "them".

Hero raised his head, revealing his still calm and collected eyes beneath the brim of his hat. He didn't respond to Lena's words, but went straight to the point:

"Now that the city lord has come to find me, can I take that to mean our deal can begin?"

"Of course, I've already gotten what you wanted. I was thinking of checking how your progress was going and whether you needed any help from me, and maybe I could use that as an excuse to make the deal work. But it seems you're even more capable than I thought."

Lena looked around at the battlefield, at the Kyle Technology troops who had been wiped out in the smoke, and at Charlotte, who had turned into a dried corpse at Hero's feet, and clicked her tongue in amazement.

Then, as if to demonstrate her reward to Hero, the succubus flicked her wrist, and a piece of jade exuding an eerie and ominous aura appeared in her palm, spinning and floating.

This was the very cursed jade in the center of the black mud pool, which was the core of the skull altar that Ba'er had meticulously operated for many years deep within the forbidden zone of the Ancient Wolf Clan.

It can be said that within it lies the immense turmoil accumulated over the past few centuries by the Dragon Kingdom through slavery and corrupt governance.

However, this cursed jade had already had all its power drained by Liao Ji with Anno's help, turning it into an ordinary stone. Later, Liao Ji, still not trusting it and adhering to the principle of "finishing off the last piece," smashed it into several pieces.

The reason it's now in Lena's hands is because after the succubus provided Liao Ji with an "improved" ritual method, the manual secretly moved the shattered cursed jade from the altar before leading the ritual.

As for reassembling the Cursed Jade after acquiring it and injecting some disguise spells into it to make it look real at least on the surface, this was a piece of cake for Lena.

On the other side, when Hero saw the cursed jade in the succubus's hand, the expression in his eyes finally changed, and he became excited.

From using the jackal-like Loba to provide assistance and support, enabling him to trigger a "blood sacrifice" in the sealed city and thus allow the empress to rule, to later deliberately delaying and making Bar lower his guard in the council of the Holy Temple, thus buying time for the empress's investigation, he did all of this for the purpose of this cursed jade that contained a huge amount of turbidity.

Hero had no doubt that the cursed jade in Lena's hand was fake. After all, in his opinion, apart from "Mother", even Lena would not and had no reason to absorb the turbidity inside.

After all, more turbidity is definitely not better; no one can bear the terrifying amount of turbidity in the cursed jade all at once.

Seeing that Lena had already taken out the items for the trade, then his side...

Hero reached into the side pocket of his tuxedo and quickly took out a small, sealed wooden bottle. In front of Rena, he uncorked the bottle, and the first thing you saw was a dark green light emanating from inside, giving off a strong sense of vitality.

Afterwards, Hero carefully poured the contents of the container into his palm; it was a seed.

As mentioned before, killing Charlotte was just a bonus; the "seed" they're dealing with now is actually the real deal.

"The Seed of the World Tree".

"Does the City Lord still need an inspection?"

The World Tree, according to legend, existed in the wasteland five hundred years ago, or even longer. It was regarded by the elves as the source of life that connects all things and the cornerstone of the world. The Forest Alliance, established five hundred years later, was built around the World Tree as its absolute core. It is rumored that the research on "magic" in the Forest Alliance was derived from the purification power of the World Tree to transform the Turbid Calamity.

Entering the Forest Alliance, which is extremely exclusive and shrouded in illusionary magic, is already difficult enough. Even Lena would have to put in a bit of effort to get close to the heavily guarded World Tree.

That's why this transaction happened.

"No need, I trust you."

"Lord City Lord, may we proceed with the transaction?"

"Don't be in such a hurry. When he's in Shanghai, Councilor Herlo is so busy that he rarely shows up. As his superior, I don't even have a chance to care about my subordinates. So, how about we take advantage of this opportunity to chat a little longer?"

Looking at the smiling succubus opposite him, Hero frowned, his face showing displeasure. However, Reina didn't care whether Hero wanted to or not. She tapped her chin with her finger, as if thinking about which topic to start with. Soon, her eyes lit up, and a mysterious smile appeared on her lips.

"For example, how is your 'mother'? Has she been acting strangely lately?"

Hero had originally intended to adhere to the principle of speaking as little as possible in front of this supreme succubus, but unfortunately, Lena had hit his sore spot.

Upon hearing Lena's words, Hero even dropped the perfunctory "Lord City Lord" address he had used before, and asked with a hint of anxiety, "What do you mean by that?"

The reason he reacted so strongly was that his "mother" had indeed been behaving strangely lately.

They were suddenly summoned to the church for an emergency meeting, but during the meeting, they seemed to be unwell, and their voices became intermittent and somewhat unclear.

Moreover, whether it was Hero's imagination or not, he felt that his "mother" was trying her best to endure something. What was even stranger was that when he tried to go up and care for her, his mother stopped him and wouldn't let anyone get close.

If that were the case, it would be alright, but who could have imagined that her health would suddenly deteriorate again, to the point that "Mother" had to cover her mouth with her hand and bend over on the table, convulsing uncontrollably.

Even now, when Hero recalls that scene, he still feels a lingering fear, let alone when he was there at the time.

He had never seen his "mother" like this before, and was so frightened that his mind went blank. He stood there, at a loss, and almost thought he was going to lose his mother.

Fortunately, my mother seemed to gradually recover on her own. Although she still looked a little weak, at least her voice stopped trembling and her breathing became steady, and she returned to normal.

Hero desperately wanted to know what was wrong with his mother, but she remained silent on the matter. Even when he asked, he couldn't get an answer, which instead provoked his mother to get angry at him, something she rarely did.

Therefore, the reason why Holo is so eager to obtain the "Cursed Jade" from Lena is actually to offer it to his mother as a tonic to restore her body. Even if his mother doesn't tell him anything, he hopes to do his part in this way.

Now, Lena on the other side has also asked about her mother. Hero refuses to believe it's a coincidence; the other woman must know something, which is why she's so impatient.

After all, his mother looked so terrifying back then, like she was about to die. Perhaps she had kept it a secret to reassure them, but Hero didn't care. He had to find out the reason, no matter how difficult it was. He just wanted to protect his mother.

Seeing Hero's anxious expression, which already gave her the answer, Lena's smile widened. It seemed she was one step closer to her "Succubus Victory."

She didn't answer Hero directly. How could she expose something so interesting? That would be a betrayal of her beliefs. Lena, as if deliberately provoking Hero, smiled and said:

"To be honest, your mother and I have a pretty good relationship. We're like sisters. How about this: you call me 'Auntie' obediently, and I'll give you a little pointers on how to help your mother, okay?"

"I was just being cheeky," Lena said, but looking at the cold expression on Hero's pale, handsome face opposite her, she realized it was impossible, and sighed regretfully.

"Alright, considering how hard you worked on this freebie, I'll put your worries aside. Don't worry, your mother will accept this cursed jade, and it should make her very happy, right?"

Are you happy?

Does it mean it will be very helpful for the hidden illness in her mother? That's how Hero interpreted Lena's words.

The other party, being "Supreme," had no reason to lie to him. Hero felt relieved and also a little happy that he could help his mother and share her burdens.

Perhaps it was because the weight that had been hanging over them had been lifted, or perhaps it was because Lena's use of "aunt" was absurd but did indicate that the other person had a good relationship with her mother, which reduced Hero's hostility somewhat.

After a slight pause, it was Hero who took the initiative to ask, "What does the City Lord intend to do with the World Tree Seed?"

"They took the seeds, so they must be planning to plant another tree, right?"

Seeing that the succubus opposite him had no intention of joking, Hero frowned and said bluntly, "Consider this a reminder."

"Only one World Tree is allowed in the world."

The implication is that no matter how much Lena plants, she will never get results. The Forest Alliance has already tried this many times before. Therefore, most of the World Tree's seeds are used for other purposes and have never had the essence of being "seeds".

But Lena remained unconcerned, her face always displaying an air of effortless confidence.

"Yes, of course I know that, so I plan to plant it in a very special place, a place that doesn't belong to this real world."

Holo couldn't understand the succubus's words at all, and Lena didn't seem inclined to explain further. She seemed to still be interested in Holo's mother, so this time Lena took the initiative to end the conversation. After exchanging items with Holo, she gave him a cryptic "playful" look, and just like her mysterious appearance when she arrived, she was teleported away and disappeared in a flash.

Hero, who was left behind, felt something was off. Rena's words had a hidden meaning, but that's just how the succubus race is—extremely adept at manipulating people's minds. The more he thought about it, the more likely he was to fall into their trap.

So when Hero was in the past, blood flowed from his eyes again, and the seal in his pupils reappeared, opening a blood gate in front of him. The principle was the same as how he chased Charlotte before. Within the Old Alliance, he deliberately let a member "hurt" him, so that he could provide Hero with coordinates for teleportation and tracking. Over the centuries, he had already researched and developed various new uses for his abilities.

Just as Hero was about to step into the Blood Gate, he suddenly stopped. He turned to look at the mutated pack animal he had left behind all alone. Rena's words from the beginning seemed to echo in his ears again.

In the end, Hero's figure disappeared from this place, but this time, the mutated pack beast also disappeared along with him.

An old alliance.

Behind the sanctuary.

Inside a dimly lit dormitory room, a dark-skinned elf in its true form is conducting an experiment.

She recalled the humiliation she had suffered at Liao Ji's hands in the Turbid Space. In fact, the humiliation was secondary; rather, it was the discovery of the problem with the body she was "occupying" that made her realize the issue.

Dozens of tentacles wriggled around him in the room. The dark-skinned elf made up his mind, picked up the knife on the table, and then brought one of his tentacles closer.