I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

But Amber is awake right now!!!

Duke broke out in a cold sweat.

However, just as Guangbao was about to press refresh, Amber in her arms suddenly sat up, startling Guangbao, who was "cheating on her best friend," so much that she froze. Then, Amber punched Duke hard and said angrily:

"I'll punch you, you scumbag! Don't pretend you didn't hear me, Cecil just said she likes you."

Duke: "?"

Chapter 415 The Prince in the Light, the God in the Shadows

"You were unconscious before confessing, pretended to be asleep after confessing, then suddenly resurrected as a power forward, Duke remained silent, embarrassed Cecil, and ruined the prestige of the Clock Tower date. Do you have any objections to what you did?"

"What nonsense!"

Amber glared at Duke, not intending to think carefully about what her boyfriend was rambling on about—she was already used to Duke suddenly saying things she didn't understand... Anyway, if he wanted them to know what he meant, he would explain it to them afterwards, so there was no need to pay special attention to it.

So, she waved her little fist at him, making a gesture that said, "Watch out or I'll punch you again," then pulled the still bewildered Guangbao along to the other side of the clock tower, pretending to be angry as she said:

"Hmph, let's ignore this scumbag. Sister Cecil, let's go."

Duke: "..."

At this moment, he received both good news and bad news.

The good news is that his wings are currently harmonious and stable, with no signs of a brutal battle unfolding. The bad news… well, he has a feeling he can already foresee a future where wings are beating people up, or even the kind where the wings gang up on him.

As for whether, under the guidance of the seductive elves, they would choose to beat him up in bed... Duke will have to leave that for now.

However, what Amber just did might be one of the best options.

She abruptly ended her pretense of sleep, stopping Duke from trying to get away with it, and helped Cecil reiterate the meaning of her confession. Then, she pulled the confused Cecil away from Duke for the time being. This series of actions both defined Cecil's confession, making it impossible for Duke, Cecil, or even Amber herself to ignore this important event, and temporarily set the matter aside to prevent emotional issues from affecting the overall situation.

Brilliant! Brilliant!

I never expected that Miss Amber Silverleaf would be such a master of relationships.

Duke felt a chill run down his spine, even as he admired her. Although he was a notorious playboy in the floating city and had some confidence in his own charm, the thought of going up against a relationship expert of this caliber made him tremble with fear for his future.

I feel like becoming henpecked is the only path I can take. What should I do?

cough.

Duke wasn't too surprised that Amber seemed genuinely willing to share her with Cecil. Amber had shown similar behavior before, and at least she didn't have any objections to Cecil. After all, Amber had previously seen Cecil as "stealing her best friend's man," and now Cecil was simply trying to win Duke back, which was an internal conflict.

If the rival were Annie, her attitude would be different.

Duke clicked his tongue, pulled himself together from his wandering thoughts, and focused his attention back on the present, setting his gaze on the streets of the city in the distance.

But in reality, he did not search for Date and the others as he claimed, but was waiting for an opportunity.

At this moment, the floating city is almost at sunset. If we wait a little longer, we will be able to see the magnificent red glow in the distance.

He casually tossed the deus ex machina into the air; it wasn't finished using yet, but so far Duke had only input three sentences into it:

"Amber has found a way to complete the transfer."

"The people who had enjoyed a noble status in the underground world for thousands of years were dragged to the surface where everyone is equal."

"After the next sunrise and sunset, everything will come to an end, and the black prince living on the miniature planet will also meet the end of his fairy tale."

The effect of the deus ex machina began after Duke recorded the voice. Therefore, the first sentence was already fully realized, and the second sentence was at least mostly realized. Duke was waiting for the third sentence to be realized under the power of the deus ex machina... or rather, waiting for the deus ex machina to help the Little Prince meet the conditions for realizing this sentence.

For example.

Duke suddenly raised his head and looked up at the sky above the floating city.

At the same time, Amber, Cecil, and almost everyone in the floating city's ground world sensed something and made the same action—raising their heads to look at the sky.

Then, a miniature planet appeared in the sky above the floating city that stood atop the clouds, overlooking the earth.

Meanwhile, the dazzling star map covered the entire structure of the floating city. The magically advanced cyberpunk streets, painstakingly crafted over millennia by the three major powers of the floating city, were utterly powerless against the city's original power. The vast city illuminated the brilliant stars, becoming the sky of a miniature planet inverted in the heavens.

What happened once in the underground world of the floating city is happening again in the surface city of the floating city.

But this time, the situation was far worse than before. After everyone was transferred to the surface, a sunset occurred in the floating city's underground world, and a complete alternate dimension and its world rules invaded the main plane where the floating city was located. And with the appearance of the mini-planet, it silently arrived on the surface.

A flame suddenly ignited in the distance, instantly turning into a raging inferno. This eerie flame did not engulf or burn the street itself, but it did devour the living beings within it. The citizens of the floating city began to cry out and scatter in all directions, but the flame did not spare them. It transformed into strange, soul-like flames, drifting leisurely toward all life, wanting to burn away the flesh and blood of living beings and devour the souls of the wise.

"Is the world rule brought about by the sunset in the underground world... 'fire'?"

Duke frowned, but his brow quickly relaxed.

Because the flames that were meant to kill living beings and devour souls did not actually succeed, some holy light condensed on the bodies of the citizens who were engulfed by them, temporarily preserving their bodies. Then, several figures arrived at the scene before the holy light on their bodies went out, and confronted the hideous and terrifying flames.

If the arriving professionals are not at least near-legendary level and above who have grasped the legendary destiny, then the terrifying flames will break through the standoff and blockade, causing great impact on the ground cities.

But among the professionals who arrived, the first one to be seen was a black cat holding a short, jet-black bow.

"Little Black, with its mythical weaponry, has appeared where it is most needed... Isn't this a bit too much of a coincidence? Is it you, Ida?"

Duke raised an eyebrow, then raised the deus ex machina in his hand once more, and uttered the fourth and final sentence:

"A god from a parallel world, her ambitious plan has finally been revealed... and has had an effect that caught her somewhat off guard."

The deus ex machina, which had never lasted so long, made a clicking sound, then stopped working and softly uttered its last words:

"Deus Ex Machina"

"Come on, the final act begins!"

Chapter 416 Contradictory and Opposing Ideologies

"That flame must be controlled, because the rules of that alternate dimension are terrifying. If that flame were to devour all the living beings in the floating city as nourishment, who knows what might happen... Even if the person from the four major families and the person from the sheriff system were to come out and extinguish the flame instantly, it would still kill a large number of the floating city's citizens."

Hidden in the shadows, Ida observed the small black creatures that had run out to stop or spread because of her orders, while casually explaining to Alice beside her:

"To achieve our goal, a sufficient number of citizens in this floating city is necessary."

When Duke saved the underground world, it was Ida who instilled his name in the hearts of all the underground citizens. Her purpose was naturally to lay the foundation for Duke's godhood. After that operation, she had already helped Duke establish a basic impression in the minds of the underground citizens... Next, all that was needed was to establish a basic impression of Duke in the minds of the surface citizens before she could begin her god-making plan.

Ida's goal was simple: to transform Duke into a new god of the floating city.

However, Ida was only explaining to Alice. There were other people present besides Ida and Alice, but the only one who needed an explanation was Alice, who was confused about the situation. The other two people present didn't need Ida to say anything—one was named Monica, and the other was named Fei.

Clearly, they were both mortal enemies of Ida. The latter was Ida's nemesis from beginning to end. It was Ida's existence that made it difficult for Fei to achieve her original goal of building the floating city. The former was even more important. If Monica hadn't betrayed Ida after becoming the city lord, why would she need to go through all this trouble to plan and scheme?

"Everything is going according to plan, you can rest assured."

After Ida finished explaining to Alice, she smiled and looked at Fei and Monica. Given their relationship, it was quite surprising that they not only didn't fight on the spot, but even cooperated to some extent. So, it was not surprising that they spoke with veiled sarcasm and innuendo.

Fei narrowed her eyes but didn't speak. Instead, Monica smiled and smoothed things over, casually changing the subject: "Speaking of which, it seems there are fewer top-tier experts in this floating city. Ida, according to you, are there only two people in this floating city that we need to be wary of?"

"Few? In our floating city, how many top-tier experts are worth my attention?" Ida tilted his head and started counting on his fingers: "Fei is one, Carol is one, the old woman who is the Prophecy Witch barely counts as half... And who else? You don't think a legend of your level is worth my attention, do you?"

Ida, in a fit of madness, pointed a finger at Monica, causing the former city lord's lips to twitch slightly. She felt an urge to lash out, but after thinking about it, she gave up.

Ida wasn't wrong. After all, in terms of pure strength, she wasn't among the top-tier legends. If Monica could beat Carol in a one-on-one fight, how could she have been successfully usurped? What other advantages did Carol have back then besides a group of trustworthy companions? All she had left was her strength!

“And the same applies to this world. Of those who truly catch my eye, there’s one from the four great families, one from the sheriff, and the council president is practically one… See, isn’t that a good balance?” Ida laughed. “You don’t think someone like Rose Gawain is even worth my attention, do you?”

“The top strength of this floating city is indeed not as good as ours.” Fei, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up, refuting Date Kyouren’s words. “Just looking at the number of top experts, it seems that they are very similar, but if they really fight one-on-one, our city will definitely win in the end.”

Date raised an eyebrow: "Are you so confident that you can defeat the one from the four great families?"

“No, it’s because there are far more variables in the floating city ruled by the witches, led by Carol, that can directly change the course of the battle than in this decaying floating city.” Fei shook her head, then suddenly stretched out her hand and pointed to the highest point of the floating city, “For example, him.”

Duke.

Ida and Monica both fell silent.

“Ida, don’t overestimate the meticulousness of your plan, and don’t underestimate Duke. He’s not someone who can be manipulated or controlled. His counterattack may have already begun.”

As Ms. Fei finished speaking, a commotion broke out among the passersby in the distance, with Ida and the others initially assuming that a link to another dimension had occurred, indicating the emergence of new rules for that other dimension. However, when they looked in that direction, they realized that the commotion was simply a conflict between the noble citizens of the floating city in the underground world and the poor citizens trapped in the surface city.

The stronger underground citizens initially held an absolute advantage, but the surface citizens quickly established a numerical superiority, and the two sides were on the verge of war. However, due to the influence of the apocalyptic external conditions, they restrained themselves from making a move.

But that's all there is to it.

This powder keg could be easily detonated by a single accident.

Ida realized something was wrong.

The birth of a god requires the possession of authority.

The birth of a god requires the ignition of a divine fire.

However, the birth of gods requires the thoughts of the people and the faith of all living beings!

The foundation of Ida's god-making plan is to gather the thoughts of all the citizens of the floating city, thus paving the way for Duke's path to godhood.

At this moment, Date realized for the first time that something was wrong. She stared intently at the escalating riot not far away, while Lady Scarlet beside her let out a mocking sound:

"Didn't you realize this before? Your identity in this world is the leader of the resistance!"

"This decaying floating city is divided by class divisions; there is no ideology that can coexist between the above-ground and underground areas."

"People who have enjoyed or endured inequality for thousands of years have been brought to the same level of equality."

"Do I need to tell you from the beginning what will happen, Ida?"

Is everything still going according to your plan?

Clearly, although they have temporarily ceased hostilities and even begun to cooperate, Ms. Scarlet will not miss any opportunity to mock Date.

Of course, Date, who had been at odds with Lady Scarlet for a full thousand years, was completely unconcerned by her sarcastic remarks, and instead muttered to himself with a deep expression:

"Something's not right."

"What exacerbated the conflict between these two groups of people's ideologies?"

"Who is targeting my plan to create a god..."

At that moment, Ida suddenly raised her head and looked in the direction of the clock tower.

Duke?!

Chapter 417 I am truly an unfathomable man

Duke stood on the highest clock tower of the floating city, tiptoeing, looking up at the miniature planet in the sky, trying to get as close as possible to it. But no matter what, Duke could not see the little prince living on the miniature planet.

Of course, she remained standing there regardless.