I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

Ever since Carol and she completed The Little Prince together, she had seen his potential as a "savior." In order to save the floating city from the apocalypse, she began to plan from that time onwards. Several months ago, she had already decided to create the Tree of Life event and then have the mute Ida send him to a parallel world so that he could personally experience the apocalypse of the floating city in that parallel world.

If it were anyone else, Duke would definitely suspect it was just a coincidence, since the various factors involved in the "Tree of Life incident" a few months ago hadn't yet materialized:

At the time, Norton, as the leader of the Tree of Life faction, was still alive, so Noelle couldn't wield the Leaf of the Tree of Life alone; the Mute was still a high and mighty divine machine, not yet having entered Duke's body after the Tower of Babel incident, and her divine half-body "Ida" was still dead, showing no sign of wanting to remain a god; Sobain, a key figure in the Tree of Life incident, was probably still in the Elven Kingdom at the time, and perhaps the Elven Kingdom's Sacred Tree of Life hadn't even been damaged yet...

There are too many uncertainties in reality, making the idea of ​​making a plan months in advance sound like a pipe dream. Duke is already a crazy gambler; when he's planning something, he'll bet as long as the chance of success is over 50%, and then he'll do everything he can, relying on the system, his own abilities, and sheer luck, to get through the ordeal.

Even someone like him, known as "Crazy Duke" by the floating city, would never have taken such a joking plan at that time, because he knew he couldn't handle a layout of that difficulty.

But Carol is different; if it were her, she could indeed possibly grasp the layout across this time span.

Carol has already proven her ability to orchestrate long-term plans in the Tower of Babel. In fact, Carol's planning style is exactly like this—burying all sorts of subtle clues and foreshadowing within a sufficiently long historical span, and then resolving the corresponding foreshadowing at the right time, as if she could foresee the future, ensuring that all the foreshadowing plays its perfect role.

In the Tower of Babel incident, Duke initially thought that the outcome—"he resurrected Ida, the human half of the mute"—was beyond Carol's plans and expectations. However, it now seems that the choices he made at the time were still within the margin of error of Carol's plan... Her surprise at the time, and even her "angry" warrant for their arrest afterward, were all just an act?

Now it seems that she originally intended to liberate the humanity of the mute.

She truly lives up to her title as the Time Witch.

Not only does she manipulate the power of time in battle, but outside of training and combat, she remains the witch who plays with time, still able to weave a vast net that binds everyone in the river of time. In fact, her schemes can transcend the limitations of a single timeline, allowing her schemes to have different effects in different playthroughs through "time reversal." For example, the "Tree of Life event" was clearly arranged specifically for the first playthrough.

Carol is terrifyingly powerful... Is she even human?

Duke squinted, frowning as he pondered Carol's entire scheme. He had already seen a part of the big picture, but he didn't yet know if it was just the tip of the iceberg.

“Mr. Duke?” Noelle’s voice startled Duke. He looked up blankly at Noelle, who had reminded him, and heard her continue, “It’s your turn.”

“Oh, oh.” Duke scratched his head. “You want to know what we want to do? No, you want to know if we ‘rebels’ want to overthrow the order of the floating city, if we want to rebel against Carol’s bird throne, right? Well, let me tell you clearly, that’s wrong… Oh, Ida, you probably don’t intend to usurp the throne either, right?”

He really didn't know what choice Ida would make after fulfilling her wish, so he turned around and asked her seriously, only to receive a helpless shrug from her.

“As you can see, Ida doesn’t want to usurp the throne, and neither do we,” Duke shrugged. “You don’t need to worry about whether to switch your bets to us and wait until we overthrow the Carol government before putting you in power… If that’s really what you’re thinking, you might as well go find the former city lord Monica, who just escaped.”

"So what exactly are you planning to do?" Noel frowned. "Save the floating city from the apocalypse? Strive to build the floating city and make it a wonderful utopia?"

"How can you be so melodramatic... Can't you just not have anything you want to do?" Duke scoffed. "Save the floating city from the apocalypse? That depends on what Carol wants to do. At least I already know I can't do anything about the apocalypse caused by the invasion from another dimension. Forget it."

Sending him to a parallel world with Carol may have had the opposite effect. After experiencing it firsthand, Duke not only failed to gain experience, but also realized that he was not omnipotent. The only option he could ultimately choose and implement was to "destroy the floating city" and free it from the fate of being invaded by another dimension.

This solution was clearly not what Carol wanted or was willing to accept.

In short, Duke was ready to give up and give up. Having just returned from a parallel world and then rushing to deal with the impending "Tree of Life Incident," Duke looked somewhat tired... Not only him, but his companions, who had also experienced a long parallel world war, also showed some signs of fatigue.

"So you're just going to sit here and wait for the end of the world?"

"Well, we can't just sit here and wait to die, can we?" Duke sighed. "Before we really give up, we should at least find me a usable body, right?"

Noelle frowned, then suddenly spoke:

“Then I know there is a body that is definitely suitable for you... because it is your body.”

Chapter 436 Countdown to the End of the World

To be honest, since returning from the parallel world, Duke has become completely indifferent, especially after realizing that the floating city didn't explode on the spot, but rather that time had rewound to "one day ago." He simply gave up. He not only severely lacks initiative and motivation, but also seems somewhat indifferent to everything.

Simply put, after returning from the parallel world, Duke entered a state of enlightenment.

On one hand, this is because he has already tried, and he alone cannot save the floating city from its doom. Whether or not the floating city can be saved depends on what Carol's plan is, not on what he does. On the other hand, Duke has always been like this since he came to this world of swords and magic; he lacks some kind of "motivation" in whatever he does.

After transmigrating, the only time Duke truly wanted to do something on his own was after the social incident, when he tried to complete the Witch Game. After that, aside from when he was genuinely enthusiastic about plotting to kill Talia, most of his other actions were driven by circumstances or impromptu decisions—for example, saving a friend in imminent danger, or saving a floating city on the verge of destruction.

For example, he participated in the Cinderella Game because of Amber's request, hunting Talia was essentially to save Anne, fighting in the underworld was so that Cecil could advance to Legendary status, breaking into the Tower of Babel was because he was worried about Amber, and going to the parallel world was to save the floating city...

It's not that Duke is a cold-hearted person who doesn't care about anything. Quite the opposite, he's a very emotional person, otherwise he wouldn't have earned the nickname "Mad Duke"—when his emotions run high, Duke really does go all out without hesitation. But as for whether he has, or how many, beliefs or ideals, that's really hard to say.

Duke only cares about those who are worth his attention, but he rarely cares about himself.

To be honest, for Duke, maintaining his current spirit form wouldn't be a big deal; at most, it would just make fighting and close contact with the witches less convenient. However, if the floating city were truly facing its doom, having a suitable body would be better, making it easier to save the floating city.

Duke may not care about himself, but he has people around him who do care about him.

“Then I know there is a body that is definitely suitable for you... because it is your body.”

Upon hearing Noel's words, Duke himself wasn't particularly excited. Instead, Amber, Cecil, and Annie almost simultaneously surrounded Noel, who was still being trampled under Ida's feet, and excitedly asked, "Really?"

Amber, in particular, became somewhat agitated, her expression turning strange, before she questioned, "Wasn't Duke's original body disposed of? How do you know where it is?"

“Of course, it’s because this body wasn’t disposed of.” Noelle sighed, glancing at Ida, who shrugged, released her foot from his, and then turned to hug her best friend Alice. “You’re Miss Amber, right? I’ve heard of you. I have a question: who disposed of Duke’s original body?”

“Carol, we think Duke is dead…”

At this point, Amber paused slightly.

That's right. At the time, the official assessment and tone set by the floating city was that Duke was dead, and Talia had devoured Duke's soul and escaped without a trace. This assessment and tone also influenced Amber's later assessment... But here's the question: the person who made this assessment was naturally Carol. Did she really think Duke was dead at the time?

In retrospect, Carole was probably one of the few people at the time who firmly believed that Duke was not dead.

The person who disposed of Duke's body was none other than Carol, who at the time firmly believed that Duke was not dead.

Duke raised an eyebrow: "She preserved my body?"

“That’s right.” Noel nodded. “Carol once summoned me to the city lord’s mansion. She asked me to use the Leaf of the Tree of Life to preserve the life force of your body and keep it active. The effect of the Leaf of the Tree of Life lasts for a long time. If you go to the City Lord’s mansion in the floating city now, you can get a healthy body.”

Everyone looked at Duke, waiting for his opinion, after all, this was his body, and he was the one who needed a body now.

Duke frowned, and after a long pause, he cleared his throat and said, "Then let's visit the city lord's mansion tomorrow morning."

"Huh?" The others exclaimed in surprise, and Cecil raised his hand to ask on their behalf, "Why tomorrow morning? Shouldn't we just move on and infiltrate the city lord's mansion?"

Duke rolled his eyes at Cecil and said irritably, "We're not enemies with Carol, at least not this time around. Why risk infiltrating the city lord's mansion? Are you just looking for trouble?"

“But isn’t tomorrow morning the time of the ‘Tree of Life Incident’?” Annie frowned. She wasn’t about to be fooled by Cecil. Duke’s completely untenable reason was utterly unconvincing to her. “What, are you already certain that the ‘Tree of Life Incident’ won’t happen again?”

"It's hard to say, but I'm definitely not going to participate in the second Tree of Life event." Duke pursed his lips. "That's settled then. We'll split up and operate in teams before tomorrow morning. Ida, you take Alice, Annie, Little Black, and that armored witch and stay in the Underworld to see if the Tree of Life event will happen again. Amber, Cecil, and I will go to the City Lord's Mansion to visit Carol."

“I don’t understand,” Anne retorted, somewhat dissatisfied. “What’s the point of this kind of team split? If the Tree of Life incident still happens as planned, Carol will naturally be in the Underworld, not in the City Lord’s Mansion. You won’t be able to find Carol to visit when you go to the City Lord’s Mansion. If the Tree of Life incident doesn’t happen again, what can we do here?”

Duke gave her a meaningful look and said softly, "What if the Tree of Life event really happens?"

"Since the Tree of Life incident really happened, why did you still go to the city... Oh, I see."

Anne suddenly understood Duke's thinking and realized why he insisted on splitting into teams.

If the Tree of Life incident still occurs, then Carol must have appeared in the Underworld, and the City Lord's Mansion will naturally be empty—Duke and the others can simply sneak into the City Lord's Mansion to find the body!

Duke, Amber, Cecil.

This iron triangle has Duke, the key figure who grasps the overall situation, the invincible Se Elf, and the full-strength Guangbao. If things go wrong and they need to infiltrate the city lord's mansion, this iron triangle trio is the best combination. Adding anyone else would make this lineup seem bloated.

For example, adding Ida, the strongest member, would make the team an easy target. Adding Annie, the only one who can keep up with Duke's thinking, would be redundant: she's only slightly less intelligent than Duke, and a small team obviously doesn't need two brains. Compared to Cecil, her strength is far inferior, even to Amber. In a real fight, she would only be a burden. And compared to Amber, Annie has no functional advantages.

The price of being a jack-of-all-trades is being jacks-of-all-trades but not masters; mediocrity often means being unable to perform in truly challenging battles.

Just like no one would use Thorn to reach the top of the Contingency Contract, does that mean Thorn, who is considered a key operator, isn't strong? It's just that a generalist character who isn't proficient in anything isn't suitable for extreme team compositions.

Conversely, if Ida and Annie lead the remaining people to stay in the underground world, with Ida's top-notch combat skills and Annie's strategic brilliance, if any unexpected situation were to occur, Annie and Ida's intelligence and strength would be enough to hold out until Duke and the others return.

It can be said that this team division is very reasonable.

"But why are you so sure the Tree of Life incident will definitely happen? It's obvious that Date, the apparent mastermind behind the Tree of Life incident, has retired from the business. It seems unlikely that the Tree of Life incident will ever occur again, right?"

Ida stood beside Annie, chiming in—she waved her hands at Duke, indicating that she had given up. Clearly, this former deity thought the same; she also believed that without her cooperation, the Tree of Life incident would never have happened, or at least wouldn't have led to the ending of the previous timeline.

“That’s not necessarily true.” Duke shook his head, a somewhat mysterious smile on his face. “Or rather, quite the opposite, I think the Tree of Life event will definitely happen again.”

"why?"

Annie was also blinded by concern. Of course, she knew that Duke's team division was reasonable and that Duke's analysis had its own basis, but because she wanted to act with Duke so much, she directly overlooked a key clue.

"Have you forgotten Bane? As long as he's in the floating city, the Tree of Life event will happen in some form. Whether it was Ida who created the Tree of Life or not is irrelevant. What matters is what Carol, the real mastermind behind the Tree of Life event, wants to do. It's hard to imagine that she created such a major event as the Tree of Life event just to force us into a parallel world. I think she actually has another purpose, but we just don't know it yet."

Duke clicked his tongue and continued:

"There are just too many people who could replace Ida in the Tree of Life incident. Basically, any legend could replace Ida... For Carol, Bain, and us, whether or not Ida exists is not important. It doesn't matter what a former god who has lost the qualification to become a god wants to do."

Anne paused for a moment, then her expression changed to one of sudden realization. Meanwhile, Ida pouted unhappily, "So what if I lost my chance to become a god? What, did I retire to eat your rice?"

Duke turned to look at her, thought about how this former "mute" had tricked him, and nodded solemnly: "That's right, you ate my rice."

Ida's eyes widened: "You little brat!"

Duke ignored Ida and instead snapped his fingers:

"Alright, Annie, I have a task for you..."

……

"Why did you wake me up! I was busy all day and finally fell asleep, why did you come and forcibly wake me up?" Eve rubbed her sleepy eyes and grumbled irritably, "I'm not a legend, I'm just a mortal, I still need sleep! Carol, understand?"

"What do I know? What's the difference between a near-legend and a legend? Especially someone like you who can fight a top-tier near-legend?" Carol curled her lip and said irritably, "You don't even need sleep, okay?"

With that, Carol reached out and grabbed Eve's shoulders, shaking the potion-wielding witch in her pajamas violently, pulling her back from the brink of unconsciousness and forcing her to wake up.

But Eve, now fully awake, was filled with murderous intent. She knocked Carol down in one fell swoop, then straddled her best friend, declaring fiercely, "Why shouldn't I sleep when I have the chance? Just like why shouldn't I eat when I have the chance? I became a professional so that I could sleep whenever I wanted and eat whatever I wanted!"

"Look at you, so pathetic!"

Carol gave her a disdainful look, then was easily subdued by her best friend who was riding on top of her.

After a while of playful fighting, Eve finally came to her senses and reluctantly got off Carol. Together they went to the city lord's office in the city mansion. Carol handed her a steaming cup of coffee, letting her enjoy it, and then suddenly began to explain what had happened:

"I've reset time."

"puff!"

Eve spat out the coffee she had just drunk, but she didn't care about the liquid she sprayed out. Instead, she stared wide-eyed and asked, "Why did you restart time? How many times did you restart it? How far into the future did you travel back from?"

"Don't worry, this is only the first time so far, and I'm going back from tomorrow's timeline."

Eve's expression immediately turned serious: "What happened tomorrow?"

Carol casually told Eve what was supposed to happen tomorrow, and Eve's expression improved slightly after she finished telling the story of Duke and the others going to the parallel world. But she quickly frowned again: "Why did you restart time just to get Duke and the others to the parallel world? The self-destruction of that Tree of Life wasn't a problem for you, was it? During the time stop, you could have moved it out of the floating city, right?"

"Of course, but what really made me restart time wasn't the Tree of Life's self-destruction... but the apocalypse that will follow tomorrow after Duke and the others go to the parallel world."

Carol said softly:

"Eve, the apocalypse we've been waiting for will come to the floating city tomorrow."

……

Duke stood in the shadows near the city lord's mansion. Amber and Cecil were not there at the moment; they were in other places. The three of them temporarily separated and hid from each other.

Meanwhile, Duke, who was bored out of his mind, took out a small notebook from his inventory. The cover of the notebook read "Time Diary".

He casually flipped open this diary, and on the first page was only one sentence: