I don't want to conquer witches anymore.

I am just a mortal, and the possibilities I have are ultimately limited.

Chapter 437 The Fragment Dog

[Item Name: Time Diary]

[Item Description: Someone's diary.]

[Item Effect: Records someone's continuous efforts.]

Duke, who was waiting for dawn alone, took out the "Time Diary" from his inventory and casually flipped through it. Even without reading what was written, just from the name "Time Diary," Duke could quickly tell who the diary belonged to—clearly, the "someone" mentioned in the item description referred to a certain unnamed city lord of the floating city.

This is Carol's diary.

Duke opened the diary and immediately saw the only sentence written on the first page:

I am just a mortal, and the possibilities I have are ultimately limited.

Duke frowned, and without hesitation, turned to the next page of the time diary. Thankfully, the second and third pages contained more than just a riddle-like statement; there were at least several short passages from the diary:

"The twelfth day of the foggy month."

"The timekeeping system of this ancient magical empire is bizarrely excessive. Everything is based on a decimal system. Anyone who uses such a strange timekeeping system must be insane. But there's nothing I can do. Circumstances are beyond my control. Who can blame me for not being able to defeat that old hag and her best friend Fei?"

"Honestly, I really don't understand why that old hag came after me. Do I have some talent to become a witch? Besides, she's clearly a space witch, so why has she been teaching me how to access the power of time? It's strange, what's the relationship between space and time... Could space and time be transformed into each other?"

"The 17th of the Foggy Month".

"It's been five days since that bizarre idea popped into my head, and I succeeded. Space and time can indeed be transformed into each other. I successfully launched a spatial jump. Hehe! Now that old hag will definitely look at me with new eyes. The disciple of the Space Witch has finally learned to use spatial magic."

"The eighteenth day of the foggy month."

"I got scolded by that old hag."

"She acknowledged that space and time can indeed be transformed into each other, but that's too early for me. I understood what she meant: every spellcaster who can freely transform space and time will choose one as their fulcrum, specializing in either time or space—because no one can possess exceptional talent in both areas simultaneously. Just like the old woman's talent lies entirely in the space domain, while I am the opposite, omnipotent only in the time domain."

"Okay, I'm banned from trying to switch between space and test drive Norton. That old hag said I absolutely can't use that technique again until I've laid a solid foundation."

Duke raised an eyebrow. Carol must have written these diaries when she was very young. He could sense Carol's innocence and carefree spirit between the lines, which was slightly different from Carol's personality now. But what changed her was the relentless passage of time. So many years have passed, it's understandable that her personality has changed.

However, the old hag Carol was referring to was... the first generation of the Space Witch?

Is Carol actually the disciple of the first generation Space Witch? It's clear that the first generation Space Witch was the best friend of Fei, the then-lord of the Floating City, and her disciple was naturally the rightful successor to the leadership of the Floating City. So why did Carol later end up in the underworld, joining the Aphasic faction?

The diary only recorded the month and date, and used a calendar system that Duke was completely unfamiliar with, making it impossible for him to determine the specific time period in which these stories took place—especially since Duke knew nothing about the deeds of the first Space Witch. He didn't even know whether the first Space Witch was alive or dead, or if she had died, when.

But these minor issues did not stop Duke from continuing to read, and he continued to turn the pages of the diary.

"The first day of the frost moon."

"It started snowing in the floating city today."

"That's strange. Aren't floating cities above the clouds? I've never seen rain before, so how can it be snowing?"

"The second day of the Frost Moon."

"I asked the Witch of Prophecy, and she told me that it was because a frost dragon passed by the floating city yesterday, which brought a rare heavy snowfall to the floating city. That frost dragon is really a good dragon. Let's go have a snowball fight!"

"The third day of the Frost Moon."

"I got scolded by that old hag."

"Damn it, she won't let me do this! She won't let me do that! I'm such a poor kid, and she's robbing me of my childhood! Damn it, when I grow up and can beat her, I'll definitely run out and play to my heart's content."

"The 30th day of the Frost Moon."

"Fei is back. She's clearly the lord of Floating City, so why does she disappear from time to time? If it weren't for that old hag and the Prophecy Witch overseeing things, the situation in Floating City wouldn't be this optimistic. I overheard that old hag talking about it; she said, 'Those idiots from the Heart Society actually found a good prospect; the future isn't looking good!' Why is Fei still so carefree?"

"Snow Moon Day".

"The Miracle Witch!"

"Lady Fei is too powerful! She single-handedly annihilated three witches from the Heart-Shattering Faction! No wonder she was so calm and composed; it seems everything is under her control and perception!"

"From now on, I'm a huge fan of Ms. Fei. Who's that old hag? I don't know her at all."

"Snow Moon Ten Days".

"Okay, the old hag seems strong too, and the Prophecy Witch is strong too. So this is what they're like when they get serious? So they really are the strongest trio in this city... It's strange, with them in charge of Floating City, how did that Heart Society manage to cause so much trouble until now?"

"Hmph, one day I'll be stronger than you, you old hag!"

"Snow Moon Sixteenth Day".

"Why? Why? Why? Why?"

"That mute guy named Ida is about my age, so how come he's so ridiculously strong?"

"The 29th of the month."

"Those Convergence Society terrorists who changed their name to The Mute are truly despicable. They can't win in a direct confrontation, yet they still manage to wreak havoc on the Floating City. And that Ida! How is she so strong? How can she stand up to Lady Scarlet?"

Duke smacked his lips.

Through this period of time, Duke tentatively determined the approximate timeframe of this diary entry—it turned out that the Common Heart Society, under Ida's leadership, had changed its name to the Mute and launched a rebellion against the Scarlet Government. Duke knew this period of history from Carol; no wonder she spoke of it so vividly—she had personally experienced it.

He turned the page again with great interest.

But on the next page, only two short lines were written:

"The seventh day of Ugetsu."

"The old woman is dead."

Duke: "?"

How many chapters did I miss?

Duke panicked. Of course, he knew he hadn't missed anything; the diary really was disjointed (after all, the chronological order was correct). So, he quickly turned the page... but as soon as that page ended, the rest of the diary was blank.

Holy crap, this is a plot hole!

Chapter 438 Lifetime Honorary President of the Steel Plate Protection Association

Duke was getting a little impatient.

He has a great interest in that period of history. After all, the main characters, from Lady Scarlet to Carol from Ida's perspective, are all people he actually knows. Reading the legendary stories of these acquaintances from this perspective is a very interesting experience for Duke.

Of course, these legendary stories from ancient times generally have little to do with the present, after all, with the passage of time, changes in the world, and the transformation of people and things. For example, Lady Fei was once a spirited lord of the floating city, but now she is just a retired old woman, while Ida was just an ordinary genius who had just embarked on the path to godhood, and now he is also a retired old god.

Logically speaking, even if Duke didn't know the background of these stories, it wouldn't be a big problem. But the key point is where the diary ends abruptly!

One second he saw an unexpected turning point, and then it abruptly ended, with no chance to see the rest of the story after the abrupt ending... Duke felt like there were ants biting him, a tingling, itchy, and painful sensation that he couldn't scratch, and he wished he could pick up a knife and kill the damned abrupt ending dog.

Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt its debtor. If Carol had a habit of keeping a diary, it's not that she stopped later; rather, it's that the damned system gave him a fake time diary that only recorded a portion of Carol's entries. In other words, the one responsible for the missing chapters wasn't Carol, but the Star Map System.

Duke angrily put away his diary, then looked up and estimated the time. He felt it was about time, so he stretched out his right hand and snapped his fingers lightly.

A short burst of magic exploded in the air with his snap of his fingers, and, carried by the dense magical atmosphere of the floating city, reached Amber and Cecil, who were hiding elsewhere. Almost instantly, Amber appeared in front of Duke, smiled at him, and then vanished.

When she reappeared a second later, Guangbao was also brought along by Amber.

"Are we about to set off?" Amber asked excitedly. "Are we going to infiltrate the city lord's mansion?"

Between the two girls, Amber seemed more excited. This was understandable; Guangbao was, after all, Carol's good friend, and she had visited the city lord's mansion several times, merely sneaking in—it wouldn't warrant such excitement. Amber, however, was different. Firstly, because she had only recently arrived in the floating city and joined the ranks of witches, and secondly, because of her special status—no matter how unreliable she seemed, no matter how much she enjoyed reading R18 comics drawn by drow elves, she was still the little princess of the elven kingdom.

For these two reasons, although Amber, as the "Space Witch," took on many tasks for the floating city government, she did not enter the city lord's mansion very often. Perhaps only during the Cinderella Game did she go deep into it. At other times, she would just enter the hall and then be forced to turn around and leave.

Therefore, amber was clearly more excited.

"Speaking of infiltration, one has to mention the extremely classic comic series in the Drow Elf art book... That's right, it's the Female Investigator series! Infiltration fails, she is captured, and subjected to wanton humiliation by the enemy. In the end, she has no choice but to succumb to physical pleasure, and her mind and body fall together. Ah, what a useful series!"

Duke and Cecil: "?"

Okay, it seems Duke misunderstood. The reason this lewd elf was excited was simply because the plot of infiltrating the city lord's territory overlapped with the plot of the R18 artbook she had read.

Duke sighed helplessly, entering a state where he could touch things, and then reached out and roughly ruffled the elf's soft hair. Amber let out a cute, animal-like whimper, clutching her head and struggling to escape Duke's clutches, but she couldn't break free no matter what he did, and could only helplessly let him violently ruffle her hair into a messy bird's nest.

“You all need to get ready first.” Duke said, enjoying the wonderful feel of the amber hair while keeping an eye on the gates of the city lord’s mansion. “Wait a little longer, until Carol is really gone.”

As soon as Duke finished speaking, Carol hurriedly pushed open the gate of the city lord's mansion, walked out of the gate, and then everyone only saw a blur before her eyes, and she suddenly disappeared from the spot.

"She used time magic, didn't she?" Guangbao clasped her hands together. After all, she was Carol's good friend, and she could tell that the city lord had used his legendary destiny. So Cecil pointed to the city lord's mansion and asked curiously, "Can we set off now?"

"Uh, let's wait a bit longer."

Duke shook his head confidently, his right hand still tormenting Amber, while his left hand unconsciously touched Cecil's shoulder. Then he suddenly gently squeezed her shoulder, the force Duke used was just right, causing Cecil to let out a short but beautiful and sweet gasp.

Guangbao's body went limp instantly. She had already abandoned her previous style of wearing knight armor all the time. After becoming a near-legend, she had gotten used to light and airy everyday clothes, as if she had returned to her teenage years decades late. Now, wearing a light and airy dress, she snuggled into Duke's arms, leaned gently against him, and comfortably closed her eyes.

Seeing this, Amber immediately forgot that her hair was already a mess, and followed suit, snuggling into Duke's arms. She pressed herself even closer, and her already ample and soft breasts, which were already as big as the steel plate next to her, were squeezed even more breathtakingly as she pressed against him.

Guangbao couldn't help but glance at the spot where Amber had been pressing against herself, then subconsciously looked down at her own regrettable chest—in that instant, a dazzling holy light condensed on Cecil's chest, and Duke and Amber both heard her mutter softly, "I want my breasts to get bigger..."

Clearly, that dazzling holy light was her legendary destiny choosing to respond to Cecil's intense desire.

But soon, the dazzling holy light dissipated, and Guangbao's chest... remained the same steel plate, unchanged.

"Waaah..."

Guangbao was about to cry.

As it turns out, even Cecil's invincible legendary destiny could not change her title as the lifetime honorary president of the Steel Plate Protection Association.

Seeing that Guangbao's eyes were filled with tears, Duke and Amber became a little anxious. Duke quickly said, "It's okay, I like him very much too."

"...Don't think I didn't see it. Your gaze never left Amber's chest, you bastard!"

“That’s right, men’s words are deceitful. Cecil, let’s ignore this jerk.” Amber rolled her eyes at Duke, then stretched out her arms and hugged Cecil with a grin. “Let’s just stick together.”

But in the instant he touched the amber, Cecil felt only a pair of soft things pressed against his body, and with each collision and squeeze, they outlined a beautiful shape and an astonishing impact.

In that instant, Cecil sensed the unevenness of the world.

"Waaaaah..."

Guangbao cried.

Chapter 439 Infiltrated Attack

Just as Duke and Amber were happily tormenting Guangbao, the gates of the City Lord's Mansion opened once again, and the two of them walked out of the gates together.

It's important to know that Carol isn't the only top-tier combatant permanently stationed at the Floating City Lord's Mansion. The Prophecy Witch, one of the true elders of the city, visits the Lord's Mansion from time to time. Eve, the Wish Witch and second-in-command of the Carol government, would most likely stay at the Lord's Mansion if she wasn't at her own clinic.