On the Ark.

Lin Ye: "..."

First Snow: "..."

After a moment of silence, Lin Ye cautiously suggested, "How about we avoid this place for a while?"

……

Lappland plunged the knife into the floor, supporting her body as she breathed heavily.

Messiah stood less than five meters away, his expression barely changing, seemingly unperturbed and quite relaxed. This was what Lappland found most unbearable; she attacked Messiah with all her might, but couldn't harm him in the slightest.

But she didn't give up or feel frustrated; instead, she was somewhat excited.

She wasn't without powerful enemies like the Messiah; on the contrary, several monstrous beings in Syracuse nearly took her head. Yet she survived and even took the lives of several who wanted her.

She acknowledged the Messiah's power and realized that the Messiah was indeed a god; at least, her previous ability to manipulate time was beyond the capabilities of mortals. If the Messiah used that power to fight her, she would have no chance of winning.

But the Messiah did not appear, which left Lappland with the possibility of defeating God.

So Lappland decided to go all out.

She gripped the hilt tightly, pouring her inner strength into the blade. As a result, specks of white light appeared on the blade, as if white flames were burning.

"Hmm?" Messiah looked at Lappland with some surprise. "You have this kind of trick up your sleeve?"

"Heh, don't underestimate me."

Messiah smiled and shook his head: "I have never underestimated you. I can feel a great power emanating from your body."

"Scared?"

“Yes, I’m afraid you’ll tear my house down,” Messiah said. “Could you please be a little gentler? I’ve lived in this house for many years, and it would be really upsetting if you just demolished it like this.”

Lappland: "..."

This person... no, this god, is really infuriating!

What do they take her for?! A dog that destroys the house?!

But since you've said that, she has no choice but to take it down.

Lappland charged toward Messiah once more!

Using her most powerful skills, she must demolish the house in front of her... no, she must defeat the god in front of her!

This is a technique called "Wolf Soul," and the "white flames" burning on the blade possess extremely powerful destructive force. The floor, affected by the "white flames," cracked instantly, leaving two narrow "grooves" on the floor, making the already cracked hall even more dilapidated.

"Fall down!" Lappland swung her sword at Messiah.

The blade was still some distance from Messiah, but the instant Lappland swung the blade, white flames burst forth from it, condensing into two hungry wolves in mid-air, pouncing towards Messiah.

"Transforming physics into magic? That's certainly an interesting skill."

Lappland's "wolf spirits" gave Messiah a slight surprise, but that was all. Facing the two "wolf spirits" rushing towards him, Messiah simply gripped his sword tighter and swung it forward.

The maple leaves beneath his feet swept up wherever the blade pointed, instantly enveloping the wolf spirit.

Lappland scoffed, "Mere tree leaves..."

The next second, the maple leaf devoured the wolf's soul.

Lappland's eyes widened: "What kind of leaves are these?!"

The Messiah did not answer.

Lappland gritted her teeth, preparing to unleash "Wolf Soul" again, only to be surprised to find that she could no longer mobilize the power within her body! It was as if something was blocking her.

"It's over."

The Messiah's voice rang in Lappland's ears. She looked up abruptly and found the Messiah standing right in front of her.

boom!

At this moment, the ancient temple, with its thousand-year history, finally succumbed to the devastation. It had reached its limit when Lappland used "Wolf Soul" and collapsed completely. However, this level of collapse was insignificant to Lappland and Messiah.

Lappland fell from the second-floor hall to the first floor, then immediately got up, gripping the hilt of her sword to retaliate. But the next second, a maple-leaf-colored longsword rested on her shoulder.

“I told you, it’s over,” Messiah said softly.

Lappland looked up and saw Messiah standing in front of her with a smile on his face.

After a two-second standoff, Lappland finally lowered her knife and bowed her head: "I lost."

Messiah's smile widened: "You admit defeat? Do you remember what I just told you?"

“Of course I remember,” Lappland said. “Just tell me what you want me to do. But it can’t be my life. If you kill me, I’ll still fight you to the death.”

“I can see that.” Messiah removed the knife from Lappland’s neck. “I don’t need your life, or rather, I don’t need it right now.”

"...What do you mean?" Lappland asked, somewhat puzzled, but still wary. "I won't give it to you again, even if you ask!"

Messiah smiled and turned to look at Lin Ye and Chu Xue, who were running towards them from a distance. Then she said slowly, "Stay by his side. That's all I ask of you."

Lappland was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

“Literally, I’m not a god who likes to speak in riddles,” Messiah said. “Stay by his side, protect him, and make sure nothing happens to him. That’s what I ask of you.”

Why should I...

"You don't want to?"

"I..." The thought of losing made Lappland lose confidence, and she could only lower her head and say, "Whatever."

"Don't look so gloomy," Messiah said softly. "Perhaps he is the one who can help you."

Lappland did not hear this sentence.

At this moment, Chu Xue and Lin Ye had already run over.

"My lord!" First Snow noticed Lappland, her worry mixed with a hint of doubt. "You..."

“I’m fine.” Messiah shrugged. “I was just studying the art of tea.”

First Snow: "..."

Messiah didn't explain further, but turned to Lin Ye and said, "By the way, how about I give you a knife?"

"A knife?" Lin Ye didn't know why the topic had jumped so quickly, but he still said, "But I already have a sword."

"Oh?" Messiah raised an eyebrow. "Where?"

Lin Ye drew his black steel sword: "Here, this is it."

The Messiah swung his sword and struck.

clang!

The black steel sword broke in two.

Lin Ye was completely dumbfounded.

“Let’s do it one more time,” Messiah said. “How about I give you a knife?”

"……it is good."

“That’s it.” Messiah nodded with a smile, handed the knife to Lin Ye, looked around, and sighed, “The house is gone.”

The first snowflake was about to speak.

Messiah raised her hand to stop him, then smiled and looked at Lin Ye.

"Please take me in, okay?"

……

……

Author's note: I'll update again today, still 28 chapters owed.

Chapter 259: Once you've taken my sword, you're mine; you can't lose.

"Hmm? Miss, why are you back so early today?"

In the courtyard of the wooden cabin, Horn Peak had somehow found a barbecue grill and was currently grilling half a deer, shirtless. Despite it being winter, he was sweating profusely. As he wiped his sweat, he saw the returning group and excitedly greeted the first snow.

"Miss, I hunted a deer at the foot of the mountain. We can have an extra meal tonight... Hey, who's that next to you? I've never seen him before."

Chu Xue's expression had frozen, and Lin Ye, standing next to her, didn't know what to say.

Because the question asked by the Horn Peak was about the true god of Kalan, Messiah, who had left the temple with the others.

Before Chuxue could speak, Messiah introduced himself first: "Hello, my name is Messiah."

"Oh, oh, oh, just call me Horn Peak."

Horn Peak had never seen the Messiah before. Although he was curious as to why there were other people in the temple, he never considered that the Messiah was the true god of Kalan. After all, in the eyes of the Sherag people, their god was a supreme being and they would never imagine that he would look so harmless.

"It smells so good!" Messiah sniffed and said with a smile, "Is this roast meat?"

“Yes.” Horn Peak was brushing spices onto the venison. He was naturally hospitable and was happy to talk to Messiah. “You’re Miss’s friend, aren’t you?”

“Hmm…” Messiah glanced at the nervous Chuxue and said, “Yes, I am Enya’s friend.”

"Were you also taking care of that person at the temple?"

“Yes, I do work at the temple,” Messiah replied tactfully.

This made Horn Peak even less likely to think that the Messiah was the true God. He simply naively believed that since she was Miss's friend and someone who cared for God like her, even if she wasn't a saint, she should be regarded as one. So he warmly extended an invitation to the Messiah.

"Let's have barbecue tonight."

Messiah readily agreed: "Great! It smells delicious!"

Horn Peak smiled even more broadly. He loved being praised for his cooking skills more than for his fighting prowess. But all of this was based on the premise that he didn't know the Messiah's identity. If he knew that the Messiah was the god he worshipped, and that he was inviting his god to a barbecue, his smile probably wouldn't be so radiant.

"Go inside and wait," Horn Peak continued, beckoning to the group, acting like the man of the house. "I'll call you out when I've finished grilling."

Horn Peak's hospitable attitude left First Snow feeling rather helpless. She wanted to remind Horn Peak, but dared not speak rashly. After all, she hadn't received instructions from the Messiah, and the Messiah's previous answer had already revealed his attitude: he didn't want to reveal his divine identity. How could she, as a saint, dare to act on her own?

Therefore, she could only pray in her heart that Horn Peak would not do anything blasphemous. So before following Messiah into the house, she gave Horn Peak a wink, and Horn Peak noticed it and immediately became alert.

The young lady... actually agreed to look at me!

She finally stopped ignoring me like she always does!

What is the reason for this?