It doesn't matter what the lord is.

In this game, Clenus needs to select a suitable person to control after the trial, use that person's body to leave the secret underwater realm, go outside to collect blood souls to complete the resurrection, and lay out a bigger plan.

The Spiritual Warrior Lord needs to solve the problem of soul wear and tear. She has a way to kill Clenus' soul. Although it is not clear whether it will work, judging from her previous performance, Reed's plan revolves around this.

What Lingwu Lord didn't expect was that the battle plan that was secretly passed on through the little ghost had actually been seen through by Clenus. This was all Clenus's territory, and it was not safe even if the little ghost was used to pass on the message. In fact, no matter how he tried to cover it up, the biggest anomaly was that Lid had not killed Lingwu Lord all along, which in itself showed that he placed his hope of killing Clenus on Lingwu Lord.

What Clenus didn't expect was that it had clearly seen everything, and at the critical moment chose to give up on taking over the body of the Lingwu Lord and instead targeted Lid, who was easier to deal with, but still fell into a new trap.

This is also a pit, a deeper pit.

This means that Reed's words and micro-expressions were actually deliberately performed for it from a long time ago; this also means that no matter whether Clenus chose to possess Reed or the Spiritual Warrior Lord at that time, it was actually under Reed's control. This man dug traps on both roads, but one was more obvious and the other less obvious.

Lid tidied his wind-blown hair, stretched his waist, and said in a very casual tone:

"In fact, before you barged in, you must have thought about the possibility that I had a backup plan. But this is the limitation of smart people. When they judge that the possibility is lower than a certain value, they will automatically ignore it. Otherwise, many things in the world are possible if you think about them carefully. If you take everything into consideration, all plans will be ruined. It makes sense that a scholar's rebellion failed after three years."

Clenus stared at Reed, his eyes showing anger at first, but soon calming down.

It can control its emotions with reason, which is one of the reasons why it considers itself nobler than humans.

Clenus looked at Lid, wondering why Lid didn't kill it immediately but told it these things.

At the same time, many questions came into its mind and it wanted to ask them clearly.

The huge octopus's head rose and fell, and the ethereal voice echoed again:

"Why... do you want to 'keep it back'?"

Without knowing the strength of Clenus, it seemed most appropriate to arrange the plan to kill it with the power of the Spiritual Lord. After all, if Clenus really chose to take over the Spiritual Lord, Lid's subsequent arrangements would become useless. Now it seems that many of the things he did were not all aimed at Clenus.

Lid raised his head and replied with a smile:

"Because it's unstable. According to normal logic, the Spiritual Lord will use her invincible method that she learned from who knows where to kill your soul, but I don't know if you have any hidden cards, and I don't know if her power will be too inflated after killing you... I have said it from the beginning, right? I came here with the purpose of stopping her. What's more, I don't like seeing my life in the hands of others."

The giant octopus was silent for a while, then asked:

"In that case, why don't you kill her and come to see me yourself?"

Lid spread his hands and said calmly:

"It's too deliberate, isn't it? That woman has clearly claimed that she has a way to get rid of you, but I killed her and came here alone. Isn't it the same as declaring to you, 'I am confident that I can get rid of you alone'? I am going to play the role of the human in your cognition, so this is the best way now. I want to deal with that woman, but I also want to use her, and I am always struggling. This kind of human is in line with the human you know that can be controlled. That's why you didn't hesitate to take over my body, because from the beginning to the end, you felt that this situation was still under your control. If I came alone, you would probably directly suspect, 'This guy might have some tricks up his sleeve,' after all, you are very smart."

Clenus said nothing. The word "smart" became a little ironic in such an occasion.

Lid didn't care what it was thinking, and his tone was a little more gentle and nostalgic:

"As for me, I had a very lovely sister in my previous life. She was an absolute idiot in studying, but she could see through people's hearts better than anyone else. This was innate, and I couldn't envy her, but I did ask her for some tips... For example, she said that when dealing with smart people, you must not only leave them one way, but let them have choices, and you can even quietly induce them to take one way, and when they see through it, they will choose another one."

"But in fact, both roads are dead ends. The reason why there are two roads is just to let him die with dignity, so that he won't get angry and give up. After all, if you really get suspicious at that time and give up on taking over the body and choose to kill directly, I won't be able to do anything, right?"

A hint of admiration flashed across Clenus's eyes, but his sigh was filled with a hint of self-blame and unwillingness.

It no longer dwelled on this question and calmly asked Reed:

"Are you the reincarnated goddess?"

Lid thought for a moment and replied:

"I appreciate her kindness, but I don't have a good impression of the old gods."

A hint of admiration flashed across Clenus's eyes. Just as he was about to speak, Reed interrupted him:

"I know what you're going to say, Clenus. Perhaps you're thinking that since we all dislike the Old Gods, the enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"

Lid looked at Clenus and said gently:

"No, Mr. Clenus. Not only do I hate the old gods, I hate you too. Today the old gods are riding on our heads, and tomorrow it will be Kungu. It may be different for you, but it is the same for me. You may have different ideas and will lead humanity in a different direction. Maybe you think that under your management everyone can gain more peace and happiness. But what's the point? From my perspective, we have finally sent off a father and welcomed a new one."

Clenus stared at Reed and said in a bad tone:

"Human desires have been ignited. If left unchecked, they will grow wildly. Your statement is too arrogant. Disorder will bring eternal disaster."

Lid nodded, but he didn't intend to withdraw his opinion. Instead, he reached into the inner pocket of his jacket and calmly took out a black pistol. There were gold-plated words on it, which was obviously a custom-made style, but the words on it were not from this world, and even Kleinas couldn't read it.

It doesn't even know what this tiny thing is.

Lid played with the gun in his hand and said to Clenus:

"It is in order. But what is this order and where is the future path for mankind? We don't need others to teach us. Change should be bottom-up. In this process, humans will be chaotic, struggling, and confused, but they will also explore a way of life that belongs to them. This process may be difficult, but it is necessary. You like the leisurely state before, right? I like it too. But if everyone lives like that, mankind will lose the possibility of continuing to explore. It's fun to slack off, but you can't slack off every moment."

Clenus remained silent, not because he agreed with Lid's point of view, but because he knew he could not convince him.

There is a fundamental conflict between the two people's philosophies. Clenus regards human beings and even the entire world as his own back garden, but Reed hopes that human beings can grow freely like weeds rather than those well-behaved flowers.

Reed loaded the bullet, then raised his hand and pointed the gun at the huge body of Kleiner.

Clenus said calmly:

"You should keep me alive. I can help you fight the old gods."

Lid laughed and answered the proposal with the words that Clenus had said to him and the Lingwu Lord:

"There are too many variables, Clenus. I don't need your superficial obedience, or to bind you with the exchange of benefits. I don't need those things. I also want to have fun fishing from time to time, and want to relax completely every now and then. If there is a tentacle monster hiding in the dark and greedy for my body, I will have to use one hand to cover my butt when I sleep, don't you think?"

Clenus was stunned for a moment, then looking at Reed's smiling face, for some reason he relaxed a little.

It was as if it had returned to the carefree and unencumbered time when it first lived on the seabed.

The huge round pupils slowly narrowed, and Kleiner answered frankly:

"Yeah. If I win, I won't let you live. That's fair."

Reed smiled and nodded, expressing his happiness at its understanding, then pulled the trigger with a smile on his face.

Three gunshots were heard, and the octopus's three unique hearts all exploded. The world seemed to be quiet for a moment.

The astronomical amount of soul power slowly dissipated and merged into this pure white world. Clenus could no longer maintain the shape of his soul, but the ownerless soul power could not disappear out of thin air, so it was absorbed by Reed. Before the giant octopus completely collapsed, Reed heard its last voice:

"Don't forget what you said... bring the old gods..."

Before Clenus could finish his words, he turned into a black mist and slowly dissipated.

Reed put down the gun in his hand, his face expressionless.

Smoke rose from the muzzle of the gun. Lid sat back on the Iron Throne and said with a hint of complaint:

"Really... I have no interest in tentacle play."

He looked at his right hand. In this spiritual world, there was a black curse mark with a tentacle as the core on the back of his right hand. Kleinas had indeed disappeared, but before dying, it dispersed its soul power into this space, and then passed on the secret method of materializing its soul - that is, summoning those tentacles - to Lid.

As for the reason, it is not difficult to guess, because Reed revealed the idea of ​​being an enemy of the old gods in his previous remarks.

And it hated the old gods until its death.

53. Is this your lost daughter?

The Lingwu Lord naturally didn't know what was happening in Reed's body. She was using her self-disciplined willpower that was almost self-abuse to support herself in shaking the barrier set up by Klenas again and again.

Her clothes were tattered, and her black hair was soaked in blood on the ground. The veil was tightly attached to her face, outlining the complete outline of her face. Through the veil, one could see her lips trembling. The tears of blood had ruined her original red phoenix tail makeup, but the corners of her eyes were stained with a brighter color, which set off her bloodless face and filled it with a kind of desolate beauty.

Lingwu Lord's hands were now covered with scars, her nails were broken in many places, several fingers were bent in the opposite direction, and the white bones were visible in the torn wounds on the back of her hands. But she was still gasping for breath, and kept stretching out her hands to dig at the transparent and thick barrier. A deep pit could be seen on the barrier.

Several times, those eyes were about to close but suddenly opened again, and those hands were clinging to the barrier tightly. The pain made the tear glands start working instinctively, but the tears had already dried up, and were sealed in the dust of history along with the last bit of cowardice. Death is certainly very easy, and the hatred that only she remembered would disappear, but she still refused to give up, looking for a tiny possibility in despair, even if she had to continue to suffer in endless pain.

The Lingwu Lord's movements were getting slower and slower, and there were not many organs in her body that obeyed her commands.

The blood flowed more and more, and my vision began to darken.

However, just before her body almost completely collapsed, the hand of the Lingwu Lord suddenly dug through the last layer of barrier of the barrier. The sudden change made it impossible for her to retract the force she had used, and the hand just quietly pushed onto the baby's milk-smooth face.

Lord Lingwu was stunned for a moment, and some strength suddenly surged into his body.

-Success!

All that’s left is to transfer your soul into this empty shell, and everything will come to a perfect end!

The Lingwu Lord pushed forward, recklessly mobilizing her strength, ignoring the excruciating pain that was gnawing at her bones and heart. A trace of blood-red light lit up on her body, and her dim eyes once again ignited a fiery fire.

Then, Lord Lingwu stood there in a daze.

The baby in front of him opened her mouth slightly and licked off the blood that he had accidentally smeared on her lips.

Then, she opened her eyes. She opened her clear eyes that had not been baptized by the world and blinked at the Lingwu Lord. Her eyes were full of confusion at first, but when she saw the Lingwu Lord, she seemed to have a little more joy.

Because of the excessive blood loss, Lingwu Lord's thoughts could not keep up with the changes in front of her, and she had no time to think about what happened to the baby girl. But she was very clear about one thing, that is, if she wanted to transfer her soul into it, she must first erase the newborn soul in the baby girl's body.

The baby tilted its head and looked at the Lingwu Lord stupidly, not knowing what she wanted to do.

Facing those clear eyes, Lord Lingwu hesitated slightly when he stretched out his hand.

Normally, she wouldn't even blink, after all, she has done this more than once. Erasing the soul will not cause any pain to the other person, as the other person will not feel anything for just a moment. On the contrary, the subsequent soul transfer will bring her great torture. The pain of the soul and body being separated will make her feel scared for a year or two, and the occasional rejection reaction of the soul in the body will accompany her for life.

Even so, Lord Lingwu persisted.

She was not a person with overflowing sympathy. She had long been accustomed to such sinful things as letting the hidden guards collect talented girls and exchanging her soul for them. The Lingwu Lord never thought about whether the girl was innocent, because the world was like this. If she didn't do this, more people would die in the Lingwu Territory. She didn't have time to repent for her sins one by one.

…but this time it’s different.

In an extremely weak state, with her consciousness already blurry, the Spiritual Martial Lord was caught off guard by the innocent gaze of the baby. Her previous killing savagery was suppressed for a moment, and a feeling she had never had before began to rise quietly. She did not kill the baby in front of her immediately. Although the hesitation was only for a moment, it made her miss the last chance.

There was a strange noise behind me.

The Lingwu Lord looked back and saw that Lid's body was slowly standing up in a twisted manner. The soul condensed into countless illusory tentacles beside him. The man seemed to be unable to control his body. He stood up on his legs first, and then his upper body stood up from behind little by little. After swaying a few times, he maintained his balance with the help of the tentacles.

All of this indicates that Clenus has succeeded in taking over the body.

The little time that Lid bought her would eventually run out...

The Lingwu Lord knew that she should immediately seize the body of the baby beside her and gain the power of Clenus's body, but unfortunately she was too weak. Any command, from the brain generating the thought and making the decision, to the command being transmitted to the body, and then to the body reacting, would take at least two to three seconds.

During this time, she clearly saw the man walking towards her. His hand easily grasped her slender wrist and pulled her weak body up from the ground. The Lingwu Lord looked at the deep eyes and silently looked away. She no longer had the strength to resist. No matter what kind of future she faced, she had no choice but to accept it humiliatingly.

She could feel the soul-condensed tentacles lifting her body, and the hand that had originally grasped her wrist was now holding her back. At the same time, another tentacle condensed beside the man, and the tip slowly pointed at her neck.

Lord Lingwu lowered his wrist and blood dripped onto the ground.

The man in front of her leaned forward, pressed her head against the barrier, and forced her to look at him. There was a trace of anger in the eyes of the Spiritual Martial Lord, but it was fleeting. She waited for the moment when the tentacles would pierce her neck, and waited for the moment when blood would splash on this man's face.

Until a familiar voice came to my ears——

"I once complained to that guy named Merlin that I would definitely kick your ass hard when I caught you. But it's a pity that you can't stand up now, so let's try another way."

Before the Lingwu Lord could react, the soul tentacle that had previously been directed towards her neck suddenly swung down like a whip.

Snapped!

Precise and elegant.

The warm breath fell into the ears of the Lingwu Lord. Even though his brain was still buzzing, some things gradually became clear.

But before she could speak, the person in front of her seemed to be endless, nodding and saying:

"Look, you sent me a secret letter to force me to come to Lingwu, and then you transferred me to your team. I could have been happily hanging out with Lana, but because of you, I had to work hard. It's tiring, isn't it?"

Snapped!

"Then, I helped you out of good intentions, but not only did you not tell me the truth, you even tried to send the commander of the secret guards to assassinate me. People should stand at attention when they are beaten, and admit their mistakes when they make them, right?"

Snapped!

"Also, even though we were already at the bottom of the sea, facing the possibility of life and death, you still acted so arrogantly that you wouldn't even ask for help. Do you really think I'm made of mud? It was only when I just came out of the illusion that you hugged me because you were cold and tired."

Snapped!

"Also, you don't really think you can handle Clenus just by coming here, do you? This thing is much more difficult to deal with than you think. I don't care how powerful your secret method of erasing souls is. You couldn't even touch it just now. You have to admit that you are not as skilled as others. For example, you can't beat me right now. How about you ask me to try?"

Snapped!

The Lingwu Lord gritted his teeth, stared at Lid coldly, and shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Li-de--!!!"

Her chest heaved violently, and at that moment she even wanted to bite her tongue to commit suicide.

But the next moment, something no one expected happened.

The baby girl on the warm bed crawled out from the hole in the barrier at some point. Her chubby little hands gently grasped the hem of Lord Lingwu's clothes, stared at him with aggrieved eyes, and sniffed.

Lid and Lord Lingwu both looked at her. The little girl seemed a little scared, but she still held onto Lord Lingwu's clothes tenaciously, and said in a soft and soft baby voice:

"I'm so hungry... Mom..."

She repeated the words as sixteen tentacles dangled behind her.

"hug……"

She opened her arms and gave the Lingwu Lord an extremely innocent and pleading look.