Star Forge Titan

"That's my problem." Khayon chuckled, and under his messy yellow hair was a young and confident face.

"Actually, you don't have to take such a risk. Frey will initiate a top-down reform later. By then, even information about fourth-level professions will be available." Alvin said calmly.

"And then? From being a dog for the necromancer to being a dog for the royal family? Haha, some people, after being dogs for a long time, occasionally want to be human." Khayon shook his head, his voice sweet but full of determination.

"Not everyone wants to be a dog forever." The young necromancer looked at the corpse of his colleague on the ground, and a trace of imperceptible sadness flashed in his eyes.

Then, he looked up at Ivan again, his eyes narrowed again, no emotion visible in them, and only a fake and heavy smile remained on his face.

"In contrast, I will delay the news from the reformist insiders. Even if the princess reveals her identity and sends a distress signal, it will at least take a few days for the news to reach Lucius. I believe that with the strong escort sent by the royal family, you will definitely be able to return to Avonmore safely."

"Are you saying that Frey will reveal her identity and seek help from outside?" Alvin frowned.

"Tsk, it seems you are not familiar enough with that prince." Khayang's tone rose inexplicably.

"If it doesn't involve civilians, she will use almost stubborn determination to implement her own will, just like the sun in the sky that always rises in the east and sets in the west." The young necromancer sighed.

"But when ordinary Elrond people are threatened, Her Royal Highness the Princess will lend a helping hand without hesitation, even if it means endangering herself."

“…” Alvin thought about it and nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, he's an overly idealistic guy."

"Yeah, a ridiculous idealist, a foolish altruist."

The two smiled at each other, then put away their smiles at the same time, and their eyes became more confrontational.

"I will do what I can," Khayon concluded briefly.

"Are you sure?" Alvin was a little skeptical. After all, he was a fourth-level wizard, and it would be difficult to fool him.

"Hehe, I've dealt with Koru, this guy, before." Kayang kicked Koru Wajes, who died with his eyes open.

"He thinks he's so clever, but he's the one who came up with a plan with such serious negative consequences. Even though undead occasionally appear in the wild, a population of nearly a thousand would be enough for even an idiot to see something's amiss."

"Anyway, I've already informed Lucius of this man's actions. The old man was already preparing for something very important, and now he must be extremely worried about his audacity. He must be scrambling to distance himself from the matter."

"And I am honored to be the most loyal and reliable 'good' dog of the Great Wizard Lucius Sura. I am responsible for forwarding all letters." Khayon smiled self-deprecatingly.

"In other words, from now on, I just need to pay more attention to the familiars that deliver messages and slip the secret letter from the insider under the other letters in advance. Lucius, who lives like a piece of shit, won't see that letter for at least three days."

After hearing this, Alvin actually understood the other party's plan. It was so simple that it was shocking, but effective enough.

So he replied just as briefly:

"In that case, I guarantee that Lucius will not have a good ending."

"Hmph, let's hope so." Ka Yang nodded, turned around and led the zombie transformed from a second-level professional towards a dark forest.

The two did not sign any contract or leave any written evidence because they did not fully trust each other and would only take the next step based on the actual situation.

More importantly, it depends on the tacit understanding between the two parties.

"Don't get discovered." Looking at the other person's receding back, Ivan suddenly spoke under the moonlight.

This seemed to be beyond Khayon's expectations, so he stopped but did not look back.

"Hmph, of course not." With a light snort, Khayang stepped forward again, his figure gradually swallowed by the darkness of the forest.

"As for you, just continue to enjoy those rescued trash and offer them cheap and useless flattery." The words of the man who walked into darkness floated from afar, making Alvin shake his head.

"I didn't expect that Kayan Paulus also has this side." After saying this, he showed a somewhat subtle and conflicted expression.

"But what is that guy's relationship with Frey?"

Chapter 29: Sorrow and Joy

It is certainly troublesome to deal with so many zombies.

Fortunately, the zombies that had been killed before emitted a strong smell of blood, which made the other zombies linger nearby and unwilling to leave.

Ivan simply piled the bodies together, then, like a wait-and-see, he chopped down the zombies that came over and threw them into the pile. Soon, the other people in the inn came out to help after repairing the door.

However, considering the existence of the curse, Ivan explained this to Afrediya and asked her to check everyone.

Hearing such a vicious curse, the eldest princess could not help but be furious. For the first time, her face, which was always full of smiles, showed an expression that could be described as murderous. It was obvious that she had made up her mind to do something.

After confirming that there were no unlucky cursed people, people carefully eliminated the remaining zombies from a safe distance using spears or pitchforks.

Ivan himself was not worried about the curse. The raw magic power surging in his body was like an alert hound. Even if there was a little bit of negative energy approaching, it would instantly enter an active state until it was completely shattered.

After several hours of fighting, the remaining hundreds of zombies were finally eliminated, and the piles of corpses emitted a strong smell of blood.

In addition to most of the zombies awakened from the public tombs, at Afrediya's suggestion, people found personal belongings from the zombies made from the victims and kept them properly so that they could be returned to the victims' families later.

Afterwards, in order to completely eliminate the curse, everyone burned all the contaminated corpses.

Everyone was silent as they watched the blazing fire. Even if most of the victims came from the communal graves, the number of victims was still too great to ignore.

The troubadour took out his lute and began to play the requiem often played at traditional funerals. From time to time, a few sobs could be heard from the sentimental woman.

Even in this era where human life is not worth much, people still feel sad about the loss of life.

However, the Elrond people were strong by nature and would not be troubled by negative emotions for too long. After a short moment of silence, everyone who returned to the inn began to cheer and celebrate for their survival.

The troubadour started playing the cheerful dance music again, and the centaurs pulling goods, the demon farmers with horns, the postman with rabbit ears and buck teeth, the small businessman with a pair of fox ears on his head, a group of waitresses and the fat innkeeper, all began to sing and dance.

The innkeeper also took out some beer that seemed to be about to expire and provided it to everyone for free, and the rest of the food was also sold at a discount.

Seeing this scene, Afrediya, who had been frowning since she learned about the curse, couldn't help but smile.

"They live, love, and hate. Even if they are in the ravine, they still look up at the stars." Ivan walked to her and said softly.

"Yes, that's why I've always liked such lively scenes the most." Afrediya chuckled and nodded with a nostalgic look.

Today, she is no longer surprised by the occasional words that come out of his mouth that are completely unlike what a barbarian would say.

"Madam, may I have the honor of asking you to continue the previous dance?" Alvin bowed in a pretentious manner, his tall and straight figure standing in front of Afrediya like a small mountain.

However, the eldest princess herself is very tall, over 1.7 meters, so he can still dance with her as long as he bends down. Anyway, no one cares whether the dance is graceful or not, as long as she is happy enough.

Following the movements they remembered from the past, the two of them danced slowly, somewhat awkwardly.

Unexpectedly, Afrediya was not good at this either. Not long after the start, she had stepped on Ivan at least eight times.

"I'm sorry." Afrediya lowered her head in embarrassment.

"Ah, I'm fine, just a little surprised." Alvin smiled. Compared to the tip of a knife, the power of something like a heel is still limited.

"The court ball is very boring. A group of people only know how to discuss meaningless things. Ostolfo likes art salons very much, but I really feel that those things are too..." Afrediya thought for a while, as if considering what adjective to use.

"Too far from reality?" Ivan added with a shrug.

"Yes, I feel the same way!" Afrediya's eyes flashed, as if she had found a confidant.

Suddenly, Alvin hugged the eldest princess and moved to the side.

The drunk fat boss was seen locking the bucktoothed postman Bob, and the two of them were dancing past each other with passionate steps that were more like a wrestling performance than a dance.

In short, these two guys form a large spinning top, which has the tendency to further evolve into a human cannon.

Their combination opened up an exceptionally wide passage in the bustling hotel lobby, and everyone applauded and cheered, interspersed with the nauseating sound of Bucktooth Postman Bob trying to hold back his vomiting.

"What are they doing!?" Afrediya laughed in surprise.

"Probably dancing." Ivan also looked shocked.

"Hahaha!" The eldest princess laughed out loud without any aristocratic reserve.

After laughing until she was out of breath, she noticed that she was leaning against Ivan's arms. She quickly took two steps back, but in her haste she stepped on the hem of her skirt and almost fell down with a "ouch". Fortunately, Ivan reached out and pulled her back, and she bumped into him.

The rapidly approaching distance and the softness that was too strong to ignore made the black-haired boy feel as if both hearts in his chest skipped two beats.

At this time, Afrediya also took a breath and tried to calm her confused mood. Then she looked around to confirm that everyone's attention was attracted by the spinning top dance, and then she sighed softly.

"I've decided to give up my plan of sneaking back to Avonmore."

"And then?" Alvin asked, but there was not much surprise in his tone.

"Aren't you surprised?" This actually surprised Afrediya.

"This is the choice you would make, isn't it?" Alvin said as a matter of course.

"Hmph, as if you understand me very well." Afrediya snorted softly, and then she showed a somewhat sad expression again.

"Too many people have died tonight. I don't want such incidents that will involve innocent people to happen again. Since they want blood and fire, then come directly at me." The eldest princess said in a calm and resolute tone.

At this moment, Alvin felt that the person in front of him was no longer the naive and somewhat overly idealistic princess he met on the ice field.

But she was the 43rd Demon King who would integrate all the forces of Elrond in the future, forcing even the cultists to kneel before her scepter. She struggled with the curse brought down by the evil god for more than ten years and held the entire kingdom firmly in control until her death.

This damn idealist may be naive and immature, but sometimes he is so sweet.

Even though he knew he was facing a fourth-order strongman backed by the evil god, he was still influenced by the confidence of the top players and the bravery of the icefield freemen, as well as a little hormones.

Subtle emotions welled up in his heart, and Ivan bowed seriously and whispered.

"I will obey your command, Your Majesty."

"..." Afrediya was startled at first, then smiled softly.

"How can you use the knightly rituals of Lind to pledge allegiance to the Demon Lord of Elrond?"

"Huh? So there are so many definitions of etiquette?" Alvin shrugged as if he didn't care.

"Come to think of it, it's only at times like this that you feel like a noble."

"How rude! I've always followed etiquette." Afrediya puffed up her face in pretending to be angry, but soon she couldn't help laughing. She was really a girl who loved to laugh.

"Maybe it's because of my mother." The eldest princess' eyes showed a look of reminiscence.

"Although the nobles never advertise it, my mother isn't actually a noble. She was a woman from another race that my father met while traveling. Some time later, they returned to Avonmore and announced their marriage. However, the other nobles at the time said this was against tradition."

"Somehow, all the opposing voices disappeared within a day. Even the most hardline Grand Duke Blood Dragon stopped mentioning him. After all, he's my father's distant cousin, and we grew up together."

"Anyway, probably because he was so angry, the Grand Duke ran to the south to suppress the small border countries after attending the wedding. He never returned to Evanmore until my brother and I were born." The eldest princess said helplessly.

"Anyway, Mom doesn't look like a noble at all. She scoffs at many rules, including aristocratic etiquette. She is an extremely free person." When she said this, Afrediya couldn't help but reveal an expression of envy and yearning.

"Since I was five years old, she took me all over the capital, even to the chaotic downtown area many times. In her words, that's where you can see the most authentic human society."

"Oh? So what did you see in the downtown area?" Alvin asked following her words.

In reality, he could sense the tension and uneasiness in Frey's heart. Even though the girl appeared strong on the surface, when faced with the malice of an entire faction and even the legendary evil god, she would still feel fear like an ordinary person.

But the difference is that Her Royal Highness the Princess will not retreat even half a step out of fear, which is why she forces the other party to resort to such extreme behavior as assassination.

"What did I see? I saw people trying their best to survive despite the hardships." The expression on Afrediya's face gradually became firm.

"But they shouldn't live such a hard life. Humans deserve a happier life."

"You know? Even in the downtown area, there are kind-hearted people who set up orphanages to adopt orphans. I once made a lot of friends there. There was a particularly smart guy among them. A group of us kids joined forces and even disbanded the gangs entrenched in the downtown area. Of course, I only found out afterwards that my mother had been secretly watching over us." Afrediya talked about the interesting things in her childhood with a smile.

"But then my mother passed away suddenly, and I couldn't leave the palace on my own. It took a whole month before I found an opportunity to go out. As a result..." Recalling the scene in her memory, Afrediya's eyes couldn't help but turn red.

"I knocked on the door for a long time but no one answered. I asked the guards to force the door open, and found that it was empty. After asking the neighbors, I learned that the director of the orphanage suddenly passed away a week ago. Without the protection of adults, all the orphans were missing. They... they may have drifted to various places and can no longer be with me..." Tears almost rolled down the eldest princess' eyes, but she forced herself to hold back the emotion.

Seeing Afrediya like this, Alvin couldn't help but feel pity for her, but he just gently held the princess's hand, because he knew that she didn't need his pity, and that under that gentle appearance, she had a heart stronger than many people.

"Such a world is not right!" The seemingly gentle princess uttered a decisive word filled with the smell of iron and blood.

“A world where all children can laugh happily, grow up healthily, and everyone can live happily is the right world.”

"To achieve this goal, we need to do a lot of things, whether it is to increase food production, improve economic development, increase the total number of extraordinary professionals, or provide more people with channels for progress. Ah, the problems are as numerous as a mountain." Although she said this, the girl always had a smile on her face.

"But this is my ideal." Afrediya breathed a sigh of relief as if a heavy burden had been lifted off her shoulders.

This was her truest thought, which she had not revealed to anyone for a long time.

"So, Alvin, what are your ideals?" Afrediya suddenly asked

"Me?" The girl's words made Alvin fall into deep thought.

Once upon a time, when his name was not yet Ivan, he was a member of the winning group in life who always came first in everything he did.

His innate talent and keen observation skills allow him to achieve the best in a short period of time no matter what he learns, including playing games.

But the smooth sailing life did not last forever. Being clear-sighted about the world meant that he could not tolerate any injustice. He discovered that someone was cheating in an academic competition.

The only result of exposing the truth without hesitation was isolation, while the other party, thanks to external intervention, was able to escape smoothly and win the highest award on the grounds of unclear evidence.

The talent that I am proud of seems to be insignificant in the face of unreasonable power.

Similar things appeared before his eyes more and more often. Others might not be able to see through them easily, but he could recognize all the tricks in them without missing a single detail.

"I will strike down anyone who disagrees!" This was once the favorite line of that arrogant genius, from a martial arts novel.