Who are you calling a stable boy?!

Zheng Jing?

Zheng Jing had said that he didn't really need to rest through sleep these days, but Heribel insisted on taking on the task of guarding the camp for him.

Seeing Hribel's stubbornness, Zheng Jing let her have her way.

More than that, Zheng Jing was concerned about where to find other Vastodes.

"...Your Majesty."

Sun Sun and the others are now in charge of guarding the camp, but they, who should be cultivating Heribel, seem a little restless next to Zheng Jing.

"Ok?"

Upon hearing the sound, Zheng Jing, who was sitting cross-legged, slightly opened his eyes and glanced at Heribel.

"What's wrong? Have you encountered any difficulties in your cultivation?"

Halibel shook her head, seemingly considering her words before continuing.

"Actually, I've seen other Vastodes besides Barragán."

"Oh?"

"I didn't mean to hide it, it's just that I know nothing about that Vastod, I've only seen her from afar..."

"she?"

"Yes, it was a female Vastod, wielding a huge weapon, with long, turquoise hair."

...This setting sounds familiar.

Zheng Jing scratched his cheek and turned to look at Heribel.

"Where did you see her? Do you remember?"

"Yes, but that was a long time ago. I wasn't even with Sun Sun and the others back then, so... I'm not sure if that Vastod is still there..."

"It's alright."

Zheng Jing smiled and waved his hand.

"Having a goal is better than just wandering around like this!"

Chapter 152: The Knight, the Queen, and the King

Zheng Jingneng understands Helibel's concerns.

With a purely abstract concept of time, it would seem like an experience from a long time ago, which could be decades or even hundreds of years ago.

Such a distant, one-time encounter should, in principle, not be taken as a reference.

But to Herribel's surprise, the search for this mysterious Vastod was not difficult.

It could even be said that it went so smoothly that it was almost too easy.

Because I had seen this mysterious Vasto Lorde's Hollow before, and there were quite a few of them.

Some were saved by this mysterious Vastod when they were about to be killed by their own kind who were stronger than themselves.

Some people bumped into the other party by accident, thinking they were doomed, but were let go by the mysterious Vastod.

There were even guys who tried to ambush their opponents, only to be easily suppressed, but were spared their lives.

The closer one gets to the region in Heribel's memory, the more virtual beings there are with this kind of experience.

This means that the other party may still be active in this area even now.

That is indeed the case.

"Are you the ones looking for me?"

Standing before Zheng Jing and his companions was a stunningly beautiful woman with blue hair, whose figure was no less striking than that of Heribel.

She held a double-headed lance that was over five meters long, wore a pale light armor, and had an antelope bone helmet on her head.

It's her!

Heribel recognized him immediately; it was the same Vastod she had met by chance years ago.

"It seems so. What do you need me for?"

Facing Zheng Jing and his party alone, she remained calm and composed. Her lovely features, facing the gentle breeze of the desert, appeared resolute.

"Girl, you remind me of my little sister."

Zheng Jing suddenly spoke up, saying something that left everyone present baffled.

"If you two ever meet, you'll definitely get along well."

As he spoke, he patted Halibel on the shoulder again.

"Xiao He, you too, I think you'll get along well with my little sister."

These words left both Wastodds momentarily speechless.

Fortunately, Zheng Jing did not continue the topic.

He pointed to himself first.

"Getting back to the main topic, let me introduce myself first. My name is Zheng Jing."

Then she pointed to Helibel.

"This is Xiao He."

Finally, he pointed to Apache and the others.

“That’s Gan Wencui.”

Apache and the others immediately turned to look at Zheng Jing.

Even their animal-like bodies and skeletal appearance couldn't hide their current bewilderment.

And you, young lady?

“...Nelliel.”

Nelielu revealed her name.

“Nellielu du Odeschamps”.

"Nil, okay."

Zheng Jing nodded.

"I, Lao Zheng, will be frank. I'm cracking down on the chaos in the virtual world, especially the practice of people chewing up their own kind as dog food. I'm going to take a hard line on that! So, from top to bottom, we need to establish rules for Wastodd first."

"Looking back on this journey, I've come to realize that you're similar to Xiao He—both are people who can get me, Old Zheng, to present banners of appreciation to the masses. So, I, Old Zheng, would like to ask you, are you interested in working for me?"

"You... want to take me as your subordinate?"

"Hmm? Almost there. So, are you coming or not?"

Without answering immediately, Nilu stared at Zheng Jing, lost in thought.

She came looking for him because one of the people she had once helped found her and told her that a group of strange people nearby were asking about her.

That being said, Nilu didn't actually have much ill will towards Zheng Jing and the others.

Because the person who came to deliver the message to her did not escape at the cost of his life.

She didn't make things difficult for those weaker than herself—just being able to do that was enough to earn Nel's favor and make her think highly of her.

However, after seeing Zheng Jing and the others in person, Nilu couldn't help but have a question.

"Are you alright?"

It's not surprising that Adjuchas, who had never been to the mortal world and had little experience, couldn't see it.

But as Nel of Vastod, she immediately realized that Zheng Jing was not one of her kind.

"In a way that you can easily understand, I am Death."

Upon hearing this, Nilu's eyes showed even greater confusion.

She glanced at Zheng Jing, then at Helibel and the others.

Death and Hollows travel together?

"Well."

Seeing that Nilu had fallen silent again, Zheng Jing's eyes darted around.

“Nilu, don’t worry. If you’re not interested, that’s fine too. I won’t stay long either. Just remember my name, Old Zheng. You might need it someday.”

With that, he waved his hand and turned around.

"Girls, let's go! Let's find the next Wastodd."

"--etc."

When Nilu called out to him, Zheng Jing turned his head to look at her.

"how?"

"I've never wanted to be anyone's subordinate, so I don't want to reply to your invitation right now. Also, I'd like to make a request of you."

"Oh? Go ahead."

"I'd like to travel with you for a while."

Nilu looked at Zheng Jing and said seriously.

"This is the first time I've seen Death and Void travel together. I'm very curious about you. So I want to see and experience everything about you for myself. When I'm able to draw my own conclusions, I will respond to your invitation."

"Hey."

Turning around, Zheng Jing grinned.

He discovered that the true simplicity of Hueco Mundo could be found in Hercules and Nel.

It's hard not to love this straightforward and decisive approach.

"Girl."

Zheng Jing waved to Ni Lu.

"You've joined at the perfect time!"

-

Harribel naturally approved of Nel joining the team.

Apache and the others had some reservations, and there were occasional frictions when they were with Nel.

It's mainly Apache and Miraross who sometimes want to argue with Nel, but Nel never pays any attention.

However, this conflict wasn't a big deal, since Halibel was there to mediate between them.

Nilu's attention was mostly focused on Zheng Jing every day.

Just as she herself said before, she was indeed observing everything about Zheng Jing very carefully.

"......What's up?"

However, this time during the break, things were different.

Heribel noticed that Nil had been silently watching her.

"Have you encountered any problems in your cultivation?"

With Zheng Jing's consent, Heribel taught Nilu the Prajna Freedom Technique 1.0.

Although not as instantaneous as Zheng Jingchuan's method, under Heribel's tutelage, Nilu learned Prajna Freedom Skill 1.0 in about five days.

"Can we talk in private?"

Upon hearing Nil's words, Apache and the others responsible for guarding the camp immediately focused their attention on Nil.

"......Can."

"Lord Harribel?"

"You stay here, don't follow me."

As she spoke, Helibel looked at Zheng Jing.

"Ok?"