APTnovel Chapter 309 This will be the last one
Chapter 309 This will be the last one
The audacity of the Lamp organization exceeded Pine Sparrow's imagination, frightening her into letting out a sharp screech. The man quickly covered Pine Sparrow's mouth.
"Keep your voice down! The employer has made the request, and there's nothing we can do. Besides, the pay is so generous, it's worth it to have a brush with death!"
Song Que broke free from the man's hand and spat out several times.
"Don't mention the gates of hell, good luck, good luck!"
"Okay, okay, great luck. But are you going to do it or not?"
The sparrow was caught in a dilemma.
As a Langqiu native whose activities revolve around Amber Street, Ruimu? That's a word that only exists among passersby—although Qiong seems determined to take her there.
Come to think of it, haven't I owed Qiong too much? They haven't known each other for long, but her situation has changed dramatically because of Qiong. All I can offer is a meager tour guide service. Even so, Qiong hasn't kicked me out. But Song Que asked herself honestly, didn't she feel any tension about this unequal relationship of giving and receiving?
Should I take this order and repay the person after it's delivered? Putting everything else aside, if Qiong and Nian Gao really can go back, I should at least have a decent farewell gift, right? With this money that will ensure she's well-off for the rest of her life, will gifts even be a problem?
The extra money can help those children...
Seeing that Song Que hesitated, the man continued to coax her in her ear.
"This is a rare opportunity. If you succeed, will you ever lack money for the rest of your life? Besides, with our Lamp organization supporting you and your connections in Ruimu, there won't be any major problems."
Driven by the allure of money, Song Que agreed.
"Okay, let's do it!"
Gods? What gods? Even a god couldn't stop her from getting her meal ticket for the rest of her life!
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"Lord Lithost, hello."
"Ah hello."
In the towering Reimu, the abode of the gods, Lithost hurried past a former victor of the Ten Arts War.
He couldn't remember the last time he set foot in the "Dwelling of the Gods." For this tower, perhaps it was the last day? After all, the day and night, and even the weather, here depended solely on Leiera's whims.
For gods who seek eternal stillness, the sun will never set, and night can never come—if it does, it will be eternal night.
In any case, to maintain a proper distance and prevent the increasingly fanatical deity from recalling her inescapable past through him, he would never venture deep into the deity's realm to meet her. At most... he would stop at the entrance.
Then he chatted a bit more with these poor souls who prayed day and night without receiving a divine response—how ridiculous that, apart from him, the other knights had never seen the true face of God, and even the names of their masters were wrong. Because of Leiera, no matter how many times he told these knights who prayed for a divine response about "Leera," in the end they would only remember that the god was Sennadia (the light of faith), not Leiera (the beautiful night) whom they had heard of "for the first time"...
However, all of this is almost over. Nahera said that the first contact went very smoothly, and she even gave him several dragon scales to strengthen their connection and speed up the trial. It seems that, like him, Nahera also approves of that person—he approves, and Nahera approves, and that's enough.
"What a rare guest..."
Litost had only taken a few steps when he heard that all-too-familiar voice beside him.
Indeed, this is her absolute control. Perhaps she discovered his presence the last time he visited Nahera, but was simply being stubborn and refusing to show herself? If it weren't for the unusually high frequency of his visits this time, she wouldn't have revealed herself to his god, his student, the child they had all raised together—Leera. Instead, she would have chosen to remain hidden until he took the initiative to seek her out…
Of course, that's impossible; he'd love for Leiera to forget about him.
"How long has it been since you last came to this tower full of losers? Was it since you realized you could no longer answer my questions about Sinadia? Or... can't you even remember?"
The gods floating in mid-air were speaking, and Lithost, who adhered to the code of chivalry, naturally could not simply leave—no matter how much trouble Reera caused, she was still a god of Mars.
Lithost looked up, and Leera was still Leera. She still wore the same unchanging black attire she had worn since becoming a goddess—long ago, before Leera's fanaticism, he had suggested she change her clothes a few times; after all, changing clothes was said to make girls happy, and surely a goddess would feel the same way? Nahra had even offered to get some sparkly decorations for Leera to make new clothes, and then…
She dismissed them with a simple statement that the divine equipment was filled with memories of her and Hina Diya.
"So, do you feel even a little bit—a long-lost...nostalgia?"
Lithost remained silent, using his senses to survey his surroundings: as expected, none of the victors of the Ten Arts War were present.
"You just walked in so shamelessly, without any remorse? A traitor who abandoned his duty."
"Leira, I have never betrayed you."
Lithost's expression remained calm, while the goddess he faced was filled with rage—if he could, Lithost would have preferred his goddess to take his life and sever her ties to the past and future herself… but that was impossible.
Leiera slowly floated down to the ground, walking step by step toward Lithost, her gaze fixed on him.
"So, what do you want to do back this time? You're not just here to see if she's been born yet, are you?"
Reira's voice was low and cold, but Lithost did not react at all—hasn't it been like this all these years?
He was used to it long ago.
"No, I just talked to her remaining 'past' about the victor of the 33rd Ten Arts War."
Lithost was silent for a moment, but he still wanted to give it a try.
"Leyela, Nahra...she's almost finished. Won't you go see her?"
The god, who had just been expressionless, suddenly became excited.
"No, I knew this day would come a long time ago. After all, she was never human... Ha, who would be sad for a troublemaker who just eats for free!"
Despite her cold and ruthless words, Leera's heart was still somewhat stirred. She firmly believed that they would all return to her side: whether it was Sinadia, who had simply gone elsewhere and said she would see her again after ascending to godhood, or Nahera, who always peeked out during meals, or Lithost, who existed only to spoil the mood, one day, they would all return to her side...
Even in a quiet moment, she might realize that it was all just her imagination.
Leiera's voice turned cold once again, her gaze fixed on Lithost.
"As for you, you rarely come back, and it's all for that meaningless 'Ten Arts War' you held, which you so treacherously initiated, self-servingly, and even fabricated lies to achieve?"
"That's not entirely meaningless."
“That pointless competition has gone on for... oh, thirty-two times. This place, which should be peaceful, now has thirty-two useless coffins.”
Leiera looked disdainful; she had said from day one that she didn't need any knights! But Lithost continued to hold the event... but she endured it.
To be honest, in Leera's opinion, organizing the Ten Arts War was less worthwhile than walking her noisy dog. Why did they have to send people to her when there were so many other things to do? They knew perfectly well that sending people to her was pointless!
When the topic of meaning came up, Lithost, who had intended to leave quickly, surprisingly made direct eye contact with his god.
“Each time, I did my best to bring the most upright, noble, and talented knight candidates of the generation to the foot of the tower, hoping for the favor of the gods—but the gods never gave them any chance.”
Leiera closed her eyes; she was tired.
“I’ve said from the beginning that I don’t need a knight.”
She turned around and looked at the faceless statue in this space.
"This tower, this god of Luo Star, has always had only one name..."
Hinadia.
He could recite the rest of Lithost by heart; it was basically just Sinadia's memoirs, followed by a furious rant against Nahera for taking Sinadia away from her immortal home, a few more rants about him as a "traitor," and finally, an hour of self-reproach...
"Ugh……"
If there were a dashboard displaying the level of paranoia, their god's paranoia level would probably be approaching "max." The next step would be to have the Heartbeat Department cleanse the body to vent until the paranoia level drops to zero—this wasn't his statement, but something Nahra had just stumbled upon in a conversation from the memories of someone he favored.
Although Nahera didn't understand what Qiong meant either, and the third-hand information was even less clear to him, one thing Lithost was certain of: if the god continued to be obsessive, the shadow would indeed become more and more irritable and even completely out of control, and then Luo Xing would be in big trouble.
It wasn't just Leiera who was exhausted; Lithost, heartbroken and devastated, was also weary. Although he had foreseen this possibility long ago, he still felt the pain in his heart…
It's time to end all of this, for their sake, and for Luo Xing, whom she loves deeply.
"This will be the last one."
An incredulous look appeared in Luo Xing's divine eyes.
"The 33rd Ten Arts War will come to a true end."
"Oh? That's for the best. I hope you'll keep your promise this time, you traitor."
Although his face remained cold, Lithost could detect a hint of joy in the god's tone—he sincerely hoped that the god he protected would be happier in the future and no longer be immersed in eternal torment…
Even if neither of them will live to see that day.
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"The weather is nice today."
Qiong was in a pretty good mood and took the initiative to invite Kiana to go out together—once they were out, she wouldn't have time to make those deadly culinary disasters!
"Really? But I think the sun is a bit too strong! Qiong, why don't we just go back?"
In contrast, Kiana looked displeased. Her purple eyes were fixed on the Ajeta family, whom she was about to visit, as if Ajeta owed her millions.
This was the worst she'd ever been out with Sora, because Sora had come to ask Ajeta for a "lucky potion." The thought that Sora might have a dream of the past after drinking it made her want to hang Ajeta up and beat him up.
"How can that be? I haven't even gotten the item yet! Kiana, you know, maybe before I..."
"Shh, no need to say anything!"
Kyō, in high spirits, reverted to his usual self—yes, his "old self" from Earth, not his "old self" from Mars—acting like he was one of the buddies. But this attempt to build a closer relationship couldn't mask Kiana's unease.
She felt sorry for Qiong and didn't want to use Yu Duchen! But if she didn't use it, how could she keep him?
The two arrived at Ajeta's house. Qiong knocked on the door and looked up at the scorching sun in the sky.
"Pity."
"What's a pity?"
"What a pity! I was planning to take you to Amber Street to buy some souvenirs. We're going to Rim soon, and although Teacher Bai said he would prepare some things for us, we should at least prepare some things first, right? But this weather... Helios is really something else!"
When Helios is mentioned, Kiana's first thought is their Far East branch's transport ship, which is also Kiana's favorite warship besides the Hyperion, without exception.
However, the Helios mentioned here should refer to the first generation of Titans and the sun god in Greek mythology. By the way, I don't know why Qiong particularly likes the story of Helios, especially mentioning Helios's son, what was his name... Phaethon?
I don't know why, but every time I finish telling this story, Qiong will intermittently have a fit of madness and kick the trash can twice. Rumor has it that when no one is around, he might even kick it twice and then overturn the trash can, leading his aunt to once consider it "intermittent mental illness"...
"Ajeta, open the door!"
Kiana suddenly had a question in her mind, or rather, she remembered something she had wondered about but never found the answer to: Why did Sora like Helios's son, Phaethon, so much?