This man is insane.
That was Mo Shu's first thought.
No player, no matter how arrogant, had ever dared speak to a deity in that tone — at least none that Mo Shu had ever seen.
He had always considered himself one in ten thousand, blessed by his Benefactor's grace and accompanied by an Envoy. But now, compared to the Fate Weaver who had ripped the hand right off Lord Herobos, he was still lacking.
Lacking in sheer audacity.
Mo Shu's gaze on Cheng Shi was complex — part envy of a poor student watching a top student, part bystander watching a protagonist in action.
He knew that from the mont Lord Herobos had "obediently" descended into reality, Mo Shu was no longer the lead in this drama. The two figures standing in the spotlight were his direct superior on one side, and on the other, the ultimate nesis of the entire [Oblivion] faction.
What made it even more absurd was that this nesis was claiming he could save their Benefactor, [Oblivion]...
The more Mo Shu thought about it, the more surreal it beca. Standing behind Herobos, he couldn't help but speak up:
"My lord, don't believe him..."
Herobos said nothing.
He was well aware of how humiliating it was to manifest in the mortal realm at a human's provocation. But was the person standing before Him truly just a human?
Cheng Shi wasn't stupid either. He couldn't possibly believe he was so sort of destined protagonist who could make every villain grovel at his feet while he swaggered around consequence-free.
Against another player, they were equals — re mortals, and he had nothing to fear. But facing an Envoy, one who could erase him from existence at any mont, he couldn't afford to be careless.
So his confidence rested not on his bluffing tongue, but on the container bestowed upon him by the Fun God!
Since the beginning of this exchange, Cheng Shi had been hiding the container behind his back. With Herobos's level of perception, He couldn't possibly have failed to sense the container's aura — nor missed the fact that it belonged to [Deceit].
Killing a mortal favored by [Deceit] and killing a carrier of [Deceit]'s container were two entirely different matters. Moreover, [Deceit] had never had a publicly known Envoy walking the world. Most servant gods had never even seen [Deceit]'s container. So when Herobos sensed the purest essence of [Deceit] emanating from behind Cheng Shi, He had no choice but to take seriously the "surprise" this mortal was offering Him.
He stared hard into Cheng Shi's eyes, and the longer He looked, the more those cunning, smiling eyes reminded Him of the star-bright gaze that watched from above the void.
"Who exactly are you?" Herobos asked, word by deliberate word.
Cheng Shi spread his hands:
"As you can see — a player, a mortal.
If you're asking for my na... Cheng Shi. The 'Cheng' from Cheng Jia, the 'Shi' aning 'honest.'"
Herobos considered many possibilities, even wondering if this man was using so unknown artifact to bluff, borrowing strength he didn't have. After all, [Deceit] loved these gas and delighted in spectacles. So was this a case of the mortal called Cheng Shi riding the tiger's coattails, or was it the [Void] Sovereign deliberately orchestrating this farce to irritate Him?
[Oblivion] and [Void] were on extrely bad terms at the mont. If this was an insult aid at His divine prestige and dignity, Herobos would never let it slide. But before that — He genuinely wanted to hear what Cheng Shi had to say about "saving [Oblivion]."
Setting aside His identity as a servant god, Herobos was first and foremost a devout believer of [Oblivion].
History had shown ti and again that only those closest to a deity's will were elevated to the rank of Envoy. Herobos didn't rely embody [Oblivion]'s will — He was a zealot of [Oblivion].
He had dedicated His entire existence to [Oblivion], which was why He had earned the god's approval.
Now, hearing that His Benefactor was "in danger" — whether true or false — He had to at least assess the claim.
He signaled Cheng Shi to continue, only for Cheng Shi to shake his head and point at Mo Shu:
"What I need to discuss with you involves too much. Unauthorized ears shouldn't hear it.
Remove this spectator, and I'll tell you things you don't know."
At these words, Mo Shu's face twisted with fury, and Herobos's gaze darkened.
Mo Shu's expression turned stormy and he moved to attack, but Herobos stopped him and addressed Cheng Shi in a cold voice:
"Until you demonstrate useful information, don't think you can wave [Deceit]'s banner to punish my Master's followers.
The Scavenger's devotion is well-proven. You will not touch him."
Mo Shu's expression lit up with emotion upon hearing this, as if all his efforts had finally found their aning.
Cheng Shi rely pursed his lips with a dismissive look:
"You certainly know how to win people's hearts. But are you sure you want a 'devout' mortal to hear about your Benefactor's disgrace?"
"..."
There was no refuting that.
Whether out of protecting his Benefactor's dignity or out of genuine reverence, Herobos truly couldn't allow Mo Shu to hear such gossip about their Benefactor — even if it might all be lies.
So, overriding Mo Shu's protests, He annihilated the Scavenger's form outright, then spoke in an even icier tone:
"My patience is limited. Whoever you are, if I don't hear what I want to hear soon, today will end in annihilation."
"Big words."
Cheng Shi knew that the mont he showed any weakness, he'd lose all leverage in this confrontation. So his expression grew increasingly sardonic, his gaze increasingly sharp.
His entire deanor shifted. The instant Mo Shu vanished, the Chaos Acting technique activated. Before Herobos's eyes, a tall, slender figure wearing a mask and a suit gradually materialized.
Herobos's pupils contracted. Then He heard the figure speak:
"I am indeed not a re player.
My na is Yu Xi. I am the Envoy chosen by my Master within this ga — and the sole winner of this era.
Yes, you heard correctly. The ultimate purpose of this ga was to find an absolutely loyal servant for my Master. That servant is .
Of course, none of that is the point. I ntion it only to assure you that what I say is the truth, and that not every threat bearing [Deceit]'s na is a lie.
Your Benefactor's current predicant is far worse than you imagine.
But before I explain His dire situation, I believe I need to give you — this ignorant 'native deity' — a prir on what the real universe and slice universes actually are..."
With that, Cheng Shi launched into a sweeping explanation of what lay beyond their sky. Every word was true, not a single falsehood or embellishnt. His confident tone, combined with the traces the real universe had left upon their starry sky, caused Herobos's expression to grow grimr by the mont.
He could scarcely imagine that beyond the parallel worlds derived from [Ti]'s calculations, there existed countless identical worlds — and countless identical versions of Himself.
What He found hardest to accept, of course, was that there were also countless identical versions of His Benefactor.
So which Benefactor was the true Benefactor?
Or perhaps none of them were — and the true master was the Creator who sat beyond the universe, overseeing the Experint?
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