Chapter 46

The intense wind element pushed the turbine to start slowly, and the great lift force made the airship take off gently. Sigma looked out of the porthole at the crowd waving goodbye, smiled slightly, and opened the cabin door, walking towards the deck.

Along the way, he greeted the necromancers he passed. After this matter was settled, he sincerely thanked the necromancers for their initial help—though they didn't actually help much, the sentiment was still worth remembering.

This incident seemed to bring Sigma closer to the others.

Luluwei was sitting sideways on the deck railing, her silver hair fluttering in the wind. Her legs were crossed, swinging gracefully, and her smooth, round thighs were wrapped in black stockings, giving off a mysterious and alluring texture. Sigma looked at her openly for a moment, satisfying his eyes, and then slowly walked towards her.

"Looks like you hit the jackpot? Even got a spatial ring?" Luluwei glanced at the spatial ring on Sigma's middle finger, his war trophy, and then at the golden ring on his ring finger, which was said to be his engagement ring. The Queen of Ghosts narrowed her eyes and muttered, "So annoying."

Sigma guarded the spatial ring and bared his teeth, "You don't have one? I finally got lucky this time, and found a good thing by looting a corpse. No one else is getting it, no matter what kind of group distribution you talk about. I don't buy that."

The Queen snorted, seemingly mocking Sigma's naivety: "No one is fighting you for it. Come, as your guardian, I need to hear about your gains from this trip. It's time to submit your report."

"Sure, the College of Nature is very grateful to me because I exposed the Temple's conspiracy, eliminating a major threat. Otherwise, if this had escalated, the Druids would have been in a terrible mess, accused of desecrating life by the Temple." Sigma said proudly, "First, the Sanctuary Scrolls I used against Juventus were compensated double, a total of ten..."

Luluwei was taken aback, "Didn't His Excellency Salarus only give you three for protection?"

"Nonsense, he gave me five, and double compensation is ten." Sigma rolled his eyes, "If you don't believe me, ask Salarus yourself."

Luluwei found it both amusing and annoying. If she asked Salarus, given his temperament, even if Sigma said he was given a hundred, he would nod without changing his expression and say it was actually a hundred and twenty, then praise Sigma for being reasonable.

"Besides, the scrolls and wands I used, as well as medical expenses and compensation for mental distress, were all reimbursed double. Some of the Sanctuary Scrolls I can't use well but are very precious, so I'll go to the college to exchange them for some benefits... The Druids are really generous, giving me an ice spellbook, advanced combat techniques, and many valuable magic plant seeds." Sigma counted on his fingers, "There are also two large boxes of alchemical materials and unique equipment and insights from the Natural Kingdom, all for my use. Some highly effective and valuable medicines, to be sent home to the family, to broaden their horizons. And a grain trade permit, to give to that woman, so she stops saying I'm a money-loser. Just a word from me can bring her big deals..."

Listening to his endless boasting about his loot, it was clear how much he had squeezed out of the Druids, who were too naive to haggle. They believed Sigma's bravery in stepping forward had saved the College of Nature from a potential major crisis, and paying some "trivial" compensation was justified. If not for Sigma's remaining sense of shame, he would have squeezed even more.

Luluwei listened to his endless chatter, even learning that the chef in the college cafeteria, who made food as bad as pig feed, received a plate of fried poison dart frogs from Sigma as a friendly gift. But thinking about it, this little brat had forgotten a gift for someone, though the broad-minded Luluwei didn't care much about his gifts, it was at least a matter of attitude! She had worked diligently for three months to cultivate him, and he should at least show some gratitude...

"Ah, this is for you." Sigma took an antique comb from his spatial ring and handed it to Luluwei, his eyes wandering to the sky, "Made from high-quality wood from an ancient wild tree, washed with the power of life for a long time. It's said to be very good for hair care and has a calming effect when combing, suitable for ghostly bodies. You can use it without worry—don't misunderstand, I gave so many gifts, and if I didn't give you one, your petty mind would find a way to get back at me. To make my life a bit easier..."

Luluwei stared at the warm comb in her hand, a smile slowly forming on her lips, but it quickly disappeared. She put the comb away casually and looked at the distant sky, saying coolly, "...Tsundere."

Sigma's eyes flickered rapidly, then he put his hands behind his back and said calmly, "Nonsense."

An awkward silence fell between them.

Finally, Sigma broke the silence, laughing, "So, the gains from this trip to the Natural Kingdom were simply astronomical, a huge profit. This shows that the inspection was a complete success. I'll tell the old men, and if there's another good opportunity like this, they should call me..."

"Complete success? You were there for less than ten days and killed two Sanctuaries. Do you think Sanctuaries are cabbages? One death can make them tremble." Luluwei glanced at Sigma, gloating, "Now you're on their blacklist. The Temple will definitely inform other major forces. Now, all the major forces know that the necromancer college has a hidden genius who, in less than ten days in Florence, killed two Druid Sanctuaries, practically the embodiment of the God of Death, bringing death wherever he goes. Compared to you, their problem children are like well-behaved babies... Hmm, your plan to skip school will be even harder to implement, as they probably won't dare to take you in..."

Sigma was surprised, "Nonsense, I only killed one, what about the other?"

"Do you think I was doing nothing all these days?" Luluwei sneered, "The Temple had two supervisors there. One was the Sanctuary you killed, who, despite the title, was just a researcher, not good at fighting, which is why you could kill him. The other was a specialist in combat, having trained for at least a decade at the Sanctuary level. If you had met him, even a hundred Sanctuary Scrolls wouldn't have been enough."

Sigma was surprised, "He was killed by you?"

"Yes, the masters sent me to guard you. Guarding means not only helping you grow stronger but also secretly protecting your personal safety. Last time, when I followed you to that valley and found the Druid you had fooled, I followed him, learned his background, and then killed him." Luluwei said calmly.

"Did you know about the half-orcs?" Sigma was startled.

"Of course." Luluwei glanced at Sigma, "Don't worry, every force on the continent is very interested in half-orcs, but the necromancer college isn't. Whether in war or labor, they are difficult to manage, inefficient, and not worth the trouble."

"If the half-orcs were made by the Druids, wouldn't my actions cause intense conflict or even a full-scale war between the necromancer college and the College of Nature?" Sigma was worried. Although he boasted a lot, he didn't want to cause trouble for the necromancer college. It wasn't a matter of responsibility but because the more trouble he caused, the more guilty he felt, making it harder to justify skipping school. Yes, that's it.

"War is war. You are the future star the masters all see. You need constant experiences, constant thinking, and constant choices to grow. As long as you grow enough, Atlas is willing to pay these costs. Is it just a war? Necromancers fear no one." Luluwei snorted, "The so-called secret agreement to avoid a full-scale war is just a bunch of people talking to themselves. We only reluctantly accept it for the sake of our allies. For necromancers, the most terrifying thing is not war. Death is our eternal ally, and the more people die, the greater our chances of victory."

She looked at the complex expression on Sigma's face and raised an eyebrow, "So, besides the gains, what else did you get? I'm responsible for reviewing your inspection report, and if it's not up to standard, you'll be punished."

Sigma was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I realized my impulsiveness and idealism. Although the outcome was satisfactory, it still made me break out in a cold sweat. Influenced by my family education, I believed that brave warriors would always be willing to die for justice and the future of their race, but that's not the case. The half-orcs didn't know the value of freedom or the power of justice. They were short-sighted, foolish, and even cowardly, but to protect their families, they could still sacrifice their lives and show potential that made me look at them differently—perhaps the epic of freedom is just that, a few heroes fighting for others' happiness, leading a group of warriors willing to fight for their families to victory..."

Luluwei nodded, then said, "Not enough, what else?"

"Also, I obtained the life's work of a Sanctuary scholar. Ignoring the taboo of life fusion, I read through his research notes and distilled a direction for growth. I don't like messing with corpses or using large numbers of people. I can create a type of death-attribute undead from inorganic matter in the world, according to the notes. They are difficult to make and have no intelligence, so they may not be considered high-level undead or form a large army, but they are the most suitable for me. In small-scale conflicts, their strong individual power will make them invincible under my command..." Sigma imagined, "Strong bodies, able to use some negative energy spells, wearing heavy armor, skilled in combat... I want to call them Death Knights."

"Them?" Luluwei narrowed her eyes.

"Yes, I said creating bodies from scratch. Do you want me to make men?" Sigma rolled his eyes, "That's disgusting. They have to be cute girls. Haha, thinking about it, Death Knights have other great uses besides fighting. They have to be realistic. Alice is skilled in alchemical puppets and has insights into lifelike dolls. I'll have to discuss with her. Damn, she won't let me go out, so I'll just make high-quality multifunctional dolls..."

Luluwei raised an eyebrow, her eyes filled with killing intent, and said coldly, "Still not enough,不合格!"

Damn, I got carried away! This woman, no matter how old, is still a young-at-heart woman. Why did I talk about this with her? Why can't I control my mouth? Sigma inwardly cursed.

In that moment, he thought of Bifeng and the friendship of the half-orcs, and then he sighed inwardly. He felt that the last time he and Bifeng had a heart-to-heart talk was probably the last time they could talk without any ulterior motives. The next time they met, their identities would change everything. He also recognized this fact, so he had preemptively laid it out to Bifeng. He had saved the half-orcs, but if they ever developed ambitions that crossed his line, he would act to correct his past mistake.

This time, the half-orcs did not come to see him off.

How much of this friendship would remain after the passage of time?

Sigma sighed slightly, ready to admit defeat to Luluwei.

The Queen suddenly said, "Look, they're here."

He followed her gaze and saw figures moving in the forest. A group of people with human bodies and animal heads suddenly emerged from a green hill, waving at him as the airship moved. The leader, with dragon wings, did not fly up but waved vigorously and shouted loudly, "Dancing with Wolves, I am the half-orc Bifeng, don't you know you will be our eternal friend?"

The half-orcs echoed, their loud voices resonating through the sky, "Dancing with Wolves, don't you know you will be our eternal friend?"

Sigma stared at the running crowd, then rubbed his eyes and cursed, "Damn, the wind up here is really strong."

A cool, smooth hand rested on his shoulder, gently squeezing, and the Queen of Ghosts left, leaving a word lingering in Sigma's ear, "合格."

Sigma waved to the crowd.

Bifeng looked up at the sky.

The two young men, destined for greatness, gazed at each other from afar.

Bifeng sensed Sigma's gaze and said softly, "Thank you, my friend, and..."

He raised his head, smiling brightly, "Goodbye."

(End of Volume 1)

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PS: Phew, this volume is over, flowers, flowers. Look forward to the second volume with a return to a more lighthearted style. Yes, and please give me recommendations.

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