Chapter 401: A Father Can Match a Nation

Chapter 401: A Father Can Match a Nation

In the 1349th year of the Fifth Era, early August.

Dawn was just breaking, and the weak morning light was gradually spreading. The aroma of breakfast was already wafting through the air.

Servant Parrot had prepared the breakfast and was clearing the kitchen waste, washing the utensils, and then diligently began cleaning the rooms.

In the master bedroom, Lu Ke slowly opened his eyes. He gently moved the warm body in his arms, caressing Bernadette's smooth face with his fingertips until her beautiful eyebrows furrowed. He then smiled, bowed, and slipped out, dressing himself.

Sitting at the table laden with a sumptuous breakfast, Lu Ke sniffed the air.

The rich aroma made his stomach churn, and a strong appetite surged within him, a result of the "Chaos Gastric Fluid" Extraordinary Trait.

Lu Ke rubbed his belly, picked up his chopsticks, and quickly devoured all the food.

Parrot, who was watching, went from surprised to astonished, and finally to fearful. He looked at Lu Ke's flat abdomen and the empty plates stacked on the table, not understanding where the food had gone.

Seeing the unsatisfied look on Lu Ke's face, Parrot cautiously asked, "Would you like another serving?"

"No need... Actually, another serving would be fine."

Lu Ke tried to control his surging appetite, put down his chopsticks, then remembered that Bernadette might be interested in "Chinese cuisine" and Kline might join them for breakfast. He changed his mind and said, "Okay, Master."

Parrot turned and walked to the kitchen, skillfully starting to prepare the ingredients again.

Lu Ke sat in his chair, watching Parrot's busy figure, and suddenly asked, "Parrot, how long have you been with me?"

"Over a month, but if you don't count the time you spent traveling in Barkeland and the recent business trip, it's been about two weeks."

Parrot stopped his work and answered honestly.

"Oh."

Lu Ke was a bit surprised that the time had been so short; he thought it had been nearly three months. He tapped his finger lightly on the table, his tone neutral, "Are you adapting to your current life?"

Parrot nodded quickly, his voice sincere, "Yes, I am. It's great to have enough to eat and wear. You even rented me an apartment, so I don't have to freeze outside, worry about being hunted down, or fear being chased away by patrolling police or constables at night..."

His voice gradually lowered as he glanced up at Lu Ke and then quickly looked down, a hint of unease in his eyes.

Lu Ke pondered for a moment and then spoke up, "Have you thought about going back to university to complete your studies, or finding your father, or taking revenge on the gang that bullied your mother and sister?"

Parrot's lips moved a few times, and he looked dejected, "I don't have the ability to do those things, Master."

"Anything is possible if you want it."

Lu Ke smiled, walked to the wardrobe, and took out a finely tailored tuxedo complete with a pocket watch, brooch, tie, hairpin, and monocle. This was the first formal suit he bought when he arrived in this world, guided by Parrot to a clothing store.

He removed the monocle and touched the suit, infusing it with a "Magician" Extraordinary Trait, transforming it into a sealed item with minimal side effects but weakened extraordinary abilities.

Then, in Parrot's astonished gaze, he threw the suit to him without much hesitation.

"Consider it your salary for this period."

Lu Ke stretched lazily, got up from his chair, and walked out without looking back, his indifferent voice lingering in Parrot's ears, "Once you finish this meal, you can leave. You don't have to stay in Daffodil Street. You can leave Tinggen directly if you want, or take your revenge, or live a peaceful life. It's up to you."

"Whatever you want to do, go do it."

Parrot watched Lu Ke's figure disappear around the corner, feeling lost and mumbling, "What I want to do?"

...

The morning air was particularly fresh.

The market was already bustling at dawn, with vendors' cries and shouts rising and falling. The stench of the sewage ditches mixed with the aroma of various foods, creating a peculiar smell that the locals were long accustomed to.

In the remaining time, Lu Ke moved through the crowd, arriving at Iron Cross Street, a narrow alley formed by two adjacent residential buildings.

In the final moments before the conflict erupted, he intended to revisit the places he had been to and meet the people he had encountered.

This was the first location, where he had landed after leaving Source Castle.

After studying the dark and damp alley for a few seconds, Lu Ke's figure faded and became transparent. When he reappeared, he was in the captain's office of the Black Thorns Security Company.

Under the dim, yellowish light, Leonard, with the air of a romantic poet, was looking at some documents. Dark circles under his eyes suggested he had been compressing his sleep to study.

Seeing the other person so focused that he didn’t even look up, Lu Ke’s lips curled into a smile. He took out his Monocle and put it on his right eye, then lifted the shield.

In the next moment, Leonard seemed to hear something and looked up in shock.

When he saw Lu Ke, he immediately showed a look of terror and scrambled backward. His movements were so abrupt that he fell off his chair with a loud thud, wincing and groaning in pain.

“You seem to be in a good state?”

Lu Ke smiled, waving at him in greeting.

What state?

Leonard, who had just recovered from the pain, was taken aback for a moment before realizing that the person in front of him wasn’t addressing him.

A translucent, ethereal figure slowly emerged from Leonard’s body, speaking in a hoarse voice. It was Palles Sororyasder, the former Sequence 1 “Worm of Time” on the Thief pathway.

“Ammun didn’t devour me entirely; he only stole the ‘Worm of Time.’ I’m still the ‘Fate Horse.’”

Pales looked at Lu Ke and slowly spoke, “When we first met and you put on the Monocle, it wasn’t a coincidence.”

“At that time, I deliberately pretended to be Ammon to help you digest the Extraordinary Trait. Yes… I also told Ammon your hiding place. I’m very sorry.”

Lu Ke adjusted the Monocle on his right eye, offering a somewhat insincere apology.

“At least you kept me alive.”

Pales let out a bitter laugh, his tone filled with melancholy:

“From the beginning, I could never compete with Ammon. I had no chance at all.”

“The ritual to accommodate ‘Uniqueness’ is complex and troublesome, even for a true god. Ammon is a natural ‘Uniqueness’ activator, the second son of the Ancient Sun God, and he has two ‘Worm of Time’ traits. He’s far ahead of me on the path to godhood.”

“Actually, it’s a good thing that these thousand years of constant worry are coming to an end. Now that the feared event has occurred, I can finally be at ease. The waiting was the most agonizing part.”

Lu Ke remained noncommittal, “What do you plan to do next?”

“Before Leonard becomes a demigod, I will stay with him to help. If Ammon still has the habit of snacking after becoming a god, I’ll have to join the Church of the Black Moon.”

After the “Heavenly Lord” has awakened once, it might not be a good thing for the “Seer,” “Thief,” and “Apprentice” pathways to achieve godhood in the near future…

Lu Ke didn’t elaborate on this point, nodding with a smile.

“Well, good luck.”

He took off the Monocle from his right eye and turned to leave the office.

As he walked out of the Black Thorns Security Company, Lu Ke ran into Roxana, who was radiating youth and particularly lively and cheerful when not working.

Her eyes lit up when she saw Lu Ke, but as she approached to greet him, she noticed the subtle differences in his appearance and the wildly different, flamboyant red hair.

She hesitated, unsure for a moment, and didn’t say anything.

Lu Ke didn’t stop to explain; he simply nodded at her with a smile and walked away.

Roxana watched as his figure disappeared, muttering to herself:

“He looks a lot like Mr. Genoa, but he’s more handsome and manly, and the hair is completely different… It can’t be the same person, right?”

……

After leaving the Black Thorns Security Company and turning the corner on Zotland Street, Lu Ke strolled through the crowd with a composed demeanor.

At some point, a figure had joined him—a young man wearing a Monocle.

Lu Ke glanced at the young man without surprise.

When he lifted the shield and put on the Monocle, he had indirectly signaled Ammon to come.

“Now that you’re asking for this, it means time is running out, right?”

Ammon smiled, adjusting his Monocle and handing Lu Ke a peculiar, blood-stained, rust-covered crown.

He looked intrigued:

“The ‘Conqueror’ trait in George Iii’s possession shouldn’t be a problem for you. How will you handle ‘Uniqueness’? That thing is in the hands of the ‘Dragon of Betrayal.’ Can you retrieve it smoothly?”

Hera Bergan, the God of Knowledge and Wisdom, was once a lesser god of the ancient deity, the “Imaginary Dragon” Angorweth. During the battle between the Ancient Sun God and the Imaginary Dragon, he betrayed his master and became the “Intelligence Angel” among the Eight Archangels.

During the “Banquet of Betrayal,” he betrayed the Ancient Sun God alongside the “Eternal Sun” and the “Lord of Storms,” feasting on the corpse of the Ancient Sun God and taking the compatible “Uniqueness” and Sequence 1 Extraordinary Trait, becoming one of the seven major gods.

Lu Ke glanced sideways at Ammon, “You don’t seem to get along well with Hera Bergan?”

The curve of Ammon’s lips didn’t change, and his tone was neutral:

“I just want to do you a favor. Once I become the ‘Mistake,’ I’ll have a good chance of stealing the ‘Uniqueness’ you need. How about we cooperate? You help me become the ‘Mistake,’ and I help you become the ‘Red Priest.’ It’s a mutually beneficial arrangement.”

Lu Ke glanced at him and said nonchalantly,
"I can reclaim the scepter with ease; there’s no need for me to team up with the ‘Lord of Deception.’ You, on the other hand, should be more careful and guard against your biological father trying to take control of your body."

"..."

Ammun’s smile stiffened, and he raised his hand to pinch his monocle, his tone indifferent.
"‘Biological father’?"

"You are the ‘Error’ derived from the ‘Heavenly Lord’s’ Uniqueness. He is, of course, your biological father."

Seeing His reaction, a pleased smile appeared at the corner of Lu Ke’s mouth, and he playfully teased the ‘Blasphemer’ with a light tone,
"The ‘Primordial God’ is the one who separated you from the ‘Heavenly Lord,’ and also the one who created the ‘Ancient Sun God.’ He is your theoretical father."

"The ‘Ancient Sun God’ gave you life, consciousness, and the vital human element that you value most. He is the father you recognize the most."

"Adam and the ‘True Creator’ are two aspects of the ‘Ancient Sun God,’ and they are, of course, also your fathers."

"The Dark Angel Sasriel is the half-body of the ‘Ancient Sun God,’ a secondary form, and without a doubt, also your father."

Ammun: "..."

He tried to curl his lips, as if wanting to laugh and retort, but in the end, said nothing.

If it weren’t for the fact that he couldn’t beat him, he would really, really want to steal everything from this existence, down to the last pair of underwear.

At this moment, Ammun felt his desire to become a god reach its peak.

Although becoming an ‘Error’ might not make him a match for the existence before him, at least he wouldn’t be completely helpless.

"By the way, here’s something for you."

Lu Ke took out a glass bottle covered in ‘Unknown’ energy, containing some kind of liquid, and casually tossed it to Ammun.

"This is..."

Ammun was taken aback, looking at the glass bottle with a changed expression.

"I would have given it to someone else if not you. Your father probably knows you’re not willing to accept His help right now, but He still chose to help you. He really dotes on you."

Lu Ke said with a sigh, then added, "‘Father-brother’ is a combination of ‘father’ and ‘brother,’ easy to understand, right?"

Ammun stopped walking, clenching the glass bottle in his hand, and remained silent.

...

Barkeland, Zaugud District.

The overly bright sunlight had thinned the fog that usually shrouded the area.

Emerging from the room where he once lived with Xiu and Fors, Lu Ke slowly walked toward Queens District, intending to visit Fors and Aurelia.

At this moment, a massive crowd gathered in the center of the street, in front of the fountain, catching his attention.

The crowd was roughly half male and half female, with a mix of professions. There were ragged beggars, well-dressed tycoons, muscular young men, and women in dirty skirts.

Each face was filled with fascination, staring at the fountain.

Lu Ke narrowed his eyes and slowly approached, hearing the melodious sound of an accordion and a clear, pleasant hum.

At the center of the storm of attention stood a woman of breathtaking beauty.

She had an incomparable, graceful figure, dressed in a black bone skirt, her movements light and skilled. She tapped to the rhythm of the accordion, gently swaying, her figure exuding an infinite charm.

This was Chique, the ‘Primordial Witch,’ merged with the dark aspect of the ‘First Creator in the Mirror.’

She wasn’t using any ‘Charm’ or extraordinary abilities; her appearance alone was enough to captivate everyone, making her the center of attention.

Noticing Lu Ke’s gaze, Chique smiled, a smile that outshone everything around her, and waved at him warmly.

Lu Ke’s gaze was calm as he snapped his fingers.

The fascination in the crowd’s eyes rapidly dissipated. They seemed to no longer see Chique, forgetting why they had gathered there, and quickly dispersed.

"Hello."

Chique sat down on the edge of the fountain, swinging her legs, the black skirt swaying.

Lu Ke followed and sat beside her, nodding casually as if they were having a casual chat.
"You seem to be doing well?"

"Yes, everything is beautiful after gaining freedom. I want to feel every moment, every second."

The new ‘Ruler of the Mirror World’ smiled purely, quietly observing the people and carriages passing by on the street, the various shops, and the children playing and laughing.

"The Mirror World became chaotic and extreme under Chique’s influence, but this world is more beautiful, more vibrant. Although it is also cruel and sad, it is not lacking in joy and happiness."

Chique propped her chin up, gazing at the sunset.
"Your world is beautiful. Don’t let it be destroyed."

As she finished speaking, the sky darkened.

Suddenly, all around, a cacophony of startled cries erupted.

It was midday, the sun was at its brightest, yet darkness descended abruptly, swallowing all the light, bringing the deep, eerie darkness of midnight and the scent of death!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end