Chapter 67

No matter how furious Damon got, he couldn’t stop the Halflings from throwing their banquet.

Damon was so angry he gave himself a day off.

Whatever government affairs there were, he wasn’t dealing with them.

He crossed his arms and sneered. “I swear, even if the Evil Gods themselves showed up, you’d all still hold a banquet.”

Xia Xifeng joked, “Oh, absolutely. We’d tie the Evil God to a burning stake, then dance around him in a circle. Right, Perila?”

Perila blinked. “Huh? Wouldn’t that be… a bit inappropriate?”

Xia Xifeng doubled over laughing, leaving Perila deeply confused.

The corner of Qin Lang’s mouth twitched.

Not long ago, you were hugging Perila and sobbing your eyes out, and now you’re cracking gallows humor about him?!

Xia Xifeng winked at Qin Lang, and upon seeing Qin Lang’s exasperated expression, only laughed harder.

Gallows humor was always funnier when someone actually got the joke.

When Xia Xifeng and Qin Lang had left the Hope City, the city was still in its raw, foundational stages.

They had now directly confronted two Outer God plots. Even with Leo and Perila taking the vanguard, the reputation of these two “tag-alongs” was impossible to conceal.

Besides, they were the City Lords.

The Silver Moon Church Headquarters might not recognize Silver Moon Holy City, but that didn’t delay construction of Hope City’s Silver Moon Church one bit.

Watching how they danced alongside the Halflings and the Cat People, it was clear they had completely fused into this city’s very “foundational character.”

The Elves, who usually put on an aloof act and only secretly cuddled cats in private, had also been thoroughly assimilated by now, playing with unrestrained joy.

Xia Xifeng made a round, then walked over to Qin Lang—who was, once again, hiding in a corner—and sighed wistfully. “Seeing the Elves here makes me think of those Elven Heroic Spirits at their banquet.”

In that Blood Moon instance, the Elves had actively scavenged decorations from the ruined town to adorn their feast, wearing expressions remarkably similar to the dancing Elves now.

From the standpoint of faction, those Elven Heroic Spirits should have been the mortal enemies of the current Elves’ ancestors.

“Qin Lang, is the Apocalypse really still going to happen?” Xia Xifeng asked a pointless question.

Even though it was pointless, Qin Lang still answered. “Probably won’t be as catastrophic as in the game.”

Xia Xifeng nodded emphatically. “Definitely not.”

At the banquet’s end, Leo and Perila prayed to the Sun for a blessing.

This time, Hope’s Sun didn’t cause any trouble; Leo’s hair was spared.

According to Perila, his constant nagging had finally paid off.

When Perila had communicated with his god, he too had finally abandoned all the ritualistic purification, incense, and bathing prayer procedures. Instead, he would just chatter at his god whenever he had a free moment.

Hope’s Sun was terribly idle, anyway.

Once the Divine War started, the gods would manifest in the mortal realm.

Upon learning that the Sea God’s human form was actually cribbed from Bishop Siger’s past-life body, Perila had nagged Hope’s Sun endlessly, making absolutely certain It wouldn’t be too lazy to craft Its own form and end up using his appearance when descending to the world.

And so, this time Hope’s Sun didn’t cause trouble… and didn’t burn Leo’s hair. Instead, It burned off Perila’s hair.

A double blow for Perila. Tears brimming, he completed the ceremony.

After coming down from the platform, Perila wiped his eyes and swore fiercely, “I must work harder to get stronger, so I can speak to my god face-to-face as soon as possible!”

Leo patted Perila’s shoulder in deep sympathy.

Good thing he was Birth’s Sun’s Chosen. Sure, Birth’s Sun doted on Its little brother excessively… but at least It was a bit more steady than Hope’s Sun.

Xia Xifeng nudged Qin Lang with his elbow, signaling him to look at Perila’s stats in the System.

Siger and Lijo had left the party after that instance ended. But Leo and Perila remained. Even when they separated for tasks, the four-man party in the System never disbanded, so Xia Xifeng could still see Leo and Perila’s data.

When Leo and Perila joined the party, both were Level 100. Both had been stuck at the threshold of the “Legendary” realm.

Both could have broken through to Legendary long ago; they were only suppressing their power because they needed to simultaneously find their own Path to Godhood during the breakthrough.

Leo, who always said he was weak and would always get hung upside down by Perila during their spars, had actually quietly broken past Level 130.

Truly the ruthless man who could still resurrect as a demigod after dying. After the tragedy of his Dwarven friends being slaughtered by an Outer God, Leo outwardly showed little emotion… but inwardly, he’d cleaved the very gates of the Path to Godhood wide open with a single axe blow. From then on, his path was unobstructed.

Perila’s talent was probably equal to Leo’s. But his heart was more delicate and sensitive, making his willpower less resolute than Leo’s. He’d been stuck at Level 100 without progress.

Perila had said, however, that he’d finally grasped the feeling and would break through soon.

In the game world, Perila had only stepped onto his Path to Godhood after being pushed into a mental breakdown. Xia Xifeng had always wondered what kind of ordeal Perila would have to endure in this reality to overcome this trial.

Xia Xifeng: 【Holy crap! Perila was so pissed off by Hope’s Sun that he hit Level 101!】

Qin Lang scrutinized the System’s data for a long while. Like Xia Xifeng, he suspected his eyes were malfunctioning.

He understood that Perila’s breakthrough at this juncture was definitely built upon a massive accumulation of experience:

The Dwarf Merchant Caravan tragedy. The possible horrors that could have happened to himself. The founding of Silver Moon Holy City. Witnessing the Sea of Decay’s assault on the Sea God Temple… And the pressure of watching himself and Leo’s rate of improvement—all of it had brought Perila just one final push away from breaking through.

But for that final push to come from Hope’s Sun kicking him over the edge… that was simply too…

Qin Lang messaged: 【I hope Perila gets to meet his god in person soon.】

Even Qin Lang couldn’t help the sarcastic quip. Xia Xifeng was laughing so hard he was falling into Qin Lang’s arms.

Qin Lang steadied him immediately. “Get a grip.”

How had he gotten drunk again? Xia Xifeng wasn’t usually much of a drinker.

Leaning heavily against Qin Lang’s shoulder, Xia Xifeng murmured, “Just this once. I’ll get completely wasted one more time today, and then never again.”

Qin Lang excused them from the crowd and hauled the half-drunk Xia Xifeng away.

Xia Xifeng muttered, “Could you be a little gentler?”

Noticing Xia Xifeng’s mood was genuinely very low, Qin Lang held back this time. He crouched down and let Xia Xifeng climb onto his back.

Nestled against Qin Lang’s neck, Xia Xifeng babbled the whole way back.

Hated the Apocalypse. Hated war.

The sights they’d checked off along their journey—all so beautiful. Knowing it would all soon be destroyed… it hurt.

They’d never get to tour the whole world before the Apocalypse hit.

Frustrating.

Outer Gods, die, die, DIE.

Xia Xifeng’s broken-record muttering buzzed in Qin Lang’s ears endlessly.

By the time Qin Lang set Xia Xifeng down from his back, Xia Xifeng was nearly asleep and still muttering.

Qin Lang: “Open your mouth.”

Xia Xifeng stared blankly at him. He’d been semi-conscious just moments ago, just too unsteady to stand. Now he was thoroughly drunk.

Qin Lang shoved a Sleeping Potion into Xia Xifeng’s mouth. Xia Xifeng coughed, choked a few times, then toppled over.

Qin Lang caught Xia Xifeng before his head could hit the floor.

“If you’d crossed over alone, and Leo and Perila were forced to listen to your endless whining… they’d be truly pitiful.”

Even as Qin Lang ridiculed Xia Xifeng, his supposedly high IQ failed to notice the slightest implication: right now, he was describing himself as pitiful.

—

When the sun woke Xia Xifeng, the sensation of an arm under his neck made his brain short-circuit for a moment.

It was only when Qin Lang withdrew his arm that Xia Xifeng’s sluggish little brain finally recalled: he and Qin Lang had crossed over.

Stuck together in a foreign world, relying on each other. He’d once again used Qin Lang as a pillow.

Aw, truly sorry about that.

Xia Xifeng rubbed his eyes and sat up.

His body felt clean. After being force-fed the Sleeping Potion last night, Qin Lang had actually been considerate enough to bathe him and change his clothes.

Xia Xifeng announced, “Since you waited on me so nicely yesterday, I’ll let it slide that you force-fed me the Sleeping Potion and nearly choked me to death.”

Qin Lang: “???”

He already knew Xia Xifeng’s skin was thick as a city wall, but every time, he still found himself rendered speechless.

“From this very day onward, I’m going to bust my ass on infrastructure!” Xia Xifeng was brimming with energy, pumping his fists upward like lifting weights. “Go, go, go!”

Qin Lang abandoned his annoyingly loud childhood friend—who was noisy the second he woke up—and went to wash up alone.

He was seriously considering making Xia Xifeng craft some noise-canceling earplugs or earmuffs.

Sure, Xia Xifeng didn’t snore. But every single morning, he chirped and chattered endlessly. Incredibly annoying, incredibly loud.

Xia Xifeng kicked the blanket aside and followed behind Qin Lang, chirping the entire way about his infrastructure plans, steadily driving Qin Lang’s blood pressure up.

Qin Lang said weakly, “Can you just be quiet for a bit early in the morning? Stop making noise?”

Xia Xifeng: “What noise? I’m discussing important business… Mmph!”

Qin Lang slapped a towel onto Xia Xifeng’s face, temporarily shutting him up.

First thing in the morning, and the two were already at “war.”

When Leo and Perila emerged, yawning, they saw Xia Xifeng, furious, hoisting a hoe, wanting to bury Qin Lang in the fields as fertilizer.

Qin Lang just stood there, arms crossed, sneering constantly.

Leo and Perila exchanged a look. Perila first bound the thoroughly mischievous-looking Leo with vines—paying special attention to binding his mouth—then said, “Stop bickering, you two. If you keep this up, Damon is going to go on strike.”

The moment Perila mentioned Damon, the man himself—radiating oppressive corporate-drudge energy from every pore—came stalking over, face dark. “I knew you lot wouldn’t obediently get to work. What are you squabbling about now?”

Xia Xifeng put down the hoe, plastering on a sycophantic grin. “No squabbling, no squabbling! I was just about to go inspect the fields.”

Damon snapped, “Then get lost.”

Xia Xifeng grabbed his hoe and fled.

Damon turned his glare on Qin Lang.

Qin Lang uncrossed his arms. “I’ll help you sort out the household registry.”

Damon gave a cold huff. With a wave of his hand, Perila and Leo—who were trying to sneak off—were swept right back by a gust of wind.

The two Halflings thumped down on their backsides, staring dumbly at Damon.

Leo was incredulous. “You broke through to Legendary Rank? When did this happen?!”

Damon ground his teeth. “While burning the midnight oil over paperwork, when I got angrier and angrier.”

Leo and Perila looked at each other.

That actually worked?!

Sure, Damon was way older than them. But because Damon had been stuck at the Legendary threshold for so many years without progress, even Mr. Amuruo had concluded the chances of Damon breaking through were exceedingly low. Damon himself was completely apathetic about advancing further.

And now, staying up late doing paperwork caused the breakthrough? It wasn’t like Damon had never stayed up late doing paperwork before!

Damon snorted.

Sure, before, no one had been constantly sending him images and videos of gorgeous gourmet food from their fun travels while he was working!

But Damon hadn’t truly broken through out of sheer fury that he was working while his friends were happily traveling. No, it was after witnessing the Sea God Temple’s horrific state—that had ignited his will to fight alongside his friends.

As Amuruo’s nephew, his talent was naturally excellent. He’d just lacked ambition.

Half-elf lifespans were long and didn’t require breaking through to Legendary to extend them. He wasn’t interested in a longer life; he felt his current state was just right.

Damon wasn’t about to tell his friends the real reason. Let them think he was just driven insane by work. Otherwise, those bastards definitely would never honestly do their duties.

Now that they’d learned Damon had “gotten so angry he broke through to Legendary,” even Xia Xifeng and Leo didn’t dare slack off.

Even though they’d only been joking about slacking off to annoy Damon, and actually would still do their work properly.

Xia Xifeng muttered, “This is terrifying. Is Damon going to become some kinda God of Work in the future?”

Leo replied, “Could be.”

The two, spouting this nonsense right in front of Damon, were promptly swept into the sky by a tornado.

Perila looked up at the sky and declared, “They deserved that.”

Qin Lang, who had been preparing to go inspect the town and survey locations for the Hope City’s expansion, showed a rare, obvious expression of schadenfreude—entirely out of character for him. “Yes, they did.”

He recalled how, in the game, when Damon was still alive, Xia Xifeng had constantly gone looking for death at his hands.

Exactly like this.

Qin Lang, whose chest had been stuffy with indignation from dealing with the thick-skinned Xia Xifeng, felt utterly delighted.