DKIE CH66: Choice

Fate is often described as a fickle and unpredictable starry sky.

But in Luka’s view, fate was like a full moon, a closed loop of cause and effect.

The essence of the duel back then was for the smooth release of “The True and False Young Master.” Now, looking back, it seemed to foreshadow their ending.

He glanced at Aman, seemingly hinting, “It’s not demonic quality that divides factions, but interests.”

The moment he finished speaking and his eyes met Alex’s, the two of them had their one and only moment of tacit understanding.

The window was forcefully blown open, and both of them moved outside the fortress at the same time.

Outside, the two armies faced each other across the river, a dense black mass. The speed at which the snowflakes fell in the air seemed to slow down.

Inside the fortress, Aman thought of what Luka had said earlier and suddenly said, “It’s pointless to fight to the death now. Why don’t we wait for them to finish fighting before we talk?”

The quill pen was focused on watching the battle.

Receiving no response, Aman frowned.

The process of enslavement required a large amount of magic to be circulated every second. To control four demon generals at the same time, perhaps the other party had no spare magic.

She decided to also start observing the battle outside.

Soon, Aman’s eyes showed surprise.

The magic formations under both Alex’s and Iliad’s feet were of the ninth-tier level, but Alex was actually being suppressed.

Luka’s blood-red eyes clearly captured every trajectory of his target’s movements. With one kick, he nearly sent the once incomparably arrogant first crown prince into a sliding kneel in mid-air.

Four words appeared in Aman’s mind: invincible at the same tier.

Even though they were on opposing sides, she had to admit that if she were at the ninth tier, she would be no match for Iliad either.

Alex was repeatedly forced back.

If he used the Blood Burst technique, he actually had a chance to retreat back into his army. As long as Alex led his army away, Alicia would not pay a great price to stop him.

But he didn’t.

Alex had specially worn precious treasure armor for protection today and was not afraid of Luka using an ‘explosion technique’ like he did at the guild hall.

He ruthlessly used his grafted arm to block Luka’s attack, while his other five fingers closed together and slashed directly at the other’s neck.

However, just like before, Luka seemed to have predicted his movements. Not only did he successfully dodge, but he also created a bloody hole in Alex’s collarbone.

It was just a few inches away from his throat.

The more setbacks Alex faced, the more courageous he became.

Luka narrowed his eyes. This guy seemed to be using him as a whetstone.

Just as he was thinking, the entire sky darkened. Thunderclouds gathered, and startling thunder roamed the sky like giant pythons. The last remaining light of dusk was obscured.

A terrifying pressure filled the area for a hundred miles.

This was the prelude to a breakthrough! Tribulation clouds ground out sparks as they rolled through the cloud layers.

A look of clear excitement appeared on Alex’s face.

Finally! Great fortune could only be found between life and death. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

Seeing the turn of events, Aman’s heart also relaxed.

Below, in the army, Alicia frowned slightly. “He’s breaking through at a time like this?”

She didn’t care about Luka’s life or death, but if he died at this time, she would have to deal with a pile of trouble alone.

In the sky, when Luka saw the sky full of tribulation clouds, his expression was not much better.

“Breaking through in the middle of a fight?”

It looked like something a villainous antagonist would do.

When the world’s will sent down the thunder tribulation, anyone who obstructed or intervened would be pulverized, so he chose to retreat at the first opportunity.

Alex, however, burst out with unprecedented speed at this moment and quickly closed in.

Luka was pulled into the circle of lightning.

At the same time, the magic formation under Alex’s feet flickered with golden light. The arm that had been grafted on later broke off in the lightning, but his fighting spirit was high.

Seeing Luka forced to dodge within the lightning circle, Alex was even more delighted.

With his thoughts cleared, each bolt of lightning seemed to become part of his coronation.

Below, the demon soldiers cheered loudly, an extraordinary sight: “Your Highness Alex!”

Amidst the cheers, an entire dusk passed before the tribulation clouds finally showed signs of dissipating.

High in the sky, Alex’s disabled arm had also grown back, and his magic power was extremely abundant.

He looked at Luka almost immediately. After staying in the lightning circle for so long, the other party’s magic power must have been depleted by at least forty to fifty percent.

Alex did not let his guard down. A strange light flashed in his narrow eyes.

The two sides engaged in high-frequency killing and dodging. After another exchange, Alex suddenly spoke:

“The bargaining chips my father gave up are not enough to persuade Prince Aman.”

“It’s the Saintess. She arranged and pushed for everything,” Luka suddenly raised his eyes.

Now!

Alex seized the moment when the other party seemed surprised and distracted, directly gathering the strongest lightning element as a weapon and stabbing towards the fragile heart.

So what if he was invincible at the same tier? Ninth tier and tenth tier, although seemingly only one level apart, were actually worlds apart.

A tenth-tier great magician could easily crush hundreds of ninth-tier magicians.

However, the next second, a hand suddenly appeared in front of Alex. His body began to feel a draft, and he looked down in astonishment.

“…”

The world fell completely silent.

Under the terrifying masks worn by the thousands of demon soldiers, there was also shock.

Countless gazes were almost frozen on the same spot.

From their perspective, Alex, who had just finished his tribulation and was in high spirits, was actually… insta-killed after just a few probing exchanges!

There was no bloody battle where both sides were injured. Before anyone could react, the figure that was in front of Alex a second ago had instantly appeared behind him like a ghost.

Using condensed lightning as a blade, Alex was so easily pierced through.

His body was like a giant bellows. Alex wanted to open his mouth, but a hand reached out from behind and firmly covered his mouth.

The unspoken words and blood flowed back down his throat.

Luka said softly, “Shh, don’t talk.”

Not being able to speak before death must be particularly frustrating.

He slightly loosened his hand.

Alex immediately struggled to open his mouth. Luka covered it tightly again, and imitating the way he was choking on blood, he chuckled three times.

Alex: “…”

Luka: “Actually, I also reached the tenth tier just now.”

Alex’s first reaction was that it was impossible! How could there be no heavenly tribulation for the tenth tier?

However, when his arrogant head hung down weakly, he vaguely saw the magic formation under the other’s feet. The star core in the center extended outwards with ten sharp corners. It was indeed also the tenth tier.

What was strange was that the star core was generally based on a pentagram, but his was actually a sun.

Because the commotion of the previous tribulation was too great, no one had noticed.

Luka gently loosened his hand again.

Alex: “You…”

Luka suddenly covered it. “I’m amazing, right?”

Thinking about it carefully, he was quite talented at helping others with their tribulations. Back then, An Qi had also listened to him read an article and welcomed his tribulation while running.

Alex desperately tried to squeeze out one more word. He now had a belly full of questions, but he couldn’t say anything.

Before death, those past events flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern. He still didn’t understand where he had gone wrong. Long before he even knew the other’s identity, he had arranged for a relatively strong demon servant to assassinate him over a small conflict of interest.

Afterwards, in the Holy City, he had naturally dispatched a demon general.

He had clearly not given the other party any chance to grow. Why… was it still a complete defeat?

Astonishment and unwillingness, accompanied by the gradual dilation of his pupils, finally froze on his face.

The corpse of the deceased fell from the sky, the sound of it hitting the ground terrifying.

The accompanying army almost stopped thinking.

He was dead.

Their crown prince was dead just like that.

Not only Alex’s personal guards, but most of the soldiers from the princes’ fiefdoms had also stopped thinking now.

It was not until another figure from the sky landed steadily that they woke up as if from a dream.

On the young and proud face in front of them, a pair of blood-red eyes were cold and cruel.

With just a casual glance, the demon army, which had a numerical advantage, actually felt a sense of fear that made them want to retreat.

They all gripped their weapons tightly, their nerves tense.

Fifth Highness Alicia was on the other side of the river at this moment, her expression complicated, sighing inwardly that this growth rate was even faster than being possessed.

As the center of everyone’s attention, Luka didn’t even glance at the corpse on the ground and returned directly to the interior of the fortress.

“Wipe your hands.”

The quill pen handed him a handkerchief. Its other hand was not only controlling countless fine threads but also holding a photo stone.

“I captured the end.”

Including the part where Alex mentioned the Saintess.

Luka wiped Alex’s filthy blood from between his fingers and said half-mockingly, “My dear mother is really meticulous about everything.”

Thinking about it now, the sudden rhythm online was probably also part of the plan, indirectly accelerating his trip to the demon domain to negotiate business.

As the best cooperation partner, Prince Aman, under normal circumstances, no one would have imagined that she would team up with Alex. It could have completely caught him off guard.

Interlocking rings, and the Saintess didn’t even have to get her own hands dirty.

The handkerchief was placed aside, and Luka raised his head.

Aman’s shock from watching the battle had not completely dissipated. When their eyes met, she chose to wait for Luka to speak first.

Since the Fifth Highness appeared with her troops, Aman had been holding back. This stemmed from Luka’s final hint: if he and Alicia could cooperate, there was no reason to fight to the death.

This reservation allowed Luka to easily win this round.

Otherwise, in her own fiefdom, Aman could actually have done more.

For example, she could have had her demon servants self-destruct to buy her time to go out and support Alex, or she could have used the secret mechanisms hidden under the fortress.

“Today’s food is really rich.”

Not catering to Aman’s expectations, after a fierce battle, Luka sat down on his own and started talking about irrelevant topics.

“The only explanation for insisting on waiting for me to enter the fortress to make a move should be this table of fine wine and delicacies.”

There was no point in trying to gloss it over now. Aman admitted coldly, “Alex didn’t lie to you. The Saintess put in a lot of effort. All the food was secretly sent from the Holy Court and has been specially processed.”

Hearing this, Luka estimated that, like the Elf King, he had been “gifted” the Life Elixir.

Back then, all the elders of the elf clan had studied it, but they still hadn’t found any problems with the Life Elixir.

However, after obtaining the Sage’s Sword, Luka already had a guess, which he could now put into practice.

He looked at the quill pen and asked, “Are these demon generals still alive?”

The quill pen: “Considered alive.”

Luka said thoughtfully, “It’s time to arrange the first ‘food’ eating broadcast on the entire network.”

————

Recently, the penetration rate of terminals has been continuously rising. Even traveling merchants rely on purchasing agents, making a fortune in many small clans.

Browsing the terminal in their spare time has become a form of entertainment.

On the night of the rest day, the internet cafes on the streets were brightly lit. In the main city areas of major cities, almost everyone had a terminal, enjoying themselves in their residences.

As Luka, who had over thirty million fans, the video he posted quickly went viral. Users who were browsing the [Recommended] section, not surprisingly, saw it first.

At first, they didn’t pay much attention, until the moment the video started playing automatically.

Zero-frame start! There was no possibility of dodging.

In the roughly ten-second video, with the beginning and end cut, Alex was pierced through on the spot by a lightning blade.

The impact of the image was too great. The player, who had just finished a game and was already a little sleepy, was completely stunned.

A full half-minute passed before he sat up straight and watched it again in disbelief.

“Alex is dead?”

At this time, the internet cafe owner’s cry of surprise also came from the front desk. He had clearly seen a similar video.

News spread quickly in the internet cafe. Whether they were playing games or chatting in channels, everyone stopped what they were doing at this moment and repeatedly watched the video Luka had posted.

In different corners of the continent, countless netizens were going through the same motion at this moment.

The elf clan’s evening self-study session exploded on the spot. As the place with the highest terminal user coverage, the Holy City, even some people who were in their dreams, were all called up by their relatives and friends, saying that something big had happened and to hurry up and watch. The ferret was even more excited and gave the saint a claw, almost drilling into the screen.

There were too many explosive points in the entire video.

Alex was suspected to have been killed, and the one who did it was the recently popular Luka.

But the biggest bombshell came from a sentence Alex said—

“It’s the Saintess. She arranged and pushed for everything.”

Since it was in mid-air, the sound reception was very poor. Even though the quill pen used some means, this sentence still sounded very blurry.

Alex after his tribulation, the elite soldiers guarding the riverbank, a sentence without a beginning or an end, the video ended abruptly just like that.

While watching, the public needed to listen very hard to come to an uncertain answer.

What happened?

What did the Saintess arrange! It was clearly a confrontation between the demon clan’s armies, why would it be related to the Holy Court?

Unfortunately, they had watched the video until it was worn out, but they still couldn’t find an answer.

The only clue was a vague caption left by Luka himself in the comments section, claiming that a major announcement would be made tomorrow. During this period, he would refuse all contact and communication.

The public’s curiosity was almost tickled to their throats.

Just then, Luka suddenly posted another update.

This time, there were only a few words:

【See you on Sunday】.

Just a few minutes after the teaser was released, the entire internet exploded!

The three words seemed to infinitely stretch the time span.

This era had just gotten online, and everyone had not yet experienced a teaser. The feeling of having their appetite whetted made them ecstatic and unable to stop.

A blurry video, in the various imaginings of netizens, was about to burst forth with hundreds of millions of guesses.

Can’t sleep, can’t sleep at all!

Every minute and every second was spent browsing the community, and the entire network was constantly leaving comments under Luka’s community account.

Under the three words “See you on Sunday,” in less than half an hour, the comments directly broke one million.

As the Wisdom Tree that processed all information, it almost crashed.

…

Demon Domain, Dark Fortress.

Aman silently looked at the terminal.

She suddenly felt that compared to the necromancer who enslaved the demon generals, Luka was the real demon who manipulated emotions.

“It’s fine to whet their appetite, but there’s no need for that with me.” She took a deep breath and said, “Is it a negotiation or a fight to the death? I need a clear answer.”

Luka shrugged. “No fence-sitters.”

The atmosphere took a sharp downturn.

Who knew that Luka would suddenly change the subject. “However, for those who have a clear stance, I can let bygones be bygones.”

The so-called clear stance was not based on words, but on a contract.

Since ancient times, the princes had always been neutral, except for this generation, due to the Demon King’s outrageous actions of successively adopting seven crown princes, which led to everyone having their own leanings.

Among them, Aman, as a newly risen prince, had never clearly supported anyone.

Aman refused without hesitation. She would not be tied to any crown prince on the same boat.

Luka said lightly, “Once Alex is dead, his prince father will definitely go crazy. Outsiders won’t believe that the Fifth Highness came to help me.”

“…I will announce to the public that it was your betrayal that led to Alex’s complete defeat. I wonder if you can withstand the crazy revenge from Prince Nordin.”

Aman’s face instantly turned ugly.

Luka clapped his hands lightly and revealed a pure yet cruel smile.

“Ah, I almost forgot. The Red Banyan City Lord has always coveted the position of prince. When you are severely weakened, I will help him devour you bit by bit.”

Aman finally reached her limit and slammed the table, rising. “You dare?!”

Luka crossed his fingers on the table and smiled slightly. “Not only do I dare, but I’ve changed my mind now. An equal contract is far from enough. I want you to offer a wisp of your soul and completely submit to me.”

The temperature in the room dropped abruptly, and the pervasive killing intent almost materialized.

The demonic runes on Aman’s body were already clearly visible, held back only by the last shred of reason.

However, after the extreme anger, facing the smiling Luka, Aman suddenly felt a chill down her spine.

Iliad, who was already at the level of a tenth-tier magician, plus the support of being a necromancer, even if she went all out, she couldn’t keep him.

The other party only needed to hide among the human race to avoid the pursuit of Alex’s biological father.

When everything calmed down, he could come back and support the Red Banyan City Lord.

In this way, he could still achieve his initial goal: to find a prince with sufficient authority to act as a supplier.

Conversely, if she agreed to the humiliating treaty, Iliad would probably still go and help the Red Banyan City Lord, but would just aim the unified target at Alex’s biological father.

Once the Red Banyan City Lord took power in the future, Iliad would have the help of two princes.

One plus one is always greater than two.

In the limited choices, the other party only had the option of profiting or profiting more.

This was simply a devil.

“Have you decided?” Luka asked.

Back then, Prince Nordin had proposed the blood pool baptism to get him killed. He had to return the favor somehow.

The blood vessels under Aman’s demonic runes were about to burst.

There was only one way to live, but to offer her soul, how could she be willing?

“Three seconds,” Luka held up his fingers and said quickly, “Three, two, one.”

Then he prepared to leave with the food.

“Wait!”

Aman called out to him.

Luka’s footsteps paused, but he didn’t turn back.

Aman was still struggling, but Luka seemed to have lost his patience. Seeing that he was really preparing to retreat without hesitation, Aman steeled her heart and gritted her teeth.

“I… I agree.”

“Oh?”

Aman had to repeat it reluctantly.

Only then did Luka slowly sit back down. “That’s right. You’re not losing out.”

Aman was about to grind her teeth to dust, but she didn’t deny this statement.

If Iliad really became the Demon King in the future, this wisp of soul would make the other party trust her exceptionally, far more than the other princes.

But it also meant that even in death, she would not be free.

The master-servant blood contract was signed quickly. Before long, a bloody, invisible symbol appeared on Aman’s neck.

After successfully grasping her life and death, Luka then asked in detail about matters concerning the Holy Court.

The Saintess had contacted Alex. As a third party, Aman was not clear about some of the details.

She endured the discomfort coming from her soul and replied, “According to the Holy Court, these delicacies sent in advance can control the soul.”

Luka was furious. “Damn it, pre-made dishes are so harmful!”

With Aman’s choice, the situation outside was also changing rapidly.

Aman’s demon soldiers turned against them and directly surrounded the one thousand personal guards Alex had brought.

These one thousand soldiers were now facing the same choice as Aman had earlier: submit or die.

They desperately wanted to wait for a turn of events, but no other demonic figures appeared nearby.

The fiefdom was under traffic control, and teleportation arrays could not connect to every city. Even if ordinary demons wanted to come and investigate, they couldn’t arrive in just a few hours.

So even in the neighboring cities, knowing that a conflict had broken out here, they all chose to… keep a close eye on their terminals.

That way, news would come faster.

The power of the teaser was fierce. Offline, they were as still as mountains, but online, they were spamming everywhere, discussing it. Even under the second part of the currently serializing “The Beloved Three and a Half Years Old,” it was crowded with the gossip army.

Things were getting more and more out of control.

The Holy Court, which had been boycotting terminals just two days ago, had to issue a stern statement: once anyone who slanders the Holy Court is discovered, measures will be taken directly.

In the midst of all the chaos, the mechanical clock passed midnight.

One minute past midnight, two minutes past midnight… at five minutes past midnight on Sunday, Luka finally came online!

Excerpt from Luka’s diary:
Update the magic framework @Alex
Quietly launching a new community incentive feature. You can incentivize a creator once for one copper coin.
We’ll definitely make a killing!
Alex’s inner thoughts: Only one copper coin? He really is kind.
 

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