Days passed ——
On this day, Chen Rui and Sabrina walked out from the entrance of the Crystal Valley side by side.
“I’m really grateful to madam this time to let me out of the valley.” Chen Rui said with a happy face, “If it isn’t because Sir Jacob is in a deep sleep within the magic circle and I need to refer to the Dragon Inscription at the Misty Swamp for the Illusive Demon Shield, I wouldn’t trouble madam to come out with me. It’s just that Sir Jacob’s inscriptions are really amazing. Coming here from the Misty Swamp only requires a simple [Teleportation], but there is such a complicated path from here to the Misty Swamp.
Sabrina shook her head, “It’s just a trivial matter. Master doesn’t have to be so polite. If you want to be calculative, then I don’t even know how to thank you.”
“I don’t know when I’ll have time to come out to take a breather again. Although I can ask for anything in the valley, I always feel like I’m caged. Please forgive me, madam. I’m just being honest with my feelings.”
Sabrina sighed, “You’re right. No matter how good the valley is, it’s still only a cage. However, this world that we’re living in is also a giant cage as no one can escape the shackles of time and space. Perhaps the only thing we can do is to desperately grasp more shackles to control and imprison others so that we can eliminate our inner fear.”
“Madam is someone with a story.” Chen Rui took a look at her, “I hope that one day, I’ll be qualified to listen to madam’s story.”
“Master, you have to be patient with everything. The easier it is to get, the less interesting it is.” Sabrina chuckled and shifted the topic, “By the way, I received news from outside that there are rumors that treasure was recently discovered around the area outside the valley. A lot of people came to look for the treasure. Although Crystal Valley has Sir Jacob’s [Hidden] inscription and magic circle, we still need to be more careful about the valley’s defense and concealment. We’ll just have to wait for this rumor to be forgotten.”
Chen Rui instinctively felt that this treasure hunt wasn’t so simple. It may be related to Christina. It had been many days since he arrived at the Crystal Valley. Although he used the magic item to send a signal that he was “alive”, he couldn’t deliver any other information such as the three Demon Overlords. Besides, he wasn’t sure if the signal would be interfered by the Dragon Inscription within the valley.
Christina cleverly used this method to test. She was likely trying to obtain more information before launching the plan. It seemed that she was also well prepared. In any case, this plan must succeed. By then, not only could they destroy the Crystal Valley and eliminate the enemy’s headquarters, but there was also a great chance to kill Paglio’s enemy.
However, going out to “research” this time was also part of his plan, and it was also a very crucial step.
“I think I’m patient enough.” Chen Rui shook his head with a bitter smile and stopped mentioning about that tactfully. “By the way, the mess in the Mystic Valley seems to have calmed down recently. However, I always feel like Izola won’t give up so easily. She might be planning something bigger.”
“Hmph! She is just struggling with her last breath. However… you better be cautious, master, especially pay attention to your safety.”
“Madam, why don’t invite me to be a guest at your blue house?”
“Master!” Jacob came excitedly at that moment with his face full of joy.
“It seems that there’s no such opportunity.” Sabrina deliberately made a laugh of regret. Then, she bowed at Jacob and left.
“Sir Jacob, are you awake?” Chen Rui’s eyes lit up, “How’s the effect?”
“The effect is so good! You really are a genius! What about I grant Luna to you?” Jacob was exulted.
With Chen Rui’s support, the improvement of the magic circle was completed successfully and the crystal dragon was very happy. Now, the magic circle could double the recovery speed of Jacob, and the interval between each use had been reduced from 7 days to 2 days. Both the effect and efficiency were much better than expected. It was just that under the effect of compound inscriptions consisting of [Deep Sleep] and [Recovery], Jacob would fall into a recovery slumber for an entire day, and it was hard for him to awake.
It was the first trial, and it indeed succeeded. Now, Jacob’s recovery speed was greatly accelerated, so he was naturally ecstatic. At that time, he was almost killed by Paglio, and he still had lingering fear until now. Before he recovered, he never dared to leave the Crystal Valley easily. Now that he found a shortcut in recovering his injuries, he looked at Chen Rui differently now. He evenoffered his favorite maid, Luna to ChenRui.
Chen Rui shook his head solemnly, “Rewards aren’t necessary. I’ve already got enough benefits from you. Moreover, I can’t take all the credits. Without sir’s Dragon Inscription, it wouldn’t have achieved such a result.”
Originally, this magic circle was used to harm the dragon, but he actually received the crystal dragon’s appreciation in return. He was a little guilty. The main thing was because that Luna… was a thick-waisted minotaur maid. The heavy taste wasn’t something he could handle.
Luna was also the crystal dragon’s favorite maid. If he really offers her to Chen Rui, he’d be embarrassed to take her back. Jacob was still a bit reluctant. Now that he heard Chen Rui humble words, even though he was usually moody, he couldn’t help but to have a better impression of this “good comrade” who didn’t ask for anything in return.
“Hmm… weren’t you interested in the puppet’s heart the last time? I’ll lend it to you for research for a few days.”
Chen Rui’s eyes lit up. He wanted to make that request, but he was afraid that it might raise Jacob’s suspicion. Now that Jacob initiated, he naturally couldn’t pretend anymore, “That’s awesome! Thank you, sir!”
The puppet’s heart was the treasure of the Beelzebub Royal Family. It had a great effect on creating puppets. Jacob asked for it from Azgalor. Originally, the crystal men were puppets made by the crystal dragon with a strange power of his body. With the help of the puppet’s heart, he could create more and stronger crystal men. Also, he could control the crystal men to a certain extent. Jacob offered the puppet’s heart was clearly to further win over Chen Rui because based on Chen Rui’s potential and understanding of magic circles, there was likely room for further improvement. Certainly, he also stated that he was “borrowing” not “giving”.
Moreover, the strongest among the crystal men, the leader, was only at Great Demon King. Even in the worst scenario, with his Demon Overlord-strength, he didn’t have to be worried about Chen Rui controlling the crystal men to do anything too bad.
However, in this world, there were even worse scenarios that one could expect…
“I know that the puppet’s heart is very important to you, so I dare not borrow it for too long. What about I return to sir when sir wakes up from the magic circle next time?”
When Crystal Dragon heard it, he was thinking that it was only three days, so he nodded immediately. He took the puppet’s heart from his space ring and gave it to Chen Rui.
Chen Rui took the translucent yellow crystal carefully, revealing an extremely excited look, “Please forgive me, Sir Jacob. Time is very precious now. I can’t wait to study it. I’ll take leave first.”
The crystal dragon was in a very good mood, so he simply waved his hand generously and returned to the Crystal Lair. When Chen Rui returned to the Nightmare Valley, Freya greeted him and served him some snacks, “Sir, you’re back. You didn’t eat anything when you went out this morning. Now, there is still some time before lunch, so you can eat some snacks and fruits first.”
As Chen Rui was in a hurry as he invited Sabrina to go out this morning. He was indeed a little hungry now. He immediately picked up a snack and ate it, “Is there any wine?”
These days, in order to disguise his identity, drinking had almost become his second nature.
Freya hesitated for a moment, “Sir, finish these snacks first. Otherwise, the wine will be bad for your health.”
Chen Rui smiled at her, “Okay.”
Although his Great Demon’s face was a little ugly, that smile made Freya feel unprecedentedly secure. That security was something that the tormented succubus had never felt in the past years. A strange emotion suddenly rose in her heart. She said lightly, “Sir, my injuries have all recovered. Thank you sir for the high grade potion.”
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Freya was Kia’s mother, and her life experience was miserable, so Chen Rui would certainly not be stingy with that bit of potion. He didn’t ask her to do anything special here on usual days. She just had to take care of his daily diet and send back those maids given by Manu along the way. As for himself, he spent most of the time training in the lab.
“Sir… that…” Freya looked hesitant, but she brought up her courage to say, “Do you want Freya to sleep with you tonight?”
These days, those behaviors that Freya expected never never happened. Although this master was always exhausted after coming from the lab every day and slept immediately after eating, so he didn’t have the time to do “other things”. Yet, Freya, who had been tortured for many years, could feel that this master might not be who she expected to be. In contrast, he was a very good master.
Although some things were inadvertent, like those precious, high-grade potions, she felt a warmth that she hadn’t felt for a long time.
Following such a master was hundreds of times better than the original one. The more she felt so, the more afraid she was to go back to the olden days. Therefore, she volunteered to sleep with him, hoping to become a more favored maid. Then, the chance of her being sent away would be a lot smaller.
Chen Rui didn’t expect Freya to make such a request, so his eyes suddenly became weird. He shook his head and said, “No need.”
Freya looked a little sad, “Do you despise me because I used to…”
“No.” Chen Rui shook his head. Freya was beautiful, soft and belonged to a lovable type. Unfortunately, she was Kia’s mother. That preconceived concept stopped him from having any thoughts. Although such things were very common in the Demon Realm, and the ages and appearance of mother-daughter weren’t a problem for demons with hundreds of years of life, Chen Rui came from another world deeply rooted with a sense of morality. Having several spouses was already the limit. So, such mother-daughter-con was really unacceptable.
“If I guessed it right, you’re doing this… just to know about Kia from me?”
Freya heard her daughter’s name, and her voice started trembling slightly, “Kia… currently she’s…”
“As far as I know, she is very good. I can only tell you this. If you really want the best for her, don’t ask anything. Understand?” Chen Rui didn’t expose everything. Although Freya shouldn’t be Sabrina’s spy, it was at the critical moment of the plan, he couldn’t afford any mistakes.
“I understand. Thank you, sir. I’ll retreat now.” Freya stared at Chen Rui for a moment. Her eyes were flashing with a rare brilliance. When she walked to the door, she suddenly smiled slightly, “Actually… Sir didn’t guess everything correctly.”
Freya’s moving smile was very similar to Kia. At that instant, Chen Rui was a little lost, but he soon returned to normal. He knocked his head for having weird thoughts. The final launch was already imminent. Every step forward couldn’t have any mistakes, so he had to consider carefully.
Hmmm another candidate? Shouldn’t be right?