“Heh…”
Watching Thor and Maxen ransack the Demon Emperor’s Hall, the Second Demon God couldn’t help but ask curiously, “What’s the difference between stealing and not stealing?”
When it came to money, Mike’s attitude was serious. He explained to the Second Demon God in detail, “The money I find is my personal gain. What I loot on the battlefield is considered spoils of war, and I have to share it when I get back.”
Second Demon God: …
You could call Thor shameless, but he’s surprisingly principled!
He’s got a clear line between personal and public matters.
But then again, what kind of principled person would do something like this?
Right in front of the Second Demon God, Mike and Maxen looted the Demon Emperor’s Hall clean.
“That should do it,” Mike said after calculating his haul-he’d made a few million Lord merits.
“Time to retreat!”
The two of them quickly fled the scene of the crime.
Even with two Supreme Godfathers, Maxen had never dared to be this brazen.
But following Thor, Maxen finally got a taste of what it meant to have the audacity of a potential Supreme Being!
This time, the disaster had fallen on the Second Demon God.
In fact, ever since Thor had appeared, most of the demon gods hadn’t been having a great time.
Though… something about it still felt off.
But who cared? It was fun!
After looting the Second Demon God, Mike took back the golden tree and slung it over his shoulder.
This was his biggest prize from the trip, and he had to carry it out in the open for everyone to see!
“Let’s go meet your Second Godfather!” Mike, feeling triumphant, was once again full of energy.
“Ares, I’m back!”
Maxen: ???
Is something wrong here?
Considering that Thor had saved Maxen’s life earlier, Maxen decided to let it slide.
Besides, if Thor became a Supreme Being, wouldn’t that make Maxen Mike’s son?
…
Carrying the golden tree, Thor swaggered back from the Second Abyss to the First Abyss, where the swordsman awaited. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
“Bro, let’s get one thing straight!” Mike said, hiding behind the tree with a wary expression. “You can’t use [Broke] on me today!”
“Alright,” Ares agreed cheerfully, clearly in a good mood.
He took a few steps toward the mountain peak and said casually, “You’re going to be a Supreme Being someday. Don’t be so petty.”
The Broke skill was meant to be a bit of a lesson.
A potential Supreme Being of the human race, constantly leeching off Maxen? That wasn’t right.
After returning to the First Abyss, Mike’s next stop was naturally the Eighth Abyss. Once again, the Archdemon engine was put to work, carrying the group forward. During the journey, Mike couldn’t stop admiring his masterpiece-the golden tree! “Stone, I’m going to hang a hammock here. When I’m tired, I’ll just sleep on it!”
It was just a tree, but Mike had already planned out a restaurant, kitchen, bedroom, and banquet hall…
Watching Mike fuss over the tree, Maxen sighed.
This guy really has the energy to mess around.
But…
Maxen glanced ahead, feeling something was off.
From the moment they met, his Second Godfather and Cedric had been keeping their distance.
Why?
Was something wrong?
And judging by Cedric’s expression, which Maxen knew all too well, he seemed to be…
enjoying the situation?
The Archdemon wasn’t slow, and soon the group arrived near the Eighth Abyss.
Mike, still carrying his golden tree, waved goodbye to Ares with a grin.
Thor was in high spirits, feeling like he had returned victorious.
There was nothing to fear anymore!
“Oh, by the way,” Ares suddenly said as they were parting, turning to Cedric with a casual question.
“When Afterskin escaped from the Supreme Abyssal, you were the one who rescued him,
right?”
Mike’s ears perked up, and his expression grew complicated.
Why bring this up now?
What’s Ares trying to say?
A sense of foreboding crept over Mike.
“Yes, that’s true,” Cedric nodded, recalling the event.
“Afterskin got separated from Shadow Nine and ended up in an unknown small Abyssal
Plane…”
By this point, Mike’s back was already starting to feel cold.
No way, no way!
It can’t be that much of a coincidence!
Cedric’s words confirmed Mike’s worst fears.
“When I found Afterskin, he was lying under a tree, barely alive. He said that tree saved his
life and that he’d spend the rest of his life trying to repay it…”
Cedric’s gaze, devoid of any mockery, fell on Thor.
More specifically, on the golden tree Thor was carrying!
“Well, well, doesn’t that tree look familiar?” Cedric said with a sarcastic tone.
“Isn’t that Afterskin’s life-saving tree?”
The worst thing imaginable had happened.
As Cedric revealed the truth, Mike’s eyes welled up with tears as he stared at the floating,
golden, unlucky tree…
If I bring this thing back to my private space, it’ll bring nothing but bad luck!
Smash it! Smash it all!
Mike looked at the golden tree, wondering what to do with it.
“Stone,”
,” Thor called out, and Maxen immediately tensed up, quickly saying,
“I really don’t have much money left!”
Maxen had made quite a bit on this trip.
In fact, as one of the human race’s strongest warriors, Maxen always led the charge in battle,
slaying the most demon creatures.
In terms of earnings, Maxen’s income was considerable.
But 99.9% of that income had nothing to do with him!
Whenever he was around Thor, Maxen not only had to cough up his meager savings but also
ended up in debt!
Now, just hearing Thor call his name gave Maxen a headache!
It had become a conditioned reflex.
“Who’s talking about money? How vulgar!” Mike said, feeling that discussing money was
beneath their friendship.
“About that life-saving favor… how many Mystic Markets do you plan to give me in return?”
Maxen: ???
Normally, currency units evolve gradually.
For example: dollars, Truth Gold Coins, Lord Merits.
People can emotionally handle that kind of progression.
But Thor? He went straight from Lord Merits to Mystic Markets!
It was like jumping from the strength of an ordinary Chief straight to the level of a Supreme
Being.
It was absurd!
That was a Mystic Market!
And not just one-several!
Even the human Supreme Being Apollo only had one Mystic Market, for crying out loud!
“I’m not the kind of person to hold a favor over someone’s head,” Thor said, changing the
subject. He pointed to the golden tree and said seriously,
“Just hold onto this tree for me for a while. That’s not too much to ask, right?”
The tree was too unlucky.
If Mike took it back, it would definitely bring bad luck!
But he couldn’t just throw it away-he was too attached to it!
Caught between two difficult choices, Mike made a decision that went against his better
judgment:
He’d let Maxen hold onto it for a while.
In fact, Maxen didn’t mind.
This was a much better deal than having to repay a Mystic Market!
Mike pondered, “Maxen should be able to handle the bad luck that comes with Afterskin,
right?”
But then, Mike wasn’t so sure.
He turned to Ares and asked, “Bro, if Maxen holds onto this tree, I won’t die, right?”
Maxen: ???
This was the second time Maxen’s head filled with question marks!
A normal person would be concerned about whether Maxen would die, right?
But not Thor. He was more worried about whether he would be affected by Afterskin’s bad
luck!
Ares, seeing Thor’s concern, nodded and said seriously, “You won’t die.”
Anticipating Thor’s next question, Ares added, “Maxen won’t die either.”
Afterskin was just unlucky; he didn’t cause people to die.
Otherwise, the first person to die from bad luck would have been Afterskin himself.
Maxen might have a streak of bad luck while holding the golden tree, but it wouldn’t last too long…
“Then I’m relieved!” Thor said, tossing the golden tree to Maxen. The matter was settled just like that!
Maxen, staring at the golden tree, felt his head start to ache.
What a mess.
On one hand, Maxen had narrowly escaped death, and no price was too high to pay for that.
On the other hand, this tree was ridiculously unlucky.
Mike, ever the comforter, said, “My second bro already calculated it. You won’t die, and my 28.6584663-ton golden tree won’t be damaged either. It’s a win-win!”
Maxen was about to spiral into despair when he suddenly realized something and protested,
“Wait, why is it heavier now?!”
The last time Thor had mentioned the weight, it wasn’t this much!
“I added some golden decorations…” Thor said, a bit heartbroken. “Fine…” Maxen sighed, but deep down, he felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
Without lingering too long, Mike, Maxen, Ares, and the others said their goodbyes.
Mike’s next task was to complete his internship and return to Earth. Poseidon had become the Eighth Demon God, and the crisis had been averted.
For the time being, the Abyssal demon gods wouldn’t pose any more threats.
Maxen, still carrying the golden tree, had to head to the Second Abyss to help Shadow Three find the path to the Supreme Abyssal.
Originally, Maxen had planned to stay in the Second Abyss. Running back and forth was a
hassle.
But Thor, under the guise of “protecting Maxen,” insisted on dragging him along for the journey, providing “escort services.”
In the past, Maxen might have stood his ground and argued with Thor.
But after their recent life-and-death battle, Maxen understood the limits of a nine-star
Lord’s power.
If a level 1000 demon creature was determined to kill Maxen, the best-case scenario would be
Maxen breaking free of his law chains, ascending on the spot, and killing his opponent before flying to the Heavenly Realm.
The worst-case scenario would be Maxen and the demon creature dying together.
Either way, Maxen would suffer significant losses.
After Thor left, Maxen stared at the tree, feeling uncharacteristically hesitant.
Now that he knew he wouldn’t die, Maxen wasn’t too concerned about the tree’s bad luck.
But there was one thing he couldn’t shake.
“Godfather, this thing won’t interfere with my mission to find the Supreme Abyssal, will it?”
Maxen didn’t have much to lose personally.
But he was worried about messing up the mission to find Shadow Nine and his father!
“A mere tree? What harm could it do?” Ares said from the mountain peak, stretching lazily.
“I didn’t get involved today, and now I’m feeling a bit restless.”
The swordsman stood at the peak, silently for several minutes.
It was a long time.
Maxen glanced at Cedric, curious. What’s going on with my Second Godfather? Is he
daydreaming?
“Alright,” Ares suddenly said, having created a new move.
The moment Ares spoke, sword servants appeared, recording his every word and action.
In fact, everything Ares did, every skill he created, was meticulously recorded by the sword servants.
“My son’s fate is full of hardships, and I can’t bear it. So, I’ve come up with a new skill…”
With a casual wave of his hand, a stream of light entered Maxen’s eyes and settled on his
body.
“This move is called Banish Misfortune.”