Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Chapter 1737: Chapter 314: Mr. Butterfly Zhu Meili

The revenge of the Undead Tribe has always been indiscriminate, without regard for size, order, or reason.

Therefore, the Undead Tribe, which naturally aligns itself with Edna, naturally considers Harua as an adversarial target.

Yet, William forbids them from taking action against Toril’s various countries... they can’t even set foot on those lands without an invitation.

With Toril restoring foreign contacts and deities reaching out to their followers, no country extends a friendly hand to the Undead Tribe — they only close their doors tightly.

After all, the deities represented by the Undead Tribe... although they don’t belong to Teraxil or relate to the Elf Deity System, in the eyes of Toril people, their danger does not surpass Devils and Demons.

Though many Toril Elves are annoyed, the Elf Deity System, especially Coron, doesn’t evoke much feeling in humans.

To them, the most frightening are those troublesome local Toril deities, all related to the Undead Tribe.

Even Shaer and Celene, who are least likely to team up, can co-sign on the documents of the Undead Tribe... notably, even after the Path of Destiny ends!

And adding Lansendel to that.

Ha~ Even adding ten Tyrs wouldn’t hold up!

Hill once heard in a conversation between ’Lu Huayu’ and ’Snow Cloud Peak’... some folks in Toril are tempted to stir up trouble on the side of Ambori, given the Goddess of the Sea’s infamous lack of wit, making her easily exploitable.

However, Ambori trusts her chief priest less than she trusts ’Lu Huayu’.

Once Chief Steward Lu confirms that her followers swindled her with someone else’s money rather than genuinely considering her future... Lady Ambori is decisively ruthless when she strikes.

She doesn’t bother torturing them, directly enforcing their initial vow... defying the ocean’s blessing, they die of suffocation in the sea.

Once Toril people understood that to approach Ambori, they first needed to deal with the Undead Tribe, their interest quickly waned.

Ambori’s worth didn’t reach the level where they’d directly engage with those mighty divine powers.

Now, Toril aims to expel the Undead Tribe, unless AO is willing to suppress those two disruptive elements himself.

But considering that even when Shaer nearly reset the world, AO merely hindered her without public opposition, it’s clear that for this great divine power, Toril’s mortals hold little value.

So, for the Undead Tribe, with no strong combat desires and a preference for intermittent fights, Toril is quite suitable.

Above lies the heavens, below is hell, with the mundane world in between; if you desire, you can find whatever intrigues you.

Aesces, apart from social intricacies, offers only deceit and the thrill of battles, lacking any other joy, prompting many Undead, even if they could enter, to opt out.

Yet it’s this situation that led ’Snow Cloud Peak’ to engage in ’Feign Weakness’ and ’Rarely Lose’ tactics in this world.

Though anyone perceptive can detect his manipulation, this world still favors those who shun thinking.

Without seeing it firsthand, some choose ’Self-Awareness’.

Of course, only now does Hill understand some of his actions... probably around the same time as ’Mobi Chenxin’ grasped it.

Snow Old Dog, while wanting to discard some external, less vital glory, never intends to abandon the internal essence.

As for how the opposition, having only savored the attractive outer layer, praises the taste of this bun, he doesn’t care... as long as he tastes the filling.

Hill idly glanced at the giant screen’s scene, internally grumbling at William... the damned fellow, even though the Undead Tribe has a late-night channel, why does he have to lock down the scenes so strictly?

Truly... no angle left uncovered.

Watching young lovers romance, pulling each other wasn’t an issue, but never seeing overly intimate scenes.

All perspectives, publicly observed.

Although the Greek Gods don’t mind public displays, a boy educated by Aesces nobles couldn’t do it, and Lucy, not entirely devoured by Gaia, isn’t that uninhibited either.

Hill can only watch the progress, unable to see... well, never mind, he’ll focus on the boy’s changing expressions!

-----------------

Hill hadn’t noticed Rose’s handiwork, but he spotted ’Zhu Meili’s’ eyes.

This was likely an observer, aside from Hill, that others, including the Undead Tribe, couldn’t discover.

Within the Royal Palace garden’s cactus, a quietly blooming Night Butterfly.

Due to the oasis environment here, butterflies, especially those less eye-catching, are present.

Moreover, with the presence of the Lord of Insects, the life force of the Insect Race in the Aesces Desert has strengthened, surviving a decade or more is easy with sufficient food.

So, nobody really cares about this Night Butterfly continually gnawing atop a two-meter cactus.

But for Hill, he can immediately discern where this unique butterfly originated.

He silently recalled the term most commonly used by those Black Rose folks when mentioning Zhu Meili... Metamorphosis.

Truly, Hill couldn’t understand, and was profoundly shaken.

What kind of person specifically goes to the newbie village Teraxil to contract a butterfly that is only level 12 before coming to Aesces?

No, it’s level 12 now, but before he signed the contract, it might have been a level 10 big green caterpillar.

No adjective can compare to the heart-stopping tale witnessed firsthand.

Hill even thoughtfully recalled the gentleman bearing the name Zhu Meili, indeed a gentleman.

Nicknames truly never miss the mark.

Truly, peculiar.

Mister Butterfly.

Hill strived to persuade himself not to be overly astonished, only then shifting his focus back to the actual performance scene... the audience could wait for later observations.

Opportunities will always arise.

Hill felt that if this discovery hadn’t shaken his confidence, he wouldn’t have taken three days to catch Rose’s claw... By this time, the little boy had already started sticking his tongue out slightly and pursing his lips at Lucy while she intentionally bent her waist towards him.

Of course, it’s more likely that Rose’s methods were too covert, and Gaia was too inattentive.

If not, how could the ring that was clearly a personal accessory for the young master become Rose’s hidden trick?

Hill mused a bit and understood why the jewelry on him wasn’t from Gaia, yet he could wear it all the time, especially that ring with a pattern very similar to Lucimar’s earrings.

The greatest change Great Sage Ismael brought to the Ismael Family was this earring engraved with the family’s emblem, symbolizing their identity.

Because only members of their family would wear it... if anyone makes a move against them, it’s naturally a provocation to the Ismael Family.

Of course, that earring also has a protective array strong enough to shield them from a level 10 mage’s full-force attack... it can even provide a final breath under an attack from a Great Sage.

However, if a Great Sage indeed goes after them, they can only hope their escape artifact can be used, or else wait for Great Sage Ismael to avenge them later.

Hill initially paid little attention to this matter—it wasn’t until Lucimar himself removed the earring and entrusted it to the Undead Tribe to return to the Ismael Family that he learned of it.

After all, he had long been accustomed to the scattered jewelry on the Undead Tribe, and he never thought the earring was worth viewing.

Turns out Rose was exploiting the child’s longing for paternal familial affection... Indeed, when the child was sent away, Rose should have already started devouring the first gift from Gaia.

This item was surely sent over by the one serving as a father... Although ’blessed’ in beauty, this little Ismael truly lives precariously!

Someone capable of tampering with the ring given the Ismael Family’s power must be among his close circle.

He survived thanks to Aesces’s final act of mercy!

But it’s likely he doesn’t have much good time left... After finally escaping the palm of those two women and reaching the Heavenly Realm, his luck was sacrificed.

His daring in lying beside Gaia’s couch speaks volumes of his courage; a mishap was bound to happen sooner or later.

The most crucial part is, Ismael must already know what he’s done, but he held back.

Not speaking of this matter is definitely not for the bold little Ismael’s sake.

Hmm?

Could Ismael have also realized this?

This could truly resolve a mental burden quietly!

Hill couldn’t resist scratching his head; the more he pondered, the more plausible it seemed... After all, Ismael probably didn’t anticipate such severe harm from swearing by the Styx!

Aesces’s perpetual favor should have given him enough confidence for such a risky move.

Hill couldn’t resist taking out a communication letter, his demeanor utterly solemn: ’Remember, never tell Ismael that an oath by the Styx means after death he can only enter the Styx!’

’Strange, why do both you and Snow Cloud Peak emphasize this point so much?’

’Oh... right, Snow Cloud Peak likely realized it earlier and more thoroughly than me. Just listen.’

This matter isn’t large but certainly nauseating.

If you don’t want to become the laughingstock of the multiverse... by the way, have you read Heim’s scandalous affair?’

’That serious!

I absolutely won’t say it!

Absolutely, absolutely not!’

’Remember what you said.’

Although Hill also feels bringing up Heim as comparison might be a bit much... but there’s no choice, Aesces is the kind of fool who knows not the severity until hit painfully.