Six-Armed Serpent Demon

Page 30

He glared at him and growled, "Stop talking nonsense and get out of here!"

She clasped her hands together and pleaded, "Please have mercy!"

The old supervisor gave an awkward smile to those around him. Seeing that everyone was looking at him with dissatisfaction, he immediately pulled a pen from the ink bottle, quickly wrote out a "Certificate of Public Office Employment," and slammed it angrily in front of her.

She picked up the certificate and examined it closely. The certificate was gray, and the paper was thick. The old man had written on it, "Permitted to work as a mid-level clerk in Huoshao Port," and also stated—

"Valid for one month?"

"Yes, a temporary certificate. Go to the dock and report for duty."

The old supervisor said impatiently, "Come back in a month to reassess your paladin qualification. If you still fail, your certificate will be invalid!"

"Uh, but didn't you just say the re-evaluation would be in three months?"

"I'm telling you now," the old supervisor gritted his teeth, "one month!"

Seeing the old man's agitated expression, as if he might collapse at any moment, she quickly slipped away before he died of a sudden shock.

The six-armed serpent demon, disguised as Ivy Beate, walked out of the government hall and onto the fifth floor of the central city alone.

Juan, the paladin, was a member of the Northern Army. After making meritorious contributions, he was transferred back to Top City to work at headquarters. So, after escorting her to the entrance of the government office, he went to headquarters to report for duty on his own.

The fifth level of the central city was the residence of paladins and their families. All the buildings here were iron gray, with churches standing in rows, and everything was in good order.

She strolled leisurely along the roadside, watching the neatly arranged group of boy soldiers run past in the middle of the road, chanting slogans as they went. They were all still the city's reserve force, destined to become paladins, monks, or warriors after passing examinations; a very few would have the honor of becoming priests. The energetic young men and women wore grayish-yellow coarse cloth uniforms for training; most were human, and the leader was a male dragon with yellowish-blue scales.

The demon felt as if an electric current was flashing through its brain, and some images flashed by indistinctly.

The "Mortal Skin" ability not only allows mortal hunters to transform into the appearance of the original owner of the flesh and blood, but also grants them a small amount of the original owner's memories. Most of these memories pertain to the moment of the original owner's death, while a very small portion consists of the most vivid memories from the original owner's mind.

Ivy Beatrice's memories are scarce, mainly recounting her elopement with the servant Ador and her subsequent murder. However, there are also fragmented images in her memories, such as those of a dragon with yellowish-blue scales…

She blinked and found the male dragon leading the boy soldiers standing in front of her, gradually merging with the image in her memory.

The dragon tilted its head, which resembled that of a bronze dragon, and its orange-yellow vertical pupils looked her up and down.

She felt a little offended, but still greeted him first: "Hi."

He was a little stunned.

“I heard you’re back, and you’ve lost your memory. I didn’t believe it at first,” the dragon said hesitantly. “But now it seems that’s really the case.”

"Oh? So, we know each other?"

He grinned, revealing his teeth: "I know her, we know each other better than anyone. Didn't you meet my mother in Dingcheng and make her furious?"

She suddenly realized: "Uh... so you are..."

The dragon said, "Losques-Otukan, your former fiancé. As you wish, our engagement has been cancelled."

This is very embarrassing.

However, the demons had a good impression of the dragons.

Perhaps it's because, although this guy, Losques, is qualified to be the male protagonist in various breakup novels, he lacks any sense of malice. This means readers won't get to see the face-slapping scenes that so many readers crave. Thankfully, if such a scene were to occur, I might be the one getting slapped, but given my current strength, if Losques wanted to slap me, it would probably be another thirty years before things change completely…

As she pondered these thoughts, she said, "Uh... I don't know what to say, but I really, uh, I really don't think I'm Ivy Beatrice."

"That's best."

Loskes said casually, "Let me make this clear from the start: I have no regrets about what happened to your family. If you want revenge, go ahead, as long as you have the power."

—Oh right, so he's already taken his revenge.

She glanced at Losques with a hint of arrogance, feeling somewhat annoyed by his feigned magnanimity.

However, she had no obligation to avenge the death of the willful young lady.

The idea that inheriting an identity means inheriting karma is utter nonsense to mortal hunters.

Loskes's gaze shifted downwards, noticing the certificate in her hand. Dragons possess excellent eyesight, four times that of humans, just like other dragons.

He laughed: "A mid-level clerk in Hong Kong? Or just a temporary worker for a month?"

—Come on, that smile is way too irritating, even on a lizard's face.

"Do it well."

Loskes said in an encouraging tone, "By the way, I've been promoted to Belly Scale now."

"Bellis scales" is a rank among the official priests of the Bronze Dragons. Bronze Dragon priests are divided into five ranks from lowest to highest: tail scales, belly scales, claws, throat, and sharp teeth, as well as the highest priest, "Dragon Head".

She showed little interest: "Oh, congratulations."

“With each promotion, the priests would choose to make a pilgrimage to inspect one of the levels of the City of Fiery Earth. The clergy assisted the administrative staff in managing the city, increasing their familiarity with and sense of belonging to the city.”

Losques smiled and said, "I've decided that this year's promotion tour will be held in Fire Harbor, which will help you sweep away the filth of the bottom city... See you then."

Chapter 36 The Holy Knight Who Serves Dragons

Losquez-Otucan shouted slogans and led the reserve trainees all the way back to the side entrance of the Bronze Dragon Church.

Within the church's high walls lies a playground paved with greyish-white stones. This contrasts sharply with the church's iron-grey architecture, lending it an air of solemnity and gravity. Yet, the roofs and towers are adorned with golden tiles, a color contrast that echoes the golden sun high in the steel sky.

Loskes led the boy soldiers to the parade ground and ordered them to disperse. He watched as they flowed back to their dormitories to prepare for the upcoming lessons.

Then he turned his head to face the person who stood with his arms crossed, waiting for him beside the playground.

Paladin Squad Leader El.

"You saw her," El said. "How does it feel to see her again?"

“It’s hard to say, she’s completely different from before,” said the Dragon Priest. “I actually prefer her as she is now; she’s much more charming than her former bossy self. This is really interesting.”

El gave a strange look.

Seeing the look in his eyes, the dragon asked sensitively, "Has our target made any unusual movements?"

El replied insincerely, "No."

“Be careful, they are the ones the diviners have pointed to as the dead. The schemes of those two corrupt races could cause significant damage to the city—by the way, there’s something you might not know. It’s very interesting.”

"what?"

"She's a clerk at the dock now."

"is it?"

Loskes laughed. "Temporary worker. She didn't pass the paladin exam. Dock clerk... What do you think about assigning her to be an accountant? I remember when she was in the reserves, she hated Ms. Zoe's math class the most. She was focused on practicing swordsmanship and even struggled with addition and subtraction within 20."

El said with little interest, "She didn't even pass the paladin exam. It seems her amnesia is quite severe."

The tone shifted abruptly: "But the two targets have been colluding with her two relatives. I have a thought: could this woman actually be in cahoots with them, and not the real Ivy Beatrice, but an imposter spy?"

"what?"

"As you said, she's a completely different person now, very different from the Ivy Beatrice of the past."

“That makes sense, but the flaws in your thinking are too obvious.”

The dragon race paid no heed.

"If she really is an imposter posing as Ivy-Beate's spy... have you ever seen someone constantly claim they don't believe they are Ivy-Beate's spy? Don't forget, her story passed the church's lie detection magic. And those two filthy demons' accomplices must also be demons; is it possible for them to activate the weapon's holy properties?"

El had nothing to say.

Loskes concluded, "It is clear that Ivy Beate is Ivy Beate, without a doubt."

He smiled maliciously.

"Once our new dock accountant reports for duty, immediately assign her tasks like auditing, and give her an extra three months' worth of work. In short, separate her from her relatives; I don't want any complications."

The mischievous laugh turned into a sinister grin. "Tell your informants to keep a close eye on that pair of trash. I want to see what those filthy demons are up to on the territory of the great bronze dragon... Please, they better make some noise and not waste my promotion inspection."

"I see."

El sighed and subconsciously reached up to scratch his forehead.

Seeing Losks turn to leave, he couldn't help but say, "Please wait a moment, Lord Bellyscale."

"I have other matters to attend to. If it's still about the burning of the harbor, you can handle it as you see fit."

Losques said, "Emissaries have come from the Enser people of the East and the Phantom Kingdom of the South; we cannot delay this."

El asked, "The Phantom Kingdom, is that Samarachi?"

"Correct."

Losques lifted his leg to leave, but was stopped by El once again.

“Uh, sorry, Loskes, but you need to know this.”

He turned his dragon head in bewilderment, looking at his old friend who looked helpless and hesitant to speak.

"what's up?"

Al massaged his temples.

"Well... last night, our informant reported that our target went to her house, which is actually the house of her two relatives. Then some new developments came up."

"uh-huh?"

"They wanted to use several warehouses belonging to the Beate family. But her dockworker uncle, well, he's worried that Ivy-Beate might take back the ownership of the warehouses in the family's name. So, he got the Demon to help him do some not-so-good things to her..."

Losques slowly turned around and quietly looked at El.

No one could discern any emotion from his bronze dragon head.

But El felt his gaze was terrifyingly cold.

Loskes asked softly, "What kind of not-so-good thing?"

El massaged his temples: "...Did you guess it?"

Losques-Otucan roared and grabbed El's collar.

El did not resist, letting Losques lift him up, raising his feet off the ground.

Loskes glared at El, his bright yellow vertical pupils filled with raging fury: "You did this on purpose, didn't you? You think she has a responsibility to your fiancée, so you hate her! You wish she would become dirty and depraved, don't you! How dare you let them do this!"

"I am a paladin."

El said, "I hate her, and I wish she were dead every day. But no matter how much I hate her, I am first and foremost a paladin!"

Losques was breathing heavily.

The dragon seed laid down El.

"Very well, paladin, you are the sword and shield of the bronze dragon. Now, in the name of the bronze dragon, I demand an explanation from you."

El lowered his gaze.

“Once this is over,” he said, “I will execute those two devils, as well as the Swango couple. Then I will receive my punishment.”

"That's bullshit! Now, listen to me, Paladin, do as I say."

The enraged Losques-Otukan leaned closer to El, staring at his forehead with his bright yellow vertical pupils.

He practically pressed the dragon's mouth against El's face, and El could see arcs of bronze dragon breath flashing between the dragon's sharp teeth.

"Ivy Beatrice was my fiancée, the fiancée of the heir to the Ottocan family."

"Whether the engagement is called off or not, this label will forever be stuck on her forehead!"

"Her defilement means that the reputation of the Ottokan family has been damaged!"

"The reputation of the Ottokan family must not be tarnished by something like this. Therefore..."

The word "dragon seed" burst forth, one syllable at a time, and the bronze dragon's head revealed an inhuman ferocity and cruelty:

"Once this is over, those two filthy demons, that defiled woman, those prostitutes and pimping scum, and your two useless informants, they all have to die! I want them all dead!"

El's expression changed.

He hurriedly tried to explain, "But she, and them—"

Losques's roar interrupted him: "—Die! Everyone must die!"

The veins on El's neck bulged, but he finally lowered his head: "As you wish, Priest of the Belly Scales."

Loskes chuckled.

"That's right, go. Remember what you said, first and foremost, you are a paladin, hmm?"

Chapter 37 Did I Awaken You?

The dock office is located in a corner of the dock, a row of thin-paneled wooden houses adjacent to the sea.