A Core Ship From The Start-Chapter 1600 - 1072 Mutual Scheming

Since Duanmu Huai had already guessed it, the Old Pope stopped pretending and laid his cards on the table. In fact, the notion of the Creator God summoning them was utterly nonsense, just as Duanmu Huai had said earlier. With the seal of the Demon King released, the Demon Clan led by demons launched a massive attack, and the Angels were late to assist. The Old Pope had somewhat guessed their intentions.

But what could he do?

As a religious leader of this world, would he go out and tell others, "The Deity has abandoned us, even plans to kill us all to eliminate the Demon Clan, let’s go home and wait for death"?

That was certainly impossible.

Luckily, during the previous eternal battle that sealed the Seven Demon Kings, the gods had summoned heroes from an Isekai world. So, he resorted to repeating the ritual from back then — of course, outwardly claiming it was the Deity’s mandate.

By this time, the Old Pope didn’t care about forging divine orders anymore, whether real or fake, as long as they arrived it was good. If they couldn’t come, it would mean informing others that humans had been abandoned by the Deity; they would probably collapse before the Demon Clan invaded.

Originally, the Old Pope didn’t intend to tell these things to anyone, but Duanmu Huai wouldn’t take any nonsense, with an attitude of "if you try to fool me, I’ll wreck this shabby Temple." Thus, he had no choice but to reveal the truth.

"So, our teleportation here has nothing to do with what’s-his-name the Deity, we’re just unlucky, right?"

Upon hearing the Old Pope’s confession, everyone looked at each other, while Duanmu Huai sneered. The Old Pope had already stated he didn’t know whether the ritual would succeed or whom it would bring to this world. Seeing it this way, it was plausible that the Creator God was just pretending to be dead and not home — perhaps he really was playing possum.

"Then let’s just settle this for now, it’s late..."

Duanmu Huai said while glancing at the sky; it was already nighttime, and the students were exhausted.

"Let’s find a place to eat and rest, we’ll deal with remaining matters tomorrow."

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai took out his Magical Items and opened the Mage’s Mansion.

"Alright, everybody in."

"In?"

Seeing the strange glowing door before them, the crowd was taken aback, while the Pope grew somewhat anxious.

"Please stop, the nationals are all awaiting the appearance of the Brave Lord, would everyone please..."

"I said, we are tired and need to rest. Whatever needs to be addressed, we’ll do it tomorrow. Do you have an objection?"

Duanmu Huai coldly interrupted the Pope, staring at him, causing the latter to hesitate for a moment before bowing his head.

"Everything is according to the Brave Lord’s command."

"Good, then that’s settled, no need for you to prepare anything, we can handle it ourselves."

After saying this, Duanmu Huai gestured for the others to enter the Mage’s Mansion. He stood there, watching the Old Pope. Seeing Duanmu Huai’s posture, the latter knew better than to say more, so he bitterly smiled, said, "then please let the Brave Lord rest well," and left with the others.

"Humph."

Watching the Old Pope’s figure disappear, Duanmu Huai crossed his arms, finally issuing a cold snort. At this time, Tachibana Hinata also approached, looking at Duanmu Huai anxiously.

"Teacher Duanmu, isn’t this a bit inappropriate? After all, that person seems quite influential in this world. If we don’t build a good relationship with him..."

"Why build a good relationship? He’s calling us to our deaths."

Duanmu Huai coldly interrupted Hinata.

"Or what? Someone, claiming it’s for your good, sells you to a sordid bar, should you also build a good relationship with the Madam? Remember, this old guy needs something from us now, so we can’t appear too weak, or he’ll definitely take advantage of us. Didn’t you notice, that old guy was testing us all along?"

"Eh?"

Hinata was startled by Duanmu Huai’s response. She only felt pity seeing the Old Pope being bossed around by Duanmu Huai, being so elderly, even lowering his head and apologizing, making her feel somewhat uneasy. But hearing Duanmu Huai’s explanation, was he really testing them?

"Seems like you’re no better than those students."

Watching Hinata’s bewildered expression, Duanmu Huai shook his head.

"Do you think we should agree to his demands because we pity him having to bow at his age? If we do, then he’ll know how to manipulate us, and could even beg on his knees for us to do things!"

"No, no way..."

"Why not? Understand this, humanity in this world is on the brink of extinction. To avoid destruction, humans are capable of anything. Believe me, if I said I wanted a hundred pure maidens to spend the night with, they’d prepare them by tomorrow, eager to bring them to me. In survival, concepts like righteousness, morality, and dignity don’t matter; they’re only useful if you live through it. If you’re destroyed, none of it counts."

"..."

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s answer, Hinata was bewildered, clearly her world view shattered. Conversely, Duanmu Huai seemed unbothered.

"Alright, go inside and rest, whatever needs addressing, we’ll discuss tomorrow."

The Tribunal style inside the Mage’s Mansion naturally once again stunned the students, but perhaps they felt so many shocks in such a short time that they were somewhat numb; after dining in, they followed Duanmu Huai’s directions to rest.

Indeed, this afternoon had been overwhelmingly eventful for them.

As for Duanmu Huai, in his room, he sipped coffee, listened to music, and rested with his eyes closed.

A shadow suddenly descended from the sky, landing in front of Duanmu Huai.

Only then did Duanmu Huai open his eyes.

"Ling’Nu? How is the situation?"

"The old man has already sent someone to explain the situation to the king below, saying that the heroes have just been summoned, they are now exhausted and have gone to rest. Tomorrow, they will take you and your companions to the royal city to meet the king."

"The old guy is quite good at this."

Duanmu Huai stroked his chin.

"So, what do you think of that country?"

"According to Ling’Nu’s observation, everyone seems to have really pinned their hopes on you all. Hearing that they can meet the heroes tomorrow, everyone seems very excited and happy. Even in private, they didn’t express any complaints about you standing them up today. Moreover, from what the generals said, it seems the situation in this world is really bad."

"Really?"

"Yes, under the invasion of the Demon Clan, humans have already lost most of their territory. Even the royal city, protected by the Divine Mountain, is not considered absolutely safe... That’s what the generals of that country said in private."

"Hmm..."

Duanmu Huai remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Then go investigate further. Remember, gather as much intelligence as possible, including on humans, the Demon Clan, the current situation... all information is needed."

"Yes."

As the words fell, Ling’Nu disappeared again.

It seems this ninja is really formidable.

Duanmu Huai leaned back on the sofa, lost in thought. What the Old Pope said was true; he had verified this from the shadow earlier, and the answer was the same. This meant that returning to the original world through this path was impossible. However, if the interference could be eliminated, there might still be a way to contact others from the Tribunal...

Of course, for safety, Duanmu Huai also consulted with Tacheng Xiao Mao, who told him that similar situations sometimes occur among demons. It’s certain that Liliath is running around trying to figure out how to cover up the mysterious disappearance of an entire class. Moreover, there is a link between the master and followers, so even if Liliath cannot summon back Tacheng Xiao Mao, she can at least know that Tacheng Xiao Mao is not dead.

But no matter what, at least Tacheng Xiao Mao can ensure that this will not cause any disturbance.

Hmm, that’s still a good thing.

As for the Tribunal, with Lumiaire and Frieren there, there’s no need to worry for the time being.

What a bother.

"Um... MASTER..." freewebnσvel.cøm

At this moment, Medusa’s voice suddenly sounded in Duanmu Huai’s ear.

"It’s about time to deal with the matter concerning the elder sisters..."

"Oh, right. I almost forgot if you hadn’t reminded me."

Hearing Medusa’s reminder, Duanmu Huai seemed to just remember, and he snapped his fingers. The next moment, he saw Stheno and Euryale appearing from the air, collapsing to the ground. At this moment, they didn’t even have the strength to resist, their eyes unfocused, panting continually. Their slender, delicate bodies writhed desperately, and their cute yet beautiful faces were filled with an indescribable distress.

Looking at these sisters, Duanmu Huai stood up, then unzipped.

"If you want it, you should know what to do."

"Ugh... you damn man... using this method..."

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s words, Stheno barely lifted her head, glaring resentfully at Duanmu Huai, while he just stood with hands on hips, coldly laughing at her.

"Ah... I..."

However, at this moment, Euryale, as if a traveler seeing an oasis in the desert, eyes shown brightly, and she almost crawled to Duanmu Huai, extending her tongue like a traveler thirsting for a drink.

"It seems she’s made her choice."

Looking at Euryale bowing before him, Duanmu Huai chuckled, then turned to Stheno.

"And you?"

"........"

"Since that’s the case, I guess I’ll just have to have some fun with Euryale first..."

As he spoke, Duanmu Huai extended his hand.

"After all, I do prefer obedient children."