Mystic Overlord: Reading Gives Strength-Chapter 1270 - 1264: Proposal

"..."

"Don't you want to escape..."

"Don't speak to me so casually!" The fire element clearly didn't understand Ronald's intentions, and just as it began to speak, it was immediately interrupted by Ronald, "The rules of this conversation are that I ask and you answer."

"..."

"What do you want... ah ah ah!"

The fire element didn't take Ronald's warning seriously, so when it tried a second time to seize control of the conversation, Catherine took action.

Having control over the fire element's body, Catherine was nothing like the mild Ronald when talking. She manipulated the fire element's body, choosing the type of torture that would bring it the greatest suffering.

The flames on the surface of the fire element flickered rapidly.

This change was equivalent to a human experiencing severe spasms when in pain, and maintaining it for a long time could even cause irreversible physical damage.

"Spare me! Spare me!"

"Don't... ah ah ah! Don't do this... don't!"

The fire element howled in pain.

However, Catherine remained unmoved. She didn't care about the fire element's suffering, nor did she enjoy the sight of it being tormented. She idly played with her hair.

This was the character of the Tower Master of the Astronomical Department.

When dealing with enemies, she would never hesitate or show mercy.

...

This torture went on for a long time.

For a scene like this, Ronald almost had the illusion that Catherine wasn't warning the fire element but was deliberately torturing it.

Until Catherine finally stopped.

The state of the spherical fire element was even more miserable than when it was tormented by the oath.

The restraint of will on the elemental body could no longer be maintained, at this moment, it was just the inherent nature of its body that kept it from collapsing.

"..."

"With it like this, can I even ask questions?"

Pointing at the fire element in front of him, Ronald couldn't help but ask Catherine:

"If you really kill it, we won't have a source of information, will we?"

"Don't worry about that." Catherine shrugged casually and replied without hesitation, "This was a variable outside the plan. Even if it gets killed, at worst it'll just be a little troublesome when we take action."

Having expressed her thoughts, Catherine moved closer to Ronald, asking in a dangerous tone:

"Ronald, are you scared?"

"..."

"Why are you provoking me for no reason?" Ronald was quite speechless about this.

"Isn't it interesting to watch others' reactions?" Catherine gave her reason.

"..."

"Ah... ah ah..."

Just after Ronald and Catherine exchanged a few words, the fire element, who had been tormented to the brink of death, started to moan—it seemed terrifying how quickly it recovered from its previously collapsed state.

Noticing this, Catherine stopped talking and retreated to a corner.

She still maintained her Confusion Magic on herself.

As long as she didn't do anything too conspicuous, this fire element would have difficulty sensing Catherine's presence.

Ronald then turned his attention to the main task:

"Now, you should be able to answer my questions honestly, right?"

"..."

"Please, go ahead and ask."

The fire element, having been tormented severely, behaved itself this time.

Without Ronald asking, it didn't dare say even a single extra word and quickly outlined the situation clearly.

The fire element's societal system was different from the free water element or the heavy earth element. Affected by the nature of the fire elemental magic, they were either independent beings cold enough to be unresponsive to the outside world, or frequently exchanging energy in a well-structured large assembly.

This unfortunate guy in front of Ronald and Catherine.

In Fire City, it was responsible for maintaining the city's conditions.

Compared to the fire elements guarding the entrance and transporting fuel into the city, this one specialized in destruction usually held a leisure job, only being mobilized when something unusual occurred in the city.

During past times, this fire element had a smooth ride.

That huge physique was a display of accumulated power from repeatedly clearing anomalies.

It never imagined that the usually rare and easy work would run into trouble today. While pursuing Lilou and Ronald, it suddenly lost track of its target.

Clearing anomalies was a task with strict requirements. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

If it failed to fulfill the oath and complete the task, the magical structure of the fire element would go berserk, leading to one of two outcomes—either exploding in high temperatures and re-nourishing other fire elements with its magic, or losing all heat, becoming a hard block that no longer changed and even lost thinking ability.

...

Having obtained enough intelligence, Ronald and Catherine naturally began to ponder.

—Since the fire element in front is the variable in the prophecy.

What in its provided information could they leverage? What role could it play for them?

While thinking, there was a sort of silence inside the shattered building.

Ronald and Catherine pondered over their discovery and remained silent; the fire element, after the earlier torment, dared not make a sound.

And so a few minutes passed.

Oppressed by the solemn atmosphere within the building, the fire element ultimately couldn't bear it:

"Excuse me, may I ask a question?"

Ronald first glanced at Catherine, then nodded: "Go ahead."

"I really can help you escape the 'Four Quadrants'." With Ronald's permission, the fire element began to cautiously speak, "You might not know, this world is..."

Ronald interrupted the fire element's attempt to persuade:

"If you're about to discuss the world core issue and your fire element's invasion of other worlds, you can shut up now. I know what you're doing; I even know the exact process of your plan."

Suddenly, Ronald's words broke off.

Mentioning the fire element's plan, he naturally thought of the Fire Element Demigod in the lava lake. Linking it with the previously heard information, a bold idea popped up.

So Ronald immediately confirmed with the fire element in front of him:

"Did you just say that if you lose control, you'd explode and thereby nourish other fire elements?"

The broken fire element was somewhat bewildered by Ronald's interruption and could only reply honestly:

"What you said is absolutely correct."

Ronald continually advanced the inquiry:

"Is this a common phenomenon among your fire elements?"

The fire element continued to answer:

"It's an inherent trait, and every fire element is like this."

"..."

Just after the two questions ended, Catherine, who had been silent, suddenly had her eyes brighten.

—She understood Ronald's thought!

The next second, Catherine decisively dismissed the Confusion Magic on herself.

She walked briskly up to the fire element, flashing a fiercely aggressive smile:

"Hey! Fire lump!"

"Have you ever thought about becoming a Demigod, or even a True God of the 'Four Quadrants' yourself?"