NOVPUB
Chapter 163: The Memories of Duke Badin
Thud!
Duke Badin felt his body slam against the ground. He wanted to resist, but his cultivation was blocked by some kind of energy that made his flow of energy sluggish. When he looked down at his abdomen, he saw a sealing talisman, though he had no idea when it had been placed there. Still in shock from the sudden kidnapping, he looked up at the face of the young man who had taken him.
"You?! What is the meaning of this?! How dare you kidnap me! I am a duke of the Forgeheart Kingdom! You will regret offending me! His Majesty will not tolerate an outsider bringing such humiliation to the kingdom’s nobles!" Duke Badin fumed, his face contorted with fury at being abducted by Duke Valiard’s unknown associates. This young man wasn’t even past the peak Earl stage!
"Bold words, Duke Badin," Aldrian replied calmly. "Especially coming from someone in league with the devils."
Duke Badin froze, his heart racing, though he quickly composed himself before shouting, "Are you out of your mind?! To accuse me of conspiring with devils is akin to slandering the entire Forgeheart Kingdom! You’re truly brazen to make such a claim! I’ll report this to His Majesty, and you’ll be severely punished. Not even Duke Valiard can protect you!"
"Is that so?" Aldrian’s smile widened. "What if I told you the Greed Devil himself told me? And that his right-hand man, Erik Van Jaager, sends his regards?" n𝚘𝚟𝚙u𝚋.co𝚖
Duke Badin shuddered, not only from Aldrian’s smile, one that looked demonic but also from the accuracy with which Aldrian had identified his two accomplices. He gritted his teeth, imagining that those devils had burned the bridge by revealing their connection to him to this young man. Judging by his confidence, had Aldrian already fought the two devils and returned unharmed? Did that mean he was strong enough to match them?
Suddenly, Aldrian took out a sword from his storage ring. Duke Badin’s eyes widened when he saw the sword as he recognized it immediately—the Heavenly Blaze Sword, a high divine-grade weapon that belonged to the royal family.
"I wonder if the royal family would reward me for returning this sword. What do you think?" Aldrian asked with a faint smile.
Duke Badin’s gaze remained fixed on the sword. At that moment, he realized he had already lost. If Aldrian held this sword, then those devils might already be dead, leaving him with no escape. It was clear Aldrian intended to make him confess his alliance with the devils.
"To be honest, I don’t understand," Aldrian continued, his expression curious. "Why would a noble like you, with high status in the Forgeheart Kingdom and influence across the continent, align with the devils, betraying your fellow cultivators? Wouldn’t it have been easier to stay in your comfortable position and avoid getting involved in the devils’ affairs?"
"What do you know? You know nothing! You’re truly an ignorant fool!" Duke Badin spat. "They offered me a reasonable profit, and I had what they wanted. We simply took advantage of each other. Besides, they have a trump card that could engulf this entire continent! I’m ensuring my family’s survival, even if it means working with the devils. I only chose the side with the highest chance of victory. That’s all."
"Oh? Care to tell me what kind of trump card they have? Enough to make you betray all cultivators on the continent?" Aldrian asked, his tone probing. This information was crucial. If he could learn what card the devils held, he could prepare himself and the others.
"Even if I told you, it wouldn’t matter! The devils will prevail! That ’thing’ will descend upon this land, and darkness will cover everything, just as the prophecy foretold!" Duke Badin ranted, his eyes gleaming with a crazed certainty as he remembered whatever ’thing’ it was that convinced him of the devils’ victory.
Aldrian considered extracting more information verbally, but he had already gotten what he wanted from the man’s confession. For additional details, it seemed he would need to read his memories. He reached out and touched Duke Badin’s forehead, intent on delving into his memories. Duke Badin’s eyes widened as he realized Aldrian’s intention, but he managed a defiant grin.
"You will never—" He stopped mid-sentence as Aldrian struck at his soul, causing duke Badin to faint.
"Now, that’s much better—you talk too much," Aldrian said. He then began searching through Duke Badin’s memories, wanting to uncover the truth about his betrayal, the mystery behind the devils’ ability to infiltrate so many territories undetected, and the extent of the devils’ actions.
Within the mindscape of memories, Aldrian viewed Duke Badin’s experiences from a first-person perspective, as if he were the duke himself. He examined various parts of these memories and eventually uncovered both the artifact and its creator—the very elements that allowed the devils to infiltrate territories across the continent undetected.
His face grew solemn; the situation was far deeper and more complex than he had anticipated. He continued searching through the memories, eventually reaching one where Duke Badin first met with the devils. Aldrian was searching selectively, focusing only on key moments, and this initial meeting held particular significance.
In the memory, Duke Badin was seated in his study late at night, looking frustrated. Suddenly, shadowy figures appeared out of nowhere, startling him.
"Who are you?! How did you get in here?" Duke Badin asked warily.
"The Badin family, once the foremost noble house of the Forgeheart Kingdom, has fallen to this pathetic state thanks to the Valiards. Truly, a sad era for the Badins," came a raspy voice laced with mockery. Aldrian recognized it immediately as Erik Van Jaager, the right-hand man of the greed devil.
Duke Badin frowned deeper, trying to retrieve an artifact to trap the unknown intruder. Suddenly, he sensed something that made him realize the identity of the intruder.
"The devils!" He sensed a trace of devil energy leaking from the shadows, triggering his instinct to attack. However, he suddenly found himself unable to move; the space around him had hardened, trapping him in place. He watched in horror as two cloaked figures emerged from the shadows, sending a shudder through him. He could feel their immense power—these were emperor-stage cultivators! With his movements restricted and no means to defend himself, he realized that his death was imminent.
"Do you want to live?!" Erik suddenly asked.
"Do you want to survive? Do you want to restore your family’s glory? Do you want to leave your name in history like your ancestors?" His voice dripped with temptation, aiming to exploit Duke Badin’s insecurities and feelings of inadequacy compared to the Valiards.
Yet, Duke Badin gritted his teeth, determined to resist the lure. "Even though I have my own problems, I will not ask the devils for help."
"Hmmm, is that so? Regardless of whether you succumb to your desires or not, the outcome will be the same," Erik replied, touching Duke Badin’s forehead.
"Hmmm, is that so? Whether you succumb to your desires or not, the outcome will ultimately be the same," Erik said, placing his hand on Duke Badin’s forehead. Inside Duke Badin’s mind, he was met with a horrifying vision: a terrifying entity enveloping the entire continent in darkness. Its massive shadow loomed so large that it covered the entire land!
Aldrian looked at the massive shadowy figure, its enormous eyes surveying the continent and all the living beings on the land as if they were mere ants. Chaos reigned everywhere, and negative energy spread throughout the land, rendering it uninhabitable. The only place still attempting to resist was the Everlasting Silent Forest; however, even that last bastion was beginning to succumb to the encroaching darkness.
After witnessing the visions presented by the devils, Duke Badin appeared lost and broken, his mental fortitude crumbling under the weight of fear. Erik repeated his earlier questions, his voice cutting through the haze of terror. "Do you want to survive? Do you want to make your family glorious again? Do you want to leave your name in history like your ancestors?"
Duke Badin’s head nodded weakly in response, awakening from his fear.
Aldrian then pulled away from Duke Badin’s memories, a deep frown etched on his face. "That creature that covered the land, those eyes—they’re similar to what I saw with the Heavenly Demon, but much smaller." However, even that smaller version was still more than enough to overshadow the entire continent. Thanks to the shared feelings and senses from the memories, Aldrian could also grasp the tremendous power of this ’thing.’
"That is a smaller and weaker version of that ’thing.’ Are the devils trying to summon that creature into this world?" Aldrian’s face became extremely solemn. Although the creature in Duke Badin’s memories was much weaker than the original he had encountered, it still exuded too much power and pressure for the beings of this world.
"This is really bad. If this is what they mean by darkness covering the land, then we need to crush the devils’ plans as soon as possible."
