It was completely different from the uncontrollable and tingling discomfort when looking at the two false deities.
When Annan looked at Silver Sire, he didn’t feel any fear, panic, or reverence.
Even if Annan looked directly at Silver Sire, his thinking wasn’t affected at all. The tingling warning sensation like spider-sense didn’t surface.
If he didn’t witness Silver Sire walking out of the light beam, Annan would think that he was just an ordinary young man next door. Silver Sire’s appearance was clean and elegant without the slight hint of being inhuman and unnatural like Rotten Man.
Silver Sire didn’t even have the sense of incongruity with the world that Transcended had—the kind of anomalous feeling of being out of tune with the world that could always be noticed at a glance. In other words, Silver Sire wasn’t giving a conspicuous vibe that made him stand out even if he blended in the crowd.
On the contrary, this sense of abnormality was apparent in false deities.
Annan could feel a chill in his back when he was one block away from the Venerated Skeleton. In comparison to before Rotten Man appeared, his body would give off panic.
The players and Salvatore couldn’t even look directly at the two false deities.
But they could look at Silver Sire naturally as if there was no such pressure at all.
Seeing Silver Sire appear, the two false deities bow their heads to the cheerful youth wearing a monocle.
“Wish you good health, Silver Sire.”
“Greetings, Silver Sire!”
Rotten Man sent his greeting to Silver Sire a bit later.
He raised his head and asked respectfully, “I wonder why you are here.”
“When I noticed that a new deity was going to be born, it just had to come.”
Silver Sire smiled. His voice was loud and clear; he naturally gave off a great impression, “But, you two, why are you fighting in my kingdom?”
His voice was like a lecturer, like a parent, like a king.
It wasn’t impassioned words, but loud and clear. There was no sign of timidity while not being harsh either.
“We aren’t fighting, Silver Sire.” Rotten Man, who took the initiative to attack previously, explained first, “I just responded to my believers’ summoning. I came here as a mirror image.”
“My deal with Old Grandmother made me follow the young dragon to this place.”
The Venerated Skeleton replied directly, “He asked me to protect the descendants of Frostwhisper. You are the witness of all transactions. You will know this is true.”
“En, I know that.” Silver Sire nodded, “I heard it the other day.”
Then he looked at Rotten Man and said directly, “You should leave, Rotten Man.
“I have already made an oath for this country. In the land of trade, the deities are forbidden to fight for their selfish desires.”
As Silver Sire’s voice came, the two false deities seemed to be walloped by something invisible, staggering and stepping back a few steps. Their aura was suppressed to the extent that they couldn’t affect the players.
“I have no intention of starting a fight, Silver Sire. I also apologize to Rotten Man for calling him by his name.”
The Venerated Skeleton didn’t want to linger further and bowed to Silver Sire respectfully, “Since you have come, I shall retreat.”
After all, his body gradually shattered. It turned into countless bones and dissipated in the earth, like snowflakes falling on the ground.
On the other hand, Rotten Man’s body was filled with cracks, but it remained intact. It was like bulletproof glass that sustained a devastating blow.
His face was a little fuzzy. The fragrance emitting from his body was erased. The soft-spoken voice turned into static noises like electric microphones. “Silver Sire, I…”
“Rotten Man, I still suggest you leave here immediately.”
Silver Sire’s voice was clear and loud. He interrupted Rotten Man’s words directly, “I won’t hand you the Book of Divine Transporter. You need to find your own way.”
Annan was slightly surprised when he heard that.
But Rotten Man remained silent.
Silver Sire glanced at the Rotten Man and said calmly, “I don’t care about Henry’s problem. I didn’t vow you to become a deity, after all. It’s because you only let your believers induce him. Also, I have always stayed away from mortal affairs.
“If you are capable, let your believers fool Little Henry into completing the ritual. I will never stop you. Since I agreed to the bet, I can accept my losses. Similarly, there are wins and losses in some trades too. As long as you don’t personally participate, I won’t interfere. That’s ‘fairness.’
“If you want Annan’s Book of Divine Transporter, get your believers to come and take it. You can’t intervene in this. If you touch him, you better brace yourself from which I will confront you personally. Hmph! Forget about if you’re breaking the rules or not. You should be informed that Annan is my Silver Knight.
“Are you trying to kill the Silver Knight that I blessed in front of my face?” Silver Sire snorted softly.
The Rotten Man still looked lifeless, just smiling like a friendly business person who prefers diplomacy rather than confrontation.
However, it was notable that Rotten Man lowered his gaze, not daring to bat an eye at Annan again.
“I kindly remind you one more time, Rotten Man. Since you’re willing to pay respect to a small tradesman like me and follow the rules at my place, consider these words a gift. It’s free-of-charge.”
Silver Sire glanced at Rotten Man and said casually, “The situation at Austere-Winter’s house is different from our ‘king.’ The king is only the spokesperson chosen by us, but over there is the Old Grandmother’s blood-connected heir.
“Old Grandmother attaches great importance to blood kinship. After all, dragon blood in this era is rare. So you dare to murder her blood-connected heirs while she is sleeping. If I were you, I would never step into the land of ice.
“Don’t disturb the dragon, my friend. Since your main body is still fleeing, you may have a chance. You can either go to the south and ask if the Elegant Elder will take you in or go underground and go back to your hometown.
“If you’re hesitant to flee, you won’t be able to run away during this year’s snowfall,” said Silver Sire with a smile.
Looking at Silver Sire standing in front of Annan, Rotten Man was silent.
Listening to the baby’s cry in the sky grew louder, Rotten Man thought for a long time. In the end, he said softly, “Silver Sire, I never intend to provoke a civil war between the deities. But Michelangelo hasn’t fully sublimated yet. He is still a mortal.
“You aren’t involved in mortal battles, but no rules are forbidding other deities to punish mortals, right? Besides, you don’t know this new deity, and he has never received your engraving.
“If you need a reason, Michelangelo killed my believer more than 20 years ago. So I think this should not violate your rules, right?”
Rotten Man bowed his head respectfully and said, “I will not handle it personally either. Michelangelo has an Immortal Gold Soul, and now he has half his feet into eternal life. I only send a silver rank unsullied person to revenge. Isn’t this considered fair?”
The smile on Silver Sire’s face gradually faded, “It does not violate my rules. It is indeed fair.”
His voice became a little colder, but it was still clear, “Have you thought clearly about it?”
“I have thought it through, Sire.”
Rotten Man smiled and bowed to Silver Sire, “Even if you deport all my believers in your territory tomorrow—or even hang them directly, I won’t complain even a word about it.”
“Is this the transaction you initiated to me?” Silver Sire asked in confirmation.
Rotten Man replied affirmatively, “Yes.”
Silver Sire nodded slowly. He took a deep look at Rotten Man and reaffirmed, “You use the lives of all the believers stranded in the Noah Kingdom to initiate a transaction in exchange for me to stop interfering with you. On December 14, 1503, this transaction took place at the Noah Kingdom, North Sea Territory, Roseburg. Your deal is for you to take revenge on the newly reincarnated ‘Michelangelo Buonaro’ — the newly born ‘Michel Nottdamm.’ Do you confirm?”
“Confirm.”
Rotten Man replied without hesitation, “Neither you nor the Venerated Skeleton can interfere with me.”
“I can agree with that.”
Silver Sire said slowly, looking at Rotten Man coldly, “But before the transaction is initiated, I also want to point this out to you. Although I will not interfere with this matter, you can no longer attack him if Michelangelo becomes a deity.”
“As long as you don’t find other deities to stop me.” Rotten Man replied with a smile.
“Wait a minute, Silver Sire. I have another question about this transaction.” At this moment, Annan spoke suddenly.
He watched on the side for a long time, and he understood a bit of Silver Sire’s character.
Silver Sire lowered his head to look at Annan with a cheerful smile on his face again.
Rotten Man had offended him. Hence, he was delaying Rotten Man’s time, hoping that Michelangelo could be faster.
Silver Sire squeezed Annan’s cheek, put a hand on Annan’s shoulder, and asked softly, “What’s your question, my little knight?”
“If I use this bottle of Sage’s Stone…” Annan asked without hesitation, “Can I stop Rotten Man’s mirror image in a short time?”
Although Annan didn’t know why Rotten Man wanted to interrupt Michelangelo’s ritual so much, he would hinder the Rotten Man as much as possible. Of course, the more the enemy wanted it, the more the hindrance he would impose.
Rotten Man’s ritual had stuck, and he needed the Book of Divine Transporter. Obviously, he wanted Annan’s life as well.
It was even possible that Rotten Man was behind Annan’s murder and the ship incident.
It wouldn’t be beneficial if Annan just allowed Rotten Man to get what he wanted.
Naturally, Annan wouldn’t make it easy for Rotten Man.
Also, if Annan successfully stopped Rotten Man this time, the Rotten Man’s believers must be traded to Silver Sire as per the transaction established.
Because as Silver Sire said before, he only mentioned the item “Silver Sire and the Venerated Skeleton can’t participate nor hinder” in the transaction contract.
Annan found that Silver Sire didn’t seem to see eye-to-eye with Rotten Man.
So he came up with a bold idea.
It isn’t Rotten Man’s main body but a mirror image.
Also, I have the Book of Divine Transporter. So after taking Sage’s Stone, I will enter the Truth rank instead of the Gold rank.
So, can I delay Rotten Man for another 3 minutes?
Even without hindering the Rotten Man for 3 minutes, this question alone and waiting for Silver Sire to answer it could delay Rotten Man sometime.
And if Michelangelo needed far more than 3 minutes, Silver Sire would have stopped Annan’s plan.
But in any case, it was a rare opportunity to face off a deity while having a true deity supported by the side.
My parents are right there while they put up an ugly expression in the meeting with the teacher at school.
Come fight me? Do you dare to hit me hard?
(TN: Corporal punishment is still practiced in some Asia schools.)
Hearing this, Silver Sire was taken aback and looked at Annan again with some surprise.
Immediately, Silver Sire patted Annan’s shoulder with a smile. His gaze on Annan became warm, “I haven’t seen you in a few years, but you have become a lot braver, Annan. Old Grandmother will be proud of you. The deity of mirror and clock would also owe you a favor if you can succeed. You have my guarantee for this matter. He can’t renege on the debt.
“Go and give it a try. If you are lucky, you do have some chance of winning.
“Rotten Man, you have to agree on that.”