Qimeng listened to this past.
Her playful gaze turned cold, and she blurted out a question.
“He killed your kin, slaughtered the citizens you saved, and even killed your heroic husband... Don't you hate him even a little?”
There was no resentment in the woman's eyes, only a serenity that bordered on martyrdom.
“I don't know if I should hate him.
“But the moment he charged into the flames, covered in blood, and carried me out, I couldn't bring myself to hate him, no matter what.
“He slaughtered everyone for my sake and bore a mountain of sins. Everyone in the world can hate him and call him a bloodthirsty demon... but I cannot.
“Because all the sins he committed... were all for me.
“Even if we fall into hell together... I can never hate him.”
With that, the woman fell to her knees with a thud and kowtowed deeply to Qimeng.
“To preserve my failing body, he cast a forbidden demon pet sacrifice spell, swapping his life force with mine. That is how he became like this.
“Please, save him! I am willing to trade my life for his! If only I had died from the poison, the demon pet contract would have been broken, and he would have been free! Why was he so foolish...”
Qimeng looked down from above at the woman kneeling before her. A champion of pure love? But behind this deeply moving sacrifice, wasn't there also a hideous betrayal?
Qimeng let out a cold laugh. In those memories that had turned to dust, she too had been betrayed by comrades she trusted. She knew better than anyone the taste of being pushed into the abyss by so-called justice and self-interest.
Cheap sympathy? Empathy?
No, she had long outgrown such weak emotions.
Yet, these two before her...
This twisted yet pure emotion that transcended race, ethics, good and evil, life and death—this bond that dared to make an enemy of the entire world—actually suited her taste surprisingly well.
So... how should she deal with them?
Kill them? Facing these two, even as a magical beast, she found herself somewhat unable to bring herself to do it.
Spare them? The two of them were a tangled mess of a fatal deadlock.
And...
Wait! This wasn't just a touching love story!
This demon man had defeated a Demon Marquis; his strength at his peak was definitely a top-tier combat power that surpassed the Extraordinary Rank!
And this woman was actually a forbidden summoner who could summon beasts far above her own rank!
This wasn't some tragic story.
This was clearly a buy-one-get-one-free, incredibly lucrative deal for top-tier combat power!
At this thought, a sharp gleam flashed in Qimeng's beautiful eyes.
“Hmph, what a thoroughly unpleasant past.”
Qimeng regained her usual cold arrogance, putting on a forced, reluctant expression.
“Consider yourselves lucky. My mood isn't too bad today.
“However, while I can save you, you must accept my rule! From this day forward, your lives and your souls shall belong to me!”
“I am willing! As long as you can save him, I am willing to do anything!”
Without any hesitation, the woman kowtowed once more.
“Very well~”
In Qimeng's palm, a 【Life Fruit】 radiating a vast green light materialized out of thin air!
“That is...?!”
The woman, still kowtowing on the ground, looked up, her beautiful eyes trembling violently!
In her understanding, the humanoid magical beast before her had obtained the Wood Elves' Sacred Spirit and would use its power to save them. But what floated in the air was not some extract of a Sacred Spirit at all. It was a life source energy brimming with the breath of life, likely surpassing any magical potion!
Could this... be the Forest Goddess's mercy upon them?
To let her, who had fallen into hell, meet such an incredible master?
In an instant, all the confusion in the woman's eyes vanished.
The past self who bore her family's shackles and had been pushed onto the pyre by her husband was already dead.
From now on... she would live only for the deity before her and the man behind her!
“I beg my Master to grant us new life!”
With a devout posture, the woman pressed her forehead against the ground.
“Very well.”
Qimeng flicked her finger, and the 【Life Fruit】 turned into a streak of green light, shooting straight into the chest of the medicine-seeking man!
“Buzz!!”
The life source energy flowed through their contract connection, instantly shattering the crumbling forbidden sacrifice spell inside both of their bodies!
Immediately after, the emerald light in Qimeng's eyes flared.
With a tap of Qimeng's finger, the fatal deadlock of their life forces was dismantled using 【All-Things Deconstruction: Corrosion Imprint】!
The forbidden sacrifice spell was forcibly restructured into a symbiotic spell.
Then, a miniature natural spirit mark was engraved deep within the woman's mind!
Because of the previous forbidden sacrifice spell, even though Qimeng had forcibly restructured it, their minds had already intertwined and could not be separated.
Thus, a single spirit mark from Qimeng was equivalent to controlling both of them at the same time!
Mmh... Perfect!
This way, she wouldn't be violating her temporarily implemented policy of 【except for non-humanoids, only recruit beautiful girl vassals】!
Qimeng nodded to herself, unable to resist stealing a glance at the woman. To be honest, the woman before her was a highly attractive white woman, a mature young lady in her early twenties. Compared to those loli vassals in the Tree Court, her figure was much more graceful and voluptuous~
As for the attached demon man...
She would just treat him as a buy-one-get-one-free accessory!
Yes, exactly! She hadn't violated her original intention at all!
“Cough... Pfft!”
The demon man collapsed in the dirt spat out a mouthful of black blood, and the chaotic emptiness in his eyes cleared, regaining their clarity!
He struggled to prop himself up and immediately saw the woman kneeling beside him. With just a single exchange of glances, the deep affection forged through blood and fire was already fully understood without words.
The demon man then turned to face Qimeng and knelt on one knee.
“Thank you for saving our lives, Your Excellency. Whatever she promised just now, I agree to it.
“From this day forward, the ghosts of the past no longer exist in this world.”
Qimeng looked down at the two kneeling before her, her voice carrying an absolute majesty.
“In the name of the Lord of the Tree Court, I grant you true names and a new life.”
Qimeng pointed at the man.
“From now on, your true name shall be 【Gaia】.”
She then looked at the woman.
“And your true name shall be 【Elise】.”
“Baikui, record their true names.”
“Gaia... Yes, Master! Thank you for the name!”
“Elise... Thank you, Master, for granting me new life!”
The two kowtowed, their eyes filled with nothing but steadfast obedience.
“Very well. Since you have accepted your true names and spirit marks, you are now pawns under my command.”
Qimeng looked at the parasitic beast, Baikui, standing to the side.
“I don't have the time to babysit two deadweights. From now on, Gaia and Elise will be assigned to your command, at your disposal.”
Baikui adjusted the torn collar of his parasitic body and spoke stiffly.
“Understood, Master... Welcome to the First Action Squad of the 【Infiltration and Seizure of Power in Black Bone Territory, and Offering the Utmost Loyalty and Forest Hegemony to the Lord of the Tree Court】.”
The newly reborn Gaia and Elise both froze at the same time, a row of question marks practically popping up over their heads.
“Wait a minute!!”
Qimeng slapped Baikui on the forehead.
“Isn't that squad name way too long and bizarre?! What kind of light novel title gag are you trying to pull, Baikui?! Make it shorter!!”
Baikui's neck tilted from the slap. He mechanically twisted his head back to its original position and replied with a completely flat voice.
“Understood. Then it shall be renamed the 【Black Bone Mischief Squad】.”
“That's way too casual! Whatever... do what you want!!”
Qimeng gave up arguing with this parasitic beast whose brain operated on a completely different wavelength.
But... with the addition of these two wild cards, Baikui's upcoming infiltration into the Black Bone Territory would surely become quite interesting, wouldn't it?
Rate on N.U.
