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"She must be a kind person."

"Yes, she is as gentle as the sea."

"Then why did you ultimately choose to believe in order? I mean, shouldn't you choose to believe in her?"

Lord Darl pointed to the statue of the Goddess Mills.

"Before I found her, I believed in the God of Order."

"Oh, so you were a step too late."

"I think when it comes to faith, everything is predetermined in life."

"Heh, yes." Lord Darl looked around and shouted, "Keep moving forward, everyone. I believe my servants have prepared a exquisite dinner for us at the restaurant."

The group continued to move forward, and a blue barrier appeared ahead, like a vertical mist.

In this mist, Karun sensed the aura of the Sea God. He didn't know which part of the Sea God was cut off by Lanedar and placed here.

Lord Darl walked straight in, and Karun followed him inside. Inside, there was actually a sunny beach, and there were clear footprints on the sand.

Lord Darl stepped on those footprints and moved forward step by step.

When Muri and Bart entered, Karun raised his hand and reminded, "Avoid the footprints, let's walk on the side."

Lord Darl walked a long distance and turned back to see Karun and the others avoiding the footprints, forming a queue on the other side of the beach.

"I think you are being too cautious. I don't like my guests being too restrained."

Karun immediately responded, "I think necessary caution is a sign of respect for the host."

"But why don't you even dare to step on the footprints?"

"I believe that everyone has a string of imprints in their hearts that they don't want to be trampled on by others."

"Tsk, believe me, when I smile at you, I may be thinking about how to tear you apart."

"I'm sorry, I will reflect on it."

When I go back, I'll beat the dog at home.

Lord Darl looked at Karun seriously, then continued to walk forward. It didn't take long for him to reach the end of the beach, where there was another mist. But next to the mist, there was a relatively neat platform with a pool and a huge mirror in front of the pool.

Water was constantly flowing into the pool. Lord Darl walked to the pool and started washing his hands, saying, "Everyone, the restaurant is just ahead. You can freshen up here. I am a very casual person, but I'm worried that some of you may pay more attention to dining etiquette."

The mirror showed Lord Darl with a natural and gentle expression, just like himself.

Karun walked up with a smile and started washing his hands. The Karun in the mirror still had a smile on his face.

Lord Darl looked at Karun washing his hands and said with curiosity, "I originally thought you were pretending to be composed, but I didn't expect you to be truly calm."

Hmm? Is it because of that mirror?

"Maybe it's because I'm really hungry. You know, it's really difficult for us living people with flesh and blood bodies to find suitable food here."

"So, what do you think of this place?"

"It's quiet and comfortable. I think it's a great resort here, where you can relax and rest well."

"Rest?" Lord Darl smiled, "So, are you interested in staying here forever?"

"No, because I'm not at that age yet."

"Age, it comes quickly. In this world, the fastest thing is often time. Maybe when you wake up from a nap, you will be surprised that so many years have passed."

"I can't understand that feeling for now."

"If you could understand, would you still want to rest here?"

"I still wouldn't want to."

"Why?"

"Because I have a fiancée at home."

"That's good. Do you think she's thinking about you right now?"

"I think she's sleeping."

Bart walked up to wash his hands. In the mirror, he looked serious and extremely nervous. It could be seen that he was ready to fight at any moment.

Everyone was stunned by this sudden change. This mirror could actually reflect true emotions.

Bart was a little at a loss for a moment. He instinctively turned his head to look at his captain, Karun, who nodded and gestured for him to come over.

Then it was Aisley, Blanche, and others. When everyone washed their hands, there were no surprises in the mirror. All of them showed extremely nervous and cautious expressions.

No one was a fool. From entering the cave until now, what they saw and felt, as well as the increasing invisible pressure around them, had already made everyone highly alert and uneasy.

However, everyone had concealed it well before, whether it was the laughter during "feeding the fish" or the praise of the environment when passing through the underground beach, or the debate between Mas and Digat about whether this environment was a formation or a spell. They were all deliberately putting themselves in the mindset of "tourists".

Everything they saw on the surface seemed lively, but in essence, it was extremely serious."Let's eat, delicious food can make people feel happy and relaxed. You should learn from your captain. Look, he is not nervous or restrained at all, right?" Lord Darl said with a smile, then walked into the mist.

Karun watched Lord Darl's figure disappear and shook his head slightly. How could they be like him?

His lack of nervousness was not a pretense. Although he was aware of the dangerous situation here, their lives and the lives of his team members were all at the mercy of Lord Darl's whim. But this couldn't change the fact that when he came here, it felt like entering another kennel outside of his own.

Muri walked up to Karun and gestured for him to pay attention to the emotions of the team members behind him. "Everyone is starting to feel overwhelmed."

Muri didn't finish the second half of the sentence. Everyone entered here voluntarily, as if they were willingly throwing themselves into the tiger's den. This was because Lord Darl and what he presented far exceeded the level of a city lord.

However, Karun didn't mind because he believed that the team members would continue to cooperate obediently at this time. No one dared to be passive or negligent at this moment.

The strong external pressure temporarily suppressed any disharmony within the team. After all, they were all adults. Who wouldn't put on a brave smile?

Walking into the mist, there was a pitch-black surrounding environment and an extremely white ground beneath their feet. The black represented the surrounding environment, as if all unnecessary brightness had been sucked away. The white was the position they were standing on, which turned out to be a white skeleton.

The skeleton extended from under their feet and took the form of a dragon's skeleton. The location of the restaurant was in the dragon's belly.

After everyone entered, they were all shocked by the scene before them.

Eisley reached out and touched the white bone beside her, saying, "It's a young water dragon."

Mas also spoke, "The skeleton is well-preserved, and the power of water attributes has been sealed inside the bones. It was deliberately made as a specimen."

Pasio said, "This thing is rare now, right?"

Eisley replied, "I heard my father say that only the Sea God Sect in the previous era raised purebred ones. After the Sea God Sect collapsed, there were basically no more purebred water dragons. There are only subspecies in my father's research institute."

Standing in front of the dining table under the rib cage, Lord Darl opened his arms and smiled, "Welcome to the restaurant. I hope you like the decoration style of my restaurant."

"Captain, who do you think he really is?" Bart asked Karun in a low voice.

Karun shook his head and said, "I don't know."

At Lord Darl's invitation, everyone took their seats.

There was a long table, with Lord Darl sitting at one end. Everyone thought Karun would sit at the other end, but Karun sat next to Lord Darl on his right, and Muri sat opposite Karun.

Lord Darl clapped his hands and ordered, "Let's start serving the dishes."

The first dish was sashimi.

Each person had a piece of crystal-clear food in front of them, resembling crystal shrimp but with a completely different shape from shrimp.

"Please enjoy."

Karun used a fork to put the sashimi into his mouth. It was rich and juicy, melting in his mouth.

The team members were all waiting for the captain's evaluation. It had become their habit during this period of time.

Karun nodded and said, "It's delicious."

Everyone immediately started eating and their faces showed expressions of enjoyment.

The second dish was fried pork chop. It wasn't fried for too long, but when it was cut open, the meat inside was extremely tender and juicy. The crispy outer layer and the tender inside formed the perfect stimulation for the taste buds.

"It's delicious."

It could be seen that Lord Darl really invited everyone to eat. He had no interest in tampering with the food or disgusting people with it.

Dish after dish was served. The cooking methods were actually quite simple and not complicated at all, but the ingredients were fresh and high-end, which was in line with Karun's usual eating habits.

However, Karun also knew that once he left here, he wouldn't be able to eat these dishes. He couldn't afford the ingredients at all.

But he didn't feel discouraged because of this. Although Lord Darl was still enthusiastically hosting everyone for dinner and enjoying the delicious food together, his true self, well, couldn't afford such high-standard dishes now either.

Good food was indeed the best remedy for relieving stress and soothing emotions. Although everyone still had unknown anxieties deep down about the environment they were in, it was much better than before. They had the mentality of having a good meal before dying, which wasn't considered a loss.

Finally, dessert was served. Surprisingly, it was brought over by 12 guards, each carrying a bowl. After placing the dessert down, each guard stood behind a team member.

At this moment, the atmosphere became tense again.

Lord Darl smiled and said, "I have always been full of respect for the God of Order. I can say that if it weren't for some special reasons, I would be the most devout believer of the God of Order."

Karun thought to himself, "Are the special reasons that you have become a god yourself?"

"But I am used to worshiping and echoing some of the habits of the Order God in my daily life, such as these 12 people who are my most trusted and outstanding subordinates. Twelve people, not too many or too few, should be in line with your aesthetic sense of order, right?"Karun responded, "Yes, 12 has always had a special meaning in my sect."

"Well, I know. Sometimes it's quite interesting. I can't help but want to collect things that add up to the number 12. It feels regretful if I can't. But to strictly adhere to the standards of 1, 2, 3 from the beginning and continue until the 12th, it's a headache and feels endless."

"You're right," Karun agreed, understanding the feeling.

Only two out of the twelve coffins he placed in the Allen Manor have been filled. He wondered how long it would take to fill the rest.

It's difficult to find the right person, and even more difficult to find the right dead person.

"Are all of you auspicious? Have you found your contract partners?" Lord Dar asked.

Karun replied, "Most of us have already signed contracts."

"Oh, really? That's a pity," Lord Dar said with some regret. "So, is there anyone left who hasn't signed a contract?"

Karun was slightly surprised. Judging from the context, was Lord Dar also planning to sign a contract?

But the problem was, Lord Dar was a spiritual imprint, not a complete soul, let alone the original self.

However, Karun couldn't help but think of Gaitanbert and Phanetes. After countless years, their souls had undergone tremendous changes, to the point where they were almost different from their original selves.

So, was the spiritual imprint left by Lord Dar no longer a pure spiritual imprint?

After all, it was something left by a god. If there were no abnormalities, that would be the biggest abnormality.

Muri stood up and said, "I'm the only one who hasn't signed a soul contract."

He intentionally diverted attention away from Karun. It wasn't because Muri wanted to show off, but because everyone present knew that the lord who invited them to dinner was not an easy person to get along with. So Muri planned to bear the risk alone, as a way to protect Karun as much as he could.

"I see. Then you should hurry up and find someone," Lord Dar said.

"Okay, I will."

The topic didn't continue, and Lord Dar asked, "Is it chaotic outside now?"

Karun answered, "Yes, the Wall God Rilisar has awakened. We had to come here and seek your protection because the Wall God was sealed and suppressed by our Order God. So the Wall God probably doesn't like people from our Order God's sect."

Lord Dar laughed and said, "No, no, the Wall God wouldn't be so petty."

As gods themselves, they understood each other.

Gods weren't interested in specifically causing trouble for young people. It was like having a grudge between two adults, and then one person sneaking into the other person's yard at night to step on an ant as revenge.

Muri spoke up, "We originally thought that the gods wouldn't do such things, but the fact is that we are being hunted down."

Lord Dar said, "I think you should investigate the reasons further. There must be specific reasons. It can't be so vague."

Karun was about to change the topic when Lord Dar suddenly tapped his own forehead and said, "Someone, take the guests to another place for a tour. I'm sorry, everyone, I have some personal matters to attend to."

After speaking, Lord Dar stood up and left the table, disappearing when he reached the location of the water dragon's skull.

Several guards came over and led everyone out of the dining room to other places underground. Surprisingly, there was even a library.

Everyone became excited. With so much foreshadowing, they had high expectations for the library.

But after searching, they found that there were no books on magic or formations in the large library. There were only various types of literature.

At this moment, a guard approached Karun and said, "Our lord wants to see you alone."

Upon hearing this, everyone gathered around. Karun raised his hand, signaling his subordinates not to panic, and reassured them, "It's okay, I'll go alone."

Led by the guard, Karun turned two corners and entered a place that resembled an office, but this office had a high ceiling and no roof.

When Karun was brought in, Lord Dar was wiping his mouth, and his soul aura was fluctuating.

"Do you know? I've always envied you for being able to have a complete body and soul. In this world, a healthy person can never truly understand the pain of a disabled person."

"Is there something wrong with your body?"

"Hehehe." Lord Dar laughed. "Karun, do you want to continue acting with me?"

Karun fell silent upon hearing this.

"From the beginning, 'the eyes are the windows to the soul,' to the statue of Mills and several conversations afterwards, every one of your reactions, whether active or passive, has followed the rhythm in my heart."

Oh~

You tell me, can there be such coincidences in this world?"

Karun shook his head.

"You see, you know there can't be. Is it because you were too nervous that you hurriedly and deliberately did so much?"

"Before answering that question, I'd like to ask you, what were your plans for us when you met us?"

"I need to continue completing myself. The current me, despite having undergone many changes, is still not enough, far from enough.

So, I will extract your souls and bodies one by one, then reassemble them, especially your bodies. I want to thoroughly remodel them, and in the end, choose the best one to inhabit.

To me, you are experimental materials that have delivered yourselves to my doorstep.

Karun responded, "Yes, our current situation is such that we die if we stay outside the valley, and if we enter the valley without deliberately arousing your suspicion, we will still end up dead. It's better to intentionally arouse your suspicion, which gives us the opportunity to speak with you alone."

"Karun, my true self, has awakened, hasn't it?"

"Mm."

"Hehe, I understand now, I know now, and I'm even more certain."

After stretching lazily, Lord Dar pointed at Karun and continued with a smile:

"You're just a dog of my true self."

(End of Chapter)