Reborn with Steve Stand

Chapter 729: Hilder

"… I'll choose this middle sword."

Lotus pondered briefly but quickly made his decision.

Among the three weapons Fang Mo laid on the ground, the dagger was too small, and the broad-bladed greatsword was obviously too heavy, not something a human could wield. So, Lotus slowly extended a tentacle, pointing to the Ender Greatsword in front of Fang Mo.

However, to his surprise.

Fang Mo shook his head and said, "Sorry, this is the greatsword."

"Huh?"

Lotus was visibly taken aback.

"This one." Fang Mo pointed to the Ender Dagger with a deliberately calm tone and said, "This one is the medium sword."

"Aren't these three swords large, medium, and small?" Lotus couldn't help but ask, pointing with his tentacle to the Ender Greatsword in the medium. "Then I'll take the one in the middle of these three..."

"…"

Upon hearing this, Lotus fell silent.

He was starting to suspect that Fang Mo was playing with him.

If it were anyone else, Lotus would have lost his temper long ago; after all, he was one of the Thirteen Apostles. But the problem was that he really couldn't afford to provoke the person in front of him. Not to mention his current weakened state, even at his peak, he would be no match for the opponent, whose mental and physical strength were absurdly strong. When the opponent first boarded the Behemoth Beast, Lotus nearly died just from probing him with his mental power.

That vast, ocean-like willpower.

It almost made Lotus think he was facing an entire world.

And then the opponent's light cannon nearly pierced through the entire spine of the Behemoth Beast.

If the angle had been slightly lower, Lotus estimated that he and the Second Spinal Temple would have been vaporized by that light cannon.

"Then…"

After hesitating for a long time.

Finally, his survival instinct forced him to make a difficult choice: "Then... the greatsword it is."

"Huh, are you sure you don't want to insist a bit more?"

But Fang Mo looked visibly disappointed after hearing this.

"What are you saying?"

Lotus was a bit confused by the other's words.

"He wants you to slap yourself twice," said Xiao Yao, unable to bear watching any longer. "Ignore him, just dive in."

"This... alright."

Lotus was really puzzled, but now didn't seem like the time to ask questions, so he extended a tentacle to wrap around the Ender Greatsword.

After all, Lotus was an apostle, and his comprehension was very high. He quickly figured out the basic usage of the Ender Greatsword. His massive body forced its way into the sword, and with a flash of black light, the appearance of the Ender Greatsword changed.

The originally dark green metal blade twisted into something resembling a living creature.

Rather than a sword, it was more like a spirally twisted whip with barbs.

Yes, the blade of the sword was actually soft, similar to Lotus's tentacles. At the hilt, where the blade met the handle, was a triangular bone guard with a large eyeball in the center and four smaller compound eyes around it.

And the handle.

It was carved and polished from a whole piece of bone.

"Hmm? This weapon..."

Fang Mo couldn't help but be fascinated by the ever-changing nature of the Tinker' Construct weapon. This Apostle's sword was no exception, instantly capturing his attention.

He raised his hand to summon it.

The weapon flew into his hand instantly.

Fang Mo weighed the sword in his hand, looking around as if he was searching for something.

"You..."

With Apostle Lotus gone, the Summon seemed less scared and curiously asked, "… What are you looking for?"

"Alright, you'll do."

Fang Mo suddenly focused on Sermentek.

The dark elf, unaware of the danger, was idling nearby when, in the next second, a gust of wind hit him. Fang Mo's long whip blurred into a shadow and struck Sermentek.

"Get to work!"

With a loud bang, Fang Mo's shout resonated.

In the next second, Sermentek exploded, dark elemental energy spraying everywhere.

"Ah!"

Summon screamed, "What are you doing!?"

"Uh, a mistake."

Fang Mo scratched his head, "I just meant to scold it into working, but I used too much force and killed it."

"You just wanted to kill it."

Summon couldn't help but say, "Does Sermentek's life not matter to you?"

"Emmm..."

Fang Mo pondered briefly, but soon noticed the summoned creatures watching him. He quickly said, "Hey! This move is called killing the chicken to scare the monkey. If anyone dares to be disloyal to you, I'll give them a whip too!"

"Loyal! We're absolutely loyal!"

The puppet master Dogrie started trembling in fear.

Not only the summoned creatures, even the Flame Giant Surtur nearby was shivering, not fearing the whip but the sealing sword itself.

"I see how it is."

But the Summon's face darkened, "You're just looking for trouble, aren't you?"

"I..."

"Alright, stop fooling around."

Before Fang Mo could say more, Xiao Yao interrupted him: "Now that we've cleared the Second Spinal Temple, what's your plan? Leave now? Or shall we explore the Forbidden Zone together?"

"The Forbidden Zone?"

Summon asked curiously, "What's the Forbidden Zone?"

"The Behemoth Forbidden Zone, inside the belly of this giant whale," Xiao Yao explained, "It's said a secret GBL squad is hiding there, with a guy named Marcel planning to take revenge on Lotus."

"In the belly of the Behemoth Beast?"

Summon was astonished, "Hiding there... won't they be digested?"

"I'm curious about that too." Xiao Yao blinked, "Maybe it's a magical creature with a different internal structure. Anyway, want to check it out?"

She was clearly asking Fang Mo.

"The Forbidden Zone, huh?"

Fang Mo instinctively touched his chin. In fact, his goal in coming here was solely to deal with the Apostles. As for the so-called Forbidden Land of the Behemoth, to be honest, he wasn't particularly interested. However, since his little partner rarely made a request, he didn't want to dampen her spirits.

Thinking of this, Fang Mo spoke up, "Then let's go…"

But before he could finish his sentence.

The space in front of them suddenly trembled violently. Accompanied by a crisp cracking sound, a rift in the dimension slowly opened, revealing a vague black figure inside.

At the same time, a calm and gentle female voice rang out.

"Your Excellency, please stay."

"Hmm?"

Fang Mo looked up and, the next second, he frowned.

Because standing before him was a woman with half of her face covered by a mask. She had delicate features and pointed ears, indicating she was likely from the Demon World. Her attire was revealing, but she wore a luxurious black cloak adorned with numerous black feathers.

"He... He..."

Seeing this, the Summoner was stunned, "Lady Hilder!?"

Yes, the person before them was none other than the Second Apostle, Hilder the Crying Eye, the Progenitor of Magic, whom Fang Mo often mentioned.

She was also the culprit behind the phenomenon of the Arad Continent's shift.

The instigator of the plan to eliminate the Apostles.

But unlike the little Demon who was in shock, Fang Mo smiled when he saw her, "So, you really dared to confront me face-to-face?"

"Your Excellency seems to know me?"

Hilder's tone was calm, and she did not step out of the dimensional rift but continued speaking from the other side, "But I know nothing about you."

"It doesn't matter. You don't need to know much."

Fang Mo shook his head, his tone clearly very rude, "You just need to know that I am here to deal with you."

"Do I bear any grudge against Your Excellency?"

Hilder asked, "So why do you harbor such hostility towards me? If I have infringed upon your interests somewhere, I can apologize..."

"Then let me ask you a question."

Hearing this, Fang Mo retorted directly, "If I were to turn the Demon World to ashes and then apologize, would you forgive me?"

"…"

Hearing this, Hilder unexpectedly fell silent.

"I see."

Soon, Hilder's tone changed, as if the previous gentleness was an act. Her entire demeanor turned exceptionally cold, "It seems... you know quite a lot."

"I also know you were one of the scientists on Empyrean."

Fang Mo stroked the tentacle sword in his hand, which had been vibrating furiously since Hilder appeared, as if expressing its own anger.

"If you truly know all this, you would know I am saving the Demon World."

Hilder said coldly.

"I know."

Fang Mo spread his hands calmly, "But what does saving the Demon World have to do with me wanting to catch a few Apostles to work for me?"

"These Apostles are evil beings." Hilder said, "They bring only more suffering by residing in the Demon World."

"Sirocco and Anton consume the energy from the Geocenter, depleting the Demon World's energy. Bakal launched the Dragon War to seize the Water of Life, causing countless people to become homeless. Cain and Isys' mutual conflict resulted in massive destruction. Delezie occupies the entire northern region, and its pathogens have caused significant casualties in the Demon World..."

Hilder looked at Fang Mo and spoke slowly, "Aren't they evil?"

"It's a pity you aren't defending the fairies." Fang Mo laughed at her words, "Sirocco and Anton need energy to survive, just as humans need food. Bakal wanted to seize the Water of Life that you released, and as for Delezie... that's even more ridiculous."

"It was originally a sentient pathogen that voluntarily isolated itself in a desolate place to avoid harming others. Yet, in your mouth, it becomes a heinous villain."

"And based on the current timeline, Delezie should have been transferred to the Arad Continent, right? After being transferred, North Myre has indeed become a living hell. So, let me ask you, did Delezie go there willingly? Wasn't it forcibly transferred by you? Who is the real villain here?"

"You…"

Hilder's face changed slightly upon hearing this.

"After being transferred twice, Delezie was severely injured and very weak. Its first thought wasn't to seek revenge but to stay put to prevent its toxins from spreading."

"And what did you do?"

"You deceived adventurers into thinking Delezie was the source of all evil, and that killing it would end the plague. But can you tell them how Delezie came to the Arad Continent?"

Hilder fell silent again upon hearing this.

However, she soon spoke again.

"So... Do you think I am wrong?" Hilder said calmly, "I just want to revive the Demon World. This is the dream of countless Demon World inhabitants. If sacrificing a few Apostles can achieve this, I believe many Demon World people would agree. You say the Apostles are not evil, but in your eyes, does that make me evil for wanting to revive the Demon World?"

"Hahaha!!!"

However, just as Hilder finished speaking, Fang Mo suddenly laughed.

"What are you laughing at?"

Hilder was clearly puzzled.

"He is laughing at you for reasoning with someone like him." The speaker was Xiao Yao beside him, who obviously didn't like Hilder much, speaking in a cold tone.

"What?"

Hilder didn't quite understand what she meant.

"Sorry, I just found you amusing."

Fang Mo laughed twice and then said, "Someone like me has seen plenty of moral dilemmas like the trolley problem, so do you think I am someone who would save everyone?"

"What do you mean?"

Hilder frowned and asked.

"Simple, I help whoever I like." Fang Mo smiled, "So, I'll give you a chance. I'll count to three. If you kneel before me and kowtow three times, begging me to save the Demon World, I'll rebuild Terra for you."

"Do you think I would believe you?"

Hilder sneered without a second thought, "I will save the Demon World in my own way, without anyone's help."

"Alright, alright."

Fang Mo laughed and then raised the sword in his hand, "See this? Lotus is in my hand. I can tell you clearly, I am here for fun. Once I get bored, I will leave with them, and you will never be able to kill them and fulfill your prophecy."

"You…"

"Go ahead, Hilder. From now on, entertain me with your desperate struggle."

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