More than two hundred soldiers climbed the magnificent and wide staircase, reaching the top of the platform.
The top of the platform was an extremely grand and flat square, such a marvelous structure inevitably had ties to the divine and the extraordinary.
As Lin Rui stepped onto the top of the platform, he noticed two armies fiercely battling in the middle of the square.
More precisely, the human army was desperately defending the gates of a palace, preventing the red humanoid monsters from breaking through.
While Lin Rui was assessing the situation, a towering human commander, over two meters tall and wielding a massive square warhammer, approached with a team of thirteen men, each around two meters tall, exuding an overwhelming presence.
"The Lord of the Golden Pansy Domain?" the warhammer-wielding human commander asked.
Lin Rui attempted to access his Attribute Panel.
[Fanatic Commander: Warren Otaff]
[Evaluation: Extremely Dangerous (Blood Red)]
Seeing the words "Extremely Dangerous" as if they were dripping in crimson blood.
Lin Rui immediately adjusted his attitude to be exceedingly proper, more courteous than he would be to the Goddess, and said with a smile, "I am Lin Rui: Golden Pansy, Lord of the Golden Pansy Domain, at your service."
Warren’s face held a hint of mockery as he said, "So the Lord of the Golden Pansy Clan finally dares to ascend this high platform? Usually, a mere glance from the stairs has you fleeing in terror."
If the words "Extremely Dangerous" were in my face, of course I would run too!
The former Lords of the Golden Pansy couldn’t even defeat a Tier One Magical Beast. If they didn’t run, would they just be throwing their lives away in such a dangerous place?
Lin Rui’s face was full of smiles, and he politely said, "I just came up to take a look. I suddenly remembered, my cat is about to have kittens, so I must quickly go back to check."
"Cat? Impossible, I love cats the most. If there were any in the territory, I would have noticed." Audrey resolutely interjected, with absolute certainty, "Lord, you must be mistaken."
Faced with Warren’s mocking gaze, Lin Rui’s expression did not change at all, and he said earnestly, "Yes, look at my memory, it’s my dog who’s about to have puppies."
"That’s even less likely. If there were a female dog in the territory, Fur Ball would have already been all over it. So Lord, you must be mistaken again!" Audrey’s face showed a look of pride, feeling proud of her astute observation.
Lin Rui closed his eyes in exasperation, taking a deep breath, telling himself that he couldn’t stoop to the level of fools. These were the troops he had recruited, and no matter what chaos they caused, he had to accept it.
Warren said, "Do you have any other females about to give birth at home? If not, then face your destiny. Will the Golden Pansy Clan always evade, living as parasitic leeches on the Empire?"
Lin Rui wanted to say there was an eagle at home about to hold a funeral. But he was afraid if he said it, Warren would hold a funeral for him first.
So he could only say in earnest, "Oh? Destiny, is it? I’ve always been a warrior who faces destiny. The Evil God is corrupting this world, the Barbarian Warband is slaughtering everywhere, countless people are struggling on the edge of life and death. How can I focus on two female creatures’ mating issues? May I ask if there is something I can assist you with?"
Warren was dumbfounded by Lin Rui’s shameless nonsense, his mind momentarily blank before it cleared, and he said, "This relic was established to seal the space rift here, to resist the Evil God’s invasion, to prevent the spread of Chaos."
"It is meant to protect the entire Empire, but undoubtedly the Golden Pansy Clan benefits the most. Without it, an endless army of Evil Gods would emerge from the space rift, obliterating the Golden Pansy Clan. Yet, the Golden Pansy Clan has always evaded responsibility, content to bask under the Empire’s protective shadow and enjoy rewards without contribution."
In that case, the Golden Pansy Clan’s behavior over the generations has indeed been somewhat improper.
Lin Rui earnestly asked, "But without the Golden Pansy Clan, the Empire wouldn’t care for this space rift?"
Warren was instantly at a loss, staring wide-eyed at Lin Rui.
Lin Rui also stared at Warren, full of momentum, and asked, "Shall I leave? Or move the Golden Pansy Territory away too? After all, there are only twenty or so houses outside."
Warren’s rising momentum instantly faltered, and even appeared somewhat scattered.
Having deftly handled this muscle-brained giant, Lin Rui satisfactorily asked, "How do you keep restocking your forces while resisting Chaos here?"
Seeing the number of fallen human soldiers outside, the war against the Chaos Evil God can’t be without casualties, so how have they persisted?
Warren asked, "What do you think is the best way to combat the space rift?"
"Seal it?" Lin Rui asked.
Warren, seething, grumbled, "If it could be sealed, we’d have done it long ago. Do you think we’d wait until now? That is a loophole in the Space Law, one that even an Evil God can only exploit without expanding. How do you expect us to seal it?"
"No need for such temper, old man. You asked for the best method; naturally, I gave the best answer. If you can’t achieve it, you can’t blame me." Lin Rui clapped his hands together, shrugged, wearing an innocent expression.
Warren’s eyebrows twitched in anger, feeling this generation’s Lord of the Golden Pansy Clan was entirely different from past ones. Holding back his anger, he said, "Just like the best way to counter Divine Power is with another Divine Power, the best way to combat a space rift is with another teleportation device."
"What do you think of the saying ’resist soldiers with generals, and water with earth’?"