The two stared at each other for a while, with Pride instinctively releasing his overwhelming authoritative aura, the pressure bearing down like a physical force.
Yet Xie Antong appeared completely unfazed, showing no significant emotional reaction.
Hmm?
Did she take some kind of drug just now?
Lu Ce wondered silently.
"What if I refuse to return it?"
"That's perfectly fine." Xie Antong lowered her eyes slightly. "Then it just means you're using force to keep what doesn't belong to you."
Pride: "......"
Logically, this made sense—everything in the world existed for his taking, and seizing whatever he wanted was his natural right.
The crux was—he hadn't seized the item by force initially. He'd explicitly borrowed it, promising to return it during this game session.
This left Pride, who valued face above all else, trapped in an awkward position where backing down felt impossible.
Outright plundering? Acceptable.
Breaking a borrowing promise? Mmm... not quite as acceptable.
His golden mask creased at the brow as he stared down at Xie Antong in prolonged silence.
[Wait, why the infighting? They were cooperating fine earlier—what's happening?]
[Don't provoke Sin! This guy clearly has no team spirit—what if he snaps?]
[Weren't they getting along earlier? What's their actual relationship off-camera?]
The audience grew increasingly concerned, some even strategizing ways to help Blank.
Even the princess watching nearby frowned anxiously.
Given the choice, she naturally preferred the girl between these two.
She debated whether to intervene.
After the prolonged silence, Pride raised a single finger.
The princess and guards tensed at the gesture—yet the helmeted girl remained utterly composed.
"It's here."
Lu Ce pointed the raised finger at his own chest.
Truthfully, he'd prepared for this scenario since the game's very beginning.
Ever since donning the mask, outmaneuvering himself had become routine training.
"I'll return what I took—consider it a debt owed."
"Name your price."
"But you'd do well... to watch your tone with me."
Xie Antong glanced at his chest and nodded.
"Okay."
She turned to leave immediately—but the moment her back faced him, her lips curled upward.
She knew it.
The person she'd chosen would never be fully controlled by that mask!
......
The surface conflict dissipated as abruptly as it began, leaving the princess bewildered. After glancing between them, she remained silent.
With the world's timeline accelerated, twelve hours vanished instantly, necessitating fresh preparations.
All servants disappeared—night had fallen, demanding rest.
Guards scrambled to make arrangements.
Lu Ce obviously couldn't share quarters with a bride-to-be princess. After brief negotiations, the castle offered an exceptionally grand chamber—likely reserved for foreign emissaries.
He declined, unwilling to waste energy on trivial negotiations.
Discovering the "God's" involvement in this game had electrified him.
He spent the night stargazing from the palace's white jade rooftop.
Notably—
Lu Ce's original servant quarters remained empty. Despite turning the palace upside down, guards never found the mysteriously vanished attendant.
In the dungeon, Sun remained shackled by massive magic-suppressing chains, limbs encased in metal—yet offered no resistance.
Almost as if... waiting.
......
Dawn arrived swiftly. As first light touched the horizon, swarms of bizarre creatures soared over distant mountains toward the palace.
Lu Ce narrowed his eyes at the unfamiliar beasts.
If forced to categorize them... perhaps "griffins"?
Armored warriors packed each griffin's back. One glance told Lu Ce their combat prowess...
Pathetically weak!
(At least by Pride's standards—these fighters actually ranked among elite players.)
His gaze swiftly locked onto a lavishly dressed figure at the formation's center.
The two of them were up in the air, and they even looked each other in the eye for a moment
Below the mountain, crowds gathered for the wedding ceremony knelt en masse as the griffin fleet approached.
"The Divine Son!"
"The Divine Son comes!"
But as worship began, people abruptly noticed the discrepancy—
What Divine Son?
Wasn't the Divine Son already standing atop the palace?
Heads swiveled toward the palace summit, where Lu Ce remained—now stepping forward.
The rising sun gilded his silhouette, casting him once more as the golden-radiant deity from yesterday.
Identical divine aura.
Instant confusion paralyzed the crowd into stunned silence.
Which one was real?
......
"That's the one?"
In the princess' chambers—where Xie Antong had re-entered—she pointed at the griffin fleet outside.
With servant timelines altered, the princess claimed her schedule needed adjusting to match the accelerated world time.
Thus she'd bypassed guard scrutiny.
For reasons unclear, Xie Antong now enjoyed "exclusive favor."
While Xie Antong couldn't identify the key figure among griffin riders, the princess recognized him instantly.
"Yes."
"Your beloved? Does he look the same?" Xie Antong probed.
"Yes." The princess' eyes glazed with sudden bliss. "His face... has been engraved in my heart for years."
Xie Antong: "......"
Even facial memories rewritten? Tch—was her theory correct?
"Could it actually be... body theft?..."
As she murmured this, the entire castle quaked violently again!
"Could you please stop saying such things randomly?" The princess winced, turning back.
"Before that lunatic barges in here again."