Chapter 1 The Sailing

After the Eternal Night Emperor ship left Mafa, it went straight to Luying.

Now that there are no combat zones, sea travel is much more convenient.

Suren obtained the Gusmao airship that Yekaterina had promised him in Jialangte Port, north of Luying.

With this airship as a base, the completion time for retrofitting the [Sky Fortress] will be greatly shortened.

Then the Eternal Night sailed all the way northwest.

Even when passing through the Luying Empire, Suren ultimately didn't meet with the Emperor or Yekaterina to ask about the news of him unknowingly becoming a father.

But there was nothing to ask; she had already said what needed to be said before.

Suren just felt that even if he met her, there didn't seem to be anything to say.

Yekaterina after becoming Empress made him feel more and more estranged. She was ultimately becoming more and more different from the Katyusha who had poetry and distant places in her eyes.

He felt he needed some time to settle his thoughts.

And so, the Eternal Night sailed west.

...

On this day, the weather was clear.

On the mast, Dora sat blowing the sea breeze, gazing into the distance.

On the deck, the Dawn Troupe, as usual, dueled, played cards, fished, and bragged...

Although the days of sailing were monotonous, they were always full of laughter.

Dora liked this atmosphere very much.

She originally thought that the pirate crew in this Dawn organization was no different from other pirate crews. But after joining, she realized that wasn't this the ideal team she had dreamed of to sail to the ends of the world, besides becoming a "Mechanical Life"?

These days, her job was to help retrofit the Eternal Night's cannon system, and she quickly integrated into this new team.

She found that everyone in the Dawn Troupe was very easy to get along with.

No one looked at her with strange eyes because she was once a Mafa colonel and the granddaughter of the Navy Grand Admiral.

On the contrary, without any status, without any military missions to bear, living as a free adventurer, Dora felt very relaxed.

After becoming optimistic and cheerful, she also got to know many people.

"Second Strongest Warrior" Barrett, "First Navigator" Tani, "First Angler" Leicht, "Second Swordsman" Captain Black Feather, "First Glutton"...

As for why the combat-related ones were always second, it was because the first were the two leaders of the group, Suren and Chitiao.

Dora only learned after boarding the ship that Suren and Chitiao had a very special relationship...

She also learned that the female warrior with the golden seraph wings was called "Number Nineteen," the strongest super-mechanical warrior of the former Old Donton underground city in Duke Raphael's secret experimental base.

As Dora dreamed of becoming a Mechanical Life, she quickly became familiar with Number Nineteen and became friends.

The two had many common topics, about life and mechanical technology.

In just a few days, Dora felt that everything was better than expected.

Only occasionally, she would, like now, sit on the mast looking at the sea, looking back at the direction of the Mafa Empire.

Although the powerful empire still existed for the moment, it was about to cease to exist.

Her teacher deduced that the empire was destined to collapse and made the most reasonable arrangements in advance.

Dora had no doubt about this.

As a former professional soldier, her heart was filled with mixed feelings, as if she no longer had a "country" and a goal to strive for.

But also somewhat contradictory.

Now...

She seemed to like her current life a little.

Her mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts.

Suddenly, a person came into view.

Dora looked down, and murmured softly to herself, "Why is this guy willing to come out?"

Everything was fine after boarding the ship.

But what surprised her slightly was that she could never see Suren.

Even during meals, it was rare to see him once every few days.

When asked, everyone was used to it, because everyone knew that "Mr. Suren" must be cultivating.

Traditional professionals do need a lot of time for cultivation.

Dora also admired him a little. The fact that that guy was so strong certainly had its reasons.

The mechanical laboratory was near the captain's room. She had also observed it occasionally when passing by. The room would often overflow with terrifying energy that made one's heart palpitate.

As a result, she confirmed that this guy was holed up in the room cultivating, not doing anything strange.

But now, he was actually willing to come out?

Just as her thoughts were wandering, she watched the guy look up and greet her, "Miss Dora, I'm going out for a while."

Dora instinctively responded, "Oh."

At this moment, Lolota on the lookout platform above also greeted with a smile, as if guessing where he was going, and said without any politeness, "Mr. Suren, are you going to the Silent Forest? If possible, it would be even better if you could bring some fruit. I miss Blizzard City's 'Bilberry' the most~"

The guy smiled, "Okay."

Looking again, with a flash of spatial fluctuations, the whole person had disappeared from the deck.

Dora knew that Lolota was Chitiao's disciple and also a very powerful swordsman.

She just didn't expect that Suren, this murderous fellow, would be so easy to talk to, as if he was kind to everyone.

Although she always found that smile hateful.

Just as she looked up, Lolota above saw her and grinned, revealing her white teeth, "Hello, Miss Dora."

Dora responded with a smile, "Lolota, you've been up there all day, aren't you tired?"

"Even if I'm tired, I have to persevere. My teacher told me to listen to the wind and practice my sword, to comprehend my own Overlord Qi."

As Lolota spoke, she jumped down with her sword, landed on the mast, and said, "I've also been watching Miss Dora on the mast for a long time. Are you not adapting to the sailing life?"

She also liked this new member who retrofitted the Eternal Night's cannon and anti-ship system. Everyone liked her very much.

That set of top-notch technology cannon system had increased the Eternal Night's naval combat capabilities tenfold. This was a "technical staff" who greatly increased the Dawn Troupe's strength!

Everyone said that they should care more about this new partner that Mr. Suren had finally recruited.

Dora smiled and replied, "No. I just want to feel the breeze."

She instantly restrained the strange look in her eyes and casually asked, "Is that guy going to Blizzard City?"

Lolota heard her address, rolled her eyes, and smiled, "Yes. No, to be precise, Mr. Suren is going to the Silent Forest."

Dora looked at the coastline piercing out of her vision and knew that this was approaching the northern ice tundra area, and asked curiously, "Silent Forest?"

What was worth that guy making a special trip for?

Lolota smiled mysteriously, "Because Mr. Suren has a Daru friend in the Silent Forest. He's probably going to visit that friend."

"Good friend?"

Dora had also heard of the Daru.

In the past, Luying's slave trade was very developed, and Demi-humans with beast features were the most popular slaves.

Lolota had a teasing expression on her face, "That's right, a Daru friend."

Because of her teacher's relationship, she and Suren were already very familiar, and she wouldn't hide it, teasing generously, "I asked my teacher, and she said that Mr. Suren has a White Wolf friend. And a very beautiful one at that~"

"Heh..."

Dora rolled her eyes slightly when she heard this.

So that was the reason.

She suddenly thought of the newly enthroned Empress Yekaterina of Luying.

Wasn't it enough to have a wife hailed as "Luying's most beautiful woman"?

...

Suren teleported several times in succession, instantly moving from the sea dozens of nautical miles away to Blizzard City.

He looked down at the city from high altitude, and some scenes flashed through his mind.

It was here that he met Katyusha, who would get drunk after drinking, and also rescued Yuta, who was being sold as a slave.

Calculating the time, it had already been several years.

At that time, he was just a third-tier beginner professional, and now, in a blink of an eye, he was a seventh-tier top professional.

Since Mr. Mirror announced that the Silent Forest had her protection, no large slave groups from Luying dared to come here anymore.

After the slave trade declined, Blizzard City also declined.

There were few pedestrians in the city. Most of the stores were also closed.

Suren took a few glances and didn't stay any longer, teleporting again towards the forest.

Probably because few people were active, the trees in the Silent Forest were even more luxuriant than when he had last been here several years ago.

When passing by the outskirts of the forest, he also sensed some adventurers hunting magical beasts, but there were no longer those rampant large slave-hunting groups.

Moreover, in the middle layer of the forest, the shadows of Daru tribe settlements could gradually be seen.

Suren teleported all the way towards the Emerald Sanctuary.

The journey that originally would have taken ten days to half a month was reduced to a quarter of an hour, and he saw the sinkhole that looked like an emerald jade inlaid in the snow.

Standing on the cliff edge of the waterfall where he and Yuta had once entered the sanctuary, Suren saw the giant gray elm in the distance.

With the blessing of the gods, the Daru's sacred tree had become even more luxuriant.

Suren gently stroked the wolf claw amulet that he had always hung on his waist, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, and he looked forward to reuniting with Yuta, muttering, "I wonder what Yuta is doing now..."

Since he finally had the opportunity to pass by, he naturally had to come and see.

...

However, just as Suren appeared on the edge of the cliff, a patrol of warriors in the forest immediately detected his aura.

"Aku, an outsider has come!"

"Hmm, I smell a very dangerous aura from him. The visitor is very strong! Miko, quickly notify the tribe. I'll keep an eye on him!"

"..."

Several figures whispered to each other in the forest for a few words and then scattered.

They were hiding very well, so that Suren didn't hear any movement at all.

However, in his soul perception, three sneaky fellows appeared clearly.

"Eh?"

Suren murmured softly, turning his face towards a direction in the forest.

His perception ability was extremely strong now, and the other party's strength was not weak if they could hide from him.

However, with this undisguised glance, the other party also knew that they had been discovered.

Suddenly, three figures rushed out like lightning.

Leading the way was a sturdy white wolf seven or eight meters long, with a tiger and a leopard beside him.

Not magical beasts, but beast-morph Daru.

It seemed that they intended to capture the "invader" first.

"What fast speed."

Suren glanced at the three figures, murmuring to himself.

But he didn't want to be pinned to the ground, so he raised his hand forward, and an invisible spatial barrier blocked in front of him.

Knowing that this was Daru territory, he didn't use offensive means.

The three figures came like the wind, and then it was like they had fallen into a mud pit. The surrounding air gradually became viscous, and the speed became slower and slower.

The three men's faces changed drastically, and they realized that the opponent's strength exceeded their imagination.

When the three approached Suren within five meters, they had already been controlled in mid-air.

The white wolf reacted the fastest, the fur on his body standing on end like silver needles. Suddenly, a burst of air erupted, pushing himself back, breaking free from the shackles of the [Spatial Imprisonment] spell.

"Eh?"

Suren looked over, slightly surprised.

Being able to break free from his current spell, his strength and combat ability were not weak.

Looking at the white wolf, who was somewhat familiar, he shouted softly, "Aku?"

As he spoke, he took off his hat.

The white wolf had just broken free and wanted to rescue his companions, but upon hearing someone call out his name, he fixed his eyes on the face revealed by the man taking off his hat, and responded in surprise, "Mr. Suren?"

This white wolf was none other than Yuta's younger brother, Aku.

Suren had thought he looked familiar before, but the soul fluctuations had changed too much, making him afraid to confirm it immediately.

Had that second-tier white wolf cub grown to have fifth-tier strength now?

What a big change.

Suren smiled slightly in response, nodded, and released the two Daru who had been controlled.

Looking at them, he had seen them both before. They were the Daru youths who used to be around Aku, and he remembered their names, Dahl and Umong.

The Daru have beast-morph bloodlines, and their maturation cycle is much shorter than humans. They can grow from childhood to youth in a few years.

The changes these past few years were indeed astonishing.

Aku also confirmed that the intruder in front of him was Suren, his face changing from caution to joy, and he cheered, "Mr. Suren, you're back!"

...

A few years ago, Suren not only saved Yuta and many Daru, but also brought the Daru out of desperation because of the arrival of him and Mr. Mirror, two "sworn ones."

For the Daru, Suren was a very special benefactor.

Aku shed his beast-morph form, trotted over, and said with excitement, "Wow... Mr. Suren, what is your strength? How can you be so strong?! I thought I had become strong enough in the past few years, but I didn't expect that I couldn't even last one move..."

His two tiger and leopard friends beside him also recognized Suren, echoing with shock, "Oh, if Mr. Suren hadn't held back just now, we would have been in trouble."

Having lost to Suren, they were not discouraged at all.

Suren smiled slightly, explaining a bit more, "I have advanced to the seventh tier."

It wasn't that they weren't strong enough, but that they were lacking two major tiers.

"Seventh tier?"

Aku's eyes lit up, and he said with emotion, "Mr. Suren is indeed very powerful."

As he spoke, he thought of something, and then got to the point, asking, "Mr. Suren, are you here to see my sister?"

"Yes."

Suren nodded.

Aku's expression was very excited, as if he couldn't wait to pass the news to his sister, saying, "I knew it... My sister said that you would definitely come again."

A faint smile appeared in the corner of Suren's eyes, and he asked, "Where is your sister?"

Aku said, "She's by the sacred tree. There's a very important sacrificial ceremony today. She's the tribe's Great Druid now and is responsible for the sacrifice."

As he spoke, he quickly said to his companions beside him, "Oh, Dahl, quickly go and notify the chieftain and my sister, say Mr. Suren is back!"

Suren waved his hand, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, "There's no need to make such a fuss. I can just go over."

"Ah...?"

Aku hesitated a little, "But... the tribesmen will definitely be very happy to know that Mr. Suren has come."

Suren didn't think of himself as too special, shaking his head and smiling, "It's fine like this."

Aku didn't say much when he saw him insisting.

The others still had to patrol, so he led Suren to the Emerald Sanctuary alone.

...

The sacrifice was a very sacred group activity for the Daru, and the people in the sanctuary had gathered under the sacred tree.

When Suren came, everyone was chanting hymns to the God of Nature piously.

The fragrance of elm petals filled the air.

He didn't disturb them, watching from a distance.

On the altar in the distance, a woman dressed in the Daru's ceremonial robes was performing a sacrificial dance. The sunlight poured down, making her silver hair especially dazzling. As if enveloped in a layer of holy light, she radiated holy brilliance and exuded transcendent beauty.

Yuta had also discovered him long ago.

When Suren looked over, her eyes also looked over, a sly smile secretly revealed in her solemn sacrificial face.

With just this one look at each other, the two instantly seemed to return to a few years ago, a sense of familiarity arising spontaneously.

Suren smiled brightly.

He stood under a tree, quietly watching the entire sacrifice to completion.

The Daru had also smelled the aura of an outsider long ago. They were also very surprised that a human suddenly visited the sanctuary.

Suren had stayed in the Emerald Sanctuary for a period of time, and the vast majority of the Daru knew him.

Even if they hadn't seen him, they had heard of him.

As soon as the sacrifice was completed, a group of people surrounded him enthusiastically, greeting him with a medley of voices.

"Mr. Suren is back!"

"Wow... Mr. Suren, long time no see."

"..."

Suren was surrounded by the crowd.

Aku was also saying how powerful Mr. Suren was now.

Wolf Granny and the Deer Chieftain invited Suren to the sacred treehouse, expressing their welcome and exchanging information about the Daru's changes over the years.

Because they could reconnect with the gods, the Daru were getting better and better.

Suren clearly sensed that there were more and more strong people in the sanctuary.

In the past, the strongest were only two sixth-tier Daru, but now there were already several seventh-tier ones.

Suren also shared the information about the plane invasion with the Deer Chieftain and the elders, reminding them to be more vigilant.

...

In the house, the magic lamp shone brightly.

The meeting ended in a solemn atmosphere.

Wolf Granny looked at Suren, smiling kindly, "Yuta, you accompany Suren for a walk in the forest. We old bones won't disturb you catching up. There will be a welcome dinner later, remember to come back."

The elders also smiled kindly.

Yuta: "Okay."

Watching the elders leave, her serious expression suddenly burst into a smile, and she jumped up to give Suren a warm hug: "Mr. Suren, I missed you so much."

Her lively and playful appearance was completely different from the solemn Great Druid just now.

Suren put his arms around her waist, also teasing, "You're a Great Druid now~"

The two seemed to have not seen each other for a long time, but it also seemed that they had just separated not long ago.

Embracing each other for a moment, that feeling of intimacy immediately surged up.

Yuta grinned, her eyes sparkling, excited and happy, "It seems like it's been a long time. Why did Mr. Suren only think of coming back to see me now?"

Suren thought about his experiences after his last departure and said, "It's a long story, a lot of things happened."

Yuta blinked, "Then shall we go for a walk in the forest, and talk as we walk?"

Suren said, "Okay."

The two left the treehouse and strolled in the woods.

Suren asked Yuta about her life these years, and her response was completed in a few words.

The duties of the Great Druid were very heavy. She shouldered the heavy burden of revitalizing the tribe, and she was also responsible for communicating with the great gods and training new Druids, hardly ever leaving the sanctuary.

"So, every day is spent like this in busyness..."

As Yuta spoke, she looked at Suren beside her, a happy smile hanging on her pretty face, "And then, suddenly Mr. Suren came back to see me... I'm really so happy!"

Just as Suren was about to say something, her warm and delicate body leaped into his arms like a deer again, and he reached out to embrace her.

In the past few years, in addition to advancing to the seventh tier, Yuta also exuded a mature aura.

The thin animal skin dress couldn't hide her lithe and proud figure, her wild beauty undisguised in the forest.

The Daru expressed their joy much more directly than humans, and Yuta didn't mind at all, instead saying impishly and straightforwardly, "How does Mr. Suren feel?"

Suren smiled, "Very good."

Yuta grinned, revealing a row of white teeth.

As soon as these words came out, the sunlight seemed to become scorching, the breeze also became gentle, and the trees in the forest rustled, as if dancing with joy.

Yuta hung on Suren's neck like a koala. A strong natural force suddenly surged from her body.

The two were carried into the air by the breeze and soon came to the top of the forest.

Looking again, they had already landed in a treehouse on a giant tree.

The treehouse was the same as it had been a few years ago, but there were obvious signs of renovation.

Suren watched her use this superb use of natural magic and praised, "Yuta has become very powerful."

Yuta smiled slyly, "Mr. Suren has also become very powerful."

As she spoke, the pure white wolf tail behind her hips wagged happily.

Suren embraced her, gently stroking her soft wolf tail, and then stroked up her waist.

Yuta's pretty face was also full of happy smiles.

It felt really good to see each other after so long.

The treehouse had no one else, only the breeze, sunlight, leaves, and a scene of amorous feelings.

...

The two were communicating, and Suren also generally spoke about his experiences these years.

Yuta was also quite emotional after hearing this.

The human world was too complicated for the Daru. What was king in the North Sea, the Luying coup, the killing of the Mafa Emperor... Those power struggles looked exciting, but Yuta had no interest.

She only cared about Suren.

Before long, the wooden house became quiet.

The two lay on their backs on the soft animal skin mat, looking at the white cotton-like clouds in the sky.

Yuta lay on her side, her unhidden skin mostly exposed to the air. She pressed against Suren's heart, listening to his heartbeat.

At this time, she also noticed that the luster of the totem on Suren's body was becoming more and more conspicuous, and she keenly captured something, so she asked, "Mr. Suren, I just noticed that your mental strength is very strong, it seems that you have reached the bottleneck of 'Spirit Travel'. Your [Eclipse Sun] totem is already overflowing, are you going to prepare to break through?"

"Yes."

Suren hugged Yuta, stroking her gently.

Yuta's figure used to be graceful and upturned, not too towering, but just right.

But it seemed that after a period of joy, it would suddenly grow and develop. In the past few years, the current Yuta exuded a ripe charm. But still as lithe as a leopard. It was just that after getting started, the touch would feel more subtle, with a different kind of tenderness in the suppleness.

Yuta listened, but was a little embarrassed, "If I were in the ninth tier, I could still help you with natural divine magic. But now, my abilities are still far from enough..."

Suren didn't take it seriously, "Besides seeing you, I came here this time to strengthen the totem. And I have heard about the possible whereabouts of the [Chalice of Faer]. I will look for it this time when I go to the West Sea. It is probably hoped that I can find it. If I am lucky, I naturally want to break through with this..."

After advancing to the seventh tier, the upper limit of mental strength was indeed opened, but the increase in mental strength fell into a bottleneck.

The mental bottleneck also directly limited the number of puppets that could be manipulated.

The current upper limit of manipulation was about 1050.

Although this number was still increasing, it was far from his expectations to only increase by a few additional manipulable units every ten days or half a month.

To really achieve that kind of exponential surge, to control tens of thousands, relying on this "dripping" increase was completely unable to meet the demand.

Therefore, to increase sharply, he must break through the existing realm and reach the legendary "Spirit Travel Realm."

Just like Pandora, the degree to which the mental body could leave the body.

Although the mental realm did not need to be comprehended like a domain, the difficulty of advancing was also very great.

Fortunately, there was the Daru's totem secret technique.

The [Eclipse Sun] totem perfectly solved his problem of mental distortion and also accumulated a large amount of negative mental strength.

Suren roughly estimated that this exaggerated amount of negative mental strength was at least ten times more than what he normally possessed.

If it was really released, it was likely to break through the realm in one fell swoop.

But it still needed a holy object like the [Chalice of Faer] to filter it, so as to ensure that it would not distort into a monster after releasing that mental strength.

Yuta felt relieved after hearing that Suren had a plan.

Hearing that the Daru's holy object had been found, her eyes lit up instantly, and she exclaimed softly, "Ah? Did Mr. Suren find the whereabouts of the [Chalice of Faer]?"

She thought about it and immediately said, "Then can I go on an adventure with you? If it's to find the holy object, Wolf Granny and the Deer Chieftain should agree to me going."

Hearing this, Suren smiled and stroked her.

He knew that Yuta wanted to help him.

...

During the previous meeting, when Suren spoke about the plane invasion, he found that the Deer Chieftain and the others didn't seem too strange.

At that time, Suren guessed that the Daru's "God of Nature" seemed to have already sent down a divine decree in advance.

From that subtle meeting attitude, Suren also guessed some things.

The Daru, who were protected by the God of Nature, were in a different situation from the alchemists. Even if the Heavenly God plane invaded, those invaders should not enter the Silent Forest.

After all, the God of Nature was still there.

If they slaughtered her followers indiscriminately, this would offend the gods.

Moreover, Suren also guessed that the rank of this god that the Daru believed in was very high, and the people of the Heavenly God plane would not offend a high-ranking god for the sake of so many believers.

As for... asking the God of Nature to help the alchemy plane?

Suren had also thought about this possibility before coming.

But he had no hope.

He felt that a high-ranking god would not bother to help some low-level beings.

He even felt that in the eyes of the gods, the plane invasion was like an anthill being poked by a monkey. This was the law of the jungle in nature.

Moreover, the alchemists would not believe in the gods, and helping them did not seem to have any benefits. On the contrary, it would be more disadvantageous to offend the gods of the Heavenly God plane.

After the meeting, Suren had confirmed this point.

Therefore, he didn't mention this question throughout the entire process.

The Daru were considerate of his feelings and didn't mention it either.

Suren and the Daru had a deep friendship. This was enough for him to have a place to stay after that alchemy plane was completely lost.

But this friendship was not the entire alchemy civilization.

Besides the gods intervening, the Daru tribe could not help much in this kind of war.

Therefore, Yuta wanted to use her identity to help him.

...

"Okay."

Suren smiled and took out a hexagonal crystal pendant.

Looking at Yuta's expectant eyes, he didn't refuse, saying, "This is a gift for you. There are spatial coordinates on it. Wear this, and I can come to your side at any time in the future. If you encounter trouble during the adventure, I will come to you for help."

Yuta understood what Suren meant, blinking her eyes, "A gift for me?"

But listening to the sentence after that, she was also surprised, "Then you can come to the sanctuary often in the future?"

Suren smiled, "Yes."

Since he could come, he didn't intend to take Yuta away. She was the Great Druid of the Daru tribe, how could she leave so easily?

"But..."

Yuta looked at the beautiful crystal necklace hanging on her neck, thought about it, and seemed to feel that she hadn't helped in any way, her thoughts a little disturbed.

Suren interrupted with a smile, "There's no 'but'."

Before she could say anything more, the atmosphere became heated again.

Yuta responded with enthusiasm.

...

Meeting old friends, they chatted happily.

The Emerald Sanctuary gave people a sense of peace of mind. Suren stayed for a day and a night.

Yuta helped him strengthen the [Eclipse Sun] totem. During the exchange, Suren also learned some high-level natural magic.

He brought a lot of gifts to the Daru, and the enthusiastic tribesmen also responded with many sanctuary specialties.

The next morning, Suren set up the teleportation array and teleported back to the Eternal Night ship.