Even after leaving the dream world, Luo Lan could still feel the chill on his back.
"Are you alright?" Nightingale, who had been perched on the desk munching on snacks, flew to the recliner the instant she saw him wake up. "Was there a problem on the other side?"
Seeing her familiar face and concerned expression, the oppressive feeling of being in a foreign race's territory dissipated a lot. He let out a long breath and forced a smile, "No problem, just a few new discoveries."
Nightingale looked suspicious. "Really? Your face looks unusually pale." As she spoke, she reached out and touched Luo Lan's forehead. "See... you're sweating."
Only then did Luo Lan realize that the coolness on his back came from his slightly damp undershirt.
"You know I wasn't lying, it was just a dream after all."
However, his confidence wasn't as strong as he had expected. The dream world was becoming increasingly complex, or rather, it was becoming more and more like a real world.
"I don't know about that," Nightingale pouted.
"Huh?"
"Detecting lies only works when I use my ability," she said, spreading her hands. "You're not just the King of Graycastle now, but also the leader of the ancient witches of Taquila and the Sleeping Spell, and even the Kingdom of Dawn is willing to listen to you. Your status has surpassed the general meaning of a king, and you'll only have more and more secrets in the future. If I knew everything... I wouldn't feel so comfortable." She paused. "You don't like... the feeling of being seen through by others, do you?"
Looking at Nightingale deliberately averting her gaze, Luo Lan couldn't help but chuckle, and even the last bit of heaviness disappeared.
He could probably guess what she was thinking.
Most people in power don't want their subordinates to know too much. Ambiguous attitudes and maintaining a sense of mystery are a kind of imperial art, both in the East and the West. Those who know too much usually don't have a good ending. Nightingale definitely knew he wouldn't do that, so the only option left was distancing herself.
"What's so funny?" she grumbled, taking two angry bites of dried fish. "I was worried you were in trouble just now."
"Cough," Luo Lan composed himself and said seriously, "Indeed, no one likes to be seen through, especially those in power—" he paused deliberately, "But you aren't 'others'."
And he wasn't a feudal monarch in the true sense of the word.
Because he had stood in the long river of history and witnessed the rise and fall of countless dynasties, he knew more clearly what he truly wanted.
This grand undertaking required a group of people who truly trusted him to complete.
"Eh?" Nightingale couldn't help but stiffen.
"If you hadn't come to Border Town, I probably would have died at the hands of the head maid sent by my third sister." Luo Lan said slowly, "Besides, after the Battle of Divine Will begins, there will definitely be more crises. The kingdom won't be monolithic either, and you'll still be busy—it's come to this point, how can I still treat you as an outsider."
This era wasn't without its advantages. If it were the later generations, his words would at most earn him a roll of the eyes.
"Besides, the most terrible lie is not deceiving others, but deceiving yourself. With you around, at least I don't have to worry about that."
Nightingale tilted her head and muttered, "My ability can't stop you from deceiving yourself."
"Of course it can. You can feel the degree to which a sentence is insincere, right? Like a three-part hesitation, or a complete lie."
"Mm, the magic feedback is different."
"So, if you have to pretend to be full of confidence when you're unsure, it's like deceiving yourself—and sometimes, the former is even more harmful than the latter. At that time, if you just remind me, it might save me from a big mistake." Luo Lan spread his hands. "How about it? Now you know how important your duty is, right?"
"In that case," Nightingale said after a moment of silence, "then I'll ask you one more time. This time, I'll use my ability."
Luo Lan made a gesture to proceed.
"Are you really alright?"
So, what she wanted to confirm the most was still his safety...
Luo Lan smiled and replied, "Ah, this time I'm really fine."
Hearing this, Nightingale was also relieved. "Then what are these new discoveries you mentioned?"
"This is exactly what I'm going to announce to all the commanders of the Unified Front next—" He got up and walked to the desk, picking up the phone that connected to the Third Border City. "I saw the memories of the demons."
……
"The story is like this," Luo Lan recounted his experiences in the dream world in detail, but hid the information about the Martial Artist and the red note. "What are your thoughts?"
Pasha on the light screen was the first to speak. "This information is extremely important, Your Majesty. No one has ever been able to delve into the city of demons and return alive. You are the first in history—although it was in a dream."
"Based on this information alone, you are qualified to meet with the three seats of the Union," Elhia rarely didn't sing a contrary tune, and her voice seemed quite excited. "So demons gain power by fusing magic stones. This answers many previous questions!"
"That's right, especially the point about mastering abilities from magic stones," Celine, who had the deepest understanding of magic, continued. "Since the Mad Demons can undergo such great changes, we can infer that higher demons should also be born through similar means—as long as they fuse a certain number of magic stones, they can transform into completely different species. This change doesn't come from blood inheritance, but from a sudden change in power. This can also explain why higher demons have so many different abilities."
"I have a question," Tilly, the leader of the Sleeping Spell, asked. "Is there a limit to such enhancement?"
Her words brought a brief silence to the conference room.
After a while, Celine replied, "Probably not."
"Are they even stronger than transcendent ones?" Wendy frowned.
"You can't compare them like that," Celine shook her beard. "Do you remember the last words left by the Underground Civilization? The path of magic is the path to divinity. One day, we will be no different from gods. In other words, as long as we continue to improve our control and understanding of magic, growth will have no end—whether for witches, demons, or the Underground Civilization. Fortunately, this path is full of thorns and is not so easy to reach."
"On the contrary, this news is beneficial to us. Birth from bloodlines means stable growth. The number of higher demons accumulated over four hundred years would definitely be a terrifying number," Celine continued. "Fortunately, we now finally know that they also need to rely on fate. In addition, from Your Majesty's information, we can conclude that the success rate of promotion should not be too high, otherwise the demons' reaction wouldn't have been so strong back then."
As expected of a witch who had fought demons her whole life, Luo Lan thought, she could analyze so much information from such a scene.
"Compared to new promoters, I'm more worried about that rumor," Pasha once again transmitted in a voice only he could hear. "Your discovery can be said to have confirmed it in a sense—this makes me very uneasy. Why would someone do such a thing? I always feel that the Battle of Divine Will may not be as simple as we imagine."
Luo Lan also replied in consciousness, "Indeed. But no matter what, those are already facts that have happened. Worrying about it won't change anything. All we can do is fight to the end."
"...Your will is admirable, Your Majesty." Pasha sighed after a while. "Although your mortal status is somewhat special, the Union did make a mistake."
It wasn't like this from the beginning, he smiled, and didn't reply.
Six days later, the vanguard of the First Army officially entered the demons' surveillance range.
Luo Lan also received a report from the front lines.
"Sylvie reports that she has discovered traces of the enemy. A team of Terror Beasts is flying towards the First Army," Nightingale relayed, holding the Listening Seal.
Let it be the prelude to the Battle of Divine Will, Luo Lan nodded. "Let them act according to plan."