"Although it has been worn by time and weakened by fate, our will is still as strong as ever.

"To struggle, to explore, to seek, without giving in." (Note 1)

“…………”

"Do you enjoy reading that book, Zheng?"

On the resplendent dance floor, a slender figure danced with his companion's arm in his arms, while not forgetting to talk to the aristocratic man who sat in the corner of the ballroom, looking out of place in the current arena.

"Humans brought them into the world." "Poetry, fairy tales, novels, and other wonderful, fascinating works, and, by the way, the tune that is being played now are also the contribution of our ancestors. ”

"That was 2,000 years ago." He said, "Amazing, isn't it? After all this time, they are still classics, and they are still on the lips of us, even your beings, and the books that record them have been reprinted over and over again, but there are still living beings stepping into this bottomless pit. ”

"Ho, ho, ho, I'm not talking about you." He pulled his partner's arm and ended the dance with a spin, "I'd love to see beings like you acknowledge their worth, because it means that the ancient orcs recognize our human culture. ”

"Supper." A man dressed as an aristocrat on the edge of the dance floor stood up, closed the book he had been holding in his arms, and placed it casually on the low table beside him.

Soon, a human in the form of a waiter stepped out of the shadows and removed the book.

"How long are you going to be away this time?"

The man who had sent away his partner raised his arm and raised his hand, and a goblet containing a transparent liquid with bubbles flew in front of him from the tray in the hands of the waiter on the other side of the dance floor.

"Don't leak the secrets, night." A man dressed as an aristocratic man with blond hair walked up to his alien friend and the ruler of his human empire.

"This is the first time I've heard that from you." The man was taken aback, "I finally know why my minions always take you seriously...... That's what you're dealing with them, aren't you? ”

"They are all honest people under my command, they don't know how to be flexible, and when they are scolded by humanoids with a slightly higher status than themselves, it is difficult to muster up the courage to ask questions." He spread his hands, "But I'm different, Zheng, I'm going to have to knock an answer out of your mouth." ”

"Ten years."

"What?" The man in power raised his eyebrows, and his eyes were full of disbelief.

"At most...... Decade. The blonde nobleman raised his head slightly, and his tone gave the listener the feeling that he was holding back something.

"What about the war, Zheng?"

The tone of the person in power gradually calmed down, and his momentum became more and more dignified, no longer as if he was facing a friend, but in meeting with his envoys and subordinates.

"It was you who united the 'little prince' with Aderiel's fate and tragic life, and entrusted him with it...... No, it's better to design him and let him hand over information to you that is unfavorable to the royal family over there, so that we Caslano have the qualifications and abilities to influence the situation of this battle. ”

"It's a deal, Supper." The blonde-haired nobleman passed by the ruler step by step, but did not stop beside him, but continued to walk in a direction away from him, "And you yourself said that this is still a 'commission'. ”

"Didn't you report it when you came back?" The ruler turned sharply to face his "subordinates" who were facing away with their backs to him, and his tone finally sounded a little anxious, "The Norvi family is gone, you don't have to fulfill the characteristics of Adriel's side anymore...... It's called the 'Guardian Beast's Seal'. ”

The man in power opened his arms and said with rare excitement:

"You're free, Zheng! You've escaped the icy hell and the grip of that mad family, and no one will force you on a mission that will cause you pain, and no one will call you by your very name, tainted and corrupted. ”

"You're already a human, Zheng, Sling Zheng!" Speaking of passion, the ruler waved his arms selflessly, as if to explain his beautiful blueprint for the future to his alien confidant, "Stay in my country, stay in Kasrano, what evil beasts, what Novino, what deals, all commissions, all leave behind!" ”

"I'm sorry, Yoi."

When he heard this, the person in power with the surname "Xiao" stared for a moment, and he was stunned.

Sling Zheng would never apologize to humans, which would be a loss of style for a noble orc.

"Whew......" the Emperor of the Human Empire sighed deeply, "you've made up your mind, haven't you?" ”

He realized that no matter how much he persuaded and coerced him, he couldn't change the determination of the humanoid beast clan.

"Thank you, Yoi." The other party thanked him for his stay, and he couldn't help but feel ashamed of the evil thoughts that sprung up in his heart for a moment, "I'm glad you can say that sentence, but I can't be a human yet." ”

"Make good use of the information I gave you." The pair of eyes under the blonde hair narrowed, and the orc's face showed a bright smile that belonged to the character of "Sling Zheng", "Lead Kasrano to victory in the war, Xiao." ”

The smile on the "human" side soon faded away, replaced by the coldness, alienation, and rejection of others as a beastmaster.

"Wait, tell me where you're going." The ruler made one last attempt to stop him, "so that I may meet you before the appointed day." ”

“…………”

The back of the blonde aristocrat suddenly became tall and majestic.

The appearance of a human being is rapidly peeling away from the orc's body surface, however, the only one who has seen this scene is the human ruler who has been watching him.

None of the others who were still dancing on the dance floor, or drinking and chatting on the edge of the dance floor, were unaware of the "horrifying" scene that was taking place at the moment.

The fragments of the disguise dissolved into supreme spiritual power and dissolved into the air in this hall, and the orcs, who had completely removed the disguise, also regained their true form, standing with their backs to the human rulers.

The long silver glittering hair in the paleness was like a long fluffy but imposing shawl, swinging behind him without the wind.

Even with their backs to each other, humans could see sharp thorn-like objects extending from the sides of the orc's cheeks, like some kind of ungulate horn growing out of place, or like fossilized coral piled up on the ocean floor......

The light armor of silver and ice blue was draped over his body, and it fit perfectly, but it gave humans a tattered and weak feeling—

It is a "false creation" that is constructed by the spiritual power and will of the beasts, and it is a "false creation" that should not exist in the world, but it is the work of the ability that the beasts have always been proud of.

But now, they have shown human witnesses the exhaustion and devastation of the orcs.

"Zheng ......"

He doesn't let any living beings find Him—somehow, that's what happened to those in power.

"You're not going to leave here as a Beastmaster, are you?" Even though the beast race in the field of vision has changed back to its heyday image, the human still made this judgment, "You are going to hide, no, you are temporarily giving up the identity of the beastmaster...... I can feel it, but, why? ”

"I don't need to explain it to you, human." The arrogant king didn't even look back, and replied in a cold voice.

His body was gradually covered with a layer of frost, and then the whole beast was transformed into a delicate and transparent ice sculpture, which shattered in front of humans, splashed ice chips, melted into water in a very short time, evaporated into water vapor, and then entered the air circulation, completely disappeared without a trace.

The human ruler shook his head helplessly, then turned around and slowly paced back to the low table where the orcs had been sitting.

He raised an arm, snapped his fingers, and silently counted the years.

If his orc friend really let go of his identity as the beastmaster, even if it was only temporary...... His hometown is probably going to be messed up too.

In the past, even though he was degraded to an evil beast and sealed in the Ice Hell for many years after being plotted by the Adriel, he still had the ability to cast his power out of his cage and influence all the creatures who revered him.

The power of the Beastmaster will always permeate his homeland and beyond, and no living creature will forget him, no living creature will turn its back on him.

He is still "the child of nature", "the darling of heaven and earth", "the embodiment of the concept of 'falsehood'", and "the omnipotent king who created all things".

But once he performed his own miracle, he gave himself "falsehood" and voluntarily hid the existence of the beastmaster...... He would really become "non-existent."

"Are you really going to do this, Zheng?"

The Emperor sat down at the low table, placed the glass in his hand lightly on the table, and looked up at where his friend had left.

"I really want to know, what are you doing this for?" His fingers tapped on the table, and his mind drifted into deep thought with the rhythmic sound.

……

"Wow!"

Fang Nuo jerked out of the water.

Fang Cai had lost too much water in his body, and he had to take the initiative to jump into the nearby water, and he had no time to worry about whether such a reckless behavior would work.

To his slight gratification, after half of his body was immersed in the water, the spilled water vapor from his body had improved a lot, and the soreness in his limbs had also eased.

But before he could be happy, he saw a huge balloon of water suspended in mid-air that was unnatural and unorthodox coming towards him, hitting his head right on the spot...... Unilaterally, it was smashed to pieces, splashing countless splashes.

Then, the large balls at first turned into countless small balls, each emitting a somewhat familiar blue glow, and then attacked him one by one.

Fang Nuo hurriedly dived underwater, but unexpectedly, memories flooded his mind without warning, crowding out his other thoughts and giving him an unbearable headache.

This kind of condition, if it had been put in the past, would have been fatal...... Fortunately, he now has enough spiritual power to protect himself, and he doesn't need to worry about breathing underwater or losing consciousness underwater due to pain.

And he didn't really lose consciousness, otherwise, he would have "seen" what was happening in the Dark Forest at the same time as now.

Too much ability is also a thing that bothers the beast.

I don't know if this newly awakened power will interfere with my daily rest, such as when I am about to go to bed, I suddenly insert a piece of what I see from the perspective of other beings...... It's quite tiring to think about, no, it should be "physically and mentally exhausted".

"It's the water polo just now...... They contain spiritual power that is a carrier of memory...... What did it show me? These seem to have happened a long time ago. ”

The whole memory that was poured into his brain was shrouded in a hazy filter with a very "old feeling", making it difficult for him to see the faces of the characters he appeared.

However, the details outside the face are quite clear.

"Sling Zheng? It's the one Mr. Yoi remembers...... He is really the missing beastmaster, I didn't expect the solution to come so quickly, this trip to the secret realm is really the right one! ”

Fang Nuo completely left his previous dislike of the secret realm behind.

From unknown memories, there are some episodes that are difficult for him to understand for the time being.

However, Fang Nuo didn't care about such minor issues.

He was blinded by the smooth development of the current situation, thinking that he would soon be able to figure out the ins and outs of this series of events, even if they were more than a decade ago.

—

Note 1: From Tennyson's Ulysses.