Chapter 1659: Chapter 1657: What’s Going On? (Pouncing, Rolling, Grabbing the Tail)

For Fang Zheng, passing by and taking down a small monster was just a warm-up. After all, Lina Inverse hasn’t summoned the Golden Nightmare King yet, so he could only find something to do. In his view, casually defeating a Lich was not a big deal. Such a level of enemy no longer posed a threat to Fang Zheng.

However, others clearly didn’t think so.

They didn’t know what to do.

"...So, are you sure about this?"

"I am certain, Your Royal Highness."

Radis nodded solemnly at Princess Lana in front of her.

"That Knight’s power completely exceeds our expectations. If I may speak frankly, if he wishes, he could even destroy the entire Royal Capital in an instant... I don’t know what that is, it seems like some sort of World-Class Item, but... I have never heard of such an item. In my view, there’s nothing in this world that has a power comparable to it!"

Recalling the pillar of light descending from the sky, Radis couldn’t help but tremble, putting down her teacup.

"Your Royal Highness, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but... I believe we should not make an enemy out of that Knight."

"Is that so..."

Seeing Radis’s expression, Princess Lana picked up the teacup and silently took a sip of tea.

"Can we possibly win him over?"

"This... I’m unsure, the Knight doesn’t seem to care much about money and interests, and if I’m not mistaken, he likely belongs to some faction. I’m sorry, but I think we don’t have anything to attract him."

Radis shook her head again, although during Fang Zheng’s battle with the Lich, she barely understood what they were saying. But when Fang Zheng communicated through his personal terminal, she managed to grasp a little bit, knowing that Fang Zheng was issuing a command to initiate the World-Class Item.

Just from this point alone, Fang Zheng’s identity was unusual. It’s well-known that many countries on this continent possess World-Class Items, but to activate one just by a ruler’s word isn’t easy.

"Was that Lich really that strong?"

"Very strong, it could even instantly cast Transcendent Magic!"

"Then its identity...?"

"Sorry, we don’t have any valuable information."

At this point, Radis was speechless too because Fang Zheng had blasted the great tomb upside down, so they couldn’t find anything useful.

"It appears the continent isn’t very peaceful recently."

Princess Lana said while sighing.

"You know, just yesterday we received news that one of Demon Lord Shabranigdo’s avatars seems to have resurrected."

"What!?"

Hearing this, Radis couldn’t sit still.

"Really?"

"The information is accurate, actually no one expected it, but the avatar was sealed inside Red Mage Raizo’s eye..."

"Red Mage Raizo... I’ve heard of his name, but I never thought he would have the Demon Lord sealed in his body..."

Radis frowned while speaking.

"What should we do then?"

"Nothing."

"Eh?"

Faced with Princess Lana’s response, Radis was taken aback.

"But it’s Demon Lord Shabranigdo! Your Royal Highness! Even if it’s just an avatar, it could potentially destroy the entire world! Don’t you remember what happened to the land hundreds of years ago after resisting the Demon Lord?"

Radis didn’t participate in that battle, but as a descendant of the thirteen heroes, she grew up listening to stories of the resistance against Demon Lord Shabranigdo. Compared to others, Radis had a clearer understanding of the Demon Lord’s threat. As for the previous Lich... well, she admitted it was powerful but nowhere near comparable to the Demon Lord.

"Of course, I won’t forget, but Radis, you don’t need to be so anxious."

Princess Lana smiled slightly, gesturing for Radis to sit down.

"Fortunately, the avatar has been defeated."

"Defeated? By whom?"

"Lina Inverse."

"Lina Inverse..."

Hearing the name, Radis frowned, pondering for a moment.

"The Thief Hunter? I’ve heard of her name, but... she defeated the Demon Lord’s avatar?"

"At least for now, it seems so. The Adventurers’ Guild is verifying, and if confirmed, she’ll be promoted to Platinum Level adventurer."

"Platinum... It’s been a long time since a Platinum Level adventurer appeared."

At this point, Radis couldn’t help but yearn a little. As a descendant of the thirteen heroes, she naturally desired to become a Platinum Level adventurer, yet Platinum Level isn’t easy to obtain. Radis’s own strength isn’t enough. If Radis could lead Blue Rose to defeat the Lich, she would surely be promoted to Platinum Level.

Although the gap between a Lich and a Demon Lord is quite significant.

But you can’t expect the world to suddenly encounter a Demon Lord resurrection.

At this time, Fang Zheng also learned through his channel that Lina Inverse had defeated the avatar of Demon Lord Shabranigdo. After watching the teleported video, Fang Zheng felt relieved.

The whole process wasn’t too different from Fang Zheng’s memory; Lina Inverse ultimately used Heavy Break Slash to defeat Shabranigdo. To Fang Zheng, achieving this result was enough to please him, which meant Phibrizzo the Deathlord would take notice of her, and after this, Lina Inverse would use Heavy Break Slash again to summon the Golden Nightmare King... Yes, just knowing this was enough for Fang Zheng.

Thus, Fang Zheng left the King’s City satisfied, returned to the "Beginner Village," found the Priestess of the Goddess, and then...

"What the heck is this?"

Looking at the ancient castle perched on the cliff, Fang Zheng was completely dumbfounded.

I asked you to buy an estate, and you bought a castle? What does that even mean?

"How is it? It’s nice, right?"

The Priestess of the Goddess stayed silent, but just a glance at Megumin beside her, brimming with pride, told Fang Zheng who the prime culprit was.

"Was this your doing? Who told you to buy this?"

Seeing the smug look on Megumin’s face, Fang Zheng was so furious that he gave her a Fist of Retribution on the head.

"Why are you hitting me? Don’t you think this place is cool and impressive? It’s a castle! And it’s built in such a beautiful location, plus it’s so cheap!!"

"Well... the price is indeed quite cheap..."

The Priestess of the Goddess timidly added a sentence beside him and then began to explain to Fang Zheng.

According to her, when they returned, they did go to the Adventurers’ Guild to ask for recommendations on nearby estates. Unfortunately, despite the Guild’s help, the estates introduced were mostly expensive, leaving the Priestess of the Goddess unsure of what to do.

It’s like asking a salaried worker, living frugally to pay off a 30-year mortgage, whether a 30-million villa or a 50-million beachfront property is better. How would he choose?

To the Priestess of the Goddess... both seemed fine!

Although Fang Zheng had given her enough money to buy the most expensive one, the Priestess of the Goddess was used to being frugal, Megumin didn’t seem like someone with money, and Ais didn’t care about money at all. In the end, they opted for the poor man’s choice, which was to buy the cheapest and best value for money!

So they finally chose this castle outside of town.

According to the Guild’s receptionist, this castle originally belonged to a noble lord long ago, but after something happened to the noble’s family, it was abandoned. Of course, adventurers have explored it, but nothing remains... just an ordinary castle.

For other nobles, places like this are undesirable, as they feel unlucky. For average wealthy people, buying such a place is too ostentatious—businessmen have money but no social standing, and the castle is far out in the outskirts. While it used to be bustling, being abandoned for nearly a century means that even without bandits or thieves, there are plenty of monsters.

Nobles don’t want to buy it, and businessmen who can afford it don’t want to spend the money, leaving it awkwardly vacant. Now, for the Adventurers’ Guild, it’s basically about selling it regardless... they don’t care about anything else.

"...Alright, I understand your reasoning..."

Looking at the castle, Fang Zheng shook his head. He had to admit that although it was far from the estate he envisioned, the geographical location wasn’t that bad. Despite Megumin’s quirks, she chose a good spot. The castle sat atop a nearby mountain, offering a panoramic view of the surroundings with lush forests and lakes in sight and even a river beside it, though he wasn’t sure if it was man-made or natural, at least the scenery was admittedly quite nice.

The biggest downside would be that it’s pretty far from town, so safety can’t be guaranteed.

Of course, for Fang Zheng, this wasn’t a problem.

"Alright... I get it, since it’s already bought... What about Kiare and the others? Don’t tell me you let them stay inside."

Even though it’s a castle, an object a hundred years old, there are doubts about its ability to shield from the elements. Although the exterior seems intact, stepping on it might cause a collapse, and such places generally aren’t short of snakes, rats, and mosquitoes. It would be an ordeal for Kiare and the others to stay there.

"Uh... I temporarily arranged for Kiare and the others to stay at an inn."

"Mm, that’s better... By the way, what about Miss Meiyin? How is she?"

Upon mentioning this, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but smile, curious to see how fellow transmigrator Meiyin convinced her parents.

"Well..."

To Fang Zheng’s surprise, when faced with this question, the Priestess of the Goddess showed a troubled expression.

"I’m very sorry, Sir Knight. We couldn’t find Miss Meiyin."

"Hm? What happened?"

"Her parents said... Miss Meiyin seems to have been taken by people from the temple..."

"...Huh?"

Upon hearing the Priestess’s response, Fang Zheng was bewildered.

"What happened, tell me in detail."

"Here’s what happened..."

As she spoke, the Priestess of the Goddess recounted what she knew to Fang Zheng. According to her, Meiyin originally went to the temple for a baptism but never came out. This worried Meiyin’s parents, who sent people to inquire and eventually got some inside news from the temple, saying that Meiyin had allegedly attacked the High Priest of the Temple and was therefore detained. According to the rumors they heard, it seemed she would become an attendant in the temple as punishment... 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"Isn’t the temple your home turf? Don’t you have any means?"

Fang Zheng still vividly remembered that the Priestess of the Goddess was from the temple.

"It’s not like that, Sir Knight!"

To Fang Zheng’s surprise, the Priestess of the Goddess immediately jumped up and explained. After hearing her explanation, Fang Zheng understood that different sects have varied situations in this world.

Typically, each sect has its own church. For example, the Earth Mother Sect where the Priestess is from, and the Goddess of Luck, Eris, all have their deity’s name introduced before the sect.

If the Priestess of the Goddess were to introduce herself, she’d say she’s a cleric from the Earth Mother Sect, making her identity and faith known.

But another kind of temple is political—it functions as a reconciliatory religious organization known as the "temple." Strictly speaking, it’s akin to a religious management department, responsible for coordinating, connecting, and investigating various sects.

This kind of temple exists in every country, managed mainly by political figures, responsible for unifying the nation’s various sects.

So the Priestess of the Goddess was powerless; she’s a small fry in the Earth Mother Sect, and you can’t expect her to influence such a political institution.

It’s like expecting a rural teacher to issue proclamations directly from the Ministry of Education.

The Priestess of the Goddess had used her credentials to enter a few times, but being unfamiliar with the temple’s internals, she naturally couldn’t find Meiyin.

"Got it."

After listening to the Priestess of the Goddess explain the full story, Fang Zheng finally understood.

"Leave it to me, I’ll see what’s really going on."