As the elite squad respectfully escorted the Prince of the Night to the city lord's mansion, Nicholas, the butler of the Prince of the Night, made a lavish gesture of distributing money. Anyone who came forward and said 'Welcome, noble Prince of the Night' would receive a gold coin as a reward. Initially, only some children dared to come forward and welcome him, but when people saw that even the children received gold coins, many were tempted and lined up, shouting their welcomes loudly. Of course, some were fearful whether this was some kind of magic curse, desiring the gold coins but not daring to utter a welcome.
Over a thousand brave people spoke the words of welcome, and as a result, they all received a gold coin from the hands of Butler Nicholas, the Dark Knight, and the Demon General. This extravagant act left the wealthy members of the Merchants' Guild dumbfounded. Indeed, he was a prince of a nation, not someone ordinary people could compare themselves to.
The cargo unloaded from the backs of magic insects included bricks of gold, bags of magic crystals, rare treasures like black jade, purple diamonds, and blue jadeite, as well as countless seeds of magic flowers, fruits of magic flowers, eggs of magic insects, and magic honey. As for the skins, teeth, horns, and claws of magical beasts, they could form a small mountain.
Whether the Prince of the Night was from an evil or good faction was not the issue; he was definitely the most welcomed guest of the merchants. The mercenaries welcomed him too, for they were fond of the dark magical armors, swords, axes, etc., that he brought, some of which even had 'blood-sucking' and 'magic-draining' features. Though slightly evil, the mercenaries didn't care about that; having suitable weapons and armor meant they could survive better.
The eggs of magic insects and beasts were also welcomed by everyone. In short, no one noticed that there were any superfluous items among what the Prince of the Night brought.
After Butler Nicholas donated ten gold blocks to Rody City, he announced the start of trading. He declared his intention to purchase all kinds of artworks and food, as well as some antiques and treasures, but he was disdainful of luxuries like spices, silk, jade, and magic crystals. This troubled the merchants, but the mercenaries were overjoyed, selling all the magical beast meat they had hunted to Butler Nicholas to feed the magic insects. In short, the busiest morning market outside Rody City revolved around several dozen magic insects.
At first, people were somewhat afraid, but later they discovered that these fierce magic insects were incredibly tame, and some even boldly climbed onto their backs to move goods.
Many merchants tried every means to trade and exchange goods, but soon realized that the other party had all kinds of luxury goods and didn't covet them at all. However, due to the reasonable prices and the novelty and rarity of the items, the merchants saw a business opportunity and bought large quantities of items brought by the Prince of the Night. Regardless of whether the other party was a Demon General or an evil Dark Knight, at that moment, the plump merchants chatted warmly with the Dark Knights about prices, patted each other on the shoulders, and embraced each other to celebrate successful trades.
If the clerics of the temple saw this, they would probably vomit blood and collapse.
In contrast, the city lord's mansion in Rody was a picture of tranquility.
Everyone was quietly observing the Prince of the Night, sizing him up while guessing in their minds whether this Prince of the Night was Rody or not. If not, he must certainly be related to Rody in some way, perhaps a cousin or something of the sort. Otherwise, how could he look so similar?
"You can call me Rody, because I have changed my appearance to look like him," the Prince of the Night seemed pleased that everyone suspected he was Rody, nodding and saying, "I admire heroes, so I wish my human form to resemble his. Where is your human hero? I would very much like to meet him, please bring him out to see me!"
"Ah..." Everyone was speechless.
It turned out to be a false alarm; this guy had transformed to look like Rody, no wonder they looked exactly the same.
But, was he really not Rody?
"Prince of the Night, in the realm of the Abyss, does everyone have black hair and black eyes?" Tommy, who was most suspicious, almost certainly believed that this tall and heroic Prince of the Night was Rody returned from Hell. However, since Rody refused to admit it, Tommy naturally did not want to expose him.
"No, only the royal family has this appearance, about a hundred people or so!" The Prince of the Night pointed to the Starlight Winged Girl beside him, saying, "Just like her."
"I see..." Doubts arose in everyone's minds again, wondering if Rody was truly the prince of the Abyss.
"Rody, he has been imprisoned in the Despairing Hell by the Chains of God, so he is not in the human continent!" Chris snorted coldly, "You should not transform into his likeness, Prince of the Night. You should meet people with your true face, as that is a friendly gesture. The image of Rody represents our honor, you cannot transform into him!"
"I am different from him now, look, my hair has turned golden!" The Prince of the Night brushed his long hair, letting it cascade like a golden waterfall.
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"You should not resemble him in appearance either. What about your original face? Change back to your original form!" Chris snorted.
"No, I have no form, just endless darkness. If I change back to my original form, you will see nothing... I finally managed to transform into a human form, I can't just change back at will!" The Prince of the Night refused.
"Listen, Prince of the Night, Rody City does not welcome you!" Chris stood up, addressing the stunned crowd, "Escort the Prince of the Night out of the city, forbid him from taking another step into the city! Otherwise, consider it an invasion! In Rody City, there is only one Rody, there will not be a second. What are you all standing there for? Get him out!"
"Yes." Everyone originally wanted to argue, thinking this was too hasty. They hadn't clarified the situation yet, but since Chris had spoken, they had no choice but to comply.
"Then tomorrow I will transform into someone else's appearance to enter!" The Prince of the Night seemed a bit surprised, but still gracefully smiled, saying, "I didn't expect that the hero Rody would hold such weight in your hearts, this is really surprising to me. Alright, I will transform into someone else to enter in the future!"
"..." Everyone exchanged glances, Chris's strange behavior of expelling the Prince of the Night, and the latter not getting angry at all, was indeed strange.
The news that the Prince of the Night was expelled from the city for transforming into Rody's appearance quickly spread throughout the city. On this matter, the Rody Fan Club's girls strongly supported it, protesting against the Prince of the Night using magic to transform into Rody's appearance, while mercenaries and merchants felt regret. Rody City, of course, has its own dignity; it was built in memory of Rody. It can be tax-free, free and unrestrained, without a hint of bondage, but if its dignity is touched, it will certainly face strong resistance from the city lord Chris and his elite team.
Chris not only expelled the Prince of the Night but also returned the ten gold bricks he had offered as tribute.
Although Rody City is a city of freedom, if the Prince of the Night does not immediately change his appearance from that of Rody's, it would also refuse his trade...
Unexpectedly, this move stirred the pride of the Prince of the Night. He transformed into dozens of appearances in front of everyone, but ultimately, he still felt that Rody's appearance was the best. Thus, he adamantly changed back to Rody's appearance. He would rather leave with his caravan than change his appearance against his will due to others' disapproval. He was a lofty prince of the Abyss, with extraordinary pride and self-esteem.
The Prince of the Night left Rody City frustrated, but still enthusiastically led his caravan along the main road towards the human stronghold of Saint Song Fortress.
The news that a prince from the Abyss had come to the human world spread quickly across the continent. Almost every high-ranking individual was shocked at his appearance, but upon hearing about the Prince of the Night being expelled for 'changing faces', they couldn't help but burst into laughter.
Many suspected that the Prince of the Abyss was originally very ugly, and having finally transformed into the handsome appearance of Rody, he stubbornly refused to revert to his original form.
Kings and commanders inquired at the temples whether Rody was truly imprisoned forever in Despairing Hell by the 'Chains of God' as the Archangel Mathifa had said. Was this Prince of the Night really not Rody? The temples prayed to the angels for answers, and eventually, Archangel Mathifa responded, stating that he personally escorted Rody to the gates of Hell, witnessing him fall into Hell, bound by the Chains of God, making it impossible for Rody to escape back from Hell.
Mathifa revealed to the temples that this Prince of the Night was very likely a prince of the Abyss, and not an impostor sent by Chris.
In the Abyss, indeed, there exist such giant magical worms and Starlight Butterfly Girls.
Furthermore, there are three kingdoms in the Abyss, with the most powerful being the Underworld Kingdom, which has always avoided communication with any power. The Demon Kings of the other two Abyssal kingdoms and the Witch Emperor of the Hidden Marsh occasionally join the Hell forces in invading Heaven, but their territories in the Abyss are very small. It is said that over eighty percent of the Abyss's land belongs to the Underworld Kingdom. The strongest being in the Underworld is the Queen of the Underworld, a mysterious figure whose true face has never been seen by even the angels.
Heaven believes that the Abyss sending a prince to the human continent is possibly a precursor to an invasion, and advises all nations to treat this matter with caution.
Saint Song Fortress, though instructed by the kings and temples of various countries not to provide any pretext for an invasion from the Abyss, still sent envoys to tactfully express that righteousness and evil cannot coexist, refusing entry to the Prince of the Night from the Abyss.
Fortunately, the Kamaron Empire was the first to extend an invitation to the Prince of the Night, otherwise, he would surely have become infuriated by repeated rejections.
Now, the focus of people's discussions was no longer the appearance of the Prince of the Night, but his identity and the Abyssal powers behind him. If the Abyss finds a pretext to invade the human continent en masse, it would be a terrifying affair. Especially since if the Abyss mobilizes, the demonic races of Hell and the orcs would not sit idle and would certainly take advantage of the chaos.
Even the self-proclaimed righteous temples did not dare to offend the Prince of the Night lightly at this time.
Although the Prince of the Night brought a dozen dark knights and demon generals with him, everyone chose to ignore them. The knights and generals of the Underworld Kingdom, could they be anything but dark knights and demon generals? Thinking this, people found it quite reasonable.
On their journey, a fervently devout knight led a team and rushed to uphold justice.
However, to the astonishment of the Kamaron delegation, a Starlight Butterfly Girl effortlessly caught them with a Net of Starlight, and they all ended up in the belly of a magical worm. The leader of the delegation initially wanted to plead for mercy, but realizing that the Prince of the Night was unaware, as he was enjoying the service of a bath from the Starlight Butterfly Girl, the leader thought better of it. He guessed that disturbing the Prince's pleasure might land him in the belly of the worm as well, so he quickly abandoned the idea of seeking an audience.
The strength of the Prince of the Night from the Abyss, as estimated by the temple and representatives of various countries after careful observation of the recordings, was not beyond that of a Sky Warrior.
It could be said that he was the weakest in the entire team.
However, the four Starlight Butterfly Girls by his side were terrifyingly powerful. They appeared delicate, but their strength was believed to be at least that of a Mage King, or even at the level of a distinguished Golden Robe Grand Mage King. They excelled in high-speed flying and Starlight magic that required no chanting. A Starlight Girl with the speed of a Sword Emperor and the power of a Mage King was something even the angels greatly feared.
No wonder the angels who ventured into the Abyss to explore in the past never returned; the Abyss harbored such formidable beings.
Ten days later, the Prince of the Night and his entourage finally arrived at Kamaron's capital, Blaye.
"Welcome, Prince of the Night." Although Kamaron did not dare to hold a public welcoming ceremony during the day, they sent a grand welcoming delegation outside Blaye City. Emperor William II did not personally come out to greet him, but sent his most capable Finance Minister, Mike, and one of the five great Marshals of the world, Marshal Gordon, to welcome him. He entrusted Minister Mike to present a naturally formed 'Coral Beauty' to the Prince, indicating his willingness to establish ties with the Underworld Kingdom.
"I love the night!" The Prince of the Night thought that such arrangements were made to cater to his preferences, rather than to avoid public attention, and was very pleased. He handed a fist-sized perfect purple diamond to Mike as a reciprocal gift for William II.
"By the heavens, His Majesty will be overjoyed..." Mike carefully held the priceless perfect purple diamond, swallowing nervously.
While Emperor William II and the temples were all focused on the Prince of the Night, Chris from Rody City and a few elite squad leaders quietly arrived at a farmhouse on the outskirts of Blaye.
Moreover, they had circled around the continent a few days earlier and secretly arrived here.
They seemed to be waiting for someone, pacing in the house, occasionally running to the window to look at the sky. Even Chris, who was usually calm and seated, had his fingers trembling slightly unnaturally, betraying the nervousness within...