In the middle of the night, the crescent moon curved like an eyebrow, with scattered stars dotting the sky.

Silently, a starlight appeared in the farmyard. The Prince of the Night emerged from within the starlight. Tommy and others excitedly rushed up to embrace him but hesitated, while Stanley and Lopek hurried to check on Chris, who could best confirm if it was indeed Rody.

"Damn you, you finally decided to come back!" Chris punched the Prince of the Night, knocking him down in anger, to the ecstatic joy of the others.

"Rody..." Before Rody could get up, Tommy leaped on him.

"Boss, I missed you so much!" followed Stanley and others, piling on top of each other.

"My ribs are about to break, help! Oh, is this how you welcome me?" Rody finally crawled out from the pile, laughing heartily and embracing everyone. When it was Chris's turn, he looked less happy. As Rody's big hand embraced him, he punched Rody in the nose.

"That punch was too light! How dare you disappear chasing girls? Don't you know we were almost dying of worry?" Chris was more aggrieved than Rody.

"You think it's easy to come back from hell?" Rody laughed heartily, saying, "Actually, I just came back. If you had seen me earlier covered in divine fire, you would have run as far away as possible. Don't worry, listen to me. Actually, I didn't go to hell, but wandered in the land of exile for half a year. Then, mistakenly, I ended up in the Abyss, and finally returned to the mortal world with the help of the Queen of the Abyss. The twists and turns of the journey, even three days and nights would not suffice to explain! I first went to see my mother upon returning, and the news I got from her shocked me. Felic was destroyed, the Grand Marshal was killed, so I hurriedly bid farewell to my mother to find you all. Who knew that you had built a City of Freedom in the land of evil. I thought, why not appear as the Prince of the Night from the Abyss? It would make things much easier..."

"No, that's too brief." Tommy and others surrounded Rody, excitedly urging him to elaborate.

"After the Archangel Matifa caught up with me, I knew my chance had come!" Rody began to describe how he extorted treasures from the Archangel in the land of exile, leaving everyone gaping in amazement. The guts to extort treasures even under the bondage of the 'Chains of Binding God' seemed like something only Rody would do. But everyone cheered upon hearing about Matifa's miserable fate, finding it immensely satisfying.

"The things I extorted, I'll share with my brothers. Do you think I'd keep them all to myself?" Chris said angrily.

"I'm very generous, you should know that," Rody replied. He was only interested in divine artifacts now. According to the Starry Sky Goddess, using intermediate divine artifacts as weapons was overestimating them.

Tommy chose the Invisibility Hat, and Rody strongly suspected that he intended to use it to peek at girls bathing.

Stanley happily put on the Belt of Strength, laughing heartily.

Terry put on the Pursuing Wind Boots, making his nickname of 'Phantom' even more appropriate. The assassin Jesse eagerly grabbed the Dagger of Assassination. He had a fanatic love for daggers, of course, with his greatest hobby being using them to slit others' throats. Keli chose between the Angel Feather Arrows and the Dragon Eye Ring, ultimately putting on the Dragon Eye Ring, to Lopek's astonishment.

He didn't know how to shoot arrows, so the Angel Feather Arrows were of no use to him.

Finally, Rody gave him a Bloodthirsty Demon Axe used by a demon general, not only with a blood-sucking magical effect but also with vicious curses of wound tearing and corrosion.

Lopek happily accepted it. As for Leo and Benson, they didn't compete with the others and gladly accepted the Dark Demon Sword and Fluorescent Demon Armor prepared by Rody for them. They knew Rody wouldn't forget them, and their personalities were more like the elder brothers among the group, especially Benson, who was silent but the most mature and stable.

"Looks like Matifa had quite a few good things!" Chris glanced at the Dark Demon Sword in Leo's hand, incredulous that even a light angel would have dark weapons.

"There are two small countries in the Abyss, called Deep Abyss and Hidden Marsh, and these are the weapons of those demon generals. Also, those demon generals and dark knights are all war prisoners who surrendered to the Underworld..." Rody certainly knew what Chris was thinking and casually explained. Then, suddenly remembering something, he asked, "Did Dean Buk mention anything to you? When Felic went to war, you all ran to support, right?"

"Of course, Felic hasn't fallen. It's just temporarily relocated to the Seven Clans' land." Tommy nodded, saying, "The Dean said our most important task was to find you. He guessed he would come out in the Seven Clans' land to meet with us in about half a year."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Now you remember Jill? If you really cared that much, you shouldn't have been flirting with those girls!" Chris huffed.

"When did I flirt with girls?" Rody was about to faint upon hearing this.

"You didn't?" Chris looked like he was seeing someone bitten by a snake yet denying it, almost punching him again. Tommy, Stanley, and others also looked at Rody with great envy, saying, "Boss, we support you! Wow, those four beauties, no need to say, they're even more beautiful than saints! It's rare they look exactly the same... By the way, do they have any sisters or cousins? Introduce some to us?"

"No way." Rody absolutely refused to do so.

"Boss, don't be so greedy, pity us!" Stanley and others pleaded earnestly.

"Xingqing, show yourselves and tell them what you call me!" Rody gestured, and Xingqing and the others appeared from invisibility, respectfully bowing to Rody and saying in unison, "Father!"

"Pfft..." Tommy was about to drink water and ended up spraying it all over Stanley's face.

Everyone's face showed shock, even Chris looked astounded.

Their mouths and eyes all seemed to drop to the ground.

These young girls actually called Rody "father." Could it be that they were daughters Rody had with someone in the Abyss? How could they have grown so big in just a year? Was time in the Abyss different from that on human lands? Or did people in the Abyss mature especially quickly, growing into young women in just a year?

"I'm dizzy!" Terry collapsed to the ground, his legs twitching like a stepped-on cockroach.

"You pervert... Don't tell anyone you know me!" Chris, recalling the Prince of the Night's enjoyment of being bathed by beauties, immediately changed his expression and, in a fury, grabbed Rody's shirt and gave him a punch.

"Xingqing, don't do anything. Go wait in the storage space! You can't understand these things!" Rody was preparing for Chris's punch, but seeing Xingqing and the others ready to launch starlight magic at Chris, he hurriedly stopped them. He took another punch from Chris and quickly put Xingqing and the others away to prevent a fight from breaking out.

"Father, are you alright? Please allow us to punish those who offend your dignity..." In Xingqing and the others' hearts, anyone who raised a hand against Rody was a villain.

"I'll punish them myself. You go wait for my call!" Rody quickly ordered.

"Yes, Father." Xingqing and the others turned into four points of starlight and floated into Rody's storage space.

Everyone was startled by the dialogue between Rody and them, thinking these 'daughters' didn't understand what friendship was as they were about to attack Chris. However, everyone thought that 'daughters' who grew up in a year being obedient was already good enough, so they were reassured. It wasn't too strange for anything to happen around Rody, as he was such an extraordinary person.

If he were like everyone else, he wouldn't be Rody.

Chris, seeing that Rody was still favoring him despite getting punched, felt his heart soften, although he was still enraged thinking about Rody letting his 'daughters' bathe him, behaving recklessly. If he needed to vent, he could find someone else; how could he involve his own daughters? It was just too much... Chris started to feel that his punch was a bit too hard, but then felt it was still too light, not enough to warn this guy whose reputation was about to be ruined.

"Everyone, don't misunderstand, they are not my biological daughters. But, I don't know how to explain, in any case, they call me father. And they grew up in the Abyss, although it's been thousands of years, they don't know anything about human restraints and etiquette, so they just act according to their nature and understanding, which is very different from us humans." Rody tried to explain, but the more he talked, the more confused everyone became.

However, when Rody mentioned that Xingqing and the others were already thousands of years old, everyone was quite shocked.

Actually, even if Rody didn't explain anything, everyone wouldn't mind, no matter who Xingqing and the others were, whether they were Rody's daughters, whether biologically or nominally, everyone would respect them the same.

"They are such beings, the human concepts of lifespan and aging do not apply to them." Rody's words made everyone extremely envious.

"Wow, aren't they like godly beings then?" Terry's eyes shone with infinite admiration.

"They are not gods... It should be said that, to humans, they are like eternal stars in the sky." Rody couldn't explain more; he knew such an explanation would suffice for everyone else, but certainly not for Chris.

"I have something to ask you, and you must answer honestly!" Chris said sternly.

"Boss, I just remembered, I have an important appointment!" Seeing the situation was bad, Stanley quickly found an excuse to leave.

"Stanley, what a coincidence, I have an appointment too! Shall we go together?" Everyone burst into laughter, no longer paying attention to Rody, shamelessly fleeing to avoid being caught in an awkward position between the two leaders. As long as they were there, Chris would definitely be more restrained, and Rody would be happy. But angering the petty Chris would mean trouble for everyone.

Better to betray Rody than to offend Chris.

Anyway, Rody was good-natured; a little betrayal wouldn't lead to blame...

Everyone rushed out, scrambling to be first, fearing being caught by Rody. Chris looked at Rody, signaling him to try catching someone to use as a shield.

"I'll be honest." Rody had no choice but to surrender, anyway, he also wanted to spend some time alone with Chris. Maybe he'd get scolded, but he was eager to clear some doubts.

"Who is the Queen of the Underworld?" Chris asked a crucial question.

"It's not easy to explain in a few words..." Rody spread his hands, approached Chris, and whispered, "Let's sit down and talk slowly."

"Don't touch me, I'm not gay!" Chris glared at Rody, stepped back, and sat down huffily on a chair, refusing to look at Rody again.

"I'm not gay either, but don't you think we're missing a brotherly hug? Everyone welcomed me back from the Abyss with a hug, why should you be an exception? Chris, it seems we've never hugged, right? Even after a great victory, you just happily punched my shoulder. Do you have a fear of hugging?" Rody asked curiously.

"No, hitting people is my unique way of expressing myself." Chris was a bit flustered by Rody's question.

"Chris, I really miss the days of training! When can we relive them?" Rody leaned closer to Chris, asking, "When can we bathe together again?"

"Go bathe with your beauties, why all this nonsense? I want to ask you something, and you're beating around the bush, what does that mean?" Chris became angry.

"I got married." As soon as Rody said this, Chris jumped up.

"It's the Queen of the Underworld, I knew it..." Chris sat down gloomily, silent for a long time.

"I told her a lot about the human world, about the female boss, about Jill, and about you." Rody looked into Chris's eyes and slowly said, "She thinks you're a woman. Chris, tell me the truth, are you?"

"No, I'm a man!" Chris frantically pushed Rody away, exclaiming, "Stay away from me, or I'll break off our friendship!"

"Only a woman would care if I got married. If you were a man, you would just be happy for me." Rody caught Chris's hand, looked at his flushed face, and said softly, "How careless of me to have had a girl by my side for almost two years without realizing it. I always suspected you were an enemy spy, otherwise, you wouldn't have been so nice to me. Now, thinking about it, I realize how stupid I was."

"I'm not, let go of me!" Chris struggled unsuccessfully, attempting to bite Rody but, seeing Rody's grinning face, raised his hand to slap him instead.

"Even if the Queen of the Underworld hadn't said you were a woman, I had my suspicions." Rody caught Chris's fist, leaned in close to his ear, and gently exhaled a warm breath, softly saying, "But since I married the Queen of the Underworld and began to understand women, I now realize what your scent is all about!"

"Let go, release me!" Chris panicked. At this moment, not only Rody, but even Chris himself, could smell a fragrance quietly emanating.

"Your body fragrance, it's really nice!" Rody took a deep breath, opened his arms, and tightly embraced the trembling Chris.