"I never considered it. We are all warriors of Eternal Longing Star, having long set aside thoughts of life and death to follow the will of the Spirit Realm against the Mold Spirit energy. So, my only thought at the time was to rescue Lord Father at Eternal Star Camp. Even if I failed, I knew exactly why. Moreover, it was only after attempting to rescue King Er of Er country myself that I could truly forgive my own incompetence," Captain Tie Zhu replied firmly, his conviction unwavering.
Master Gu and Dream Jia naturally greatly admired Captain Tie Zhu's integrity and principles. Therefore, they weren't truly blaming Captain Tie Zhu for anything now. Instead, after Captain Tie Zhu voluntarily revealed the hidden truth about his identity and apologized awkwardly to Master Gu and Dream Jia, they couldn't help but entertain thoughts of teasing an honest person.
"Now that Tie Zhu's matter is clear, Dream Lady," Master Gu changed his tone and asked the Eternal Longing Star woman who had been in the lounge with them since they arrived at the Muxing Palace, "By the way, how much longer until Her Majesty the Queen returns? Before she returns, can't we go out for a stroll?"
"Regarding this, Dream Lady, Her Majesty the Queen has already returned to the Muxing Palace. Once Her Majesty has changed into appropriate attire, she will be able to meet with the two esteemed priests. However, until Her Majesty returns, it would be best for the two priests to rest here temporarily. Due to the tense situation in Eternal Longing Star and the unpredictable conditions within the black hole, once we detect the arrival of priests, we must inform Her Majesty first and only allow the two to move freely within the palace with Her Majesty's personal consent. This is to protect both priests who do not understand the situation here and for our own safety. Please understand, we apologize sincerely!" the Eternal Longing Star woman replied respectfully and unquestionably.
"In short, you are still afraid that we might be impostor priests or have impure intentions coming here. Therefore, it is necessary for Her Majesty, the powerful priest, to personally verify our identities before allowing us into the Muxing Palace, right?" Dream Jia rolled her eyes and summarized with disdain.
"Um... Please forgive us for the inconvenience!" Seeing the assertiveness and frankness of this female priest, the Eternal Longing Star woman could only bow ninety degrees again in apology.
"Oh, don't worry about it! Given your current situation, caution is indeed the right choice. We will naturally respect your rules. Besides, I haven't fully recovered from the battle at Eternal Star Camp, so it's fine to rest here for a while!" Master Gu quickly waved his hand to show his understanding, afraid that Dream Jia's strong personality might cause trouble for others.
At this time, Hao Yun was flying side by side with King Er of Er on a griffin, wondering curiously where King Er was taking him. Because from the griffin's flight path, it seemed they were not heading towards the Muxing Palace but continuing towards somewhere outside these mountains.
Seeing this, King Er hurriedly explained, "Please don't worry, sir. Because of today's incident causing a mess in the Muxing Palace, in order to better accommodate you, we will first stay at the estate where I usually reside tonight. After the palace is cleaned up, we will return. What do you think?"
Although King Er asked in a modest tone, his team of griffins had already changed their course according to his instructions. Therefore, King Er was just symbolically seeking Hao Yun's opinion and expressing friendliness. So, Hao Yun shrugged casually, indicating that he didn't mind. After all, he had no choice but to follow the other party now. Moreover, as long as both sides didn't act, Hao Yun could preserve the energy of the Yin-Yang Realm Battle Armor and his mental strength longer, giving him more capital to delay in extreme situations he might encounter later.
The group soon flew to the edge of this forest area. It was then that Hao Yun realized this forest was also located on a high-altitude mountain range. After flying to the end of the forest, the griffins turned and followed a rainbow waterfall cascading down from the forest, quickly flying over a lake beneath it. Beyond this lake was a vast plain covered with grass and trees. In a nearby forest not far from the lake sat a very large estate. Although this estate appeared to be a summer resort exclusively enjoyed by the powerful, the defensive fortifications built around it and the guards visible everywhere were like reminders to visitors that this was a heavily guarded military stronghold. Be cautious in words and deeds upon entering here, as a momentary carelessness could easily lead to deadly consequences.
"Sir, ahead is my humble abode—Evergreen Manor," King Er pointed to the estate ahead, saying with embarrassment, "Although it is not as comfortable as the Muxing Palace, it is a leisurely place I often visit. So, please forgive me and relax here for a while. Please bear with us."
"I am Hao Yun. You may call me Lord Hao. King Er, please don't worry. I'm used to roughing it. Your Majesty granting me a place to rest is already more than satisfactory," Hao Yun said, also impolitely requesting to be addressed as "Lord." Since he was essentially under enemy house arrest now, he naturally wanted to gain as much benefit as possible.
King Er naturally understood Hao Yun's meaning, so he didn't say much more. After nodding in response, he gestured for the griffins accompanying him to descend in height and fly towards the open space in the middle of the estate. Upon landing, Hao Yun had a fleeting sense that he had entered a transitional peace. Apart from the griffins landing on this vacant lawn and heavily armored guards accompanying them, he could no longer find any trace of Mastanians having appeared here.
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"Of course, even so, due to the Mold Spirit Energy Pursuit System, Hao Yun can still clearly know that the soldiers stationed in this manor all have a four-star bad luck level, which shows that they have been invaded by Mold Spirit Energy. Therefore, the guards in the manor are either already possessed by Mold Spirit Energy, or they have become puppets of the Mastanians attached to Mold Spirit Energy.
If Captain Tie Zhu's information is correct, then the Mastanians should have at most two fusion bodies with Mold Spirit Energy on their side. In that case, these soldiers would naturally not have reached a four-star bad luck level because their bodies were invaded by Mold Spirit Energy, but because they were injected with the toxin of the Mastanians.
As for why all the Mastanians have a bad luck level, Hao Yun and the others unanimously believe that this must be related to their mother plant, their lord of destruction, Hei Men. It is very likely that after merging with that plant, the Mold Spirit Energy underwent a qualitative change due to the super reproductive ability of that plant. And the reason why the Mastanians have become the main coalition forces attacking the Helios Star System with Mold Spirit Energy is probably for this reason.
Thinking to this point, Hao Yun once again thought of the question that puzzled him: since these soldiers have been infected with the Mastanians' toxin, how can they maintain their normal form as Eternal Star people?
Next, Hao Yun, accompanied by King Er and others, walked around the villa and found that in addition to these soldiers, there were also many servants and workers responsible for working in the plantation within the manor. Moreover, according to systematic testing, these Eternal Star people all have a three-star bad luck level, which made Hao Yun even more puzzled.
According to Captain Tie Zhu, after the Helios Star fell, except for those Eternal Star people who were transformed into grass and puppets during the attack by the Mastanians, all the other Eternal Star people should have safely left here after the ceasefire agreement was signed between Queen Eternal Star and the Destroyer. However, why are there still so many normal Eternal Star people here? Is this because Captain Tie Zhu's intelligence is inaccurate? Or is there another hidden reason?
In addition, these normal Eternal Star people can live peacefully together in the same room with Eternal Star soldiers infected with the Mastanians' toxin, which is also a very magical thing. It is precisely because of this that Hao Yun has another speculation, that King Er might have personally led some of the Eternal Star people to defect to the side of the Destroyer later on?
Thinking of this, Hao Yun couldn't help but glance at King Er, who was enthusiastically introducing the situation of the villa. The Eternal Star King, who has been transformed into a grassy form and has a bad luck level of five stars, is definitely not as simple as he looks. Hao Yun vaguely even has a feeling that the danger of this King Er may far exceed that of the Mastanian Lord of Destruction, Hei Men.
"Cough cough cough. Uh, Lord Hao, do you have any questions that this minister can answer for you?" Just as Hao Yun was about to fall into contemplation again, King Er suddenly asked.
Hao Yun withdrew his attention at the words and saw that King Er was staring at him with a slightly alert look. So he hurriedly praised nonchalantly, "No, no. I'm just attracted by the quiet scenery here! Hey! It's worthy of being the King's vacation villa! It really makes people feel intoxicated and refreshed as soon as they enter!"
King Er laughed awkwardly and said, "Hahaha! This minister's small rural scenery, how can it compare with the great rivers and mountains of the Spirit Realm? It really makes Lord laugh!"
Then, King Er respectfully bowed to Hao Yun and said, "Look at me with such a stupid brain, just talking nonsense about the scenery here to Lord Hao, forgetting entirely that Lord Hao has traveled far and wide on this journey, and has been busy saving my subordinates for most of the day. Shouldn't Lord Hao be resting now?"
"It's okay, it's okay! Thanks to Your Majesty's timely arrival, I have avoided excessive exhaustion. So, I just need a little rest, and my physical strength will be restored!" To prevent King Er and the others from seeing through his strength, Hao Yun casually laughed and said.
"However, I am a little surprised at how quickly Your Majesty's complexion has recovered. It seems that Your Majesty's body is much stronger than I imagined!" Hao Yun continued with a concerned tone. Hao Yun naturally referred to King Er's current energetic state, which is completely different from what he saw in the King's Hall before, struggling in pain.
"Hahaha! Let Lord Hao laugh! The reason why this minister is in such good condition now is because every time I come here, my mood becomes particularly relaxed. Lord Hao may not know that this Green Mountain Villa was specially built by my father, the former king, for welcoming my mother. When I was a child, I often played here with my father and mother, leaving countless precious childhood memories here. Later, after my father's death, I inherited the throne and naturally inherited the management of this villa."
King Er touched his long horns with some embarrassment as he reminisced, looking at the garden full of birdsong and fragrance in the distance, and continued to sigh, "Ah! It's just a pity that due to the invasion of the Mastanians, the Green Water Villa was also destroyed. But fortunately, after the battle, I had the opportunity to rebuild it and restore it to its former appearance. You know, it carries all the happy memories of my childhood! Because of this, I have dreamed more than once of raising our descendants with my wife here in the future, spending a happy and joyful summer together."
Seeing King Er full of anticipation for the future, Hao Yun finally couldn't help but say, "It's just a pity that you can't return to the past childhood time, nor can you wait for future happiness. Because the Helios Star System is no longer your territory, isn't it?"
Hao Yun's words were like a needle, mercilessly hitting King Er's sore spot. As soon as the guards beside them heard Hao Yun's words, they immediately shook their weapons and looked at Hao Yun with extremely fierce eyes, all aimed at the calm Hao Yun.