Chapter 170: Fate and Critical Hit

"So beautiful..."

Hera gazed at the surrounding starlight, magic surging within her, and suddenly stood up straight, appearing somewhat abrupt.

"This is the legendary [Indescribable Realm], which can only be opened by gathering four divine artifacts to synthesize a single key!"

The holy light overflowing with her movements felt extremely soft and aesthetic at this moment.

Luo Yong's heart stirred, yet his face remained expressionless.

"I foresaw this... This is destiny..."

Hera looked around, seemingly full of curiosity about everything in her surroundings.

"Is there no end to this place?" she asked, pointing to the stone-paved path that stretched on toward infinite distance.

"This is the Eternal Land, where time does not flow, so naturally this path has no end," Luo Yong said indifferently.

"Is that so..."

Hera withdrew her gaze, turned to look at Luo Yong, then glanced at the place where she had been lying, looking at the high, layered pile of cloaks, and was momentarily speechless. "Do you have a special preference for cloaks?"

"No, I just grabbed the wrong scroll," Luo Yong said.

"That's good. I also hope... I wouldn't want the person standing before me to have some bizarre quirk, that would make me feel quite troubled," Hera said.

"What do you mean?" Luo Yong asked.

"Destiny."

"Huh?"

"Destiny chose you, and I chose destiny." As she said this, a faint flush crept across Hera's cheeks, making her already striking face even more alluring and vibrant.

After a period of recovery, her body had completely healed, leaving no hidden ailments within her.

At this moment, her body was glowing, and the cloak draped over her shoulders slipped away silently, without the slightest warning, so abruptly.

The light was gentle and lingering, like a pair of affectionate hands caressing a most intimate lover.

Swish!

Several cards appeared before her, arranged neatly in rows and columns.

She slowly reached out and pressed her hand upon one of the cards, yet did not flip it over.

With her fingertips' light touch, a halo of light emerged from the card, then spread outward, followed by a strange magical fluctuation.

Centered on this card, all the other cards were affected, trembling slightly.

Space and time seemed to become disordered, and the heavens and earth returned to their primal state.

For a brief moment, Luo Yong felt as though something had happened, or perhaps as though something was about to happen.

Yet, in this Eternal Land, he did nothing, merely watching quietly—what kind of game was this mystical woman trying to play while completely naked?

Wasn't she very modest before?

Could it be that after being seen so many times, she had simply gotten used to it?

As for the customs of this otherworldly realm...

Luo Yong wouldn't act pretentious like Pang Ding or pretend to be a strict moralist; he wasn't a stranger to adult films, having seen all kinds of worldly sights, so there was nothing to make a fuss about.

Only, Hera right now gave him a somewhat abnormal feeling, though he couldn't quite put his finger on what was wrong.

Fortunately, this was the Eternal Land, where time did not truly flow, so it wouldn't disrupt his progress in saving the world.

Swish!

A powerful surge of magic rippled outward, and Hera's long hair danced in the wind, which, coupled with her current state, made her look infinitely seductive.

Yet, the soft light emanating from her skin also made her appear utterly holy and pure.

"All of this... is the arrangement of destiny!"

The card in Hera's hand suddenly burst with intense light, while the other cards surrounded her like satellites and flew outward, fluttering around Luo Yong as well.

A light barrier formed in the space around the two of them, and the cards adhered to the barrier, their patterns intertwining as if sealing the area.

Immediately afterward, these patterns spread in all directions.

Up, down, left, right, front, and back.

While Luo Yong was still bewildered, a soft female body lunged into his arms, wrapping her arms around him.

Following that, two shy yet burning lips kissed him recklessly!

Inside the cramped space constructed of light and cards stood a stark-naked Hera and an expressionless Luo Yong.

The two stared into each other's eyes, feeling each other's breath, appearing steady on the surface while feeling rather flustered inside.

"You... Hera..."

"Don't say anything, okay?" Hera's gaze was somewhat hazy as she bit her lower lip and murmured, "This is destiny... Do you believe it?"

As she said this, her eyes sparkled with an unusual brilliance, and her face displayed a breathtaking beauty.

Then, as if gathering all her courage, she hugged Luo Yong tightly, pressing herself closely against his chest.

"Destiny... huh..."

---

If the ancient wizard had been a proper, traditional man, he would never have accepted anyone doing such things in the Eternal Land he left behind.

Even in death, with his coffin lid rotting away, he would have jumped out to curse this shameless pair of scoundrels!

However, if he wasn't particularly proper himself, having created this Indescribable Realm for certain indescribable purposes...

Then, for such a thing to happen here... or rather, no matter what happened here, it was all perfectly normal.

When emotions run deep, they become difficult to restrain, especially when one can lean on the excuse of destiny.

Because time did not flow here, no one knew how much time had passed.

In that cramped space constructed of holy light and mysterious cards, two figures clung closely together, unwilling to separate even for a single second.

If not for the lingering obsessions in their hearts, if not for the solemn vows made long ago, perhaps this very moment could have lasted for eternity, right here at the end of time.

"Even though I am an astrologer, and even though I foresaw all of this happening, I never imagined that person would be you."

In this place of no secrets, in this moment of absolute honesty, the mask on Luo Yong's face was finally removed, shedding all pretense.

Hera reached out to gently stroke Luo Yong's face, feeling the vibrant, youthful energy radiating from him, and said with a hint of grievance: "Will you... think I'm an old hag and ignore me from now on?"

"You fool, how could you be old?" Luo Yong chuckled softly, pulling the woman in his arms tightly and fiercely—the woman who had entrusted everything to him—and said with deep emotion: "I'm only worried that you'll be angry, because there is still another girl in my heart, and we made a promise..."

"Don't say it." Hera quickly covered Luo Yong's mouth, whispering, "I saw it, I know everything. You really can't forget her even for a second, is she really that wonderful?"

"She..."

Just as Luo Yong was about to speak, Hera covered his mouth once more to prevent him from continuing.

"You don't need to say anything, I understand everything." Hera met his gaze, then lowered her head, pressing her face against his chest to listen to his heartbeat.

"I know you have things you must do, things you must accomplish no matter what. And I also know I have a place in your heart, and that is enough," Hera murmured to herself, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face. "I only hope that when you touch the power of darkness, you will not sink, you will not fall, and above all, you will not lose yourself."

"But I have already sunk, I have already fallen, and I have lost myself right now!" Luo Yong flipped over, pinning Hera beneath him as he looked at her passionately.

A flush of red bloomed across her cheeks, making her look immensely shy and captivating.

...

"How long was it this time? Three months, five months? Or a year?"

Pang Ding stared at Luo Yong, who was dressed in mercenary attire and looked no different from before. Although he seemed unchanged on the surface, Pang Ding acutely sensed that something about him was different!

"Do you want the details? Why are you so perverted?" Luo Yong asked emotionlessly.

"Bah! Shameless scoundrels! Who wants to hear about your disgusting affairs?!" Pang Ding cursed angrily.

They had agreed to remain single dogs together, yet Luo Yong had sneaked away halfway to pick up girls!

Who wouldn't be furious facing something like this?

Inside the Nazda Guest Shop in Sunset Town, just as Pang Ding had stepped through the door and barely warmed his seat, Luo Yong arrived right behind him.

"Did you settle that chick... ah no, that lady... well, whatever. Do you still have any lingering attachments? Did she let you leave? Didn't she cry and beg you not to go, to stay and keep her company?" Pang Ding pulled out a gemstone and shoved it into the Bovine Devourer, embarking on his pay-to-win journey.

"What are you talking about? We are adults; how could we get bogged down in endless romance? I have major things to do!" Luo Yong spoke unblushingly.

"Oh right, you two must have gotten sick of each other, finished everything you needed to do, so you wouldn't even miss each other if you didn't meet for eight or ten years. Tsk tsk, makes total sense," Pang Ding said sagely, wearing an expression that suggested he knew everything.

"Stop talking nonsense, you fat bastard. I left the person in your care to teach—how is she doing, has she made any progress?"

Luo Yong pointed to Gaia, who was standing nearby, draped in a cloak and hooded without revealing her true appearance, and asked, "You didn't teach her anything, did you?"

"My foot! Are you still living in a dream? From leaving the traitorous homeland to get here, just the journey took nearly a full day, and I had only just sat down when you showed up!"

Pang Ding stared at the gacha results displayed in the Ancient Devourer: three bronze cards, all with different suits and patterns.

This damn shop seemed to have secretly altered its programming; besides the card type, it had added [suit] as a condition, drastically lowering the winning probability.

Previously, as long as the card type and pattern matched, it counted as a win.

Now, the card type, pattern, and suit all had to match.

Consequently, he frantically dug out more gemstones and slammed his fist heavily against the button of the Bovine Devourer.

"There was no time to teach! There was simply no time!"

Pang Ding roared as he struck the machine repeatedly, his emotions inexplicably agitated.

Though Luo Yong's romantic affairs had nothing to do with him whatsoever, for some reason, as a single dog, Pang Ding still felt he had suffered severe critical damage.

"I am not taking apprentices! If you want to teach her, go teach her somewhere else!"