The Ring: Sell Dung Beetles in Junction

Chapter 465 Friends

Gaius rode a wild boar across the open terrace.

Messermo also rode a huge hippopotamus and followed the Boar Rider closely, biting him tightly and refusing to give in.

The two men competed in speed, and the giant beasts they rode on created waves on the ground.

Wuming huddled in the corner, his hands on his knees, looking as insignificant as a little boy serving a knight.

The hippo under Messermo's crotch was incredibly fast, and even surpassed Gaius slightly. But Gaius and the wild boar suddenly flashed with purple light, flew up directly, and charged forward.

The contest between Gaius and Messermo ended with Gaius winning, and the two men walked over, talking and laughing, drinking unknown wine.

"No, you came here on purpose to piss me off, didn't you?" Wuming was very unhappy, "Why do you all have mounts?"

"You didn't?" Messermo asked.

Several bulges like blue veins appeared on Wuming's helmet:
"I don't. I'm like a waiter serving you, but I don't get paid."

Messermo smiled: "How can you be a waiter?"

As they were talking, a Son of Platinum came over on a wolf from a distance and served fruits and meat to Gaius and Messermo.

Gaius thrust his spear, grabbed the meat, stuffed it into his mouth heroically, and said:
"Look, this is a waiter."

Wuming's eyes turned red: "The waiters all have mounts!"

Messermo pointed to the hippopotamus behind him:

"Why don't you give it a try? If you can tame it, I'll give it to you."

"It's a deal!" Wuming pounced directly at the huge hippo without saying a word.

As soon as it landed on the hippo, the hippopotamus shook its head repeatedly as if in response to stress, and even grew sharp spines all over its body, pointing them up to the sky like a porcupine.

Wuming fell from the sky, ignoring the sharp quills piercing his body, and held on to the porcupine's sharp quills and the big horns on its forehead, and refused to let go no matter how the hippo rolled and ran.

Messermo couldn't help laughing as he watched the hippo running away into the distance.

Gaius fed the boar a piece of meat and said to Messermus:
"How are you doing lately? I see you can bring new friends here, so you seem to be doing well?"

Messermo did not answer immediately. After a moment's silence, he said:
"Recently, I've been thinking about whether or not to end the jihad."

"End the holy war?" Gaius' eyes widened like a pig's. "When did you figure it out?"

Messermo said: "Wuming is a man from the border area. He told me everything. My mother is in trouble, and I think this may be an opportunity."

Gaius straightened himself.

"Will you have a place to stay after you return? What about the city defense and the horn people here?"

Messermo said, "So I came to you. I thought you would guard the city after I left."

"Waiting for me here." Gaius smiled, "I was wondering why you had time to come here."

"I want to talk to you about this matter as well," said Messermo. "After all, you are the only person I can discuss this with."

"Where's Laelana?" Gaius asked.

"She will only support me," Messermo said. "It's not for negotiation."

"Tsk tsk." Gaius said, "What a nice girl, why did she follow you?"

Messeraeus looked at Gaius's boar:

"What a nice pig, why did he follow you?"

Gaius laughed:
"What are you going to do? Announce it directly? That will lead to another mutiny. You have to be cautious, take one step at a time, and test the soldiers' attitudes."

Messermo hesitated:
"Let's start with something small, reducing the number of impaled bodies outside the city, how about that?"

"Yes," Gaius said, "this way we can see the attitude of the soldiers."

Gaius asked, "But how are you going to get back?"

"Wuming should be able to find a way." Messermo said, "It seems that they have opened the seals between the Shadow Land and the Border Land, and can come and go freely."

"That's good." Gaius said, "But it's best not to ask me to help you defend the city. Find someone else you trust."

"What's wrong?" Messermo looked at Gaius with some worry, "You..."

"I'm dying," Gaius said. "My time should be up soon."

Messermo looked inside the boar's carapace and saw that Gaius's legs were almost completely gone.

Messermo opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but remained silent.

Gaius looked at Wuming who was still fighting with the hippopotamus in the distance and smiled:

"Your new friend is quite good. The curse of immortality is suitable for an immortal snake like you. I, the cursed son of platinum, can't stay with you for much longer."

Messermo hung his head and remained silent.

"Cood is good," Gaius said, "He will definitely be able to defend this city, the vault, and the village."

"I'd better wait a little longer," said Messermo, "I'll wait until I see you off to the end, old man, before I leave."

"Don't wait. Opportunities disappear while you're waiting." Gaius said, "I will die eventually. You, the Golden Clan, still have a long lifespan. Don't regret missing out on an opportunity one day in the future."

Messermo was even more sad, and the two of them could only drink in silence.

Wuming flew over at this time and fell headfirst in front of the two of them. Wuming pulled himself out, feeling very frustrated:

"No, it seems I have no chance of becoming a living creature. I am destined not to have a horse, no matter if it is a warhorse or a hippopotamus. What are you doing? You look so sullen, but I am the one who has no horse, am I not?"

Messermo was in no mood to interrupt Wuming right now:

"Gaius is nearing the end of his life."

Wuming observed Gaius:
"You're not injured."

"Son of Platinum," Gaius said.

"Oh, he was born with a congenital disease and died young, right?" Wuming understood. "It's not a big deal. Just let Greg reattach a limb."

Messermo widened his one eye:
"Greck, can this cure this?"

"This is the only cure--" Wuming said halfway, and suddenly realized that this sentence seemed to imply that Greg couldn't cure the witch, and quickly changed the subject, "Anyway, the first person Greg treated was Platinum's Son. Several big guys worked together, and outside the Shadow Land, we have already solved this problem. Platinum's chronic illness is no longer a problem."

"So amazing?" Gaius's state of being a fading hero was swept away, and he was very surprised, "Is it true?"

"We have reattached Latan's legs." Wuming said confidently, "From demigods to commoners, we have had successful cases."

"Latan? His leg is broken?" Gaius was even more surprised. "Who can break his leg?"

"He was corrupted, right? He had a fight with Marenia before." Wuming said, "Come to think of it, you flew with the wild boar before, it looked like a gravity move, did you learn it from Latan?"

"Latan is my fellow apprentice," Gaius said, "We both learned from the White King."

"Latan's senior brother?" Wuming glanced sideways, "Then you are really good at surviving."

"So I have no regrets in my death." Gaius said, "But you just broke the atmosphere when you came. Well, I don't mind living a few more years."

Messermo looked at Wuming deeply:
"Thank you."

Wuming didn't know what Messermo was feeling before, so he just hummed and hawed in agreement, not caring. His attention was still on the hippopotamus in the distance, staring at it eagerly, and couldn't forget about it.

Gaius said, "Then I can help you defend the city. Just go ahead and get out of here."

Messermo laughed:

"Eat before you go. The game hunted by the son of platinum is rare."

Sometimes the three of them ate meat and drank wine, and sometimes they fought and sparred with each other. Only after they had fought to their heart's content did they return to the vault.

On the way, Wuming asked Meisemuo:
"The city defense is in Gaius' hands. Are you ready to leave the Shadow Land?"

"I'm going to find my mother," said Messermo. "Maybe I'll come back after I'm done."

"Even if this is the place where you were abandoned?"

"I don't have anywhere else to go, right? This is my second home." Messemo stepped into the vault and sniffed the specimens, books and scents in the vault. "I watched this vault being built and have been here for a long time. Before he died, Sid said that this vault not only preserves the species of lost civilizations, but also preserves the opportunity to reconcile with the Horned People. All it needs is a key."

"What key?" Wuming asked.

"I don't know. She died right after she finished speaking." Messermo said, "Maybe you are the key. After you came here, many problems were solved."

"After all, what's happening here is nothing new," Wuming said. "Although it's more extreme, it's happened before at the border, and we already have experience in dealing with it."

Wuming said: "Since I have made great contributions, would you please let me go free for a few days?"

"Where are you going?" Messermo asked.

"Go collect some materials." Wuming said, "The location is confidential, but it won't take long."

Messermo handed Wuming a badge with the standards of Messermo's military flag, flames, winged snakes, and golden rings on it.

"Use this to enter and exit." Messermo said. After giving Wuming the pass to enter and exit, Messermo returned to his room and began to implement his plan, discussing with the Flame Knight, conveying orders, and reducing the number of piercing spears outside the city.

Messermo began to prepare for the end of the jihad.

He planned to start with small things to get the soldiers used to it. And if the soldiers had a big backlash, he also had a way to calm them down - as long as he told them that he was going back to the border, the soldiers' emotions would naturally disappear.

By manipulating the joy of returning, weakening the soldiers' fanatical war emotions, and taking the most fanatical people away from Shadowland, perhaps the intensity of this endless war in Shadowland can be reduced by a few levels.

Then, maybe there will be a chance to negotiate with the Horned Man.

Messermo planned everything and pushed forward steadily, preparing to announce his return as soon as Wuming came back.

The passage back to the border area is brought by the Lightless Ones, which can also curb the fanaticism of the soldiers and make them less hostile to the Lightless Ones.

Messermo looked at the Shadow Tree and felt as if he had seen the golden tree of his hometown again. Perhaps his prayers really worked, and his mother really sent salvation to him and this Shadow Land.

Then, Messermo waited for his friend to arrive.

=========
Shadow City has been a little restless recently.

Messemo ordered the reduction of piercing spears and corpses. The corpses that once majestically surrounded Shadow City in three layers inside and outside were now reduced to only one layer.

The rest of the bodies were placed far outside the city and were collected by the horde people lurking outside the city.

Many soldiers were not happy to see the trophies that symbolized their military achievements being let go.

Everyone was talking about it, not understanding what Messermo was up to, and began to guess various reasons.

Some people speculated that Messermo was preparing to change his war strategy, while others speculated that the new group of people had changed Messermo. But in the end, one speculation prevailed.

That was a saying that had been passed down a long time ago, a saying that everyone buried deep in their hearts and didn't want to remember - the snake would betray the golden tree.

Messermo, betrayed the Golden Tree.

This rumor began to spread again, especially among the black knights and soldiers outside the vault.

The Black Knights were the main force of the Messermo Army, but Messermo was not the leader of the Black Knights. There was no leader in this legion either, because the former leader and deputy leader rebelled but ultimately failed and were imprisoned in the underground cemetery by Messermo.

Now, only remnants of the Black Knights are left.

The mutiny also slowed down the Messermo army's once unstoppable offensive, and the stalemate with the Horned People has continued to this day.

Messermo did not execute the leader of the mutiny. The deputy commander of the Black Knights was his comrade-in-arms, and the commander was the deputy commander's father, also a general with outstanding military achievements.

Messermo knew them. They were devout believers of the Golden Tree. Their betrayal was not due to greed, nor was it caused by the Horned Man's deception. It was simply because they were devout and they themselves had the nature of snakes.

It was difficult for outsiders to know how much of an impact that incident had on Messermo. All they knew was that from then on, Messermo became a recluse and rarely talked to other people. The only people he could communicate with were his subordinate, the Flame Knight, Laelana who had always followed him, and the Platinum Son who was also cursed.

Snake and fire, these two innate natures, caused him to lose his mother and his comrades.

The Golden Tree was great and could never be wrong, so he could only hate himself. The more he hated himself, the more he hated filth, and he turned this filth into motivation for holy war.

The killing of Messermo gradually put the Black Knights who had not yet rebelled to ease their minds. They were willing to believe this general, and were even more reluctant to admit the speculation - that they had been abandoned by Marika in this shadowy land.

The soldiers could only rely on killing and the guidance of Father Golden Tree to comfort their hearts. From time to time, some people would collapse and never recover, fighting their fear with numbness.

And this fear has now been aroused again.

Because of Messermo's changes, and also because of the return of two people.

In the vault, the Fire Knight moved the heavy bookshelf, blocking the main door and the elevator switch. After doing all this, report back to Messermo immediately.

Outside the vault, the Black Knights and Messermo soldiers gathered and surrounded the vault.

Messermo was also a little surprised when he heard what the Flame Knight reported.

He had guessed that there would be some resistance among the soldiers, but he had not expected it to be so strong.

“Is there someone leading them?” Messermo asked.

The Flame Knight nodded.

"Who?"

"The Black Knight leader Andros and the deputy leader Xiu." The Flame Knight said, "They are back from the cemetery."

Messermo was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to react. When he heard Xiu's name, he was even a little surprised.

But then, gloom and despair enveloped my heart:
"Impossible, there is no way they can escape. They are surrounded by numerous traps, there is no way they can get out."

"Unless there are people out there helping them," said the Flame Knight.

"That's impossible," said Messermo. "Many Black Knights have tried to rescue them, but they don't know where I imprisoned them. The map of their hiding place is only stored in this vault. Normally, no one can get out of this vault."

The Flame Knight thought:

"It seems that he is the only one who left recently."

"You said nameless? Impossible." Messermo said, "Impossible..."

Emotionally, Meisemuo was unwilling to believe that Wuming would betray him. But emotionally, Meisemuo remembered the betrayal of his former friend, Xiu.

Messermo was a little confused and had difficulty thinking for a while.

After a while, he sorted out his thoughts and said:
"I'll go out and meet Xiu and ask him directly, and then I'll know."

"My lord, it's very dangerous." The Flame Knight was worried. "They have the experience of last failure, so I'm afraid they are well prepared."

"I'm just going to see an old friend." Messemo said, and went straight to the small door on the second floor above the gate and left Shadow City from above the gate.

Messermo stood on the city wall and looked down. Two men dressed as black knights were surrounded and stood at the foot of the city.

Even though they were wearing the uniforms of the Black Knights, Messermo recognized the two men at a glance. He was familiar with their posture and body shapes.

"Xiu, Captain Andros." said Messermo.

"Messermo." The two black knights also greeted Messermo, as if they were old friends.

Messermo got straight to the point: "How did you leave the catacombs? I probably didn't leave you a back door."

"When a Faded One entered the underground cemetery, he triggered the mechanism, and we took the opportunity to get out." The leader of the Black Knights, Andros, said, "Do you know what a Faded One is? Someone who was once blessed, but now disappeared. I didn't expect that there are such people without light."

"I know." This was the only thing Messermo said in reply. He felt a little blocked in his heart and couldn't speak.

After a pause, Messermo said:
"So you came back to continue that matter?"

"You know," Andros said, "We are the people of the Golden Tree, but you are not. We came here for a holy war, to purge filth. And you are the greatest filth. Your birth is a denial of the perfection of the Golden Tree. You are the stain and worry of Queen Marica."

Andros slammed the giant hammer into the ground:
"I said the same thing before, and I still say the same thing now - you should end your life obediently. After all, only through destruction can you prove the perfection of the Golden Tree. This is the meaning of your birth."

"What will happen to this vault after I am destroyed?" asked Messermo.

"It's full of filth, too," Andros said. "It should be destroyed, too."

Messermo looked at the silent black knight beside Andros:
"Xiu, do you think so too?"

When the Black Knights' deputy leader Xiu heard what Messermo said, he did not respond directly, but said slowly:

"We once purged the sacred beasts of the Horned People. Why are you building a vault now? I heard that recently, you have begun to reduce the traces of the holy war and have removed the bodies of the Horned People? You even stopped burning the Horned People."

"I have my own plan," said Messermo. "You know, our mother Marika has encountered new troubles at the border, and we need to return for help."

"Who told you that?" Xiu asked.

"A faded one, from the borderland..."

Xiu said: "Have you begun to believe the words of the Lightless One now?"

Messermo was speechless, he didn't know how to explain.

He himself couldn't explain why he trusted Wuming so much.

Perhaps it’s because the other person is more taboo, more cursed, but more open-minded than oneself.

But Messermo knew that giving this reason would only make people think that he was bewitched.

From the beginning, the two sides did not have the same understanding. As a filth himself, Messermo would sympathize and understand the filth that he shared. But the Black Knight was a blessed warrior, and he was different from the filth that he was.

Messermo felt the hopeless gap between the two sides, and he didn't know how to fill it with words.

After a while, Messermo said sadly:
"Comrades, are we going to have a second civil war?"

Andros said: "Everything is for the golden tree and for Lady Marika."

Andros pointed the hammer at Messermo:
"We declare war. Tomorrow at noon, we will come to clean up the filth and eradicate the Lightless. All this is to achieve the perfection of the Golden Tree. May the Golden Tree be with us! Messermo, fight with us for honor."

Messermo left the city wall, returned to the vault, and sat down tiredly.

"There is no undeclared war, but there is still the honor of a warrior." Messermo smiled bitterly, "After all, there is no escape... this curse."

The Flame Knight stepped forward and asked for countermeasures.

"Countermeasures?" Messemo closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then opened his eyes. "The countermeasures are, you guys hide well and guard the door, and I'll deal with all of them."

(End of this chapter)