I'm a monster in Demon King's Castle

Li Yue drew his longsword, pointing it at the box. If it moved erratically again, he would split it open with a single strike to see what treasures lay inside.

At least, judging from how heavy it felt, the box was laden. There had to be something valuable inside.

Otherwise, the thieves wouldn't have carried it this far.

Just as Li Yue aimed the tip of his sword at the box, the box spoke.

"If I were you, I wouldn't do that."

The box's voice was deep and resonant. Li Yue couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from, but it wasn't from inside the box, as it lacked the muffled quality he expected.

"A monster?" Li Yue raised his sword as if lifting a cleaver.

"If the Kingston family knew you were using that sword to open treasure chests, their expressions would be priceless…" The box seemed to be able to see Li Yue's movements.

These strange words did nothing to slow Li Yue down. He gripped the sword hilt, ready to strike.

"Wait, wait! You don't even know who I am, and you're already trying to chop me?" The box was frantic, vibrating slightly.

"Oh? Who are you?" Li Yue was at least certain of one thing: this box was afraid of being chopped.

"I'm glad you asked." The box seemed to be trying to back away, but its movements were clumsy.

"I am Gamma…" the box introduced itself.

"A talking box?" Li Yue had already tried using his clairvoyance to peer inside, but was blocked by some kind of membrane, making it impossible to see clearly.

"A wandering poet."

"Inside this box lies my greatest epic."

The box seemed a little proud, its posture more upright than before.

"That's not like any wandering poet I've ever seen." Li Yue said whatever came to mind. Although he wasn't sure exactly what wandering poets on the Chaos Continent looked like, they shouldn't be boxes.

"Some complications arose. I must survive in this form to protect my poems." Gamma was very talkative. "Do you know how fortunate you are to meet me today, when my epic is unveiled…"

"As fortunate as those thieves?" Li Yue pointed to the fresh corpses in the square behind him.

"No, no, no! They were just the bridge that led me to you. They are not worthy of having their names in this poem." Gamma denied it eagerly. "They don't even understand the metaphors in the poem, they can't find the true thread of the story…"

"So you originally wanted to hitch a ride with them and sing to them along the way?" Li Yue didn't understand what Gamma was implying. "Sounds like it would be very noisy…"

"As I said just now, you can't imagine how fortunate you are to meet me today…" Gamma's tone was very proud, as if the following words were a bombshell.

"I come from the South."

"Huh? So what? We're not going the same way?" Li Yue didn't know what Gamma was so proud of.

"Damn it, the South! The South! The South is at war!" Gamma's speed suddenly accelerated. "I come from the Demon King's City, from the war that just ended!"

Hearing this, Li Yue remembered the bald old man saying that the Nemesis Empire army and the demon-infested Demon King's City were at war.

At the time, Li Yue had thought it was a distant war, unrelated to him. He didn't expect that only two days later, the war would be over, and even a wandering poet had turned into a box and fled back?

"A deserter?" Li Yue asked.

"That's not important!" Gamma was exasperated. "I witnessed this war between humans and demons and wrote an epic poem!"

"Oh… so you want to spread this epic back to the continent?" Combining what he had learned from the old man, Li Yue finally understood Gamma's logic.

Wandering poets are warriors, and warriors need various materials and rituals to advance…

Obviously, for wandering poets, witnessing a war is of great value and something to be proud of.

"I knew that following these thieves would lead me to a true connoisseur." Gamma gave an affirmative answer. "You can never imagine what we experienced in this war…"

"Dominoes, bone trees, bone seas… light curtains, seven rivers, holy paths…"

"Shadows, snails, blood…"

"Six-winged angels who can summon light wraiths, igniting the light of chaos in the heart of the bone city…"

"That was an apocalyptic scene, an epic story that can awaken humanity for thousands of years…"

Gamma seemed to be creating suspense, chanting some keywords of the war in a unique tone, seemingly to arouse Li Yue's interest.

But it must be said that his introduction was too general, and Li Yue didn't even know what he wanted to express.

However, the singing style was not bad, quite pleasant.

If accompaniment were added, it would have more of a medieval feel.

"Are you the only one who came back? Can't the others spread the word?"

Li Yue was thinking that if the Nemesis Empire army was defeated in the war in the South, the retreating soldiers might affect Red Oil Town and his own path.

Meeting a defeated army would be another troublesome matter.

"Death is the main theme there! Everywhere! A 9th-level Holy Knight died, an Elemental Archmage! Even the Revealer of Light was beaten away! The Empire's prince died under the city! It was utterly miserable!"

"The Minister of Creation ran over, only to turn around and run back!"

"Even more exciting was the ending of that war!"

"A demon was forgotten!"

"I'm still looking for the source!"

"They all died…"

Gamma's voice grew louder and louder, making Li Yue's head buzz.

"Only wandering poets who write down epic poems on the spot have a chance to escape!" Gamma was very happy to emphasize the greatness of his work.

"Why? What's different about wandering poets?" Li Yue's thinking was quite divergent.

If top-tier combat forces like Holy Knights and Archmages couldn't escape, why could wandering poets survive?

"Because we must live, someone must live, to spread this epic." Gamma's tone became proud again.

Understood.

Wandering poets should be a kind of warrior who is good at survival and escape, only Gamma described it very vaguely.

"So you're the only wandering poet who escaped back?"

"Damn it! Every wandering poet's poems have a unique perspective! What they write is all dog shit! I know how great my work is, so I can't let them succeed!"

"Whoever publishes first, whoever is sung first, whose epic will become the final version!" Gamma seemed to be competing with someone, with a strong sense of mission in his head.

And Li Yue almost laughed.

Is he releasing an album?

However, Li Yue was still somewhat interested in the outcome of this war—3 out of 11 markers were near the Demon King's City. To complete them, he might go south one day.

While this wandering poet is talkative, it's a good opportunity to learn about the war.

It's also a good opportunity to hear him talk about the top powers of the Chaos Continent and better find his place in this world.

"Oh… then it would be a pity not to listen to such a great work…" Li Yue wanted to guide Gamma to sing his epic and hear about the story of the Nemesis Empire army and the Demon King's City.

"I was just afraid you wouldn't ask. This is my masterpiece, the crystallization of my hard work."

Seeing that Li Yue was finally aroused and hung his longsword back on his waist, Gamma finally breathed a sigh of relief and began to sing.

The sound of a flute rang out.