Hearing Ye Chui’s words, Debbie nodded and said to Dany, “That’s right, Dany, you shouldn’t join the Crown War, otherwise you might end up dragging us down at that time.” After saying that, Debbie seemed to think of something and turned to glance at Ressa, Guni, and Shilaisi, wondering who Ye Chui meant by the scatterbrain. Hmm, it must be Guni.
“I will definitely be more careful in the future and won’t make such mistakes again; I absolutely won’t drag you down. Even if you just let me handle some chores for you, that’s fine.” Dany said with a pleading expression, her eyes looking expectantly at Ye Chui. She really wanted to be with Jacob; she knew how dangerous the Crown War was, and she wanted to do something for Jacob.
Earlier, after Jacob and Green had defeated the God Punisher soldier, she had hurriedly stepped forward to steal the kill; that action was not just because she was unreliable, but also because she desperately wanted to prove that she was useful… unfortunately, it had only the opposite effect.
“We don’t need you; the Crown Battlefield is very dangerous, so it’s better for you to stay outside. This isn’t child’s play; in that kind of situation, we might not be able to look after you.” Ye Chui continued. Although he had previously hoped that Dany could change, now he had completely changed his mind.
Dany wanted to say more, but Jacob softly said, “Dany, this time you shouldn’t join; listen to me and stay outside.”
Dany looked at Jacob: “You don’t believe in me either?”
“It’s not that, it’s just… the Crown War is too dangerous.” Jacob hurriedly explained. Having spent so much time with Dany, and with Ye Chui and the others, this seemed to be the first time they had seen Dany show such a sorrowful expression.
“Awoo woo—” The beast husky seemed to sense its master’s mood and roared angrily at the others, but after Ye Chui glanced over, it immediately scampered behind Dany with a whoosh, “awoo woo…”
“Dany, don’t worry; we’ll protect Jacob well.” Green said at this moment, gently placing his hand on Jacob’s shoulder.
Jacob turned his head and smiled at Green, subconsciously patting Green’s hand lightly with his own.
“Er…”
Wasn’t this scene a bit off? Did the feeling of preferring a bro over a girlfriend have to be this intense?!!!
“I get it!” Dany said as if in a huff, then turned and ran outside, the beast husky following closely behind her.
“Guni, Ressa, follow her and make sure nothing happens to her.” Ye Chui hurriedly reminded.
Guni and Ressa thus chased after her.
Ye Chui shook his head; for an ordinary adventure, he wouldn’t mind having Dany along, even if her presence in the team had a negative effect, it wouldn’t matter much, but the Crown War was far too dangerous and important, so Ye Chui couldn’t let this girl come along to cause chaos. He sighed and began bending down to handle the scene.
Although Ye Chui no longer feared offending church people now, openly killing church members was not a wise move; after cleaning up the site properly, Ye Chui led his companions away from there, quite satisfied with the results of this training.
When they returned to the Magic Guild castle not long after, Guni and Ressa also came back; they had escorted Dany back to the Anduin family estate, where Dany was clearly heartbroken, sullen all the way, and told Ressa that she didn’t plan to return to the castle for a while. This left Jacob feeling quite down for a moment; Ye Chui consoled him that Dany was just upset for a short time and should soon recover and come back to the castle.
However… in the more than ten days that followed, until the Crown War began, Dany never appeared again.
…
Dany grumbled unhappily about Ye Chui’s wrongs all the way home; the maids and servants, seeing her like this, all kept their distance. This young lady of the family was usually very approachable, but when she was angry, she could be quite frightening, so it was best for them to stay away as soon as possible.
“Dany? Why are you back?” As she wanted to head back to her room, Dany encountered the short and stout Hoyin.
“Nothing…” Dany pouted, feeling somewhat aggrieved inside. “They wouldn’t let me join the Crown War and sent me back.”
“What?” Hoyin’s brows shot up.
“Father, they were just looking out for me…” Dany thought Hoyin was angry and hurriedly tried to comfort him, but Hoyin instead smiled broadly and took Dany’s hand: “That’s just perfect; the past couple of days, hearing you wanted to join the Crown War had me sleeping uneasily. I know your abilities best, half-baked summoner that you are; in the Crown Battlefield, that’s a one-way ticket to death. Not joining is for the best; rest assured, Ye Chui will definitely bring Prince Jacob back safely…” What followed was a barrage of reasons why Dany not joining the Crown War was great, which, rather than comforting her, felt more like twisting the knife in her heart…
Finally, the depression in Dany’s heart grew even thicker; she shook off Hoyin’s hand: “I don’t feel well; I’m going back to my room first.”
Seeing his daughter about to leave, Hoyin hurriedly called out to her again: “I was so caught up talking to you that I forgot; the things you asked me to find before, I’ve got them all now, right in your room.”
Dany’s body trembled; her previously troubled face instantly lit up with surprise, and she quickened her pace, hurrying to her room.
In the spacious and luxurious room, in the center, there was a pile of items that stood in stark contrast to the surrounding decor: some shabby wooden furniture, simple toiletries, bedding, outdated clothes… Dany looked at these things, took a deep breath, closed the room door, and locked it.
She was going to do something very dangerous, but if successful, it would make those condescending guys like Ye Chui look at her differently!
She walked to the pile of what could be called junk, rummaged through it, and finally simply sat cross-legged in the middle of the pile, closed her eyes, and began quietly sensing something.
She was attempting to summon a heroic spirit.
And the heroic spirit she wanted to summon… was the Joker Girl, Liya!
This pile of junk in the middle of the room was what Dany had asked her father Hoyin to send people to Joker Town for some time ago: relics of the Joker Girl found in Joker Town. All the Joker Girl’s everyday items were now placed here; she wanted to summon the Joker Girl’s heroic spirit from these things and sign a contract with it!
Heroic spirits could be understood as a type of undead, but the prerequisite for becoming one was to have extremely strong abilities in a certain field while alive, as well as “deeds,” which simply meant being remembered by people, leaving one’s name in history—whether for good or ill—they became “immortal” existences through being remembered by humanity, entering the illusory heroic spirit world after their physical death.
Heroic spirits were also known as immortal undead.
No one knew how the heroic spirit world existed; Ye Chui had learned from Dragon Treasure that in the Age of Gods, there was no such thing as heroic spirits, and nearly all heroic spirits, except for a few exceptions, were those who had lived after the Age of Gods.
If no one remembered a heroic spirit’s name anymore, the heroic spirit would completely die.
A connection to the heroic spirit’s emotions could be formed through items they used while alive, thereby summoning them; that was the ability of summoners. Dany had heard that Debbie had once turned a dying female Valkyrie into her heroic spirit in an emergency; this ability to turn someone who had just died recently into a heroic spirit was considered top-tier talent among summoners. Compared to that, Dany was far inferior; in fact, since awakening her summoner abilities, she had never successfully summoned a true heroic spirit.
The beast Hal was just a summon beast born from her imagination, and it turned out to be a dimwit…
“I can’t summon any other powerful heroic spirits in a short time, but the Joker Girl is different… it’s easier to establish an emotional link with her.” Dany secretly encouraged herself. “Because she has always been using my appearance and name to act; she longs to become me, to replace me, so she can definitely hear my summons… Even though I’m useless, she’s very powerful; she can definitely be summoned by me…”
Time slowly passed: noon, afternoon, evening… Hoyin personally came to knock on the door, wanting her to eat something, but she grumpily chased him away. She had never craved power so much, never wanted so badly to prove herself. As night deepened, Dany already felt utterly exhausted; the fatigue from prolonged mental expenditure made her drowsy, her eyes bloodshot, but she still persisted, even knowing there was only a very slim chance.
Then, just as the last thread of persistence in Dany’s heart began to waver, she heard a cold voice ring in her ear.
“It’s actually you summoning me?”
Snapping her head up, Dany saw a girl standing before her, identical to herself, but with an exceptionally cold face, looking around in confusion.
The Joker Girl Liya; her original appearance had been extremely ugly, but when heroic spirits were summoned, their looks would be influenced to some extent by self-perception and the host—much like Gilga; Gilga’s true body had been an old woman when she died in battle back then, but after being contracted and summoned by Debbie, she became a beautiful woman in her twenties.
The Joker Girl Liya had always longed to replace Dany, to take on Dany’s appearance, so now that she was summoned, she appeared in Dany’s form.
“You, you’ve finally appeared!” Dany jumped up from the ground in delight, but having sat too long, her legs were numb, and she couldn’t help but yelp and fall back down.
“Useless…” The Joker Girl Liya looked at Dany with utter contempt. “You’ve summoned me to sign a heroic spirit contract with me? Hmph, as if you deserve it!” She waved her hand casually, and terrifying tentacle vines suddenly grew from under Dany’s feet, climbing onto Dany’s body and choking her neck.
The Joker Girl Liya was a summoner, but heroic spirits of the summoner type were peculiar; the heroic spirit contracts they signed upon death were already dissolved, so summoner heroic spirits could not summon other heroic spirits, however, fantasy creatures and summon beasts born from their imaginations were exempt from this—the very things the Joker Girl Liya could summon were precisely such fantasy beings.
Thus, even as a heroic spirit, the Joker Girl’s terrifying combat power and endless summons lost little of their edge.
“Tell me, why shouldn’t I just kill you right now?” The Joker Girl walked up to Dany, asking with a cold laugh.
“We… can make a deal!” Dany answered with difficulty.
“A deal? What makes you qualified to deal with me!”
“…No, I am qualified, because only I would summon you!”
“…”
“You’re powerful, but no one knows you exist; after you die, you’ll be forgotten quickly, as if you never existed in this world, just like the other ordinary villagers in Joker Town!”
“…”
“So let’s make a deal: sign a contract with me. From now on, I’ll be you, and you’ll be me; anyway, you look exactly like me now. When I die, all my deeds will belong to you; I’ll make you an immortal heroic spirit!”
This was the plan Dany had settled on long ago.
With the Joker Girl signing a contract with her, she would use the Joker Girl’s power, while the Joker Girl would accumulate deeds through Dany. Since the Joker Girl looked like Dany, when Dany gained great renown, the people revering Dany would also be revering the Joker Girl. Then, when Dany died, she would relinquish those deeds and the chance to become a heroic spirit, allowing the Joker Girl to become an immortal heroic spirit warrior…
Dany would lose nothing; lending her name to the Joker Girl posed no issue—after all, she probably wouldn’t become a heroic spirit upon death anyway—while the Joker Girl would be eternally remembered after her death.
“This is a deal that benefits us both; how could you refuse?”
That was the last thing Dany said to the Joker Girl.
…
Time flew by, and the day of the Crown War’s official start arrived.
What struck Ye Chui, Debbie, and the others as somewhat strange was that Dany had not appeared at all these days. Debbie had specifically gone to the Anduin estate to confirm that nothing had happened to Dany; she seemed to just be too heartbroken to see Ye Chui and the group. Even when Jacob went to see Dany the night before departure (why at night?), he was turned away at the door, which left Jacob deeply saddened; Green kindly accompanied him drinking half the night to help him feel a bit better.
Additionally, during this time, Ye Chui had not seen Prince Geller again; Ye Chui had wanted to ask if Prince Geller knew the undead steward, but it didn’t happen. He seemed to have very important matters to attend to, though he did send a black-armored guard to the castle; over these days, he had already become quite familiar with Ye Chui and the others.
This black-armored guard was an advanced swordsman, just one step from swordmaster realm; Ye Chui’s score detection showed one hundred and twenty points for him. His name was Lance, and he was the seventh member of Ye Chui’s team, set to head to the Crown War with them.
However, just one hour before the Crown War began, Lance was suddenly gravely injured by someone…
