Reborn with Steve Stand

Chapter 730: Choice

Despite Fang Mo's constant provocations, she surprisingly managed to remain calm.

If this were a one-off villain from the Marvel universe, they would have lost their composure and rushed forward for a life-and-death battle.

But Hilder did not do that. Even when facing Fang Mo, she didn't step out of the dimensional rift, not even half a step, showing her extreme caution and giving Fang Mo no chance to attack.

In the end, realizing there was no hope for negotiation, Hilder simply left.

Clearly, she is quite smart, knowing her strength lies in scheming rather than direct confrontation. She likely returned to the demon realm to devise a new plan.

As for Fang Mo, he didn't force her to stay. He had encountered female villains who manipulated schemes before, like Makima from "Chainsaw Man." She thought highly of herself as the Control Devil, but what happened? Despite her relentless scheming, Fang Mo ultimately overpowered her.

Thus, Fang Mo is experienced in dealing with such villainous women. His approach is to let them revel in their schemes before crushing them entirely, leaving them in utter despair.

In the face of absolute strength, any conspiracy appears feeble. So, even though Hilder escaped, Fang Mo didn't mind and continued exploring the Behemoth Beast with his partner.

After about half an hour, Fang Mo led the group to the Forbidden Zone within the Behemoth Beast.

His little partner seemed excited, looking around: "So, this is inside the Behemoth Beast's stomach? It's surprisingly large..."

"You have quite the morbid curiosity," Fang Mo remarked with slight disdain, less interested himself: "And the smell is overwhelming."

The Forbidden Zone is the stomach of the giant whale. Though not pitch dark, the environment is harsh, with a pervasive acidic odor from digestive fluids.

Due to the beast's massive size, its stomach is vast, seemingly endless, filled with pink folds and massive crevices, with yellowish digestive fluids dripping intermittently, presenting a terrifying sight.

What's odd is that despite their long exploration, they found no trace of the temple or the adjudicator Marcel.

Fang Mo even used a biological radar but to no avail.

"Strange..."

After a while, Xiao Yao noticed this: "Where's the temple in the Forbidden Zone?"

"I don't know," Fang Mo shrugged.

"Did we take the wrong path?" Xiao Yao pondered, "Could Marcellus' temple be in the duodenum instead of the stomach..."

"Enough," Fang Mo rubbed his forehead, "Let's not go any further. I really don't want to see the Behemoth Beast's excrement..."

"Tch," Xiao Yao pouted but agreed after some thought, "Something feels off... Let's leave for now."

"Let's go."

Fang Mo, eager to leave, grabbed the two and used Ender Teleport. They reappeared in a bustling city.

"This is..."

Xiao Yao looked around, noticing the coast and the Sky Tower to the east: "West Coast? We're back?"

"Yes, we are."

Fang Mo pulled the Ender Handle from a crevice and tucked it away.

"The Goddess Temple and Tree Spirit Nursery are still unexplored," sighed Xiao Yao, "But I don't really care about those areas."

"They were added later and aren't significant," Fang Mo waved dismissively, recalling that these maps were added at level 70. Initially, the storyline ended after stopping Marcellus revenge in the Forbidden Zone.

"Indeed," Xiao Yao nodded, "What should we do now?"

"Let me think," Fang Mo pondered, "How about heading to North Myre?"

"North Myre?" Xiao Yao tilted her head curiously, "Isn't the main storyline supposed to continue with Aphelia first?"

"Normally, yes," Fang Mo said, "But we aren't ordinary adventurers. We already have an Apostle, Lotus. Hilder might relocate other Apostles back to the demon realm to stop us, so we need to hurry."

"I see," Xiao Yao agreed, "Let's go to North Myre first."

"Wait..."

The Summon hesitated.

"What's wrong?" Fang Mo asked.

"Are we really going to oppose Lord Hilder? She..."

"Why are you scared?" Fang Mo looked at her with some disappointment, "You're the famous Princess. Since when are you afraid of scheming? Hilder challenging you is laughable..."

"Stop causing me trouble!" Summon protested, "Princess of something is a nickname you gave me. I'm serious. Hilder... could she really be the mastermind behind everything?"

"Oh, impressive," Fang Mo looked at Summon, "You actually thought for yourself. Nice, you have potential..."

"Enough!" Even Xiao Yao was annoyed, "The correct phrase is 'A child is teachable.'"

"Same thing," Fang Mo chuckled, "So calling you 'a teachable kid' is fine."

"Forget it, I'm done with you," Summon sighed.

Xiao Yao supported her forehead, choosing to ignore Fang Mo and instead spoke to the Summon: "In any case, you heard what Hilder said, right? She's admitted to what she did, hasn't she?"

"But... but…"

Hearing this, the Summon seemed a bit confused: "But Lord Hilder, she has always been the hope of the demon world, I..."

"Yes, she herself said so, didn't she?"

Fang Mo spoke directly: "Did you forget what she said before? She claimed everything she did was to rebuild the demon world, so she doesn't count as evil."

"But…"

The Summon seemed somewhat hesitant: "It seems she did some very evil things for this, didn't she? Even if it was for the sake of rebuilding the demon world, such acts…"

"Enough."

At this moment, Fang Mo suddenly pressed her head with one hand, then spoke calmly: "I said before, we... no, we Fourth Calamity don't care about good or evil, we only act according to our own will."

"Hilder might be a good person to the demon world, and perhaps an evil one to other apostles, but we do not intentionally discuss these matters."

"We simply couldn't stand her presumptuous attitude. You saw earlier, we didn't deny her the chance to rebuild Terra, but she was useless, so we had to kill her, understood?"

"This…"

"Didn't I give Hilder a choice before?"

Without waiting for the Summon to speak, Fang Mo interrupted her again: "So, let me give you a choice as well. If you cannot let go of your Lord Hilder, I will send you back to the demon world now, and you can help her. However, next time we meet, we will be enemies."

"Of course, there is a second option, to stand behind me."

Fang Mo said slowly: "I don't expect you to take action, we all know your strength. I just want you to watch and witness everything, understand?"

"I…"

"Enough talk is useless." Fang Mo raised her hand and said, "Princess, make your choice."

"…"

Hearing this, the Summon fell silent. To be honest, this was the first time she had seen Fang Mo with such an attitude. Previously, he was always joking around, bullying her every day, making her forget how terrifying he really was.

"I…"

After hesitating for a while, the Summon finally spoke slowly: "I choose…"

"Adventurers, what are you doing here?"

However, before she could finish, a familiar female voice suddenly interrupted the conversation. Fang Mo turned his head and saw that the person speaking not far away was Shalan, who looked anxious and Hilder a blood-stained document.

"... Teacher Sharan?"

The Summon looked at her in surprise.

"Thank goodness." Sharan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and walked quickly towards them: "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Looking for us?"

Fang Mo raised an eyebrow and asked: "What's the matter?"

"This is…"

However, Sharan suddenly noticed Xiao Yao next to Fang Mo: "A new companion? Strange, she doesn't look like someone from the demon world…"

"My partner."

Fang Mo explained casually.

"Alright."

Sharan didn't ask much more and got straight to the point: "Your Excellency, it seems that the humans are about to go to war with the dark elves."

"What?"

Hearing this, the Summon was taken aback.

But it's worth noting that Xiao Yao and Fang Mo remained calm, having already seen the plot and knowing this would happen eventually. Fang Mo glanced at the Summon, thought for a moment, and asked: "Is it because of the plague?"

"Your Excellency knows?"

Shalan seemed a bit surprised.

"Yes, it was Hilder's doing."

Fang Mo nodded, then immediately explained: "The second apostle of the demon world, Crying Eyes Hilder, is responsible for this plague."

"…What?"

Both Sharan and the Summon were stunned.

"How did this happen?"

Sharan, although knowledgeable, was still visibly shocked. Realizing the gravity of the situation, she forced herself to calm down: "Your Excellency, could you explain in detail?"

"In the demon world, there is an apostle named Delezie, a sentient pathogen."

Fang Mo explained simply: "To revive the demon world, Hilder decided to eliminate other apostles, so she deliberately sent it to your dark elf capital, Noire Ferra, causing the virus to spread. This is the source of the dark elf plague."

"Later, Hilder cast a spell to transfer most of Delezie's body to North Myre. The Delezie in your capital is just an avatar."

"How could this be?"

Sharan said in disbelief: "We have no enmity with Hilder, why would she do this?"

"Of course, to cause greater casualties." Fang Mo shrugged: "As soon as your hatred turns towards Delezie, she can use your hands to kill it."

"Is that so?"

Sharan was visibly shocked: "But the dark elf elders believe the plague is a human conspiracy and are preparing to go to war with humans."

"Oh, right."

Fang Mo seemed to remember something and asked: "What's the casualty situation in the dark elf kingdom?"

"The death toll... is severe."

Sharan bit her lip, her face showing distress: "Even our top alchemist Morgan has died from the plague. The capital is littered with corpses, it's like hell."

"…"

Hearing this, the Summon's expression became conflicted.

"Your Excellency."

While she was deep in thought, Sharan spoke again: "May I ask you for a favor on behalf of all dark elves?"

"No."

Fang Mo rejected without hesitation: "I need to deal with Delezie's main body. Your side only has an avatar, handle it yourselves…"

"Then I'll go."

Before he could finish, Xiao Yao suddenly spoke.

"Hmm?"

Fang Mo looked at her in surprise: "You…"

"I can help you solve the plague problem." Xiao Yao ignored Fang Mo and looked at Shalan: "I can deal with Delezie's avatar, but I have one condition. Only if you agree will I take action."

"Uh... please state your condition."

Sharan asked.

"I want to blow up your dark elf lava cave." Xiao Yao gritted her teeth: "Agree, and I'll help you."