Chapter Seventy-Three: Good News and Bad News

Chapter Seventy-three: Good News and Bad News

Demon One, Command Center.

The main screen was broadcasting the battle between the Mangdangshan and the Gluttonous Fleet. When the Mangdangshan launched an N2 bomb, obliterating the massive Gluttonous Grand Cross in a single strike, there wasn’t the slightest flicker in her eyes. Such firepower was nothing exceptional aboard Demon One.

But the next moment, she noticed Yunyang slicing through enemy fighters with a single stroke. Her lips twitched, and she snapped in frustration.

“What the hell is wrong with that pervert Karl? Didn’t he say he sent that kid to the edge of the known universe? How is he back so soon?”

From then on, the camera never left Yunyang, tracking his every move.

Not long after, Morgana made a new discovery: Yunyang’s weapon. She paid no attention to the flying silver-blade daggers; instead, her focus locked on the sword in Yunyang’s hand. She ordered the little demon to pause and zoom in.

With sudden realization, she exclaimed, “So that’s why he returned so quickly—it’s Kherxi’s doing.”

Her brow furrowed, her face puzzled. “How did that kid get mixed up with Kherxi? She even gave him her king’s sword. Is this love blossoming?”

She looked up and saw Ato just entering, watermelon in hand, and asked casually, “Ato, what do you think?”

Ato, just having entered and suddenly being asked for his opinion by the queen, was utterly confused, unsure what she was talking about. He could only reply stiffly, “Wherever the queen points, there my sword shall strike.”

Morgana was left just as baffled by this answer—who am I, where am I, what is he saying?

Seeing his queen’s expression, Ato realized he’d said something wrong and quickly asked the nearest little demon for details.

After listening to the explanation, Ato declared gravely, “My Queen, I suspect there’s an affair.”

Morgana, knowing Ato had just arrived and didn’t know what had happened, didn’t bother with him further and continued watching the live feed.

But Ato’s words gave Morgana an idea. She smacked her fist into her palm, her face lighting up with delight. “Right! There must be an affair. If she can give him something as important as the king’s sword, it has to be a token of love.”

At this, Demon Atai, seeing the queen so pleased, signaled subtly to the other little demons and shouted, “The Queen is wise!”

The little demons around joined in, voices full of reverence: “The Queen is wise!”

Ato’s expression grew unnatural, but no one was paying attention to him; all eyes were on the demon queen.

Morgana, not at all moved by the flattery—indeed, she seemed satisfied—waved them off, saying, “Just remember who your queen is—the greatest mastermind behind the most legendary god-slaying operation in the known universe. Of course I’m wise!”

Meanwhile, Karl, the architect of the plan, was roaring in frustration across the River Styx—It was my plan!

The command center erupted once more into a chorus of praise, with lines like “The Queen is the most beautiful in the universe” and “Killing Keisha would take no more than a flick of her finger from the Queen” being thrown around. Even for Morgana, the demon queen with her thick skin, it was a bit much; she blushed slightly and said, “Enough with the nonsense, focus on the battlefield.”

With the queen’s command, the hubbub died down. The demons, now silent, intently watched the king of the sky’s little paramour on the screen.

After a while, as they watched Yunyang slice through Gluttonous attack fighters and even cut escort ships in two with every swing, Demon Atai grew puzzled.

He noticed that neither the other demons nor the queen seemed to have caught on and finally couldn’t help but speak up. “My Queen, does Kherxi’s king’s sword have some kind of special engine?”

Morgana thought for a moment and replied, “No, it’s just a Flame-class weapon. Why?”

“Look, every swing splits an escort ship in two. How is he doing that?” Atai pointed at the screen, where Yunyang had just bisected another escort ship.

Now Morgana and all the demons shifted their attention to the ships Yunyang had split. Under their watchful gaze, Yunyang cleaved another attack fighter in two. The ship didn’t even explode; the pilot inside was unharmed—though before he could react, Yunyang’s flying sword pierced his chest.

The demons grew silent, recalling that every attack fighter and escort ship struck by Yunyang had been sliced perfectly in half. Until now, everyone had been too focused on the king’s sword and speculating about Kherxi’s relationship with Yunyang to notice. Now it seemed there was something odd about that sword.

“It’s such a short blade, and there’s no energy discharge—how is he doing it?” one little demon exclaimed in astonishment.

“Is this some kind of black technology we don’t know about?” another muttered to himself.

“I say it’s witchcraft!” declared the little demon nearest Morgana with certainty.

At his remark, all the demons covered their faces, pretending not to know him.

Morgana’s lips twitched, and she kicked the leg of his chair. “Can’t you use your head? If all demons used their brains, that bitch Keisha would’ve been dead by my hand ages ago.”

Her tone was full of helplessness and a silent accusation against the demon’s intelligence.

“Didn’t you kill her already?” The little demon scratched his head in confusion.

Morgana finally realized this one was truly brainless. She ordered Ato, “Ato, I’m giving him the day off—take him to Arqin and have his brain checked.”

“Yes, my Queen.”

Under the pained gazes of the other demons, Ato dragged the little demon out by the neck. Their hearts ached not for anything else, but at the realization that he really was brainless—how could they not feel sorry?

After that bit of farce, Yunyang had just finished slicing the last escort ship in half. In the demons’ regretful stares, Yunyang was struck by a blast from the main cannon.

Atai blurted out, “The Gluttonous are doomed now—they just blew up the King of the Sky’s little paramour.”

Clearly, in Atai’s mind, there was no way Yunyang, a second-generation-and-a-half super soldier, could survive a direct hit from the flagship’s main cannon.

Morgana was secretly delighted—now Rose would truly be hers, and Yunyang’s death at the hands of the Gluttonous had nothing to do with her.

The other demons looked regretful as well. After all, he was Kherxi’s little lover—what a sensational piece of gossip, now lost forever.

“Pause the feed and save this segment. Also, bring Rose here—quickly!” Morgana, visibly excited, ordered.

At her command, the video was clipped, and Rose, in her quarters experimenting with her powers, received the summons to the command center.

“This algorithm is almost done, why summon me now?” Rose muttered to herself as she headed to the command center at a leisurely pace.

Inside, the demons were grumbling about the loss of such juicy gossip, though the mood remained lively. They speculated openly about how Kherxi would react to losing her little lover.

But as the doors to the command center opened, the atmosphere instantly turned heavy and subdued. Every demon wore a grave expression.

Morgana’s face was a mask of sorrow, as if she was overwhelmed with grief.

Rose paused, stunned, before quickly recovering. “Liang Bing, I don’t attend demon war councils—you promised me that.”

Rose and Morgana had an agreement: Rose would not participate in demon operations, and the demons would not target Huaxia. Morgana had accepted this without hesitation.

So why had Morgana summoned her now? Was she going back on her word? Were the demons about to target Huaxia?

While Rose was still puzzled, Morgana walked up, took her hand, and said, “Rose, I have good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?”

“The good news.” After a brief hesitation, Rose chose to hear the good news first.

“Yunyang is alive—and he’s back on Earth. We just confirmed it,” Morgana said, her face still sorrowful, but the words brought Rose to pure delight.

Rose could hardly believe it, given that Death God Karl himself had been involved. She asked anxiously, “Really? You’re not lying? I want to go back to Earth!”

She was about to rush out—at this moment, nothing else mattered but returning to Earth to see the one she longed for day and night.

Sometimes it’s only after losing someone that you realize their worth. While this might not be entirely appropriate for the two of them, the sentiment was the same.

But before she could take more than a couple of steps, Morgana caught her arm, prompting Rose to look back in confusion—was she not allowed to leave?

Meeting Rose’s questioning gaze, Morgana let go and said, “There’s still the bad news.”

At her words, Rose’s heart skipped a beat. Bad news too? She dared not imagine what it could be.

She couldn’t bear to experience the pain of losing Yunyang again—her father was gone, her comrades had left her; she didn’t want to feel that heartbreak again.

“What’s the bad news?” Her voice trembled, laden with countless emotions.

She looked so fragile, like a small animal on the verge of losing everything, that even Liang Bing felt a pang of guilt about telling her.

But in the end, for her own purposes, Liang Bing steeled her resolve—Rose had to know.

Yet, she didn’t announce Yunyang’s death directly, but chose to let Rose see for herself.

With the queen’s signal, Black Wind acted without hesitation, expertly bringing up the recorded footage.

The scene showed Yunyang just as he emerged from the Grand Cross flagship.