— — — — — —
Ryo didn't offer any polite words in response—he simply poured himself a cup of tea and raised it toward Luo Hao in a quiet toast.
That was his answer, his acknowledgment.
When it came to companions who would be part of his community and stay by his side for the long run, Ryo cared enough to respect their feelings. The only ones he needed to guard against were people like Aizen — but even then, he would still leave the path to power open for them. What he wanted was for the community to feel like… a familia
"No need for pointless formalities."
Luo Hao found herself both amused and satisfied with his attitude.
Finally, someone from this "new era" understood the old ways she grew up with.
"How many Campiones have you actually met?" she asked.
Ryo needed god-slayers and Heretic Gods as the connecting points for his myth-seizing plan.
What Luo Hao meant was: how many more did he still need?
Ryo didn't hesitate in the slightest. "Only Madame Aisha and Annie Charlton are left."
"Aisha…"
For the first time, Luo Hao—who feared none—showed hesitation and even closed her mouth.
Seeing this, Ryo tilted his head in puzzlement. "You can contact Aisha?"
"…"
Luo Hao stayed uncharacteristically silent.
Two minutes passed before she let out a long sigh.
"Are you sure you want me to reach out to her?"
"Is it dangerous?" Ryo asked, instantly alert.
"Not exactly."
Her tone was vague.
"But once you succeed in implanting the ritual into Aisha, you really shouldn't stay around her for long."
She paused, giving a wry smile. "That woman is… a handful."
Liliana shivered next to them, her face tense.
If even Luo Hao called her "trouble," just how terrifying was this so-called Mysterious Queen of Caves?
"...I see."
Ryo thought for a moment, then said carefully, "If you can reach her, at least try."
"If it's just an attempt, that I can do."
Even Luo Hao—always supremely confident—didn't dare make promises when it came to Madame Aisha.
"As long as she's still in this era, that is." Ryo immediately understood.
Madame Aisha's authority: Fairy's Corridor.
Calling it a "Corridor" was misleading—it was more like an uncontrollable time-and-space machine.
Aside from occasionally opening on its own to dump out random monsters, it would sometimes toss Aisha herself into entirely different eras or parallel worlds.
Because of that, no one could ever be sure where she was—or when she was.
The Witenagamot, unable to pin her down, had dubbed it "Beyond the Timeless Horizon."
In a sense, Madame Aisha was probably the most troublesome of all the god-slayers.
"Just do what you can." Ryo sighed.
Luo Hao nodded slightly. "I have ways to reach her."
She paused, then looked straight at Ryo. "But what about the heretic trash that sealed the Monkey King? Do you have any leads on him?"
She could reach Aisha, maybe even persuade that troublemaker. But freeing the Monkey King's seal was a bigger headache.
Lifting Sun Wukong's seal required something anly a high-level Mother Earth goddess could do, but it would take years of preparation.
And while they could borrow the Earth's power through the Circle of Usurpation, doing so would significantly slow down the myth-weakened timeline.
Both options were too time-consuming—Ryo might be forced to return to Little Garden before it was done.
That would ruin everything.
Ryo, however, seemed completely calm.
"There's a cult in North America," he said. "Their leader calls herself Asherah. According to intelligence, she seems to be a Divine Ancestor."
"Asherah?"
Luo Hao frowned. She had never heard the name during her time.
Athena narrowed her eyes and explained, "Asherah… the name of the former Earth Mother Goddess, Leviathan."
This world might look like it was filled with countless gods, but most were just masks.
When it came down to it, there were maybe a few hundred real ones at most. So Athena knowing Asherah wasn't strange at all.
"Interesting," Luo Hao turned back to Ryo. "So you're planning a trip to America to capture that snake?"
Ryo added casually, "And while I'm there, I'll drop by and see the masked superhero of Los Angeles."
"You really have this all figured out." Luo Hao nodded approvingly.
"In that case, we just follow through with the plan."
Ryo turned to Liliana. "Lily? How are things looking in North America?"
Liliana quickly pulled out her phone, scrolled through a few messages, and replied, "Communications with North America were established yesterday. Negotiations should be underway by now. Pluto's representative also replied earlier."
"Good."
Ryo stood up and turned to Luo Hao. "No point waiting, I'm—"
"Wait!"
Luo Hao raised a hand to stop him. Her lips moved as if muttering something under her breath.
Less than thirty seconds later, there was a loud thud—like something had just slammed into the floor outside.
Then came a loud, spirited voice: "Disciple Lu Yinghua greets Master! May Master live as long as the southern mountains and be as blessed as the Eastern Seas!"
Ryo clearly saw Luo Hao's right hand blur for an instant—
Smack!
A dull cry of pain followed.
"Get in here!" Luo Hao snapped, frowning.
Moments later, Lu Yinghua stepped into the small courtyard, his face swollen beyond recognition, looking like he'd lost the will to live.
But when his eyes fell on Ryo, he froze for a second before bowing quickly. "Greetings, King Ryo!"
Slap!
A fresh red handprint bloomed on his cheek.
Why hit me?! his expression seemed to scream.
Luo Hao wiped her hand on the tablecloth like she'd just touched something filthy, then snorted coldly. "Stop yelling nonsense. Call him also Master!"
"Mas—wait, what?!"
Lu Yinghua blurted it out instinctively, then gawked at Ryo in disbelief.
Master?!
Holy Shit!
Luo Hao clearly didn't like his tone, raising her hand again—
"Alright, alright!" Ryo quickly stepped in to stop her.
Luo Hao gave a single, annoyed huff and let it go, though her eyes were still sharp.
Lu Yinghua stood there dumbfounded.
Fuck. Am I dreaming?
The all-powerful, tyrannical Master Luo Hao… had just let something slide because someone told her to?
She actually listened?!
Luo Hao's face remained cold as she said flatly, "Ryo is heading to America. Your Lu family has some influence there. You know what to do."
Lu Yinghua dropped to one knee and cupped his fists.
"Disciple understands! I'll make sure Master's pure body is delivered safely to America!"
Pure body? Ryo's mouth twitched, but he didn't refuse Luo Hao's well-meaning arrangement.
"Good."
Luo Hao nodded in satisfaction.
---
United State of America — Los Angeles
Clear skies stretched endlessly overhead, the sun blazing down in full force.
Under this scorching sunlight, Jack Milburn arrived at the SSL Los Angeles branch.
SSL — short for the Sorcerous Sacrilege Investigation, the U.S. Bureau for Magic and Paranormal Investigation.
If one were to describe it, it was essentially America's version of S.H.I.E.L.D. straight out of a movie.
Except there was no Captain America here, no Iron Man, no Black Widow. This wasn't Marvel — it was still the Campione world.
SSL was just a collection of field agents, each with some degree of magical talent.
And Jack Milburn was one of them.
He'd been enjoying a rare day off when his superior suddenly called him in.
The reason? An unprecedented crisis.
.
.
.
Support me and read advanced chapters 👉 patreon.com/_Coreal