Chapter 21: Choose to Be the Demon King?

If being passive in tasks was still tolerable, then having to endure being betrayed over and over again was truly infuriating.
“They don’t know, they don’t realize how cruel I can be to such traitors!” Neo said this without much exaggerated expression, yet Green still felt goosebumps rise on his back and his scalp tighten.
The issue of information leaks was no longer new. Ever since the post-battle analysis of the Spider Jungle battle, conspiracy theorist Neo had suspected this. Of course, Neo wouldn’t just sit idly by and do nothing.
At the same time, his attention to detail and extreme caution meant he wouldn’t rush to confront this matter head-on. He would express his doubts, but only to make things logical—after all, the Simon Windwalker he played wasn’t an idiot. Lacking any reaction would only raise suspicions.
Next came two consecutive operations led by Moon 412, one loss and one win. Although Star 745 wasn’t involved in either, it didn’t mean Neo ignored them. In fact, during the second operation, Neo placed “eyes” to confirm his suspicions; the third operation solidified those suspicions and led him to start planning to expose this traitor—or these traitors.
Neo’s roots in the Sky Temple were still shallow, but he already had two partners: Spencer, the logistics chief who could influence everything, and Orlando, the head of the Sanctuary Valley Temple. Everyone thought these two had sharp instincts for joining Neo’s purification project and reaping huge profits, unaware that they also paid a price for it.
In addition to providing implicit support for Neo in the future, the two signed a secret cooperation agreement drafted by Nancy, as rigorous as a contract with the Devil. Of course, the premise was that the agreement benefited both sides, and Neo had to perform excellently—after all, the more outstanding you were, the more people were willing to invest. Otherwise, not even sinking you further into trouble would be considered a good relationship. Such is the way of the world.
Planning, scheming.
Using the lucrative opportunity of the purification project, Neo hoped to attract useful and discerning individuals. Fortunately, he achieved this goal.
On the other hand, Spencer and Orlando also had their own agendas. Investing early in promising people brought not only profits but also emotional connections. Veterans generally understood that profit was cold—only concerned with suitability—but emotions were warm. When someone was down and struggling, helping them out out of past kindness and years of friendship was not uncommon.

Who betrayed the crucial information? By tracing the path it was passed along, traces can always be found, especially for messages as distinctive as an emergency request for help. So for this mission, Neo, Spencer, and Orlando privately discussed investigating this traitor if they got the chance. But now, some pretense had turned into reality—Neo hadn’t expected the dark forces to be so perceptive, deploying wave after wave of monsters to block them. Even those who were strangled one after another already numbered in the thousands. How long had they been out at all? Such results in battle were already remarkable, let alone with the heavy burden of supplies they carried.

“Should I use the badge to summon help?” Green asked Neo, worried about the current situation, as the team indeed needed assistance.

During the days when Neo borrowed books from the Library of the Elemental Tower, he had skimmed through some books related to it and learned that badge summoning was an emergency lifeline method usable by any certified Tower Mage. Though effective, it had a limited number of uses. Mages weren’t trained for “firefighting,” and after all, those who could “shoot an arrow through the clouds and have elite warriors arrive instantly” were extraordinary figures—hard to summon at will.

“Save this precious opportunity for more critical moments,” Neo said. Though he didn’t offer any special thanks, Green’s attitude made Neo like him even more.

Green nodded and said nothing further. Though they had only spent short time together, he didn’t think Neo was the kind to act recklessly. Green could truly sense Neo’s care and attention for his subordinates, which meant Neo wouldn’t easily sacrifice them.

“So that means Simon Windwalker has other plans—he still has a trump card…”

According to Green’s reasoning, Neo’s only trump card was himself. Compared to warriors, Neo was more resourceful; compared to ordinary shamans, his combat skills were far superior. As an excellent swordsman, Neo had exceptional adaptability and was good at seizing opportunities to strike first, rather than relying on defense and endurance to win in the end.

So even though the smoke from the fierce battle with the Revengeful Demon just over ten hours ago hadn’t fully dissipated, Neo was already preparing for another intense fight.

Neo’s enemies didn’t realize that Simon Windwalker was a “pseudo-licht,” whose true nature was that of another being accustomed to operating in darkness. While Neo and Green were chatting casually, the scout, the Fossilized Yew, was already effectively gathering information about their target.

Shortly after dinner, the soldiers washed up and rested. There were no strict night watchmen this night—only a higher level of alertness than usual. They kept their clothes on while resting, with armor and weapons within easy reach. This was already a habit of the Star 745 soldiers, so it didn’t need further explanation.

It was the Berserker Dogs responsible for surveillance, stationed at the forefront outside the camp, barely illuminated by the glow of flares—enough to detect movements in the darkness without hindrance. These intelligent dogs were unlike ordinary canines, which would bark incessantly at the slightest disturbance. They were smart enough to assess the number of enemies; if they were just a small group, they could handle them.

The excellence of the Berserker Dogs also inspired thoughts in Neo. Since the establishment of Star 745, they had always encountered high-stakes missions. Fighting outnumbered opponents might seem impressive, but it wasn’t the right approach. Yet, reality was harsh—the overall situation was poor, and there were rules within the system. Neo couldn’t just use a little money to recruit a large number of fighters arbitrarily. Initially, Neo had planned to use Golems to compensate for his team’s shortcomings, but he wasn’t a golem master, and his skills in seed cultivation weren’t great enough to create highly intelligent golem puppets. Now, the Berserker Dogs showed him another way to achieve his goals.

Naturally, Neo brought up this topic with Nancy. Meanwhile, he was making preparations to take the initiative. When Green and the others saw Neo’s preparations, they could see understanding in each other’s eyes. “Sure enough, this extraordinary werewolf is not only brave but also skilled in battle…”

Nancy always dealt with things factually, without flattery or discouragement. Regarding dogs… Of course, Nancy understood Neo’s meaning and knew he wasn’t just referring to dogs. “Theoretically, my knowledge in life engineering and related fields is quite authoritative in Aemera. Perhaps for this reason, I’m not very optimistic about all animals in Aemera, whether high or low in status.”

“I know—the Soul Slabs. The kind whose absence is irreparable.”

“So, from a long-term perspective with excellent sustainable development potential, I have two suggestions. The first is the remnants of the Evil Plants. I think there’s no need to elaborate on the reasons—their origins are noble, and if we obtain them, we can unleash their true power.”

Neo agreed. Even without Nancy mentioning it, he already had a strong interest in those remnants. Of course, strong interest didn’t necessarily mean acting hastily—it was similar to an experienced buyer deciding whether to bid on something at an auction.

“What’s the other option? If we don’t discuss this, I hardly knew there was anything comparable to the remnants of the Evil Plants.”

“Demons!” Nancy gave a direct answer. “Among all life forms in Aemera, from a fundamental standpoint, only demons can be considered complete, even perfect. Demons have invaded many dimensional systems, spreading their intense desire to reproduce along with suffering and torment everywhere. In Aemera, they are now an endangered species—like flames floating in the void, emitting their final brilliant light. For you, this is an opportunity. You must be well aware of the essence of demon alchemy.”

“Yes, by analyzing and perfectly integrating the excellent genes of demons to achieve physical evolution. Indeed, from a genetic perspective, I might now be more qualified to be called a demon than many chaotic monsters trying to become true demons. What’s more interesting is that I belong to the dark attribute, so taming and controlling demons seems natural, with no conflicts arising from attribute differences.”
“That’s exactly right,” Nancy said firmly. “So for you, a Human King or a Wolf King is less suitable than a Demon King. They too need a leader who is strong and intelligent enough.”
“Will they obey at my command?”
“At least between the demons and you, I believe they will choose you. Other EmERALD lifeforms don’t even qualify for selection. Demons are a race that holds themselves in high esteem; in their eyes, all life in the EmERALD world is nothing but vermin.”
“That’s quite hard to accept. Who would have thought that those more beast-like than beasts are actually the true advanced lifeforms?” Neo murmured in slight contemplation.
“Human-like shapes and upright walking as standards for advanced lifeforms are nothing but human arrogance and vanity. Yet many creator-level deities have deep connections with humans, which has led to human-like forms becoming symbols of intelligent life in known realms. Many lifeforms have reshaped their bodies according to similar ideals during evolution. For example, many dragons in the primary material planes possess the ability to take human form.”
The discussion seemed to have strayed from the topic, but Neo felt fine. Progress and development—after the battle against the vengeful demon—had brought new opportunities, expanding the choices before him. Nancy had already calculated that, given his current energy absorption capacity, he could recover to his previous energy level in about a week, and after a month, reach an unprecedented full energy state. Then, at the cost of high consumption, he could undertake one training session after another to further increase his energy absorption limit.
At the same time, many training methods could shift from energy-saving, selective modes to full-energy consumption modes, meaning he was about to enter a period of ultra-fast training. And before reaching level 15 in both the warrior and shaman classes, the speed would not slow down, with the acceleration effect precisely offsetting the increasing difficulty of level-ups.
More practically, the usage cycle of the energy healing chamber would be shortened further—reducing the cooldown time to 3 days in a week and to 1 day in a month. This not only meant greater versatility but also represented an improvement in his survival skills.
A pile of good news led to another interpretation: he was gradually moving away, with the traits of the Dark Werewolf becoming more superficial, until it became nothing more than an emotional outlet, a symbolic existence. Today, Nancy reminding him to consider becoming a Demon King stirred some unease in his heart, an inevitable sense of change lingering in his mind. What truly concerned him was: What else could change besides his body?

“What would Milien think if she knew she was marrying not a king but a demon king?” Though it was a question, Neo already had a vague answer in mind. Putting himself in her shoes, if he were an ordinary person and someone told him that a certain being was a lion but didn’t eat meat, he would surely not believe it.
“He’s a demon king, but he’s a good person! That sounds absurd!” Neo smiled helplessly. It wasn’t that he had decided to become a demon king in such a short time, but this incident made him realize the existence of change and its impact. Some changes are acceptable, while others are not, but some have already happened, some are happening now, and some are necessary. For the first time, Neo began to doubt his love for Milien.
“I can take the arrows and blades for you, brave through fire and water, but I can’t stop some changes you dislike—or even hate.”
“No wonder the gods say: Those who are faithful to me have no parents, no wife, no children… When taken to its extreme, the path can only be pure and singular! Is it selfish? Obviously!” Neo felt that from the perspective of love, he was on a path of infidelity, but he regretted nothing. Making the person he loved give up more and tolerate more made him feel guilty, and the lack of a perfect choice filled him with regret. Neo remembered what an old man in Tures had said: “Do you know the difference between ordinary and extraordinary? Ordinary people choose moderation; extraordinary people choose extremes.”
By choosing extremes, one must strive to be the best; love must be the deepest. Life is destined to be dramatic and full of ups and downs. By choosing moderation, one lives peacefully and calmly, tasting only a little of the world’s flavors, with less excitement and more serenity.