Chapter 89: Unwavering Through Life and Death (Part 1) – Sharing Weal and Woe

“Cough, cough… Um, hehe, beautiful lady… I…” Under the woman’s intense gaze, Rod felt his scalp tingle. Helplessly avoiding her piercing stare, he inwardly cursed his misfortune—how could he run into such a devil? Just freed from Death himself and out of the fire pit, only to encounter a killing god who led him into another pool of magma. Rod could only accept his bad luck.
“Don’t call me beautiful! Just call me Lilith, okay? What’s the problem?” Interrupting Rod, she waved her hand and looked at him with a smirk, speaking indifferently.
“Um… hehe, it’s like this: That day, I was passing by that small hill and noticed something strange. I was practicing there when I accidentally destroyed the hill. I never expected such a guy to appear!” His words were half true. Of course, Rod wasn’t stupid enough to tell her he went there because of the vibrations from his armor—that would be admitting he was there to search for treasures. Only after vaguely guessing her identity would he avoid such a foolish mistake.
But thinking back to that day, he had no choice but to swallow his anger. Who would have thought that a casual swing of his sword would summon such a monster?
“Make it simple. I’m not interested in this. What treasures did you get from him? Otherwise, he wouldn’t go crazy like this!” Watching Rod with interest, she cut off his explanation and got straight to the point.
“Damn it!” He cursed inwardly. If he still didn’t understand what was going on at this point and didn’t grasp this woman’s intentions, then he was truly a fool! It seemed she too wanted what he had!
Frowning deeply, he took a deep breath, bracing for heavy losses. With a grim face, Rod said, “It’s nothing much. That guy showed up that day wanting to kill me. I escaped, and today I came to avenge myself. When I rushed into his cave, I saw things I shouldn’t have seen, so I took a little.”
She gave Rod a deep look—a gaze that made him feel extremely uncomfortable. The woman continued, “What things? Show me! That guy, Sognar, values wealth above everything. His collection must be impressive. You must have gained quite a bit!”
His lips twitched. The things he had stolen at great cost were about to be extorted from him. Rod was helpless and furious, with no choice but to endure. With his life in someone else’s hands, what could he say?

With a heavy heart, Rod took out his magic bag and shook out all the gold coins and items he had gathered in the cave, along with his extremely fast magical beast cores and some gems! Naturally, he had hidden that box tightly—he wasn’t stupid enough to show it. It seemed the woman didn’t know anything about the Black Flame Armor, so Rod wasn’t that foolish as to tell her his armor was a precious treasure!

The moment these items appeared, Rod could clearly sense the woman’s breathing becoming heavier. Her eyes glowed with golden light, making Rod’s heart tremble.

Most of the cave was filled with gold coins, various gems, armor, weapons, and strange objects, all shining with dazzling golden light.

“Hehe, not bad. You’re quite ruthless. No wonder Sognar went crazy—these items must make up more than half of his collection! You’re the first person to make Sognar look so bad! No one else can compare! This time, that guy must be heartbroken. Hehe, let’s see how arrogant he can still be!” Taking a deep breath, she withdrew her gaze and stared intently at Rod, excitedly saying.

“But… these can’t be everything! Boy, show me whatever else you have. Otherwise, don’t blame me if I become rude!” Her words nearly made Rod’s heart stop. He took a deep breath to stay calm, putting on an innocent expression as he looked at her. He was truly at his wits’ end.

“That’s it, really! If you don’t believe me, check it yourself! Everything is here. A few of these magical beast cores belong to me. I risked all my possessions to lure that guy out of his cave, and that’s how I got these!” Gritting his teeth, Rod stretched out his magic bag in front of her and said in a low voice.

Inside were still that wooden box, the extremely fast magical beast cores, some of his important items, and that strange multicolored glass! He had indeed taken out everything else. Rod was betting that this woman would believe him!

With his heart in his throat, he stared intently at her, trying hard to keep his breathing steady so she wouldn’t notice anything suspicious.

After staring at Rod for a long time, she suddenly flashed a terrifying smile. “Alright, I believe you! Put them away! Hehe, Sognar, these items must make up most of your collection. I’ll just take them without hesitation!”

Seeing the woman’s smile, Rod let out a deep sigh of relief—he had managed to avoid disaster and was glad he had made the right choice. At the same time, he felt pain inside; those items were part of his wealth, and they had just been taken away. He really couldn’t accept it.

“Well, considering your contributions, I won’t take it all. You get three parts and I get seven—this is the price for saving your life! Don’t say I’m bullying you; take it yourself!” Seeming to sense Rod’s distress, the woman said calmly.

These words were like a light in the darkness, shining a ray of hope for Rod! Although he only got three parts out of seven, it was still better than nothing.

“Then I won’t be polite!” After carefully checking that there were no problems, he began taking things without hesitation. First were several strange items that caught his eye, followed by magical beast cores, then gold coins. After that, he took armor, several weapons, and some gems—things that Nightingale and the others might like! By the end, he had taken three layers’ worth of items. It wasn’t until the woman called out that he reluctantly pulled back his gaze, his lips curling in reluctant displeasure.

Rod withdrew his hands, and the woman nodded in satisfaction, showing a hint of excitement. With a wave of her hand, everything in the room disappeared, clearly stored by her.

“Not bad, quite a lot! But why does your armor look so familiar?” After finishing, she frowned slightly at Rod’s armor and murmured to herself, her gaze toward him filled with confusion.

His heart skipped a beat. “Oh no,” Rod thought, almost jumping up in panic.

“Never mind. I’m not interested in that. Where’s the little dragon by your side?” Thankfully, the woman’s next words calmed Rod’s anxious heart—only to make it anxious again. Such extreme fluctuations left Rod feeling overwhelmed.

“No, that’s… that’s my life beast soul! You…”

“Stop talking nonsense. Bring it out, or die with it!” She snapped coldly.

Staring at the woman, Rod realized, just as the Black Dragon had said, dealing with her was truly terrifying. In an instant, he felt her terrifying aura enveloping him completely.

Staring intently at the woman, Rod never expected to suffer such humiliation. This time, he deeply realized his own weakness. If he had enough strength, could she have been so arrogant? If he had sufficient power, he wouldn’t have been bullied like this, not even able to protect his closest companion, Fen Tian!
Thinking of this, a profound sadness welled up in his heart. This sorrow made Rod feel palpitations and discomfort, as if he couldn’t breathe.
Resolutely, he raised his head to look at the woman! Suddenly, the Dark Dragon emerged, emitting a clear sound as Rod channeled all his combat energy into it, ignoring his injured body. Though he knew even slight confrontation could collapse him completely, Rod couldn’t care less! He glared coldly at the woman, “I’ve repaid your kindness by saving your life! I can’t agree to letting you have Fen Tian! If you want to kill me, do it! If you want to fight, I’ll face it! I, Rod, will never betray my comrades!”
Under Rod’s control, the Dark Dragon radiated a terrifying chill, making it hard to tell that Rod was severely injured.
At that moment, a hint of sadness flashed in Rod’s eyes. He knew he might die here today. Perhaps surrendering Fen Tian would give him a chance to survive, but that wasn’t his principle. Without Fen Tian, he had died countless times. Since Fen Tian’s birth, they had always depended on each other—never apart! Even now, he wouldn’t choose separation! He wouldn’t choose betrayal!
He was prepared for the worst, preferring death to living in shame: “Weren’t you always the one protecting and helping me? This time, let me be selfish. Let me protect you instead!” He looked down at his abdomen, feeling the energy of Fen Tian within his dantian. A gentle expression appeared on his face as he whispered to himself with a smile.
When he raised his head again, his gaze became fiercely sharp, filled with a readiness to face death.
“You…” Rod’s sudden change was clearly unexpected by the woman. She knew his condition all too well—wounded all over, standing was already a miracle. She never thought he would make such a choice. Fighting against her brought no advantage; he was no match for her at all, and she knew that too.
She had thought he would obediently hand over the little one, but never expected such fierce resistance.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the room became extremely strange; the tension seemed to freeze, leaving only gloom. At that time, their breathing could be heard clearly. The situation was on the verge of exploding.