THE LORD IS TOO OVERBEARING

Before Basil entered the Obelisk, right after Charles' clash against the unaffiliated stationed in Southevile Viscountcy, Charles and his last disciple, Tristan, arrived at Northern Mountain Region.

They came there utilizing Blinking Eye, the Artefact they had extracted from Red Coffin, which they had stolen from the Sacred Ground. It had allowed them to cover 20,000 kilometers in less than 3 seconds.

"I have to say that was rather disorienting," Tristan commented.

"Everything has their plus and minus—this Artefact is no different." Charles looked at Blinking Eye in his hand. "It has a very long reach of travel and doesn't require a [Checkpoint], but has no safety measures."

"Fair trade, I guess." Tristan shrugged.

Ceasing their conversation about how "shaky" the teleportation was, Charles and Tristan looked around. This was their first time visiting Northern Mountain Region, so they were quite curious.

Northern Mountain Region was located in the northernmost part of Braxtein Kingdom. It was a cold and barren land filled with mountains covered in snow, so no one really wanted to come there.

One wouldn't find any tree there; there were only lichens and mosses, and even then they were quite hard to encounter. It was simply impossible to live there, so unless one desired to test one's survival skills, one should never go there.

"Where is that guy again, Master?"

"I don't know. He didn't tell me his exact position."

"Clearly, looking around won't help us in any way," Tristan remarked. "I don't know what you can see, but all I see are mountains with icings, and yes, I am hungry."

Leering at his disciple briefly, Charles responded, "We are going to explore this place. His presence will stick out like a sore thumb, so we should be able to find him quickly."

Nodding his head without asking any question, Tristan followed behind Charles as soon as he dashed. They ran while constantly looking up each of the mountains to look for Goap.

Three minutes into the run, when Tristan finally felt the need to warm his body with Mana, he noticed something odd: the route Charles chose. It was as if his Master knew where he was going.

It didn't take him long to realize that his Master could communicate with Goap without using a Transmission Talisman. In other words, Goap must have already told Charles where he exactly was.

"My Master is a joker, isn't he?" Tristan chuckled begrudgingly.

Another three minutes passed, and they finally arrived at their destination—the place which Goap told them to come to. It was one of the mountains in Northern Mountain Region, which looked no different from the other mountains.

... At least, they looked no different from the other mountains from the outside.

Upon standing in front of the foot of the mountain, Tristan, as a Fifth Circle Mage, could feel how terrifying the aura surrounding it. It was as if he could see an unlimited amount of black ink was pouring out of the mountain's summit.

Knock.

Charles hit Tristan's forehead lightly. "Don't let yourself drown in it. Ignore the feeling, and you will be able to get rid of that black ink covering your vision."

"Ah... Yes." Tristan nodded his head lightly before shaking his head to clear his vision. "I don't even know there is even a Spell that works like this."

"This is not a Spell, my disciple. This is just how powerful of an individual a Demon Prince is."

Tristan had initially found it ridiculous when Charles talked about how a Demon Prince had made a deal with him. He thought his Master had finally lost his mind in pursue of power at that time.

It wasn't only until he had met Goap in person was he convinced that Goap was really what he claimed he was. There was just something Goap had that any other people didn't—his naturally vile and sickening presence.

Tristan had actually forgotten the sickening feeling he had felt when he first met Goap, but now that he was going to meet Goap again, he was reminded about it.

He couldn't help himself from getting nervous. He had his Master with him, luckily, so his nervousness disappeared in the next moment.

Following Charles to climb the steps on the mountain, Tristan was shocked when he was washed with an immensely sickening pressure. It lasted less than two seconds though; everything went back to normal fairly quickly.

"Are we going to spend our next three days in a mountain cave, Master?"

"No, we won't. Can't you see these stairs we are climbing?" Charles quirked his eyebrow lightly. "They mean something."

"That a caveman had built it in the past?" Tristan tilted his head.

"You still need to read a lot of books it seems." Charles slightly frowned. "Only one kind of people that build steps on a mountain: Daoists. These steps will lead us to the place which they often use to hold a meeting with another Daoists."

"Oh, so we are going to a Temple! To think there is a Temple in this kind of place... Amazing."

"This is not the most unbelievable place where a Temple is located—believe me. When you visit the Country of Hua, you will be able to see more Temples in bizarre places."

As soon as they ceased their conversation, silence filled the space between them until they arrived at the door of the Temple. Looking at the Temple, they found it looking just like a mountain cave with a fancy door from the outside.

They knew, however, the interior would be different, so they didn't think the cave was unbefitting of the door. The Temple was also well secured with Fúlù, which was basically Runes for Daoists.

The Fúlù, however, was no longer active. The Temple was one of the Temples built in the Age of Chaos when humans were still United, so the Fúlù inscribed on the door was too old to function.

In other words, Charles and Tristan could freely enter the Temple without bothering themselves to learn Daoism. Fúlù, after all, couldn't be activated with anything other than Dao.

Thud.

The door of the Temple was opened without any resistance as Charles pushed it. Just as they expected, they were immediately greeted by an extraordinary hall with shiny marble floor and a peaceful atmosphere.

As soon as they stepped inside the Temple, they could feel how considerably warm it was compared to the outside.

They couldn't sense any Magic being utilized there, so they concluded the warmth was either due to the architecture or the Fúlù inscribed in the hall that was still active.

Thud!

The door closed itself softly. Both Charles and Tristan didn't pay it any attention as there was another thing that they should pay their attention to in front of them.

In the middle of the vast hall, Goap was standing beside a crucified figure. The figure was a beautiful, mature-looking but young woman with purple hair; and most importantly, she had a Pacifer Seal in the middle of her forehead.

The young woman was no other than Iliana, whom Goap had captured. Glaring fiercely at the incoming Charles and Tristan, she washed them with her heavy killing intent.

"A feisty one, isn't she?" Charles remarked in amazement.

Huffing coldly, Goap said, "Every Pacifer is like this; they are insufferably tenacious. They will even laugh at you when you torture them to death."

"Well, I will like to try that." Charles smiled as soon as he arrived in front of Iliana. "You know... You slightly resemble my former disciple, Ione, who has betrayed me for that brat Basil. Like you, she is also—hoh? What is with that look?"

Charles quirked his eyebrow when he noticed Iliana's eyelashes trembled at the mention of Basil. He immediately laughed in amusement as he couldn't believe just how many women Basil had made a relationship with.

"He is one of a player, isn't he?" Charles took a distance away from Iliana then turned to Goap. "What do you want me to do to her? Torture her until she does what you want her to do or just watch over her?"

"You can't torture her... Physically, at least." Goap waved his hand. "Just look at how many scars I have left on her abdomen. They represent how many times I have disemboweled her before healing her."

"That was... Gruesome." Charles couldn't help blinking his eyes. "She is lucky that she is a Pacifer. Only a Pacifer can survive that kind of torture."

"Who said I was torturing her? I was infusing my Mana into her body by healing her, so I could taint her Mana and take control over her mind." Goap shook his head faintly. "I failed, and that's why I want you to do it in my stead. I have another important thing to do."

"You want me to force her utilize her Clan's Art so she can summon the Seven Princes?"

"Basically, yes."

Humming to himself as he looked into Iliana's vengeful eyes, a small smile gradually crept up his face. He couldn't notice pain or agony in her eyes, and that excited him greatly.

Breaking tough people was one of his hobbies, so he couldn't wait to test how tough she actually was. Turning his gaze back to Goap, he nodded his head then extended his hand.

"I will take the job, so give me my payment."

"... Here you go." Goap took out the Heart of Bahamut which he had promised from his Dimensional Vault, and gave it to Charles.

"This pressure..."

Charles held the black Dragon Heart that was twice as big as his fist. The Heart of Bahamut was still faintly beating; it was clear Mana was the one causing it to beat.

He sweated as he felt the amount of Mana contained inside it. He couldn't imagine how stronger he would become after replacing his heart with it, so he couldn't wait to do it.

"You can go settle your matters now. My disciple and I will take care of this girl," Charles said calmly. "For the meantime, I am going to digest this heart, so there is no need for you to watch it."

"I just want to see you eat it like a dumb human you are," Goap sneered.

"That will never happen. I know how to properly digest it."

While smirking, Charles channelled Mana into his index finger. He Carved a Rune on the Heart of Bahamut with his finger, and seven Magic Circles immediately surrounded it from top to bottom.

Charles materialized his Magic Circles, then stacked them in front of his chest. Afterwards, he brought the Heart of Bahamut closer to his Magic Circles.

The heart was slowly disintegrated by his Magic Circles, causing him to let out a bloodcurdling scream. At this, Goap merely smiled gleefully.