Not far in front of him was a yellow head emerging from below the floor, with only her yellow shoulder-length hair visible from this angle.

Princess Vivian was sprawled on the ground, uncertain if she was dead or alive.

"Little Potatoes, what on earth were you thinking? Answer me!"

Ethan's voice sounded strong, with a hint of internal conflict.

But…

Who exactly was this little girl hiding in the floor? Was she Ethan's accomplice?

Crowley was filled with confusion.

Meanwhile, the little yellow potato maintained her pose of looking upward, her expression innocent to the extreme, so much so that anyone who didn't know better might think the evil Ethan was terribly cruel, bullying a child.

Yet it was this seemingly innocent child who had just blown up the entire house.

Even Ethan experienced the sensation of flying.

Although Elemental Magic couldn't hurt him, the aftermath of the explosion still left him dusty.

"You said so yourself!"

The little yellow potato retorted defiantly.

"What did I say?"

"You said to have me ambush first, and wait for the King of Gold's henchmen to take the initiative, then strike in the form of a potato mine."

She even consulted her friend, the Wind Element Girl, about the meaning of "mine."

Since it was a mine, it surely meant to blow up the entire building—so said the learned literary girl.

The little potato believed she had excellently completed her task; now the roof was completely gone, not leaving a single piece intact, and Crowley, who had stepped onto the potato mine, was blown away on the spot, even Charman who rushed in next suffered and fainted.

"You, I, you…!"

Ethan was momentarily speechless.

He had indeed said those words, but more as a metaphor. Yet what baffled him was why did the earth element explode?

He finally understood how Mr. Charman got "tripped" last night, and he keenly noticed that Crowley's obsidian dagger disappeared before it even hit the ground after being blasted away; this earth element girl seemed harmless enough, but she turned out to be quite the habitual offender.

Now, he had to say something to break the awkward situation.

Ethan got up from the ground, dusted himself off, smudged his face blackened with grime, and approached the motionless Crowley lying on the ground.

"'Fleeting Sand,' this is your long-standing trump card; under its power, any action defying the King of Gold is impossible."

Ethan had known about these divine artifacts' powers well before going to Oak City.

The "Mage Slayer" that can negate all magic and seals, and the "Fleeting Sand" that touches the laws of causality; as the earliest follower, Crowley was almost invincible, so Cynthia advised them to avoid confronting his might.

No matter how powerful the spells, no matter how vast the magic power, if they couldn't be unleashed, it was all in vain.

Cynthia couldn't imagine a way to counter Fleeting Sand; not long ago, the followers of Kaisaros experienced the might of causality law divine artifacts at a purification ritual.

All their plans vanished, in reality, they hadn't done anything from the start, and could achieve nothing at all.

Yet Ethan caught a flaw in Fleeting Sand.

This house was the battleground against Fleeting Sand, the domain of "Shadow Lamp," where the King of Gold's influence couldn't reach, thus Crowley as a mechanism-type Boss should be guided into this Shadow Lamp-surrounded room and have his Fleeting Sand's power nullified before fighting him in earnest.

Ethan skillfully utilized Crowley's anger to bait him into his trap step by step.

"According to the principle of going through motions, you've lost."

Ethan coughed lightly and said.

"A house made by Shadow Lamp—is this your plan…?"

He hadn't spoken for a long time.

The mask of anger shattered in the explosion, scattering everywhere.

As the strongest fighter under the King of Gold, Crowley naturally understood everything immediately, using Shadow Lamp to block Fleeting Sand's power; Ethan was indeed the first in thousands of years to make the Golden Kingdom feel troubled, he understood the true meaning of "the will of the King of Gold" — which was the golden radiation created by the divine artifact "Gospel."

However, the atmosphere of the conversation was somewhat awkward.

Ethan had devised a perfect plan, but it seemed there were problems during execution.

The house built by Shadow Lamp was blown up by himself, so much so that during the conversation, the golden radiation poured onto Ethan's back continuously.

Forget it, let's pretend nothing happened.

After much deliberation, Crowley decided to learn from Ethan's spirit and temporarily set aside these minor issues, "Since you know about Fleeting Sand's existence, it indicates one thing; Cynthia is still alive, and indeed, she has betrayed."

Cynthia had always been his primary surveillance target.

The other members of the Six-Person Council believed Cynthia perished in a duel with Ethan, but he was different.

Cynthia was a potential traitor, yet simultaneously, no one knew her resolute soul better than Crowley; even after a thousand years, those passionate feelings hadn't changed.

This was why the King of Gold valued Cynthia so much and regarded her as his most interesting toy.

And now, Cynthia found new allies, at least she thought so.

"Is this your plan…?"

Crowley laughed, intending to mock the two, but in the end, only bitterness remained.

Utilizing the loopholes in divine artifacts' powers, racking their brains to win battle after battle; perhaps Ethan and Cynthia could genuinely defeat the Six-Person Council, and even on the surface win the conquest war.

Yet all this was merely another game by the King of Gold.

After that, they would earn a chance to face the King of Gold directly.

Then, it would be true despair.

"Before the king left, he had us convey a message to you."

Crowley said, "If you prove your worth to him, he will welcome you to the Golden Land—the time coordinates are 407 years; he wishes to introduce you to an old friend there."

"Very well, is this your speech of defeat?"

Having defeated the enemy's cadre, information for the next operation was obtained.

Smoothing over the unrest in Oak City, the next "Main Mission" is to proceed to Sivalentine Capital, defeat the remaining Six-Person Council members, and eventually, obtain the method to traverse time and reach 407 years.

It increasingly felt like a game; Ethan was sure the King of Gold was a gaming enthusiast, even leaving traditional RPG adventure stage hints.

Games can evoke humanity's sinister side; Ethan wholly agreed.

As a phantom thief, when playing games previously, he often pulled NPCs from their cars to kick them and commandeer their vehicles.

At the moment the angry mask shattered, Ethan saw an NPC's memory.

A warrior, who, to keep his only relative alive, purchased a miracle from the King of Gold.

From a player's view, it perhaps was merely an NPC with special side quest content.

"Farewell, warrior."

Such a title left Crowley stunned for a while, and before he could respond, the next sound chilled him.

"Aren't you the same, perhaps?"

He vaguely saw a white-haired woman with red pupils, barefoot, leaving a layer of scarlet ice wherever she passed.

The woman's face brimmed with fervor and a sweet smile.

"Is the game fun?"

The woman followed Ethan quietly and lightly.

Crowley also noticed that at the moment the white-haired woman appeared, the little girl with yellow hair scampered away, and even took the unconscious Princess Vivian as she left.

The girl who seemingly blew everyone away seemed quite frightened of this mysterious white-haired woman.

Moreover, he didn't notice when the white-haired woman appeared.

Before departing, Crowley and the white-haired woman exchanged looks.

It was a glance filled with layers of meaning.

She just lifted her finger slightly, and the scarlet ice converged along the house's shattered edges, completing the damaged portions in an instant.

It was constantly bathed in golden radiation.

But this time, the King of Gold's will couldn't halt its spread.

As Crowley looked out the window again, the golden glow had been extinguished without his knowledge.

Oak City welcomed its long-lost night.

But in the sky that night, a moon resembling a red pupil quietly overlooked everyone.