Chapter 23：Talent, No... Ghastly Talent

"Your Highness, the strategic value of the magic you have created... it is beyond ordinary."

Zenarth could only think of war as a use for the chat window. He had participated in several wars to quell the internal chaos within the Demonic Realm, so he knew how important the speed of information transmission was on the battlefield.

"A tool of war? No, no. Zenarth, the world before you will be a brand new world, a world where everyone is equal."

Joshua's words once again put the Sin Demon into a stupor. With Zenarth's current way of thinking, it was indeed difficult for him to understand how great the Internet age was.

"Go and get some rest."

The cube in Joshua's hand disappeared, and he did not continue to poke fun at his Lifeward. Even a being as strong as a Sin Demon required rest.

Plus, Zenarth had opened several portals in a row for the past few days. Creating a portal consumed a large amount of mana, and it was very difficult to recover all of that mana in a short time.

"Understood."

Joshua had entered into a covenant with the Duke of Bones, and it was fair to say that the castle had become Joshua's own territory too.

With the Duke of Bones' support, Joshua officially went from a prince who could only tinker with toys to someone who had squeezed right into the same circle as the First Prince and Princess Royal.

That was, of course, if Joshua had any intentions of fighting for the throne.

Joshua looked on as Zenarth left the hall before he focused all of his attention on the mark on his hand.

The mark was proof of the covenant between Joshua and the Duke of Bones. Since he was now master of part of the duke's life, Joshua had also gained the right to control the duke's Legion of the Dead.

However, controlling ten high-level Death Knights was Joshua's limit. He was still far, far away from being able to command a legion of undead like the Duke of Bones did with Frostmourne in hand.

That aside, in Joshua's view, the undead possessed more than the ability to take away human lives or devour their souls.

Joshua clenched his marked left hand, and a dark light blasted out of the mark. Following that, two transparent specters slowly flew into the room through the window.

The two specters had the appearance of young women, and they were wearing torn, shabby long dresses, which had been inscribed with plenty of dark runes.

They were advanced creatures under the specter branch, banshees...

The banshees had no will of their own, and without their master's control, they would attack any and every living creature around them in a frenzy. As they shattered the minds of their victims, they would hear the banshees' sharp and hateful wails.

Obviously, they also had very important abilities such as floating through walls like ordinary ghosts, picking up objects, and going invisible... Most importantly, they were not afraid of the sun. The sun would only weaken part of their strength, but it would not harm their very essence.

Joshua opened his suitcase and took out the camera. He then gave the two banshees an order.

They slowly floated to the camera, and one of the banshees successfully picked up the not-too-heavy camera before she floated to the top of the room.

Even if Joshua had already known the results, it was still a little surprising to see the banshee float about in the room with the camera in hand.

With the help of the banshees, Joshua no longer had to worry about the problem of camera angles. Problems like long-angle shots, close-up shots, camera stabilization, support brackets, and the camera cart were basically not there anymore!

If there were banshees back on Earth, all of the Hollywood directors would have hired them to be the cameramen. Perhaps the directors would not be stingy with the money for the camera equipment as the banshees could provide them three-hundred-and-sixty-degree panoramic shots without any dead zones.

You guys are just wasted being mere undead. Come with me to Hollywood and launch your career sky-high.

The banshees definitely had the talent for camerawork... Uh... ghastly talent at that!

It was a pity that the banshees had no will of their own.

Joshua released his clenched fist, and the two banshees put down the camera, then disappeared into the air. At the same time, Joshua's gaze fell upon Ciri by the fireplace. She had already woken up from her sleep.

"Can't sleep?"

"Tell me how is it possible to sleep with two ghosts staring at you?"

Ciri looked at the spot where the banshees had disappeared from. She had woken up the moment they entered the room, and even the Duke of Bones' performance of "Canon in D" could not put her back to sleep.

"Continue sleeping, then. There will be nothing else disturbing you tonight."

Joshua let out a yawn. He had not been sleeping for the past few days, and despite how strong his bloodline was, he could hold on no longer.

"You're... not sleeping here too, are you?"

Ciri looked around and saw that she had a pillow in her hand. If Joshua decided to look for a room in the castle to sleep, the neck ornament on her neck would compel her to follow him to that room.

"Are you upset that I'm here?" Joshua asked.

"Of course, I am. Hmm... first things first, I'm not interested in you, never ever will be!"

While Ciri did want to live, she was not afraid of death. She never hid whatever dissatisfactions she had in her heart; it was just that she had overheard Joshua's conversation with Zenarth earlier, and it made her a little confused inside.

"Sleep early, then. We have work to do tomorrow."

Joshua totally ignored Ciri's sneers as he pulled out a chair by the table. He leaned directly against the chair and closed his eyes.

Ciri looked on as Joshua closed his eyes and fell into silence. She did take into consideration that while Joshua had restricted her freedom, her survival in the Demonic Realm was all due to him. In a sense, Joshua was her savior.

Yet, Joshua's total lack of majesty made it very difficult for Ciri to properly thank him. Joshua would definitely laugh at her. Ciri was sure of it.

"Thank you." Ciri hugged and muttered to the pillow with a voice that only she could hear.

"Ciri, what did you just say?"

Joshua's hearing was very sharp, though. He managed to filter out the serenading "Canon in D" to catch the two words Ciri had just whispered.

"I... I... Once I'm free, you'll get it from me!" Ciri's face was suddenly flushed. To maintain her forceful disposition, she had to spit such cruel words out.

"I see."

Yet, Joshua's response indicated that he did not even take what she said to heart as he continued to close his eyes to recuperate for the next day's work.

Ciri gently bit her lower lip as she finally fell asleep, pouting and hugging the pillow with her back facing Joshua.