Chapter 1009 - I Refuse

"Nyx." Alex presented his fake name again while observing these people's expressions. There wasn't a sliver of doubt in their eyes. It might be due to their fear of his strength or was just shocked by the sight of him sitting on top of a worm, whatever the case, Alex felt it was enough for him to know that these people were not a reckless bunch.

The problem would be their leader. He was wondering whether the prince in front of him was not respected by his subordinates or not, since when he talked highly before their prince, they didn't do anything.

After hearing his name, the prince closed his eyes for a bit and smiled. "Many thanks. In that case, would you like to follow me to my kingdom?"

Alex narrowed his eyes and nodded. "Sure."

He hopped off the worm. The prince took another glance at the worm and Alex before leading the company to the kingdom.

What Alex found was a kingdom without a wall. No, it couldn't be said as a kingdom anymore. It was a city, but he could only find some rundown houses in the outskirts.

There was no castle in sight either, so he wondered if this was truly a kingdom.

"I apologize for the poor appearance of my country." The prince made a sad smile. "We just lost a war, and our place was reduced to this."

The prince finally told the truth. He didn't want someone like Alex to go away easily if he told the truth earlier. However, when a time like this, Alex would surely have three possibilities. The first would be taking pity on them.

The second was him leaving in rage and disappointment, and the third was ignoring this and just doing all the things he wanted. From the way Alex talked, he would take the third possibility, but that was all his prediction.

And it turned out he was right. Alex didn't know these people, so even though he could see many people were miserable, he had no intention to help. He might have the heart to help them, but he wasn't a saint.

If he helped one person, the others would start flocking. It would just be a disaster coming his way. In that case, it would be better to steel his heart once no matter how hard it was.

The prince hesitated but still led him to the palace.

It looked like a temple. No wonder he couldn't see it earlier, the palace was only one story high, and its appearance wasn't really that great.

"I am embarrassed to say this, but this is my palace. How about staying for a night, Sir Nyx?" Even the prince said humbly to Alex.

Alex could understand why his action was like this and the guards around him didn't say anything about the disrespect.

Alex nodded. To know more about the world, he indeed needed someone with high status. And getting treatment like this wasn't really detrimental for him.

"Please." The prince smiled and stretched his hand, leading Alex through the palace. He didn't really meet anyone during this time, making him wonder what happened to this kingdom.

He led him to a room that didn't have much decoration inside. It looked poor that he even doubted that this place was coming from royalty. 

"Then, I would like to leave and meet my father first to report the whole situation. If you need anything, there is a bell on the table. If you ring it, someone will come to you." The prince bowed politely and left him.

Alex fell silent and looked at the outside.

"I wonder what is happening in this world…Is the world this poor?" Alex muttered.

[Not really.]

"What do you mean?"

[From what I know, each influence is well known and rich. By the way, you haven't checked the condition of the world with your Spirit Eyes and just entered this place.]

"Why should I do that? My objective is to check this place, plant the seal, test it for a while with myself, and leave."

[No. I think there is something weird in this place.]

"Such as?"

[There is a possibility that the world has started to evolve, and another world has begun its invasion.]

"Ho?" Alex narrowed his eyes. "Even so, the portal shouldn't have stabilized, right? At least, it won't be stable enough for people to cross."

[That's why I want you to check. Don't you feel that the Spiritual Energy is increasing little by little?]

"Really?" Alex narrowed his eyes.

[Yes. You can't see it?]

"I am not paying attention to it. Besides, how the heck can you know?"

[I can see what you see. When you activated your Spirit Eyes once after you came in, I could see the slight difference in the Spiritual Energy.]

"Oi, oi. Are you serious?"

[I am a Nature Goddess not for nothing. My main power is Spiritual Energy that is classified as Nature. No, it should be said I can become a God King because I can control Spiritual Energy.]

"So, you are very sensitive in this area?"

[Yes.]

"…" Alex facepalmed. "And you want me to see what only an expert like you can see? I have forgotten this feeling…Are you going to start another argument with me again?"

[I will…If it's on the bed.]

"…" Alex let out a long sigh and decided to move on from the conversation. After not being teased by her for too long, he had forgotten how frustrated it was to be teased by her.

[Haha. Anyway, I'm out. That's the only clue I can tell you in this situation. The rest will be up to you.]

"Alright. Thanks for the information. I will use it well." Alex nodded and immediately activated his Spirit Eyes. As expected, he couldn't see the difference in the Spiritual Energy. He wondered how high her sense to spot on something like that.

Since he got here in the evening, the people will start sleeping, so he needs a place to wait. In the meantime, he looked around to see what people were doing in this place.

They looked pale and thin, appearing to be somewhat weak than a normal person. He thought this was the norm in this place, but he soon realized it wasn't the case.

If he took another look at the center area, he found a fountain that had been covered with dust as if it wasn't used for long.

"This place lacks water?" Alex narrowed his eyes. "No, should I say this country is very poor? If what…"

Before he finished his sentence, he could feel someone's presence walking in the corridor near his room. He never heard this kind of footsteps during his stay in this room, so it took his attention.

When he checked it with his Spirit Eyes, he found a woman's energy coming right to his room.

She seemed to be carrying something.

As one would expect, the woman knocked on the door.

"Sir Nyx. I am the second princess of Rawak Kingdom, Mileda. May I request your audience?" A soft woman's voice echoed from the other side of the door.

Alex narrowed his eyes, wondering if this was the king's scam?

He wanted to gather information in this place, so he decided to let her in.

"Come in."

As soon as she heard Alex's voice, she gently pushed open the door, revealing her appearance. Just like the people outside, she wore revealing clothing, just enough to cover her b.r.e.a.s.t and crouch. There was a shawl that covered a bit of her body just to make her look s.e.xier.

Her grey hair was different than the prince's blue hair, but it assimilated very well with the building that made her look stunning.

However, Alex's eyes were focused on the bucket of water she brought along with the wipe.

"Please excuse me…" The princess looked down, a bit ashamed of her appearance. Even so, she still tried to make some movements that she was taught to gain someone's attention to a certain part of her body, albeit her movement was rather stiff.

Alex didn't care about it and asked. "So, is there anything I can do to help you, Princess?"

The princess stiffened and hurriedly answered. "I-I just want to wipe your body!"

This answer alone was enough for him to understand what she was trying to do. And Alex immediately rejected her. "I refuse."

"I…I…" The princess tried to explain the things to him, but Alex stopped her while looking at the fountain outside. "With that precious water, you are trying to wash my body?"

She was surprised to hear that from Alex. And Alex got his answer from her expression.

"It seems my speculation is true. This kingdom…Is it really yours?" Alex looked at her and leaked a bit of his killing intent.

The princess felt that Alex began doubting them. Even so, she didn't back down. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists, staring at Alex with unwillingness.

"Hmm…That pride. It seems this kingdom is yours. But is this place really your kingdom?" Alex then changed his question. "From the prince that I met earlier, you just lost a war."

"If you want to humiliate me, please do it on me. I won't stand down if you keep mocking my country!"

"Ho?! This kind of pride won't appear in a small country. However, it will surely appear on someone who loves their country a lot, and that country is powerful…No, not is. It 'was' powerful." Alex narrowed his eyes. "So, care to explain to me what happened?"

"You-you." The princess clenched her fists until blood fell to the floor but soon loosened it.

"No. Rather than explaining what happened, I want to know your purpose for visiting me. Depending on your explanation and action, I might leave this place or stay for a bit longer."

Remembering what her brother told him about the man before her, she knew that Alex wasn't joking.

She thought for a moment and decided to tell him the truth. "I…I am here to serve you, so you can stay for a bit longer."

"As expected." Alex let out a long sigh. "Now, I want to see what kind of kingdom actually sacrifices its princess to do this?"

[It's the Acacia Kingdom.]

'You shut up first.' Alex twitched his eyebrows.

[Haha. I will be telling this to Alicia.]

'You really want to fight, huh? Fine by me.'

[You are only coming back in another few months, so you won't be able to catch me while I am telling her.]

'Whatever.' Alex sighed in defeat. He was tired of arguing with her.

[Just a reminder. Don't do a one-night stand, alright?]

'I know, I know. Do I look like someone who will do something like that?'

[Nope. But you might pity her later or whatever.]

'It's fine. I won't do that. Even if I pity her, I will do something with power, not this.'

[Okay.]

Alex was finally free from Lin Xingzhi's teasing again and faced the princess with a serious expression. "So, what do you wish to gain from doing this? It's not only for me to stay longer, right?"

The princess nodded. "Yes. Since my brother had told you about us losing a war, it's all about that. No, I shouldn't say it was a war. It was a slaughter."

"A slaughter?" Alex narrowed his eyes. It seemed what Lin Xingzhi said was true. Another world had invaded this place. From what he knew, the Upper World where he used to train was only a small world at the beginning. When it evolved into an Upper World, it attracted many worlds, and numerous portals were created.

That was the reason why he could go to another world when he was there.

"A slaughter?" Alex asked to get more information.

"Yes. Our country was big and had powerful warriors, but they were slaughtered one by one by a group of monsters. The monsters were the same as the one you defeated out there."

He recalled the worm and thought, 'Now that she mentioned it, the worm was indeed a Rank 9…Or you can say a Peak Foundation Rank. In this world, it should be hard to find a creature as strong as that.'

"So, the reason for you to make me stay longer…" Alex narrowed his eyes.

Looking at Alex's expression, she knew Alex had figured it out. She looked down and kneeled in front of him. "Please take care of me."

"I still refuse."