Ludwig rested his face in his hands. He knew this already, which was why he had not acted, because even with the space sealed off, if he wished, at least two thirds of this creature's Clone and vessels would instantly become his puppets. This was the difference between a god and mortals, because even now, with Divine Kingdom collapsed and his body lost, he was still a god.
As long as he obtained the core, he could activate the weapon that had once shot him down, rebuild his body, and reconstruct Divine Kingdom. Once he recovered even a fraction of his former power, no one on the continent except those of equal standing could stop him. "This time, I will show my sincerity directly," the dragon head said. "Our bargaining chip can also achieve what you want."
"A seed of the Inverted World Tree!"
Hearing this, even Ludwig frowned. The World Tree, Life Tree, or Origin Tree was not truly a pillar holding up the world, but the source of all current ecosystems. Nature itself was an extension of it, a manifestation of Laws.
With such a seed, Ludwig could do one thing. He could grant that weapon a form of true life. With that nature, it would be easy to control, needing no external energy to operate, and it would grant him a body even stronger than before.
If he could choose freely, he would use it without hesitation. Yet when compared directly, Ludwig still leaned toward his own Authority. The value of an item depended on the situation, and right now, the seed was enough to be placed on equal footing.
But in essence, Authority stood above Laws, no matter how weak it might be. Though tempted, the original plan still offered better value. "I refuse."
"Heh, of course. That is your choice." "But perhaps one day, when you change the Lord mind and wish to trade again…"
Before the words ended, the ugly dragon head was sliced into pieces of Shard by countless invisible threads, then erased until they were finer than dust. The space fell back into reality, and the steward before him rewound as if played backward, returning from a pile of flesh to his original form and walking out in a daze.
Ludwig began to analyze the information. "All crystals… as expected. Lilith? Do you also have some purpose?"
Among the stored data in the metal was a video recording. A Great Dragon and a Witch stood beside Sky Island, surrounded by dense clusters of crystals.
More than that, Ludwig had never abandoned surveillance of the area. His methods were far more concealed than Lilith imagined, and over these days, even without direct images, he had accumulated a large amount of indirect information.
"Abnormal Magic fluctuations detected in the veins beneath Sky Island. Investigation confirms an unknown-purpose Magic Array." "The fluctuation frequency matches that of the third mine pit with over ninety-eight percent confidence." "Within a radius of about twenty li around Sky Island, violent elemental reactions and Magic fluctuations occur frequently." "Large magical creature footprints have appeared."
"Important item frequency detected beneath Sky Island!"
Dense information and clues formed a web in the spider's mind, rapidly converging toward a single point. After sorting through it all, Ludwig opened his eyes. "I understand now. So it was you all along, Lilith!"
Ludwig felt he had grasped part of the truth hidden beneath the traces. The claim of damaged Spatial Barrier requiring Magic Crystal Ore and large amounts of Magic to set up a Magic Array for repairs did sound reasonable. "But that was just a cover."
He was digging, and at the same time, Lilith discovered the vein. Then, conveniently, after the Spatial Barrier was damaged, large amounts of Magic were needed, lining everything up too perfectly. When there were too many coincidences, it became inevitability.
There were too many doubts. Why notice only now? Where did all the commotion around Sky Island come from? Why were two high-level Fire Magic attacks of unknown origin launched at the excavation site from above?
Some of Ludwig's puppets had observed the true form of that Magic. It was two Light Cannon, and according to his own investigation, a major attack trait of Lily's Magic was precisely overwhelming Light Cannon-type attacks. Moreover, the dragon that had obstructed him before could also release Light Cannon, and its appearance was clearly abnormal, with crystals growing on its body.
By coincidence, Lilith herself had a rare crystal sickness, also forming crystals on her body. It was obvious that Witch and dragons were connected. Combined with earlier mine investigations and a comparison of two underground Magic Circle beneath Sky Island, the overlap between the two Magic Array was extremely high, and both excavations uncovered the same explosive crystalline material.
Most critically, traces of metal materials were detected, along with energy fluctuations from the most important core. "It all matches. Everything matches!"
"So the crystal Witch, you are the one who has been obstructing me all this time!" Ludwig slammed the table, convinced he had uncovered the truth.
"So you also know the location of that weapon? Hmph. Are you competing with me, or trying to stop me?" Once this conclusion was reached, his thoughts became smoother, and many past mysteries finally made sense, including depleted veins in unexplained blockbuster areas that had even been filled back in.
As soon as Lilith arrived at Sky Island, his plan began to suffer setbacks, and identical crystal-based Magic Circle appeared in both locations. The core was found in the other Magic Array, and there was no way such a coincidence could exist. Clearly, Lilith had used repairing the Barrier as a pretext to openly investigate the veins and search for the weapon's core.
Ignoring verbal agreements, she drained Magic from the veins to locate the core, since the core constantly leaked energy. Any place that was drained and then regained Magic had to be where the core was. To be fair, even he had not thought of such a method, nor could he replicate it.
After being discovered by him, she controlled a Great Dragon to disrupt his plan and then played the role of the one who benefited afterward. "Damn it. I only realized this now. No, she was not hiding it at all."
Ludwig finally noticed that these obvious signs were never concealed. They were openly exposed. "Was this exploiting my mindset, hiding in plain sight?"
It was like those Magic fluctuations that seemed intentionally leaked. Surely no one would casually play with something as important as the core after obtaining it. "Wait, if I reason backward from this, does that mean she knows part of my background?"
Ludwig continued to unravel the threads. If she exploited that blind spot, then she had considered that he did not take her seriously. With Ludwig's identity as a Third Army Group commander, that alone was not enough to ignore a famous Ascendant Hall-level existence, which meant Ludwig himself was not simple.
"If she knows that…" "My identity has been exposed?"
In that moment of shaken emotion, Ludwig's surface skin peeled away like puzzle pieces. His limbs stiffened like a puppet, and within a theater formed by countless space fragments of Shard pulled by threads, every thread carried something unfathomable, even emotions and souls.
The master of this temporary residence suddenly opened eight eyes. It was a seven-legged spider, manipulating the puppets below with silk threads. "Impossible. Impossible. Impossible. It should not be yet."
Regaining his senses, Ludwig panted with a dark expression. He should not have been exposed yet, because otherwise, simply revealing his identity or tampering with the surface puppet would have been enough to deal with him. The current hidden search for the core had its own purpose.
What was that purpose? And why did the dragon head representing the Demon King come to propose a trade right after he suffered a setback? The timing was too unusual.
After a moment of thought, Ludwig felt as if he had stepped into another web meant to catch prey. "The situation should not be as bad as I imagine."
"At least in terms of strength, I still hold the advantage." If the other side truly had overwhelming power, they would have attacked directly. Instead, they held the core yet stayed in place, which convinced Ludwig that the initiative was still in his hands.
Moreover, the most important body of the weapon was still with him. Although the activation authority lay within the core, as long as he did not release his thread control over the body, the other side could not take it. With the body's support, if he was willing to pay the price, he could unleash even greater power.
"In that case, I will personally see what your plan is, Miss Crystal Witch." Ludwig made his decision.
Since he held the initiative, he could not let go. This time, he would act first, attempt to seize the core, and turn it into a puppet, after which everything would become clear. The only issue was combat power, because dealing with that dragon would require a price that demanded caution.
"The problem is that somewhat troublesome Great Dragon. I need a way to at least hold it back." From their last clash, it was clear that dragon was not a puppet like his own creations, and its bloodline was a genuine dragon's.
"Right. Dragons!" His eyes suddenly lit up.