City Blade in the Elf Realm?
Of course, this is just an idea without any evidence or concrete proof. Yugen put this thought aside for now.
There wasn't much useful information afterward. However, they managed to obtain a map fragment within this dimension's limited area, and marked the next target for exploration on the map.
Which is the location of the next Overlord Army Camp.
The two returned to a nearby town. Near the town's edge, through shrubs and weeds, they heard people talking by the river behind.
"The Mountain God demands a total of seven living sacrifices this time." It was a man's voice, sounding somewhat troubled, "More than last time, and the interval between ceremonies seems shorter too."
Another man said, "Since it is the Mountain God's request, we naturally have to try our best to fulfill it."
"But it's too much, no matter how you say it..."
"Shut up."
The other man suddenly spoke harshly, then quickly lowered his voice.
"Speaking so carelessly, what if someone hears..."
"Ah, true. Though the people in town do not say, I can see they have opinions as well." The man sighed, "Managing this isn't easy for us either.
But you're right, we cannot provoke the Mountain God's wrath no matter what..."
Upon hearing this, Judai immediately poked out from the grass.
"If you're talking about the Mountain God over there in the mountain, there's no need to worry anymore."
Judai stood with hands on hips, his expression somewhat proud.
Both men were startled and turned their heads. They both resembled humans, dressed in simple coarse clothes, bearing rugged faces with dark skin, like rural folks.
Clearly, they were inhabitants of the Elf Realm.
Upon seeing someone appear, both men instinctively shrank back, like startled rabbits ready to flee at any moment. When Yugen and the two arrived at the town earlier, it was empty, clearly the residents were not very hospitable, preferring to stay away from strangers.
But upon hearing the words of this red-clad youth, they couldn't help but stop. The two exchanged glances, then one of them spoke.
"Who... are you?"
"What do you mean by what you just said?"
Judai, proud, said: "The Mountain God you're talking about is no god, just an evil elf. We've just defeated that wicked creature."
"From now on, you no longer need to worry about being coerced or asked to sacrifice."
Judai had admired various hero figures since childhood, often imagining that one day he would also have the chance, like comic book heroes, to punish evil and promote good. Now that such an opportunity was finally before him, naturally, he felt a sense of satisfaction after acting justly.
Oh, the only pity is that the good deed can't be entirely credited to him. Because the card obtained was snatched away by Yugen...
Nonetheless, in his original plan, the other party should be quite grateful to them. Even without any practical expression, at least there should have been endless thanks to the hero who saved them.
But things didn't go as expected.
One of the men, at first disbelieving, frowned and said: "What nonsense are you talking, boy? The Mountain God's divine power is immeasurable, how could you, an unknown individual..."
But the other man beside him turned pale and trembled: "Wait... wait a moment, maybe what he said is true. Look at his hand..."
The man then followed his companion's gaze to Judai's right hand, and his expression suddenly changed.
That was... the Duel Disc!
This youth is actually a Duelist!
Duelists in this world are able to master all kinds of powerful secret techniques, commanding armies through card power to their advantage, like a one-man army.
"Yes, I come from abroad, and am a Duelist." Judai proudly said, "So, no need to worry, your so-called Mountain God has already been..."
"You... you killed him! You killed the Mountain God!"
The man then cried out in despair.
"It's over. With the Mountain God dead, we no longer have prophecies to guide us, no more teachings... without the Mountain God's teachings, how are we supposed to live?"
"Eh?"
Judai was dumbfounded.
This was not what he expected.
The man was dejected. His companion sighed, patting his shoulder: "Let's go back and tell everyone the news."
"Alright."
The two didn't pay further attention to Judai, just walked away with heads hanging, as if their soul had been extracted, dragging their feet.
Judai watched the two's backs disappearing in the distance, lost in thought, yet seemingly unable to understand.
This might be the first time in his life, feeling that justice wasn't so clear, feeling bewildered.
Yugen patted his shoulder.
"This has nothing to do with us." he said.
"...Alright."
Judai nodded, though he responded verbally, it was unclear if he truly listened.
"Let's go, let's call it a day." Yugen said, "It's probably late already, we need to go back to rest. Tomorrow is the new term ceremony, if too late, you might not wake up tomorrow morning."
"..."
Judai didn't say another word that evening.
Yugen recorded their coordinate location in this dimension, feeling like storing a save progress. Then the two logged out through the Link System, leaving this dimension.
That night, they each rested.
The next morning, at the Duel Academy hall, the new term ceremony took place.
The familiar hall, the familiar atmosphere, and true to his previous term, Judai was late and missed the ceremony's start.
After being forcibly dragged out from bed by Marufuji Shou, rushing to the hall, Judai once again performed consistently by dozing off in line, drawing Professor Chronos's first scolding of the new term.
Surprisingly, Principal Jiaodao didn't show up at the opening ceremony this term. Although his speech was presented on the hall's big screen last term, today even the speech was delegated entirely to Professor Chronos.
The first day of the new term seemed to pass by quite uneventfully.
But no one seemed to notice that on this night, around the red, yellow, and blue dorms, there were some peculiar bats flying around.
They hung upside down outside the dorms, inexplicably possessing pairs of dark red eyes, coldly observing through the windows each student inside the dorms.
In the distance, amidst the misty sea, an ancient castle appeared at some point.
The luxurious ancient bathroom, soft moonlight shone through the mist on the window lattice, draping the quiet space in a layer of silvery gauze. Rising steam and the scent of lavender interweave in the air, enveloping a woman.
She lay comfortably in the bathtub, her skin exceptionally fair under the moonlight. The delicate soap bubbles overlapped like clouds, surrounding her, exposing only a deep valley from the chest, mostly hidden beneath the bubbly water.
"Duel Academy... is it?"
The woman chuckled lightly, her eyes lighting up with a red glow.
Just like the eerie red glow of those bats outside the academy dorm.