Chapter 137 - 136: Wonderful Use of the Purifying Cloth

Chapter 137: Chapter 136: Wonderful Use of the Purifying Cloth

The grandfather paradox?

Parallel worlds?

What in the world were the Forbidden Mages of the Ancient Era researching!

It sounded so profound!

Compared to them, the Forbidden Mages here just wracked their brains every day trying to develop more powerful Magic. It was no wonder Li Ye looked down on them...

There were several Mages among the girls around Li Ye.

Mages are typically wiser than Swordmaster Orcs. They could tell how powerful the concepts of the grandfather paradox and parallel worlds were, but they wouldn’t know where to even begin researching them.

And so, their admiration for Li Ye grew even deeper.

However, they were also worried. His Eminence Aragon seemed absolutely determined to go back!

Perhaps they needed some special methods to keep His Eminence in this world.

The theory of parallel worlds sounded reasonable, but what if His Eminence returned to an Ancient Era where his death was a certainty?

They couldn’t bear the thought of such a wonderful man going back just to die!

During a break for a meal, a few of the girls slipped away from Li Ye to discuss their plan.

...

"Elsa, we have to find a way to make His Eminence stay," Elise said, her gaze firm.

"Mhm." Elsa looked around at the others. "Everyone, let’s think of something."

"We need to make him feel a sense of belonging to our world. Then he naturally won’t be able to bring himself to leave," Joey said.

"A sense of belonging?" Elise froze for a moment, then her eyes lit up. "I agree with Joey’s idea. I’m willing to become His Eminence’s family. If possible, I’d bear him many children. What stronger sense of belonging is there than a wife and children?"

"Elise, what nonsense are you spouting?" Laila was furious. "If someone has to bear His Eminence’s children, it should be me..."

"You’re dreaming." Amilia shot them a helpless look and shook her head. "His Eminence Aragon won’t touch us. He’s very gentle with us, but I can feel his emotional distance.

"I’ve seen plenty of men at the fortress. When they hug a woman, they wish they could shove their hands up her skirt and meld her into their own body."

"When we walk down the street, those men’s fiery gazes look like they want to devour us whole."

"Even Marshal Luo Ao, when he asked us to accompany His Eminence, explicitly told us that His Eminence could do anything to us. You should know what ’anything’ means!"

"But have you ever seen a trace of desire in His Eminence Aragon’s eyes?"

The girls looked at each other and shook their heads in unison.

"Exactly. From the moment we left the fortress until now, even when we hug him, his eyes have remained pure. There isn’t the slightest intention of defiling us." Amilia looked at Elise and Laila scornfully. "He won’t even touch you, and you want to have his children?"

"..." Elise glared at Elsa, unwilling to concede. "How do you know it’s impossible if you don’t even try? His Eminence said that success depends on human effort and that you have to fight for everything yourself."

"His Eminence is a kind person," Laila said. "His heart is very soft, just like the Holy Purifying Cloth."

"It’s precisely because he’s kind that he won’t touch you," Amilia said. "His Eminence’s goal is to return to his original world, so he won’t allow himself to form emotional attachments or bonds here. He won’t let anyone get hurt."

"Then what do we do?" Elise froze, then suddenly grew anxious. "We can’t just stand by and watch His Eminence go to his death!"

"Perhaps we can learn more about the Ancient Era from His Eminence and help him achieve his dream," Amilia said. "As long as His Eminence demonstrates sufficient value, the higher-ups will naturally find a way to make him stay. Their wisdom far surpasses ours."

"And their methods are far more despicable," Elsa added.

"Elsa, perhaps despicable means are exactly what we need to make His Eminence stay!" Amilia said with a smile.

...

’Heh!’

’A bunch of little girls who think they’re so clever!’

With Li Ye’s perception, their whispered conversation couldn’t escape him.

But this was exactly what he wanted. The only reason he had told these girls so much was to use them as his mouthpieces!

Having others proclaim his successes was far more effective than bragging himself.

...

"Your Eminence, tell us more stories about the Immortals of the Ancient Era!"

"Of course. Do you want to hear the story of Vera, or the story of Olympus Mountain..."

...

"Your Eminence, can you tell me about parallel worlds?"

"Speaking of parallel worlds, we have to talk about quantum mechanics..."

...

"Your Eminence, did all the Forbidden Mages of the Ancient Era study the essence of the world?"

"Only by understanding the essence of the world can one develop even more powerful Magic..."

...

"Your Eminence, what was the name of the Forbidden Magic that caused you to travel through time?"

"The Wheel of Space-Time. At the time, I thought it was an offensive spell that damaged enemies by Cutting time..."

...

"Your Eminence, Gandalf gave you the true Holy Artifact. You must be his favorite disciple, right?"

"No, the reason I have the Purifying Cloth is because of a game I played with my master. He hid a secret inside the Purifying Cloth and made a bet on how long it would take me to find it."

"What kind of secret?"

"I don’t know either. I don’t have any clues yet. That’s why I want you all to use the Purifying Cloth more. Perhaps with more use, the secret will be revealed. You can try looking for the Purifying Cloth’s secret, too. Maybe my master hid some kind of powerful force inside it..."

...

Amidst all sorts of casual questions and answers, Li Ye and his "girl group" made their way toward the human forces’ main rear, passing through the allied army’s second line of defense, Hoshan Canyon, and the third, Jiading Highland.

Marshal Luo Ao Nier had already sent word of Aragon’s arrival back.

Thanks to a massive propaganda campaign, every soldier in the fortress knew about Aragon, the disciple of Gandalf who had returned from the Ancient Era to save the world.

To cooperate with Marshal Luo Ao’s plan to boost morale, Li Ye was given a grand reception everywhere he went.

Moreover, to increase Aragon’s influence and to further verify his strength...

...at each line of defense, the general in charge of the fortress would, after feasting Li Ye, invite him to demonstrate his power.

Li Ye gladly accepted.

And so, at the two lines of defense, he proceeded to thrash the Wind Element Sword Saint Marshall, the Beastman Berserker Kenneth, the Water Forbidden Mage Reinhart, and the Elf Divine Archer Arena...

In one-on-one fights, the top masters of the various races could last two or three rounds at most before he beat them black and blue until they were unconscious. Then, he would truss them up tightly with the Purifying Cloth.

Aragon’s Magic was only used to interfere with his enemies. He relied on his fists to truly defeat them, and he seemed to enjoy this method of beating opponents with brutal, direct strikes.

And so.

Li Ye earned the same title as Gandalf: Close Combat Mage.

The masters of the various races fell one after another to this young man, but instead of falling, the allied army’s morale soared.

Because the stronger Aragon was, the more it proved his origins were real, the more it proved his legend was real, and the more it proved that the hope of defeating the Undead was real.

Aragon, who had never once set foot on a battlefield and had made his name entirely by beating up his own side, earned everyone’s respect and became the hope of the world.

His fame surpassed that of all previous war heroes in the allied army. Among the warriors and the common people, he was known by all.

Along with Aragon, the Holy Artifact from the Ancient Era—the Purifying Cloth—also became famous.

Before every battle, Aragon would wipe his hands with the Purifying Cloth, then toss the used cloth at his opponent.

According to him, the Purifying Cloth was a Holy Artifact. Wiping one’s hands with it before a battle could wipe away Bad Luck and Omens along with any dirt, allowing one to fight with the purest body. This would win the favor of Lady Luck and increase the probability of victory.

Likewise, tossing the Purifying Cloth used to wipe one’s hands at an opponent meant throwing your Bad Luck and Omens onto them as well...

Using the Purifying Cloth to tie up prisoners afterward followed the same logic.

A defeated prisoner was brimming with Bad Luck. Tying them up with the Purifying Cloth could seal away their Bad Luck. This was a common practice in the wars of the Ancient Era; the Purifying Cloth was an essential item for every Warrior, and even Mages.

...

In private, the story of the Purifying Cloth’s invention and its other uses also began to spread.

When the Demigod Gandalf walked the Mortal World disguised as a woman, he felt the suffering of women and created the Purifying Cloth to help every woman get through the most difficult few days of each month.

The other uses of the Purifying Cloth were discovered one by one over time.

It wasn’t just for women; men could use it too.

There was even another private rumor: throwing a Purifying Cloth used by a woman at an enemy could inflict them with extreme Bad Luck, causing everything to go wrong for them. The more accurate the throw, the worse the enemy’s luck would be.

It was also said to have the power to suppress demons...

The people believed all of this without a doubt.

After all, Moonlight Water had always been regarded as an unclean substance. It only made sense that a Holy Artifact tainted by it would become a powerful tool for curses.

The soldiers witnessed the miracle of the Holy Artifact with their own eyes. That roll of soft, snow-white Purifying Cloth seemed inexhaustible, never running out. No matter how many enemies Aragon tied up with it or how many pieces he gave away as gifts, it always remained the same size.

And so.

Aragon’s credibility grew even greater, and everyone considered it an honor to receive a piece of the Holy Artifact.

Among the common people and the soldiers, only the legends of Aragon and the Holy Artifact circulated.

But the higher-ups at the various defensive lines learned more detailed information about Aragon from Elsa and the others.

For example:

The Divine Spirits of the Ancient Era were divided into several factions: the Northern European faction, the Greek faction, the Eastern Pantheon, the God Pantheon, and so on.

The Forbidden Mages of the Ancient Era possessed world-destroying power. They studied the secrets of all things in the universe and created a series of theories.

The grandfather paradox related to time, and the quantum theory related to parallel worlds, sounded even more miraculous and profound.

The local Mages were left in awe. It gave them great inspiration, and every Mage yearned to return to the past or to recreate the glory of the Ancient Era.

Even the Forbidden Mage Reinhart and others who had been defeated by Aragon came to regard him as a kindred spirit. They wanted to learn more knowledge and secrets of the Ancient Era’s Mages from him, wishing they could keep him at the fortress for all-night discussions.

Marshal Luo Ao’s worries had long since vanished along with the theories of the Holy Artifact and parallel worlds.

Everyone at the rear defensive lines firmly believed that Aragon did indeed come from the Ancient Era, or a parallel world...

...