Chapter 552: The Bone Servant Redeemer's Offspring Ring |
Bone Servant Redeemer's Offspring Ring (SSS'S):
A ring personally forged by Death, containing one-half of Thundering's divinity, one-quarter of fear-infused Corruption divinity, and one-quarter of Decay divinity. Because a "full portion" of divinity was bonded together, the item has been elevated from a Sub-God Relic to an unconscious Sub-God Puppet Tool.
Special Effect [Fear Fodder]: You can absorb surrounding fear emotions to charge it. Each full charge illuminates one screaming face on the ring. Each time a screaming face lights up, you gain slightly increased resistance to lightning elements, fear emotions, Corruption divine power, and Decay divine power.
Special Effect [Hatred Desire]: Each time you gain one portion of Fear Fodder, you gain an additional portion of Fear Fodder.
Special Effect [Thundering Judgment]: Consume one portion of Fear Fodder to summon Lightning Punishment, annihilating the enemy. If the target has previously provided Fear Fodder to the ring, Lightning Punishment is guaranteed to hit.
Special Effect [Screaming Servant]: Bodies killed by Thundering Judgment are automatically converted into a Screaming Servant, possessing the ability to release fear and corrode enemies. It will obey commands to hunt fear, or return to the Fishbone Hall, carrying your praise back to the noble lord upon the throne.
"!!!"
4S!!!
Though the last S seemed somewhat different from the first three, there was no denying it — Cheng Shi now owned a 4S-grade item.
A Sub-God Puppet Tool!
It sounded exactly like turning a servant god into a mindless puppet!
Cheng Shi's eyes blazed with fervor. He was so excited he didn't know what to say, because at this moment he recalled what Deceit had once told him:
"Servant gods and Heralds, aside from possessing their own limited divinity, mostly exercise the authority of a true god by proxy."
See the point?
Cheng Shi, this wanderer of Void, was currently wielding two true gods' authorities by proxy. Partial, yes — but two! One was Prosperity's "Vitality," and the other was Decay's "Faded!"
In addition, he possessed a "complete" portion of divinity — even if it was forcibly bonded together!
Indeed — with that lord's help, Cheng Shi had met every requirement for becoming a Herald. The only difference between him and a real Herald was:
A Herald unified everything within themselves. In his case... the two elements were kept separate.
So he remained a fake Herald. But to a certain degree... the fake was nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.
'Massive profit!'
Before being summoned by Death, Cheng Shi had never imagined he'd approach the status of "Him" through this particular path.
He had no intention of becoming a god. What he'd told Deceit early on — "I don't want to become a god" — was genuine. So his elation came not from nearing that divine status, but from gaining stronger power to pursue the "top scholar" title that Old Jia had once envied!
In Cheng Shi's heart, godhood didn't matter. Old Jia's "dying wish" was what mattered most.
Whether this was his way of comforting himself or his reason to keep living — in any case, getting closer to the Chosen One position made him happy.
And from a certain perspective, this split-identity state suited Cheng Shi's preferences perfectly.
After all, fake was fake. Before earning a seat at the table, he didn't need to worry about clinking glasses and trading schemes with those already seated.
"My lord..."
Cheng Shi lifted his ink-black, hollow eye sockets and gazed numbly at the giant skull upon the Bone Throne. His expression was so devout that Death was certain what came next would be praise "to shake the universe."
But He was wrong.
He never imagined anyone could be this insatiably greedy — brazen enough to push their luck right in a true god's face!
Because what He heard wasn't the anticipated praise. It was Cheng Shi's heartfelt bewilderment:
"My lord... something doesn't seem right. This ring absorbed Dizel's divinity, so where's the Decay effect?
Your technique..."
Cheng Shi had been about to say, 'Your technique is a bit rough, just as Memory mentioned.' But he didn't dare. Reason ultimately prevailed over greed, and he shut his mouth just in time.
However, those two syllables — "Your tech—" — combined with that skeptical tone, apparently ignited the lord's fury.
Green flames as terrifying as a volcanic eruption blazed instantly through the entire hall, consuming the little skull at His feet in the blink of an eye.
Reduced to ashes, Cheng Shi was stunned to find he still had consciousness. He frantically tried to apologize, but the cinder pile could only twitch slightly with his attempted speech — no other response was forthcoming.
So he could only lie on the ground in embarrassment, playing dead, hoping to outlast the lord's moment of wrath.
Cheng Shi didn't want to leave the Fishbone Hall like this. He still had plenty of questions about Chaos to ask. Besides, as long as he retained consciousness, that meant the lord wasn't actually as angry as He appeared.
But then why had He suddenly lost composure and ignited the entire hall?
Surely it wasn't really because of his questioning?
"..."
Just as Cheng Shi was mired in anxious uncertainty, the answer presented itself.
He heard a "hee~" emanate from the void beyond the Fishbone Hall. Then his entire being — no, his entire pile of ash — was yanked away by an immense void-force, pulled free from the flame-engulfed hall and deposited before a pair of eyes painted with stars and spirals.
Those laughing eyes blinked casually twice, and the pile of ash gradually recongealed, reforming into a tiny skull.
Cheng Shi was thunderstruck. He'd never expected the Fun God to appear.
Having seen Him, Death's rage suddenly had an explanation.
So it wasn't his unfinished blasphemy that triggered the fury — it was the Fun God!
'It had to be Him! It was definitely Him! There's no one else!'
'Oh my dear Benefactor, what absolutely heinous thing did You do this time to make my boss this angry?'
Those eyes seemed to read Cheng Shi's confusion, but rather than enlighten him, they blinked playfully at him and asked a question that rendered Cheng Shi petrified:
"Hello there, little bone. You look kind of familiar. I wonder...
Whose Herald are you?"
"..."
'Can't speak.'
'Absolutely cannot speak!'
Cheng Shi was terrified. He felt this question didn't just carry passive-aggressive undertones — there was genuine resentment in it. As for where that resentment came from...
'How should I know? It's not like I'm a god.'
He instinctively averted his gaze from his own Benefactor and silently kept his mouth shut.
Seeing Cheng Shi's attitude, those eyes let out a derisive snicker.
While this exchange was happening, across the way in the Fishbone Hall, the raging flames had gradually subsided. The giant skull sat upon the Bone Throne, a pair of eyes as deep as black holes staring directly at those star-filled eyes, seething with rage:
"You actually... still... want to get... Your hands on... that Corruption... new authority.
Deceit!
What... exactly... do You... want?"
"?"
Hearing this, Cheng Shi froze — then realization struck. The look he directed at his Benefactor was filled with... admiration.
'Incredible — so while Death was forging my ring just now, You were sneaking around trying to steal something?'
'Is this something a god should be doing?'
'Oh — it's the Fun God. Then I guess it's not surprising.'
Cheng Shi was instantly amused. With a peculiar expression, he looked at his Benefactor. Turning his back to shield himself from the other lord's line of sight, he whispered:
"Did You get it?"
Those eyes rolled thoughtfully, then sighed.
"So close — fell at the final hurdle.
It's all your fault. Who told you to make Him angry?"
"???"
'Wait — how is this my fault? How am I the one getting blamed for this?'
...