They all call me an Outer God.

James spoke quickly, clearly annoyed by the nitpicking crowd. Ria told him to calm down and to address any grievances to the World Serpent after the matter was over, seeking compensation from Him.

Surely the world snakes can't get any poorer.

After saying this, Ria took Swarth away from the inn. Although it now looks like a little girl, it does not have any gender and only mimics a certain appearance.

If you were to cut this child open now, you could still see that its internal structure is a cluster of tentacles.

It had previously transformed into the form of Hephaestus, which Ria used to transmit voices, thus enabling her to perfectly mimic a character.

If Ria wanted, he could also imitate the voices of various ages, including female voices, by altering his tone of voice, but he was unwilling.

Once outside, Schwarz felt the joy of being able to walk freely on the street, looking around as if everything was new and exciting.

Soon, Ria came across a newsstand on the way, which sold today's daily newspaper and the latest collections of works by his favorite authors.

The newsstand owner was a man wearing a green knitted hat, a plaid shirt, and blue overalls. He had dyed blond hair, a thick mustache, and a face that looked as red as if he had been frozen.

He loved books, and seeing that Ria was staying at the newsstand, he figured that Ria was also a book lover. So he started recommending the latest horror and suspense novels to Ria, and soon the two were having a lively conversation about the contents of the books.

In Endlers, where modern electronic technology was unavailable, reading undoubtedly became the best way to relieve boredom, and Ria's reading volume during these days was almost astonishing.

He can perfectly handle any topic posed by the boss and answer fluently.

Little Swarth sat to one side, feeling neglected.

Perhaps this is an experience all children go through: accompanying their parents shopping, only to have their parents encounter something they enjoy and leave the children behind.

Schwaal had read those books, but he couldn't read a single word; it was like reading alien script.

In fact, to it, these things could indeed be considered alien script.

Schwarz was a little sad.

Soon, the shop owner noticed something was wrong. He pointed to the bench behind Ria and asked, "Sir, is that your sister?"

Lia instinctively replied, "Ah, yes."

At his age, he is below the legal marriage age in Endeles and should not have children, so it is normal for him to be called a sister.

But when he turned around and saw what was on the bench, he was stunned. It was a... hairy coconut.

Shop owner: "Strange, I just saw someone here. Did I see things when I was reading?"

"Honestly, I thought you were saying I look like a coconut."

"Haha, you're so funny, just like the protagonist in the book we were just discussing. But you haven't read the latest ending yet, have you? He's dead, and the murderer is his own brother."

Ria: "..."

He hates people who give spoilers.

In a short while, Lia bought all the books they had just discussed, except for the one that had been spoiled, and put them in her bag.

Then, he picked up the coconuts from the bench and stuffed them into his bag, walked around to the back of the newsstand, looked at the streetlights there, and patted their hard shells.

"Okay, don't be angry. I'm not so bad that I can't tell you apart from a coconut, and of course, the same goes for streetlights."

I bought some new books. When I get back, I'll continue telling you the stories of heroes and dragons. This time, they're brand new versions—completely new versions you've never heard before.

In the new version of the book, a dragon has captured the hero. The king orders the princess to rescue him, but the hero has already fallen in love with the princess. The princess, however, actually loves the dragon. The dragon, on the other hand, loves only the king, not the princess. The king, in fact, has always deeply loved the hero, but no one knows this...

In the end, the four of them reunited and lived happily ever after.

Ria thought the person who wrote this plot was a genius, but Swarth just liked reading stories about dragons and really liked the author's previous books.

It can't read very well, but it loves listening to books, especially readings from Ria.

Every time Ria reads these plot points, she feels an urge to drag the original author out and beat him up.

Under Ria's persuasion, the street lamp finally turned into a cloud of mist when no one was paying attention, and then transformed into a new coconut in Ria's hand.

It seems determined to go head-to-head with coconuts.

From now on, it wants to be a coconut.

Ria was glad it hadn't chosen to become a durian, so it put the things it had bought, including the first coconut, into its tentacles. Now there was only one coconut left.

He didn't actually know why he was carrying a coconut while shopping.

Perhaps Little Shiva realized that when he became a child, he would be ignored. Adults tend to ignore children when they go shopping, and some even use children as handbag carriers. But this wouldn't happen when he became a coconut.

It saw someone carrying a coconut on the road, and it wanted to do the same.

So while a group of gentlemen and ladies strolled proudly down the street, Ria, the Lord of Trade, the Plague Knight, the Faceless God, and a being of divine consciousness, was holding a coconut and talking to it. This caused many who noticed this to change their expressions and avoid him.

He would even occasionally run to secluded alley corners or next to trash cans to pick up some scraps that he thought were useful.

When he felt tired, he squatted down at the street corner in the bustling city center, placed a stainless steel basin in front of him, and found a piece of cardboard.

The cardboard sign reads: "The Rising Sun once said that devout believers have mercy on the poor, and your compassion will bring you the highest salvation."

So everyone who passed by him heard the young man holding the coconut say, "Praise the sun."

Now, everyone had no choice but to put some money in his basin, otherwise it would be disrespectful to the radiant sun.

Looking at the increased amount of money in the basin, Liya sighed that begging was still the fastest way to make money, although it was also easy to offend people.

Begging has become a profession, with begging on every street forming its own fixed industry chain. Beggars have their own territory and a strong sense of territory.

Lia's attire was nothing like that of a poor person, and in the eyes of the other beggars, he was provoking them.

He didn't even bother to pretend before trying to steal their business. Some of the local beggars couldn't stand it and grabbed their rice bowls, heading aggressively towards Liya.

They stood before him, looking down at what lay before him: "You're arrogant, young man. Arrogance is no good thing."

"What's wrong?" Lia looked up, holding the coconut, her expression full of innocence and naivety.

"Still pretending? When we beg, we only use a bowl and wear tattered clothes to ask for sympathy. Not only do you disrespect our clothing, but you also dare to beg here with a large stainless steel washbasin!?"

Why don't you put a bathtub in there?

Upon hearing this, Ria fell into deep thought: "That seems to make sense, but wouldn't a bathtub be too conspicuous?"

This basin was obtained by Liya through exchanging scrap materials she had saved up. I must say, the quality is quite good; it hasn't rusted at all, so it's definitely made of stainless steel.

Ria looked at them again, pointing to the playing card near her: "Don't you believe in the sun?"

"What does this have to do with faith?"

"The sun shelters the poor, and the sun's children treat the poor with respect. This is all from the Bible. Begging here is part of my job. Everyone should take what they need, so don't interfere with my business." "Shouldn't we be saying that to you?"

"So you disagree with the Bible's viewpoint?"

"Who cares about that crap? How much money can the Rising Sun give us? We're atheists; we'd rather follow White Mask than believe in that crap."

Their voices were very loud, but soon they realized that their voices were perhaps too loud, as if someone had used some means to amplify them.

Soon, a group of people surrounded them aggressively. Lia took the opportunity to promote the glorious name of the Rising Sun and warn those people not to go astray and believe in some nonsense religion.

Believing in anything else will lead to hell after death, where one will not be redeemed. Only believing in the radiant sun is an eternal pursuit, and only the radiant sun can liberate the soul and lead it to heaven.

As the onlookers listened, they were gradually moved by his piety. The young man's words revealed his love and devotion to the gods, and no one could be more devout than him.

His enthusiasm infected those around him, and soon everyone made a gesture of praise to the sun and shouted loudly.

"Praise be to trade!!!"

Then they invested their money in him.

Even the beggars were moved by him, saying that from now on they would definitely turn over a new leaf and devoutly believe in the Lord of Trade.

Then the crowd dispersed, and no one noticed anything amiss.

"Maybe we should get a bigger stainless steel basin; let's forget about the bathtub."

When no one was around, Ria patted the coconut in her arms, only to find that it had somehow transformed back into a four-clawed owl, with a top hat decorated with feathers on its head and a small metal cane in its arms.

"You're not going to be a coconut anymore?"

"Ow!"

Little Swarth nodded, still thinking it was best to be itself. Ria put it in the stainless steel bowl and watched it treat the money as its nest, which cheered her up.

I wish I could be this happy every day.

Ria couldn't help but yearn for such a life, but when he reached out to touch the mythical creature again, a sudden, tearing pain shot through his brain.

"!"

He instinctively covered his head with his hands, only to hear deafening babbling all around him, the language of which was not from any period of Endeleus.

Every word was like a noisy instrument playing in his brain; if he had to describe it, it would be like these things were playing a symphony in his mind.

But Ria could understand what it meant.

Although every syllable made him want to destroy his brain right now, he couldn't even bring himself to hurt himself, nor could he even entertain such thoughts. He could only curl up in pain and be forced to accept it all.

From the outside, it appeared that he merely touched his head and then lowered it, without any extreme reaction or shouting; he remained completely quiet.

However, when he lowered his head, the numerous eyes on his face, hidden by strands of hair, revealed that his current situation was not optimistic.

The reason is simple: Ria has experienced much of this kind of pain before, and he can endure it completely, which is why he can remain silent and inconspicuous.

Gradually, his pupils dilated, and his eyes lost their luster.

My vision seemed to be filled with a blinding white light, and behind the white light, there were several figures that could be vaguely seen.

He saw the figure in the middle grow taller.

The war should be...exposed...restarted. It's time. Now, what are your opinions?

He saw the other figures gradually raise their right hands.

【agree】

【agree】

【agree】

So, plague, what is your opinion...? Perhaps I should call you—divinity?

The next second, he felt all the eyes of those figures focused on him, as if everyone was watching to see how he would react.

Then, Ria saw herself raise her right hand, making a sound that was completely out of her control.

The voice revealed an inhuman indifference, completely unlike any emotion he would display.

【agree】

【very good------】

"clatter--"

Ria's hat suddenly fell to the ground, rolled around a few times, and got covered in dust. Ria suddenly came to her senses at this moment, clutching her chest and panting heavily.

Little Swarth reached out his tentacles to pick up the hat, brushed off the dust, and looked at him with some concern. After a long pause, Ria took the top hat and put it back on his head.

"It's nothing, don't worry."

"Just now, I think I was dragged to a meeting, but as for the host of the meeting..."

The host of the meeting...

At this moment, Ria's eyes widened uncontrollably, his pupils trembling and constantly shifting between gold and their original color. He also reached out to cover his face to prevent more eyes from appearing on it.

But now, his heart was beating at an alarming rate, his breathing was rapid, his face was gradually turning red, and the corners of his mouth were uncontrollably turning upwards.

"Do you know who I saw? It was the Lord I have been longing for, the Lord who shines like the rising sun..."

The young man's eyes narrowed, his gaze, hidden by his hand, was ferocious, terrifying, and insane.

“He spoke! He actually took the initiative to communicate with me! I was so moved. It seems that seizing control of the plague was the right choice. Moreover, He saw through my identity and didn’t seem as bad as I had imagined.”

This is a truly unexpected surprise. Judging from the content of the meeting, war is imminent.

"I can't wait." His voice grew softer and softer, almost a murmur, but the next second, his tone suddenly became more forceful.

“If I were to devour all the authority of revelation in front of Him and strip the believers of their rights, wouldn’t He only have me left?”
"If I kill Him now, His despair will be quite interesting. I'd rather there be no sun in the world than eliminate natural disasters—"

“Wait a minute.” Ria suddenly lowered her hand, quite surprised by her own words.

"What's wrong with me?"

(End of this chapter)