I really didn't want to burn it.

A group of precise and rhythmic footsteps approached from afar, causing Li Ang to abandon any further explanation.

Li Ang turned around and saw a group of ghosts wearing tattered armor approaching them.

"Hey."

Li Ang sighed. He had originally planned to talk about his womanizing ways, and had even mentally prepared himself to kneel on broken stones.

“This topic isn’t over yet,” Li Ang muttered as he stood up.

Skadi readily accepted Li Ang's words, oblivious to his guilty expression.

Li Ang aimed the tip of Gáe Bolg's spear at the monsters of the underworld, preparing to launch an attack.

Instead of attacking when they arrived nearby, these creatures slowly retreated into the thick fog.

Only then did Li Ang notice a dark figure hiding in the fog, which had also come to their side along with the monsters.

"Who is there?"

Leon looked warily into the depths of the thick fog and pulled Skadi behind him.

"Now that you've come all this way, don't you know who I am?"

A slightly deep female voice reached Li Ang's ears through the thick fog.

Li Ang's lips twitched slightly; he already knew who had come.

"It was wrong of me to come here without saying hello."

Li Ang pointed the tip of his spear at the ground, slightly relaxing his guard. But inwardly, his vigilance remained undiminished.

"Since you're here, let's meet up."

"Li Ang, it's been a long time."

A goddess with long black hair walked gracefully out of the mist, a slight smile on her face.

Although she was a goddess, she possessed no celestial aura or divinity whatsoever. Instead, she exuded a strong resentment of a king, like a vengeful spirit.

"Hello, Hela."

Li Ang greeted the other party verbally, but his actions showed no sign of friendliness.

Li Ang raised his hand and fired a flashbang, and a dazzling ball of light suddenly exploded out of the darkness of Helheim.

"Ouch!"

Hela hadn't seen anything so bright for hundreds or thousands of years; her eyes, which had become accustomed to the darkness, were almost blinded by the light.

"Li Ang, what's wrong with you?!" Hela said painfully, covering her eyes. "Do you have a grudge against me? Or did my unreliable old man offend you again, and you're here to make amends?"

"Um...neither. I just wanted to confirm whether you were friend or foe," Li Ang replied, rubbing his nose somewhat awkwardly.

That ball of light was testing whether Hela was possessed by the Demon Pillar.

Although the results showed that those damned demon pillars hadn't yet extended their reach into Helheim, it was a good thing.

"But it seems I've offended a big shot in the underworld with that flashbang... Will I even be able to get out of here now?"

Seeing Hela's resentful gaze, Li Ang felt a little guilty.

Chapter 279 Li Ang: I really didn't do that.

After finally getting used to the blinding light from Leon's excessive flashbangs, Hela was able to regain her sight.

She found a high rock to sit on and struck a queenly pose.

"Hela, I need you to tell me how to leave Helheim. I have an urgent matter to attend to."

Seeing Hela so relaxed and carefree, Li Ang frowned.

“You’re in the land of the dead now, Leon,” Hela said casually, resting her chin on her hand. “You can’t leave now.”

Leon sighed, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Alright, Hela. Let's take our time tonight. I may not hit women, but my wife can."

Skadi nodded upon hearing this and raised her glowing finger in a threatening gesture—a sign that a rune master was about to draw runes out of thin air.

Seeing Li Ang and his wife like this, Hela's originally droopy lips suddenly turned up.

"Li Ang, do you know? You've always exuded an aura of death."

Hela crossed her legs, making no attempt to hide her toned thighs from Li Ang.

Unfortunately, Li Ang's mind was filled with the Asgardian war and the Demon Pillars, so no matter how much he had a leg fetish, Hela's advances couldn't tempt him.

Hela didn't care. She continued to look at Li Ang with interest, and tempted him with a low, husky voice: "You should not be alive anymore. You should stay here. Helheim is not scary at all. If you don't like the environment here, I can build a temple just for you—to express your feelings."

At this point, Hela chuckled.

"Hela! We have no past grudges or recent animosity! How dare you flirt with my husband right in front of me! Do you want to die?"

Skadi warned in a voice even colder than Helheim's.

“Hehe, don’t be nervous, Skadi.” Hela tapped her fingers on the rock. “I have no interest in him as a man; I only want to collect his soul. A mortal soul that hasn’t decayed after so long—it’s simply… no, it’s a miracle!”

"Because I am a forever 20-year-old young man."

Li Ang explained in a joking tone.

Hela ignored the answer and clenched her fist, saying, "Well, Leon? How about coming to Helheim with me permanently? I'll give you a position second only to mine!"

“No, I still have things to finish.” Li Ang slowly shook his head. “You should know very well what happened in Asgard! There’s also a bastard who came with us. His soul is quite interesting. You can definitely collect him.”

Li Ang didn't hesitate at all when it came to selling the Demon Pillar.

"Huh huh huh~"

Hela's laughter had a slightly eerie quality to it.

“I know about the minions of the alien god-king, of course,” Hela laughed. “I have always abided by their rules of the game, and we have never crossed any lines between us. After all, it is really interesting to watch the souls of those high and mighty Aesir gods fall into Helheim one by one.”

"So you knew all along, but you didn't warn us!"

Skadi excitedly tried to rush forward, but was stopped by Leon.

"Calm down. I told you before, you have too short a temper."

Skadi often loses control of her emotions when it comes to matters that are unrelated to or too closely related to Li Ang.

Li Ang had known about his wife's condition for a long time, but he hadn't paid much attention to it.

Looking back, it seems I should still keep an eye on my wife.

"Why should I remind you?" Hela said fiercely. "You've exiled me to this desolate place for so many years, why should I stand with you?"

Hela's words left Skadi speechless. If it weren't for Leon's help, her life in Asgard wouldn't have been much better than Hela's.

Under those circumstances, my feelings for Asgard would never have been as strong as they are now.

Hela continued, "Hmph, you don't need to worry about me joining forces with those guys. Because I know that once they win this war, they will definitely target Helheim. Their goal isn't to conquer the Nine Realms, but to completely destroy it!"

At this point, Hela clenched her fists tightly, as if venting something.

Li Ang replied, "Then you must immediately send us back to Asgard!"

“You want to return to the battlefield, Leon.”

Hela stood up and looked down at Li Ang: "Then you must give me something in return."

"what do you want?"

Li Ang narrowed his eyes, his expression serious.

"If I send you to fight against the minions of a foreign god-king, and you die in the battle..."

Hela paused for a moment, then glanced at Skadi.

"Your soul will belong to me, forever."

"Li Ang!! You absolutely cannot agree to her request!"

Skadi immediately panicked upon hearing that her husband would be forever controlled by Hela.

“Don’t worry, Skadi,” Hela tempted. “Once Leon is in Helheim forever, he’ll never be able to leave the Nine Realms again.”

Upon hearing this, Skadi's expression instantly changed.

"Oh, I see. Then Li Ang, you should agree quickly."

Li Ang roared, "Wife, what happened to your insistence?!"

"But, after all, they will remain in the Nine Realms forever..."

Skadi poked her index finger together, her eyes darting around.

Li Ang sighed and shook his head, then looked at Hela again.

"From what you're saying, it seems that if I don't die on the battlefield, I won't have to pay any price?"

“Only one of you or that alien god-king’s henchman can live,” Hela explained. “At that time, my collection will either be your soul or his. I won’t lose out.”

Leon understood another layer of meaning in Hela's words: "You can't stop him from returning to Asgard?"

“Of course not. You came to Helheim as living people, and I can’t stop you from leaving. But when you return as the dead, everything will be different.”

"I understand. I agree to your terms. Now, take us back."

Leon presented a glowing rune to Hela.

"The contract is established."

Hela reached out and took the rune.

Runes are originally texts of "oaths and restrictions," so as long as the content is confirmed, Hela is not afraid of Leon breaking the oath.

So far, no one, not even a god, has been able to break the "contract," which is a natural law.

Similarly, Hela cannot break the contract.

She shook her finger, and the thick fog parted to reveal a winding path.

“The Rainbow Bridge is no longer usable, so Leon, you must walk back,” Hela said, pointing to the path. “From the main gate of Helheim, it will take you nine days and nine nights to walk. So, this path…”

"I'll learn from your explanation, and hopefully we'll meet again someday."

Leon didn't want to get entangled with Hela any longer; he had already wasted enough time here and needed to return to Asgard as soon as possible.

Spaopak inherited his teacher Odin's memories, and his familiarity with the Underworld is no less than Hela's. Going back would be much easier for him than for me.

"Ah, right."

Hela's reminder made Li Ang stop and turn to look at her.

"If you see a hallucination on the road, never follow it."

Hela gave a disturbing, gloating smile.

"Thank you for reminding."

Li Ang walked into the path without looking back.

◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆◇◆

The path Hela provided was not easy to follow; it was not only winding and tortuous, but also involved various ups and downs.

If Li Ang weren't certain that the [Contract] was working, he would have doubted whether this path was even the right one.

“Maybe the road itself is fine, but she deliberately pointed you down a troublesome path to make things difficult for you,” Skadi guessed. “Who told you to do that the moment you met her? It wasn’t gentlemanly at all.”

Li Ang shrugged: "It doesn't matter if this road is a bit difficult, I just hope that the other side is moving faster than us."

For some, a bright flash of light blinded them.

Li Ang covered his eyes and complained, "What's going on? Hela scared me with a flashbang too?"

[Idiot, this is called the modern standard for appliance repair—just kick it!]

A phantom voice came from the fog, Li Ang's own voice.

"Li Ang?"

Skadi muttered to herself, feeling both confused and worried.

“That’s not me,” Li Ang said in front of her. “This must be the illusion Hela was talking about.”