Just call me Thor

Chapter 532  Make the Guardian Shadow great again

On the 99th floor of the Tower of Truth, Mike found himself reflecting on the unpredictability of life.

In ancient times, the human race had no talents, no cultivation methods, and nothing to rely on. Their lifespans were short, and they struggled to survive in the cracks between the more powerful races.

The fact that humanity had survived at all was a miracle.

In truth, most of the other races didn't interact much with humans.

Why? Because humans were too weak.

A titan wouldn't befriend an ant—the power gap was simply too vast.

Only races like the blood clan and the werewolves, who had some connection to humans, would bother interacting with them.

Who could have predicted that after the end of the ancient era, the Tower of Truth, which was meant to provide sanctuary for the myriad races, would also become a prison?

And humanity, through a series of coincidences, had grown stronger.

Mike, still full of questions, asked another one.

"If talents are fragments separated from the Supreme Source, what happens to the talent when the person who holds it dies? Does it return to the Supreme Source?"

The more Mike learned, the more questions he had.

In fact, today's conversation with Apollo had provided enough information to keep Mike busy for a long time.

But Mike wanted to know more.

And Apollo, as always, knew exactly what to say and what not to say.

"It does," Apollo replied, after a moment of thought. "But not many people die."

Mike suddenly remembered the existence of the Guardian Shadow!

Created by Ares and Shadow Nine, the Guardian Shadow ensured that fallen humans would continue to exist in another form.

In other words... their talents didn't return to the Supreme Source!

Mike was sure that when Ares and the others created the Guardian Shadow, they hadn't thought that far ahead.

They had simply wanted to save as many people as they could.

But by sheer luck, they had ended up doing something incredibly important!

Every time it seemed like humanity had gotten lucky, it was really just the result of hard work paying off.

That was all.

Mike had once privately calculated the cost of maintaining such a massive Guardian Shadow Corps. In some ways, it was a losing proposition.

Generals and above could still carry out various missions.

But those below that rank had limited use.

Even so, humanity had persisted.

As the current leader of the Guardian Shadow, Mike felt the weight of his responsibility grow even heavier.

Make the Guardian Shadow great again!

Before Mike could ask another question, Apollo spoke up.

"I'm a bit tired."

"You should rest. I'll take my leave," Mike said, bidding Apollo farewell.

Afterward, Mike rode the white cloud back down to the Forest of Truth.

Shadow Four was already waiting for him.

"Hello."

"Hi."

Without wasting time on small talk, Mike got straight to business.

"The Eighth Demon God has been crowned, and the Eighth Abyss now has Shadow Element materials. Send all available Guardian Shadows there."

To secure the position of Eighth Demon God, Poseidon had paid a heavy price and signed countless humiliating agreements.

As for the massive debt Poseidon had accumulated, Mike generously offered a reduction.

The cost of that reduction would be borne by the demon creatures of the Eighth Abyss.

The Guardian Shadow would be allowed to hunt in the Eighth Abyss for seven days, and the Eighth Demon God would not interfere.

In total, they would offset 7 million Lord Merits of debt!

One million per day!

Time is money, my friend!

A cold glint flashed in Mike's eyes as he said ominously, "If the Guardian Shadow doesn't earn 10 million Lord Merits in six days..."

Shadow Four felt a chill run down his spine.

Thor was generally an easygoing person.

As long as you didn't talk to him about money or life.

Money was Thor's lifeblood, and Thor valued his life even more than money.

With the boss's orders clear, Shadow Four only needed to carry them out.

The Eighth Abyss was in a state of rebuilding, and with the Eighth Demon God not interfering, the Guardian Shadow Corps would face no opposition.

Moreover, Poseidon needed the human race's help.

He had to take control of the Abyssal Source, consolidate his power, and suppress the restless demon creatures.

Weakening the Abyssal Plane as a whole would make it easier for Poseidon to control the Eighth Abyss, though it would also limit his power.

But Poseidon didn't care.

He was only one step away from reaching level 1000!

The Archdemon and the Fifth Demon God had both taken that step.

And there was another often-overlooked factor.

Currently, the Third, Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh Demon God positions were vacant!

On paper, Poseidon was the Eighth Demon God.

But in reality, he ranked fourth on the demon god leaderboard!

If he could fully control the Abyss and break through to level 1000, it wasn't out of the question!

After dispatching the Guardian Shadow Corps, Mike continued.

"Send Shadow Eight to the Second Abyss to deliver our regards to Shadow Three, along with last month's salary and performance bonus."

"Shadow Three missed work last month, so his performance bonus is zero. Public and private matters must be kept separate. Even for Shadow Three, I can't play favorites!"

"Also, install a Pos Machine for Shadow Three in the Second Abyss. Put it on the company's tab..."

"..."

After handling various tasks, Mike casually asked, "Has the battle report come in yet?"

"It has," Shadow Four said, handing over a report.

Mike flipped through it and noticed something odd.

"Huh?"

Mike frowned as he read a particular line, his face full of confusion.

"Received a distress signal from the Guardian Shadow. Vice Commander Joseph led the Nightmare Corps to the Fifth Abyss to rescue Thor..."

Wait, what?

Joseph went to the Fifth Demon God's home turf to rescue me?

Well, that's great!

The Fifth Demon God deserves a good beating!

But Mike was still puzzled. Who had sent the distress signal? It didn't seem very reliable.

"Shadow Two?"

Without any personal bias, Mike gave the order.

"Send Shadow Two to the Eighth Abyss. Seven days. If he doesn't earn 1 million Lord Merits, he's not coming back."

Shadow Four: ...

"Understood. It's already been arranged."

...

New York Superpower Universities,

Star Class 2, Shadow Two was sitting in the classroom, reading a novel.

Attending superpower universities is such a wonderful thing!

Suddenly, Shadow Two's communicator buzzed. He glanced at the message.

Bad Woman, speaking in a masculine voice from the shadows, asked, "What's going on?"

Bad Man, speaking in a feminine voice, replied, "Fourth Bro wants us to go to the Abyss and not come back."

Bad Woman: ???

"What does that mean? We can't go back! Dady will eat us! Waaaah..."

Bad Woman started crying.

"Stop crying! I'm thinking!" Bad Man said, trying to use his brain.

As the saying goes, "A broken clock is right twice a day."

But this guy's thought process clearly wasn't going anywhere productive.

"Oh, I get it!" Bad Man said excitedly.

"Fourth Bro wants us to kill the Eighth Demon God and take his place!"

...

That day, Shadow Two packed his bags.

Mike, of course, had no idea that Shadow Two was planning to kill Poseidon.

It was all just a beautiful misunderstanding.

After wrapping up his work in five minutes, Mike said goodbye to Shadow Four and returned to New York Superpower Universities.

When Mike got back, he was surprised to find that Blackdragon and Libra still hadn't returned!

Sophie, having completed her support mission, had already returned to Earth.

Candy, on the other hand, had been given the lowest possible score by the instructor for her poor performance on the battlefield and had been kicked out of the exercise.

After learning about their situation, Mike offered some comforting words.

"Don't worry. I faced a level 499 demon creature this time and couldn't even kill it."

Chaos Prince: Oh no, I've been downgraded to level 499!

Progenitor of Ghosts: Be grateful. I was level 1000!

Sophie's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't expected Mike to be able to go toe-to-toe with a level 499 demon creature!

Sophie pressed for more details.

"And then?"

Mike, ever humble, replied, "I captured him."

Candy: ...

Instead of feeling better, Candy felt even worse after Mike's "comfort."

Candy's medical report had also come back, and the analysis was thorough and professional!

So thorough, in fact, that none of them could understand it.

In reality, the report had been written by the Eye of Truth.

The three of them skipped to the conclusion, which was probably the only part they could understand.

The report offered two solutions:

1. They could use certain items to induce vomiting through dizziness, temporarily alleviating the stuttering issue. This was the method they had been using before. Simple and crude.

2. They could take specific medication to temporarily relieve the stuttering, though the side effects were... numerous.

"Side effects include: mental confusion, memory loss, personality disorder, and... perpetual orgasm syndrome..."

The three of them fell into silence as they read the list of side effects.

Candy: "Actually, if I get the chance, I'd like to try it. I wonder what perpetual orgasm feels like..."

Mike quickly provided an answer: "Whether you're walking or sleeping, you'll be in a constant state of orgasm 24 hours a day. You'll also secrete large amounts of fluid and make all sorts of strange noises..."

Sophie patted Candy on the head and sighed.

"I think you should give up. It sounds good, but it's actually a disaster."

...

Since Blackdragon and Libra hadn't returned yet, the three of them didn't have any team activities. They just gathered briefly before going their separate ways.

The day's classes were easy for Mike, with no real challenges.

Soon, he finished his training and returned to his dorm.

Skillfully activating the Teleportation Array, Mike once again arrived outside the Forest of Truth and entered his private space.

Inside the private space, Dracula was giving a speech to five elders.

The vampire elders, fully understanding the spirit of the forbidden prince's speech, had decided to dedicate their limited lives to endless work.

The meeting lasted exactly 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Any longer, and they'd have to pay extra.

Dracula clapped his hands and announced, "Meeting adjourned!"

The five elders dispersed and immediately headed to the Heaven Pavilion.

They knelt on one knee in unison, bowing deeply as they declared humbly,

"No matter how much time passes, our loyalty remains unchanged. "

To be fair, vampires were masters of flattery.

The elders knelt for a full minute before getting up and rushing back to the factory to continue working.

Any longer, and they'd have to pay extra.

Their loyalty was priceless, but their finances were limited.

They could only afford 150 seconds of free time each day—90 seconds to listen to Prince Dracula's speech and 60 seconds to pledge their loyalty to Blood Ancestor's sister.

Though the Blood Ancestor had disappeared, and some even said she was dead, to these old blood clan members, Lilith, the Blood Ancestor's sister, was the Blood Ancestor's representative.

Swearing loyalty to her was the best way to express their devotion.

Watching this scene unfold, Mike fell into deep thought.

Maybe I should give Lilith her own special event?

Something like charging for private audiences, charging for smiles, charging for a glass of wine...

Before he knew it, Mike was already pushing Lilith toward becoming an idol. He even thought about writing a novel about it. He already had a title in mind:

"I'm Just a Pig, But I Became a Superstar!"

Putting these small matters aside, Mike called over Dracula and Vladimir.

"There's something I need to ask you, and I want an honest answer."

Mike looked at Dracula and asked seriously,

"Back in the day, the blood clan was in charge of building the Tower of Truth, right? That was your friend, wasn't it?"

Dracula's expression didn't change.

"Yes."

Mike got straight to the point.

"Who suggested using human slaves to help build the Tower of Truth?"

"Why do you want to know?" Dracula asked, feeling a bit puzzled. He had lived through so many events—how could he possibly remember every detail?

Besides, the River of Blood had messed with the blood clan's memories, leaving many things in a fog.

"I can't remember right now," Dracula admitted. "But if I try hard enough, I might be able to recall it."

He was tactful enough not to ask for payment.

If Thor was willing to listen to his information for free, Dracula would count his blessings!

Vladimir, on the other hand, grinned mischievously and egged Dracula on.

"Master, I bet it was this guy's idea!"

Dracula had been in charge of overseeing the construction of the Tower of Truth, so it was likely that he had something to do with it!

Whoever the unlucky person was, Dracula couldn't remember at the moment.

However, Dracula did have another piece of information related to the Tower of Truth that he could share with Mike.

"Actually, the construction of the Tower of Truth spanned two Blood Ancestor eras."

Dracula explained, "The previous Blood Ancestor decided to cooperate with Truth. After his death, the blood clan continued to participate until the final Blood Ancestor came along and increased their investment..."

There was no need to elaborate.

Between the two Blood Ancestor eras, it had been Dracula's friend who had been in charge of building the Tower of Truth.

Mike rolled his eyes.

"So, the previous Blood Ancestor didn't disappear?"

"No, he was killed by the Dragon Supreme Being during the chaos."

Dracula found the whole thing amusing.

"My... friend was sent to work on the tower and managed to avoid the conflict."

Having dodged that bullet, Dracula had thought he had the upper hand and was ready to compete for the title of the next Blood Ancestor.

But then, something unexpected happened.

Out of nowhere, a vampire appeared and defeated the forbidden prince of the Thirteenth Demon God Clan, becoming the legendary final Blood Ancestor...

Every time Dracula thought about it, he felt a deep sense of dissatisfaction.

Why should she be the Blood Ancestor?!

After reminiscing about the past, Dracula quickly adjusted his mood.

"Oh, by the way," Dracula asked, "if you find out who it was, what do you plan to do?"

Mike's tone was sincere.

"I'm going to make a win-win deal with them."