Esteemed Valkyries, All Aboard!

Returning from the dungeon to the ancient castle's basement, Du Chen felt an immediate itch in his backside, a sure sign that he had just performed another good deed. With his sixth lotus blossom unfurling, Du Chen had by now somewhat grasped the Precious Scroll's method for calculating good deeds. Had he not intervened in the ancient castle's affairs, Kuban, the Fiendkind overlord responsible for countless murders, would have remained imprisoned. And, by extension, the one hundred and two Red Luan Valkyries would have continued to be confined within this very castle.

Now that Du Chen *had* intervened, the great Fiendkind overlord Kuban was purified. Punishing evil is inherently promoting good, and this was no minor good deed! Furthermore, the Red Luan Valkyries' mission had ended, granting them the freedom to leave the ancient castle. This, too, was a good deed!

With these two good deeds combined, Du Chen's sixth lotus blossom began to truly unfurl...

Back in the basement, Du Chen suddenly noticed a change: the once eerie, phosphorescent green light had transformed into the normal, warm glow of red and white candlelight. The oppressive, ghostly aura was completely gone. Even Lucy and Lily, standing before him, now appeared as bright and charming as any ordinary noble maidens.

Lucy declared, "The Magic Formation vanished with Kuban's purification. Apart from our Red Phoenix Battle Formation, there's no trace of The Undead aura left in this ancient castle!"

"Congratulations on your newfound freedom!" Du Chen didn't immediately press about their next steps. Instead, he posed his own question. "Just before Kuban was purified, he mentioned a name to me: Wolf. Do you know of this Wolf?"

"You... how could you not know Wolf?" Lily retorted, astonished.

Lucy added, "Francis, you, a descendant of Sigurd, don't know Wolf!? That's simply unbelievable!" She exclaimed in utter surprise, "Wolf was Sigurd's younger brother, and one of your ancestors!"

As Du Chen's gaze remained puzzled, she continued, "What's more, your appearance truly bears an uncanny resemblance to Wolf! How could you not know who Lord Wolf was?"

Lily, ever outspoken, interjected, "If it weren't for your striking resemblance to Wolf, how could we have so easily believed you were a descendant of Sigurd? After all, the contracts and noble insignias you currently possess to prove your identity can all be forged quite easily!"

Du Chen was stunned. He resembled Wolf? This... According to Flaying, his appearance, due to inheriting a Spirit Seed, was nearly identical to Phil's, save for a touch more masculine ruggedness and demeanor. And Phil, his Maternal Grandfather, and all previous Grand Pontiffs, all bore a certain resemblance due to inheriting the same Yessar God power and bloodline.

"Then..." Ramepatisu. Du Chen stroked his nose and chuckled, "I suppose the name Wolf must have been lost to the annals of history! Not just me, but it seems neither my two elder brothers nor my father have ever heard of this Lord Wolf!"

"How could he possibly be forgotten?" Lucy countered. "During the War of Fallen Gods, even though Wolf wasn't in the same war zone as us, his name spread throughout the Three Continents!"

"Could you tell me more about Lord Wolf?" Du Chen asked, feigning a look of "sorrow." "As a descendant, not knowing the name of my own ancestor fills me with immense guilt!"

"Of course. Wolf was a Brigadier General in the Firmament War Zone during the Godslayer War, and a very renowned commander!"

Lucy was still speaking when Lily, beside her, suddenly interrupted. "However, his fame wasn't solely built on his military achievements. More accurately, it stemmed from his insatiable lechery, seducing many female generals—even several female Fiendkind generals!"

Lucy shot a glare at Lily, thinking, *Sister, why are you blurting out the truth? While that scoundrel Wolf was indeed detestable, you can't criticize his ancestor right in front of Francis!*

Du Chen, however, mused to himself, *Elder Brother Steve's current demeanor probably comes from inheriting a portion of Wolf's genes!*

As Lucy recounted more, Wolf's image gradually became clearer in Du Chen's mind. *If Elder Brother Steve had my face and became a general, he would essentially be another living Lord Wolf – insatiably lecherous, yet not bad-hearted, and exceptionally loyal to his brothers and friends!*

But why was this Wolf forgotten? Logically, even at his worst, he was a general of the War of Fallen Gods era, a hero among humanity. Even if the Holy Church didn't bestow upon him a Titled Battle God status and eternal reverence like Sigurd, they should have at least compiled his deeds into chronicles to ensure future generations remembered him!

Yet now, even the descendants of the Saint Sigurd Cain family had never heard of this ancestor!

Du Chen secretly noted this ancestor, whose name was conspicuously absent from historical records, then asked, "Also, what is this Water's Embrace Holy Radiance that both you and Kuban mentioned?" He added silently to himself, *That time Roland was driven mad with excitement was precisely because he mistook his Lotus Shield for some Water's Embrace Holy Radiance!*

"Oh, that's Marshal Margaret of the Firmament War Zone's unique Secret Art, incredibly sacred! However..." Lucy sadly lowered her head. "Alas, Marshal Margaret was extremely strict in her conduct. If there were no unforeseen circumstances, she would never have disregarded military orders. The fact that she didn't come to Julie's Ancient Castle to free us back then means she might have already... fallen in battle!"

Du Chen joined them in a sympathetic sigh, then inquired, "Now that you are free to leave the ancient castle, what do you plan to do next?" As he spoke, fearing these Undead Valkyries might request purification to find release, he quickly added, "I believe you should go and pay respects to General Julie, shouldn't you?"

Lucy nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what we intend to do. However, Lieutenant General Julie's spirit tablet is enshrined within the Holy Church, and we, as The Undead, cannot enter the Holy Church's temple. The sacred aura there is far too intense!"

"That's not entirely true!" Du Chen said, stroking his nose seriously. "The Holy Church only enshrines spirit tablets, but many Titled Battle Gods also have their own tombs. Take my ancestor, Sigurd, for example; he fell in battle on the McAllen Great Plains, but his body was buried by us, his descendants, in southern Lanning!"

"But... Lieutenant General Julie never married in her lifetime and had no siblings. She has no descendants!"

"Then you can go and visit the McAllen Great Plains! General Julie sacrificed herself for humanity; she shouldn't be without kin and friends to honor her after death, otherwise, I doubt her heroic spirit would ever rest in peace! And you are her only remaining family now!"

Du Chen spoke with utmost sincerity, as if genuinely lamenting Lieutenant General Julie's fate. Yet, in his mind, he was calculating: *Yes, you absolutely must go to pay respects to Julie. But traveling thousands of miles across the plains in your Undead form presents far too many inconveniences. At a time like this, your best option would be to hitch a ride...*

Just as expected, Lucy hesitated, "After a millennium, the outside world has changed too much. If we were to go to the Great Plains..."

"My dear ladies, if you don't mind, you could travel with me," Du Chen interjected smoothly. "My third stop on this academic tour is precisely the McAllen Great Plains. While I can't guarantee everything along the way, my retainer Brook can at least help you fend off any troublesome individuals, and my wealth can provide any necessary assistance!"

Du Chen looked at them earnestly. *These esteemed elders were the elite troops of the War of Fallen Gods era! Even with their strength diminished, they are certainly not individuals that an ordinary Battle God could contend with. If I could draw them to my side... Heh heh!* However, demanding their loyalty outright or coercing them with Lotus Sacred Artifacts would be crude methods. *Who would easily pledge allegiance to a friend's descendant, especially when that descendant is currently an unknown nobody, and they themselves were once renowned soldiers? At least, they used to be.*

The best approach was to proceed slowly, winning them over step by step... *Ugh, the only downside is that these esteemed elders are all beautiful female ghosts. Having them so close would make it far too easy for impure thoughts to arise. But, facing the threats of Rogliff and Philip, I suppose I'll just have to reluctantly endure it!*

Lucy and Lily conferred for a moment, then nodded in agreement.

Du Chen was overjoyed. "Excellent! I'll have my servants prepare a carriage. You can take my carriage to the gloomy woods north of the ancient castle for now. I'll join you once I've settled matters here!"

"Wait a moment," Lucy said. "We need to say goodbye to Butler Peter first!"

"Peter? You're friends with him?"

"Yes. Years ago, when he first entered the ancient castle, we sisters terrified him," Lucy explained. "But later, we discovered he was a very good person, so we allowed him to stay and look after this ancient castle. And thanks to him telling us about the outside world all these years, we probably wouldn't even know what the Holy Church was!"

Lucy shrugged, and Du Chen mirrored her gesture!

The next day, Du Chen, who had returned to his bedroom for a night of deep slumber, awoke to the astonished exclamations of his classmates.

"Hey, Brother Francis, come look!" Sem shouted from outside the window. "Your ancient castle looks completely different today!"

Du Chen dressed and stepped out of the ancient castle to see for himself. Indeed, the castle was structurally the same, yet it no longer had any ghostly aura. The edifice, rising abruptly from the beach, now appeared ancient and solemn, unmistakably a dignified and elegant noble fortress, not a haunted stronghold!

Du Chen knew exactly why this change had occurred, but he merely smiled, offered no explanation, and joined his classmates in marveling at the castle's transformation!

In the distant ocean, a figure peered through military binoculars, staring intently at the ancient castle, and spoke in a deep voice, "After the Merfolk raid, within a hundred-mile radius, apart from Newin Port, this ancient castle is the only place left with human inhabitants. 'Subject No. 6' must have fallen into their hands! Gather our forces; we'll move immediately to reclaim 'Subject No. 6'!"

"Wait!" another voice interjected. "Look at that person; he seems to be Francis, one of Lord Philip's experimental subjects from his 'Undead Battle God' experiments! Should we report to Lord Philip first before acting!?"

"Damn it, do you want Lord Philip to know we lost 'Subject No. 6' from the 'Aberrant Beasts' experiment!?" the first figure snarled. "He'd turn us into The Undead! My dear brother, we should reclaim 'Subject No. 6' *before* informing Lord Philip. That way, our responsibility will be greatly lessened; at the very least, we won't be condemned to become The Undead!"

"Furthermore, while Lord Philip has currently ordered us not to act rashly against Francis, he will undoubtedly be delighted if we retrieve his experimental subject for him! This way, the blame for losing 'Subject No. 6' will be minimized, even nullified!"

"But, it's rumored that Francis is protected by masters!"

"Masters? Hmph, look at these people. Aside from that tall, sinister-looking fellow, who among them resembles a master!? And even if they *are* all masters, what then? If we can't defeat them one-on-one, does that mean we won't deploy a hundred men!?"

The other man nodded at this, chuckling, "Indeed. Including you and me, we have twenty-three Battle Gods and seventy-eight Battle-Warriors at our disposal, a total of one hundred and one individuals..."

In the distance, Du Chen, having sufficiently admired the ancient castle's transformation, prepared to bid farewell to Jamis before heading to rendezvous with the one hundred and two Red Luan Valkyries!