A Minor Problem

“Please, everyone, there’s no need to panic! That was merely a tiny misunderstanding!” Du Chen gracefully floated onto the carriage roof, gently waving to the clamoring commoners. His refined and warm smile evoked a genuine sense of closeness.

“Actually, Grand Pontiff Brook and I are here on this traveling carriage primarily to spread the faith, to bring the radiance of the New God to all of you. But beyond that, we also bear a special mission from the Holy Church: to apprehend four impious charlatans who are impersonating Divine Envoy Margaret and swindling people everywhere…”

From a distance, Aliza’s mouth stretched into a wide grin. He whispered to Beibei, “Young Miss, my big brother—your old man—can really spin a yarn! He makes it sound so real!”

Beibei rolled her eyes and mumbled, “You’re only just realizing that now?”

Aliza slapped his head, shaking it with a foolish grin. “I really am just realizing it now! Heh, I’ve known Young Master, my big brother—your old man—for over a decade, but his changes in the past two years are the biggest by far, bigger than a Mammoth Elephant!” As he spoke, he gestured, indicating ‘huge’!

Indeed, from Fallen Gods Era 1277, when Du Chen arrived in the Battle God World, to the end of 1279 today, it had been over two years. In Aliza’s impression, ever since that bloody Flaying Night at the Saint John Cathedral two years ago, everything had become different, unimaginably so…

…

After successfully reassuring all the commoners, and having Deboning deal with the bodies of the other three Divine Envoys, Du Chen and his group left the traveling carriage to journey on their own, amidst the cheers of the grateful passengers.

They traveled, enjoying the scenery, traversing the hilly terrain in the southwest of the Aethelgard Continent, crossing the Star River, known as the “Mother River of Einz,” and bypassing the desolate lands where Constantine was once apprehended. By mid-December, Du Chen and his companions arrived at Starbreak Fortress, the most crucial military stronghold west of Lanning. There, he retrieved his stored Wyvern Carriage and flew straight towards Battle God Isle!

Jamis and old Bovin, and the Graduation Assessment! These two matters awaited Du Chen!

But before that, he still had a few small problems to handle…

On the Wyvern Carriage, Dud stood silent behind Du Chen, a long halberd in hand, his Blood-Eyed gaze slightly closed. Du Chen stood before a large White Jade Bed, frowning at the “small problems” on it, silently speechless.

Aliza held Beibei, standing by the bed with a grim expression. The little girl even closed her eyes, turning her head away, not daring to look at the terrifying “small problems” again!

Even Deboning, quite uncharacteristically, looked troubled, rubbing his hands, at a loss. From time to time, he hesitated, glancing at his Young Master.

“Ahem!” Du Chen broke the deathly silence with a light cough. “I know everyone finds this situation difficult, but… I admit I lacked experience and overlooked this, but now, we can’t just stuff them back in, can we?”

Du Chen’s voice grew softer and softer until, with the last sentence, he was utterly embarrassed, whispering softly…

“Who among you knows how to change diapers and feed babies?!”

The Wyvern Carriage’s cabin was eerily quiet, save for the cries of the babies! On that large bed were the thirteen little girls Du Chen had rescued from the Aqua Cloud Divine Envoys! Just now, realizing they were clear of the Holy Church’s surveillance, Du Chen had taken the thirteen children out of the time-stilled Precious Lotus Scripture space, letting the children, who had been cooped up for many days, breathe some fresh air!

But to his surprise, the little ones were endearingly adorable when they first emerged, even making Deboning crack a rare smile. However, not long after, all thirteen little ones wet their diapers… and wailed loudly from hunger—or was it hunger? Or discomfort from something else? This was just Du Chen’s guess, truly just a guess, as he certainly had no experience in such matters.

Anyway, now, no one could bear to stuff these thirteen thirsty, hungry, and wet little girls back into the cold and desolate Precious Lotus Scripture space, with only a mutated Andy and a pile of lifeless objects!

“Speak up, then!? Why are you all struck dumb?!”

Du Chen’s gaze swept over everyone, attempting to forcefully assign someone to change diapers… Aliza looked around evasively; his palm was bigger than a child! Beibei herself was still a child! Deboning… Du Chen automatically skipped him; no one would dare ask a Titled Battle God to change diapers, would they?!

He glanced at the ice-block-like Dud, then sighed, and clumsily changed diapers for the children… But immediately after, he pointed to a little one in the corner of the bed, anxious, “This child holds the feeding bottle but won’t drink, yet she’s crying loudly from hunger! Who among you knows how to feed babies?!”

Swish! Swish! All the big men turned their heads away. Beibei smiled sweetly, but just as Du Chen felt a surge of hope, she abruptly turned her back on her dad! How could he genuinely expect a little girl to take care of babies even smaller than herself?!

…

After floundering in a flurry of activity for a good while, Du Chen sat powerlessly on the floor, hugging his knees, staring blankly at the large bed. Aside from Dud, everyone looked utterly exhausted, and the Tenth-Tier Titled Battle God Deboning was no exception!

Yet, the crying on the bed continued; the thirteen little ones were as chaotic as a stampede of maddened Merfolk!

“Marriage and having children… it’s a disaster!” Du Chen exclaimed blankly. “I wasn’t this tired raising Beibei and Alex!”

Beibei counted on her fingers very seriously, “Daddy! It wasn’t quite like that, was it? Brother and I can cook, wash clothes, fold quilts, mend things… Daddy, Beibei thinks that, actually, for the past two years, it’s been Beibei and brother taking care of you!”

Aliza smacked his lips. “Young Master Big Brother, why don’t we just send them home?”

“Send them home? These little girls were gathered from all over the Three Continents; who knows where their homes are?!” Du Chen said irritably, “Aside from anything else, just these few captured by the Holy Church were taken by the Shadow Temple! To prevent future complications, the Shadow Temple long ago erased all their records, and the human traffickers they commissioned were silenced! The reason I dared to release them after leaving the Eye of Heaven Forest is that, besides Donna, who branded them with the Aqua Cloud Mark, no one else would recognize them. And Donna had an ‘accident,’ so she can’t expose me!”

“Well, then, Young Master, you’ll just have to raise them. But I won’t help you!” Aliza mumbled softly.

“Raise them? Wouldn’t that mean I’d have thirteen more daughters?!” Du Chen shook his head with a bitter smile. This act of kindness… sigh! Just then, a voice beside his ear said, “Can’t even handle thirteen little girls, how shameful! How do I have such a foolish dad?!”

Du Chen had unintentionally uttered the word “daughters,” summoning Alex.

After transforming, the little boy gave everyone a contemptuous glance, then climbed onto the big bed. He surveyed the messy thirteen little girls, then coolly pointed to one of them, and shook his finger.

“That’s not how you change a diaper!”

He abruptly tightened his small leather belt, rolled up his sleeves, and skillfully changed a fresh diaper, then looked up, proudly glaring at Du Chen.

“*This* is how you change a diaper!”

“Gods?! This kid actually knows how to handle babies!” Aliza exclaimed in surprise, looking at Alex. “Who taught you?”

Alex gave Aliza a cold side-eye, and calmly uttered one sentence, “The Master needs no reason!”

…

Just then, Dud, who had been silent, suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse, “Their aptitudes are each among the finest of humanity. If adopted father educates them properly, when they come of age fifteen years from now, they will be enough to conquer battlefields for adopted father, sweeping all before them!”

Deboning’s eyes lit up. He urgently said, “Young Master, these thirteen children are the most talented girls in the Three Continents in the last decade!”

He pondered for a moment, then delightedly added, “Flaying has a complete set of Dark Sacred Punishment Secret Scrolls, and the Corpse Dissolution Secret Technique within is most suitable for these girls. As long as Flaying and I guide them from a young age, and cultivate them! Within thirty years at most, our Divine Cult will have thirteen Corpse Dissolution-tier The Masters!”

Dud continued, “On the battlefield, teamwork is paramount. If these thirteen practice combined killing arrays from a young age…”

“Yes, whether it’s practicing battle formations from a young age or teaching them Dark Sacred Punishment, they will all be a great asset to me in the future, because they are geniuses rarely seen in a decade! Thus, our current hardships will be worth it, right?!”

Deboning smiled. “Young Master speaks wisely!”

Du Chen picked up a crying child and chuckled, “Battle formations, Sacred Punishment, teach them all! Moreover, I adopted them from a young age, so I hardly need to worry about their loyalty to me in the future…”

Deboning nodded with a smile. “Young Master speaks wisely!”

Du Chen’s expression suddenly darkened. “But if that’s the case, what difference is there between me and that alluring woman, Margaret?”

Deboning froze. Du Chen, carrying the child, walked to the window, gazing at the beautiful Sea of Clouds outside with a tranquil expression. “When we’re over Antwerp Port, Deboning, you and Alex go down, and take Andy with you. Send these children to my Lord’s Manor. Secretly do your best to find their parents… If you can’t find them, have Harry build an annex near the Lord’s Manor and find a few honest families who can raise children to secretly look after them…”

“Young Master, you want them to be ordinary children? That’s truly a waste of their talent!”

Du Chen gently kissed the forehead of the infant girl in his arms, gazing out at the Sea of Clouds. He said calmly, “That is an order!”

That is an order! The people on the Wyvern Carriage would not understand this command, because they had never been orphans, nor had they been sent into mysterious sects to endure inhumane training before they even understood the world…

Du Chen believed that decades from now, if these children had the chance to choose again, they would still prefer an innocent childhood in their parents’ arms, rather than practicing some worthless Corpse Dissolution Secret Technique with countless corpses of condemned criminals in the underground chambers of a Divine Cult!

Family, sometimes, is more important than power!

Just like a certain person on Battle God Isle, whose strength is a complete mess, who lives a debauched lifestyle day in and day out; Du Chen could take him down with a single finger. Yet, he was always his… Big Brother! In the evening, Du Chen had already arrived over Battle God Isle. The Wyvern Carriage, bearing the Golden Lotus Family Crest, met no obstruction and headed directly for Battle God Platform in Fiery Gorge, where it landed.

Du Chen went alone to the dormitory district of Fiery Gorge. He immediately recognized Steve’s uniquely distinctive dorm room – he didn’t need to look at anything else; only Steve dared to use portraits of half-naked beauties as curtains on the entire vast Battle God Isle!

Through the closed door, Du Chen heard several male and female voices in the courtyard. Was Big Brother having a class reunion?!

He looked at the curtains for a few more moments, then shook his head with a bitter smile. This Big Brother! He stepped forward to knock on the door!

Creak!

With a sound like fabric tearing, the curtain depicting half-naked beauties was ripped from the window and casually thrown into the courtyard. Following that, thud! Thud! Thud! Erotic picture books, adult novelties, rosters of courtesans from dockside brothels, discount coupons for streetwalkers…

One by one, Steve’s characteristic belongings were thrown from the window, piling up in the courtyard. Then, a flash of fire erupted, and Steve’s most cherished treasures were put to the torch!

“Students outside, everything inside has been cleared out. You all continue burning, then send someone to call laborers to thoroughly clean this filthy place multiple times!”

“Yes, Senior Frinda!” Several people responded, and the flames in the courtyard intensified!

It’s that cheeky wench Frinda?! That cheeky wench dares to burn my Big Brother’s treasures?!

Du Chen slammed the main door open with a crash and walked into the courtyard with a dark expression. He snapped his fingers, extinguishing the flames in the courtyard, saving some of Steve’s belongings. He then coldly eyed the confused students and said, “Student Frinda, what is the meaning of burning my Big Brother’s things?!”

“Francis?!” Frinda gracefully descended the stairs to the front hall’s main door. Her face instantly darkened upon seeing Du Chen in the courtyard. “I am merely acting under the orders of the Student Self-Governance Council. Steve has been expelled from the academy, so his dormitory naturally needs to be cleared out for other students to live in!”

“My Big Brother was expelled? Why? Even if he was expelled, he has the right to take his personal belongings; it’s not your place to burn them!” Du Chen pointed at Frinda and demanded.

Frinda’s brow furrowed. She was very reluctant to deal with the person in front of her – last time, Du Chen and Galas had jointly rejected her marriage proposal, and Du Chen had even walked off hand-in-hand with Porter, leaving her utterly humiliated on the marriage challenge platform. The proud and arrogant young miss was truly furious!

“Student Francis, I’ll say it again, I am just performing my duties! Anyone who came today would do the same; you don’t need to give me attitude!”

Frinda’s expression was even uglier than Du Chen’s. “Steve wasn’t expelled for violating academy rules! He violated the laws of Lanning, and has now been taken back to the death row cells in Saint John City!” She disdainfully glanced at Steve’s “treasures.” “These things he left behind are explicitly forbidden by academy rules. By burning them, I am also enforcing academy rules!”

Big Brother was sentenced to death?!