Three Letters

Professor Mina, with a graceful dip of her head and hands poised like delicate orchids, executed an elegant noblewoman's curtsy towards Du Chen. Her emerald eyes, brimming with a secret, flirtatious tenderness, stole a fleeting glance upwards at him, then swiftly averted, avoiding direct eye contact with a blush that painted her cheeks like a begonia in spring slumber – a captivating display of alluring grace.

This alluring shyness, offering herself for the plucking, was enough to make any man's heart pound!

Du Chen offered a faint smile, returning her bow. "So, the supervisor appointed to Durkes City by the Holy Church is... you, then?"

Mina nodded, blinking demurely, her face flushing even deeper. "Young Master Francis, it seems I'll be troubling you to look after me from now on!" She leaned closer, her body tilting towards him. "My new superior, do you... require your subordinate to demonstrate a little more 'loyalty'?"

Du Chen's gaze suddenly sharpened, fixing on her approaching, pretty face. "Professor Mina," he said, his voice laced with an icy edge, "isn't it rather... unseasonable for someone of your years to adopt the airs of a noble maiden? You're not so young anymore; perhaps it's time to carry yourself with a little more gravitas!"

Mina was instantly speechless, her beautiful face freezing over, and she let out a sharp, indignant huff.

Du Chen smirked, turning his back to her. "Miss 'Rose', are you throwing a tantrum? The Pontiff's chosen candidate is not someone I can refuse, but once you arrive in my territory, I expect you to conduct yourself with proper decorum! Your antics won't work on me!"

*Damn you, you little Basang!* Mina cursed him internally. *This old lady — my age, converted to human years, is barely twenty! How dare you call me old!* But then, she pondered, *why did my most reliable technique fail on Francis? No, that's not right. I painstakingly researched Francis's past; he should be utterly powerless against this kind of innocent noble maiden act — Avril and Annie are proof! Yet it's completely useless when I try it?*

She hastily called after Du Chen, "Hey! I've already completed all my resignation procedures! When should I report to your territory? And what official position will I hold?"

Du Chen waved a dismissive hand over his shoulder. "First, resolve my Big Brother's situation. Then, tomorrow, you'll accompany me to Durkes City. As for your official position... you'll be the Chief Overseer of Engineering!"

Mina's expression shifted again. *Chief Overseer of Engineering... isn't that just supervising ditch-digging?! Oh, supervising the supervision of ditch-digging!* She inwardly groaned.

...

Dormitory Number Seventeen had always been the most boisterous spot in the Water Pavilion Dormitory District. Facing the Water River, a sacred dating spot for student couples, and with the two living treasures, Jamis and Bovin, at its entrance, it was impossible for it not to be lively! Du Chen returned to the dormitory around eight or nine in the evening, precisely when the area in front of the dorm should have been at its peak of activity. Yet, now, a deathly silence hung in the air.

No longer did couples stroll and whisper along the riverbanks. Though lights still shone in the row of upscale dormitories, the usual cacophony of gatherings was absent. And the two tents that had stood in front of Dormitory Number Seventeen...

Where were the tents?! The space before Dormitory Number Seventeen was empty, with Jamis and old Bovin nowhere to be found. What was going on? Du Chen felt an unsettling premonition.

Just then, a hushed voice called from an upper balcony, "Group Leader Francis, you're back?" He turned to see his neighbor, the eldest son of the Gaia Clan, the portly Jason! Du Chen called back loudly, "Jason, where are those two fellows who were in front of my door?! What's happened to Water River?"

Jason made a shushing gesture, his ample frame jiggling as he scurried down from the balcony. He quickly pulled Du Chen into his own dorm, whispering, "Group Leader, while you were away, something big happened at Water Pavilion!" He pointed outside. "See? The Water River Dormitory District is still under martial law. No loud noises or going out at night, keep your voice down... those old ladies from the Supervisory Team are everywhere!"

"What exactly happened?" Du Chen lowered his voice too.

Jason patted his chest, as if still shaken. "Just a month ago, His Excellency Roland suddenly disappeared. The Icy Jade Pool was struck by divine lightning! This caused a colossal, devastating tidal wave to surge through the entire Water River, injuring many students!"

"Roland's Icy Jade Pool?! Ordinary lightning could never harm the Icy Jade Pool. Was it an attack?!"

"Who's to say it wasn't! Because of this, the Disciplinary Affairs Office has been investigating for a month, and Water River has been under martial law for a month!" Jason spoke while rummaging through a cabinet, pulling out a worn envelope. "Just two days after the lightning struck the Icy Jade Pool, those two old... hehe, those two old gentlemen in front of your door packed up their tents and vanished. But they entrusted me with a letter for you!"

*Damn it, Jamis and old Bovin actually disappeared?!*

Du Chen snatched the envelope from Jason's hand, tore it open, and immediately burst into a wry, helpless laugh. There were only three sentences on the letter, and judging by the scrawled handwriting, it was from old Bovin himself:

"Heh heh, little brother, your two old brothers have gone traveling!"

"The second sentence... we estimate we'll be back in eight or ten years. If you're interested in journeying across the Three Continents, who knows, we might even bump into each other!"

"The third sentence... as for travel expenses, heh heh, you understand!"

Du Chen's vision swam. It went without saying that his Dormitory Number Seventeen must have been completely emptied by those two old rascals! *You two old scoundrels, did you calculate that I would come looking for you, and then you packed up and slipped away early?!* He cursed them a few times under his breath, then asked, "And what about Martin, who was always with Jamis and the others?"

"Martin? Oh! You mean that honest, guileless exchange student? I heard his grades improved rapidly after enrolling, and the Dean specially approved him for an elite squad. He left for off-island training two months ago!"

Du Chen nodded silently, bid farewell to Jason, and returned to his own dormitory. As expected, the two old rascals had indeed moved out most of the valuable items. Standing on the balcony of his loft, Du Chen gnashed his teeth in frustration. He had stolen a vast haul of treasures outside, only to find his own dormitory had been burgled! *An old cat burning its whiskers! I, the Thief Ancestor, was robbed by two scoundrels! Heh heh! Are the Thief Ancestor's possessions so easy to steal?* Du Chen's long-absent sinister smile reappeared. It seemed someone was about to suffer again!

With a mix of irritation and anticipation, Du Chen left his dormitory and headed straight for the Battle God Academy Library.

Unexpectedly, the frail Sherine had also left Battle God Isle. All she left for Du Chen was a letter, penned in her own hand. "Francis, Auntie has some matters to attend to far away, and might not return for a very long time. You are doing very well, and Auntie isn't worried about you. But Auntie is worried about Porter... so I'll trouble you to look after him!"

Du Chen read the letter and laughed wryly. "*Me* looking after *him*?! It's more like he looks after me!" He carefully placed the letter back into the envelope and solemnly put it away. But as he was folding the envelope, Du Chen suddenly noticed a flaying knife drawn on its back. This was the mark of Flaying!

With a flicker of intuition, Du Chen moistened the envelope with water... He had received the third letter: Flaying's letter.

"I'm leaving for a while, take care of yourself!"

Flaying had left too? And his letter was with Sherine's... What in the world was happening?

Roland, Big Brother Steve, Flaying, Sherine, Jamis, Bovin... it seemed everyone he wanted to find had left Battle God Isle overnight!

...

It wasn't just them; even the two Grand Matriarchs, Lucy and Lily, had departed. One had gone to the Skylands to investigate the Fallen Gods' ruins, while the other had led a team for training. None of them were on Battle God Isle!

In the early morning, Du Chen returned to the Battle God Platform where the Wyvern Carriage had landed. Mina was already waiting below. Seeing Du Chen return, she approached him and stated concisely, "I've already contacted the Holy Church; they will help you stall for as long as possible!"

Du Chen nodded. "Let's go, first to my territory!" As he stepped onto the Wyvern Carriage, he suddenly turned and offered a slight smile. "Oh, there are two other people in the carriage. You know Aliza, but the other is a godson I adopted a few days ago while traveling in the Desolate Lands. He's a bit... cold!"

"Cold? Heh! I, your sister, am a ball of fire; no man has ever failed to melt in my presence!" Mina followed him onto the carriage, casting a dark, teasing glance at Du Chen. "Except... you! Oh my, is this giant fellow your godson?" Dud's iron armor and chilling masked demeanor truly surprised Mina.

Du Chen shrugged. "His name is Dud. He doesn't talk much. I saved him in the Desolate Lands, at the time..."

The Wyvern Carriage took only half a day to fly from Battle God Isle to Durkes City on the opposite side of the strait. During this half-day, Du Chen also fabricated a backstory for Dud for the Holy Church.

Upon arriving at the Lord's Manor, Du Chen had no time for lengthy explanations. He instructed Porter to distribute state affairs among the loyal retainers of the Charitable Foundation, while also assigning Mina her overt and covert duties. He then pulled Porter onto the Wyvern Carriage, where Flaying, Harry, Aliza, and Beibei also joined them. Andy, however, still unable to control his form at will, was settled in an underground secret chamber, cared for by the Daobet people, living a delightful life of idle comfort.

Furthermore, Du Chen fulfilled his promise, genuinely giving Dud a small army of three hundred militiamen to train within his territory! But truthfully, Du Chen didn't take this seriously. Ever since Dud declared his intention to conquer the world with three thousand men, Du Chen had classified him as a war-crazed lunatic! Conquering the world with three thousand men?! What kind of joke was that?! Besides, Du Chen had not an ounce of interest in becoming king or dominating. For him, even conquering the largest territory was less substantial than cultivating a single lotus flower! And once war began, how many innocent people would die?! No interest, absolutely no interest!

Three hundred militiamen, that was all. If Dud, a Level Seven Balanced Battle God, could lead them to wipe out a few more bandit groups, Du Chen would be satisfied!

The Wyvern Carriage flew at full speed. Du Chen laid all the intelligence continuously sent by the Holy Church via flying beasts before Porter, silently awaiting Porter's analysis – for a long time, every policy in Durkes City had been formulated this way.

His long hair casually tied behind his head, Porter hunched over the desk, nudging his gold-rimmed spectacles. The tip of his quill pen gently tapped at various pieces of intelligence. After a long moment, he raised his head, a trace of bitter helplessness in his eyes. "Francis, prepare for war!"