Chapter 202: Section 202: Compared to you, everyone else is unimportant.


    Zi Di quietly lifted the tent flap and crawled inside.


    The tent was tightly sealed, casting a dim darkness inside.


    The substitute lay there, having fallen into a deep slumber.


    Zi Di softly called out a few times, “Sir,” but the substitute showed no reaction, sleeping soundly.


    Zi Di sighed in her heart, “Last night, he fought intensely and risked venturing deep into the forest to chase down the remnants of the Demon Beast Army, utterly draining his physical and mental strength. He simply couldn’t hold on, so as soon as he returned, he fell into a deep sleep. However, it’s too reckless not to tend to his wounds.”


    Carefully, Zi Di approached the substitute, half-kneeling on the ground, her fingers trembling as she slowly reached for the hem of the substitute’s clothes.


    ...


    By the time Zi Di began to undress the substitute, her movements had already stabilized.


    She continually encouraged herself internally, “Zi Di, muster your courage, you can do this!”


    “If he could risk his life to chase them down, can you not do even this?”


    “After all, you have done this once before, in that cave where you encountered the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear.”


    “Now it’s not the first time!”


    “But it must be done quickly, the longer the delay, the greater the possibility of being discovered.”


    “Especially by Zhenjin, otherwise, the consequences are unpredictable!”


    Before long, Zi Di was covered in sweat, panting softly.


    The substitute was in his deepest sleep, his body incredibly heavy, making it very difficult for Zi Di to move him.


    As hard as it was, she also felt an inner happiness and excitement, and a thrill of secretly acting behind Zhenjin’s back that even Zi Di might not have noticed.


    “Wow?” After thoroughly inspecting the substitute’s body, Zi Di was very surprised.


    The substitute had not a single injury on him, despite the bloody exterior that looked so alarming; in reality, his physical condition was exceptionally good.


    Zi Di blinked repeatedly, stunned on the spot.


    She suddenly recalled the night before, when the substitute had refused her treatment on the pretext of urgency, immediately rallying everyone and ultimately leading Zong Ge and others to pursue their foes.


    “Could it be that he wasn’t injured?”


    “Indeed, according to what others said, he did not suffer any obvious injuries during his earlier encounters. Later, when the Camp was aflame, no one saw him fighting.”


    “Could it be that after his transformation, his combat power was so strong that he remained unscathed? But that would defy common sense, so is that why he resorted to such a disguise?”


    “Hmph, what a bitter deception for me!”


    Zi Di clenched her teeth and finally calmed down.


    Looking at the still soundly sleeping substitute, as adorable as a baby, Zi Di suddenly felt an impulse to bite his cheek.


    “So, you are both brave and strategic.”


    “You were always confident, that’s why you pursued the Blue Dog Fox Wolf and the Demon Beast Army.”


    “You called on others to join you, partly to dispel any suspicions about yourself, right? After all, if you had done this alone, it would have seemed very suspicious.”


    “You made me worry so much, you bad guy!”


    Zi Di’s fingers traced over the substitute’s bare chest, her teeth biting her lip, until finally unable to resist, she leaned down and came close to the substitute’s face.


    But in the end, she didn’t bite him, instead lightly kissing him like a dragonfly skimming water.


    After completing the act, she felt like she was on fire.


    “What’s happening to me?!” She instinctively covered her cheeks, feeling her ears and nose emitting hot steam.


    Her heart crazily pounded, feelings of excitement and happiness overwhelmed her, causing her head to spin blissfully.


    It wasn’t until she left the substitute’s tent and felt the evening breeze that she gradually sobered up.


    “Did I fasten his clothes properly?”


    Zi Di realized she had no memory of doing so, her emotions had been too tumultuous during that time.


    She wanted to check, but just then, someone approached the area.


    “I must have fastened them.” Zi Di hesitated, feeling guilty like a thief, and quickly left with her head down.


    As night fell, a bonfire was lit.


    While dining, everyone enthusiastically discussed the substitute.


    The most talked about was no longer the Holy Temple Knight, but the Divine Favored Knight!


    Zi Di listened from the side, feeling strange.


    The substitute was clearly a Beastification Person, but he was being exaggerated into a Divine Favored Knight. This was absurd! Yet, Cang Xu’s words, unless unaware of the truth, seemed quite logical to everyone.


    Zi Di felt both joy and worry.


    She was happy that the substitute was gaining more recognition and admiration from everyone. However, she worried that once the truth was exposed, the psychological gap for everyone would be even greater than before, making their reactions hard to predict.


    The substitute woke up and crawled out of the tent.


    Zi Di nervously shrank her head, but the substitute acted so naturally that she gradually calmed down, secretly guessing, “It seems I did fasten his clothes after all, I just forgot. He probably didn’t realize I had been there.”


    The substitute walked into the crowd and was warmly acclaimed by everyone.


    However, the substitute chose to go to Zong Ge, Sanda, and Lan Zao specifically, leading the cheers for their names.


    The crowd roared with excitement, echoing the substitute’s enthusiasm.


    The atmosphere was as intense as the bonfire.


    Zi Di, standing amidst the crowd, watched the substitute who was energetically raising his arms and thought, “He is a true knight, indeed an outstanding leader!”


    The next day, they dissected the Blue Dog Fox Wolf’s corpse.


    After the dissection, the substitute took the wolf corpse in the name of a ritual offering.


    Zi Di’s heart stirred, leading her to recall the substitute asking her for bear blood and secretly keeping the bat monkey’s corpse, as well as asking Zong Ge and others for bear meat.


    “Now it’s the wolf corpse… wait, could it be that the substitute only gains the corresponding beastification ability after consuming a part of a magic beast?”


    “Is this growth or a stimulation? Does it stimulate an ability that he already had?”


    “He is the War Merchant’s proudest creation, and these man-made magical beasts are also made by the War Merchant. Perhaps the War Merchant concentrated all the beastification in him? And upon stimulation, it would trigger his abilities?”


    “Back then, he fought a fierce battle with the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear, and though he died a brutal death without beastifying. However, when facing the Blade Spider, he could transform and unleash the Monkey-tailed Brown Bear’s claws. Perhaps… it was because I had infused him with bear blood in the cave?”


    “He figured all this out. No wonder after leaving the cave, he frequently hinted and inquired about that situation.”


    Under the substitute’s command, the exploration team left the forest and hurried to the beach where the main army was stationed.


    Along the way, they passed through many territories of beast groups. These Blade Spiders, Monkey-tailed Brown Bears, and others had mysteriously vanished.


    Most people in the team speculated that there must be a Commander of the Demon Beast Army consisting of Blue Dog Fox Wolves, which kept tailing them and integrating wild beast groups from the vicinity.


    Only Zi Di gradually guessed the truth.


    “It was you, wasn’t it, substitute?”


    “If it had been the Demon Beast Army, the growing scale would have been noticeable, and our increased number of scouts would have detected some traces.”


    “Every night, you went on night patrols alone. It was you who secretly cleared these obstacles, allowing us to gather spider-webs without harm. It was you who eliminated all the Monkey-tailed Brown Bears and secretly mined using the beastified bear claws.”


    “You’ve taken on too much, and the extent of your covert sacrifices exceeds everyone else’s imagination! All of us benefited from you, yet the vast majority remain unaware!”


    Zi Di felt both heartache and resentment as well as admiration and pride for the substitute.


    Under the substitute’s leadership, although the exploration team was under great pressure and the journey was arduous, they suffered few losses, and the overall journey was very smooth.


    They collected many resources along the way, gradually moving from the forest to the rainforest.


    Xi Suo switched his allegiance to the substitute and stopped troubling Zong Ge.


    Zong Ge also temporarily submitted.


    The entire exploration team was harmonious, as if they were one.


    Yet, Zi Di’s inner worries never diminished and instead, piled up more and more over time.


    “I am Zhenjin! He is a fake!!” Suddenly, from outside her tent, Zi Di heard Hei Juan shout while she was deep asleep.


    “No!” Zi Di quickly got up and rushed out, only to see the substitute surrounded by people, tied to a cross, with large piles of dry wood already gathered around.


    “Stop!” Zi Di shouted.


    But the next moment, Hei Juan cruelly smiled and threw the torch in his hand. The torch fell and immediately ignited the timber.


    The great fire blazed.


    The substitute shouted, urging Zi Di to run away.


    Zi Di instinctively ran into the fire, and the flames nearby suddenly extinguished.


    The crowd was stunned.


    Then, from Zi Di’s shadow, frost spread out, and a broken body slowly rose.


    “Father!” Zi Di was shocked.


    “My… daughter… I’m sorry, your father is here… to protect you!” Zi Di’s deceased father charged into the crowd.


    The crowd was enraged and terrified.


    Hei Juan pointed at Zi Di and screamed, “Undead! You are an Undead Mage, quick, kill her, burn her!”


    Zi Di’s father was quickly chopped down by the crowd and brutally dismembered.


    The flames surged up again, burning Zi Di, and set her robes and hair on fire.


    In despair, Zi Di still managed to run to the substitute’s side.


    She embraced him, and the substitute continually apologized, “I’m sorry, I’m not your Knight, I’m sorry!”


    Then, the substitute transformed; he underwent beastification, sprouting a bear’s head, bear claws, and bat wings.


    “Hei Juan laughed loudly, “Did you all see that? Do you believe me now? He is not a Divine Favored Knight; he’s just a monster.”


    “No, he’s not!” Zi Di, angry and terrified, vehemently refuted.


    But the crowd roared, “Burn him, burn him! He brought the beasts here.”


    “Burn these two, both of them!”


    “We’ve been deceived by both of them!”


    In the flames, the substitute wept, feeling utterly lost, “So I really am a monster, not Zhenjin. Zi Di, why did you lie to me, why?”


    “No! No!!” Zi Di suddenly woke up, sitting bolt upright.


    The tent was dimly lit; the camp was tranquil.


    “Another similar nightmare…” Zi Di gasped for a while, her heartbeat gradually calming down.


    “I shouldn’t run away anymore! I should tell the substitute the whole truth.” Sear?h the N??eFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    “Besides that, there’s something else I need to do for him.”


    Zi Di pulled out a vial of potion from her bag.


    The potion was thick and pitch-black; if you looked closely during the shaking process, you could see a sinister red gleam within the black oil.


    She had obtained it from the War Merchant, and it was not just for the substitute.


    This vial of Beastification Potion was one of them.


    Seeing this vial, Zi Di hesitated again.


    She had hesitated many times before.


    But this time, she finally made up her mind, “Compared to you, everyone else is unimportant, aren’t they?”