NOVEL NEXT Chapter 585 Moonlight Dancer
"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread, truly a pair of idiots."
The Poison Dragon King saw this scene in its entirety, feeling not a shred of empathy but rather a sense of schadenfreude.
"What do we do now?" Another head asked in agreement and followed up with the question.
"What else can we do? Haven't you seen that the humans have already received help from the lord of paradise? I heard those guys are nuts, can't understand them with common sense. We're out of luck now, might as well head back and take a look. I remember there are two thrones in total, and the other Tree Person hasn't appeared yet."
"Alright, let those two fools suffer here by themselves."
The Poison Dragon King was very wary of Trembling Paradise; seeing the situation turn grim, it decisively chose to leave without even saying goodbye to the other two.
By the time the Snake-man Ancient King and Harlington realized what was happening, the Poison Dragon King had vanished without a trace.
"Beasts with two heads are indeed unreliable."
This left the two of them indignant, with Harlington cursing uncontrollably.
The situation became increasingly unfavorable.
To advance was to confront the Trembling Paradise, which was already in the humans' favor.
To retreat was to give up the throne, a shortcut to reaching Level 6, an opportunity that comes once in a millennium.
The two of them were now caught in a dilemma.
Not far away, the rift valley underwent another cycle of day and night, returning to its normal daytime appearance, as if everything prior was all an illusion.
"Julia, thank you for stopping my enemies."
"Oh, my friend Ivan, you're mistaken. For any being that disturbs the order of the paradise, we always strike with the harshest of blows."
On the other side, Ivan was expressing his gratitude to his newly made friend.
This new friend, Julia, was a plant creature of the Level 5 Ancient King caliber, petite in stature with three pairs of wings akin to petals on her back, who self-proclaimed the 'Moonlight Dancer.'
She had invited him to the center of the paradise in private after seeing him play the Golden War Drum well. One to drum and one to dance, they enjoyed each other's company immensely.
Just now, when the Blood Elf King and the Snake-man Ancient King attacked, it was Julia who rallied the response, sending both enemies fleeing in a wretched state—a breath of relief for Ivan.
He expressed his heartfelt gratitude for her actions.
Julia spoke with a unique singing tone, which had a distinct charm upon listening.
"Julia, may I stay in the paradise for a while?"
"Of course, my friend Ivan, I love the robust sound of your drumming. Just thinking about hearing it every night makes me smile uncontrollably."
"It is my honor. Though compared to your songs and dances, my drumming is far inferior."
"The acclaim of a friend is the greatest encouragement for Julia."
Julia was undoubtedly a person of keen sensibility; once she took a liking to someone, she would not make them feel the slightest discomfort, a fact that Ivan had come to deeply understand.
Otherwise, how could he, with mere drumming, become friends with Julia when there was a clear difference in their levels of power?
Moreover, Julia was easy to understand; just listening to the tune of her singing made it clear.
And so, Ivan stayed in the Trembling Paradise, a place that made most people feel dread.
The longer he stayed in the paradise, the clearer he could sense that the creatures there were actually very simple-minded. Once accepted, everyone was very friendly.
The uniqueness of Trembling Paradise was that every night it would transform into a grand celebration of music and dance, as lively as Ivan's previous life's New Year's Eve.
Not noticing anything amiss, he chose to follow local customs and revel to his heart's content.
```
This was also a way to enhance friendships; thereafter, he forged many friends, including Level 5 Ancient Kings like Julia.
Whenever Ivan saw people like Julia, he couldn't help but be reminded of Mevis, the naturally born Spring God; their personalities weren't just similar, they were almost identical, eight or nine points out of ten.
With the help of his friends, whenever the Blood Elf King and Snake-man Ancient King made a rash move, they ended up fleeing in a panic every time.
"Giggle giggle giggle, that'll teach you for bullying Ivan. Now you know how powerful he is."
"Consider yourselves lucky to escape so fast, otherwise you'd be buried here in paradise as fertilizer for the flowers."
On this day, Harlington and the Snake-man Ancient King sneaked into the territory of paradise once again, and soon they were fleeing with dirty faces. Harlington lost his Sun Chasing Bow, and the Snake-man Ancient King's Medusa Statue was reduced to dust.
And then there was the permanent loss of strength.
The two could be said to have lost their wives and their armies, without even getting close to Ivan.
Standing on one side of the rift, the two looked sullenly at the beautiful jungle below, silent for a long time.
"Ah! He's firmly established himself now. With those guys blocking us, it's hard for us to accomplish anything," sighed the Snake-man Ancient King after a while.
"Are you thinking of giving up?" Harlington turned to look at him.
"What else can we do? We can't just keep waiting; it's different now as he has people to cover for him, always ready to escape. We're likely not even going to know when he leaves, so why continue wasting time and effort?" said the Snake-man Ancient King, discontentedly.
Harlington remained silent.
They had been in a stalemate for more than three months, not only had they gained no advantage, but they had also suffered heavy losses themselves. Both actually understood that they were out of their depth with that human.
But the throne – it was truly hard to accept!
"Let's go back and inquire. I want to see what kind of race that human belongs to, to give birth to such a cunning little thief. And about the throne, if it becomes known, it won't just be us who are interested," added the Snake-man Ancient King, his voice filled with sinister intent.
His personality was always like this, not allowing others to have what he couldn't.
Harlington didn't respond to that, but from his deep eyes, one could tell he was unlikely to let things be.
As for being embarrassed, actually quite a few familiar people had approached them for information. The news was probably already spread far and wide, it's just that most didn't dare to believe it, as competing for the throne had long become a legend.
"Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
The Snake-man and the Blood Elf were both overlords of the second underground layer, known for their friction and grudges. Originally they didn't see eye to eye, but fate had them join forces against a common enemy.
Now that they were about to part, they didn't exchange any pleasantries, simply going their separate ways.
With the departure of the two, a different kind of life-and-death pursuit came to an end.
Ivan soon received sure news, and after hearing it, he let out a long sigh of relief, thinking to himself that the two old geezers had finally given up.
"My dear friend Ivan, are you also going to leave now?"
"Oh Ivan, Ivan, can you stay a little longer? Without hearing your drumming, Alya will be sad."
"Goska feels the same."
Looking at several Level 5 creatures putting on an unmistakable air of reluctance, Ivan was speechless. How could there be such a big difference between Ancient Kings? Julia and the others were much more adorable than those three fellows.
"My friends, why worry so much, at least I am still here today, and I can still dance joyfully with you all tonight."
"My dear friend Ivan, you are absolutely right, I can't wait anymore, so let's get started with today's celebration right now, yo ho ho!"
The departure of Harlington and the Snake-man Ancient King didn't affect the liveliness of paradise in the slightest. That night was even more noisy and joyous, the enthusiastic voices echoing throughout the rift, inside and out.
```