The Ordinary Me is Worshipped as a Deity by the Extraordinary Them - Chapter 157

Sunk cost—a financial term that Su Li was now planning to apply to the relationship between himself and Elvi.

The dragon obviously could not harbor positive emotions toward the gray crane who was subtly opposed to her, whether openly or in reality. The black dragon in the form of a young girl was demonstrating this point at every moment.

Given that all non-humans were hostile to him, choosing to join one side in a two-against-one situation would have been the most foolish behavior.

Su Li unhesitatingly threw himself into the dragon’s embrace.

Moreover, his current public identity was indeed that of someone who had awakened dragon bloodline.

In Adonis’s eyes, Su Li could never be someone who could stand on the same side as him.

At such a time, the act of testing guns, besides solidifying his public identity, had a second effect: Adonis would choose to be hostile toward Su Li.

After all, having his heart pierced through and not dying on the spot could only be attributed to good fortune.

The attack that Adonis launched, which was blocked by the black dragon, could equally prove that Elvi herself harbored dissatisfaction toward Adonis.

Otherwise, how could the black dragon under her command be so presumptuous?

What Su Li needed to do was directly provoke a war between Elvi and the King of the Winged Tribe.

Although applying the saying ‘when two armies face each other, do not kill the envoy’ to Adonis and Elvi seemed somewhat strange, the meaning remained the same.

Whether Adonis was seriously injured or died on the spot, for the queen mentioned by these humanoid monster beasts, it would be an unbearable provocation.

The most interesting part was that Elvi would not discover Su Li’s true purpose.

Because everything was hidden under Elvi’s instigation.

The cub identity was arranged by Elvi, and blocking the seriously injured Adonis’s counterattack was done by the black dragon.

What had Su Li done? He had merely proven his identity as a dragon cub according to Elvi’s instructions.

Just as Elvi was now saying unknowingly, “Adonis, you dared to attack the only awakened cub in my bloodline in nearly two hundred years. Does this also mean that the queen behind you has long harbored dissatisfaction toward the dragon race?”

“I dare not.” Adonis’s eyes, filled with gloom, lowered. “This matter has nothing to do with the queen.”

“Being suddenly injured was only because I failed to properly estimate my own strength and was too arrogant.”

“As for your cub…” Adonis raised his head again and fixed his gaze on Su Li.

Su Li clearly understood that this was not about targeting him. The gray crane’s act of lowering his head to show submission and then raising it again was essentially just his rebellious spirit at work.

“Facing a civil official like me, even if there are some excessive actions, I can forgive them. But if it were those hot-tempered generals….Your Excellency Elvi should protect your only cub well.”

Along with this implication, Su Li said with an innocent expression, “But I remember I clearly said that you needed to make some protective preparations.”

“Furthermore, since you say this matter has nothing to do with the queen, then your injury is merely a private matter. Without you revealing it, how could those generals possibly know that I caused your injury? Or are you saying… you think it’s natural for a cub that hasn’t been completely transformed to cause you such serious harm?”

Su Li saw the gray crane’s eyelids trembling.

His thoughts were too simple—so simple that Su Li could see through them at a glance.

After Su Li finished speaking, Adonis’s thinking would inevitably be redirected: how could “a mere ninth-level monster beast” possibly cause harm to him, Adonis?

On the surface, the harm was caused by the cub, but in reality, it was done by Elvi, wasn’t it?

Moreover, having such strong control over wind elements… even if Su Li carried Elvi’s bloodline, it should have been impossible to achieve this level with ninth-level strength.

What was this? This was the dragon race provoking the queen.

Otherwise, how could a cub be so arrogant as to attack the queen’s close minister, and aim for the heart no less.

Adonis’s clenched fist made Su Li look away. Su Li lowered his head and kicked at his feet, watching the dust on the ground being kicked up, then continued calmly, “Moreover, if one day the queen suddenly attacks the dragon race…”

“I apologize, I misspoke.”

Su Li effortlessly guided the thinking of the two dragons beside him toward the idea that if the queen ever attacked the dragon race, the most likely cause of such a result would lie with Adonis.

Should they kill the gray crane?

Victoria clearly showed her desire to take action.

Elvi vaguely sensed something was wrong, but from her own perspective, after quickly reviewing the series of events in her mind, she detected nothing unusual.

The beauty of sunk costs was that even if fighting broke out later, even if Elvi discovered that everything was caused by Su Li, the dragon would not attack him.

One reason was the value of his pure human special constitution; another was that Su Li had seen through something that Elvi herself had not yet understood.

Don’t forget that Leia had conversed with Elvi as an equal.

At that time, due to having his weaknesses controlled, Leia had even shown a somewhat humble attitude.

This situation was very interesting. The mermaid ruler’s standard for equality should have been the Winged Tribe’s queen, yet he had shown respect toward a branch within the large Winged Tribe system—namely, the one who governed the dragon race…

Did Elvi want to climb higher?

From her disdain that Leia had lived hundreds of years longer than her but had made no progress, this was more than obvious.

Could someone with strength, supporters, and recognition truly remain content to stay under others for long?

When they fought later, winning would be due to Elvi’s own ability, and losing would be because the queen was unreasonable.

After all, the dragons had already handed over sixty percent of their resources.

The development of events would still have nothing to do with Su Li.

Even though Adonis still wanted to kill Su Li, being seriously injured, his attention was mainly focused on the two dragons.

And those two dragons—one arrogantly said, “You’d better not say things you shouldn’t say in front of the queen, otherwise I won’t do anything to the queen, but for cheap gray cranes like you… I can’t guarantee what I might do.”

The other said, “We should go back.”

“The partial resources previously exchanged from Leia were only to enhance Su Li’s strength.”

Hearing Elvi say this, Su Li almost burst out laughing.

Even though he knew the dragon was hinting that the raven was about to upgrade, and the upgrade materials were what she had obtained from Leia, Su Li still found Elvi’s words amusing.

For Adonis, someone who had dared to deceive the queen from above and below now actually wanted to further enhance the strength of the person who had nearly killed him?

In Adonis’s eyes, this act was probably no different from a declaration of war.

Cubs represented the next generation.

Elvi herself was already powerful, and now she possessed an incredibly talented next generation. If she wanted to rebel, the entire dragon race would surely be her supporters.

Most interestingly, were the sixty percent of resources received by the queen truly sixty percent?

Those who played politics all had dirty hearts.

Without being dirty, one simply couldn’t survive.

What would Adonis think? What would the queen think? Probably both would think that even if they claimed this resource proportion was ninety percent, they would have no way to verify its authenticity.

The resources were exchanged by Elvi, and only Elvi knew the exchange process.

The mermaid ruler was a core figure of the Water Tribe—the resources he could exchange would only have a lower limit, not an upper limit.

If this gray crane had previously harbored thoughts of Elvi cooperating with Leia, then now he could probably treat everything before him as evidence.

The more chaotic the Winged Tribe became, the better it was for Su Li.

He didn’t want his little companion, the raven, to stay long in a place that coveted his genes.

Furthermore, the fact that Leia had been so unlucky before, coincidentally being pressed down and roughed up by Bartholomew and Elvi, also meant that internal strife existed within the Water Tribe.

From any angle, the mermen were now too busy with their own affairs.

The Winged Tribe was about to experience civil war, the Water Tribe had internal political disputes and was too preoccupied to care for others—what would the Beast Tribe do?

Bartholomew could cooperate with Leia to kill Elvi, so the Beast Tribe could equally cooperate with the Winged Tribe queen to kill the rebels.

If the Beast Tribe’s original goal was to kill Elvi, whose individual combat ability was extremely powerful, then this dragon was already deeply trapped in a whirlpool she couldn’t even perceive.

Ultimate goals and phase goals were different.

If the Beast Tribe’s ultimate goal was to unify the three races, then it also needed to put itself in a state where it could defeat the other two races without excessive consumption.

Weakening the other two races and targeting Elvi first was the best method.

Bartholomew could specifically target Leia. When Leia was previously sent back to the Water Tribe by Elvi, if the merman wanted to consolidate the core political power of the Water Tribe, it would only result in the Water Tribe losing core support once he was entangled by Bartholomew.

And if Leia wanted to delegate power, in the current political circles of monster beast society, once the Water Tribe lacked core control, self-destruction was not impossible.

Remember, Elvi had long ago revealed the fact that Leia was a scumbag… no, a fish-scumbag.

There would definitely be Water Tribe monster beasts who found him displeasing.

How interesting indeed.

Even though he had already placed the entire monster beast society’s structure on a chessboard in his mind, Su Li was currently just a dragon cub who had not yet been transformed into a monster beast.

Weak, pitiful, and helpless.jpg

Humans thought so, dragons thought so—only the gray crane was the exception.

Flapping his wings, Adonis accidentally met Su Li’s gaze…

If not for the inertia of high-speed flight, the wings that suddenly stiffened at that moment would have caused him to fall from high altitude immediately, becoming a puddle of mush.

What kind of eyes were those? The jade-green pupils reflected an entire world, as if all the magnificence of the world had sunk into the depths of those cold eyes, making one unconsciously fascinated.

But looking once more, one would discover that the owner of those eyes held no mercy or sympathy for the creatures present.

Those eyes were cold and merciless.

The gray crane caught up with the two dragons’ formation again, greatly shocked in his heart, but no longer dared to underestimate Su Li in the slightest due to his strength.

Subsequently, during the journey to the dragon territory, Su Li decisively fell asleep on Elvi’s claw tip.

When he woke up, he had been placed in the center of a Western-style building with a dome about ten meters high from the ground.

Su Li was lying on the floor.

He lazily yawned, supported his aching bones, and directed his gaze toward the other living being present in this space.

That was Adonis.

The gray crane in human form, appearing to be about twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, was currently frowning, his eyes fixed intently on the area outside the arched window.

After Su Li sat up straight and stretched, he said lazily, “What? Want to know whether Elvi is now preparing to treat you, this unfriendly guest, or…” Su Li drew out his tone.

“Or do you think she’s planning to directly attack the queen?”

“Speed is precious in war.” Su Li rubbed his face, which had stiffened from sleep. When he regained his composure, Adonis was already half-bowing, crouching in front of him like an attacking beast.

Su Li chuckled. “Why are you so close to me?”

As he spoke, Su Li didn’t even move his head, just lifted his eyelids slightly.

This action made Adonis’s already anxious mood even more agitated.

Yet Su Li could still say lightly, “I always feel that your queen also fits the average intelligence level of this world.”

“Otherwise, there’s no reason to only send one person when testing disloyal ministers.”

“…Or perhaps, that queen has long found you displeasing and plans to let you die here, giving her a pretext to directly attack the dragon race?”

Without other humans around, Su Li’s nonsensical behavior completely skipped logical speculation and could be spoken freely.

When facing his own kind, he always needed to explain things clearly and thoroughly.

But when facing non-humans, Su Li only needed to confirm the premise that all non-humans were enemies, and then his actions only needed to follow one basic logic…

That is, continuously increasing his own value and adding weight to his position.

Whether he was walking on a tightrope or dancing a waltz on a cliff’s edge, Su Li didn’t care.

After all, Adonis didn’t dare to attack him.

Su Li calmly watched Adonis’s changing expressions.

Visibly, Adonis’s anxious state disappeared.

“Looks like I guessed correctly.”

More interestingly, Adonis’s expression clearly indicated he knew the queen wanted him to die here, but he still maintained his loyalty.

Su Li simply stood up from the ground, looking at the man who, due to his chest wound, found that bowing would only make the wound more painful and was thus half-kneeling on the ground. He said softly, “Don’t tell me that what the black dragon-turned-girl said was true.”

“Hmm… surely it can’t really be that lowly gray cranes, apart from their commendable self-sacrifice, possess no other value whatsoever.”

Adonis clenched his fists and said in a low voice, “What do you know?”

“The gray crane clan hasn’t entered the queen’s circle for several hundred years. Apart from our large numbers, we have nothing…”

“But precisely because of our large numbers, in every war, the gray crane clan serves as cannon fodder on the front lines.”

Adonis’s face showed a pained expression.

“Insufficient strength, numerous in quantity. Before I became the queen’s close minister, the gray crane clan had long become known cannon fodder in wars within the Winged Tribe.”

So what if many died—many were also born.

Under Adonis’s revelation of this information, Su Li suddenly discovered a problem.

“But in Rota County, the number of humans who awakened gray crane bloodline wasn’t very large.”

“Or rather, do the newborns or newcomers of the gray crane clan not originate from humans, but from your normal reproduction?”

“So what if they do.” Adonis seemed to have lost all human spirit, appearing half-dead.

But Su Li became astonished.

He looked at Adonis’s head—specifically at the location of his brain—for a full three seconds before saying, “Did zombies eat your brains?”

Adonis didn’t respond to this incomprehensible statement.

“Skipping human transformation, possessing normal monster beast reproductive capabilities. Not participating in the additional intervention rules that transformed monster beasts impose on natural monster beasts, and still able to raise each newborn gray crane’s strength to the level where they can serve as pre-war cannon fodder…”

“I suddenly feel that zombies naturally wouldn’t eat brains, because inside your brain—”

“There’s nothing at all.”

Adonis looked down on his own strength, which translated to him looking down on ninth-level monster beasts, which further translated to the gray crane clan having large quantities of ninth-level monster beasts.

Although ninth-level monster beasts were equivalent to cannon fodder, advancing to tenth level, like the raven about to upgrade, would create another type of genetic value, wouldn’t it?

“Wait, first tell me whether you’re a transformed monster beast or a natural monster beast.”

This question left Adonis himself deep in thought.

He finally said, “I don’t know.”

Su Li: ……………………

“Then let me ask a different question. Who told you that by becoming the queen’s close minister, the gray crane clan would no longer be used as war cannon fodder?”

“No one told me. Gray cranes have always done this.”

“Has the gray crane clan historically produced people like you?”

“Yes.”

“…I think you don’t need to care too much about the gray crane clan, because with your level of intelligence, the fact that you’ve all survived until now is definitely due to the world’s favoritism.”

Elvi sought the raven, not gray cranes, probably because she was worried about her own brain being assimilated.

But Adonis wasn’t exactly a very stupid person…

Su Li was certain that Adonis had understood all his previous hints.

That he could still maintain blind loyalty was so terrifying it was like the “might makes right” concept that existed in human social structures.

Like mental tyranny—whatever the strong said was correct.

Even if Adonis had brains, even if he was cultivated with resources from the entire gray crane clan, it couldn’t change his innate servile nature.

The gray crane clan probably all felt that Adonis achieving his current state was already his limit.

Confusion.jpg

“Let me ask you a question: is your queen a natural monster beast or a transformed monster beast?” Su Li had actually already guessed the answer, but he still asked.

“She’s a transformed monster beast.” Adonis seemed to think he was about to die anyway, so saying something didn’t matter.

Su Li was too lazy to pay attention to this mentality. He was wondering why transformed monster beasts couldn’t interfere with the growth of natural monster beasts.

This was a rule mentioned by Elvi. The source of the rule was temporarily unknown.

But from Adonis’s external performance, this rule existed in bloodline recognition.

Just like how the black dragon Victoria had inexplicable pride in the dragon race.

This was very typical of the inherent noble concepts in the Western world.

It could also reference the previous influence of the Church of Light on humans and the discriminatory harm suffered by the Dark Church.

These were all the same concept.

Nobles and commoners, the poor and the lowborn, were completely different social strata.

Even for nobles, all other humans besides nobles couldn’t be classified as the same kind as themselves.

And this stratification had long been solidified over the years.

It didn’t matter who established it—transformed monster beasts could not interfere with the growth of natural monster beasts. One only needed to understand that even powerhouse-level beings like Elvi were following this so-called rule.

The gray crane clan clearly possessed large quantities of natural monster beasts, yet Elvi still chose to enter human society to capture the raven. This was the rule.

Victoria was proud of her dragon identity, Adonis was ashamed of his gray crane bloodline—this was also the rule.

Natural monster beast gray cranes felt inferior about their bloodline before the transformed monster beast queen.

But transformed monster beast Elvi was following the rule that transformed monster beasts could not interfere with natural monster beast growth.

This contradiction was like having two supreme beings—one a transformed monster beast, one a natural monster beast—who were mutually hostile and targeted each other.

Yet also mutually integrated.

This pathological rule and social system had existed in monster beast society for countless years.

Human society was better off. The early deceased Charles, the Church of Light pope who wholeheartedly wanted to enter monster beast society, Dean Asa who established the Elemental Academy, and the Mercenary Alliance Guild Master who founded the Mercenary Alliance…

These could all be said to represent humanity moving toward enlightenment.

But unfortunately, monster beasts existed in humanity’s upper echelons.

As long as monster beasts possessed the power to destroy humanity, then human enlightenment was more like suicidal behavior.

Because as soon as monster beasts felt humans had touched the rules, humanity would definitely be finished.

But who had established these rules?

Ignoring this question, Su Li could already confirm that the rule-makers consisted of two parties.

The current monster beast society situation—where transformed monster beasts needed natural monster beast genes but refused to attack natural monster beasts native to monster beast society—reflected the conclusion that the monster beasts in the “Beast Forest” that coexisted with humans were more like the “source.”

Or rather, the origin.

They could also be called the final embers.

The reason? The reason was that the monster beasts there didn’t need to follow the “rules.”

The raven had no concept of these rules. Only after his strength became sufficient did he learn of the existence of monster beast civilization and monster beast society.

This could indeed be said to guide him into that society. But it was also like a reminder for the raven to avoid entering monster beast society.

The more Su Li thought about it, the deeper his frown became.

He decisively gave up continuing to think alone and chose to ask Adonis some questions to verify his speculations.

“Do you know about Crystal Winged Dragons?”

Adonis looked confused. “What’s that?”

“Bone-Devouring Lizards? Fierce Tiger Pythons? Thousand-Green Gorillas? Crimson Fiber Worms?” These were all monster beasts that those baits had ganged up to beat during their previous training in the Beast Forest.

Adonis became even more confused.

“Never heard of them.”

That he hadn’t heard of Crystal Winged Dragons was understandable, since the one killed at that time was the world’s last one.

That Adonis hadn’t heard of other terrestrial monster beasts was also understandable, but Crimson Fiber Worms looked very much like seven-spotted ladybugs, and importantly, they could fly.

“Are there flying insects and such in the Winged Tribe?”

Adonis looked disgusted. “Of course not! No race would accept those filthy insects.”

Su Li looked completely despairing.

It was over.

He could basically confirm that between the opposing top-level transformed monster beasts and natural monster beasts, the former had achieved victory, while the latter could only hide at the edges of the Beast Forest, preserving the final embers.

The victorious former had also left rules in monster beast society equating natural monster beasts with lowliness.

How were insects not monster beasts? The Beast Forest even had particularly dangerous plants.

Insects and plants had low intelligence, but the problem was that monster beasts could transform into humans at ninth level, right?

Transforming into human form should grant learning ability, right?

Living long should gradually improve intelligence, right?

Yet monster beast society had neither of those two branches…

The possibly natural monster beast Adonis could still look down on insects with his somewhat self-deprecating bloodline recognition mentality.

Ignoring all this.

Didn’t the structure of natural monster beasts versus transformed monster beasts resemble the Church of Light versus the Dark Church?

Knowing that both “gods” were monster beasts, but up until now, Su Li had found no trace of “gods” in monster beast society.

But now…

Su Li: Let it all be destroyed, I’m tired.

Not wanting to let this damned world continue violating his brain, Su Li chose to reveal a saintly smile.

He turned and began to deceive Adonis.

“Want to escape fate? Want to gain dignity? Want to never again have to be lowly, humble, and self-sacrificing? If you do, then listen to me…”