Chapter 303 - Celeste’s Promise

"Next, devour the Demon King of Gluttony," Lin Tian said teasingly, looking at him. "Wrath won't be of much use to you, but failing to absorb this one would be embarrassing." He was stating a fact.

Gobu Tian's combat style leaned toward that of an assassin, requiring calmness during battle. Wrath had little value for him. But Gluttony was different. He could lurk in the shadows and silently devour corpses on the battlefield, rapidly increasing his power. Of course, Gobu Kuang and Gobu Shan could benefit just as much.

Lin Tian extended his hand again, slicing Gluttony apart. Thanks to Katheryn's purification, there was no risk of poisoning.

Gobu Kuang and the others began devouring immediately. This time, Gobu Tian's luck finally turned around; he was the first to absorb Gluttony's skill and successfully gained its power. Next came Gobu Kuang, followed by Gobu Shan. All three successfully acquired the skill, with plenty left over. Having multiple skills was always better than fewer.

Lin Tian devoured the remaining Gluttony, though his luck wasn't as good this time. It didn't matter much.

"Go practice and adapt to your new abilities," he instructed. "There's nothing major to handle for now, so feel free to do what you want. I'll call on you when needed."

For now, everyone's strength had hit a bottleneck. It was still far from sufficient to face the angels. Lin Tian needed to find other ways to enhance their power. At the very least, all the main members needed to reach the Great Demon King level.

"Let me go, you damn goblins! I'll kill you all!"

"Please, I beg you, let me go! I'm just a lesser demon!"

"Ahhh!"

The Goblin Soldiers' city square resounded day and night with Scarlett's crazed screams. She was bound to a pillar, her entire body restrained by a Horned Python Serpent. Around her, countless goblins watched with cold, lecherous eyes. The sight drove her to utter despair, on the brink of madness. No amount of screaming brought help.

Nearby, Ladrick was also bound. Due to the growing goblin population, they had constructed their own city for easier management. Behind the square, in the palace, a massive Zerg Queen was pinned to the ground with giant spikes.

Ladrick cursed incessantly. "Stop screaming, you worthless piece of trash! Damn lesser demon, if not for you, would I have ended up like this?"

"How dare you speak! Didn't you claim to have absolute confidence in defeating that goblin? And now?" Scarlett retorted, her bloodshot eyes glaring as she bared her teeth. Her fury and despair reached new heights.

Ladrick fell silent, deeply regretful. Had he not betrayed Nanavis, they would have had absolute confidence in defeating Lin Tian. Even enduring Nanavis' torment would have been better than becoming prisoners. Finally, he muttered, "What could I do? Nanavis is dead! How could you expect me to defeat him? Wretched woman!"

Ultimately, it was Scarlett's meddling that ruined the Uninhabited Zone.

"You dare insult me?! Ladrick, worry about yourself first!" Scarlett spat coldly. She knew all too well what Lin Tian was capable of.

Ladrick shot back, "I'll just be tortured for a while; he'll get bored eventually. But you? Hahaha! Just imagining it makes my skin crawl. Isn't that right, Goblin Queen?"

"You! You!" Scarlett's face twisted in fear, like a child facing the terror of a needle. She deeply regretted provoking Lin Tian. Dying would have been better. Muttering to herself, she said, "I was so arrogant and foolish… I should've known better when he saw through my identity."

Ladrick flinched. "I almost forgot about that."

The general belief that goblins were weak had led them both astray. Even Demon Gods couldn't pierce Scarlett's disguise, and yet Lin Tian had.

"Hah… hah…"

Hearing Scarlett's sobs, Ladrick sighed and said, "Stop acting like a coward; you're disgracing us great Demon Kings. Don't worry—when Demon God Beelzebub returns, he'll definitely rescue us."

"What?!"

Scarlett's sobs abruptly stopped, replaced by overwhelming excitement. She had almost forgotten—when the Demon God returned and found the Uninhabited Zone in chaos, he would undoubtedly come here!

"Wonderful! I'm saved! Hahaha!"

Watching her act like a lunatic again, Ladrick could only shake his head. Of course, this was one of the reasons he remained so calm—he believed he hadn't lost. After all, Nanavis was already dead. When the Demon God came to rescue him, he would be the true victor.

"Stay calm. That guy's coming. Don't let anything slip, or we'll be killed…" Ladrick said.

Scarlett immediately shut her mouth.

In the distance, Lin Tian's figure appeared. He was here to deal with Scarlett and Ladrick. These two were not to be underestimated.

"Boss…"

As he walked through the goblin settlement, goblins everywhere lowered their heads and greeted him respectfully.

Lin Tian nodded slightly and approached the two prisoners. "How are you feeling? Is the treatment here acceptable?"

Scarlett's face twitched. "You—"

Before she could finish, Ladrick cut her off hastily. "Shut up! Let me handle this. Good afternoon, Your Majesty! Thank you for your hospitality. Although, I must say, the Horned Python Serpent's bindings are a bit tight. It's hard to breathe."

Slap!

A loud slap struck Ladrick's face.

Lin Tian sneered in disgust. "Why do you always have to add drama for yourself? Do you really think I'm being generous? Hospitality, my ass!"

Ladrick's rage simmered beneath the surface, but he held it in.

"Do you know the Dream Realm?" Lin Tian asked coldly.

Ladrick quickly answered, "Of course. That's the ability of Winnie of Sloth. It's incredibly effective against large numbers of soldiers. Don't be fooled by her usual lazy and innocent demeanor—in her dreams, she can do anything! And it's all incredibly twisted and brutal."

During the wars of the past, anyone who died in Winnie's dream met a gruesome fate, enduring inhuman torment.

Lin Tian smirked. "Good. Then let's go have some fun in it."

A massive black magic circle began to form beneath Lin Tian's feet. Ancient runic symbols, intricate and dense, illuminated with precision.

Scarlett's face contorted in disbelief. "What?! Winnie's magic? How do you know it?!"

Realizing what was happening, she began to struggle desperately. "Wait, Your Majesty! You don't need me to go in, right? My role is to be the Goblin Queen! Why—"

Before she could finish, she fell unconscious.

When the two of them opened their eyes again, they found themselves in a barren desert.

From above, Lin Tian's thunderous voice echoed, as if descending from the heavens.

"Of course, it's necessary. I'm here to give you a little shock therapy. Kekeke~"

If he didn't break her spirit and make her submit entirely, how could she willingly serve as the "Goblin Queen" to improve the goblin collective?

"Where are you?!" Scarlett cried, her pupils filled with terror as she frantically looked around.

Ladrick, though slightly calmer, knew full well what awaited them. He had already abandoned any thought of resistance. Even Winnie herself had perished within her own skill. What chance did they have?

"I'm everywhere," Lin Tian's voice rang out again. "For now, worry about yourselves."

With no pressing matters to attend to, Lin Tian was happy to take his time tormenting them. Using the power of imagination, he drastically slowed their perception of time. To Scarlett and Ladrick, the desert heat blazed down for what felt like days. Without water, the agony was unbearable.

"Where… where are you? Just kill me already! I can't take it anymore…" Scarlett's voice had become faint and weak.

Days had seemingly passed in the scorching desert. With no water and their skin cracked and blistered from the sun, exhaustion consumed them. But neither dared collapse—the ground felt like a searing hotplate, making standing an excruciating ordeal.

Ladrick had attempted to conjure water through sheer imagination. But Lin Tian's restrictions on the space allowed no foreign objects to appear. Any attempt to manifest something was instantly erased. In this domain, Lin Tian's power surpassed even the gods. It was a glimpse of otherworldly dominance for these fantasy creatures.

By day, they suffered under the heat. By night, the freezing cold denied them any rest. The relentless cycle of suffering pushed the two to the brink of madness.

Eventually, both collapsed and died from exhaustion.

Lin Tian resurrected them with a mere thought.

Scarlett clawed at her hair, tearing chunks out. "Please, just kill me! Don't do this anymore! I want to die!"

Ladrick, his face dark, struggled to maintain his composure. If the Demon God did come to save them, being a broken lunatic would render the effort pointless.

Lin Tian's mocking voice echoed once more. "Don't rush. In reality, only a few minutes have passed. We have plenty of time to play~"

"What?!"

Ladrick snapped, his composure finally shattering.

The next moment, the two found themselves plunged into a vast ocean. Instinct forced them to swim, but exhaustion made every movement a herculean task. Stopping meant sinking to the bottom.

Lin Tian had adjusted the sensation of drowning to make it last an agonizing hour before death. For an hour, they drowned in unbearable pain, dying repeatedly in agony. Then they were resurrected again.

This was only the beginning—the simplest form of physical torment. What came next was far worse.

Suddenly, Scarlett saw a sword piercing toward her, and she jolted awake from the scream that escaped her lips. She found herself lying on the bed in the Palace of Lust.

"What's going on? I… wasn't I captured by goblins? Wasn't I going to die?" Scarlett muttered in confusion, sitting on the bed.

Outside, the familiar voice of one of her servants called, "Your Highness, the fresh human flesh is prepared and ready for you to feast upon."

The familiarity, the comfort—it all felt so safe and relaxing. Overcome with emotion, Scarlett burst into tears. "It was just a dream! I'm still home. There were no goblins! The Wilderness is still the Wilderness! None of this has anything to do with me! Oh, thank heavens!"

Watching her from afar, Lin Tian smirked. "The most effective torment is, of course, the Dream Realm." It was a relentless mind game, making her unable to distinguish reality from dream, even losing her sense of self. That clear, visceral feeling of her body being split into pieces, or even multiple versions of herself, was unbearable.

Then he recreated the moment she first encountered him—only for her to wake up again, trapped in the same cycle.

"Ahhhh!!" A heart-wrenching scream finally shattered the illusions.

Scarlett found herself once more bound to the pillar in reality. Yet her body trembled uncontrollably, her gaze unfocused. "Wake me up! Wake me up! What's going on now?! Hurry!"

Lin Tian stood before her, sneering. "This is reality. Can't you tell the difference?"

"I can't! I can't tell anymore! I've heard you say that so many times already!" Scarlett screamed hysterically, her face twisted in a grotesque grimace like that of a lizard. From now on, she might forever believe she was in a dream waiting to wake up.

Lin Tian, amused by her outburst, raised an eyebrow but quickly resumed his cold smile. "Maybe I overdid it. She's still capable of rational thought, which is why she's this scared. If I pushed her into complete madness, she wouldn't be cooperative later."

Nearby, Ladrick remained silent. His bloodshot eyes were wide open, unwilling to blink. He feared that closing them might bring him back to waking up in the Palace of Lust again.

"I… I surrender! I'm terrified of you! How could anyone even conceive of such torment, such horrors? Are you really a goblin? You should be called a demon!" Ladrick babbled, drooling and trembling with fear. His expression was contorted, filled with pain and terror. The Dream Realm had nearly driven him to the brink of madness.

These were demons who had lived for thousands of years, their mental resilience unshakable. If it had been someone weaker like Lordel from the beginning, they'd have become a mindless idiot long ago.

Lin Tian smiled faintly. "Don't worry. Scarlett's fun ends here, but I have even better plans for you later." Satisfied with the day's work, he decided to give Ladrick some time to process his fear. There would be plenty of opportunities to torment him further in the future.

"Scarlett, do you have anything to say?" Lin Tian asked, turning his attention to her.

Scarlett shook her head wildly. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry, Your Goblin Majesty! Please, don't make me wake up in that bed again. Tell me this is the real world!"

"This is the real world," Lin Tian replied with a chilling glint in his eyes. "But you'll have to agree to a condition. You've already heard what I want from you. Will you cooperate willingly, or do you want to taste more of what you just experienced?"

Without hesitation, Scarlett screamed, "I'll accept! I'll do everything you want! It's a blessing! A mercy! I'll happily do it! I love doing those things!"

"Good." Lin Tian chuckled, satisfied. "I'll arrange everything later. Until then, goodbye."

He turned and walked away. The goblins to be nurtured and elevated required careful selection and training. Nothing could be done recklessly.

Now it was time to fulfill the promise he had made to Celeste. After all, she was a powerful high demon and deserved his attention. Lin Tian wasn't one to break his word.