Chapter 99: The Ghost of the Wall Gazer

Chapter 99: The Ghost of the Wall Gazer

Why did Ajef leave?

And why did he look so furious?

Clairement wore a dazed expression before suddenly realizing something. She hastily stood up and chased after him.

The noblewomen exchanged bewildered glances before lifting their skirts and following suit.

Just as Clairement reached the doorway, she heard Yu Sheng'an's undisguised, angry reprimand.

She had no time to process Ajef's attitude toward Dandell—those words alone sent a chill down her spine.

At the same time, Ajef noticed her arrival. He turned slightly, his icy gaze locking onto her.

That frigid stare made Clairement feel as though she had been plunged into an abyss of ice, her body stiffening in fear.

Fortunately, a portal lit up beside Ajef at that moment, diverting his attention.

Amidst the glow of the portal, Dandell's figure quietly materialized.

Simultaneously, the noblewomen caught up.

Dandell took one look at the extravagantly dressed noblewomen, and his aged face darkened instantly. He finally understood why Yu Sheng'an was so enraged.

"This is my mistake. I’ll replace the trainees immediately."

Rather than immediately confronting his assistant Hadi, Dandell prioritized placating Yu Sheng'an.

"Don’t replace them! Lord Dandell, please don’t! I can do it—please believe me!"

Clairement panicked before hurriedly turning to Yu Sheng'an.

"Lord Ajef, please trust me! Whatever a maid can do, I can do as well!"

Yu Sheng'an took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. "Do you even know what this job entails?"

He then glanced at the noblewomen crowding behind Clairement. "Do any of you?"

The noblewomen looked utterly lost, their faces paling slightly.

Clairement whispered, "I heard... it’s something like a tavern bartender."

With her flaxen hair, Clairement appeared no older than eighteen or nineteen. Her excessively frilly black lace dress, adorned with a red bow at the waist, gave her a distinctly Lolita-esque style.

Her meek, submissive demeanor made her look like a bullied young wife, leaving Yu Sheng'an torn between amusement and exasperation.

A bartender?

Who spread that nonsense?

But perhaps it was for the best.

Yu Sheng'an kept his expression neutral as he addressed the noblewomen.

"You heard her. This recruitment is for a completely new type of service role. Let me be clear—you’ll receive just one day of training before being dispatched in pairs to various Magic Towers across the Empire as permanent clerks. Just like tavern bartenders."

Silence fell. The noblewomen exchanged glances, their faces growing even paler.

"Now that you understand, those who still wish to stay may do so. But let me warn you—once you accept my training, there’s no backing out. If you do, you’ll owe a penalty of ten thousand Keville gold coins."

Clairement’s plea had softened Yu Sheng'an’s stance slightly, but only to this extent.

Truthfully, this was precisely why he had been instantly overwhelmed upon seeing these noblewomen.

They were to be deployed as the first batch of clerks for the bank branches.

They would also serve as the founding members, mentoring new employees in the future.

It was going to be grueling work.

These noble ladies who've never lifted a finger in their lives—would they truly abandon Willis's prosperity and their family's protection to work elsewhere?

Yu Sheng'an was deeply skeptical.

Sure enough, the noble ladies looked shocked at his words, their faces filled with hesitation.

With a cold laugh in his heart, Yu Sheng'an turned to Dandell and held up a single finger:

"One day. Reorganize the personnel. If there are still people like this trying to join, make the stakes clear. I don’t want to waste time training someone only for them to back out halfway."

Dandell placed a hand over his chest in salute. "Understood."

Yu Sheng'an nodded and strode away.

He was busy. Extremely busy.

The sudden attack by the Five Great Righteous Gods had been a wake-up call.

Life wasn’t a script—it wouldn’t follow his plans step by step.

Plans could never keep up with change.

So he had to prepare with everything he had!

This time, the Five Great Righteous Gods had suffered heavy losses, but they’d also seen his hand.

If they came again, it wouldn’t be a mere skirmish—it would be earth-shattering!

As for him? This war had nearly exhausted his hidden cards, and the Source Essence he’d painstakingly accumulated was almost depleted.

Frankly, if the Five Great Righteous Gods dared to gamble now and launched another war of the same scale, he’d be in grave danger!

Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows.

As a descendant of the rabbit, how could Yu Sheng'an not have such awareness?

He was already making dual preparations.

On one hand, he would strengthen his military and enhance his war potential. He’d hold onto Keville if at all possible.

On the other hand, he’d prepare an escape route.

The Dofi domain was one option, but the Primary Domain of Azerai was an even better one.

Especially the latter.

Though the Primary Domain of Azerai was already occupied by the Four Primordial Gods, it was ironically the least threatening.

Why?

Coordinate Deterrence.

He would become the Ghost Swordbearer of the Wallfacer in Azerai!

Based on the energy consumed by the Divine Palace Ancient Castle’s random teleportation, the Primary Domain of Azerai wasn’t far from the Azeia Main Domain.

Of course, this "not far" was from a deity’s perspective.

But the fact that the gods of the multiverse had never discovered the Azerai domain was somewhat illogical.

Yu Sheng'an suspected two possibilities:

First, this primary domain was inherently special, possessing an "unobservable" trait that made it undetectable.

This was easy to understand—most primary domains had unique "expressions."

For example, the Underworld naturally devoured the souls of the dead from various domains, the Abyss twisted and birthed soul-hunting demonic figures, the World Tree was composed of a single colossal tree, and Azeia embraced all living things... and so on.

Second, the Primary Domain of Azerai had been deliberately concealed.

Regardless of which possibility was true, Yu Sheng'an had reason to believe the Four Primordial Gods absolutely did not want Azerai exposed to the gaze of other deities.

Of course, Yu Sheng'an didn’t want the Primary Domain of Azerai exposed either.

Thus, the two sides would form a delicate strategic balance.

Under this balance, both would exercise restraint, careful not to provoke the other to the point of desperation—lest they resort to mutual destruction and broadcast Azerai’s coordinates across the universe.

Given this premise, seizing this primary domain would require finesse.

Demanding it outright was impossible.

Yu Sheng'an’s plan was to force a fait accompli.

When the Four Primordial Gods discovered him, they would find that he had already taken control of a nation or a region. No matter how furious they became, they could only grudgingly tolerate his existence.

Even in the worst-case scenario, if they were truly provoked, he could broadcast the coordinates of the Primary Domain of Azerai across the entire universe.

With a foothold already secured, Yu Sheng'an would have a solid foundation to resist any invaders.

And now, Yu Sheng'an was doing exactly that.

...

Primary Domain of Azerai · Pu'en City

At a private fishing dock reeking of foul fish and brine, Cowboy Ben Keming paced anxiously back and forth, his demeanor far from the composed leadership expected of the head of the Reduction of Working Hours and Increase in Wages Movement.

Today was the day Aji De had requested to meet him.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

He had too many questions—questions only Aji De could answer.

No one knew that ever since he had adopted Aji De Theory as the guiding principle of their movement, the Reduction of Working Hours and Increase in Wages Movement had grown beyond his control!

More and more workers, students, even down-and-out nobles had joined.

The conflicts, the competing interests, the sheer weight of responsibility—it was overwhelming!

He felt like he was losing his grip on this terrifying beast.

He needed Aji De’s guidance—to show him the way forward!