He was the very first among this group of people to come into contact with Xu Yuan and trust him, and also the very first to recognize Xu Yuan.
But he wasn't good at expressing his feelings, nor could he say those nice-sounding words.
Naturally, he never thought of making such a gesture.
As for Blue Demon, because in the past he had always been proud and arrogant, he had never had the intention of following anyone.
But later, after he got to know Xu Yuan and Xu Yuan's ultimate goal, he became the "middleman," sent to make contact with the Pillager King.
After that, every time Xu Yuan summoned him, it was always about official business.
So Blue Demon had never found the right time to express his feelings.
Besides, Blue Demon knew Xu Yuan was someone very transparent and perceptive. Many things didn't need to be said too much, Xu Yuan could understand them.
From the moment Blue Demon started calling Xu Yuan "My King," he had already secretly acknowledged him as his leader.
That very form of address said it all, so Blue Demon didn't really care about these formal gestures.
But at this very moment, Blue Demon naturally couldn't sit still either.
In this dramatic scene, Blue Demon was the first to come back to his senses.
He immediately, just like Mustard, went down on one knee, looked at Xu Yuan, and solemnly said, "In my whole life, I have never sworn loyalty to any other, and I have always felt ashamed of such behavior."
Then, fixing his firm gaze on Xu Yuan, he continued, "However, only you are the one who makes me willing to kneel, to swear to follow you to the death."
"I am willing to give my all to follow you, to together witness the unprecedented prosperity and peace of this world!"
Blue Demon's actions at this moment were partly because Mustard had no sense of martial ethics (not really).
His words also secretly jabbed at Mustard, but in truth, these words came from his heart.
Indeed, he had never been loyal to anyone, and in the past he had never even thought about being loyal to anyone.
Blue Demon had always believed that only what was firmly in his own hands could be trusted.
But after meeting Xu Yuan, Xu Yuan changed his thinking. Xu Yuan's broad vision and the way he looked at the world made Blue Demon sincerely admire him.
It was precisely because of Xu Yuan that he realized relying on someone was not something shameful.
Being able to follow a king like Xu Yuan, Blue Demon felt genuine pride from deep within.
At this moment, the same scene played out again in front of Barbecue Sauce and the Pillager King, and the two of them were dumbfounded.
Seeing this, the Pillager King didn't hesitate any longer. With a "thud," he also knelt down.
The Pillager King was not someone who spoke much, and he rarely said high-sounding words.
Back when Mustard and Blue Demon were pledging their loyalty, the Pillager King had already been thinking of what to say.
Now he just blurted it out.
"I am the lord of the Pillagers, and also their hope."
"But all this time, I have not brought them true hope."
"I once thought that by gaining enough power, I could resolve everything. But now it seems that is not the case."
"Following a wise monarch is what can dispel all shadows and truly lead to the bright future that everyone longs for."
"On behalf of all Pillagers, I am willing to follow you."
"The direction of our king's heart is where our will shall aim!"
Actually, when Blue Demon had been speaking from his heart, the Pillager King already had no objections about Xu Yuan.
The Pillager King admired Blue Demon greatly, because in many ways Blue Demon was very much like him.
Naturally, he could see that Blue Demon's words came from deep inside.
For Xu Yuan to be able to change Blue Demon's thinking, to make someone who would never kneel to anyone sincerely respect him, that was enough to make the Pillager King completely convinced as well.
So the Pillager King dared to pledge the entire camp of Pillagers, because he believed that what he himself had not been able to accomplish, Xu Yuan could surely help him accomplish.
Seeing Mustard and Blue Demon kneel before him first, Barbecue Sauce was already anxious, spinning in circles on the spot.
And then the Pillager King knelt before it too.
Barbecue Sauce instantly felt like the whole world had betrayed it.
"Cluck cluck cluck cluck!!!! (You guys!! You're bullying me!!!!)"
"Cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck cluck!!!! (You're bullying me because I can't kneel!!!!)"
Barbecue Sauce clucked angrily at Mustard, Blue Demon, and the Pillager King all in turn, cursing them out.
At the same time, it flapped its wings, came to Xu Yuan's side, and then landed.
Since a chicken's legs couldn't really do a kneeling pose, it simply crouched down, then pressed its head against the ground.
But after doing all this, it couldn't force out even a single cluck for a long time.
Barbecue Sauce's brain capacity was only so big. Just earlier, telling a story to Mustard had already overloaded its CPU.
Now, on top of being beaten to the punch by Mustard, Blue Demon, and the Pillager King in a row,
Its mind was a complete blank, and it was so mad it couldn't even cluck out a single word.
After a while, Barbecue Sauce finally gave up trying to organize its words.
After all, even if it racked its brains to come up with something, it would never sound as good as what the three of them had said.
So it just went with the flow.
"Cluck cluck cluck… (I… I'm the same too…)"
———
At this moment, in the southern region of the mountains.
At the very peak towering into the clouds, a man and a llama sat side by side.
They quietly gazed out over the vast, endless, lush green rainforest below.
Sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting a golden veil over the entire forest.
The man pulled a pumpkin out of his backpack and smashed it hard against a nearby rock.
The pumpkin split in two. The man picked up the two halves, examined them for a moment, then handed the larger half to the llama lying lazily beside him, resting at ease.
The llama reached out its front hoof, took the pumpkin, and with one bite, "crunch," ate a third of it.
Then it closed its eyes, slowly savoring the crisp, sweet taste.
"This pumpkin is really good."
At this moment, a gentle breeze brushed their faces, bringing with it a hint of coolness.
From afar came the sound of birdsong, adding life and vitality to the quiet mountain peak.
The man and the llama just sat there in silence, fully immersed in the beautiful scene before them, as though time itself had stopped.
The llama gazed off into the distance, eyes hazy, its face full of an indescribable happiness and satisfaction.
"This place is so beautiful…"
Stephen murmured softly, as though deeply moved by the scenery.
"Mm, it really is beautiful." Notch replied.
Feeling this rare peace and leisure, both man and llama felt a warm sensation rise in their hearts.
Just as they were absorbed in the view, Stephen's expression suddenly became a little dazed. His gaze drifted, as if he had remembered something important.
After a while, he seemed to come back to himself, turned to Notch, and asked in a low voice, "The Overworld… does it also have scenery like this?…"
Hearing Stephen's words, Notch couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"Maybe not exactly the same, but isn't scenery like this common in the Overworld?"
"This is nothing. Back then I…"
"Ahem… the scenery in the Overworld is far more magnificent than here."
This game was Notch's proud creation. As he spoke, he almost got carried away.
He nearly let slip his true identity.
Naturally, Notch was full of confidence in the game he himself had created, especially in the environments and lighting of the Overworld, where he had poured enormous effort.
Whether it was the vast sky, the ever-changing clouds, or the towering mountains, every detail was crafted with care.
Even the atmosphere of birdsong and flowers was vividly portrayed, almost making one feel the fragrance in the air.
By comparison, though the scenery of this trial land was pleasant, it was limited in size and could not compare with the Overworld.
The endless expanses of the Overworld nurtured countless breathtaking sights.
Its beauty was so abundant as to be uncountable, every corner possibly hiding some dazzling wonder, worthy of being called nature's masterpiece.
Only by personally experiencing the vastness and splendor of the Overworld could one truly grasp its charm.
Thinking of this, Notch's doubt deepened.
Stephen had told him before when he awakened to consciousness. Though it wasn't too long ago, it wasn't too short either.
Having lived in the Overworld for so long, had Stephen really never seen scenery more magnificent than this?
'That shouldn't be…?'
As Notch wondered, he saw Stephen slowly stretch, sitting up.
At this moment Stephen was clearly different from the relaxed state he had just been in.
His carefree expression had disappeared, replaced by an indescribable sorrow. Even his chewing had slowed.
Stephen slowly swallowed the bite of pumpkin, looked off into the distance, and said quietly to himself, "Since the moment I awakened to consciousness until now, this is the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen."
Saying this, Stephen turned to Notch.
"You're right, the Overworld is vaster than here, and naturally it has scenery even more spectacular than this."
"Maybe I've seen it before, but it never left any impression in my mind."
Turning his eyes back to the pumpkin in his hands, suddenly the once delicious fruit tasted bland and flavorless.
In his gaze was a faint loneliness and loss, and in the depths of his heart quietly rose a wave of indescribable emotion.
Yet Stephen felt confused and puzzled by this sudden change in his feelings, unable for the moment to grasp the meaning.
Seeing the confusion in Stephen's eyes, and recalling the question he had just asked, Notch more or less guessed at the source of this melancholy.
"If the heart is like a bright mirror, it reflects all things in the world."
"But if the heart is clouded, then even in the presence of beautiful sights, their beauty cannot be perceived."
"Perhaps it's because in the past, you never really relaxed enough to enjoy the scenery."
Though Stephen didn't quite understand the first two lines, the last sentence he understood.
And because of that line, Stephen finally realized the reason his mood had suddenly dropped.
"Yes."
"In the Overworld, I was just an unremarkable llama."
"In the eyes of players, I was nothing more than a few pieces of leather…"
"Just staying alive took all my strength… let alone truly relaxing to enjoy a view like this…"
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