Chapter 1743: Admit Defeat

Duchess Nightmare was one of the three supreme dukes of District A, so her appearance immediately shocked all the nobles. But what horrified them even more was the figure beside her.

It was a graceful figure who stood on a chariot. It had always been difficult for chariots and beautiful girls to fit together, for the combination would look odd as girls were usually soft, and chariots normally represented murder.

However, this girl fitted perfectly with her chariot. She was beautiful, soft, almost frail, but for some reason, she looked almost as one with the chariot.

She was the third Cursed Goddess from the Primitive Universe, Houtu!

All the nobles gasped as they looked incredulously at them with wide eyes. They could not believe that a little restaurant would cause such a major storm. The three Cursed Goddesses had shown up at the same time!

“Good heavens! Her Excellency Soul, Her Excellency Nethery, and Her Excellency Houtu are all here!”

Many people could not believe what they saw. They had imagined that the three Cursed Goddesses would confront one another in person, but they did not expect it to come so quickly. Moreover, It seemed that the other two goddesses had joined hands to fight Soul. This was so exciting!

Duchess Tianlian glanced at Duchess Nightmare. Both of them were dukes, and they both knew very well that they could not beat each other. So, after exchanging a glance, Duchess Tianlian stopped attacking. There was no need for her to do anything now.

Soul narrowed her eyes. She, too, could not beat Duchess Nightmare, who was one of the top three dukes of District A.

“Tianlian, did you lure Yunlan away just to kill a Cursed Goddess? Have you forgotten our mission?” Duchess Nightmare said, frowning, as she stared at Duchess Tianlian. Her body was a mass of black smoke that churned like a nightmare.

Duchess Tianlian sighed.

Houtu, standing on her chariot, cast her gaze at Soul. The gazes of the two Cursed Goddesses collided in midair.

Bu Fang glanced at Houtu. ‘So she is the Cursed Goddess from the Primitive Universe?’

Strictly speaking, he could be considered as someone from the Primitive Universe as well. He had certainly heard of the name, Houtu, for it was a very famous name in myths. However, he never thought that this legendary figure was a Cursed Goddess. Of course, there might be some connection between them, but he would not know.

Duchess Nightmare was not here to help him fight Duchess Tianlian, Bu Fang knew. She came here to stop them from fighting each other. He thought this would be the end of the battle, and everyone would leave in peace. This would be the most likely outcome.

But Soul might insist on fighting. That was also very likely to happen. In any case, Bu Fang did not take out the Chaos Pot of Creation. Even he had no idea about that thing’s power, so it would be best to not use it.

“You finally showed up… Cursed Goddess Houtu.” Looking at the girl on the chariot, Soul slowly exhaled. This was their first meeting, and it came as a surprise. The latter’s calmness was beyond her expectation.

Houtu had a graceful and noble aura, and she seemed as if she did not care about anything. She just glanced at Soul and did not say a word.

The Cavalry of Death regrouped behind Soul, their aura fluctuating. Marquis Lang Gu had turned back to his human form. He rolled and jumped to his feet. As a marquis, he was not qualified to meddle in the clash of dukes, so he had nothing to do now.

But it might be that he still had to fight later. If Duchess Tianlian engaged Duchess Nightmare in a battle, and the rest fought each other again… He would have trouble to deal with again. And it seemed to him that Soul was inclined to do just that.

Suddenly, the void rumbled and cracked, and then a voluptuous figure stepped out of it, walking slowly toward the crowd. She was a noblewoman with a mighty aura. The moment she appeared, all the nobles gasped.

Duchess Yunlan had shown up as well! The three Cursed Goddesses and the three dukes had shown up at the same time in front of the restaurant! The battle had catapulted the restaurant under the limelight and shocked Void City!

Duchess Yunlan’s expression was ugly as if she was holding back a surge of anger.

When Duchess Tianlian saw Duchess Yunlan, her expression flickered. She knew that it was no longer possible for her to kill Nethery today. ‘What a pity… This is such a good chance,’ she thought to herself.

Duchess Yunlan glanced coldly at Soul and said, “A person with a devious mind like you is not qualified to inherit the throne of Void City!” She shook her head in disappointment.

Soul kept her composure, but her face grew colder. All her plans and scheming failed at this moment. It never occurred to her that the chef could stop her Cavalry of Death. The twin brothers, Pi Dong and Pi Xi, could fight a marquis when they joined forces, yet they had failed to defeat the chef. On top of that, Marquis Lang Gu had betrayed her.

All these had irritated her. She gave Nethery a deep look, glared at Bu Fang, then turned to leave with her cavalry. The iron hooves clattered noisily as the soldiers gathered around her, and she slowly disappeared. She was the one who lost in this fight, but she held her head up proudly like a victor.

The nobles sucked in cold breaths. “Her Excellency Soul retreated… She admitted defeat!”

They could not believe it. What did that mean? It meant the competition between the Cursed Goddesses had entered a white-hot stage, and the restaurant survived. Just like that, the first restaurant of Void City in District A had opened its doors right under the Queen’s noses.

Duchess Tianlian nodded at Yunlan and Nightmare before flying away. At this point, Soul’s supporters had all retreated.

In midair, Duchess Nightmare greeted Duchess Yunlan, while Cursed Goddess Houtu went up to Bu Fang. She looked Bu Fang straight in the eye, making him somewhat embarrassed.

“It is rare to see someone from the Primitive Universe in Void City… I’ve been away for a very long time. How is everything?” the girl asked.

That gave Bu Fang pause. He did not expect her to ask him that, and he did not know the answer. But according to Tongtian, there were many mighty experts in the Primitive Universe, so it should be fine. Perhaps the invasion of Soul Demons had brought them some trouble, but such trouble should not be too difficult to handle.

Houtu sighed as a longing look appeared in her eyes. If truth be told, she joined the fight for the throne so she could return to the Primitive Universe, back to the home where she grew up. That was her sole purpose in joining the competition.

“Nightmare, let’s go,” Houtu said. She did not talk much to Bu Fang. Before leaving, she turned to Nethery and nodded.

She seemed to notice that Nethery and Soul were different. Soul’s desire for the throne bordered on paranoia, but Nethery… Well, she did not seem to have any desire for the throne. Houtu could see through one’s mind, so she had some good feelings for Nethery.

The two Cursed Goddesses exchanged nods. Then, Houtu left on her chariot, and Duchess Nightmare turned into a mass of smoke and drifted away. As they moved away, their voices could be faintly heard.

“Houtu… That Soul seems to be related to Soul Demons. You know I hate Soul Demons… So you have to work hard and ascend to the throne…”

“Got it…”

Duchess Yunlan landed at Nethery’s side. She looked her up and down, and when she found that Nethery was unscathed, she breathed a sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness you are alright! I was tricked by Tianlian, and she trapped me for some time in a black hole…”

As soon as Xiao Ai saw Duchess Yunlan, she burst into tears, ran over, and put her arms tightly around the latter’s thigh. She had lived her days in fear when Duchess Yunlan was away. And just now, she thought she and Nethery were never going to see her again.

The noblewoman and Xiao Ai seemed to have a good relationship. She spent some time comforting the handmaid before turning to Bu Fang. She glanced at him, then at the restaurant behind him. Suddenly, she burst out laughing.

“You really opened a restaurant in District A! You must be crazy!”

The corner of Bu Fang’s mouth twitched as he looked at the noblewoman, who kept laughing. Then, he went back into the restaurant with Whitey and others.

Marquis Lang Gu wrapped himself in a robe and followed, trotting. However, Duchess Yunlan saw him and brought him away to question. It filled the marquis with a grievance. He was Soul’s man, and now he had switched his allegiance to Nethery—it was only natural for him to be questioned.

The fight that created a lot of buzzes and the clash of the three Cursed Goddesses were over. All the nobles were somewhat dumbfounded. Many people had thought that this was a lopsided fight and that the weakest Cursed Goddess, Nethery, would be killed by Soul.

However, the situation became uncertain once again. The heir of the Queen of Curses and the successor to the throne of Void City was yet to be decided. Soul controlled almost seven-tenths of the power in the city, and Houtu commanded the rest. As for Nethery, she had… a restaurant.

Many people had strange looks on their faces. Cursed Goddess Nethery had escaped death this time, but she was just prolonging her last days. There would be no change in the final outcome. How far could she go with the support of a… restaurant? Besides, it was still uncertain if the restaurant could remain open for a long time.

The nobles chose to stand back and watch the restaurant. They would not step into it and eat food like the presumptuous Marquis Lang Gu. Many of them put their men around the restaurant to keep an eye on it.

Peace had settled back in front of the restaurant. Marquis Lang Gu rubbed his hands impatiently as he trotted through the door. He had leftover monkey brain to enjoy. To be able to taste something delicious after a battle was really a blessing.

The noblewoman followed Nethery and stepped curiously into the restaurant. She never thought that Bu Fang would really open a restaurant in District A. She was no stranger to the chef. She had taken Nethery away from his restaurant, and now, he had opened his restaurant in Void City. This was interesting.

“I must commend you on your courage. You’ve actually opened a restaurant right under the Queen of Curses’ nose!” she said, looking at Bu Fang.

Of course, what puzzled her even more was that the Queen… did nothing to this restaurant! Was there something weird about this restaurant that she did not know about?

She had brought back many Cursed Goddesses from restaurants, so she was no stranger to chefs. But Bu Fang was the only one who managed to open a restaurant in Void City, and he was also the only one who had the courage to open a restaurant right under the Queen’s nose.

The noblewoman did not stay for too long. Soon, she left, taking Nethery with her. If Nethery wanted to rise to the top in the competition, she needed to get stronger. So the noblewoman brought her back to train her.

As for Xiao Ai, she was left in the restaurant and had the honor of becoming the first waitress. At this point, Bu Fang’s restaurant was officially opened for business in Void City!

Of course, as he had expected, none of the nobles keeping an eye on his restaurant dared to step into it and order a dish to try. No one dared to be the first one who broke this taboo.

Bu Fang needed to find a way to break this taboo in the minds of the people.