Chapter 18: A Meeting Gift
Outside the Black Abyss, within Fallen City, inside a certain miscellaneous goods shop.
“This is what you call foolproof?”
Old Demon Walpole’s eyelids drooped low as he toyed with a translucent, crystalline vine in his hands.
“My lord, the situation at the time…”
A demonic clan member clad in black armor, with wisps of black smoke rising from his body, knelt on one knee, his head bowed low.
“I know the Feather Race was present at the scene.”
Walpole waved his hand dismissively.
“Thank you for your understanding, Lord Walpole.”
The black-smoke demon breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
“Who said I understand you?” Walpole tossed aside the vine in his hand, glanced at the black-smoke demon, and continued, “I entrusted this task to you, hoping to gild you with glory. Who knew you’d plate yourself in copper instead. Get out. You’ve disappointed me greatly.”
“My lord…”
The black-smoke demon’s eyes reddened. The feeling of failing such high expectations was utterly wretched.
“Get out.”
Walpole stood up. His pinky finger detached, dissolving into a plume of black smoke. This matter required his personal attention.
…
Void, Lanling Saint.
“Hahaha, you catalyzed the Soul Vine?”
A man wearing a crown, with an extraordinarily handsome face, was laughing heartily.
“Yes, my lord.”
Before the handsome man knelt a woman with a cold expression, stern and unsmiling.
“I’d truly love to see the look on that old goat Walpole’s face right now. What a delight that would be.”
The handsome man seemed regretful, but in truth, he cared more about another matter.
…
Black Abyss, Shallow Layer, Penitent’s Heights, Central Area.
On a cold, hard stone altar sat a burly man, bare-chested and draped in animal hide. His muscles were like cast iron, and his veins seemed to have a will of their own, twitching and spasming randomly.
“Hoo~”
The burly man let out a long breath. His hand clenched slightly, and immediately, a Soul Vine emerged from a crack in the altar, winding around his hand.
“This is the power left by our ancestors. No outsider can take it away.”
With a crack, the burly man snapped the Soul Vine. The severed vine writhed in his hand like an octopus tentacle. After a moment’s hesitation, he stuffed the living vine into his mouth.
Minutes later.
“Ugh!!”
A silent, agonized roar. When the blood was burned away, something new would take its place.
…
Rustle, rustle.
The grass trembled. A dog’s head suddenly popped out of the thicket. Moments later, Lilith darted out like a wildcat, leaping into a forest in a few bounds.
“You two… what are you doing?”
Su Xiao, holding a large crossbow, had a face full of dark clouds. He was walking openly on the path, and before they’d even reached the central area, Bubu Wang and Lilith had started acting sneaky.
“Aren’t we infiltrating?”
Lilith, with two leaves stuck to her head, looked at Su Xiao in confusion.
“This isn’t the central area yet. Who are you infiltrating for?”
“Then what about it…”
“Woof.”
Bubu Wang also looked at Lilith in confusion. It had just been running through the grass for fun; it hadn’t expected this demon girl to join in.
“…“
Lilith’s brain short-circuited for a moment. She suddenly wanted to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
“This spot is about right.”
Su Xiao began setting up the crossbow platform. Though bulky, it had a decent range.
Click-clack…
The crossbow was drawn. Su Xiao adjusted the angle, then opened the travel pack on Bubu Wang’s back and pulled out a test tube.
The test tube was encased in a metal frame, with one end tapered like a cone, resembling a thick arrow. Inside the tube’s solution was an Apollo.
Bubu Wang had previously infiltrated the central area, so it had some knowledge of the terrain. Su Xiao’s plan was to use the Apollo to bomb the central area from a distance.
After adjusting the crossbow’s angle, Su Xiao activated the Apollo. Twenty-five seconds was enough time for the flight.
*Twang!*
The alloy bowstring snapped taut. A bolt-shaped test tube shot out with a *whoosh*, disappearing from sight in an instant.
Su Xiao wasn’t using the Apollo to kill enemies or create chaos for Bubu Wang to steal the Ash Sprout. He wanted to see how the Ancestral Faction would react to an attack and, incidentally, pin the blame on Black Marsh.
Su Xiao knew nothing about the Ancestral Faction. Bubu Wang had tried before; it couldn’t even get close to that altar without facing certain death.
A sharp whistle tore across the sky. Near the altar in the central area, a burly man was crawling on the ground. His name was Zechariah.
Zechariah was the leader of the Ancestral Faction, but the title was somewhat nominal. His family, by his generation, had only one direct descendant left: himself. As for subordinates, his family’s retainers had never been living beings. In other words, the entire Ancestral Faction now consisted of just Zechariah, a single living person.
Zechariah rose from the ground. His body felt strange, as if his various organs had gained independent wills.
Though he had violated his ancestors’ taboos, it couldn’t be helped. He could no longer tolerate having what was rightfully his taken away. So, he had to fight to the death.
“This feeling…”
Zechariah extended his arms. The sensation inside his body was odd, but the accompanying feeling of power was gratifying.
As Zechariah reveled in his newfound strength, his ears twitched. A signal reached his brain: something was flying in from afar, and it was too late to stop it.
Zechariah’s pupils twisted, magnifying distant objects like a telescope. He saw a bolt-shaped test tube land inside a nearby mountain.
“Black Marsh’s filthy rats?”
Zechariah frowned. He couldn’t understand why Black Marsh would strike now.
*Boom!*
A thunderous roar echoed across Penitent’s Heights. A fireball nearly two kilometers in diameter erupted, like a sun falling upon the world.
Over sixty percent of Penitent’s Heights’ residents witnessed this. They just stared blankly at the slowly dissipating fireball.
On the central altar, Zechariah’s lips trembled slightly. He seemed struck by a blow, staggering back two steps. This nearly two-and-a-half-meter-tall man fell to his knees with a *thud*, his expression dazed.
“Who did this!!”
A roar of fury spread out. Zechariah’s shout was hoarse and desperate. Understandably so—if the ancestral graves of Zechariah’s family for over a dozen generations suddenly exploded, how could he not be enraged?
At the edge of the central area.
“Seems a bit off-target. Black Marsh’s weapons really are unreliable.”
Su Xiao had no idea he’d just blown up the Ancestral Faction’s ancestral graves. For now, his goal was achieved.
“What now? Fight our way in?”
Lilith unslung her war scythe, brimming with battle lust.
“Go back to sleep.”
Su Xiao had no intention of entering the central area now. He had a full ten Apollos. This was just a test shot to gauge the situation. At the very least, he needed to figure out how many strong fighters the Ancestral Faction had.