# Chapter 32: Gods at War
Inside the Old God Church on the 30th floor of the Wizard Council.
"So, you killed all the Ancient Gods in Herlu City?"
Gus had resumed his upside-down hanging position, while not far away, Su Xiao sat on the stone chair that belonged to Gus.
"You could put it that way. The current problem is that the White Goat, who was rushing here to kill me, has most likely fled. A pity."
Su Xiao was currently bare-chested, with several coils of bloodstained bandages wrapped around his chest. The assassination he had just endured was the most vicious he had ever encountered—completely without warning, fully locked onto him, and so fast that even using Dragon Shadow Flash to dodge was impossible.
Thus far, Su Xiao had no grudges with the contractors in this world. Combat required cost, and without conflict, those contractors wouldn't come looking for trouble.
This assassination was most likely the work of Violators. Su Xiao had just killed Dominator·Sotos and Eyeless·Azathoth, and before the White Goat even arrived, the assassination came. This was no coincidence.
For an evil god like the White Goat, aside from the madmen of Reincarnation Paradise, contractors from other paradises would be unlikely to cooperate with it. But Violators wouldn't care whether the White Goat was an evil god or not.
Or rather, this open Primordial World was a stronghold for Violators. If Su Xiao guessed they had no connection with the Ancient Gods, he absolutely wouldn't believe it.
If Su Xiao wasn't mistaken, his killing of Eyeless·Azathoth had likely startled the White Goat. After all, Eyeless·Azathoth died too suddenly—without even a battle breaking out. This made the approaching White Goat lose its nerve.
In truth, this was very much in line with the White Goat's modus operandi. The White Goat always played the role of observer; it was the smartest one, pushing Dominator·Sotos to the forefront. Even if something went wrong, Sotos would die first.
After the aggressive White Goat lost its nerve, what would it do? The answer was to find allies and let them step on the landmines first.
Or rather, the White Goat and the Violators shared the same interests. The Violators in this world were also involved in that transaction, profiting by sabotaging the deal between Reincarnation Paradise and Holy Light Paradise.
This kind of thing was perfectly normal for Violators. Of course, Violators belonging to Reincarnation Paradise and Holy Light Paradise wouldn't do this—that would be suicide. But Violators from other paradises would be more than happy to.
Despite being assassinated, Su Xiao's thoughts were completely clear. The White Goat would be hard to find, but Violators were easy to track. Following the clues provided by the Violators, Su Xiao was confident he could smoke out the White Goat.
Su Xiao tossed the dagger in his hand, pinched the blade between two fingers, and extended the handle to Bubu Wang's nose.
"Woof."
Bubu Wang barked, indicating the scent on the dagger's handle was very faint, most likely left by a woman.
"A female Violator..."
Just as Su Xiao finished speaking, the communicator inside his clothes vibrated.
"Speak."
"A contractor has entered the Wizard Council headquarters."
"Which faction?"
"Holy Light Paradise."
Hearing Kaiser's words, Su Xiao grabbed his clothes from the stone chair's armrest, brought Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha, and headed down to the lower levels of the Wizard Council.
When Su Xiao reached the first floor of the Wizard Council, he saw a short-haired girl standing before the reception desk, speaking helplessly with Kaiser. Her small face showed some anger, but she couldn't vent it.
"My dear friend, I've stalled her."
Kaiser, standing behind the wooden counter, waved at Su Xiao. The fresh-faced short-haired girl turned to look, and the next moment, she turned to flee.
"If you can escape from here, I'll walk on my head from now on."
Baha crouched on the short-haired girl's shoulder, looking at her 'kindly.' If not for its sharp claws gripping her throat, it would indeed seem very kind.
"Wh-why is this your territory! Beheader Bai Ye!"
The short-haired girl shouted with some indignation. Hearing this, Su Xiao was taken aback.
"My territory?"
Su Xiao couldn't quite understand what she was saying.
"You... you're too domineering! Herlu City is such a big place, what right do you have to occupy it? Those Violators bully the weak and fear the strong, acknowledging this as your territory, but I'm not afraid! I'm not afraid of you!"
The short-haired girl grew even more indignant. She was clearly a healer, about to be penalized for failing to complete her main mission.
"Girl, what are you babbling about? I can't understand a word."
Baha was also full of confusion.
"Who told you this was my territory?"
Su Xiao had been wondering why there were so few contractors in Herlu City. Now he seemed to know.
"Didn't you say it yourself before? Anyone who dares to set foot in Herlu City, you'll kill them! You're the first place in the Fifth Rank, my sisters are all afraid of you, but I'm not!"
The short-haired girl was breathing heavily. If her hands weren't trembling, her words would be more convincing.
"..."
Su Xiao gestured for Amu to block the door, forbidding wizards from entering. If he couldn't do this before, he absolutely could now. The three Immortal-rank wizards wouldn't obey him unconditionally, but his words carried considerable weight within the Wizard Council.
Seeing this, the short-haired girl began to despair. But compared to failing the mission and losing 50% of her attributes, leading to a slow death, she chose to face Beheader Bai Ye, the rumored humanoid boss.
"Come inside and talk."
Su Xiao walked toward the small door of the reception room. Baha landed on his shoulder.
"Huh?"
The short-haired girl was clearly a bit dazed. According to the rumors, shouldn't Beheader Bai Ye first beat her half to death, torment her, and then kill her?
Two minutes later, still looking somewhat dazed, the short-haired girl sat in the reception room holding a cup of hot tea.
"Where did you get the information that Herlu City is my territory?"
"From the public communication platform, of course. It was spontaneously established by contractors from multiple paradises. You wouldn't be..."
The short-haired girl seemed to think of something, took a transparent crystal from her storage space, and handed it to Su Xiao.
Su Xiao took the crystal, and an electronic voice came through.
"Contractor ID not detected as registered. Yes/No to register?"
"This public communication platform was built by the Phantom Troupe. If you have any doubts, resolve them yourself."
"This public communication platform prohibits Violators from logging in. Violators will bear the consequences."
Hearing this prompt, Su Xiao raised an eyebrow. This thing was actually made by the Troupe. For someone with this kind of ability, Su Xiao could only think of the Troupe Leader.
After thinking for a moment, Su Xiao entered his fake ID, 'Contractor 13013.'
"Registration successful. Each post costs 50 Paradise Coins/67 Paradise Points/72 Death Gold Coins/64 Watchful Paradise Source..."
This public communication platform accepted currencies from all paradises, truly a violent monopoly.
Just as he logged into the public communication platform, a blue screen appeared before Su Xiao.
Golden Sea Anemone (**Paradise): "Has that plague god in Herlu City left yet?"
War Hammer (**Paradise): "Buying Soul Stones."
Dream Eater (**Paradise): "Not yet. Who dares to go to Herlu City now? Word is that Reincarnation Paradise lost a huge amount of Space-Time Power, and that madman turned Herlu City upside down. Even Dominator·Sotos kicked the bucket. You want to try?"
Golden Sea Anemone (**Paradise): "Not at all. Keep waiting. This is literally gods at war, dammit!"
...
Su Xiao closed the public communication platform. Clearly, someone was pinning the blame on him.
The short-haired girl, holding her teacup with both hands, stole a glance at Su Xiao, thinking to herself that rumors really couldn't be trusted.