Chapter 20: Grul's Demand
After successfully returning to the two-story building in Ango City, Su Xiao felt a sense of relief. Not carrying the Light and Dark Talisman into Doom Town would subject him to the erosion of ancient god power, causing stinging pain throughout his body, taking true damage, and suppressing his recovery ability.
Entering Doom Town by burning Soul Ashes to open a gap was not a viable method. It was acceptable for observing the situation, but exploring Doom Town was completely impossible.
[Tip: The Hunter has successfully escaped Doom Town. Checking...]
[The Hunter has not been severely eroded by ancient god power, and no permanent attribute reduction has been caused.]
[Because the Hunter has preliminarily explored Doom Town, you have obtained the following information.]
[1. There are multiple Lord-level enemies within Doom Town.]
[2. After the Hunter reaches the central area of Doom Town, the 'Ash Furnace' can be activated in the forge. The 'Ash Furnace' can be used for equipment reforging and is unique (an item appearing due to multiple coincidences, cannot be replicated or manifested).]
[3. The Ash Furnace requires Starlight Iron to activate, estimated at over 260 grams. This furnace can be used once more.]
[4. The rear area of Doom Town is extremely dangerous; the Hunter must explore cautiously.]
[5. If the Hunter carries the 'Ash Furnace' out of this world, failing the 150-point attribute barrier assessment will have no penalty, and normal world settlement rewards will be obtained.]
[6. If the Hunter uses the Ash Furnace to reforge equipment, a large amount of equipment must be prepared for supernatural 'combustion assistance.' The reforged equipment will gain a unique trait.]
...
Seeing these prompts, Su Xiao confirmed his suspicions. The ancient god within Doom Town was very abnormal. Secondly, the contractors who entered this world were likely all after the 'Ash Furnace.' Some were already dead, and the rest had not yet found a way to enter Doom Town.
The Ash Furnace was a unique item in this world, located in the central area of Doom Town. Its function was to reforge equipment. Using it for reforging would come at a great cost, using other equipment as fuel for the process.
Even if Su Xiao did not want to use the Ash Furnace, after obtaining it, he could use it to avoid the penalty for failing the 150-point attribute barrier breakthrough and try again in the next world.
Given the current situation, Su Xiao could not enter Doom Town again for the time being. He needed to focus his energy on the fourth ring of the main quest. By completing the fourth ring quest, he could safely open the gap and obtain the Light and Dark Talisman, thus qualifying to explore Doom Town.
The fourth ring quest was to ensure that Ango City was not destroyed within ten days. This meant that for the next period, he would begin to clash with Grul.
Su Xiao pushed open the bedroom door and walked downstairs, with Puri quickly following.
As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, Su Xiao saw two groups confronting each other. Bubu Wang, Amu, Baha, and Asaz stood in front of the stairs, blocking the way, while another group was preparing to force their way up to the second floor.
This group was led by Councilor Rose. Apart from Councilor Rose, the others were all wearing scale armor. Each person's aura was not weak, totaling three men and two women.
"Councilor Rose, are you looking for me?"
Su Xiao slowly walked down the stairs, wisps of black mist rising from his body. This was surging darkness dispersing, a kind of 'filler' that separated Doom Town from other places. Otherwise, the Four Kingdoms and the Council Hall would have long been destroyed, and even Emperor Okaz might not have been able to establish the Light and Dark Empire.
The Light and Dark Empire—what a meaningful name. The minimum condition for opening the gap was a collision of light and dark. It could be confirmed that before establishing the Light and Dark Empire, Emperor Okaz had already entered Doom Town.
"It's nothing too important. A madman named Elvis Grul is looking for you. And... that eye in the sky, it wasn't caused by you, was it, Kukulin Bai Ye?"
Councilor Rose smiled like a blooming flower, but the words she spoke were dangerous.
"Eye? Is tonight's night scene any different?"
Su Xiao naturally would not admit it. That eye was related to the Resentful Orphan.
"Not seen it yet? What a pity."
Councilor Rose did not press the issue. The giant eye in the sky had already disappeared and had not caused any destructive results.
According to one of Councilor Rose's trusted aides, Elvis Grul had come looking for them half an hour ago. A person like Grul would not come in person. He sent a strangely shaped withered monster, using it to communicate with the people of the Council Hall.
This monster had been subdued. If there were a secret mage, tracking might be considered, but now all secret mages were imprisoned. Without their secret patterns, they were only more dangerous. The collapse of what they believed in was not something many could endure.
The place where the special monster was held was not far from the two-story building, in a high-end restaurant three blocks away.
This restaurant was now closed. Many commoners could not even guarantee three meals a day. If such a high-end restaurant continued to operate, it would soon be attacked.
Leaving the building, Su Xiao noticed that many tents on the street had disappeared. This indicated that the entrance to the underground city had been opened. The commoners were not being rushed in all at once but were gradually evacuated, sent in batches to the underground city, which had many dwellings.
Arriving at the high-end restaurant, several soldiers were guarding the entrance. Seeing Councilor Rose, these soldiers immediately let them pass.
The tables and chairs inside the restaurant had been removed. Several hundred soldiers were stationed in the entire building to prevent any accidents.
The special monster was held in the basement. Entering the somewhat damp basement, Su Xiao saw an iron cage two meters in both length and width. A completely withered monster with an oversized head sat inside the cage. Several pieces of black, shiny rock were embedded in its head. Seeing this rock, Su Xiao immediately thought of the high walls of Doom Town. This black stone was likely from Doom Town.
Su Xiao sat on a wooden chair opposite the iron cage. King Rayman and a young girl were nearby. Councilor Frost Snake was not present; a slightly stout man replaced him. This was the controller of the Chidorman Company, named Hefis, one of the wealthiest people on the continent.
As soon as Su Xiao sat down, the withered monster in the cage slowly opened its eyes. Its gray eyes stared at Su Xiao.
"What a pity, meeting like this."
A somewhat hoarse voice came. Clearly, Grul was now controlling this withered monster.
"Did you bury Bone Spider Carol? She was my most trusted subordinate."
Grul chuckled, neither caring about Bone Spider Carol's death nor regretting it.
"Fed her to Asaz's dogs."
"Terrible. What kind of people are you? Carol was a beauty in her youth, serving the Holy Realm Councilor for over a decade. She at least deserved a dignified funeral."
"Elvis Grul, stop saying such nauseating things."
Councilor Rose spoke, anger appearing on her face for the first time.
"The people you've killed outnumber the stars in the sky."
"Councilor, there are hundreds of billions of stars in the sky. Forget it. Having never seen a deity, you can't understand what I'm saying. The world is bigger than you think, and more dangerous than you imagine."
Grul shook his head, unwilling to argue with Councilor Rose about divine matters.
"Bai Ye, my goal is actually very simple: to reclaim the secret patterns. Over the many years past, I've tried various methods. In the end, I found that people's greed has no end. Even gods fear human greed."
Saying this, Grul paused for a moment, then continued:
"My demand is simple. I've almost reclaimed all the secret patterns, but a little thief managed to evade the secret pattern stripping. Hand him over to me, and I won't attack Ango City."
Grul stared at Su Xiao, waiting for his response.
Pfft.
Blood splattered. Banishment pierced the withered monster's head.
"So, this is your answer? Understood."
With a thud, the withered monster fell inside the cage, losing all signs of life.
"What have you done, Kukulin!"
King Rayman gritted his teeth, looking as if he was about to step forward and 'amicably' negotiate with Su Xiao.