Chapter 64: Monarch and War
Blazing Land · East Side, inside a cave.
This cave had been cleaned, the rock walls spotless, even painted a creamy white.
A half-meter-thick ice pillar stood at the center of the cave, lowering the scorching temperature, while around it, all kinds of daily amenities were fully available.
On the sofa inside the cave, Yueshitu, who appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old, had a much smaller frame than her peers. She was barefoot, leaning back on the sofa, with two little elves gently massaging her legs, and another holding a fruit plate filled with plump cherries and strawberries.
"So boring, but what can I do? I'm a summoner, so this kind of comfort is unavoidable."
Yueshitu stretched lazily, while a few little elf familiars fluttered around her.
"This guy is surprisingly hardworking, huh? A six-fold acquisition gap, yet why does he have more battle merits than me? After wiping out the Elf Clan, did he go after Dukain?"
Yueshitu looked at the battle merit rankings and couldn't help but smirk. This time, aside from the top two, everyone else had basically given up halfway, just maintaining their positions without slipping.
Closing the battle merit rankings, Yueshitu opened the world communication platform again and continued acting like a slacker. As long as nothing unexpected happened, she was confident she'd take first place. The reason was that her familiars were killing batches of "Flame Demons." These Flame Demons had no organization or discipline—aside from their sheer numbers and mid-tier individual combat power, they were utterly useless.
In Yueshitu's eyes, these were just walking piles of battle merits. She had already summoned 160,000 familiars, not far from her cap of 200,000.
This was Yueshitu's ability. She had signed a contract with the "Silver Moon Goddess," allowing her to summon any moon-spirit-type familiar.
Yueshitu's summoning followed a tiered model. She first had to construct summoning arrays to summon batches of familiars. These familiars would only follow her for one world progression, and she had to pay them certain benefits, but compared to the gains, the cost was negligible.
When she first entered the mission world, Yueshitu wasn't strong, but as she gradually set up her summoning arrays, her familiars multiplied, eventually forming an army.
This ability shaped Yueshitu's unique behavior. Upon entering a mission world, she would immediately lie low—no fighting back, no talking back, utterly cowardly.
After a few days or weeks, Yueshitu would stand up and confidently say, "So you were the one bullying me earlier? Huh? Why aren't you talking now?"
This wasn't even Yueshitu's strongest point. What made her even more formidable was that she had cultivated over a dozen permanent familiars, all of whom had mastered mining abilities, working 24/7 to mine for her. This little rich girl was so wealthy that it left other Seventh Rank contractors stunned.
Since advancing to Third Rank, Yueshitu had never personally fought an enemy. She was the perfect blend of the strongest and the weakest.
Blazing Land · Central Area, Inferno Well.
The Wolf Cavalry Legion had surrounded this area. It was a vertical shaft about a hundred meters in diameter, bottomless, with the wind from the hot air currents creating a wailing sound like ghosts.
Blinding firelight flickered faintly from below. The Betrayer · Oka Mu stood at the edge of the Inferno Well.
"War Lord, below is the Inferno Depths. Lord Agamemnon has been sealed here for many years."
The Betrayer · Oka Mu's eyes darted nervously. He had concealed many things, such as why the Dark Monarch · Agamemnon was sealed, and why Su Xiao had been sealed inside the Ring Seal Tree in the outskirts of Dukain's royal capital.
Too many things didn't add up. Agamemnon's defeat by the Great Hero back then was the most inexplicable.
At the time, Agamemnon, stationed in Black Melt City, commanded ten million troops, seemingly poised to flatten the Canglong Continent.
Su Xiao's identity as the War Demon had once been the main commander of the Chaos Legion's elite forces, leading millions of Grey Orc soldiers and pushing the Six Clan Alliance into retreat, howling in despair.
Everything collapsed within half a year. With the War Demon and Dark Monarch sealed, the three Great Lords of the Chaos Legion each went their own way, fracturing apart. Aside from the Old Serpentman, the Ancient Tree Lord and the Ghost Princess both declared themselves kings.
This gave the Six Clan Alliance the opportunity to launch a massive counterattack, beating the Chaos Legion back step by step. At that time, the Chaos Legion was nothing but scattered sand.
Just as the Chaos Legion was on the verge of total defeat, about to lose even Chimney Mountain, the young Great Lord · Akadia stepped forward, first killing the Ancient Tree King and then exiling the Ghost Princess.
It was Great Lord · Akadia who helped the Chaos Legion survive its darkest hour. Now, this guy was running around in a daze, overwhelmed. The Chaos Legion's territory had grown too large, and both he and the Old Serpentman were struggling to keep up.
As for Great Lord · Hila, though she called herself Agamemnon's daughter, she still spent her days doing nothing but looking beautiful.
The Betrayer · Oka Mu knew everything about the past. He was a witness to it all, but he dared not say a word. If he so much as mentioned a single detail of those secrets, he would be burned to ashes.
Su Xiao looked down into the Inferno Well, then turned his gaze back to the Betrayer · Oka Mu, who seemed to shake his head almost imperceptibly.
"War Lord, isn't everything fine now? You should leave."
The Betrayer · Oka Mu's eyes avoided Su Xiao's. Don't mistake him for a coward. In the old days, he was known as the Raging · Oka Mu, once charging alone into enemy lines to rescue the besieged Old Serpentman. After the battle, not a single patch of skin on his body remained intact. He had once been fearless.
"..."
Su Xiao leaped into the Inferno Well. The wind howled past his ears. After falling about a hundred meters, he grabbed Baha's talons, slowing his descent.
The Inferno Depths were covered in magma, a lake of molten rock. A cone-shaped stone pillar stood at the center of the lake.
This nearly ten-meter-tall cone-shaped pillar was covered in spell engravings—not just one or two layers, but over a thousand stacked together. Inside, Agamemnon was sealed.
Zzzt～
The Realm Severing Thread shot out, its tip embedding into the left side of the shaft. A U-shaped locking hook dragged the thread across, anchoring it on the right, pulling a section taut.
Su Xiao stood on the thread. A meter below his feet, bubbling magma churned, and ahead of him stood the ten-meter cone-shaped pillar.
On the front of this pillar were several shallow cracks. Judging by the rate of breakthrough, it would take Agamemnon centuries to break free.
From the claw marks around the shaft, it seemed Agamemnon had ordered his current subordinates to try destroying the seal, but to no avail.
"Oka Mu, has the Ice Monarch compromised?"
A voice, as if from deep underground, echoed from within the seal.
"I nearly killed him, but he escaped, leaving only the armor that once held his consciousness."
Su Xiao took out the Ice Monarch Crown. The chilling frost emanating from it dispelled the surrounding heat.
"It's you, War."
The voice from within the seal carried no emotional fluctuation.
"I command you, use every method to break the seal."
"From outside the seal, you'll need to work for at least a few hundred years. Keep at it, Agamemnon."
"War, you haven't changed. It seems I can still trust you."
As Agamemnon's voice faded, a wisp of flame energy drifted out from the cracks in the seal, eventually coalescing into a brand.
"I command you, imprint this on yourself. Let the flames devour Dukain. Bring the Dukain King here, no matter the cost. Bring him."
"..."
Su Xiao took out a Soul Crystal (Complete). Holding it, he infused a trace of his own life force + Blood Qi + Cyan Steel Shadow Energy into it, then tossed the Soul Crystal toward the flame brand in the air.
Sss～
The brand latched onto the Soul Crystal, its energy continuously invading it. This brand was definitely not a good thing, but its power was immense—it could control Agamemnon's army, the Flame Orc forces he had cultivated in the Blazing Land.
How Agamemnon had raised this army was still unclear, but one thing was certain: these Flame Orcs had no physical bodies. Their forms were made of magma + molten stone + flame energy, and their souls were likely those of Grey Orcs who had died in battle over the past decade or so.
If there were powerful enough demonic spirits, they could gather these souls and, through specific methods, send them into the Blazing Land to form Flame Orcs.
If this reasoning held, then Great Lord · Hila's position was very interesting. Claiming to be Agamemnon's daughter, had she really been idle all these years? Obviously not. That woman seemed more like Agamemnon's external overseer.
"It's done."
Su Xiao grabbed the Soul Crystal midair. The seal ahead fell silent, as if sensing something.
"War, you haven't disappointed me. You're still as loyal as ever."
Agamemnon clearly couldn't accurately perceive the outside world.
"I'll free you soon."
Su Xiao pushed off with his feet, leaping upward while pulling his arm to retract the Realm Severing Thread.
Before his next visit, he planned to gather resources and try to create several dozen ordinary Apollos to "welcome" Agamemnon's freedom.
Su Xiao knew one thing clearly: when Agamemnon broke free from the seal, one of them would have to die. This was unavoidable because Agamemnon had once betrayed the War Demon identity.
Grabbing Baha's talons and ascending, all the confusion in Su Xiao's mind cleared.
He now understood why, upon entering this world, he had been sealed inside the Ring Seal Tree. This was likely a joint effort between Agamemnon and the Dukain King.
Yes, Su Xiao felt this was the reason for the Chaos Legion's collapse—outmaneuvered by the Dukain King, and thoroughly so.
Back when the Chaos Legion was at its peak, his War Demon identity handled all frontline warfare, while the other Great Lords managed the rear.
There were four Great Lords in total, all subordinates of Agamemnon, the Dark Monarch of the Chaos Legion. Everything should have basked in his glory.
The problem lay here. The previous War Demon, though lacking the War Lord title, was undoubtedly a top-tier commander, undefeated in battle.
If comparing battlefield command, Su Xiao truly fell short of the "previous" War Demon. He relied on the War Lord title, and he had always been aware of this.
The previous War Demon's achievements had, by the later stages, overshadowed Agamemnon. The soldiers felt they were basking in the War Demon's glory, not Agamemnon's—merits overshadowing the master.
As the Dark Monarch, Agamemnon naturally grew dissatisfied. This wasn't narrow-mindedness; if he didn't act, he would become the first Dark Monarch in history to be exiled.
But at that time, the previous War Demon held military power and had nearly equal prestige within the Chaos Legion. If a conflict erupted, Agamemnon would likely be the one ousted.
Realizing this, Agamemnon was furious, but soon his fury turned to shock. Through his abilities, he personally heard that the War Demon intended to replace him as the new Dark Monarch, and soon.
From then on, Agamemnon began scheming until the Dukain King secretly contacted him, offering to help eliminate the War Demon. However, one-third of the Canglong Continent's territory would belong to Dukain, and the Chaos Legion must not invade, sealed by a blood oath.
Agamemnon hesitated. His original goal was to rule the entire continent, establishing a prosperous, multi-racial kingdom. First, he would develop agriculture to ensure population growth and living conditions, then focus on advancing mysticism.
Agamemnon knew clearly that beyond this world lay a vast expanse filled with countless dangers.
For instance, invading external powerhouses, the influx of dangerous energies. He had once witnessed a power that turned everything into dead silence, a force that haunted him, even chilling him to the bone.
Moreover, Agamemnon planned to guard against evil gods that might reach this world. Those evil gods would suck the world dry, turning his world—his alone—into a gray, decaying ruin, eventually collapsing.
Thus, Agamemnon first needed to conquer, then fully develop mysticism, using a stronger supernatural civilization to resist external threats.
Unfortunately, Agamemnon angrily discovered that other rulers ignored his overtures, ignoring the King of Kings' call. So he ordered his army to flatten everything and rebuild civilization from the ashes.
To claim everything in this world for himself and ensure his own survival, Agamemnon agreed to the Dukain King's secret alliance.
What followed was simple: Agamemnon + War Demon, a double package, both sealed by the Dukain King. Without these two pillars, the Chaos Legion's power structure collapsed entirely.
Above the Inferno Well, Su Xiao stepped onto the scorching ground. He could feel that within the Soul Crystal in his hand was a trace of Agamemnon's primal power, the key to controlling the Flame Orc army.
The exact number of Flame Orcs was unknown, but Su Xiao had one thing to do first: gather all the Flame Orcs, enhance their combat power through the War Lord title, then add 100,000 Wolf Cavalry to deal with Yueshitu.
Meanwhile, in the cave on the east side of the Blazing Land.
Yueshitu, sitting on the sofa, suddenly sneezed. She rubbed her nose with a finger.
"Soon, I won't be the eternal second place anymore. Just wait, Bai Ye of Reincarnation Paradise."
Yueshitu yawned and prepared to take a short nap. Clearly, she had no idea what was coming.