Chapter 65: Old Immortal and Revenge
Debris fell from above. After the previous battle, the pale palace was riddled with holes and scars.
Su Xiao picked up the container visor in front of the throne. He didn't plan to hand the visor directly to the Ouroboros Stone Tablet. Even if he did, it would be in multiple installments, to prevent the Ouroboros Stone Tablet from transforming to an uncontrollable degree in a short time.
He drank a bottle of [Vitality Essence]. The slightly bitter medicinal liquid filled his mouth. A faint coolness spread from the wound on his back, giving a feeling of healing. He checked the kill notification from earlier.
[Notification: You have killed the Container.]
[You have obtained 20.57% World Source.]
[You have obtained 2940 Soul Coins.]
[You have obtained Immortal Chest (60%).]
[You have obtained Container Core (Special Item).]
[Container Core]
Origin: Dark Star World
Category: Special Item
Durability: 129/530 (Repairable)
Item Effect: Can absorb special supernatural energy contained within equipment/items/materials and convert it into non-characteristic supernatural energy.
Current Stored Non-Characteristic Supernatural Energy: 0/50000 points (This limit has been greatly increased due to the long-term sealing of the Ancient God).
Description: This is the core within the Container's body, possessing extremely strong adaptability. On this pale core, a deep slash mark can be seen.
……
Su Xiao put away the [Container Core]. It wasn't something he used regularly, but it might be very useful in certain situations. However, the cost of using it was high, requiring the consumption of equipment or high-quality items.
The penetrating wound through his chest had healed considerably. Su Xiao stood up from the ground. The Feather God, Hegra, had retreated. He had to find the other party as soon as possible, not giving them a chance to recover.
The current problem was, where exactly had the Feather God gone? The other party could fly at super-high speeds. If they used that to hide everywhere, Su Xiao really had no good solution.
Su Xiao felt this possibility was very low. Although Ancient Gods were all representatives of extreme evil, as long as the enemy wasn't completely undefeatable, Ancient Gods wouldn't avoid battle. Every Ancient God Su Xiao had seen possessed terrifying combat experience, unless they were half-bloods or had been transformed into Ancient Gods later.
Regarding the whereabouts of the Feather God, Su Xiao wasn't too worried. The current issue was that the Feather God had broken the seal, and the factions that had pledged allegiance to it would now step forward, such as the Soul Clock Tower and the Great Sage's forces.
While thinking, Su Xiao walked into the residence. As soon as he entered, he saw Snake Lady lying on the small bed against the wall, her chest wound bandaged. Although her face was pale, she had woken up from her coma.
"Before I came back, I performed a divination. The result was that the journey would be safe and uneventful."
Snake Lady smiled weakly and bitterly. The divination was accurate; the journey was indeed safe. It was only after returning that she nearly died.
"Can you divine the whereabouts of the Feather God, Hegra?"
"Of course… not."
Although Snake Lady said this, the look in her eyes indicated she had a way to learn the Ancient God's whereabouts.
"I cooperated with the Great Sage for a long time. Both the Soul Clock Tower and the Great Sage have defected to the Ancient God. I indeed dare not divine the Ancient God, but divining the Beast Clan under the Great Sage is no problem."
Snake Lady's suggestion was very valuable. Both the Great Sage and the Soul Clock Tower had defected to the Feather God. Now that the Feather God was severely wounded, it would inevitably gather these forces willing to follow it.
By divining a member of the Beast Clan under the Great Sage, based on their location, he could learn the whereabouts of the Feather God, Hegra.
Su Xiao sorted through the intelligence he had. If the Soul Clock Tower and the Great Sage's side had already gathered, becoming subsidiary forces of the Ancient God faction, charging in now would likely result in being surrounded.
Thinking of this, Su Xiao decided not to pursue recklessly, but he couldn't delay too long either. Relying solely on his own combat strength wasn't enough to deal with the entire Ancient God faction. The good news was that they had a powerful reinforcement.
As Su Xiao was thinking, Amu, Baha, and Moon Spirit all returned. The twelve members of the Heresy Execution Squad also came back. Although no one had died, it was still quite tragic.
Moon Spirit was almost nailed into a hedgehog by black feathers, already semi-conscious. Baha wasn't much better.
Of the twelve Heresy Execution Squad members, nine were missing parts. Missing an arm or leg was a minor injury. One Execution Squad member's head was deformed, crushed together with his metal helmet, white brain matter mixed with red blood. He hadn't died because of some power within his body.
Compared to the above injured, Amu was the most severely hurt. When the Heresy Execution Squad's power hadn't yet converged and their combat strength wasn't sufficient to hold the line, Amu stepped up to cover the others' retreat.
At this moment, Amu's left arm and part of his torso were missing, looking as if they had been torn off. All his wounds emitted a black, dark light, eroded by Ancient God energy.
"Boss, that Ancient God has some kind of domain ability that can imprison all matter and living things within a few hundred meters…"
Baha began to recount the previous battle. The Feather God's domain ability was incredibly troublesome. Once trapped by that ability, there was no possibility of escape. They would be imprisoned for 3 to 10 seconds each time, completely unable to move. Even Baha, who was in an alternate space, would also be imprisoned and forcibly dragged out of the alternate space.
The reason they survived was that the Feather God had been severely wounded earlier, causing a flaw in that terrifying domain ability. Every time it performed a large-scale confinement, there would be someone who slipped through. Sometimes it was a member of the Heresy Execution Squad who wasn't imprisoned, sometimes it was Amu.
Even so, they had been thoroughly taught a lesson by the Feather God. That domain ability was too overpowering.
Su Xiao pondered for a moment, then contacted Beini to ask about the situation in Dunk City. He didn't have to wait long before Beini replied.
Compared to White Town, Dunk City was very stable. However, the Kodo School and the Soul Clock Tower had completely broken ties. All the combat power of the Kodo School had gathered and was lying in ambush near the Old Royal Capital.
While the battle was raging in White Town, the Kodo School launched a major attack on the Old Royal Capital, targeting the Soul Clock Tower's lair.
The melee between the two sides was brutal. It didn't take long before the Soul Clock Tower abandoned the Old Royal Capital. Some members left through the Insect Tower, but more retreated outside the Old Royal Capital.
Forcing a retreat during a melee, the price the Soul Clock Tower paid was imaginable. They retreated to go and welcome the Ancient God they had pledged allegiance to, the Feather God, Hegra.
This was something Su Xiao and Archbishop Noah had planned long ago. The members of the Kodo School couldn't face the Ancient God directly; no matter how many came, they would just be cannon fodder. But they could clean up the Ancient God's lackeys.
In reality, whether it was the Kodo School, the Soul Clock Tower, or the Great Sage's faction, at this stage, all three were gambling.
The Kodo School gambled that Su Xiao was stronger and could hunt and kill the Ancient God. The Soul Clock Tower and the Great Sage gambled that the Ancient God was stronger and could kill Su Xiao.
Through Beini as an intermediary, Su Xiao established contact with Archbishop Noah. Archbishop Noah's attitude was very clear: the Kodo School was going to fight the Ancient God faction to the death. They were already on their way to White Town. Within five hours, the combat power they had gathered would arrive.
Including Archbishop Noah, the Kodo School had a total of five archbishops. Three had already died, officially claimed to have been assassinated by the Soul Clock Tower, but in reality, they were all indirectly killed by Archbishop Noah. This old fox usually didn't seem aggressive, but at a critical moment, he showed exceptional ruthlessness.
Archbishop Noah was willing to deal with the Ancient God, both to go along with the development of the situation and because this old fellow wanted to regain power. If the White Town faction became the ultimate victor in this war, the rise of the Kodo School would be unstoppable.
……
Ruined City: Signal Light.
Inside the Insect Tower, the chirping of Hollow Insects could be heard constantly. Men and women were being teleported here, all wearing the same dark white robes. These were members of the Kodo School.
One by one, the Kodo School members hurried towards the east side of Signal Light. Inside the heavily guarded Insect Tower, after one teleportation ended, an exceptionally strong fluctuation appeared. Several men wearing wild dog hoods and carrying a human-shaped metal mold walked out.
The thing they were carrying was somewhat like a coffin, cast from iron-black metal. It was called an "Iron Maiden." The round holes on it were filled with iron spikes. The despair of the person trapped inside was imaginable. The Kodo School didn't use this on captured enemies; it was only used on traitors from their own side. Traitors were more hateful than enemies.
"Noah, you… will die a miserable death."
A weak voice came from inside the "Iron Maiden," sounding somewhat old. The person trapped inside was named Dulu Gefe, more commonly known as Archbishop Dulu.
"Dulu Gefe, you're still as easy to read as when you were young."
Archbishop Noah, walking beside, had a calm expression. He looked even older now, his face covered in deep wrinkles, his skin showing age spots. He wore a gold-red robe, signifying that he was now the highest authority of the Kodo School.
"Noah, you won't have a good ending either. Don't forget, the God-Summoning Ritual was arranged by you. If the God Hunter, Bai Ye, finds out about this, you'll die too."
Archbishop Dulu inside the "Iron Maiden" was extremely furious, but he had lost, completely and utterly.
Archbishop Dulu felt great unwillingness in his heart. He had been planning for years, placing his trusted confidants in important departments of the Kodo School. It could be said that from a few years ago, even if his identity was exposed, the other archbishops wouldn't dare to act rashly.
After the Feather God broke the seal, Archbishop Dulu sensed it immediately and began to close the net. Everything went smoothly. He logically completed the purge, eliminating three archbishops at once. Just as he approached Archbishop Noah, telling his old rival about the hardships of these years and enjoying the other's anger and unwillingness, the situation took a drastic turn.
Archbishop Dulu was "pleasantly surprised" to find that all his trusted confidants had actually rebelled, captured him, and brought him before Archbishop Noah.
Archbishop Dulu wanted to know how the other party had done it, what was going on. Archbishop Noah's answer was simple. His original words were: "Dulu, you're still the same as when you were young. You haven't improved at all."
One of the old immortals of this world, Archbishop Noah. His original name was Kodo Fegamandi, one of the original founders of the Kodo School. He was an old monster who had lived for several hundred years using "molting" and "transferred regeneration" techniques. Due to his talent, his strength never reached the top tier, but he had survived until now.
Kodo Fegamandi, also known as Archbishop Noah, was actually a person from the era of the Light King. Back then, he wasn't a major figure. He had some status but no strength. He became one of the original founders of the Kodo School because his biological brother was named Kodo Di.
Archbishop Noah chose to hide himself. The strong from his era either died of old age or were like the Light King. Only Archbishop Noah, using different identities, hid within the Kodo School, witnessing the changes of the times.
Enduring until now, he had finally waited for an opportunity to rise. In this era, he finally had a place. His talent was mediocre; he had reached this point through endurance and wisdom.
"Those who hide in the dark are ultimately just bugs. I'll bet these old bones."
Archbishop Noah looked at White Town ahead. He pulled out an old diary from his bosom, recording several hundred years of his life. Suddenly, flames ignited on the diary.
Northern part of the continent, Beast Clan territory, beside Lake Po.
Drip, drip～
Blood dripped into the shallow water by the lake. A slender figure knelt on the lake shore. Her long hair hung down, covering her face. Near her was a corpse over four meters tall, wearing full-body armor. It was the Old Knight. He was dead, his entire chest shattered, broken ribs protruding.
The one kneeling beside the Old Knight's corpse was none other than the Divine Maiden, Shataye.
"Why did you come… to take our world."
The Divine Maiden, Shataye, slowly stood up. Her hand raised, and the Penitence Scythe, which had fallen into the lake water during the previous battle, flew up, dragging a trail of water droplets, and was grasped in her hand. The scythe blade hummed softly. She truly had nothing left now.
Barefoot, Shataye walked through the mud. The depths of her eyes gradually turned black, her pupils becoming pale. The black flames on her body showed a bloody hue. She was very calm now. She wouldn't charge into the enemy camp alone. She would go to White Town first. After that, she would make the Ancient God and the Great Sage know just how terrifying a person with nothing left to lose could be.
PS: (My cervical spine has recovered a lot, and my condition is basically back to normal, but I'm still writing slowly. I can't sit for long. The next two chapters will come soon.)