Chapter 100: Who Can Withstand This
VI Sanctuary City, Inner City.
Only nobles had the right to reside in the central area of the inner city, while commoners could only purchase properties on the outer ring of the inner city. But even so, it was far better than the outer city, with a huge disparity in infrastructure.
It was said that within the World of Paintings, aside from the paradise of the Ancient City, the Undersea Kingdom was the most stable. The situation here resembled the twilight of a dynasty—there was a certain degree of law and order, and inflation wasn't too severe yet.
Though a dynasty was cruel in its later stages, its systems during its peak were far better than those of the Undersea Kingdom. The Undersea Kingdom had reached its current state largely due to the 51% mortality rate among commoners who lost their sanity, rather than a 100% beast transformation rate.
Besides this, the Undersea World had a unique geographical environment. There were only a few communication channels between the seven Sanctuary Cities and the Main City, all controlled by nobles and Divine Envoys.
In other words, the Divine Envoys and nobles could describe the other Sanctuary Cities however they wanted—they had an absolute monopoly on information.
What the outside world was like was entirely dictated by the Divine Envoys and nobles. Given the distance between two Sanctuary Cities, even with the Sea God Statues, commoners lacked the resources to trade for time, so they couldn't reach other Sanctuary Cities.
In the past, the Sea God would conduct an annual inspection tour, checking the work of the eight Divine Envoys across the eight Sanctuary Cities. But one year, the Sea God was ambushed. No one knew exactly what happened, and one of the original eight Sanctuary Cities vanished forever.
After that, the Sea God stopped the inspection tours and remained stationed year-round in the Main City, Divine Grace City. As for how the Sea God was ambushed at VIII Sanctuary City, did that even need thinking? In this incident, at least five of the eight Divine Envoys responsible for governing the Sanctuary Cities were involved, along with numerous noble families.
The Sea God inspected their work once a year, and the eight Divine Envoys naturally resented it. If the Sea God didn't come, they would be the local emperors of their respective Sanctuary Cities, free to do whatever they wanted—even imposing the right of the first night on the cities wouldn't be a problem.
So that time, the Divine Envoys united and arranged assassins to kill the Sea God. Did the Sea God know nothing? Did he charge in like an idiot? Of course not—the Sea God did it deliberately.
Among the eight Divine Envoys, the one from VIII Sanctuary City was the most reckless. So the Sea God spread rumors that he would inspect VIII Sanctuary City first that day. When the other Divine Envoys learned this, they set up an ambush there.
The Divine Envoy of VIII Sanctuary City was an idiot. He didn't just want to seize more power from the Sea God—he wanted to kill the Sea God and take his place. The other Divine Envoys knew he was an idiot too.
The result was that the Sea God was injured—the severity unknown—and VIII Sanctuary City vanished forever, reduced to seawater-soaked ruins. Not a single person escaped alive: paupers, citizens, nobles, and that idiot Divine Envoy all died.
After this event, it was a win-win situation. The remaining seven Divine Envoys gained the exclusive authority they had dreamed of, and the Sea God no longer conducted annual inspections.
The Sea God, on the other hand, no longer had to worry about all the troublesome affairs of the Sanctuary Cities. The inspections were indeed canceled, but now the seven Divine Envoys had to go to the Main City, Divine Grace City, once a year—both to pay tribute and to acknowledge that the Sea God was their ruler. They were willing to do this because the Sea God's leveling of VIII Sanctuary City had terrified them.
Now, the Sea God and the seven Divine Envoys were like a kingdom and its vassal duchies. The Sea God was the kingdom, he was the king, the seven Sanctuary Cities were the vassal duchies, and the seven Divine Envoys were the grand dukes of those duchies.
The seven Divine Envoys each harbored their own schemes, but the Sea God was more cunning. He established an iron law: no one could privately expand the area of a Sanctuary City to increase arable land. Any grain shortages in each Sanctuary City could only be purchased from Divine Grace City.
Inside the reception room of the two-story stone building, Su Xiao, Wood, and Zuiyasi were waiting for the Divine Envoy of VI Sanctuary City to arrive. The local Divine Envoy was named Boros Nero. Boros wasn't well-known outside, and he kept a low profile, but every year, VI Sanctuary City received the largest grain and material allocations. That said a lot—the Sea God wasn't a benevolent person; he was just keeping Boros fed to prevent him from causing trouble.
With a snap, Wood created a ripple that enveloped the area, isolating the sound.
"Our identities aren't secure enough."
As Wood spoke, his index finger lightly tapped the armrest of his chair, signaling that when the tapping stopped, they should immediately cease talking.
"Indeed. We three only arrived at VI Sanctuary City today. The threat of the Abyssal Jar is subtle, but the Blaze Lord and Sunbird Taha Kak are definitely coming head-on. We just got here, and this place is attacked. As long as the Sea God in the Main City isn't brain-dead, he'll definitely hunt us down. We'll be lucky not to be chased, let alone go to the Main City."
Zuiyasi's reasoning was sound. No one was a fool. The three of them, as newcomers, would inevitably be suspected.
Wood then suggested, "Fake identities?"
"No."
Zuiyasi rejected it outright.
"We kill the Divine Envoy of this Sanctuary City, Boros."
Su Xiao flicked the ash from his cigarette. Hearing his words, Wood and Zuiyasi both had an idea.
"After we kill Boros, we install one of his trusted subordinates as the new Divine Envoy. Anyone who disagrees, we kill. This is a Sanctuary City, not the Main City. We can work things out. The Sanctuary Cities have been autonomous for years, and communication with the Main City is blocked. The new Divine Envoy can fabricate credible identities for us—for example, making it seem like I've been in the Sanctuary City for 5 years, Zuiyasi for 7, and Wood for 10."
Su Xiao's words made Wood and Zuiyasi ponder for a moment, then both shook their heads. Zuiyasi said:
"No, unless we kill all the nobles in this Sanctuary City. Suppose you, as a doctor, have been in VI Sanctuary City for 5 years. Because of the beast transformation disease, over 95% of the nobles in the inner city would recognize you within 5 years. When the Sea God sends someone to investigate, we three would be exposed."
Zuiyasi had a point. The communication between the Sanctuary Cities and the Main City was blocked due to mutual distrust, but the Sea God only needed to send someone to verify Su Xiao's three identities, and they would be caught.
"Why waste so much effort dealing with all the nobles of IV Sanctuary City? That's a waste of time. We just need to handle the person the Sea God sends to investigate our identities, isn't that enough? We just don't know who the Sea God will send."
Wood's meaning was simple: since they couldn't deal with everyone, they would take care of the person investigating the problem. For now, they couldn't determine who the Sea God would send to verify their identities.
"I'll handle that."
Su Xiao spoke. Before the plan reached that step, he would first send Bubu Wang to the Main City to monitor the Sea God 24/7. They would wait for the Sea God to issue the order to investigate their identities, and then they would know who was sent.
"Alright. Once we know who the Sea God sends, I'll handle that person. I guarantee that when he reports back to the Sea God, he'll say our identities are reliable."
Wood took on that responsibility. Su Xiao and Wood's gazes turned to Zuiyasi.
"I'll handle Boros, the local Divine Envoy. Actually, we don't need to kill him or create a puppet. That's too troublesome."
Zuiyasi extended his palm, and a black tentacle as thick as a pinky emerged. A crack opened on it, revealing a bug covered in tiny eyes.
"This is a Marrow Parasite. Once it parasitizes someone's brain, I can give it commands. It emits an intracranial wavelength that affects the person's cognition, subtly interfering with their behavior patterns, gradually controlling them. One problem is that before the Marrow Parasite enters the brain, it's very fragile. We need to immobilize Boros."
Zuiyasi revealed one of his trump cards. If they could control Boros, the subsequent matters would be much easier.
"When do we act?"
Wood was the most eager to proceed with the plan. He vaguely felt that his five Old Father fragments were calling to him.
"Boros will come to see us soon. Baha will set up an alternate space barrier inside this two-story stone building. When Boros and his guards enter, once the alternate space barrier activates, they'll be dragged into the alternate space. Then Baha will stabilize the alternate space. Bubu Wang, you go outside the building to scout. I'll handle Boros's guards."
After Su Xiao finished speaking, Wood and Zuiyasi stated that they would handle Boros himself. The two would first join forces to severely wound him, then use the Marrow Parasite to control him.
Bubu Wang blended into the environment, and Baha entered the alternate space to set up the barrier, isolating this two-story building from the outside world.
The reason Su Xiao, Wood, and Zuiyasi needed a proper identity was that the Sea God in the Main City was too difficult to deal with. They could only infiltrate, then use their identities as cover to work together against the Sea God. After all, that was his territory.
Su Xiao's three identities were: Doctor, Ritualist, and Dark Pattern Master.
These identities weren't fake—they all had genuine expertise and were at the forefront of their respective fields.
Half an hour later, Bubu Wang, who had been scouting, sent back a message. A carriage pulled by "horned horses" was approaching. Bubu Wang didn't know what those creatures were exactly—they looked like horses but had gills on the sides of their necks.
When the door of this carriage, several times larger than a normal one, opened, several naked female bodies were visible. A super-sized fat man, about 2.7 meters tall, rose from the bed inside the carriage. As he stood up, the fat on his body caused his skin to fold, layers hanging down. His eyes had pitch-black pupils with dark green irises, and a centipede-like scar ran across his left cheek, pierced with small iron rings. This man was Boros.
Boros pushed aside the few naked women on the carriage bed. Wearing only large shorts, he crawled out of the carriage. Before he got down, one of his subordinates knelt at the footboard. Boros stepped onto his back, using it as a step to descend.
As soon as Boros got off the carriage, someone draped a large silk robe over him. The enlarged door of the two-story building opened. This was the home of Boros's ninth wife. Today, he happened to have business with this wife, so he had arranged for Su Xiao's three to meet him here.
Under the escort of his subordinates, Boros walked into the two-story building. For him, this was just an ordinary morning.