Chapter 119: Resentment of the Sea God
Inside the bedchamber, Blackhorn Roe lay on the half-collapsed bed. Not far from him was the dying Qianying, whose body had partially turned into a shadow, emitting black smoke from all over.
Both Roe and Qianying were once trusted subordinates of the Sea God. As combat-type followers, the Sea God had left behind means to control them.
Among them, Roe, after defecting to Conrad's side, had the 'Drowning Soul Seal' within him removed at great cost by Conrad. However, the Sea God had kept a backup plan—besides the instant-kill 'Drowning Soul Seal,' Roe also had a delayed-activation 'Living Soul Seal' inside him.
Roe was dead. As for the nearby Qianying, he had long been lurking on the Sea God's person, never having the chance to remove either the 'Drowning Soul Seal' or the 'Living Soul Seal.' Even so, he still chose to stand with Conrad.
"Fu... are you alright?"
Conrad knelt on one knee beside Qianying, grabbing one of his hands—semi-transparent, with wisps of black smoke swirling inside.
"Conrad... we... succeeded."
Qianying smiled. He had met Conrad when he was twelve years old. Back then, he had fought the sixteen-year-old Conrad, beaten him up, and even thrown his shoes into the river.
In the blink of an eye, fourteen years had passed. Of the comrades who had once decided to overthrow divine authority, only he and Conrad remained alive.
"Yeah, we succeeded. But we didn't overthrow divine authority."
Conrad looked down at Qianying, a deep blue light flickering in his eyes—vast and mysterious, like the ocean itself.
"In the end, we too became the evil dragons that people fear. Qianying, back then we were too naive. We thought heroes could slay evil dragons. How could a hero ever be a match for an evil dragon? Only another evil dragon can kill an evil dragon."
Conrad smiled bitterly, then continued:
"I don't seem to hate my father as much anymore. After obtaining this power, the craving for the Supreme Saint is hard to suppress. He held out for so long before pursuing the path to becoming a Saint God. I'll do my best to suppress the instincts within me."
Conrad's words made the dying Qianying's eyes widen. As if realizing something, he grabbed Conrad's collar, using his last strength to lift his upper body, and said:
"Promise me... Conrad... never let your bloodline die out. You must have a long-lived divine son... you must!"
After saying this, Qianying lost all signs of life, his head thudding against the floor. Hearing his words, Conrad's lips trembled.
Looking across the main city, no matter how many rebel forces existed, the only ones truly capable of opposing the Sea God were the divine sons, born into the circles of power and privilege.
Logically, the Sea God was striving to ascend higher—to become a Saint God. Under these circumstances, his humanity would gradually be stripped away. So why, in such a situation, didn't the Sea God eliminate his own offspring, who might one day threaten him?
If the Sea God had done this years ago, Conrad, Sophia, and the others would have died in childhood, and today's events would never have occurred.
In truth, many years ago, the Sea God had done the same—defeated his own father and seized the throne of the Sea God.
Now, history was repeating itself, just with a different cast. The moment the Sea God died, the primordial divine energy within him was transferred into Conrad's body. All Conrad had to do was continue absorbing faith, and after some years, he would reach the Sea God's level of power.
When that happened, he too would be influenced. A certain will, mixed into the inherited primordial divine energy, would drive him to crave becoming a Saint God.
Upon reaching a certain threshold, Conrad would feel the threat from his own offspring. A kind of binding willpower would prevent him from exterminating all his children, allowing him only to kill those who posed a direct threat. Violating this rule would cause that will to destroy itself along with him—and with it, the entire main city.
And the masters of that will were none other than the founders of the main city.
How strikingly similar this was. When Conrad was sufficiently influenced by the Sea God's energy, he would begin slaughtering his own children. An irresistible subconscious drive would compel him to ensure his bloodline never ended, taking healthy, fertile women as wives.
Years later, Conrad would fully become the Sea God. One of his outstanding offspring would endure his repeated persecutions, transform from a cocoon into a butterfly, and—just like him today—lead a group of trusted allies and collaborators into the Sea God's palace to besiege and kill him.
Realizing all this, Conrad's expression twisted for a moment, but he quickly calmed down. For a time, he would still be Conrad, not yet assimilated by the divine energy within him. This period was his chance to stabilize the main city.
"Bai Ye, this is the key to the treasure vault. There were originally two keys; the other one wasn't found. Don't worry—right now, I have no interest in wealth or resources. When the other key is found, I'll have someone deliver it to you."
Conrad tossed a key over. The moment Su Xiao caught it, a notification appeared.
[You have obtained the key to Vault No. 2.]
This was the only reward from killing the Sea God. Earlier, when Su Xiao had slain the Sea God with a single strike, aside from the kill notification, he received no kill rewards—not even 0.01% of World Source.
Su Xiao reviewed the notification that had just appeared. Its content was:
[You have killed Atlantis.]
That was it—a simple kill notification. Normally, it should have read: "You have killed the Sea God, Oss Atlantis."
The notification that appeared now lacked both the Sea God title and the surname Oss. This indicated two things.