Chapter 38: Opening the Door
In the quiet fortune-telling room at night, the pale purple lighting and various hanging ornaments added a sense of mystery to the place.
As the owner of this fortune-telling room, the Crimson Empress, oh no, she should be called the Crimson Witch now, this was proof of her letting go of the past. She no longer wished to mention her past war experiences, especially that time she was blasted through by Kara, which was a dark history.
In the silent fortune-telling room, the Crimson Witch looked at the man across from her, silent. She knew very well that he wasn't joking earlier; he had come to settle accounts regarding her revealing that the Netherworld Gate would open.
In truth, the Crimson Witch didn't want to get involved in this trouble, but after studying mystical knowledge like fate, fortune, the future, and prophecy, she gradually felt that this was what it meant to be alive. Before, as the leader of the insect race, she lived for the sake of living, but now, she had the feeling of living for exploration and the pursuit of the infinite. This way of living with flesh and blood fascinated and captivated her.
In contrast, she couldn't resist the temptation of divining the future, and as a fortune-teller, to inform those who needed to know of this terrifying future.
After completing this task, her 'spiritual vision' had improved across dimensions. She could even faintly hear the vast sounds from beyond the heavens and the seductive whispers from beneath the earth.
Spiritual sense, or rather spiritual vision, was an ability that all fortune-tellers possessed, and it was one of the main reasons they could divine. In the Crimson Witch's eyes, some people bore sins or resentments, characteristics of killers. Through those sins, she could faintly hear the wails of the dead.
However, at this moment, the Crimson Witch saw no sins on Su Xiao's body. It wasn't that Su Xiao hadn't killed, but that the sins were evaporated by his blood energy.
In the Crimson Witch's perspective, the blood energy behind Su Xiao gradually gathered into a massive blood beast, which, like a delicate sniffing of a rose, sniffed her aura, seemingly undecided whether to swallow her in one gulp.
"Fortune-teller, we don't have all night to wait for your answer."
Baha spoke, urging her. He continued, "Is it that hard to divine whether you'll live or die yourself?"
Hearing this, the Crimson Witch glanced at the sheathed longsword on the table. To be honest, it really was hard; this was a life-or-death question.
If the Crimson Witch divined that she wouldn't die, but then died under the blade the next second, it would obviously mean the divination was inaccurate.
But if the Crimson Witch divined that she would die, and then died under the blade the next second, it could only be said that the divination was very accurate.
So, the accuracy of the divination wasn't the main point; the key was that no matter how she answered, she would die. That was the essence of this life-or-death question.
The Crimson Witch's eyes turned pitch black, and within her pupils, coiled white thread-like lights appeared. After a moment, she tilted her head back, took a deep breath, then began to pant, with many sweat beads forming on her face.
"I divined that I will die."
As soon as the Crimson Witch finished speaking, Su Xiao's hand was already on the Dragon-Slaying Flash. Seizing this opportunity, the Crimson Witch continued, "After I die, you won't receive an important revelation, and you will die in a bloody battle with the Netherworld Emperor."
The Crimson Witch's move was extremely clever. First, she said she would die, maximizing the accuracy of her divination. Then, she immediately added that if he killed her, Su Xiao would lose important information and ultimately die in the final battle with the Emperor. This statement tied the Crimson Witch's own life to Su Xiao's.
"So, you're saying that after killing you, I won't be able to get the revelation?"
Su Xiao picked up the longsword from the table, the tip of the scabbard resting on the ground, and he leaned on the pommel with his palm.
"To be precise, no. I can see that there is another fortune-teller similar to me on the planet Bainini, but... it's very far away, and your time is precious."
"Tell me, what is the revelation you saw?"
"A mask, and... it and it."
The Crimson Witch pointed to Bubu Wang and Baha respectively.
"Be more specific."
Su Xiao's thumb brushed over the shrunken gem embedded at the end of the pommel. He hadn't decided whether to kill the Crimson Witch.
When negotiating with these divination types, once a decision is made in the heart, it will inevitably change the corresponding cause and effect, thus being detected by the divination type.
On the Dark Star, in White Town, there was a resident named Snake Lady, who was also a divination type. She had a good saying: in fact, most fortune-tellers are just trying to grasp one of the countless future lines.
The result of the divination wasn't important; what was important was how to grasp that future line and make the divination result come true.
Otherwise, the existence of fortune-tellers would be meaningless. The possible futures of a person are tens of millions of times more numerous than all the grains of sand in the world combined. That is the power and charm of fate.
No one can fully glimpse the traces of fate; fortune-tellers can only vaguely touch one of them.
Because of this, fortune-tellers generally have strong survival abilities. Why is that? If the divination is wrong, they run away; that's only natural. Otherwise, would they stay and get beaten?
Why are fortune-tellers mysterious and homeless? Who dares to live in one place for a long time? If the divination is wrong and the customer comes back to complain, they really will get beaten.
Being mysterious, wearing a hood, is both aesthetically pleasing and prevents people from seeing their faces clearly, thus remembering their appearance. This was the original words of the famous fortune-teller, Snake Lady.
"Fate is elusive; I can still give revelations..."
"Alright, alright, stop being mysterious. Just say it directly. How many of our future lines can you glimpse?"
Hearing Baha's words, the Crimson Witch's expression froze for a moment. She looked thoughtful and said somewhat vaguely, "Three."
"Damn! That impressive?"
Baha was shocked. Hearing this, the Crimson Witch looked puzzled. She originally thought her level wasn't particularly high, as she had only been a fortune-teller for a short time.
"Previously, the S-001 we contacted could glimpse five future lines, Snake Lady had four. You've only been in this business for a short time and can already glimpse three future lines. You'll definitely be even more impressive in the future."
"..."
Faced with Baha's crude words, the Crimson Witch just smiled modestly and didn't respond.
"Thank you for your divination."
Su Xiao pushed a Soul Crystal Core on the table forward a bit. Seeing this, the Crimson Witch shook her head with a smile and said:
"I sincerely hope you win. Only if you win will we not die at the hands of the Netherworld."
With that, the Crimson Witch pushed the Soul Crystal Core on the table back.
Su Xiao looked at the Soul Crystal Core on the table, then stared at the Crimson Witch for a few seconds. Finally, he inserted the sheathed longsword back into his waist, picked up the Soul Crystal Core, and walked out.
After Su Xiao left, only the Crimson Witch remained in the fortune-telling room. The smile on her face gradually faded, and she let out a long sigh of relief. The clothes on her back were completely soaked with sweat. In the past, she thought Su Xiao was also a commander like her, but now it seemed that wasn't the case. His combat power was astonishingly strong. If not for the Netherworld forces, he might be the strongest in this world.
"Are you still doing fortune-telling tonight?"
A little girl poked her head out from the inner door.
"No, we're moving. Right now."
At that moment, the Crimson Witch understood why, when she had read the travelogues of other fortune-tellers before, she found that those fortune-tellers often moved.
...
The next day, at 6 AM, Planet Pandora, their base camp.
The Demon Beast Legion previously sent to Planet Aokai had all been withdrawn. This time, going out to clear the Corrupted Ones yielded a total of 750,000 points of Bio Energy.
In the past, this wouldn't have been much, but after Jila advanced to Insect Queen, the Mother Nest's method of calculating Bio Energy changed, significantly increasing the value of these 750,000 points of Bio Energy.
The efficiency of obtaining Bio Energy by going out to clear Corrupted Ones was low, but as long as war broke out, they wouldn't lack Bio Energy.
Now, these 750,000 points of Bio Energy were kept for emergencies. Currently, their lineup was:
Demon Beasts: 476,500.
Demon Flame Dragons: 4,200.
Titan Giants: 20.
...
This was the lineup Su Xiao had prepared for the war with the Netherworld forces. With this lineup, going up against the Netherworld's main army would definitely result in defeat; there was no need to analyze this.
The Netherworld's main army consisted of Netherworld Warriors or Netherworld Knights in the melee corps, Soul Wizards for ranged attacks, and various war beasts, such as the super-large Netherworld Whale, which was a kilometer long, or the Corrupted Tree Clan.
Those Corrupted Tree people were all war giants, averaging 35 to 50 meters in height. Not only were they tall, but they could also use erosion or blood-soul type spellcasting abilities, making them particularly troublesome.
Many people thought the Netherworld forces only had one legion, the Netherworld Legion composed of Netherworld Warriors and Soul Wizards. In reality, this wasn't the case.
The Netherworld Legion was indeed the main force of the Netherworld forces, but the Netherworld forces didn't only have this legion. Through Kaisa, Su Xiao knew of four enemy legions.
First was the "Netherworld Main Force," followed by the "Corrupted Tree Legion," the "Undead Legion," and the "Dragon Blood Legion."
The reason for four legions involved events from many years ago. At that time, the Netherworld, eroded by Abyss power, had just stabilized. The Emperor had no soldiers under his command. The first world he conquered was where the Corrupted Tree Clan surrendered to him.
At that time, the Emperor also received support from a powerful ally. In other words, without that powerful ally's support, the Netherworld wouldn't exist as it is today.
But not long after, the Emperor's forces accepted fewer and fewer races, until they stopped accepting altogether. It was also during this period that the Netherworld lost that powerful ally.
The Corrupted Tree Clan, the Undead Clan, and the Dragon Blood Clan were the three races fully accepted by the Netherworld.
The Corrupted Tree and Undead had a very high affinity with Netherworld power, so their surrender was natural. As for the Dragon Blood Clan, they claimed to have inherited dragon blood, but due to the decrease in bloodline purity, calling them snake people was more accurate. These beings were generally humanoid, with the upper body of a thick python, having arms, and a small pointed horn on their heads.
This nearly vanished pointed horn was the last honor of the Dragon Blood Clan. Without this scale dragon horn, they would truly degenerate into snake people.
These three legions each had their own leaders, but they were slightly lower in rank than Wu Ying · Solano. They weren't exactly Wu Ying · Solano's subordinates, but in terms of strategic deployment, they had to follow Wu Ying · Solano's command.
Su Xiao had already grasped the general information on these four legions. The strongest was, of course, the Netherworld Main Force, the legion composed of Netherworld Warriors and Soul Wizards.
Below that was the "Corrupted Tree Legion." This legion wasn't large in number, but each member was a war giant.
Next was the "Dragon Blood Legion." Although these snake people had severely degenerated bloodlines, they still had some skills.
Last was the "Undead Legion." Kaisa's suggestion was to beat this legion to a pulp. The Undead King had perished decades ago, leaving no successor, so they had to invite the Smoke Princess, who was unwilling to manage the Undead Legion, to take charge.
A group of Undead Generals begged her to take over the legion. The Undead system was different from the Necromancy system. If the Undead system lost its leader, they would become a bunch of minions; only by uniting could they be strong.
The leader of the "Corrupted Tree Legion," Twisted War Armor, and the leader of the "Dragon Blood Legion," Rune, were both slightly better leaders than the Smoke Princess.
However, the Smoke Princess was particularly good at fighting and truly dared to fight. It was said that at a certain royal banquet, the Smoke Princess, in front of Wu Ying · Solano, gave the Dragon Blood leader, Rune, a severe beating.
Overall, the power structure of the Netherworld was: the Emperor was the absolute ruler. He had been in the Royal Hall of the City of the Dead for a thousand years, during which only the Four Knights under the King were qualified to meet him.
The Emperor basically didn't interfere with war matters; Wu Ying · Solano was fully responsible.
Among the four legions, Wu Ying · Solano was the overall commander. Below him were Twisted War Armor, Dragon Blood leader Rune, and the Smoke Princess.
The Corrupted Tree, Undead, and Dragon Blood sides would each command their own legions in battle, all at the same rank. Only Wu Ying · Solano, or the Emperor above him, could control these three sides.
Su Xiao examined the Netherworld map in his hand. The strategy for the war was set. After the war with the Netherworld began, his side would definitely be beaten by the Netherworld Main Force; this was unavoidable. His Demon Beast Legion hadn't been upgraded with 'Evolution Points' yet. After one or two upgrades, they could directly confront the Netherworld Main Force and even be stronger.
In the early stages of the war, his side couldn't just take the beating. During this time, the best strategy was to pick one enemy legion and beat it hard.
The choice was between the Undead Legion and the Dragon Blood Legion. Whichever one they had the chance to beat, they would beat.
Everything was ready. It was time to open the Netherworld Gate. Thinking of this, Su Xiao stood up and went downstairs. The World Child, Lekeli, who had previously gone to the Great Gathering Place, had now returned.
"I lost the container core."
Lekeli spoke, his face pale, looking anemic.
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. Earlier, Aiseiya had also gone to the Great Gathering Place of the Platinum Company, secretly following the World Child, Lekeli.
Lekeli hadn't told the truth. The container core, which could absorb pain and suffering, had been given by him to an old doctor in the local area, for no other special reason. It was just that the Great Gathering Place, where many poor people lived, needed it. Even though this world had never treated him well, this young man still chose to treat others kindly. This was the most fundamental and purest form of kindness.
"Have you thought it through? During the process of opening the Netherworld Gate, you have an 80% chance of dying. If you back out, we'll just wait for the Netherworld to open the World Gate, which will also connect here."
Baha spoke. Hearing this, the World Child, Lekeli, lost some of his lazy expression and asked:
"I'm curious, can you win? If you can win, then someone like me, who deserves to die, doesn't mind being the first sacrifice. It's like using waste."
Hearing this, Baha hesitated for a moment, then said, "There's no need to lie to you about this. We really might not win. But if we wait for the Netherworld to gather their forces and then open the World Gate, we will definitely lose."
Hearing this, the World Child, Lekeli, nodded thoughtfully. He said with some emotion:
"Ah~, in the stories I read, the protagonist always has beautiful girls throwing themselves at him. That was my purpose in going to the Great Gathering Place this time. But not only did I not meet any beautiful girls, my father's watch was stolen. How unlucky."
Saying this, the World Child, Lekeli, looked like he had eaten a fly. After feeling uncomfortable for a while, he changed the subject and asked, "Does opening that Netherworld Gate hurt?"
"Young man, let me give you a straightforward analogy. First, you need to activate the space-splitting device. Then, using your blood as an energy supply, you trigger the spatial connection between this world and the Netherworld. Finally, using the space-splitting device, you open the Netherworld Gate."
"Didn't understand."
"Simply put, you open the door by consuming your blood."
"Oh, I see. Why did you have to make it so complicated? Who could understand that?"
"Well..."
Baha was speechless for a moment. Seeing this, the World Child, Lekeli, smiled and asked, "When do we leave?"
"We leave now. Follow me, young man."
Baha spread his wings and took off. The World Child, Lekeli, rode on the back of a Demon Flame Dragon.
Su Xiao leaped onto Barbatos's back. Just as he was about to order Barbatos to take off, Aiseiya also jumped on.
The main force set off, heading straight for a location 15 kilometers in front of the base camp. The Netherworld Gate would be opened here. This time, it would either be a crushing defeat or they would smash the enemy.
Soon, they arrived at the predetermined location. An iron-black device, nearly 20 meters high and covered with wires, stood here. This was the space-splitting device. The core part was made by Su Xiao using Alchemy, while the shell and other components were custom-made by the Empire.
Originally, the Empire had politely declined. But after Su Xiao visited Planet Aokai last night, the Empire chose to help with the custom-making. The manufacturing site was in New Star City, and it was delivered this morning.
"This thing is really tall."
The World Child, Lekeli, looked up at the space-splitting device. He climbed the metal steps to the drive area. Soon, Baha connected various wires and blood collection tubes to him.
Sitting in the recessed seat of the space-splitting device, Lekeli looked up at the sky. A hawk soared by. The time for revenge he had been waiting for had come. Because of the Netherworld's invasion, he had not only lost all his family but had eaten his own loved ones. Before this, he had never imagined that a person could hate themselves to such an extent.
"It must succeed."
As Lekeli spoke, the space-splitting device activated. A dark green light immediately burst from within his body, making his skin and flesh appear much more transparent. His eye sockets and mouth seemed to be silently screaming.
Hum~
The space-splitting device had only been running for two seconds when it suddenly stopped. The dark green light within Lekeli's body faded. He gasped for air, covered in sweat, and said, "Wait, wait, let me catch my breath. Which bastard made this thing? It hurts so much to use."
After taking a few quick breaths, Lekeli gritted his teeth and activated the space-splitting device again.
Hum~
The earth began to tremble, and dark clouds filled the sky, forming a vortex directly above.
Boom!
A golden beam of light struck down. The shell of the space-splitting device exploded, and then a massive, semi-transparent door appeared in the air.
Click-clack~
The heavy sound of a door opening came. This was the Netherworld Gate. As the massive bronze double doors opened, the Netherworld Gate gradually became real from its illusory state, finally fully manifesting.
Boom!!
A shockwave spread out. Countless wailing undead rushed out from within the Netherworld Gate. The Netherworld Gate had opened, revealing a dark green chaos inside.
A suction force came from within the gate. The space-splitting device was the first to be affected, and along with it, the World Child, Lekeli, was sucked in.
Lekeli's left arm was shattered, his eye sockets were empty, and his entire body was covered in ceramic-like cracks. As he was being sucked into the Netherworld Gate, he muttered softly:
"Mr. White Night, you... must... win."
The vortex of Netherworld mist rolled Lekeli in and disappeared.
Boom!
A bolt of world thunder split the sky. The strong wind suddenly stopped. Soon, raindrops began to fall, quickly turning into a torrential downpour.
The entire Netherworld Gate was several hundred meters wide and over a thousand meters high, looking both spectacular and ancient.
Su Xiao stood on the dragon's back, looking at the scene inside the gate. He saw a city in the distance inside the gate, and in the center of the city, a towering hall could be faintly seen reaching into the black clouds. This was the Royal Hall, located in the City of the Dead.
Crack!
A bolt of world thunder fell. Su Xiao raised his hand, and the falling world thunder transformed into a thunder spear, which he held in his hand.
In the rainstorm, Su Xiao stood on Barbatos's back, pointing the thunder spear in his hand at the City of the Dead inside the gate.
"Roar!"
Barbatos let out a roar. His Demon Beast Legion surged out. One by one, Demon Flame Dragons swooped into the gate. The decisive battle with the Netherworld had officially begun.
My condition was average today, so I wrote a bit less. Sorry. I'll start writing the decisive battle tomorrow, aiming to be full of energy.