Chapter 42: The Quiet Eve
The death of Wu Ying Soraro signified that the great towering tree of the Underworld was about to come crashing down. However, one must be prepared in advance to avoid being crushed by this falling tree.
[Tip: You have killed Wu Ying Soraro.]
[You have obtained 18.9% World Source.]
[You have obtained Immortal Chest: Eagle's Domain.]
[You have obtained the Penitence Tower Key (Special item for this world).]
...
[You have breached the front lines of the Nether faction.]
[You have obtained Guardian's Proof x32 (Special item).]
...
Su Xiao dismissed the notifications. The number of Guardian's Proofs obtained from defeating the Nether army was considerable. The problem was, he currently had 76 Guardian's Proofs, still needing 24 more to exchange for the Immortal Rank Set: World Guardian.
It seemed that returning to Reincarnation Paradise this time might mean missing out on the World Guardian Set. Su Xiao didn't hold high expectations for this. What if the set's requirement was 5 points in Charm Attribute to equip? That would be troublesome. As the saying goes, no expectations, no disappointment.
There was still a chance to obtain more Guardian's Proofs in the future. Once he accumulated a hundred, he could exchange for the Guardian Set within Reincarnation Paradise.
The rewards for killing Wu Ying Soraro were decent. When he had killed the Twisted War Armor earlier, Su Xiao hadn't received any World Source or chest, only a pitch-black seed.
This seed resembled a mango pit, its texture closer to inorganic matter like rock, completely blackened as if burned by fire.
This item was extraordinary. When he checked its attributes, everything was displayed as ???. Su Xiao had a feeling this item was similar to Origin Stones or Eternal Springs, used for enhancing enlightenment or similar traits. However, it was likely a one-time consumable.
Su Xiao looked toward the Celestial King Hall ahead. When the Golden Lion Miu had been surrounded and killed earlier, there hadn't even been a kill notification. It only carried the key to the main gate of the King Hall. In other words, the Golden Lion Miu had died long ago, existing like a living corpse, following its instinct to guard this place.
Su Xiao issued a mental command to a Demon Beast, ordering it to approach the main gate of the King Hall. Although he knew the chances were slim, he had to try. If he could clear the King Hall through a swarm tactic, there would be no need to gather those few people and fight the Great Emperor to the death. Su Xiao had a feeling that the Great Emperor was absurdly powerful.
The Demon Beast that received the command sprinted forward. When it was five meters from the main gate of the King Hall, Jila severed its mental connection, causing the Demon Beast to fall into a state of confusion.
At that moment, a black mist-like Abyss energy surged from within the gate, entering the Demon Beast's body. This was Abyss energy in its initial state, not Nether energy, which was a second-generation Abyss characteristic energy that appeared after being enhanced by Abyss Force.
The Abyss energy quickly infused the Demon Beast's body. It reared back and roared, its tail snapping as two bone tails burst forth. The claws on its front limbs grew wildly long, and dense bone spikes covered its carapace, densely packed and extremely unsettling.
This was the power of the Abyss, enhancing everything, but this enhancement had extreme duality.
"Roar!!"
The three-tailed Demon Beast roared. Its form was already beginning to resemble the leader-class Demon Beast Abaddon. It turned into a blur, and in the next instant, its claws tore apart the upper half of another Demon Beast's body.
The surrounding Demon Beasts swarmed, attacking the three-tailed Demon Beast. After a brutal struggle, the three-tailed Demon Beast was torn to pieces.
Just one Demon Beast corrupted by the Abyss was this difficult to deal with. This indicated one thing: against the invasion of the Abyss, human wave tactics were truly useless. This was why, when so many worlds were invaded by the Abyss, the strong within could only wait for death.
What was even more despairing was that being invaded by the Abyss meant there was no clear enemy. Even if one wanted to resist, how? Resist the Abyss? What was the Abyss? Charge into the Abyss Passage?
Regarding exploring the Abyss, the Law Destroyers, Spellcasters, Feather Race, and Devil Race all had some say, but their experiences were filled with bitterness.
Those with good luck, like the Law Destroyers, found the Black Maple Tree seed behind the Abyss Passage. Those with bad luck, the Devil Race was the best negative example.
Moreover, all parties had only conducted very preliminary explorations of the Abyss, so preliminary that they only searched the nearby area on the other side of the Abyss Passage before retreating.
The human wave tactic was useless against the King Hall. Su Xiao ordered all Titan Beasts to concentrate fire, bombarding the Celestial King Hall with plasma cannon rain.
Whistling sounds came from all directions. Plasma cannon rain struck the King Hall from every angle, causing arcs of electricity to surge and shockwaves to spread layer by layer.
After more than ten minutes of relentless bombardment, the plasma cannon rain ceased. When the electric arcs dissipated, the Celestial King Hall remained intact, with a faint layer of black mist appearing on its surface, blocking all attacks.
Having anticipated this, Su Xiao walked toward the building complex behind the King Hall. After killing Wu Ying Soraro earlier, he had obtained the Penitence Tower Key. Bubu Wang had already located the Penitence Tower, so it was worth checking out.
A few minutes later, Su Xiao and Baha arrived before a sloping underground passage. They descended the steps, and at the end, a pair of double metal doors blocked their way. The metal doors were old, rust-red overall, carved with overlapping hands, a nightmare for those with trypophobia.
Su Xiao inserted the Penitence Tower Key into the lock and turned it.
*Click~*
The key broke.
"..."
Su Xiao discarded the remaining key handle in his hand and slowly stepped back. Just as he was about to use his universal key—a straight kick—to open the door, the metal door in front creaked open a small crack on its own.
"..."
Su Xiao stepped forward and pushed the door open. As the metal door swung inward, a musty smell rushed out.
He took out the lantern obtained from the Sun Church in the World of Paintings, dispelling the darkness. This place was a dark, sealed area of about thirty square meters. The floor was covered in a thick, greasy substance, and the walls and ceiling were full of barnacle-like parasites.
A man with a spine pierced by iron chains sat slumped against the innermost wall. He was emaciated, his large frame giving him a sense of menace and coldness.
"To think a living person could come here. The Underworld has truly fallen."
The man, like a living corpse, spoke. He opened his eyes, revealing pitch-black sockets with golden vertical pupils, though the golden pupils were dim and lifeless.
"Are you the Demon Snake among the Four Knights under the King?"
Baha asked tentatively. He asked this mainly because of the man's cold-blooded, vertical pupils.
"It's been a long time since anyone called me that, especially after I struck that blade."
Demon Snake's withered face formed a smile. Almost everyone in the Underworld thought he was dead, but only two people knew he was still alive, merely imprisoned.
"Demon Snake, do you recognize this?"
Baha took out a [Fragmented Armor of the Underworld Emperor] from the team storage space. Seeing this, a hint of sharpness returned to Demon Snake's clouded eyes.
Demon Snake didn't immediately answer Baha's question. He seemed both lonely and wanting to talk, as well as reminiscing. He began to narrate the events of the Extinguished Light World, the Great Emperor, the Law Destroyers, the Underworld, and people like Wu Ying Soraro, Golden Lion Miu, Xiao Fuliya, and the Twisted War Armor.
When mentioning Xiao Fuliya, Demon Snake's words noticeably increased. He bluntly stated that he missed the scent of her blood mixed with jasmine. This was definitely someone Demon Snake admired, but their identities meant they could never express such feelings.
When Su Xiao heard that a Law Destroyer had formed an alliance with the Great Emperor a thousand years ago, he wasn't surprised.
After recounting these old matters, Demon Snake pointed at the armor fragment in Baha's claw and said:
"This is the King's battle armor, the very piece I shattered back then. How nostalgic. You want to know why I betrayed the Nether back then?"
"Not really. We're more interested in where you got that Dark Blade you used back then, and where it is now. Can that thing counter the Underworld Emperor's armor?"
Hearing Baha's words, Demon Snake was slightly surprised. He then said, "No comment."
Demon Snake, sitting there, lowered his head, unwilling to say another word.
"You just said that a Law Destroyer gave a secret tome recording Law Destruction abilities to the Underworld Emperor?"
Su Xiao sat down, and a crystal chair formed behind him.
"That's right."
Demon Snake responded perfunctorily.
"Then he should know you come from a Magic Civilization."
"Heh."
Demon Snake just chuckled, not paying much attention to Su Xiao.
"If the Underworld Emperor obtained that era's Law Destruction secret tome, he would definitely have mastered several very practical abilities. I happen to be a Law Destroyer. Within my perception range, those who have devoured elemental power are as obvious as luminous bodies in the dark."
Su Xiao lit a cigarette. At some point, Demon Snake across from him had begun staring intently at Su Xiao.
"Heh, I know the Underworld Emperor better than you. His hatred for Magic Civilizations is even more extreme than yours, Law Destroyers. If he knew I, Zechariah, came from a Magic Civilization, he would have executed me long ago. Would he still have appointed me as one of the Four Knights under the King? Ridiculous."
Demon Snake's tone carried a hint of sarcasm. Clearly, the name Gu Mo he used in the Nether faction was a pseudonym.
The renowned Four Knights under the King: Demon Snake, actually came from a Magic Civilization. In that case, his betrayal of the Great Emperor was only natural. In fact, he had been biding his time, joining the Underworld, and all his efforts had been for the moment he could stand behind the Great Emperor.
The story between the Great Emperor and Demon Snake wasn't overly complicated. Years ago, the Nether army had swept through a Magic Civilization in a certain world. Demon Snake was a survivor of that civilization. The rest went without saying.
The truly interesting part was that Demon Snake had come for revenge, climbing the ranks in the Underworld step by step, filled with hatred. But when he stood beside the Great Emperor and learned that the Magic Civilization's devouring of elemental power had caused the entire world to be invaded by the Abyss, ultimately harming everyone, he became confused.
Especially after learning that the Extinguished Light World, once ruled by the Great Emperor, had also been a Magic Civilization that devoured elemental power and ultimately reaped what it sowed, Demon Snake became even more lost.
He even felt that this king, who had no selfish desires and whose soul had been heavily corroded by Abyss power, was doing things that were neither right nor wrong.
Precisely because he came from a Magic Civilization, Demon Snake understood better than others that if the Nether faction had chosen a gentler approach, like persuasion, it would have sounded like nonsense to those immersed in elemental power.
To those powerful mages, the root, the truth of the world, and the source of power were right in front of them. Why shouldn't they pursue it? It was their lifelong dream.
As for the consequences, people always had a habit of thinking they were the chosen ones, that they were special and could avoid disaster. The only lesson people learned from history was that humanity could never learn any lesson from history. Without being hit, they would never know pain.
The most efficient way was like the Nether faction: don't reason with those immersed in elemental power; invade, annihilate, and leave.
The more Demon Snake followed the Great Emperor in his campaigns, the more confused he became. Ahead was the person he followed; beside him were comrades who had lived and died together. Yet he was a avenger, thinking every day that he would strike tomorrow, only to be delayed by various reasons.
Finally, one day, Demon Snake made up his mind. Coincidentally, on that day, the Great Emperor summoned him to discuss important matters.
At that time, the Underworld was already on its last legs. Collapse was only a matter of time. Normally, when the Abyss invaded a world and the entire world was corrupted, the Abyss Passage would close.
The Underworld's situation was different. The Abyss Passage here hadn't fully closed, meaning it could open at any moment. When a crack appeared in this passage, the Great Emperor knew the Nether army's campaigns were over.
That time, the Great Emperor had called Demon Snake to discuss the construction of the Celestial King Hall. The Great Emperor's idea was to use the Celestial King Hall to suppress the Abyss crack. But before they could even start talking, Demon Snake's betrayal came.
"Law Destroyer, you said earlier that you could distinguish those who have devoured elements. That's a lie, right?"
"..."
Su Xiao didn't speak. After extinguishing his cigarette, he placed a glass cylinder on the ground. After activating the liquid Apollo inside, he stood up and walked out.
"So you deceived a dying man. Are all Law Destroyers this despicable?"
Demon Snake still couldn't let it go, unwilling to believe that the Great Emperor had always known he came from a Magic Civilization and had still appointed him as one of the Four Knights under the King. Especially since he had betrayed the Great Emperor, piercing his back with the Dark Blade.
*Click, clatter~*
The rusted double metal doors closed on their own. Just before they shut, *bang*, Demon Snake's hands pressed against the inside of the door, his face squeezed into the gap. He stared at Su Xiao and said:
"What you said earlier must be false. You can't fool someone as smart as me. Hehehehe, it must be, it must be."
By the end, although Demon Snake wasn't shouting or losing his mind, there was a hint of gnashing teeth. He would rather the Great Emperor had never discovered his true identity than accept that he had betrayed someone who trusted him so much.
In fact, Demon Snake had overlooked one issue. The empire the Great Emperor initially ruled was also a Magic Civilization. The pain of losing everything and being left alone was something the Great Emperor understood just as well.
With a rumble, the metal door closed. Then, a muffled explosion came, causing dust to fall from the ceiling of the underground passage.
Su Xiao patted the dust off his head, feeling disappointed. Killing Demon Snake hadn't yielded any kill rewards.
Leaving the underground passage, Su Xiao leaped onto Barbatos's back. He had a way to enter the Celestial King Hall, but the problem was how to deal with the Great Emperor.
The wind whistled past his ears. Riding Barbatos out of the Underworld, Su Xiao sent Baha to the Great Gathering Place in the west to find the Sun Saint, Wager.
Earlier, many fanatics had gathered in the western great desert, fighting each other to select the strongest, who would absorb the power of all the fanatics. That strongest was the Sun Saint, Wager.
The World Savior, Aisea, had already fought Wager. Whenever asked about it, Aisea was evasive. If she had beaten the Sun Saint, she would have taken out a can of her favorite orange preserves, eating while describing how she won.
Aisea liked to boast about one-on-one life-and-death battles. Since she hadn't boasted, it meant her fight with the Sun Saint had likely gone badly.
After returning to the base camp, Su Xiao contacted the Empire's Hand, Rhine Gold, and arranged to meet at Nova City.
Unbeknownst to them, night fell. In the second floor of the wooden building, after taking a shower and completing his daily meditation, Su Xiao lay on the bed. The croaking of frogs after the rain accompanied his ears, and he soon fell asleep.
The next morning, sunlight streamed in. Su Xiao sat up, his gaze vacant. Although he had slept in this time, he always waited until he was fully awake before doing anything else.
Su Xiao leisurely ate breakfast. There was a high probability this would be his last meal, so of course, he would take it easy.
At 10 AM, in a nearly hundred-square-meter conference room on the third floor of the Strategic Command Post in Nova City's 5th District.
Su Xiao, Bubu Wang, Baha, Aisea, Rhine Gold, and the Sun Saint were all present. The Sun Saint was the most conspicuous, standing about 3.7 meters tall, with a 3-meter-long polearm hammer beside him. This crude weapon was stained with black blood like petroleum, a weapon tainted by the evil of humanity.
Aisea was as usual, dressed according to her mood, with silver earrings on her ears and a can of orange preserves on the table in front of her.
The Empire's Hand, Rhine Gold, wore an Imperial Colonel's uniform, his arms replaced with black alloy prosthetics. For some reason, Rhine Gold had been forced into marriage, but "forced" wasn't quite the right word. He had wanted to marry his fiancée for a long time.
"Gold, did you just get married?"
"Yes."
Rhine Gold lit a cigarette, not understanding why Baha was bringing this up.
"Good. By the way, your wife isn't pregnant, is she?"
"How do you know about that?"
"Damn it!"
Baha immediately distanced himself from Rhine Gold. Regarding flags like "going back to get married after the war" and "wife is pregnant," Baha chose to be cautious.
"Several of you, there's a question I've always wanted to ask."
Rhine Gold pulled over an ashtray, tapped his cigarette, and continued, "Why do we have to deal with the Underworld Emperor?"
"Because, because~, uh~, because..."
Aisea stumbled over her words. She simply loved fighting and hadn't asked about the specifics.
"Right, why do we have to defeat the Underworld Emperor? Haven't we already crushed the Nether army?"
Aisea looked as if she had just realized something, then turned her gaze to the Sun Saint. The Sun Saint didn't speak; he was always taciturn.
"Ahem! Everyone, look here."
Baha spoke. As he did, Bubu Wang even held up a small blackboard.
Baha, beside the conference table, knocked on the blackboard, drew two circles, and said, "This circle is the Underworld, and this circle is our world."
"First, to defeat the Nether army, we connected the two worlds, almost permanently. To be precise, the soon-to-collapse Underworld is now attached to our world."
Baha pointed to the smaller circle on the blackboard, using it as a metaphor for the Underworld.
"As everyone knows, the Underworld was once invaded by the Abyss. That scene was tragic. Trust me, you don't want this world to be invaded by the Abyss too, right?"
Hearing this, Rhine Gold, Aisea, and the Sun Saint all nodded in unison.
"The problem is, the Underworld has a passage connecting to the Abyss. The Underworld has already been invaded by Abyss power once, so it's not afraid. But we are. If the Abyss energy inside flows from the Underworld Gate into our world, then~"
Baha drew an X on the large circle, meaning everyone dies.
"To prevent this, closing the Abyss Passage inside the Celestial King Hall is the fastest and most efficient way. Then the Abyss energy will be cut off. After that, the Underworld will likely collapse, detach from our world, and eventually, this world will become safe again. Everyone happy, congratulations."
At the end, Baha clapped with his wings. Bubu Wang, holding the blackboard, yawned.
"So that's it. But why don't we just destroy the Celestial King Hall?"
Aisea spoke with a look that said, "You guys are so dumb."
"Great idea! Why didn't we think of that?"
Baha had fallen back into his old habit. Aisea, who had been with them for a few days, cast a glance at him. Baha immediately stepped back. As a master of verbal sparring, he had been beaten up by Aisea quite a bit lately. She often launched surprise attacks.
"If it's like you said, how do we get into the Celestial King Hall?"
Rhine Gold stated his position. He would definitely join the battle. In fact, among those present, his determination to fight was on par with Su Xiao's.
"For that, we need to invite our Mr. Nicholas Kaiser."
Hearing this, Rhine Gold and the Sun Saint's expressions changed. One had been scammed by Kaiser, the other tricked.
The conference room door opened, and Kaiser hurried in, immediately sitting next to Su Xiao, pretending nothing had happened.
Su Xiao took out seven Precipitated Glass. Kaiser beside him took out the Abyssal Jar and muttered something in Goblin language.
Seeing this, Rhine Gold's face darkened. He lowered his eyelids and said nothing.
After Kaiser muttered and acted like he was channeling a spirit, he finally placed the Abyssal Jar on the conference table.
Su Xiao dropped the seven Precipitated Glass into it one by one. With each drop, a hollow *dong* sound came from inside the jar. After all seven were dropped, seven silver coins floated out of the Abyssal Jar.
Su Xiao grabbed the floating silver coins and checked their attributes.
[Contaminated Silver Coin]
Origin: Void · Devil Race.
Quality: Consumable.
Effect: Wearing this item grants immunity to Abyss corrosion for 3 hours.
Warning: This item is only effective in a "Secondary Abyss Environment." If taken directly into the Abyss, this item will immediately shatter and become ineffective.
...
A Secondary Abyss Environment referred to places like the Celestial King Hall. Su Xiao distributed the seven silver coins, leaving four: one for himself, one for Bubu Wang, one for Baha, and one for Xianlulu, who hadn't been summoned yet.
The reason for not summoning Xianlulu yet was to spare her feelings. If Xianlulu knew this battle was against the Great Emperor, she would be scared and cry on the spot. When she was summoned at the location, even if she wanted to cry, she would be too scared to.
The ones facing the Underworld Emperor directly were, of course, Su Xiao, Rhine Gold, Aisea, and the Sun Saint. As for Amu, he wouldn't directly participate this time; he had other important matters to attend to.
Among the four, the Sun Saint, standing 3.7 meters tall and burly, seemed like the one who would be at the front. In reality, he was a long-range type. That crude polearm hammer looked like a melee weapon but was actually hollow, a mid-to-close range cannon powered by solar energy.
Aisea had been hit by this thing at close range before. She had almost left this beautiful world that time.
Rhine Gold, at 1.82 meters tall, was the real frontline powerhouse. He would be the one to clash head-on with the Underworld Emperor after the battle began.
After finalizing the battle plans, the group boarded a combat spacecraft and headed straight for the Underworld Gate.
When the combat spacecraft slowed down and landed successfully, they had arrived in front of the Celestial King Hall in the Underworld.
The group stopped before the main gate of the King Hall. Su Xiao took out the disc-shaped King Hall key and tossed it to Rhine Gold.
"Several officers, please look this way."
From the spacecraft behind, a beautiful girl dressed like a reporter spoke, full of youthful energy. Being able to come here, she was no ordinary person. She was Rhine Gold's niece.
"Do me a favor. That's my niece."
Rhine Gold said in a low voice without moving his lips. Hearing this, Su Xiao, Aisea, and the Sun Saint in front of the King Hall's main gate turned around one by one.
*Click~*
The photo was taken. In the picture, on the far left was Rhine Gold in his black-red Imperial Colonel uniform, his expression serious, wearing black leather gloves.
To the right was Su Xiao, draped in a black feather cloak, one hand on his sword hilt. To his right was Aisea, with a fishbone braid, looking like she had just woken up. On the far right was the Sun Saint, bare-chested, the tallest, with a heavy hammer cannon on his shoulder. A deep red sun tattoo covered almost his entire back.
"Everyone, life and death are fated."
Rhine Gold pushed open the massive metal door with both hands. With the sound of mechanisms turning, the main gate of the King Hall slowly opened, and black mist surged from within.
Blood Qi, War Soul Power, Mental Energy, and Solar Force Field erupted one after another. The four individuals represented by these four auras all stepped into the black mist ahead.