Chapter 3: The Priest Would Take Advantage of the Sea King Dealing with the Sea God Cult, and Su Xiao Rescuing the Dwarf King, to Steal the 20% "Initial Mark" Fragment from the Dark Devourer.
The Priest could be certain that as long as Su Xiao arrived in the vicinity of the Sea Clan's main city, he would attract the Dark Devourer. An existence of world-destroying level and a Shadow of Law Destruction were mortal enemies. To confirm this, the Priest had already made a test beforehand, and as the price of that test, his current Legendary Reputation was still -??? points.
The final outcome of the whole affair would likely be Su Xiao successfully rescuing the Dwarf King, the Sea King successfully dealing with the Sea God Cult, and the Priest obtaining that 20% "Initial Mark" fragment.
The current problem was that the assassination had just ended, and the Sea King's people were about to make a move. Yet before that, Molei, Yueshitu, and Hao Mei had already gone to the Workshop District.
It was important to note that the Sea Clan's main city was not yet in chaos. The fact that Molei and the other two could enter the Workshop District so smoothly was certainly because the Sea King's subordinates had turned a blind eye.
The problem lay precisely here. Molei, this silly girl, acted too openly, so openly that it made the old schemers, the Sea King and the Priest, secretly suspicious. They weren't afraid of the Apocalypse Sisters themselves, but they were wary of the Law Destroyer behind the Apocalypse Sisters.
It was precisely because of this that the situation was deadlocked. The Sea King was very eager for Su Xiao to take the Dwarf King away, thereby cutting off the Sea Clan's production of elemental artifacts. This way, the Sea King could gradually end the cooperation with Arcane Eternal Star at the minimal cost.
In the final analysis, this cooperation was originally a desperate act by the Sea God Cult and the Elder Council when they couldn't defeat the Sea King anymore, inviting a wolf into the house.
Why was the Elder Council completely silent now? Of course, it was because the Sea King's thigh was too sturdy. The Elder Council seemed to oppose the Sea King at every turn, but in secret, they had long been following his lead. This was also why the Sea God Cult was forced to the point of assassinating the Sea King. They also wanted to cling to the Sea King's thigh, but unfortunately, they had disgusted him too much in the past and had no chance now.
"You're saying the Elder Council has made no move at all? The Sea God Cult prepared an assassination, but they didn't even have time to act before we intercepted them?"
Su Xiao spoke with a furrowed brow. Baha nodded and said, "That's about right. Both Kaisa and Bubu have sent similar intelligence."
Hearing this, Su Xiao muttered, "Is that so? It seems the Sea King and the Priest are holding back because they're wary of us."
After a moment of thought, Su Xiao continued, "Baha, go to the main city and tell Molei to have the three of them take the Dwarf King and his disciples out of the Sea Clan's main city. Remember, they can only take foreign craftsmen, not the Sea Clan craftsmen trained by the Dwarf King."
"Understood."
Baha flew away. Although he was full of doubts, he was more accustomed to following Su Xiao's orders than asking questions.
After Baha flew off, Su Xiao pressed one hand to the ground. With a click, a hidden metal disc rose up. He grabbed the metal ring on it and pulled out the "Sun Pillar" that was immersed inside, containing 100 Apollo bombs.
This was actually Su Xiao's original plan. If assassinating the Sea King wasn't enough to trigger chaos in the Sea Clan's main city, then he would give the Sea Clan a taste of this thing. Even though the main city was protected by layers of formations, if this thing exploded even above the Sea Clan's city, it would be enough to plunge the main city into severe chaos.
But for now, it seemed the "Sun Pillar" wouldn't be needed. Rescuing the Dwarf King was no longer a thorny issue; the matter was almost accomplished. The truly thorny problem now was dealing with the world-destroying existence, the Dark Devourer, which could come looking for him at any time.
After Su Xiao pulled out the "Sun Pillar," Xianlulu, who was floating nearby, swallowed her saliva and tentatively asked, "Bai Ye, we're not going to drop this on the Sea Clan's main city, are we?"
"Of course not. Don't think nonsense."
"But then, why was it placed here in advance..."
"..."
Su Xiao couldn't think of a reason for a moment. He stepped forward and walked towards a distant dense forest. Seeing this, Xianlulu chose to follow.
As soon as they entered the forest, Su Xiao took out half a candle and tossed it to the side. Under Xianlulu's gaze, the half candle suddenly disappeared, as if caught by some unseen existence.
After Bubu Wang, who had blended into the environment, left, Su Xiao sensed his surroundings but didn't detect the aura of a world-destroying existence. How ironic the world was. Due to the entanglement of various interests, the greatest risk Su Xiao had to bear in this rescue of the Dwarf King was not from the Sea Clan, but from the world-destroying existence, the Dark Devourer.
More precisely, it should be from the Priest's scheming. Even if the world-destroying existence, the Dark Devourer, hadn't noticed Su Xiao, the Priest would find a way to make that existence detect the aura of Law Destruction and track it here.
Not long ago, when they went to Mingguang Island together, Su Xiao had closed the Abyss Passage and nearly trapped the Priest inside. The Priest hadn't forgotten that. Now, using Su Xiao to attract the world-destroying existence, the Dark Devourer, while he took the opportunity to seize the "Initial Mark" fragment, was clearly a "return of favor" for that incident.
In response, Su Xiao naturally had to offer some "return gifts" and have Bubu Wang deliver them to the Priest. As for how Bubu Wang would find the Priest, that was naturally not a problem. Don't forget, when discussing this cooperation in the Lord's Castle, the Priest had drunk tea. Or rather, it was a slow poison with a tea flavor. Although the Priest was unafraid of this slow poison, Bubu could track him using the scent left by the poison.
Su Xiao looked towards the distant ancient Sea Clan city. It was time to start setting things up, preparing to welcome the world-destroying existence, the Dark Devourer, which would soon come knocking.
...
Sea Clan Main City, Workshop District.
The forging workshop was exceptionally hot. The fire in the furnace had just gone out. At that moment, a spatial array enveloped the entire workshop. As it converged, it eventually shrank into a black sphere. This energy fluctuation was clearly from Baha.
It wasn't difficult to seal the people inside the workshop, along with the workshop itself, into an alternate space. The difficulty was in evading the perception of the Sea Clan here. However, there was no need to worry about that problem now.
Having the Dwarf King and his disciples temporarily enter the seal of the alternate space to leave this place was the best choice at the moment. After all, openly taking the Dwarf King away would be a huge slap in the face to the Sea Clan.
Baha covered the spatial fluctuation-intense sealed sphere with a black cloth. When he had sneaked in earlier, he had already tested it. Those Imperial Guards from the Sea King's faction saw him as if he didn't exist. This clearly meant they had received orders. But it wasn't stable enough yet; further testing was needed.
Theoretically, this assassination was a cooperation reached among Su Xiao, the Sea King, and the Priest. Since Su Xiao and the Sea King couldn't cooperate directly, the Priest had to act as an intermediary.
"So, we just need to use your spatial ability to teleport away next?" Molei asked. By now, she had relaxed. Before this, she had suspected it was a trap, but now it seemed it wasn't.
"Of course not. This alternate space seal isn't stable. You take it, and we'll leave on foot."
"?"
Molei was confused. She held up the alternate space sphere and looked at Baha in bewilderment, not quite understanding what he meant.
Just then, the sound of clattering armor came from the street corner. It was a patrol of about a dozen people. Seeing this, Molei thought to herself, "It's over."
At the street corner, the patrol leader walking at the front paused. The scene before him was different from usual. But he couldn't immediately figure out what was different. After a closer look, he realized with a start that the workshop that had been standing there was gone!
This situation made the patrol leader's eye twitch violently. He was about to send his subordinates to investigate when he suddenly remembered what his superior had told him ten minutes ago. This caused his eyesight to "suddenly deteriorate," and he led his subordinates past the street as if nothing had happened.
Molei, who had been ready to act, stood there at a loss. She looked at Baha, only to find he had disappeared, leaving behind only a route map.
Since Baha was Su Xiao's follower, appearing here would inevitably be inappropriate. Molei and the other two followed the route map, quickly walking through a small alley. But as they walked, Molei felt it was like a maze, and the route map was very confusing. Seeing this, Hao Mei took the map and walked in front. This somewhat directionally challenged female swordswoman began to lead the way.
Turning east, then west, under Hao Mei's guidance, the path grew wider and wider, getting closer to the distant city wall. Once they reached the base of that wall, they could safely leave this place.
But after passing a corner, they found a narrow alley, a few meters wide, filled with patrol members. Several squad leaders, who had been playing cards and deliberately avoiding the area to stay out of the way of the "honored guests," were all stunned. One squad leader, whose face was covered in paper strips, twitched his cheek and then continued playing cards.
Molei and the other two quickly retreated. They looked at each other, their gazes conveying a silent agreement: they would never reveal this incident of accidentally walking into the enemy's midst today. Otherwise, they would surely make it onto the "Apocalypse Paradise Annual Top Ten Silly Events Ranking" again.
Baha, watching from the shadows, saw the reaction of the patrol members in the narrow alley and basically confirmed the Sea King's attitude. This was very important, because getting through the outermost defense line of the Workshop District was the biggest difficulty of this operation. Now, it seemed that difficulty no longer existed.
As for why Molei and the others had walked into the enemy's midst, it was naturally because Baha had "accidentally" drawn the map wrong. But fundamentally, this wasn't about sabotaging teammates. Repeatedly testing the patrol's reaction was the key. Otherwise, if those outer Imperial Guards suddenly turned hostile, whether Molei and the others could escape was uncertain. Even with life-saving items, it would be risky. Those were the most elite Imperial Guards of the Sea Clan's main city.
Meanwhile, in a dark, damp underground palace in the backstreets of the main city.
Creak~
A rusty metal door was pushed open. The Priest stepped inside and stopped before a stone platform on the inner side. He opened the wooden box on it, revealing several "Initial Mark" fragments lying quietly inside.
Seeing this, the Priest's smile became even more benevolent. He closed the wooden box, picked it up, and prepared to leave. But as soon as he turned around, he found half a candle placed under the open doorframe. This candle seemed to be made of some kind of grease, as if it had been completely burned. Some parts showed a blackened hue, and the flame on the wick emitted an eerie, cold red light.
The moment he saw this thing, the benevolent smile on the Priest's face suddenly froze. The atmosphere in the secret room began to grow increasingly sinister.
The Priest had schemed against Su Xiao, causing the world-destroying existence, the Dark Devourer, to target him. Now, Su Xiao had summoned the Candle Woman to say hello to the Priest.