Chapter 10: Troublesome People
The Sixth Abyss, also known as the Molten Sea Fire Prison, along with the Seventh Abyss and the Thirty-Seventh Abyss, are extremely close to the Mycroft Continent from a multiversal spatial perspective. Perhaps tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years ago, these worlds were all connected by natural space-time passages. But now, only the Mycroft Continent remains in existence, while the surrounding worlds have either fallen into the Abyss or been eroded by Chaos, teetering on the brink of destruction.
After Joshua withdrew from the Seventh Abyss, he did not go directly to the Fairyland. Instead, he made another trip to the center of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground. The warrior descended from the clouds, landing at the planar nexus. He walked through the silver structures of the ancient era, summoning the Dominant Will to descend.
"...Successor, is there something you need?"
Responding to Joshua's call, the Dominant Will communicated with him through spiritual connection: "Do you wish to ask when I can be reactivated? The vacuum energy storage is being replenished and still requires twelve million seconds. However, once the storage is fully rebuilt, the transmission interval will drop to forty thousand seconds."
"No, you've already told me that. I'm here for something else this time."
Joshua shook his head: "I have already revealed the truth of the Era of Radiance to the various Legendary experts of the Mycroft World. They should choose a time soon to come and visit you together."
"You want me to..."
Joshua nodded, speaking seriously: "Protect yourself. The current Mycroft Continent is not yet fully unified under a single regime. Due to certain conflicts of interest, unexpected incidents may occur. If some people act out of personal grudges..." At this point, Joshua couldn't help but think of Barbarossa and the Fishman High Priest Godar, and he said with some headache: "In short, first secure all the important facilities. Don't leave them exposed like they are now."
"This is my mission, Successor." After hearing Joshua's words, the Dominant Will's voice remained unhurried, without any emotional fluctuation: "Serving the intelligent life of the Mycroft World is my principle. But to serve others, I must first preserve myself. Although I am an artificial soul, I still possess this flexibility."
As the Dominant Will's words faded in the spiritual space, accompanied by rumbling sounds around them, large sections of the silver metal structures from the Era of Radiance beside Joshua began to slowly sink into the ground, disappearing beneath the rising dust. Vaguely, the warrior could see that beneath the seemingly thick surface layer of earth, there was a vast metal framework. It seemed that the surface structure of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground was only a part of its whole; underground, there were hidden facilities, covered by a thick energy shield.
That should be enough, Joshua thought. Although he was willing to share the truth he knew with all who deserved to know it, he could not guarantee that others shared his intentions. To ensure the normal operation of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground, rather than having it sabotaged by those with ulterior motives, he had to make the Dominant Will implement safety measures. This was the most basic caution.
After that, Joshua did not linger at the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground. After bidding farewell to the Dominant Will, he directly left this demiplane and headed for the Fairyland.
Fairyland, Northern Empire Exploration Base.
When Joshua returned from the edge of the Fairyland plane and arrived at the base entrance, he was greeted by the Divine Mechanism siblings, whose expressions were serious and suspicious.
"What's wrong, Ying, Lin?"
Joshua noticed the strange looks on his weapons' faces but didn't pay them much mind. Instead, he habitually reached out to pick them both up: "You don't look like you're in a good mood?"
"Just as I thought!"
But what greeted the warrior was their simultaneous exclamation, as if they had confirmed something.
"I can smell it!" Without brushing off Joshua's hand, Ying and Lin were scooped up by Joshua. The silver-haired girl even leaned in close to sniff the warrior's face, then said with a wary expression: "Master, you've been in a fight, haven't you! How dare you—why didn't you take us!"
"The scent of Steel Force eruption, plus the smell of energy burning—definitely a fight!"
On the other side, Lin added: "And it was definitely an intense battle! Sniff sniff..." He also took a sniff, then frowned: "It's His Holiness the Pope, isn't it? In such a short time, Master, you even went to the Abyss once? Damn it, you went solo!"
"It's about time to head back now."
Joshua changed the subject. At the same time, he noticed Hill and Fina inside the exploration base, curiously watching his interaction with Ying and Lin. His superhuman hearing allowed him to catch their whispers.
"What do you think is better after marriage—having a few kids? I think two is good."
"Wh-wh-what are you talking about! We're not even married yet, and you're thinking so far ahead!"
"What's there to be shy about... It'll happen soon enough."
That kind of middle-aged talk is really out of place. But thinking about it carefully, although Hill looks like a young man—actually, he has the appearance of a handsome youth—he's actually an old-timer dragon knight who has served in the Sea Dragon Knight Order for decades... Elven faces really are deceptive. Similarly, dwarf faces are the same, but in the opposite direction.
There was nothing else to do in the Fairyland. After most of the Legendary experts had returned to their own factions to discuss the truth Joshua had revealed, only the pure exploration team members remained at the base. They were still conducting surveys of the Myriad Realms Sacrificial Ground according to their daily plan. However, thanks to the warrior's instructions, no Giant Soldiers would hinder their observations and detections anymore. It seemed that things would go smoothly for a while.
Thus, half an hour later, with the reinforced teleportation array activated, the group bid farewell to the Northern Empire exploration base personnel and teleported back to Moldavia.
Northern Empire, Northern Lands, Moldavia Territory, Old City District.
Joshua and the others appeared in the Lord's Mansion. He said something that even he felt was familiar: he had said these words many times before, long ago. This made the warrior realize once again the importance of what Eagle had said.
He really hadn't paid attention to the people and things around him for a long time. All along, he had been focused on the rise and fall of the entire world, the deepest secrets and truths of the Sage and the multiverse. He had always looked up at the sky, gazing into the future, but rarely looked down at his feet. Although this was Joshua's way of living, occasionally changing things up wasn't a bad thing.
But just as Joshua was thinking about how he should rest and enjoy life, No. 3 spoke up with a somewhat plaintive tone: "Don't space out, Joshua. There are two troublesome people waiting for you at Winterfell Academy."
"Who? What troublesome people?"
Snapping out of his thoughts, Joshua frowned: "I thought all my enemies should be dead... Even if they're still alive, how dare they come see me?"
"It's not that kind of trouble..." No. 3 rolled its eyes in a very human-like manner: "It's the two Legendary mages, Baniel and William. They just returned from some unknown world. After hearing the news of your return from another world, they've been waiting here for you. They've been waiting for most of the day."
"It seems they have urgent business."