Chapter 624
The Battle of Punishing Heaven!
“I have always claimed that it was not I who defeated the Supreme Heaven, but rather its arbitrary tyranny. I never believed the credit for that battle came from myself.
“The reason I ultimately replaced the Supreme Heaven as a Pillar God was because I was the only one capable of doing so at the time. As I was the only Heavenly Envoy born of the Path of Power who dared to resist the Supreme Heaven, I was the only one who could take this position… after all, the throne could not remain vacant.”
Arthur turned back and gazed at the dim yellow sky with Eivass.
He was silent for a moment, then slowly said, “Besides myself, three other Pillar Gods directly participated in the ‘Battle of Punishing Heaven,’ and two Pillar Gods provided assistance without directly intervening. Including myself, a total of six Heavenly Envoys participated in the battle. Two more Heavenly Envoys perished in this war. As for the Apostles who participated, their numbers were countless.
“After this battle, the number of Phantom Demon Eggs condensed by the Material Realm surged more than sixtyfold in fifty years due to the fallen Apostles. Five hundred years later, there are still some Apostles whose resurrection has not been completed, and they have not returned to the Dream Realm.”
Eivass’s eyes widened upon hearing this.
Undoubtedly, this was knowledge of the highest order of occultism.
No book in the Material Realm recorded such information—the secrets of the succession of Pillar Gods, spoken by a direct participant!
“In terms of contribution, my power was no match for those three Pillar Gods, and my sacrifice could not compare to those two Heavenly Envoys. Those Apostles were even more admirable.
“I still remember the ten battlefield levels that were created within the Dream Realm. What people in the Material Realm saw overhead—the White Dragon fighting the Red Bear—was merely the lowest level… and the level closest to the Material Realm.
“The Supreme Heaven was driven down layer by layer, and the Origin River of Power was soaked with blood. His myriad warriors clashed with the Gods in the endless dreamscapes, and his Apostles fought against them in every corner of the Dream Realm.
“By the time it was my turn to act, He was already unprecedentedly weakened. Even so, I fell into a near-death state seven times during that battle—both of us possessed the ability to recover from near-death. I killed Him six times, and He killed me seven times. The seventh near-death experience was the closest to permanent death.
“My blade had already shattered, and my power was completely depleted. The Supreme Heaven was much the same—His blood had spilled across the earth, seeping from the Dream Realm into the Material Realm.
“I knew I had to win. Because if I failed, all the previous sacrifices would have been in vain—the Supreme Heaven would still be the Lord of Power. Even if His divine body was shattered and all His Apostles annihilated, He would eventually resurrect from the Origin River.
“—Only by defeating Him with ‘Power’ and proving that He was no longer the chief of ‘Power’ could His divine power be stripped away.”
…So that’s how it is.
To kill a Pillar God with violence, must one ultimately transcend the very Path they governed?
Eivass listened intently to the secrets Arthur personally recounted, etching them into his memory.
—Perhaps they will be useful later.
“And at that time, my knights had just defeated the giants in the mortal realm, ending the rule of the Giant Kingdom—the Supreme Heaven was too preoccupied to help the giants. The demise of the mortal kingdom also proved that He had lost ‘control’ and no longer possessed supreme ‘Power’; my seven near-death experiences caused the Origin River of ‘Violence’ to recognize me.
“But in the end, the main reason for His defeat was that He gradually lost His original intent during His long existence and separated from the Path of Power. This caused His recovery in the final moments to be a fraction slower than mine.
“When I finally surpassed the Supreme Heaven with ‘Power,’ His infinite divine power completely dissipated—much like how a successor’s Dao heart collapses.”
“—Undoubtedly, although this war began and ended with me, it did not originate from me. It stemmed from the hatred and animosity that the peoples of this world and the other world had continuously accumulated over thousands of years.”
The Silver Crown Dragon, in the avatar of Arthur, spoke slowly.
As Eivass listened to His narration, it was as if he had personally experienced that magnificent “Battle of Punishing Heaven.” He felt a surge of passion—the Dream Realm, with its theoretically infinite area, was drenched in blood everywhere; the blood in the Dream Realm overflowed, seeping from the dream into the Material Realm.
What a romantic and what a shocking scene!
What was even more commendable was that the Silver Crown Dragon always remembered that He was not the strongest. Even after ascending to the position of Pillar God, He remained humble.
However…
…Three Pillar Gods?
Who else was there besides the Lord of Scales and Feathers?
Thinking this, Eivass still felt a pang of fear and did not dare to directly ask the question.
But he still asked another question: “And who were those two sacrificed Heavenly Envoys?”
—I can ask this, right?
Even in the name of remembering fallen heroes, one should remember their sacrifice.
“One of them was the defiant Heavenly Envoy Antaeus from the Transcendent Path. He was a giant, yet he fought for righteousness, rebelling against fate and his bloodline. He fought as a vanguard against the Supreme Heaven, the progenitor of giants, and died fighting without retreat, eventually being shattered into fragments. He is truly worthy of respect and remembrance.
“The other one… you might know.”
“…Who?” Eivass was somewhat surprised.
I could know a Heavenly Envoy?
Who was it? A Ring Heavenly Envoy?
Why didn’t he just die?
Arthur then spoke, “It was the Grey Heavenly Envoy—neither truly real nor fake, neither black nor white—who also perished in that battle. However, some argue that His death was merely another form of unspeakable lie, as those who pray to Him can still seek divine arts… so I will not speak His True Name. After all, knowing His True Name is equivalent to falling into His lies.”
At this point, Arthur glanced at the sunset again and asked, “Are you ready?”
“…What?”
“Time is about to begin to flow again. Do you have any other questions?”
…So this is a time stop state?
Eivass suddenly realized.
No wonder Arthur stopped pretending and suddenly revealed so many secrets—they were currently in a rift in time!
“In the Dream Realm, if time no longer flows according to normal rules, the horizon will permanently display a dim yellow color, akin to twilight. You can remember this in other dreams… it signifies that Amber is watching you.”
The Silver Crown Dragon gazed at the sunset on the horizon and said, “That is the Eye of Amber.”
As Arthur spoke, the seemingly endless twilight began to recede.
Night began to fall.
Eivass was still speaking at this moment: “I do have a small question… What exactly is a Demon Cauldron? Giants survive by relying on Demon Cauldrons, right?”
“—A Demon Cauldron?”
It was not Arthur who answered Eivass, but a voice that sounded somewhat familiar to Eivass. “Ah, I know this!”
He turned back in surprise and, as expected, saw the familiar figure—
He had messy black short hair, and wore a circular monocle on his left eye. Clad in a blue robe, with a sword at his waist, his face bore a frivolous smile.
—It was Merlin in his youth!
Eivass’s gaze swept further and he saw the even more familiar figure of Lancelot I.
At this moment, he looked almost exactly like Lancelot from their last Ascension Ritual, only considerably younger. He appeared to be even younger than Merlin.
Besides them, over a dozen knights were building a fire and setting up camp.
They all looked on with curiosity, but no one came forward to inquire about Eivass’s identity.
Clearly, the task of offending someone fell to Merlin once again.
“The secret of the Demon Cauldron is simple. It is a special technique of the Giant Priests. By performing a ritual with ninety-nine souls in pain and ninety-nine gemstones of the same color, and praying for the divine power of the Supreme Heaven, one can create a Giant Demon Cauldron that gushes endless food. However, there are only seven true Demon Cauldrons, and they all possess the magical ability to bring the dead back to life… though even artificially created Demon Cauldrons can revive warriors who have been dead for within seven days through divine art.”
Merlin pushed his monocle and said with a smile, “I have answered your question, so how about you answer one of mine?
“May I ask, who are you?”
“—Merlin, do not be rude.”
At this moment, Arthur suddenly spoke.
His majestic and ice-cold silver-grey pupils fixed on Merlin, and Merlin instantly quieted down.
The blue-robed mage respectfully nodded, “As you command, my King.”
“This is Sir Helchin… I have summoned his heroic spirit through a ritual to fight alongside us.”
Huh?
Eivass stared at Arthur in astonishment.
—Does this mean I am a heroic spirit summoned by King Arthur?
(End of Chapter)
