Chapter: Chapter 186
In the Demon King’s Palace, within the rarely used conference hall, several young girls and several elders were gathered around a large round table, engaged in a heated discussion.
The topic of discussion was simple: how to rescue Leticia from the divine artifact space.
“It’s impossible to open the divine artifact space with conventional power. Only by relying on the power of other gods can we open the sealed divine artifact space,” Sasha stated first, outlining a prerequisite for rescuing Leticia.
The simplest way to confront a god was to seek help from another god.
Coincidentally, the gods on the divine seat had a wide variety of types and were exceptionally amiable, making them the best choice for rescuing Leticia.
“As for the reward, once Emperor Leticia is rescued, she will discuss it with us in person,” Sasha showed her sincerity. Although negotiating terms now could yield greater benefits, doing so would prevent her from gaining Leticia’s favor.
Everything should be aimed at sustainable development, right? One shouldn’t abandon long-term gains for short-term, meager profits.
“Alright, let’s settle on that for now,” Kira nodded. Asking for help from the divine seat was indeed the simplest method at present.
The sages had already given their opinions: they couldn’t open the divine artifact space to rescue Leticia on their own, unless the Demon Race could produce another divine artifact, and the god within that artifact was willing to help the Demon Race rescue Leticia.
But divine artifacts weren’t like commonplace items. Even the Demon King’s Palace didn’t possess any divine artifacts.
In that case, wasn’t seeking help from the divine seat the only remaining option?
The late-night meeting concluded in a somber atmosphere. Sasha and the sages left first to attend to their respective duties.
After everyone else had left the room, Bai Ling walked over to Kira and said softly, “I’m sorry I couldn’t protect her.”
Kira took a deep breath. She knew she couldn’t blame Bai Ling, but at that time, Bai Ling and her sister had been standing together, yet it was her sister who was taken away by the god. This inevitably caused her to feel a slight dissatisfaction with Bai Ling.
“Sister Bai, you don’t need to blame yourself. No one could have predicted this. Regardless, things haven’t reached the worst possible point; there’s still a chance to salvage the situation,” the precocious princess offered a strained smile. “I don’t want to bear the future of the entire Demon Race alone.”
“Yes, I believe she’ll be alright,” the white-haired girl declared with determined eyes. If Sasha’s plan also failed, she would dedicate her life to finding a way to rescue Leticia.
She hadn’t protected Leticia; this was something she should have done.
“Okay, Sister Bai, you should go back and rest. You don’t look well. We can discuss other matters tomorrow,” Kira sighed. She guessed she wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly until her sister was rescued.
In the past, even though her sister had vanished, she at least knew that her sister was alive and living comfortably without any issues.
But now, her sister was imprisoned in a god’s domain, her fate unknown.
How could Kira possibly sleep?
Kira wasn’t the only one who couldn’t sleep. Bai Ling also couldn’t sleep, or rather, she shouldn’t have been able to.
Under normal circumstances, Bai Ling, lying in bed, should have been filled with thoughts of Leticia, making sleep impossible.
But today, a slight deviation occurred. The moment Bai Ling’s head touched the pillow, her consciousness plunged into an endless darkness.
In this desert of consciousness, a voice echoed, “If you want to save the one you love, do not resist. Follow my guidance and come to me.”
Bai Ling groggily tried to sit up from the ground, and then, to her surprise, she realized that the place she was in had no concept of up, down, left, or right.
“Where is this?” Bai Ling asked the endless void.
“Well, you can understand this as the world of consciousness,” the voice drifted from a great distance. “I cannot directly pull your consciousness into my divine realm, so I can only pull you here and guide you step by step to enter it.”
“Are you… a god?” Hearing this, how could Bai Ling not guess the identity of the voice’s owner?
But why would this god find her at this time?
Did she want to help her, or did she want to kick her while she was down?
“Indeed,” the god admitted her identity frankly. “As for my purpose, I can only tell you that I have no ill intentions. The Demon King’s family has a good relationship with me, and the god who took your lover away has some minor conflicts with me.”
“So, you want to help me?”
“Otherwise? If you want to save someone, hurry up and come. Gods’ patience is limited.” The god chuckled; her first impression was indeed very good.
…
While this god left a good first impression, the other one was not doing so well.
Aside from howling like a resentful woman, Leticia couldn’t get any useful information from her. She didn’t know if the god had good secrecy or if she really knew nothing at all.
After a long session of mutual scolding, Leticia grew tired and felt that arguing was pointless. She decisively used magic to block her ears and began to sleep soundly. Let the god curse as much as she wanted; she would only consider herself defeated if she reacted.
Oh, it wasn’t that there were no reactions at all. It was just that it wasn’t Leticia who reacted, but the necklace she wore around her neck.
It seemed that the god’s anger had caused the creation of Flora, who specialized in emotions, to react. As the god roared, the necklace emanated a soft white light, as if breathing.
The white light soothed Leticia and provided her with pure spiritual energy, which was even more potent than the spiritual energy she consumed supporting the umbrella gifted by Flora.
In other words, Leticia was currently using the god’s anger to protect herself.
“Sigh, if only all gods were like Flora,” Leticia felt it was a stroke of luck to have met Flora, not only for her gifts but also for her good temper. She hoped to meet more such gods in the future.
…
With a sigh, a gust of wind swept across the desolate desert, raising clouds of yellow sand.
The white-haired girl walked through the endless yellow sand, like the only star in the pitch-black night sky, exceptionally conspicuous.
She moved slowly through the desert, step by step, slow yet firm, leaving a long trail of footprints behind her that stretched to infinity.
The strong wind tried to bury the girl’s footprints but failed, only emitting futile roars of rage.
“Truly, so noisy,” the girl murmured softly. The wind was parted around her by an invisible barrier, and no matter how hard the wind tried, it couldn’t stop the girl’s progress.
In the distance, beyond sight, two beings were confronting each other.
Beside them, even the ceaseless storm had subsided, and in a solemn atmosphere, the two stood facing each other, looking at each other in silence.
They exchanged no words because they knew communication was meaningless. Their meeting now meant that only one of them could walk away from this place standing.
“As a mortal, you have great courage,” after a long pause, the girl in black gently stroked the short staff in her hand and said casually, “If your reliance is the sword in your hand, I can only say that you will pay the price of your life for your naivete.”
Her words did not cause any change in expression on the black-haired girl standing opposite her. The girl merely raised her ink-black eyes and said in a low, firm voice, “What I have is not courage, but responsibility.”
“I am the king of the Demon Race, the king of this world, and you intend to destroy my world. I must stop you.”
“Hmph, boastful. How can you, of all people, bear the title of king of this world? Your race, in my eyes, is no different from ants by the roadside. Even I dare not casually claim to be the ruler of a world, so where do you get your courage from?” The girl sneered. As her words fell, the sky was quickly covered by dark clouds, and the entire space was enveloped in darkness.
Thick black tentacles emerged from beneath the desert floor, lunging towards the small girl.
In terms of size, the smallest of these tentacles was several times thicker than the girl’s waist, let alone their length.
The tentacles attacked from all directions, completely blocking any escape routes for the girl. A normal person might have already despaired at this point.
These tentacles were not mere paper tigers, outwardly grand but inwardly weak; the ferocious aura they exuded indicated that their combat power was absolutely not to be underestimated.
Perhaps even the most ferocious creatures in this world couldn’t compare to a single one of these tentacles.
Facing this seemingly desperate situation, the girl showed no panic; she didn’t even move.
She raised the black longsword in her hand high above her head and then casually swung it down.
Time seemed to freeze. The menacing tentacles froze in place, their ferocious aura vanishing abruptly. The girl didn’t even bother to look at them.
“How were the results of your probe?” Her gaze pierced through the layers of black tentacles and met the gaze of the girl whose complexion was not looking too good. “I wonder if you are satisfied with my answer, you who claim to be a god.”
As the girl’s clear and sweet voice filled the air, the hideous tentacles slowly turned into black powder, scattering onto the yellow desert.
The girl, called a god, chuckled and said, “Do you really think I only have these few tricks?”
“Naturally not. Unlike you, who is arrogant and inconsiderate, I never underestimate my opponents, nor do I prematurely conclude battles where the outcome is undecided.” The girl remained calm, as if what had just happened was not her doing.
“By borrowing the power of my unpromising kin, do you truly believe you can stop me?”
“I merely struck a deal with her, a deal that was mutually beneficial for both of us.” The girl looked at the longsword in her hand, a hint of melancholy flashing in her eyes. “As for your question, I can give you an answer, and that is, since I have appeared here, I am confident that everything will return to the right track.”
The girl’s composure made the god somewhat enraged. The calmer the opponent appeared, the more she felt like a clown.
Empty words were useless here; only fists could speak.
“Then have a good look at the difference between your incomplete power and true divine power!”
The god no longer summoned those black tentacles. The previous probe had made her realize that those things had no effect on her enemy.
To defeat this girl, the only way was for her to act personally, to crush the girl’s confidence and body with unparalleled power, and to let everyone in this era know that gods were invincible.
With a whoosh, the god disappeared from her spot. When she reappeared, she was only an arm’s length away from the girl.
Her hand had already been raised, and the short staff in her hand flashed with an ominous black light. In the next moment, she unreservedly swung her arm, smashing the short staff towards the girl’s face.
This blow, compared to the previous grand spectacle of the tentacle attack, seemed so plain and unadorned, yet the danger within it far surpassed the previous attack.
Displayed might was not the threat; the true threat was concealed.
The girl dared not be careless and immediately blocked the god’s surprise attack with her black sword.
Although she blocked the surprise attack, the god’s attack still staggered the girl. This hasty block could not completely neutralize the god’s attack.
Even though the god looked like a relatively delicate young girl, when fighting, her strength was no less than that of those giant beasts.
Even though the girl had been mentally prepared long ago and reacted in time, she still couldn’t avoid creating an opening under the god’s attack.
Seeing the opening appear on the girl, the god relentlessly pursued, having long abandoned any playful intentions. At this moment, all she thought about was how to quickly crush this annoying ant into渣渣.
Under this stormy, rain-like assault, the girl’s small face tensed, her eyes fixed on the god’s movements, doing her best to block the god’s attacks with her sword.
Although she couldn’t match the god in strength and was forced to retreat under the continuous attacks, the god couldn’t break through her defenses in a short period.
The girl’s defense was like a tortoise shell, impenetrable and difficult to breach. She was even looking for opportunities to counterattack.
Dividing her attention to control the black tentacles and shatter the magic attacks coming from behind, the god’s expression also became less favorable. This girl was too tenacious.
For a mortal to last this long under her, a god, was truly, in a way, embarrassing.
