How Am I Still Alive?-Chapter 1208 - 1194: When the Door Opens

Two months and six days, that was how long Lu Ping’an had been staying in the heavens. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Nine years and eight months, that was the duration of suffering the mortals below had been enduring.

"...Hey, have you heard? The Priest says that astrology is becoming stable, and it seems like the passage to the outside world is about to stabilize."

Sausola Damshi, once an unnoticed Deep Sea Pearl, now a super-subsea metropolis.

But unlike the past, inhabited only by residents of the Water system, it now had an upper and lower layer, each with its own scenario.

The city district above in particular had become a world-famous metropolis. Above the original underwater part, there were now a large number of buildings on Floating Islands, and countless island cities constructed from these Floating Islands were connected to the city below through underwater passages.

Thanks to the rise in water levels, creating passages between the two cities was not as difficult as expected, and linking terrestrial and marine cities in both directions brought enormous economic benefits.

Today, its above-water city district had become one of the world’s most prosperous commercial islands.

"Is the blockade ending? Is that a good thing...?"

With the stabilization of the "Astrology," it also meant that the "rotation" of this planet in the universe was starting to stabilize, bringing an end to the acceleration by a mighty being.

Whether it was street vendors, professional warriors, or even housewives pregnant at home, everyone was talking about this news.

But it was hard to say they were looking forward to it all happening.

Thanks to the activities of the "Salvation Army," "Chamber of Commerce," and "Gods’ Church," almost everyone in the world knew about the current situation and what it meant for the doors to open again...

"The frontline is still not going well, if the gates really open up, those Dwarves and Fish Monsters’ reinforcements will come again..."

War had never stopped, or rather, this world had never had a peaceful time.

This was a "normal pub" in Sausola Damshi (upper city area), named so out of someone’s sense of humor in Eastern Country language.

But this place was far from normal...

"...Three months, at most three months, and then we’ll be completely linked. Then, whether it’s us or them, we’ll receive reinforcements."

"Don’t say that, just two days ago the Dragon Battling Group’s campaign got ruined because of a Starfall. As soon as it joined the battlefield, the balance was broken, and the Salvation Army suffered heavy losses..."

Starfall refers to the strongmen forcibly dropped from other worlds... Even those with specialized protective facilities, capable of surviving independent Starfall events, were generally quite formidable beings.

Should they join the battlefield, they often had enough power to turn the tides on their own.

For humans, the Long Hand Clan, and the Free Fish People, Starfalls were generally enemies... After all, the Eastern Country’s forces in the heavens weren’t insane enough to gamble on the slim chance of a successful Starfall by throwing lives away.

Unlike the invaders from the Exotic Races with their nearly infinite manpower resources, the Eastern Country’s total military strength was actually quite limited—even though several more Starcraft had arrived in the past few months, they couldn’t possibly force these "freelancers" to make a forced descent.

"...The days ahead will be quite tough. Have you heard? Those Divine Beasts have started to stir again, weren’t they supposed to be sleeping along with ’the lord’?"

In this ordinary pub, most were front-line warriors, yet despite reinforcements being on their way, they were generally leaning towards pessimism.

After all, in a world full of nothing but bad news, they were fed up...

"...Don’t be so pessimistic; I heard the Salvation Army won two important battles on the western and southern fronts. Our territory is going to expand."

"I know, overall our situation is getting better... but I too long for a day without any news of war..."

Bad news always spreads the fastest, and the warriors in the pub hesitated and felt uneasy when discussing the frontline and the future.

But on the other hand, it couldn’t be denied that our side was constantly recapturing Territory, especially contesting for those precious "continents"...

"Have you heard? The Salvation Army and the Church had a battle on Filin Continent, they were on the brink of civil war even without victory..."

"Which Salvation Army? Which Church? I know of at least seventy with their name, banner, and reputation, and recognize at least twenty different sized churches..."

At the bar’s side, a Knight draped in a cloak was sipping spirits gently, yet no one else was around him.

That was because at his or her feet lay a slender weapon stained with blood, and just ten minutes ago, two unfortunate souls looking for trouble had been dragged away.

Her... The slender black silk legs under the hood revealed her gender, and also attracted some additional trouble.

Now, she sat with one leg crossed over the other, waiting for someone, seemingly at ease despite being in the middle of a bustling marketplace.

"Snap!"

Finally, when the door swung open and a large frame squeezed inside, everyone held their breath.

Not only did his single presence reach the ceiling over three meters high, but also because of that characteristic black and white fur...

"It’s Killer Bear!"

"Black and white evil? Why has he come..."

Clearly, the arrival of this well-known individual caused a stir.

And looking at the mercenaries stealthily spilling out of the bar behind him, it was obvious that this was not a good reputation.

"Killer Bear" didn’t care, he just lowered his head, glanced left and right, and then spotted the woman waving from beside the bar.

"Yo, long time no see..."

"Boom!"

With one plop, the fragile wooden stool directly crumbled into dust.

He scratched his head, nonchalant... it didn’t really matter to him whether the stool couldn’t bear the weight or just happened to reach its limit when he arrived.

"...Uncle Xue, my Master, is he coming back?" the woman spoke up first.

"Don’t call me Uncle, call me Brother Xue..."

The bear picked at the wood splinters under his butt, none of which had the capacity to pierce his skin.

"That won’t do, Master said to respect your teachers and the hierarchy, prefer the elder to the younger. You are my Master’s peer, naturally you’re an uncle."

"Heh, your Master is all talk, he also said he’d take everyone with him, yet he just happened to leave me out."

"Uncle, you’ve said that three hundred times already, didn’t the other uncles say it was your own fault..."

The last time they met was over a year ago, but when they started talking about the past, they quickly became lively again after just a few words.

After reconnecting, it was natural to talk business, after all, their statuses had changed now, and they were all quite busy...

"You’re right, he... should be coming back. Ha, I envy that kid, I’m already an uncle, and he’s still a young man."

Upon hearing this, a flash of blood light passed through the woman’s amber solitary eye, clearly her emotions were not as calm as they appeared.

"...Is this why you came to talk to me? Will his return change anything?"

"You’ve already guessed, so stop playing dumb; that’s not cute at all... Yes, our Chamber of Commerce may need to change direction."

The bear patted his belly; if that man came back, one could guess the current policies of the "Chamber" would not please him.

That man would surely do something, and his own special trip here was to foster relations with friendly individuals in advance and give them a heads-up.

"...I see, because of the leader’s return, the previously neutral forces might take action. You, are you planning to join the war?"

"We don’t rule out that possibility... So, I wonder if the Marshal of the Salvation Army is interested in discussing a cooperation with us? Of course, ’everything has a price’ is the emblem of our Chamber of Commerce, so all services come at a cost."

As the cloak fell off, in those signature Beast Pupil amber eyes shone joy and madness.

"Of course, clear accounts make for good siblings, that’s also what Master taught me."