The Era of Gods-Chapter 576 - The Lord of Darkness at the End of His Rope
Chapter 576: 576 Chapter The Lord of Darkness at the End of His Rope
“Yeah, I’m just on vacation. How about you? Are you here for training?”
“Not me. I’m here to carry out military duties.”
“Right, I remember during the Super Newcomer Summer Camp that those who performed well could get selected for the military. Both you and His Excellency, the Dragon Emperor, were chosen.”
The Ancient City had an understanding look and didn’t think too much about it.
Afterwards, they chatted idly for a while until his companions quietly discussed going out to grab some food. The Ancient City took the opportunity to invite him:
“We’re about to eat. Do you want to join us?”
Lin Xiao smiled and nodded:
“Sure!”
Several people were taken aback by his response, which was probably more unexpected than they anticipated.
In a restaurant specializing in exotic grilled meats, the group gathered around a table laden with exotic dishes: delicious serpent meat, Tabu sheep kebab, boiled bluefish, butter salmon, spore-grilled meat, spicy lobster, and more.
After all the dishes were served and before they could start eating, the restaurant manager brought over three plates of storm meat chops still crackling with tiny flashes of lightning and said to Lin Xiao:
“This is the restaurant’s special dish. Please, have a taste.”
Everyone looked surprised, and the manager explained:
“It’s complimentary.”
The crowd then looked toward Lin Xiao, and the delicate Dai Lingtong asked:
“It seems you’re doing quite well here.”
Lin Xiao waved his hand and laughed:
“Just so-so. I’m only in charge of about twenty-some people.”
“That’s not ordinary at all; being in charge of twenty-some people means you could be a squad leader or a deputy squad leader.”
“Uh huh.”
He vaguely moved past the topic.
Twenty-some True Gods are still twenty-some people, right…
Though it was a bit strange at first, everyone loosened up after getting reacquainted. They were all young, after all.
Even if the likes of Ancient City and Tang Ling had just a so-so relationship with him before, so much time had passed, everyone had grown, and there were no deep grievances to cling to; it was all in the past.
After the meal, they exchanged contact information and parted ways.
Turning a corner, Lin Xiao encountered a guard, Lin Eleven, who quietly reported on the background of the Ancient City and his clan as they walked.
It wasn’t for any special reason, just a normal gathering of information about them.
“A lot can change in three years. Having not seen him for so long, he not only got admitted to Brilliant Super College, but he’s also doing quite well in the military, now at the rank of captain. With this progression, there’s a high chance he’ll succeed in his Divine Enthronement.”
Reflecting on the first time he met Lin Xiao, the Ancient City sighed with a sense of nostalgia.
The many young boys and girls beside him were speechless upon hearing this, their expressions complicated, especially those who knew Lin Xiao.
Returning to the command center, Lin Xiao immersed his will into the Creation Rubik’s Cube to continue with the fifth generation of gene adjustment for the Cave-dwellers.
The gene adjustment for the fifth generation of Cave-dwellers was much greater than the previous ones, and this was the final adjustment he would make for them; he wasn’t going to adjust them again.
After all, they weren’t his God Realm Kin, and there was no need to invest too much in adjusting them. They were already powerful enough, and further adjustments would be too costly.
It wasn’t that it wasn’t worth it, but further adjustments would inevitably affect the Cave-dwellers’ reproduction speed.
The Cave-dwellers were already at the balance limit between reproduction speed and individual strength; any further enhancement would certainly decrease their reproduction speed drastically.
He didn’t need to create a new powerful race, so this state was the most appropriate.
While he was fully focused on researching how to enhance the strength of the fifth-generation Ground Dwellers without significantly affecting their reproduction speed, another major event that would have a huge impact occurred in the Dark Territory.
Perhaps dissatisfied with the current progress, or worried about the fast-growing power of the Ground Dwellers, the Heart-stealing Demon God, after besieging the Kingdom of the Lord of Darkness for many years, suddenly revealed its hand one day. Four unknown Medium Divine Power Incarnations at God Level Six, along with over thirty Deity Incarnations, suddenly appeared in the Divine Realm of the Lord of Darkness. They sacrificed themselves in a pyrrhic victory to kill the last two incarnations of the Lord of Darkness, forcing the Lord of Darkness’s True Body to awaken.
At this point, the Lord of Darkness had fallen into a desperate situation.
Although his True Body possessed extremely powerful combat abilities within the Divine Realm, and relying on the power of the Divine Nation, the Lord of Darkness alone could fight against these fifty to sixty True Deity Incarnations with ease, yet for the True Body to take action implied a huge risk.
It is known that a True God generally does not get injured, but once they do, the wounds inevitably involve the Divine Fire and the Soul of God—wounds that are extremely difficult to recover from. Many True Gods have fallen into slumber due to injuries, a slumber which could last for hundreds to thousands of years.
He could leverage the power of the Divine Nation to crush the fifty to sixty True Deity Incarnations, but he would undoubtedly be injured. Once injured, given the current situation, it would be extraordinarily dangerous.
But let’s not forget, there is also a presence with a God Level clearly more powerful than that of the Lord of Darkness, a Medium Divine Power from the surface, watching eagerly from the sidelines.
Although all four Incarnations suffered mutual losses and died in the battle, their owner most certainly came prepared, capable of reconsolidating their Incarnations in a short time, and then…
After a long silence, Lin Xiao’s sole Incarnation quietly left the hiding place accompanied by a few subordinates’ Incarnations, heading toward the fifth level of the Dark Territory…and even further down to the sixth level.
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Legend has it that the sixth level of the Dark Territory is home to Divine Aberrations and Ancient Evil Objects that were banished during the primitive ages. These are extreme and terrifying entities that even True Gods dare not touch.
Lin Xiao, taking a tremendous risk, did not delve down there out of curiosity to see what the Divine Aberrations and Ancient Evil Objects looked like, but rather…
He moved through the fifth level of the Dark Territory, a location far away from the Lord of Darkness’s Divine Nation. At this moment, all the Deity Incarnations in the Dark Territory were concentrated within the Divine Nation of the Lord of Darkness, and the True Body’s attention was fully invested there. His concealed movement went unnoticed.
His Incarnation of God, accompanied by a dozen True God subordinates, traveled along the Rotating Stone Staircase into deeper territories. Just as they emerged from the passage, they saw ahead a forest of stalactites reaching dozens or hundreds of meters high, threaded through with spiderwebs as thick as fingers. A massive spider with several human heads on its back, glowing faintly green, sat perched on the web, and their arrival was met with a face-off with the creature’s rows of compound eyes.
The next second, one of the subordinates summoned a thick golden bolt of Divine Lightning that struck the giant spider. Countless tiny golden sparks spread out, forming a golden electric net that wrapped around the massive spider, freezing it in place.
Another subordinate conjured a glistening Divine Artifact spear, thick as a wrist, and hurled it forcefully. In an instant, energy from the Void converged on the spear as it flew, transforming it into a golden lightning javelin several meters in diameter and hundreds of meters long by the time it struck its target.
In that moment, thunder roared, and broad strands of golden lightning surged, blasting the surrounding area into a mess.
This was a Divine Aberration, one of the weaker kind, its strength falling between Ranks 9 and 10. Having no chance to resist, it was instantly killed by the two Incarnations of God.
Before leaving, Lin Xiao casually collected the corpse of the Divine Aberration and the massive web, both of which were top-quality materials.
Subsequently, a subordinate in the party with the Godhood of a thief gathered up any traces of their passing, and the group silently entered the Aether Plane, crossing this perilous sixth level of the Dark Territory without sound.
The so-called Aether Plane is akin to a protective membrane inside the inner planes, constantly filled with grey mist, thus it’s also known as the Shadow Plane.
Mortals can temporarily enter the Aether Plane through spells or Divine Arts to dodge real attacks, but they cannot remain in the Aether Plane for long, as they risk being trapped by the Aether Plane, unable to escape.
Being True Gods, they naturally could spend extended periods of time entering and exiting the Aether Plane.
Generally, Divine Aberrations also possess the ability to enter and exit the Aether Plane, but most of the time Divine Aberrations don’t frequently monitor the Aether Plane. As long as they are careful not to get too close to the powerful Divine Aberrations or Ancient Evil Objects, they are unlikely to be discovered.
The terrain of the sixth level of the Dark Territory is similar to the karst topography found on the surface, and because the Divine Aberrations and evil entities living here are too powerful, even the infamous Black Dragon in this place is but a small fry, constantly changing the landscape and causing the terrain to be erratic and bizarre.
After more than a dozen days, they traversed thousands of kilometers in a straight line and arrived at a certain area not far from the upper level of the Lord of Darkness’s Divine Nation.
The team assembled on an inverted U-shaped stone pillar with a dome, where Lin Xiao began assigning tasks, instructing them to disperse and wait.
The one they were waiting for was naturally the Lord of Darkness. They did not travel such a long way just to see the Divine Aberrations and vile entities.
According to his estimation, if the Lord of Darkness were forced to flee, the most likely direction to escape would be the sixth level of the Dark Territory.
Though this level is full of Divine Aberrations and vile entities, some of which are fearsome behemoths that ordinary True Gods can’t beat, it’s unquestionably a better place to flee than the fourth level above for the Lord of Darkness.
Use your knees to think about it: the Deities of the Dark Territory are eagerly awaiting him. Many weaker True Gods are probably preparing their True Bodies. If he escapes from the Divine Nation to the fourth level, he will inevitably be besieged by the Deities.
While the Dark Territory is dangerous, the Divine Aberrations and Ancient Evil Objects living here are not going to intentionally besiege him. If he is careful enough to hide deep within the sixth level of the Dark Territory, or risks entering the seventh level, he might just be able to evade this crisis.
Lin Xiao could not be sure if the Lord of Darkness thought the same way, but the probability was relatively higher here.
Days passed by, and the sixth level of the Dark Territory was silent. After who knows how many tens of thousands of years, the Divine Aberrations and Ancient Evil Objects had long since settled their own territories. Without external forces, clashes rarely happened, and the truly insane had long since perished.
After an unknown duration, Lin Xiao, who was sitting cross-legged atop a stone pillar, suddenly heard an angry roar from the soul level. Jerking his head up, he saw the Void in a certain direction distorting and expanding with a presence, and then a Dark Gold Divine Power Ball, radiating an overwhelmingly powerful aura, leapt out from the expansion.
“It really is here!”
He quickly stood, took a step, and vanished.
Reappearing just a few kilometers away, he saw a figure shrouded in dark golden light single-handedly collapsing the earth in a radius of several hundred meters, with hundreds of meters of rock turning to dust and erupting into the air.
Feeling Lin Xiao’s presence, a will, full of pressure, glanced his way, and the Lord of Darkness immediately recognized him, snorting coldly,
“You think you can take advantage just by yourself, do you? You’re simply seeking your own death!”
