Volume 2, Chapter 93 – Hidden Currents

A cold, deathly silent hall. Only the lone figure sitting atop the throne remained motionless.

The figure’s eyes were closed, utterly still, so quiet that even the sound of breathing could not be heard.

After a long while, heavy footsteps echoed from beyond the hall, slowly approaching, drawing nearer and nearer, until the sound reached the ears of the figure on the throne.

Soon after, a man stepped in. He held a long sword, his complexion pale, his withered white hair devoid of the slightest trace of vitality.

He came to a stop a short distance before the throne, then dropped to one knee, bowing his head deeply.

“Grand Duke, I have already ordered my Death Knights to begin constructing the Plane Portal.”

At the sound of the man’s voice, the one seated upon the throne slowly opened his eyes.

“You’ve worked hard, Karl.”

“It is my duty, Grand Duke.”

The man named Karl answered respectfully, pausing for a moment before continuing.

“However, Grand Duke…”

He stopped mid-sentence, seemingly hesitating on whether or not to continue.

“If you have something to say, say it. There’s no need to wear such a hesitant expression.”

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The man on the throne spoke calmly, expressionless.

“Yes, Grand Duke. My lord has a question. Since you already know that the Undead will be defeated, why allow them to continue fighting the seven major factions? With your Throne-class strength, wouldn’t it be better to forcibly command the Legendary Undead to withdraw?”

The “lord” Karl referred to was none other than that player the System once mentioned, Yunchou.

To Karl’s question, the man on the throne closed his eyes again, face still void of expression.

“There are truths that can only be understood after one experiences failure. And only through crushing defeat can those stubborn children, who have clung to their beliefs for tens of thousands of years, finally awaken.”

“Karl, I truly wish I could meet your master. For someone who is but an outsider, I am quite curious, what kind of power did he use to make you submit to him?”

“Grand Duke, I cannot speak of this matter.”

At Karl’s response, the man let out a soft, amused laugh. Then, he opened his eyes again.

But this time, his gaze was no longer fixed upon Karl. Instead, it passed through everything, straight ahead, into the far distance.

At that moment, Karl felt as though the Grand Duke wasn’t looking at the palace before them at all. What he saw lay far away, hundreds of thousands of li beyond, across the vast expanse of the battlefield.

“Soon… very soon… the true decisive battle…”

In a daze, Karl seemed to hear the man muttering softly to himself.

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“Even if I already know the outcome… I will still let them witness the true might of our Graveyard…”

……

While the Graveyard’s Grand Duke and Karl conversed, outside the Main World, in an unseen dimension beyond space, a secret meeting unknown to all living beings was taking place, a meeting concerning the Graveyard, which now threatened to sweep across the entire world.

At this moment, in that formless realm, there were only three figures present.

One of them was a man entirely wrapped in divine light, so brilliant that even looking upon him directly felt like staring into the sun.

Opposite him stood an elderly Beastman who appeared as ordinary as could be. Although he existed within this space, if one were to rely purely on perception, they would find that the old Beastman’s breathing had almost completely stopped. If not for the pair of wise, penetrating eyes still open upon his face, one might have mistaken him for an undead.

The last person was a middle-aged man of entirely unremarkable appearance, ordinary face, ordinary clothing, even his expressionless demeanor radiated ordinariness. And yet, somehow, this seemingly plain man was the one who commanded the greatest attention among the three.

As the trio stood in silence, the void ahead suddenly distorted.

From the twisting air stepped forth a woman, an elf of breathtaking beauty, flawless in both face and form, perfection incarnate.

“Heavenly Father. Great Prophet. King of Knights.”

The elven woman greeted them with the graceful bow of elven etiquette, smiling warmly.

“Elven Queen.”

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The middle-aged man, Heavenly Father, only nodded slightly in response, while the man shrouded in holy light gave her a knight’s salute, and the old Beastman returned the unique gesture of his race.

There was no doubt that the four present were the leaders of their respective factions.

The Heavenly Father of the Sanctuary.

The Great Shaman, also known as the Great Prophet, of the Stronghold.

The Holy King of Knights representing the Kingdoms.

And the Elven Queen, the Throne-class ruler of Nature.

For a brief moment, within that boundless space, the highest powers of four great factions gathered together.

Not long after the Elven Queen’s arrival, space twisted once more. This time, countless writhing tentacles emerged from the void, each one pulsating with chaotic, maddening energy. Upon them were numerous vertical eyes, eerie and serpent-like, glinting with a sinister light. At the center of it all hung a colossal mouth, filled with layer upon layer of razor-sharp fangs.

“Well now… it’s been quite some time, hasn’t it, Heavenly Father…”

The gaping maw opened, and a distorted voice echoed throughout the space.

“It’s been hundreds of thousands of years, Abyssal Lord. Have your wounds healed since then?”

The ordinary-looking man, Heavenly Father, spoke with a calm expression, his gaze slightly lowered.

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Yes.

From that name alone, it was clear that this formless being before them, manifesting in such an inhuman shape, was none other than the Supreme Existence of the Inferno, the Abyssal Lord.

It was said that long before the Abyss came into being, this entity had already existed. And when the Abyss first emerged in the eyes of the world, it had already reigned supreme within it.

Some even claimed that the Abyss itself was the creation of the Abyssal Lord, for there had once been no demons in the Abyss. The demons now inhabiting it were said to have originated from fragments of the Lord’s chaotic, frenzied consciousness.

From ancient times to the present, no one had ever truly known what form the Abyssal Lord possessed. Each time it appeared, its manifestation was different.

It was worth noting that during the previous Inferno invasion of the Main World, the Abyssal Lord, on a bizarre whim, had appeared in the form of a beautiful human girl.

Of course, that incarnation was eventually slain by the combined forces of the other Throne-class beings, which was also what brought the Inferno invasion to an end.

“Hahaha! Heavenly Father, I didn’t come here today to discuss whether my wounds have healed. We’re here to talk about that arrogant little upstart from the Graveyard, aren’t we?”

Yes, “little upstart.”

To the Abyssal Lord, who had lived for countless eons, even Sargus, who had existed for millions of years, and the Throne-class beings seated here, including the Heavenly Father himself, were all merely “children.”

Children who just happened to be powerful enough to stand as its equals.