Chapter 461 - Ancient Demon Deities (1/2)
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
As Connoris recited the spell, the gates of the cages opened. Immediately, pungent stench of blood filled the air. Hideous demons and ferocious magical beasts rushed out from the cages like tidewater. There were growls, shrills, footsteps, and many other sounds overlapping. The sight of the mess gave Lin Li gooseb.u.mps on his scalp.
“Alright, let’s get ready to leave this place!” Lin Li was not joking. They were in the Abyss Arena, a place used to get rid of any of the Abyss Lord’s enemies. There were innumerable Minion Demons, and Demons locked in every cage were at least level-18 or level-19. Despite being close to the Legendary-realm, Lin Li could not help but get anxious when the hundred of cages were unlocked at the same time.
Furthermore…
Since that was supposed to be a gift for the Lord of Souls, why should he help the Lord receive it? The moment Connoris unlocked the cages, Lin Li cast a Hastening Spell on himself and rubbed the Summoning Lamp to call back the Lord of Nightmares from Stephen’s dreamland.
Afterward, Lin Li grabbed Hutton, as well as Connoris that was on the verge of escaping, and dragged them into the only pa.s.sageway in the Abyss Arena.
“Oh yes, where is Stephen?” Hutton asked as he panted heavily. Underlying his tone was a lingering fear.
Actually, Hutton should have known that President Felic would never forgive Stephen so easily, especially for his undesirable actions. President Felic was a man that could slaughter the entire Syer Bandits with a strength of more than 300 men. How would President Felic deal with a traitor like him?
However, it might not cost Stephen his life…
After all, Stephen had the strong backing of the Dark Blade, as well as the support from the three Legendary powerhouses. Even the Malfa Family would never dare to provoke them—especially after their latest battle. Hutton could also sense the obvious fear and dread from his mentor upon mentioning the three Legendary figures…
To be honest, Hutton could tell that the abilities of President Felic would definitely be beyond what he could imagine. Sometimes, Hutton even thought that the young mage had the ability to outsmart those Legendary figures who had been respected for more than a few decades. That was just Hutton’s pure intuition, one that bloomed out of his experience after encountering a mult.i.tude of shocking interactions…
Yet, personal strength was still the most important…
In the entire Breezy Plains, there was only a handful of people who had the ability to use their personal strength to get what they wanted. These people were Ashen Warlock, Shadowmoon Sword Sage, as well as the Mage from the Tower of Darkness—just to name a few. They were powerful existences who had strength beyond the imagination of humans in the Breezy Plains.
Before one could get to their level, all was still dependent on the degree of influence one had.
Felic’s Guild of Magic had just been built in the Breezy Plains not long ago. Without any foundation, it was like an infant who was still trying to learn to walk slowly. Any impulsive or foolish man would have known that offending the Dark Blade was not a wise decision on their part, and that it would be as good as digging their graves.
If Stephen were to lose his life here, awaiting the Guild of Magic would be the Dark Blade’s rage of fury. Then, this force that lacked foundation would be uprooted by the Dark Blade. President Felic is a clever man. He should have thought of this…
“Stephen still needs to wait for an old acquaintance. He won’t be continuing this journey with us,” Lin Li replied as he glanced at the center of the Abyss Arena. Stephen had just woken up from his dreams. He was rubbing his groggy eyes and looking at his surroundings with trepidation and confusion…
It should be enough…
Lin Li calculated the time. After being sure that those cages had been unlocked, he flung the soul fragment onto the ground and gave it a hard step…
A crisp sound could be heard, and a strange and unexplainable force was released.
“Let’s go!” Lin Li urged as he pulled the confused Hutton into the pa.s.sageway.
He never looked back…
Being built by the ancient deities, the Abyss Arena itself had a magical force. The moment both men entered the narrow pa.s.sageway, the entrance behind them was blocked by red glow. This red glow was not a glaring one. It looked like a thin sheet, but acted as a barrier between the pa.s.sageway and the Abyss Arena which became like two separate worlds. Numerous magical beasts and demons that dashed towards the two humans that trespa.s.sed the arena could not get past the red s.h.i.+eld no matter how hard they tried…
“President Felic, isn’t this too harsh…?” Hutton asked Lin Li uneasily. Frankly speaking, Hutton really felt that President Felic had just made a reckless decision…
Stephen was the heir of the Dark Blade, after all. If they were to leave Stephen here, Hutton would turn into President Felic’s accomplice. Then, the Dark Blade would be going after both the Malfa Family and the Guild of Magic. It wouldn’t matter for the Malfa Family. Since they had been enemies for more than a century, another bit of hatred wouldn’t be any different.
“Chill, Stephen won’t die…” Lin Li comforted Hutton. He knew what the latter wanted to say, but unfortunately, he was really busy now…
Since he entered the pa.s.sageway, Connoris never stopped nagging. This almighty Soul Trader continued to disturb Lin Li via mental communication.
“Freak, how did you know that?”
“Know that you could open those cages?”
Connoris’s voice trembled as he said, “That’s right. That’s one of my greatest secrets that even Osric was oblivious to. How… How would you know it?”
This almighty Soul Trader could not help but feel really petrified. He couldn’t do anything about it. Due to his current disadvantage of not having a body, his greatest fear was to be seen through by people. After he got his powers taken away by Osric, knowledge was the only a.s.set he was left with—the secrets he’d acc.u.mulated over countless years. If he failed to protect those precious pieces of information, this former Demon Lord would really turn into a slave to humans…
“I say, Connoris, as an almighty Soul Trader, do you not know what a fair trade is? You have your secrets, I have my secrets. Imagine how many secrets you have kept from me ever since we met at the Eternal Furnace? Do you really think that I’m oblivious to everything?” Lin Li asked. Although he did not sound angry, his words shot out unapologetically. After taking a pause, he continued, “Alright, Connoris, let’s strike a deal. If you want to know why, use your own secrets to trade with mine.”
“What… What do you want from me?”
“Your background. Oh yes, stop patronizing me with the t.i.tle ‘Almighty Soul Trader’. A fool would have known the Greater Demons that existed before the Dark Age had many shadows of themselves. Do you all have a fetish for role-playing…?”
“You… What did you know?” Connoris asked in a voice that trembled harder than before. He stopped maintaining his fetish for role-playing. It is no great secret that Greater Demons reincarnated countless times since the Dark Age. Most who are above the Lord-level would have known that. Yet, how did this information get to a human…?
“Actually, Connoris, I just want to know which of the 99 beings you are…”
“…” Lin Li’s words turned the conversation into a daunting silence.
If Lin Li’s words only made Connoris worry earlier on, his words now really made the almighty Soul Trader fearful.
The 99 beings Lin Li was referring to had to be the 99 ancient deities…
“You have to be curious where I got this information, right…?” Lin Li asked smilingly. He did not care what was on Connoris’s mind. “Am I right, almighty Soul Trader?”
“H-how do you know that…?” Connoris had lost count of how many times he asked Lin Li this question.
“I guessed it.”
“F*ck you…” That was the first vulgarity the polite Connoris hurled at anyone so far. The day had been filled with developments beyond his imagination. The powerful Greater Demon had never lost his composure like this before.
“Scolding me will not work…” Lin Li rubbed his nose blatantly. He was now a little awkward. “Actually, it is not difficult to guess that you are an ancient deity. Only their souls could stay in the Eternal Furnace for such a long period of time. Do not lie that your soul was protected by any seal. Do not forget that it is a Wyrm’s magical crystal that was etched on the furnace. It was a crystal of at least level-24. The fire element within it could even deter Legendary powerhouses, what more a soul sealed within…”
“J-just… Just because of this?” Connoris cried. He was about to go mad.
The unreasonable fact that gave away the ancient deity’s past made him frustrated. He could not defend himself at all. After all, he was the one who’d used the spell to open the cages in the Abyss Arena.
The Abyss Arena was created by the ancient deities. Only the ancient deities had the knowledge of the laws and forces of the Abyss Arena. Even if the Lord of Darkness had reincarnated, he would not have been able to use his spells to unlock the cages. While people unaware of it would not have noticed the ability Connoris had, people like Lin Li would be able to easily guess that Connoris had to be an ancient deity.
That darn cycle was like how a chicken could hatch from an egg and how an egg could hatch into a chicken—because he was an ancient deity, he should be able to unlock the cages; because he could unlock the cages, he should be an ancient deity.
G.o.ddammit…
“Of course, there were other factors as well. But… I’m keeping those secrets to myself,” Lin Li said arrogantly. He had always felt inferior to Connoris ever since he met him at the Eternal Furnace. On the surface, he had the ability to trap Connoris in the Ring of Endless Storm, and acquire some information of the Dark Age from him, but Lin Li always felt that the self-proclaimed Soul Trader had always been dominating a lot of interactions between them. He always felt like a marionette in the unruly hands of Connoris.
Lin Li had finally gotten the upper hand in this relations.h.i.+p.
Lin Li only discovered the true ident.i.ty of Connoris just now. However, the Wyrm crystal in the Eternal Furnace was just one of the factors that supported his hypothesis. Lin Li had used that information to patronize Connoris. In fact, there were many reasons that could contribute to the preservation of one’s soul. There was no evidence that could prove Connoris was a real ancient deity.
The key determinant of Connoris’s ident.i.ty was the spell he recited when they were at the river. To normal people, the spell that Connoris recited was just a random ancient and obscure recitation. Even Andoine who had good understanding of the Dark Age wouldn’t have understood the language Connoris was reciting in.
In fact, Lin Li was clueless as well…
However, that was not the main point. Lin Li could make guesses…
To a freaky versatile crafting master like Lin Li, too much information could be garnered through a recitation that sounded ancient and obscure.
Being well-versed in the Demon Language, it was easy for Lin Li to recognize the 17 types of Demon Language in the Endless Abyss. They were just like human dialects that were unique in their own ways and cultural dimension. Many a time, they sounded very different from one another, yet if one were to study them closely, he would be able to find a strand of similarity that existed across those languages. Connoris’ recitation was what allowed Lin Li to make such a bold guess.