"It's truly been a long time. Conservation! "
Soul spying was a mutual thing. The familiar soul wavelengths she emitted allowed me to know who she was. However, this existence was the one I didn't want to see the most right now.
"Indeed, it's been a long time. But, if possible, I really don't want to see you again … Yongye."
This was a wondrous feeling. When that person's voice reached me, and she herself appeared in the distance, the entire world seemed to come alive.
The grass was now green, and the clouds were white. However, everything seemed to have been colored by someone else. She stood there, and the entire world seemed to be dyed in color.
She appeared while sitting on a gigantic bone giant. This bone giant was as large as a mountain, and there was a gigantic throne made of bones on its head. She quietly sat there, and her long dress, which resembled both royal and mage robes, fluttered in the wind.
Even though Conservation was clearly no different from an ant compared to the gigantic bone giant, everyone's attention was attracted to her. Everyone ignored the gigantic bone giant below her. This wasn't something ethereal like aura or physical appearance. This was a special privilege she was born with.
"… This is truly ridiculous."
Her perfect face seemed to have some flaws. Her soft and smooth skin seemed to be split into two halves. The left side of her skin was white, while the right side was crimson. The left side of her hair was silver-white, while the right side of her hair was fiery orange-red.
As for what she looked like, since she didn't want others to know, it was likely that mortals wouldn't even have the right to look directly at her.
Seeing Conservation like this, the next instant, even though I didn't intentionally use my natural talent ability, my eyes changed.
One side transformed into a black pupil with white pupils, while the other side transformed into a black pupil with white pupils. It was just like the two halves of the Taichi diagram. The Stare of the Hell God was capable of seeing through one's soul, as well as distorting where one's soul belonged.
Meanwhile, my strongest natural talent ability was something that I had only obtained after analyzing Zero's secret to creating clones. Her understanding of energy and the world had given me the theoretical foundation to create my eyes.
"… She's even stronger than Aso. No, she's on a completely different level."
However, communication (combat) was mutual. It was likely that Conservation had gained even more from that battle than I had.
I dissected her doppelganger back then, so I could naturally assess her abilities. At that time, she definitely couldn't be as strong as she is now.
In my soul's perspective, Conservation's existence was incomparably tremendous. She was just like a sun that illuminated all things. Just the light that she released caused the surrounding scenery to be lit up with her colors. The quality of a soul was directly proportional to the undead's power level. However, in my eyes, Conservation's soul's quality seemed to be limitless.
It was impossible to truly have limitless energy. That would go against the basic dimensional laws of the mortal plane. However, some existences had the special right to break the laws.
"There's no limit to the power level of an Undead Emperor! It was possible for it to be extremely strong, but the clone from before had clearly not reached this level. This was too ridiculous! Simply, simply … "
"… Main God level."
The silly cat's judgment was correct. Breaking the so-called natural laws of the world was one of the Main Gods' special privileges. And judging from the pressure I was feeling, this Ghost Empress who was silently sitting there was no weaker than the Main Gods who had participated in the Battle of Hades.
"Astrya, why did you let the Sovereign descend just like that! What's wrong with your dimensional defense system? "
[I can't sense Cynthia anymore. The dimensional laws have become chaotic. Don't treat past experience as an iron law. Not only that, this Undead Emperor's abilities are quite unique. The dimensional laws might not be able to restrict her. Be careful. Since she's capable of making herself infinitely large, she's naturally capable of making herself infinitely small as well. She obtained critical knowledge from you and took the most important step forward.]
Even though Astrya had lost her physical body and abilities, she still had her experience. Astrya's judgment was unquestionable. The Conservation before me was probably the most troublesome opponent I had ever faced.
After all, even when I faced a Main God before, I had already prepared a trump card. And this time, it was like I had caught a shark while fishing.
"Yongye, you've become weaker. Those little toys from before were so embarrassing …"
While I was still hesitating, Conservation spoke up first. Her seemingly mocking words were actually spoken in an incredibly calm tone. I could sense that she had no intention of mocking me at all. She was simply stating the truth.
She was simply stating the truth. She was stating the fact that I was currently weaker than she had expected. She was stating the fact that all of my techniques, including Yongye City and forbidden spells, were nothing more than useless little toys. She was stating the fact that she didn't take me seriously at all.
"Damn it, you're just saying things that don't hurt you. If I had your current power level, I wouldn't need to play any little tricks. I would have defeated you long ago."
Even if she was speaking the truth, I naturally wouldn't say such discouraging words on the battlefield. It was fine if I couldn't win, but I wouldn't lose in battle if I couldn't win. Empty words were worthless.
"Ahh, I really am ridiculously weak right now. But, didn't a certain Undead Emperor only dare to show up after I cast my spell?"
I didn't believe that she would show up at such a time. Such a short distance was nothing to her. It was likely that she had been coldly watching as her cannon fodder was killed off. She was certain that I wasn't even at the level of an Undead Emperor right now, which was why she had decided to show up.
"Slyness, caution, caution, and so many backup plans. These are all qualities that an Undead Emperor, who is viewed as the mortal enemy of all the heretics in the mortal plane, should have. But, it's such a headache to see such qualities appear on an enemy, and an enemy with an advantage in power level."
While I was still thinking about how to deal with this, the people below me were still panicking. Although Harloys had only shouted two sentences from afar, the words "Yongye" and "Undead Emperor" carried far too much weight.
I didn't have the time to care about other people's business with Conservation's threat before me. However, I also wouldn't be able to let panic spread.
"Idiots! Does it matter who the opponent is? Who cares about those ancient legends that are so distant from us? He's helping us right now. Didn't you see it for yourselves? "
Salima's angry roar echoed throughout the entire city. As the current highest-ranked commander of the city, Salima's calmness also helped to calm the entire situation down considerably.
Of course, there were also plenty of looks of fear and panic behind my back. It would seem that I would need to contact the fairies and see if they could help me clear my name.
"Don't even think about it. Yongye is still the ultimate demon king in all horror stories. That's because you went too far back in the past."
"… Tsk. Then why don't you make up some bullsh * t story that Yongye is already dead, and that I'm just an ordinary person who obtained his soul inheritance. "
"Would anyone actually believe such a ridiculous story?"
"In this day and age, it's quite common for public opinion to change as long as you're willing to spend money. Not to mention, you're just trying to twist the truth."
"… What are you trying to make up now? I'd rather die than believe you."
The silly cat's bullsh * t helped me relax slightly. Harloys, who had returned to her human form, also gave me solid support. Perhaps my personal power level was no match for the current Conservation, but I had the mage tower and Harloys, who was just as powerful as I was. Meanwhile, Conservation was all by herself. If my inference was correct, it was still possible for us to win this battle.
"… Even if you're stronger than me, are you certain that you'll be able to obtain the final victory? You shrunk your body into this cage. Aren't you afraid that you'll break the cage and be directly thrown out?"
Conservation didn't respond. However, the sudden appearance of the undead army was the best answer to her attitude.
When the two Undead Emperors fought, the countless cannon fodder undead clashing against each other was only the beginning of this grand show.
At this moment, I finally began to miss Amelia and Renée, who I didn't even know where they were. At the very least, they should be quite capable of fighting now …
"That's what men are like. They only think of others when they need them. Normally, they hide as far away from them as possible. How heartless."
[I agree.]
"Shut up! If you're so free, why don't you help me think of something? "
…
…
There was no lighting in the dark ruins. There were only dim indicator lights flashing at intervals. That was because the residents here didn't need any form of illumination.
However, this place wasn't a forbidden zone for all life as the outside world imagined. It was just that the residents here were quite unique.
"73242342342, A, 3452423 … 22D34!"
“dsada2312，BB，450！”
Numbers and simple letters replaced the usual accents and prophecies. The mechanical residents here communicated with each other using mechanical codes.
Most of the residents here had rather strange appearances. There were golems for guards, cleaning puppets, and puppets for children's playmates. But right now, all of them were communicating with each other in a simple and efficient manner. Only the beeping of indicator lights and the strange sound of electricity could be heard.
What they were busy with was using metal and bones as raw materials, starting from skeletons and dragon bones to construct war machines. The strange bone giants that Roland saw on the battlefield that day were the most commonly seen. Most of the newest species had already lost their humanoid forms.
There were six-armed swordsman praying mantises, half-tank, half-skeleton generals, and strange toys that had a giant wheel and two giant arms. As long as the design was reasonable, all sorts of slaughter weapons were being created.
No matter what this place had originally been used for, it had now been transformed into individual workshops. Countless strange parts were being sent out as machines rumbled about. However, what was sent out were all slaughter weapons. No matter who it was that controlled these ruins, at the very least, that person definitely wasn't a peaceful person.
"… I'm afraid that none of us will have any hope against these things on the battlefield."
"Of course. That's why we're here. We're here to save the world!"
However, some people were whispering to each other in the pitch-black darkness.
"If you don't want to die, shut up!"
Barton's shout caused everyone else to fall silent. However, Barton wasn't making any empty threats at all. After all, they were currently inside the body of a gargoyle that was constantly making noises. They were also slowly walking through all these strange mechanical puppets.
It was also thanks to the noisy mechanical noises that they were making. Otherwise, they would have been discovered long ago.
Timlad's plan was quite simple yet practical — he would wait for a mechanical puppet and rewrite his orders so that everyone could hide inside the mechanical puppet and go as far as possible.
Were they discovered? Were they being interrogated midway? That didn't matter. They would go as far as possible. If they couldn't go any further, they would just kill their way down.
Although Timlad's plan seemed rather reckless, there was far too much information that he didn't know. Making too many calculations and making things too complicated would actually make it easier for problems to occur. This plan of taking things one step at a time would actually have a higher chance of success.
Up until now, this unreliable plan had been progressing quite smoothly. Timlad had only given the order for the gargoyle to go to the lowest level. This gargoyle had already reached the tenth level without anyone stopping it.
Even if "someone" occasionally tried to communicate with it, the gargoyle would simply mumble something to it without even realizing that it had something in its stomach. Everything went smoothly.
Just as everyone was overjoyed at how smoothly things went, Timlad, who had always been on high alert, finally spoke up. He had been abnormally silent the entire time.
"They're finally here?"
"Who's here?"
The next instant, Barton knew that he had asked for nothing. The gargoyle that he and his group were on suddenly turned and entered a plaza. There were already cannons and guardian gargoyles waiting in front of him. This was a trap!
"… You knew about this long ago, didn't you?"
"Of course. You think that you can enter the Sky Tower's guardian base just by rewriting a mechanical puppet's orders? That's ridiculous. We were discovered from the very start. "
Even though Barton couldn't see Timlad's face clearly in the pitch-black interior, his arrogant tone made everyone want to punch him in the face.
"Then why did you bring us here!?"
"Of course. We have something on us that it needs, so it would definitely let us in. This is much more comfortable than killing its way in one level at a time. It's far more patient than we thought it would be. It beat it at its own game and directly went down to the tenth level. Hahahaha, I'm such a genius. "
Barton and the others couldn't believe it. Timlad was actually a legendary hero who was laughing so narcissistically while making his teammates suffer. Only the mercenary Mary, who was also from the Northlands, sighed as if she had expected this.
"… As expected of Beifeng's best friend, a high-ranking member of the Gentlemen Alliance. Although he's trustworthy, he's merciless when it comes to making his teammates suffer. "
The moment he heard this, Timlad's smug expression instantly collapsed.
"Who said that!? I don't know that bastard! Don't make things up! If I'm treated as Beifeng's follower, I'll be burned to death in the plaza! I'll become a vengeful spirit that will haunt you for the rest of your life! Right, isn't that guy the former leader of the Gentlemen Alliance? That means that you're all his subordinates … "
"… Please don't say anymore. This is the dark history of our entire team. We've already decided to bury it in the past. If you insist on bringing up this topic, are you intending to challenge the oath that all twelve of our team leaders made? "
If Roland was here, he would probably ask just what Beifeng had done to make Timlad, who used to be his friend, not dare to recognize him. Even Beifeng's subordinates did their best to erase all traces of Beifeng's existence.
"From today onwards, none of us know that man."
"Yes, he's not even from the Northlands."
Alright then, even though they were surrounded by enemies, they actually came to an agreement on this topic …
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