The Githyanki failed to recognize Anbaixiu in his human form, nor did they know Ariel or Arthur, but they all sensed that something was amiss. The three individuals before them possessed starkly different, even contradictory, temperaments. Could this really be a cohesive party?
Yet they were undeniably powerful. The elite squad the Githyanki had brought had been utterly helpless against them.
Fierce and bloodthirsty though the Githyanki were, they had no desire to die pointlessly. Since these three were willing to talk, stalling for time until more of their kin arrived seemed like the best course of action.
The leading Githyanki addressed Anbaixiu, "Who in the world are you people?"
Anbaixiu replied placidly, "Before asking for another's identity, state your own name first. Such is the etiquette of the Prime Material Plane."
"I am the squad leader of Group Eight, Seventh Column of the Astral Expeditionary Force. My name is Jienaile'er. Now it is your turn."
Anbaixiu didn't bother committing the tongue-twisting name to memory, nor was he about to offer his real identity. He was, after all, the lich who had slaughtered several thousand Githyanki. And so Anbaixiu replied, "I am merely a passing necromancer. You may call me Kel'Thuzad."
Ariel cast a sidelong glance at Anbaixiu. Did this lich always use fake names so naturally? Who knew how many times he had practiced or how many people he had duped?
Wait, could the name Ultraman Tiga have been fake too?
While Ariel was pondering these questions, Anbaixiu had already finished exchanging pleasantries with the Githyanki squad leader, gaining a rough understanding of the Githyanki's situation.
Only two thousand seven hundred Githyanki had made it here alive. Several hundred more had perished traversing the undersea labyrinth, leaving fewer than two thousand by the time they reached the first altar.
Just as Anbaixiu had surmised, they had initially chosen the Trial of Destruction. Before those three giant constructs, they had suffered catastrophic casualties; a full three hundred Githyanki had been slain, their flesh and blood drawn into the giant constructs.
Under normal circumstances, the Githyanki might have pressed the fight, but with their survival hanging by a thread, they dared not risk such a brutal confrontation and were forced to retreat along their path.
Normally, this would have been impossible. The Arena of the Storm offered no retreat; all who fled from its trials were executed by the arena's wardens.
Yet the place had lain abandoned for countless years, allowing them to pull back without hindrance.
They had then chosen the alternative path, and the path known as the Trial of Fury proved surprisingly straightforward. Upon reaching the first platform, they only felt a faint psionic resonance tugging at their minds, nudging them toward greater anger.
What did that matter to Githyanki? They were hot-tempered and prone to rage anyway, so an extra touch of anger had virtually no effect on them.
Had the arena still been intact, challengers stepping onto that platform would have felt an uncontrollable, overwhelming fury, driving them to slaughter one another until a victor emerged to proceed to the next zone.
Time was merciless, and most of the arena's enchantments had worn away over the ages, leaving the Trial of Fury practically toothless.
The Githyanki had finally found a moment to catch their breath.
Better still, the arena was built upon the sea. Every platform was surrounded by water. The pits that once held ferocious sea monsters now contained only skeletons, with schools of ordinary fish swimming within.
With a place to rest and food to eat, they could at least sustain themselves.
One had to admit, the Githyanki possessed remarkable adaptability.
Relying on the few wizards among the survivors, they erected their own 'creches' upon the platform. The remaining thousand-plus crammed together to survive, occasionally dispatching patrols to scout other areas of the arena.
They soon discovered that, aside from the insurmountable adversaries along the Trial of Destruction, the remaining zones were entirely derelict. Once the inhospitable areas plagued by perpetual wind and hail were discounted, the habitable portion of the arena was nearly as vast as the island they had occupied before.
Moreover, the three giant constructs appeared bound to their storm-swept arena and never ventured beyond it, allowing the Githyanki to settle in relative peace. Though not much time had passed, it had allowed them to regain some vitality.
One creche after another was constructed, and clutch upon clutch of Githyanki eggs were submerged into acid pools for incubation.
Indeed, the Githyanki were oviparous, possessing unique incubation techniques that allowed them to produce large numbers of offspring within a short period.
In just this brief span, their population had rebounded from under two thousand back up to three thousand.
Yet this was their absolute ceiling; the arena could not sustain any more than that.
Just moments ago, the Githyanki had noticed that the ceaseless thunder had abruptly ceased, and patrols had been dispatched in all directions to investigate. This squad's luck had simply been poor—they were the first to cross paths with Anbaixiu.
Of course, these details had not been offered willingly by the squad leader, but faced with Anbaixiu, a divination wizard, there was very little the Githyanki could conceal.
Once he had a clear grasp of their circumstances, Anbaixiu pondered for a moment and said, "Take me to your leader. I have some information I would like to inquire about. In exchange, I can..."
Before Anbaixiu could finish, another contingent of Githyanki arrived before him.
This time, no introduction was needed for Anbaixiu to realize that their leader had arrived.
It was a wizard who made no attempt to conceal his magical power—a wizard of legendary stature.
While martial combatants made up the greater share of Githyanki forces, when it came to leading their people to survive in such complex environments, a versatile wizard held a clear advantage.
The Githyanki archmage raised his staff high, immense magical energy coalescing at its tip, and threatened Anbaixiu, "Release my kin, or I will make you taste Meteor Swarm!"
A 9th-level spell like Meteor Swarm sounded terribly menacing, but attempting to cast it before a divination wizard was sheer folly.
Anbaixiu merely raised a finger and sent forth a flash of red light. The legendary wizard's face instantly went pale as the mana around his staff fell into disarray.
"Counterspell?!"
The Githyanki was struck with disbelief.
Counterspell could indeed disrupt the vast majority of spellcasting, but he was a legend!
Wizards who attained such a realm possessed a consummate understanding of magic and supreme control over mana. Under normal circumstances, an archmage's casting was virtually uninterruptible; a Counterspell should have had almost no chance of succeeding.
Could his luck truly be so wretched that he had hit that minuscule fraction of a chance?
With Anbaixiu taking action, Ariel and Arthur didn't remain idle.
All three legends unleashed their auras without reservation, subjecting every Githyanki present to crushing pressure.
Ariel in particular was wrapped in terrifying arcs of lightning identical to the storm they had feared for so long, instantly reminding the Githyanki of the three formidable giant constructs.
"Calm down, everyone. My companions and I, Kel'Thuzad, did not come here to slaughter you. I only seek a piece of information. Once I have it, I will depart."
Anbaixiu's words calmed the Githyanki leader. In their current weakened state, the Githyanki could not afford another bloody engagement; negotiation was their best option.
"Master Kel'Thuzad, what information are you seeking?"
Anbaixiu said straightforwardly, "Regarding mind flayers. I am currently searching for traces of these creatures and intend to capture a few for experimentation. I know that your people harbor a deep hatred for mind flayers and have been hunting them across numerous planes. You must have a specialized method for locating these monsters, don't you?"
At the mention of mind flayers, looks of venomous hatred surfaced on the faces of every Githyanki present.
That era of enslavement was a grudge the Githyanki would never forget, one that could only be washed away by the total extinction of the mind flayers.
"We do possess a means to track those vile, brain-eating mongrels. But what can you offer in exchange?"
The Githyanki leader still sought to bargain, hoping to extract some benefit from Anbaixiu, but Anbaixiu merely replied in a calm tone, "How about your lives in exchange? My friend, can you truly not read the room? Remaining calm, showing restraint, and avoiding violence as much as possible is already the greatest mercy I can offer you."
Previously, Anbaixiu wouldn't have minded trading some provisions or supplies for the intel, but these Githyanki had drawn weapons first. They were the sort who respected only force, not grace; treating them politely would be wasted effort.
Anbaixiu's overt threat sparked fury across the faces of the Githyanki, but Anbaixiu gave them no room to react. With a wave of his hand, he hauled one of the giant constructs out of his private space.
Though it was merely an inert 'corpse,' the towering four-meter-tall frame still carried tremendous intimidation.
"You should well know the might of these constructs, yes? And now, they are my trophies. Are you certain you want to force me to resort to violence?"
In the end, the Githyanki yielded.
The three giant constructs had left a harrowing impression upon them. If Anbaixiu could destroy all three and emerge seemingly unscathed, it meant he possessed the power to wipe out their entire enclave.
The Githyanki were brutal and temperamental, but they were not fools.
When outmatched by circumstance, one had to bow one's head, just as their ancestors had once knelt before the mind flayers.
Even so, the Githyanki were notoriously vengeful. Given the slightest opportunity, they would retaliate against Anbaixiu without hesitation.
The Githyanki leader tossed a disc-shaped object toward Anbaixiu and said, "Take it. Everything regarding mind flayers is recorded upon it."
This uniquely crafted disc was a specialized data-recording tool of the Githyanki, capable of storing immense volumes of text within a compact form.
Anbaixiu had anticipated the Githyanki might play some tricks, but his intuition told him the leader had not lied.
Catching the disc, Anbaixiu swept his senses across it. The disc unlocked layer by layer, rotating on its own.
The long-sought intelligence on mind flayers materialized as a projection hovering above the disc.
After examining it for a short while, Anbaixiu finally found what he was looking for.
Wherever mind flayers dwelt, frequent telepathic communication was inevitable. Recorded upon the disc was a magical device capable of detecting this telepathic activity across vast distances, enabling one to pinpoint their location.
Anbaixiu remarked with satisfaction, "Good thing I happen to be an alchemist as well."
Chapter 468