These demigod sorcerers, who had survived from thousands of years ago down to the present, had stood out from the Void Realm, shining like rubies across the river of history—yet here they were, dying in battle on a forgotten battlefield that no one would ever know of.
One after another, in an unbroken line, they turned into blazing fire.
Yaxiu held no affection whatsoever for the demigods of Hell. In fact, had it not been for the World-Swallowing Serpent, the demigods of Hell would have been his greatest threat. Even if they weren't quite as rotten as Vichy, they were hardly any better... Only demons could survive in Hell, and everyone who survived in Hell was a demon.
He had long anticipated the casualties among the demigods; in truth, dozens had already perished in the First and Second Hells.
Yet knowing was one thing, and seeing was another... Watching them maintain their pride as demigods in the face of existential terror, refusing to abandon the dignity of sorcerers before tens of thousands of enemies, Yaxiu couldn't help feeling a flicker of emotion.
Sorcerers were a bunch of thieves, parasites of the Void Realm, greedy profiteers—yet they were also adventurers... adventurers who would believe in miracles until their very last breath!
"They've got a bit of backbone, at least," Dead Frenzy remarked calmly. "What are they trying to do? Restarting the River of Flowing Gold nodes."
Lying across Yaxiu's back, Dead Frenzy pointed at the Gospel Book's pages. "Look at the edges of the secret realm. Those are all River of Flowing Gold nodes, but the Forgotten Ones destroyed them the moment they arrived."
"The Divine Lords were the ones who guided them in creating the killing secret realms. If the demigods never thought of the possibility that the world secret realms could dry up, could the Divine Lords have overlooked it as well? But the Six Hells are completely cut off from the outside, and the Divine Lords can't provide direct aid. The only solution They could offer was this: use the River of Flowing Gold to accelerate the recovery of the world secret realms!"
"The natural recovery rate of a world secret realm is already fast. If it's accelerated with the River of Flowing Gold, they might barely hold out against the Forgotten Ones' offensive." She said, "Gathering tributaries of the River of Flowing Gold would normally be tricky, but this happens to be Fantasy Hell. All it takes is for time demigods to overlay 'their world' upon 'the real world,' and every tributary in the Six Hells can be gathered into the fortress."
"There are that many Rivers of Flowing Gold in Hell?"
"There are Rivers of Flowing Gold all over the world. Even rocks produce its waters. It's just that they all flow into the Time Continent, so you never normally see them. What they're doing is essentially using a divine realm to intercept the River of Flowing Gold flowing toward the Time Continent. But the Forgotten Ones aren't idiots; they weren't about to let them harness the river, so they destroyed the nodes early on."
Yaxiu was slightly puzzled. "Why put the nodes outside? The demigods of Hell can't be that stupid, can they?"
"While the demigods of Hell are dumber than you think, the nodes weren't actually outside," Dead Frenzy said. "At least, not a month ago."
Yaxiu caught on immediately. "These nodes were originally inside the killing secret realms? And now that the realms have shrunk, they've been exposed?"
"Exactly."
"Isn't that a bit too..." Yaxiu searched for the right word. "Crude?"
"A defense line thrown together in a single month, filled with infighting factions on the inside and facing an endless swarm of monsters on the outside—the fact that they've managed this much is already commendable. It shows their leader is quite capable." Dead Frenzy offered a rare few words of praise. "In the worldlines I've buried, going out fighting with everything you have like this counts as the most elegant way to die."
"Still, you'd better pray they don't succeed."
Yaxiu blinked in surprise. "Why?"
"If they succeed in relocating the River of Flowing Gold nodes, they'll drag out their lingering survival for a few more days," Dead Frenzy said. "And then this trip of yours will have been for nothing."
"There probably aren't many traces of your two friends left in reality, right? Once you head back this time, you'll likely only be able to gather one more opportunity to come to Hell... Which means next time will be your very last time stepping into Hell, and this trip is your last chance to loot, your last chance to grow stronger."
"Only when the Forgotten Ones breach their fortress will you be able to bury their corpses and loot their legacy."
"You came too early," she observed. "If you had arrived a few days later, you could have stood upon the ruins of the fortress and claimed the accumulated wealth of tens of thousands of years from the Six Hells all for yourself."
"...Doing that would make me worse than a thief," Yaxiu murmured. "Just a vile ghoul."
"Dying honorably versus living vilely." Dead Frenzy lit a cigarette on his back. "Haven't you always chosen the latter?"
"Maybe my timing is actually just right," Yaxiu said. "Going in to loot resources doesn't mean I have to be a ghoul."
"You—"
Dead Frenzy's pupils contracted as she watched Yaxiu unfurl his virtual wings and cross several kilometers in a flash, arriving at the chaotic fortress battlefield like lightning and gale! Countless Forgotten Ones noticed this uninvited guest, but every attack landing on him could only stir faint ripples of radiance. Yaxiu drew arcs of ink strokes, harvesting the lives of countless Forgotten Ones like a scythe!
Wherever he passed, all were cowed into submission!
Wonder: Refraction Prism! Wonder: Heart Hunt Sovereignty! Wonder: Flickering Ripples!
In the center of the battlefield, the time demigod Yenifa was struggling to hold out when the area around her was abruptly swept clear. A young man teleported beside her: "Where's the River of Flowing Gold node?"
Yenifa was somewhat bewildered—everyone had been briefed on the nodes before setting out—but with time running out, she didn't dwell on such trifles and pointed directly in a direction. The young man immediately carved a bloody path through the battlefield with her in tow until they reached the designated spot. Yenifa closed her eyes, reconnected with the illusory River of Flowing Gold, and shifted it into the interior of the killing secret realm.
"I get it now," the young man suddenly said. "Let's head to the next node. I can help."
"No, only a time demigod can activate a River of Flowing Gold node," Yenifa refused. "You just need to escort me over—"
Before long, Yenifa was proven completely wrong: this young man could actually activate the River of Flowing Gold nodes, and twice as fast as she could! She had assumed his specialty was swordsmanship, but to think he was also a time demigod!
Yet she knew all the time demigods. Who on earth was this youth...?
By the time they activated the fourth node, the Forgotten Ones finally began targeting them, and the assaults from all directions surged to an unbearable intensity. Having repaired four nodes, she had already exceeded the mission requirements. Yenifa decisively activated a secret transit order, opening a spatial portal back to the fortress. Right then, the young man crowded alongside her and forced his way through with her.
Yet when Yenifa returned inside the fortress, she wasn't greeted with warm inquiries, but surrounded by wary, startled guards.
"Who in the world are you? The fortress system doesn't recognize your identity at all!" a Hell demigod bellowed.
Yenifa turned to look at the young man beside her, and the doubts from their journey instantly resolved themselves. She quickly held out a hand to shield him, saying, "He just helped me repair four River of Flowing Gold nodes. He's one of us, not one of those monsters outside! There's no need right now—"
"Yaxiu Heath."
Under everyone's gaze, Yaxiu unfurled his glorious seven wings and said slowly, "I am Yaxiu Heath."
"So this is your plan?" Dead Frenzy laughed beside him. "Walking right in through the front door to loot resources?"
"There's no need to be a ghoul," Yaxiu answered her. "If Hell can hold off the World-Swallowing Serpent, I'll help them. If they can't, then I'll be the only hope they can place their faith in."
"At the very least," he said, "I can bear witness to their end."
Chapter 1222