Chapter 1351: Grief
Chapter 1351: Grief
He remained silent for a moment, contemplating the possibilities.
The Heavenly Demon Palace was no ordinary faction. It possessed a long history and deep foundations, with connections extending into some of the most ancient corners of the Imperium.
However, what interested him most wasn’t the palace itself.
It was the being standing behind the current developments.
"The Great Demon Emperor..."
He slowly uttered the name.
"Lucifer."
A faint smile appeared on his crimson face.
"What exactly are you planning this time?"
He leaned back against his throne, his four arms resting comfortably.
The white cracks covering his body glowed faintly, releasing an almost imperceptible fluctuation that caused the surrounding space to tremble.
There were very few beings who could pique his curiosity.
Lucifer was one of them.
After all, the Great Demon Emperor was an existence whose schemes and ambitions had influenced the course of countless events throughout history. He’s the one that changed the entirety of Demon’s Land by hunting down all the Monster Lord and other Gods in this land.
The demon closed his eyes once again.
For now, he would simply observe.
There was no need to rush.
He was Abaddon, the Demon King known as the Final Spark.
One of the Six Demon Kings.
And among the ancient beings of the Imperium, he was also revered by another name.
The Great God Doom.
...
The vast Immortal Land was preparing for something. Large numbers of Heavenly Soldiers had emerged from the Heavenly Court under the orders of its higher entities. Various runes and formations across the land had also begun to activate.
All the sects and nations within the Immortal Land knew that the Heavenly Court would make its move soon. They watched as the monsters from the ruined Great Shen Empire slowly spread into the surrounding nations.
Near the Border City of the Lion Empire.
Alexander sat on the floor outside a room, looking at the others gathered around him: Eztein, Vashno, Doranjan, and Yaniesvyl. Everyone wore a gloomy expression.
"So... Erkigal is dead?" Eztein broke the silence.
No one answered, but everyone already knew that Erkigal hadn’t made it. Isabella was inside the room with Erkigal’s body.
Erkigal had been so heavily injured that she eventually passed out. She had managed to recover slightly after receiving treatment from Isabella, and she would have eventually recovered if she had been given enough time to rest. However, another battle had broken out, forcing her to push herself beyond her limits.
Fighting against those powerful experts from the Gluttony Army had never been easy, especially in her condition.
In the end, her body simply gave out.
She died.
Seeing everyone’s reaction, Eztein sighed. He glanced at the dark spear resting beside him, recalling the events of the past. They had lost too many people, starting with Elder Guan, followed by Yenxa and then Eilish. One by one, almost everyone from Astros had fallen.
Eztein glanced at Alexander before asking, "You said Boss is here, right? Does that mean what happened in the central region back then was his doing?"
Alexander shook his head. "I don’t know what that guy is planning. As for the Monster Lord, perhaps it wasn’t part of his plan."
"I see..." Eztein nodded. He then turned to Vashno and asked, "So, what are we going to do now? Should we stay here or leave?"
"We should leave for now," Vashno replied, glancing at the door of the room.
The border of the Lion Empire was dangerous. Various nations and sects surrounding the Great Shen Empire had established defensive lines to hold back the incoming monsters. Those creatures known as Dark Youngs were surging forward like a raging tide, destroying everything in their path.
If they stayed here, they would inevitably be dragged into another battle.
The other members of the Heavenly Potion Pavilion who had evacuated alongside them were too weak to fight against the Dark Youngs. There were weaker Dark Youngs among the advancing horde, but countless others were at much higher evolutionary stages. Any one of them could kill these people in the blink of an eye.
"You can enter the Lion Empire. We’re already at its border, so you should be able to get the latest news from the people there. We can’t receive any news from our current location," Alexander told them.
Those who had managed to evacuate early from the northern, southern, eastern, and western regions had fled to the surrounding nations and sects, including the Lion Empire.
As for their group, they had remained at the border, observing the Dark Youngs rampaging throughout the Great Shen Empire. They couldn’t receive any news from their current location, so most of the information they had was already outdated.
There was one thing Alexander was certain of, even without gathering enough information. The surrounding sects and nations would undoubtedly try to contain all the Dark Youngs within the Great Shen Empire. They would defend their borders and request support from the ruling faction of the Immortal Land—the Heavenly Court.
’Even back in my time, the Heavenly Court was already an established and mysterious force in the Immortal Land. The borders of this land are filled with all kinds of runes and formations capable of detecting God-rank beings. Other factions can only send mortals to spy on them since mortals won’t trigger the alarms. So how did that Monster Lord manage to appear here without triggering any of them...?’
Alexander pondered deeply.
Eztein glanced at Vashno and said, "You can escort the rest of Isabella’s people. I’ll stay here on the frontlines to hone my strength."
"If you’re staying, then I—"
Vashno didn’t even get to finish his sentence before Doranjan interrupted him.
"Go back, Vashno. I’ll stay here with Eztein. You can come back after making sure the others are safe." Doranjan looked straight into Vashno’s eyes as he spoke.
Vashno could only sigh and nod. "Fine. But you two have to be careful. There’s a Monster Lord out there, and if you’re not careful, then..."
"I know. I’m not going to recklessly charge ahead. Even if I tried to reach the central region, I wouldn’t make it through all the monsters out there." Eztein waved his hand dismissively.
It was true.
It had already taken everything he had just to injure an Eight Shackle Realm expert. Meanwhile, there were monsters ranging from the Initial to Peak Fifth Stage scattered throughout the Great Shen Empire. He wasn’t powerful enough to venture into that place without risking his life.
"When you return, I think I’ll already have reached the Eight Shackle Realm." Eztein chuckled.
His goal was to reach the Eight Shackle Realm. He wouldn’t leave this battlefield until he achieved it. By fighting against those monsters, he hoped to push his potential to its limits and force himself to break through.
"Then I’m looking forward to it." Vashno laughed lightly.
Alexander listened to their conversation and chuckled. He reached into his pocket, took out a small booklet, and tossed it toward Eztein.
"Here!"
Eztein caught the booklet and looked at Alexander in confusion.
"That thing will help you. Study it, and you’ll be able to control your three elements better than before," Alexander explained as he stood up. "I’ll also be staying here, but I won’t be joining any of you. I still have some things I need to take care of."
The remnants of the Gluttony Army.
That Ice Death was certainly powerful. The two of them had still been probing each other, but before either could go all out, their battle had been interrupted.
After the Monster Lord’s initial burst of energy, everyone had retreated. Gerxuzs had also withdrawn after killing the Green King, and his current whereabouts were unknown.
As for what had happened in the central region of the Great Shen Empire, Alexander truly had no idea.
Eztein, Doranjan, and Vashno watched as Alexander walked away, with Yaniesvyl following behind him.
Eztein glanced down at the booklet in his hand and read its title.
[Guide to Better Elemental Mastery: Primal Stage]
He then turned to Vashno and said, "Take care of Isabella and the others."
"Don’t worry. I’ll escort them safely. I’ll return here as soon as I’ve taken care of that." Vashno waved his hand.
...
Inside the room, Isabella sat beside Erkigal’s body, which lay motionless on the bed.
She hadn’t moved for a long time. Her eyes were fixed on the familiar face of the woman before her, but her expression was empty. It was as if she still couldn’t accept what had happened.
Erkigal...
Isabella slowly reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from Erkigal’s face.
"Why did you have to be so stubborn...?"
Her voice was barely audible.
Memories began to surface in her mind.
She remembered the days when the two of them first established the Heavenly Potion Pavilion in Yunze City. Back then, they had almost nothing. They had to start from scratch, gathering resources, recruiting people, and building their reputation in a city where countless factions competed for influence.
It hadn’t been easy.
There were people who looked down on them, others who openly opposed their establishment, and even those who tried to sabotage their business. Yet, the two of them faced every obstacle together.
Whenever trouble arose, Erkigal would always be the first to step forward. She would stand beside Isabella, confronting their enemies without hesitation.
And whenever Isabella made progress in her potion-making, Erkigal would celebrate as if she had achieved something extraordinary herself.
Isabella still remembered one particular occasion when she finally succeeded in refining a potion she had struggled with for a month.
Erkigal had been so excited that she immediately dragged everyone into a celebration. She even prepared a feast despite Isabella insisting that it wasn’t a big achievement.
At the time, Isabella had complained about how childish she was.
Now...
She wished she could experience something like that one more time.