Chapter 126: Starlight Gate, Krypton Strongman

Just as Fulade opened his mouth to agree, Cretia stepped forward and said, "At most ten, that's our bottom line."

While speaking, she displayed the badge belonging to the Northern Witches council, exclusive to the leader of the Twelve Witches.

Sure enough, after seeing the badge, the half‑breed boss's expression turned awkward, he let out an unnaturally dry laugh and immediately changed tack: "Let's just be friends; ten it is."

Noticing the gray dwarf boss's fleeting look, Fulade realized he had been taken for a lamb.

Fulade gave Cretia an approving glance, deciding to go back and commend her properly.

Even for him, Level Two energy essence cannot be tossed away casually like a cabbage.

The Sky Island is currently in a rapid development phase; everything needs money, and if it weren't a loss, Fulade would want to make a no‑capital trade.

Unfortunately, he can only think about it; if he actually did it, aside from possibly offending the gray dwarf clan, the damage to his reputation alone would be an irreparable heavy blow.

That would not be a rational move for courting various forces in the future.

The Starlight Gate is indeed rare, but few people actually buy such a magical device.

First, financial constraints.

Second, most witches who have the wealth are those who distrust luck and only trust truth; what kind of entity might appear behind the Starlight Gate truly tests the user's luck.

Moreover, the Starlight Gate cannot transport living beings; under interference from mysterious forces, it cannot locate the other side's alternate‑world spatiotemporal coordinates, so it often serves merely as a medium for trade.

Leaving the dwarf alchemy shop, Fulade rubbed his hands impatiently, curious about what kind of being the Starlight Gate he now possessed would communicate with.

Before activation, the Starlight Gate is a gray crystal shaped like a rotating nebula, imbued with endless starlight, seemingly representing the boundless cosmos beyond the plane.

Everyone gathered around Fulade, marveling at the dazzling, mysterious black crystal in his hand, each looking eager to try it.

"You, then," Fulade said, looking around with a hint of anticipation.

"It would be best to leave here first, or find a secret room; we can't trade with an alternate‑plane creature in broad daylight," Angelique reminded.

Looking around, many high‑ranking gray dwarves strolling through Blade City turned their gaze here.

Those who can reside in the gray dwarf capital are all high‑rank half‑breeds.

Although there are also many witches and demon hunters here, it is rare for people like Fulade to attract attention on the street.

After all, Level One beings who have broken free from the Life Shackle are uncommon, let alone several gathered together; it's hard not to draw attention.

Everyone left and hurried back to the Floating Ship.

This time, for an alternate‑plane summoning intended to amplify the level of the summoned alternate‑plane strongman—not merely to communicate with an ant from another world—Fulade and his companions made extensive preparations in advance.

A mysterious magical Altar was outlined within the ship's main hall.

The Altar contains a certain amount of knowledge of mysterious forces and astrology, a result led by Angelique.

Even he had to admire his confidant's (the woman's) breadth of study.

Although Angelique is only a Level One witch, Fulade considered her potential far beyond Adeliana and Famic, comparable only to Ravenna's talent.

"Doing all I can only raises the Starlight Gate's summoning chance by twenty percent; what kind of otherworldly strongman appears on the other side still depends on luck," Angelique said, standing up after drawing the final pattern on the Altar, sighing.

Under everyone's gaze, they slowly infused magical energy into the Starlight Stone and arranged dozens of high‑grade energy crystals on the Altar's Magic Array in a set pattern, waiting for the array to absorb sufficient energy.

A column of energy light rose from the Altar, shooting into the Starlight Stone; as the energy surged, the nebula‑shaped black crystal began to float slowly upward.

The energy Fulade had pre‑stored inside the crystal began to take effect.

After the energy flashed, the black crystal melted rapidly, replaced by a black star gate about two meters tall and one meter wide.

Under the combined effect of the Altar's Magic Array and the magical power, a burst of light lit up; the black star gate expanded, soon reaching over three meters in height and about two meters in width, nearly touching the ship's ceiling.

A multicolored energy sphere slowly materialized at the center of the Starlight Gate, emitting spatial fluctuations and mysterious force.

The dazzling energy sphere gradually turned pure white, becoming increasingly confined within the Starlight Gate.

As a strong spatiotemporal ripple flashed, the energy sphere slowly twisted into a circular vortex, the spatial force stabilizing, indicating that temporal‑spatial communication could now proceed steadily.

"Oh, strong one from the alternate plane, are you communicating with me?" a voice said.

Behind the vortex of the Starlight Gate, a humanoid intelligent being with a rhombus crystal on its chest appeared before everyone.

It was a middle‑aged man with short silver hair, who at first glance resembled a human from the Dark World, provided you ignore the rhombus crystal on his chest.

As the voice rang out, a piercing red eye swept over the crowd, giving a heart‑pounding feeling.

However, the gaze ultimately fixed on Fulade standing before the Altar.

The opening of the Starlight Gate used Fulade's magical power, so at this moment the temporal‑spatial communication with the alternate‑plane strongman was naturally through Fulade.

"Angelique, your amplification Magic Array is indeed useful; it managed to reach such a terrifying strongman," Fulade said, praising Angelique rather than replying immediately.

"That look just now—could it be a Level Four strongman!" Cretia, standing behind, exclaimed in shocked bewilderment.

A Level Four strongman is a mighty being worshipped as a god by billions of low‑level beings of the star realm; the highest tier in the entire Dark World is only Level Three.

As a member of the Northern Witches' Twelve Witches, Cretia was not inexperienced; Level Three strongmen include Fulade, and the Northern Witches leader Vivian is also a newly promoted Level Three witch.

Naturally, she could sense the gap between the two.

It is evidently a terrifying entity that surpasses Level Three beings.

No wonder it excited and shocked everyone.

"Impossible—based on the energy fluctuation detected by the auxiliary Altar, the opponent's true strength should be at the demigod level," Angelique rolled her eyes and replied to the group.

The Starlight Gate does have a certain chance of reaching entities above Level Four, but that possibility is virtually negligible. After all, the Laide people who can create such a temporal‑spatial medium possess at most Level Two ability.

To bridge such a high tier for communication is beyond what can be produced with the current level of the Dark World.

"Unknown foreign strongman, answer my question: if this temporal‑spatial communication is merely a bored joke of yours, I have the right to unilaterally terminate this temporal‑spatial transaction,"

A pair of red eyes narrowed gradually, the pressure they exuded intensifying.

"Of course not. This communication is a temporal‑spatial trade based on fairness, equivalence, and friendly exchange. I am Fulade of the Blood Race from the Dark Plane."

Fulade spoke to the powerful entity behind the Starlight Gate.

"I am Saige, a Level Three Krypton Plane warrior," the silver‑haired middle‑aged man with a rhombus crystal on his chest said.

"Then let the transaction begin now. May I ask what goods you require, Lord Saige?" Fulade said calmly on the surface, though his heart was roiled with turmoil.

"Krypton—that's Superman's home!" Feeling the powerful surge from across and the rhombus crystal on the other's chest, Fulade became increasingly certain of his conjecture.

Although the Kryptonian before us differs somewhat from the depiction in American TV shows, it is normal that reality and movies differ greatly.

"The Kryptonian plane is now facing a terrible war; we need as many Kryptonian energy crystals as possible to sustain our fighting and survival," the Kryptonian warrior opposite said.

"The Kryptonians are actually engaged in a Plane War, but we don't know who the opponent is," Fulade said, slightly surprised.

After a glance at Angelique, Fulade, curious, asked her about the current situation of the Kryptonians.

What the Kryptonian plane is like now, any Kryptonian who isn't foolish would naturally not betray their home‑plane information without cause.

He simply informed Fulade that their Kryptonian plane is at war with another powerful technological civilization and urgently needs large amounts of Kryptonian energy crystals.

"The Kryptonian energy crystals you mention, what kind of energy crystal are they?" Fulade asked, puzzled.

Each plane's surrounding star regions have different environments, so the resulting energy systems or civilizational systems differ greatly; that's why Fulade asked.

"These are Kryptonian energy crystals; when unused, their energy is especially stable. So far we've only found this kind of energy crystal forming around our plane," the other side said, pulling out a neatly sized energy block.

Looking at the energy block in the other's hand, Fulade suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

It wasn't the block itself that seemed familiar, but the energy properties within the block.

"Prince, this is very similar to the fluctuations of the inert crystal we uncovered not long ago," Angelique thought, instantly sending a telepathic message.

Not long ago, a richly stocked energy crystal vein was discovered deep beneath the Dark Forest, which made everyone quite delighted.

But after extraction, they found these energy crystals were very unusual; the energy inside was so stable that, regardless of extraction method, it was hard to draw out.

That meant these energy resources were merely ornamental crafts to them, so Fulade naturally had little interest and did not devote much attention to such energy crystals.

However, the spellcasters were curious about this inert energy and tried to research its usage, as a substitute for core energy or to expand the variety of energy reserves.

Unexpectedly, this inert energy crystal turned out to be the urgent energy resource the Kryptonians desperately need, illustrating the prosperity and diversity of the astral realms and the differing, complex development systems of many plane civilizations.

In the eyes of the Dark World it may seem a useless low‑end resource, but to others it becomes an indispensable strategic material.

"This energy material is also a very important strategic resource for us, and we can only give you…"

At this point, Fulade paused, exchanged a glance with Angelique, and, prompted by Angelique's telepathic reminder, said:

"We can provide you with 200,000 cubic meters of inert energy blocks of similar specifications to yours, but what will you give us in exchange?"

Speaking, Fulade retrieved a similar energy crystal from his ring; although its color differed and its purity was slightly lower, its energy characteristics were extremely similar.

The other's eyes lit up, clearly very surprised that Fulade could produce the energy material they now urgently need.

It should be noted that this kind of inert energy is a rare special resource found only in the Kryptonian plane and nearby star regions.

Even after the Kryptonian plane has developed for tens of thousands of years in the astral realm, it has never been found in other plane star regions, underscoring its uniqueness.

This energy is the fundamental basis for Kryptonian beings' survival; whether in cultivation, technology, or even species continuation, it affects everything, so its importance is evident.

Of course, Fulade and his companions were unaware of any of this.

Just as the Kryptonian strongman Saige frowned in thought, a dashing Kryptonian female warrior in a black tight combat suit entered.

Her lithe, graceful figure moved with clean, decisive steps straight toward Saige.

"Commander Saige, planet ab351 has been surrounded by the Norman Federation joint fleet; our last energy supply line has also been cut!" Her voice carried a hint of urgency and panic.

Seeing this, Saige twisted his brow, his expression slightly displeased, but he did not chide the other's rashness; calmly he said, "Feiola, bring us the captured Norman Federation warship schematics!"

The Kryptonian female warrior was momentarily stunned, then noticed the Starlight Gate, and instantly swallowed the words she was about to say.

First her curious eyes flickered, she surveyed the area calmly, then saluted Commander Saige, swayed her slender flexible waist, and turned quickly to walk outward.

Only then did Fulade notice that the other was inside what seemed to be a warship's command deck.

The tech‑laden metallic sci‑fi style everywhere showed that the Kryptonian plane is a powerful civilization blending cultivation and technology.

Occasional slight tremors and the faint blazing light glimpsed through a corner of the Starlight Gate suggested that the Kryptonian commander was currently amid a fierce battlefield.

Noticing this, Fulade calmly glanced at Angelique, who nodded, quietly took out a memory crystal and recorded everything before them.

The situation seemed far from optimistic, Fulade's eyes flickered as he thought quietly.

When the Kryptonian female warrior named Feiola appeared again, Fulade deliberately examined her.

Her sleek black short hair, framed by the black tight combat suit, highlighted a sexy, agile figure; on her full, rounded chest rested a rhombus crystal that subtly threatened Fulade.

(End of Chapter)