Chapter 638: Conqueror

In the sight that Lun Na De cannot see, one invisible stream of information after another drips down from the ceiling above his head, sinks into those out‑of‑control seals, turning into layers of temporary seals that close them off.

Sigh~~

I'm just a crippled, frail old man; why must I get tangled in the disputes of beings like you?

Pa Lie Si let out a soft sigh, and his figure flickered into view on Lun Na De.

Above his head, strands of time‑worms, each with twelve transparent segments linked head to tail, intertwined to form an ancient, mottled massive phantom.

The phantom resembled the face of a stone‑carved wall clock, bearing two hands made of time‑worms that ticked back and forth.

The ethereal, fleeting chime instantly echoed around, spawning an indescribable invisible torrent as if it had traversed ages.

The seals on the surrounding wondrous items had their duration stolen, and they collapsed and vanished the next second.

Pale, transparent time‑worms flew out of those wondrous items, swiftly merging into Pa Lie Si's phantom form.

The next second, more streams of information dripped from above, weaving a mottled play of light and shadow that bore civilization and ages, pressing down on Pa Lie Si with an unspeakable weight, engulfing him and Lun Na De, while additional streams surged straight toward the depths of the mechanical hall.

Within the tapestry of mottled light and shadow, Lun Na De's body turned into something like a baby's palm, its five tiny fingers spread, continuously shifting skin tone according to the surrounding environment.

Outside the mechanical hall, Lun Na De's figure vanished in a flash of eerie blue light; with Pa Lie Si's aid, he transmitted via the ring on his hand to the plaza outside the Steel Cathedral.

As soon as his figure reappeared, Lun Na De noticed that everyone around seemed stuck in a dazed, absent‑minded state; he surveyed the surroundings and asked:

Old man, why don't we just teleport outside Te Li Er?

Pa Lie Si hummed lightly and said:

You think I don't want to? Look up; the surroundings are completely sealed. Before the clash between the Hidden Sage and Steam yields a result, we can't leave this place at all.

Lun Na De looked up as Pa Lie Si suggested; the ever‑shifting mottled light and shadow filled his view, and he instantly lost consciousness.

Fool.

Do I let you look just because I show you? You should consider that a true god, a near‑godly evil deity—this kind of battlefield is beyond what a tiny Sequence Six like you can comprehend.

In his daze, Pa Lie Si's irritated voice echoed in his ears, tinged with anger and a hint of helplessness.

Lun Na De lifted his head; he didn't catch what Pa Lie Si was saying clearly, nor had the energy to think, and the stabbing pain in his head made him feel as if he had just undergone a craniotomy.

Below the Steel Cathedral, in the mechanical hall used to seal and store wondrous items, streams of information fluttered rapidly, soothing those out‑of‑control artifacts, while a vaguely light‑and‑shadowy figure materialized before Lei Ke Dun.

At this moment, Lei Ke Dun had completely shed his flesh, becoming a statue formed of countless specks of starlight, intertwined with the Knowledge Throne beneath him, looking like a sculpture that could shatter and vanish at any instant.

Lei Ke Dun remained slouched in his chair, one hand propping his head, gazing at the vague light‑shadow before him, his hoarse, broken voice saying:

You are... Stiano?

The vague light‑shadow did not answer his question; instead it began to speak of itself: "I've been watching you for a long time; you're clever and don't overly conceal your uniqueness, which only makes it harder for me to discern your identity."

At first I thought you were part of Herabogen's scheme; later I suspected you were some experiment of the Hidden Sage, and I even wondered if, like the Ancient Sun God, you came from a previous civilization.

Now it seems all my conjectures were wrong—or perhaps none were; yet you have a deeper identity, one deeply linked to the Knowledge Wilderness sealed on the Western Continent.

Lei Ke Dun stayed slouched in his chair, motionless, offering no answer or emotion.

Absorbing and digesting this Knowledge Emperor proved harder than he expected, not only because Russell had been tainted by the Primeval Moon, but also because the God of Steam and Machinery before him had tampered with the "Knowledge Mentor" traits contained within, increasing the difficulty of integration and preventing him from separating out the "Knowledge Mentor" characteristics.

Lei Ke Dun, while straining to incorporate the Knowledge Emperor's traits, glanced at the light‑shadow and chuckled: "I think you must be Stiano."

In the Holy Heart Monastery, a torrent of pure white, blazing sunlight surged forth, swiftly flooding most of Te Li Er's sky; near the northern train station of Te Li Er, where the surface city and underground ruins connect most tightly, a female figure clad in a priestly robe of pure white edged with gold materialized. She is the sole female angel mentioned in the Eternal Blazing Sun Church's canon, one of Te Li Er's patron angels, Sheng Wei Ye Fu!

Her eyes shone golden and fierce, like the noon sun, her whole being radiating divine brilliance, her gaze calmly watching the two violet‑red fire giants battling within a dimension only partially overlapping reality.

Radiant golden light, sun‑like, erupted from her, like a proud noon sun, casting terrifying light and heat that pierced spatial barriers and entered the battlefield of the two fire giants.

This blazing sunlight surpassed the power scope of a Sequence Two "Light Chaser", belonging to a miracle, to the power of the Sun.

Under the scorching sun, the already disadvantaged fire giant quickly retreated, its violet‑red flames flickering wildly as if about to extinguish at any moment.

A flamboyant greatsword, stained with rust and blood and wreathed in flame, was drawn from the void by Mei Di Qi, the incarnation of the fire giant, bearing a "Conquer" aura, and thrust into the fire giant's head constrained by the blazing sun, entering through the forehead and exiting at the back of the skull.

The fire giant's body instantly stiffened and fell upright, rigid.

On each cheek of Mei Di Qi, a phantom snarling mouth sprouted; he dragged the greatsword with one hand, advancing step by step, carving a trench on the ground filled with crimson magma that constantly spurted sparks.

At the same time, several streaks of crimson fire leapt up from all over Te Li Er, moving toward Mei Di Qi and the fallen fire giant.

Sheng Wei Ye Fu stood calmly in midair, the blazing sunlight erupting from her again, as if a purifying light formed an "ocean", causing even space to become chaotic beneath its glow.

Those fire‑meteor incarnations approaching the figure were intercepted mid‑air, never managing to get any closer.

In the Fourth Era ruins, Mei Di Qi planted one foot on the fallen fire giant's chest, pinning it in place, both hands gripping the flame‑wreathed greatsword, swinging it downward with the will of "Iron Blood", "Conquer", and "Reaping".

A "Conqueror" was thus declared dead! Violet‑red meteoric fire rain tinged with scorching white filled the sky, falling densely like an inescapable calamity.

The violet‑red fire rain vanished instantly when it reached areas outside the overlapping zone of the underground ruins and real‑world Te Li Er.

The fire rain within the overlapping zone of the underground ruins and real Te Li Er poured into that massive, expansive, grand tapestry of civilization.

The tapestry bearing human civilization and history suddenly quivered, cracking inch by inch, with strands of intangible "light" shooting out from the fissures.

Leveraging the impact of a "Conqueror"'s death, the Hidden Sage finally broke free from the civilization tapestry crafted by the God of Steam and Machinery, and began unleashing its own power, will, and breath.

In Fourth Era Te Li Er, something seemed stirred by it, a ringing sound echoing in the ears of every living being nearby.

In their eyes appeared an endless wilderness, a wasteland haunted by countless silhouettes, a wilderness formed from the sediment of innumerable pieces of information.

Heavenly Master!

Layered voices reverberated in everyone's ears, as if countless people were wailing, raging, screaming, and cheering. At this moment, all the extraordinary beings lingering in Te Li Er showed varying degrees of loss of control; their minds filled with a flood of information, some useful, some useless, crazily trying to overwhelm their brains and shatter their fragile nerves.

On the mechanical plaza outside the Steel Cathedral, the instant the civilization tapestry was torn by the Hidden Sage, Pa Lie Si seized control of Lun Na De's body, used the travel ring, and initiated a teleport.

On the north bank of the Serenzo River, Lun Na De's figure suddenly fell out of the spirit realm; his exposed neck, arms, cheeks and other flesh cracked inch by inch, bulging outward and shifting, as if something were about to sprout.

In the mechanical hall beneath the Steel Cathedral, Lei Ke Dun, having lost his barely‑maintained form and reduced to a slowly drifting cluster of starlight, suddenly felt a surge of joy.

Opposite him, the vague light‑shadow grew ever more indistinct, with pixel‑like specks of light flickering in and out.

Your seal has failed.

Lei Ke Dun's voice emanated from the drifting starlight, leaving an echo‑like reverberation that could tear at the spirit and stimulate ethereal beings.

At the same moment, the slowly drifting starlight rapidly disintegrated into a barely visible "glow", composed of wave after wave of tangled information.

This "glow" had no substance, flowing in an illusory form like a torrent, piercing roofs and walls, bursting out from the underground mechanical hall.

(End of chapter)