Chapter 697: War Escalates

In the Divine Abandoned Land, the exploration party from Silver City returned to Afternoon Town; this time the party was accompanied by two elders of the Six‑person Council, led personally by Chief Ke Lin·Iliat, former "Demon Hunter" and now "Silver Knight."

Afternoon Town lay on the fringe of the Giant King's Court radiation zone, and a spreading twilight could already be seen in the western sky.

Dairike stood at the edge of the encampment, his eyes streaming with brilliant golden light, tracing one mysterious three‑dimensional sigil after another.

It is a secret art taught by Leiketon; by harnessing information exchange, one can project one's gaze to distant places, functioning like a mysterious version of a telescope.

Beneath the western twilight, where dusk hung frozen, he saw countless palaces, towering spires, and massive, layered architectural complexes.

Even though they were only a corner of the Giant King's Court, they remained splendid and grand, as if miracles from myth were frozen in endless time.

If this expedition succeeds, Silver City and everyone will be redeemed, freed from darkness. As thoughts fluttered, Dairike clasped his hands and whispered a prayer to Mr. "Fool."

On the Southern Continent, at Olesden Port along the Pas River Valley, inside the captain's cabin of the Dawn docked at the pier.

Wave after wave of data pierced the deck and walls, rushing into the cabin, coalescing to reconstruct Beiernadai's body.

She held a peculiar gray‑white stone tablet etched with numerous strange, mysterious symbols, exuding authority and power; merely looking at it made one uneasy, yearning to kneel in submission.

Seated in an armchair by the window, Luosaier sprang up, waved to Beiernadai, and the gray‑white tablet in her hand spontaneously flew into Luosaier's grasp.

In the next instant, the tablet began to dematerialize, black shadows streaming out and surging into Luosaier's mechanical doll body, attempting to remodel and merge with it.

Luosaier's complexion shifted; his consciousness rose uncontrollably, his aura intensifying, as if he could burst from the Dawn at any moment, enter the astral realm, and trigger the Black Emperor's resurrection protocol.

The surrounding light dimmed, and star after star emerged, dense and dazzling.

The brilliant starlight wove into a vast sky, scattering rays that fell into the gray‑white tablet in Luosaier's hand, sealing it.

The trend of singularity returning to itself was halted, and Luosaier finally exhaled, remarking, "Did something stimulate this singularity, making it so eager to merge with me?"

Leiketon's silhouette was outlined by the flickering starlight; he glanced at Luosaier and said flatly:

"It's the instinct of aggregation; even though you're now just a doll, you still retain some essence of the Black Emperor. Isn't it natural that it draws you? Why do you still dare to reach out and touch it?"

"That's not something I can control; it's the body's instinctive response after perceiving high‑order entities along the same pathway."

Luosaier offered a brief defense, then, as if recalling something or shifting the subject, began:

"Did you obtain the final wish He promised from Chala Tu?"

"I had secretly left some data near His spire chapel before, but I didn't expect you to locate Him so quickly; it seems your grasp of information is far stronger than I imagined."

"The True Creator provided some assistance."

As he spoke, Leiketon reached out and, like a magician, produced a black, heavy square talisman from the void, saying casually:

"As you expected, Chala Tu indeed intended to breach the contract; after all, He is a Mysterious Secret Servant adept at deceiving others, and the breach isn't that severe for Him."

"I extracted a spirit worm and some traits from Him—consider that a gain—but He promptly committed suicide."

Luosaier stared at Leiketon in astonishment, his tone uneasy, and said:

"To force a Mysterious Secret Servant into suicide so easily—I'm curious what you did. Even if He can revive, each life is still precious, not infinite."

He paused briefly, then asked casually, "What do you plan to do next?"

"I'm heading to the Divine Abandoned Land."

As the words faded, a flash of silvery white crossed Leiketon's eyes; he saw a future of black storms and lightning intertwined, rife with decay and brutality, and deep within the dark tempest, crimson, brass, and golden glints flickered, outlining a twisted, strange eye.

Below the black storm, steam rose while starlight floated, indistinguishable from one another.

The vision lasted barely two seconds; Leiketon's eyes cleared again, though slightly dazed, as if still immersed in the scene he had just witnessed.

A moment later, Leiketon exhaled slowly, saying, "War is about to escalate; the Divine War may unfold faster than we expect. You can't keep lying in a tomb."

"Do you think I want to?" Luosaier retorted, his face darkened.

Before he could finish, the raging sea was already shrouded in exaggerated, blood‑red mist, as if stained with blood; merely seeing it stirred a restless urge for a brutal, flesh‑to‑flesh fight to vent emotions. After sensing the high‑level power permeating the mist, Leiketon spoke calmly:

"This is a certain high‑level power of Conflict; only the Red Angel Demon or the 0‑01 sealed by the Knowledge Church can achieve this now."

"Of course, it could also be a creation of Steam; it took part in the Pale Disaster, witnessed the Red Priest's power, and reproducing items with the same effect is easy."

Luosaier crossed his arms over his chest, gazing out the window, and said calmly:

"I'll wager a Fei Erjin; this is the dried Red Angel Demon. As a former colleague, it's unsurprising that He was drawn in by the Eternal Blazing Sun."

While they conversed, the clergy stationed there reacted and began praying to their respective deities.

Soon, a heavy veil of shadow descended from the sky, spanning the raging sea like an illusory towering wall.

The red‑tinged mist passed through the illusory "wall" unaffected, becoming a dark crimson, adding a sense of decay and sacrifice.

A thick, golden‑bright column of light pierced the dark crimson mist, shooting straight toward Olesden Port's pier.

The golden column twisted oddly in midair, bent, and vanished into the sea below.

Boom! With a crack‑like roar and dazzling golden sunlight, towering waves dozens of meters high surged over the raging sea.

After the waves, specks of golden light emerged, bursting through the surf in an instant and scattering toward every corner of the port.

"The Steam Church has made some progress over the past centuries; this Purification Cannon can now be mass‑mounted on fleets as a powerful strike weapon."

In the Dawn's captain's cabin, Luosaier muttered a reflexive sigh; beside him, Leiketon's silhouette had already vanished.

Simultaneously, stars continuously streamed out from various points of Olesden Port, forming in midair a series of gates adorned with mysterious patterns and sigils, linking to an unknown realm of the spirit world.

These gates happened to lie in the trajectory of the Inditis Fleet's Purification Cannon fire, successfully intercepting all of the projectiles.

Having just intercepted a wave of the Inditis Fleet's assault, Leiketon barely had time to breathe before noticing changes around him.

All the Southern Continent‑style houses and structures vanished, replaced by a Steel City forged from machinery, filled with rising steam, turning gears and chains, neatly laid tracks—exquisitely like a painting rather than a real city.

My position was swapped? No, it's my entire sector that was displaced, and I was transferred along with it.

Few can achieve this; the first person he thought of was the self‑suicided Chala Tu he'd just trapped. Is this revenge that never arrives late?

He made a wry comment in his mind, his gaze sweeping the surroundings, a deep pale‑purple hue flashing in his eyes.

Through the gaze of the Secret‑Peeking Eye, his surroundings turned into an illusory tome composed solely of data, while he himself became the knowledge, text, and information inscribed within.

Again a handiwork of Steam; before each clash with the Hidden Sage, you always have to trap me in a cage, right?

As thoughts drifted, he saw a somewhat familiar silhouette materialize before him.

He wore black armor splattered like fresh blood, his hair a blazing red, and his young, handsome face bore two deep scars stretching from earlobes to the corners of his mouth, as if two shut lips had grown on his face.

「Little cutie, we meet again。」

「I'm really sorry to meet you like this, but they gave me too much, so I have no choice but to reluctantly spend some time playing with you here。」

Meidiqi gave a provocative smile at Leikdun, his tone flat, yet he could always, without meaning to, stir up deep-seated aversion in others, making people unable to resist the urge to beat him up.

Leikdun frowned slightly, suppressing the emotions welling up in his heart, and spoke in a flat tone:

「What should I call you? Red Angel Fiend? Meidiqi Suolun Aiyinhuoen? Or perhaps, the puppet of 【City of Calamity】? 」

「Such a lowly provocation, you can call me whatever you like; I have no intention of arguing about this with you, but the reward they offered is really too generous, and I find it hard to refuse。」

Meidiqi sat cross-legged on the ground without caring about his image, appearing completely uninterested in Leikdun.

(End of chapter)