Chapter 399

Lost plane, the underground military base of the Silver Sand Great Gobi.

Calculating, Luo Sen had stayed in the half-plane for less than three months in total; considering the half-plane has a 1000-fold time flow, only less than three hours have passed in the main plane.

With so little time, plus the remote control of the puppet emperor, the entire Natural Empire didn't notice the emperor's absence at all.

Soon after returning, Luo Sen smoothly integrated into the empire and once again firmly grasped the empire's supreme power.

However, he still encountered some minor troubles.

In the base's secret room, the two Adela looked at each other, neither speaking.

Patenuolosi sat beside Adela's true form, gazing at Luo Sen with a playful look, wearing a schadenfreude expression of 'I'll see how you get out of this.'

'Cough cough~~'

Luo Sen gave a light cough and said, 'The specific situation, both ladies already understand.'

'What I want to say is, I like both ladies; if you don't mind each other's existence, then I don't mind either.'

'Of course, if you do mind, the main plane is vast, and my Natural Empire is not small either; we can completely let the two of you never meet.'

Life Goddess Adela gave Luo Sen a speechless look: 'Your Majesty, don't you find this strange?'

'Indeed it's a bit strange. But I think you can completely regard the other as your twin sister, right?'

Life Maiden Adela could accept that.

'That's also true. However, the truly strange part is that, although we are already independent individuals, when we get close to each other, there still exists a non-negligible soul resonance.'

'I can vaguely sense her thoughts and emotions; I believe she can also vaguely sense my thoughts, right?'

Life Goddess Adela nodded: 'Exactly.'

Luo Sen's eyes lit up: 'Ah~~ if we three were to have fun together, wouldn't that be wonderful.'

The Life Maiden couldn't help but scold: 'Your Majesty, you're always such a bastard!'

The Life Goddess was also quite speechless; after thinking, she said, 'For now, let's just be familiar strangers. I have many warriors needing treatment, so I'll go attend to them.'

Having said that, she turned and left directly.

This also reminded Luo Sen.

Although the half-plane's troubles were resolved, the main plane's war had ended less than three hours ago, and there are still many matters requiring this Emperor Luo Sen to make decisions.

'Someone, arrange for the two ladies to rest.'

Then he said to Adela and Patenuolosi, 'First get familiar with the environment; after I finish this batch of work, I'll come find you.'

The sisters naturally knew the important matters were urgent, also knew Luo Sen must be busy with affairs; they nodded and followed the attendant away.

The sisters followed the attendant all the way back to the room; after closing the door, Patenuolosi sighed: 'In the half-plane I didn't feel anything, but upon reaching the underground base, I truly experienced his supreme authority as emperor of the empire—it's practically a one-man rule.'

Adela pulled over a chair and sat, nodding slightly: 'His grip on the empire is indeed strong, far surpassing Dawn Emperor Aolatesi, and even surpassing our Empress.'

This is the difference between a nascent empire and an aging empire.

Not mentioning the just-annihilated Dawn Empire, speaking of their Eternal Empire, though called an empire, its essence is actually a co-governance between the emperor and the major clans.

Even due to the planar separation, the empire has in reality already split into three.

After a while of sighing, Patenuolosi's face again showed worry.

'Judging from the various details of this military base, the Natural Empire is still a primitive high-energy empire, far unable to contend with the Nightmare Abyss.'

Adela idly played with a tumbler on the table, softly saying: 'His Majesty Luo Sen will think of a way.'

Patenuolosi shrugged: 'What could he possibly think of? Unless he is a true god.'

Adela naturally couldn't say anything either, for her words were completely a matter of blind trust.

Meanwhile, Luo Sen and Tilalin were also discussing the same issue.

'Gurgle gurgle~~'

Luo Sen refilled Tilalin's light fruit wine, saying, 'Lilin, the Abyss's troubles are only temporarily resolved, but the root remains.'

'One day, we will have to personally face the great army of the Abyss breaking out of its seal.'

'What do you think of this?'

Tilalin held the exquisite crystal cup, took a slight sip, her clear violet eyes dazed for a while.

'Your Majesty, first I must retrieve all my lost memory fragments; only then can I offer the most valuable advice.'

'That's only natural; I will have the Dawn Guards help you find them.'

Tilalin continued: 'According to my current estimate, in about a hundred years the Abyss will be able to break through the planar stagnation spell. Thus, the Natural Empire still has a hundred years of development time, but that is far from enough.'

Luo Sen nodded: 'Exactly, do you have any ideas?'

'I have a vague idea, which I call 《Torrent Acceleration》.'

Luo Sen understood immediately, his eyes lighting up: 'You mean, construct a time-flow acceleration zone to gain extra development time?'

'Exactly.'

Tilalin lightly nodded.

'Of course, the arcane difficulty of this is extremely high; it requires not only sufficient arcane knowledge, but also extremely high-quality and sufficient quantity of power as a backing.'

According to my initial estimate, constructing a homogeneous time-flow acceleration zone with a diameter of 1000 kilometers, a hundredfold time acceleration, and sufficient strength would require at least 200 kilograms of solar essence per day. Moreover, a diameter of 1000 kilometers is the minimum size needed for developing high-energy factories.

200 kilograms of solar essence per day is indeed a staggering investment.

Just hearing that, Luo Sen felt his scalp tingle slightly, because the Natural Empire's current solar essence production capacity is only 500 grams per day.

Although we are striving to increase output, reaching 200 kilograms per day would likely take over a decade of effort and require enormous resources.

He couldn't help but ask: 'Does the half-plane constructed by Aolatesi also consume that much solar essence per day?'

Tilalin shook her head: 'That half-plane is of extremely poor quality, uneven, and far from strong enough; I estimate it needs only 1 kilogram of solar essence per day. But such a half-plane cannot be used to develop any high-level power.' 'Reality you also see: that world, after so many years, is still a slash-and-burn level of productivity.'

Luo Sen understood, took a deep breath: 'Then let's do it!'

Without a doubt, this path is extremely arduous, yet it is currently the only visible path with an extremely high chance of success.

Or rather, it is a righteous path.

Walking the righteous path is always difficult, but once it is passed, the later troubles are also the smallest, and the gains are also the greatest.

Tiralilin showed a hint of relief: "Then Your Majesty, I will now begin searching for the lost memory fragments to perfect my detailed knowledge."

Luo Sen nodded: "Good, I will immediately assign you the Dawn Guard Legion."

After Tiralilin left, he spent several more hours handling military affairs, only gaining some free time at dusk.

He then rose and quickly walked toward the secret prison temporarily built inside the military base.

Inside the prison was the True God Apostle he had risked capturing.

As an emperor of an empire, he must not put all his stakes on a single chip, but take every available path.

He would pursue both the righteous path and side doors to ensure the highest chance of success.

Luo Sen felt no moral pressure about this, for behind him stood the entire empire, his wife, children, elders, and billions of citizens.

If he failed, it would mean losing everything; but if he succeeded, no matter what means he used—even the most despicable—countless people would sing his praises, and later histories would continually gild his name, acclaiming him as the emperor of all ages.

The prison had no door; one could enter only via the Secret Passage Technique.

'Hum~'

His vision went dark, then bright again, and he found himself inside the prison.

The interior was a smooth spherical cavity; on its floor sat a woman in a thin dress—the Joyful Apostle Liv he had captured.

For safety, the True God Artifact she carried was placed in another heavily protected chamber.

Moreover, because she currently resides in the Eleventh Law Ring, her soul, originally as high as the Seventeenth Law Ring, has fragmented down to the Eleventh Law Ring, making her a True God Apostle fallen into the mortal realm.

Naturally, Luo Sen's soul also dropped from the Thirteenth Law Ring to the Eleventh Law Ring, but he carries a large amount of Sun Essence, plus the Dawn Crown and Radiant Scepter—two True God Artifacts protecting him—so he has no fear of her retaliation.

Having stood firm, Luo Sen carefully examined Liv.

She is very beautiful, a bewitching, sensual beauty; every curve of her body strongly provokes desire, making one want to throw her onto the bed and ravish her at first sight.

But Luo Sen clearly knows she is a poisonous rose, and having seen far too many beautiful girls, his heart feels no ripple.

One hand holding the Radiant Scepter, arms crossed over his chest, back against the wall, he stood with a faint smile on his face.

"Miss Liv, please convey my greetings to the Joyful One Latanaya."

Liv's body had been shattered to four-fifths by Luo Sen, and just now returned to normal; having personally witnessed his formidable combat ability, she unconsciously bore a deep mark of his invincibility.

At this moment, she harbored no thought of overturning the situation by force, but that does not mean she willingly accepts captivity.

She gave a bleak smile and mournfully said: "Your Majesty Luo Sen, you are the most valiant mortal emperor I have ever seen."

"My master once taught us that when encountering a powerhouse like you, we must never be enemies but strive to become your allies."

"Therefore, I sincerely apologize for my previous rash conduct and hope you can forgive my mistake."

"As long as you are willing to forgive me, I am ready to pay any price."

In her words, she displayed a pitiful, fragile appearance.

Luo Sen calmly watched her performance, his heartbeat not even quickening slightly.

He spoke frankly: "I don't like prostitutes; no matter how beautiful a prostitute is, I still don't like her."

It is not that he looks down on prostitutes; it is purely a matter of personal taste.

He knows many people like them because of their strong professional skills, but as emperor, having seen too much false affection, he prefers genuine emotion.

While speaking, a thought moved him; he cast a tremendous spacetime-binding spell, suspending her body in the air in a spread-eagle shape.

"I am very curious about your world; please tell me about it in detail."

"Don't lie, for I can see through it, and once I do, I will inflict on your soul a punishment you will never forget."

"Now I ask, you answer—understood?"

"Understood."

Liv dared not harbor any hope of luck, for she well knew the Joyful One's charm technique is not omnipotent; its effect wanes on men of broad experience, and who among mortals could surpass an empire's ruler in that regard?

Thus, Luo Sen took the question he had once asked Blood Mage Akaman and posed it again to Liv.

Liv answered each point; her information basically matched Akaman's, and since the two had no chance to collude, these otherworldly intel can be considered reliable.

By this point, Luo Sen had basically no further problems.

No, rather, he still had many questions, but he did not think she would know the answers.

Yet, driven by curiosity, he inexplicably asked a question.

"In other words, mortals can pass through the channel, but true gods cannot."

Liv carefully corrected: "No, it should be said that the mortal realm's power cannot accommodate that of true gods."

Having said that, she pointed to her head: "If we could open a channel to the Sun God Realm, true gods could come over. This is also the goal of countless true gods, for the divine realm of this world is extremely vacant, lying in a state of no owner."

Luo Sen's heart gave a slight jolt: "Your master would actually tell you such information?"

He suddenly realized he had misjudged.

This Joyful Apostle seems to be a very well-informed person, far more so than Blood Mage Akaman.

This is understandable, for Blood Mage Akaman tends to be a reclusive scholar, whereas the Joyful Apostle is a madam of prostitutes, and often prostitutes and intelligence agents are synonymous.

(End of chapter)