Chapter 423

Luosen's underground secret chamber.

'The source material from different worlds cannot be used directly; it must undergo a complex conversion, and the conversion consumes at least ninety percent.'

The Joyful One said so.

If this is true, it would be a major boon for Luosen.

Because he is currently uninterested in entering other worlds, while the Annihilation Goddess is an external deity.

'The divine realm's law rings consist of five rings, divine power has five tiers, and divine fire has five grades. The source material that composes divine fire therefore has five states.'

'Source material in different states has similar traits but varying strength. Using the divine arts formed from them yields a fivefold basic multiplier.'

'At the same time, each deity's acquired source material possesses unique properties, leading to various interactions—annihilation, transmutation, or promotion.'

'Below I list all the modes of interaction that I know.'

Luosen examined closely and found that the interactions of source-material divine arts are extremely complex, with very high potency, sometimes far exceeding the ring disparity.

'It seems, then, that a strong deity cannot necessarily completely suppress a weaker one.'

Luosen thought while watching, and simultaneously put his hands to practice.

As the Natural Empire's internal policies continually adjusted, more source material poured toward him, and his resources grew increasingly ample.

To achieve results faster, he began conducting source-material experiments without regard for cost.

And while he was diligently honing his source-material techniques, Grey City's situation was rapidly evolving.

Dawn Fortress.

The count's second envoy arrived, named Rupert Allen, possessing a soul strength of up to 18 rings.

He was not alone; he also brought a ten‑person combat squad, averaging 17 rings in soul strength, assigned as his guard by Count Gongte Jin.

The black‑clad Rupert, upon arriving at the great teleportation array of Dawn Fortress, hadn't even steadied his footing before he began summoning Dawn Eye Association President Savos.

Three minutes later, he met the tall, slender 17‑ring mage.

Rupert's face was expressionless as he looked down at Savos and issued a command in an unquestionable tone.

'Take me to see Alex's corpse.'

Savos bent his waist almost to the breaking point and said, 'Yes, sir, this way.'

Ten minutes later, the black‑clad Rupert looked at the frozen corpse, turned his head toward Savos and asked, 'Your daughter did it?'

Sweat beaded on Savos's forehead, and a feeble smile spread across his face: 'Yes, yes, it was my daughter who killed him.'

'And where is your daughter?'

'She's being chased, not caught yet.'

'How many days have passed?'

'Four days.'

The black‑clad Rupert's voice was very calm, yet it contained an extremely icy will, colder than the frozen Alex himself.

Sweat on Savos's face kept increasing, unstoppable, truly pouring down like rain.

Rupert asked no further, merely gazing at Savos with a pair of cold gray eyes.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

'Thump~~~'

Savos finally could not bear it and knelt on the ground.

'Great lord, someone needs to assist you in managing the Dawn Eye's warriors, and someone must brief you on Grey City's current state; I beg you to spare my life.'

The cold gray in Rupert's eyes lightened slightly.

'Extend your left hand, straighten your fingers, and lay them flat on the ground.'

Savos trembled and complied.

Rupert snarled at the guards behind him, 'Crush them all.'

The guard stepped forward, lifted his right foot clad in metal boots, pressed it onto Savos's left finger, aligned it, and forced it down.

'Ah~~~'

Savos let out a horribly tragic wail, but only managed half a sound; the latter half he forced back down, fearing it would disturb Rupert.

When the guard lifted his boot again, Savos's left finger was completely flattened, its bones entirely shattered.

Rupert said calmly, 'No treatment is allowed within three days, as punishment for your severe dereliction.'

'Yes, sir.'

Savos's complexion turned almost transparent white, his face full of the luck of having escaped a disaster.

Yet no one noticed the faint, dim murderous glint stirring deep within his gaze.

The black‑clad Rupert continued, 'Summon all Dawn Eye warriors, first purge internal traitors, then cleanse the Grey City rebel organization and its members.'

'Remember, better to kill ten thousand wrongly than to let a single one go!'

'Understood.'

'Savos, after you capture Natalia alive, you, as her father, must personally execute a three‑day fire punishment on her.'

'Understood.'

'Go do it.'

Savos trembled as he rose, meticulously carrying out the black‑clad Rupert's order.

Rupert turned again to a guard behind him and said, 'Captain, activate the Eternal Guardian's coordinated defense mode; once we are attacked, unleash the Guardian's high‑energy combat mode.'

'Yes, Envoy sir.'

Soon, the Dawn Eye Mage Association's killing machines began operating at maximum efficiency.

In less than half a day, the entire Grey City was instantly shrouded in a wave of blood, fire smoke, and strong roasted‑meat aroma—all at once.

Grey City's western outskirts, a hidden underground cavern on the outer edge of the Poison Mist Forest.

For safety, the cave has no physical entrance; only a hidden magical teleportation portal, and one must pass through several layers of teleportation to get inside.

Translation: For safety, the cave has no physical entrance; only a secret magical teleportation entrance exists, and one must pass through multiple layers of teleportation to enter.

We need to keep it concise but include all info.

Inside, the cave has been greatly widened, reinforced, and illuminated by magic, becoming a very spacious underground living space that is self-sufficient in all kinds of supplies.

Translation: Inside the cave, magic has greatly widened, reinforced, and illuminated it, turning it into a very spacious underground living space that is self-sufficient in various supplies.

Here, Natalie has successfully reunited with her friend Gwenna Vere and has become a senior member of the Dragon Mountain Brotherhood.

The reason this went so smoothly is that most of the Brotherhood's senior members are defectors from the Dawn Eye.

Natalie not only killed the envoy of Yueliangcheng, her own magical prowess is superb, and she has also gained the favor of the Sun War God, causing everyone to look at her anew.

At this moment, the Brotherhood's senior members are seated around a crude stone chamber that has been meticulously encrypted with magic, discussing future plans.

Former Dawn Eye Hand Gwenna Vere is a 14th-circle mage, and before the arrival of the 15th-circle mage Natalie, she was also the strongest mage in the Brotherhood.

She glanced around at everyone and said in a solemn voice, 'Historical experience tells us that once an envoy is killed, Yueliangcheng will surely react fiercely, sending down a large number of powerful beings to carry out a carpet‑like sweeping purge of the ground.'

'So, Grey City at this moment must already have been turned into a sea of blood.'

'The question is, should we continue hiding in the caves, watching the Dawn Eye slaughter? Or should we seize this opportunity to strike back at the Dawn Eye, thereby demonstrating our determination and ability to oppose Yueliangcheng?'

The mages looked at one another, discussing heatedly.

'We have received the protection of the Great One, so self‑defense is no problem, and we can even wage guerrilla warfare against the Dawn Eye in the mountains and forests. But our strength is far insufficient for a direct confrontation with the Dawn Eye.'

'The Dawn Eye alone we could still handle; what is terrifying are the mages of Yueliangcheng, and even its Eternal Guardians.'

'Perhaps we should avoid this wave of purging.'

'If we keep avoiding, how can we change this dark world?'

'Would it not be better to pray to the Sun War God and seek the aid of the Great One?'

'We certainly should pray, but we cannot rely entirely on the Sun War God!'

These last words were spoken by Aoliangde.

He looked at everyone with bright eyes: 'The God helps us out of danger because of His mercy.'

'But it is we who want revenge, and it is we who want to change the world.'

'If we rely on God's help for everything, that is using our mortal will to command the divine; over time, God will grow weary of us, and we will become useless creatures who only fawn and beg for His favor.'

'If we become such useless beings, what qualification or face do we have to seek God's help? And how could we rebuild glory upon the ruins?'

The Brotherhood members were instantly left speechless by the question.

After a while, someone spoke up: 'The opponent is truly too strong, so strong as to cause despair.'

No sooner had the words fallen than Natalie spoke: 'The opponent is indeed strong, but not without weaknesses.'

She paused, then after drawing everyone's attention, she softly said: 'The reason the Dawn Eye is terrifying is that its fundamental cause is their ability to continuously receive various material aid from Yueliangcheng.'

'Food, supplies, weapons, even troops—all of this is transmitted via the great teleportation array beneath the Dawn Fortress.'

'If we can destroy the great teleportation array and then destroy the mage association's existing supplies, we will not only cut off Yueliangcheng's aid but also deal a heavy blow to the mage association's morale; once their morale drops to a certain point, the association will collapse on its own.'

Gwenna Vere nodded: 'It sounds like a good plan, but as far as I know, the great teleportation array is guarded by a terrifying Eternal Guardian; once we attack the array, that dreadful war machine will surely attack us.'

'But not only us—even if all the warriors of Grey City charged together, there would be no way to defeat the Eternal Guardian.'

Natalie immediately replied: 'I know this is an irresolvable force, so we must seek the aid of the Great One.'

This time, Aoliangde also nodded in agreement: 'I agree as well.'

The other senior members of the Brotherhood also nodded in turn.

Gwenna Vere, however, had little confidence in her heart, because she felt she understood Luosen.

Given Luosen's situation, it is probably impossible to defeat the ultimate war machine of the Eternal Empire.

But Luosen is their only hope, so for now they can only turn to him for help.

She softly said: 'Then let us all pray to God together.'

The Brotherhood's senior members then all lowered their heads, with Aoliangde, the first follower of the Sun War God, leading them in prayer.

As soon as they prayed here, Luosen immediately felt it.

He listened to the Dragon Mountain Brotherhood's counter‑attack plan, thought it was not bad, and responded with a will of 'approval'.

As for the trouble of the Eternal Guardian, before igniting the divine fire, Luosen might not necessarily be a match for it.

But after igniting the divine fire and gaining control over source substance, this is no longer a problem.

In fact, he has already forged a powerful source‑substance divine technique aimed at the Eternal Guardian.

Not only can it resolve this troublesome thing, it can also add formidable combat power to the Dragon Mountain Brotherhood.

The divine technique is named 'In the Name of God', its effect: 'In the name of God, command any magical construct to serve the caster.'

After the prayer ended, Luosen's mind stirred slightly, he separated a few strands of source substance, and respectively bestowed upon 'Aoliangde, Gwenna Vere, Natalie' each a copy of the 'In the Name of God' technique.

After the divine technique had been bestowed, his will once again retreated behind the scenes.

In the underground secret chamber, Aoliangde said: 'God has granted me a divine technique; although I have not yet used it, I feel it is extremely, extremely powerful.'

'Me too.' Natalie also said.

'Me too.'

Gwenna Vere also nodded, then added: 'The mage association has only three Eternal Guardians in total; if this divine technique really works,'

'Sister, the divine technique is definitely effective—this is beyond doubt!' Natalie earnestly corrected.

Gwenna Vere glanced at Natalie with slight surprise, somewhat astonished at the devout faith of this proud young lady.

She certainly would not argue about this: 'You're right, Natalie.'

'Then, now we move on to the next agenda: how to reach the great teleportation array?'

(End of chapter)