Chapter 1688: Also Came from the Lanian Branch Route

After flying in a virtual state for over a month, everyone noticed the surrounding matter increasing—extinguished god stars, abyssal cores, alien beast corpses, ancient god remains, and all sorts of random junk. It felt like we had arrived at a landfill collecting all objects from the void.

The matter was too dense; afraid of accidentally hitting something, Ang released the virtual state, transforming into a giant skeleton, crashing through everything in his path.

Neggris said: "Really, everything's here—is that an airship? Is that a roof tile? Is that a corpse? And so many skeletons—what place is this exactly?"

Anthony turned to the dimensional beast and asked: "Giant cat, are you sure this is the void pillar?"

The dimensional beast raised its huge claw, pointed forward, then let out a series of roars.

Neggris translated: "This is the outer edge of the void pillar. Go forward and you'll reach it—I can't enter; we need a god star to bring us in."

Anthony asked, confused: "Why do we need a god star to get in? This place is empty—nothing's here."

The dimensional beast said: "Just keep walking and you'll see—there's an energy rift ahead, lasting dozens of nodes, capable of draining all life force. Except for god stars, nothing can cross it."

"Is that energy rift dangerous? Anything we should watch out for?" Anthony asked.

The dimensional beast shook its head: "I don't know—I've only been here once. Others came with me, but they died, so I fled."

Anthony asked: "Have you encountered any other beings here? Any natives? I'd like to capture one to question."

The dimensional beast replied: "No, I haven't encountered any."

Ursman was currently fiddling with a biological corpse he'd picked up at random, and upon hearing this, said: "I don't know how long this thing's been dead—it hasn't decayed or petrified, it's perfectly preserved. The environment here isn't especially harsh, so unknown lifeforms could possibly exist—everyone should stay alert."

Ang pointed ahead and said: "There, there, there."

Neggris exclaimed in disbelief: "You mean there, there, and there—all have life?"

Ang nodded.

"Why didn't you say sooner? How far away is it?" Neggris asked urgently.

Ang scratched his head, dazed, and said: "Tiny—no threat."

Ang's current focus is on god-star-level threats; those too small to pose danger have been habitually filtered out by him. If not for this conversation, he might not have noticed these tiny things at all.

Just then, over a hundred star-born entities shimmered into existence around them, surrounding the group. About thirty of them strained, throwing out chains forged from their own condensed forms, locking the dimensional giant cat and Ang in place.

Ang didn't move—he feared any motion would break the chains—but the dimensional beast strained fiercely against them.

One star-born shouted: "He's spotted us—attack!"

The remaining star-born surged forward. Since Ang hadn't moved, most rushed toward the giant cat. Two extended limbs, vibrating rapidly toward the cat, sending ripples that enveloped its body.

"Huh—space rupture? Does he know the giant cat?" Neggris exclaimed in surprise.

Space rupture is the dimensional beast's signature skill—before, the giant cat would open its mouth and nullify all spatial magic, scrolls, trinkets, and teleport arrays.

But space rupture is also the best way to restrain the dimensional beast; otherwise, those chains couldn't hold it, and the giant cat could just dimension-jump away.

The king shouted excitedly: "Don't move—let me handle this!"

Good heavens—three-plus months, you know how the king's spent this time? He's lain corpses on the giant cat's back every day—can't even swing a sword, hasn't seen a living thing in ages, feels like he's molding and growing mushrooms.

Anthony quickly shouted: "Your Majesty, please wait—I still have questions for them."

The king resignedly stopped: "Damn it, you god-botherers, dragging your feet—hurry up and ask, then tell me."

Anthony turned to the star-born who'd shouted "Found us!" and asked: "Who are you? Why attack us? Are you seeking death? Do you even know who we are?"

Wise beings only bully the weak and fear the strong—those who fear the strong and bully the weak are long extinct. If an enemy acts strong, either they have backing or a trump card.

The more Anthony acts strong now, the more the other side will hesitate, trying to figure out why he dares to be so bold.

"Who are you?" the lead star-born demanded loudly.

Anthony replied: "We are the chief exploration legion dispatched by the Star-Keeper Kelania of the Lanian Branch Lord's headquarters. What are you? Dare to attack us!"

When traveling abroad, identities are self-assigned. They now recognize the Lanian Branch Lord as the strongest existence—impersonating his subordinates is naturally the most fitting move.

The opposing star-born exchanged glances. Though they didn't know who the Lanian Branch Lord was, they understood the titles "Branch Lord" and "Chief Star-Keeper"—these are top-tier existences in the branch. To send an exploration legion here?

The lead star-born hesitated, then suddenly shifted expression and shouted sternly: "You're lying—The Lanian Lord and Star-Keepers are hiding in the Mist Vortex; how could they send an exploration team? Who are you really?"

Huh—actually knows about the matter cloud? That place is called the Mist Vortex?

Anthony laughed: "Looks like you don't know what happened in the Lanian Branch—you're unaware of this void disaster, your perception is too weak. Scram—I've no interest in dealing with you."

The lead star-born froze for a long while; his reaction let Anthony guess something—someone's behind him, currently listening to rear instructions.

After a pause, the lead star-born said: "Of course I know what happened in the Lanian Branch—I just don't know your identity or purpose here."

Anthony sneered: "You know what happened in the Lanian Branch but not why I'm here? You're the one really lying—tell whoever's behind you to come out; don't make us wait half a day every time we talk."

The other side tried to probe him with words—but would Anthony fear such verbal probing?

The opposing star-born froze, then sank back into silence.

Neggris couldn't help but say: "Is this guy stupid? Reacting so slowly? If we were deceiving him, his delayed response would practically scream he's got someone behind him."

Even Neggris could scorn him—just shows how obvious his reaction is.

After a while—whether they'd finished communicating with whoever's behind them or not—a manifested star-being stepped before Ang and the others. Anthony exclaimed in surprise: "It's a manifestation? It also came from the Lanian Branch?"

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