Chapter 16: Facing Tzeentch

Looking at the evil god before him, listening to the demonic voice that seemed to pour directly into his mind, Sinuoli recalled a widely praised saying from a great man: "Tactically respect the enemy, strategically despise the enemy!"

Yes, although the power of the Chaos God is incomparably great, the Tzeentch before him is merely an illusion projected into his own mind; if he were afraid even of this, how could he speak of going to the Chaos Realm to face His true form?

That slogan of reclaiming lost Shanbao, recovering lost Artifacts, and revitalizing the glory of the Mountain Kingdom would surely become nothing but empty words.

"Hmph!" Sinuoli snorted, his nose puffing out a breath as he looked up at this demon god:

"Tzeentch, to tell you the truth, you might be able to take my life, but want me to submit to you? Keep dreaming!"

Sinuoli let out a roar, using all his strength as if to vent all the negative emotions he had felt since his rebirth.

"Gak gak gak..." Tzeentch's laughter echoed through the fortress.

"Every mortal who comes here says that at first; some overconfident fellows have shouted even louder than you, but well, gak gak gak, let me show you something interesting."

As he spoke, Tzeentch reached out a finger, and a Magic Mirror appeared between Him and Sinuoli. "Watch closely; their present is your future. Be grateful for the divine grace bestowed upon you by the all-knowing and all-powerful Holy Tzeentch!"

Sinuoli looked at the Magic Mirror before him. The first to appear was an Elf—or, to be precise, a creature that could barely be identified as having once been an Elf. Extensive Chaos Mutation made it almost impossible to recognize the original form.

On top of his head grew a pair of asymmetrical horns, and on the right side of his body grew a third arm with vicious claws. His legs had grown additional joints, allowing him to firmly anchor himself to an equally deformed War Machine.

Judging by the surrounding environment, he was on a battlefield of the Chaos Gods, surrounded by a large number of Tzeentch Daemons, while opposite them was a sea of green—presumably the Chaos Demon Army of Nurgle.

At the same time, Tzeentch's voice, by turns sharp and hoarse, rang out: "This fellow was once a variable created by that stinking chicken who burned off its own feathers; now, he is even willing to bathe in Nurgle's garden for me!

Haha, this mortal world where you cling to life only has a stinking chicken and a dead toad that can be considered somewhat interesting. What a pity, what a pity; before my infinite wisdom, they are nothing but clowns!"

Sinuoli roughly knew that the dead toad Tzeentch spoke of referred to Lord Kroak—the strongest of the first generation of Slann Mage-Priests created by the Old Ones, whose power was great enough to change the orbital paths of planets, move continental plates, and so on.

During the first Chaos invasion, Master Kroak paid with his life to hold back the majority of the Chaos Demon Army, creating the opportunity for the Dragon Tamer Caledor to create the Great Vortex. Even after his death, his soul still resided within his own mummy, and he could continue to cast magic to destroy enemies across the world.

Just as Sinuoli was guessing which great being the "stinking chicken" referred to and whether he could attempt to contact and ally with it, the image in the Magic Mirror changed.

Appearing in the center this time was an indescribable, terrifying creature; it looked like a moving mass of flesh composed of tentacles and eyes. Relying on the memories of his past life, Sinuoli knew this was a Chaos Spawn—a mutated creature twisted by the corrupting influence of magic and Chaos.

However, this monster was different from the group beside it; it was larger, had many twisted claws, and was constantly spewing blue Tzeentchian Warpfire from all over its body. Sinuoli guessed that this one had likely received Tzeentch's blessing.

Seeming to guess what Sinuoli was thinking, Tzeentch's voice rang out at the right moment: "Cute, isn't it? This is my most satisfying creation! Before bathing in my divine grace, this was once the Dean of the Empire Magic Academy, the most powerful mage among humans at the time!"

The Demon Bird God paused, seemingly waiting for Sinuoli to scream or show a look of fear, but Sinuoli did not grant Him his wish.

"One who has thunder in his heart but a face as calm as a lake can be a great general." Sinuoli understood this principle deeply.

"When he had the honor of witnessing my supreme power, in order to obtain my favor, he did not hesitate to sacrifice the entire Heaven College in an attempt to become a Prince under my command! But the great Holy Tzeentch never lets his most loyal followers down; I gave it a unique blessing. Look at it now—no need to think, no worries, how happy it is!"

Yes, Tzeentch was exactly such an evil god; what He loved most was savoring the despair of mortals when plans failed to keep up with changes, and not even his most loyal followers were an exception.

As the Magic Mirror before him shimmered with a ghostly light again and was about to switch scenes, Sinuoli reached out and made a gesture to pause. Having not said a word since entering the room except for that initial refusal, Sinuoli spoke slowly:

"I say, what is the point of showing me these disgusting things? My dinner was a bit greasy and now I'm nauseous! Could it be that you actually don't want me to surrender directly to Chaos because I have some understanding of the ending?"

Seeing the fleeting expression of surprise on Tzeentch's constantly shifting, strange face, Sinuoli knew he had guessed correctly.

"Let me keep guessing! For this world, the End Times are a foregone conclusion; if I can change it, perhaps it could bring you even greater pleasure? Change and non-change are a pair of opposites in unity; giving up a small change for a big change must be quite good for you, right?" At this moment, Sinuoli even made a pun.

"Gak gak gak!" Tzeentch let out another burst of strange laughter. "What a sharp-tongued mortal. It seems you might really be able to bring me more joy. When the time comes, I will not be stingy with my divine grace! A Dwarf Demon Prince—that sounds interesting. Gak gak gak, perhaps that hermaphrodite will like your cute little thing!"

Tzeentch waved a hand and made the Magic Mirror vanish. "Whether you can change it depends on your own fortune, mortal! Don't end up in Nurgle's trash heap before you let me harvest my joy!"

Accompanied by Tzeentch's cackling laughter, Sinuoli's consciousness regained the sensation of his body. He stood up and stretched his limbs, suddenly feeling extremely hungry.

"Strange, didn't I eat half a roasted Rock Sheep for dinner?" Sinuoli muttered to himself while looking around. Suddenly, he discovered that five of the candles on the wall had burned out, and the sixth was about to reach the bottom.

Dwarfs used graduated candles to keep time; generally speaking, each candle could burn for twelve hours. If a longer period needed to be recorded, the end of the wick of the previous candle could be connected to the head of the next one, so that the next one would automatically ignite after the previous one burned out. This Forging Room was designed exactly like that.

The concept of time in the world of consciousness had been distorted; the three-day deadline was actually about to arrive!

Sinuoli could not afford to think too much. After gulping down a large mouthful of water to moisten his dry throat, he immediately began to set up the scene. He lit the furnace fire, turned the heat to the maximum, and then threw all the gathered raw materials in to smelt them.

Just as he put the melted raw materials into the water to cool, the candle burned out, and a knocking sound came from outside the door.

Thanks to book friend Cappuccino for the tip and book friend Nine-Nine Satisfied for the monthly ticket. There is a gathering today, so the extra update will be tomorrow.