Chapter 1213
The Conflict Between the Gate Empire and the Second Otto
Chapter 1213 The Conflict Between the Gate Empire and the Second Otto
It turned out to be the case.
After listening to Nikel's almost tearful confession, Xia Xiu finally had a preliminary and clear outline of the so-called Gate Empire.
A colossal entity perched between the Library of the Exiled and countless worlds, built upon knowledge, pathways, and cross-disciplinary technologies.
And Nikel, the overlord of the Gate Empire, is a real-life version of a hapless bear from a TV series. He floats in mid-air, desperately revealing everything he knows, just hoping that the lord on the throne won't expose him for the time being.
"Your Majesty, I know more than just that."
The fragmented spirit trembled slightly, its voice filled with urgency.
“I have traded with them more than once. I remember the coordinates of several entrances to the outer area of the Library of the Exiled, as well as the code names and exchange passwords commonly used by mid-level members of the Empire.”
"I also know that the Gate Empire maintains more than one base outside the world. They are collecting a lot of things: necromancy, machinery, magic, domain technology, gates, ancient bloodlines, fragmented divine essences... They have everything, as if they are stockpiling materials for some larger plan."
"Just ask me, and I'll tell you everything."
"I will never hide anything again."
In the end, the spiritual entity lowered itself down a bit, assuming an almost prostrate posture in mid-air.
On the throne, Xia Xiu slightly raised his golden eyes, Nikel's words successfully piquing his interest.
"plan?"
Nickell quickly replied:
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"What I know is not complete, but based on the intelligence I came across back then, the reason why the Men Empire suddenly began to collect these advanced technologies and samples across lineages and civilizations on a large scale in recent years is related to a conflict."
"It seems they... have clashed with an ancient force in the Tyrejon Sector 2."
Terjean II.
Xia Xiu's eyes flickered slightly when he heard the name. He was quite familiar with this place, as he had just heard about it not long ago.
The Eldar high priest had previously mentioned that Tyrande II is now the main gathering place for the Eldar of the Second Otto World, and also the Eldar's base in the present world.
How interesting! The Gate Empire, this knowledge-based dynasty from beyond the world, has already clashed head-on with the Otto Eldar.
Based on the nature of these two, they would most likely start fighting when they met. Thinking of this, Xia Xiu tapped the armrest of the throne lightly with his fingers, quickly connecting several clues in his mind.
The Gate Empire has its sights set on Terra.
A conflict erupted between the Mon Empire and Tyrell II.
Recently, the Eldar have taken the initiative to contact us, and even offered to grant us access to some of the Blackrock Fortress.
When these lines are put together, it's no longer just a simple coincidence.
Then, Xia Xiu looked at the broken spiritual energy below and spoke calmly:
"Tell me how to find the Gate Empire."
Upon hearing this, Nikel was stunned for a moment. The next moment, his spiritual energy, which had been almost shattered into dust, suddenly lit up a little.
Here it comes, the real life-saving topic has finally arrived!!!
He spoke hastily, his pace even faster than before:
"Your Majesty, the communication channels of the Men Empire cannot be established with ordinary passwords and coordinates."
“While it is true that you can enter the outer trading points, low-level strongholds, and fixed access points by using coordinates and exchanging passwords, if you want to truly find the dynasty of the Gate Empire, you must use spiritual information at the hegemon level as a trigger.”
Nikel paused deliberately at this point, and her voice unconsciously softened.
"In other words, the true means of communication for the Gate Empire requires spiritual information authentication, and the person must be alive and not distorted or controlled, because the Gate Empire has a set of spiritual beacons with active identification capabilities."
As he spoke, he carefully raised a sliver of spiritual light, as if observing Xia Xiu's reaction.
"Even if you obtain the surface coordinates from my memory, you can only reach some abandoned, relocated, or disguised outer areas."
"But without my overlord-level active spirituality as a catalyst, you wouldn't be able to truly find the main threads of the Gate Empire."
"Only if I live, only if I can maintain this supreme level of spiritual integrity, can I reconnect that line for you..."
He didn't dare to play tricks on Xia Xiu anymore, and instead directly revealed his little scheme, his tone almost pleading.
“Your Majesty, I’m not trying to bargain with you. I just… just want to tell you that I am still useful to you.”
"My life, at least for now, is still worth keeping."
Xia Xiu did not respond immediately from his throne.
His gaze fell on Nikel's fragmented spirituality, and Nikel, under that gaze, tensed up completely in an instant.
He was genuinely afraid of this living father in front of him.
In the past two months, he has figured out a bit of the personality of the living father in front of him.
Nikel had no doubt that if he made his statement sounded even slightly threatening, the other party could raise their hand and slap him so hard that not even ashes would remain.
So, his remnant soul immediately pressed down a little further, and he quickly added:
"Of course, if Your Majesty does not believe me, I am willing to hand over all the access methods for the first and second layers, as well as all the peripheral access methods and library connection formulas that I know, and I can also compile them for you!"
"I only ask that you keep me a little longer so that I can fully explain everything..."
"I will never play tricks, and I will never have any other thoughts!"
After thinking it over, Xia Xiu decided to spare Nickel's life.
"Alright, I'll keep you for now."
When Nikel arrived, the entire spiritual mass seemed to have escaped death, almost falling apart on the spot.
The next moment, Xia Xiu spoke calmly:
"Hand over the original technology of the Dragoon, the manufacturing technology of the interactive pump, and all the parallel research data you have collected over the years."
Nikel nodded hurriedly, her entire mass of spiritual fragments trembling.
"Yes, yes, Your Majesty, I will organize it immediately and hand it all over!"
"I'll give you everything, including the original blueprints, the localized version of Abalus, and all the patches and replacement modules I made for the Necromancer platform later!"
Xia Xiu looked at him, said nothing more, and simply raised his hand and flicked his finger.
A thin, yet pure, golden spiritual energy swished from his fingertips and entered directly into Nikel's nearly extinguished, broken soul.
hum-
The spiritual energy that was originally like a candle flickering in the wind suddenly trembled slightly, and the almost broken structure was forcibly supported by this great spiritual energy.
Like a candle flickering in the wind, Nikel was given a quick, gentle heal by Xia Xiu's great spiritual power. This small amount of spiritual replenishment was enough to make Nikel almost cry.
I guessed right; at least my life has been extended a little longer.
While Nikel breathed a sigh of relief, she couldn't help but feel a deep sense of sorrow.
Back then, I was also a hegemon in the imperial system, a member of a dynasty who could lead teams to conduct cross-border investigations and access high-level knowledge.
Now, he finds himself forced to desperately try to please his living father in order to prove that he still has intelligence value.
The contrast is so stark that it's heartbreaking, and what's even more tragic is...
Ever since he stepped into the film industry of this wretched place related to Terra, nothing has gone smoothly, and Nikel felt incredibly aggrieved.
However, he certainly didn't dare to utter a single word of these thoughts.
So, Nikel could only swallow all her grievances and curses back into the depths of her spirit, and obediently float in mid-air, beginning to pour out her most treasured technical documents one by one.
On the throne, Xia Xiu watched this scene quietly, his gaze calm.
The Gate Empire, the Library of the Exiled, the Serpent, the Second Otto of Tyrell II...
He had already gleaned enough new clues from this unfortunate fellow.
Next, I need to find an opportunity to meet those knowledge dynasties from beyond the world and see what kind of people they really are.
After extracting enough information from Nikel, Xia Xiu was too lazy to watch the unfortunate fellow play the victim any longer.
He simply raised his hand, and a thin, long etheric crack appeared in front of his palm.
The next moment, the broken soul that had just been healed by spiritual energy and hadn't even had time to rejoice for long was thrown into the Ether Dimension Prison without even being able to utter a single extra word.
The crevice closed, and the hall fell silent once more. Xia Xiu sat on the throne, tapping his fingers lightly on the armrest, before channeling his great spirituality directly beyond the Pale Peak.
Before long, steady and restrained footsteps could be heard outside the main hall.
Soon, a tall figure walked through the corridor and arrived in the hall. He stopped before the throne, bowed his head, and respectfully spoke:
"Father."
The person who arrived was Mortalius.
He is very different now than when we first met.
Having spent a long time immersed in a decaying world and plague-ridden areas, his body, breath, and even spiritual shell bear the unique traces of disease unique to Abaluru.
That aura, like mold roots in damp soil, seeped into flesh and bones, making it clear at a glance that Mortalius was not like any other living being.
During the time Xia Xiu spent with Mortalius, he constantly used his great spirituality to nurture and change Lao Ba's body and the aura around him, so that the other party no longer had that plague aura.
Now, Mortarius has returned to his normal human form.
He no longer wore that deathly white mask; his exposed face had a hard, cold profile with distinct lines. His skin was still pale, but it was no longer the ashen gray of someone who had been living in a lesion for a long time; rather, it was a paleness with a hint of chill.
At least, he's starting to look like a human being.
If we really throw this guy into the group of brothers in the future, it won't make others think at first glance that Lao Ba just crawled out of some mass grave.
Xia Xiu looked at him, and seemed satisfied.
Then he began to speak:
"Abalus has almost recovered. The highland lesions have been cleared, and the atmospheric circulation and ley line nodes have been reorganized. You can take care of the remaining minor issues yourself."
"I have finished what I left here. Next, I will go to other corrupted worlds to continue searching for my lost offspring."
After hearing this, Mortalius's expression turned slightly serious.
He knew, of course, that day would come sooner or later.
Father could not stay in Abarus forever; it was just a stop on his journey, not his final destination.
So he didn't show any extra emotion, but simply placed his right hand on his chest, lowered his head, and said:
“I understand, Father.”
“Abalus will continue to operate under your will. I will manage this place well for you. Whenever you recall it, I will bring Abalus that I can deliver to you, awaiting your command.”
He paused for a moment, then added in a low voice:
"If possible... please allow me to see you off."
Xia Xiu glanced at him but did not refuse.
"Let's go."
The two walked one after the other through the completely purified hall and corridor, finally arriving at the highest point of the Pale Peak.
Atop the mountain, a cold wind howled.
The wind blowing across the summit now no longer carries the biting dampness and rotten smell of the past, but instead carries the unique chill and clarity of the high altitude.
High above in the sky, the Sword-class corvette, which had always maintained its stealth status, hovered quietly.
As Xia Xiu's will came into play, a delivery path opened beneath the frigate.
A straight beam of light descended from the sky to the summit.
Xia Xiu didn't say anything more, but simply stepped forward and entered the beam of light, his figure slowly rising.
Mortalius stood still, not following, but simply bowed his head and said something to Xia Xiu.
“I will always be waiting for your return in Abarus.”
Click~
The hatch closed.
A ring of cold, ethereal light illuminated the outer armor of the Sword-class frigate, and the main engines began to start up one by one, with a steady and restrained stream of high energy gushing out from the stern of the ship.
Then, the frigate turned its bow around, drawing a sharp upward trajectory, tearing through the high-altitude clouds, breaking out of the Abalus atmosphere, and heading towards the deeper reaches of space.
Mortarius remained motionless.
He simply stood there, watching the frigate grow smaller and smaller until it became a tiny glimmer of light at the edge of the sky and disappeared completely from sight.
A cold wind blew across the mountaintop, ruffling the hem of his coat.
The new master of Abalus stood silently in place, like a statue that had just emerged from the ruins of the old era, ready to welcome the new order.
……
……
Above the ship, the starry sea was silent.
The world of Abalus, which had just been pulled out of decay, was slowly receding into the distance outside the porthole.
Its surface is still mottled and scarred, but the overall structure is no longer as lifeless as it used to be. Instead, one can vaguely see new air currents, new boundaries between light and dark, and new surface reflections.
Soon, the Sword-class frigate deviated from its usual course, and fine tearing lines began to appear in the space ahead.
As the navigation system and the Aether Engine synchronized their calibration, the starry sky in front of the bow was like a curtain being slowly lifted, revealing the turbulent subspace channel behind.
The next moment, the entire ship plunged into it.
The stars outside were instantly stretched and distorted, and the world outside the porthole suddenly lost its normal scale. Colors, light, and spatial orientation stabilized again after a brief period of dislocation, leaving only a navigation channel that had been forcibly opened by a high-intensity force field, running through the flowing subspace storm.
Inside the bridge, the lights are steady.
All instruments operated quietly, and the frigate maintained a high-speed and stable subspace shuttle state.
Xia Xiu stood in the center of the bridge and raised his right hand.
The next instant, a jet-black and ancient mark slowly emerged from his palm—the [Black Mark].
Xia Xiu looked down at the black mark in his palm, his expression calm.
Of the five perfect embryos currently known to have been lost in the Fallen World, I have already retrieved two.
One is Forgrim, and the other is Mortalius.
Now, it's time to look for a third one.
He doesn't have much time.
The Anti-Heavenly Kingdom Alliance is still stirring, the Second Otto is also restless, and now there's another force suddenly appearing in our field of vision: the Gate Empire.
These are just the hidden troubles; there are also many things on the surface, such as the current womb of the Great Old Ones, and those perfect and failed embryos that have not yet been fully unearthed, each one more troublesome than the last.
Thinking about this, Xia Xiu couldn't help but sigh.
So busy.
Other people's miracle workers, after ascending to a high position, are either busy suppressing all sides, busy proclaiming myths, or at the very least, they go into seclusion to digest their gains.
When it came to him, a miracle did occur, but his status as a corporate slave also became a miracle.
I'm practically becoming the crowned king of corporate slaves in heaven.
However, despite the complaints, the work still needs to be done.
So, Xia Xiu raised his hand and slowly poured his great spirituality into the [Black Seal].
The dark mark then vibrated slightly.
The next moment, extremely subtle yet real sensations spread outward from the depths of the mark, following bloodline, divinity, and some deeper connection, slowly searching for the traces of the third perfect embryo among countless fallen worlds.
The bridge was quiet.
Only the subspace engines were running at low speed.
Xia Xiu stood there, his golden eyes reflecting the ever-changing light deep within the black mark. His expression was steady, but his gaze had already crossed the current course, heading towards the next world further away.