Chapter 440: Chapter 336: The Door to Hell
Meanwhile, a report was also delivered to the desk of the Black Dragon Empire’s Emperor, Kaniel Black. This report detailed the whole process of Long Yi’s recent operation from an observer’s point of view. Of course, the entirety of the events described only included the parts that took place on the Gentle Wind Plain; evidently whoever submitted the report was not one of the individuals who had entered the Crazy Demons Plane.
"My chief scientist, what is your opinion on this matter?" Kaniel handed the report to Tilian.
At this point, Tilian had already changed into a grand scholarly robe and wore the Emperor’s medal upon his chest, a symbol of the highest honor in the Black Dragon Empire. These were his hard-earned accolades, and he was not stingy in showing them off to anyone.
After reading through the report carefully, Tilian took on a serious expression. "Although I perceive this as nothing more than Long Yi’s desperate struggle, we must remain vigilant. The fact that Long Yi was able to enter the Crazy Demons Plane signifies that they’ve found a method to combat the Crystal Poison. However, seeing as only a few of them entered the Crazy Demons Plane, it proves that their method cannot be applied on a large scale. If we take into consideration their previous suspicious activity of intentionally creating a Plane Portal on the Gentle Wind Plain to unleash evil creatures, we can infer their intention to harvest more Crystal Cores to support their Battle Armor construction."
Kaniel nodded in agreement to this perspective, as he shared the same insight. He then asked, "So in your opinion, did Kirei obtain sufficient Crystal Cores?"
This question seemed to render Tilian speechless for a moment before he eventually shook his head.
"I don’t think so. Both the White Dragon Empire and your Black Dragon Empire, your majesty, have made explorations into various planes in the past, with the Crazy Demons Plane designated as an extremely dangerous one. Any attempts to visit that Plane are tantamount to courting death. The consequences of opening the Plane Portal each time are well-known to us all. This time around, the mere several of them, with a limited time of less than ten hours, would have their hands full merely holding off the demon attack. Even if they made some gains, the numbers would certainly be limited."
Clearly, this perspective once again resonated with Kaniel. It has to be said that Kaniel was initially skeptical of Tilian, the third prince who defected to the Black Dragon Empire. From the start, however, Tilian chose to pledge his allegiance openly via a binding covenant. To defeat Long Yi, Tilian even forsook his own pride as a human, electing to undergo transformative necromancy that left him in a half-dead state. By absorbing knowledge continually, Tilian rapidly grew into Kaniel’s right-hand man, handling politics, military matters and scientific research with ease. All he had to do was swap out his brain.
Kaniel believed that as long as Long Yi was alive, the hatred Tilian harbored for him would only intensify, ensuring his loyalty and support. Conversely, were Tilian to harbor any covert intentions, the power of the covenant would instantly tear him to shreds.
Tilian was intelligent, more so than anyone Kaniel ever knew. Perhaps, then, Kaniel should entrust this matter to him?
Black Dragon Emperor Kaniel fell silent for a time before speaking, "What do you think about the possibility that Kirei and Long Yi are not hunting Crystal Cores, but seeking help from the Crazy Demons?"
Upon hearing this suspicion, Tilian was taken aback,
"That... is that possible?" Tilian could not fathom any reason that would make them seek help from the Crazy Demons. First, the Crazy Demons were impossible to communicate with. Second, even if communication was possible, how would they resolve the issue of the Crystal Poison? Once a Crystal Poison outbreak occurred on the battlefield, the impact would be sufficient to practically destroy the entire world.
"Yes, it might be possible," Kaniel responded, "Didn’t you just assert that Long Yi had found a way to combat the Crystal Poison? If that is the case, then even if the Crystal Poison were to erupt, the people of the White Dragon Empire would not be affected. In such a scenario, a victor in the ensuing battle would quickly emerge. And that victor, surely would not be us."
Being as sharp as he was, Tilian grasped the point before Kaniel could even state it out loud. This could indeed happen! If the White Dragon Empire really started using the Crystal Poison in battle, then all their efforts to train the Dragon Knights would be utterly futile, regardless of how powerful they became.
"We need more information, even if it costs the lives of all our spies, it will be worth it." Tilian stated.
Kaniel laughed. He admired Tilian’s decisiveness. "We certainly need the spies, but we aren’t without means to counter this situation either."
"What do you propose?"
"Have you ever heard of the ’Gate of Hell’?’"
"Gate of Hell?" This was a term unfamiliar to Tilian.
"Haven’t heard of it? In that case, that’s correct. Come with me. Your loyalty has earned my trust, I think it’s time I let you in on some things." Kaniel chuckled as he rose, leading a puzzled Tilian out of the study, progressing slowly towards the underbelly of the Imperial Palace.
Here was a spacious secret chamber located deep beneath the Imperial Palace, in a highly classified area. Despite the Emperor’s guidance, a black bag was still placed over Tilian’s head to blind him.
When the bag was taken off, the secret chamber was fully exposed.
Upon channeling his fighting aura, six light points located in different directions around the room lit up. The secret chamber, dark as night, gradually came into sight.
The walls, ground, and ceiling all seemed to be made of a strange material. It appeared to be rock-like, but felt soft to the touch. As the lights turned on, the walls began to undulate rhythmically as though something was lurking beneath its surface.
In the center of the room was an immensely large Array adorned with unidentified language symbols. The words looked bizarre and emitted a wicked aura that hit you like a gale force wind just by looking at them.
"You know, Tilian, in this world, undead creatures did not originally exist." Kaniel began to speak.
"Could it be..."
"Yes, the first undead creature walked out from here."
In the endless multiverse, there is a unique plane called Hell. It is home to countless powerful creatures. Hell is divided into eighteen tiers, each governed by a powerful lord. And the Lord who rules the eighteenth tier: it’s the eternal undead Lord, Rongka.
Wars are incessant in the Tiers of Hell, and when creatures die in war, Rongka always sends his minions to collect their bodies. He drains them of their blood to fuel the endless sea of blood, extracts their souls to create phantoms, and turns their bodies into tireless warriors.
Of course, that is, if you are strong enough.
The bodies of the weak are simply fed as snacks to Rongka’s pets.
Many, many years ago, the archaeologists of the Black Dragon Empire excavated an ancient ruin and uncovered a massive stone gate, the Gate of Hell. In an accident, they activated the stone gate. The first recorded undead creature in the human world then emerged from the gate, and a plague swept throughout the entire Black Dragon Empire. The undead creatures ran rampant, sparing not even the powerful Dragon Knights and Giant Dragons.
It was then that the world’s nations discovered the power of the undead. They were strong, undeterred by pain, and able to spread plague, making them formidable warriors on the battlefield.
However, what truly drove the Black Dragon Empire to study necromancy was a particular king’s own experience.
One day, when the now-Emperor of the Black Dragon Empire, then the Crown Prince, was inspecting the Gate of Hell, the gate was accidentally activated again. An incredibly beautiful Female Demon stepped out from it. The Emperor was instantly captivated by her and fearlessly pursued her. The Female Demon, amazed that the Emperor would be attracted to her, although she didn’t respond, she silently aided the Emperor. She disappeared quietly when he succeeded the throne.
Filled with desperation, the Emperor searched for her throughout the entire Black Dragon Empire, but she was nowhere to be found.
Since that day, necromancy became a significant field of study for the Black Dragon Empire. Yet at that time, it seemed more about a king seeking the beautiful woman of his heart’s desire than enhancing national power.
Of course, for the current Black Dragon Emperor, Kirei, necromancy meant one thing only.
Eliminate the greatest obstacle to the Black Dragon Empire in this world—the White Dragon Empire, and then, unite the world!
But the last time the Gate of Hell was opened, was centuries ago.
Because what emerged from the Gate of Hell was not always mindless corpses. Sometimes, it’s incredibly powerful undead warriors. Because of this, the Emperor of that era decided to seal the Gate of Hell permanently. Until absolute safety is guaranteed, no one could reopen it.
"Your Majesty, bring me here; do you intend to reopen the Gate of Hell?" Tilian’s eyes glowed with fanaticism, and Kirei delighted in it. Only such irrational fanaticism for the unknown could keep the Black Dragon Empire at the peak of the world!
"The Eternal Emperor Rongka has ruled Hell for countless years. From the moment no humans were around, he has been the king of the deepest part of Hell, and still is. In his immortal life, few things can move him. To my knowledge, there are only two things that interest him."
"Powerful warriors and mysterious knowledge. To obtain these two things, Rongka continuously sends his minions into the multidimensional plane, bringing the bodies of powerful warriors back to the Tiers of Hell."
"Your Majesty, how... how did you come to know this?" Tilian asked, baffled completely.
"You should know, before me, at least two Emperors have interacted with the Undying Emperor Rongka. The results were not pleasant because the warriors and knowledge my ancestors provided Rongka could not satisfy him."
"But this time, we’re different." Tilian laughed.
"The power of this Long Yi is decent, but what’s more important, he possesses an endless stream of knowledge. Rongka would undoubtedly be interested in him. As the King of Hell, Rongka has to abide by absolute rules. He cannot directly kill Long Yi and take him away. He can only wait quietly for Long Yi to die. And in this world, only we can kill Long Yi."
At this moment, Tilian’s face turned serious: "Your Majesty, pardon my straightforwardness, this Undying Emperor is very powerful. Will he help us just for this Long Yi?"
Kirei laughed: "The Eternal Emperor Rongka has lived too long. Curiosity is the only thing that sustains him. Even if there’s only a slight chance, Rongka would exhaust all means to get what he wants. That’s the answer drawn from the lives of two Black Dragon Emperors."
Tilian nodded as a sign of understanding completely.
"Then, when do we start? I can’t wait to have Long Yi’s head on a spike." (To be continued. If you like this novel, I welcome you to vote, both recommendation votes and monthly votes, on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
