A few minutes earlier, the whale watched the entrance in silence. In less than thirty seconds, she saw one and a half million beasts and hybrids cross the portal. Alm and Bruno were stunned.
’Why the hell are so many of them here?’ Alm muttered, bewildered.
These ancient kings had encouraged the races to act first and had guaranteed they’d be severely punished when the heroes arrived. Almost everyone involved would be killed, but the hero wasn’t foolish enough to wipe them all out.
The spatial power of these races was valuable. Although talented cultivators of all races could master the laws of space-time, few reached high levels. These beasts, however, were born with this ability in their bloodline. All the pure ones, and even hybrids, manipulated the laws of space-time with skill.
The kings noticed the whale’s penetrating gaze and sighed with relief. It was clear he had tested the loyalty and determination of their races. Abandon everything to sacrifice themselves? They hadn’t just accepted; no one had fled.
’The hero would probably mark all these races as sinners. Those scattered across the universe would be hunted down; those who survived would live as near slaves. We’ve read in historical fantasy stories, this happened to other ancient races... and most eventually ceased to exist,’ Bruno commented thoughtfully.
’Hehe, master’s thinking logically again,’ Liumi’s cheerful voice echoed in their minds. ’Beasts aren’t that logical. I’m sure they didn’t even consider the hero’s punishment. Hearing there was a chance to save the rest of their race, or just out of pure instinct, they decided to come. Master’s words hit the mark, good job.’
Alm and Bruno nodded; it hadn’t been intentional, but it worked. The whale’s group was gathered around him when the three current kings of the races and the young Kun Peng approached, serious. The whale stared at them.
"I said there would be sacrifices, but that was a lie. It’s all over now; we’ve won." As he spoke, the newcomers stopped, stunned. "We need to make a perfect escape if we want to live. Since you left everything behind to enter, I approve of you. I can grant you freedom, but it comes at a price. There are those who fully embrace freedom, and those who must fight to defend it."
The whale’s words left everyone deep in thought. Those four ancient kings had already said they chose a divine and immortal leader, and he was the only chance. Now, they discovered that this figure, only recently known from somewhere unknown, was responsible for everything.
The newcomers hesitated, but their gazes were drawn beyond the whale. They were stunned to see an army of beastly souls. They easily recognized those legendary figures from the past. There were High Elders and even ancient kings from the four races.
They stared at the newcomers as if expecting something from them. Instinctively, the beasts trembled in terror. These weren’t just legendary kings; all these powerful ancestors were there and approved of the whale. If he wasn’t a divine and immortal being, who could be?
They focused on the whale again. Immediately, everyone knelt and accepted his leadership fully.
The whale nodded for them to rise, and the souls of the four ancient kings sighed in relief. They nodded, and four runes moved toward the whale, who accepted them. Then, a green screen appeared.
[Congratulations, optional quest completed.]
[Accept rewards?] [Yes / No]
The runes were precisely the four ancestral legacies they needed. Now everything was complete, but the main problem still had to be solved.
Alm and Bruno turned to the ancient Celestial Jaguar king: "Coltia and I still have soul power to burn. Can you create a Void Dream World again?"
The Celestial Jaguar received the legacy, along with the method for using the law and maintaining that world. This power was the solution to all of this.
"The foundation for that world was created by an immortal cultivator, not by me…"
"Ruri," the whale interrupted, turning to her.
"If he can manipulate the runes of this law that are already throughout the forest, even creating a very unstable world, I can move the entire formation and the forest along with it." She responded quickly. "I can temporarily stabilize the place, but it will last very little."
"Great, old bastard." The whale said to the Celestial Jaguar, still dazed. "Just use the forest’s law to create a small world. Ruri will move the entire forest to that place. I’ll guard it and take it with me."
As he spoke, Coltia emerged from the inventory. The whale and Coltia expended almost all their divine soul energy. Those four souls that were prevented from dispersing looked strange. Clearly, just one of their powers would be enough.
Alm and Bruno were now in the same condition as Kaiyka, with only a tiny fragment of their divine souls inhabiting their bodies. Immediately, they felt a force emanating from the heavenly laws, trying to pull them away. They took a deep breath, then their divine souls pulsed, nullifying the influence of the heavenly laws.
This brought back memories of the past, when the queen tried to take over Ruri’s body. Back then, they fought with all their strength but ended up in a terrible state, with their souls in a condition very similar to the one they were in now. They were almost dragged away by the laws because, at that time, they didn’t know how to properly use their souls. They learned the hard way over time, and now, looking back, it seemed ridiculous to think they only survived because they burned the queen’s Divine Qi to recover. (Chapter 125)
The whale’s words left the newcomers incredulous. But it took only a few minutes for the spirit of the ancient Celestial Jaguar king to activate a sea of runes that existed in the forest. They combined into a single rune, and then Ruri waved, causing the entire forest to tremble.
"All set, master," Ruri said, excited.
The whale looked around, knowing everything had to be done perfectly. The Celestial Jaguar hadn’t burned even a third of the power he received. The whale turned to him and the other three.
"Divide the remaining power among yourselves. It should be enough for your souls to recover and reincarnate. Get out of here quickly, our karma has been fulfilled."
The four trembled upon hearing those words. In their weakened state, they could only maintain consciousness because their souls were far more powerful than normal. However, being taken away, they might never reincarnate—an uncertainty.
They absorbed everything and then turned to the souls behind them. Zaori spoke softly: "Sorry for what we did. Now, you can follow someone who will treat you well."
The three million souls seemed to sigh, but they didn’t mind letting them go. In the end, the four’s intentions were good, but their methods weren’t. At least they managed to attract someone capable, and by their repentance, they handed everything over, helping the four races.
The four felt forgiven, and their bodies became more ethereal and luminous. Then, they let themselves be drawn by the laws of the world.
"Goodbye," the ancient Immortal Crane king was the only one to bid farewell. In a few seconds, the four vanished forever.
Alm and Bruno took a deep breath and focused; everything had to be done perfectly. The rune, where a small world had been created, floated in the air. With their command, Ruri made the move, and the entire forest formation was activated.
Everyone felt as if they were at the bottom of a sea, being carried by a furious current.
*CRACK! CRACK!*
Then, suddenly, that sensation stopped abruptly, but the space around them began to collapse into imminent destruction. Everyone inside the forest felt a violent tremor. Everything seemed to twist, and the noise was deafening. But almost the entire whale group was still there. Only the whale, Ruri, and Rehvka had vanished.
Outside, the whale placed the rune into the inventory. The situation inside was critical, and the rune wouldn’t last long with all that forest.
"Hurry. Everything must be done perfectly, leaving no chance for survival," the whale said, as the two jumped onto its back.
Ruri closed her eyes and activated all her spatial power. Her work had to be flawless.
Outside, King Kun Peng was catatonic. The forest, created with the hero’s power, was on the verge of collapse, and the fluctuations were terrifying.
"RUN!" He roared with all his strength and turned to flee.
All the survivors from the first event, which had left the city in ruins, were already far away. When the whale exited the Immortal Crane world towards the forest entrance, it sent a message to the dwarf leading the Larimar Market.
If the hero had already arrived and they wanted to make a suicidal move, at least the city’s people wouldn’t be affected.
*Rumble!*
It took only two minutes, but the world-destroying explosion that King Kun Peng expected didn’t happen. The place where the Void Forest used to be did collapse, but the space destroyed itself from within.
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A crater so deep that the bottom was impossible to see appeared where the forest once was. Ruri controlled this phenomenon; otherwise, even the trio would have perished. King Kun Peng and his people fled far away; everything went as planned.
They weren’t present. And later, no matter who investigates; everyone who entered the forest, along with everything that existed there, was completely exterminated, leaving no trace.
The forest collapsed, and everyone inside died. Even without an explosion, the chance of survival was zero; not even a hero could claim to come out alive from such a situation.
The reason for this happening could be easily justified by their attempt to dominate the formation and failing. They tried to bite off more than they could chew, overestimating themselves; it was a pathetic end.
Soon, they would be declared dead. If the whale kept a low profile, since these events occurred in a distant galaxy, he would have time to strengthen himself without being discovered. The challenge was only to maintain a low profile...
At the exact location where the Larimar Market once stood, an extremely secure and untouched underground passage suddenly opened. Something invisible entered, and the door closed again.
Inside the tunnels, the whale, Rehvka, and Ruri moved cautiously. They used Rehvka’s Dao to ensure they weren’t detected by anyone outside.
The dwarf led the way, speaking quickly: "Don’t worry, the God of Merchants protects us from memory investigations. Your followers can’t breach the honesty code, and revealing information can’t be leaked from clients. We can ask our god to completely erase our memories of this. Even a hero won’t be able to find anything with us."
Alm and Bruno nodded, already familiar with this procedure from their other universe. That’s why they had asked for help from these merchants before, and now they had no concerns. They made it clear that nothing could leak, as they would act to prevent any failure.
The trio was led to an underground room. The dwarf quickly activated some runes, and the Prana Law pulsed.
The whale handed him a spatial ring containing some weapons he had forged. The dwarf nodded in thanks and said goodbye.
In mere three seconds, the world around the trio seemed to spin. Then, they found themselves in the center of a formation in another well-known market. The whale took a deep breath; they were back on planet Gloom.