Chapter 1107: The King of Chaos' Subordinate
One of the figures that emerged from the king of keys' body had thick lips; pale yellow skin with large pores; coarse, curly hair; and thin, unusual ears that gave it the impression of a mountain goat. The lower half of its body was a mess of feelers and a tail.
This was Wilbow, whom Zhang Lie had been acquainted with as a result of the war against the death spirits.
Wilbow smiled stoically. "Zhang Lie, I had hoped never to see you again, and yet..."
Even at the end of the death spirits' war, Wilbow had expected that his next encounter with Zhang Lie wouldn't be as allies, but rather as enemies.
Zhang Lie was too strong, so strong that he threatened the rule of every single superior king. He was certain that there would be some reason, some ideological dispute or incongruency, that would cause his father and Zhang Lie to be at odds with one another.
Hong Xi frowned. "It looks like there's something strange to his side?"
Zhang Lie looked beside Wilbow to see a rather special lifeform, one larger than a stable, and whose lower half was a mess of twisted ropes. It had a few dozen arms, and it resembled a barrel with countless mouths protruding from it.
Wilbow introduced, "This is my brother Whateley. He's a bit different from me—and he's rather embarrassed right now. Those who aren't strong enough won't be able to see him."
His body was gelatinous and filled with protruding eyes. Mouths grew out of the arms that extended from its body. They looked like elephant trunks, and were the size of chimney pipes. They were swaying in the air, opening and closing, gray all over and ringed with blue or purple rings. At the very top was half a face, which looked identical to Wilbow's.
When Whateley strolled through the void, its mouths closed halfway.
Yang Ze frowned. "What's this, the emperor's new clothes? Your brother is very... interesting."
The members of Team Zenith saw Whateley as a translucent figure, one who seemed as though he was about to vanish.
Whateley's arms wrapped around Wilbow's, clearly demonstrating his affection for his brother.
Zhang Lie marveled, "You have a brother? I thought you were part of the king of keys' experiment to deepen his humanity."
As far as Zhang Lie knew, that was how Wilbow had been created—out of the king of keys' desire to experience kinship.
Wilbow didn't go into the details. "That's why I'm saying that my brother's somewhat different from me."
Zhang Lie asked, "Hanxiang, can you see Whateley?"
Zhang Hanxiang shook her head. "Only a shadow, at best."
Zhang Lie nodded. "It looks as though you and Hong Xi won't be a good match-up against him, then."
Who knew how different Wilbow and Whateley were? If Whateley were able to hide himself more completely, then Zhang Hanxiang and Hong Xi would have to face an enemy who could go invisible at any moment in time. It would be a steep disadvantage.
Wilbow said, "Zhang Lie, I don't want to fight with you. There's no need for us to be at odds with each other. Surrender, please. If I beg for mercy on your behalf, my father will spare you."
Zhang Lie snorted. "If you don't want to fight, why don't you surrender?"
Wilbow sighed in exasperation. "There's no choice, then."
"This is your father's decision," Zhang Lie emphasized.
The worlds within the king of keys' body began to rotate rapidly. A planet-headed figure appeared before them all.
Swirling red light flashed from where the eyes of the planet-head would be. "It's rather crowded here, isn't it?"
Zhang Lie was filled with anger. "You were the one who abducted Gold Comet, weren't you?"
The planet-headed figure laughed. "Are you the owner of that golden mantis? It was very interesting."
Suddenly, a huge planet slowly bulged out from within the king of keys' body. Where it passed by, all the worlds around it exploded and self-destructed.
The planet was rust-red, formed of gas, ash, and molten iron. Its exterior was covered with faults and rifts, and the vast ocean of molten iron swirled thickly around its surface.
As the planet moved, the sound of rumbling thunder could be heard from a distance, like a siren, a dirge or hymn marking the prelude of destruction.
The countless worlds around it twisted and distorted with the weight of its motion, returning to their original orderly trajectories only after it had passed them by.
Wilbow grew alarmed. "Father, you've even summoned Ghroth?"
The king of keys replied, "There are sufficient enemies before us to warrant it."
"The celestial melody resonates. Do all beings perceive it? Music played by the divine—and yet the ants remain oblivious! Lo, the earth listens. The sunken city, the abyss without light, the caverns of darkness—heed, gods, heed! Hearing the melody, the gods cast off their eternal slumber, embracing their moment of awakening!" Wilbow murmured to himself.
Zhang Lie frowned. "What are you talking about?"
Wilbow replied, "Zhang Lie, I recommend that you surrender. You had a chance with eight combatants on the level of superior kings, but now that Ghroth's been summoned, you have no chance at all."
"Oh? Sounds interesting."
"It comes from the Demonic Temple."
"What?"
"Have you heard of the Hall of Chaos?"
"Never."
Wilbow blinked in surprise. "As a combatant on the level of a superior king, an ally of Nightdemon—you aren't aware of the Hall of Chaos, the location where the king of chaos hosts his night banquets?"
Zhang Lie nodded. "This is the first time I'm hearing of it."
Yang Ze asked, "Are you claiming that Ghroth's from the world of primordial chaos, that he was once the king of chaos' subordinate?"
Wilbow nodded. "Ghroth was a very strong subordinate of the king of chaos, but not a very popular one. The king of chaos, of course, views all his subordinates the same way—but none of the king of chaos' subordinates much like Ghroth, because he's far too strong."
The king of keys didn't stop Wilbow from telling Zhang Lie about Ghroth, because the moment Ghroth was summoned, the outcome of this battle became clear.
Despite the fact that the members of Team Zenith had jointly taken down four superior kings of antiquity, the king of keys was unperturbed, solely because of Ghroth's presence.
Wilbow continued, "Ghroth isn't the strongest of the king of chaos' subordinate, but it's extremely special. It would definitely be among the top three, but it was so strong that it was ostracized by the others, so it chose to leave the king of chaos and join my father instead."
This would be an opponent they had to be careful of facing...
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