Chapter 63: City of Imprints
Under the tranquil night sky, Soren stood atop the Wizard Tower, gazing down at the entire city of Modo, where the stars had dimmed considerably.
The power of the gods had significantly waned, with most deities having fallen to the mortal realm. After initially hiding carefully, some gods began to appear before the eyes of the world. The Halfling pantheon had moved to the Shal region, the Lord of Radiance had completed control over the southern territories, the Spider Queen had unified the Drow of the Underdark, and the Elven Pantheon had also gathered together.
It was evident that, as the Saint’s Cataclysm intensified, the gods felt a strong sense of unease.
Soren silently observed the city beneath him. Nighttime Modo was quiet, with no pedestrians on the streets, only the faint glow of magical crystal lamps, and patrol teams passing by occasionally.
Devils found no opportunities here.
“Are you still awake?”
Accompanied by a faint fragrance, the figure of the Fallen Witch appeared behind Soren.
Soren did not turn around but whispered, “Since the Investiture of the Gods, sleep has become unnecessary for me. Maintaining sleep is merely a habit.”
The Fallen Witch did not respond.
She only walked alongside Soren, softly saying, “You seem a bit confused.”
Soren remained silent.
The Fallen Witch did not pause and continued, “I can sense it. You are making a significant decision! This decision could change the entire world!”
“You appear hesitant.”
“It seems you know what kind of change your decision will bring! This makes you feel uneasy and lost!”
“It’s the first time I’ve seen such an expression on you.”
“Do you know?”
“I am curious about what you intend to do! But I know not to ask. However, I will patiently wait for the day you tell me!”
Can you feel it?
Soren remained silent; he was indeed making a significant decision that would inevitably alter the entire world’s landscape. As the two closest women to him, Gloria and the Fallen Witch both seemed to sense it, although Gloria did not ask.
The Fallen Witch took a deep breath; the night breeze lifted her long hair. She turned towards Soren and smiled, softly saying, “Whatever decision you make…”
“I will stand by your side.”
“Maybe you don’t believe it now, but one day I will prove it.”
The Fallen Witch looked at Soren seriously.
Compared to her past self, her time in Modo had changed her a lot—she was less frivolous and more composed. Unknowingly, Corinna had started to exude a leader-like aura. She was no longer as obsessed as she had been in the past; many changes were evident in her, although they could not be named but were palpable.
“The operation of the Elemental Furnace has been completely finished.”
The Fallen Witch did not continue that topic, instead saying earnestly, “I now need the most core knowledge about [Elemental Fission].”
“If it can succeed…”
“The energy generated should be enough to make the entire city of Modo float.”
“However…”
“Before that, I may need to leave for a while.”
Soren frowned slightly and turned, asking, “Leave? Where to?”
The Fallen Witch gently gathered her falling hair, an action almost identical to Gloria’s. She replied slowly, “City of Imprints!”
City of Imprints.
The domain of the Lady of Pain.
Soren’s expression became serious, and he whispered, “Why suddenly go to this place? Although the door has opened, it is still very dangerous for the outside world.”
The City of Imprints was a very special place.
There were many terrifying entities within this city, some of which even gods could not combat!
The Fallen Witch’s expression turned serious as she said, “I need knowledge regarding the interdimensional fortress. The closing of the City of Imprints began with the destruction of the Arcane Empire, and there should be things I need.”
“As for the slight danger…”
“Everything we do entails risks, doesn’t it?”
The Fallen Witch decided to head to the City of Imprints, a piece of news that was not good for Soren.
However, her decision was not wrong because the City of Imprints indeed held the things they needed. As a deity, Soren found certain places difficult to enter, and the City of Imprints was one of them.
The Lady of Pain did not welcome any gods.
As a mortal, a legendary spellcaster, it was much easier for the Fallen Witch to enter the City of Imprints than for Soren.
“I won’t be departing immediately.”
The Fallen Witch hesitated for a moment and then said, “This operation is not led by me alone. Your Excellency the Eye of the North will also accompany us.”
“Many witches have lost their spellcasting abilities.”
“The Eye of the North and the archmages of the Wizard Alliance will act together, hoping to find records of the Arcane Empire in the City of Imprints to restore the abilities of most spellcasters.”
It was still the aftermath of the collapse of the Magic Network.
Without the Magic Network, wizards could only move toward the path of archmages.
……
The Bottomless Abyss, Level 422. Cursed Throat.
The barbaric nature of werewolves destined them for carelessness, and among countless mortal slaves enslaved by werewolves, some were relentlessly obsessed with escape.
Yenogu’s followers and other dangerous predators filled the Seeping Forest, while the greedy undead of the King of Ghouls thrived in the howling peaks. Thus, for mortals falling into the Bottomless Abyss, the safest course of action was to flee eastward to a frenzied yellow sea—this refuge was called Cursed Throat. At a distance from the shores, a fleet of mortal slaves, gathered for survival, circled the coast in attempts to rescue fleeing slaves or even mortals who refused to submit to Yenogu’s contemptible demands. Although a captured sea beast could feed the entire fleet for a month or more, their most common food source was human flesh.
When food became scarce, crew members would isolate and k*ll weaker passengers, using their bodies to sustain everyone on board. Each member had to eat a small piece of the bloodied flesh of their former companions to prove their loyalty and dedication to survival. However, the true feast had yet to begin until some new arrivals refused this gruesome meal. At this moment, the nervously tense crowd would brutally and mercilessly attack these “cowards,” killing them and cooking their bodies into the main dishes.
The leader of the Cursed Throat fleet was Malagash-Unos, who proclaimed himself the Cannibal King.
He commanded a large sailing ship, the Reaper, which was located in the center of the fleet. Every few months, Unos would lead his fleet away from Yenogu’s coast toward the borders of this layer and then enter the interdimensional waters of the Bottomless Abyss. There, they roamed the seas, searching for more ships to join their ever-growing fleet.
At this moment, a massive naval battle was erupting along the borders of this Bottomless Abyss ocean.
The disappearance of the Succubus Queen gave the King of Werewolves a valuable breathing space; he realized that his enemies seemed to be in significant trouble. This allowed him to launch a long-prepared plan to eliminate the rebellious fleet of Cursed Throat and completely take control of Level 422 of the Bottomless Abyss.
This was a war filled with chaos and fury.
The King of Werewolves had schemed this operation for a long time, so when he confronted Unos’ fleet, he quickly achieved overwhelming victory.
A large number of fleeing mortal slaves were killed, and sailors were slaughtered by the minions of the King of Ghouls. Yenogu was satisfied with this victory; however, what left him dissatisfied was that Unos seemed to have escaped with his warship.
The ocean of the Bottomless Abyss connected to the River of Underworld.
Yenogu did not enjoy the ocean, so when his enemies fled into it, he had no way to pursue them.
But at least for a long time to come, Yenogu could be sure that this annoying guy would not cause him trouble, and next, he would have enough energy to expand his territory.
Ruins of Azar, Bechard’s End, Cursed Throat, Dark Grasslands, Howling Peaks, Seeping Forest, Gate of Convergence.
The entire layer of this Bottomless Abyss had completely fallen under Yenogu’s control, and without the suppression of the Succubus Queen, Yenogu’s power had grown unprecedentedly. Thus, he seized the opportunity to strengthen himself!
He prepared to expand his territory.
A massive map was spread out before Yenogu, depicting various layers of the Bottomless Abyss. The deeper one went into the Bottomless Abyss, the more desolate it became. Yenogu did not plan to occupy the lower layers; what he needed was the upper space, where the conversion of souls was more frequent. Once, these places had been held by other Demon Lords.
The King of Werewolves pondered for a long time, and finally, Yenogu’s gaze locked onto one location.
—”Level 3 of the Bottomless Abyss [Land of Forgotten]!”
A realm yet to be controlled by a Demon Lord, close to the upper levels of the Bottomless Abyss, and also occupied by the legions of his old rival, the Succubus Queen.
This was an opportunity.
A cruel smile appeared at the corner of Yenogu’s mouth. Through the Gate of Convergence, he could quickly send his army to the upper levels of the Bottomless Abyss. In a situation where no other Demon Lords had the energy to be self-absorbed, the King of Werewolves believed he could quickly occupy the [Land of Forgotten].
Next, he could then target the higher realm of the [Red Shroud].
One that he had despised for a long time, believing that when the Succubus Queen returned, she would find that all her minions had already been killed by him!
……
The Bottomless Abyss, Level 3, Land of Forgotten.
The Gurenba Arena was expanding wildly at an astonishing speed, and the rise of Demon Soren faintly made other Demon Lords aware of a formidable opponent’s emergence.
The powerful enemy led some Lesser Demon Lords to try to unite, forming a vague stalemate, though a stalemate always has a time to break. Just as Soren gradually grew stronger by consuming his opponents, traces of werewolves suddenly began to appear in the vast wilderness boundaries of the Land of Forgotten.
Many, many werewolves!
They did not know when they appeared or where they had sprung from, but within just a few days, they had annihilated a Lesser Demon Lord occupying the northwest and rapidly expanded, attacking the fortresses of the Succubus Legion.
When this news reached Soren, he merely frowned slightly.
However, at that moment, the high-ranking succubus standing beside him could not help but tremble, revealing a rare look of urgency.
……(To be continued ~^~)
