Chapter Sixty: Amber City
Taro Port.
Soren, dressed in rugged leather armor, descended from the deck. To prevent divination spells from interfering with his plans, Soren fabricated an illusory space capable of predicting. He was a hunter from near the Misty Forest who had once ventured to the Overseas Islands in pursuit of wealth, and had single-handedly hunted a Bipedal Wyvern. As a professionist serving as both a warrior and ranger, Soren ensured he accomplished all of the above before arriving at Taro Port from Modo.
There was no other choice!
Soren was also uncertain whether there were any spellcasters among the followers of the God of the Hunt, Mara. If someone cast a divination spell on him, it would be suspicious if nothing was revealed, and it would also raise suspicion if too much was revealed. It was better for him to create something that the other party could foresee. Thus, even if a deity used divination on Soren, as long as the difference in strength between both sides wasn’t too great, they would only see what Soren wanted them to see.
His current name was Soros.
To ensure everything was seamless, Soren even specifically learned the accent (dialect) of the area near the Misty Forest.
Taro Port was bustling.
Soren’s arrival did not attract anyone’s attention; he now appeared to be a wandering adventurer. With the wealth from Overseas trade routes growing more astonishing, there were many adventurers disguising their identities like Soren. Due to his fierce aura, few dared to provoke him, especially after noticing the powerful bow on his back. It seemed like a wise decision not to challenge him. Since he was in disguise, he certainly had to go all out. Soren’s primary weapon was a +2 extraordinary longbow, and his close-combat weapon was a +3 extraordinary bone knife.
From any angle, he now resembled a very formidable high-tier adventurer.
To disrupt the pathways of divination spells, Soren also made a special visit to the Ocean Temple to make a tribute. This way, if someone were to predict his specific whereabouts, it would involve both the Ocean Temple and the Temple of Wealth; the divine powers of the two goddesses should not be underestimated. Even the fragments of these timelines would be disrupted, even by legendary divination spells.
After doing all of this, Soren finally set off toward the southern regions.
Before leaving, Soren saw the Naga Priestess again; she still looked the same, but her divine aura had grown even stronger.
It seemed she had gained the Ocean Goddess’s blessing after settling the disputes within the Naga Tribe.
Time flowed on.
The figure Soren once looked up to had now become someone who had to bow down upon seeing him. The strong should not dwell on others; as one moves forward at their own pace, those beings would always be left behind.
From Taro Port to the Rosad Duchy.
Soren arrived at another enemy’s stronghold. The Rosad Duchy was the territory of the Duchess of Red Dragon. All signs indicated to Soren that this vicious woman was scheming something, yet she remained patient and silent; Soren could not openly instigate war. After all, the ‘Modo Threat Theory’ had circulated throughout the southern regions, and many nobles were concerned about Modo’s assertive rise. Additionally, many church factions held a certain animosity towards Soren’s power, fearing that he would overexpand and affect their interests.
In such conditions, Modo City was easily seen as a potential enemy.
Dealing with the Fear Cult was justified because they had inflicted harm on civilians in Modo, causing significant destruction, which was a well-documented occurrence.
However, without this justification, Modo could be easily incited against by ill-intentioned individuals!
………………
The once-bustling roads had gradually fallen into disrepair.
Before Soren lay an expanse of weeds. As the Saint’s Cataclysm approached, various incidents surged forth; the traces of demons, devils, and monsters frequently emerged. Even the survival space of other species in the Material Plane was being squeezed. Trade on land had almost withered away, and many places had doubled the size of their militias to deal with the troublesome wild creatures.
Goblins, dog-headed men, werewolves, lizardmen, ogres, hill giants, vampires, undead, Lesser Dragon Species, and so on!…
It seemed a chaotic multitude of creatures had suddenly emerged.
The original ecological circle of nature had suffered severe damage; an expansion of ogres could lead many goblins and dog-headed men to migrate elsewhere, threatening nearby human villages. Currently, the continent faced such a situation: the Northern Tower area was recently plagued by lizardman disasters, caused by floods expanding their territory. Additionally, certain reasons had led lizardman tribes to unite, resulting in a situation that had become severe enough for the Northern Witch Council to send people to clear out the menace.
Soren passed through the Rosad Duchy and vaguely noticed signs of the Fallen’s activities.
It seemed to be followers of Bael.
A legendary figure among devils, Bael had ascended from the lowest level of lesser demons to become a devil lord. Currently, the Bottomless Abyss Army of demons was suffering due to the devil legions, largely thanks to him.
This was a legend in the multiverse!
A terrifying, despicable, and sinister traitor, even other devils feared, hated, and resented him, yet he still thrived.
Currently, Devil Lord Bael was the main commander in the Abyssal Blood War!
Soren’s demon avatar encountered everything in the Bottomless Abyss, which was merely a defeat in the Abyssal Blood War; it was likely orchestrated by him.
In recent centuries, Devil Lord Bael had formed a fragile alliance with the Mother of Evil Dragons, Tiamat.
At that time.
Before leaving the battlefield of the Abyssal Blood War, Soren’s demon avatar witnessed the emergence of the five-colored dragons, representing the alliance between Devil Lord Bael and the Mother of Evil Dragons, Tiamat.
There were many stories about this devil; the only noteworthy mention was that he had written his legend during the blood war – the Quadruple Betrayal, which perfectly convinced the demons that he was willing to side with the Abyss while revealing much intelligence about the devils. Through several perfect betrayals, he thoroughly made the demons believe in him; tragic events then unfolded, with the demon army invading the first layer of Bartok being completely annihilated, and even reaching a point where the first layer of the Abyss was partially lost.
The Bottomless Abyss being struck down by Bartok during the blood war began at that time.
Devil Lord Bael’s influence stretched into the Material Plane, which did not strike Soren as particularly strange, as the blood war at the lower planes had fallen into a peculiar balance; this devil legion commander should have been relatively unoccupied. However, the appearance of his followers in the Rosad Duchy caught Soren’s attention, and he planned to arrange for someone to investigate the situation later.
Traveling southward.
Soren finally reached his first destination, his original place, Amber City.
Now, it had become quite desolate and ruined.
……………… (To Be Continued…)
