Chapter 434 - 425: The Survivors Gathering on the Plateau

Chapter 434: Chapter 425: The Survivors Gathering on the Plateau

In the Fallen World of Caslopa, Insectoid Yakrodoth was continuously moving through his familiar territory.

In a wilderness littered with boulders, he leaped onto the highest rock.

Magic Power filled his throat. He raised his head and let out a silent, long roar, the surrounding air vibrating and rippling outwards.

The roar lasted for more than ten seconds before Yakrodoth closed his mouth and calmed his Magic Power.

’Twenty-seven places left... I need to hurry!’

Although the great unknown existence hadn’t specified a deadline for Yakrodoth to summon the Magic Creatures, Kaslopa was enormous. He hadn’t even finished delivering the message, and it would take time for the other Magic Creatures to travel to the plateau. All told, dragging it out for too long would surely displease the other party.

The wings hidden beneath his earthen clothes flapped at a high frequency. Bathed in Magic Power, they overflowed with streams of light. The next second, with a SWOOSH, the Insect Man vanished from the rock. He shot away like a meteor skimming the ground, flying rapidly in another direction.

In these relatively familiar areas, Yakrodoth had his own safer routes, allowing him to advance at high speed without any reservations.

A few minutes later, far off at the eastern and western ends of the boulder forest, the glow of Magic Power flashed from within a large, petrified, withered tree and a small basin.

From within the basin, an old friend of Yakrodoth’s slowly rose—a Cyclops dozens of meters tall, carrying a peculiar stone pillar.

As the giant shook his body, clods of dirt crumbled away. PATTER... PATTER...

HSSSSS... HSSSSS...

The Cyclops drew several deep breaths and frowned.

"The soil here has started to give off a rotten stench, too. It’s getting harder and harder to get a good sleep... For Yakrodoth to be in such a hurry and make this kind of request, did he make a major discovery? I hope it’s good news!"

As he spoke to himself, Magic Power suffused the giant stone pillar. He raised it high with his rough, powerful arm, then brought it straight down, touching the ground silently.

WHOOSH—a gray ripple spread out from the pillar’s center.

"Awaken, my clansmen!"

RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE...

The ground began to shake more violently. Mounds of earth started to bulge upwards for hundreds, even thousands, of meters around.

One by one, Cyclopes of varying sizes stood up, covered in roots and loose soil.

Even the smallest was over ten meters tall, the height of a four- or five-story building. Including the first and largest one, there were twelve in total.

"ROAR~~"

The smallest one suddenly began to roar maniacally, viciously punching the ground.

"BANG... BOOM~"

With that punch, a crater four to five meters in diameter and half a meter deep collapsed into the ground.

"I want to go to the touch point!!! Don’t any of you try to stop me!!! I can’t take it anymore!!! ROAR~~~~"

The largest Cyclops blocked him with the stone pillar. Surging with Magic Power, the pillar entangled the frenzied one.

The other Cyclopes remained silent.

"How long has it been since Sibekni last awoke from hibernation?"

One of the giants gravely watched the berserker. Entangled by the Magic Power, he couldn’t move, his constant struggles vibrating the air and creating gusting waves of wind within the basin.

"It should be sixteen Tide-Breath Years."

This was an ancient calendar system of Kaslopa, based on the movement of a once-shining star. Converted to Earth time, it was roughly eighteen years, not a significant difference.

The one who had awoken first closed his giant eye.

"Give him a quick death. The Fall has already begun to corrode his soul. Rather than letting him truly turn into an undead demon and a crazed beast, it’s better that we help him rest in peace."

The frenzied one struggled even more violently. His single eye was filled with dark red, bloodshot veins. As his Magic Power gathered, it looked as if his eye was about to drip blood.

The black stone pillar tapped him lightly, and his frenzied roars immediately grew louder.

"Sibekni, do you have any last words?"

"HAHAHAHA... Balendi, what kind of leader are you?! You want to kill me? I don’t need this kind of ’rest’! Let me go! Let me go to the touch point and fight for a way out! Whether I live or die is none of your business!"

The Cyclops leader shouldered the black stone pillar. Without responding to the frenzied one, he turned to the other Cyclopes and said in a low voice,

"Let’s go. To Yakrodoth’s plateau. We can’t stay in this basin any longer either."

"THUD~" "THUD~" "THUD~"...

The eleven giants strode away with heavy steps. Some hoisted nearby boulders onto their shoulders, some carried nothing at all. One walked up to the trapped, frenzied Cyclops and patted his shoulder before they all followed their leader in the direction of the Insect-Man Plateau.

They still had a trek of several thousand kilometers ahead of them.

A dozen or so minutes after the eleven Cyclopes had disappeared, the bonds of Magic Power restraining the lone Cyclops loosened, and his body was free again.

He stood up and gazed for more than ten seconds in the direction his kin had left. Then, with a CRUNCH, he crushed a rock on the ground underfoot and broke into a mad dash in another direction.

About two days later and nearly ten thousand kilometers from the basin, a beast-like creature—armored, single-horned, and somewhat resembling an anteater—walked out of its Secret Realm.

At first glance, the armor on its body looked like something it wore, but it was not made of metal or jade; it was natural keratin that had grown from its body.

The Secret Realm was no paradise of birdsong and fragrant flowers. It barely had some murky water and dark, creeping ground vines. Besides the armored, horned creature, there were a few other bizarre life forms, most of which radiated ripples of Magic Power.

The Armored Unicorn tilted its head, listening to the silent wave being transmitted, wondering what Yakrodoth had discovered.

After a long while, it chose to trust its old friend.

"Everyone, prepare yourselves. We are going to the plateau where the great earth-flyer lives."

...

The shore of a giant black lake, the swamps of the wilderness, treacherous mountain peaks, a deep chasm in the earth...

Insectoid Yakrodoth traveled at top speed through every area suitable for him to traverse, spreading his message.

This was different from when he had cautiously advanced through unfamiliar lands searching for the satellite, and different from when he had "toured" step-by-step with Qin Xiaoxia’s Thought Body.

This time, the Insect Man could fly nonstop at high speed, allowing him to cover an immense distance in a short time.

Such a drastic expenditure of Magic Power was extremely rare for the normally cautious Insect Man, but now he was acting with a degree of recklessness.

It was not only out of reverence for the great unknown existence but also because of a new sliver of hope—a potential second path, aside from risking death by entering an unknown Otherworld through a touch point.

The Insect Man was clearly well-known in the circles of Soul Purifiers. A great many creatures chose to trust him, even those who held opposing stances.

Old friends, like the Cyclops and the Armored Unicorn, would follow the message’s instructions and bring their people along. Those who were unfamiliar with him or even hostile would at least go to investigate.

On the twelfth day after the unknown existence’s Thought Body disappeared, the Insect Man flew back to his plateau.

Slightly exhausted, he walked step-by-step back to the center of the plateau.

With a few light steps on some rocks, he crossed into his own Secret Realm, which was on the verge of collapse. Inside, aside from some relatively clean soil and a few half-dead plants, the rest was all the "junk" he had collected.

The wreckage of the Venus One satellite was in the most conspicuous spot. He carefully touched the circuit board and the chips on it, as well as the White Crystal Components embedded within.

Whether it was the countless logic gates and transistors condensed into a tiny space on the chips, or the dizzyingly complex Magic Pattern Array on the White Crystal, he found it all completely mesmerizing.

The former, the Insect Man did not understand at all; he just knew it was incredibly impressive. As for the latter, the Technique Array, even though he could understand each individual Magic Pattern and the meaning of a few simple combinations, the complete array was like an indecipherable tome made of a maze to him.

He had no idea what these things did, only that their complexity and ingenuity were unparalleled, and thus their effects must be extraordinary.

Extrapolating from these small parts, what a magnificent and brilliant civilization must the beings who could create such transcendent structures possess?

"They are called chips and White Crystal Components. They operate differently, but their fundamental principles are the same."

Qin Xiaoxia’s low voice sounded beside the Insect Man.

The latter trembled slightly but had no other extreme reaction. His mole-cricket-like body turned to face the Thought Body.

"As expected, a Secret Realm poses no barrier to a great one such as yourself, Your Excellency."

"Yakrodoth, how many of the Soul Purifiers will be able to attend the gathering?"

This was what Qin Xiaoxia was most concerned about. A paltry few wouldn’t do.

"Barring any accidents, there will be dozens of leaders. Including the beings under their protection, the total number should be close to ten thousand."

"Hmm..."

’Huh? What? Nearly ten thousand!? Holy shit, that many?!’

’In all of Dawn, even counting a weakling like Doudou, the number of Magic Controllers has just barely broken one hundred!’

"Among them, several hundred are Magic Creatures."

Phew~~~

Qin Xiaoxia let out a breath of relief inwardly. ’Of course. You nearly gave me, your Master Sage, a heart attack.’

PS: First Chapter for Friday.