Chapter 477: Death of the Wind King, Birth of a Pseudo-god

"The Profound Mechanism Wind King was the one who proposed the evacuation plan, so how is he the last one to arrive?" The Purple Frost Wind King expressed his displeasure.

With the exception of the Profound Mechanism Wind King, all the remaining Wind Kings had arrived at the rendezvous point at the scheduled time.

They had already been waiting for nearly half an hour. However, with the Profound Mechanism Wind King—the one in charge—still absent, they were helpless.

This was for no other reason than the fact that they were in a weakened state and needed the Profound Mechanism Wind King to lead them.

"Could there have been an accident on the way? Like, say, running into the Thunder God?" the Kongshan Wind King suggested.

However, this possibility was rejected by all the other Wind Kings.

"How could that be? With the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s power, if he truly ran into the Thunder God, he wouldn’t be the only one who failed to show up."

"That’s right. If the Thunder God made a move, there’s no way he’d only kill the Profound Mechanism Wind King."

"..."

A chorus of Wind Kings spoke up, and the scene grew noisy and chaotic.

This wasn’t just what they truly believed; it was also a form of hope.

If the Profound Mechanism Wind King was really dead, their own fate would be a certain death as well.

With their current power, even if they combined their strength, they couldn’t reach the new world. This meant their only option was to face the Thunder God directly.

And since that path was a dead end, who would be willing to take it?

"Alright, quiet down." The Purple Frost Wind King quelled the clamor. "Don’t attract the Thunder God’s attention."

"That won’t end well for any of us."

"The Profound Mechanism Wind King was probably just delayed. Let’s wait a little longer."

In their current predicament, waiting was their only option. What else could they do?

But just as the Purple Frost Wind King finished speaking, the Wind Kings present sensed a raging gale approaching.

"It seems the Profound Mechanism Wind King has arrived." The Kongshan Wind King’s words finally put the other Wind Kings’ anxious hearts at ease.

As long as he showed up, it was fine. Their biggest fear had been waiting in vain.

The Purple Frost Wind King stared at the howling gales in the distance, a strange feeling creeping into his heart.

’Wait a minute, something doesn’t seem right.’ The Purple Frost Wind King felt a sense of dread, as if what was approaching wasn’t the Profound Mechanism Wind King, but a rabid beast wearing his skin.

So, he immediately spoke up to stop the other Wind Kings who were about to go and greet him.

"Hmph, what could be wrong? It’s just the Profound Mechanism Wind King trying to put us in our place." One of the Wind Kings spoke with disdain. "Since he wants to be the one to lead the charge, it’s fine to let him enjoy his little power play."

"This isn’t about a power play or not. Something is very wrong with the Profound Mechanism Wind King," the Purple Frost Wind King urged again, his form already starting to drift backward.

Some Wind Kings believed him, while others were dismissive.

The dismissive Wind Kings naturally thought that the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s arrival had threatened the Purple Frost Wind King’s leading position, which was why he was sowing dissent.

The Purple Frost Wind King had indeed harbored such petty thoughts, but that was before. Now, they were completely gone.

The unexpected development before him caused his sense of danger to skyrocket, to the point where he even considered fleeing.

But with so many Wind Kings present, even if something happened, he wouldn’t be the first to suffer—especially since he had already retreated a considerable distance.

A good number of Wind Kings were in front of him, acting as a shield. Even if disaster struck, he could be the first to escape.

Meanwhile, the Kongshan Wind King took the lead, bringing a portion of the Wind Kings with him to offer a welcome.

"Profound Mechanism Wind King, on the way..." The Kongshan Wind King began to speak, but before he could finish, he felt a scorching wind tearing his body apart from within.

"Wait, what are you doing—"

The Kongshan Wind King hastily demanded, but the Profound Mechanism Wind King had no intention of letting him finish. On the spot, he tore the Kongshan Wind King limb from limb, reducing him to a cloud of dissipating wind.

Then, countless greedy gales surged from the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s body, devouring all of the Kongshan Wind King’s essence. In just an instant, the Kongshan Wind King was consumed completely.

This scene, naturally, unfolded before the eyes of the other Wind Kings. For a moment, the atmosphere froze, and an absolute silence fell.

No one had expected the Profound Mechanism Wind King to suddenly lash out and devour the Kongshan Wind King.

After consuming the Kongshan Wind King, the winds around the Profound Mechanism Wind King swelled dramatically.

"Run!" The Purple Frost Wind King, who had been the first to sense trouble, couldn’t care about anything else. He immediately turned to flee, though he was decent enough to shout a warning to the other Wind Kings.

However, having devoured another Wind King, the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s power had naturally reached a new level.

As a result, several Wind Kings who were closer to him met a grim fate. They had no time to escape before being swallowed whole.

Before, he had to tear the Kongshan Wind King apart to eat him. Now, he was swallowing them whole—multiple Wind Kings at once.

This meant that with every Wind King he consumed, the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s power would surge dramatically.

After this second act of consumption, the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s power soared to a level that plunged all present Wind Kings into despair.

This included even the Purple Frost Wind King, who had been the first to flee.

It was for no other reason than the countless raging gales that had formed an impenetrable cage around them.

They were all beings of wind; it was no problem for a stronger entity to use wind to bind them.

"From the very beginning, the Profound Mechanism Wind King never intended to leave. It was all a lie."

"His real goal was to devour us all and become the Wind God."

"Then, he’ll kill the Thunder God before he’s fully grown, and the entire world will be his." The Purple Frost Wind King’s mind raced, quickly reaching this conclusion, which he then voiced aloud.

In truth, he didn’t need to say it. Many of the Wind Kings had already guessed this possibility upon seeing the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s actions.

Otherwise, why would he kill them on sight?

The last time all the Wind Kings had gathered was to witness the birth of the Thunder God.

It would have been a bad time to make a move then, as it might have allowed the Thunder God or the Apocalypse Game to take advantage of the situation.

But this time was different. There were no external enemies, so making a move was perfectly logical.

"Attack together, or we’ll all be devoured by the Profound Mechanism Wind King!" the Purple Frost Wind King roared, launching an attack.

But he was sly. He didn’t lead the charge himself; instead, he looked for an opportunity to escape.

As it turned out, he wasn’t the only one with this idea. All the Wind Kings thought the same way, hoping others would rush forward while they reaped the benefits from the rear.

This wasn’t hard to understand. Before this, all the Wind Kings had belonged to mutually hostile factions.

How could they possibly change their attitudes in such a short amount of time?

Let alone fend off the Profound Mechanism Wind King for the sake of others.

When the Thunder God, who had driven them to a dead end, was born in his weakest state, they had been unwilling to unite and gamble on a future.

It was even less likely now. Everyone was just thinking of escape.

One or two thinking this way wouldn’t be a problem, but when all of them did, the trouble was immense.

The Profound Mechanism Wind King swallowed a dozen or so Wind Kings in just a few gulps, his power swelling once again.

The Purple Frost Wind King felt a bitter taste in his heart. He’d had the thought of leading the charge to boost morale, but then he looked at the other Wind Kings around him.

’Every last one of them... even if I charged out, they wouldn’t follow. The only result would be me sending myself to my death.’

Rather than do that, it was better to try and survive a little longer.

He wasn’t the only Wind King who thought this way, but they had all chosen the path of "better you die than I."

The result was predictable.

The more Wind Kings the Profound Mechanism Wind King devoured, the faster his power and his speed of consumption grew.

In less than an hour, ninety percent of the Wind Kings were dead. For the few that remained, there was basically no hope of survival.

The Purple Frost Wind King had hidden quickly earlier, which was how he had managed to survive until now.

"Sigh... if I had known it would come to this, I should have tried back then. If I had managed to unite the Wind Kings, perhaps there would have been a chance of survival," the Purple Frost Wind King muttered, mocking himself.

Staring at the approaching Profound Mechanism Wind King, he suddenly realized something.

The Profound Mechanism Wind King didn’t seem right.

"Wait, the Profound Mechanism Wind King is being controlled!!!"

From a distance, he hadn’t sensed anything amiss. But now that he was so close to the Profound Mechanism Wind King, he could see it clearly.

’It couldn’t be the Thunder God, could it? No, impossible. With his power, there’s absolutely no need to do this.’ The Purple Frost Wind King initially suspected the Thunder God, but quickly ruled him out.

Immediately, another suspect entered his mind: the mysterious expert who had fought the Thunder God before.

’But that doesn’t fit either. With that person’s power, there’s no need to do something so pointlessly convoluted.’

So, after turning it over in his mind, he came up with no leads.

Fortunately, he wouldn’t have to worry about these things for much longer. The Profound Mechanism Wind King’s wind had already pierced through his own.

His body was being eaten away bit by bit, with no strength left to resist. In just three seconds, the Purple Frost Wind King was completely devoured by the Profound Mechanism Wind King.

He was the last of the remaining Wind Kings. After his death, the power of all the Wind Kings converged within the Profound Mechanism Wind King.

His fish-like body began to expand continuously, and the wind he emitted started to evolve in a much more powerful direction.

The current Profound Mechanism Wind King could now be called a half-step Pseudo-Wind God at the peak of Great Perfection. He just needed to digest and absorb all the Wind Kings he had devoured.

This, however, would take some time.

During this process, the Profound Mechanism Wind King did not stay still, but swam ceaselessly through the hurricane.

With an extremely violent posture, he destroyed everything in sight.

Whether it was islands, Hurricane Beasts, or anything else, whatever stood in his way was obliterated by the irrepressible desire for destruction welling up from the depths of his being.

And in the process of this destruction, the efficiency of his digestion and absorption increased even further.

All of this was witnessed by Qi Suian. He did not intervene, but watched the Profound Mechanism Wind King’s actions with cold detachment.

This was advantageous for him.

"Once the digestion and absorption are complete, I can have the Pseudo-Wind God fight the Injured Thunder God."

"I’ll use it as a diversion to ensure my plan proceeds more smoothly."