Star Odyssey

Chapter 4114: Surrounded

The Tri-Azure Sword Intent, despite being empowered by 10,000 motes of Immortal matter, was shattered by one strike from Lan Meng. Even so, the Immortal did not relax. Lu Yin’s attack had forced them to a stop, and just as Lan Meng prepared to attack again, Awe Gate’s spear stabbed out from behind. The cold glint of her spear inspired a sense of danger and cold dread. Lan Meng turned around, grabbing at the void. Its blue sword appeared to block Awecloud.

Clang.

A deafening impact rang out, shattering space.

The spear forced Lan Meng to retreat once again as its branchlike hand cracked from the impact. Greater Sancte Awe Gate’s gaze was sharp as steel, and with the power that she had gained from accepting a Seed Transfusion, she was able to directly stand against Lan Meng.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate sent Lan Meng flying far away, tearing through the void; its passage created waves as space was ripped apart.

The Immortal cast one last glance at Lu Yin before turning and leaving without further hesitation.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate quickly opened a gate to give chase, but as soon as Lan Meng chose to flee, not even she could stop it.

“There’s no need for pursuit,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus stated.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate was unwilling to give up. She was panting heavily, but she could only relent.

In Lan Meng’s absence, the most uneasy one was the Immortal Kang Tian. The giant snail did not think any further and simply turned to flee.

But it was not Lan Meng. The snail lacked the ability to instantly escape, especially given that both Greater Sancte Awe Gate and Lu Yin were focused on it.

The blue sky faded away, and the green stalk once again radiated light. The voice of the Immortal Lord echoed across the Aevum Inch. “So, human civilization has produced an Aberrant. If I ever leave and deliver this news to other civilizations, you humans will not enjoy a pleasant end.”

“That’s assuming that you have the courage to make contact with a civilization stronger than our own,” Greater Sancte Green Lotus retorted.

“I know of more than one fishing civilization,” the Immortal Lord stated.

Before Greater Sancte Green Lotus could reply, Lu Yin looked up and said, “Fishing civilizations fish for powerful creatures as well as civilizations. If you approach one, I can guarantee that you’ll die before we do.”

The Immortal Lord laughed. “You haven’t even explored the Aevum Inch, and yet you are so confident?”

Lu Yin said, “That’s the wonder of human wisdom, coming to larger conclusions from a small bit of information.”

“I’ll take your word for it. As for this Kang Tian, I’ll be taking it with me. Please don’t interfere.” As those words were spoken, Luo Chan suddenly appeared beside Kang Tian, ready to take the giant snail away.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate reacted instantly, but not even her speed could match Luo Chan’s.

But just as Luo Chan was about to take Kang Tian away, the bug inexplicably vanished.

Lu Yin was puzzled. He had expected Kang Tian to be taken away. Could the snail have resisted the teleportation? That should have been impossible, as the Immortal Lord should have made arrangements in advance.

So why had Luo Chan stopped?

As Lu Yin was wondering what had happened, lit lamps appeared around Kang Tian, encircling the snail. While these lamps lacked the endless brilliance of the green stalk of grain, they released a steady glow that seemed to embody an unending vitality.

Is that Ku Deng’s world?

“Pity, it didn’t take the bait,” Ku Deng said in a helpless manner. He was already standing right in front of Kang Tian.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate frowned. She also did not understand what had just happened.

In fact, not even Greater Sancte Green Lotus knew.

No matter how strong Greater Sancte Green Lotus might be, he could not see into another Immortal’s comprehension. Ku Deng had his own understanding of the cosmos, and that was how he resonated with its laws.

Despite not understanding what had happened, Greater Sancte Awe Gate acted swiftly and moved to flank Kang Tian on the opposite side of the snail.

Lu Yin joined the two Immortals to form a triangle that closed in around Kang Tian.

Above them all, karma writhed and spun.

At that moment, Kang Tian was trapped and in complete despair.

It had never imagined it would fall into such a perilous situation so soon.

It had known that it would suffer after Obscura got what they wanted from it, as well as the Immortal Lord, but Kang Tian had not expected things to go this badly.

The other two had run, leaving it behind. How infuriating!

“I don’t understand. Why did Lan Meng run away without you? Did it just leave you here to die?” Greater Sancte Awe Gate asked in a casual tone, though her voice also held a deadly chill.

That was exactly what Kang Tian wanted to ask. That bastard just fled. Even dragging me along would’ve been fine. Yes, it would have been a bit difficult, but could these few humans really have stopped us both? Certainly not without paying a heavy cost that they wouldn’t have been willing to accept.

Lan Meng had simply fled.

Ku Deng performed a salute from the Rift of Suffering to Immortal Kang Tian. “The sea of life is boundless, and only death brings release.”

Kang Tian was left speechless. Then why don’t you go die yourself?

Lu Yin’s lips curved. “This one’s mine. This will be the third Immortal to fall to me.”

Those words absolutely terrified Kang Tian, and it turned its eyes to stare straight at Lu Yin. The snail knew that it could ignore the two human Immortals; Lu Yin was the only true threat. He was not an Immortal, yet he had the strength to kill Immortals. He was free of the restraints of a karmic chain. He was a genuine Aberrant.

It had seen Lu Yin’s attacks, and the human was even able to fight against Lan Meng. Kang Tian had heard the Immortal Lord praise Lu Yin. This human was more than qualified to fight Immortals, and he was truly terrifying.

Lu Yin could indeed kill the snail.

Kang Tian locked eyes with Lu Yin. Space nearby seemed to grow thicker as it warped. Time and space started to twist as the snail desperately tried to protect itself.

Still, no matter how it struggled, it was utterly alone and abandoned.

Each of the three humans had said a single line, but that was enough for Kang Tian’s nightmares to return.

It was unbelievable that an Immortal would see such a day.

It would have been better off dying like the rest of its species.

“Honored and mighty human civilization, I can leave and never return.” Ultimately, Kang Tian spoke. It used a soft tone that even held a hint of humility.

Greater Sancte Awe Gate just laughed, and Lu Yin joined her, despite his heavy wounds and the pain that he was enduring.

Even Ku Deng smiled.

The laughter grated in Kang Tian’s ears. It was harsh and unbearable, and yet it had to endure it.

“You Tricolor Skyborne certainly tell great jokes! How many of the jokes floating about the Aevum Inch were created by you? Let’s hear more of them,” Greater Sancte Awe Gate said mockingly.

Kang Tian sighed. “We came here out of desperation. Lan Meng deceived us. If we had been given any other choice, why would my Tricolor Skyborne oppose your human civilization? We only have one Immortal, while you have multiple.”

“You joined the war against humanity, slaughtered countless of our kind, and even tried to lure a stronger civilization here to destroy us. And yet, you think that a single excuse can settle everything?” Lu Yin retorted coldly.

Kang Tian was the most afraid of Lu Yin, as he was the only one who could kill the snail without consequence. “Honored... er, mighty human, I’m willing to pay a price.”

As it spoke, a glassy substance flowed out of its body, spreading across the Aevum Inch. It was crystalline and looked like a frozen river.

“This is color-glass, a substance that is unique to us Tricolor Skyborne. If it is used to create armor, even the thinnest layer can stop a sequence powerhouse’s attacks. Thicker layers can briefly withstand assaults from creatures at the cusp of Immortality.

“I can offer you a great deal, enough to protect all of your human powerhouses. Consider this my compensation.”

Greater Sancte Awe Gate exchanged glances with Lu Yin. This material would be of great assistance to human cultivators. In a war against other civilizations, this armor could give humans the greatest level of protection.

However, that alone was far from sufficient.

“Do you think that this alone can compensate for the losses that humanity has suffered in this war?” Lu Yin challenged in a frigid voice while glaring at Kang Tian.

The snail was no fool. It had already known that its color-glass was far from enough. “I can also offer you information. Handled properly, this could be enough to prevent humanity from being annihilated.”

That caused Lu Yin and the others’ expressions to change. This was the real offer.

Clearly, the snail was referring to Astral Anura’s civilization that the Tricolor Skyborne had been luring towards the human civilization. They were both curious and afraid of the toad’s civilization, and the Tricolor Skyborne were their only source of more information.

“Speak.”

“I do not know why there is a Seven-Treasure Anura in your human civilization, but since it is here, the Seven-Treasure Anuras will inevitably come. Even if they were not drawn here by my Tricolor Skyborne, they would still eventually arrive. The Seven-Treasure Anuras...”

Kang Tian calmly shared what it knew about the species of toads.

And as the snail continued to explain, Lu Yin and the others felt their hearts grow heavier and heavier.

After half a day, Kang Tian concluded, “This is only what I know about the Seven-Treasure Anuras. Their true strength is beyond my knowledge. I can only suggest that you prepare early.”

A heavy frown marked Lu Yin’s face. According to Kang Tian, it had seen two Immortals among the Seven-Treasure Anuras, but there was a chance that there were more. While that was troublesome, it was not actually the main issue. After all, humanity also had more than two Immortals. The key issue was that the Seven-Treasure Anuras were not a civilization, but rather a species that freely roamed about the cosmos.

They had no fixed home, which was similar to the Nest civilization, but the Seven-Treasure Anuras were far, far stronger.

Kang Tian admitted that it was no match for one of the Seven-Treasure Anura Immortals, and yet the snail had easily defended itself from a coordinated attack from both Greater Sancte Awe Gate and Ku Deng, even if that was before Awe Gate had fully accepted her Seed Transfusion. Not only that, but the snail had also only been facing one of the Seven-Treasure Anuras’ Immortals.

By its own admission, that Immortal had been nothing more than a minion among the Seven-Treasure Anuras.

While the word “lackey” seemed inappropriate, it was proof that Kang Tian was unable to defeat any of the Seven-Treasure Anuras in a one on one.

In every sense, the species resembled a fishing civilization, aside from the fact that they did not fish to destroy other civilizations.

But the most important and the most unsettling detail that Kang Tian shared was that the Seven-Treasure Anuras had once destroyed a fishing civilization.

Any civilization that dared to fish in the Aevum Inch had to be extraordinarily powerful. The fact that the Seven-Treasure Anuras had destroyed such a civilization shattered all understanding of the Aevum Inch. It meant that they possessed the strength to join the fishing civilizations.

“Obscura intends to use the Seven-Treasure Anuras to destroy your human civilization,” Kang Tian explained, “They hope to destroy both humanity and the Seven-Treasure Anuras. But since fighting against the Seven-Treasure Anuras themselves would be too difficult, they are employing these tactics.”

When the snail saw that its human audience had fallen into silent thought, it continued to say, “No creature would dare to underestimate the Seven-Treasure Anuras. Not only do they have powerful Immortals, but they also have Aberrants.”

Lu Yin arched a brow. Is that a jab at me?

It was really quite funny; even Immortals had a nemesis. Aberants were the nemeses of Immortals.

Like rock, paper, and scissors, there was no eternal victor.

Immortals were invincible throughout the cosmos. They were bound by restrictions, yet remained unchallenged. However, should an Aberrant emerge, an Immortal’s invincibility ceased to be absolute.

Immortals could slaughter any creature beneath their realm, while Aberrants could slay Immortals. In turn, it might be possible for beings who were not Immortals to counter Aberrants.

It was another balanced circle.

“As for the Seven-Treasure Anuras, there is another legend.”