Chapter 1140: Extended alliance agreement & Onestrike to decide the winner
After about 5 minutes, the Saint of the Absolute looked at Bai Zemin and calmly asked: "Do you know anything about these beings that have been roaming the Earth's atmosphere recently? Half a month ago, one of them appeared in front of me. That man said his name was Gabriel, and apparently, he is also part of the same faction as the owner of the voice that just spoke to us."
Hearing that someone from the Army of Heaven had already made contact with the Saint of the Absolute, Bai Zemin did not feel any kind of surprise in his heart. In fact, he even nodded as if it was a matter of course for such a thing to happen.
Actually, after listening to the words that Archangel Uriel spoke through that message, Bai Zemin was able to draw some conclusions and gather information without anyone telling him anything.
For example, he now knew that the European faction that had launched the nuclear missile before was most likely the forces composed of the Catholic Church since coincidentally the Vatican was the headquarters of that power. Considering that the Army of Heaven had approached the Saint of the Absolute, it was not difficult to reach the conclusion that they had very probably approached the Catholic Church as well.
For God and his angels, if there was a force that they could definitely convince with relative ease to become subordinates it was undoubtedly the Catholic Church. For them, the Catholic Church was undoubtedly their best option to plant a firm footing on this new Earth filled with mysteries and uncertainties.
Now, considering that Felix was the holder of a Class that seemed to have part of the records of the angel race, it was natural for the Army of Heaven to approach him with not very mysterious intentions.
Bai Zemin did not ask the Saint of the Absolute what his response to Gabriel was, but after a moment's careful thought, he pointed out, "As you should well feel, upon reaching the Fifth Order as a soul evolver you will reach a new realm on the path of evolution."
The Saint of the Absolute nodded silently. In fact, he could say with confidence that the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Orders of evolution were nothing more than the necessary foundation for something infinitely greater. How else could Felix, who in less than 600 years managed to become a Fourth Order level 400 soul evolver, still be stuck in the same spot even after 1000 years? It was clear that the difficulty was in another league.
Bai Zemin continued, "Those beings, including the angel-like winged guy who approached you before, are all soul evolvers above level 400. Once you surpass level 400 you become a Higher Existence... or that's how they like to distinguish themselves from us, Lower Existences."
"Higher Existences and Lower Existences?" The Saint of the Absolute didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "Pretty blatant if you ask me..."
"Heh..." Bai Zemin said nothing but the contempt in his eyes was obvious to anyone who looked at him. He continued without missing a beat, "The point is, these Higher Existences are not bound by time, unlike us. That's why they believe they are superior to us, mortals bound by the law of time."
"Well... If you put it that way..." Felix felt that differentiating between Higher Existences and Lower Existences might not be wrong after all.
Even he who was so powerful would still become an old man and subsequently turn to ashes regardless of how strong the purity of his Soul Power was. However, Higher Existences were basically immortal. Higher Existences were essentially immortal, and as long as they did not die at the hands of another soul evolver or unnatural cause they could continue to exist along with the universe and its stars.
"Saint of the Absolute Felix, just as you are a soul evolver from hundreds of thousands or even millions of years ago, some of the Higher Existences roaming the Earth right now were also inhabitants of this world." Bai Zemin dropped the bombshell, shocking the Saint of the Absolute to the marrow of his bones.
"What? That can't be, can it?" Felix pointed out incredulously, "You should know that after carefully analyzing the current records of the present Earth, I can say with 60% confidence that we are currently approximately 60 million years ahead of the era in which I ruled along with a few others. There was definitely no Gabriel and no Uriel at that time!"
"Sixty million..." Bai Zemin gasped in his heart. This information was very valuable to him, because even if the Saint of the Absolute was not very sure it was still a good enough approximation for Bai Zemin to be able to draw two or three conclusions regarding several matters.
He continued, "Earth is a world that has existed for billions of years, so if you think about it better you will see that although sixty million years sounds like a lot in reality it is but a hair on the back of nine oxen in comparison. Besides, I'm pretty sure that if you think about it more deeply you should be able to spot that a lot of things that happened in the past don't make logical sense."
The Saint of the Absolute frowned, because now that Bai Zemin was pointing it out he realized that in fact, some events in the past did not make sense at all from a logical point of view.
"Now that you mention it... The Giant's kingdom rose from nothing in a little over 500 years. They went from being a slave race to the dragon race to one of the most powerful races on Earth at the time. I think one of them might have found things left behind by past generations to grow that fast."
Giants?
Bai Zemin kept his poker face on the surface but only he could feel the waves washing over his heart. Although he already suspected that other alien races most likely existed, hearing that such a terrifying race existed in his world in the past was a great surprise to him.
After about a minute of silence, Saint of the Absolute Felix seemed to hesitate before tactfully asking, "Bai Zemin, will you attend that meeting?"
"Attend?" Bai Zemin sneered as he said, "Although Higher Existences like those angels who approached you cannot harm us directly, they can still give us bad moments. Who in their right mind would go to the enemy's main base when the other party invites you? It would be a miracle if they don't wait for you with traps to kill you there!"
Bai Zemin wanted to attend, but he was not omnipotent. He would definitely not throw himself into the crocodile's mouth stupidly no matter what.
However, apparently, the Saint of the Absolute had other thoughts in his head.
"What if we extend the duration of our alliance a little longer?"
Bai Zemin's eyes glittered slightly upon hearing the words of the Saint of the Absolute. In his heart, he already had a pretty clear idea of where this conversation was heading so he nodded and motioned for him to continue.
"Although just like you I also believe that this could be a trap, there is still the possibility that it is not." Saint of the Absolute Felix reasoned with a thoughtful expression on his elegant face, "Even if the odds are not very high, don't you think this is an opportunity for us to meet the other powers of Earth and get a better idea of what we will be facing in the future? If you ask me, I don't think those Higher Existences have sent that message only to us."
After listening to the other party's analysis, Bai Zemin fell into deep contemplation and for a long time he did not say anything.
In fact, the words of the Saint of the Absolute expressed what Bai Zemin felt. However, was it worth the risk? Not to mention that the meeting was in 5 days, which meant that he would have to abort his assault on Russia and rush to Europe to get there in time.
Just as Bai Zemin was hesitating, Lilith's voice rang in his mind: "My love, I think you should take this opportunity. It is possible that a second one may not come again."
After a brief pause, she explained, "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity... If all the strongest beings on Earth gather at a single point, wouldn't this mean that you only need one attack strong enough to finish them all off in one shot?"
Bai Zemin could feel his heart beating like crazy when he heard his beloved's words.
Yes!
With all the most powerful soul evolvers gathering in one spot, wouldn't this be a good opportunity? Of course, the risk was big since Bai Zemin didn't know what he could run into... but by the same token, the opportunities were there too!
"Putting aside whether you can achieve the ultimate feat or not, being able to visit the main city of one of the strongest factions on Earth is definitely a good thing." Lilith patiently explained, "The Catholic Church is an entity that existed for billions of years, Zemin. Think about it carefully, even mighty kingdoms and empires fell and were gradually forgotten in the river of history and time, but what about the church? Even after so long they are still standing firm even if they are not as strong as they used to be."
In the past, Bai Zemin once asked himself how it was possible for the Catholic Church to continue its existence while mighty empires such as the Roman Empire or the Mongol Empire collapsed miserably over the years. It was not until now that he finally got his answer.
"Little boy, even if you're not willing to involve the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocents in your plans, I think you should at least be able to steal a thing or two from the other party's treasury." Fire Sorrow covered her mouth and let out a chuckle as she said delightfully, "I'm sure the Army of Heaven will cry tears of blood if you make the faction that keeps them standing here on Earth suffer."
The Saint of the Absolute watched Bai Zemin's face without interrupting his train of thought. It was evident from the latter's changing expressions that he would soon reach a decision.
Finally, after a lot of contemplation, Bai Zemin sighed.
"Very well. Saint of the Absolute, I accept your proposal for a temporary alliance to join hands and attend this meeting in Europe."
Bai Zemin really had no plans to accept the invitation from the Army of Heaven, but Lilith and Fire Sorrow's words made him change his mind.
To begin with, Lilith would definitely not suggest something that could kill him. Even if it was risky, she was confident that it was still not enough to end the life of the man she loved.
Secondly, just like Fire Sorrow had pointed out, if Bai Zemin could weaken the faction that kept the Army of Heaven on Earth then he would gladly do it. After all, one of the requirements for Bai Zemin to evolve was to chase the invading factions out of this world.
"In that case, I would like to discuss the terms of this alliance with you." Saint of the Absolute Felix nodded with a glint of joy shining in his eyes. It was evident that he did not want to miss this meeting either as this was an opportunity of utmost importance for him to get up to date with the situation of this new era in which he had just woken up.
"I agree with you, but before that, it looks like we need to discuss another matter first." Bai Zemin gently squeezed the Mana Eater Tree records in his left hand as he said these words.
"... You don't seem to have any intention of letting it go, huh?" Felix sighed.
"To you, these records are strength and opportunity, but to me they mean everything." Bai Zemin shook his head and did not explain further.
After a moment of silence, the Saint of the Absolute nodded as if he had finally reached some sort of solution.
Were it not for the extremely complex circumstances in which they found themselves, it would be impossible for both of them to reach a relatively peaceful agreement. But sometimes, in order to achieve greater things, one had to let go of others.
"In that case, let's resolve it the only way we soul evolvers can speak best." Raising his sword in the direction of Bai Zemin, Felix said in a serious voice, "A single attack. I know the current you is exhausted even if you don't show it, it is impossible for you to be well after fighting the Mana Eater... You and I will attack once, and whoever backs off the less can keep the records of that pearl. What do you think?"
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