Chapter 1278: Torturous waiting
Obion World, approximately 30 minutes before Lilith joined the man with long red hair to chase after the God of Heaven.
Looking at the handsome man lying lifeless on the ground, Bai Zemin did not know what he should feel.
Initially, what he felt towards the Emperor of the Asura race was hatred and anger since it was Thannath's orders that ultimately led to millions of living beings, including millions of humans of all ages, to be slaughtered literally like pigs. Back in the past, Bai Zemin had sworn to Thannath that the next time they met he would not only take his life but would see to it that he would make him suffer unimaginable pain before taking his last breath.
How could Bai Zemin not feel hatred towards a man and a race that invaded his home with the intention of slaughtering everyone, including him and his loved ones? Therefore, Bai Zemin always felt that killing the Emperor of the Asura race was the right thing to do.
But, after hearing all the information Thannath gave him...
At this point, Bai Zemin had no sense of accomplishment in his heart. In fact, were it not for the fact that his Immovable Heart skill had just recently evolved it was very likely that he could be blaming himself greatly for his past actions.
It was not the asura race's fault... at the same time, Bai Zemin felt that blaming the Soul Record was not right either.
Many things in life were simply inextricable.
Today, Bai Zemin learned for the first time that even the Soul Record was not an all-powerful entity.
'I have to hurry.'
A strong sense of urgency hit him like a torrent as he realized that even he might end up making his people start devouring Soul Stones to avoid certain circumstances.
Bai Zemin raised his head and glanced at the several thousand asuras watching him from afar. Some were looking at him with anger and hatred, others were looking at him with fear and caution, and others seemed to be waiting to see what his next action would be.
Letting out a sigh of both physical and mental exhaustion, Bai Zemin kneeled down and picked up all of Thannath's equipment. Because the man decided not to fight a battle he could not win in order to increase the hope of his race, all of the Emperor's equipment was in almost perfect condition.
What caught Bai Zemin's attention the most was the red tunic with gold embroidery and the black pants, though.
[Roaring Volcano Tunic -]
[Type: Armor]
[Rank: 3]
[Physical Defense: 45,500]
[Magic Defense: 50,000]
[Durability: 14,586 /15,000]
[Attached Skill/s -]
[Ten Thousand Fire Cicadas: Consume mana to summon 10,000 level 99 Fireclud Cicadas that will attack enemies mercilessly and clear the battlefield for you. The skill lasts for 15 minutes or until all Firecloud Cicadas are destroyed, and for each enemy killed by the Firecloud Cicadas, it recovers Durability. Cooldown time: 7 days].
[Perpetual Upgrade: The 'Ten Thousand Fire Cicadas' skill can be upgraded by adding natural treasures of fire attribute to the Roaring Volcano Tunic].
[Description: A tunic crafted by a great first-level tailor using Firecloud Cicada as a crafting material. The Firecloud Cicada is a species of insect that lives inside volcanoes and loves high temperatures but they always walk in numbers and their power is truly terrifying].
Although the black pants were of a lower rank, Rank 4, they also had at least over 10,000 points of physical defense and almost 15,000 points of magic defense. They even had a passive skill that decreased the effect of light- type skills by 5% when the lower body was hit.
Under the eyes and gazes of not only the asuras but also some ghosts and intelligent mutant beasts, Bai Zemin dressed directly and put on the pants and the tunic.What left him most satisfied was the fact that these high-level treasures could fit one's body perfectly, so when he finished dressing Bai Zemin immediately seemed to become a new person.
This was the first time he wore defensive items other than leather or plate armor, but he had to admit in his heart that it was not only much more comfortable but also several times more graceful.
'Rank 5 Tunic... As expected from the Emperor of a world with tens of thousands of years of steady evolution.' Bai Zemin couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
Although Earth was quite irregular in comparison to other worlds, the time it had been evolving was too short after all. Except for several treasures he found in the treasury of the Holy Church and which he already handed over to his trusted subordinates according to their abilities and needs, Earth had no accumulation left behind by ancient generations.
One needed to know that items of Rank 5 and above were rarities among rarities. From what he heard from Lilith and Fire Sorrow before, even among the Higher Existence factions there was not always Rank 5 items to equip those recently admitted. One could estimate how rare and precious they were from this information.
"I promised I wouldn't kill you so I'll keep my promise for now." Bai Zemin suddenly spoke. His voice was not too loud but it was still heard by everyone, he continued without being too sweet or salty, "I will return to Obion World in a short while. If what I have in mind works, you all will be able to reconnect to the Soul Record. I hope you will behave yourselves until then and stop making your existence more complicated than you already did!"
"What?"
"What did he say?"
"Reconnect to the Soul Record?"
"Is that even possible? The Soul Record hates our race!"
"But... Emperor His Majesty also said to listen to this human as far as possible before his death..."
"What is this all about...?"
...
Bai Zemin did not linger or pay attention. After saying what he had to say, he turned and sped away directly toward the portal through which he had come.
Indeed, Bai Zemin might have a way to reconnect these people with the Soul Record. However, even he was not completely sure and to some extent feared the consequences.
'And yet, I can't just kill them all or just leave them just like that after hearing all that. Myself and my people could fall into that situation, it could happen to anyone.' Bai Zemin smiled bitterly as the hot wind blew his face as his speed steadily picked up.
Bai Zemin's mentality had become at least 100 times more powerful compared to before. In addition, his personality had become more resolute but at the same time more relaxed in comparison to the past.
It could be said that his current self was getting closer and closer to his past personality, to his true self before the Soul Record came to Earth. As to whether this was a good thing or not, Bai Zemin honestly wasn't entirely sure and only time could prove it.
Putting aside all these unnecessary thoughts for now, Bai Zemin turned into a beam of light that cut the sky in two and disappeared without a trace a moment later.
* * *
Earth, Mariana Trench.
Approximately l hour had passed since Bai Zemin entered the World Connectors and Lilith activated her second Firmament Fragment, however, no one had moved as they were waiting for the conclusion.
Archangel Gabriel who had left earlier had returned approximately 20 minutes after teleporting to a place far away from the Solar System. At this moment his eyes were shining mysteriously and the trace of a smile on his mouth proved how calm and confident he felt.
The plan to hunt Bai Zemin had indeed been his idea. Although Gabriel could not anticipate the fact that the succubus of the Demonic Army would draw Medes and the others away using the power of a Firmament Fragment, Gabriel was not too worried. As far as he was concerned, Lilith had no way of raising large waves with her Sixth Order power and Fire Sorrow wouldn't be of much help either despite being known as the most talented mage in the universe.
'This is the difference in power and brains.' Gabriel smiled slightly as he observed the worried expressions on some people's faces.
At this moment, the King of the Coral Kingdom gazed with eyes full of murderous intent at his daughter. However, the pain in his right arm reminded him that at least for now he needed to remain calm and wait patiently until the proper battle culminated.
Shortly after Sonnata and Felix chased after Bai Zemin, not long after Lilith took Medes and the others with her, the King of the Coral Kingdom personally moved to attack Shui Meiying with the intention of severely wounding and capturing her. Yet, not only was he unable to reach his goal but he almost lost his life in the process.
The King of the Coral Kingdom never guessed that the two human beauties next to his daughter would actually be so powerful that even he had to fear!
Shui Meiying ignored her father. She knew that given the circumstances it would be difficult if not impossible to return to what it had once been, not to mention that their relationship was always more professional since the King of the Coral Kingdom had over 50 sons and daughters.
She watched the faces of Shangguan Bing Xue and Feng Tian Wu, and seeing the worry and fear in the eyes of the two women she couldn't help but secretly sigh.
Feng Tian Wu's face was slightly pale as she really could not withstand the pressure of the water at these depths with her current physical body. If not for Shangguan Bing Xue making a thick ice sphere around her she probably would have been crushed to death by now.
With unsteady eyes, she whispered, "Bai Zemin... he'll be fine, right?"
It was evident from the tone of her voice and the trembling of her words that Feng Tian Wu was really worried about his safety.
Shangguan Bing Xue shook her head but said nothing. Her expression at this moment was bone-chilling to the extreme and her blue eyes did not move away from Gabriel since the moment he returned.
In the past, she used to be able to control her emotions perfectly. Even now she was like that. However, when Bai Zemin came into the equation that ability of hers would simply disappear without a trace making her aware of losses and gains.
Despite all the trust and practically blind faith she had in him, Shangguan Bing Xue knew that this time the situation was a thousand times more challenging compared to any other.... Because the enemy was an angel, a Fifth Order Higher Existence!
Not long ago once she and Bai Zemin had an important conversation, and in that conversation he told her somewhat implicitly that in a battle against a Higher Existence his chances of victory and survival were less than 30% even using all his power.
Therefore, Shangguan Bing Xue was thousands of times more nervous and worried than Feng Tian Wu. Adding to this her romantic feelings for him and highlighting the fact that Bai Zemin was the first man she had ever come to love in her entire life, Shangguan Bing Xue's heart and head were in a complete mess.
In fact, she had already made up her mind. If Bai Zemin really did not return, she would immediately attack Gabriel. - Despite knowing that she probably wouldn't even be able to touch the other party given her current power and would probably die for nothing, Shangguan Bing Xue couldn't care less about these things. All she knew was that she absolutely won't forgive them and even if she had to become a spectre after death she would still hate them with all her heart!
Just like that, time passed as slowly as an eternity.