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Chapter 655: The Most Dangerous Descent

Back then, Aso had decisively sacrificed himself, successfully permanently connecting the Death Planes to the mortal plane here. Over the past eight years, the six major Death Planes of Corpse, Ice, Desecration, Blood, Darkness, and Deathmist had been constantly sending undead reinforcements. This had gradually made Asolivis into the largest Undead Capital in the entire world.

This entire area’s dimensional laws had been overwritten with the dimensional laws of death. Bone giants more than several hundred meters tall would slowly walk around the plains here, while dozens upon dozens of gargoyles and bone dragons flew around in the sky. But, actually, the people of the mortal plane didn’t even consider this place to be one of the most dangerous places in the world where no life could live. In fact, this place had even become a famous vacation site.

This was because right in plain sight of Asolivis was a certain verdant forest. It was the home base of the new Silver Species, the mega popular wood spirits.

Right outside the forest were mountainous two-headed treants patrolling around. They wielded tremendous wooden clubs, made directly from the Forest of Dreams’ mother tree. Mystical wooden airships were also patrolling the skies above the forest.

Actually, these seemingly idle “mob monsters” were combat strength at Gold, Legend, or above. After the wood spirits and undead had warred for so many years here already, this battlefield actually became known as an easy one, especially suitable for newcomers. Very few veteran Contract Heroes would choose to remain and train here.

As for why? The fighting between the wood spirits and undead wasn’t fierce at all. It seemed like they were only putting on a show… But actually, both sides were still enemies. It was just that an outright victory was impossible for either side. Thus, both sides felt that investing resources into this battle would be a complete waste, so there was now a tacit agreement to keep the war low in scale.

The situation here had now changed significantly after the first few major battles against the undead. The wood spirits had matured, and the Forest of Dreams had become truly impossible to conquer. Meanwhile, since Asolivis was the critical entrance from which the six Death Planes could send more undead, the Tark Republic had many powerful individuals stationed here, willing to protect the Undead Capital at all costs.

Of course, heroes had previously tried to threaten the Undead Capital. However, if the Undead Capital became truly threatened, tremendous numbers of high-level undead and forbidden spells would start pouring out from the dimensional portal here. The multiple Undead Emperors were willing to pay any price to defend this dimensional door that Aso had created by sacrificing himself. Any forceful invasion to conquer Asolivis was thus deemed impossible, and even if this fortress city and all the undead were eradicated somehow, it was unknown how to close the Dimensional Door that Aso had opened with his life.

Naturally, nobody wanted to fight a war that was unwinnable. It would be impossible to fully revive the former Tark Republic until the opportunity was right. The undead were patiently biding their time.

The undead’s main forces were also focused at the main battlefield of the Nightrain Fortress against Bardi. The wood spirits weren’t really the type to expand outward, so humans of the mortal plane were still the undead’s main enemy.

However, Bardi constantly sent more and more troops to the battlefield. Dragons had also joined Bardi’s side, and the Southern Sect had gotten much stronger. The undead were gradually becoming suppressed as they lacked top-level fighting forces.

The Bardi Empire simply kept iron defenses over all the fortresses which blocked the undead’s path northward. That was because everyone knew that fighting all out against the undead would be meaningless until the Undead Emperors descended. There would be no limit to the number of undead in the Death Planes.

However, Bardi had a bit of a headache regarding another facet of the war. The undead had achieved several results on a different “battlefield”.

The Death Council and other similar dark cults started spreading like wildfire. The lure of “eternal life” was especially effective on nobles who feared death. The lure of life as an undead was also just as effective on ordinary commoners who were in pain and despair due to war or poverty.

“Are you afraid of death? Is life too painful? Are you depressed because you lack power? Join us! You shall obtain the chance to change your own fate…”

There had to be plenty of marketers and scammers amongst the Death Council’s believers as such advertisements could be seen everywhere in Bardi’s major cities now.

In fact, compared to how some Gods’ churches talked about completely meaningless or empty teachings, the Death Council was actually telling the truth.

Fear? Undead wouldn’t have the emotion of fear. Hunger? Undead would never be hungry. You couldn’t find a wife? The undead didn’t require a wife… Cough, ahem, let me rephrase that. What I meant to say was: your lover had died? Let her come back to life again in a different form.

In any time of war, the most pitiful would always be commoners who had no power. When the powerful had no restraints placed upon them, when the peace in society was broken, not having power would become a sin… Victims would desire the strength to obtain revenge, those with ambitions would desire more power to further their schemes, and even ordinary people who had normal ways of thinking would want to have more power to protect themselves.

Yet, obtaining power wouldn’t be that easy.

As mentioned before, it would cost lots and lots of money to learn magic. Even learning martial arts would require a skilled teacher along with enough nutrition to build up a strong physical body. Yet, all that was required for becoming an undead was your corpse, and your willingness to abandon your morals as a human, and in a time of war, corpses and morals were the cheapest of all.

The Death Council had been able to expand so quickly because it indeed gave those who desired power the chance to swiftly become more powerful. In fact, in some places, ordinary commoners swiftly became powerful individuals after using undead or dark magic. These people were also treated the same as other powerful individuals were. The path of undead magic, which had extremely low requirements for talent and resources, actually started becoming more commonly accepted.

Of course, things becoming like this was also partly Roland’s fault.

The Northlands undead had constantly been working hard to whitewash the undead’s reputation. Plus, undead magic was becoming a part of daily life there, and the undead and the living coexisted in peace in the Northlands. The Southern Sect had also been working hard to criticize the teachings of the Holy Church (one of the foundational reasons for the living’s enmity towards the undead). Of course, the Tark Republic and their subordinate Death Council had also been doing their best to improve the undead’s reputation.

Also, after Hell was established, the new four major elements gained their chance to greatly develop. Ice magic started evolving, and an Ice Elemental Plane was created. The power of death was also developing.

At any rate… all of this was connected to Roland.

Cough, getting back on topic, on the day that the demon wave descended, the dimensional restrictions on certain exiled individuals had been lifted. The Bardi Empire finally received the chance to truly eliminate the undead threat. Or, perhaps they would instead be eliminated by this undead threat that just arrived.

“Hmm? Is this the smell of the mortal plane which I used to call home so long ago? It truly is…”

A white-haired little brat just walked out from a dimensional portal as he exclaimed over the mortal plane. He looked just like a human child, but right after he arrived, he started licking the ground, and then bit off a solid piece of rock. He then loudly chewed on the rock.

“…So disgusting. The smell of the living is everywhere. There’s such a powerful aura of life so close by. Just what have you all been doing for so many years?”

He spat out some broken shards of rock. The snowy white-haired brat raised his head, revealing that his pupils were completely white with cross-shaped soulfire burning within.

Even though this was an undead temple, with powerful Undead Lords greeting the arrival of this venerated guest, not a single Undead Lord dared to directly gaze into that soulfire.

“Your Majesty Shupnus, your descent—”

A Blood Tribe Undead Lord greeted Shupnus, but he didn’t get to finish his sentence, as he was interrupted by Deathmist Plane Undead Emperor Shupnus, who was well known to be extremely impatient. “Where are the others? Don’t tell me that they haven’t arrived yet.”

The Blood Tribe Undead Lord hurriedly led the way as he knew about Shupnus’ extreme temper.

“Of course not. The other Majesties have all arrived. They have been waiting for your descent.”

Shupnus chuckled on hearing this. All the Undead Lords present knew that Undead Emperor Shupnus absolutely hated waiting for others and those who were late, and that his favorite thing was making others wait for him.

The Blood Tribe Undead Lord was secretly happy with himself that he had intentionally notified the Deathmist Plane Undead Emperor that the meeting time was one day later than it really was. Only if Shupnus didn’t have to wait for the other Undead Emperors would the Undead Lord not have to take the brunt of Shupnus’ anger.

Soon, in a tiny conference room where four out of five seats were already occupied, five Undead Emperors gathered together now that Shupnus had arrived.

Shupnus looked like a white-haired brat who was less than ten years old. The others resembled a sleepy old man, a white skeleton no different from every other ordinary skeleton soldier, a young woman who was slowly enjoying a red liquid, and a seemingly ordinary human.

The only thing that these five Undead Emperors had in common was that they all appeared quite ordinary.