After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 116.1

“Big… Big Brother meow…”

The little short-legged cat trembled fearfully, its clumsy brain went completely blank, unable to even utter words of surrender or apology. Its small paw was clutched in front, and its raised head was shaking.

“…”

The demon god stood motionless, his towering figure covering the tiny cat. His dark green eyes were deep and authoritative, occasionally flashing with fierce lightning, causing the cat’s demon heart to tremble in terror, not daring to move.

“Big Brother meow…”

****

On the other side, the Continent.

Boom! Boom!

The sky flashed with lightning and thunder, continuously producing deafening loud noises.

Creatures on the Continent were terrified and trembling, as if a great disaster was imminent, and destruction was about to arrive.

The elves of the Elven Kingdom retreated into their own birth trees in fright.

The seven great Elven Kings activated their magic, raising the highest level of defensive magic for the Elven Kingdom, strictly guarding against any accidents, although even this level of incident might be beyond Their capabilities.

The elders of the seven great Elven Kingdoms were observing, all wanting to know what had happened in the subspace. They discovered shocking pieces of information.

Inside the highest tower of the Elven race, the strongest observers of the elves gathered. Each elf inside was a genius of observational magic, capable of seeing the situation from the farthest distance.

However, even They could not see exactly what was happening in the God of War’s domain.

“It seems to be a war.”

“A war between whom?”

“…An internal war among the Abyss Lords, it seems like about a dozen Abyss Lords have jointly challenged the Demon God Baal.”

The elves discussed this, then were frightened by their own observations, their faces turning pale.

“Ah? What’s the situation with the Abyss Lords? Baal just finished fighting the God of the Universe, and They immediately went to get beaten?”

Some elves keenly sensed something strange. Baal’s power was well-known, so why would the Abyss Lords challenge Baal? It seemed like none of Them had dared to do so before.

The observing elf said, “I’m not clear about the situation, but the subspace has indeed detected the magical power of over a dozen Abyss Lords.”

“How many in total?”

A high-ranking elf of the race suddenly spoke up.

The observer responded. “Many, uncertain. Even the usually mild-tempered Abyss Lords Vassago and Celerios are among them.”

“And the Abyss Lords Bachin, Gusin, who haven’t returned to the Continent for a long time…”

This was an incredibly unbelievable discovery.

The elf with a royal appearance stroked his chin and said, “Aren’t the Abyss Lords supposed to not get along, and inevitably fight when two are together? How could They unite to confront Demon God Baal?”

Yes, no matter how one thought about it, it was very strange, but this incredibly strange thing had actually happened. It was difficult to comprehend for a moment.

The observing elf tried to explain, “As the first-ranked Abyss Lord, Baal might have been targeted by other Abyss Lords for His ranking. Abyss demons are generally competitive and unwilling to fall behind.”

“But Abyss Lord Gusin is here. Wait, there’s even Abyss Lord Barbatos? This one has always avoided participating in wars.”

The elf next to him immediately refuted.

The elven group discussed for half an hour, ultimately still completely confused.

The only fortunate thing was that the war of the Abyss Lords was confined within the subspace domain, and they had seemingly constructed an extraordinarily solid spatial magic that prevented magical energy from leaking out, thus not affecting the Continent.

Otherwise, without mentioning anything else, if Demon God Baal were to descend, His terrifying potential energy would be enough to blast the entire planet into dust and smoke.

Close call, close call.

The Elven Kingdom was abuzz with discussion.

The royal elf who participated in the discussion had a slightly darkened gaze. He slowly stepped away from Them, walked to the balcony outside, gradually raised his head to look at the sky, and whispered, “Demon God Baal…”

****

At the same time, in the Continental Human Alliance.

The human observation bureau was also in shock. The historical record keepers didn’t know how to begin writing, let alone the intelligence analysts.

From their perspective, this event happened very suddenly, with no discernible cause or consequence.

If they had to say something—

Simon looked at the sky full of lightning and suddenly said, “I can’t help but feel it’s related to the Lord of the Abyss.”

****

On another side, in a room.

Noises from elves surrounded Norman Til.

“Nor, you are Baal’s contractor. Do you really know nothing?”

Norman Til stood by the library window, his face flashing with snow-white lightning, eyes wide open, expression dazed.

No matter how They asked or prodded, he remained like this, completely unresponsive, as if in an extremely shocked state, unable to hear Their voices.

The elves then shouted, “Nor! We’re calling you!”

They used magic, shouting so loudly that the glass shattered.

Norman Til’s pupils trembled, as if finally awakened, but his demeanor remained dull, mouth half-open, seeming to hold some words he couldn’t forget in his mind.

The spirits were even more dissatisfied, shouting again, “Nor!”

Norman Til slowly came to, scanning Them with his eyes. At this moment, thunder and lightning still filled the sky, with the world losing its color every two or three seconds.

The “war” in the sky seemed to have ended, so the thunder gradually weakened, the thick black clouds becoming thin, and the sky gradually clearing.

Norman Til, still with lingering fear, simply told Them. “It’s over. That one has resolved it.”

The elves tilted their heads and asked. “Resolved what?”

Resolved what…

Norman Til seemed to weigh his words in his mind, touching his chin, his gaze hesitant.

At this moment, Wang Chang’er happened to arrive.

Wang Chang’er walked in from the door, his steps light and unhurried, his movements deliberate yet effortless. His facial expression was nothing like that of an over 8,000-year-old elder, but more like a vigorous middle-aged man.

Norman Til immediately turned, first shocked by his sudden appearance, and then even more shocked by Wang Chang’er’s expression that was completely inconsistent with his age.

For humans, the soul’s resistance to aging is more difficult than the body’s. The latter only requires reaching a certain level of strength, or using known or unknown methods of immortality. But the former… at least currently remains unsolvable, with barely any hypotheses.

Truthfully, most heroes are more famous in reputation or legend than in reality, but Wang Chang’er was the opposite. His actual self exceeded all legends about him, a living embodiment of greatness.

As Norman Til pondered deeply, Wang Chang’er suddenly spoke, a faint smile at his lips, raising his eyes to the sky. “Seems like it’s over.”

Norman Til paused. The elves around him didn’t know what Wang Chang’er was talking about, but he did.

“Yes, I felt it too.”

Norman Til nodded.

“Haha, how quick!”

Wang Chang’er smiled softly, with a loving expression as if watching children playing in a relative’s home.

He had naturally anticipated this outcome. How could a dozen little kittens possibly defeat a big tiger? Having the courage to try was already remarkable. And there was even a large lynx mixed in? They still couldn’t win.

“…Indeed.”

Norman Til nodded, thinking to himself, There was no other way. That one’s power was completely unreasonable. Even among Abyss Lords, He was a super-grade existence. Now, not just on the continent, but across the entire universe, there were hardly a few who could contend with Him. The Abyss Lords were powerful, but against the Demon God Baal, they were still no match.

Humans absolutely must not oppose Him. Fortunately, He had no interest in humans at all.

Wang Chang’er saw the sky had almost returned to normal. He turned around, his loving gaze instantly vanishing, and said seriously, “The observation is almost over. Notify the Alliance to get to work.”

What he meant by “work” was none other than a further investigation into the seven great magic families.

Norman Til immediately nodded, “The investigation has already been intensified. We should have results soon.”

“Is that so.”

Wang Chang’er spoke with a calm tone that carried a bone-chilling murderous intent. “I want to investigate exactly what kind of people and beings have been deliberately targeting my friends over these thousand years.”

****

At the same time, in the Infinite Trial.

A blood-red sky, cloudless, with demons lying scattered in a desolate Gobi desert.

Several hours later, They gradually began to recover. Some demons wailed, some looked dejected, some had massive bumps on their heads, and some hadn’t even awakened from being beaten.

They were completely wiped out, each falling under Big Brother’s fist.

Although They weren’t unprepared to lose, This time They lost so miserably, without any chance of victory, utterly defeated. Big Brother might not have even needed His fists; merely the suppression of His magical power was enough to firmly pin Them in place, unable to move.

The air was silent, the demons immersed in their failure, heads lowered and silent.

Suddenly, Morax couldn’t hold back, his anger rising, and mumbled. “If I had known earlier, I would have done an intense sliding tackle out of sheer anger!”

When He said this, there was clearly a fist mark on His face, beaten black and blue, not yet recovered, showing the intensity of the damage.

Incidentally, Zepar had been smashed unconscious, lying flat on the blazing ground, eyes wide open but unseeing.

The demons sympathized with Him, but more importantly, They needed to figure out how to escape their current situation. They knew that since They had lost, They would have to face the consequences and regroup before leaving the Infinite Trial.

But this was the Infinite Trial!

Many demons among Them were not visiting for the first time. Without exaggeration, over ninety percent of Them had broken through the maximum level in Big Brother’s Infinite Trial and were very familiar with this place.

Despite knowing They shouldn’t be discouraged, They couldn’t get over this defeat. They had worked hard for so long and were united for the first time, only to find that facing Big Brother was like facing cotton – He could casually manipulate Them!

Even Gotham City couldn’t contain so many clowns.

Ah, just thinking about it caused phantom pain.

Among the demons, Aelioge was the most desperate. His soul was almost dead, with vacant eyes, sitting on the Gobi desert, head down and speechless, his entire demon form turning black and white.

A few demons looked at each other, seeing each other’s sorrow, thinking in unison:

Ah, poor Aelioge, it’s not your fault. That big tiger is just too ridiculous.

Of course, our negligence in training on the continent is also a reason, but this is too overwhelming, right? We are all children of Father, so why is the gap so large?

Is there no demon who can shake Big Brother’s family status?

Are They to be condemned to let Big Brother return and occupy Father’s position, while They are all miserably assigned to the Infinite Trial?

Ah, if only we hadn’t challenged Big Brother. He had just returned, perhaps not even knowing the specifics, yet They rushed to meet Him. If They didn’t die, who would?

Demons, the biggest taboo is getting too full of yourselves, meow!!

As She was thinking, the ragdoll cat was already whimpering, hiding in Barbatos’ arms.

Although They were mentally prepared, when truly caught, demons would cry too!

Gusin sighed. “If we had known earlier, why act then? Provoking Big Brother never ends well. Now thinking about it, the Fourth and Second Brothers were truly wise.”

Wasn’t that the truth?

Marbas pulled out a golden chair and red wine from somewhere, then took a big drink. The gold chain on Him jingled, “No, Samikina knew the result and didn’t act. But I… knew the result and still acted.”

Gusin blinked, seemingly unsurprised.

Valefor said, “Me too, more or less.”

Marbas looked at Valefor, “I didn’t expect you to mess around with Them.”

Valefor glanced at Aelioge, “Can’t help it. Had to consider the younger brother’s feelings.”

Marbas followed His gaze, seeing Aelioge lost and dispirited, and propped His chin. “Indeed. He worked so hard. We couldn’t just stand by.”

Both out of personal interest and sibling love, They chose to act.

They sat not far from each other, each on one side.

Barbatos comforted the rolling ragdoll cat while saying, “But Big Brother didn’t go too far. Even in an extremely angry state, He was still considerate to us.”

Marbas laughed heartily, though His laugh might have been more convincing if one ignored the fist mark on His face.

However, Botis was unhappy about this, because He had nearly been beaten to a pulp! Big Brother had shown favoritism, hitting Him especially hard!

Botis gritted His teeth, His dark demonic power boiling like fire.

Beelzebub beside Him turned and patted Botis, “Enough. If Big Brother had truly gone all out, we’d have crossed the Bridge of No Return by now.”

Botis angrily retorted. “Why is Big Brother so strong!”

The overwhelming power disparity made the demons breathless, made them despair! Botis wasn’t particularly obsessed with power, but without strength, He couldn’t defeat Big Brother, couldn’t get close to Father.

Big Brother was the biggest obstacle preventing Him from getting close to Father!

By the way, Amon was the one beaten the worst in the scene.

Amon had fallen, with memories flashing through His mind like a carousel.

Big Brother’s fist grew stronger against stronger opponents, delivering a head-on blow that nearly turned Him into an idiot, His brain constantly stalling.

Beleth beside Him was already writing a sorrowful essay. This wandering poet demon’s habit of writing small essays when discouraged remained unchanged.

Among all demons, Bachin might have had the most collapsed mental state.

Bachin originally thought that with His power, even if He couldn’t defeat Big Brother, He could escape to Father’s side while They were being beaten. But unexpectedly, Vassago suddenly acted, throwing Him towards Big Brother.

Who does that? What kind of brother acts like that?

Too excessive!

Bachin gritted His teeth, glaring at Vassago, eyes almost burning. Vassago noticed His gaze, turned and gave a slight smile, saying, “Little brother Bachin, abandoning your demon siblings and fleeing mid-battle isn’t a good strategy.”

Bachin understood that Vassago had long anticipated His escape.

Then, Vassago suddenly pointed at Aelioge.

Bachin suddenly realized: It was you, Aelioge!