After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 30.2

The intelligence officer’s expression changed immediately.

The letter read:

[Hero Luo Jie, are you sure you want to intervene in this matter?

All who obstruct us will die, gods included, and that includes you.]

It was a warning letter.

A threatening warning specifically written for Hero Luo Jie.

It continued: [They brought this upon themselves, breaking their word. Don’t think dying will let them escape! All the people of this country must be sacrificed, even leaving the country won’t help. Everyone related to this country must be sacrificed!]

Following this was a whole paragraph of hysterical curses.

Just one glance was chilling to the bone.

The on-site intelligence officers drew in sharp breaths, their faces extremely grim.

Because these words meant that as long as you were from the Aust Empire, no matter where you fled, you would die either way. They and their relatives and friends, no one could escape.

They had even been considering immigration plans, but now that was useless. Death, everyone would die, no one could be spared.

The empire had never faced such a desperate crisis since its founding.

Even when the Divine Kingdom of Light had attacked the imperial city, they had ways to evacuate civilians, avoiding national extinction. But this declaration was clearly meant to completely annihilate them.

Even their most resolute wills were shaken by this threat, because they could die, but what about their families and friends?

Newborn children who had barely lived a few days! Was the empire’s past mistake truly so unforgivable that everyone had to pay the price?

Some people were sweating profusely, feeling fear and anger, because they were only implicated in this.

What had they done wrong?

If it wasn’t for the mad king of the past provoking otherworld gods, reportedly even stealing something extremely important from them, why should they live in fear and face destruction now?

But what use was thinking about this now? Destruction was imminent.

Among them, some placed their hope on the Eldest Princess returning with knowledge to save the country.

The Eldest Princess was Agares’ student, she would surely have a way. If Agares could intervene, the crisis of the otherworld gods could definitely be resolved.

But they also felt an underlying unease, because they hadn’t forgotten that the Eldest Princess had a god-level curse. The Eldest Princess’ strength was well-known, no one dared to question it, but the power of a god-level curse was also well-known. Could the Eldest Princess really return safely and save the empire from peril?

Luo Jie noticed their change in mood and knew this anxiety was unavoidable.

At this time, someone couldn’t help but ask Luo Jie. “Your Excellency the Hero, we stole their treasure, didn’t we? Can’t we return it to them?”

“There is such a theory.”

Luo Jie sighed, “But back then, we searched the entire Aust Empire and couldn’t find it. It’s said the king had already used and consumed it, so we can’t find something that no longer exists.”

The room fell silent, everyone’s expressions grim.

Luo Jie continued. “Moreover, at this point, that object is no longer the focus of the conflict.”

Just the fact that they had gone back on their word and offended divine authority meant the otherworld god wouldn’t spare the Aust Empire.

If they were at fault, it was for not restraining the king before he went mad, preventing the country from heading towards the abyss.

But now, saying anything was useless.

A magician in the room said, “Anyway, this matter can’t be kept secret anymore.”

The old intelligence officer beside him said, “The military should be uniformly informed, right?”

So far, only a small part of the military knew the situation. But now… it was no longer possible to conceal it.

Luo Jie didn’t say anything, because these were matters the empire should decide.

Half an hour later, Eilinson found Luo Jie, her face grim as she said, “I can feel the divine kingdom descending.”

“No matter how many bases we eliminate, it’s not enough. We can’t keep up. The Continental Human Alliance has withdrawn their people, leaving only observers.”

“At most, we have a year until our destruction.”

Towards the end, Eilinson’s voice carried a slight tremor.

Luo Jie lowered his eyes and remained silent.

As a legendary hero, if he called for aid externally, some human powerhouses would surely respond, but this would be tantamount to sending them to their deaths.

And as Luo Jie grew older, he became increasingly reluctant to see young people die.

Whether they were from the Aust Empire or other countries.

Luo Jie asked, “Eilinson, how is Her Majesty’s curse?”

Eilinson paused, then answered, “Generally, it’s fine.”

Luo Jie: “What about the Eldest Princess?”

Eilinson: “Helen said the Eldest Princess is rushing back, but the exact time is unknown.”

Luo Jie nodded, suddenly standing up. His aged eyes flashed with a glint of light, as if for a moment he had returned to his god-slaying days.

He asked, “Eilinson, do I really look that old?”

Eilinson was stunned, then nodded.

Luo Jie laughed, turning his gaze. “No wonder I’m being underestimated.”

Eilinson: “You…”

Luo Jie said in a deep voice, “Don’t worry, even if I have to stake my life on it, I won’t let the Aust Empire perish.”

The next day.

Xiu Si woke up early and found the three cats sleeping soundly by the bed, their sleeping poses peaceful.

Vassago had just woken up and fallen asleep again.

Xiu Si smiled as he covered them with blankets, only leaving after a few minutes.

“I need to go to the Magicians’ Association again. You all watch the shop well, don’t touch the antiques in the store, they’re very dangerous.”

He walked to the front desk, his gaze meeting the gray cat’s.

“You’re asking if I’m looking for books on system magic?”

The gray cat nodded.

Xiu Si: “Yes, yesterday’s book was too profound. I want to find one that’s simpler to understand.”

The gray cat was silent for a moment, then surprisingly offered to help look.

The red cat was shocked. If Father’s system restarted and updated, their fabrications would be exposed.

They wondered if Aelioge’s plan to rewrite history had proceeded smoothly.

But the gray cat gave him a look. As if saying, if Father wants to restart the system, should we obstruct him?

“…..”

The red cat understood. No matter what, Father was the top priority?

Well, that reason was indeed hard to refuse.

Morax watched them leave, his expression somewhat complicated.

At 10 AM, in the Magicians’ Association library.

Xiu Si was learning magic theory from someone.

There was an old magician in the library who had made significant contributions to magic theory. He was there every day, almost becoming a legend.

His name was Oror.

At this moment, Oror had been drinking and laughed, “The essence of magic is imagination? Well, yes, that’s correct at the beginner stage.”

Xiu Si humbly accepted the teaching, taking notes as he listened. The gray cat sat by his hand, intently watching the content he wrote in his notebook.

Oror continued, “You need imagination in your heart to materialize. But what kind of imagination is good imagination?”

“What determines the quality of imagination?”

“…”

Xiu Si was stumped. This was indeed a problem.

He thought about it. Good imagination…did it refer to rich, uniquely creative imagination?

But magic wasn’t painting.

In the next second, Oror revealed, “In most cases, well-structured imagination is good imagination.”

Xiu Si paused, “Well-structured?”

Oror said, “Let’s use a house as an example. A well-structured house can be lived in for a long time, right?”

Xiu Si nodded.

Oror continued asking, “No matter how good the materials, a house with structural problems won’t last long, right?”

Xiu Si nodded again, his gaze showing surprise.

Oror smiled and said, “The material is magic power, the structure is the house’s framework. Organizing magic power well allows you to build a good house.”

Xiu Si seemed to understand yet not fully, but felt like he had opened the door to a new world.

This knowledge was actually written in books, but reading it from a book felt different from hearing someone explain it.

He suddenly understood.

Magic was imagination based on a worldview, an art of imagination, and also an art of structure.

Chaotic imagination couldn’t organize magic power. Only orderly and structured imagination could properly organize magic power, helping you cast stable magic.

“I think I understand now.”

As Xiu Si flipped through the book while studying, he suddenly realized that magic books were full of various structures.

Three-star, four-star, five-star, and so on, geometric structures were everywhere.

He should have noticed these before, but hadn’t been aware until now when he suddenly had an epiphany, as if seeing the true face of magic for the first time.

Oror seemed to appreciate his insight and smiled. “So, learning magic is tedious. You have to draw magic circles every day, firmly remembering the structural patterns of these magic circles in your mind. Even if one line segment is crooked, it could cause the magic to fail.”

Xiu Si: “It sounds like memory is very important.”

This might be disadvantageous for him, as his memory wasn’t particularly strong.

Oror: “Haha, usually that’s the case, but there’s another situation. Some people have poor memory but strong comprehension abilities, so they learn quickly.”

Xiu Si understood again, “Understanding leads to better memory.”

Without understanding, memorizing a lot might be useless.

It was just like studying mathematics back then. One formula could extend to countless problem types. If you couldn’t learn the formula or understand how to solve it, memorizing many problem types was useless.

As he spoke, Oror said regretfully, “Do you know how many magic reserves the Aust Empire has publicly?”

Xiu Si remembered a bit and answered. “Three thousand four hundred and eighty-one?”

Oror: “That’s correct. Including the hidden ones, it’s about that number.”

“Most of these have been passed down from ancient times, some were forcibly taken from the subspace by our Aust Empire, and a very small part were discovered through our own research.”

At this point, Oror’s expression became solemn as he said in a deep voice. “It’s too difficult for us magicians to discover new magic. When we think, our minds become chaotic.”

“It’s truly sad. An ability that should be natural, yet humans can’t possess it.”

It was as if all of humanity had been cursed with foolishness.

As soon as he finished speaking, the gray cat raised its head, seeming somewhat concerned.

Xiu Si was silent, then suddenly said, “It will definitely change. What should be there will be there.”

Oror was stunned, unsure if it was the alcohol affecting him, feeling a bit dazed.

He had lived a long life, but it was the first time he had heard someone speak so confidently about this matter, yet without sounding arrogant at all.

It was truly amazing. Was it because of this person’s inherently gentle temperament?

It felt like any words coming from his mouth would be much more comfortable, not causing any aversion, making one inexplicably want to trust him.

Oror looked into those black eyes and couldn’t help but ask. “Really?”

Xiu Si nodded, smiling faintly. “We have to believe, don’t we? Could the humans of the Gods Era have imagined that eight thousand years later, the continent would enter the Humans Era? Change always comes step by step. I believe we will eventually reclaim what should be ours.”

In his calm tone was a firm heart and resilient humanity.

For some reason, Oror suddenly felt a jolt, his heart rate increasing, as if he truly glimpsed a beautiful future.

He thought for a moment, his mood improving, and said to Xiu Si, “Haha, you’re truly incredible. I think I understand now why Great Mentor Matros chose you as his student.”

As he spoke, the gray cat stiffened slightly.

Xiu Si changed the subject. “Let’s not talk about these distant ideals. I should practice a bit. These past few days I’ve been focusing on theory, I don’t know how it will be in practice.”

Oror smiled. “Come, follow me. I’ll take you to the practice room.”

“Alright.”

They then left the library, attracting curious glances from many magicians along the way.

“My goodness, Instructor Oror actually left the library.”

“Unbelievable, he’s with Great Mentor Matros’ student!”

“Where are they going? The public practice room? Do you want to go see? I’m definitely going.”

So, a few minutes later, the public magic practice room, which originally had only a few people, was filled with many curious magicians.

They pretended they were there to practice magic, but their eyes were all on the next room, wanting to know what was happening with Oror.

What was so extraordinary about this young man named Xiu Si that after gaining Great Mentor Matros’ approval, he had even conquered the most critical and sharp-tongued Instructor Oror?

They saw Oror give the young man a few instructions.

The young man nodded, then walked to the magic casting position, slowly raising one hand, with a gray cat by his side.

This was the first time they had seen Xiu Si about to use magic. What would happen?

Xiu Si was probably more nervous than they were, after all, he had never formally used magic before.

Oror beside him smiled and said, “Don’t be nervous. Any magic is fine. Why don’t you try light magic?”

Xiu Si nodded, took a deep breath, quickly stabilized his emotions, and focused his mind intently on the target several hundred meters away.

Magic power gathered in his palm, gradually forming a complete structure.

Everyone widened their eyes, wanting to witness the next second.

In an instant, a dazzling white light flashed in front of the young man’s palm, making the entire space pale in comparison.

Immediately after, the magic burst forth, not only destroying the target but also breaking through the practice room’s magic defenses.

Everyone was stunned on the spot.

Oror was dumbfounded.

What, what exactly was this?!!!