After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 55.1

In an instant, the entire venue fell silent.

The representatives from various countries simultaneously skipped a heartbeat, staring in shock at the suddenly appearing gray-robed youth.

Just as the chairman’s assistant finished speaking, a gray light flashed and space distorted. Before they could react, they saw space split open, and a person casually walked out from within.

A single person intruding into the Continental Human Alliance’s council? Unprecedented!

The Alliance’s magicians were immediately on alert, but were shocked to see an endless health bar displayed by their identification skills.

One of the highest-level identification skills, “Golden Eye”, clearly showed [Transcendent Existence]!

“Don’t act rashly!”

Someone shouted on the spot, hurriedly rushing forward to stop the mages.

It was Eve Jelfis, ranked fourth, the current strongest ice mage!

Eve used her magic power to suppress the entire venue, steadying everyone’s movements. She then helped up the chairman’s assistant who nearly fell from shock, and looked vigilantly at the gray-robed youth, carefully saying, “Are you… the Lord of the Abyss?”

With those shocking words, all the national representatives gasped.

They had come today to discuss the matter of the “Lord of the Abyss”, but never imagined the subject himself would suddenly appear.

Could it be that the title “Lord of the Abyss” was heard by the other party, so he came to settle accounts with them?

Everyone’s thoughts raced, but being the elites of various countries, they didn’t panic. Instead, they forced themselves to remain calm and quietly observed how the situation would develop.

The other party probably didn’t come to destroy them, otherwise he wouldn’t just be talking.

Among all the representatives present, only Ronald, the representative of the Aust Empire, widened his eyes, seeming not just shocked, but something else as well.

The Aust Empire had only officially rejoined the Continental Human Alliance a few days ago.

As the Aust Empire’s representative, Ronald had just hurriedly arrived at the venue today.

Unlike others present, the moment he saw the gray-robed person, Ronald immediately thought of “Mr. Yi Xiusi”.

He believed that the Mr. Yi Xiusi from the antique shop was precisely the “Lord of the Abyss” who later appeared in the Oedipus Empire. This was based on nothing else but the scene he had witnessed of Mr. Yi Xiusi together with the “Abyss Lords”.

He was likely the only one present who knew the situation.

Ronald’s mind raced, when suddenly two gazes pierced through space, locking onto his entire body and pinning his soul.

Their warning was too obvious – speak and die.

Ronald dared not speak, with only cold sweat continuously rolling down his forehead.

Mr. Yi Xiusi… no, the Lord of the Abyss appearing here, what was it for?

In those few seconds, countless people’s minds raced rapidly.

Meanwhile, Eve’s question received an affirmative answer.

A faint “Yes” made people’s scalps tingle, involuntarily shuddering.

Eve, ranked fourth among humans, had reached max level three years ago at the mere age of 42, becoming the 490th max-level human in history. She was truly a genius among geniuses, born with magic power as deep as an abyss and as vast as the sea. Her mastery of magic theory was top-tier even among humans. Her strength was so great that even dragons feared her.

Originally, she wouldn’t have come to the council, but today was purely on a whim. She was indeed curious about the “Lord of the Abyss”. Never did she imagine that before the discussion even began, the subject himself would appear.

It would be a lie to say she wasn’t nervous. Although gifted with great talent and combat power, capable of destroying a country in a day, she ultimately lacked real combat experience, especially against the continent’s top powerhouses.

She couldn’t possibly show any issues in front of the other party, so she maintained an outwardly calm and dignified appearance, not showing any change in expression. She had to hold down the venue, as this was her duty as a high-ranking powerhouse.

In fact, her quick action had, to some extent, steadied people’s hearts, preventing the scene from descending into chaos.

For the other party to come alone to humanity’s highest-level council, he must possess the power to deal with all of them.

They had to respond with utmost caution.

However, just as they were internally panicking, the other party slowly said—

“Hmm, don’t be nervous.”

Though meant to be reassuring, this sentence didn’t comfort anyone. Instead, it made them more nervous and fearful.

Because the elegance and composure in his tone were far too obvious!

Without a doubt, all of them combined were not a threat in his eyes.

The Lord of the Abyss- legend had it that He could command all abyss demons. With one word from Him, the entire continent would become a playground for monsters. If He was unhappy, Abyss Lords would destroy countries just to please Him.

His existence had always been a legend, always considered a fabrication by bards. However, they never expected that in the past few days, He would appear twice, personally proving that He not only existed but could truly command Abyss Lords!

Eve suppressed the terror in her heart, gritted her teeth, and resolutely walked up to the platform. Representing everyone present, and even all of humanity, she engaged in “diplomatic” activity with this ancient and great being.

With a respectful attitude, she asked, “Humans have no intention of offending you. May I ask why you have come?”

Before her words faded, countless people’s backs were drenched in cold sweat, all nervously watching the situation on the stage.

The gray-robed youth stood alone on the high platform. His face was obscured by perception blocking, but one could faintly see a pair of eyes as deep as an abyss.

Like the endless dark seabed.

Silent, cold, suffocating.

He didn’t release any aura of an absolute powerhouse, not a trace of magic power leaked out. He just stood there plainly, yet it was enough to show he was extraordinary.

You simply couldn’t generate any thought of defying Him.

Why on earth did He come here?

Everyone listened intently, holding their breath and pursing their lips, eager to hear what he would say.

The gray-robed youth just calmly said, “I’ve lost some friends. I hope you can help find them.”

The entire venue fell silent once again.

They had considered many possibilities, but never imagined… fr-friends? The Lord of the Abyss said friends?

Everyone’s minds were blown open as if by magic.

This unexpected statement disrupted their thoughts, causing even these calm and rational diplomatic elites to be stunned.

Eve steadied her heart and calmly caught the thread of conversation, asking, “Who are your friends?”

As expected of humanity’s fourth-ranked, her ability to respond far surpassed theirs!

All eyes focused on the gray-robed youth again.

They saw the youth still speaking in a calm tone, saying another sentence they never anticipated.

“My friends are the five heroes you all know.”

Including Eve, everyone’s expressions changed.

Heroes? The Lord of the Abyss’s friends were actually heroes?

Wait, did the heroes actually know the Lord of the Abyss?

They were both shocked and confused, unable to react. The information was like a bomb, blasting their neural pathways, almost rendering them unable to think.

And then, they saw.

The gray-robed youth lowered his gaze, his tone tinged with nostalgia, saying in a deep voice. “I woke up and they were all gone. The reason for their disappearance seems to be related to you, so I hope you can find them.”

Though it sounded like a very polite statement, it sent chills down the spines of everyone present to varying degrees.

Eve’s face instantly paled. Below the stage, a wave of shock spread.

“Wang Chang’er, Ye Qingyi, Justin, Ming Jie, Chen Lingxi.”

The gray-robed youth listed these legendary names one by one, his tone flat yet authoritative. No one dared to interrupt.

“These five people, you should know about their disappearance, and how to find them.”

Before his words faded, some of the older people turned deathly pale, their hands and feet trembling, as if they had heard something terribly frightening.

It was the kind of fear one feels when about to be held accountable, as if death was imminent.

Eve instinctively agreed, saying solemnly, “Alright. The disappearance of the heroes is a great regret for all of humanity. We have always been dedicated to finding them, though we may have become somewhat lax in recent years. I deeply apologize for this. On behalf of the Continental Human Alliance and all humans on the continent, I apologize to you. It was due to our lack of ability and awareness. Since they are your friends, we will put forth our utmost effort to find them. Please rest assured.”

“…”

The gray-robed youth seemed to be slightly taken aback, his gaze towards her carrying a hint of assessment.

Cold sweat dripped from Eve’s forehead, her eyelashes trembling, her nerves stretched to the limit.

Those below the stage could find no fault with Eve’s words. Her attitude was sincere, even exposing their shortcomings, slapping their own faces, and expressing intention to make amends.

The only thing lacking was…

Eve immediately realized and hurriedly added, “Within a month, we can’t guarantee that we will definitely find the heroes, but we will certainly provide you with information.”

Indeed, when agreeing to a task for someone, setting a time limit is crucial. The rhetoric needs to be thorough, perfect, and watertight.

No one had expected this. It was said that Eve was a somewhat biased laboratory magician. Though she had strategic-level strength, she rarely interacted with ordinary people. Yet today’s conversation revealed that she wasn’t simply proficient in magical experiments and basic war and destruction.

However, would her words make sense to the Lord of the Abyss?

The air fell silent again as everyone nervously watched the gray-robed figure’s reaction.

The gray-robed youth said nothing more, merely fading away quietly.

“Then within one month.”

Seconds later, only a crowd of people unable to react remained.

Eve let out a sigh of relief, feeling her legs go weak. This was her first time facing such an ancient being. When confronting him, her instincts had repeatedly tried to analyze him, to measure the distance between herself and him. However, all analyses failed. The gap between them seemed not to be a distance, but an entire universe!

She couldn’t even imagine how to bridge that gap.

So this was the Lord of the Abyss!

The crowd below slowly came to their senses and began to discuss.

Someone asked a nearby historical researcher, “Wait, the Lord of the Abyss and the heroes are friends? Has this ever been recorded in history?”

“No… There’s no such statement at all. Although the heroes went to the Abyss multiple times, they never said they knew the Lord of the Abyss.”

“Really?”

“Ah, if only Hero Luo Jie were still alive. He would surely know what’s going on.”

“Not necessarily. The Lord of the Abyss didn’t mention Luo Jie, only five of the seven heroes. That means Hero Luo Jie wasn’t a friend of the Lord of the Abyss?”

“You fool, it’s because Hero Luo Jie has already sacrificed himself…”

They discussed heatedly, but no one realized that throughout their discussion, they had consistently overlooked one person.

Eve had just calmed down and was preparing to leave the stage to have someone specifically take charge of this matter.

At this moment, an old historian suddenly stood up. He looked around at everyone, his movements seemingly effortless, and slowly said, “Everyone, please calm down. The Lord of the Abyss is an incomparably great being. He specifically came down to give us a task, which shows respect for us humans, or perhaps it’s a test to see if we can solve the problem He has set for us.”

Eve paused, looking at the old man in confusion, and asked, “What do you mean?”

The old man recalled the past, his eyes filled with the weight of years, his voice low and hoarse, as he slowly explained. “In those years, the heroes were on good terms with many deities. For example, the Goddess of Harmony was the heroes’ guardian, the Goddess of Luck was their protector, the Goddess of Virtue was their enlightener, and the Goddess of Wisdom occasionally provided help. Over thousands of years, the great beings the heroes knew were countless. The Lord of the Abyss’ life is long; perhaps He once met the heroes in the past, and now ‘waking up’, He found that His once-familiar human friends were gone, so He came to visit us.”

It was a very reasonable explanation, almost clarifying the cause and effect.

In other words, the Lord of the Abyss had once known the five heroes, and upon waking up, found that His old acquaintances were gone, so He came here on a whim to look for them.

… Is that what it meant?

Eve was stunned for a moment, muttering to herself, “When He said ‘waking up’, how many years had actually passed…”

“We don’t know, but we can be certain that He likely bears no ill will towards humans. So we should do our best to show goodwill.”

The old man nodded seriously, looking around at everyone again, his tone carrying a hint of indisputability.

“Everyone has witnessed the situation of this meeting. This is how things are. The Lord of the Abyss hopes we can find the missing heroes, and we should have been looking for them anyway, but later, for certain reasons… we weren’t so active.” His words seemed to carry a hidden meaning.

Most people nodded in agreement. From the situation just now, it seemed that communication with Him was possible.

If they could befriend the Lord of the Abyss, it would be equivalent to befriending twenty-four Abyss Lords at once.

Tell me, what reason would you have not to do it?

Only a very small number of people had stiff expressions, thinking of something unknown, their fists clenched under the table, cold sweat streaming down their foreheads.

They seemed unwilling to find the missing heroes, but they couldn’t directly voice their opposition, appearing to be in a dilemma.

Why would the Lord of the Abyss suddenly bring up something that had already been buried? Couldn’t it just remain buried in history forever?

But contrary to their wishes, the chairman finally spoke, agreeing to establish a special research and investigation team. The team level was set at SS, meaning they could access all confidential documents of the Alliance at SS level and below, and could mobilize executors above level ninety.

Even dealing with an ordinary national crisis only required an S-level team, showing how seriously the chairman took this matter.

He even wanted to raise the task level to the highest SSS level, which is the all-human crisis level, but it wasn’t possible. To establish this level, at least seven elders needed to agree, and the process was quite troublesome.

“First, complete the task according to the SS-level mission standard. A task force of 50-500 people is allowed to be established. The team leader will be Sword Saint Simon, who is currently not in the Alliance. Simon has almost finished investigating the memory beast incident and is just continuing to monitor there. Simon has met the Lord of the Abyss twice, and with his rich experience and strong abilities, he should be the best choice for the team leader.”

The chairman gave instructions methodically, finally turning his gaze to Eve, “Eve, you agreed to this yourself, so you’ll help, right?”

Everyone’s eyes turned to Eve simultaneously.

Eve’s golden hair was smooth and waist-length. Being a magician, she could manipulate magic to control her appearance, so her age was not at all apparent from the outside.

As the fourth-ranked human, if Eve could participate in this task, it would undoubtedly increase the chances of success.

In recent days, Eve didn’t seem to have any urgent matters, so it would be great if she could help.

Regarding this, Eve strangely recalled the nostalgic tone of the gray-robed youth.

Lowering her eyes in thought for a few seconds, Eve nodded and agreed to help.

“Let’s find the missing heroes together.”

This matter was actually not cause for optimism, because if they could have easily found them, they would have done so long ago.

However, this time the situation was different.

So they had to try even harder.

Moreover, finding the heroes was originally their duty anyway.

****

At this moment, in the bookstore.

Xiu Si fell silent. He realized he was too easily coaxed by the children, and only after coming to his senses did he realize how bold his actions had been.

… He had actually gone to the Continental Human Alliance’s council venue and ordered representatives from countries around the world to act on his command.