After the Lord of the Abyss Awakens - Chapter 60.1

Inpos’s face showed fear as he immediately said, “Don’t come any closer, or I’ll report you to Father!”

However, Amon still wore a smile as he analyzed, “Inpos, do you know how you’re different from Aelioge?”

Inpos was momentarily speechless, then hesitantly asked, “What’s different?”

Amon walked to the chair and looked down at Inpos from above, his tone carrying a hint of playfulness as he said, “Aelioge has the courage to make quick decisions, while you always hesitate.”

“You!”

Inpos’s expression darkened, having been called out.

Amon continued, “Your weakness is that you think too much and act too little. You always put thought before action, which causes you to delay by a second or two when acting.”

Inpos frowned, thinking to himself that this Amon fellow seemed to observe his fellow siblings so thoroughly.

Amon, as if seeing through His thoughts, replied, “It’s because Father once said that when playing games with people, observing the other party well is essential. You’re too immersed in studying. Studying is good, but do you understand opportunity cost? Sometimes, learning worldly wisdom is also necessary.”

His words were full of pressure. Although He had a youthful face, His tone was as mature as an old monster who had lived for thousands of years, which was indeed the case. Even without releasing any magic power, His aura controlled Inpos.

The little white bird instinctively sensed danger, its large eyes fixed intently on Amon.

Amon hadn’t paid attention to it yet and continued looking at Inpos, saying, “Aelioge is away on business, I won’t ask what business. Inpos, Father has returned, hasn’t he? Take me to see Father.”

Inpos hadn’t spoken yet, but His wavering eyes had already revealed the truth of Father’s return.

He was just like before, completely unable to hide anything. Even after more than eight thousand years, He was still so naive.

Amon’s eyes narrowed into a line, revealing an extremely dangerous cold light as he said, “Inpos, don’t struggle. You can’t beat me.”

To be honest, with Amon knowing this much, there was no way to avoid disclosing it.

But Inpos had promised Aelioge after all. How could He not fulfill a promise He had made?

But at this moment, Amon shifted His gaze away and looked at the little white bird. His tone carried a hint of resentment as He said, “Although I had some expectations that after eight thousand years, Father, as a Creator, couldn’t possibly not create new children, I didn’t expect to meet one so soon.”

The little white bird was stunned, too young to understand Amon’s words.

This demon in the form of a youth should be its older brother. As the older brother was older, it should respect and love Him, listen to His words. But other brothers had said to be wary of Him, not to let Him see Father.

The little white bird was caught in a dilemma, not understanding what it should do, and could only blink its eyes at Amon.

For some reason, it instinctively felt that this demon, who appeared cold and domineering on the surface, was actually very sad and urgent, far from being as calm as He appeared.

Amon, thinking of something unknown, said in a deep voice, “You all, why do you always cling to Father? Although I used to do the same, I am a demon after all. Demons are selfish and self-interested. What’s strange about taking away your umbrella?”

He was as capricious as a child, with unpredictable moods and an inherent oppressiveness.

He was openly chaotic evil. In the absence of constraints and checks and balances, He exposed the vicious part of His nature to His younger siblings.

Inpos had never been good at facing Amon. When He was just born, He would hide behind Father’s legs to barely face His higher-ranking brothers and sisters, and even now He was still somewhat timid.

He couldn’t make the decision to break with Amon, because then Father would surely know about their deception.

So, no, Aelioge, this situation still has to be left to you!

However, Amon seemed to have said enough and finally revealed some urgency. He stared at Inpos and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t tell Big Brother. Just be honest with me. After all, one more me won’t make a difference.”

Inpos broke out in a cold sweat, His fists clenched tightly on the armrests.

What, what should He do?!

****

On the other side, sunlight was shining through, slowly creeping through the door cracks onto the desk, landing on a person’s hand, bringing a faint warmth.

The short-haired young man who looked like a knight got straight to the point, having already explained his purpose for coming.

To this, Xiu Si could only shake his head and reply, “I don’t know where Great Mentor Matros is.”

The short-haired knight’s eyes instantly darkened as he asked, “Don’t you have any means of contacting him?”

“No.”

The answer was still the same.

“Do you know where he might be?”

“I don’t know.”

Xiu Si shook his head again.

The short-haired knight continued to ask, “Did he say when he would appear again?”

“He didn’t.”

Seeing how persistent the other party was, Xiu Si said, “I know you probably need his power, but I’m sorry, I can’t help you find him, nor do I have any relevant clues. Frankly speaking, I couldn’t find him even if I wanted to myself.”

The short-haired knight paused, his eyes showing a flash of disappointment.

“Is that so…”

The little ragdoll yawned, its cat-like eyes moving to scan the short-haired knight and the group of knights behind him.

Their arrival could very well cause a diplomatic conflict, because this was the imperial city of another country. The armed forces of the Great Hammurabi Empire appearing openly in the center of the imperial city could easily be seen as a hostile gesture, a declaration of war.

Of course, that was assuming the king of the Oedipus Empire was a hardliner.

Now, obviously, he wasn’t. Secondly, they had indeed obtained permission.

“So there’s really no way…”

Knight Commander Frans lowered his gaze, his brow slightly furrowed, his face compassionate.

He had thick eyebrows and large eyes, with regular features, looking completely like a good person.

Xiu Si observed him for a few seconds, then thought and said, “I will tell him about your situation if he comes to see me.”

“Thank you.”

Frans’s face was heavy, with dark circles under his eyes, clearly showing he hadn’t slept well for many days.

Seeing Frans like this, Xiu Si felt a slight stirring in his heart.

After all, he was a hero, and caring about the fate of the world was almost instinctive for him.

So Xiu Si asked, “Is the situation very troublesome?”

Frans’s eyes changed slightly, seeming a bit surprised that Xiu Si would ask further.

He thought for a moment, then frankly said, “It’s like this. The empire’s protective magic has been passed down for thousands of years without any problems. However, a few years ago, someone infiltrated the magic core and damaged the underlying structure of the protective magic. We repaired it at the time and thought there wouldn’t be any issues, but after just a year, the protective magic began to collapse section by section. Our magicians are stretched thin, unable to repair it, so we could only think of Matros himself, who constructed this magic.”

So that’s how it was. Indeed, only Matros himself could repair this. Xiu Si asked, “Can’t you replace it with a new magic?”

Frans shook his head, “We can’t. It would take too long. We’re under the threat of invasion from the divine kingdom, so we can’t and shouldn’t dismantle the protective magic array.”

Xiu Si could understand. Whether constructing or dismantling the protective magic was a major project. It might be fine under normal circumstances, but at this point in time, they certainly wouldn’t dare to casually dismantle it. He wanted to help, but he truly couldn’t find Matros.

That person was a legendary magician, with unclear thoughts and unpredictable whereabouts. No one could find him.

As for whether he could help himself, Xiu Si deeply regretted that with such a large-scale magic as the national protective spell, it would take him great effort just to understand it, let alone repair it.

He had the will but lacked the ability.

Xiu Si had no choice but to look at Frans and promise, “I’ll let you know if I hear anything.”

“Thank you.”

Frans smiled kindly, “I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Frans Akagi, Knight Commander of the Fourth Knight Order of the Great Hammurabi Empire. Mr. Yi Xiusi, it’s a pleasure to meet you here. I sincerely thank the Goddess of Fortune for her guidance. May I leave you with a communication item?”

“What kind of communication item?”

Xiu Si looked confused.

Then, Frans took out a golden card with a seven-pointed star magic array engraved on it.

He said, “If Great Mentor Matros comes to see you, we hope you can inform us through this. It can contact me immediately.”

Xiu Si took the card and nodded solemnly. Since it was a matter concerning national security, he couldn’t treat it casually.

As someone with a bit of power, he should do what he could within his abilities.

Frans said, “And this as well.”

Xiu Si looked up to see Frans taking out another card, black with gold edges, designed solemnly with a pattern of a majestic lion.

Frans explained, “This is a permit for free entry and exit of the Great Hammurabi Empire. Mr. Yi Xiusi, you are a rare human powerhouse. If you wish to come to our empire, you can freely enter and exit with this certificate. No one will stop you. We welcome your visit.”

Without a doubt, this was an olive branch extended by the Great Hammurabi Empire. For ordinary magicians, this would absolutely be a highly sought-after item.

The Great Hammurabi Empire was the world’s number one great empire, a superpower that countless magicians from small countries tried every means to immigrate to. Although it was currently in crisis, being recognized by them still carried significant weight when going to other countries.

The little ragdoll scanned the two cards and found no tracking magic or the like, indicating that the other party was somewhat intelligent. If they dared to use petty tricks to monitor Father in front of Her, heh, She would open Her mouth and eat them!

Xiu Si accepted the cards and politely said, “I hope to have the chance to meet again in the Great Hammurabi Empire.”

Frans nodded and said goodbye.

Then, with the sound of armor clanking, the group that had suddenly arrived left just as decisively.

In the blink of an eye, they were gone.

But they left Xiu Si with some thoughts.

“The invasion of the God of Destruction?”

Xiu Si lowered his eyes and murmured to himself.

Thinking back to when he was still on the continent, the God of Destruction hadn’t yet gone mad.

He had read history before. The God of Destruction should have gone mad about a year and a half after he fell into the abyss, which was just after he had created his twenty-third cub.

He remembered that the commotion was huge at the time, with earthquakes everywhere in the abyss and occasional beast tides.

Generally speaking, the abyss was the domain of the Abyss God, protected by the divine power of the Abyss God, and events from the outside world could hardly affect the abyss. But for those few months, earthquakes large and small were constant in the abyss, waking up sleeping giants who devoured prey everywhere.

His newly born children were affected, some also trembling with unease.

Xiu Si remembered that period was quite enduring. Even hiding in the abyss caves, he could hear screams and shouts coming from all directions. It took a long time for the commotion to subside. And the awakened giants wouldn’t return to hibernation for a while. They killed everywhere, causing the abyss to be in turmoil.

At that time, his system wasn’t broken, so he could keep the cubs in the system box, which made things a bit better. He gritted his teeth and got through it. Agares could always think of safe places, and Baal could always protect him. Although dangers were everywhere, he still managed to survive.

Little did he know that the real danger came after that, when a sudden accident scattered him and his cubs, even Agares couldn’t arrive in time.

One could only say that man’s plans are no match for heaven’s will.

The God of Destruction in history truly lived up to being an ultimate existence, his madness and demise becoming a historical turning point leading the Gods Era into twilight. If not for His large-scale devouring of deities, the Gods Era wouldn’t have fallen into twilight so suddenly.

However, after much thought, Xiu Si couldn’t think of anything he could do to address the crisis facing the Great Hammurabi Empire.

He was just a Creator class hero, not high-level, with average magic attainments. What could he do?

He always told himself not to worry about things too distant and beyond his abilities. But he was more or less bound by his hero identity, and now that the problem was right before his eyes, how could he not try to help think of a solution?

Speaking of this, Xiu Si somewhat missed Luo Jie.

Luo Jie said he had something to do, so he left for a while, but several days had passed without any news. Could something have happened to Luo Jie?

He showed a worried look.

The little ragdoll saw this and immediately became anxious, its paws grabbing its Father’s hand.

“Meow!”

Xiu Si always wore long sleeves, occasionally lifting them up a bit. When it grabbed him, a scar was faintly visible at his cuff, looking like some animal’s bite mark.

He lowered his head, meeting the little ragdoll’s emerald eyes, “What’s wrong?”

The little ragdoll meowed and surprisingly spoke in human language again, “Father meow, he’s fine meow.”

Magical beasts being able to speak was something that happened after at least level fifty. Let alone the earlier accident, what about now?

Xiu Si was puzzled for a moment, but naturally responded, “Do you know about his situation?”

The little ragdoll nodded heavily, its eyes shining brightly, “Yes meow, he’s fine meow, Father don’t worry about him meow!”

Its confident appearance made Xiu Si feel somewhat relieved.

Xiu Si hummed, “Is that so? It’s good if he’s alright.”

Little ragdoll: “Meow meow!”

It seemed the children were hiding something from him.

Xiu Si sensed this to some extent, but he knew they weren’t bad, there must be some reason.

However, he was still a bit worried and asked, “Will Luo Jie go to resolve this matter?”

The little ragdoll shook its head, thinking to itself, Luo Jie hasn’t recovered yet, Father, though he can talk now. I let him choose between being young or old, and he chose to be young!

What did he say again? He said he wanted to stay in the same era as you, Father!

Heh, the old guy is still so mushy. It’s only because you’re Father’s friend that we worked so hard to save you! After you’re better, don’t compete with me for Father!

The little ragdoll thought of something, its cheeks puffing out, looking quite adorable.

It confidently said again, “He won’t meow, he has other things meow!”

Xiu Si: “Is that so? It’s not anything dangerous, is it?”

The little ragdoll shook its head vigorously, the ribbon on its head quivering.

Xiu Si was amused again, “That’s good. At his age, he shouldn’t overwork himself. Being over eight thousand years old, he should retire. He can’t be involved in every human crisis.”

Xiu Si recalled their reunion. At that time, Luo Jie looked young, but he knew that Luo Jie’s heart had aged, no longer the spirited young man he once was.

He tried to speak naturally at the time, treating his friend as before, but deep down he felt somewhat disappointed.

Xiu Si remained in the past, while his friends had aged. It was as if a piece of his complete heart had suddenly emptied, leaving an indescribable feeling. He wasn’t sure if it was bittersweet or just bitter. After more than eight thousand years of changes, it was already a good thing that the other could still remember him.

It wasn’t easy for a human soul to endure a time span of over eight thousand years. Ordinary people would likely have been worn down to be as still as earth and stone, unmoved by the wind.

Thinking of this, Xiu Si couldn’t help but feel melancholic. “My other hero friends, are they still doing well?”

He sighed again.

The little ragdoll, hearing this, became teary-eyed and immediately said, “We’ll find them meow!”

It was always like this, speaking with certainty, its carefree personality, born innocent and lively, warming hearts like a little cotton jacket.