Desolate Era (Book 41 - Book 45)

“We’ve been making preparations ever since the last war concluded. It seems the Sithe have kept themselves busy as well,” Autarch Stonerule agreed.

“Let them come. We’ll handle anything they can dish out.” A murderous look flickered through Autarch Mogg’s eyes. The danger which had just manifested before them had stirred all of the Autarchs, awakening their combative instincts which had lain dormant for so long.

The final war against the Sithe had yet to truly begin, but the Sithe had already made an absolutely terrifying opening gambit!

“We have to destroy it, and we need to move fast,” the golden-robed Ning said. “But… how? I can vaguely sense that this behemoth hive is filled with tremendous danger. Even if all seven of us go, we still wouldn’t necessarily be able to successfully deal with it.”

“The behemoth hive is definitely dangerous.” Autarch Titanos glanced at the other six. “And what if the Sithe suddenly launch the war after our avatars go inside and then are somehow trapped? Only half of our total combat power would be available to fight in the war, and we could very well be defeated.”

“Right.”

“We can’t all go inside! We need to be ready for the war to breakout.”

“How many of us should go inside?” The Autarchs and Ning began to discuss this matter.

Adding in their avatars, they had a total of fourteen Autarch-class combatants! Based on their previous experiences, they had to have at least ten Autarch-class combatants in order to keep a handle on the situation and not be caught flat-footed. However, given how long the Sithe had been biding their time, it was entirely possible that they would unleash something completely unexpected. Even ten Autarch-class combatants wouldn’t necessarily be enough.

“Let’s send in two to take a look,” Autarch titanos said. “That way, we can still be at close to peak power if the war breaks out.”

“Who should go inside?”

“I’ll go inside!” Ning was the first to volunteer.

“You, Darknorth?” Autarch, Titanos, Bolin, and the others all looked towards Ning.

Ning stared at the enormous silver vortex and the behemoth hive at its heart. “We don’t know anything about what this thing holds or what dangers might be present. We’ll probably have to destroy the entire thing in order to stop it! Of the seven of us, I am the most well-rounded and am the best at dealing with unknown dangers. I have some skill in every single Dao.”

Titanos and the others all nodded in agreement. Ning was very well-rounded and was quite skilled in every Dao. He had mastered even the Karma Sword Dao and the Numerancy Sword Dao. He was indeed the best of them in dealing with unexpected dangers.

“Very well.” They all nodded in agreement. Without question, Darknorth was going to be one of the two to go inside. He would be given the primary responsibilities for destroying this behemoth hive.

“I’ll go as well.” Autarch Mogg smiled. “I’m the master of the Space Daobirth Essence and have the keenest understanding of how space works. I’m the best at scouting out nearby dangers.”

None of the other five Autarchs disputed this. They all agreed once more. Everyone knew where their respective skills lay and who would be most effective in dealing with this behemoth hive.

“The other Autarchs should all return to their respective stations and prepare for war to break out at any time,” Autarch Titanos said. “Darknorth and Mogg, send in your avatars! I’ll stay here to stand guard and keep a watch on things, to prevent anything unexpected from happening.”

“Very well.”

“It is settled.”

……

Ning and Mogg had both sent their avatars to this place, and so all they had to do was make some minor preparations before flying together towards that silver vortex. As for the other five Autarchs, they watched from afar as Ning and Mogg flew off into the distance. The five only departed after seeing the two safely enter the vortex.

“I hope they can destroy that thing,” Bolin said.

“Even if they cannot, they have to stop it from functioning,” Autarch Titanos chuckled. “I’m confident in Darknorth’s skills. Even if he fails, he should be able to get a clear sense of what lies within that behemoth hive and how it operates.”

“Right.” Ekong, Skyfeeder, and Stonerule all nodded. They could all vaguely sense that after 6 million chaos cycles of training, Darknorth was now most likely the strongest of them all… and he was also the most well-rounded!

……

Space twisted around the golden-robed Ning and the tall, thin, azure-robed, scale-faced Mogg as they continued to fly forwards through a dimensional tunnel that led into the silver vortex.

The gigantic silver vortex was filled with apocalyptic power. Only Exalt-class beings would be able to just barely be capable of surviving this place. However, Mogg’s dimensional tunnel was quite stable and it brushed aside all the power which clashed against it.

“Almost there.” They continued to fly through the silver vortex, the behemoth hive slowly growing in size as they moved closer and closer towards it.

The countless tunnels covering the hive were dark and unfathomably deep. All forms of energy which entered those tunnels vanished without a trace, never to be seen again within this Chaosverse.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Ning and Mogg both descended towards the surface of the behemoth hive. The hive was protected by layers of frenzied, semi-translucent energy which furiously assaulted the two of them, but they were brushed away before they even got close. Ning and Mogg landed on the icy surface simultaneously.

This enormous weapon, the size of an entire realmverse, was so vast that ordinary Hegemons and Emperors couldn’t even see it in its entirety. Ning’s gaze transcended spacetime, and so he was able to see it clearly.





Book 43, Chapter 17 - Autarch-Class Creatures


Ji Ning and Mogg were in no hurry to immediately rush inside the behemoth hive. Instead, they flew across its surface and began to inspect it.

Ning and Mogg were able to cross hundreds of billions of kilometers almost instantly, and they continued to fly for a full hour as they reviewed the hive up close. The hive’s surface was a mixture of dark black mixed with silvery white. Black was the main color, but some strands of silvery-white energy had crystallized in certain regions. As for the tunnels, they ranged from being a hundred kilometers wide to a trillion kilometers wide.

Ning and Mogg came to a halt and descended upon the surface once more.

“We can’t see anything from outside,” Ning said. “It seems we’ll still have to go inside to take a look.”

“My senses are telling me that the interior isn’t uniform in nature. We can’t simply blink in and out of it,” Mogg said. “Our only choice is to accept the risk of flying inside.”

The two knew that the insides of this behemoth hive were undoubtedly very dangerous. The gloomy darkness was capable of swallowing all forms of energy. Any godsense or heartworld projection energies would be swallowed as well, making it impossible to scry what was inside. They had been hoping to first learn what they would be facing, but they still knew nothing after that long inspection of the surface.

“Let’s go inside.” They chose an ordinary-looking tunnel that was a hundred million kilometers in diameter. There were countless tunnels like this across the surface of the behemoth hive.

Ning and Mogg stood at the edges of the tunnel, staring downwards. It was still furiously swallowing energy at an astounding pace. Ning and Mogg exchanged a glance, then flew downwards.

Whoosh! They quickly began to descend into the dark depths.

……