Chapter 863 - 47: King or God?
Silver Tears.
A mysterious liquid metal fluid, situated between biological and non-biological, once recognized would automatically transform into a mysterious, weaponized armor.
——The people, initially puzzled by its essence, could only refer to it vaguely as "Steel."
——Once donning the "Steel," it becomes natural to possess the Power of a Great Hero.
Moreover, this Power is so formidable, completely beyond imagination, capable of challenging the Fragment Kings, even touching the Law... at least as chronicled in later histories — "At the moment of Gold’s shattering, the Steel Era is dawning."
...
...
Since the emergence of the first piece of "Steel," with the first battle record easily toppling a Fragment King, this incident naturally stirred a storm in the Boundary Land.
For even the weakest Demigod remains a Demigod —
This must be understood.
Especially when subsequently, the second and third pieces of "Steel" were indeed brought from the Underworld, this further fueled the flames. This incident confirmed that the miracle of defeating a Demigod likely stemmed from the Power of "Steel," seeming to theoretically possess the potential for replication!
The premise of all this seemed so simple and beautiful.
That is, one only needs to acquire a piece of mysterious armor, then everything is within reach!
As this information spread across the already chaotic Boundary Land, it was like a spark fallen into a boiling pot of hot oil —
Thus, with a roar!
Naturally, the entire pot of hot oil ignited in an instant!
As if the entire land was ablaze with a fiery passion, fueled by the Flame of enthusiasm and desire rising from human hearts, countless Warriors, Thieves, and ambitious people went mad, flocking to the land of Nimgruf.
Though soon, people discovered that the Power of "Steel" could not be viewed equally and generalized.
Their models were clearly different, with distinct performance variations between each, not only in focus on aspects like Power, Speed, Skill, Endurance, etc., but even the weapons equipped showed definite categorization.
However, this did not dampen the fervent desire in everyone’s hearts or bring much disappointment. After all, the strongest "Steel" rivaling a Demigod was a proven fact. Besides, even lesser "Steel" had Heroic Level Power, which was practically a shortcut to the top for ordinary people.
In short, the entire Boundary Land’s trend shifted overnight.
Perhaps it can’t be said it changed; before, people pursued the Rune Soul, Magic Prayer, legendary weapons, even fragments of the Magic Ring... now it just turned toward pursuing another more effective and intuitive thing, fundamentally still just pursuing Power.
No matter what ambitions one holds, people found attaining that mysterious, weaponized armor had become a must-consider issue to realize their ideals.
The mighty Power of mysterious armor could greatly aid one’s path. Moreover, if one lacks armor, they must consider the potential obstacle and threat posed by enemies possessing armor on their path... hence, one must obtain "Steel!"
It’s a shortcut to directly acquire mythic hero Power!
As for the only currently discovered and confirmed production site of such powerful arms —
The residents of the Eternal City underground naturally felt furious about this; they understandably knew those mysterious armors transformed from Silver Tears were not their original creations, surely something unknown changed for some reason.
Yet, due to the influx of Surface dwellers, they also learned about Surface events, understanding why Surface people suddenly came to explore the Underworld.
Night sky reappeared...
Moon descended...
Then a meteor fell, piercing the strata, causing the king-making plan’s heritage to undergo mystical transformation...
All clues, everything connected obviously, just as Surface people would subconsciously link them, thinking the phenomenon must be inseparable from that mysterious moon, naturally, the residents of the Eternal City needn’t be told more than that; they firmly believed it was the sacred Black Moon once hanging high!
It’s the original belief of the Eternal City!
Indeed, it must be the long-awaited — Stars Era, the return sign of the King of the Night.
Even if civilization is destroyed, even amidst ongoing struggle, even in the midst of surviving against the odds, those few remaining in the Eternal City never gave up.
Perhaps they’ve already despaired inwardly, yet stubbornly refused to give up, guarding destiny under the false underground night sky... now finally seeing dawn, they couldn’t help but be tearfully convinced it’s the signal of the great existence’s return!
Why did the moon suddenly descend upon the Boundary Land?
Why did the meteor accurately pierce the Underworld?
Why did the king-making plan’s heritage undergo such changes?
Isn’t this phenomenon already clear enough to see? The only explanation is that the Law of the Moon is about to return, to exact revenge on Gold! The original faith of the Eternal City, the once-suspended Holy Black Moon, is releasing the most obvious signal to its followers!
The residents of the Eternal City are naturally determined to follow the Holy Black Moon, like countless stars trailing after the moon... Even when they were alone, they plotted to resist and kill the supreme will. Now the deity they believe in has returned, issuing divine decrees.
So, naturally, no one can stop their erupting anger for revenge!
However—
The power granted by the Holy Black Moon to the Eternal City to accomplish its great mission is being stolen by despicable surface dwellers, how can this be tolerated?!
Thus, the fierce battle between the Surface World and the Underworld also erupted in full swing.
Yet, despite the fact that the residents of the Eternal City have quickly accepted and understood the new power of the Silver Tear, they, having suffered extreme exterminations time and again, are far too few in number, which is their fatal weakness.
Moreover, after the miracle descended from the Holy Black Moon, the improved Silver Tear is no longer just a puppet imitating the enemy for combat.
They must be worn by the wearer, and integrate with a being of intelligence, to exert their powerful blessing abilities. Even combining all remaining populations of the two remaining Eternal Cities in the Underworld, they cannot fully arm them.
And the mad influx of surface dwellers is like a swarm of ants, impossible to completely stop by any means.
Even though the residents of the Eternal City are doing their utmost to resist, and everyone gained Heroic Level power from the improved Silver Tear, forming a nearly impregnable line of defense that leaves no chance for the surface dwellers.
But even so, they are forced to remain in the Underworld, unable to leave the Eternal City easily.
If this is the case, how can they talk about revenge on Gold? Wouldn’t this betray the expectations of the Holy Black Moon?
People must learn to be flexible. Considering that the Silver Tear is not only limited to the people of the Eternal City, but surface dwellers can also use it, they can only interpret this as part of the divine decree, perhaps as the will of the King of the Night.
So—cooperation with surface dwellers is not impossible.
As long as the surface dwellers are willing to join the Eternal City and take a stand against the Golden Law, then they are allies with a common stance and a shared enemy!
......
...
"The King of the Night, huh..."
Murmuring this meaningful phrase, the Puppet Girl sat quietly on a tree at the edge of Nimgruf’s Fog Forest, gazing at the distant pit.
The people she sent out were not making enough progress, so this time she ventured out herself, intending to investigate... but unexpectedly, her journey went smoothly, and she soon heard about the effects of that meteoric star.
The Eternal City, which Blazer sought for so many years and could not find, was thus exposed again.
She saw the dawn of destiny continuing to turn, yet before she had time to feel joy, the subsequent series of events only made the Puppet Girl increasingly bewildered.
So, is it truly that deity returned?
Tilting her head, she gazed at the starry sky with a curious expression. When the night suddenly fell, and the moon appeared, she was unaware and habitually fell into slumber under the protection of the Magic Tower, missing the sight of the falling star.
Later, upon briefly waking and learning what had happened, she felt confused and doubtful but soon drifted back to sleep.
Even though only half of her material self was destroyed in the self-destruction, expecting it to have no effect is unrealistic; the physical death of the Demigod still caused great harm.
Until the protection spell left by her mother was triggered and instantly destroyed—
Only then did Lani sense it and was shocked awake.
At this moment, she lifted her gaze to the night sky, yet did not see that mysterious moon again. To be precise, since that day, that reportedly unfathomable moon has not appeared, and the sky above the Boundary Land remains covered by the Golden Tree as always.
Judging from this alone, it seems as if time still flows peacefully, unchanged.
The rule of the Golden Tree also appears to maintain its eternal dominion, persevering forever.
However, after observing coldly and combining her investigation and information, Lani has vaguely perceived the turbulent undercurrents... At the same time, she cannot help but feel troubled. If the Law of the Moon has returned, then perhaps her original plan is doomed.
Because the Puppet Girl’s original plan was to embark on the path to godhood and establish her own law—not Gold, but the laws of stars, the moon, and the cold, icy night.
And the crucial point is her ability to utilize the Law of the Moon to tread the path to godhood.
However, if that ice-cold, dark mystical moon has undergone some unknown change, then her plan may need to be adapted... Massaging her temples in frustration, the Puppet Girl felt that plans often fail to keep pace with reality.
If she is unable to become a god...
Then—should she become a king?
A thought resurfaced in her mind, she vaguely grasped the key.