Worlds’ Apocalypse Online

When the Demon Dragon entered the Bramble Bird Kingdom.

On the other side.

The border between the Strife Zones and the Mystic Zones.

The Soul Shrieker was being blocked by Black Hound.

Its long, high-pitched shriek slowly faded.

From the blurry fog, every hidden lifeform had their soul absorbed while their bodies were swept away by the wind of the space vortex.

Black Hound wielded the scepter of Death and remained where it was, completely intact.

「『 That is impossible! 」』

The Soul Shrieker stared closely at Black Hound's scepter, displaying an expression of disbelief for the first time.

「『 That era has long ago ended, the so-called Deities have already left to somewhere unknown. You should be nothing but specks of remnant dust that remained of that time, how could you wield the power of Death!? 」』

This seemed like a complaint, but it also felt like a question.

Black Hound simply stood still with a mysterious smile on its face.

「 Pitiful monster of the Abyss, you know nothing of the past, your understanding of Death's power itself is too crude 」

Loudly declaring so, Black Hound then secretly focused its mind on the scepter of Death.

It checked the scepter without changing its expression, but its heart slowly sank.

-------there wasn't much power of Death left on the scepter, and their battle had only just begun.

This monster of the Eternal Abyss------ the Soul Shrieker, was a powerful enemy.

Not only did it have the power of the Abyss but it was also the Envoy of [Chaos], capable of utilizing both powers.

To resist its shriek, Black Hound had to use the power of Death that was accumulated and saved over countless years on the scepter.

Ever since the Gods left this reality, ever since 'that' era, it became incredibly hard to obtain the power of Death.

All the power that remained on the scepter was gathered by Black Hound through countless years, a tiny strand at a time.

「 I don't believe it! The Age of Gods had already ended! 」

The Soul Shrieker howled.

Behind it, endless grey mist swirled and surged, slowly encroaching the sky above.

A voice emerged from inside the grey mist:

"Sir Envoy, this one has arrived at your summon"

Following him, another voice sounded from the grey mist:

"Following our agreement, I came at the Envoy's summon to fight for the sake of [Chaos]"

The voices didn't stop, as if more and more people were showing up within the grey mist.

"I've come"

"How interesting, sir Envoy is making me show myself so soon"

"Once I've been summoned, regardless of what kind of entity they are, they will fall at my hands!"

"Has the fight not begun yet?"

The grey mist slowly dissipated.

Over 10 people appeared behind the Soul Shrieker.

「『 I know you, bell ringer dog of the Holy Church of Death, you do not originally have such great power, capable of going up against myself with the power of [Chaos] 」』

The Soul Shrieker continued: 「『 Come, if you follow the will of the God of Death, let me see how long you can actually hold off those who carry [Chaos] 」』

It gave the orders.

The summoned carriers of [Chaos] dashed forward from behind towards Black Hound.

Black Hound silently complained but maintained a dignified expression.

Each of these people carry a unique [Chaos] UI, their strength has also surpassed Lord-class, so if I rely on my power alone, it would become a tough battle of attrition.

The Soul Shrieker would then immediately recognize my trick.

-------I can't let that happen!

Black Hound raised his scepter of Death and chanted:

「 As all things have a beginning, all things shall end 」

「 What originated from dirt will return to slumber in the dirt 」

「 Only the soul can surpass it all and enter the secret holy sanctuary of death 」

Its voice was suddenly raised:

「 Souls! 」

「 I am your master! 」

Shadowy light came forth from the scepter of Death and accurately illuminated the bodies of the carriers of [Chaos].

The charging carriers of [Chaos] fell down one by one.

Faint figures emerged from their bodies, led by the shadowy light into the air.

The figures were all struggling as much as they could, silently screaming and howling, trying everything they can to return to their bodies.

「 Souls, return to your slumber 」

Black Hound deeply chanted the final verse of the incantation.

Ooooooooooo-------

The scepter of Death emanated harrowing whispers of sorrow.

Facing this Death technique, nothing that the faint figures did was of any use.

They went into the scepter of Death one after another.

In a mere breath's worth of time.

The magic ended.

All the carriers of [Chaos] collapsed on the ground, no longer breathing.

Even though they each had their own [Chaos] UI, they were still powerless against this technique.

The Soul Shrieker's pupils contracted and shouted in horror:

「『 Whispers of the Death Deity! 」』

It couldn't help but take a step back, cautiously observing Black Hound.

This was an ancient powerful Deity technique that had been lost to history, only recorded in the bible of the Holy Church of Death, but never once had it been successfully performed for over hundreds of thousand years.

It was because of this that living beings know that the God of Death is no longer here.

But then, how did I see with my own eyes that technique being performed once more?

After unleashing its technique, Black Hound once again stared closely at the Soul Shrieker.

「 If you have any other means, you had better use them now 」

Black Hound waved the scepter of Death and casually declared.

While the other party was stunned, Black Hound used his mind to check the scepter again.

-----to reap the souls of those carriers of [Chaos] just now, all the power of Death stored in scepter had all been used up.

Seeing this, Black Hound slowly felt a sense of uncontrollable fear rising from its heart.

Without the scepter, with Black Hound's power alone, it had no way to go up against the Soul Shrieker.

It would be devoured whole by the other party.

「 Soul Shrieker, retreat now, in front of Death, you will not take even a single step forward 」

Black Hound maintained a calm expression and spoke with a deep, harrowing voice.

Facing it, the Soul Shrieker was indeed not making any movements.

「『 Bastard, this should be impossible 」』

The Soul Shrieker whispered and kept its eyes on Black Hound.

It is only a servant of a lost Deity; how could it still have so much power?

What other thing is it capable of?

The Soul Shrieker clenched its fist tightly and silently considered the difference in strength between the two of them.

Perhaps, I should probe it first?

While the Soul Shrieker was about to make its impulsive decision, it noticed something changed.

Wait------

This black dog-------

Its originally raised tail is slowly lowering and is keeping it close between its legs.

What does that mean?

Is it also making some sort of preparation and is also waiting for the moment I charge forward to strike?

The Soul Shrieker was hesitant and gave up on the idea of charging forward recklessly.

…

On the other side.

Black Crow was bringing Su Xue Er, Anna, and Ning Yue Chan flying through the space vortex.

"Do your best! Crow Deity!"

Anna encouraged it.

"Don't worry, Anna, we will definitely make it to the Bramble Bird Kingdom before the Soul Shrieker does" Black Crow informed her.

Anna's expression turned a bit sorrowful and muttered: "I wonder how the Hound Deity is doing right now"

"Don't mind it, it's been through a lot and is a lot more reliable than it appears, there shouldn't be any issues" Black Crow answered.

"But he has a big weakness, I'm just afraid that the enemy might see through it right away" Anna replied.

"Weakness?" Black Crow asked in surprise.

"Hm, he can't conceal his true emotions" Anna sighed.

A warm hand placed itself on Anna's shoulder.

It was Su Xue Er.

"Anna, don't worry, even if the servant of God can't handle it, he would still be able to escape more easily compared to us" Su Xue Er consoled her.

Anna nodded.

The two of them then looked to the other side.

The female cultivator wearing flowing silk clothing was standing alone in front, observing the endless space vortex.

Anna thought for a bit, then walked up and asked: "I still haven't thanked you for saving us"

Ning Yue Chan didn't turn around and simply replied: "Don't mind it too much"

Su Xue Er insisted: "How could I not mind the debt of my life? And I have a suggestion for you"

"Say it"

Su Xue Er pointed to Anna: "How about you give the authority of waking up the [Order] to my friend, she and I will continue on our way alone to the Bramble Bird Kingdom. You won't need to return, as the Bramble Bird Kingdom will surely become a great field of battle very soon"

After a moment of silence, Ning Yue Chan's voice gained a bit of warmth: "…Thank you for your consideration, but I must return no matter what"

"Why?" Su Xue Er curiously asked.

Ning Yue Chan lowered her head, then answered gently but resolutely: "Because the one I have been waiting for is there"

This immediately changed the atmosphere between the three girls.

For the girls, this statement contained a topic of girls' talk that never got boring.

Su Xue Er and Anna exchanged glances.

Anna tried asking directly: "I'm sorry for asking but, is it your Dao companion?"

Ning Yue Chan turned around and smiled: "Not to that degree, not yet"

"Ah----"

Anna and Su Xue Er both uttered the same exclamation filled with implications.

This woman is a soldier of the Bramble Bird Kingdom, which means the one she loves surely belongs to the Bramble Bird Kingdom as well, perhaps a childhood friend, or a fellow soldier.

How strange.

The tense atmosphere of the situation had been defused completely by this topic.

--------their situation hadn't gotten any less urgent compared to earlier, but through these words, the three girls all calmed down and even got a bit closer to one another.

Anna pointed at Su Xue Er, then at herself and spoke: "She's called Su Xue Er, 18 years old. I'm Anna, 19 years old, can I ask how old you are currently?"

"I'm a bit older than you two, 22 years old this year" Ning Yue Chan replied.

"Then I'll call you big sis------- I'm truly curious what kind of person the man you missed so dearly would be like" Su Xue Er smiled a bit and said.

"Why so?" Ning Yue Chan asked.

"Your Blade technique is too excellent, a normal person wouldn't be able to reach that level, yet your beauty is unrivaled, not to mention your generous and gentle nature. Even I feel greatly drawn to you, so I really want to know what kind of person would cause a person like yourself to fall so deeply" Su Xue Er sincerely answered her.

"You praise me too much. There's no need to focus only on me, what about you two?" Ning Yue Chan felt a bit awkward and avoided the question.

"We-------"

Su Xue Er and Anna faced one another, then helplessly sighed: "We seem to be a bit unfortunate, as we both fell in love with the same man"

Ning Yue Chan had already noticed this a while ago and asked: "What kind of person is he?"

"Ah, it's quite hard to say. Hm, he's also a cultivator"

"Really?"

Ning Yue Chan was a bit more interested and pursued: "What kind of path does he cultivate? You should know, it is possible to guess the general personality and behaviours according to the different paths that a cultivator focused themselves on"

"Is that really the case?" Anna was also interested.

"Indeed, this has been confirmed since long ago" Ning Yue Chan nodded.

Su Xue Er also felt intrigued and replied: "I guess it doesn't hurt to tell you, in the terms of cultivators, he's actually a sword cultivator"

"A sword cultivator?"

Ning Yue Chan's long and thin eyelashes raised a bit, her expression turned grim.

Noticing the change in her expression, Su Xue Er and Anna asked at the same time:

"What's wrong with sword cultivators?"

Ning Yue Chan scoffed and replied: "Most cultivators who use swords nowadays choose the path of deviousness. This represents that they themselves are constantly swaying without true allegiance"

"Taking it a bit further, there are very few sword cultivators who can actually be considered true men------- personally, I think sword cultivators, in general, are nothing decent regardless of gender"

With a displeased look on her face, Ning Yue Chan continued: "And here I was wondering what happened, turns out it was a sword cultivator who used devious means to make the both of you pledge your true love. Furthermore, making you live in such a tattered and sorrowful state, I hate this kind of person"

Anna and Su Xue Er were both shocked.

"Ah, about that, we actually did this on our own" Anna awkwardly denied it.

Su Xue Er also sighed and told her: "That's right, he didn't use any devious means on us, it's just that we were both already in love with him before we knew it"

Hearing their words, Ning Yue Chan was even more displeased.

She placed her hand on her Blade and casually said:

"There's no need for you to make any excuses for this kind of man. Once we return to the Bramble Bird Kingdom, I'll help you see clearly just how he truly is"

Intense Blade qi radiated from her body.

Su Xue Er and Anna exchanged glances, both seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes.

Indeed, the first thing Ning Yue Chan did was save the two of them.

And it was also because Ning Yue Chan was worried that they had run into some sort of scum that she was acting like this.

Anna recognized this, and so did Su Xue Er.

That was why they couldn't do anything but stay silent, not knowing how to clear Gu Qing Shan's name.