Chapter 272: Star, the U.S. (7)

Chapter 272: Star, the U.S. (7)

The children of ‘Tian Shi Yuan’ created the <Society> named <Troop> when they left the <Purple Star Astrology>. However, the <Purple Star Astrology> did not just leave them be. After all, although the Emperor’s Seat had been sealed, he still had quite a number of followers.

However, from the perspective of the <Purple Star Astrology>, the <Troop> was just a headless lump of meat. That was why Richardus, who proclaimed himself as the heir of ‘Tian Shi Yuan,’ conducted a large-scale punitive expedition and defeated the <Troop> members several times. Many of the <Troop> members broke away from the <Society> and rejoined the <Purple Star Astrology> as a result, but it also strengthened the remaining <Troop> members’ bond.

“How are the preparations going?” Qi Gong asked. As the acting leader of the <Troop>, his siblings trusted him as much as they trusted the Emperor’s Seat.

“We have completed them according to your command.” Lie Si bowed deeply.

Lie Si was one of the Emperor’s Seat’s Thirteen Commanders just like Qi Gong, yet he still volunteered to become Qi Gong’s right-hand man.

“I told you this several times already, but we can’t tolerate any mistakes in this mission. Our future depends on this mission,” Qi Gong said firmly.

His order was very simple—Earth invasion. The planet itself wasn’t actually special. Among the myriad of planets in this universe, Earth was an especially small one, and the civilization and people it housed were no different—pathetic and barbaric.

That was why many <Heaven> Celestials didn’t know about Earth. However, most of the <Stars> in the <Purple Star Astrology> and <Horoscope> knew about it for a very simple reason: it was the center of the worlds and universes. The universes expanded limitlessly, so they technically had no center, but if one had to be picked, it would be Earth due to its special characteristics.

<Supreme Light> and <Dull Darkness> were the foundations of this universe, and <Deus Ex Machina> was its representative. Earth was their birthplace.

Many Celestials’ <Myths> were born and died on that hidden battlefield, and it also happened to be where <Dull Darkness>’ body was buried during his long sleep.

All <Stars> desired to have the body of <Dull Darkness>, who was also known as R’lyeh, because of the legend about this universe being his dream. If that legend was true, then obtaining his body would make one the ruler of the universe! For that reason, the <Horoscope> and <Purple Star Astrology> Celestials had been looking for a way to branch out to Earth for quite some time now.

They even opened up Dungeons and Gates and turned people of abilities into their apostles. Through them, the Celestials then installed devices everywhere on Earth to search for R’lyeh.

Qi Gong was aiming for it as well. What if he could snatch away R’lyeh, which the <Horoscope> and the <Purple Star Astrology> desperately wanted? What if he could keep interfering with their operations to prevent anyone from obtaining R’lyeh, even if it meant he wouldn’t be able to get his hands on him either? What if he could make the <Horoscope> and <Purple Star Astrology> Celestials burn the bridge?[1]

Due to Chang-Sun’s continuous interference, the <Horoscope> and <Purple Star Astrology> Celestials couldn’t be on worse terms right now. Moreover, the <Olympus> Celestials, who had been laying low all this time, recently began to come into conflict with those two <Societies>. The <Maleakhe> and <L’Infernal> Celestials were rumored to be looking for a chance to take action as well.

Depending on the <Troop> members’ next move, they could put the entire <Heaven> in chaos. They refused to miss this chance. Qi Gong believed that now was the golden opportunity to turn the tide.

The law of causality prevented the <Troop> members from directly invading Earth, but they could at least circumvent the law. Besides, they currently happened to have a good ally by their side.Ñøv€lRapture marked the initial hosting of this chapter on Ñôv€lß¡n.

“I’ll repeat that in my mind again and again and bring a victory to you and the <Troop>.” Lie Si bowed deeper, then turned in the opposite direction.

Lie Si walked downstairs, his eyes looking upon quite a number of soldiers standing in a perfect formation. They were the old Ninth Corps, and he had decided to be with them until the end.

Among the Ninth Corps soldiers standing in the front was a foreign being that didn’t blend in. It was a Gray Elf with gray skin, pointy ears, and a serious look. Kali had left Chang-Sun and headed to where Durga was with Gyeo-Ul, so she shouldn’t be here. Nevertheless, she stood in formation as if she was meant to be there.

* * *

For a moment, Chang-Sun really wasn’t sure what Pabilsag was talking about.

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ looks at a certain Celestial with contempt.]

[The Celestial ‘Twilight-Piercing Owl’ turns her head to the side with her face reddened.]

[The Celestial ‘War-Loving Fighting Deity’ snorts in excitement, clenching his fists.]

[The Celestial’ Sky and Earth’s Connecting Wing’ covers his face with his hands but amusedly takes a peek through his index and middle fingers.]

...

[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ looks at her daughter with disdain.]

...

Jörmungandr, Minerva, the other Numen, Tiamat... messages from numerous Celestials started to flow in.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ tilts her head in confusion, asking everyone what’s wrong.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ asks the Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ about how in the world they are supposed to react. He adds that he admires her courage to say such a thing with so many people around.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ is confused about what the Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ is saying.]

[The Celestial ‘World-Encircling Serpent’ tilts his head in confusion.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ tilts her head in confusion.]

The conversation between Pabilsag and Jörmungandr swiftly reached an impasse.

He could not feel any time flow in this place, which didn’t even look like space, so how could Pabilsag help him?

[The Celestial ‘Primordial Evil Dragon’ sarcastically says that she will be the one helping you, not her daughter.]

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ pretends not to hear her mother.]

It seemed both Pabilsag and Tiamat were trying to help him.

‘Is this about helping me with Fulgurator?’ Chang-Sun wondered.

Celestials like Tiamat would have noticed that Chang-Sun had run into his limit by now. That was how hard Fulgurator—the sixth chapter of the Secret Darkness Techniques—was to master. However, that was not due to Chang-Sun’s lack of knowledge but rather because of the very deep secret <Darkness> harbored.

Hence, even if it took some time, Chang-Sun decided to increase his physical level several times instead by completing the rune sentences to master Fulgurator. However, Tiamat and Pabilsag believed that even that would not be enough, so they suggested that he should master it while he was trapped in this place created by [Space Severance].

[The Celestial ‘Abyss-Chasing Great Devil’ silently observes you.]

Chang-Sun furtively glanced in Mephistopheles’ direction to figure out what he thought about the idea, but he didn’t seem to care at all. Chang-Sun took that as a sign that if he really wanted to become Mephistopheles’ disciple, he should fully decrypt [Prelati’s Spellbook] and master the Secret Darkness Techniques even if he had to receive somebody else’s help to do it. Chang-Sun turned to Tiamat and Pabilsag and nodded, deciding it would be best to get a good use out of his time since he could not get out of here anyway.

[The Celestial ‘A Good Season to Hunt’ has sent you an invitation to her divine ground.]

[Will you accept the invitation?]

「An invitation from both Tiamat and Pabilsag?」

「... That’s pretty remarkable.」

Armand and Dria were quite surprised. Tiamat and Pabilsag were known to rarely socialize with others, so their invitation indicated how much they adored Chang-Sun. Tiamat’s affection for Chang-Sun was great enough to surprise Armand, who had been staying by Chang-Sun’s side.

Since Chang-Sun was Tiamat’s ally, she probably wanted to help him make good use of his time. Sensing Pabilsag and Tiamat’s good intentions, he was about to accept the invitation, but before he could...

Ding!

Ding!

[The Celestial ‘Tsunami Bringer’ has sent you an invitation!]

[The Celestial ‘Antlered Animal King’ has sent you an invitation!]

[The Celestial ‘Plague Monarch’ has sent you an invitation!]

...

“...?”

「...?」

「...?」

Chang-Sun, Armand, and Dria’s eyes widened when a very long streak of messages popped up before them so quickly that they wondered if the system itself was going to break down.

[You have received a total of 216,229 invitations.]

Many Celestials showed interest in Chang-Sun during the apostle battle, but he didn’t expect to receive this many invitations!

The number of viewers during the apostle battle was a little less than two hundred thousand. Considering only a part of those viewers sent invitations, the number of Celestials watching him right now seemed to have drastically increased again.

Moreover, most Celestials were so supreme that their own apostles rarely met them in person. Hence, the number of invitations Chang-Sun received could be seen as an indication of how fervently they wanted to have him.

[Many deities are showing interest in you.]

[Many stars are intrigued by you.]

They probably sent out invitations because they thought this was their chance to talk with Chang-Sun in person. Chang-Sun had planned this in advance, so he was quite content with the current situation. However, he was still rendered speechless.

[The Celestial ‘Taurus’ has sent you an invitation!]

Bel-Marduk had noticed who Chang-Sun really was, so Chang-Sun certainly did not expect him to send an invitation as well, yet here it was.

1. Burn the bridge as in the idiomatic expression. ☜