"The atmosphere in the
Leilin glanced up at the sky, where piercing alarms sounded from time to time, but paid them no mind and continued watering the flower beds with his watering can.
"Given the pace I set before, those giant serpents tainted by the Primordial
Leilin carried on with his work, unhurried.
In truth, after the initial fermentation, the corruption of Gluttony's Desire had already seeped into every layer of the Plains of Ten Thousand Serpents. Unless the entire plains were obliterated, the catastrophe would never disappear.
This was Leilin's confidence in his own scheme.
Moreover, after he had given it an extra push, the Primordial Force of Gluttony across the entire Plains of Ten Thousand Serpents had already reached an unstoppable level.
That terrifying power which allowed one to break through bottlenecks simply by consuming vast quantities, combined with the rich biological environment of the Plains of Ten Thousand Serpents and the sheer abundance of high-energy giant serpents—the combined effect was even more horrifying than Leilin had anticipated.
"At this rate, I'm afraid even the Fifth-rank and Sixth-rank giant serpents won't escape the corruption of the Power of Gluttony..."
A smile played at the corner of Leilin's lips. Even the Sixth-rank serpent clans on the Plains of Ten Thousand Serpents, facing such an overwhelming catastrophe, had no choice but to either migrate entirely, submit to the control of Gluttony's Desire, or become food. There was no other path available.
As for the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents?
Although she was an Eighth-rank existence, immensely powerful and the supreme ruler of the Heil Continent, the King of Gluttony
As the one who had mastered the Law of Gluttony, Beelzebub was likewise an Eighth-rank existence. Especially now that he had discovered the Infernal Realm and even used the Power of Gluttony to corrupt the entire Plains of Ten Thousand Serpents—even if Beelzebub wished to call a truce with the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, it was probably no longer possible.
As an invader, how could he abandon such a vital stretch of the Heil Continent?
By the same logic, unless the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents was willing to abandon the Holy City entirely and hand over the Plains of Ten Thousand Serpents, there was absolutely no way to reach an agreement with Beelzebub.
And if she chose to compromise and relinquish the Plains of Ten Thousand Serpents, it would be tantamount to inviting him to share dominion over the entire Heil Continent—which, for the Serpent Mother, amounted to nothing but slow suicide. Utterly unacceptable!
Therefore, the escalation of conflict between the two sides was entirely foreseeable.
"Rumble!" With a violent tremor, small pebbles on the ground began to bounce.
A phantom sphere of serpents, radiant as a star, began to materialize above the Holy City.
"It's the Mother of All!" "Great Holy Mother!" In an instant, the residents of the Holy City began to pray.
Leilin did the same on the surface, while secretly rallying all of his defenses.
Boom! Like a volcanic eruption, as if the heavens were splitting and the earth itself cracking apart. The ocean roared, and a terrifying wave of willpower radiated outward in all directions from the central statue of the Holy City.
From this overwhelming surge of will, Leilin could clearly sense the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' fury! The other free citizens could only press themselves flat against the ground, trembling violently.
"What Law does the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents command? Bloodline? Serpents? Or Procreation?"
On the surface, Leilin was identical to the surrounding residents—even more humble in expression—while secretly attempting to trace the source of her Law from the fluctuations of her released will.
"It seems to be a blend of several... with a Shadow element woven through..."
His remarkable knowledge, combined with the Chip's vast database, allowed Leilin to make out at least a little.
"Terrifying! This Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents has mastered more than one Law. She has begun fusing her comprehension, using Shadow as the binding agent to forge a new Law..."
The Eighth-rank realm was naturally far more powerful than the Seventh-rank, where one had only mastered a single Law. From her fluctuations, Leilin caught a glimpse of the path that lay ahead.
"A Seventh-rank
A hazy sense of enlightenment began to surface in Leilin's mind.
Although the path taken by the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents was not necessarily the correct one, compared to Leilin's own utter blindness, her demonstration still provided tremendous inspiration.
"Never mind that for now. The Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' outburst this time must mean she's discovered the corruption of Gluttony's power. The question is how Beelzebub will respond..."
Secretly, Leilin kept his attention fixed on the battlefield.
"I am the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents! The origin of all serpent bloodlines!" The serpent sphere in the void opened wide, revealing the enchanting face of the Serpent Mother, each strand of her hair radiating tremendous power as the void constantly warped around her.
Along with this transmission of thought, Leilin suddenly felt a far more intense searching force radiate outward.
"It seems she still hasn't given up looking for me? Or... has she deduced that I'm the one pulling the strings behind the scenes? But even if she has, what difference does it make?"
Leilin sneered inwardly.
What he had deployed this time was an open stratagem—essentially dangling the Infernal Realm and the Plains of Ten Thousand Serpents as bait to lure Beelzebub in.
As long as Beelzebub harbored any desire to conquer this world, he could never reach reconciliation with the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents.
Even if Beelzebub had suffered at Leilin's hands before, even if the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents was also Leilin's enemy—neither fact could change this.
Because to beings of their caliber, someone at Leilin's level was nothing more than an insect that could be crushed at will. Why would either side set aside their grudge to deal with him together?
And that was indeed the case. Once the two sides determined a victor, whichever side won would find dealing with Leilin no difficulty whatsoever.
What Leilin was purchasing was precisely this window of confrontation.
"Purify!"
In the void, the Serpent Mother's phantom opened her hands, her eyes brimming with compassion and mercy.
Golden holy light rained down like a deluge, centered on the Holy City and continuously expanding outward.
Small traces of dark-red corruption—seeping from grass roots, water sources, and even from the pores of certain giant serpents—were continuously expelled, then neutralized by the golden light and transformed into pure droplets of water.
"A Serpent Mother from the Shadow World, and she has achieved this degree of mastery over Light-system purification power? Truly worthy of being an ancient relic that survived the War of Ancient Ending! Absolutely no weaknesses..."
Leilin's pupils contracted slightly. The Chip was rapidly recording data, even beginning to simulate her true strength limits.
Although the current Chip couldn't possibly probe the full depths of such an existence's power, having even this trajectory was already excellent news for Leilin.
Under the golden holy light, the area around the Holy City was purified first, and then the range continued to expand, spreading deeper into the Plains of Ten Thousand Serpents.
Watching what should have been a worrying scene, Leilin's eyes held only a smile: "What a pity! If this corruption had been my work alone, the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' great power would have needed only a few more purifications to completely cleanse the entire Plains of Ten Thousand Serpents. But unfortunately... behind the Power of Gluttony, there is someone else!"
Whoosh! At that moment, a sudden change erupted!
The vast quantities of dark-red corruption, which the holy light had nearly annihilated, suddenly began to boil. Countless crimson points of light gathered together, coalescing into a massive dark-red sphere that floated in midair like a blood moon.
"Praise our Lord Beelzebub! You are the King of Gluttony! The beloved of primordial force! The master of all things in this world!"
Loud, frenzied hymns of praise began to echo across the sky of the Holy City, even battering against the Serpent Mother's barrier of holy light.
"This presence... you are—"
From within the golden holy light came the Serpent Mother's voice, shocked and furious, which was then drowned beneath a torrent of crimson lightning.
Crash! Crash! Crimson lightning writhed like massive dragons through the void, tearing open numerous fissures that revealed terrifyingly vast spatial rifts.
Two colossal hands—each bearing seven fingers connected by webs of flesh—gripped the edges of the rifts. Terrifying roars emanated from beyond, causing the spatial rifts to widen ever further.
The scene suggested that some horrifying existence was on the other side, squeezing its way through—and that was precisely what was happening!
"Beelzebub! You've finally lost your patience, haven't you? Then again, a place where the world's will is this chaotic must be paradise for you!"
Triumph gleamed in Leilin's eyes. In a vast world without a Gaia consciousness to interfere, Beelzebub had finally committed greater resources. Judging by the situation, even if it wasn't a full physical crossing, it was at least a soul clone carrying more than fifty percent of the original's power! For Beelzebub, such an investment—if lost—would severely damage his true body, plunging it into slumber or even extinction!
From this, one could gauge the depth of Beelzebub's determination!
"How dare you trespass upon my territory! Do you not regard the Ancient Pact?!"
If Beelzebub was filled with grim determination, the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents was seething with shock and fury—after all, regardless of who it was, being attacked at one's own doorstep never left anyone in a good mood.
Amid the Serpent Mother's furious interrogation, the golden holy light in the void underwent a sudden transformation. A layer of shadow slowly emerged, spreading like an immense net, vast and layered, pushing the crimson lightning entirely out of the Holy City's domain.
The Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, at last, had unleashed her true power before an equal!