Chapter 1898 - 1897: He Ao Rises from the Coffin

"Why?" Lante looked at the old general in front of him.

"Ilotan," Corvey looked at Lante, "That is the key trade route in the Central Federation, the throat city of the central region. Most logistical supplies from the west must be transported through Ilotan to the east."

"But Ilotan is now controlled by Eric," Lante quickly moved the map to the Central Federation, "Eric won’t possibly allow supplies from the Gray Stone Palace to be transported smoothly to the east."

He looked at Lante, with a touch of emotion, and said, "According to the latest news from Eric, they’ve faced and defeated the Mercenary Corps of Rockville Energy Group head-on, and for a short time, neither the corporations nor the Gray Stone Palace should be able to deal with them."

"I’ve seen those battle reports," Corvey nodded, "Their commander is very talented."

"Ilotan has stuck the logistical channel of the Gray Stone Palace army," Lante looked at the map in front of him, "They surely have excess supplies, but these supplies can’t sustain long-term warfare."

Lante shifted the map back to the southeast, "Kaye City’s geographical position is deeper. Attacking Kaye City requires long-term deep operation. Their logistical support may not last until the occupation of Kaye City."

Lante turned his gaze back to Corvey, "So now, instead, we who are closer to the Gray Stone Palace, have become the ’easiest’ target to deal with."

Knock, knock, knock—

Just as he finished speaking, urgent knocking sounded outside the office.

"Come in." Lante lifted his gaze, looking toward the office door.

"Mr. Mayor, General Corvey," a young officer staggered in, his voice trembling, "outside the North Gate and South Gate, we’ve detected a large approaching mechanized force, including the Federation Central Army and several corporate emblems."

"They’re here," Lante withdrew his gaze and looked at Corvey before him, "A tough battle lies ahead, I’m afraid."

"There’s not much tactic or method on the front battlefield," Corvey slowly stood up, "It’s only a hard confrontation."

"If we can hold on until their logistical resources are exhausted," Lante took a deep breath, looking at Corvey, "there’s hope for victory. Is there any chance?"

"In battlefield matters, all we can do is give our all," Corvey slightly shook his head, "but as long as they don’t deploy powers beyond the usual Extraordinary Power, our warriors are capable of facing any adversity."

"Mr. Levi is still in the city; they wouldn’t dare use forces beyond specifications," Lante took a deep breath, "There’s an understanding among their Angels."

This time, Corvey did not answer directly, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Dong—

At this moment, another young officer rushed in, looking at Lante anxiously, "Mr. Mayor, General Corvey, a large number of undead creatures have appeared outside the West City."

"What?" Lante’s eyes widened abruptly, "Undead Mage? Or the Church of the Grim Reaper?"

He dialed a number on the phone beside him.

Quickly, as the call connected, a slightly panicked voice came from the other side, "Mr. Mayor, Mr. Levi has disappeared."

Lante lifted his head to look at the old general before him.

However, Corvey seemed to have anticipated what was happening. He showed no emotion or confusion and simply took the military cap from the desk and put it on his head, gazing at Lante, "The warriors of Yilan City won’t retreat for any reason."

——

Vissen

"Ai Luoti, what do you mean?" The Red Giant’s gaze swept over the girl in the black dress who was diving down from the sky toward Anke. After a brief pause, he suddenly realized something, raised his hands, and laughed loudly, "Death and the undead are my master’s authority!"

He looked towards Anke below and abruptly flipped his palm.

The vast plains around surged with a cold and surging wind wave, which then gathered and wrapped around Anke’s body, stabilizing his dispersing soul.

"Ah~~~"

A certain ancient and distant song rang out between heaven and earth, the skeletal remains composed of bones shook with the song, it was a solace from the Netherworld, a guide from death.

Anke’s gaze fixed on the black coffin was gradually obscured by an invisible gray haze. He suddenly couldn’t recall what he intended to do, couldn’t remember why he was standing there.

"Rest, rest, child," a gentle call resonated in his ears, and a pair of slightly cold yet slender hands cradled his cheeks, "I know you are very tired, it’s okay not to fight anymore."

A warm embrace gently hugged him, burying his body in the embrace, like returning to the initial warmth of a mother, "Rest, rest, child..."

"Ah~~~"

The distant song echoed between heaven and earth, traveled among the souls.

Intense drowsiness engulfed the young man’s soul without a sound.

"It’s time to rest~" Ai Luoti raised her hand, a purple illusory shadow appeared before her, embracing Anke. Her voice turned soft and gentle, like that of a tender mother comforting her child, soothing the agitated soul.

The previously scattered and tumultuous soul gradually came to rest at this moment.

But the bright red blood still flowed from his wounds, spilling onto the ground, absorbed by the grayish soil.

The cold purple glow began to wind around Anke’s legs, slowly permeating his body, staining his entire body piece by piece in gray and white.

The power from the Netherworld was reconstructing his body structure, gradually transforming him into an undead creature.

Of course, Ai Luoti had a way to save him, but instead of saving an enemy, it was better to transform him into a soul more stable and easily controlled by Netherworld powers, becoming an undead.

The purple radiance wrapped tightly around the coffin once again, illuminating the entire Array with its magnificent brilliance.

In the layers of clouds in the firmament, terrifying and twisted forces reappeared.

The clouds parted, tumbling, as if something dreadful was descending upon this world through the invisible connection.

"Hahaha," the Red Giant Sulan lifted his head, looking at the scene in the sky, and couldn’t help laughing out loud, "Ai Luoti, you still have some stuff."

"Can you not be so loud!" Ai Luoti turned her head to glance at him, "This is just a mortal; if we can’t handle it, we’ll be the laughing stock of the entire Federation."

"Spread to the starry sky," Sulan replied with a grin, "and it becomes the starry sky’s laughing stock."

Just as Ai Luoti turned her head, Anke’s body trembled slightly, his mouth opened slightly, and a hoarse, wind-swept voice emerged from his mouth, "I..."

"You should rest, child, you should rest..." Ai Luoti urgently maneuvered the illusion to hold Anke tightly, speaking softly.

"I..." Anke’s body trembled slightly, his previously restless body quieted down once more.

"You should rest..." Ai Luoti gently uttered, her soft words rippled like invisible waves, spreading into Anke’s body, spreading into Anke’s soul, forcibly suppressing Anke’s consciousness.

Deep in the silent soul, the surging purple glow flickered intensely.

"Ai Luoti, could it be that you really can’t suppress this mortal?" Red Giant Sulan couldn’t resist speaking.

"As the node of the ritual, a large amount of mystic power has threaded through his soul, connecting with Denos," Ai Luoti couldn’t help but say, "Also, what the heck are you summoning, that thing’s power is affecting his soul, making it increasingly active."

"This is no mere thing!" Hearing Ai Luoti’s words, Sulan just looked up at the sky, smiled, "When you see it fully, you’ll also be awe-struck."

Above the rolling white clouds, a giant, seemingly iron-capped tip gradually pierced the cloud layer.

And at this moment, Anke in the Illusion’s arms suddenly raised his head, "I still have unfinished business, I can’t rest yet..."

Ai Luoti immediately tried to control him, and surging purple radiance continuously flowed into his body.

But in the next moment, Anke’s entire body began to violently destabilize, "I still have things to do, not finished yet!"

With the instability of his body, the surrounding Array also began to destabilize, and the spire piercing through the clouds started to slowly retract.

"Ai Luoti! Can you handle it or not!" Sulan suddenly lowered his head and looked down at Ai Luoti.

"Do something!" Ai Luoti shouted angrily, "What on earth are you summoning? The influence that’s being transmitted is so intense."

Sulan suddenly closed his mouth, raised his hand, and the gray-white on the ground began to spread towards Anke’s body at a visible speed.

A boom echoed —

And at this moment, the black Coffin tightly wrapped with chains of purple radiance began to tremble violently.

It seemed as if some terrifying power inside was trying to forcefully break out of the Coffin.

The tightly sealed Coffin lid seemed, at a certain moment, to have been forcibly pushed open a crack, only to be forced shut before anything inside could escape.

"What happened?" Ai Luoti looked at the constantly trembling pitch-black Coffin, "Where did Denos get the power from? Won’t he break through the Seal? Is your Seal reliable?"

"This guy’s been showing weird signs since his appearance," Sulan said casually, "But don’t worry, this Seal is bestowed by my lord, and even if it’s just a random Seal, it’s not something he can break. All he’s doing now is just wasting his efforts."

Another boom —

As his words fell, the Coffin inside made another violent booming sound. The black Coffin swelled with the wind, instantly growing to the size of a person, and the previously sealed Coffin lid was forcibly pushed open to a crack as wide as a finger.

The pitch-black radiance attempted to burst forth from the crack but was immediately pressed back by the closing Coffin lid, Sealed within the Coffin.

"Does your Seal really work?" Ai Luoti turned her head to look at Sulan.

"Maybe over time," now even Sulan wasn’t so sure, awkwardly replied, "the power of the Divine Being has somewhat dissipated."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, and rays of red radiance rained from his palm onto the dazzling Array, which then erupted with surging radiance.

Streaks of red-purple radiance lit up on the Array, then converged on the pitch-black Coffin, forming new chains of radiance that wrapped around the black Coffin, squeezing it down little by little until it returned to its original palm-sized state.

Boom —

The impacts within the Coffin continued, causing the entire Coffin to enlarge once more.

But this time, the Coffin lid remained unbudged, and the chains wrapped the Coffin once again, shrinking it down.

Boom boom boom —

Continuous violent booming sounds echoed within the Coffin, the pitch-black Coffin constantly enlarging and shrinking swiftly.

Yet, from beginning to end, the Coffin did not open again.

"It’s stabilized!" Sulan looked at the flickering Coffin and laughed.

He raised his head, the twisted and terrifying power once again spread from above the cloud layer, and the iron spire pierced through the cloud layer, quickly descending.

Soon, the arc structure above the spire also gradually revealed itself.

"Quiet, quiet, quiet..."

Ai Luoti controlled Anke’s actions, finally forcibly suppressing Anke’s soul.

She also raised her head, looking towards the cloud layer above and the spire piercing through the clouds and descending.

"What is that thing? A kind of iron tower?" She looked somewhat dazedly at the descending spire, "What are you summoning?"

At this time, the entire cloud layer seemed to be under some sort of heavy pressure, quickly thinning, quickly scattering to both sides.

The spire piercing through the clouds also further revealed its complete form.

At this moment, Ai Luoti finally recognized what it was.

It was a gigantic, inverted helmet.

No, not a helmet.

As the cloud layer dispersed, the pauldrons below the helmet also faintly appeared.

It wasn’t a helmet, but a suit of armor, no, a corpse wearing armor.

Boom —

Also at this instant, as if countless whispers overlapped together, an explosion resonated in Ai Luoti’s mind, almost destroying her Reason instantly.

Surging purple radiance erupted from her body, forming an invisible barrier, as if helping her block some kind of unseen and terrifying contamination.

She immediately bowed her head, trembling and taking deep breaths.

An unseeable God!

That was not a corpse, that was a Divine Being.

That was the remnant of a Divine Being!

"It’s appeared, it’s appeared," but at this time, Sulan gazed at the inverted corpse slowly descending from the sky, only excitement surged in his eyes, "It’s done, it’s done, my lord did not deceive me!"

"Who is that actually?" Ai Luoti trembled, bowed her head, breathing heavily, "Can Divine Beings also die?"

"It’s the War God." A gentle yet aged voice, sounded by her ear.

She was slightly stunned, suddenly turned her head to look beside her.

Streams of pitch-black radiance, at some unknown time, entwined around her body, wrapped around Anke’s body in front of her, like dust clouds, covering all the surrounding area.

She looked up to see the source of the pitch-black radiance, only to find a Coffin standing upright in the sky, a person tall, densely covered with patterns.

At this moment, most of the chains wrapping the Coffin had already snapped, with only the streams of purple radiance chains still tightly wrapped around the Coffin.

Bang —

And as Ai Luoti gazed upon it, fine cracks spread across the surface of the black Coffin.

Boom —

The seemingly indestructible pitch-black Coffin shattered instantly.