Chapter 398 - 9: Elias and the World

After changing hands multiple times, Naisel City finally returned to the Naisel family.

In apocalyptic times, the significance of bloodlines fades. After all, humanity’s drive to reproduce is primarily to pass on one’s lineage—though some births are, of course, accidental. But if everyone knew the apocalypse was not just coming but inevitable, would people still be willing to have children, bringing new life into a world on the brink of destruction?

Regardless of what people might think, the reality was that the closer it got to the day of the End, the more the birth rate plummeted. As for ancient families and sacred bloodlines, they became utterly meaningless.

However, families like the Naisel family, who commanded a shelter, were an exception. Their existence was synonymous with the shelter’s existence. Even though the aristocracy had vanished for centuries, people still addressed their ’rulers’ with ancient titles, referring to these powerhouses who had built the Great Array and protected the region with reverence and affection.

After eradicating the evil, Su Zhou had nothing left to do. The rest was up to Elias. He left the square, careful not to steal the boy’s thunder, and found a random spot to sit down and begin his Cultivation.

Although Su Zhou’s Talent was terrifyingly high, he was also more diligent in his Cultivation than most Cultivators. Whenever he had a spare moment, regardless of where he was, he would sit and cultivate—even in a movie theater during a boring scene.

As for Elias, despite his young age, he acted with order and decorum. Seizing the opportunity presented by the public’s cheers over the death of the three enemy Elite Tier combatants, he immediately launched a series of actions to rally the populace.

Leveraging the deterrence of Su Zhou’s power, Elias first publicly demonstrated in the square that his Duke’s bloodline could resonate with the Sheltering Array. He then began restoring order, reorganizing the City Guard Army, and capturing the remaining Armored Soldiers who had not managed to escape, intending to interrogate them.

Regrettably, however, most of the Armored Soldiers committed suicide before they could be interrogated. Those who didn’t were killed by soul restraints. After death, a large number of them transformed into a strange, marine Race resembling Fishmen, which left the crowd marveling in astonishment.

Since interrogation was impossible, Elias skipped that step. He had the bodies around the Duke’s Mansion taken down from the gallows and returned to their families. Each victim’s family received appropriate compensation. Meanwhile, the locals who had chosen to collaborate with the enemy were rounded up one by one for public trials, allowing the people to vent their fury.

In fact, he did much more than that. Throughout the night, Elias took on many other tasks, such as assessing the current state of the Sheltering Array, calculating the losses from the city-wide destruction Su Zhou had caused, and checking for any lingering threats the enemy might have left behind in the various districts...

The most significant issue was the destruction caused by Su Zhou. After all, half of the Duke’s Mansion had been obliterated. As the boy tallied the damages, his face twitched with a pained expression. ’Sigh... at least half of it is still standing. Without Mr. Su, I wouldn’t have even inherited this much. All things considered, I still came out ahead.’

After this moment of self-consolation, he continued with his tasks. By the time he was done, Elias, who was only at the Initial Stage of a Formal Professional—the equivalent of the Initial Stage of the Awakened Level—was drenched in sweat, his shirt soaked through.

’This kid’s actually pretty capable,’

Su Zhou observed from the side, not interfering as the boy gradually reclaimed his authority. While it was true the gray-eyed youth had only managed everything so cleanly because of Su Zhou’s intimidating presence, their relationship was purely professional. Su Zhou felt no dissatisfaction, only a sense of admiration. ’If it were me at his age, I could never have handled things with such finesse.’

It was true. Su Zhou had never been good at that kind of planning. Back on Earth, similar tasks were always handled by Shao Qiming or his other allies. Su Zhou’s role was simply to charge in and do the killing.

"Mr. Su, thank you for waiting."

「Several hours later, at 5:43 AM.」

Having not slept all night, Elias found Su Zhou, who was sitting off to the side cultivating. Mustering his energy, he approached and spoke softly, hesitant to disturb him. "I’ve come to deliver the promised payment..."

"Good."

Su Zhou didn’t stand on ceremony. He opened his eyes, rose to his feet, and followed Elias into the half-destroyed Duke’s Mansion.

Although Su Zhou’s battle had destroyed most of the Duke’s Mansion, it was, after all, a Fortress Level structure. The destruction of one half didn’t prevent the other from being used. As it happened, the Naisel family’s study was located in the rear section of the mansion, untouched by Su Zhou’s attacks.

The study in the Duke’s Mansion was enormous—a hemispherical hall with walls lined from floor to ceiling with books of every kind. The structure itself was protected by its own independent defensive Array, giving it a magnificent, exquisite, and stately appearance.

’Whoa, they have a collection of Magic from all Four Major Elemental Systems, and even rare Spellbooks for their derivatives!’

Upon entering, Su Zhou’s eyes widened with just a single glance. He knew this place was a treasure trove. The Magic System of this Otherworld, while still an Extraordinary System that utilized Spiritual Qi, was vastly different from the Spiritual Cultivation he was used to.

As the saying goes, the stones of another mountain can be used to polish one’s own jade. Holding the Immortal God Inheritances from several in the Zhengguo Lineage, Su Zhou needed exactly this kind of unique and different knowledge to foster his own growth. The Naisel family’s vast collection would undoubtedly perfect his understanding of this new system!