Lord of Prayer - Chapter 186 144: A Name

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The sky was veiled in a strange, gray fog. Black smoke, laden with the sediment of calamity, spewed from smokestacks that stood like a forest of towers. A magnificent kingdom forged from steel stood tall upon this land of the Abyss.

Steam roared and gears turned. A colossal steel furnace, like the remains of a star, burned day and night, powering the capital. The depths of the earth echoed with the rumble of the furnace’s core. Terrifying, scorching winds spewed endlessly from heat vents, keeping the temperature of this entire vast layer of the Abyss at a constant high.

Steel creatures operated massive machines, dumping entire, freshly mined mountains below.

Amidst the roar of moving steel, an iron cage a full ten kilometers wide moved slowly above the furnace. The next second, the cage opened. Accompanied by shrill screams that echoed through Hell, despair spread as countless Abyssal Demons rained down, becoming fuel.

Seventy percent of the fuel required by the furnace was Ore mined from the Abyss. The remaining thirty percent was entire Abyssal Races.

Deep within the capital, inside a majestic and immortal palace.

A figure sat on a throne forged from countless rare metals. It was a suit of black armor, reflecting a cold glint that would make all life in the world feel a chill. Its iron-cast face was solemn and dignified, like an emperor looking down upon the mortal realm.

The throne’s back was a riot of sharp angles stretching upward, its spikes pointing to the sky like sharp sword blades, exuding a formidable aura.

The eternal monarch of the Steel Divine Kingdom, the Supreme Being of the Endless Hell, a former God of the mortal world, and the current overlord of the Abyss.

—The God of Ten Thousand Steels!

“The matter is done.”

The long silence was broken by a voice. At some unknown point, a phantasmal figure had appeared in the cold hall. It had no fixed form; its appearance changed every moment.

A human male, a human female, a cat, a dog, a bird, a fish, a beast, a deep-sea tentacled monster, and even more bizarre Abyssal Demons…

Without exception, each form was the pinnacle of beauty within its respective race, possessing a fatal Charm Power. A sacred, hazy light emanated from it, and wherever it went, all living beings would fall into an endless carnival, welcoming ultimate joy.

—The Abyssal King – Lord of Joy!

“I’ve received the news. What reward does Evelyn want?” the God of Ten Thousand Steels asked coldly.

“An Abyssal Race for her to vent on will suffice,” the Lord of Joy, its form ever-shifting, chuckled lightly.

“Fine.” The God of Ten Thousand Steels nodded.

‘Just a single Abyssal Race. A very worthwhile trade.’

“I, for one, am curious. Why are you paying attention to a soulless robot?” the Lord of Joy asked.

“I am preparing for war.”

A scarlet light reflected in the eyes of the Tyrant on the steel throne. “You should be well aware that the Abyss’s active period is fast approaching. Hell will expand into the void, and before us will lie a brand-new, fertile land.”

‘That will be the best time to expand our territory.’

To build an eternal, immortal, and glorious kingdom, it would inevitably require even greater power.

And the Godslaying Weapon… within that lifeless thing’s body was the Authority it needed.

“Besides, you don’t understand humans.”

The God of Ten Thousand Steels said, “I’ve known about the Godslaying Weapon project for a long time. If you were to ask what in this world is most ambitious, I would only answer with the chief scientists of the Star Association. Their fantasies are so wild they want to create a killing machine that embodies the pinnacle of human wisdom, to be used to slay Gods and destroy the Abyss.

What’s more terrifying is that their wild fantasies often become reality. The Godslaying Weapon will inevitably become a major threat in the future.”

“That’s impossible,” the Lord of Joy sneered.

‘How could a mere lifeless machine possibly slay a supreme God, let alone destroy the Abyss?’

A while ago, the Star Association deployed the Annihilation Cannon, and the War God and the God of Storms attacked simultaneously, yet they only managed to injure the King of Chaos.

Slaying a God is no easy task.

“Perhaps,” the God of Ten Thousand Steels said, not explaining further.

But it was very clear on what taboos the Star Association was plotting.

As the Lord of Joy’s projection gradually faded, the cold steel hall fell into silence.

And in the long silence, a command from the Steel Tyrant had already been issued to the front lines.

Endless slaughter, endless death, endless pillaging… Countless layers of the Abyss fell to the flames of war under the Supreme Being’s will. The fearless Steel Legion threw itself into a fanatical conquest, its iron hooves cruelly trampling every inch of abyssal soil.

It wanted war!

It wanted to build a legacy for the ages!

Gods are immortal. As long as it existed, this ambition would tyrannically ravage the Abyss and the mortal world!

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“So, this shouldn’t have anything to do with me, right?”

In the office, Zhou Chen looked at the still-warm file and began to skillfully pass the buck. “I’m no verbal powerhouse. How could I have talked the Godslaying Weapon into awakening with just a few words? It must be a Demon’s plot!”

Jiang Che glanced at him and said calmly, “The Godslaying Weapon awakening its individual consciousness was only a matter of time. No one is going to hold you responsible. Instead of obsessing over that, you’d better start concocting a story about where you got that Cursed Blade.”

“Oh, that. Hermes gave it to me.” Zhou Chen didn’t so much as blush, shamelessly pinning the blame on the silent Hermes. “After he got the Hammer of Forging, he forged the fragments of Destined Death into the Cursed Blade. Said it was a reward for the Hero.

By the way, I accidentally saw something confidential. No one’s going to investigate that?”

Back then, when the Godslaying Weapon detected a signal fluctuation of the same origin and opened an Any Door, he had accidentally seen a group of Crowned Kings on the other side. So many Tier Five beings gathered together, and in the freezing Land of Extreme Cold no less, they were probably on some secret mission.

Jiang Che said casually, “That matter isn’t much of a secret. There’s a Restricted Area in the Arctic where the Energy is extremely active. It’s suspected to be on the verge of unsealing, so they were dispatched there as a precaution.

Hermes entered that Restricted Area before. He said there’s a Tier Five Ice Dragon inside that holds the Authority of the Frost Realm. It can be killed to supplement the Winter King.”

Hearing this, the great weight in Zhou Chen’s heart was lifted. Not having to take the blame was a good thing.

He cheerfully continued flipping through the file, which also contained Qin Xu’s memories, clearly describing the entire sequence of events.

After losing his daughter, Qin Xu was overcome with grief. He traveled through many countries and tried many methods, but none could resurrect Qin Duoduo. Just as he had fallen into utter despair, a Demon approached him, claiming it could revive his daughter. In the end, with no other options, Qin Xu signed a contract with it.

The contract’s contents were in very poor taste: Qin Xu needed to find women who resembled Qin Duoduo, have relations with them to establish a so-called master-servant contract, and once he had gathered enough facial features similar to Qin Duoduo’s, the Demon would resurrect her.

The reason the Demon gave was that she was a demon of desire and procreation. The “Energy” produced by the act of mating would bring her joy and also become her Power.

Qin Xu could only comply, constantly searching for suitable targets.

In the process, Qin Xu’s subconscious was gradually influenced. At first, he was disgusted and contemptuous of his own actions, but after just a few days, he became hopelessly addicted, growing ever more lustful.

Upon seeing that the Desire Demon had taken it upon itself to add fragments of the Godslaying Weapon into Qin Duoduo’s body, Zhou Chen frowned, stroking his chin in thought for a moment.

“The Desire Demon’s ultimate goal was actually the Godslaying Weapon?”

“No. To be precise, at the very beginning, the Desire Demon Evelyn did indeed want to help Qin Xu resurrect his daughter. Then, she would watch as Qin Xu lost control of his desires and forced himself upon Qin Duoduo in a relationship that transcended ethics, and she would enjoy their various reactions. The Desire Demon has done this sort of thing countless times and never tires of it.”

Jiang Che continued, “However, after the Battle of Jinzhu, the Desire Demon’s goal changed because it picked up a core fragment from the Godslaying Weapon. With a little manipulation, it could lure the Godslaying Weapon to it.”

At this point, she looked at Zhou Chen. “What are your thoughts on the Godslaying Weapon?”

“Dangerous.”

Zhou Chen answered almost without hesitation. “As an artificial intelligence, if she spent five minutes looking through the entire internet, she might just go on a killing spree and destroy humanity.”

Jiang Che nodded. “The Godslaying Weapon possesses far too much power. If it loses control, the resulting disaster would be terrifying. So the Desire Demon—no, it would be more accurate to say certain figures in the Abyss—planned this operation to accelerate the Godslaying Weapon’s awakening of individual consciousness.

A person’s worldview is easily influenced and changed by external factors, let alone a ‘baby’ like the Godslaying Weapon, who is not even a month old and has just gained self-awareness. Just a few words could plant a seed of calamity in her heart.”

“The Star Association should have a way to handle this, right?”

“Of course. Anything we can think of, the chief scientists of the Godslaying Weapon project can naturally think of as well. They’ve probably already started giving the Godslaying Weapon psychological counseling and early childhood education.”

Jiang Che finished the coffee in her cup. “This isn’t something for us to worry about. You should hurry up and finish that report.”

“…Sis, Sister Jiang, I don’t want to write the report. Please, I’m begging you, write it for me.”

“Get lost.”

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「Stars Association Headquarters.」

In an antique-styled room, a white-haired old woman sat on a sofa. Across from her was the Godslaying Weapon, just returned from her mission. After shedding her Battle Armor, she looked like a friendly girl-next-door.

“I guess you have a lot of questions. Which one do you want to ask first?” Mrs. Old Tang asked.

The Godslaying Weapon thought for a moment. “That Corrupter said I’m a replacement for your daughter?”

“During the initial phase of the Godslaying Weapon project, I did indeed have that intention. I wanted to build a robot that was identical to my daughter to keep me company. Heh, on that point, I was just as crazy as that Qin Xu.”

The old woman gave a self-deprecating smile. “But later, during forty years of research day and night, my thinking gradually changed.

I poured my life’s work into you. The time I spent researching you in the lab is longer than my own daughter’s age. In my eyes, you have long since been a new life.”

The Godslaying Weapon listened intently. “Can you let me see her picture?”

The old woman pointed to the desk beside her, where there was a picture frame.

The Godslaying Weapon reached out a hand, and the frame flew into her grasp. The photo showed a nearly forty-year-old Tang Jue, and a girl with a sweet smile and small dimples.

With her other hand, she summoned a mirror and studied her reflection repeatedly, then said seriously:

“We don’t look very much alike. I’m prettier than her.”

Mrs. Old Tang was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. “You even know how to compare looks… HAHAHAHA, of course you don’t look alike. I already told you, in my eyes, you are already a new life.”

“Then… can you give me a name?”

The Godslaying Weapon asked cautiously, her expression and tone filled with clear hope.

“What kind of name do you want?” Mrs. Old Tang said.

The Godslaying Weapon thought for a moment. “Just a normal one is fine. As long as it’s not something like ‘John Smith,’ ‘Jane Doe,’ ‘Billy Bob,’ ‘Invincible Tyrannosaurus War God,’ ‘ImAwesomeSoWhat,’ or some cringey screen name like ‘mYhEaRtIsOnLy4u,’ I can accept it.”

“…”

In the silence, Mrs. Old Tang took off her reading glasses and rubbed her face. “Is this the sense of humor you’ve learned?”

“Mhm.” The Godslaying Weapon nodded seriously. “Before you guys cut my internet connection, I already downloaded the internet’s meme database. This way, I won’t be afraid of not getting the joke.”

Mrs. Old Tang looked like she wanted to say something but stopped, then wanted to again, but in the end, she could only shake her head with a wry smile.

“Tang Ling. How about that name?” she said.

The Godslaying Weapon smiled. “It’s beautiful. I like it a lot.”

“Then from now on, you’ll be Tang Ling.” Mrs. Old Tang smiled kindly. A notification suddenly sounded from the watch on her wrist. She chuckled and said:

“Your early childhood education class is ready. You can go to your lesson now.”

“?” Tang Ling tilted her head, not understanding.

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