Chapter 411: 411
CHAPTER 411
CHAOS OF VOID (I)
Lino stared at a ma.s.sive spread steaming in front of him, on top of a rather wide and long wooden table . Exotic fruits, drinks, birds, and bovine wrapped in various ways, sauced with various spices, creating an invasion of smells that caused his brain to momentarily freeze . Right next to him, Dangwe and Yog"son had already begun indulging themselves in the food, leaving Lino behind .
The latter quickly began catching up, however, stuffing whatever he could put his hands on into his mouth, one after another . The tastes broke something inside of him to the point where he even shed a couple of tears, ones he wanted to reserve for the birth of his first child . . . or at the very least a really good night of this and that .
"--alright, the first order of cooperation -- you give me your cook . " Lino exclaimed, licking his fingers .
"I"d rather watch the world burn than give you my wife . " Dan replied with a cheeky smile .
" . . . tsk . "
"What? Your wife can"t cook this well, Lino?"
" . . . s-she . . . being a wife is more than being a good cook! She can, for instance, heave her legs over her shoulders . "
" . . . what"s that good for?" Dan asked, causing Lino to look sideways dubiously .
" . . . nothing . She"s tried, to be honest," Lino said . "Just doesn"t have much talent with it . Even I"m better . "
" . . . before Layla became a cultivator, she used to own a small-time portable bakery . She was hunted east and west when she wouldn"t show up on her usual spots in time . "
" . . . so? What"s the secret?" Lino asked as they wiped the last food from the table, sitting back down, with even Yog"son joining them on the third chair . "How"d you keep the fire kindled for so long?"
" . . . in many ways like you and Hannah . "
"Hm? You been stalking us?"
"Of course I did . " Dan chuckled . "I was mightily surprised to learn how similar you two are to us . "
"So you fight all the time?"
" . . . we spend as much time as possible being just . . . ordinary people . " Dan replied, smiling lightly . "We sleep, we eat three meals a day, we get drunk . . . it"s never really about keeping the fire alive, Lino . Unless it"s with someone special, that fire won"t keep burning . Though, I suppose you know that . "
" . . . will I ever have the pleasure of meeting her?" Lino asked .
"Eh, she"s fairly shy . Though she"ll be happy to know you"ve enjoyed her cooking . She has always had a soft spot for the Empyreans -- lonesome wolves standing against the world . She"s a romantic like that . "
" . . . tell her we"re very thankful for her support," Lino chuckled faintly before his expression turned serious . "Now, there"s one thing I"d like to know before we move forward . "
"Oh? What"s that?"
"--are you purifying Bloodlines for yourselves, or as a business opportunity?" Lino"s words seemed to surprise both Dangwe and Yog"son, causing them to stare at him in shock for a few seconds .
"How"d you figure it out?" Dan asked .
"A team effort . "
"Huh . You"ve got a good team . " Dangwe chuckled . "Though, not good enough . "
"Hm?"
"We"re not trying to purify Bloodlines," he said . "We"re researching for ways to neutralize them . "
" . . . oh? Why"s that?" Lino asked, somewhat shocked himself .
"Well, largely because forced cross-racial breeding has been a ma.s.sive thing for eons now," Dangwe explained . "In vain hopes they might get a useful Bloodline, thousands of wastes have been created . The race that can"t breathe our air so they have to live near an active volcano so they can breathe the soot . The race that dies if they touch the water . Currently, there are over ten thousand different racial groups in the world . I think that"s a bit out of hand, don"t you?"
" . . . so you"re selling it . " Lino cracked a faint smile, causing Dan to reply in kind after a few moments .
"Nothing gets past your eyes and ears, huh?"
"Are you short on funds?"
"Funds? No . Resources? Yes . " Dan said . "We"re not selling it for Qi Stones or some ordinary bits and pieces that can be dug up anywhere . For instance, the last time we sold it for a piece of fossilized t.i.tan Heart . I mean, it"s entirely useless as far as their legends go, but nonetheless, it allowed us to study the structure of their core in greater detail than ever before . "
"Didn"t you live through the t.i.tan Era? I imagine you"d have many opportunities to study them alive back then . " Lino asked .
"Aha, sure," Dan grinned . "I"d like to see you approach a mile tall giant made out of stone and ask them if you could crawl through their body to study them . A large reason why t.i.tans dominated so much during the Era wasn"t simply because they were stronger than us -- we couldn"t even harm them Lino . Back then, I had failed my Origin Awakening six times in total, yet my all-out attack was unable to even leave a dent in their ordinary bodies . There was a saying: a t.i.tan wounded was wounded by a t.i.tan . "
"Not much of a saying . But, seriously? I"d fought a t.i.tan once -- he didn"t seem that resilient . "
"At best, you fought a remnant . " Dan shrugged . "I"ve spent over two million years after their "official extinction" confirming there were no more t.i.tans left before I allowed my people to surface back up . "
" . . . "
"Now, an inquiry for you . " Dangwe asked, leaning forward . "Throughout the entire history, we have never failed to locate someone . No matter who, no matter what, there was no hiding from us . Yet . . . you did . Not just you . Everyone even remotely related to you . Care to elaborate?"
" . . . trade secrets, Dan . " Lino cracked a faint smile . "We"re talking about going on a first date and you"re immediately gunning after the wedding . Slow down . "
" . . . extend me the courtesy and answer at least this: is it exclusive to you? Or could it be employed by anyone else?"
"Parts and pieces of both . " Lino replied mysteriously . "Why me, though? I imagine part of the hope is that I"ll cripple the Descent so you can take their place, but I don"t plan on going after them . "
"You don"t?" Dan asked .
"No, not as a whole, at the very least . " Lino said . "Two will die, that much I promise you . The b.i.t.c.h derailed my plans too much . Perhaps even One, but as I know next to nothing about the man, that might be a bit difficult . "
" . . . then that"s enough . " Dan"s lips curled up into a smile . "Really, in the grand scheme of things, One is the Descent . "
" . . . who is he?" Lino asked .
"The first-ever human bearer of the Origin Soul," Dan explained, sipping a cupful of mead and taking a sip . "As far as I"m aware, he was born sometime during the late stages of the Prosperity Era . He largely heralded the rise of the Humans and ushered in the age of Skyhaven Domination . Ironically, he founded the concept of numbers for members of Descent based on his t.i.tle . "
"Hm?"
"It"s One . "
" . . . just . . . One?"
"Yeah," Dan shrugged . "I happened to ask him about it once, and he said it"s because he"s the one . "
" . . . the one what?"
"Just . . . the one . "
"Huh . " Lino mumbled . "Pretentious b.a.s.t.a.r.d . "
"Oh, tell me about it . "
"So, what are my chances of currently taking him on?"
"About . . . huh, negative ten to an infinity . " Dan grinned, taking a sip . "Even I would only be able to last a few rounds against him . As far as I"m aware, there are only two other humans who can stand up to him, and a couple of High Lords . "
"And . . . what are the chances of us conscripting any one of them to join our crusade?"
"Even less than you defeating One as you are now . "
" . . . you are nothing if not a bearer of bad news, huh?" Lino grinned, sighing faintly .
"How much of a role does One even play in your plans?"
"A very minor one, if I"m being honest," Lino said . "If possible, I"d simply leave him be . My grudge with Two is largely personal, so . . . "
" . . . you might be in luck then . One hardly ever concerns himself with what goes on here . So, he might just not care that you"ve whacked Two to the afterlife . My turn . How strong is the Maiden?"
"The Maiden? Oh, you mean Ella?"
"Yeah . " Dan nodded .
" . . . I . . . have no clue . " Lino smiled bitterly . "I can"t really put it into words . Once you meet her you"ll understand what I mean . "
"Oh? So I"ll be meeting her?"
"Well, it will be relatively difficult to maintain this partners.h.i.+p if only the two of us were in on it, you know?"
"--we"ll start off easy," Dan said, taking out a small piece of stone and putting it on the table . "This is [Qi Soul], a Qi-mine central density . "
" . . . and in return for it . . . " Lino mumbled, swallowing a large gulp .
"I want you to lend me your pet Dragon for a couple of days . . . "