Chapter 407: Gateway Fragment

Chapter 407: Gateway Fragment

Elder Mountain Sanctuary, the first district, and arguably the highest-ranked artificial dungeon in the entire Alliance.

It was crafted using seven natural dungeons, employing over a hundred cultivation masters, and took several decades to create.

This place served as the headquarters of the Elder Council and the Alliance's public face.

It was touted as the most impenetrable fortress in the world, even more fortified and challenging than the headquarters of the Zero Organization.

Of course, no one had yet to verify this claim.

After all, neither Elder Mountain nor the headquarters of the Zero Organization, known as the Nullification Grounds, had been breached in the past few decades.

But today, someone had finally taken action against one of them.

On Dudu's side.

After slaughtering the group from Jiangnan, she headed straight for Elder Mountain.

In less than an hour, she arrived at Elder Mountain and immediately targeted the towering mountain gate, which stood over a hundred meters tall.

Dudu struck out with a palm, and a Piglet Phantom appeared out of thin air, roaring as it charged towards the mountain gate.

With a single strike, she cracked the mountain gate.

Although it was cracked, the gate still stood tall.

Dudu swiftly followed up with another slap, determined to shatter the gate and the facade of Elder Mountain.

"Roar!"

The Piglet Phantom reappeared, charging forward in an even more domineering manner than before.

Just as the teetering mountain gate was about to be shattered, a faint hum sounded.

"How dare you!"

"Boom!"

Accompanying this faint shout, a Behemoth over a hundred meters tall descended from the sky and smashed onto the Piglet Phantom, obliterating it with a single violent strike.

Simultaneously, eleven elderly figures materialized on the mountain gate, and Dudu's gaze fell upon them, her eyebrows furrowing slightly.

At that moment, the leader, Zhao Xue En, pointed at Dudu and scolded, "You're Pang Dudu?

First, you slaughter hundreds of summoners in Jiangnan, and now you dare to attack Elder Mountain. What audacity!

It seems today..."

Before Zhao Xue En could finish his sentence, Dudu interrupted him.

"Why are there only eleven of you?

Forget it, asking is pointless. I'll take you all down and then find the last one!"

As she spoke, Dudu raised her hand and struck out again. The Piglet Phantom reappeared, aiming straight for the eleven elders across from her.

This move amused the eleven elders.

"Attacking Elder Mountain and taking on all eleven of us? Such arrogance! Even Tie Hong, the Zero Organization's member, wouldn't dare do that!"

"She's the first one in over a hundred years to do this."

"But being the first isn't something to be proud of."

"To think that using some dark arts and gaining temporary power would make her invincible? Absurd!"

...

The eleven elders didn't even flinch, coldly observing the charging Piglet Phantom, which stood over a hundred meters tall.

At that moment, the Behemoth that had just appeared let out a long howl and lifted its arms, charging towards the Piglet Phantom.

"Boom!"

The two towering Behemoths collided.

Although one was real and the other a phantom, the impact generated a tangible shockwave.

The invisible wave of energy pushed away the dust and debris for several kilometers, creating a cloud of smoke and dust.

Although the smoke didn't settle, everyone present was of Epic Rank, and they could discern the outcome of this clash.

The Behemoth withstood the impact of the Piglet Phantom, resulting in a stalemate.

"To withstand Elder Zhang's Behemoth, this Dudu indeed has some skills."

"She's almost at Epic 2-Star level. She has some strength, but to challenge the Elder Council with just that? What's going on in her mind?"

"Instead of wondering about her thoughts, I'm more curious about how she achieved this level of strength."

Someone asked a crucial question.

On this matter, Fei Yinghao seemed to have some insights.

When his clone was shattered, he sensed something, but he kept quiet about it.

"Want to know? Just capture her and study her."

"True, let's take her down first!"

...

As the eleven elders casually expressed their intention to capture Dudu, a pig's grunt echoed through the battlefield's smoke and dust.

In the next moment, a terrifying energy burst forth.

Within the cloud of smoke, the Piglet Phantom's fangs at the corner of its mouth glowed with golden light. Its head rammed into the Behemoth's heart, impaling it and sending the creature flying towards the eleven elders.

The Elder's expression froze for a moment, but soon, their faces relaxed.

"Interesting!

She's been enhanced and has reached the peak of Epic 2-Star level. It seems the secrets she holds are indeed significant.

There's even a high possibility that it's connected to Lu Hai Kong's secret."

As Zhang Mingge spoke, Elder Eleven's expression changed slightly, his gaze towards Dudu becoming more intense.

"It seems we shouldn't delay any further. Let's suppress her together!"

"Agreed!"

Elder Eleven quickly reached a consensus.

Immediately, ten Summon Beasts appeared simultaneously.

These ten beasts varied in form, but they shared one thing in common—their immense power. Not a single one was below the Epic 2-Star level.

Each beast was no less formidable than the Behemoth from before.

This was the might of the Elder Council! Moreover, the beasts before them were not even their primary Summon Beasts.

It was no wonder that the Elder Council's strength was so formidable.

This was why, despite the unusual circumstances of Dudu's attack, they remained calm.

They genuinely had no reason to panic.

They stood at the pinnacle of this world, and nothing could make them flinch.

"Regardless of your intentions or reasons, from the moment you killed those hundreds of Summoners to your arrival at Elder Mountain, you've crossed a point of no return.

Your hands are stained with blood, and you possess powers you shouldn't have. Keeping you alive poses a significant threat to the Alliance, so regrettably, you must die today!"

As Elder Eleven spoke, it seemed he hadn't considered that they were the ones who had created this situation.

They had relentlessly pressured Lu Hai Kong into hiding his identity, forced Li Wu to fake his death, and ultimately, their suppression of Dudu had led to this outcome.

Perhaps, deep down, they knew they were to blame.

But they never admitted any wrongdoing.

After all, they were the Elder Council, standing at the apex of the world and the Alliance.

They believed they represented humanity, and their actions were for its development and the greater good.

Therefore, they couldn't be wrong; only those who caused unrest could be.

In their eyes, Dudu, with her rebellious nature, had to be forcefully suppressed to prevent her from becoming a threat to the Alliance in the future.

And so, amidst their righteous and noble words, Elder Eleven launched the attack.

Eleven Epic-level Summon Beasts rushed towards Dudu, who had maintained her stoic expression from the start.

"Roar!"

Among the eleven beasts, a mouse was the fastest, reaching behind Dudu in an instant. With a scratch of its claws, it tore open a rift in the space behind her.

As the rift appeared, the remaining ten beasts unleashed their power.

The Behemoth charged forward, slamming into Dudu and pushing her to the edge of the rift.

"Boom!"

The second beast collided with the Behemoth, followed by the third, fourth...

All ten beasts attacked simultaneously.

With ten consecutive impacts, Dudu was knocked into the rift.

In Ancient Tian Gu's Correct Version!

As Dudu was knocked in, the eleven beasts followed closely, entering the rift. The rift closed behind them, and Elder Eleven breathed a sigh of relief.

Dudu now had the strength of an Epic 2-Star.

Combined with the eleven Epic 2-Star Summon Beasts,

a battle of this caliber required a suitable location.

Otherwise, Elder Mountain might suffer severe damage.

By using the mouse's spatial skill to pull Dudu into a dungeon, they minimized the potential destruction of Elder Mountain and its surrounding environment.

Indeed, in this regard, the eleven elders seemed genuinely concerned for humanity.

After sending Dudu into the rift, the elders gathered to chat.

"What do you think? How long can this girl endure?"

"They're both Epic 2-Star level. It's an 11-on-1 battle, so maybe three minutes, at most."

"I think she can last a bit longer. Five minutes should be possible."

"I don't care about three or five minutes. I just want to know, whose corpse will it be at the end?"

........

As these words were spoken, the atmosphere froze for a moment. Fei Yinghao immediately stood up, his voice unwavering: "Of course, it will be mine. I will use her corpse to commemorate my grandson!

You wouldn't dare to fight me for it, would you?

"At this moment, Fei Yinghao's eyes were wide with defiance, his entire being exuding an air of determination to challenge anyone who dared oppose him.

It was as if he was ready to risk his life if someone dared to contradict him.

This attitude had served him well before, but now it seemed a bit out of place.

Beside him, Zhang Mingge spoke with a hint of sarcasm, "What's the point of a memorial service when we're all dead?

Besides, if you really want to honor him, one head would suffice. Why do you need the whole body? Are you still lusting after corpses at your age?"

Fei Yinghao flew into a rage, "Zhang Mingge, do you want to die?"

"If you can kill me, go ahead and try!"

This time, Zhang Mingge didn't back down.

The two were at loggerheads, their confrontation escalating instantly.

At this moment, Zhao Xue En, standing nearby, spoke up, "Enough, Old Fei. You don't need to play these mind games; you're not good at this."

Fei Yinghao's face twitched slightly, but he quickly composed himself.

However, it was too late.

Although he was quite powerful among the Eleven Elders, his cunning and scheming abilities were somewhat lacking.

"Even though you tried to hide it, and even used your grandson's death as a cover, we've known each other for over a hundred years. Is there anyone here who doesn't know you better than you know yourself? What do you know about the secret behind Pang Dudu's power?"

Fei Yinghao's face darkened, about to speak, when Zhang Mingge interrupted.

"The secret that you've tried so hard to conceal, and which has reached this level, is rare. So, it's easy to guess that Pang Dudu's power comes from the Gateway, right?"

With Zhang Mingge spelling it out, Fei Yinghao stopped resisting.

"Yes, when she crushed my clone, I felt the power of the Gateway in her!

She must have fragments of the Gateway, and they're definitely not from the frame."

As these words left Fei Yinghao's mouth, Zhang Mingge and the others gasped.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!"

The eleven elders turned their gaze back to where the crack had disappeared, their eyes filled with an unconcealed greed.

However, after glancing at their companions, the greed turned into helplessness.

With twelve reduced to eleven, none of them could claim this treasure for themselves.

It seemed like another item destined for Fang Jin's treasure trove.

Realizing this, the eleven elders' enthusiasm waned.

Meanwhile, someone shifted the focus of the conversation.

"Wait, how did Pang Dudu obtain the Gateway fragments? As far as we know, she hasn't left Jiangnan recently."

"Who says she had to obtain it herself through exploration? Couldn't someone have given it to her? There are many people around her who could have done so."

Zhao Xue En's words made the eleven elders think of the people close to Dudu.

Tie Hong, one of the first to come into contact with the fragments and who gained a Rule-Level Skill from them.

Lu Hai Kong, who used the fragments to revive a person.

The enigmatic Zhang Yini, shrouded in mystery like clouds and mist, and Lu Wu, who was confirmed to be alive.

"That's four people. So, who gave her the fragments?"

"Lu Hai Kong is unlikely. If he had the fragments, he would have used them to fully revive that woman."

"Tie Hong is also unlikely. He's a slippery one; at the first sign of trouble, he'd be the first to run. Haven't we noticed his absence recently? There's no way he'd be involved with the Gateway."

"It's even less likely to be Lu Wu. Based on what we know of him, he would never give the fragments to Pang Dudu to use her as a pawn."

"Three impossibilities, and the conclusion is obvious. It must be Zhang Yini."

Zhao Xue En and Zhang Mingge pondered for a moment, then shook their heads.

"Zhang Yini doesn't seem like the type either. This isn't her style.

If she had Gateway fragments, she wouldn't use them this way. Isn't she practically handing over the Gateway fragments to us?"

"If it's not Zhang Yini, then who else could it be? Wait, I think I've figured it out."

Zhang Mingge's eyes narrowed, and Fei Yinghao and the others turned to look at him. Zhao Xue En, standing beside him, spoke up.

"You're not referring to Lin Jianying, are you?"

"Lin Jianying?"

Fei Yinghao and the others were taken aback for a moment before quickly recalling such a minor character.

Zhang Mingge nodded, "Yes, if none of the previous four are the source, then it's highly likely to be Lin Jianying!"

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end