Chapter 408: The Road

Chapter 408: The Road

"Open!"

The scroll, sealed by divine magic, trembled violently, and its outer layer of spiritual light shattered, revealing its true form.

Karl gently shook the scroll he was holding, and Blaze, Monica, and their family of four emerged from within.

"Karl!"

Blaze looked around, bewildered.

"Where are we?"

"Faster City."

"Huh?"

Seeing the desolate streets, dilapidated houses, and the lifeless atmosphere, his expression froze.

"Faster City?" Blaze shook his head repeatedly.

"How is this possible!"

Faster City was one of the most prosperous cities in the Federation. How could it have fallen into such ruin? As he looked at the emotionless Karl, his smile gradually faded.

"Really?"

"Yes." It was not Karl who answered, but Monica. With her vampiric abilities heightened, Monica's ears twitched, allowing her to clearly hear any slight movement within a few hundred meters.

"This is..."

"It's truly Faster City!"

"What happened?" Blaze's face was filled with astonishment.

"We've only been away for a few years. How could Faster City have become like this?"

"Not just Faster City." Karl shrugged.

"The entire Federation has fallen into disrepair. Many things have happened over the past year."

"Many!"

He didn't elaborate on what had occurred, but his tone was somber, leaving Blaze and Monica exchanging puzzled glances.

"Uncle Karl!"

A childish voice rang out.

A boy and a girl, both just three years old, holding hands, looked at Karl with curiosity.

"Yes."

Karl crouched down and ruffled their hair.

"Cain, Mika, we've finally met. Have you been studying hard?"

"We've been studying," said the delicate little girl, Mika, tilting her head.

"Mom said that after we come out, we'll have friends to play with. Is that true?"

When she mentioned 'friends,' her face lit up with excitement, clearly eager for their company.

"Yes."

Karl looked up at Monica and said,

"I'll introduce you to some new friends."

He stood up, extended his hand forward, and slightly curled his fingers. The air in front of them rippled.

In the next instant, a car appeared out of thin air before them.

"Wow!"

Blaze was astonished.

"You can teleport things from other places? This is a Third Tier Beyond Mortal ability?"

During their four years in the painting's world, Monica had also explained the power system of the Beyond Mortal realm.

Teleportation,

was undoubtedly a Third Tier Beyond Mortal ability.

However, not all Third Tier Beyond Mortals possessed such a skill, as many lacked similar capabilities.

But Karl should be more than just a Third Tier, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to free them from the seal.

Monica's eyes widened, her heart filled with astonishment and even fear.

Unlike Blaze,

she herself was a Third Tier Beyond Mortal, so her perception was different from his.

In her eyes, the car didn't teleport from another location; it was formed from energy.

In other words...

Karl had created a car out of thin air using natural energy.

The ability to freely convert between energy and matter was a legendary power said to belong only to Upper Gods.

An Upper God?

Karl waved his hand, and the car doors opened by themselves.

"Please get in."

The two children climbed into the car, while Blaze quickly took the driver's seat and gripped the steering wheel.

"Shh!"

The car's wheels screeched as it sped off.

"Wow..."

Blaze's eyes sparkled.

"What incredible acceleration, and it's so quiet! What advancements have been made in automobile engines these past few years?"

"It's magic." Karl smiled.

"Utilizable energy isn't limited to petroleum; there are other sources."

"Be careful!"

Before he finished speaking, a black shadow pounced towards them, like a leopard, slamming into the front windshield.

was the apparent cause of the attack.

The seemingly fragile glass revealed astonishing hardness, remaining intact despite the impact.

The black shadow, on the other hand, was knocked away.

"What is that?"

"More of them!"

Blaze's face turned pale as he slammed the steering wheel to stabilize the car, looking around at the black shadows emerging from all sides.

"Mutants." Karl scanned the area and said indifferently,

"A 'Divine Punishment' sent by a Foreign Deity. Any creature that comes into contact with the Divine Punishment undergoes mutation, becoming crazed and attacking nearby living beings. Even those injured by the mutated creatures may also mutate."

"You can think of them as enhanced zombies."

"Divine Punishment?" Blaze's face turned white.

"Do the gods want to end the world?"

"Yes." Karl turned back to look at the two children.

"Not just one deity, many deities wish for this world's destruction and have sent down their Divine Punishments."

"Mutants are relatively easier to deal with since they have physical forms. Those without physical forms are more troublesome."

"Bang!"

The car barreled through the crowd of mutants, creating a path of destruction.

Blaze glanced back at the distant horde of monsters and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"So, this is what happened to Fast City?"

"My company?"

"Gone."

"What about the BHP Group?"

"Also gone."

An uneasy silence filled the car.

"Turn left."

"Sss..."

The tires screeched against the asphalt, sparks flying from the contact point as the car made a sharp turn.

Before them stood a towering tree, its gnarled branches piercing through skyscrapers and reaching towards the sky. Countless mutants leaped from branch to branch, while the tree itself seemed to be composed of countless human faces, screaming in agony. The branches swayed wildly, causing nearby buildings to tremble.

"What is that?"

"It's the work of the Mother of Life," Karl explained. "A Tier 3 Beyond Mortal from the Night Watch Order has been affected and evolved into this Tree of Life form."

"Don't stare at it; your body might mutate."

Blaze quickly averted his gaze, while Monica, sitting in the backseat, covered the eyes of the two children.

"How did this happen?"

As Blaze drove through the city, his face twitched at the sights he witnessed, and his eyes reflected sheer despair.

This world...

It was better to have stayed within the Scroll World.

Paper people swarmed the streets, the roads glowed with vibrant colors, and the sky was black, filled with eerie sludge.

Chaos!

Distortion!

Bizarre!

Terrifying!

"We're here."

The car came to a stop in front of an orphanage.

After experiencing the strange city, the ordinary orphanage seemed out of place.

"This is a shelter built by someone named Remiller, to protect against the outside world's anomalies."

As they stepped out of the car, Karl pushed open the orphanage door.

"Remiller, we have guests."

A white-clad angel appeared in the hall, her six pure white wings unfurled, radiating a divine aura.

"An angel!" Blaze exclaimed, his voice hoarse and his body trembling.

"A Hexa-Winged Archangel!"

In the scriptures, Hexa-Winged Archangels were considered embodiments and guardians of the gods, their authority surpassing even some lower-ranked deities.

A gentle halo bathed the room in warmth, and even with her wings retracted, Remiller continued to emanate a divine glow.

In the holy light, she exuded nobility.

"Is the Thunder Lance dead?"

"Yes."

"Killed by you?"

"Mhm."

A heavy silence fell upon the room.

Remiller sighed, her expression complex. She turned and carefully placed two items on the table.

"Here are the things you requested."

"This book belongs to the Dimensional Lord. It's a divine punishment, or perhaps, a blessing bestowed by Him."

"This book can continuously split and evolve, merging with radios, televisions, and even directly projecting into the consciousness of living beings."

"Those who come into contact with it will hear a message: 'Choose life or death, a binary choice.'"

"If they choose life, their physical bodies will dissolve, and their consciousness will enter a two-dimensional existence, experiencing various worlds within the so-called Archgod's realm, essentially becoming two-dimensional beings."

Dimensional Lord?

Archgod's realm?

Karl's eyes flickered with understanding.

"With this divine punishment, one can escape reality. No wonder you called it a blessing."

"Yes," Remiller nodded. "If one excels within the Archgod's realm, they might receive the Dimensional Lord's favor, becoming His apostle and possibly returning to the real world, though under the control of the Dimensional Lord."

She pointed to the other item, her face contorted with disgust.

"This is the divine punishment of the Mother of Desire, capable of twisting the consciousness of living beings, forcing them into constant mating and reproduction."

"Chaos..." Karl nodded, "To ascend from High Deity to Archgod or True God, one must capture and master a portion of true authority."

"Not just for one world, but for the entire universe."

The rules governed by High Deities only apply within their respective worlds. Once they leave, their power diminishes significantly.

Like the Dawn Lord.

On the Eastern Kingdom Continent, the Sixth-Rank Dawn Lord could even rival the legendary Seventh Circle Wizard.

But outside that realm, they might not even match a Fifth Circle Wizard.

For this reason, deities rarely leave their worlds unless absolutely necessary.

To transcend these limitations and gain control over a true rule, one must break through to the Seventh Rank, becoming an Archgod or True God.

Remiller slowly nodded, for while she possessed divine power, she lacked a deep understanding of her own strength.

"Chaos is a form of truth."

Karl picked up the squirming flesh ball from the table, unbothered by its power, and continued, "In fact, chaos is the norm, while order is the rarity."

"The distribution of all things is inherently irregular, and order is a rare occurrence with a low probability."

"The same applies to True Gods. It's easier to control the chaos and distortions of reality, while maintaining order is more challenging."

He set down the meatball and picked up a book.

"As a True God, the Dimensional Lord, who governs the orderly rules of reality, is far more powerful than the Mother of Desire."

Here, 'powerful' refers to the utilization of strength. Both deities possess equal mastery over their power levels.

They are both Seventh Rank Archgods, True Gods, and nearly immortal.

"Carl."

Remiller's eyes narrowed in thought.

"What do you want with them?"

"Of course, they're useful." Carl smiled and flipped his hand, storing the Divine Punishment within his Divine Fragment.

"I've only taken the first step on my path, and I need these 'elders' to guide me on how to proceed."

"Divine Punishment contains the most fundamental techniques of Foreign Deities. Analyzing it will greatly benefit me."

Moreover...

Divine Punishment itself contains a vast amount of essence, which can directly enhance his strength.

...

Void Space.

Carl sat cross-legged, surrounded by dozens of tentacles flailing chaotically behind him. Suddenly, they pierced into the Divine Punishment floating nearby.

Whirlwind Butterfly, Black Worm, Dimensional Book, Desire Sludge, Mutant Creatures, Dream Train, and more...

These treasures were invaluable to him, all convertible into resources for further advancement.

Time slowly passed.

"Swish!"

Carl opened his eyes, deep in thought. In the next instant, he teleported, appearing before Remiller.

"Take me to the Temple of the Gods."

Remiller's eyes narrowed, her body shimmering with holy light, and an unusual emotion stirred in the air.

"What do you plan to do there?"

"The Gods of the Eastern Kingdom Continent are Original Deities, each possessing Seventh Rank authority over reality. If they were to merge, they would become the most powerful True God in this universe, as they have been for countless years." Carl spoke, "My path is now clear, but I lack accumulation. I need what they left behind to aid me in becoming a True God."

"You know I can't betray the Gods." Remiller shook her head gently.

"I understand." Carl nodded, "I'll take it myself."

"Boom!"

Before he finished speaking, Remiller had already attacked with all her might.

The power left by the Dawn Lord within her surged along complex paths, wreaking havoc.

The terrifying power brought absolute destruction.

Wherever the intertwining and colliding divine forces passed, space, time, and everything else were annihilated.

A void appeared in the field.

The power of the Dawn Lord, usually filled with vitality, was now entirely transformed into a murderous intent to destroy all.

But that wasn't all.

Remiller, the master of speed, flickered, creating dozens of afterimages simultaneously.

Each afterimage possessed the same abilities as her main body, simultaneously unleashing the terrifying energy within.

No one could have imagined that Remiller, not skilled in magical combat and known for her speed, had such formidable power.

Even in a desperate clash with Tak, the wielder of the Thunder Lance, the difference in strength was minimal.

In Carl's perception, the universe seemed to collapse at that moment.

The next instant, he slowly raised his hand.

In his vision, everything was composed of energy and consciousness, including divine power.

To Carl, the energy within Remiller was vast and mighty, even surpassing his own after ascending to the Upper Sixth Rank.

But unfortunately, the method of unleashing this energy was too crude, like an infant wielding a machine gun as a mere club.

More crucially, Remiller was too weak. Her consciousness, in the face of this energy, was like an ant, incapable of harnessing its full potential.

"Bang!"

Her five fingers collided with the incoming energy, and the devastating shockwave instantly dissipated.

The force that could destroy everything transformed into a gentle breeze.

Remiller's expression froze.

"Bang!"

Her angelic body shattered, like a vase made of countless fragments, revealing all its secrets to Carl.

The divine power left by the Dawn Lord was drawn by an invisible force, transforming into a torrent of energy that Carl devoured.

Essence: +21,000,000!

"Huff..."

Taking a deep breath, Carl raised his hand again and retrieved something from Remiller's memories.

It was a set of coordinates.

"Swish!"

Carl stepped forward, following the void coordinates to a vast hall, gazing up at the cosmic starry sky above.

"The Temple of the Gods?"

"Divine Fragment!"

This place was a fragment of the Gods' Domain, left behind after its collapse.

A figure holding a scythe awaited him once more.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end