Chapter 77

The other side instantly fell silent. If it weren't for the fact that the transmission array was still operating, one might have thought the communication had been cut off.

After a long while, Anthony's voice finally sounded: "You caught Polk, so it's not strange that you know the name Piero, but the only one who hasn't seen me in a long time and still talks to me in such a sly tone is the God of Knowledge, right?"

Sighing deeply, Nigris said, "You could guess it was me as soon as I spoke, but you don't even know my divine name. What a waste, considering all the knowledge I've taught you."

Anthony said with an awkward tone, "Aren't you called the God of Knowledge? Every time I entered the Brass Book Tower, I could only ask one question. If I asked for your name, I couldn't ask anything else. Haha, I'm not falling for that."

Nigris pouted. If Anthony knew that asking for a divine name would allow him to ask anything, he might have bled to death from shock.

"How did you become a High Bishop of the Human Church of Light?" Nigris asked curiously.

At this question, Anthony became angry. Because Nigris was an old acquaintance, he rarely lost his composure: "Where else could I go? The World Transfer Station suddenly closed, and everyone disappeared without a trace. I called for the King, but he didn't respond; I called for the Bone King, but he ignored me. I couldn't return to the Palace of Rest, and everywhere was in chaos, with strange winds blowing."

"Desperate, I brought everyone to the Material Plane, intending to hide for a while until the King returned. But the Church of Light kept trying to invade the Abyss of Rest through the World Transfer Station. They were always blown back by the strange winds."

"Since I had nothing to do, I reincarnated as a human and managed to join the Church of Light. I did everything I could to cover up the situation in the Abyss of Rest. I burned their archives, making them lose most of their written records. After a few generations, the situation in the Abyss of Rest was gradually forgotten."

"I kept reincarnating, using the connections and relationships I accumulated over time to climb higher and higher. The higher my position, the more secrets I could access. Now, there are no written records about the Abyss of Rest in the entire human diocese."

"But unexpectedly, a young noble knight in a remote corner of my diocese sent a team into the Abyss of Rest, and they all perished, including the knight himself. I needed to find a reasonable explanation for their failure, prevent anyone from investigating the Abyss of Rest and the World Transfer Station, and erase any exposed information."

"I was still wondering when the Abyss of Rest had someone powerful enough to wipe them out so easily. It turns out it was the God of Knowledge, the Brass Dragon. By the way, how did you end up in the Abyss of Rest? Has the World Transfer Station reopened? Has the Palace of Rest been reactivated? Has the King returned? If he doesn't come back soon, I'll become the Pope."

Nigris almost spat blood: "Pope? The highest authority of the gods on earth, the divine spokesman of the Church of Light?"

"Yeah, I was scared to death. The last time, I was almost chosen, so I had to fake my death and abandon the identity I had worked so hard to build, starting over with a new identity. Otherwise, you would be calling me Saint Anthony now."

Anthony's tone was full of complaints, leaving the Black Warrior beside him speechless. When had they ever heard the Black Warrior Emperor speak in such a tone, almost like a child pouting? What was the background of this little Brass Dragon?

Nigris hit his head against the ground: "You abandoned it? Why not take it, the highest authority of the gods on earth?"

"Am I crazy? I've seen gods before, why would I be a stand-in for someone else? What if I'm discovered? The old dog of the Church of Light would burn me on the spot." Anthony said disdainfully.

Nigris covered his face. The 'god' Anthony mentioned must be referring to himself.

That's right, a divine spokesman is essentially a stand-in. If a god possesses you and you're discovered, it's better to be a High Bishop and have your freedom.

Nigris and Anthony chatted idly until the transmission array ran out of energy. In the end, Anthony sent a bag of magic crystals to continue the conversation.

"Who would have thought so much has happened since then." Nigris sighed.

"Yeah, by the way, you haven't said how you got to the Abyss of Rest. Has the World Transfer Station reopened?" Anthony asked.

Nigris's eyes twinkled, and he said, "No, the World Transfer Station is being excavated, and they've reached the control room, but it hasn't been activated. Or rather, the door to the Palace of Rest hasn't been opened. I'm here because someone called my divine name."

"Called your divine name? What does that mean?" Anthony asked in surprise.

"Calling my divine name allows you to receive my projection and ask me questions at any time." Nigris explained.

"Any time? Projection? You mean if someone learns your divine name, they can summon you and get your guidance whenever they want?" Anthony's tone was filled with the urge to spit blood.

"Yes."

"Back when I entered the Brass Book Tower, I had one question each time. Could I have used that opportunity to ask for your divine name?" Anthony asked tentatively.

Hehehe, I was waiting for you to ask that. Nigris confidently replied, "Yes."

"Spit! I'm so screwed..." Anthony spat blood, especially since he had just said he wouldn't fall for it, now realizing how foolish he had been.

Nigris's sadistic pleasure was greatly satisfied. This was a scene he had been waiting for for countless years, finally realized in the Black Warrior Emperor. The satisfaction was even stronger.

"Lord God of Knowledge, can I still ask for your divine name now?" Anthony asked.

"No." Of course not, if he could, Nigris's sadistic pleasure wouldn't be satisfied. Let him spit blood.

"Alright, God of Knowledge, let's talk about the holy relics and Polk. I hope you can release Polk and return the holy relics in consideration of our past relationship." Anthony lost his interest in idle chat.

"I can't make that decision. I'm just a projection here to catch up. This matter... uh, your subordinates have run away again, very clever." Nigris turned his head and saw that the cave was empty, even Polk was gone.

Ever since he heard Anthony speaking to Nigris in a familiar tone, Polk had wisely left. One should never eavesdrop on a boss's conversation with an old acquaintance, even a former boss. If you hear something private, it could complicate the relationship.

"You can start by saying what you're willing to offer in exchange for the holy relics. Ang follows the principle of equivalent exchange." Nigris said.

"Ang is the one who called your divine name? A gray skeleton?" Anthony asked.

"Not a gray skeleton. Didn't you see his Scythe of Death? A gold skeleton, but for some special reasons, his body hasn't been metalized." Nigris pouted, adding silently, "It would scare you to death if I told you."

"So it's a gold skeleton..." Anthony muttered, realizing that he would have to pay a high price to get the holy relics back.

Anthony was once the Black Warrior Emperor, the first Black Warrior and the inventor of the reincarnation altar. Despite his illustrious titles, his soul was only at the level of a Soul Heart.

In the hierarchy of undead, he was on par with gold skeletons, iron zombies, lich kings, and undead saints. The one in charge on the other side was a gold skeleton, not much lower in rank, making it hard to deceive.

But what could he offer in exchange for the holy relics? They were priceless, and Anthony was at a loss.

After some thought, he said, "I have some valuable things, like holy mushroom powder, which treats external injuries and internal bleeding..."

Nigris responded with a strange expression, "Useless."

"I thought so too. We undead can't use it. Holy essence can regenerate limbs, but we don't need it. What about magic crystals? I can mobilize about 200,000, but more would require official accounts, which is very troublesome." Anthony said.

It's not that they can't use it, but we have it too. We just used over a liter of essence liquid to grow something. As for magic crystals, with the essence liquid, we won't lack them.

"By the way, you said you're excavating the World Transfer Station. Even if it can't connect to the Palace of Rest, it can still function as a transmission array, right? Wouldn't that require a lot of magic crystals? I have a new product that can continuously convert fire elements into magic crystals. I remember there's a lava river in the River of the Dead, with abundant fire elements, perfect for you. It's safe, efficient, energy-saving, and environmentally friendly, etc."

Nigris frowned, "There's such a thing? How come I don't know?"

"Oh, this is the latest invention by goblin engineers and human mages in the last millennium. Didn't you know? The God of Knowledge, you need to update your knowledge. It's called an elemental converter. I have a small one, about half a person's height. Placed in a fire element-rich area, it can produce over a hundred fire magic crystals a day."

Nigris pouted, "I've updated. My knowledge of growing vegetables is very new. I'm researching how to grow the World Tree. Is it really as good as you say? I'll ask Ang."

Flying out, he saw Ang squatting on a slope above the lava river, with a dozen green sprouts in front of him.

"You're growing vegetables again, can't you take a break? What are you growing this time? More beets? Can beets grow in such a hot place?" Nigris muttered as he flew over, but the temperature felt too high.

Although it wasn't very noticeable, it was still over 100 degrees. Beets couldn't sprout in such high temperatures, and there were only a dozen, too few.

Suddenly, a possibility came to mind: "Kabada! You really made the World Tree sprout!?"

...

In the Elven Empire, in the magnificent Elven Palace, Queen Galadria was gazing at the enormous World Tree, which resembled a mountain, worrying about its fate. Despite all her efforts, she couldn't find a way to save it.

The World Tree comforted her, "It's the cycle of nature. There's no need to grieve. The old life passes, making way for new life."

But as the queen of the elves, Galadria couldn't just consider nature; she had to think about the rise and fall of her people.

Suddenly, a white dot appeared in the direction of the World Tree. The Elven High Priest, Kaelandar, flew to the platform where the queen was, almost being hit by the defensive array if her identity hadn't been recognized.

Before she arrived, Kaelandar shouted excitedly, "Your Majesty, the God of Life says it has sensed a new World Tree sprouting!"

PS: I'll be going live tomorrow, trying to update two more chapters, but regardless of the number, I'll combine them to avoid making you wait.

Thank you to the supporters 20200511081229570, Bai Shou He, Panda Loves Coffee Without Sugar, Water Blade Driver, Skeleton Wants to Build a Foundation, and Book Friend Zhou. I also recommend the book "I'm Really Not a Taoist Master."