The forest world.
Gu Qing Shan reached out to hold the dark green longbow.
Lines of glowing text appeared on the War God UI:
[You’ve obtained the Bow of Fallen Souls]
[This Dreamscape Soul Artifact is powerful and requires the corresponding great level of strength in order to use]
[With your current strength, while using this bow, you’ll obtain the following supernatural abilities:]
[Withering: Any object that you hit with this bow will quickly deteriorate, wither, and become destructible]
[Corroding Essence: Any living being that you hit with this bow will have their body quickly corroded, injuries caused by this cannot be stopped except by completely amputating the affected body part]
[Attention: Only after your personal strength had grown stronger once more would you be able to exert more powerful abilities from this Dreamscape Soul Artifact]
A second later, a figure appeared from within the longbow.
Lady Fusi.
She wielded her staff and unleashed hundreds of illusory images.
Each of them displayed different but similarly arduous battles.
In this world, Gu Qing Shan had to go through countless trials and triumph against countless powerful enemies in order to finally obtain this Dreamscape Soul Artifact—–
The Bow of Fallen Souls.
“We used numerous spells and techniques in order to fabricate the process of your trial. This will be able to deceive the enemy’s investigation—— as long as your opponent’s display isn’t too extraordinary, it wouldn’t an exaggeration for you to instantly win the favor of [Chaos]”
Recalling something, Fusi added: “Don’t worry, I’ve also pulled a little trick to guide your opponent onto an incorrect path”
“What would happen to it?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
“They will probably choose an incomplete statue, one whose corresponding Awaiting is already gone” Lady Fusi replied.
“How pitiable indeed” Gu Qing Shan commented.
He suddenly paused.
“What’s the matter?” Lady Fusi asked.
“I want to confirm something. In the past, because the Awaitings of both the [Order] faction and the [Chaos] faction did not want mutually assured destruction, they created [Order] and [Chaos]; the results of which was that they spent all of their powers and fell into a deep slumber, is that correct?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
“Indeed” Lady Fusi replied.
Gu Qing Shan blinked, then slowly asked: “Lady Fusi, there is at least one Awaiting in the [Chaos] faction with your same strength, I assume?”
Lady Fusi replied: “Naturally, there is one Awaiting with the relative same unique characteristics and abilities”
Gu Qing Shan looked down at the dark green bow in his hand and silently said in his mind: “War God UI, check this bow again, please make sure that all of its current characteristics are on display”
Lines of glowing text manifested on the War God UI again, displaying the previous appraisal.
“There aren’t any issues… strange” Gu Qing Shan muttered.
He kept feeling like something was off.
As if he was walking through a silent ravine by himself, yet could feel the gaze of countless people hiding in the darkness, attempting something.
This wasn’t related to his spirit sense, it was purely his instincts as a soldier—— or rather, a field commander who oversaw the entire battlefield.
Everything went too smoothly.
Would a war of countless years simply head to its end so smoothly without issues?
Indeed, this was the heart’s desire of everyone, but a rational soldier would never allow himself to ignore the hidden currents hidden below the calm surface purely out of his own desires.
The world isn’t that simple.
Even the fight of a single person to change their own fate would consist of countless hardships up until the very end, let alone this was a war to determine the fate of countless living beings, all the Awaitings, as well as the outcome of the Apocalypses themselves?
If something proceeded so smoothly under such circumstances, there could only be a single possibility.
——-something wasn’t taken into consideration.
Gu Qing Shan was unable to come up with anything, so his expression grew increasingly more solemn.
Lady Fusi noticed the change in his expression and tried asking: “Gu Qing Shan, this is a decisive moment for the survival of [Order], why do I see hesitation and uncertainty on your expression?”
Gu Qing Shan replied: “It’s nothing, I’m just trying to think from another perspective——– Lady Fusi, have any of your preparations up until now gotten caught on any snags? Or have any of them been nearly discovered by the enemy?”
Lady Fusi pondered briefly before answering: “None at all”
She suddenly realized what he was asking as her expression turned solemn as well: “Do you think there might be a trap?”
Gu Qing Shan replied: “I don’t have any proof, I simply feel like we should be a bit cautious——- the difference between us and our enemy isn’t terribly vast, which means… if you can sabotage something this important within the [Chaos] faction, the enemy would be able to similarly sabotage something of similar importance within the [Order] faction”
Lady Fusi frowned.
She used her scepter to tap Gu Qing Shan.
Countless sprites of light manifested from Gu Qing Shan’s body to reform the sheet of parchment paper from before.
“There are no issues, every keeper of secrets had unconditionally bestowed their power to guarantee your identity would not be discovered” she stated.
Gu Qing Shan pondered and said: “I want to know, what kind of powers did the person from the [Chaos] faction with the relative same unique characteristics and abilities as you possessed?”
Lady Fusi replied: “He was the seer of [Chaos], like me, he is able to travel through the timeline and make certain predictions of things that would occur in the future”
“In other words, that Awaiting might be capable of witnessing this meeting between you and I?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
“No, he would not attempt to touch any parts of Space-Time that I had used my power to conceal——- that would expend too much of his power, causing him to fall into slumber. Furthermore, we are evenly matched” Lady Fusi replied.
Gu Qing Shan immediately said: “Then, you would similarly not be able to see any parts of Space-Time that he had used his powers to conceal?”
Lady Fusi replied: “If I use everything I have, I can. But I would fall into complete slumber afterward due to expending all of my powers”
Gu Qing Shan said: “Then, please examine if there have been any moments in time related to him and yourself that he had concealed”
Lady Fusi observed Gu Qing Shan closely and commented: “Earth God, your level of caution has left me quite the profound impression”
“Every step in war requires extreme discretion at the beginning, otherwise trillions of living beings would be heading to their deaths” Gu Qing Shan replied.
“But the River of Time is too vast, even if I expend all of my powers, it would be impossible to observe every single thing he had ever done” Lady Fusi said.
She raised three fingers.
“I can only choose three points in time to examine whether or not he had attempted any sabotage”
“Furthermore, after doing so, I would fall into complete slumber like the other Awaitings, unable to awaken or help you for a very long time”
“We must accurately pinpoint the point in time where he had attempted to sabotage, otherwise you will have an unknown trap by yourself, while we would be helpless to aid you”
Gu Qing Shan fell silent.
——-this was truly a gamble with nearly no chance of winning.
He pondered: “If we are able to correctly guess the moment that he made the sabotage from the very first attempt, would you still have enough power to fight with me?”
“I will. Investigating the second time will cost all of my current expendable power while attempting it a third time will cost me a heavy price” Lady Fusi replied.
Gu Qing Shan muttered to himself: “If you cannot participate in battle, our chances of winning would greatly decrease——- in other words, we need to correctly guess what and where he attempted something from the very first time”
He fell into deep thought.
If an unknown enemy were to arrange an unknown trap at an unknown time.
What time would that be?
What would they attempt?
With so many periods in time to select, how could I determine that?
There’s only a single chance without any room for error, what should I do to reach the truth?
Anyone would feel helpless in front of such a problem.
—–this was truly an impossible calculation.
Lady Fusi also thought of that and sighed: “You made very plausible assumptions regarding the tactics and powers of both our factions. I’ve been carefully hiding myself for countless years, always watching out for any irregularities in Space-Time, afraid that he might have arranged something, but never have I found anything worthy of note”
“You mean, you’ve always been keeping an eye out against him?” Gu Qing Shan asked.
“Indeed, since he has very similar abilities to myself, I would naturally need to guard myself from him discovering my movements” Lady Fusi replied.
“You’ve never found anything irregularities——- then, we can first make an assumption that if he attempted to arrange anything at all, he would also not be willing to be discovered, so——-”
Gu Qing Shan paused briefly before continuing: “He must have finished his arrangements before you went into hiding”
Lady Fusi shook her head: “There was at least a period of 100 million years before I went into hiding, that would still be too vast to determine if he attempted to sabotage anything, or when he did so”
“Do you understand him well?” Gu Qing Shan then asked.
“No, I’ve only ever fought against him once. I only know that he has similar abilities to me, but not much about him in particular” Lady Fusi replied.
This is too difficult, there would be no way to come up with a solution like this.
She silently thought.
Gu Qing Shan muttered: “The two of you are evenly matched…”
“If I were him, I would also make sure to carefully avoid you before I consider attempting anything”
“——-Both of you were wary of one another”
“What he attempted would definitely be related to the current Apotheotic Combat, as this is a pivotal moment that will decide whether or not the Era of [Chaos] fully manifests, and whether or not [Order] is completely destroyed”
“Because of this, countless years ago, he would have made his arrangements at a moment that you could not discover”
Lady Fusi said: “There are too many things that he could have attempted to do——– this is like trying to prevent a particular robber before they even think about robbing you, I couldn’t possibly understand what he could be thinking”
Gu Qing Shan shook his head: “In an occasion like this, if all of your movements were used as a basis, the things he can actually do are definitely traceable”
“From a result-oriented point of view, to ensure the manifestation of the Era of [Chaos], the winner of the Apotheotic Combat must be a true heir of [Chaos], and not someone who attempts to kill the founding Deity of [Chaos] like myself”
“They would want to prevent this… unless…”
Lady Fusi suddenly felt herself becoming nervous and immediately asked: “Unless what?”
“Unless the results had already been predetermined since a very long time ago” Gu Qing Shan replied.
Lady Fusi replied: “But across such a long period of time, there would be too many variables. It’s simply impossible to accurately make sure that a certain occurrence millions of years in the future would begin, progress, and end exactly as one wished——- even us Awaitings cannot possibly achieve such a feat”
“No”
Gu Qing Shan stated.
His mind was speeding through, pondering the method to resolve this current dilemma.
“The founding Deity of the Era of [Chaos] gains the support of the entire Era, which means it would be impossible for them to die. Only by triggering the Apotheotic Combat would one be able to usurp the Deific Authority and eliminate the founding Deity”
“And the conditions for triggering the Apotheotic Combat was to offer an [Order] as a sacrifice to the Era of [Chaos]—– Lady Fusi, are there any issues with this?”
Lady Fusi confirmed: “There are no issues, that was indeed the case”
Gu Qing Shan continued: “In that case, there are several points at which the other party could have actively sabotaged”
“The first are those who participated in the Apotheotic Combat——- I trust my comrades because I understand them well. Furthermore, even if he tried to sabotage them, I would still be able to resolve any issues with them thanks to my strength”
Lady Fusi nodded in agreement: “I’ve examined your comrades and confirmed that there are no issues with them”
After a short pause, Gu Qing Shan continued: “Then, there’s only one other thing that the enemy could have sabotaged and arranged since millions of years ago”
“What would that be?”
“[Order], the [Order] that I sacrificed”
Gu Qing Shan recalled how he sacrificed the [Demon King Order].
From beginning to end, this [Order] didn’t try to refuse or retaliate in any way.
—–with how sly this [Order] was, that shouldn’t have been its reaction.
Gu Qing Shan went through his thoughts several times before confirming: “This is the only place where the enemy might be able to overturn the situation, as well as the only place they could have sabotaged that would ultimately decide the outcome of the Apotheotic Combat”
“Just as you, Lady Fusi, had infiltrated the bronze palace as a covert agent, silently altering the outcome of the trials within, your old enemy could have done the same”
Gu Qing Shan took a deep breath and concluded: “I believe that countless years ago, he had already sabotaged [Worlds Apocalypse Online: Demon King Order]”
Lady Fusi couldn’t help but feel a sense of respect towards him.
This was the first time she had ever felt a genuine sense of respect towards an entity vastly weaker than herself.
She said: “According to your conjecture, we will need to return to the moment of the [Demon King Order]’s conception—– because after an [Order] had been created, no one would ever be able to sabotage it any longer”
“This is the only answer I can think of” Gu Qing Shan replied.
“Then let us go!”
Lady Fusi wielded her scepter and broke through the void of space.
The two of them entered the void and hovered above.
Right below them was a glittering great river.
Lady Fusi sternly reminded him: “We will now travel against the flow back to trillions of years ago, back to the point when [Worlds Apocalypse Online: Demon King Order] was created. Gu Qing Shan, definitely do not let go of my hand, otherwise, you will be immediately erased by the Laws of time due to traveling too far back in time”
“I understand, Lady Fusi”
