Chapter 1436: Chapter 997: Make way, let me do it!

“Who am I? You don’t recognize me? Who are you people?” The middle-aged man was naturally the Great Speaker, who asked with a frown.

Anthony’s heart stirred, and he slowly straightened his back, an action that immediately triggered a chain reaction. Negris and Durken exchanged a glance and subtly took a half step back, giving way to Anthony.

Ange quietly shrunk his body, his hands tucked away, holding Little Ghost in his grasp.

In front of Ange, Anthony was used to bowing his back. When he straightened up, it meant ‘move aside, let me handle this.’

When Anthony takes the initiative, it usually means he’s preparing to set someone up, so naturally everyone shrank back to give him space to work.

Anthony placed a hand on his chest in a gesture of respect and spoke up, “We are nothing but wretched refugees driven from our homes, and do not know who you are, sir. May I ask your name?”

“Pfft, driven out of your homes? Refugees? Fleeing to this place? Do you take me for a fool?” said the Great Speaker with displeased mockery.

Anthony appeared not to hear the underlying meaning, speaking in a calm and unhurried manner, “Where else could we flee to? There is no place for us in the entire Empire. The Godslayer has slaughtered those gods who refused to submit, and registered the ones who surrendered. We survivors had no choice but to flee into the boundless Void, eventually finding refuge here, not because we wanted to, but because we had no strength left to flee.”

By the end, Anthony’s inner sorrow and despair nearly spilled out of his words.

Some people had already said before that when Anthony talks, it’s like he’s casting Spirit Magic, easily beguiling others. But it’s not magic, it’s just the art of speech from an Old God Stick. Unless you’re an equally wily one of their own kind, it’s hard to see through it.

The Great Speaker, obviously not of the same kind as Anthony, was taken aback, somewhat anxiously trying to clarify, “That’s not what I meant… ugh, never mind. Who is this Godslayer you’re talking about? And what’s this about registering the gods?”

The original intent of the Great Speaker was ‘how could one flee to such a death trap as this,’ but Anthony, pretending not to understand, turned the conversation by explaining not only the origins and reasons for their presence here, but also the wealth of information directly steering the topic elsewhere.

Now it was the Great Speaker who wanted to know who the Godslayer was and what the registration of the gods was all about; a masterful play of turning the tables and turning a passive situation into an active one.

“The Godslayer is none other than the Friel Queen’s Assistant Minister Ogar. He demanded that all deities of the Empire register with him, killing those unwilling, while also committing licentious acts towards female gods, slaughtering believers, and burning crops and food, claiming that once he has completed the integration, he plans to annihilate that invading Divine Light Association from the Empire,” Anthony spoke with righteous indignation, his tone carrying a mix of resentment and exaggeration.

“Invading the Empire? When did the Divine Light Association invade the Empire? How come I didn’t know about this?” the Great Speaker asked.

“Ah? You don’t know? This all happened in recent years. Some people from the Divine Light Association invaded the Empire, the Friel Queen somehow summoned the Godslayer, who drove the enemies away a year ago. Then, turning around, the Godslayer targeted all deities. You really didn’t know? Which country are you from?” Anthony inquired.

“I am also from the Friel Empire. And you? Which deity’s subjects are you?” the Great Speaker asked.

Anthony crossed his arms in front of him, summoning a layer of Holy Light, and said, “I serve the Lord of Light.”

The Great Speaker’s eyes moved to the others. When his gaze landed on Silver Coin, Silver Coin stepped forward, “I serve the God of Business.”

When his gaze reached Negris, Negris followed suit, “I serve the God of Knowledge.”

His gaze then shifted toward Ange, but it moved on without pausing; a Mechanical Construct designed for agriculture couldn’t have anything to do with gods.

Just when the Great Speaker thought there were no more, a rabbit hopped around in the back, “I am Swift Wind, I am Swift Wind.”

The Great Speaker had to believe it now, “It seems that a terrible disaster has indeed occurred, otherwise why would so many different faiths be mixed together like this. Normally, you’d be fighting upon meeting each other, yes? Is the Lord of Light still well? And what are these fields for? Are you planning to cultivate and settle here, even bringing Mechanical Constructs for planting?”

He asked a barrage of questions in one breath, and by the end, the Great Speaker glanced at Ange, clearly considering him as a Mechanical Construct brought specifically for planting.

Ange didn’t lift his head, as if he hadn’t heard, fitting the reaction of a Mechanical Construct for planting perfectly. At this time, the group of old slicks also did not turn their attention to Ange.

Anthony responded, “My Lord has already fallen. We cultivated these farmlands ourselves; let’s just try to survive for now. Is this your territory, perhaps?”

The Great Speaker said, “Ah? The Lord of Light has fallen?”

The Great Speaker appeared somewhat disheartened and dazed for a short while, then said, “Not exactly. Have you seen a creature wielding a hammer?”

Anthony and the others exchanged glances and then shook their heads.

“Where could that fellow have run off to?” The Great Speaker muttered to himself, then with a long line of coffins in tow, he took flight around the central part of the Plane, obviously in search of the hole with the hammer handle.

Once he left, everyone immediately started whispering to each other. Negris asked, “Who is he?”

Anthony quickly said, “I suspect he’s the Great Speaker of the Divine Light Alliance. Ogar has said that the Great Speaker of the Divine Light Alliance is an Undead, and since he was able to find this place and recognized the hammer, it’s very likely he’s the Great Speaker.”

“He claims to be from the Empire, too. How could he be the Great Speaker? And why are you making up so many bad things about Ogar?” Negris asked.

Although Ogar is a Godslayer, none of the accusations – disrespecting a goddess, debauchery and rape, or burning crops – are true. If he dared to burn crops, Ange would have killed him long ago.

“Do you believe everything he says? I’m testing his character. When I mentioned debauchery and rape, he frowned, but when I mentioned disrespecting a goddess, he was only startled; upon hearing about burning crops, he seemed displeased, but when I talked about slaughtering worshippers, he didn’t react much, so he must be someone who looks down on the licentious yet doesn’t care much for life, and is annoyed by vandalism,” said Anthony.

Anthony was very adept at psychological profiling. Last time in the Star Burst Plane, Grey was swiftly seen through for her competitive nature; with just a few words, he managed to provoke Grey, who initially didn’t want to enter the fray, to request joining on her own initiative. Psychological profiling is especially effective with simple-minded people.

“What do we do now? How should we cooperate?” asked Negris.

Anthony said, “He possesses Chaotic Power. The Lord wants Chaos Mist, which can be converted from Chaotic Power. I plan to start with him. Don’t say anything; just tell him we’ve only recently escaped here and know nothing.”

Negris couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “You really are a good Pope for Ange, aren’t you? He just mentioned it, and you’re already thinking about obtaining Chaos Mist for him? Is this really a good channel to get Chaos Mist?”

Anthony nodded, “He seems to recognize the Lord of Light. He’s an Undead, but his flesh is still quite lively. What does that remind you of?”

“The Face Purification Technique?” guessed Negris.

“Probably not. But Shah knows how to make Holy Essence Liquid. It might be due to the Holy Essence Liquid. I’ll test that in a moment,” said Anthony.

Just as he finished speaking, the Great Speaker returned, having found that the hole leading to the interior had been blocked.

If it were an ordinary Plane, he could simply smash it open if the hole was blocked, but the ground here was mixed with Black Crystal, making it not so easy to break through. He would have no idea how long it would take to dig through, and since he couldn’t sense the Universal Pull Divine Hammer, he guessed it wasn’t inside anymore, so the Great Speaker gave up.

Returning to the first question, he asked, “Did you block that hole over there?”

Everyone blinked in feigned ignorance: “What hole? Was there a hole there? We didn’t see it.”

The worst actor present was probably the Swift Wind Rabbit, with even Little Sapling outperforming it in acting skill, lying on Ange’s head like part of a Mechanical Construct made of wood.

The Great Speaker couldn’t find any flaws, so he asked, “What are your plans next? What can you grow in this pitch-black place?”

Anthony said, “My Lord’s Light can bring brightness to this land. However, I plan to plant some sacred mushrooms to extract Holy Essence Liquid. I’ll try to sell it to the Divine Light Alliance, exchange it for some food, and bring it back.”

“Holy Essence Liquid? You know how to make Holy Essence Liquid?” asked the Great Speaker, somewhat surprised.

Negris and the others like Anthony and Durken, shaking their silver coins simultaneously, had the same thought: He’s taken the bait.