Multiverse: Ragnarok's Beginning - The Hero King's Path

When dozens of Demon Beasts were about to reach the riverbank, Brunhilde realized her earlier guess was wrong.

These Demon Beasts weren't targeting Xiang Yu—their goal was that Portal.

Was the Portal something good?

No, rather, the other side of the Portal was drawing them in, driving them mad.

Facing such a horde of Demon Beasts, Xiang Yu clenched his fist and punched fiercely forward.

In that moment, the air trembled violently—no, space itself was trembling.

The surging monsters crashed into what seemed like an invisible Air Wall, one after another crying out in agony.

In truth, it wasn't a real Air Wall they hit.

It was because Xiang Yu's strike had destabilized space, causing Space Distortion, and the rampaging Demon Beasts collided with the churning void.

The weaker ones died on the spot.

Such a blow made Brunhilde's pupils widen as her body trembled slightly.

To achieve this with pure physical strength alone was beyond what most demigods could do.

This technique of striking space to create a barrier of distortion—Brunhilde had once seen it in another figure: the Greek hero, Hercules.

At that moment, Brunhilde knew these Demon Beasts stood no chance.

But strangely, even facing Xiang Yu's overwhelming power, the monsters showed no intention of fleeing. They still madly charged toward the Portal.

What kind of magic was drawing them in, robbing them of reason?

"What—is on the other side?"

The last beast was also a snake—one with horns, the strongest of them all.

In its dying moments, lucid, it spoke those words.

So Brunhilde pricked up her ears. Would Xiang Yu answer?

"The Qin Empire!"

Xiang Yu replied, but the answer left her stunned and bewildered.

Whether the Demon Beast heard that answer or not, it had now closed its eyes, its life extinguished.

With a stomp from Xiang Yu, the entire ground shook violently, as if mountains and earth were shifting.

The corpses of the Demon Beasts were rolled into the earth, buried deep on the spot.

After finishing all this, Xiang Yu walked toward the Portal. By its side, only one figure remained standing—his physical body.

Suddenly, Xiang Yu looked over at her.

That gaze seemed to pierce through the barriers of time and space, pressing down on her with such force that cold sweat trickled down her face.

Then, Xiang Yu revealed a meaningful expression.

Had she been discovered?

Chapter 036: Summoning Failed 'Cannot Detect This Person's Soul'

Those eyes, which seemed almost human at first glance, on closer inspection looked like Electronic Eyes.

Such Electronic Eyes were also Double Pupils.

These Double Pupils glowed faintly as they stared straight at Brunhilde.

Then, he showed that meaningful expression, and her heart tightened.

Discovered?

Afterward, he turned and stepped into the Portal, vanishing from Brunhilde's sight.

Just as the light curtain was about to fade, Brunhilde immediately gave chase and stepped into the Portal.

"What—what?!"

Brunhilde was stunned. The Portal was like a mirage to her, an illusory scene she passed through like air.

She couldn't truly disappear into the Portal's light curtain and be teleported elsewhere. She remained where she was.

That shouldn't be. She should have been able to enter—after all, this was Akasha's record; she should have been able to follow.

Unless she was too slow, and the light curtain had already disconnected.

So she adjusted the time back, stepping into the light curtain while Xiang Yu was still slaughtering the Demon Beasts.

The result was the same.

What was going on?

She adjusted further back, entering alongside Xiang Yu's soldiers. The soldiers disappeared, but she once again passed through the illusory scene like a mirage.

"What is this? It shouldn't be like this."

Logically, this shouldn't happen.

Though she was watching history and interacting with historical figures felt like touching a phantom—unable to interfere—passing through that Portal should have been normal.

But Brunhilde had already expressed to the Akashic Records her desire to also enter through the Portal and see the plot unfold on the other side. Logically, she should have been transported along with it—so why was there no response?

Hmm? The ground was trembling faintly, as if thousands upon thousands of troops were thundering toward this spot.

And indeed, thousands upon thousands of troops were charging here—the grand army of Liu Bang, the King of Han.

Countless soldiers rapidly closed in, halting a hundred meters away from Xiang Yu's abandoned physical body, encircling it.

"Xiang Yu, it seems Heaven wishes for your doom!"

A general under Liu Bang shouted, his voice fierce and his expression stern.

With his cry, the Han Army roared in unison, a tidal wave of momentum crashing down upon Xiang Yu.

Yet all they received in return was Xiang Yu's silence, his face utterly fearless as he gazed at them.

To the Han Army, this was merely Xiang Yu's futile, silent defiance—but they had no idea that the Xiang Yu before them was nothing more than a discarded shell.

Even so, this empty husk standing firm still pressed down on the Han Army with immense pressure.

Every soldier blustered outwardly but dared not advance, fear flickering in their eyes.

Though each one coveted the glory of cutting off Xiang Yu's head to earn a noble title and high office, none dared to take the lead.

Because whoever charged first would face the Hegemon King's direct assault—a path of certain death, with no chance of enfeoffment or promotion.

So everyone schemed to steal the kill from behind, unwilling to sacrifice themselves for others.

This led to the current standoff: soldiers exchanged glances, waiting for someone else to make the first move so they could swoop in afterward.

"Charge!"

At the general's command, the encircling soldiers still dared not advance.

Of course, the ones most reluctant were those in the front lines. The soldiers farther back, who couldn't see Xiang Yu clearly and felt less pressure, began to step forward.

Thus, the front-line soldiers were forcibly shoved closer by those behind them.

In an instant, chaos erupted—front and rear soldiers clashed with each other.

Faced with this situation, the commander could only issue a new order with some embarrassment and irritation.

"Halt!"

"Archers, ready!"

There was no other choice.

At this command, the infantry parted to make way for the archers to take aim. Countless arrows were nocked and bows drawn—ten thousand arrows poised to fly!

"Loose!"

With the sound of countless bowstrings snapping back, a dense rain of arrows descended upon the surrounded figure, threatening to turn him into a pincushion.

But just as the arrows were about to strike, a burst of energy suddenly erupted from Xiang Yu's body.

That powerful force seemed to form an invisible barrier—a resilient shield that deflected the incoming volley.

In that moment, panicked cries rang out, followed by screams of agony.

This counterattack, beyond their expectations, threw the besieging army into disarray.

Just as some were about to flee, a stray glance caught sight of that demonic figure.

"Wha—what is that?"

They stopped in their tracks, their eyes blank with confusion.

The Western Chu Hegemon King, who moments ago had displayed an inhuman counterattack, now collapsed in a heap, his body instantly disintegrating into dust.

This bizarre turn of events left the soldiers and generals baffled, but Brunhilde, watching from the sidelines, could roughly guess what had happened.

Xiang Yu must have tampered with his own body—before destroying it, he gave these people one last scare.

The next second, Brunhilde pressed pause, and the world froze.

The once-vibrant world faded, its colors draining into black and white.

With a wave of her hand, the Akasha System interface appeared before Brunhilde.

This time, she planned to first summon a famous general under the Western Chu Hegemon King, then use that general to learn about the Hegemon King's true character.

Because the situation was somewhat unsettling, she didn't dare summon the Hegemon King directly.

She would choose this person.

Fan Zeng, a renowned strategist and statesman of the late Qin Dynasty, the chief advisor to Xiang Yu, the Western Chu Hegemon King—surely someone well-acquainted with Xiang Yu's nature.

According to widely known history, it was because Xiang Yu later lost trust in Fan Zeng, falling for a divisive scheme, that Fan Zeng resigned in disappointment and returned to his hometown.

Otherwise, had he heeded Fan Zeng's strategies, Xiang Yu would have surely pacified the realm and become the true sovereign of a new empire.

Thus, it's clear what an extraordinary talent Fan Zeng was.

But was Fan Zeng truly suspected and sidelined by Xiang Yu?

Now, entering the Akashic Records and seeing history that didn't quite add up—it was hard to say.

Very well, confirm the summon!

However—

No reaction?

What's going on?

Carefully reading the explanation above, Brunhilde couldn't help but pale slightly.

"Unable to detect this person's soul."

So this was the reason the summoning failed.

And when such a description appeared, there was only one possibility—this person's soul had been shattered, rendering any means of resurrection useless, reduced to nothing but cosmic dust.

So, what had happened that required Fan Zeng to be completely erased?

Chapter 037: Tyrant? Sacrificing Millions of Lives for Immortality?

Had Fan Zeng uncovered some secret? Something that demanded even his soul be obliterated, turned into cosmic dust?

If the goal was merely to hide it from the world, killing him outright would have sufficed.

To go so far as to erase him beyond any possibility of soul revival was clearly aimed at the gods—fearing that they might summon Fan Zeng and learn some secret from his lips.

But couldn't they simply watch the historical footage of Fan Zeng's life to uncover whatever secret was being hidden?

Not necessarily. After all, that Portal had appeared, yet they couldn't enter it. Whatever the person on the other side was saying, they had no way of knowing.

Since summoning Fan Zeng was impossible, perhaps looking into someone else might yield useful information.

Then this one—Long Ju. Brunhilde had seen him too, always sticking close to Xiang Yu's side, right up until he stepped into that Portal.

Summoning him should be no problem.

However—