Thunder Descends

Three days passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Qing was sunbathing in the courtyard when he noticed Susannie coming and going next door over the past few days.

He guessed Sylph was busy preparing for her "transmigration," though he had no idea what she was preparing for. After all, it was her consciousness that would descend.

At least, that was how it seemed to Susannie.

The Elf Saintess, Sylph, had practically lost all her memories. She no longer possessed any inherited spells, and her combat strength was less than one percent of what it had been. She could not even beat an ordinary person like Susannie, so she had to rely on Susannie to save the beauty in distress for a second time.

This girl is certainly a woman of action.

Li Qing cast a sidelong glance.

After all, Susannie was someone who had fought wits and courage with her girlfriend's mother. If she had truly been a useless second-generation heir with no abilities, Li Qing would never have chosen her.

Meanwhile, Susannie's preparations were proceeding in full swing.

The Elf World next door was developing at an equally astonishing pace.

Whoosh!

With the passage of one day outside equaling ten days inside, three days outside amounted to nearly a month within.

Through his phone, Li Qing could see the surveillance footage from the laboratory:

The human race was working themselves to the bone. On the ground, they moved like ants in a documentary about ants transporting food—nimble, densely packed, and constantly in motion.

Since they could not climb the World Tree of the All Gods to observe the outside of the Crystal Wall, they had no choice but to pile up pull-tab cans and canned-food tins into a garbage mountain, then stand atop it and press against the glass window to look out.

"What is that?"

"Is that the world beyond?"

"Why is only this Crystal Wall World transparent?"

"Silver chaos, reflecting endless radiance—is that the world beyond the borders? Is our world like one of countless worlds standing erect within the endless chaos?"

Throughout that month, the ten Human Kings wore looks of longing every day.

They were like prison laborers locked away in a cell, all pressing against the laboratory window together, gazing yearningly at the vast silver hall outside.

Like the Atabians of old, they yearned to explore the entire world. They had even picked up scraps of iron on their own initiative, hoping to pierce the Tempered Glass.

Yet with their size and strength, they failed to leave even the slightest mark.

"The power of the gods—the great life-forms that created everything!"

"We will continue studying Martial Arts."

The human race trained their Bloodline Talents without pause, becoming bloodline knights. Their friction with the Elven Race in the tree grew increasingly intense.

By contrast, during that month, Ilis the Thunder Spider, who had received the Divine Oracle, had secretly accumulated his strength. Now, he was fully prepared.

He was about to welcome the descent of the ancient god from beyond the heavens.

This world was square and level.

At the edge of the room-world, a hill had been piled up against the corner of the wall, concealing the cavern beneath it—and, deep within the cavern, the summoning altar!

"Great God of Thunder, please descend!"

Before the altar, countless Magic Beasts knelt in fervent worship.

They prayed. In the gloomy cavern, a strange and sinister atmosphere hung in the air. Blood had been used to write words, while tree sap had been used to draw totems.

The altar before them was extremely distinctive. On the wall was a complex and exquisite gate painted in blood. A circle sat in the middle of the gate, as if a world passage would open there. Indeed, a tunnel had been drilled straight through from the opposite side, breaking into this room.

"Vrrrm!"

As the followers of the Outer God continued praying, the entire cavern suddenly began to tremble.

If not for the inner walls being braced with canned-metal supports, the cavern would have collapsed in an instant.

As the trembling grew stronger, the vast World Barrier emitted a low, piercing electrical buzz. Enormous, high-frequency vibrations pressed down on every Magic Beast before the altar until they could barely breathe.

"The gate painted on the wall is heating up!"

"It's shaking!"

"The gate is about to open!"

The believers grew even more frenzied, worshiping without pause.

Their prayers mingled with the vibrations, countless chaotic high and low tones blending together. The sound was as grating as the muttering of an ancient demon.

"What is that?"

"Go check the source!"

In a distant tribe, the ten Human Kings stared toward the distant woods, a powerful sense of unease rising in their hearts.

Atop the World Tree, the Elves holding bows, arrows, and scepters suddenly noticed the vibrations in that direction. As the soil shook and the hill collapsed, it revealed the altar chamber below, built from heaps of metal.

Above the World Tree.

"What a wondrous sound."

Herodotus suddenly sighed.

"His Majesty, you still have the leisure to comment on it?" Minis's expression stiffened slightly.

"What sort of thing could produce such a chaotic and terrifyingly violent sound?" Herodotus said.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

As the Elves and humans drew closer, the deafening sound grew louder and louder. The entire world began to tremble with a thunderous roar!

Inside the altar, Ilis slowly spoke. "They have discovered us! They are coming here to stop our ritual. Everyone, begin. Let the gods in the tree witness our strength."

"Yes. The gods created us, yet abandoned us to dote on their new favorite children—the human race." A half-human species modified from a dung beetle roared.

"We are powerful now. We have placed our faith in a new god." This was a defective manufactured monster with a fly's head and an ant's body. It possessed only the outward appearance, without any corresponding power.

As the first human troops arrived to investigate, the traps hidden in the darkness were suddenly triggered.

Crack!

Countless electric arcs coiled across the floor. It was a conductive trap made by covering the ground with metal and flowing water.

"Thunder Judgment!"

Ilis shouted. In an instant, hundreds of human soldiers were electrocuted, and the scent of roasted meat filled the air.

"What is this?"

Several Human Kings in the distance were shaken. "What is that?"

This world had never seen such powerful individual strength.

Yet the mysterious spider before them had crushed a human knight army of several hundred in an instant.

The Elven Race also arrived from afar.

They discovered that the ground was covered in forbidden zones. Stepping into one meant falling into a trap and being burned to charcoal, so they did not dare advance.

"Archers, prepare!"

Countless Elven archers stepped forward and began firing poisoned arrows.

Thud, thud, thud!

The overwhelming rain of arrows could not even pierce the metal shell of that yellow-peach can, much less find a way into the enemy's altar within.

In the sky,

the All Gods looked down upon that region.

They frowned slightly, unable to understand what was happening.

"This is bad! The God of Light has just issued a Divine Oracle. The saint dragon spoke—the world contains Evil God believers, and they may be summoning an Evil God." At that moment, a red-robed priest hurried over from the distance and informed the All Gods.

"Stop it at once!" The All Gods suddenly flew into a rage.

Unfortunately, even the gods who rushed over were powerless. The ground before the enemy was entirely metal, and anyone who stepped onto it would be electrocuted. They could not force their way through in a short time.

This was the first time they had recognized the existence of thunder, as well as metal's conductivity. They could not find any way to counter it in such a short time.

All they could do was watch helplessly as the metal wall that shook the world produced a cacophony of noise. The terrifying upheaval unfolding in this world weighed on everyone's hearts like a heavy mountain range.

Ilis, however, was eager to put on a show. With the metal ground between them, he gripped his metal scepter, spread his arms high like a great villain, and smiled at them from afar.

"All Gods, you are nothing more than this."

"You gave us life, yet destroyed us without the slightest concern."

"This is our revenge. Let the All Gods taste our suffering."

Heh.

Ilis could not help letting out a mocking chuckle.

"We were all creations of the All Gods. Why should we struggle in the woods while the Elves, the gods' favorites, lived happily in the tree whenever we were being tormented? Why should the human race receive the gods' grace and gain the power to transform themselves?"

"You are unworthy of being gods who created civilization. The eternal ancient beings will open the passage between worlds and descend upon this world!"

"Endless mountains of flesh, limitless skeletons, and demon dragons will surge from the abyss and invade this world!"

Faintly, Ilis sensed boundless delight and liberation. He spread his arms wide.

"The Demon Lord will awaken amid the war."

"Submit, or be destroyed!"

As he roared, the iron wall of the world behind him trembled even more violently.

They could feel the soil nearby shaking like an earthquake!

Even the Crystal Wall was trembling!

The forest on the ground began to jump, trees toppling this way and that.

Splashes rose from the rivers.

Some leaves fell from the World Tree as well. The terrifying vibration, like the roar of the ancient Thunder God, echoed throughout the completely sealed metal world.

Sizzle, sizzle.

Everyone raised their heads to look at the Crystal Wall as it shook violently, as though a towering mythic giant stood on the other side, pounding its way through the entire world.

The sound grew louder and louder.

"Descend!"

Ilis shouted as thunder burst from his spider legs.

Then the silver iron wall of the world behind him suddenly shuddered.

Boom!

In the next moment, it seemed that everything had built up to the point of bursting. The sound surged like a floodgate opening, and a hole appeared in the wall.

A scorching, spiraled, mysterious cylinder emerged from the hole, its irregular shape resembling a wave. Endless electric sparks surged outward.

The limitless heat dyed the area around the World Barrier with intense warmth, turning it faintly red. The scorching temperature roasted everything nearby.

Golden sparks splashed into the forest, instantly setting a swath of trees ablaze.

Amid the boundless sea of flames,

"The world passage has opened. The other world has descended. My mission is complete!" The terrifying heat made Ilis incomparably ecstatic. He threw back his head and shouted, "This world is about to be destroyed! All Gods, await your final judgment!"

Ilis turned and ran. A strand of spider silk shot toward the distance, carrying him away.