Chapter 1142
Chapter 1142 - 1128: Old Acquaintance
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"Are they again? We really do have a connection..."
The Fishmen and that octopus were also old acquaintances of Lu Ping’an.
Although he complained verbally, Lu Ping’an knew that this was actually a high probability event.
As "dimensional frequency" close species, humans and those Fishmen were basically "neighbors," and it involved a high-value ocean planet, so a conflict was highly likely.
However, when the encounter turned out to be with the Family Clan of the octopus, Lu Ping’an had a bit of trouble.
He still carried the curse of this Deity on him.
[*%Octopus*& (Pseudo) Hostility Marker (Lower Gold): You have enraged the Deity, and Its Family Clan and subordinates will go insane the moment they see you.]
This was the original curse. Since Lu Ping’an’s "Life Bank" tier was very low at that time, he indeed couldn’t analyze this seventh-tier Divine Power curse. At least he could not analyze the pseudo-being’s true name, but looking back now, things were different.
[The starvation Curse of The Voracious Octopus Master of the Three-Star Trench (Lower Gold): You have enraged this avatar of the Evil God; Its Family Clan and direct subordinates will attack you at any cost (deprivation of sanity) during any encounter, intending to sacrifice you to their Deity.]
This time the information was more complete, and the attached Lower-level curse was naturally analyzed as well.
[Assassin of the Evil God (Lower Gold): The malice of the Lord of Eight Claws coils around you; when you enter a Secret Realm with a curse source or Its Family Clan, the curse will form malicious pursuers, whose strength is related to the Secret Realm’s upper limit (the curse will activate automatically upon entry next time). When you enter a water-related Secret Realm, the curse will also trigger to a lesser effect.]
This actually had some impact on Lu Ping’an, but considering that he rarely dealt with water-related domains, the effect wasn’t significant.
But obviously, Mercury 42 was different; it had a "curse source (Evil God power)," so as long as Lu Ping’an entered that domain, he would face assassins shaped by the power of the Evil Gods.
"This, is a bit troublesome....."
This curse was Rule-level, and if that place really had a source of the Quasi-God or even True God level Evil God, the assassin that might come could be a Rule-level one.
The other curse, however, was much friendlier.
[Gaze of the Master of the Three-Star Trench of the Octopus (Lower Gold): Being watched or even missed by the Deity, your body will involuntarily turn into one of Its Family Clan, being forcibly transformed for two hours each day (already immunized by the Life Bank). But as a price, you have acquired some traits of the ’Shark Fishman,’ including Waterflow Sensing Skin and the Underwater Breathing Ability.]
𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
This was actually quite a malicious (Transformation) curse and the killer move of this curse. Ordinary people, normally afflicted by the curse, would inevitably become neither human nor ghostly, destined to become gradually marginalized and monsterized, compelled by their "Family Clan" instinct to seek the power of the Evil Gods and water sources.
Then, at the water source, they would trigger the other two curses, either dying violently or becoming a Sacrifice for the deity.
But because Lu Ping’an was immune to this level of malicious transformation, this became a lower-grade combat ability suitable for water warfare.
Lu Ping’an gazed at the "Master of the Three-Star Trench of the Octopus" on the panel as if he had an epiphany.
At his level, he already knew the significance of a "name"; those deity names themselves represented many things.
Originally, he had understood them literally, but having witnessed the "Firebird," he was now able to sense much more from the "deity names."
His servant referred to It as the "Six-Mouthed, Three-Hearted, Eight-Tentacled," and Lu Ping’an originally thought It was just an appearance trait of a "huge monster," but now he himself had analyzed "Master of the Three-Star Trench of the Octopus"...
"Is it a Star-zone level life form..... I’m afraid it has risen to the level of a conceptual entity..."
In Lu Ping’an’s eyes, deities are not the ultimate form of "existence"; to think that the Lord of Eight Claws is merely a form is way too simplistic.
Guided by the "Curse", within Lu Ping’an’s "Twin Eyes", he had vaguely perceived its "reality".
It is an entity that spans star-zones, where "eight claws" actually refers to "eight faces" or rather the "tentacles of endless worlds"; its three hearts/stars not only represent its physical form but also denote its commonly seen three avatars/three True Gods. The Master of the Trench is its true self... a "trench" that devours everything.
Such a bizarre form is not something a lone deity can confront; its very existence is a disaster, though, of course, it is not on the same level as the "nine calamities" recognized in the universe.
It tries to devour oceanic planes to expand its existence, and the unfortunate Mercury 42 has already had at least a quarter of it fall into its domain. If the battle at the ancient city’s border had been lost and Jia Yi had completed his plane descent ritual, probably over half of the ancient city would have become an ocean. With some luck, it might form a new war zone boundary; with less, another uninhabited dark zone would emerge.
"It might not reach the level of a multi-universe disaster, but at the very least, it is a disaster for humanity..."
The proximity of the "coordinates" in the multi-universe forces humanity to confront this adversary.
Lu Ping’an had a sneaking suspicion that the "influence spheres" of these Proper Gods were not solely for competing over development rights, resource planets, and areas of interest, but also to carve out safe zones for humanity.
From the data Lu Ping’an had seen, since the launch of the Explorer Plan, events such as "Exotic Realm openings" and "Evil Gods Descending" on Earth had significantly decreased. This wasn’t just because many troubles had left the planet itself, but more importantly, because the "Black Hands" behind those troubles now had more pressing emergencies to deal with.
"It’s always more cost-effective to wage war abroad than to fight a desperate battle on one’s own soil..."
Laypeople can only observe the excitement, but Lu Ping’an, who is now "in the know" in various respects, sees another part of the struggle for Mercury 42.
"We are the invaders... No, that’s not quite right. It should be said that Mercury 42 has almost fallen due to the erosion of the octopus’ power. We’re stepping in, supporting the local resistance against the invaders, and forcing them to continue investing resources and forces into the fray, causing them to wear down, which significantly reduces the pressure on our homeland."
If we’re being honest, Earth is also a water planet and naturally falls within the scope of the Eight-clawed Lord’s desires. But given that its "homeland" is currently under attack, it is unlikely to extend its tentacles here any time soon.
Before, Lu Ping’an thought incidents like "cultist activities" and "dimensional gate openings" were isolated cases. It wasn’t until he reached his current level that he realized opening "dimensional gates" requires the use of power from one’s home turf; no one would waste resources just to make noise.
If the entities behind the cultists were truly uninterested in this plane, even if they offered themselves as sacrifices, there would be no response from the opposite side. In fact, many cultists are "spies" sent, lured, or assimilated by these entities from the other side.
The more Lu Ping’an understood all this, the clearer he saw the grand strategy of his homeland.
It seems that while the Proper God Churches are gaining more resources and benefits, they are also directly or passively taking on a lot of "responsibility"... Should the foreign war zones collapse, the pressure on Earth’s home front would naturally double.
"...Brother Guan."
At this moment, Lu Ping’an felt even more sympathy for that suburban county that was the victim last time.
It probably wasn’t some natural disaster or sudden man-made catastrophe; it was just another concealment and test by the powers behind the curtain. Although the executor Jia Yi might have been executed, the real mastermind is still very much alive.
In the competitive development of nations and races, the right to live for an individual or even a suburban county might truly be wiped out in an instant. It’s possible that the direct executor can’t even remember how many cities of foreign domains were destroyed, let alone the lives of countless survivors.
"...Uh, it seems that Teacher Hannah’s world also used to be an ocean world that ended up like this."
By that logic, there’s a real possibility that the Eight-clawed Lord is the common enemy of worlds with oceanic domains, and the Rust Knight apparently fled all the way here.
Lu Ping’an shook his head; delving into these national grievances and hatreds could go on endlessly. It’s better to handle the current matters first.
"Since I’m going to that world, I should deal with the curse first. Hopefully, Mr. Quasi-God can lend a hand."
— End of Chapter 1142 —