Xyrin Empire-Chapter 697: Demons Bearing Down Like Mount Tai

Two fellows with wings joyfully left in each other’s company, leaving behind a crowd of dazed and speechless onlookers.

"Chiruno, that idiot! She just came to join in on the commotion!" Marisa clenched her fists in frustration, harboring resentment toward the #9 Demon who was supposed to help but ended up forgetting her job and walking away.

I turned my head and innocently whistled toward the horizon.

"And your Dingdang did the same!" Ling Meng glanced at me with contempt, her arms crossed.

At that moment, Marisa finally remembered the urgent matter at hand. The golden-haired little witch began to panic, vigorously waving her broom and shouting to the onlookers, "Ah! Shoot, Outer Heaven Island is still descending! We need to get over there quickly—everyone stop wasting time! Hurry up and gather at the mountainside!"

After shooing everyone away, the black and white witch turned toward us: "And you guys should come too! Although I’m not sure what’s going on, you seem to be Ling Meng’s friends, right? Come and help!"

"Cough cough, shouldn’t you hear us out first?" I grabbed the golden-haired girl’s attention again, "Actually, that thing in the sky... it belongs to us."

Marisa, frozen mid-step in midair, mechanically turned her head after a long while, scratching her cheek: "Huh?"

It was then that the lackadaisical Ling Meng yawned and lazily explained to her dear friend, "What I mean is there’s no need to rush. This heartless boss came here to collect his non-flammable trash, we just need to wait for the compensation for demolition to be settled~~"

Afterward, Ling Meng, who had nothing but compensation fees and a leisurely life after receiving the compensation on her mind, explained in simple terms to Marisa about the policy-oriented demolition and the latest Beneficial Housing Project, while incidentally mentioning the Atlantis Continent and world-level intrusion. Even though Ling Meng’s description focused entirely on the compensation, Marisa, who was already quite clever, quickly grasped the crux of the entire matter, which was:

"Hey! So it’s you guys who caused this big crisis, isn’t it?"

The golden-haired little witch pointed accusingly at my nose, not bothering to be polite.

I felt it necessary to explain: "It’s not us who caused it, it was just one of our ancient colonization ships that went out of control."

However, Marisa continued with her own logic: "That’s still you guys screwing up, DAZE!"

Well, no matter what, the witch before me seemed fixated on one thing: your thing broke and then smashed something of mine, so ultimately it’s still you who smashed my stuff—getting her to understand someone else’s explanation seemed to be quite a brain-burning task. Yet her straightforward character was, how should I put it, decisively action-oriented.

But it was not all a misunderstanding. No matter how you put it, the fall of Atlantis had to be blamed on the Empire. These days, being a leader in a big corporation, even if you’re just there to make up the numbers, your work badge has to read "Corporate Responsible Person," doesn’t it? So let Marisa be as she will.

Anyway, I could tell; the girl was just venting a bit after days of hard work, she still had a sense of priority.

"Let’s go over and check out the situation first," the gentle voice of Yakumo Lan momentarily interrupted Moriya’s grumbling. Accustomed to handling affairs big and small for her master over the years, even as a Demon Beast, she could think calmly at critical moments, "Lord Zi has just sent information, the Barrier’s situation isn’t too bad, so if possible, we’d better move the Atlantis Continent away soon."

I was a little curious about how this fox managed to keep in touch with Yukari Yakumo, "Information? Do you demons also use Spiritual Connections? Or is it something like telepathy?"

Turns out the Demon Fox Girl calmly pulled an iPhone 4 out of her pocket...

"Lord Zi bought it when she was in Shadow City."

Guided by Moriya, we quickly arrived halfway up Demon Mountain, where large expanses of woodland clearings had been leveled out. Positioned along the mountain’s contours were numerous landing spots, ranging from small groups of three to five to large assemblies of over a hundred demons, all using their various powers to maintain the levitation of that super Floating Island above. From a distance, we’d already seen the twinkling points of light on Demon Mountain, now shrouded in darkness, and only up close did we confirm that these lights were indeed the glow produced by the demons casting spells.

Well, to say that they were all demons might not be entirely accurate. After a brief scan, I noticed at least dozens of different energy usage methods among these temporary workers—other than the demonic power I’ve seen on Yukari Yakumo and the spiritual power on Boli Lingmeng. There was a plethora of familiar and unfamiliar forces, such as Magic Power, Immortal Technique, Daoist Skill, Superpower, Telekinesis, and so on. This indicated that the Races gathered on Demon Mountain were quite a mix. According to Moriya, every creature in Fantasy Country with a name and significant power had already been called upon: Faced with an unprecedented crisis, even the laziest and least crisis-aware started to emerge from their lairs.

"At first, when Outer Heaven Island was still suspended high above Demon Mountain without falling, the Tengu and Kappas were reluctant to have so many people gather in their territory. But after Outer Heaven Island fell three consecutive times, even knocking over the antennae the Tengu had set up on the mountain peak, those stubborn folks finally gave in, DAZE!"

Moriya pointed towards the largest group of "people" gathered below a slope in front of us, chattering away as she explained, "But everyone still split into many small teams. Demons aren’t used to cooperating with each other, and the same goes for other Alien Races. Even though everyone is trying hard to push Outer Heaven Island out, working together leads to conflicts, so in the end, everyone just found their own spots."

"So you’re saying there’s no one actually organizing everything?"

"There are some organizing efforts, but it’s all small circles really. Without the Big Demons around, there’s no one who’s universally respected. Right now, each group from places like Demon Mountain, Red Demon Mansion, and the Magic Forest is being directed by their own leadership."

"Inefficient, wasteful. With the same force, you could have pushed Atlantis back up into the sky a long time ago," Sandora commented emotionlessly.

"What can we do! That’s just how they are!" Moriya complained discontentedly, "And the demons’ powers are all different; even standing together, it’s essentially no different than being scattered!"

Sandora shrugged noncommittally and muttered to me over the Spiritual Connection, "Too much peace and comfort have made the residents here too complacent, without a sense of crisis."

I smiled, "That’s the precious thing about Fantasy Country, isn’t it? If possible, it would be great if every world could be this peaceful."

Although she still held to the Imperial People’s principle of efficiency above all, Sandora still chose to unconditionally support my view this time, "Well, since Ah Jun likes Fantasy Country this way, then let’s try to minimize the impact of this event as much as possible."

I patted Sandora’s head and then curiously raised my head to look up at the "sky."

To call it sky was no longer appropriate; above everyone’s heads now hung the underside of a dark, overhanging landmass. The cone-shaped Atlantis Continent narrowly missed the top of Demon Mountain by only about tens of meters, with interlocking parts stretching to about a third of the mountain. Standing on the eastern slope of Demon Mountain gave rise to a view of an eastward sloping dome of dirt and rocks—dark and ominous. Only demons and Mutants with special vision could see the jagged rocks and big clods of earth not quite falling down. The metal vines, once part of the undersurface energy system of Atlantis, were now exposed like the roots of a huge tree, protruding from beneath the land, appearing like dense, thick hair—that was unsettling to behold. The occasional flashes of energy light on these metal vines were the only source of light in this "dome," casting a dim illumination on Demon Mountain below.

In this terrifying scene, like the overwhelming pressure of Mount Tai, a vast oppressive force would seep into your body and spirit from every pore. Daring to stand on the eastern slopes of Demon Mountain at such a time meant you had to be prepared to be crushed by the weight of billions of tons of Floating Island at any moment: such courage was probably rare even among the demons.

But the immense sense of crisis still gathered tens of thousands of "people" here, providing floating energy to the now-powerless Atlantis Continent in all sorts of bizarre ways to prevent their homeland from being utterly destroyed by the Heavenly Descending Continent.

At that moment, information finally came through the spiritual connection from two Imperial agents who had landed on Atlantis Floating City with Ares, snapping my attention to focus.

"Your glory shall endure forever, Your Majesty. We have successfully boarded the Ancient Colony Ship and are now approaching the point of impact on Mount Olympus."

"And Ares?"

"Warrior Ares has already met with other Atlantians. Following Your Majesty’s command, we have not rashly formally contacted the Atlantians, but Ares has brought the news of the Empire’s return. These Ancient Clans still hold reverence for the glory of the Empire. They have just begun, under Sandora’s command, to gradually retract the defenses, preparing to hold the last few streets that have not been infected. We are currently deep within the infected zone, over."

"How is the infection there?"

"The district is currently moderately infected. The power of the Abyss is gradually eroding the structural integrity of the Atlantis core. The ghost energy pipelines in the lower parts of the urban area have slowed this erosion, but these pipelines are also gradually being damaged. According to the energy readings from the ghost energy pipeline, it is estimated that they will overload in 72 hours, and the Atlantis main body will begin to disintegrate at the same time. The creatures in the infected zone are severely contaminated. We have encountered several natives in a state of madness but have not engaged in combat. Preliminarily, the pollution source at the impact point is an extremely dangerous object that is over ninety percent abyssalized and also explosive. The special agent team has now entered the highest defense and stealth modes. We will approach the pollution source slowly, reaching it in thirty minutes. Over."

"Also, confirm the remaining energy of Atlantis, exactly how much is left?"

"The situation is dire, the main power reactor has shut down, and Atlantis’s own energy output is less than five percent, but the pan-energy conversion system at the bottom of the city has automatically absorbed the energy of the Fantasy Country natives. The Ancient Colony Ship can hold on for now—subordinates will transmit the energy system information to you. Over."

The Imperial agents’ signal went into standby, and I exchanged glances with Sandora, who was also listening to the signal. She said with a furrowed brow, "The situation is as bad as we thought, it’s seriously hazardous."

"How risky would it be to send the regular army to land on Atlantis now?"

"Even if all inhabitants of Atlantis turned into monsters, they could not defeat our army, so the danger is not in that pollution source, but in the possible leak it might trigger," Sandora looked around, "If the fighting happens here, it will undoubtedly accelerate the eruption of that pollution source. Should any accidents occur, the Abyss would explode directly above Demon Mountain, and these powerful beings would be the ideal prey for the Abyss, and they have no experience in combatting it. As for using spatial devices to isolate Atlantis, that’s also not possible, as the Great Barrier would collapse. Right now, we must find a way to safely lift Atlantis back into the sky, preferably into a high-orbit, where we can attack freely. All this must be completed within 72 hours; this ancient colonial ship won’t last much longer."

"To be honest, I have the simplest and worst plan," looking at the dome of tilting, drooping sand, stone, and mud in the sky, and the occasional flashes of energy flow like fireflies, I hesitated to say, "After lifting Atlantis into the sky, evacuate everyone from above, and then fire the Sniper Star Cannon..."

Sandora glanced at me sideways: "Could you bear to? Such a precious Ancient Relic."

I shook my head firmly: "Of course, I couldn’t bear to."

"Same here, so let’s prepare for the landing battle in earnest. Once the agents clarify the situation with the pollution source, we’ll prepare for Atlantis to ascend—speaking of which, why hasn’t Bingdisi shown up yet?"

I thought a moment: "Maybe they realized they didn’t bring the crossing fee when going through the Void Node?"

Sandora suddenly paused, but her response made me, who had said that with a joking mindset, even more stunned: "Ah? Is that guy still having that problem?!"

This was the first time I learned that the legendary Divine Race Void Nodes that bounded the boundaries of the Void actually served as toll stations for adoption fees.

Since a while ago, Moriya had been curiously observing Sandora and me as we exchanged silent glances and whispered to each other in low voices. The girl who grew up in Fantasy Country was naturally curious about Outsiders, not to mention that we were supposedly from another world, and it seemed we were already chummy with Ling Meng. The rarity of such sights in Fantasy Country piqued the interest of Moriya, who prided herself as a Collector; she was so intrigued it was almost as if she wanted to "pack us up and steal us away." Seeing Sandora and me preoccupied with communicating and completely ignoring her, the host, Moriya finally couldn’t help but holler, "Hey! You two! What are you whispering about? Isn’t this your mess? Hurry up and figure out a way to move it out, DAZE!"

"Do you even realize how serious this situation is? You think it’s just a Floating Island?" I looked at this careless individual with exasperation and loudly called out to the Red and White Witch, who should have been mediating at the time: "Ling Meng, explain to her what the Abyss is!"

"..."

"Ling Meng!"

"..."

After calling out twice and getting no response, I couldn’t help but look in the direction where the Red and White Witch had been standing, only to find that a small open space had been covered with a bamboo mat—the origin of which was anyone’s guess. Boli Lingmeng was leisurely brewing tea for herself on a small table set up on the bamboo mat, accompanied by Yukumo Lan, whose nine tails gently swayed in the breeze, and an unfamiliar cat-eared Little Loli dozing on her lap.

"Ah—what a peaceful world," Boli Lingmeng said, picking up her teacup and gently blowing on it.

"But this doesn’t seem quite right," the Demon Fox Girl said while awkwardly glancing in our direction, gently stroking the head of the cat-eared Little Loli on her lap. The Little Loli meowed contentedly and wagged her playful twin tails briskly a couple of times, as if still snuggled in her dreams.

My eyebrows shot up: "Boli Lingmeng!!"

"Relax, relax," the Red and White Witch waved at me with a hint of impatience, "Moriya, just knowing that it’s an extremely dangerous thing is enough, and it’s right there, on that island in the sky. The risk of that island falling down is nothing compared to the danger of those harmful things falling to the ground. So hurry up and figure out a way to get the Demons to obey: this Human knows what to do, but everyone needs to cooperate, okay?"

"Something more dangerous than Outer Heaven Island falling down?" Moriya shrank her neck a little, looking at the Floating Island that could easily create a giant rift in Fantasy Country if it fell. "Since Ling Meng says so, then... Chen, right? If there’s anything I can do to help, just say it! I’ll do whatever I can!"

Why did this Black and White act as if we were desperately asking for her help with her overconfident attitude? Doesn’t she ever analyze her environment?!

As for rounding up the Fantasy Country residents currently available, it actually wasn’t difficult: a group of outsiders from "the outside world" were definitely conspicuous in Fantasy Country. Ever since we followed Moriya up the mountain, many curious beings had been discreetly trailing us from a distance, including a few whom we could guess the identity of, such as a Tengu who had been secretly taking pictures, and another Tengu who had been secretly taking pictures, and yet another Tengu who had been... secretly taking pictures.

These stalkers had been following us for quite some time, though none of them dared to approach and strike up a conversation. The residual influence of the formidable Boli Lingmeng, who could cause quite a bit of pain, and the nosy Moriya, who was keenly watching, not to mention Yukumo Lan, the official spokesperson for Yukari Yakumo, making step-by-step precautions, caused us, the outsiders who could converse with such well-known figures of Fantasy Country, to seem very mysterious: nobody dared to disturb us.

Therefore, after a call from Moriya, the Demons who had been too shy to approach suddenly acted as if they had received a special pardon—it was an immediate frenzy.

(Overtime, endless overtime, including the first day of 2012...) (To be continued. If you like this work, please come to Qidian to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)

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