Chapter Thirty-Four: The Colossal Demon God

On the other side of the valley, what Gong Hao saw was a colossal construct forged entirely of steel—a true giant of metal. At present, this steel titan was seated upon the ground, its bare surface gleaming with a metallic luster, though much of its exterior was mottled with rust after years of exposure to the elements.

“Is this the Ogre God?” Gong Hao could not help but ask Avril.

“That’s right. The only treasure of the Lance Empire, a true weapon from the era of Electra,” Avril replied with reverent awe.

“It looks just like a mountain,” Gong Hao breathed, his tone filled with admiration.

“What matters is that it possesses extraordinary power and can wield at least a dozen powerful spells. Ordinary attacks are useless against it. A single Ogre God like this could wipe out an entire city. Can you imagine? In Electra’s time, hundreds or even thousands of these giants were created.”

“How did you get your hands on one?”

“Oh, even heroes fall. In the war between humanity and the Ogre Gods, some of these giants were damaged. They became spoils of war, dragged back to various nations, where alchemists tried to unravel their secrets. Sadly, no one has ever managed to recreate one.”

With that, Avril turned to Gong Hao. “Hugh, would you like to take a closer look? I’ve only heard that the Ogre God rests at the back of the valley. Hines has been studying it for a long time—he’s already deciphered the secret of its construction, but not its operation. They say it requires a very special method to activate, similar to the means used for the flesh golems.”

“Soul Magic Pearl?” Gong Hao exclaimed.

“Exactly. But the Ogre God’s requirements are far more stringent. Inside its body is a perfectly formed Soul Pearl. I thought if you went to see it, perhaps it could help you.”

“Why hasn’t Master Hines gained anything from it?”

“Because the pearl is unique and severely damaged. Unless he’s absolutely sure, he won’t risk destroying it by experimenting. Hines hopes to first unravel the secret of the flesh golems before daring to touch this one.”

“Oh, but if I accidentally break it…”

“Is that all?” Avril said with a sly smile, leaning close and whispering in his ear, “I can cover for you. If you really break it, just say it was me. Don’t worry—Hines wouldn’t dare do anything to me. Besides, I don’t like the old man. He’s far too rude to me. He didn’t even bother to greet me. Hmph!”

Gong Hao could only smile wryly. It seemed that Avril’s gentleness was reserved for him alone; toward others, she remained proud and imperious, convinced that all should kneel at her feet.

Approaching the giant, Gong Hao gently laid a hand on its cold metal shell, noticing the countless marks left by blades and axes. On its left arm, a massive wound cut deep from the joint downward. Yet the gravest injury was upon its chest—a large, sunken area, as though struck by some heavy object, the edges still scorched with the remnants of fire.

Through these wounds, Gong Hao could clearly see that the Ogre God was forged from the hardest of metals—adamantine.

“It seems to have suffered many wounds—defeated by being beset on all sides,” Gong Hao murmured.

“Unless they’re dismembered, Ogre Gods do not fall. Of course, there is another way to destroy them—by shattering their core,” Avril said. She climbed up the giant and opened a small hatch in the dented chest.

Inside, Gong Hao saw a red orb.

A misty vapor swirled within the pearl, shifting into countless shapes.

“So this is the Ogre God’s core? It really does resemble the core of a flesh golem, only much larger.” As he spoke, Gong Hao reached in and retrieved the core, large as a clenched fist.

The surface of the Soul Pearl was riddled with cracks. The smoke within seemed as though it might escape through them at any moment, yet, for some reason, it remained confined.

“I’ve heard that when it was first acquired, the pearl was filled with soul power. But as time passed, that energy gradually faded. Now little remains—it may soon vanish entirely,” Avril said.

“So Electra controlled the Ogre Gods through this device?” Gong Hao asked.

“Yes, but Hines has no idea how that was achieved. These soul energies are said to be extremely violent—they are not human souls. They are stronger, far harder to master. When my grandfather first handed the pearl to Hines, he tried to absorb some of its power to uncover the secrets of the Ogre Gods, but he nearly died from the soul’s backlash,” Avril said with a trace of fear. She looked at Gong Hao. “We should put it back. Perhaps I was wrong to think it might help you.”

“No, Avril, let me look at it a moment longer,” Gong Hao insisted.

He gazed into the blood-red pearl, and for reasons he could not explain, he recalled the moment in the jungle when he resonated with the wind element.

He had never studied soul magic before. What was a soul? Why did humans possess them? He had no answers. Yet now, the strange harmony he’d once felt with the wind element blossomed within him anew.

He sensed that he could resonate with the soul within the pearl—not absorb it, only resonate.

What would happen? He did not know, but he was eager to discover its meaning.

His gaze was riveted to the pearl, at the shifting, tumultuous smoke within. Suddenly, a chill rose in his heart.

The smoke inside the pearl began to writhe violently, boiling and surging. Some of the soul energy seeped from the cracks, black tendrils like tiny snakes wriggling toward Gong Hao’s body…

“No, Hugh, put it down!” Avril screamed.

“Ah!” Gong Hao cried out in pain.

In the next instant, he felt himself dragged back hundreds of years, to an age of iron and war. In his ears rang the roars of countless warriors clashing; hundreds, even thousands, of giant golem demons rampaged across the battlefield, swinging massive flails that swept away scores with every blow.

Blood sprayed everywhere; overhead, the sky was a dark, bloody gray.

The booming of war drums thundered, as valiant fighters shouted their battle cries. All manner of mechanical beasts soared through the sky, and below, the ground was a chaos of shouts and slaughter.

The warriors fell one after another, while the ogre legions marched over human corpses with triumphant strides.

At the heart of the battlefield, he saw a single man—a cold, indifferent figure clad in an alchemist’s robe, standing atop a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, surrounded by countless puppet warriors of every kind, even mechanical raptors soaring above.

Opposite him, more than a hundred archmages raised their voices to the heavens.

Meteor after burning meteor streaked across the sky, plummeting toward the earth, targeting the man in the alchemist’s robe.

That man merely raised his right hand; a ball of white light burst from his palm, spreading into a vast magical barrier that held back all the falling meteors.

Still, a few meteors struck beyond the white barrier; several golem demons were hit, vanishing in flames along with the warriors who attacked them.

He saw a blazing meteor hurtling straight toward him.

Unable to contain himself, Gong Hao let out a furious roar.

In the next moment, he saw a warrior leap high, a gleaming sword flashing with blinding light, swinging down at him with all his might…

“No!” Gong Hao shouted.

“Hugh! Hugh! Are you all right?” Avril was shaking him frantically.

She saw Gong Hao’s eyes turn blood red, and only after a long while did they return to normal.

Gong Hao was gasping for breath, drenched in sweat.

He had finally escaped from that nightmare battlefield.

“I’m fine, Avril,” he said, his voice hoarse.

“Oh my god, what did you do? Why did the soul energies suddenly erupt?” Avril asked in terror.

“I don’t know,” Gong Hao shook his head. “I just tried to establish resonance with it, as with other magical elements, but I didn’t expect such a violent reaction.”

The soul energy that had entered Gong Hao’s body now receded back into the pearl, and the tumult within subsided, as if nothing had happened.

Gong Hao hastily put the pearl back in its place.

“Let’s go, Avril. I don’t want Master Hines to know about this. I don’t think he’d be pleased.”

“All right, Hugh, but you have to tell me what happened.”

“War,” Gong Hao replied. “I witnessed all that this Ogre God saw before its end. The humans unleashed forbidden spells, calling down a rain of meteors upon the demon army. This Ogre God was destroyed then, but not completely—its soul recorded the memory of that battle.”

“It doesn’t sound like it helped you in any way.”

“No, Avril. In fact, it helped me a great deal… it gave me an answer,” Gong Hao replied with great seriousness.

“Thank you, Avril,” he said, gently wrapping his arm around the young princess’s waist.

Avril’s cheeks instantly flushed crimson, her heart pounding violently.

Heavens, why is my face burning? Why is my breath quickening? Why do I feel as if the world is spinning?

She could no longer tell where she was.