Chapter 411 — Cowardly Fish

In a vast ocean stretching for countless miles, millions of colorful fish could be seen swimming freely.

Since the ocean had no other source of food and could not create a perfect ecosystem, these fish resorted to the most primal method of finding food: eating their own kind.

Thousands of these fish would die every day, perishing at the hands of their own kind.

This had been going on for thousands, if not millions, of years.

As such, the fish had been influenced by this bloodthirsty environment and evolved accordingly.

There was no familial relationship between them.

A fish would choose to devour its own mates, as well as its own children if the situation allowed it.

None of them showed any hesitation or fear, acting with utmost ruthlessness and decisive means.

Among these fish, however, stood a unique individual.

Unlike its other race members, who constantly sought to devour others to strengthen themselves, this fish remained mostly motionless.

Hiding in a dark corner within the ocean, it stared blankly at its own kind and shivered with fear.

Compared to the other fish, it not only looked far weaker and more fragile, but also more... cowardly.

The moment the scene of this ocean emerged in Liora’s mind, her focus instantly turned to this fish.

Not only because of its abnormal behavior, but also because she recognized its true identity:

The personification of Assira within this illusion.

Devoid of any memories and relying solely on her personality traits, she had been transformed into this "cowardly" fish and had to face her deep-seated fears.

Liora was initially surprised upon seeing her shivering body and terrified gaze.

After all, Assira had always seemed confident to her. From their meeting in Astral Pavilion to their encounter in the mission, Assira had always acted decisively and swiftly.

But now, this sight made it clear that things were not so simple.

Staring at the squeamish fish whose eyes revealed a human-like terror, Liora couldn’t help but shake her head.

She finally understood what Assira’s "weakness" was.

Unlike what her confident appearance would suggest, which made her seem as if she were in control of everything, this Succubus was secretly quite scared.

Not of anything in particular, but of everything around her. She seemed to feel that danger lurked everywhere and everyone was out to get her.

Liora quickly grasped the reason and had many guesses about why that was.

"Although Succubi are famous throughout the Origin Sea, the reason for their infamy is not a good one."

"Nobody praises Succubi for their strength or outstanding might. All they care about is their appearance and their seduction abilities."

"For weaker people, such creatures are quite terrifying. But to true powerhouses, they are nothing more than toys..."

Was there any world with more powerful beings than the Demon World?

Liora did not know.

But even if they existed, such worlds were bound not to be few.

As such, the status of Succubi in the Demon World was self-evident.

Countless thoughts raced through Liora’s mind.

After observing the fish representing Assira for a while, her consciousness moved and she was about to try to touch her.

However, just then, Liora’s expression in the real world changed.

The moment she controlled more than fifty percent of the inheritance core, a new space appeared in her vision, one hidden within the inheritance palace.

Besides a similar-looking sphere existing in that void, what caught her attention was a beautiful dark-haired woman.

She quickly guessed her identity just based on her aura.

This woman was Liora and her team’s original goal for descending to this world, the Universe Chamber of Commerce’s target, the Zerg Queen.

Currently, she was watching several different scenes, similar to how Liora was watching her.

Liora frowned, fearing that her controlling the inheritance palace had been discovered by the Zerg Queen.

However, when she took a closer look, she quickly breathed a sigh of relief.

In the central image, which should have shown her integrating with the inheritance core, there was nothing.

Or rather, the scene showed her still working hard to master the Crimson Annihilation Technique.

"I didn’t expect the palace to have an anti-surveillance system."

"It deserves to be an inheritance handed down by an Ancient Devil being. Its owner has already thought of potential dangers for its inheritor and taken precautions.", Liora thought and her frown relaxed.

Having confirmed that no one had discovered her yet, and no one would attempt to stop her, she no longer paid any attention to the outside world.

Rather, she fully concentrated on refining the core.

Only once she had succeeded would she be fully safe and would emerge victorious in the silent confrontation between the three parties.

--

Outside the inheritance palace, several Greater Devils were waiting eagerly.

It had been more than a month since Liora and her two companions had entered the building.

During this time, more and more of the Commander’s subordinates had gathered and ventured into the palace.

Some of them failed, but most of them, by exploiting certain loopholes through their bloodlines, had managed to obtain some rewards and safely come back.

In fact, the total harvest had gone beyond what the Commander and the Universe Chamber of Commerce had predicted before coming.

Unfortunately, the Commander was not as delighted as one would expect.

"It’s been more than a month since those three women went inside. Did they all perish within the inheritance?", the Commander couldn’t help but wonder.

Such a situation was not what he wished to see. But similarly, it was better than the other alternative, of them passing all three tests."

Just when the Commander was deep in thought, the entrance of the palace suddenly opened.

The Commander subconsciously believed that it was one of his subordinates coming out yet again.

However, just when he was about to reach out and claim another reward, his movements suddenly paused.

As he watched the person coming out, his face changed.

Especially when he noticed the several golden lights, each containing a precious reward, revolving around them, the Commander was stunned.