Chapter 590 — Negotiation

"Originally, he had been nothing more than an ordinary Zerg Servant, dutifully obeying his Queen’s orders."

"But at some point, he seemed to have obtained an opportunity. Not only did this help him awaken his consciousness, but his strength also improved dramatically as a result."

Afterward, the Heaven Emperor killed the Zerg Queen who had given birth to him, devoured her, and began carving out his own path.

Only a few centuries had passed since then.

On the scale of the Cosmic Universe, such a period was almost insignificant.

Yet within that short span, he had already risen to become an Emperor—and an exceptionally terrifying one at that level.

Looking through those memories, Liora couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. Although there were indeed cases of Zerg Servants escaping the Queen’s control, the changes had never been as rapid.

A faint suspicion immediately formed in her mind, though she had no way to verify it.

Time did not stop to give Liora time to think.

While Liora was sorting through Liothar’s memories, Arnstrong and Erissa continued their negotiations.

Eventually, the two reached an agreement.

Just as Erissa had initially proposed, both groups would enter the palace together.

Should an inheritance truly exist, each side would compete using its own strength.

As for what would happen if the palace contained danger instead...

Neither side brought it up.

The answer was obvious. Neither intended to help the other.

Perhaps, they could use the other side as cannon fodder in order to escape.

Their cooperation wasn’t born from trust, but because they had been forced by the current circumstances.

After all, if either of the two aforementioned Emperors arrived, neither group would have any hope of obtaining the inheritance.

Although the negotiations involved several conditions, they concluded within only a few minutes.

Soon, both the Zerg Queen and the tentacled Emperor used their means to seal their agreement, ensuring that neither party would violate it.

They then parted.

"Alright. The terms have been agreed upon."

"We will both enter the palace at the same time.", the tentacled Emperor turned to the rest of the demons and said.

"You better be careful. We don’t know what lies inside this place. Perhaps we may not find an inheritance but a death trap."

Despite the greed hidden within his heart, the tentacled Emperor remained composed.

Liora couldn’t help but nod inwardly, feeling that he was worthy of being an Emperor of the demon race.

Although demons were known for their bloodthirsty instincts, there was a reason their race stood among the four apex races.

Having reached an agreement, it didn’t take long for the two groups to start moving.

Soon, the demons and the Zerg spread out, maintaining several kilometers of distance between them.

They remained far enough to prevent surprise attacks, yet close enough that neither side could simply flee.

Then, both groups advanced toward the palace in unison.

"Liothar! We’d better stay close next. We don’t know whether we’ll be separated once we enter.", Elaouthr’s voice suddenly echoed within Liora’s ears.

Liora glanced at him thoughtfully before giving a slight nod.

As though by coincidence, she drifted a little closer to this little brother of hers.

No one noticed.

Before long, both groups arrived in front of the palace.

From a distance, the building had already appeared unimaginably vast.

Its towering pillars seemed to pierce the heavens themselves, resembling the legendary Tower of Babel.

Yet only after approaching did they realize their earlier impression had been incomplete.

The palace was even larger than it seemed from afar!

Liora had to continuously raise her head simply to glimpse its ceiling, while its length seemed to exceed that of the entire city fragment.

As a rune flickered within her pupils and one of the stars inside her Cosmic Sea—that of the Space Law—trembled, understanding dawned upon her.

The previous scene had not been an illusion. Instead, the space around the palace had been folded, giving them an incorrect understanding of the area.

"Compressing something this enormous through spatial manipulation... It sounds somewhat similar to creating a demi-plane within a room."

"However, the power required to do so is many times higher. The person who built this palace must have an extraordinary control over the power of space."

Liora immediately concluded that no ordinary Rank 10 Awakener could accomplish such a feat.

Even Rank 11 Awakeners would likely struggle. Had it not been for the bizarre methods of cultivators, she would have ruled out this option and guessed it was a Rank 12 being.

She didn’t dwell on the thought for long.

The others appeared far less interested in the palace’s spatial anomalies.

Arnstrong merely glanced around once before fixing his attention on the entrance, while Erissa did the same.

The entrance had the form of a giant gate.

Countless iridescent patterns intertwined across its surface, giving it an aura of absolute permanence and indestructibility.

The next events confirmed that notion.

The two Emperors tried to open it from afar.

Yet when their power landed on it, the gate showed no signs of moving.

It didn’t even tremble, much less be forced open.

Just as Liora wondered how they intended to proceed, her eyes suddenly narrowed.

From the corner of her vision, she saw Arnstrong take out a token from his spatial treasure.

At nearly the same moment, Erissa did the same.

The two tokens in their hands were similar, yet also different.

Both were purple. However, the emblems engraved upon them were different.

One had a green bamboo painted on it, while the other had a sword.

"Arnstrong, it seems your exploration of the city wasn’t without results."

"You managed to obtain a token as well.", Erissa smiled, though the cautiousness within her eyes revealed she was not as calm as she appeared.

"Hehe. If you can obtain one, why can’t I? It’s not as though you’re any stronger than I am.", Arnstrong laughed.

After exchanging a few more words, the two simultaneously threw their purple tokens toward the gate.

Immediately, both tokens emitted a soft purple glow.

The intricate patterns covering the gate resonated with their call.

A series of crisp clicking sounds echoed through the air.

Like countless ancient locks finally being undone, the intertwined patterns slowly separated, beginning to part.

Next, the gate itself trembled. A gap slowly appeared.