Chapter 688: Chapter 175: The Determinism of Fate

“High Priest, can the beast tribe invasion of the future be reversed?”

Glancing at Lu Hong, the High Priest shook his head, “Although the time tunnel can be closed, the beast tribe has already entered the future. To stop this time invasion, we must drive them all back and then close the time tunnel.”

So, that was a waste of breath.

With just a few hundred Heavenly Gods, driving them back is practically impossible, okay?

Unless…

“If the hundred tribes were to assist, could it be accomplished?”

Lei Sai shook his head, rejecting Lu Hong’s suggestion, “If the hundred tribes knew they could traverse time, do you think they would give up the vast world of the future? By then, forget about driving back the beast tribe; even they might covet the lush world of the future.”

“I still have over two hundred Heavenly Gods in my elven tribe, but as for crossing over, just as Lei Sai said, even though I don’t covet the future, I cannot guarantee that others in my tribe won’t harbor such thoughts.”

Indeed, who can be sure about such matters?

“No matter what happens next, let’s first go investigate the time tunnel shown in the image. Xiao Zheng, do you know where it is?”

Lu Hong nodded, answering Lei Sai, “I know, that place is known as the Extreme Demon Abyss in later times, a very mysterious place.”

“Good, let’s go check it out first.”

Guided by Lu Hong, the three flew out of the Divine Grace plane and arrived beneath the stars.

Walking on the ethereal starry path and looking back, the Divine Grace of the Era of the Gods was indeed much larger than in later times, nearly ten times larger. Just the southeast corner of the continent was as big as the Divine Grace of the future. Lu Hong knew that in the not-too-distant future when hell invaded, the southeast corner would be shattered and fall into the void.

The stars of the Era of the Gods were very dim, their light waning, almost a vast expanse of white, and all the planes they passed were gray and lifeless.

After three months of travel, the three finally arrived at the Extreme Demon Abyss.

At that time, no beastmen were guarding the front of the Extreme Demon Abyss, and the closed fissure made it clear that the time tunnel had already been closed and was inaccessible.

Agaso frowned and said in a deep voice, “It seems they never intended to come back.”

“Yes, by cutting off their own retreat, they intend to dominate the later ages forever. The plan of the beast tribe is truly chilling.” Lei Sai placed his hand on the Extreme Demon Abyss, feeling the power surging above it.

“There’s still some residual Magic Power; maybe we could find a way to open it, though it’s hard to say how long it could last.”

Hearing Lei Sai’s words, Agaso quickly pulled him back, “Don’t touch it carelessly; if you still want to prevent the beast tribe’s plan, we must cherish this last chance to cross over.”

“A chance? With a hundred beast tribe Heavenly Gods, who can punish them? And not to mention the Lionheart God has crossed over too; he is the strongest Heavenly God on our continent. If we can’t defeat him, all efforts are in vain.” Lei Sai said with a bitter smile, “The residual Magic Power on the time tunnel could probably only allow one Heavenly God to cross over. Who do you think could defeat the Lionheart God?”

Indeed, who could defeat the Lionheart God?

Just as they were in despair, a light laugh came from behind.

Turning around, Lu Hong glared fiercely at the girl who appeared, “It’s you! Destiny Goddess!”

“It’s me, Lu Hong, we meet again, or should I say… my dear War God?”

The Destiny Goddess’s words made Lu Hong freeze in place, War God? I am the War God?! How is that possible?!

The Destiny Goddess, understanding Lu Hong’s reaction, explained, “What? You don’t believe it? In the Era of the Gods, apart from you, who else could master the way of the warrior? The warrior profession was propagated and expanded by you. You are its founder, the only True God of the warrior profession!”

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Lu Hong asked, “Let’s set aside whether I am the War God for now. I am eager to know how to stop the beast tribe from invading the future!”

“Very simple. I can teach you,” the Destiny Goddess laughed, “As long as you kowtow three times, I’ll tell you immediately.”

“Really?!” Lu Hong hesitated, but in the face of the millions of human lives in the future, what was his dignity worth?

“Destiny Goddess, why do you play such games with a mortal?” Agaso couldn’t stand by and said, “If you truly intend to reveal the method to stop them, and it’s particularly simple, you wouldn’t have gone through all the trouble to send them over.”

“Hee hee, you little one are smart.”

Hearing the words of the Goddess of Fate, Lu Hong flew into a rage, “Are you deceiving me?”

“Hey, hey, don’t talk nonsense. I didn’t deceive you. The method, well, I can tell you. It’s to endure. If you can endure until the future, until the beginning of a new cycle, stand in front of the Abyss of Extreme Demons, and kill one by one the beast tribe Heavenly Gods who have traveled through time, then you would have succeeded.”

It sounded like the real deal, but any perceptive person could easily spot the loopholes. By the time Lu Hong lived to see the future, even if he were to kill, he would not be killing the beast tribe Heavenly Gods that had traveled to the future now, the ones currently wreaking havoc and killing rampantly. These beast tribe Heavenly Gods would forever live in the future, the future of the timeline Lu Hong was in.

“Are you joking with me?” Lu Hong asked in a deep voice.

“Yes!” The Goddess of Fate laughed, “Don’t worry. You won’t have the power to stop this temporal invasion any time soon. So let’s sit down and have a nice chat.”

“What would you like to discuss?”

The Goddess of Fate glanced at Lei Sai and Agaso, “You two can get lost. I want to talk to him alone.”

Lei Sai stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Lu Hong, “I don’t trust you.”

“It doesn’t matter. If she wanted to kill me, she would have done it already.”

Agaso also tried to persuade, “Lu Hong is right. If she wanted to take action, all three of us would have died here today.”

Alright then, Lei Sai gave one more glance at the smaller girl in front of him, not expecting that she would be so incredibly powerful, even someone like the Great Elven King Agaso was afraid of her.

“Lu Hong, I will send him back to the Grace of God; the rest of you should leave and never come back.” The Goddess of Fate warned, sending the two away.

Then, with a raise of her hand, a beautiful mansion appeared out of thin air and settled in front of the Abyss of Extreme Demons.

Entering the mansion, the Goddess poured two glasses of fine wine and passed one to Lu Hong, “Have a taste. This wine has been stored in the river of time; very few people in the world have had the chance to drink it.”

“Thank you.” Lu Hong took the wine but did not taste it, instead patiently waiting for the Goddess of Fate to begin speaking.

Since she had intentionally sought him out for a conversation, Lu Hong knew the Goddess of Fate had something on her mind. Not knowing what cards he had to play with, he chose to respond with silence.

Seeing Lu Hong’s demeanor, the Goddess of Fate smiled slightly, “Do you think you know me?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Then why do you think I am helping the beast tribe invade the future?”

“I really want to know. What are you actually trying to achieve by doing this?”

“The reason is actually quite simple.” The Goddess of Fate smiled, “I am declaring war on my future self.”

“Declaring war? On yourself?!”

He couldn’t understand. What was the point of that?

“So you’re treating life as a joke?” Lu Hong questioned sternly.

The Goddess of Fate’s face showed complete indifference, “So what if I am? I have witnessed countless lives rise and fall in the river of fate, from birth to twilight. Life has long since lost its meaning in my eyes. Moreover, she broke the rules first by sending people from the future to the past. That’s challenging the river of fate I protect. Do you think I shouldn’t strike back?”

After a moment of silence, Lu Hong spoke, “If I hadn’t traveled to this era, would you still have launched this temporal invasion?”

The Goddess of Fate shook her head, “You are wrong. There is no ‘if.’ You had to travel through time, and only by traveling to this era can you fulfill the destiny you must bear.”

Lu Hong was utterly confused by the Goddess of Fate’s cryptic answer, “I don’t understand what you’re saying!”

“To put it simply, if you hadn’t traveled through time, then this era would not have seen the War God. The history of the future would have been rewritten. However, history in the future has not changed, so you must, and can only travel back to this era.”

Listening to the Goddess of Fate’s explanation, Lu Hong pondered, “Then I really want to know if this temporal invasion is also an inevitable result preordained in destiny?”

Upon hearing this, the Goddess of Fate’s expression suddenly changed, and her smile disappeared instantly, “That is not a question you should ask.”

Lu Hong seemed to have grasped something, “Are you saying that this invasion is also predetermined by fate, and what you’ve done has still not escaped the arrangements of fate? This so-called war is just an excuse because you cannot evade fate’s arrangements!”

“Shut up!”

The words of Lu Hong genuinely seemed to have struck a sore spot for the Goddess of Fate, provoking her to great anger. Her divine power burst forth violently, distorting the space-time around them, causing Lu Hong to feel suffocated. No, he might have already died countless times. Death came so swiftly that the sensations tied together felt just like suffocation.