CHAPTER 777: NOT MY INTEREST

Aldrian, who heard Xarz, turned his head toward one of the vessels in his sight. He still kept Swords Apocalypse activated, enduring the pain in his soul and brain. Millions of devils had already perished, tens of thousands of cruisers had been destroyed, and more than two hundred interstellar vessels were almost disintegrated.

"Xarz of the Red Mist Star? As expected, these devils are truly from the Fallen Star Cluster," Emperor Rozwald, who was not far from Aldrian, said before moving closer to him.

"Your Majesty, he is the true leader of the devils from the Fallen Star Cluster. He leads every devil’s movement from that place. However, if someone from the central region of Heaven actually came with him, then that means someone with higher status than him is ordering him," he explained.

The others also began to move closer to Aldrian, wanting to hear what he intended to do with that bastard. As they drew near, Xarz’s voice resounded again.

"I proclaim surrender as the leader of the devils from the Red Mist Star. I have someone from the central region of Heaven in my hand as tribute, and I want to negotiate."

Aldrian finally stopped his technique, whether the spatial barrier, gravity laws, or Swords Apocalypse. A moment later, all the swords lost their momentum and slowly disappeared into particles of light. They returned to their original form as energy and went back to the Ancient Blue Gate World.

At this moment, all beings across the world could sense the energy returning, which left them stunned. They thought that whatever had happened in the upper atmosphere was what caused the energy to suddenly vanish and then reappear.

All of the swords floating across the world also finally fell, and the tense atmosphere faded away. Everyone on the surface of the Ancient Blue Gate World finally could breathe in relief as they wondered what had happened above.

After Aldrian stopped his attack, the pain in his soul and brain lessened greatly. Swords Apocalypse on the scale just now seemed slightly too much for his current level. However, he felt satisfied with the result and looked at the destruction caused by Swords Apocalypse.

Only silence followed after the apocalypse. The wrecks of cruisers and interstellar vessels were scattered around the Ancient Blue Gate World, creating space debris. There were also many remnants of devils’ bodies here and there, forming a gruesome scene.

All of them were slowly pulled toward the Ancient Blue Gate World’s atmosphere by the star’s gravity. For the vessels, they had already lost their floating or flying functions due to heavy damage, with even large parts of their hulls destroyed.

"Could Your Majesty bring that man here? I would like to meet this devil," Aldrian finally said to Emperor Rozwald before turning to the others.

"Also, my apologies to all of the esteemed figures here, but I must ask for your help in checking for or hunting down any escaping devils."

After Aldrian said that, the others instantly showed their respect by cupping their hands.

"Of course, Your Majesty Aldrian. You already did the most work, and I feel ashamed for only standing still and watching Your Majesty do everything. You do not have to worry, just stay here while we do the rest," Sect Master Han said.

"Your Majesty Aldrian does not need to take care of the aftermath, as we can handle it. Your Majesty must be tired after releasing that technique, so please stay here and recuperate," the Dragon King said confidently.

The other leaders echoed the same sentiment before spreading out to the areas where the space debris was scattered.

"To the forces of the Ancient Blue Gate World, you may now take care of the aftermath and hunt down any surviving devils. I do not care about the loot. If you find treasures or anything you wish to take, you do not need to report it to me, but I hope you will not cause trouble or conflict because of it." Aldrian’s voice echoed across the upper heaven.

The troops across the world’s upper atmosphere, who were still observing the aftermath of Swords Apocalypse, began without hesitation to do as Aldrian said. After seeing what he had done just now, their hearts were still reeling in chaos. There was reverence, admiration, and even fear among them, which made them obey Aldrian’s words as if they were obeying their own leaders.

Earlier some of the devils already escaped using talismans or techniques, and those became the main targets. As for the other survivors, there were none. The sword barrage had been far too devastating, leaving the low-level devil cultivators no chance of survival.

Aldrian, who was observing the others sweeping through the destruction, also began to recuperate himself. Since earlier, blood had nearly spilled from his nostrils, but he forced it back. Although the pain had lessened greatly, he still felt throbbing pain in his soul, which he then treated with his golden energy. From the looks of it, his soul was injured, something that would already cause panic for other cultivators.

The injured soul was difficult to heal because only rare pills or elixirs could restore it. A soul injury could affect future cultivation, which was why many cultivators treated anything related to it with utmost care. They would never risk using a technique that could damage the soul, just like Aldrian had forced himself to unleash the world-scale Swords Apocalypse.

However, Aldrian did not think too much about it, for he had his golden energy that had never failed him. It could heal anything, and he was truly glad he possessed it.

After waiting for a while, he finally saw some figures returning in his direction. Emperor Rozwald and his son were escorting what appeared to be Xarz and an unconscious figure carried on his back. He also noticed the Dragon King and Phoenix Queen escorting many figures toward the interstellar vessel owned by the Martal Empire, which had come as support.

Those figures, however, were not devils. They seemed to be from various races, and most of them were not strong in cultivation, which made Aldrian frown. Why were those people inside the devils’ vessel? Were they prisoners or something else?

After waiting for a few moments, Emperor Rozwald arrived in front of him with Xarz beside him.

"Your Majesty, this is Xarz. As for the figure behind him, I have to say—we caught a really big fish here," Emperor Rozwald said.

Aldrian looked at Xarz calmly before turning his gaze to the unconscious Rulleus. Although there was no vampire race in the Ancient Blue Gate World, he had already heard of this race from discussions with some leaders.

"Also, we found many prisoners inside some of the interstellar vessels. They were inhabitants of one of the small worlds near the Central Star Cluster. Their world was invaded by the devil forces while they were on their journey here," Emperor Rozwald said, his gaze turning cold as he looked at Xarz.

Xarz shuddered but quickly tried to clarify himself.

"That wasn’t me who—"

"You shut up unless His Majesty Aldrian asks for your opinion!" Prince Ronwell shouted from beside him, forcing Xarz to stop his words. He carefully looked at Aldrian. He was finally standing in front of the man who had become the hot topic all this time. Only after facing him directly did he sense Aldrian’s aura—at the low pseudo-immortal establishment stage.

This caused his heart to shudder. This man had accomplished all of that while still only at that stage. Although he had already seen what Aldrian was capable of, he was still reeling in disbelief that a mortal could do such things, even more so when he was only a pseudo-immortal establishment cultivator.

He had prepared himself to face the worst if he ever met Aldrian but he had never expected something as great as the technique he had just witnessed. The story of this man fighting their god now more and more believable.

Just a few hours ago, he still held a little doubt about that story. But now, after experiencing Aldrian’s ability firsthand, he believed that Aldrian might truly possess the power to fight toe to toe with their god at that time.

After a few moments of silence, Aldrian finally opened his lips.

"You said you want to negotiate, huh? What do you want to negotiate for?"

Knowing that his chance to speak had come, Xarz answered Aldrian’s question.

"My life. I want Your Excellency to spare me, and in return I will give Your Excellency information. I will also hand over the man behind me. His status alone is enough for Your Excellency to consider my terms, and it could bring Your Excellency extreme benefit."

"The man behind me is the son of the Vampire King of the First Heaven, Rulleus van Reinfer. He comes from the central region of Heaven and is the successor of the Vampire King himself. In other words, he is the heir to the leader of the devils on one side of the First Heaven."

Aldrian still did not know the true status of the Vampire King, but hearing that he was the leader of someone like Xarz meant that the Vampire King held higher authority than many devils.

What interested him even more was the mention of the central region of Heaven. That was why he had not immediately killed these two earlier and had instead ordered Emperor Rozwald to bring them here. Still, Aldrian could not help but smile after hearing Xarz’s answer.

"You are betraying your higher-ups for your own survival? Truly a decisive person."

"Well, if I were not decisive, I would not have survived this long as a devil cultivator. I am simply doing what is best for my own interests. That is why this war is not my concern, as it was not my interest. It was the unilateral and arrogant decision of Rulleus, Your Excellency. So I hope you understand," Xarz replied.

"Is that so? Then tell me, why should I keep you alive when I could just look into your memories and be done with you? Would I not still gain the benefit while keeping the man behind you alive?" Aldrian said calmly.

Xarz’s heart turned cold, but he forced himself to remain steady as he answered.

"I know Your Majesty could do that, and I cannot refute it at all. I know I cannot go against you. But, Your Excellency, I guarantee you will find me far more useful alive than if you simply looked into my memories and killed me."