"But the Starry Abyss is just too vast, even such Ascenders are sowhat too many."
"Battlefields like the Galaxy Eye at Grinder actually exist in many places across the universe. Zeta Rank rcenaries are often active in such places, serving as strike teams, boarding warriors, infiltrating contentious areas, carrying out tasks even regular armies can’t complete."
"As for those above the Zeta Rank, they suffer surprisingly few losses in wars."
Alia looked at Dugen and said,
"After all, those above that level generally possess the capability to influence interstellar wars and local battle zones. They wouldn’t choose to get their hands dirty, living a life that licks the blood off the blade."
Dugen knew she was mocking him and casually explained,
"Although it’s generally believed that Ascenders who have advanced to the Yita Phase have essentially completed the stage of primitive accumulation. They either step back behind the scenes, upgrade from being pawns to players, rally troops, and build up capital, or they join the authorities, becoming guests in a certain civilization or narrative, achieving true financial freedom from the ground up. But, there are those Yita Phase who can’t walk the righteous path due to political stances..."
"In short, the truly powerful either start a business or beco a leader within the system."
Alia took a swig of alcohol, her eyes glazed,
"I rember you said yourself, ’Working a job? That’s just a poor man’s dream’—and now, here you are, making a coback?"
"Just short on cash recently, out looking for a gig."
Dugen said dismissively,
"But you, once a key prospect of the first-rate civilization ’Kelly Chapel,’ have fallen to this level, from a priestess among thousands to a poor wretch indulging in booze. Looks to like you’re worse off than I am, don’t you think?"
"Not the sa. I chose this path myself. I couldn’t stand suppressing my desires for a lifeti, staying in a convent, praying, chanting, and doing laundry all day—unlike now, where I have a beer in one hand and life’s dice in the other. Those priests guard the idols every day, but they can never be as happy as I am."
Alia shrugged,
"Besides, we’re already here at the Grave Star Cluster. Let’s not pretend to be good people. Ice Demon Dugen, how many civilizations’ lives do you have on your shoulders? Two billion, or was it four billion?"
"I’m not a butcher. I haven’t killed that many, only 1.63 billion."
"Still a bloody massacre. The Interstellar Tribunal convicted you of genocide, creating natural disasters, ecological destruction—23 charges in total, penalizing you for multiple sins. Truly impressive."
"I told you, it wasn’t that exaggerated!"
Dugen retorted,
"I rely used magic to lower the planet’s temperature by a small margin—just 6 degrees Celsius. They died from reduced crop yields due to the mini ice age. In fact, the verdict was unfair; I didn’t kill anyone directly. It’s their own fault for not preparing, if they had a habit of stockpiling food, so many wouldn’t have died."
"Listen to yourself, I think the court was spot on."
Priestess Alia lit a cigarette, mumbling,
"When you ntioned natural disasters, it reminded of sothing—do you know that guy nad Canyue?"
"You an the one with Catastrophic Arcane Energy? I rember, not yet 100 years old but already reached the peak of Zeta Rank, acknowledged as the hardest pathway Ascender of the Sovereign type, certainly quite talented."
Dugen spoke of Canyue, not stingy with praise.
Unlike other pathways, Sovereign-type Arcane Users rarely had systematic learning opportunities. Most of them embarked on rugged roads for various reasons, especially those with Sequential Arcane Energy. They were all madn and fanatics, if not, illiterate idiots missing a few screws.
Canyue was different. Dugen’s impression of him was soone pure, not dispersing unnecessary Arcane Energy but focusing on refining his innate Talent, mastering that power of catastrophe from start to finish.
"He was studious and shrewd, quite powerful with exceptional Charm, generously rewarding his followers. I heard he even rallied a fleet and had connections with multiple civilizations. Rising from the slums to this level, I do admire this junior."
Alia glanced at him.
"What? What did I say that’s problematic?" Dugen shrugged, "You lady priestess never praise others, unlike , I grow more appreciative when others surpass ."
"Canyue is dead."
Alia said faintly, with the cigarette in her hand.
"...Dead?" Dugen was shocked, "Canyue was so young, not yet 90, right? Wasn’t he able to warp dinsions effortlessly? Even I am not confident I could kill him. How did he die?"
"The client told us about it."
Alia took a drag on her cigarette and said,
"The client ca from a subsidiary of a narrative-level civilization, you know—Velazquez Security, the notorious war contractor and security dispatch company in the Layer Abyss, and they’re even worse than us."
"Get to the point."
"The person I dealt with from Velazquez was a young lady I’d t before. This ti, her request for a resurrection target was the one who killed Canyue."
"Well, that’s... unexpected."
Dugen stroked his chin,
"Canyue’s power made him hard to kill. If soone could defeat him, it ans their combat strength is probably nearing the Yita Phase."
"That was my thought as well."
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