Apollo just stood there, silently watching Mike without saying a word.
After a few minutes, a turtle crawled over.
Apollo pointed at the turtle on the ground and said, “For you?”
Mike instinctively wanted to refuse. Shadow Nine had specifically warned him not to take Apollo’s spoils of war.
At that moment, Mike finally understood a bit.
If this turtle didn’t have the label [Fourth Demon God] on its head, Mike might have actually accepted it!
Mike was deeply moved. The Supreme Being had gone through the trouble of meeting him and even brought a gift. Wouldn’t it be rude to refuse directly?
The key point was, this turtle was actually one-third of a demon god’s body, and it was still alive…
Priceless!
Mike couldn’t take it for himself, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t give it to someone else! Shadow Nine?
Mike quickly dismissed that option.
First, Shadow Nine was always by his side.
Second, Shadow Nine and Apollo had an unusual relationship. If Shadow Nine really needed it, Apollo wouldn’t need to pass it on.
“If I have to give it to someone, it should be someone tough enough to handle this gift…”
The more Mike thought about it, the clearer the image in his mind became.
It’s decided!
“Supreme Being Apollo, could you please pass my share to Maxen?”
Mike said sincerely, “Maxen has taken care of me a lot. It’s only right to return the favor.”
Apollo wasn’t angry and spoke again, “Giving it to Maxen means he owes me something.” Mike emphasizing, “It’s a transfer.”
Apollo looked at the turtle on the ground and nodded, “I will give this to Maxen. As for how The will repay me, I haven’t decided yet.”
Mike swallowed hard, hoping he hadn’t just screwed Maxen over!
Apollo said calmly, “Maxen is the most likely to break through to Ultimate Battle Lord. Humanity can’t afford to lose him.”
Mike raised an eyebrow.
Maxen was that strong?
Mike had been fooled by his usual behavior!
With Apollo’s assurance, Mike felt relieved.
Suddenly, Mike remembered something extremely important.
“Can you tell me what’s sealed beneath the zeroth level of the Tower of Truth?”
“The Supreme Demon God.”
Apollo revealed the answer directly.
Apollo’s next words made Mike’s eyelids twitch again.
“If the Supreme Demon God fully awakens, the Tower of Truth will shatter, and Earth will be destroyed.”
The topic suddenly became heavy.
Apollo didn’t look at the turtle or Mike but instead gazed into the depths of the Forest of Truth.
With his back to Mike, he casually said, “You can ask me anything. I don’t leave the tower often, nor do I talk to people much.”
This Apollo was naturally not his true self but a projection made of white clouds. Since entering the ninety-ninth level, his true self hadn’t left the Tower of Truth.
Even when fighting the Fourth Demon God’s projection, he used the white clouds. After sealing the projection, he swapped it with his true self, bringing the Fourth Demon God’s true body to the Tower of Truth, which eventually turned into a turtle.
Mike tentatively asked, “So why did you come out today?”
“Professor Gregory told me to get out more.”
Mike followed up, “And how do you feel after coming out?”
“I want to go back.”
Mike didn’t know what to say, but he really wanted to write something like: “On How the Supreme Being Apollo is Actually a Tower of Truth Shut-in.”
The conversation was dead.
Mike felt more at ease, realizing Apollo wasn’t as dangerous as he had imagined.
After thinking for a moment, Mike asked his next question, “Why do I feel like the abyssal demon race isn’t as strong as the various records say?”
Apollo didn’t shy away from answering, “Those records were made by the instructors to deceive you. After the Blood War, humanity took the offensive, and the demon race was on the defensive. Thirty-six years ago, Ares led the corps to break through four major abysses.”
On the battlefield, the attacking side generally has the advantage.
Moreover, humanity had been on the offensive for over a hundred years, maintaining that advantage for just as long.
Mike felt like he had uncovered some significant insider information.
It was known that the demon race initially had eighteen large Abyssal Planes.
Before the Major battle, there were thirteen.
After the Major battle, only ten remained.
During Morpheus’s time, one large Abyssal Plane was purified.
During Ares’s time, four were purified.
And Apollo, in his thirty-plus years as a Supreme Being, hadn’t even gone to the abyss, let
alone had any battle achievements.
Today, he took three, leaving ten.
Mike calculated in his mind, “There aren’t many opportunities left for me to rack up points.
To surpass Ares, I need to take down at least five demon gods…”
“Wait, the third Abyssal Plane was broken by Ares.”
So, the current standings are:
Morpheus: 1
Ares: 5
Apollo: 2
Thor: 0
A long way to go! After analyzing this, Mike’s eyes lit up as he thought of a possibility and asked, “So, does that
mean humanity doesn’t face an extinction crisis?”
Apollo shook his head again, denying Mike’s assumption. “Of all the records, only that
statement is true.”
Mike’s emotions were like a roller coaster, up and down.
Talking with Supreme Being Apollo was a frustrating experience.
Apollo always spoke in half-truths, easily giving misleading information.
Mike tried to sort through the previous information and summarized, “So, the current Abyssal Plane’s demon creatures and demon gods aren’t much of a threat. The extinction crisis for humanity comes from the Supreme Demon God. Is that correct?”
Apollo: “No.”
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
Mike sincerely asked, “Could you please clarify what’s incorrect?”
“The abyss is also a threat.”
Apollo seemed to realize his statement was hard to understand and elaborated, “Every time
an Abyssal Plane is purified, the remaining demon gods become stronger. That’s the rule of
the abyss.”
Mike nodded in agreement, keeping this information in mind.
Apollo continued, “When only two Abyssal Planes remain, the demon gods’ strength will rival
that of our Supreme Beings. When only one Abyssal plane remains, that demon god’s strength
will be comparable to 50% of the Supreme Demon God’s full power.”
Listening to Apollo’s explanation, Mike fell silent.
In other words, don’t be blinded by the apparent advantage.
Winning now doesn’t mean winning forever.
The rules of the Abyssal Plane are very unfavorable to humanity.
The more they win, the stronger the enemy becomes!
Mike was puzzled, “Then why purify the Abyssal Planes?”
When only one Abyssal plane remains, that demon god’s strength will peak.
But now, with ten Abyssal Planes left, those demon gods seem pretty weak.
If humanity doesn’t actively purify the Abyssal Planes, they won’t get stronger.
“Purified Abyssal Planes return to the Tower of Truth, strengthening the seal on the Supreme
Demon God and weakening him.”
The Supreme Demon God could directly bring about humanity’s extinction.
Strengthening his seal is more urgent.
Even in an extinction crisis, priorities must be set.
Apollo’s words completely cleared Mike’s doubts.
Humanity’s current situation is far from good.
They’re playing a dangerous game, balancing on a tightrope with bombs on either side. One
wrong move, and they’ll blow themselves up.
If they don’t purify the Abyssal Planes, the Supreme Demon God will continuously regain strength, attempting to break the seal and ultimately bring about humanity’s extinction.
If they do purify the Abyssal Planes, they’ll create a new formidable enemy, still a massive
disaster.
One is acute death, the other chronic death, a difference in speed.
Humanity must maintain a delicate balance.
They can’t let the Abyssal Plane’s demon gods become too strong, nor can they let the
Supreme Demon God’s seal become too weak.
Of course, this balance can’t be maintained for too long.
Now, with only ten Abyssal Planes left, compared to eighteen, it’s almost halved.
Humanity needs to buy more time, produce more potential Supreme Beings, and more Supreme Beings.
Maybe then, they can solve the current predicament and reverse the chronic death scenario.
Shocked, Mike quickly realized another thing: “So… the human corps stationed in the Abyssal
Planes aren’t there to purify them. They’re there to weaken their strength, preventing the Abyssal Planes from devouring and destroying each other?”
With the abyssal rules, even if humanity doesn’t actively purify the Abyssal Planes, demon
gods seeking greater power will kill each other!
Instead, humanity’s campaigns against all demon gods weaken them, making them unable to fight each other!
It’s like a bunch of pigs fighting. If left alone, the resulting super pig king would be too much
for humanity to handle.
Better to bleed each pig a bit, put a weakness buff on them, so they can’t fight each other, and
no super pig king emerges.
Mike felt his understanding was vivid and accurate.
Apollo nodded. “Correct.”
Got it, all clear.
Knowing the truth didn’t make Mike feel any lighter, only that the burden on his shoulders
had increased.
Humanity’s crisis was more troublesome and complex than he had imagined.
The information he had previously encountered was expressed in a simpler way.
Those records were indeed false.
But humanity’s extinction crisis was very real.
Just as Mike was feeling heavy-hearted, a black shadow flew out from the depths of the Forest
of Truth.
Shadow Nine was back.
The closer Shadow Nine got to Mike, the safer Mike felt!
Halfway through, the black shadow suddenly changed direction and disappeared into the
night!
Mike: ???
Apollo said calmly, “My teacher said he’s tired and needs a rest.”
Mike immediately said, “I’ll go rest with him…”
“My teacher said he sees we get along well, so he wants me to protect you today.”
With one sentence, Apollo crushed Mike’s last hope.