Chapter 1 The Beginning

On the azure sea, the Eternal Night sailed at a leisurely pace.

The battle at the Imperial Strait had concluded a few days prior, resulting in the near-total annihilation of the million-strong magician legion from the Celestial Plane. After clearing the battlefield, the Dawnbreakers set sail north towards the Burial Grounds of Gods in the Silent Forest.

Inside the captain's cabin.

Sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the room brightly.

A gentle breeze carried the fresh scent of the sea.

Peace reigned within the cabin.

"Teacher, the newspaper has arrived."

Luo Luota knocked and entered, delivering the *Lingdun Daily* printed a few days ago.

Qiantiao, wrapped in bandages, took the newspaper and sprawled on the sofa to read it.

Everyone had sustained injuries of varying degrees in the battle a few days ago, especially her. Charging ahead the most aggressively, she also took the worst beating, nearly losing half her life.

It would require a long period of recovery.

(Remember the website)

So the Eternal Night wasn't in a hurry and continued sailing leisurely.

Unable to engage in strenuous exercise or sword practice while recovering, Qiantiao was bored. She originally wanted to read the newspaper to relieve the boredom, but when she saw the headline on the front page, she seemed to discover something surprising, and her expression instantly brightened.

She winked at Suren, who was in the distance at the desk, flipping through alchemical texts, and said, "Oh... Suren, take a look. The newspaper gave you the title of 'Puppet Emperor.' Sounds pretty good."

Suren heard this and glanced over, amused and exasperated, "Heh, this reporter is exaggerating too much..."

The [Blasphemer] provided him with too much mental amplification. With just a glance, he instantly imprinted all the content of the newspaper into his mind.

War required heroes, so they, the Dawnbreakers, had once again made it into the newspaper.

A large amount of space was dedicated to detailing the battle a few days ago, with exaggerated language.

And he himself received the most coverage, with the most outrageous wording.

Controlling a million puppets was almost like controlling an empire, so the newspaper gave him the title of "Puppet Emperor." Naturally, the title of emperor couldn't be used indiscriminately, and the *Lingdun Daily*, as an official newspaper, wouldn't make such a basic mistake. All because Suren's other identity was the legal husband of Empress Yekaterina, the current Duke Fick. Using the title of Puppet Emperor wasn't taboo.

But for that very reason, Suren felt that something was off.

Hearing this, Mr. Mirror, who was recording notes nearby, also looked up, raised an eyebrow, and responded with a smile, "Indeed, it's very fitting."

Looking at the photo in the newspaper, the scene immediately flashed in his mind.

Even she, as a participant, still found it a little unbelievable.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Suren single-handedly turned the tide in the battle a few days ago. Otherwise, even with a few demigods, they wouldn't have been able to break through the million-strong legion's giant bird formation.

And then he alone blocked the million-strong magic legion.

This glorious battle was indeed worth the extensive publicity in the newspaper.

......

Suren certainly heard the hint of teasing in his senior sister's praise and shook his head with a smile, not dwelling on the topic.

He put down the [Sage's Admonition] gold scroll he was studying and said, "Senior Sister, after the [Blasphemer] bio-armor is completely digested, I plan to advance to Rank 9."

He had already acquired the necessary job-change materials, cosmic source matter, and comprehension of the laws needed to advance to Rank 9, making the advancement almost risk-free.

Suren had previously drunk from the Mimir's Well and obtained the second unlock ability of the All-Knowing Eye. There were no secrets in the world in his eyes, but his brain couldn't bear too much high-level information that exceeded his own cognition. And now, the [Blasphemer], forged from the brain of a Void Bisection Worm, was like a supercomputer that could help him process and digest those super-order cognitions.

This was Sir Isaac's original intention in designing this bio-armor, to use alchemical bio-armor to allow mortals to obtain the cognitive abilities that only gods possessed.

If he could advance to Rank 9, then Suren could truly touch the pinnacle of power that humans could master, such as the mysteries of "rules."

Although he had previously stripped away some insights from two demigods, after all, the magicians' world cognition was incomplete.

Moreover, those were ultimately other people's insights. Some scenery could only be truly appreciated by personally reaching that height.

Mr. Mirror nodded upon hearing this, "Yes. After the battle at the Imperial Strait, the Celestial Plane won't have any actions for a long time to come. Now is indeed the best opportunity for you to advance."

Saying that, she paused for a moment, then added, "After the magic legion's defeat a few days ago, the Imperial Intelligence Department personnel monitoring the plane passage in the Zambra Iron Falls Province have confirmed that two new banners have appeared in the magic camp. One is the blood-colored griffin flag, and the other is the star-striped crown flag. It should be the legions of the 'Golden Griffin Empire' and the 'Holy Crown Empire,' the two empires adjacent to the Aissidun Empire that you mentioned. If the enemy launches another attack, we may have to face not just one or two demigods and a million legions, but at least several times that number of enemies..."

"Mm."

Suren's gaze slightly condensed as he listened. This was also one of the reasons why he wanted to advance to Rank 9 as soon as possible.

Having stripped away the memories of two magic gods, he was very clear about the Celestial Plane's invasion plan.

The million-strong magic legion was annihilated in the battle at the Imperial Strait. Having suffered a great loss, the enemy would definitely not act rashly again.

This did indeed give the Alchemic Plane a long breathing period.

But now that the Aissidun Empire's conquest was unsuccessful, the three great empires would join forces to conquer the Alchemic Plane.

The problem of the origin plane passage hadn't been solved, so there would be no end to the war, and the enemy would only become more numerous.

Suren had also considered a surprise attack on the magic camp at the plane passage, but it was meaningless.

Not to mention that the enemy was already prepared, making the surprise attack extremely risky. Even if it succeeded, the passage had been completely stabilized, and the exit was controlled by the gods of the Celestial Plane, making them powerless to stop the magicians from continuing to descend.

Just as Suren's mind was automatically deducing various possibilities, Qiantiao's carefree voice rang out in the room: "Ah... If they come, then we fight."

Saying that, she smacked her lips and added with great interest, "It just so happens that my swordsmanship has gained some insights from these two battles with demigods. I'll go take another look at that black stone tablet you mentioned. Perhaps there's a chance for further progress."

Her tone seemed to imply an anticipation of fighting to the death with the strong.

"..."

Hearing this, Suren and Mr. Mirror exchanged strange glances.

Qiantiao's tone didn't show any reverence for demigods. After all, besides the two this time, she had killed a demigod monster in the Land of the Yellow Springs before.

It seemed like it wouldn't make any difference if a few more came next time.

But the strangeness of Suren and the Mirror's expressions wasn't just because of this, but because of something else.

What was difficult for others to comprehend was like there was no threshold for Qiantiao.

The [Rakshasa Woman] was inherently a battle-loving talent, becoming stronger the more she fought, as long as she didn't die.

This time, being seriously injured and half-dead had led to new insights. Qiantiao was now a Rank 9 Sword God, having touched the mysteries of rules, and the next step would be the demigod realm.

This realm, which ordinary people only heard about in legends, sounded as simple as getting into a fight to her.

Suren couldn't help but notice that after Qiantiao went to the Land of the Yellow Springs, the hidden characteristics of the third unlock of the [Rakshasa Woman] talent had been completely developed.

Qiantiao couldn't explain how those changes occurred, but Suren had carefully observed the Rakshasa Golden Body Dharma. It was an existence more profound than "rules." He even felt that the legends of "god reincarnation" might have some truth to them.

......

Qiantiao's unrestrained words immediately lightened the mood.

Suren also chuckled softly.

Indeed, if the enemy came, they would just fight.

Things would get much better when he advanced to Rank 9.

The greatest shortcoming of the puppeteer was still himself. He was fortunate to have Mr. Mirror, Qiantiao, Pandora, and Pestoia in a four-protect-one tactic in the previous battle, giving him the space to fully focus on controlling the puppets for output. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been confident that he could protect his life in front of a demigod.

But once he advanced to Rank 9, everything would change.

At that time, Suren was confident that he would have the power to protect himself, even against demigods.

Moreover, the war forges were now continuously producing high-quality gargoyles, and his puppet legion would become stronger and stronger in the future.

Next time they encountered a million-level magic legion of the same scale as before, the threat to Suren wouldn't be great.

At that time, unless the enemy sent ten or eight magic gods, Suren would really think the enemy was looking down on him.

However, there was another reason why he was considering advancing to Rank 9.

Suren had never forgotten that he still had a demon god contract on him.

Since fusing with the Rank 8 bio-armor, he had an increasing premonition that the time limit for the contract was approaching.

He himself was proficient in various prophecies and divinations, and his intuition couldn't be a delusion. It would definitely come.

This was also the most important reason why Suren wanted to advance to Rank 9 as soon as possible.

Involving contracts with gods and demons, only by being strong enough could one possibly survive.

......

Mr. Mirror seemed to see the hint of a different color between his brows and asked, "What's wrong?"

Although Qiantiao often seemed not very intelligent, her intuition was frighteningly accurate.

At this question, she immediately guessed something and frowned, "That contract?"

"Mm."

Suren nodded.

Since his senior sister and Qiantiao weren't outsiders, he said directly, "I feel that the contractor may want me to fulfill the contract."

Back then, in the Hidden Mountain Kingdom, in the [Fatal - Land of the Yellow Springs] world.

In order to resurrect Qiantiao and Mikoto, Suren used the method left behind by the great writer Fujiwara Hayato to sign an exchange contract with a certain demon god.

At that time, he didn't pay any price, but exchanged it for the resurrection of Qiantiao and the two of them.

At that time, Fujiwara Hayato said that when the time was right, they would have to board the legendary "Cursed Ship" to go to a mysterious place to fulfill this contract.

So many years had passed, but the contract had never shown any movement.

But Suren had never forgotten it.

His understanding of the world had now reached the pinnacle that humans could touch. Looking back with his current vision, he increasingly realized the power of that demon god contract.

What he exchanged at the beginning was his "fate."

This was absolutely impossible to escape.

Hearing this, Qiantiao pursed her lips and said without hesitation, "I'll go with you."

Mr. Mirror also cast a concerned gaze.

Suren shook his head, "Only I can go."

He had never known when that "suitable" time would be, but now that feeling was very close, and it should be after he advanced to Rank 9.

That contractor seemed to require him to have a certain amount of combat power before he was qualified.

However, Suren had never thought of escaping the contract. Since he had exchanged it, he would naturally fulfill it.

Saying that, he looked at the two people's serious expressions and explained in a relaxed tone, "Perhaps it's not as bad as we think. Everything follows equivalence. Since that god or demon needs me to fulfill the contract and has to wait until I'm Rank 9, it's likely that he finds my current ability to be worth it. Since he finds it to be worth it, then it will naturally be an equal matter, and there won't be absolutely no chance. And after I advance to Rank 9, it will be difficult for anything below the god rank to pose a fatal threat to me..."

Suren wasn't just comforting the two when he said this, but he was really in a good state of mind.

Having reached his current realm, having experienced great storms and even died once, he could accept anything calmly.

He even had some expectations for that mysterious contract.

Now, in this broken Alchemic Plane, there weren't many things that could truly be considered secrets to Suren. And he had a strong interest in the "Cursed Ship" and that contractor.

Judging from the current situation, the legend of the Cursed Ship had been circulating for at least tens of thousands of years.

But no one had ever uncovered its mysterious veil.

Suren's mind had even combined various clues and legends to deduce what he thought was the most reasonable situation: a certain demon god couldn't handle certain things for some special reason and needed some low-level humans to intervene, so he created such a contract.

And that matter would definitely be something that humans could complete. It would never be a dead end.

......

After this explanation, the worry in the eyes of Mr. Mirror and Qiantiao clearly dissipated a lot.

Suren's analysis just now was indeed reasonable.

No demon god would be idle enough to create some boring contract to play with. Since he needed someone to fulfill the contract, it was bound to be possible to succeed.

Moreover, once Suren advanced to Rank 9, there were indeed very few things below the god rank that could threaten him.

And the strongest state of the Golem Master was fighting alone, one person could be the enemy of a million legions.

Helping others would be a burden.

Even Mr. Mirror and Qiantiao, as Rank 9s, felt that they were far behind in this aspect.

But they also knew that Suren only said the good side.

On the other hand, fulfilling this contract was bound to have great risks.

Otherwise, after tens of thousands of years, that demon god would still be looking for a contractor.

Qiantiao pursed her lips, always feeling that she couldn't help, which made her feel uncomfortable.

At this time, Suren thought of something and said lightly, "Furthermore... If that contractor really wants me to fulfill the contract, it may be the hope of breaking the Alchemic Plane's invasion predicament."

"Oh?"

Upon hearing this, Mr. Mirror's eyelashes fluttered lightly, and she immediately realized something, her eyes gradually deepening.

Although the Alchemic Plane seemed to have the upper hand in the current plane war, the fundamental problem hadn't been solved.

If the plane passage wasn't closed, the end of the plane's fall was almost unavoidable.

And it was currently difficult to find an opportunity to break the situation within the Alchemic Plane.

They could only look for it from the outside.

They didn't have any ideas before, but now they did.

Since they couldn't change the fact that they had to fulfill the contract, they would naturally think in a good direction.

Whether the contractor Suren mentioned was good or evil, he was bound to be a god-rank existence.

This might be the hope of breaking the situation!