Chapter 115 The Queen's Invitation

"That mission you carried out at Gupu Fortress...the sortie, was actually my arrangement."

The Empress's voice drifted through the wind and snow.

"I guessed as much."

Gu Shen's expression remained unchanged as he said, "You must have started paying attention to me after the Cemetery incident... The North Continent military's invitation was so enthusiastic that I was thinking about this on the way here. Since the Legion Commander resides in the Fortress, the person who arranged the sortie mission could only be you."

He vaguely felt an approving gaze from the wind and snow.

It wasn't difficult to guess.

Gu Shen was just a little puzzled. Her Majesty didn't need to tell him these things... Although she lived deep within the Pavilion, she was still the chess player in charge of the entire North Continent chessboard.

But now, thinking deeper and combining the details of the maze mission with the Empress's "clairvoyance"...

Gu Shen felt a chill.

If all of this was Her Majesty's arrangement...then did she see what happened in the maze beforehand?

If he was absent from the Investigation Corps' maze mission, it would have certainly ended in failure.

He suddenly understood what the Empress meant by "arrangement."

It wasn't just letting him accompany Yuan Yuan on the sortie, but even inviting him to North Continent...was all part of the "arrangement."

"You're lucky. Lin Lin's file was written very well."

The Empress said softly, "But even without that file, you don't have to worry about anyone pursuing what happened beyond the Fortress... The awarding of the First Class Medal is to put an end to the maze mission."

That sentence was a reassurance.

Gu Shen was now curious... How far and wide did the Empress's "eyes" see into the future?

Snowflakes swirled within the Furnace.

He had been holding "The Aegis of Fortuna" all along. The pendant felt cool and smooth to the touch, but there was no warning of danger... This meant that everything in the Divine Domain was safe, but a strange premonition surged in Gu Shen's heart.

This pendant might not even be "working."

"You should be able to tell... My current state is very bad."

The Empress spoke wearily, slowly saying, "Now, the sealed object on the second floor of the Fortress has begun to be dissolved by the 'Furnace'. If this situation continues, sooner or later... I will lose control of the 'Furnace'."

Was it because of supporting the burning of the entire Central City?

Gu Shen's expression was tangled as he cautiously asked, "Your Majesty, is this something I'm allowed to hear?"

"Of course... I called you here to say these things." The Empress smiled. "You can listen without worry..."

Without worry?

Gu Shen really couldn't... North Continent had lords and generals, and titled combatants who were among the best in all five continents. Her Majesty was now facing such a predicament, but she didn't summon Rustbone, White Lizard, or Silver Fox, nor even her most devout Apostle, A'leur, but summoned him, an East Continent transcendent whose cultivation was weak, only at the third stage.

How could Gu Shen truly feel at ease?

Frankly, he was still worried that his "Nether Lord" identity had been seen through.

"Recently, North Continent successfully quelled the 'Doru River Calamity Zone'..." The Empress spoke again, saying meaningfully, "You should have heard about this, right?"

In the Divine Domain, the Empress asked, and Gu Shen could only answer.

No matter how much he thought, it was useless.

He honestly replied, "Yes."

In fact, putting aside those concerns, Gu Shen himself was also very curious... The Empress was one of the top three God Seats among the Seven Gods. Her strength was so great, how did she evolve into the current situation of self-imposed confinement?

Judging from the current situation...

The Empress was in a dilemma. If she left the Pavilion, the power of the "Furnace" would gradually lose control. Once Central City lost the support of its greatest energy source...disaster would descend. Gu Shen could imagine the horrifying scene of floating mansions falling, and without the "Furnace," this magnificent city that had finally been restored would undoubtedly fall into the abyss, reverting to the "City of Eternal Winter."

"Quelling the Doru River Calamity Zone...wasn't so simple."

The Empress said, "The reason why the 'Furnace' is now experiencing unstable control is because most of my mental power was consumed in the Doru River Calamity Zone suppression mission."

Gu Shen's pupils constricted.

This was the true secret hidden behind the scenes!

The publicly announced news from North Continent was that the Investigation Corps, together with the Third Legion, fought together, with Ziyu sitting in the rear and White Lizard going to the front lines. The elites of the two major legions came out together, and the disaster zone was successfully conquered.

The Empress didn't even appear.

But in reality...the Empress not only contributed, but also consumed a lot of mental power!

"What exactly is the Doru River...?"

"It's a 'Sudden Birth Zone' like the Crescent Moon City Calamity Zone, a super-large calamity zone that appears out of nowhere, defying North Continent's exploration and understanding of calamity zones over the years."

The Empress said without reservation, "Perhaps it's because of the large increase in inland source material that led to this distortion. In recent years, 'black spots' and 'black holes' have begun to be frequently born at the point where the North Continent Great Wall touches the \[Old World], as well as the 'calamity zones' that arise accordingly. The most terrifying thing is... Transcendent beings still retain impressions of 'calamity zones' from decades ago."

"Many years ago, places covered in transcendent source material were called both 'calamity zones' and 'marvelous zones'. Because they were not only accompanied by danger, but also many unclaimed powerful 'sealed objects' and untapped 'strong logical mithril'."

"This has led to... once a 'calamity zone' is born, many transcendent beings will go to explore it at the first opportunity."

"The opening of the Doru River Calamity Zone and the Crescent Moon City Calamity Zone are extremely similar. After the discovery of the calamity zone, the first batch of explorers entered and encountered disaster, and then a 'rescue mission' began. However, North Continent isn't very interested in 'calamity zone rescue'."

The Empress slowly said, "Because the transcendent beings pouring into the calamity zone come from all over the five continents. They seize profits, and they also bear risks. Therefore, after encountering a crisis, the first to provide 'rescue' are the various continental assemblies."

This made sense...

Most of North Continent's power was placed on the border fortresses. If every time a calamity zone encountered danger, the power of the legions had to be used, then they would sooner or later be exhausted by their "selflessness."

This was somewhat like a public quest for those who were willing to take the bait.

When a calamity zone was born, the news would spread throughout the deep waters of the five continents. Every transcendent being could choose whether or not to take action... The strength of transcendent beings from other continents was still not to be underestimated. There were quite a few excellent and powerful transcendent beings who could quell small and medium-sized calamity zones. As for large calamity zones, they had to act together in teams.

Strong logical materials, sealed objects, and some of the creations in the calamity zone... were enough to attract these powerhouses.

"But this time, the Doru River Calamity Zone...is different from the situation in Crescent Moon City. After this super-large calamity zone was born, it was fully taken over by the North Continent military and strictly sealed off. Do you know why?"

Gu Shen frowned slightly, vaguely guessing something.

"Because...of mental toxins?"

The Second Captain of the Investigation Corps, Zhong Yuan, told him that the golden spike flower poison and the Doru River Calamity Zone toxin had the same origin!

That guy's strength was extremely strong, and below the title level, he basically had no rivals!

But when Zhong Yuan mentioned the toxin of the Doru River Calamity Zone... it was visible to the naked eye that his face changed!

One could imagine...how tragic the Doru River suppression mission was.

"Correct." The Empress said faintly, "The Doru River exudes a decaying aura. People who enter the calamity zone will be infected by 'River Toxin'. This toxin basically has no antidote... The North Continent military discovered the abnormality at the first opportunity and took over. Fortunately, the first batch of transcendent beings who stepped into the calamity zone had all died, and the River Toxin did not spread to the outside world."

Gu Shen listened to this news, his expression complex.

Under these circumstances...total annihilation was actually good news.

He felt somewhat lost.

Was the "mental toxin" of the Doru River Calamity Zone also dropped by the Nether Lord?

After being selected by the "Nether Lord Fireseed," Gu Shen realized that this was not a good thing.

Because he had taken over an unprecedentedly messy situation... He gradually discovered one foreshadowing after another buried by the previous Nether Lord. The previous Nether Lord was simply a madman. From the current perspective, these pre-mortem layouts had only one effect.

To bring a lot of misfortune to him.

If the River Toxin of the Doru River Calamity Zone spread... Gu Shen felt that these killings would likely be reckoned on his head.

He sighed softly, his expression melancholic.

However, this wasn't considered anything unusual.

"The battle situation at the Doru River was extremely tragic. 'Chaotic black spots' were born in this super-large calamity zone. If we want to eliminate them, we have to go deep into it. Most of the main forces of the North Investigation Corps and the Third Legion were infected with 'River Toxin'..." The Empress's voice was haggard. "The terrifying thing about Doru River Toxin is that it doesn't trigger immediately after infection, but instead attaches a mental brand, marks it, and then lies dormant. No one knows when this mental marker will erupt."

Gu Shen's expression changed slightly when he heard this.

How did this sound somewhat like his "Pure Land" soul extraction technique?

He could already be sure...

Most likely, this was a method left behind by the "previous Nether Lord."

"Most importantly, in the Doru River Calamity Zone, I sensed the aura of a 'God Seat'."

The Empress raised her palm, and the source material that swirled around the frost throne gradually approached her palm.

Part of the scene of the Doru River Calamity Zone was reflected and reproduced in the Divine Domain.

A large river, almost frozen by ice and snow, but even under the frost and snow, black gas still lingered.

On both sides of the river were broken snow mountains.

"In order to erase the mental brand of the Doru River, I spent a lot of mental power to ensure that every transcendent being who left the calamity zone was free from the 'mark'." The Empress slowly said, "Due to unspeakable reasons, I can only support the Furnace inside the second floor of the Fortress... After this incident, my mental state has become even worse, so this matter has become what you see now."

Gu Shen: "..."

He didn't dare say a word.

If the Empress knew that the toxin of the Doru River Calamity Zone was dropped by the Nether Lord, and he was the heir to this Nether Lord Fireseed...

The scene was too beautiful to imagine.

"Currently...the entrance to the Doru River Calamity Zone is a \[Gate]. This Gate provides us with this independent passage to the Doru River, but the two major legions have flattened the disorderly black spots in the Doru River, but they have not found a second \[Gate] at the end of the calamity zone."

Gu Shen raised his eyebrows slightly: "A second \[Gate]?"

"In an independently sealed calamity zone space, where there is a first \[Gate], there is a second \[Gate]... This is a known iron law. Where there is an entrance, there must be an exit."

The Empress's expression was solemn.

"But...your room doesn't have one." Gu Shen turned his head and looked at the red giant door behind him that had been closed by the Legion Commander.

A truly sealed room.

There was only one \[Gate].

This \[Gate] could be entered and exited.

"The laws of transcendence cannot be understood with the common sense of the real world. For example, the surge of transcendent source material in the void requires a medium." The Empress stretched out her finger and slowly outlined: "If the Doru River Calamity Zone only has one \[Gate], then North Continent will be the only support point providing its energy. This is unreasonable..."

North Continent didn't have that much free source material!

So that was it.

Then the large amount of disordered source material that was filled in the Doru River could only have been absorbed from the \[Old World].

"So..."

Gu Shen murmured: "In the Doru River, there is still a second \[Gate] hidden."

"Correct." The Empress said faintly: "I am preparing to restart the Doru River mission, to find this hidden second \[Gate], to find the origin of the large amount of source material provided to this calamity zone..."

Gu Shen was stunned when he heard this, and a very absurd idea came to his mind: "Are you planning...to reverse plunder the source material resources on the other side of the \[Gate]?"

The burning of the Furnace requires a large amount of transcendent source material.

And the Doru River Calamity Zone has become very "safe" after clearing the disordered black spots.

If we can find the second \[Gate]...

The Empress in the ice and snow only smiled.

"Gu Shen..." She didn't answer Gu Shen's question, but instead asked: "Do you want to go on this restarted Doru River mission?"

……

……

For Gu Shen, this wasn't actually a problem that needed deep thought.

If he could...

He would have personally stepped into the Doru River long ago to find the damn "source of the River Toxin."

Once that scale of mental toxins spread, it would cause him a lot of trouble... But the Doru River was a super-large calamity zone strictly controlled by the North Continent military, and ordinary people had no chance to enter.

But it was the Empress who personally extended the olive branch.

Gu Shen had to stop and think...

"Why?"

He raised his head and stared at the Empress seriously.

"Why me?"

After stepping into the Furnace Divine Domain, Gu Shen had always maintained his clarity.

Putting aside his identity as a "messenger," he seemed to have only one trump card left, the "Nether Lord Heir," which was enough for the Empress to care about.

Judging from the previous conversation, the Empress didn't see through this trump card.

Then...did he qualify?

To be personally invited by the Empress to participate in this level of mission!

……

……

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