CHAPTER 464: CHAPTER 37: THE GRAND ERA_2

Upon hearing this number, Gray, Bone Horse, and Black Cat were all stunned. Vivian and Catherine remained calm.

"Exactly, I’m not particularly sure. After all, new saint spirits might evolve at any time, and the news from Keltos isn’t reliable. There are probably over two thousand angels in the Angel Army. This number can change rapidly. It could increase or decrease. In some fiercely contested planes, an entire angel army could be annihilated, which is not an impossibility."

"Saint spirits don’t decrease?" Gray asked.

"Saint spirits... strictly speaking, they don’t. Saint spirits are immortal, but they can be transformed. A saint spirit can fall to become a Demon Lord or, like me, detach from Heaven’s hierarchy. Of course, the probability is very low. To my knowledge, in Keltos, no saint spirit has fallen to become a Demon Lord, and I am the only saint spirit that has detached from Heaven’s hierarchy."

"How many Demon Lords are there?"

"I don’t know, maybe three hundred? Perhaps even fewer. It’s more challenging to produce Demon Lords than saint spirits, although there are more channels for them. Why do you suddenly ask this?"

*Gray stared blankly at the Observer for a while before speaking softly,* "I just wanted to know how powerful my opponents are."

The Observer smiled and asked cheerfully, "Now that you know, do you feel very desperate?"

"A little." Gray nodded lightly, "After all, I can’t even deal with nineteen saint spirits, oh no, eighteen saint spirits, and one Demon Lord."

"You don’t need to worry too much, child." The Observer gazed at the simulated sunset on the distant horizon and said softly, "The situation isn’t that hopeless. Well... how to put it, some things might be completely different from what you imagine. How should I explain this to you... strictly speaking, neither saint spirits nor Demon Lords are life forms."

"Not life forms?"

"Yes, not life forms."

Black Cat quickly raised a paw.

Holding a teacup, the Observer looked at Black Cat and said kindly, "You may ask."

"Uh... I have a conceptual question I’d like to ask." Black Cat said softly, "Are cats considered life forms?"

"Yes."

"Then what about me, a ghost."

"Also yes."

"What about Gray? Is a Lich considered a life form?"

"Of course."

"What about Vivian and Catherine?"

The Observer replied mysteriously, "Also yes."

Black Cat was bewildered, "So, what exactly are saint spirits and Demon Lords, if they aren’t life forms?"

"Hahaha, you’re a smart black cat, I knew you would ask. Let me tell you." The Observer furrowed his brow and said, "Life forms have consciousness, birth, and death. Those with consciousness but are immortal are called ’rules.’ Saint spirits and Demon Lords are combinations of rules evolved from consciousness. Maybe they were once life forms, but now they’re not. Do you understand?"

The Observer looked towards Gray.

*Gray shook his head blankly* "Not really."

"It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. One day, you will. Until then, whether you understand or not, it’s not a big issue." Stroking his long beard, the Observer continued, "Let’s return to the previous topic regarding the strength of Heaven and Hell. Both Heaven and Hell are extremely powerful. But this power is different from the usual understanding of power. Firstly, saint spirits and Demon Lords in different planes do not have a subordinate relationship with each other. This differs from the commonly known power structures. Although they belong to the same camp, it doesn’t mean they will help each other."

"They won’t help each other?"

"Yes. For example, if you’re a human lord and your territory is poorly governed, would you seek help from the neighboring lord to govern your land?"

"If there’s an external invasion..."

"No, no, no. There’s never an external enemy. From Heaven’s perspective, challenges from Hell are part of ruling your territory. Similarly, from Hell’s perspective, challenges from Heaven are part of ruling your territory. Don’t forget, both saint spirits and Demon Lords are immortal. They can only be transformed, not destroyed. For a long time, all races have had a significant misconception about Heaven and Hell, treating them as life forms like themselves. In fact, they’re not life forms."

*Gray was confused* "I... still don’t understand."

"That’s alright. Just know that theoretically, if you defeat the eighteen saint spirits and one Demon Lord on Keltos, you can achieve your dream. No one will support them. Maybe some saint spirits or Demon Lords from other planes will come out of curiosity to observe and summarize their failures, but that’s all."

"Theoretically? What about in reality?" Gray continued to ask.

"In reality, things are more complicated. If you achieve your dream in this plane and then try to extend your reach to other planes... I’m sorry, you might face the combined assault of all saint spirits and Demon Lords in every plane. There are many special situations, but their occurrence is almost negligible, almost zero. I believe it won’t happen. Of course, there’s one possibility... that you ultimately become one of them, a saint spirit or Demon Lord."

"I won’t!" Gray said quickly.

"Hehehe, I know you won’t, just speculating."

"I mean I won’t become a saint spirit or Demon Lord."

"Uh..." The Observer seemed to think of something, coughed twice, and took a breath, "Alright, anyway. Until you achieve ultimate victory in this plane, your enemies will only be the saint spirits and Demon Lords of this plane. Before then, I believe I can help you a lot. Although this path is extremely long... so long that I don’t know when I’ll see the end. Of course, that’s not the point. I’ve spent tens of thousands of years this way. Because the path is long and there’s much to do, you need to focus more on improving yourself. The pursuit of justice is harder than merely increasing your power. I hope you don’t stumble over what shouldn’t trip you on this long path. Don’t miss Keltos too much; focus on your improvement. Understand?"

Gray nodded heavily, "Understood."

The wind blew softly, and the false land in the Dimensional World remained as beautiful as a dream.

...

In Silver Moon Third Year, while the presumed deceased First Generation Lich King Gray was still striving to improve himself in some Dimensional Space, the Keltos Continent was undergoing dramatic changes.

With the formal arrival of Heaven and Hell’s armies on Keltos, the Silver Moon Era was slowly revealing its true face—a starry sky mixed with dreams, blood, tears, and smoke. All races, even the powerful Dragon Clan, had to struggle in the sea of suffering. The frail humans were no exception.

At the center of the whirlpool were Lich King Gray’s two children—the Second Generation Lich King Richie and Hydra Knight Jones.

As Gray’s recognized heir, Second Generation Lich King Richie persistently sought revenge for Gray, while simultaneously responding to the new circumstances.

As Gray’s adopted son, Hydra Knight Jones decided to forge a new world in his own way, perhaps creating miracles.

*Wait... have we forgotten someone?*

*Oh yes, our Mercenary Corps Leader Blood Elf Andrew. He and his mercenaries were heading to Dragon Valley, seizing the opportunity to rescue Christina. Please excuse his shortsightedness; after all, not everyone aspires to change the world. For him, the people close to him are more important. *

"Marching towards Krimasha, Volume Seven: The Lonely Traveler"[End]