The legend of the Crimson Demon clan started from Suqing.

Chapter 594 Alright, the game begins!

"Without further ado, let's set off."

The three of them quickly came out of the room.

I wasn't planning to tell the people in the settlement this time, but they unexpectedly ran into Chloe before they left.

"Where are you going?"

"It's about time to teach this girl how to gather food. I need to teach her how to use reconnaissance tools."

Rick answered without hesitation.

This is obviously fake, and it's clearly an excuse he had prepared long ago.

However, Kloni had no doubts. After all, everyone in the settlement had to contribute to survival and better development, and even sacrifice their lives when necessary. Therefore, it was only right that they learned these things.

“Those venerable ones…”

"I'll go protect them."

As a person from another world capable of using magic, although Kloni didn't know exactly how strong Zun Zun was, she was at least much stronger than the average human—Shubi's identity had not been exposed.

"Then I too..."

"Forget it. If I included you, I'd have to go through the trouble of protecting you."

Rick rudely interrupted Kloni before she could speak, his harsh words causing her to pout unhappily.

Although she wanted to say that she could protect herself, Kloni knew that would be unreasonable, so she could only reluctantly accept it.

"You should pay attention to your safety."

"Yes, yes, we're leaving."

"I will... protect Rick."

Rick waved casually, and together with Shubi, who had said she would protect Rick, they walked out of the settlement.

Zun Zun then looked at Kloni, whose eyes were burning with passion.

"I will protect Rick."

"But you also need to protect yourself."

"I... okay. Also, we might be back late, but we won't go too far."

"—Zun Zun, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and come here!"

Rick was calling out to him from afar, while Zun Zun nodded to Chlorine and also walked out of the gathering place.

The people in the settlement seemed to regard having children as their top priority. Therefore, both men and women were relatively bold.

Faced with Chlorne's advances, he could only tell her that he would definitely leave this world and had no way to meet her expectations.

He did restrain himself at first, but what made him become bold again...? Probably after he accidentally told her that he had two fiancées.

Leave the gathering place.

The outside temperature is indeed quite low.

Rick donned a thick animal fur coat and goggles, completely covering himself to avoid contact with the deadly black ash.

As for Shubi and Zunzan, they don't need these.

Shubi has a purifying fluid, while Zun Zun, with his divine body, repels all abnormal states.

It took the three of them an hour to reach the old capital of the Forest Elfs.

Riding a horse with the mindset of facing death would take 5 days, while crawling cautiously would take several months. Yet, Zun Zun covered such a long distance in just 1 hour.

Rick could no longer hold back and asked the crucial question.

"Are you really human?"

"It's a human."

Zun Zun answered with a smile.

Shubi also seemed to have crashed, and began to analyze the human race, saying that no human race could possibly have such speed—even the best machine bodies of the machine race did not have such speed.

They were not told anything about the powers.

That would be too complicated to explain, so let them think it's magic.

……

"Is this the old city of the Forest Elf race?"

Rick looked at the scene before him and muttered to himself.

The unique buildings woven from trees collapsed one by one, and ugly charred marks still remain. However, the ruins are now covered with brightly colored flowers and plants, resembling an elegant courtyard.

The sky was stained blood-red, and the earth was poisoned by black ash—in this world of death, this abandoned city still seemed to be protected by the divine species.

As expected of the God of Forest Spirits.

"They turned this planet into hell, yet they still keep their own home as paradise. How willful can they be... Damn gods."

Rick made no attempt to hide his disgust.

The three continued walking deeper into the ruins for quite some time before finally stopping at their destination. In the midst of the completely burned-out ruins, they stood before the only remaining structure, its original form still intact.

Rick spoke instinctively.

Is this the library?

"...It's probably...something like that kind of facility...compared to the damage to the city, the damage here is minor..."

Hubie nodded.

Zun Zun replied, "That's right, this is the Forest Elf's library. I saw related information at Sinke Barbaren's house. As for books, don't expect anything. Apart from most of them being taken by special individuals of the Skywing race, the rest were taken by the Forest Elves." He then slipped inside through the gaps in the interlacing trees.

Upon entering, the strange architectural style remained unchanged, and the interior was filled with items whose purpose was difficult to determine. Among them was something that could be vaguely identified as a bookshelf, but the bookshelf was completely empty.

Sure enough, all the documents were taken away.

This trip was a waste of time... not really.

Zun Zun's eyes looked to the other side, and Hugh's eyes were also fixed there.

The two walked over.

As the rock mass shook violently with a loud thud, the heavy iron blocks were forcibly twisted, emitting a sharp, piercing sound.

"Rick, look this way."

"A complex camouflage spell has been cast underground, and a space has been discovered below... There's a basement, you know?"

Zun Zun and Hugh each pushed open one side of the enormous iron gate, which was dozens of times their own height, while Rick's expression twitched uncontrollably.

After confirming there were no signs of life, the three went down the stairs.

Then--

Ahead of the long underground staircase lay a scene that defied comprehension.

In the center of the spacious hall stood several enormous pillars, strangely crooked, their surfaces engraved with countless red patterns.

“186…the patterns are the protective markings of the divine species Kainas, and the markings and spells used by the forest elves on the data are all inconsistent.”

Shubi's database contains no information about this item.

Zun Zun wiped the dust off the label, looked at the words written in Elvish, and slowly said, "Void Zero Protection - Theoretical Verification Experimental Furnace..."

"Shubi, do you remember this?"

"No matching data found. The items used by the Forest Elves, the magic itself... no matching data found."

Hughie could only shake her head at Rick's question.

"I know."

Zun Zun spoke, and then explained the principle of the Zero Protection of the Void to the two of them.

—With the blessing of the divine species, the core of the fantasy species' spell, which has an independent elven corridor, is forcibly overwritten, causing the core to self-destruct; then, the spirit destruction spell is used to cause a chain reaction of destruction in the large number of spirits released by the self-destruction, and then they are all released.

Its principle is somewhat similar to the nuclear fission chain reaction of an atomic bomb.

Theoretically speaking, once the Spirit Destruction Spell is successfully activated, all spirits within its effective range will be drawn into the chain reaction of destruction in the second step of the spell, ultimately becoming fuel to enhance the spell's power and dying.

If enough fantasy species are collected and mass-produced, it would be enough to destroy the entire planet and all life on it, and even the divine species would not be able to resist it.

"Is this for real...? Damn forest elves, what are they trying to do!?"

Rick said this through gritted teeth.

"Of course, the goal is to penetrate this planet and then reveal the Star Grail. This is the way to end this great war."

That's what the Venerable One said.

His words clearly surprised Rick.

The weakest human race struggles to survive, so how could they possibly think about ending this great war? Rick loathed the gods who started the war, for they had taken away his home and peaceful daily life.

However, the human race, lacking intelligence and living with death every day, was unaware of the purpose and conditions for ending this great war.

And now.

The truth of the great war was finally revealed to him.

"Shubi, do you know the purpose and conditions for ending this great war?"

"...Yes, such information exists in the database of the machine race...Now, explain it to Rick."

The Star Cup is a conceptual device that determines the struggle for the throne of the supreme god who commands all gods and spirits, and who holds absolute dominion over all.

This is the reason and purpose of the great war.

To end this great war, a single God must be chosen.

“Shubi, can you answer one more question for me?” Rick hesitated, his expression suggesting he should know the answer, but he still asked, “That Star Grail… surely there must be another way to get it, right?”

"Another method...?"

Hughie tilted her head, looking at him with a puzzled expression.

Rick looked at her, both amused and exasperated, then glanced at Zun Zun beside him and sighed, "I knew it... No wonder you were so convinced I could help. Were you waiting for me here? This is your purpose, isn't it?"

"No, no, no, although the goal is the same, the methods are different. Besides, I'm trying my best to help you."

"I know."

Rick couldn't help but laugh. He had forgotten when he last laughed, but for some reason, he just wanted to laugh now.

"I'm sorry to dampen your spirits when you're in such a good mood, but Rick, humans are incapable of taking that position because their weak constitution would be destroyed by the Star Grail in an instant. I've conducted many experiments, and that's the conclusion I've reached."

"What? Is that how it is?... Well then, Venerable One, you shall be the One God."

"Oh, leave it to me."

The fact that the two of them so easily and simply decided who would inherit the throne of the One God must have seemed incredibly arrogant and ignorant to the various races participating in the great war.

"What a simple question! Why don't those gods know such an obvious answer? I finally understand. What makes the weak human race superior to other races, as you said, is their intellect! Let's give those gods a real shock to the little human race."

Rick's lips curled up, and his eyes shone brightly for the first time.

"Alright, the game begins."

(End of this chapter)