Full health is the kill threshold, no matter if you're a god or a demon!

"Yes, as you can see, we have many adventurers here, including some top-tier experts like yourself. Is there something special about you that makes me want to meet you in person?"

Kaft's eight spider legs tapped lightly on the stone floor of the council hall, making a soft "tap-tap-tap" sound.

The will-o'-the-wisp in his eye socket flickered, and he scrutinized the "Dragonman General Origon" from head to toe.

Liu Nian said, "I'd like to use your teleportation array to go to the Western Continent. What kind of contribution do I need to make in return?"

Kaft's will-o'-the-wisp jumped suddenly, clearly Liu Nian's words were unexpected.

He remained silent for a few seconds, his eight legs stopped tapping, and his entire "person" froze in place, like a sculpture whose pause button had been pressed.

"This..." He thought of the order jointly issued by the seven pharaohs—the use of the teleportation array was strictly controlled, and no one could touch it without the approval of the pharaoh himself.

Kaft was stumped. He shook his head, and the eight spider legs began to tap unconsciously again, but this time the rhythm was clearly off.

"I'm sorry, I can't make that decision. The Pharaoh has the authority to grant permission for the use of teleportation arrays.

"Then please inform Pharaoh for me," Liu Nian said. "I want to speak with him in person."

Kaft thought for a moment and nodded.

He couldn't think of a better solution either.

This "Oregon" is a level 999 player, and as mentioned before, he is indeed quite impressive.

"You wait here, I'll go ask for instructions." After saying that, Kaft moved quickly on his eight legs and disappeared into the shadows of the side door of the council hall.

---

The story then returns to the beginning—Liu Nian met Shams's mechanical clone.

That was a smaller version of the Shams.

Even though it's "shrunken," it's still over three meters tall. Standing there, it's much taller than an average person, and you have to look up to make eye contact with it.

It is made entirely of dark gold metal, with intricate patterns and welds covering its surface, resembling a meticulously crafted work of art.

The head was a metal wolf's head—the wolf's snout protruded, the fangs were exposed, but the eyes did not have the electronic light of a typical mechanical prosthetic eye, but rather two burning dark red soul flames.

Although it's just a clone, its level is still 999.

"The Dragonkin will lead Oregon?" Shams's clone spoke, his voice carrying a distinct metallic resonance. "On the way here, I already asked Kaft. You said you wanted to use the teleportation array?"

"Yes," Liu Nian said, his expression unchanged. "I'd like to borrow your teleportation array for a bit. Name your price."

Shams stared at him for a few seconds, his dark red soul-flame eyes fixed on Liu Nian, then he smiled.

"Such arrogance!" Shams's voice rose several octaves, the metallic resonance echoing throughout the council hall, causing the intricate gears on the walls to hum. "Who do you think you are? This is a dimensional invasion war affecting billions of people; even I could perish! What do you think you can accomplish with your individual strength? How many high-ranking vampires can you kill for us? Ten? A hundred? A thousand?"

Liu Nian frowned, wanting to interject: "Although I'm only one, my fighting strength—"

"Do you know how many troops the vampires have deployed this time?" Shams interrupted him rudely. "At least a million! Three princes, countless eternal lords! I've detained all the NPCs and adventurers here, and I still can't say I'm guaranteed victory. Under these circumstances, you're telling me to use the teleportation array? Do you know how disastrous this will be for the other adventurers and my subordinates?"

Shams' tone grew increasingly aggressive, the last word almost a shout. With that kind of force, an ordinary player would probably have been terrified.

Liu Nian took a deep breath and suppressed his anger.

He told himself: No rush, no rush, you're here to do business, not to fight.

But his fists were already clenched so tightly inside his sleeves that they were making a cracking sound.

"I can help you take down a prince," he said in a calm tone.

There was a moment of silence in the council chamber.

Then, Shams laughed.

The laughter was loud and unrestrained, the metallic resonance echoing back and forth in the council hall.

The undead guards behind it also laughed—even though they probably didn't understand what they were laughing at all, but if their master laughed, how could they not laugh?

"You? You killed a prince?" Shams shook his head, his dark red will-o'-the-wisp filled with sarcasm, his expression as if he'd heard the best joke of the year. "How arrogant! Do you know what level a vampire prince is? Even I might not be able to win! That's an ancient monster that's lived for tens of thousands of years!"

He paused, as if to extinguish Liu Nian's illusions completely, and continued, "To tell you the truth, there are seventeen level 999 adventurers in my city, each one a top-tier expert, but even if you combine them all, there's no way they could kill the vampire prince! You alone? What makes you think you can?"

Liu Nian frowned, sensing that this NPC seemed to have a prejudice against adventurers, so he said directly, "How about this, I'll take care of a prince first, and then come back to you, okay?"

Shams shook his head, the movement swift and decisive, without the slightest hesitation: "I don't have time to listen to your nonsense. In short, the teleportation array will not be open for you alone. Forget about it." He turned to look at the door. "Kaft, see him out."

"Even if I brought the prince's head, it wouldn't work?" Liu Nian pressed.

"No!"

Liu Nian clenched his fist slightly, his knuckles turned white, and the veins on the back of his hand bulged.

He really wanted to punch that arrogant pharaoh right then and there.

It's just a clone, with attributes of level 999 at most. Even with the defensive array of an eighth-level main city, he believed he could forcefully destroy it.

But what's the point of destroying it?

This is just a clone; the real Shams is still hidden somewhere in the pyramid.

Hitting him might feel good, but it would make the teleportation array unusable and would only alert the enemy.

not to mention……

Liu Nian's gaze swept across the walls of the council hall.

The walls were intricately embedded with gears, springs, and energy pipes.

He now seriously suspects that Shams has dug up the grave of some celestial dwarf.

Those engineering creations, those mechanical structures, those intricate arrays of runes... absolutely nothing the undead could have made!

If it really is related to the Star Dwarfs, then this trip was worthwhile.

It doesn't matter if the teleportation array doesn't work; he still has the Boundary Breaker. He can just take a detour.

But now that we've stumbled upon this city's secrets, we can't let them go!