NABC 036 Great Enemy
036 Great Enemy
036 Great Enemy
Lu Gao stood tall, a picture of wealth and power. His long dark hair was tied in a neat ponytail, his robes were pristine, embroidered with golden dragons slithering across deep blue silk. His posture was straight, exuding the self-assurance of someone who had never been denied anything in his life. His frame was lean, but the compact muscles beneath his robes spoke of rigorous training. He was strong—stronger than I had expected.
I released Long Xieren’s wrist and approached Lu Gao. If I was going to get any answers, now was the time. I activated my Divine Sense, my very own lie detector.
“Did you plan to kill disciples Huo Jun and Fan Shi?”
“No.”
It was a lie.
“What’s your cultivation realm?”
“Second Realm, Eight Star.”
It was the truth.@@@@
Long Xieren scoffed. “That’s a lie!”
“He’s saying the truth.”
My Divine Sense could only detect the fundamental truth. It wasn’t just about catching lies—it was about sensing the sincerity behind a person’s words. Lu Gao truly believed he was in the Second Realm, Eight Star. If his belief had been false, I would have sensed the inconsistency. But no, he was utterly convinced.
Still, there was something wrong here.
“Chief Enforcer Liang Na, objectively tell me with Qi Sense what his cultivation level is.”
Liang Na’s gaze swept over Lu Gao, her Qi Sense probing him. “Second Realm, Eight Star.”
Long Xieren gritted his teeth. “But his attack is undeniably at the Third Realm.”
That was the problem. I turned to Liang Na, searching for any sign that she had sensed the same discrepancy.
“I am uncertain if the attack had been at the Third Realm,” she answered. “However, I am certain the person himself as only at the Second Realm.”
There was no way she hadn’t noticed if it was the case of hiding your Realm.
“What made you think, Daoist, that it was Third Realm?” I asked Long Xieren.
Long Xieren looked at me like I was an idiot. “Because I felt it in my hand. And I’ve known the sword all my life. I’d have to be a fool not to recognize a Third Realm sword strike!”
Lei Fen crossed his arms, his voice cold. “Don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong, Da Wei. You may be a friend of our Sect Master, but it’s a grave offense to intervene in our matters so blatantly like this.”
I met his gaze, my mind racing.
Lu Gao’s cultivation might have been Second Realm, but his attack had carried the force of a Third Realm strike. There was a trick here—something beyond just brute power. And if I had learned anything about cultivators, it was that nothing was ever as simple as it seemed.
"This prattle is meaningless," Lu Gao declared, his voice unwavering. "It is my victory. I demand my prize."
Ren Jin descended from above, his robes fluttering as he landed with practiced ease. "A hundred thousand spirit stones, is it?" The governor’s tone was calm, but there was an underlying weight to his words. "We’ll get it ready." He gestured for Chief Enforcer Liang Na, who gave a subtle nod in response.
Lu Gao, however, shook his head. "No need for that. I only wish to seek participation in the closed-off auction that Governor Ren Jin shall host on the seventh day of the festival. The Lu Clan wishes to play fair with the Elders of the prestigious Sects."
Long Xieren let out a dry chuckle, crossing his arms. "This arrogant brat sure knows how to talk when it suits him." His expression turned sharp as he turned to Ren Jin. "I demand compensation for the injuries my disciple, Huo Jun, suffered. The Governor shall act as witness and mediator for this grudge."
Lei Fen followed suit, his eyes calculating. "Same goes for my Sect. A compensation is required."
I resisted the urge to sigh. These sly old foxes really were exhausting. Their outrage wasn’t about justice. No, they were simply looking for an advantage. Attempted murder? A minor offense if compensated properly. Money, rare resources, maybe a few favors—these things could smooth over just about anything.
Their reaction was interesting, though. The moment Lu Gao requested entry into the auction, their attitudes shifted. Perhaps they assumed he lacked the wealth to compete with them. A fatal miscalculation, if true. Lu Gao wasn’t just some overconfident noble’s son—he was someone who planned his steps far ahead.
It was a stark contrast to how they had treated me when we first met. Back then, I was an unknown factor, a rogue element in their carefully balanced power plays. They had questioned my motives, my strength, my background. But with Lu Gao? It was different. He was a known variable. Predictable. And that made him easier to manipulate—or so they thought.
“Not yet," I said.
The words hung in the air, sharp and unexpected.
They froze. Not just Lu Gao, but Ren Jin, Long Xieren, Lei Fen—everyone.
Of course, they would find it bizarre. It wasn’t like I had a stake in this. By all means, Lu Gao had won. He had played within the rules—bent them, maybe, but not broken them. I had no reason to interfere.
And yet...
“I had my reasons.”
Back in Lost Legends Online, factions existed. There were a lot of them. They had motives, desires, ambitions—some grand, some petty. Players could align themselves with various groups, each with their own ideology and power struggles.
But at its core, the game was divided into two main factions: Light and Dark. Rivals, sure. Enemies, definitely. But there was always a bigger threat.
The Final Adversary.
The Gods.
They were the Great Enemy, the ones who existed outside of LLO’s mortal realm, beyond the reach of player influence—except when they chose to intervene. They ruled over the Layered Worlds, planes of existence stacked over and beneath the mortal world. Players had different names for them—Heaven, Hell, the Underworld, the Elemental Dimensions, Paradise. Some called them Realms, others called them Domains. Whatever the case, these places were ruled by powerful entities who saw the mortal world as nothing more than a hunting ground, a playground, or a battlefield.
Not all lifeforms in the Layered Worlds were hostile, but a lot of them were.
For example, demons.
Lu Gao’s beheaded corpse convulsed.
The reaction was immediate—some sort of energy surged violently through the air, a heavy, unnatural presence spreading through the arena like thick, choking fog. Then—his severed head twitched. Blood-red tendrils erupted from his severed neck, writhing like grotesque vines as they latched onto the fallen body. A moment later, his head reattached itself.
I had seen a lot of crazy resurrection methods before, but this was new.
Lu Gao’s mouth split into a grin, his voice dripping with unhinged amusement.
“A Paladin? A Paladin in this place?! Hahahaha!”
Paladin.
This guy recognized me.
“Die.”
I moved.
Silver Steel flashed as I struck, aiming to take his head again before whatever was happening could fully unfold. But my sword was met with unexpected resistance—a parry.
Lu Gao’s arms... no, his entire body was changing. His skin darkened to a sickly crimson. Veins pulsed with unnatural energy. Jagged, blackened horns pushed out from his forehead. And then—wings.
Large, angelic wings of black feathers burst from Lu Gao’s back, unfurling with an eerie grace. Each feather shimmered with an unnatural darkness, absorbing light rather than reflecting it. Viscous black ichor dripped from the tips, evaporating before it could reach the ground. With a single powerful beat, he ascended into the air, his presence suffused with something ancient and wrong.
I clenched my jaw.
I had read enough books in the past few days to know this world was completely incompatible with the world I knew. Lost Legends Online had its own classifications. Its own interpretations.
For example, demons.
Back in LLO, demons weren’t just a cultivation path. They weren’t just people who had strayed down the path of wickedness and embraced demonic techniques.
No.
Demons were a literal thing.
Lei Fen’s voice cut through the tension, sharp with confusion.
“What’s that?”
"An enemy," I answered.
The air was thick with tension. Everyone else was still struggling to grasp what had just happened. But me? I didn't need time to process.
With a thought, I removed my cosmetic robe—Lofty Jade Proposition.
The illusion faded, unraveling into wisps of cosmetic motes of light as the lightweight fabric vanished. In its place, my real equipment gleamed under the arena’s light.
A rustic golden armor, worn yet unyielding. A faint green cape, half-ethereal, half-real, rippling as if caught in an unseen breeze.
Immediately, I felt it—the shift. The artificial debuff from the robe, the 15% suppression on my stats, lifted like an unclasped weight. My senses sharpened. My Mana pulsed stronger.
Lu Gao’s grin faltered.
I met his eyes, my voice steady.
"An enemy that needs to be vanquished."