Although Amu Zinen asked with a casual tone, he didn't really care what the name of the goddess chasing him was. After roughly recalling the name Yan Chaoyue, he dismissed the matter and spoke with a tone of contempt, "Hmph! But she did have a good reason to chase me."
"Why?" Hao Yun asked.
"Because if I remember correctly, she has a brother. And it was due to my reconnaissance that our army of Molded Spirit Energy successfully ambushed and eliminated him and his troops. Heh heh heh! Luckily, that woman didn't know about this, or else she would have fought me to the death instead of trying to capture me alive. I would have had no chance to escape! You know, when she fights, she's incredibly fierce. If you really anger her, most people wouldn't stand a chance against her!" Amu Zinen replied, barely concealing his smugness.
Hearing this, Hao Yun was taken aback. Not only was he now certain that this Amu Zinen was indeed the commander Yan Chaoyue had been chasing, but he also learned from Amu Zinen’s bragging that he was the one responsible for killing Yan Chaofan! An inexplicable rage surged within Hao Yun, making him want to tear Amu Zinen to pieces.
However, Hao Yun knew this was not the time to settle scores with Amu Zinen. What he needed to do now was to use this opportunity, with Amu Zinen talking freely, to extract more valuable information from him. So, he took several deep breaths to control his emotions and keep his mind clear. Then he said, "So, you’re the pitiful wretch running around with your tail between your legs, being hunted by Lord Yan! I never expected you’d be caught by me today!"
"Hmph! I don’t know if I’m pitiful, but those divine officials we killed were definitely pitiable! Once they die, they are utterly annihilated, not even having the chance to come back as insects!" Amu Zinen mocked sarcastically.
Seeing Hao Yun not respond, Amu Zinen, thinking he had the upper hand, continued proudly, "By the way, her brother left behind a trace of his soul before he died. Unfortunately, that treacherous guy snatched it up first. Sigh! She happened to be closest to the soul fragment’s appearance location. I bet that soul fragment must have been delicious! That might be why the Destroyer Black Gate has always had a grudge against her! Hmph! Those traitorous scumbags!"
Hearing Amu Zinen's disdainful insult towards Yan Chaofan, Hao Yun was infuriated. But he reminded himself that his priority was to gather more information, not to trade insults with Amu Zinen. So, he took a few more deep breaths to calm his anger and interrupted Amu Zinen’s reminiscing, pretending to be curious, "So, what about General Yan, who was chasing you? Didn’t she come after you?"
"Hmph! Who knows? Maybe she died on the way!" From Amu Zinen’s tone, Hao Yun could sense his fear of Yan Chaoyue. Whenever he mentioned her, he seemed to wish for her death.
Hao Yun knew that by "on the way," Amu Zinen was referring to the Fragrant Nebula of Countess Gogolnikyeva. However, from Amu Zinen’s current attitude, it seemed he didn’t know that Yan Chaoyue had already left the Fragrant Nebula and had come to Eternal Star. Moreover, it was Countess Gogolnikyeva who had helped Yan Chaoyue reach Eternal Star, the same Countess who had helped Amu Zinen escape from Yan Chaoyue. Apparently, Amu Zinen was also unaware that the one leading the resistance against the Mastanians on Eternal Star was Yan Chaoyue herself. As Hao Yun was contemplating, Amu Zinen continued, "Later, I fled all the way here and encountered the Destroyer Black Gate, who was in dire straits. Hmph! If I hadn't shown up to save the day, that guy would have been annihilated! Those foolish Mastanians would have been wiped out by the Eternal Star people!"
Hearing this, Hao Yun immediately understood that Amu Zinen was the other Molded Spirit Energy fusion body that Tie Zhu had mentioned earlier. This made Hao Yun doubt his earlier assumption that the Queen of Eternal Star was Yan Chaoyue. If Yan Chaoyue was indeed the Queen, how could Amu Zinen, who had fought against the Eternal Star people, not know about it?
"Hey! Did you hear that? If it weren’t for me, you lot would have been dead! I saved you! You ungrateful wretches!" Amu Zinen started yelling at the guards in the prison, snapping Hao Yun out of his thoughts.
"Alright, alright! Stop barking! You’re a prisoner now; what's the point of boasting? Why don't you tell us what happened that made you end up in such a sorry state? So, I can have a good laugh," Hao Yun said, rubbing his ears and shouting towards the door, still not missing the chance to taunt Amu Zinen.
Amu Zinen snorted and said, "The Mastanians were almost defeated by the Eternal Star people, to the point where they had to hide underground through the surface cracks to escape annihilation. Hmph! You have no idea how much those Mastanians hated living in underground caves and rivers. That time really tortured them."
Hao Yun nodded, agreeing with Amu Zinen’s statement. They had leveraged the Mastanians' aversion to water to infiltrate the underground tunnels of the Eternal Palace via the Eternal River, allowing them to easily enter the palace.
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"Due to the continuous weakening of the Destroyer's power, the Mastanians' strength sharply declined, leaving them unable to contend with the Eternal Star People. They were reduced to hiding underground like dogs with no home." Amu Zinen seemed to recall the Destroyer's pitiful state at that time, and as he spoke, a disdainful smile crossed his face.
Amu Zinen laughed wildly for a while before continuing, "Seeing my colleagues in distress, how could I not intervene? So, to save the Mastanians, I generously bestowed some power to Black Gate, enabling him to restrain his own dissipation and regain vitality. During this period, the Mastanians also discovered numerous underground tombs used to bury your Divine Alliance troops, from which they harvested a substantial amount of negative energy. Ultimately, this allowed Destroyer Black Gate to rejuvenate, and the Mastanians' strength was restored to a level comparable to before the Great Explosion."
"The number of bodies buried underground on Eternal Star is extremely large. It seems that even during the Divine War, Eternal Star had already become one of your Divine Realm's designated cemeteries. However, due to many tombs being protected by divine power, we either had difficulty finding them or, if found, struggled to open them, severely limiting the Mastanians' recovery speed. Otherwise, I believe the Destroyer and the Mastanians would have long possessed greater power and directly launched a counterattack against the Eternal Star People, fully claiming Eternal Star as their own."
"Of course, because the Mastanians couldn't quickly elevate their strength to crush the Eternal Star People and Queen of Eternal Star was constructing a celestial shield, they had to find another way to stabilize the situation first and then prepare to eliminate the Eternal Star People gradually. So, I devised a strategy of deception for them, which eventually allowed them to seize control of the Eternal Star Body and achieve a temporary stand-off with the Eternal Star People."
Although Amu Zinen's account was very chaotic, it did not hinder Haoyun from further unraveling the whole situation based on what he had previously learned. In any case, the sudden emergence of the Mastanians and their use of a strategy to distract the Eternal Star People to seize control of the Eternal Star Body all stemmed from Amu Zinen.
"Ah! It's a pity that your plan succeeded back then. But so what? You still didn't earn the respect and trust of the Destroyer; instead, you suffered his ruthless betrayal?" While Haoyun expressed deep frustration over the success achieved by the Mastanians in that battle, at the same time, he did not forget to take the opportunity to mock Amu Zinen for his obvious arrogance in his speech.
"Hmph!" Amu Zinen grunted coldly in response to Haoyun's words and fell silent.
Seeing Amu Zinen sulk, Haoyun changed his tone and continued, "Actually, I still don't quite understand. From what you've described, you should have had considerable strength. Moreover, at that time, the Destroyer shouldn't have been powerful enough to overwhelm you. So why did he capture you? Could it be that after you occupied the Eternal Star Body and seized all its resources, the Destroyer didn't share some with you to enhance your strength?"
"Of course not. Because Black Gate told me at the time that his body was still very weak, and he needed to continuously breed Mastanians to replenish his forces to ensure our defenses would not be breached by the Eternal Star People. Therefore, understanding the importance of the Mastanian army, I naturally couldn't expect to gain extra benefits at that time. Besides, I considered myself in good condition at that time and did not urgently need to replenish negative energy, so I did not think much about it and simply left all the negative energy for Black Gate to enjoy." Amu Zinen replied. Haoyun could tell that Amu Zinen was feeling regretful about his thoughts at that time.
"Of course, as the Destroyer's strength gradually recovered, I also suggested that he return to me the portion of power I had transferred to him earlier to save him. However, he repeatedly refused, citing his weak body and ongoing need for my help to stabilize the newly acquired energy. As a Mold Energy, I naturally must be loyal to my race and my people. As long as I can ensure the safety of my people, I will certainly spare no effort to assist. Not just me, all Mold Energies grow stronger through mutual support, which is one of the reasons why we become so powerful. It is precisely because of this that I did not think at the time that Black Gate's words were just to placate me." Amu Zinen sighed helplessly. It seemed that besides his bloodthirsty and bellicose nature, Amu Zinen was also pure in some respects, which made him easily deceived by the Destroyer's sweet words.
Of course, Haoyun believed that the taboo set by the Mother of Mold Energy against wanton killing among the same race must have extremely strong constraints on Mold Energy. That was why even the Countess, who was determined to escape to the dark space, did not violate this iron rule in order to establish her own door, and did not save Elina and Amu Zinen who were in danger. Therefore, Haoyun also had greater curiosity about the Destroyer. What exactly made him dare to openly break the taboo that even the powerful Countess dared not break?
"Hmph! Who would have thought that Destroyer Black Gate would be so audacious as to defy even the iron rule set by the Mother of Mold Energy and openly attack his former colleagues who had helped him! This despicable guy! You'd better not let me leave here alive, otherwise I will definitely complain to the Mother of Mold Energy about your crimes! Let you become the object of all Mold Energy's pursuit!" On the other side, Amu Zinen continued to angrily rebuke.
An energy as heinous as the Mold Energy actually condemning others' crimes was a very magical and ironic thing. Therefore, Haoyun enjoyed the rare and beautiful scenery while gloating, then asked, "Do you know how powerful Destroyer Black Gate is now?"
"Black Gate is extremely powerful now, definitely not something you, a low-level divine officer, can compare to. Moreover, he still has the opportunity to make further advancements, allowing his strength to undergo a qualitative leap, even comparable to high-level divine officers like you!" Amu Zinen replied.