Eternal Thief

While the Evernight Kings were still reeling from shock about the impossible anomaly of the Supreme Abyssal Ordeal, there was someone even more shocked and agitated than them. It was naturally the Corpse Governor.

It took him a little while to comprehend what was happening, and his expression gradually changed as well as his original confidence slowly disappeared.

”Abyssal Ordeal is really...r-retreating?!!” He muttered absent-mindedly because even he couldn’t believe this was happening, nor could he think of a reason that would’ve made it even remotely possible.

After all, despite the sealed state of the Undead Cradle Secret Realm, every time someone managed to cross a milestone in their Abyssal Cultivation, the Abyssal Ordeal always descended just like the outside world, and nothing could stop it, not even the previously unbreachable Undead Boundary.

If there was no concept of Abyssal Ordeal in the secret realm, the Corpse Governor wouldn’t be surprised at all.

Moreover, the Corpse Governor’s entire plan to liberate the Corpse Clan had relied upon this Abyssal King Ordeal. Even though he had unexpectedly drawn one of the Supreme Abyssal Ordeals despite having no idea about the nature of the Supreme Abyssal Ordeal, it changed nothing; in fact, this raised the chances of succession even higher.

The Purgatory of the Sacred Moon was supposed to engulf almost the entire Undead Cradle. It was supposed to drag the Evernight Dukes, perhaps even force one of the Evernight Kings into its judgment.

That had been his final gamble, his final revenge, and his final madness. Yet now the Supreme Abyssal Ordeal itself was withdrawing.

”No...” His voice finally contained genuine panic as he desperately roared, ”No! Come back! You’ve acknowledged me! I’ve already stepped upon the King’s Horizon! You are my Ordeal!”

The next moment, the Corpse Governor’s King’s Might erupted violently, and his Prime Corpse Law surged toward the retreating Abyssal Ordeal heavens as he attempted to stabilize the descending Ordeal.

But despite his provocation, nothing happened as if the Sacred Moons didn’t even acknowledge him anymore and continued retreating.

---

Far away, the Evernight Demon King’s eyes suddenly widened as a terrifying thought surfaced inside her mind, one she desperately wished to reject.

’This is absurdly impossible, but it’s really happening! A Supreme Abyssal Ordeal is retreating as if it had encountered something far more terrifying than itself! But what could be more terrifying than absolute rules of the Abyss?! There’s only one explanation for all of this. Something...something inside this secret realm...is making even the Abyss retreat!’

The moment this realization struck her, cold sweat slowly rolled down her flawless cheek as she had never experienced such fear before. Not even against an Abyssal King or facing the Supreme Abyssal Ordeal just now.

Because this was unknown, and unknown things were always the most terrifying. Suddenly, this seemingly easily conquerable Secret Realm became terrifying, and the Evernight Demon King no longer cared about the Corpse Clan or treasures.

She quickly told the Evernight Fiend King, who was also flabbergasted on the other side, ”Eldest Senior Brother, we should withdraw from this secret realm quickly and destroy the realm gateway connected to it before it’s too late! Something is not right and very wrong with this place!”

The usually fearless Evernight Fiend King instantly came back to his senses, and a chill ran down his spine because even his thoughts almost aligned with the Evernight Demon King.

”Let’s go, I’ll be there. You head back to the Realmbreaker Conquest Ark!” He agreed without hesitation and abandoned all his thoughts about investigating and searching for treasures.

He even forgot about the Sky Stealer’s existence, as keeping himself and the Evernight Demon King was far more important than searching for treasures or stopping this mysterious existence. If even one of them perished here, the consequences would be unimaginable!

---

At that exact moment, the Realmbreaker Conquest Ark was filled with Evernight Council members and Hunter Hunt’s participants.

The Midnight Duke was preparing to activate the realm gateway and then the ark to dodge the Supreme Abyssal Ordeal.

But he suddenly noticed the fading pressure of the Supreme Abyssal Ordeal, and he was surprised; he almost thought the Corpse Governor had perished, and he felt slightly relieved.

’I guess we don’t need to retreat anymore?’

Just when this thought surfaced in his mind, the Evernight Demon King’s cold yet hurried voice sounded.

”Has everyone retreated?”

The Midnight Duke was startled and even felt something was wrong from the Evernight Demon King’s tone, but he didn’t dare to question her and respectfully responded.

”Yes, your majesty, everyone is inside the ark except for a small number of members and the Evernight Dukes! They are still helping with the retreat.” He added after noticing the decreasing pressure with a hint of relief, ”Do you need them to rejoin the battle again? Is the Corpse Governor dead?”

”Fool!” The Evernight Demon King berated coldly, which shocked the Midnight Duke as he had no idea what he had just said wrong.

The Evernight Demon King no longer cared about what he thought and coldly said, ”Call them inside as quickly as possible and prepare the ark for a realm jump. The moment Evernight Fiend King and I arrive, we are leaving this damn place!”

The Midnight Duke was shocked because this was completely unexpected, as previously the Evernight Demon King had only told him to take everyone else while she and the Evernight Fiend King were clearly planning on staying behind to finish off the Corpse Clan and the Corpse Governor if he somehow managed to survive the Supreme Abyssal Ordeal.

Yet now, despite the vanishing Abyssal Ordeal, the two Evernight Kings were going to retreat with them as well. This sent chills down his spine because he knew something had gone wrong.

Before the Midnight Duke could wrap his mind around the previous revelation, the Evernight Demon King added another sentence, ”Moreover, contact the sanctuary and have them prepare the destruction sequence for the realm gateway connected with the Undead Realm! Destroy it the moment we return!”

The Evernight Demon King didn’t wait for Midnight Duke’s confirmation and ended the connection, as she was going to wait for the Evernight Fiend King before returning.

The Midnight Duke trembled as he felt a hint of fear rising in his heart for the first time because he could tell the Evernight Kings seemed afraid of something in the Undead Cradle!