Chapter 275

Chapter 275: Jealous Tears Were About to Fall

“Silence!”

“Order!”

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Barbatos still looked like a middle-aged gentleman, constantly waving his small hammer and striking the round table sharply.

But the effect was limited.

The core councilors were not like the lower-ranking councilors.

The lower-ranking councilors had to bow their heads and be submissive before the core councilors, unable to speak or refute; however, among core councilors, the situation changed.

After all, they were all old foxes; why pretend?

Although the seats at the round table represented status and permissions, they only decided how many resources from the Fantasy Tree of Subspace the core councilors could use; in theory, high-ranking members in the core council could criticize and suggest to low-position members, but those were just criticisms and suggestions.

They were not orders that had to be followed.

Even the newly added Thirteenth Seat, who could only sit on a small stool outside the round table, could completely ignore the “criticisms” and “suggestions” from the First Seat.

Let alone the current Thirteenth Seat, Lady Xidi, who was once the Twelfth Seat, just below the First Seat, and her old status was almost as high as the First Seat!

“Ah…”

Barbatos massaged his temples, looking very troubled.

Of course, he was still secretly watching for anything odd in Lady Xidi and Barbatos’s expressions.

Meanwhile, Gimmerly stayed in the form of the strange winged “dragon clan,” standing proud in the venue, stepping on the skull of the former Second Seat, Agareth.

“If this was an act, then their acting was too good!”

Lady Xidi still seemed not to care.

But sometimes, her eyes would lock onto Gimmerly, with surprise, a bit of shock, and some hidden joy.

Barbatos, though, felt pure hate!

“Forget it, no matter how well they acted, once my investigation team came back, the truth would be clear!”

Barbatos stared hard at Gimmerly, his lips moving slightly.

Agareth was in Barbatos’s group; though Barbatos didn’t care much for this younger ally, his death still hurt the interests of the “First Demon God” Barbatos badly.

What’s more…

“Gimmerly…”

“You sure showed off your power!”

Barbatos remembered how Gimmerly looked earlier.

…

“Bang—!”

Agareth’s skull rolled around the venue, his divine body’s beast head wide-eyed, as if facing huge terror and despair before dying.

“Agareth has already fallen!”

"I did it!"

"I, Gimmerly of the Fifty-Sixth Seat in the Chaos Council, challenged Agareth of the Second Seat to take his position!"

"Now, I’ve succeeded!"

"Agareth has been slain by me!"

Among the core councilors’ regulations, there was indeed a rule—defeating another councilor meant inheriting their seat.

But such a battle had to be a fair one-on-one duel.

Though witnesses weren’t mandatory, without them, this "victory declaration" held little weight.

Whether someone could actually become a core councilor of chaos depended entirely on the other councilors’ approval.

Besides, dueling, killing opponents, and seizing seats—while permitted—was far too extreme.

No councilor would want a dangerous figure who rose through slaughter.

At this thought, Barbatos resolved himself.

"No, I mustn’t let Gimmerly rise!"

"Besides, she couldn’t have killed Agareth alone."

"How could the Fifty-Sixth Seat, a mere cricket, slay the esteemed Agareth of the Second Seat!?"

"The gap between them is fundamental!"

"Moreover, my messenger has returned."

Ignoring the surrounding chaos, Barbatos lifted his gaze toward the horizon.

"Buzz—!"

The envoys had returned!

"Master, we’ve found eyewitnesses."

"Here are their recorded testimonies."

As it spoke, an Outer God from the Void extended its limb—"pop!"—bursting one compound eye.

No gore spilled.

Instead, the shattered fragments scattered like glass marbles, clattering before Barbatos.

"Gurgle—!"

The eyeballs rolled, colliding as golden mist swirled upward.

"Hiss…"

A plume of smoke revealed the restored scene:

"No! No!"

"A round, plump fish knocked him out! Yes! That round, plump fish!"

"But the flying one twisted off his head! Then the round fish dragged the body away! Dragged it!"

"That round fish is right here! Down below! Down below!"

Looking at the disorganized statements, Barbatos furrowed his brow.

“Blood Octopus Outer God…”

“Tap… tap…”

His fingers gently tapped the table as he sorted through and considered the testimonies.

“Oh right…”

Barbatos asked the envoys—the Outer Gods from the Void,

“When you searched the area, did you catch the scent of any other formidable deities?”

The Outer Gods from the Void shook their heads in unison.

“We covered a vast area and detected many scents of Outer Gods from the Ether, Outer Gods from the Void, and etheric worms. But they were all too weak to be considered formidable.”

“These creatures did carry the scent of Agareth’s blood, yet I suspect they merely came to claim a share.”

Hearing this, Barbatos furrowed his brow again.

Indeed—phrases like “round, plump fish” immediately sounded…

He pressed further, “What of the location specified by the Blood Octopus Outer God?”

“Didn’t they claim to know where this ‘round, plump fish’ was hiding?”

“Did you search? Find anything?”

The Outer Gods exchanged glances and shook their heads.

“Nothing at all.”

“We detected not even the faintest divine power fluctuation—the most basic sign of a deity’s presence.”

“Even buried deep within the etheric mud, some trace of divine energy should’ve surfaced.”

“Rumors suggest lower-tier etheric serpents possess such stealth, but I’ve never witnessed it.”

“Furthermore, our investigation into every Chaos Council deity, honorary councilor, Star-Eater Plutonium Dragon, and Ether Dragon confirmed none hold such capability.”

“Hm…”

As the reports concluded, Barbatos sank into contemplation.

“The Blood Octopus Outer God’s intelligence…”

“Heh…”

There are no secrets that can be kept forever. The Blood Octopus Outer God’s reputation had thoroughly rotted within the Chaos Council.

No deities sought their services now.

Yet they’d found new prey—scavenging leftovers in the wake of the "round, plump fish."

That explained their presence at Agareth’s fall site.

Thus, Barbatos concluded…

"The testimonies and investigation intel didn’t match at all."

"Clearly, the blood octopus Outer Gods lied!"

"But…"

Barbatos looked toward Gimmerly.

"The Divine Body had changed. Though slightly more pleasing than those winged legs from before, its massive frame revealed an outward strength masking inner fragility."

"What good was size compared to Agareth?"

"Featherlight, utterly lacking…"

"What!?"

At that moment, Barbatos suddenly sensed unusual energy currents flowing from Gimmerly’s new Divine Body!

It was…

"The Void!?"

"Void energy!"

"This…"

The two envoys of the Outer Gods from the Void reacted more fiercely than Barbatos. Sensing the void’s aura, they instantly abandoned their kneeling posture before him.

"Buzz…"

Their wings beat rapidly as they flew to Gimmerly’s feet.

"Gr… Great Lord of the Void!"

"We offer loyal homage to your arrival!"

Simultaneously…

"Screeee—!"

Gimmerly spread her wings, arched her head back, and let out a piercing cry.

"Buzz…"

"Crackle…"

The entire trunk of the Fantasy Tree of Subspace seethed!

Countless Outer Gods from the Void, hired by the Chaos Council to serve the Chaos Demon Gods, deserted their posts, surging toward the gathering!

They formed an endless "smoke," writhing like an amorphous serpent through the air.

"Lord of the Void!"

"Sovereign of power!"

"Hail!"

…

They shattered their former masters’ control, offering reverence and worship to their true sovereign!

Naturally, the chaos councilors reacted vehemently.

Yet Barbatos’ response eclipsed all others.

"This…"

"Void authority?"

"No… impossible… Gimmerly actually…"

After a stunned pause, the truth sank in.

"My void authority! My void authority!"

Barbatos wept with envy, tears streaming down his face.