Chapter 445: The Effect of the Divine Essence
Hearing Andrews’ words, Rod was both amused and puzzled. His divine essence actually had such a use? Realizing this, he suddenly understood why his divine essence had gone berserk when he observed it last night—it must have sensed the presence of those demon souls. He sighed inwardly, regretting not considering this crucial point. With that thought, he let out a long sigh.
At the same time, Rod felt frustrated—why hadn’t he explored the functions of his divine essence earlier? Of course, he also felt relieved that the matter was finally resolved. It was then that Rod noticed the ancient ancestor mentioned several times by Andrews.
Who could possibly hold such a position among the trolls? Who could earn Andrews’ utmost respect? Could it be the legendary superpowerful being? To what extent did he excel? Rod couldn’t help but feel curious, but he didn’t ask. Even if he did, Andrews might not tell him at this moment.
“There’s still half a month before the Netherworld opens. How prepared are you?” Rod asked after pondering for a moment.
“Almost ready. Everything necessary has been prepared. We can set off at any time!” Andrews said, clearly excited.
This was understandable. Imagine being trapped in such a desolate place for over a thousand years—what kind of mood would one have? Anyone would long to be outside!
“What are your plans going forward?” Rod pressed further. The Dark Source had now calmed down.
But if the trolls reappeared, it would surely cause another upheaval. What expressions would those people wear upon learning of the trolls’ return? They’d probably be stunned speechless.
This once-prosperous and powerful clan vanished a thousand years ago, and everyone thought they were extinct. Their reappearance would undoubtedly be a bombshell.
With the Dark Source only just stabilized, Rod was worried about what would happen if the trolls showed up—would they take control of the demon race again or start building their territory from scratch? Either way, it worried Rod.
“Worried?” Andrews asked jokingly, seeing Rod’s worried expression.
“A little! The current situation isn’t great,” Rod replied with a wry smile, not hiding his thoughts. He felt he didn’t need to hide anything from Andrews—at least that’s what Rod thought.
“Don’t worry, we have no intention of getting involved in further conflicts. After a thousand years, we’ve come to understand many things. What good would it do even if you became the ruler of a region? No one knows what will happen after all the glory fades—just like how our eight great families were once glorious tens of thousands of years ago, only to decline later. Back then, we were unmatched as rulers, right? And what happened afterward? Seven families perished, while our troll clan managed to survive thanks to our strong foundation, but we’re still struggling to endure. We’re tired of such struggles. Even without the threats from the demons and the four great families a thousand years ago, we would have chosen to hide—just not in this netherworld!” Andrews spoke with deep emotion, as if seeing the glory of our ancestors from tens of thousands of years ago. People always end up with a humble heart after seeing through the vanity and fleeting glory.
“The story of our eight great families, the wolf clan has told you, right?” Andrews asked jokingly, seemingly recalling something.
“Mm, I know a little,” I replied, though I actually only knew a superficial amount.
“There’s no need to know too much. Living in the past won’t help us move forward; we need to look ahead. Each generation has its own time to shine, just like now— the dragon clan, the black phoenix clan, the scorpion king clan, and the wolf clan are among the outstanding ones. Though they weren’t even considered supporting roles tens of thousands of years ago, they can now hold their own. Weren’t we trolls also able to make progress step by step? There’s no need to worry too much.” Andrews spoke with profound insight, as if having seen through the world’s illusions.
“So what do you plan to do? The situation here isn’t good, and we still rely on you for dealing with the demon souls!” Hearing this, Rod became a bit afraid that the trolls might retire and disappear, making them untraceable—which would be a huge problem.
At the very least, right now, they urgently need the trolls’ help. Only they can help them locate the demon souls and lead everyone in fighting back more effectively. If the trolls, who experienced the last war between gods and demons, joined forces, it would be a tremendous help.
“Don’t worry. We won’t stand by idly when it comes to the demon souls. There are still many challenges ahead. Our troll clan will do our part without hesitation.”
After leaving, I will live in seclusion, but I will settle near the Source of Darkness. The Ten Thousand Mountains are a good place to stay—aren’t the Scorpion King clan and the Black Phoenix clan both there? I will participate in matters related to the Demon Souls; there are some things that need to be carefully considered.
“The curse that has plagued my troll clan for hundreds of thousands of years has caused us great suffering—it’s time to lift it!” Andrews sighed as he spoke of the Demon Souls.
“The curse of the troll clan?” Although he knew about it, Rod was still curious about what kind of curse could bring such hardship to the troll clan.
“Heh, you should know these things!” Hearing Rod’s question, Andrews smiled slightly and continued, “My troll clan is one of the eight ancient great clans, once the most powerful in the world. The previous God King was the leader of our clan.” His eyes shone with pride; clearly, this glorious past filled him with excitement. His gaze turned to Rod even more eagerly—another God King came from their troll clan! One can imagine how magnificent such a clan must be.
“At that time, the eight great clans were incredibly powerful. If we were to categorize them, they could be divided into three tiers. The first tier was our troll clan, the strongest of all. Followed by two clans in the second tier! It was these three clans that were truly powerful. As for the remaining five clans, they could only be considered first-rate and were no match for us. During the War between Gods and Demons, our troll clan played a leading role.
That war was fierce, with many talented individuals on both sides. The Demon Souls were extremely powerful, and both sides suffered heavy losses. In the final battle, blood flowed like rivers, and the two sides were evenly matched. It was only under the strength of our troll clan that we managed to gain a slight advantage.
Finally, at the critical moment, all eight great clans mobilized in a final battle to the death. That battle took place in what is now the Battlefield of Death. In the end, corpses covered the land! All seven other clans were destroyed, and even our troll clan lost most of its talented members.
Just before being sealed, the Demon God chose to self-destruct, concentrating all his essence into foul blood to curse our troll clan—because it was our strength that led to their defeat.
The curse was simple but evil: it doomed our troll clan to decline forever, with no more powerful members.
Even after hundreds of thousands of years, no matter how hard we try to recover and grow, our numbers remain below a thousand, unable to increase further. And although our warriors appear strong in the eyes of ordinary people, we lack any true top-tier fighters.”
“You should know that in ancient times, our troll clan numbered nearly a hundred thousand. Which major clan didn’t have a population of around that much? There were nearly a hundred strong warriors at the Xuanhuang realm, a thousand warriors at the Yangxuan realm, and even close to ten thousand warriors at the Yinhuang realm! Unfortunately, now we can no longer reach the Xuanhuang realm, and there are very few warriors at the Yangxuan realm as well! Over hundreds of thousands of years, our troll clan has produced many extraordinary talents whose cultivation speed and potential even surpassed those of our ancestors, yet none of them succeeded. Once they broke free from the curse’s shackles, they would suffer misfortunes—some died, some were disabled, and in the end, they achieved nothing. Take your father, for example—he was the most outstanding warrior in our clan. Sadly, after reaching the Yangxuan realm, he encountered misfortune and ultimately… That’s why we’ve been searching for a way to break the curse all these years. Eventually, we thought of marrying humans. Unfortunately, our fertility is almost zero, so only you have succeeded in being born! But it seems you’re not affected by the curse, which is what brings us the greatest relief. Therefore, we must break this curse; otherwise, our troll clan will never have a chance to thrive!” Looking at Rod, Andrews spoke slowly, his expression constantly changing, filled with complexity. It wasn’t until he mentioned Rod that he showed a hint of relief and a faint smile. Rod was clearly stunned as well, never expecting such secrets to exist among the trolls! It was precisely because such things are hard for ordinary people to believe that the trolls invented those lies in the past—about being hybrids of demons and humans—just to deceive others. Rod understood. Indeed, most people wouldn’t believe this truth; those lies were far more acceptable. Perhaps the last time he came to the Netherworld, they didn’t tell him because the time wasn’t right. Even now, if the Gate of Gods and Demons hadn’t opened, they still wouldn’t reveal this truth to him, Rod was sure. “Don’t worry, it will work this time!” Rod said after a long while, determined to help the troll clan break the curse. A clan of a thousand people certainly isn’t considered a major clan, and this curse is truly cruel. Even today, among the Dark Origins, a clan of a thousand can only be ranked among the smaller clans, unable to compare to those major clans, let alone superpowers like the dragon clans. While numbers don’t determine everything, they do determine many things—a truth that has always held true.”