Chapter 457: The Return of the Trolls (Part 1)

“It was forced! There was no choice. But I found that Sister Ada and Sister Lilith are actually quite nice. Big brother, what are you thinking? Should we all live together? And Sister Nightingale too?” With a playful smile, Nightingale asked curiously.
Those words left Rod speechless, his expression changing constantly. When did this guy become like this? For a moment, Rod was too embarrassed to know what to say.
His face turned blue and red alternately as he struggled to find words. The question was tricky, and Rod truly didn’t know how to answer it.
If it were in the past, Rod might have answered firmly that he would take Nightingale with him. But over time, Rod had changed a lot. By now, he had realized he actually felt something for these girls, yet the words got stuck in his throat and he couldn’t speak them out.
He had promised Nightingale to take her with him, promised Ada, and now that he felt something for Nightingale and understood Lilith’s feelings toward him, he found himself in a difficult dilemma.
Unnoticed by Rod, Lucy, watching his facial changes, smirked cunningly like a mischievous little witch.
“Alright, forget it. I won’t ask anymore. Hmph, it’s that hard to give an answer?” Seeing Rod’s embarrassment, Lucy said unhappily, though her lips still wore a sweet smile. She knew she had successfully entered Rod’s world. In his eyes, she was no longer the naive little girl she used to be but had become an adult.
“The Netherworld will open tomorrow!” With a hint of emotion, Lucy changed the subject.
“The war between gods and demons is getting closer!” Frowning slightly, she showed concern. She wasn’t used to this kind of life, and the frequent battles had made her feel disgusted.
“Mm, yes, the Netherworld is opening!” Rod also spoke with emotion. In fact, he had another concern.
According to what Andrews had told him, the opening of the Netherworld would surely result in several people obtaining divine statuses. This was both good and bad for them. Everyone saw only the good side, but Rod was worried about the other consequences.
The opening of the Netherworld meant that the gates between gods and demons would open, releasing divine statuses. Last time, after his own divine status was released, four demon souls appeared, even a demon general. What about this time? Would more demon souls emerge? It was worrying.

The two fell silent instantly. Lucy looked at Rod but also stopped speaking, sensing his worry and distress. Rod, on the other hand, racked his brains trying to find a way to control the situation, otherwise endless war would break out again—and this time, on a larger scale. Yet he had no idea where to start. With a sigh, he realized he could only wait until the trolls appeared to discuss this further, perhaps they could offer some solutions. After talking with Lucy for a while, Rod felt relieved and enjoyed this moment of relaxation.

Late at night, back in his room, with nothing much to do, he resumed his training. The emergence of the demon generals and commanders made him realize he was still too weak, so he needed to improve quickly.

…

As dawn broke, Ice City became bustling. Inside the city lord’s mansion, everyone had gathered, their faces filled with excitement. The Netherworld was about to open today, and the trolls were returning—after a thousand years, they were appearing on this land once again. How long had everyone waited for this day? Although it wouldn’t open until noon, the group set off early toward the Netherworld. Even so, they found the streets already crowded and lively, with crowds streaming in that direction like ants moving in unison.

Before reaching the Netherworld, they saw the square in front of it packed tightly, with no space to move. Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the majestic building ahead. After much effort, the group finally made it onto the platform, looking down at the dense crowd with deep emotions. The gates of the Netherworld remained firmly closed.

At that moment, on the highest platform, the Black Phoenix clan, the Dragon clan, the Scorpion King’s clan, opposition members, and the Wolf King were all present, their expressions solemn.

Today was the day the Netherworld opened. In previous years, this time of year had been a dream for countless warriors, as it was a day destined for miracles—days when new generations of strong warriors would rise. But today was different. These people had come not to witness the birth of strong warriors, but to see a great family return—to witness the trolls, who had been powerful a thousand years ago.

Time passed second by second as the sun gradually rose higher in the sky. A minute seemed incredibly long at this moment, as if it stretched on for thousands of years. It was a wait that spanned ancient times and history, enduring for ages.
“It’s almost time!” Lilith whispered softly beside Rod. Lucida was also closely by his side, their expressions serious yet excited.
Suddenly, dark clouds covered the sky, giving the impression that the entire heavens had descended, making it hard to breathe!
Boom! A thunderclap erupted, its loud roar shaking people’s souls.
As time entered countdown mode, everyone grew worried as rain at this moment would not be good news. Fortunately, it seemed as if the heavens understood their feelings—there was thunder but no rain. The wind howled, but soon the weather cleared, returning to a bright and sunny day. The gentle breeze made it seem as though the previous scene had never happened.
“It’s begun!” Rod said suddenly and seriously. Time had come; he could sense it—the gates of the Netherworld were about to open, and this mysterious place would once again be revealed to everyone.
In an instant, the noisy crowd fell silent. Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the Netherworld ahead.
Boom…
This time it wasn’t thunder, but vibrations coming from the Netherworld.
The gates of the Netherworld opened, and the atmosphere seemed to freeze. Countless gazes were fixed on them. The tightly closed gates began to slowly open amidst trembling sounds, inch by inch, extremely slowly. The ground started shaking, as if an earthquake had struck, with continuous tremors.
It felt like ten thousand years passed before the gates finally opened completely. What appeared before everyone was a pitch-black scene, so dark that nothing could be seen. It gave a dizzying sensation, as if the entire world had gone dark in that instant!
Light gradually penetrated this ancient passage, illuminating every corner and spreading outward.
“No one!” Merk said in a low voice, surprised. There were no trolls as expected. With the light, they could see clearly inside—the passage was completely empty.
“They’re coming!” Rod’s reply was brief, after which silence returned once more.

Amidst everyone’s attention, a glimmer of light finally appeared, and a figure emerged faintly before them. As it drew closer, everyone seemed to hold their breath, eyes wide open in fear of misseeing it.
Hoooh… A cool breeze blew in, carrying the chill of the Netherworld. The light gradually spread, and finally, the figure flashed past, emerging from the darkness into the outside world and standing on a high platform.
“Elder Andrews!” Rod exclaimed in shock. The first to appear was Elder Andrews of the troll tribe—the one who had told him everything when he first entered the Netherworld, a powerful warrior at the Yangxuan realm. He was in charge of patrolling the first layer, so it wasn’t too surprising that he appeared first.
Boom…
Seeing a real person appear, chaos erupted below. It was indeed the troll tribe—people from the troll tribe had returned! The idea shocked them deeply, leaving their minds momentarily blank!
Hahaha… Laughter rang out as several more figures appeared before them—the other elders he had seen in the Netherworld. One by one, they slowly appeared before everyone.
The crowd below was in utter turmoil. It was really the troll tribe—they had truly returned! They saw their clan as it had been a thousand years ago. This news was true; everyone was filled with excitement and awe.
Rod and the others were equally thrilled. They rushed forward to greet the elders, who were all familiar faces from his last visit to the Netherworld.
After the elders stepped forward, heavy footsteps echoed from behind, approaching slowly. Everyone watched intently, afraid of missing anything.
Then, a large group appeared—about a thousand people—slowly walking toward them, clearly visible to everyone.
Troll tribe members! That was all that came to mind. The troll tribe, which had existed for a thousand years, had grown to such a scale. Of course, among them were also members of the four great families. Seeing these people, everyone was puzzled—how could members of the four great families be in the Netherworld, and why were they with the trolls? This became a mystery for many, even for clans like the Dragon Clan, who themselves didn’t know the answer.