Chapter 30: The Mad Stone, Section 8

It was a stone that appeared quite ordinary. Hei Fa guessed that such a stone, if thrown on Death Star, would hardly even be good enough as a seat—too ugly and devoid of any shape. By Death Star’s standards, such a rock was only fit to be used as a foundation for underground structures, even the lowest-grade kind.

Yet, it was this very stone that now captured Hei Fa’s entire attention. The moment he saw it, he couldn’t take his eyes off it.

For it was the Stone of Light and Dark!
It could emit a white light that illuminated everything and a black light that devoured all—precisely the mysterious Stone of Light and Dark that the Moors had worshipped for generations!

Hei Fa didn’t know why the Rock People had placed it here, nor why their defenses weren’t as stringent as he had expected. But the facts were before him: after a brief assault, his mission had succeeded, and the Stone of Light and Dark was now right before his eyes. At such close range, it seemed as if he could reach it with just a stretch of his hand! And yet, there were no defensive measures around it at all—this was utterly baffling.

Could it be that the Rock People cared so little about a stone that was crucial to their race’s fate? Or were there other traps hidden in this seemingly peaceful hall?

Hei Fa didn’t know. Nor did he have time to think. All he knew was that if he didn’t act now, the overwhelming number of Rock People warriors would soon leave him with no chance at all.

So when the green light in the Slaughter Emperor’s cockpit lit up, he rushed forward immediately. His right hand grasped the stone, which was about the size of a millstone.

Nothing abnormal—the machine was functioning well. No radiation, no antimatter fluctuations. The whole operation went smoothly, to Hei Fa’s surprise. With just one simple grab, the Stone of Light and Dark, which had driven countless races mad, became another item in the Slaughter Emperor’s backpack, taking up just a small space, no different from any other supplies.

“Retreat immediately! Send a signal to Blood Pupil. Gather at the designated location,” Hei Fa ordered swiftly. At the same time, the Slaughter Emperor rushed out of the hall like the wind. He was so fast that the pirates behind him didn’t even have time to finish off the remaining disabled guards in the hall.

The kilometer-long passage passed in an instant. By the time Kurokami and the others rushed out of the tall tower, they were shocked to find that, at some point, a dense crowd of Rock Guardians had gathered around it. They stood there silently, their massive bodies forming a solid wall. At first glance, it was impossible to count them. Their sharp stone axes reflected a cold glint from the sporadic lights in the city from time to time. The spot where Kurokami and the others emerged was right in the middle of them.

Seeing this, Kurokami’s heart sank. A burst of sparks erupted from beneath the Emperor of Murder, causing his entire body to spin rapidly before he stopped right at the entrance. Behind him, the pirates who were following also were stunned by the situation and froze in place.

“How… how could this happen…” One pirate stared blankly at the countless Rock Warriors across from them, his voice sounding like a groan.

They couldn’t understand how these warriors knew they were there—after all, it had been less than three minutes since they rushed into the tower, and most of the time they had remained disguised, ensuring no alarm was raised by the Rock Guardians. How did these warriors know? And why were there so many of them, accounting for nearly half of the population in Black City? Had they stopped worrying about battles in outer space or the harassment from the Blood-Pupils in the northeast?

No one could answer him. His own companions couldn’t, and those mute Rock Warriors certainly couldn’t either. The two sides stood frozen in a standoff. Kurokami and the others didn’t dare to attack first, and the other side remained equally calm.

Yet Kurokami knew they had little chance now. With so many Rock Warriors, all capable of flying, even if they tried to take to the air, they would likely be chopped to pieces in an instant. Moreover, the camouflage from Gray Land had already been given to the Blood-Pupils, so trying to hide them again under everyone’s eyes would probably not work.

After all, camouflage wasn’t defense—no matter how strong it was, it couldn’t reduce the terrifying damage from those stone axes!

Still, what puzzled Kurokami was that, despite being surrounded, the opponents hadn’t shown any intention of attacking. The countless giant Rock Warriors simply stood there, neither attacking nor retreating, nor allowing them to leave. The situation was eerily strange. Looking at those vast, dark humanoid figures, anyone could feel the terrifying pressure!

Time passed little by little, and just as the black-haired man grew impatient, the crowd on the other side suddenly parted, creating a wide passage. From there, a short Stone Man stepped forward. It was a Stone Man only two meters tall, with an unusually thin build. The stone forming its body was corroded in many places, showing a dark gray color, with cracks everywhere—clear signs of having endured countless harsh years. Unlike other Stone Men, it had no stone helmet on its head, nor a stone axe in its hands, but rather a walking stick! Surrounded by Stone Warriors, this short Stone Man approached the massive Killing Emperor. It first looked up for a while before suddenly emitting a series of strange sounds. “Is this… language?” The black-haired man was stunned, staring at the audio waveform patterns that suddenly appeared on the monitor, unable to say anything. It was utterly unexpected. Although he had long known that the Stone race was highly civilized, he had only encountered silent Stone Warriors and assumed they communicated without words. Who would have thought he would encounter such an exception now? Judging by the appearance of that short Stone Man, it seemed to be a figure similar to an elder. What did its attempt to communicate with them mean? To make him hand over the Stone of Light and Dark? Dream on!! The black-haired man sneered. He reached out and touched a special spot next to the cockpit. He knew there was a small compartment there hiding a button. If he pressed that button, with a loud explosion, everything here would become the Killing Emperor’s tomb! Just then, the Gray Soil beside him suddenly spoke up. “Wait, Boss Beck. He’s friendly! He means to ask about our identity—well, our race!” “What? Friendly?” The black-haired man was astonished. “Does he know that we just killed dozens of his kin and stole their sacred object?” “He knows. But he says it’s the duty of those guards to protect the sacred object, and sacrifice is inevitable. Also, if you managed to get the sacred object from those guards, you can take it. But before leaving here, he hopes to have a calm conversation with you!” Gray Soil answered quickly, and at the same time, a series of sounds identical to those of the Stone Man came through the Killing Emperor’s loudspeaker. “Monster!” The black-haired man reached his conclusion.

Now he truly couldn’t understand the way of thinking of these Rock Clan members. They weren’t even angry that their own people were killed by their opponents and their sacred relics were stolen; instead, they wanted to communicate calmly. Such a bloodless race truly deserved to be exterminated. Their destruction countless years ago made perfect sense!

“Alright! Tell them. If that’s the case, I agree. But I don’t have much time. Please be considerate.” The black-haired man shrugged indifferently, his fingers resting on the control panel.

It was the situation that outweighed his options. With so many Rock Warriors on the other side, he really had no other choice. After all, as a leader, he had to consider not only himself but also his subordinates. All these Blood Wolf Pirates were elites among elites—it would be a waste to have them blow themselves up along with him. And on the distant Death Star, many more were waiting for his return.

Hui Tu quickly translated the conversation. Soon, the black-haired man and the others arrived at a castle near the tall tower, surrounded by numerous Rock Warriors. In the castle’s living room, the Killing Emperor slowly sat down. Without even opening the mech’s hatch, the black-haired man began the so-called communication through the external communication channel.

The Rock Clan elder on the other side was quite considerate, making no excessive demands. After the black-haired man and the others took their seats, he waved his hand, and the Rock Warriors around them immediately retreated. Soon, only he and the black-haired man and the others remained in the hall.

The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat oppressive, and under such conditions, the Rock Clan elder’s voice sounded especially dull. But as the conversation progressed, the words translated by Hui Tu left the black-haired man stunned.

It turned out that the Light and Dark Stone, which he desperately needed, was merely trivial to these Rock Clan members in terms of its true significance!

A thing they had to use but hated to use!!

Just as Hui Tu had described earlier, the Light and Dark Stone played a crucial role in regenerating negative energy crystals—it was an essential foundation for the Rock Clan’s survival. That was absolutely true. But the problem was that precisely because of this, the Rock Clan couldn’t escape their fate of being confined to one place.

After all, only a few planets produced negative energy crystals, and without those planets, even with the Light and Dark Stone, the Rock Clan couldn’t find any ore deposits to exploit. Thus, while reaping the benefits provided by the Light and Dark Stone, the Rock Clan also restricted their own possibilities.

But since there are limitations, they will eventually be broken. This Elder of the Rock Clan is named Zi Yan; he is the only remaining elder after the war that nearly wiped out their clan. As the wisest elder of the Rock Clan, he is especially sensitive to his clan’s weaknesses. After countless years of research, he finally discovered a secret—a secret that shocked him to the core…
The reason the Rock Clan cannot leave the realm of the Stone of Light and Darkness is not because they need it, but on the contrary, it is because the Stone of Light and Darkness needs them!!!
Because the Rock Clan itself is the food for the Stone of Light and Darkness!!!