Cthulhu Gonfalon

It was noon, and the sun was shining brightly. But after the figure clothed in a thick, hooded robe emerged from the shade, everything within the forest immediately darkened.

There were no dark clouds appearing in the sky. At that moment, the sky was still clear. Just that few wisps of floating clouds would not be enough to block the sun. It was just that, when that person appeared, “shadows” started to diffuse throughout the forest, like how fog would spread.

If Sui Xiong were willing, he could easily dispel these shadows. But he did nothing. Quietly, he stood still in the air and kept his eyes on that man.

That man walked very slowly. Almost every stride he made was done at a very slow pace. Then he would wait for his front foot to touch the ground so that he could gain a firm foothold. Then he would stop for a moment before lifting his back foot to take another step forward. As he walked, his body would tremble from time to time, looking as if he was weak and feeble, or as though he were twitching in pain.

The distance from the shade of the tree to Sui Xiong was no more than 20 meters, yet he took more than five minutes to walk over.

When he finally reached Sui Xiong, Sui Xiong sighed and said, “I really didn’t expect it to be you, nor would I have expected you to become like this.”

That person was silent for a moment, then let out a hoarse, dry laugh. He said, “Me neither. I never expected myself to actually come to such an end. I also never expected that the only person I could entrust my funeral affairs with would not be an old friend of mine, but a rookie who has merely just set foot into the world. And this person has even been my enemy before.”

Upon hearing him mention “funeral affairs,” Sui Xiong was a little surprised and asked, “Is your situation that serious?”

“If it isn’t serious, given my character, would I possibly take the initiative to invite you to meet me?” that person asked in return.

Sui Xiong thought about it and smiled.

Just as the man said, given the relationship between them, if the situation had not been so serious, the other party would definitely not come to see him.

In other words, what could have forced this fellow to come finding Sui Xiong to entrust him with his funeral matters was most probably the fact that he was truly at the end of his rope. His end was near.

If it was not for his impending death, would he dare appear before Sui Xiong? Believe it or not, Sui Xiong could have given him whiplash with just a swing of his tentacle!

Out of all the gods, the one that Sui Xiong most wanted to kill was definitely him!

Over the years, all the odds and ends that he came up with had created much trouble for Sui Xiong. He had also caused a whole lot of messy and crappy issues that proved to be quite torturous. If it was not for Sui Xiong’s perfect ability to handle problems, coupled with his brothers working under him who were capable of doing things right, there would have been chaos long ago!

“The God of Conspiracy, you also have this day!” Sui Xiong said with a sneer. Then rudely, he said, “Pitiful as you may be, I shall not feel sorry for you. Whatever tricks you have up your sleeves, you’ve got the wrong man!”

This fellow who had conjured all ways possible to attract Sui Xiong to this place, who wore a hood, seemed so weak, and who claimed that his life was drawing to an end, was none other than the God of Conspiracy.

Though it was unknown how weak he had become, Sui Xiong would never let his guard down against this god. Just as everyone knew, the God of Conspiracy might not have outstanding martial abilities, but the gods that he had brought death upon and the gods who had indirectly died because of the conspiracies he plotted were even more than the victories of the God of War, Wenner.

This god advocated solving problems with wisdom rather than force. He felt that whatever could be done with his brain should best be done without using a knife. At the same time, he also advocated the kind of wisdom of a Lawful Evil. He felt that being able to make reasonable use of rules to corner his opponent into his trap was the true embodiment of wisdom.

It had already been 10,000 years since he first appeared. For 10,000 years, he and his followers had been fanning the flames of trouble and disorder wherever they went. On countless occasions, they had hidden behind the scenes, hatching plots that would send people trembling in fear. The number of emperors and generals who had fallen under their conspiracies was unknown. And they were also the evil backstage manipulators behind the various rises and falls, and even the successes and failures. For example, the famous “family of advisers” of the Orc Empire, the Wilder family, had an altar set up for him. They had also fostered close relationships with his clergymen.

Sui Xiong had also suffered a loss because of this jerk. Although he was unable to find evidence for many things, he was sure that all these years, the various troublesome situations that he encountered would most likely be the doings of the God of Conspiracy. This god would have instigated and incited trouble.

So he had long made up his mind that in the future, if he had the chance to meet the God of Conspiracy, he would definitely kill him without question!

But the God of Conspiracy that appeared before him was nothing more than a clone. It was meaningless to kill him. And judging from the looks of him, it seemed as though he was really on the verge of death. It made no difference whether he fought him or not.

Sui Xiong was not the kind of person who would say, “Aye, aye, I forgive you” before a dying enemy. Though he was a kind and generous man, he held Lu Xun’s quote, “I shall not forgive a single person,” in high regard. But seeing how this enemy before him was already on the brink of a tragic death, Sui Xiong simply did not bother dealing him with another blow.

That additional blow that he gave might even grant the God of Conspiracy an easier death by putting an end to all his agony…

Sui Xiong might have been somewhat curious, but he did not want anything from the God of Conspiracy. Even the interest in killing the other party was gone. So even though the God of Conspiracy was creating such a mysterious air and leaving everything in a cliffhanger, he paid no attention to it at all. He merely floated quietly in mid-air and waited for the other party to continue speaking.

The God of Conspiracy waited for a moment before realizing that Sui Xiong was not going to say anything more. He was left with no choice but to break the ice and speak first.

“Aren’t you curious? About why I’ve become like this?” he asked.

“Curious, of course I’m curious,” Sui Xiong replied frankly. “But if you’re unwilling to tell me, then so be it. There are so many people dying in the world, there’s really no need for me to study how every single one of them dies—would it help me in any way at all by studying the way you died?”

He was just making a casual remark, but the God of Conspiracy smiled in return and said, “You’ve reminded me. If you could study the entire process of how I die, who knows, it might really be quite helpful to you. How about this? If we can come to terms with each other, I’ll go and meet you in person to let you see for yourself how I died.”

Up till here, he paused for a while as though he was thinking about something. Then he added, “Actually… perhaps there’s really the need to do so. Through studying the process of my death, it might probably make you stronger, or at least allow you to master some useful skills. In the future… it might probably be of some help to you.”

“You’re not even sure about this.”

“Yes. There’s no way I can be sure of it.”

Sui Xiong sighed and said, “From the way you look right now, you really bear no resemblance to the backstage manipulator of all sorts of conspiracies in the world!”

“Even a great beast moans in pain at the brink of death; even the long-lived dragon weeps in sorrow when its death is near. What’s wrong with fearing death?” asked the God of Conspiracy. He did not feel angry at being mocked; instead, he said evenly, “Moreover… if you come to know about how I’m going to die, I’m afraid you will not be able to maintain such a calm expression.”

Sui Xiong thought for a moment then nodded. He said, “What you said made sense. Thinking about it carefully, if this was something that could claim your life, then it’s indeed a little scary.”

“This is why I want to make a deal with you,” the God of Conspiracy said. “I’ll pay a sufficient amount in exchange for a promise.”

“What promise?” Sui Xiong asked.

“In the future, if you ever have the chance, avenge me.”