Chapter 1052 Ancient Battlefield
Perhaps, Leon avoided detection because he didn't pass through the region forcefully. Or maybe the Half-step Divine Beast let him off because he didn't target the Celestial Wood Spark.
Whether the case was, what's important was that he made it through the region without getting attacked.
Nevertheless, Lord Rhuvek wasn't too interested in how Leon made it through the region guarded by the Half-step Divine Beast-level Wood Serpent.
He was more curious to learn about something else.
"What's the situation like on the surface, Lord Leon? Are there still many surviving races left?" Lord Rhuvek inquired.
Leon glanced at Lord Rhuvek thoughtfully without answering immediately.
"What kind of situation do you expect on the surface? Does it have something to do with your Dark Elf Clan living in the Lower Abyss Domain, Lord Rhuvek?" Leon replied with a question of his own.
Lord Rhuvek didn't mind that his question wasn't answered. He had to be accomodating since the city's wellbeing was on the line.
"It seems Lord Leon doesn't know much about history. Very well, I shall tell you about it, Lord Leon," Lord Rhuvek said willingly before asking, "But before I begin, how much do you know about the world's history?"
"I know that the Nova Empire dominated the world over ten thousand years ago and prospered due to their technological advancements. However, it was also their technology that brought about their own downfall when the Cataclysm arrived," Leon stated.
"From then, the world was reset due to the great destruction created by the Nova Empire's great megastructures falling from the sky. Supposedly a great battle between Celestial-level beings took place several hundred to thousands of years later."
"I don't know much about what happened since then until the Cataclysm arrived a second time over five hundred years ago, which caused the beasts to rampage and forced humanity to retreat into a corner of the continent, where they took refuge for the following years."
"Then, over a month ago, the Cataclysm came a third time, causing the beasts to rampage once more. That being said, the situation has been brought under control—at least in the lands controlled by humans."
Leon recounted what he knew about history while skipping a few details.
"I see… There have been three more Cataclysms in the last ten thousand years, huh?" Lord Rhuvek uttered with a contemplating look before softly muttering, "It seems like the world is running out of time."
"The world is running out of time? What do you mean, exactly?" Leon raised an eyebrow.
"According to the ancient texts left behind by our ancestors, the world we live in is one of several other ancient battlefields in the cosmos," Lord Rhuvek mentioned.
"And each time a battle between the Celestials and Demon Lords and above level beings takes place, the wanton destruction would wipe out nearly all life off the face of the planet and reset the world to a backward era."
"This sort of reset has happened many times in the past several tens of thousands to several hundreds of thousands of years. Even our ancestors didn't know how many times the world had been reset before their time."
"The only ones who could survive such destructive battles were those purposely protected by the Celestials and Demon Lords, or those who fled to the deeper parts of the subterranean world like our ancestors did."
"However, there is only so much damage the world can take. Our ancestors prophecized that a time would come when the world would eventually collapse. Hearing Lord Leon mentions the frequency of these so-called Cataclysms, I can't help but think it has something to do with the world's end."
"That being said, if Lord Leon wants to read the ancient texts recorded by our ancestors, you will have to travel to our main clan and seek permission from the clan leader. Only the main clan's leader is allowed to keep and protect the ancient texts," Lord Rhuvek stated.
As Leon listened to Lord Rhuvek speak, his eyes flickered with deep thoughts.
He wondered if the war between Celestials and Demon Lords that occurred numerous times throughout history had anything to do with the appearance of the dimension crack to the chaotic sea of nothingness in Gaia's Core.
If that was the case, it would mean that Primal Chaos had grown weak to the point that even those not at the True Divinity Realm could cause irreversible damage to Primal Chaos and speed up its eventual destruction.
Nevertheless, Leon pushed aside the thoughts for the time being and said with a nod of understanding, "I see… Now I understand why your clan lives down here. However, don't you ever dream of returning to the surface?"
"Even if another war between the Celestials and Demon Lords breaks out again, such events don't frequently happen, no?" Leon asked shortly after.
Lord Rhuvek smiled slightly before he replied, "Our people are determined to live in the Lower Domain Abyss until the end of time."
"Why?"
"The surface is, of course, very great— at least, according to what we were told about it. None of my people had personally seen the surface. However, no matter how great the surface is, it won't matter if our clan is wiped out in a single stray attack," Lord Rhuvek stated.
"It's not worth living on the surface if we have to live in constant fear that another world-resetting great war could break out again. Compared to that, the Lower Abyss Domain is much better. You have seen for yourself, Lord Leon."
"Besides the insect races being a little troublesome to deal with, we are not lacking in resources down here," Leon Rhuvek mentioned.
"That's true," Leon admitted with a nod.
The Dark Elf Clan was especially rich in minerals.
"That being said, I have some doubts regarding the situation on the surface. Lord Leon said a battle between the Celestials and Demon Lords occurred several thousand years ago," Lord Rhuvek mentioned.
"However, several thousand years doesn't seem to be enough time for the world to recover from the destruction…"
"Ahh…" Leon uttered with a look of understanding.
The last battle between Celestials and Demon Lords had occurred inside the Radiant Heaven Realmship.