Swallowed Star: Primordial Artifact

Chapter 246 The show begins

A spaceship travels through the vast universe, the twinkling stars like countless eyes, silently watching the lonely silver spaceship.

While asking the powerful King-level experts he knew on the Seventh Extraterrestrial Battlefield for help in finding the Rift King, Jiang Ye also boarded a spaceship and left the military base, embarking on his journey to the Yanji Continent.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and the spaceship finally arrived at the closest shuttle point to the Yanji Continent.

"Space travel complete."

In an instant, ripples spread through the space, as if a stone had been thrown into a calm lake, and the ripples spread outwards in circles.

Amidst the ripples, a silver spaceship appeared out of thin air, as if it had emerged from a crack in spacetime.

In the spaceship's control room, Jiang Ye stood in front of the control panel with a furrowed brow and a solemn expression, muttering to himself, "So many powerful kings in the human camp, yet not one of them could find the Rift King. Where on earth is he hiding?"
At that moment, a yellow rat icon suddenly appeared on the spaceship's control panel; it was Jiang Ye's AI assistant, Xiao Pi. Xiao Pi's bright eyes flashed with electricity as it said, "Master, that Rift King has fought you before and knows your strength inside and out. He definitely knows he won't gain the upper hand in a direct confrontation, so he's looking for an opportunity to ambush you from the shadows. Hiding is to be expected; finding him will be extremely difficult."

Jiang Ye chuckled softly, a hint of helplessness and understanding in his voice: "No one gets up early without a reason; everyone understands that. I'm merely asking my friends at the King level to keep an eye out for me; it's good enough if they even pay a little attention. The number of alien races in the entire Seventh Domain Outer Battlefield is comparable to the life forms of dozens of star systems, and the number of King-level experts is limited. Even the Yanji Continent, which is under close observation, is vast and boundless. When I first arrived, I wandered around there for a month or two before I accidentally encountered a King-level expert. Asking the Kings to find the Rift King is not an easy task to begin with. Besides, without sufficient incentive, they wouldn't bother to instruct a group of Marquises for help. Even if they did, those Marquises would probably just go through the motions; who would be willing to expend the effort to do such a thankless job behind the scenes?"

Little Pi's eyes darted around excitedly as he asked, "Master, do you mean, a bounty is being placed on the Rift King?"

"That's right, it's a bounty!"

A flicker of disgust flashed in Jiang Ye's eyes. "This filthy universe is a naked world of survival of the fittest. Whether it's the strong of my human race or the strong of other races, they are all essentially the same... greedy. When the strong possess treasures, others fear their power and dare not easily provoke them, because if they were to fight for them, they might lose their lives. But if the weak possess treasures, that's troublesome; it will inevitably attract the covetousness and plunder of others. Before, I kept a low profile, and no one knew I possessed treasures, so things were peaceful. But since that Rift King dared to frame me, he must have made ample preparations. If I continue to keep a low profile, I will only appear weak and easily bullied. Therefore, I must demonstrate sufficient combat power to intimidate the strong of all races!"

"If I don't make a move, I won't make a move at all. But once I do, I will make these greedy alien powerhouses tremble with fear! Only in this way can I solve the problem once and for all and make them dare not to have any evil thoughts about me again."

He paused slightly, his tone growing even colder, and said, word by word, "This time, I want all the powerful figures of every race in the outer battlefield to know just what the consequences of offending me will be!"

……

After saying this, Jiang Ye took action and publicly offered a bounty on the Rift King. This news spread rapidly throughout the human camp of the entire Seventh Domain Outer Battlefield through the military system, like a bombshell, instantly causing a huge uproar.

It's important to know that Jiang Ye's bounty this time wasn't done secretly; it was openly communicated through the military system to all allies in the same faction in the Seventh Battlefield.

Not only that, he also transferred the bounty of 300 million Mixed Yuan Units (equivalent to 600 million Yu Lan Units, which is 100 million more than the value of the Rift King) to the public account of the "Army System" in advance to show his sincerity and determination.

Once the coordinates of the alien "Shatter King" are confirmed, 3 million Chaos Units will be awarded!
"He's insane! This human King of Gold Slayers is absolutely insane!" A Marquis-level Immortal from the Daiji Clan of the human faction stared wide-eyed, his face filled with shock, his voice rising eight octaves involuntarily. "He's been biding his time at the military base for so long, we thought he'd continue to keep a low profile, but unexpectedly, his move is so earth-shattering, directly offering a bounty on the alien King of Rift Machines. 300 million Chaos Units! Many of us Marquis-level Immortals work hard our entire lives, and our entire fortune only adds up to about 10 million Chaos Units. Let alone 300 million Chaos Units, our team struggles to earn even 100 million Chaos Units in countless years. But now, just finding the coordinates of an alien King of Kings can bring such a huge reward! How can anyone not be tempted!"

"That's insane! 3 million!" another immortal of the Daiji clan chimed in, his eyes filled with greed and excitement.

"As expected of the one who obtained the Flame Sacrifice Treasure, this King of Gold Slayer is indeed incredibly wealthy!"

"Haha, this is going to be a good show. So many powerful alien races on the Yanji Continent are watching him closely, but he's not only not backing down, he's even offered a bounty on the Rift King. It seems he's confident and well-prepared. This battle is sure to be spectacular!" A warlike immortal powerhouse's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"Who is the Rift King? Why is he wanted by the Gold Slayer King?" An Immortal who had just entered the Seventh Domain Outer Battlefield asked with a blank look.

The person next to him rolled his eyes at him and explained, "You don't even know this? Before, the Rift King offered a bounty of 600 million Azure Units to kill the Gold King, and now the Gold King has offered a bounty to the Rift King. Obviously, this alien Rift King is the mastermind behind the leak of information and framing the Gold King."

……

The moment Jiang Ye posted the bounty, the entire human faction on the Yanji Continent erupted in chaos.

King-level experts are extremely rare in this vast world; the vast majority are Marquis-level immortals or ordinary immortals.

3 million Chaos Units was an astronomical figure for them, enough to amplify the greed in everyone's heart infinitely.

If they were to confront a foreign king directly and compete with him, they might be terrified, but the risk of merely discovering the foreign king's whereabouts and then passing on a message seems insignificant in the face of the lure of enormous wealth.

In no time, the search for the Rift King spread like wildfire.

Countless immortals from all races within the human faction poured out, their ranks mirroring the frenzied search for the Golden King by the alien races not long ago. However, the human faction displayed even greater enthusiasm and drive this time, given the substantial bounty right before their eyes—who wouldn't be tempted?
However, time slipped away quietly, one day, two days, half a month, a month.
...as if he had vanished from the face of the earth, there was not a single trace of the Rift King.

"What's going on with the Rift King?" Jiang Ye, who was almost at the Flame Sacrifice Continent in his spaceship, frowned and whispered in the control room, "Something's not right. He released the news to force me out, he must want me to show myself. Now that I've publicly offered a bounty on him, he should be making a move. Besides, the news of my bounty on him has spread like wildfire, it should have reached his ears by now. He should know I've put a bounty on him..."

"But he disappeared?"

"Could it be that they've left the Fiery Sacrifice Continent?" Jiang Ye shook his head slightly. No, that couldn't be. The Rift King forcing him to reveal himself couldn't be that simple. ******
In the virtual world inhabited by the Machine Race, a towering steel building, brimming with technological sophistication and a cold, imposing presence, stands tall. Inside, in a spacious hall on the first floor, the Rift King sits leisurely at a dining table, enjoying the meal before him. The table is laden with various exotic foods, emitting a faint glow and unique aromas.

Suddenly, the hall door slid open slowly, and two strangely-looking powerful figures entered. One was obese, about two meters tall and a meter wide, his entire body covered in shimmering, eerie crystal scales. Each scale was inlaid with a rhomboid crystal that emitted a strange light; as he moved, the scales collided with each other, producing a crisp yet eerie sound. The other was tall and burly, wearing a black mask, with a thick, powerful tail swaying behind him, the sharp barbs at the tip gleaming coldly.

"Rift Machine, you have the leisure to savor food in the virtual world. Don't you know that countless alien immortals from the human faction are frantically searching for you across the entire Seventh Domain Outer Battlefield?" The black-masked man, also known as King Sok, had a delicate and gentle voice that contrasted sharply with his burly physique.

"You're offering a bounty of 300 million Chaos Units, which is equivalent to 600 million Azure Units for our Mechanical Race faction. That's quite a sum! I'm even a little tempted!" The fat crystalline life form's eyes gleamed with intense greed.

"King Sok! King Shadow!" King Rift raised his head, a confident smile on his face. "You two need not be anxious. With you two peak-level Kings here, who in the entire outer battlefield can be our opponent?"

"Hahaha..." The obese crystalline life form burst into hearty laughter upon hearing this. "King of Rift, I love what you say! With the two of us here, even if that human brings the Seven Sword Kings, so what? They're nothing to fear!"

"Haha..." the man in the black mask chuckled softly, his laughter brimming with confidence.

The Rift King continued, "The fact that this human, the Gold-Slaying King, is offering a bounty of 3 million Chaos Units for me only proves one thing: he's incredibly wealthy. If we join forces to kill him, hehe, I'm sure the reward will satisfy you two to the extreme!"

King Sok and King Shadow both nodded, their eyes gleaming with even greater greed.

Shadow King, King Sok.

Both of them were specially invited by the Rift King and are currently at the limit of the King-level realm in the "Star Tower." There are almost no limit-level King-level experts on the Yanji Continent. Only in the "Star Tower," one of the most dangerous areas in the entire outer battlefield, do limit-level King-level experts from various races gather.

Neither of them is weaker than the Demon King of the Underworld back then.

To persuade them, the Rift King spared no expense, not only paying each of them a huge commission of 50 billion Azure Units, but also promising that after killing the human King of Gold, the three would split his wealth equally.

Faced with such tempting conditions, even knowing that the human King of Killing Gold would be difficult to deal with, King Shadow and King Sok could not resist the temptation and readily agreed.

"So what if he's not someone to mess with? It's precisely because he's not someone to mess with that he needs to ask powerful experts like us, who are at the pinnacle of the King level, to take action. Otherwise, why would he spend so much to hire the two of us?" Shadow King said nonchalantly.

“That’s right, King Slayer is so generous. It seems that the human really obtained the treasure of the sacrificial tower. If each of us can get a third, that’s an unimaginable fortune. This trip was totally worth it!” King Sok chimed in.

"Hmph, he's just a mere peak-level king who only knows how to bully the weak!" The two of them chimed in, full of anticipation for the wealth that was about to be theirs.

Meanwhile, the Rift King, watching the greedy expressions of the two men before him, was filled with disdain. He sneered inwardly, "Hmph, two fools. That human treasure will ultimately belong to me. After it's all over, you'll both be buried with him!"

……

The three mechanical powerhouses sat around the dining table, continuing to enjoy their meal while discussing their next plan.

"King of Rift, since the humans have put such a big bounty on your head, when do you plan to show yourself?" the Shadow King asked softly.

“I need to show weakness first, so he thinks I’m scared and dare not show myself.” A sly smile appeared on the face of the Rift King. “I’m currently hiding outside the Flame Sacrifice Continent. Even if they turn the entire Flame Sacrifice Continent upside down, they won’t find me. But now, the time is almost right, and the moment is ripe.” As he said this, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. “I will quietly appear, deliberately letting the human camp discover me, to lure him into a trap.”

"Then, I will notify the two of you immediately. Once he enters the trap, the three of us will attack together. The two of you, both at the pinnacle of the King level, will unleash your power simultaneously and crush this human with overwhelming strength! Since we're going to make a move, we absolutely cannot give him even the slightest chance!" The Rift King became more and more excited as he spoke, his eyes almost overflowing with killing intent.

"Haha, that's great! Rift King, I love your decisive style!" Shadow King slapped the table excitedly and laughed loudly, "That's right, just kill him with overwhelming strength. I hate those dragging, drawn-out battles the most, they're too troublesome. It's much more satisfying to just crush him like this!"

King Sok nodded slightly in agreement: "This plan is brilliant. We just need to wait for the human to take the bait."

"Please prepare yourselves in advance and wait outside the Flame Sacrifice Continent," the Rift King said with a smile. "Once that human enters the game, I will immediately send a message, and you two will teleport here instantly."

"Don't worry, we'll go to the void outside the Flame Sacrifice Continent to wait for your good news." The Shadow King stood up, ready to depart.

"I won't keep you two waiting long. Come, let's toast to the treasure of the sacrificial tower that's about to be ours!" The Rift King raised his glass, his face beaming with the joy of victory.

"Come, for the treasure!" The Shadow King raised his wine cup, his eyes gleaming with greed.

"For the dead humans!" King Sok laughed as he downed the liquid in his cup.

The crisp clinking of glasses echoed through the hall, like a prelude to death, foreshadowing a thrilling battle about to unfold.

(End of this chapter)