Chapter 1369
(Translator’s Note: Key terms for consistency—Thorned Crown (荆棘之冠), Bloodline Transplant Warlock (移植血脉法师), Shelton (谢尔顿), Rock Worm (石虫). These terms will be used throughout.)
Leon blocked Maxwell’s path, his lips curled into a strange, unsettling smile—a smile that seemed to flicker with secrets and shadows.
"Where do you think you’re running off to? Have you finally made up your mind, Maxwell? Or shall we talk now—without the pretense, without mercy?"
Leon barred Maxwell’s way and, with a flicker of authority, issued a command to Lord Shaun, who stood nearby—his face drained of color, eyes wide with terror.
"Lord Shaun, relay my words through Soul Speech. I trust the creature will understand—after all, in the language of souls, even monsters listen."
Lord Shaun’s mind reeled, lost in confusion—a soul adrift in the storm.
"It? You mean that horror lurking in the dark? You think it can understand? That thing is nothing but a beast—mad, mindless… Wait. Wisdom? Damn it, Leon, are you saying this monster is truly sentient?"
"Spare me the excuses. Speak my words, Shaun. Soul Speech knows no boundaries—it is the raw pulse of consciousness. As a soul entity, you should know this instinctively. Don’t pretend you’ve forgotten your true nature."
Leon cut Shaun off sharply. Lord Shaun’s face twisted through a storm of shock and disbelief, yet he obeyed, channeling Leon’s message through the ancient language of souls.
In that instant, Maxwell—caught in the feverish rhythm of his spellcasting—hesitated, his body shuddering, then surged forward, resuming his relentless assault.
Seeing this scene, Leon's lips finally curled into a faint smile.
Leon had already been struck by flashes of inspiration several times before, but each time he never had the chance to ponder them deeply. Only when the battle here began—especially after trading blows with Max—did Leon finally recapture those fleeting insights that had slipped through his mind.
The truth was, this monster wasn't just some mindless beast as the records claimed—it wasn't driven by mere instinct!
Because of that initial bias, they'd always treated the creature as brainless and instinct-driven. Every further deduction was built on that faulty foundation, so everything was wrong—every theory strayed from the real truth.
The truth was, this monster possessed its own intelligence. That massive Mana Crystal, that vast Soul—it wasn't just a heap of raw soul power, but something that had undergone a qualitative change, giving birth to true sentience.
This creature was a genuine sentient being—the only true intelligence in this Plane. That's why it let the Plane develop as if it were livestock, waiting for enough life to emerge before tearing those souls apart and devouring them, then falling back into slumber, awaiting the next awakening, the next feast.
The historical records of this Plane—those with real detail—only began after it was discovered a thousand years ago. What happened in those intervening centuries? No one ever recorded it.
And when those detailed records finally appeared, the monster was described as lacking intelligence. That left only one possibility.
Originally, this creature's Soul had reached the threshold of transformation, but the intelligence it birthed wasn't all that strong—perhaps not even as sharp as an ordinary human. Just at that critical moment, it was discovered by humankind.
Then, after a thousand years of war and strife, its vast but unfocused Soul began to wither. Its intelligence faded, leaving behind nothing but primal instinct.