My starting summon is a small skeleton
Chapter 406: 403 Gate Fragments

Chapter 406: 403 Gate Fragments

Elder Mountain Secret Realm is in Zone 1, and could even be said to be the highest-level Artificial Secret Realm within the entire Alliance.

It was created using seven Natural Secret Realms, the efforts of hundreds of Cultivation Masters, and several decades of time.

This is the headquarters of the Elder Council and the facade for the Alliance.

It is touted as the fortress least likely to be breached in this world, even sturdier and tougher to chew through than the headquarters of Zero Organization.

Of course, this claim had yet to be verified to this day.

After all, neither Elder Mountain nor the headquarters of Zero Organization, known as the Land of Returning to Zero, had been attacked in the past decades.

But today, finally, someone made a move against one of them.

On Dudu’s side,

after slaughtering the group from Jiangnan, she headed straight for Elder Mountain.

In less than an hour, she had arrived at Elder Mountain and went straight to deliver a blow to the hundred-meter-high mountain gate.

Dudu’s palm strike unleashed a Cute Pig Illusion that roared into existence and slammed into the gate.

Her palm strike caused the gate to fissure.

Despite the crack, the gate still stood erect.

Dudu, with a backhand slap, vowed to shatter this mountain gate and demolish the facade of Elder Mountain.

“Roar”

Tuantuan’s illusion appeared once more, charging in an even more domineering manner than before.

Just as this teetering gate was about to be shattered, a light snort sounded.

“Insolence!”

“Boom!”

Accompanied by this light reprimand, a hundred-meter-tall Bimong Giant Beast descended from the sky, smashing onto Tuantuan’s illusion, and a violent strike completely shattered the illusion of Tuantuan.

At the same time, the figures of eleven elders appeared out of thin air above the gate, and Dudu’s gaze followed, her eyebrows slightly furrowing.

At this moment, the leading Zhao Xue’en pointed at Dudu and angrily scolded, “Are you Pang Dudu?

First, you slaughtered hundreds of summoners in Jiangnan, now you dare to strike at Elder Mountain, what audacity you have!

It seems today…”

Zhao Xue’en’s words were cut off by Dudu.

“Only eleven? Where’s the last one?

Nevermind, asking is useless, I’ll kill you first then find the last one!”

As she spoke, Dudu raised her hand and struck another palm blow, the Cute Pig Illusion reappearing and directly targeting the eleven elders.

This move made those opposite eleven laugh.

“Attacking Elder Mountain and challenging all eleven of us simultaneously? Such arrogance, not even Lu Haikong or the guy from Zero Organization would dare do such a thing.”

“She must be the first in centuries to do so!”

“But this kind of first isn’t something to be proud of.”

“To think she’s invincible just because she acquired temporary power through crooked and evil means? How preposterous!”

…

None of the eleven elders moved, watching coldly as the towering Tuantuan’s illusion charged toward them.

At that moment, the Bimong Giant Beast that had just appeared roared, raising its arms and striking towards Tuantuan’s illusion.

“Boom!”

The two gigantic creatures collided.

Though one was real and the other an illusion, the impact of the collision was indeed substantial.

The invisible shockwave pushed out for thousands of meters, sending dust flying and dirt swirling through the air.

While the dust had not yet settled, all those present were of epic caliber and could instantly see the outcome of this exchange.

The Bimong Giant Beast barely held its ground against the assault of the Cute Pig Illusion, managing to match its strength.

“Being able to withstand Old Zhang’s Bimong Giant Beast, this Pang Duddu really has something going for her.”

“She’s almost at the Epic 2 Star level, which shows some power, but does she actually think she can challenge Elder Mountain with just that? What is she thinking?”

“More than what’s on her mind, I want to know how she attained such a level of power.”

Someone asked a critical question.

On this matter, Fei Yinghao seemed to have some understanding.

When his avatar was shattered, he sensed something but chose not to speak at that moment.

“Want to know? Why not capture her and study her?”

“That’s right, let’s take her down first!”

…

And just when these eleven elders casually expressed their intention to capture Duddu.

Amidst the battlefield’s rising dust, a grunt from a pig echoed.

The next moment, an extremely terrifying aura erupted.

Following that, the tusks at the corner of the Cute Pig Illusion’s mouth burst into an earth-yellow divine light; its head forcefully thrust upwards, the tusks piercing directly into the heart of the Bimong Giant Beast, sending it flying towards the Eleven Elders.

The Eleven Elders were momentarily stunned, but their expressions quickly relaxed.

“Interesting!

She’s actually enhanced herself to the peak of the Epic 2 Star level. It seems the secrets on this young girl are substantial.

It’s even very likely that they have something to do with the secrets of Lu Haikong.”

As Zhang Mingge spoke, the expressions of the Eleven Elders slightly changed, and their gaze towards Duddu shifted.

“Looks like we shouldn’t delay any longer. Let’s all take action and suppress her!”

“Alright!”

The Eleven Elders quickly reached a consensus.

Following that, ten Summoned Beasts appeared simultaneously.

Although these ten Summoned Beasts were of different forms, they shared one thing in common: their immense power, none being below the Epic 2 Star.

Each one was at least as formidable as the previously encountered Bimong Giant Beast.

This was the power of the Elder Council!

Moreover, the creatures that appeared were not even the main Summoned Beasts of these elders.

One can imagine just how powerful the Elder Council is.

This is also why they remain calm in the face of Duddu, who has clearly brought an unusual situation to their doorstep.

Because they truly do not need to panic.

They are the pinnacle of this world, and there is nothing yet that could make them flustered.

“No matter what purpose or reason you had, from the moment you killed those hundreds of Summoners and made your way to Elder Mountain, you left yourself no way back.

Now, your hands are stained with blood, and you wield a power you should not have. Keeping you alive is a great threat to the Alliance, so regrettably, you must die today!”

While the Eleven Elders said this, they seemed not to consider that they were the ones who created this situation.

Clearly, it was their relentless pressure that forced Lu Haikong to live in anonymity, pushed Lu Wu to feign death to escape, and various suppressions on Duddu that led to this result.

Or perhaps, they were well aware that all of it was caused by them.

But they never thought they were in the wrong.

After all, they were the Elder Council, standing at the summit of the world, at the pinnacle of the Alliance.

They believed they represented humanity, and that their actions were for the development of humankind, taken from the perspective of the greater good.

Thus, in their eyes, the error could never be theirs—it could only be those who disturb the peace.

In their view, restless beings like Duddu must be forcefully suppressed to prevent her from becoming a future threat to the Alliance.

So amid these righteous and grandiose declarations, the Eleven Elders launched their attack.

Eleven epic-level Summoned Beasts lunged toward Dudu, who had been expressionless from the start.

“Roar!”

Among the eleven Summoned Beasts, a rat ran the fastest and instantly arrived behind Dudu, scratching open a rift in the space behind him.

As soon as that rift appeared, the remaining ten Summoned Beasts erupted.

The Bimong Giant Beast took the lead and slammed into Dudu, knocking him to the edge of the rift.

“Boom!”

The second Summoned Beast then crashed into the Bimong Giant Beast, followed by the third, the fourth…

Ten Summoned Beasts attacked simultaneously.

After ten consecutive strikes, Dudu was knocked directly into the rift.

As soon as Dudu was knocked inside, the eleven Summoned Beasts followed closely behind him. When the eleven beasts entered the rift, it sealed shut, and the side of the Eleven Elders heaved a sigh of relief.

Dudu had the power of an epic 2-star at this point.

Along with the eleven Summoned Beasts, which were also epic 2-stars.

A battle of this caliber naturally required a suitable location.

Otherwise, Elder Mountain might require extensive repairs after the battle.

By using the rat’s spatial Skill to pull Dudu into the Secret Realm, they maximally avoided the need for major repairs to Elder Mountain and prevented damage to the surrounding environment.

Well, from this aspect, it seemed that the Eleven Elders indeed shattered their hearts for humanity.

After sending Dudu into the rift, the Eleven Elders started to chat together.

“What do you think, how long can this girl last?”

“With epic 2-star power, one against eleven, maybe three minutes, at most three minutes.”

“I think she might last a bit longer; five minutes should be possible.”

“I don’t care about three or five minutes; I’m just asking who gets her corpse after it’s finished?”

…

As soon as this was said, the atmosphere momentarily solidified before Fei Yinghao immediately stood up resolutely, “Of course it’s mine, I need her corpse to honor my grandson!

You guys wouldn’t fight me over this, right?”

At that moment, Fei Yinghao’s eyes were wide, his whole body exuded a confrontational aura.

As if anyone who dared to contradict him would face his fierce rebuttal.

His demeanor had been quite effective before, but now it was clearly somewhat futile.

From the side, Zhang Mingge spoke in a tone neither cold nor warm, “She’s already dead, what’s the use of a memorial?

Moreover, if you really want to honor him, a skull should be enough, why do you need the whole body?

Could it be that at your age, you still have designs on a corpse?”

Fei Yinghao erupted in fury, “Zhang Mingge, are you seeking death?”

“If you think you can kill me, you can try!”

This time, Zhang Mingge did not show any weakness.

The two faced off fiercely and immediately locked horns.

Then, Zhao Xue’en spoke, “Enough, Old Fei, you can drop the pretense, you’re not good at this.”

“What do you mean?” Fei Yinghao’s expression shifted slightly, but he quickly composed himself.

But it was too late.

He was quite powerful among the Eleven Elders, but his scheming was somewhat lacking.

“Although you try hard to hide it, even using your grandson’s death as a cover, we have known each other for centuries, who here isn’t more familiar with you than you are with yourself?

You know something about the secrets on Pang Duddu’s body, right?”

Fei Yinghao’s expression darkened, and he was about to speak when Zhang Mingge intervened.

“The kind of secret that requires such effort to conceal, to this extent, isn’t hard to guess. The power on Pang Duddu comes from the ‘Gate’, right?”

Once Zhang Mingge brought this up, Fei Yinghao no longer struggled.

“Yes, when she crushed my avatar, I felt the power of the Gate on her!

She definitely has a fragment of the Gate on her, and it’s definitely not just a piece from the frame.”

This revelation caused Zhang Mingge and others to gasp in astonishment.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive!”

The Eleven Elders once again looked toward the direction where the rift had disappeared, their eyes filled with unmistakable covetousness.

However, observing their peers, their covetousness eventually turned to helplessness.

Twelve against eleven, no one could monopolize this item.

It looked like another artifact meant for the vault.

Realizing this, the enthusiasm of the eleven greatly diminished.

While some people shifted their focus.

“Wait, how did Pang Duddu obtain the Gate Fragment?

To our knowledge, she hasn’t left Jiangnan recently.

She couldn’t have acquired it through exploration…”

“Who said she had to get it herself through exploration?

Can’t it be given to her by someone else?

You know, there are quite a few people around her who could give her this thing.”

Zhao Xue’en’s remark made the Eleven Elders think of the people around Dudu.

The first to contact one of the fragments and gain a rule-level Skill from it, Tie Xiong.

Lu Haikong, who used the fragment to save a woman completely.

And Zhang Yunyi, as mysterious as a cloud, and Lu Wu who was clearly not dead.

“That makes four, so who actually gave her the fragment?”

“The fragment couldn’t have come from Lu Haikong; he would have used it to completely revive that woman.”

“Tie Xiong is also unlikely; that old fox is particularly slippery, he runs faster than anyone if things go south, have you seen him around lately?

He would definitely not get involved with the Gate.”

“Lu Wu is even less likely. From what we know about him, he would definitely not give Dudu the fragment to use her as a pawn.”

“Three impossibles, so the answer is quite obvious, Zhang Yunyi?”

Zhao Xue’en and Zhang Mingge both pondered a moment and shook their heads.

“Zhang Yunyi doesn’t seem right either, this isn’t her style.

If she had a fragment of the Gate, she wouldn’t use it this way, that’s just sending the Gate Fragment our way.”

“If not Zhang Yunyi, then who could it be?

Wait, I think I may have thought of someone.”

Zhang Mingge’s eyes narrowed immediately, Fei Yinghao and the others looked at him in surprise, and Zhao Xue’en answered for him.

“You don’t mean Lin Jianying, do you?”

“Lin Jianying?”

Fei Yinghao and the others were momentarily taken aback but soon recalled.

It seemed there was such a minor figure.

Zhang Mingge nodded, “Right, if not the first four, then it must be Lin Jianying!”