Chapter 1615 Hades' Divine Domain

Hassu was pointing to an area between Zeus and Poseidon's domains, shrouded in a hazy, black mist. Within the churning fog, one could vaguely make out a mountain covered in black rock, barren of vegetation, with a palace built of obsidian perched atop it.

The old hunter activated his magic, dispelling the demonstration fog to reveal the detailed map beneath.

Hao Ren had a vague idea of what this place was: among the Olympian gods, not many chief gods possessed such characteristics.

"This is the temple district of Hades, the King of the Underworld," as expected, Hassu's answer was as expected. "In human mythology, Hades is in charge of the Underworld and is the god of death. He doesn't usually live on Mount Olympus but resides in the realm of death, Tartarus, with his queen Persephone year-round – in fact, the real situation is pretty much like that."

Hao Ren and Lily pricked up their ears in unison, listening attentively to the secrets of the age of the gods. These secrets were now more than just interesting stories; they were tangible realities that directly influenced the success of their plan to find Vivian.

Meanwhile, Hassu continued to elaborate on the relationship between the Underworld and Mount Olympus:

"...The so-called Underworld is actually an extra piece of space opened up by the 'gods' of Olympus using spatial magic. We all know that 'divine realms' like Mount Olympus are actually fragments of alien worlds that were brought along when the aliens entered this world. Hao Ren, you certainly know more about this history than I do – these spatial fragments are the most valuable property for every alien race. They can live more easily and powerfully within these alien spaces than in the Earth's environment. However, the number of spatial fragments is limited, so the Olympian forces initially tried to artificially expand their 'divine kingdom' space. The Underworld was a failed product of this attempt."

Lily couldn't help but repeat, "Failed product?"

"That's right. The difficulty of artificially expanding alien space exceeded Zeus's imagination. They did create a new alien space and stuffed the energy of Mount Olympus into it, but Tartarus failed to form an environment similar to Olympus as they had hoped. It became a land of death, with powerful shadow forces and deathly aura causing undead creatures to run rampant in the Underworld, making it difficult for the living to survive. Even the staff in the Underworld mutated into monsters and completely lost control. So in the end, Zeus had to order the termination of this project and completely seal off the Underworld. The one initially responsible for this project, as well as for the subsequent guarding and suppression, was Hades."

"In the depths of Tartarus, there is a 'pipeline' connected to Mount Olympus. This pipeline was originally designed to serve as a 'new kingdom transportation artery,' but after the failure of the Underworld project, it was locked. Only Hades and Zeus possess the key to open the passage. On the Tartarus side of the pipeline, Hades built a 'safe house.' He and some of his subordinates are stationed there year-round, monitoring the changes in the Underworld space and constantly eliminating those out-of-control undead creatures, preventing monsters from breaking the barrier and disturbing Olympus."

"On the other end of the 'pipeline' is the Hades Temple on Mount Olympus: although the master of the temple spends most of his time on the other end performing guard duty, the temple itself, as a control center, operates automatically year-round."

"There are direct light paths connecting Hades Temple, Poseidon Temple, and Zeus Temple. These paths are wrapped in energy barriers and pass directly through the radiation field above Mount Olympus. Because the cost of fighting in the radiation field is extremely high, the demon hunters never attempted to forcefully destroy these 'light paths' until the very end when they destroyed the entire Mount Olympus – this is also why the survivors of Olympus could concentrate in the Poseidon Temple in the final battlefield; they completed the transfer through these indestructible light paths, even when the entire territory was occupied by demon hunters."

At this point, Hao Ren understood most of Hassu's plan.

"So we can first enter the Underworld, open this locked passage from Tartarus, then follow the passage into the Hades Temple in the Olympian divine realm, and finally enter the Poseidon Temple from the Hades Temple through the light paths – if everything goes as planned, Vivian should be with the survivors in the Poseidon Temple at this time."

Hassu nodded: "That's right. In this way, we have to pass through many dangerous areas filled with undead creatures and twisted monsters created by Hades, but relatively speaking, we can bypass almost all the demon hunter defense lines. Except for a possible encounter in the Hades Temple at the end, we hardly have to worry about being discovered by my compatriots."

Hesperia breathed a sigh of relief: "Phew – I'd rather deal with the undead army; demon hunters are more dangerous than those monsters."

Hassu: "..."

"Sorry, no offense, just telling the truth." Hesperia said apologetically, but there was no hint of apology on her face.

Hassu's expressionless face didn't show any change, and he just sighed helplessly in the end: "Well, okay, I've said everything I need to say, you can ask any questions you have now."

"First question, how do we get to the Underworld?" Lily raised her hand. "Die and go there?"

Hao Ren almost choked to death on this strangely conceived idea from the husky girl...

"Of course, that's not how it works," Hassu was startled by this theoretical demon hunter commander, "The Underworld is just an alien space, and it's the kind of unstable alien space that was artificially created. Since it's a low-quality artificial product, it must have several 'anchor points' with the real world. These anchor points can ensure that it doesn't break away from the real world. As far as I know, there is such an 'anchor point' near Rome..."

"Bringing you along was the right choice," Hesperia couldn't help but size up Hassu. "How do you know everything?"

Hassu sighed: "Alas, only the enemy knows you better than you know yourself – and we were the enemy of all aliens back then. In order to break through the defenses of Mount Olympus, the demon hunters did countless preparations. In fact, we even organized a large-scale offensive in Tartarus and destroyed the defensive forces set up there by Hades, but the passage between Tartarus and Olympus was too narrow to be used as a route for large armies, so we didn't put all our efforts into that place. After completing the Underworld operation, we withdrew the main force. That's why I would suggest going from there: since another 'me' is already leading troops to attack Zeus's throne, the main force of demon hunters in Tartarus must have been withdrawn, and there won't be any risks there except for some remaining undead creatures and soulless giants."

"Okay, let's settle on this plan," Hao Ren clapped his hands and stood up. "Let's take a trip to the Underworld in Greek mythology, make a hole in Tartarus, and directly smash into Olympus!"

Hao Ren spoke with great enthusiasm, and his soaring spirit encouraged Lily next to him. The husky girl couldn't help but howl on the table, but a sentence suddenly popped out of little Hesperia's mouth, interrupting them both.

The little girl looked at Hao Ren expectantly: "Can you take me with you?"

Hao Ren hadn't included this little girl in his calculations when he made the plan, so he was stunned when he heard her words, and subconsciously replied, "Take you?"

"Find Mommy!" Little Hesperia blinked her eyes. "You're going to find my mommy, right?"

Hao Ren's first reaction was that this little girl was a nuisance.

Because Hesperia at this age was a hundred percent burden...

"Um, didn't your mommy tell you to wait for her at home?" Lily's thoughts were probably similar to Hao Ren's, so she also tried to persuade her, "The place we're going to is very dangerous. If something happens to you, we won't be able to explain it to your mommy."

"I can take care of myself!" Little Hesperia waved her arms and puffed out her chest, trying to make herself look more reliable. "I also know some magic, and I can turn into a little bat and hide. Look..."

As she spoke, there was a soft "poof" sound and a cloud of crimson mist, and the little girl transformed directly into a palm-sized bat in mid-air. Then, she crawled under Lily's hair, and a tiny voice came from within: "See, not troublesome at all."

Everyone stared at the large Hesperia not far away, sizing her up.

"So you still have this skill?" Hao Ren said with a teasing tone. "Why haven't I seen you use it?"

Hesperia stiffened her neck with an embarrassed expression: "I'm so old and the head of the clan, why would I need such a cowardly skill!"

Hao Ren curled his lips and didn't say anything. He thought to himself that Nangong Wuyue usually just curled up into a ball and rolled around whenever she got scared, and she didn't seem embarrassed. This little bat spirit was still too thin-skinned, or maybe she hadn't gotten over her rebellious period yet, so she was always emphasizing her maturity. Otherwise, turning into a little bat was so cute, and she would even use her claws to open Lily's hair and look out...

"I suggest bringing this little girl along." In the end, it was Hassu who spoke, and Hao Ren was somewhat surprised as soon as he opened his mouth.

"Why?" Hao Ren and Lily said in unison, while the latter was still trying to pull out the little bat that was crawling around in her hair.

"Because Vivian doesn't recognize you," Hassu looked around, and finally his gaze fell on Hesperia. "You're also a bit of a problem. The difference between your current appearance and the Hesperia in Vivian's memory is too great, and you can't deceive Vivian with illusions."

After he finished speaking, he pointed to himself: "As for me, she does recognize me, but it's the kind of recognition that will definitely lead to a fight."

Little Hesperia finally flew out of Lily's hair, turned back into a little girl, and looked at Hao Ren and the others expectantly.

"Then let's bring her along," Hao Ren finally nodded. "Even if it's just to bring a negotiator."

The little girl was instantly overjoyed.