Shang just looked at Wester with an interested smirk, while Wester looked at Shang with narrowed eyes.

"Since when?" Wester asked.

"Since when what?" Shang asked back.

"Since when did the Ancestor know that you are the Child of Calamity?" Wester shouted with an enraged voice.

"Since I lost my legs," Shang answered.

Wester thought back to that day and realized that it had already been well over 15,000 years.

"How did you convince the Ancestor to spare you?" Wester asked.

"Spare me?" Shang repeated with mock shock.

Then, he laughed.

"Convince him?" Shang said with a smirk.

"When he found out, I was unconscious. So, I guess you could say I convinced him by lying on the ground in front of him."

When Wester heard that, he started to grit his teeth.

Shang didn't seem like he was lying.

Even more, the world resonated with his answer, which meant that it was the truth.

Of course, powerful Mage Kings could manipulate that resonance to a certain degree, but Shang wasn't a Mage.

Sadly, Shang's answer took the last bit of hope from Wester.

Maybe, the Ancestor hadn't known that Shang was the Child of Calamity?

Maybe, Shang had used some kind of Spell on the Ancestor?

Unfortunately, the simplest answer was often the correct one.

"Why?" Wester asked. "Why did the Ancestor betray us?"

"Why?" Shang repeated with a smirk.

"Honestly, I'm not quite sure myself."

"Back when I met him for the first time, he was debating killing me, but after we talked about everything for a bit, he seemed to just like me for some reason."

Wester narrowed his eyes.

That sounded like a lie!

Yet, he didn't interrupt Shang.

"After our conversation, he started to act like we were friends. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure why."

"Maybe he saw me as a weapon against Abaddon?"

"Maybe he was just very excited to leave Aterium?"

"Maybe it's my promise that I will do my very best to stop the Abominations from appearing?"

"Or maybe, he was just a lonely old man."

"I never asked him why he was helping me," Shang said with a small chuckle.

When Wester heard Shang's answers, a light appeared in his narrowed eyes.

"You can get rid of the Abominations?" he asked.

"I don't know," Shang answered. "But if I can, I probably will, as long as it's not too much trouble."

"In comparison to Lucius, I actually have the power to defend myself."

Shang's words made several questions appear in Wester's mind.

"Defend yourself? From what? And why is the Mage God relevant?" Wester asked.

Shang glanced at Wester and chuckled some more. "I thought only the Emperors were blind due to their relationship with Lucius."

"Seems like even the all-powerful Custodian isn't immune to naivety," Shang spoke with a mocking tone.

"Can't you see it?" Shang asked.

"The Abominations. When was the last time an Abomination King appeared in the world?"

"It was when Lucius had just so happened to become a Mage King, wasn't it?" Shang said with a chuckle.

Wester's eyes widened, but Shang just continued talking.

"And what happened shortly after he became a God? All the Abominations became weaker, and we only saw Abominations from the first four Realms."

"Almost like the Child of Calamity has died."

Wester's mind was going through millions of scenarios and possibilities.

"And who killed him?" Shang said with a smirk.

Wester didn't know.

"Well, whoever killed him won't be able to kill me when it is time," Shang said with a confident grin.

Shang chuckled a bit and raised his right Abomination arm, showing it to Wester in its full glory.

"Didn't you notice?" Shang asked.

"I have a sevenfold Spirit Sense now."

"I have an Abomination body, making me superior to every other human."

"I have an Affinity for all the Elements."

"My mind is already equal to the mind of an Early Mage King, while I am only an Initial Sword King."

"The God of this world has given me my powers, which makes it likely that he is also the cause of the Abomination problem."

Shang clenched his right hand, and the surrounding space shook.

"If I attain Godhood, I will kill that God and leave this world."

"After that, everything will be left to the Emperors."

The things Wester had been hearing were more than shocking, but he quickly managed to wrap his mind around the new dynamic.

Now, Wester could finally understand how the Ancestor could have been convinced to help Shang.

Everyone knew that the Abominations represented the end of the world. As long as they couldn't perfectly kill every Abomination before it could absorb any Mana, they couldn't stop the world from degenerating.

The more time passed, the less Mage Kings and Beast Kings appeared in the world.

Eventually, there would be no more Kings.

And then, no more Lords.

Finally, nothing would be left, and the Abominations would consume the world unopposed.

By getting rid of the source, Shang could stop the world from dying indefinitely!

Yet, Wester couldn't even entertain the thought of helping Shang achieve his goal.

Because of Shang, trillions, if not quadrillions, of people had died!

He was so selfish and power-hungry that he would rather sacrifice an ocean of people before stopping to become more powerful.

The possibilities didn't matter.

Shang was a monster, and for all of his crimes, he deserved to die.

Shang saw Wester and could guess what he was thinking about.

"Really?" Shang said with a snort. "You would rather doom Aterium to certain doom instead of taking a shot at eternity?"

Wester didn't answer.

Instead, Mana gathered around him.

An instant later, a golden bolt of terrifying lightning shot directly at Shang.

CRRRRRRRK!

Wester narrowed his eyes.

He had already expected Shang to be powerful, but he had still been shocked.

As an Initial Sword King, Shang had managed to block Wester's Spell!

Even more...

When Wester saw how Shang had blocked his Spell, he had realized that Shang truly wasn't human anymore.

At this moment, tens of swords were in front of Shang.

Long swords, scimitars, katanas, daos, sables, sabers, great swords, two-handed swords, one-handed swords, big swords, small swords, thin swords, and wide swords.

All swords one could imagine were in front of Shang.

They had blocked the Spell, and a moment later, the swords moved away.

The base of each sword was connected to a long and black tentacle, which curved around Shang and entered his back.

Shang had mastery over Entropy, and he could also create Entropy Ore.

Using an external sword would be a waste with such abilities.

So, Shang had created tens of dark and black tentacles that ended in swords made of Entropy Ore on the level of the strongest Abomination Kings.

As Wester watched, Shang's long and powerful tentacles stretched outward.

Shang's arms were crossed, and a smirk adorned his face.

Meanwhile, the tentacles had stretched into a star made of swords.

Shang moved his right arm forward and gestured for Wester to attack.

Wester just readied himself.