Chapter 146 - 146 128 Collapse

146: Chapter 128: Collapse 146: Chapter 128: Collapse The world was collapsing. Literally collapsing. When the two top-level powers, which should not have been unleashed, collided with each other, the entire world began to crumble faintly. In the air, cracks appeared, and beyond them was infinite void. This bizarre scene made the professionals uneasy and even fearful, but the local fish-monster NPCs seemed oblivious to it all. Even when some of them fell directly into the cracks and turned into black particles that dissipated, their companions still didn’t notice. This Secret Realm, originally designed for a maximum of fourth-tier abilities, was now bearing pressures it shouldn’t have. The Historical Secret Realm was a memory of the past, as well as an ongoing “ritual”. It had a source of pollution that triggered the ritual and a normal deduction process. When the content it bore far exceeded its limit, it would naturally disintegrate. In the past, this disintegration happened when history had reached its end, and it would dissipate on its own. One of the jobs of professionals was to make this process go on infinitely, using it to consume the new pollution within. But this time, the collapse came too suddenly and far too early. A large number of professionals chose to turn into light, as the increasingly escalating battlefield was becoming too dangerous. Lu Ping’an in the sky was still using himself as bait, luring the collision of the two giants. Boom! This time, the octopus-armed Fishman Sword Saint finally stopped advancing. Blocking his way was not a weak and illusory water elemental or a fragile wind elemental, but an equal monster. It was a combination of buildings, rocks, and dams, a twisted earth and stone giant with even high-voltage electricity from transmission towers on its shoulders. This was the “City Spirit”, the awakened self-defense mechanism of the city that borrowed the power of the earth and rocks, turning itself into a massive giant. Compared to the over 30-meter tall Stone Giant, the 7 or 8-meter tall giant was just a small child. Bang! Another collision occurred, and it was still the larger giant that was knocked back. However, the Fishman Sword Saint was not satisfied with his gains. He silently looked at his weapon, knowing that even if he cut a piece of rock at that moment, it wouldn’t change anything. This was the entire city’s “spirit” infused into the earth’s carrier. Unless the city is destroyed or the city’s spirit and earth stop giving it power, it could regenerate infinitely just by rolling on its home field. “When dealing with a high-level dancer who can perform the ‘Imposing God Dance’, their summoned creatures actually have little to do with them. At this time, you should not attack their summoning but kill their main body, or eliminate the reason for the summoning, which is often easier.” Not only could the professionals on the scene not see this battle of gods, but they also increasingly could not understand it. But with the big cat’s guidance, Lu Ping’an was still making rapid notes. Along the way, he had already gained quite a bit. “Normally, spirits are diffuse and rigid. When they say everything has a spirit, it’s more like a plankton or the residue after a life’s death. It’s somewhat meaningless and only has value when it comes together. The ancient true spirits are one thing, the so-called awakened city spirits have a quite short history, and they are actually a cluster of residual rituals. But who can convince a group to serve oneself…” Under normal circumstances, Miss. Zhou shouldn’t have been so powerful. But when this city and the surrounding rivers were on the verge of collapse, the “spirit” of this land responded easily to her call… This was also related to her efforts these days. Communicating with awakened spirits actually required complicated rituals, and it was not something that could be done in an instant. “Use Spirit Vision.” Upon hearing this, Lu Ping’an looked at the mighty Stone Giant and saw a suffocating scene. On the rocks, between the mountains, and in the collapsed buildings, there were too many dark shadows. Some of them were howling in pain, while others sat in a daze, unaware of their surroundings. The mighty, powerful, and infinitely regenerating giant was in fact clad in the armor of the dead, filled with a multitude of vengeful spirits. “… In a short period of time, too many people have died in this city, which has instead given the ‘City Spirit’ a will of its own, satisfying the conditions for being summoned, and this is its main body. With the help of the Imposing God Dance, it can descend infinitely. Unless you stop attacking the city, it won’t disappear naturally…” So, what about attacking Miss. Zhou’s main body? “It’s useless. The dancer has already merged with the Stone Giant. Otherwise, the collapsing City Spirit wouldn’t be this powerful. Even if you destroy her body, it won’t matter; she has already merged with this land and can simply find a corpse to complete the Imposing God Dance and come back to life, ready to fight. Although her strength would greatly decrease, it would only be after the battle.” Miss. Zhou’s “song” could only summon a limited number of elements, so she had to use herself as the core and binding agent and place it within the Stone Giant’s heart to increase its output limit. At this moment, Lu Ping’an understood why Big Cat had reacted the way it did when he suggested “I’ll go try assassinating her.” Killing this thing wasn’t that simple. “So strong, how did it die? Purely plot-driven?” “Not exactly. Dancers and the Scholar series are still mortals in their daily lives. If they’re not careful, they can still starve or fall to their deaths. But when high-level professionals enter the battlefield, instant kills become unrealistic.” Lu Ping’an silently wrote down what he heard, gaining a deeper understanding of high-level professional battles. “In that case, to deal with high-level professionals… at least those from the Scholar series, eliminating their ability conditions is the key, right?” “Yes. To change reality, the Scholar Path often has to meet extremely harsh ritual conditions. Painters need to paint, chess players need to prepare chess pieces and boards, and singers need even more carriers and a series of conditions to provide them with a medium for their power.” Lu Ping’an nodded thoughtfully. So for a Contractor’s path profession like a Sophist, their medium is “language”? “No, it’s a human, an independent soul capable of forming contracts.” “So, the core tactic is to never fall into his rhythm? Not to let him fulfill his ability conditions?” “Yes, don’t let him have the possibility of signing a contract with you. You can’t listen to a single word he says, even a seemingly harmless greeting like ‘want to eat together?’ or ‘see you next time’ may become a fatal ‘contract’. Since he’s called the Sophist, he most likely has the ability to force contracts and distort them…” Miss Zhou demonstrates the power of a “Scholar series professional”, her summoned spirits were seemingly endless, undying and regenerating at high speed. Becoming her enemy seemed like making the entire world your enemy. In the midst of battle, she also deepens her “connection,” and signs “contracts” with the world and spirits, turning her surroundings into her own territory. So, without stripping her connection with the “world” first, victory seemed impossible. If both sides were this kind of ability user, what would the battle look like? “Destroying the opponent’s ability carrier and sealing their abilities are basic prerequisites. The tactical core is to fight for the ownership of the territory and seize the initiative in battle. Oh right, attacking the main body is necessary, but both sides have life-saving abilities, so it’s hard to achieve an instant kill.” Big Cat gave the standard answer. Lu Ping’an was still pondering, but the situation on the battlefield changed dramatically. The Fishman Sword Saint stomped his foot, and a drastic transformation occurred. He visibly expanded, growing from his original height of seven or eight meters to an impressive twenty meters, while his sword and leather armor also grew in proportion. This time, the huge sword was swung again at a speed invisible to the naked eye, and the tall Stone Giant crumbled into pieces. The Fishman Sword Saint displayed the power of a combat-series professional, relying solely on his own strength. But this still didn’t solve the giant’s problem as it just slowed down the giant’s regeneration a little. “Six series, huh…” What suddenly came to Lu Ping’an’s mind were the six types of abilities categorized by function, and the opposing battle styles that belonged to each type. Manipulating and transforming others or objects in strange ways were precisely Miss Zhou’s battle methods. Enhancing one’s self through mutation was also the perfect evolutionary path for the giant fish. According to the basic classification abilities used by scholars, the former was “releasing pollution,” while the latter was “absorbing pollution.” The reality was just that, dividing the abilities into categories like absorbing and releasing elements. The binding abilities aimed at enemies and the self-enhancing protection abilities were actually simple and straightforward functional classifications. “Both being combat-series Gardeners, it seems that the Bonsai Master is like Miss Zhou, and the Floriculture is like the fish? External and internal abilities?” “The general idea is correct, but there’s no need to distinguish them so clearly. Most of the time, the internal and external effects work together. The Scholar’s basic ‘modification pollution’ ability is the foundation, and how it’s played depends on the individual. That’s why there are so many independent paths for Scholars above 2-tier, and most of the 2-tier branches are actually going further in a certain direction…” Lu Ping’an nodded thoughtfully, beginning to understand both sides’ battle tactics. “The key to the battle is still the distance and ability conditions,” Lu Ping’an summarized based on his experience. Even if one is geared towards “absorption”, there is a natural limit to their effective range. Since it’s geared towards “releasing,” certain conditions must be met for the abilities to successfully “hit” the target. “That’s right, no matter the ability or professional, there’s really nothing mysterious about it in the end. All abilities come with a price and conditions. You must first understand them to defeat them, especially when your own strength isn’t enough.” Big Cat knew that Lu Ping’an was preparing for potential future battles. She worried that Lu Ping’an couldn’t understand high-level professionals and would die senselessly. Jumping recklessly into action against a Contractor, like the Sophist, might seem effective but was actually handing the enemy an easy kill. “Facing high-level opponents, you are absolutely weaker. If it’s that dancer, try to assassinate her in her normal state, don’t give her time to use her abilities, if it’s that fish, maintain the distance and lead it into your traps, use the power of heaven and earth to wear him down, and do not let yourself enter his range of threat…” The whole world was collapsing, yet Lu Ping’an still asked with interest. “Then, how would I deal with someone like you, or someone similar?” “Me? Under normal circumstances, even as a seventh-tier like me, as long as I stand here, I can easily seal that dancer’s spirits and return them to the elements, preventing them from taking shape. If I face that fish, I’d just slap him to death.” Lu Ping’an was amazed at hearing that Big Cat seemed incredibly powerful back in her day. “It seems that… a God level or Rule-level… is a perfect life form?” “No, you’ve got it backward. A perfect life form, with internal and external balance, can only then become a Rule-level…” Apart from the rapidly increasing Taboo knowledge, Lu Ping’an, who survived in the midst of ruins and continued to guide the war, seemed to be the biggest beneficiary of this battle. Not only had he witnessed the battle of high-level professionals, but he had also found clarity in the path he wanted to take in the process. “So, how should we deal with that big green hand now?” “Big hand?” “Yeah, the huge, green one that pops out of the void, grabs around randomly, and looks creepy. It’s even bigger than the fishman! It crushed Auntie Zhou and her giant in one swoop, and it’s reaching out for us now.” “Fuck, this is too much! That’s the Son of the Evil God, run…” The next moment, the whole world plunged into complete collapse and darkness.