Chapter 29: Strike First with Words
Ta Balde pressed his hand against the hole in his chest, shaking his head at Su Xiao to indicate he was fine, at least not dying.
Su Xiao stood at the edge of the massive crater, looking at the Ancient God a kilometer away. He had witnessed everything just now. As for why Douglas's attack was ineffective, he roughly judged that it was most likely due to the World Core. Without first dealing with that barrier, there was simply no way to fight the Ancient God.
Just from sensing from afar, Su Xiao could tell this was the strongest Ancient God he had ever encountered. How powerful the opponent's combat strength was remained hard to judge.
But one thing was certain: this was definitely not a Seventh Rank Ancient God. The opponent's combat power had likely already broken through the constraints of this world. So far, Su Xiao had never encountered a weak Ancient God, except for a certain half-breed.
What was even more troublesome was the World Core inside the opponent's body. With that thing inside, the opponent was an invincible existence within the Dark Prison.
[Prompt: The Dark Prison has stopped merging with this world.]
[Prompt: The World Core has stopped merging with this world.]
[Main Quest: Hidden Object (Completed).]
[You have obtained an Immunity Badge (Equipping this badge exempts you from the debuff effects caused when Charm Attribute, Willpower Attribute, or Luck Attribute drop below 0 points).]
[Because the World Core has been stripped from this world, you have received an additional reward.]
[You have obtained Golden Skill Points ×2.]
[You have obtained a Soul Box (Opening it yields 1 to 130 Soul Crystals · Complete).]
...
Several prompts appeared in succession. Su Xiao glanced at the distant Ancient God. He had plenty of experience fighting Ancient Gods, but without being able to break through that invisible barrier, there was no way to fight. Moreover, this Ancient God itself was extremely powerful.
"Boss, I'll lure it. You guys retreat first. That Ancient God's energy doesn't have spatial properties."
After leaving these words, Baha flew into the sky.
"Hey, bastard, I've seen the Moon God's portrait. You might be much more majestic, but you're the same breed as the Moon God, right? Or maybe you're a mutt, cackle cackle."
Baha's loud shout immediately caught the Ancient God's attention. Or rather, what truly attracted the Ancient God was the words "Moon God."
"You still want to control this world? In my opinion, you're just farting under the covers, trying to hog it all."
While shouting provocative words, Baha was already prepared to teleport into an alternate space to hide. It had no intention of fighting this Ancient God head-on.
With a bang, a pitch-black energy beam shot toward Baha. From over a kilometer away, it reached Baha in an instant.
Spatial ripples appeared, and Baha hid itself in an alternate space.
"What's the matter? Do you really know the Moon God? The Moon God died miserably. I heard it was intracranial overheating. With a bang, the skull exploded into the sky, spiraling upward."
While shouting, Baha was quickly pulling away. It had noticed one thing: the Ancient God couldn't move freely yet.
"Don't think you can escape."
Seeing Su Xiao and the others retreating into the distance, Hun immediately rushed out of the invisible barrier, preparing to pursue. Its speed was extremely fast, covering nearly a kilometer in an instant.
At that moment, Su Xiao, who was running ahead, stopped in his tracks, pressing his hand on the sword hilt at his waist.
Almost simultaneously, Hun slammed on the brakes and stopped. The deity it served was still sitting on the distant throne, clearly having no intention of pursuing the enemy.
This Ancient God seemed cruel and indifferent, but it was very clear about the current situation. Once it left the Dark Prison, the World Core's barrier would disappear.
"You can't escape."
Leaving behind this harsh threat, Hun retreated. To Bubu Wang, this threat sounded just like "I'll get you after school."
Su Xiao moved swiftly and soon reached the initial point he had marked earlier. The Dark Prison crack hadn't dissipated yet.
In less than a minute, Baha returned, crashing out of the alternate space and falling to the ground.
There was a hole in Baha's wing, and its head seemed to have taken a heavy blow. Fine cracks appeared on its beak. Clearly, the Ancient God had found the right way to deal with Baha. Against Baha, hitting its mouth was the most effective. Otherwise, even if it won, it would feel quite a loss.
Su Xiao picked up Baha, leaped toward the Dark Prison crack in midair, and disappeared the next moment. Bubu Wang followed closely.
Ta Balde prepared to leap, but as he bent his knees, intense pain erupted from his chest. A mouthful of blood spewed from his mouth, flowing out through the air holes of his "Pumpkin Helmet."
"You go first. I'll recover in a few seconds."
Ta Balde's hands braced on his knees. He had suffered such severe injuries because he didn't understand the enemy's abilities, and the enemy itself was ridiculously strong.
A piercing whistle came as hundreds of black rays approached, crisscrossing toward Ta Balde and Amu.
Amu stood in front of Balde, about to construct an ice shield, when a binding sensation came from his horns.
Zzzz~
The Realm Severing Thread tightened, pulling Amu and Balde away, disappearing into the Dark Prison crack.
One by one, the black rays struck the ground. The earth rumbled. When everything settled, the ground for several kilometers around was riddled with holes.
...
Inside a civilian house, Su Xiao stomped his foot, shattering the array diagram on the floor. His goal for entering the Dark Prison this time had been achieved, but the process was different from what he had imagined. He had originally thought Hun would summon something like an "Ancestral Dark Demon," but instead, the opponent turned out to be a follower of an Ancient God, resurrecting one.
[Prompt: The Hunter has completed the Main Quest. Remaining stay time: 12 days, 15 hours.]
[Yes/No to return to Reincarnation Paradise.]
...
Su Xiao immediately refused. If he returned to Reincarnation Paradise now, he would at most gain the benefits of experiencing half a world. So far, he had only obtained one [Holy Spirit Chest]. All other gains came from redeeming items at the World Reputation Shop.
[Prompt: If the Hunter chooses to continue staying in this world, a new Main Quest will be triggered.]
[Prompt: This world no longer has Transcendent properties.]
[Prompt: Due to the presence of many Contractors in this world and the loss of its Transcendent properties, the World Core is in a fully open state, meeting Initial Regulation 195476. The Void Tree will soon notarize this world.]
[Announcement (Void Tree): This world is about to enter the notarization phase. In 15 hours, Contractors in this world will be able to obtain World Source within this world.]
[Announcement (Void Tree): The factions of this world have been summarized. Contractors may choose to join any faction (Watch Guild, Dark Demon/Wraith Faction, Deity Faction). Risks incurred when joining a faction must be handled by the Contractor themselves.]
[Announcement (Void Tree): This world's communication platform has been activated. All Contractors can freely speak on the communication platform (Speech regulations must be viewed by opening the branch list).]
...
[Prompt (Void Tree): Detected that the Hunter has obtained a large amount of World Reputation. This is the Hunter's personal gain. Balance mechanism is judging...]
[Prompt (Void Tree): Due to the Hunter's actions, this world's Transcendent properties have been lifted. Although the Hunter cannot obtain World Source in this world, at 6 AM the next day, the World Reputation Shop will reset. This is a compensation mechanism.]
[Prompt (Void Tree): The Hunter can freely speak on the world communication platform. Because the Hunter is currently at the Overlord template level, before speaking, an identity must be drafted (Affiliated Paradise cannot be selected, already locked to Reincarnation Paradise).]
[Warning (Void Tree): Detected that Hunter 13013 has caused massive destruction to a Trial World and has the ability to summon the Demon Insect Race. The Contractor has been marked as a 'World-Level Dangerous Unit.']
[World-Level Dangerous Unit: Capable of causing the complete collapse of a Seventh Rank world, with a high probability of implementing this behavior!]