Chapter 38: Victory and Defeat (Fourth Update)
Three hours later, southwest corner of the ancient capital, 1190 meters underground.
Several figures were sweating profusely here. The World War could no longer be fought. Originally thought to be a chaotic battle among gods, over half of those "gods" had been forced into retirement, with three even more ruthless than them.
Compared to fighting to the death inside the Sun Temple, mining was far more enjoyable. Or rather, there was no choice but to mine now, otherwise the penalty for losing the World War would be unbearable.
Molei wiped the sweat from her forehead, one hand on her hip. She was relatively optimistic. She had been present throughout the bloody battle at the temple, dying four times and nearly being left there forever.
Since they simply couldn't win now, they settled for the next best thing and came to search for mineral deposits. As for their side's super powerhouse, Yueshitu, there was no need to mention her—she was being chased all over the place by a group of madmen from Reincarnation Paradise.
In truth, Yueshitu could handle the pursuit of these contractors. What she feared was Black Demon. After Black Demon devoured thousands of her Moon Beasts, perhaps finding them delicious, it had come looking for her again.
The result was that her side's contractors tangled with Black Demon for a while, losing over a dozen people before breaking free. Yueshitu was still on the run, and it seemed Black Demon had set its sights on her.
After this brutal struggle, the total number of contractors from all four sides was less than a hundred. The intensity was unimaginable.
Initially, a total of 1,214 contractors had entered this world. Now only 89 remained. Compared to the Demon Spirit Star battlefield, the other Seventh Rank battlefield was much more normal. That Primordial World had 1,435 Seventh Rank contractors entering, with the victor decided an hour ago. The number of survivors was 927, and Death Paradise had won.
As the perennial second-place, Death Paradise finally secured a victory. As for Demon Spirit Star, only 12 contractors from Death Paradise remained alive, hiding somewhere in the ancient capital.
A gentle breeze blew. Su Xiao sat at the highest point of the Sun Temple's peak. For now, the only threat to guard against was Yueshitu. If she managed to shake off Black Demon, she would still be very dangerous. Su Xiao understood the power of swarm tactics better than most contractors.
Besides Yueshitu, Shenfu also needed to be watched. That old bastard was up to something. Su Xiao strongly suspected he was already a Violator.
Shenfu was very good at biding his time. In any world, he was never the strongest, usually ranking in the top few. It wasn't until this World War that the old man finally accumulated enough power and revealed his ferocious side.
From start to finish, Sanctuary Paradise's side had barely participated in the battle. In the early stages, they just watched Reincarnation Paradise and Death Paradise fight to the death. Then they were gone.
Su Xiao checked his Reincarnation Paradise Merits and Scarlet Merits.
Current Merits: 592 points.
Current Scarlet Merits: 437 pieces.
For some reason, Su Xiao didn't earn many Merits from killing contractors of the same rank, usually only 2 to 3 points.
He had enough Scarlet Merits to exchange for [Resonance]. Su Xiao opened the exchange list and obtained [Resonance].
[You have obtained Resonance (Blood Weapon).]
[Resonance]
Origin: Void Tree
Quality: Blood Weapon
Category: Special
Durability: 120/120
Attack Power: 115~130 (Upgradable)
Equipment Requirements: Brand Level Lv.65 or above, True Agility 201 points, True Intelligence Attribute 185 points.
Equipment Effect 1: Sky-Rending Resonance (Passive): This weapon can be controlled via mental energy for attacks. This weapon has no fixed form.
Tip: Each point of the wearer's True Agility attribute increases this weapon's penetration by 0.6 points.
Tip: Each point of the wearer's True Intelligence attribute increases this weapon's attack power by 1.2 points.
Equipment Effect 2: Blood (Passive): Damage dealt to contractors by this weapon is increased by 15%.
Equipment Effect 3: Unique (Passive): The maximum number of such weapons owned is 1.
Tip: This effect has absolute priority.
Rating: 1420 points (500~??? points)
Introduction: When you hear the sky-rending resonance, you are already dead.
Price: Cannot be sold.
...
Su Xiao looked at [Resonance] in his hand. Its initial form was a diamond-shaped spike, about 20 centimeters long, with several wind holes at the tail end. The overall material was a translucent metal.
This weapon could freely change its form, similar to Banishment. When Su Xiao saw the name [Resonance], he had already had a similar idea.
That was why he chose to exchange for this item. If he could integrate it into Banishment, even sacrificing this Blood Weapon would be worth it.
He couldn't do that yet. He at least needed to be able to equip [Resonance] first. If this idea succeeded, Banishment would become one of his trump cards. And when dealing with ordinary enemies, he wouldn't need to rush forward and slash with his blade; Banishment could handle it.
Reaching 201 points in Agility was no easy feat. Su Xiao checked his remaining Scarlet Merits. There were 37 left.
He could still exchange for ten Scarlet Chests. Each one guaranteed at least one Soul Crystal (Complete). He couldn't miss that.
Five Scarlet Merits could be exchanged for one Scarlet Chest. Each Scarlet Chest could yield 1~10 Scarlet Merits, plus one Soul Crystal (Complete), and had a small chance of containing Immortal Rank equipment.
Getting Immortal Rank equipment would be a huge profit. Su Xiao exchanged and opened them one by one. As he opened them, his Scarlet Merits were almost depleted. The good news was that he had emptied the Scarlet Chests.
[You have obtained Soul Crystal (Complete) x1.]
[You have obtained 4 Scarlet Merits.]
[Detected that the Hunter has exchanged all available items. Remaining Scarlet Merits are being converted...]
[Remaining Scarlet Merits: 7 pieces.]
[You have obtained 10 Reincarnation Paradise Merits.]
...
Not bad. His Merits had reached over 600. Su Xiao felt it would be very difficult to gain more Merits in this world.
Now, all he had to do was wait. Su Xiao began to meditate. While meditating, he did not let his guard down. On the contrary, his perception was sharper than usual.
Night fell. The sky was full of stars. The entire night was quiet, until the next morning.
With a loud boom, a huge sound came from the south side of the ancient capital. Black mud shot into the sky. A six-tailed white fox struggled within the black mud.
A pure white beam of light fell from the sky. The black mud was blasted apart, forming a giant monster's head before roaring, the sound echoing throughout the entire ancient capital.
The great battle between Yueshitu and Black Demon had begun. Yueshitu was cornered. The two sides fought fiercely from morning until noon. Countless types of summoned creatures only retreated then. The black mud stopped in the distance, unmoving. The two sides seemed to have reached some kind of agreement.
About half an hour later, a chubby young man dressed in a biker outfit, hands in his pockets, walked toward the Sun Temple.
"Damn, that thing is here."
Baha was genuinely startled. He knew that Black Demon was indiscriminate in its attacks most of the time.
Not only Baha was on alert, but the contractors from their side inside the first floor of the temple were also very vigilant. They had just clashed with Black Demon yesterday and were lucky to escape quickly.
The chubby young man stopped at the base of the Sun Temple, looked up at Su Xiao. After a moment of eye contact, the chubby young man actually nodded, then walked into the Sun Temple.
"Hmm?"
Su Xiao was somewhat surprised. He had previously thought that Black Demon had already devoured the chubby young man's soul, and that the chubby young man was now just a shell. But it seemed that wasn't the case. The struggle between the chubby young man and Black Demon was still ongoing. Both were very strong, and neither was willing to submit to the other.
In the past, once the chubby young man released Black Demon, his life and death were left to fate. Now it was different. After Black Demon was released, although it was still indiscriminate, it couldn't do anything to the chubby young man's soul. The one who ultimately won would gain everything.
The chubby young man entered the Sun Temple. This scene was seen by Yueshitu's summoned creature and relayed back to her.
Inside the underground space.
"What a joke. I've been struggling for so many days, and it was all for nothing?"
Yueshitu was somewhat frantic, but she quickly calmed down. She now had three choices: