Chapter 53: Defeating the Undefeatable
Soon after, all the wild gods were completely slain.
The originally overwhelming, seemingly endless army of wild gods had, amidst the fighting and attrition between Joshua and the Ultimate Wild God, been reduced to none at all.
"Boom!"
Once again clashing with the Ultimate Wild God, Joshua was injured by the recoil of its high-frequency carapace. But now, he could no longer find any wild gods to offer up for the Azure Orb to burn. For this reason, he had to dodge rapidly, evading the Ultimate Wild God's relentless pursuit. Though the chaotic monster was equally battered and scarred, it still possessed formidable combat power and vigorous vitality, its stamina seemingly inexhaustible.
The Child of Famine was a spawn nurtured by the Evil God, and the Fang of Desolation had emerged from among them, surpassing the limits of its kin's innate talents. Its life force was tenacious, its carapace hard, its self-healing ability extremely fast, and it possessed no small flight capability. The stronger ones could even freely traverse the starry void, accompanying their mother Evil God as they roamed between worlds. Its very existence was a nightmare for all orderly life.
Relying on countless buffs to trade blows with it, Joshua had indeed drained some of the Ultimate Wild God's power, but forcing it to exhaust itself was utterly impossible.
On the fortress not far away, an immense and overwhelming force flowed out from the fortress's core, gathering above the Crystal Sun and even forming a mass of light like a golden nebula. This light radiated an incredibly dense Order Force. Then, at No. 3's command, it transformed into a blazing sun flash of boundless power, striking the Ultimate Wild God's body. This caused the massive monster, which had been fiercely attacking Joshua, to pause in its assault, even unable to continue moving.
Now, No. 3 continuously used beam cannons to support Joshua, but the effect was minimal. Aside from the first sun flash having some impact, against the other bombardments, the Ultimate Wild God merely raised its bone claws, paused slightly to block, and suffered no significant damage. Without wild gods to kill and restore his stamina, the warrior's attacks were now very cautious, barely managing to hold the Ultimate Wild God at bay without being defeated.
On the fortress, Moria and Claire also wanted to help Joshua, but their power was too weak. Moria lacked a full set of weapons and armor, and Claire, due to the desolation of the Carlis World, had been completely stripped of her strongest Druidic power—the ability to communicate with nature. The two could only grit their teeth, watching the scene from several kilometers away.
If Joshua couldn't stop this Ultimate Wild God, then everyone present would die!
A tense and despairing atmosphere spread. Standing beneath the Crystal Sun, No. 3 controlled the bombardment while observing the scene before her, falling into quiet contemplation.
"Chaos."
She murmured softly, the two short words containing countless anger and hatred.
A thousand years of aimless travel—this was her first time fighting so fiercely... Similarly, after so many years, this was the first time she felt truly alive.
Looking down at Claire and Moria, the elf and the dwarf—these beings from another world were vastly different from the Carlis people. They had no wings and looked somewhat strange, but they were also life born from order, possessing civilization and wisdom, their own pride and heritage.
Turning her head, she silently gazed at this dusty, gravel-strewn, utterly desolate ruined world, her gaze calm and serene.
Her name was No. 3, Artificial Intelligence No. 3, the core of the mobile fortress built by the Carlis people.
Since her creation, she had been guarding the civilization of the Carlis people, preserving the last piece of land where they could survive.
This was her mission.
She had wandered this world on the brink of destruction for a thousand years, searching for any possible surviving Carlis people. For this, she had crossed plains, traversed canyons, and passed through vast lakes and deserts.
She had found nothing, yet she persisted.
Because beyond this, there was nothing left to do. The Carlis civilization had vanished, and she could only rely on programs from a thousand years ago to maintain the meaning of her existence.
But everything had reached its end. Her soul was on the verge of decay.
A thousand years of wandering like a single day had drained the artificial intelligence's energy. For many years, it was solely her hatred for Chaos that had allowed her, who had lost most of her emotions, to hold on this long.
Enough. She looked at Joshua, the figure fighting the Ultimate Wild God.
This was hope. And beings like her, old and decaying, were a mistake. She should have died long ago. She should have self-destructed, following her long-extinct creators into death.
On the earth, violent tremors and shockwaves came continuously. The warrior was still skirmishing with the Ultimate Wild God, but gradually, he was becoming overwhelmed. Sometimes, Joshua could clearly counterattack, but seemed temporarily exhausted and had to evade. One misstep led to a perilous situation.
"In the outer world, there is actually such a powerful warrior wielding Order Force. Truly worthy of being the one holding the Sage's relic."
No. 3 muttered to herself, her gaze growing firm. "He cannot die."
At the very least, he had to survive.
She was already very, very tired, but because of her hatred for Chaos, she refused to die. Now, the hope of revenge was right before her eyes.
He could still grow stronger. His limits were not here. He should not die in this desolate, dying world—given enough time, he would surely grow, grow into a hero powerful enough to destroy Chaos and the Evil Gods!
This was an undeniable fact!
Having made up her mind, No. 3 immediately began to observe the surroundings. Now, the fortress was moving through the mountains, while the Ultimate Wild God and Joshua fought and chased each other, currently on the fortress's flank, not far away.
"Hold him down, Joshua!"
Her thoughts concluded, No. 3's voice, amplified by magic, traveled several kilometers, resounding through the sky and earth, echoing in the chaotic canopy. "Hold down that wild god!"
"What?!"
Joshua was utterly bewildered. Distracted by No. 3's shout, he nearly got hit by the Ultimate Wild God's tail, which was wreathed in cyan-blue lightning. If he had taken that blow squarely, even he wouldn't have survived.
In his current state, holding down the wild god was too dangerous—that was Joshua's inner thought. But No. 3 had no reason to deceive him. The artificial intelligence had been using powerful light cannons to help him restrain the Ultimate Wild God, a behavior that made Joshua acknowledge No. 3 as his comrade, and a warrior always trusted his comrades.
So, gritting his teeth, he charged forward, swinging his giant axe, launching a continuous onslaught, tightly locking down the Ultimate Wild God.
Then came the thunderous roar!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!!!
Under the equally horrified gazes of both the Ultimate Wild God and Joshua, the mobile fortress—this true mountain-like, several-thousand-meter-tall super mobile fortress—suddenly changed direction. Then, carrying an aura that could crush heaven and earth, it charged straight at the Ultimate Wild God!
"Chaos monster!"
Standing beneath the Crystal Sun, No. 3's usually calm face was filled with resolute joy. She shouted loudly, "Taste this! This is the thousand-year-old wrath of the Carlis people!"
Impact!
Accompanied by the crisp sound of carapace shattering, the Ultimate Wild God was instantly crushed like a fly under a chariot, its body broken and fragmented, firmly pinned against the mountain range before it.
A violent, unparalleled shockwave spread, causing the mountains to tremble. At that moment, Claire and Moria felt the fortress beneath their feet—no, not the fortress, but the earth itself! The entire ground shook uneasily, nearly making them lose their footing. In their ears, the sky and earth echoed with the roar of collapse.
Tendrils formed from the steel magic tree firmly anchored them to the fortress. Yet even so, the sudden tremor made them feel as if they would be thrown off entirely. Amid the violent shaking, Moria saw the massive mountains not far away.
Gray rocks mixed with flowing gravel collapsed under the fortress's violent impact, turning into an all-consuming torrent that surged toward the fortress below!
Avalanche!
This was a true avalanche. Several-thousand-meter-high peaks crumbled into scattered rubble, toppling toward the equally massive fortress. The silver-white pyramid was about to be buried in gray dust. But No. 3 showed no sign of pulling back. She let the falling rock flow engulf her, continuing to increase her output, pressing her 'body' fiercely against the Ultimate Wild God!
(To be continued.)