Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

Chapter 93 - Closing the Net - Part 4 [7/19]

“Altair is dead, and Patchouli Knowledge has begun her promotion. The time has come for us to make our move.”

Adam stood up from the edge of the round table, and as he stood up, the surveillance images suspended in the center of the table revealed several different scenes.

The scene was that of a vast library suspended in mid-air. Lightning flashed and flames surged on its exterior, with numerous intricate and powerful magic circles appearing on its surface. Meanwhile, the energy detected within the library was steadily increasing, gradually shifting from chaos to stability.

"Patchouli Knowledge has defeated Melkor. She is now undergoing an ascension, a difficult battle that has taken a toll on her health and resources. Once the ascension begins, it cannot be easily interrupted. Therefore, she will be unable to participate in the main battlefield for at least an hour. Our first objective has been achieved."

Adam tapped a spot in the airspace around the Great Library, marking several lurking figures that did not exist in the material world.

"Besides the three of us, the other reincarnators in the team are already lurking around that flying fortress. I've prepared life-saving measures for them, as well as a Word of Power to break through the fortress's outer defenses. Their mission is to storm the fortress when our operation begins, and to hinder Patchouli Knowledge's advancement as much as possible—this mission isn't too difficult. They should be able to handle it."

He glanced at his two companions but received no objections.

“Very good, now for the other part.” Adam flipped his finger, and another monitoring image replaced the previous one, taking center stage at the center of the round table. The screen displayed an incredibly vast, barren desert, the boiling heat even distorting part of the viewing angle. In the very center of the desert, a female humanoid figure enveloped in Order Magic Energy was vaguely visible—she seemed very tired, and the energy readings on the monitoring screen fluctuated unstablely.

"Although Altair died in battle, she also inflicted considerable damage on Alice Margotrovid. She should be making contact with that floating fortress now. Once she's sure there haven't been any further changes to the fortress, she'll resume her search for us—she's a suspicious person, and if we remain inactive, it will prevent her from returning to the fortress. Then, when the ritual begins, she'll be informed of the fortress's attack. Our second objective is to further destabilize her mind."

“There’s a question,” Luo Yinglong asked. “I don’t want to interfere in your deal with Altair, nor do I want to comment on your use of her friend as leverage. But now that she’s dead, and she’s fulfilled our request in the process, you should keep your promise to her. You promised that girl named Shimazaki Setsuna that you would grant her the freedom to leave her Reincarnator status.”

“Of course I keep my word,” Adam nodded with a smile. “After the ritual begins, Setsuna Shimazaki will participate in Human Instrumentality. But I will not completely destroy her soul; instead, I will allow her to be reshaped during the ritual. In this way, when we complete the ritual, achieve our goal, and return to the Main God Space, she will be reborn as a native of this world due to the dual transformation of her body and soul. I will also give her a perfect talent and a powerful family background.”

Luo Yinglong nodded and shut his mouth.

Adam flipped the light screen again, and this time the surveillance image appearing in the center of the round table was blurry. It was a distant view of a battlefield shattered by the aftershocks of battle—a group of powerful extraordinary beings had surrounded and destroyed the body of a powerful saint. The most imposing-looking man among them, wielding a knife, was forcefully pulling a deep red blade embedded in the saint's body—the information around him was completely chaotic, and all the counters pointing to him were defined as unmeasurable.

"Most of the fourth-tier powerhouses from the Central Continent Team are here. Their captain, the man named Zheng Zha, is currently holding a magic ring capable of ending this cycle of reincarnation. He has also partially reached the fourth tier through some means we cannot yet comprehend, possessing the Light of the Mind. Once the ritual begins, we will inevitably face an attack from this group of fourth-tier powerhouses before it fully unfolds. I need to preside over this ritual, so our third objective is to delay them until the Ten Primal Elements are fully constructed. And that is your task."

Song Tian gently stroked his longsword and said in a deep voice, "I will do my utmost."

"And I will also use the true Yin-Yang Micro Dust Array and the Purple and Green Twin Swords." Luo Yinglong made the same promise. "The Fourth Middle School that temporarily ascended by external means is not comparable to the real Fourth Middle School. With the two of us working together, it is not difficult to hold off him and the other fourth-level experts for five minutes. But after five minutes... we can only hold out for a maximum of thirty seconds, no more."

“Five minutes is enough,” Adam replied. “The completion of the Ten Primal Elements won’t take long, and once the ritual reaches the appropriate stage, Alice Margotrovid will take Lilith’s place and be pulled into the ritual. Her unstable mind will surely lead to her death. And her defeat will also cause a significant drop in the Central Continent Team’s fighting strength.”

"So here's the plan. Hold out for five minutes, ensure the completion of the Ten Primal Elements, and prevent Alice Margot Royd and Patchouli Knowledge from meeting up. Once we achieve these three goals, we can use the Tree Diagram Ritual to directly elevate our life level to the middle stage of the fourth tier, unlocking our genetic lock. At that point, victory or defeat will be in our hands."

He took one last look at his companions.

"So, are there any other questions?"

He waited five seconds, then nodded in satisfaction. The next moment, he took a deep breath and abruptly tore open the sealed ancient scroll in his hand.

"Action, begin!"

....................................

Zheng Zha suddenly raised his head and looked up at the sky. Just as he was feeling a little smug because he had easily killed the tenth saint with little effort, a sudden tremor rose from his tailbone, traveled up, and spread to his heart in an instant!

Something seems amiss.

Something bad has happened.

"Captain, what happened?" Zhao Yingkong was the first to notice his change. Zhao Zhuikong was the second.

"Some things are going badly." Zheng Zha's brows furrowed deeply. He raised his hand, gesturing for silence. His gaze unconsciously drifted towards the sky, then lightly touched his forehead. Immediately, the corresponding communication was activated via brainwaves!

"Zhang Jie, pick up Margot Lloyd and Chu Xuan. Ask them if there's been any unexpected situation. I have a very bad feeling right now. A very bad feeling. It's like when I was still an ordinary person, I suddenly stood on a volcano with a crater half a centimeter thick, and the ley lines beneath my feet were about to erupt! Ask them if they have any contingency plans for any possible changes that might occur next. If not, we'll prepare to evacuate immediately!"

Zheng Zha's words affected the others; not only him, but Zhao Yingkong and Zhao Zhuikong also sensed something amiss. The assassins' brows furrowed slightly, and their steps, which had not retreated an inch even after fighting several saints, were slightly pulled back towards the center. And when Xilin also began to stir restlessly, this ominous sign became even clearer.

His fingers gripped a bottle containing activated lava from a doomsday volcano. An intense sense of unease enveloped him, instantly solidifying his resolve to immediately end the main quest and return to the God Realm, even if it meant burying everything they had painstakingly achieved. If he heard any bad news, he would simply throw the Ring into the bottle, ending the world in five seconds!

The next moment, Chu Xuan's voice rang out from beside his ear.

His eyes narrowed to tiny dots the moment he heard Chu Xuan's explanation!

The world has changed.

..............................

Two orders, 215*1, Fujino*1

I feel so cute!

Chapter Ninety-Four: Closing the Net - Part Five

An unnamed song seemed to gradually echo across the heavens. Starting from the fourteen stars bound to the outer reaches of the sky by the Book of Revelation, pale lines spread through the atmosphere. The moment they appeared, the fourteen stars in the sky trembled violently, as if a mongrel had encountered a lion, or a sparrow had encountered an eagle; they struggled and screamed, trying to escape from the heavens.

Four stars were fortunate, as their brilliance was not substantially diminished. Thus, they successfully detached themselves from the celestial sphere after paying the price of sacrificing most of their brilliance along with a portion of the entity beneath it.

Ten stars were unfortunate, for they had no more brilliance to discard. Simply abandoning their physical form under the light was not enough for them to escape these spreading pale lines—they made only futile resistance before being captured and bound by the lines. Then the lines connected and collided with each other, forcibly pulling the ten dim stars, located in different directions, into a not-so-wide celestial region. The union of the lines then formed a complete image.

It was a diagram. A tree-like diagram. Ten dim stars in the sky were confined within ten nodes of this tree-like diagram. They were still struggling and roaring, but this vast and expansive tree-like diagram grew increasingly solid and firm with the passage of time. Countless runes, indistinct yet clearly imbued with immense power, appeared on the connecting lines between the nodes. Then, they gradually released a light that was too dazzling to look at.

The sky's color shifted rapidly, transforming from a clear azure to a deep crimson. Centered on the tree-like diagram, concentric circles of slightly different shades of crimson unfolded, covering most of the visible sky above the continent. At the very center of these concentric circles, directly above the tree-like diagram, a bottomless abyss of darkness, as dark as night and as inky as ink, grew deeper with each passing second. It was as if a colossal portal was slowly trying to open from within that darkness, only to be hindered by some unseen force.

It was a difficult journey, but progress was still being made.

Beyond the heavens, the rage of a colossal entity scorched the entire sky with a tangible intensity. Every instant, countless black cracks, like a spiderweb, appeared above the canopy covered by the tree-like diagram. Yet, the moment these cracks appeared, a powerful force emanating from within the tree-like diagram completely mended them. The boundaries of the world were thus repeatedly constructed by this clash of destructive and corrective forces. The spiderweb-like cracks disappeared and reappeared, reappeared and disappeared, in an almost infinite cycle of existence and annihilation, from which dripped crimson blood.

The creation and destruction of a single rift produces a drop of unknown blood. The transformation of over a trillion rifts results in a torrential downpour of blood! Whether it is blood or something else is actually unknown, but when it drips onto the earth, everything on the surface undergoes a dramatic change.

Cities shrouded in blood rain melted like wax figures being heated. Mortals, dwarves, and orcs tainted by the blood rain were instantly reduced to ashes, as if plunged into an acidic pool. Even the elves, adept at manipulating magic, and the ancient creatures hidden in the corners of the earth were no exception—they resisted, creating various protective barriers and enchantments to try and stop the blood rain. But no matter how they fought, the blood rain pierced through all their shields and barriers, bringing them death.

This is not a completion.

This is a purge.

Adam did not allow the tree diagram ritual to proceed according to the original text. What he needed were not those who could regain their independence through their own will after the completion of the ritual. What he desired were the spiritual lights that would serve as resources for advancement—he did not want a few unknown protagonist-type native souls to suddenly appear and disrupt his ritual from within. Therefore, before the actual ritual began, he would purge the entire world.

The living are subject to too many variables, while the dead are subject to far fewer. A soul without a body is far easier to deal with than a living being undergoing completion with flesh and blood. Even after the ritual ends, they can still reconstruct their forms within the transformed tree diagram. At that time, what will drive them back to their original form will be Adam's will, not their own desires.

Thus, under Adam's will, the entire civilization... or rather, all traces of life in the Lord of the Rings world, was completely erased.

No longer did any living creature walk on the earth, nor did any flowers, grass, or trees grow. Only barren ground and the remnants of buildings not yet completely eroded by the blood rain remained. The ocean, too, was stained crimson by the blood rain, instantly transforming into a pure, indistinguishable red solution. No more seaweed or fish, no more crawling or planktonic creatures. The entire vast world of the Lord of the Rings fell utterly silent in a very short time, except for the endless patter of the blood rain.

After the world was cleansed, the struggles of the ten stars bound within the Tree of Life weakened considerably. Whether their weakening was due to the extinction of the mortal world or the strengthening of the Tree of Life's power is unknown. But as their resistance diminished, the Tree of Life's completion ritual gradually moved towards the next stage.

On the earth, the torrent of souls of the dead surged and rippled.

....................................

As space was torn and then reassembled under Sirin's will, the four extraordinary beings of the Central Continent Team, bathed in the radiance of spacetime teleportation, traversed the spacetime distortions caused by the operation of the tree diagram ritual and arrived at the central celestial domain of the ritual. The two Celestial Team Reincarnators stationed at the central node of the ritual then opened their eyes from their state of readiness.

“One minute and forty-seven seconds. You arrived slower than our captain anticipated.” Two beams of light, one purple and one blue, appeared behind Luo Yinglong. He looked at Zheng Zha and the others who had appeared on the other side of the sky and sighed softly. “Is it because you wanted to save those mortals corrupted by the blood rain that you wasted time? Why bother? Their deaths are only temporary, not even true deaths, just a temporary change in their life form. When the ritual ends and our Celestial Team achieves victory, this world will naturally be reborn—yet you have wasted this only chance to counterattack.”

"My biggest regret now is not leaving you all on that land when we first met." Zheng Zha gripped the Destruction Greatsword tightly, his face ashen. "Especially you, Luo Yinglong, I thought you were a good person before."

"A good person...?" Luo Yinglong's lips curled into a smile that was hard to decipher—whether it was self-mockery or something else entirely. "Although I tried very hard to convince myself that everything I did was righteous and necessary, I still couldn't get over that hurdle in my heart—if nothing unexpected happens, I'll probably be stuck on the edge of my inner demons forever. But that's a matter for later. At least until the end of this world, I will fulfill my duties properly."

“I can give you a friendly reminder: you have at most five… or rather, a little over four minutes. Try to defeat us in this short time, and then stop the captain’s ritual. And…” He raised his hand and snapped his fingers. Zhao Yingkong, who had been quietly standing behind Zheng Zha without saying a word, suddenly turned into a dissipating phantom and disappeared. Then, the assassins who had been lurking in the spatial crevices, waiting for their chance to strike, appeared in another area of ​​the sky.

"...This entire celestial realm has been covered by my Yin-Yang Dust Array. The only way to end this ritual is to bypass us and destroy the ritual's central hub, which the captain is guarding. However, the only way for you to get through here is to defeat the two of us who are the array's cores. Don't even think about using spatial jumps or dimensional stealth to get around us; that path is blocked. The only way is to defeat us head-on, fair and square."

Before he could finish speaking, a crimson blade flashed towards his face! And then…

The blade came to an abrupt halt.

"We are different now than we were before."

"Song Tian, ​​make your move!"

What blocked the destructive greatsword was another blade—Song Tian's blade. Unlike his previous state during the battle, Song Tian, ​​now empowered by the Tree Diagram and the Yin-Yang Dust Array, possessed a formidable strength comparable to, and even slightly surpassing, Zheng Zha's in some aspects. The blade in his hand was no longer the ordinary, nameless blade from before, but a divine weapon shrouded in a chilling radiance, possessing terrifying power!

"My blade is named Emperor's Hatred, please enlighten me!" Song Tian raised his eyebrows, and with a turn of his blade, forced Zheng Zha back half a step. Luo Yinglong, whom he was protecting, also retreated, his figure vanishing into nothingness amidst the rhythm of space.

"Brother Zhuikong and I will deal with that cultivator." Zhao Yingkong snorted lightly, then disappeared into the spatial rift together with Zhao Zhuikong, who followed her in perfect unison. Leaving Luo Yinglong, who was lying in wait and controlling the Yin-Yang Dust Array, unattended would only bring more trouble sooner or later. Therefore, rather than facing four against one and then being ambushed by Luo Yinglong, dividing the battlefield into two two-against-one situations from the beginning was a better strategy.

The two siblings disappeared, and then Xilin, who had been mainly responsible for providing support in the previous battle, was teleported to a suitable position to support Zheng Zha. She threw out a series of one-time-use items to enhance positive status effects as if they were free, and at the same time, Zheng Zha activated the magic ring on his finger. With the loading of simulated mental light, the aura released by Zheng Zha once again suppressed Song Tian.

"Does the Emperor hate you?" Zheng Zha raised his hand, and following his body's instincts, he easily blocked the seventeen or eighteen consecutive slashes from Song Tian. "I was once very interested in a sword called Tiger Soul, and that sword probably has a deep connection with the one you are holding now."

He took a deep breath, and the positive and negative energies within his body collided, unleashing an even more powerful destructive force. Accompanied by a blade of light stretching for tens of kilometers, he easily forced Song Tian, ​​who had the initial advantage, back. Then, an even more powerful energy turbulence was released as the destructive state was fully activated.

“There have been times when I regretted it. Because I really liked that knife, but now it seems that not pursuing that imposing weapon was probably a wise decision for me. After all, a swordsman like you who specializes in knives can only exert this level of combat power with a knife of the same series. So even if I had bought that knife, it would probably have been a waste.”

"You have no eyes for a knife. It's a waste for someone who doesn't know how to use a knife to wield one." A vortex of energy swirled around Song Tian. He dodged the several sub-space spears thrown by Xilin, letting the spear formed from a spatial rift fall to the ground, evaporating a sea of ​​blood and exploding into several mushroom-shaped thick clouds.

"If you are not sincere with the sword, the sword will not respond to your will. You will only use brute force, blindly swinging your excessive strength based on instinct. However, when faced with true skill, your strength will be no match."

"So what?" Zheng Zha's muscles twitched, and a pair of wings formed from energy materialized, whipping up a hurricane with his movements. In his several encounters with Song Tian, ​​he had determined that this swordsman from the Celestial Team did not possess the combat power of a fourth-tier fighter. Therefore, victory should be decided in an instant!

"Weapons only need to be sturdy enough, fast enough, powerful enough, and accurate enough. All the other fancy features are irrelevant! And besides!"

"If you're going to fight, then fight! Why are you talking so much nonsense!"

He stepped back, and Sirin, who was providing support, understood and projected dozens of sub-aerial bands to hinder Song Tian's movements. In the brief moment Sirin bought him, he prepared his fatal blow!

"Primordial Era—"

He saw Song Tian raise his knife as well. Those calm eyes seemed to hold a spirit and power that he couldn't understand, and didn't care to understand. But Zheng was clearly unmoved by this; he simply increased the output of his internal energy to its maximum limit, and then pressed down with all his might!

"—The Founding!"

"The heavens and earth shook, the wind ripped through the ground!"

....................................

I originally planned to finish this volume today, but my grandparents suddenly came from the countryside, so because of this and that, there was only one section today.

Probably that's it.

Chapter Ninety-Five: Closing the Net - Part Six

The shockwaves caused by the collision of energies nearly destroyed the entire celestial domain where the two forces clashed. Large-scale spatial structures were destroyed and then reconstructed simultaneously. The Yin-Yang Microcosm Array, having received sufficient support, was indeed powerful, but even the strongest and most intricate array will be destroyed when it exceeds its carrying capacity.

“Song Tian will lose. He’s only mastered the third level of the Heaven-Shattering Earth-Shattering Technique in the Innate Qiankun Skill. His technique might be up to par, but his destructive power is completely insufficient. It’s impossible for him to defeat that muscle-bound gorilla from your team.” Luo Yinglong hovered quietly over the other battlefield he was responsible for guarding, his purple and green twin swords, like flying birds, leaping and circling around him. “But even if he loses, it will take a long time. With similar levels, the possibility of winning in one strike is almost zero.”

"He is like that, and so are you."

The next moment, the purple and blue swords swirling around him leaped up, accompanied by two sword lights woven into a ring. The two spatial rifts that had sealed off all directions around him were firmly blocked by the leaping swords. Two blurry figures, which even he could only see as afterimages, flashed by—then a Tai Chi diagram suddenly appeared behind him, and a crystal-clear dagger was embedded in one of the extreme points of the Tai Chi!

'Om—'

Like the buzzing of bees, accompanied by the rotation of the Tai Chi symbol, an invisible torsion force ripped the airspace about one kilometer behind Luo Yinglong into chaos. Spatial structures, material aggregates, and radiation and lightning spewing from the collapsing molecules covered everything in the airspace. Then, in the instant that chaos was formed, another dagger silently slashed out from Luo Yinglong's side, swiftly and precisely piercing his forehead!

He didn't dodge, because he couldn't.

He didn't take precautions because there was no need to.

The tip of the dagger was deflected by the incoming green sword when it was about a meter away from him. As the green sword blocked the attack, the swirling purple sword also managed to deflect a thrust from the other side. The blades of the sword and the dagger made contact briefly before colliding a second time in another area of ​​the air.