Chapter 174: Ambush In Stopped Time
[Under the effects of your World Order, the power ranks of the seven veteran Train Conductors were immediately suppressed to the point that they couldn’t use it to stand and oppose you.]
[Although doing such wording would mean that it didn’t completely suppress their power, but only the means of using it against you, you figured it was the same in practical effects.]
[’Unfortunately, unlike in the Bloodthorne Clan’s case, I couldn’t use World Order to target them due to a similar bloodline.’]
[’But this way, I’ve reduced the energy it would consume for restricting their power rank. Although this risks that they can still use their power to escape, at least I’ve prevented them from using their power against Jade and me.’]
[Even though you worded it only to prevent the usage of power when opposing and standing against you, and it didn’t include Jade, it actually included her.]
[Since your World Order was subject to your words as well as intent, in your case, you believe that opposing Jade and the Zenith Train Crew was the same as them opposing you.]
[Because of that, you reduced energy cost for World Order when using them against those veteran Train Conductors.]
[Only after using World Order did you realize that these veteran Train Conductors took more energy per second in consumption compared to those Bloodthorne Clan vampires of the same rank as them.]
[’Fortunately, I didn’t restrict all of their power or else I’d risk lacking energy to sustain such World Order.’]
[While you had that thought in mind, beads of sweat trickled down Jade’s forehead as she spoke laboriously, "Da-darling... Your usage of World Order makes it more difficult for me to maintain the time stop."]
["The weight of your actions and abilities drastically increased my energy consumption just to maintain this time stop. Normally, I’d not experience this since I mostly use Time Stop and another weapon to kill them rather than use another ability within it."]
["If stopping time is akin to spreading out a thin layer of covering and the area covered is my time stop range, then the covered area is filled with the water of time."]
["Any actions within my time stop range will cause a ripple in the water of time. However, using external abilities that exceed it is like suddenly teleporting a heavy stone inside it."]
["Eventually, the weight and size of it will either cause the water to be too packed that the thin layer will burst on its own, or it’s too heavy that it punctures the thin layer. If that happens and the thin layer breaks, my time stop will end."]
[Like a water balloon, suddenly increasing the volume inside it will either cause it to burst in its own due to too much pressure, or the object suddenly teleported inside punctures the balloon on its own after its weight caused it to fall and collide with the balloon.]
["I see... Then I’ll assist you in maintaining it."]
[Realizing the burden it had on Jade, you immediately used your multiplication fairy fruit and Absolute Boundary to strengthen the boundary of her time stop so that it won’t collapse.]
[Jade also gritted her teeth and used her division fairy fruit ability to divide the energy consumption and the burden it had on her.]
[After her time stop had stabilized, Jade immediately took out her soul-bound weapon, the Unseen Blade.]
[Due to the Endless Growth trait applied to the Unseen Blade, it was already at Initial Diamond-grade. When you and Jade had obtained it before, it was only at Initial Platinum-grade.]
[Aside from scaling with the user’s power rank, it could also increase its item grade and power by consuming other weapons or weapon upgrade materials.]
[Jade had previously made use of the Skull Crusher Hammer by letting the Unseen Blade devour it for its growth. Not only that, other soul-bound weapons of the more than twenty train conductors were sacrificed to the Skull Crusher Hammer.]
[Most of the veteran Train Conductors in this station world were from the same home world, so they all awakened soul-bound weapons as their starter package.]
[Aside from a few soul-bound weapons with useful abilities, you let most of the soul-bound weapons you acquired become a sacrifice to Jade’s Unseen Blade.]
["Divide!"]
[Imbuing the power of division into her Unseen Blade, Jade immediately flapped her fairy wings and flew to where the veteran Train Conductors were.]
[You followed her along as well, taking out the soul-bound weapon you had taken from one of those veteran Train Conductors.]
[That weapon was none other than the Energy Devouring Dagger. As its weapon name suggested, its ability was to devour the energy of enemies it cut and feed that energy to its user.]
[Soon enough, you and Jade arrived above those veteran Train Conductors.]
[Due to being affected by both Time Stop and World Order, not only were their movement and consciousness halted, but they also couldn’t even muster any power to resist the time stop.]
[Seeing them, Jade rapidly slashed them with her Unseen Blade while shouting, "Divide! Divide! Divide!"]
[You didn’t stand by and do nothing, quickly throwing your dagger towards while using World Order, "Order! My daggers shall not miss my target, but they will never hit my beloved!"]
[With the use of World Order, you confidently used your multiplication fairy fruit and imbued its effects onto your energy devouring dagger.]
["Projectile Count x1000! Projectile Velocity x1000! Physical Penetration x1000!"]
[After throwing your energy devouring dagger towards those veteran Train Conductors, one dagger suddenly multiplied into a thousand copies.]
[As if that wasn’t enough, it suddenly sped up so fast that only a thousand streak of light could be seen, passing through the veteran Train Conductors with ease.]
[After a thousand penetrated them, Jade immediately lifted her time stop.]
["Time begins to flow again!"]
[You shifted your gaze towards Jade, who immediately started posing and uttering those words, speechless by her actions.]
[Before you could complain, the time stop was lifted and those seven veteran Train Conductors, despite being inside their respective trains, were immediately attacked by your thousand daggers and Jade’s divide!]