Chapter 328: A Heavy Strike
Chapter 328: Chapter 316: A Heavy Strike
Inside the stadium.
Isabel looked at the origami-folding child next to Lianzhen Star Monarch, but no data was displayed on him.
“That child isn’t an Apostle?”
“No.”
Songx Shiyi’s eyes were fixed on the man in front of her as she said, “Yaoo Che is a normal human child. If that is even him.”
“Normal?”
Lianzhen Star Monarch tilted his head back and laughed. “If you consider these Substitute Bodies used to house Beidou to be normal, then I suppose you’re right. But it’s a shame. The child, Yaoo Che, wasn’t as lucky as you. The way he is now, there’s no difference between him and the living dead.”
His knuckles tapped lightly on the origami-folding child’s head. “It’s already empty in here.”
Songx Shiyi retorted, “Yaoo Che was already in a vegetative state from a brain injury. Joining Beidou at least allowed him to regain physical activity and mobility, as well as recover some self-awareness. His parents agreed to it.”
“But did he agree to it?”
Lianzhen Star Monarch crossed his legs and laced his fingers over his knee. “Have you ever considered that Yaoo Che might have preferred to die rather than live on like a walking corpse?”
“Where there’s life, there’s hope.”
Songx Shiyi leaped off the elephant’s back, tossed the fishing rod back into the World Chain on her back, and slowly drew out a long, curved object.
A golden bow.
The bow had simple, slender limbs. On the grip, a wooden snake was carved, coiled on the arrow rest. The bowstring was as thin as a strand of hair.
Songx Shiyi stood ramrod straight, holding the bow in her left hand and drawing the string with her right. A silver arrow gradually materialized between the arrow rest and the bowstring.
At the same time, the left side of her face broke into an excited smile, while the right side remained tense and serious. The two completely different expressions created a strange contrast.
Through Isabel’s eyes, Luh Yao could feel an indescribable change occurring in Songx Shiyi. It was as if something was breaking through the surface of her body, slowly emerging.
The Moon God.
Lianzhen Star Monarch sat calmly in the spectator stands, his expression unchanged.
“You’ve even brought out the [Overwhelming Moon Arrows]. It seems you’ve finally accepted who I am, haven’t you?”
“So, are you going to awaken the Moon God?”
The man seemed utterly unafraid. He said nonchalantly, “Every time you let the Moon God appear, you lose a part of yourself. If you awaken Her from Her slumber again, how long will your memories last this time? Five hours? Or four?”
“Frankly, I don’t mind. This arrow will injure me, but it won’t be fatal. You only have this one shot, and then you’ll be powerless.”
He glanced at the gold watch on his wrist. “I didn’t come here for you. So doing this benefits neither of us.”
“As you can see, I haven’t harmed any ordinary people. That would be meaningless to Beidou.”
“I’m looking for Nandou.”
Lianzhen Star Monarch leaned back in his seat. “If you go missing, they’ll surely get anxious. Let’s just wait. It’s better for both of us. Although we can’t leave this place, I’ve deliberately left the way in open. Let’s hope no other lucky souls wander in.”
Songx Shiyi just stared at the man. “Why are you the only one?”
“Why?”
The man chuckled, nonplussed. “It seems you don’t know. The other six Star Monarchs have all fallen into the Void Cosmos, and who knows where they’re drifting now… We paid a heavy price to deal with the famous Moon God, even in Her Weakness.”
Luh Yao, listening in from afar, seemed to understand something.
‘The incident with Beidou was directly related to the Moon God, and Beidou consisted of a total of seven Star Monarchs.’
‘There are also folk legends about the Beidou Seven Star Monarch.’
‘Only with all Seven-Star Monarchs together would they form the complete Beidou Pioneer.’
A thought popped into Luh Yao’s head: ‘Could it be that each of the Seven-Star Monarchs is a title?’
‘A collection of titles makes up a Main God.’
‘Tyrant once said that the Hunting Goddess is also called the God of Fertility and Nurturing, the Recovery Goddess, or the Purification Goddess. These names aren’t just names; they represent a type of Rule Power—in other words, rule titles.’
‘That would explain why I can’t see Songx Shiyi’s Moon God status but can see Lianzhen Star Monarch’s detailed data panel.’
‘Titled Deities themselves still reside in the Divine Hall of the Gods; they just stand at the apex of the pyramid of the Gods.’
Time passed, second by second.
Songx Shiyi stood with her bow drawn, facing off against Lianzhen Star Monarch in the stands.
Only the Ten Directions White Elephant behind her strolled about leisurely, completely unaffected.
Lianzhen Star Monarch glanced at his gold watch and, as if he had thought of something, slowly rose to his feet.
“It seems Nandou isn’t coming.”
He buttoned his suit jacket and descended the steps of the spectator stands one by one.
“You’ll be coming with me for now. You and your friend here… This will give Nandou ample time to prepare. When he arrives, I’ll let you go.”
Mingzai, who was on Songx Shiyi’s head, exploded into a cloud of fiery mist, from which emerged a strange, feather-crowned figure.
He was draped in a wide, gray Feather Robe, and on his head was a headdress of striped white feathers connected to a bronze mask. His attire and form both exuded a primitive wildness, like a tribal Priest from the ancient past.
Wisps of misty fire burned on the strange figure’s Feather Robe. This mist-like, dew-like fire made his features even more blurred and ethereal.
Luh Yao could see clearly that Mingzai had entered his Celestial Official of Fire form.
His combat Attributes had also been greatly enhanced.
…
[Apostle LV72] Xing Bird Mingzai [Celestial Official of Fire]
Life Value: 25866/25866
Mana Value: 5211/5211
Damage: 217
Defense: 108
Speed: 25
[Astrology]
[Fire Elemental Mystery LV22]
[Heat Eating]
[Eye of Insight]
[Celestial Official of Fire LV5]
[Xing Bird Exclusive Ability] Transform into the Celestial Official of Fire, manifesting a body of flame to absorb all surrounding Fire Elements for personal use. The absorption range and effect are related to the ability’s level.
…
Mingzai advanced with a strange, swaying gait, like a large dancing bird, and charged toward Lianzhen Star Monarch.
From his wing-like, flaming Feather Robe, numerous firebirds flew out. They shot into the air and transformed into a spiraling torrent of fire that surged toward the enemy.
Lianzhen Star Monarch raised a hand.
Mingzai froze two meters away from him.
The small area around Mingzai came to a complete standstill, as if someone had pressed a pause button.
Even the flames and thick smoke, the feathers ruffled by the wind, and the fiery mist spewing from Mingzai’s bronze mask were all stuck in place, fixed within an invisible medium.
Luh Yao noticed the characters for [Drawing Ground as Prison] appearing above Mingzai’s head.
This put immense pressure on Luh Yao.
‘This is the first time I’ve had to confront a Titled Deity in the real world, and he can even use Rule Power.’
‘Casting [Drawing Ground as Prison] had cost Lianzhen Star Monarch a little over 5,000 Mana Value, which meant he could cast it at least five more times.’
Seeing Mingzai in danger, Songx Shiyi’s face tensed. The golden longbow in her hands flared with fluorescent light, looking as if it could fire the arrow at any moment.
“So they’ve come…”
Lianzhen Star Monarch whipped his head around, dodging a heavy greatsword. He quickly retreated to the lawn and raised his hand to cast [Drawing Ground as Prison]. The menacing Knight who had charged in was instantly frozen in place, holding a Two-Handed Sword in a horizontal slash.
‘One cast.’
Luh Yao silently counted in his mind.
He had only taken two steps back when a red flower suddenly bloomed on his chest, petals continuously falling from the wound.
He turned and raised a hand, freezing Pinkman, who was brandishing a rapier behind him, in place.
‘Two casts.’
For the first time, Lianzhen Star Monarch showed a surprised and grave expression. He pressed a hand to his chest, trying to stop the falling petals. “This wound was created by a special ability… It’s difficult for even me to tell if it’s real or fake.”
The words had barely left his mouth when he suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Two streaks of moonlight appeared on his body, leaving two new tears in his previously neat and proper suit. A strange white mist seeped out from within.
Lianzhen Star Monarch snapped his gaze toward Songx Shiyi in the distance.
But when he noticed that the Moon Arrow in Songx Shiyi’s hand had not been fired, his expression turned extremely ugly.
“It seems you came prepared, *cough cough*… Prosecutor Songx.”
Lianzhen Star Monarch’s gaze turned sinister. “Then don’t blame me for what happens next.”
Two more streaks of moonlight flashed across his body. This time, however, Lianzhen Star Monarch didn’t dodge or retreat. His entire body was enveloped in a halo of light, reminding Luh Yao of the radiant aura said to be behind Buddha.
Tyrant, who had attacked with [Moonlight Blade], was also pinned in midair, frozen in the pose of thrusting his White Bone Longsword.
The deployment of [Drawing Ground as Prison] changed, becoming a sort of barrier surrounding Lianzhen Star Monarch.
“None of you are easy marks, are you? It seems you really do want to kill me…”
Lianzhen Star Monarch spat out a bloody froth and walked toward Songx Shiyi step by step.
Luh Yao continued to count.
‘Three casts.’
‘His Mana consumption is ongoing.’
As he walked, Lianzhen Star Monarch suddenly stopped, slowly turned, and stared at the person behind him.
It was a towering giant. Four sharp, curved horns grew from its head, and its heavy breaths came out as white mist. Its thick, powerful body was covered in a layer of leaves and moss, as if it had just awoken from a long slumber in a forest of legends.
Facing the LV99 Divine Descendant Giant, Lianzhen Star Monarch’s brow furrowed.
He stared intently at Forrest. “This thing is…”
The moment Forrest appeared, it swung a mighty punch at him. Lianzhen Star Monarch continuously dodged, not daring to let it get close, and quickly deployed [Drawing Ground as Prison].
However, unlike before, Forrest could still move under this rule-based Binding, though its movements became incredibly sluggish, as if in hundred-fold slow motion.
Luh Yao recited silently, ‘Four casts.’
“And an Undying monster from the Flying District… What rotten luck.”
Lianzhen Star Monarch couldn’t help but curse.
Seemingly realizing things were turning against him, he stopped getting entangled and charged directly at Songx Shiyi, casting [Drawing Ground as Prison] on her and attempting to grab her after freezing her in place.
‘Five casts,’ Luh Yao said to himself.
The moment Lianzhen Star Monarch reached for Songx Shiyi, the lawn beneath him suddenly bulged upward, and a gigantic fish mouth snapped shut, biting him around the waist.
In a flash, Lianzhen Star Monarch froze the Guest Monk. He struggled to free himself from the sharp fish teeth, his waist already mangled and torn, with white mist continuously pouring from the wounds.
Lianzhen Star Monarch gasped for breath.
‘Six casts.’
Luh Yao thought.
‘That last [Drawing Ground as Prison] drained all of his Mana Value. The fact that he could cast it with insufficient Mana suggests he has some kind of overdraft ability. Good thing I played it safe.’
“Where did so many High-Level Apostles come from… Were they subordinates of the previous Moon God?”
Lianzhen Star Monarch looked at the Guest Monk, his face filled with lingering fear. He was about to grab Songx Shiyi again.
A man in green blocked his path.
“Apologies, but you cannot take this young lady.”
The speaker was a tall, thin man dressed in a bright green overcoat, holding a Silver Staff, and wearing a wide-brimmed black hat with the brim pulled down low.
Slime Mod had made his move.
In the simulator, he had always appeared as a harmless-looking slime with two leaves on its head, but he had once been a veteran among the Gods.
His role as a Master had once made Luh Yao somewhat overlook his 120,000-point health bar and impressive combat panel.
Not only Slime Mod, but Forrest was also summoned again. After Isabel bestowed the [Forest Sword] status on them, the two Apostles began to frantically swarm Lianzhen Star Monarch, who had lost the support of his [Drawing Ground as Prison].
“Wait, wait!”
“…How about we stop here?”
Facing a head-on melee, this member of Beidou appeared extremely battered. It seemed he was not accustomed to or skilled in such a meat-grinder confrontation.
Soon, the Guest Monk and Tyrant also broke free from their restraints and joined the battle.
“Are you trying to make an enemy of Beidou?! You can’t kill me!”
Lianzhen Star Monarch roared, his voice fierce but his confidence failing.
However, the Apostles had already locked onto him, swarming him in a frenzied attack and giving him no chance to escape.
Lianzhen Star Monarch’s Life Value continued to fall.
…
Outside the stadium, in a KFC, Luh Yao drank his soda, ate fried chicken, and watched the battle unfold from afar.
He didn’t want to see them stop short; he just wanted to see Lianzhen Star Monarch explode right now!
Once Lianzhen Star Monarch’s Life Value was depleted, his body dissolved into a large cloud of white mist. All that remained was a paper figure and a sparkling stone, both of which Isabel collected.
Only then did Luh Yao breathe a sigh of relief and wipe the grease from the corner of his mouth.
The team fight had been so intense that he had to use food to relieve his stress, to the point that he was now a bit stuffed.
Fortunately, the popcorn chicken was pretty good.