A Gathering of World-Ending Experts

"Since you're already here, how dare you talk to me like that?"

"Then let me test your mettle as the new destroyer of the World Annihilation."

Suddenly, the patterns on Curtis's grey crystal robe glowed with a dark light, and three rhomboid cores spun rapidly in his palm.

His gaze swept across the void surrounding the battlefield, the lurking aura of World-Ending Level pricking his senses like needles.

At this moment, he did not take any action despite what he said.

Clearly, everyone shared Curtis's sentiment: they all wanted to see just how powerful this new World Annihilation Lister really was.

As soon as the words were spoken, the space between the two suddenly collapsed into a black hole.

Curtis's three rhomboid cores transformed into streams of light and disappeared into it, instantly forming a triple crystallized cage around Lister.

Illusory beasts appeared on the surface of each cage, their piercing roars directly assaulting his soul.

"Damage suffered: You have entered the Otherworldly Cage (SSS). Resolute Heart, Robust Soul, Merrick Saber Technique... are in effect, granting immunity to 49.65% of true damage. Damage taken: -28871 points, -30921 points,..."

Is this the power to manipulate beings from different dimensions?

Lister observed the cage; in any case, given his health points, this level of attack wouldn't have any effect.

Instead, they were more curious about the methods of the true powerhouses in the Void Corridor.

At first glance, it seems somewhat similar to Vidal's methods.

However, the Vidal are a specific race that summons beings from a fixed region within the Abyss Plane.

But this Curtis is much more ruthless.

This extradimensional crystallized cage is not a simple spatial confinement, but rather a forced projection of the three dimensions onto three interconnected layers.

The surging Phantoms of strange beasts within each layer of the cage are actually the remnants of the souls of some powerful beings from those planes.

They don't just tear at flesh and blood; they truly ravage the soul.

Lister observed for a while, then slowly stepped forward.

"Boom!"

With a loud crash, Lister's right knee slammed into the crystal wall of the cage like a battle axe.

The pure power exploded into a crimson ripple at the point of contact, and the ultimate killing intent also converged and exploded again.

The Phantom beasts that had been roaring on the walls of the cage fell silent, as if struck by Lister's kick, which was filled with Killing Intent Wave.

The next instant, the cage suddenly cracked open with spiderweb-like patterns.

Lister's fingertips pressed against the crystal wall, and Killing Intent Wave surged wildly along the cracks.

The Phantom of the strange beasts that rushed towards them collided with the crimson light and melted away like snow meeting the blazing sun.

Just as Lister predicted, since the so-called Phantom beasts were soul attacks from the depths of the mind, their advantage naturally lay in the strength of their souls.

What can harm them most, and what they fear most, is naturally the high-intensity soul attack itself.

This brings us to Lister's comfort zone.

His soul strength, already Robust Soul, far surpasses that of others.

Of all the powerful beings I've encountered in the entire universe so far, there's no one who can rival him on the level of the soul.

At the same time, his soul had already transformed into Saber Soul, imbued with killing intent and crimson power.

Although it was just a test with a Knee Strike, his Knee Strike still caused high-intensity real damage.

This led to the current situation; with just one kick, the first level of the cage was shattered.

At this moment, Curtis's expression turned serious again, his eyes fixed on Lister.

This is a skill that he has repeatedly used successfully in battles, even against other World Annihilation powerhouses.

Even someone as powerful as World Annihilation would be tormented and affected by his soul-deep attacks, thus falling into his offensive rhythm.

Who would have thought that Lister would... would actually kick open the innermost cage with a single kick...?

How is that possible?!

Not only Curtis, but also many World-Ending Level powerhouses watching from a great distance turned serious.

Many of them had also experienced Curtis's Otherworldly Prison, a prison designed to target soul attacks, which couldn't be broken through by ordinary means in a short time.

Of course, it's impossible to do it as easily as Lister did!

Even now, his perception of Lister's strength has already silently improved by more than one level.

In contrast, Lister, having gained an understanding of the prison, no longer had the desire to stay inside and observe.

Such a mere soul attack was child's play in his eyes.

With a light tap of his fingertips on the hilt of the Shadowless Blade, the blade was imbued with an extreme killing intent.

The crystallized killing intent reflected a scarlet shadow within the cage, and the ear-piercing tremor from the blades, caused the Phantom on the second-level prison walls to collectively lean back.

"Break."

With a whisper, a crimson blade of light tore through the void.

The blade's light was as cold and clear as a crescent moon, yet it carried Killing Intent Wave, tracing a perfect arc within the cage.

"Click--"

The second layer of crystallized cage shattered instantly. Before those menacing beast Phantoms could even touch the blade, they were shredded into countless fragments of light by the crimson killing intent.

The force of the blade had not diminished; when the aftershock struck the outermost cage, the entire space suddenly rippled like water.

Before the blade even touched the outermost third layer of the prison, Lister's Killing Intent Wave had already permeated the entire prison's crystal walls.

The Phantom were suddenly horrified to discover that their claws were being locked onto by this scarlet killing intent.

It immediately struggled to retreat back to the crystal wall, but along with the entire prison structure, it was stained a translucent blood color from the inside.

As the blade flashed, the entire prison space resembled a shattered mirror, with countless crystal fragments vaporizing into starlight-like mist within the crimson blade light.

Curtis's pupils contracted sharply; he was now far more shocked than he had anticipated.

As the controller of the prison, he was even more aware of the details of its destruction.

In particular, his third prison was not violently shattered by the blade's edge, but rather solidified by that extreme killing intent, and was only broken by a light touch in the end.

Those remnant souls of alien beasts, powerful enough to erode planes, were now completely dissolved into the crimson blade light like an avalanche.

At the same time, a huge backlash engulfed it.

Two diamond-shaped cores suddenly exploded in the palm of his hand.

The Lord of Xumi took a half step back, and for the first time, a crack appeared on his gray crystal robe.

He gazed at the drifting dimensional dust, his withered fingers trembling slightly.

That seemingly casual strike actually severed his energy ties with the two subsequent planes simultaneously.

An eerie silence fell over the battlefield.

Players watched intently as Lister slowly sheathed his sword in the sky. Lister crisp and stylish movements, with each kick and strike, once again captivated them.

Especially that seemingly ordinary final strike, the sheer impact of Merrick Saber Technique left all martial arts and swordsmanship enthusiasts still captivated.

On the contrary, in the far distance, a slightly manic aura was fluctuating, sending out meaningful mental messages to the surroundings.

"The Void Corridor's watchdog... looks like it's bitten off more than it can chew this time!"

Lister gazed quietly at Curtis, his eyes calm yet tinged with a hint of doubt.

Even if they don't say anything, the meaning they convey is crystal clear.

That's it?

"Haha! As expected of Count Merrick... that was a great performance!"

"Won't this infuriate the other side?"

"A duel between two SS-level powerhouses, these moves are so cool!"

"This is trash magic, it can't compare to our martial arts system at all!"

The silence at the game's public chat did not dampen the excitement.

At this moment, various chat voices were constantly being heard in the public chat, especially Lister's micro-expression, which was hailed by players as a classic taunt.

As the leader of his own side, he is the game's favorite child.

This display of formidable strength also excited them.

"Now that you've tried, it's my turn to test your mettle."

After Lister finished speaking, all his strength gathered once more.

The intensity of his killing intent surged once more, suddenly solidifying into a tangible form.

Crimson crystals of murderous intent continuously condensed and then shattered on their own in the surrounding area.

The entire star field creaked and cracked under this extreme pressure.

The cracks on Curtis's gray crystal robe suddenly spread at an accelerated pace, as if countless invisible blades were cutting through his very being.

And it itself could no longer hold back, and new rhomboid crystals re-condensed.

Feeling the powerful sense of threat of being locked onto by the opponent, he naturally dared not take the blow head-on.

Lister swung his blade with a clean and decisive motion.

The originally silver-black blade light has long been covered by a scarlet color of killing intent.

Without the energy barrier from the prison he had just been in, and with Lister's attack now even more powerful, this strike was delivered with even greater force.

It also brought a renewed sense of awareness to everyone on the battlefield.

That unparalleled sharpness, oppressiveness, and murderous intent made the players tremble and feel terrified.

Even several World-Ending Level powerhouses watching from the periphery of the battlefield retreated a certain distance at the same time.

Fine spatial cracks appeared along the trajectory of the blade's strike, creating a fragmented trail of light.

Curtis's withered fingers snapped shut, and the three brand-new rhomboid cores exploded with a deafening roar.

"Planar Projection - A Thousand Mirrors!"

Countless rhomboid crystal fragments burst forth from the void, instantly forming layers upon layers of mirrored world.

Each mirror reflects a different dimension of Curtis's Phantom; this is the ultimate offensive and defensive method he possesses.

The outermost mirror even revealed the Phantom of an ancient tree—a powerful plane he had once devoured.

"Whoosh!"

When the crimson blade touched the first mirror surface, all the spectators witnessed a sight they would never forget.

Those supposedly indelible Planar Projections melted away one after another like fragile thin ice.

Each time the blade pierced through a mirror, it absorbed all the remaining killing intent of that dimension, its power increasing even further.

When the last layer of the emerald mirror shattered, Curtis finally showed a look of horror.

Suddenly, Phantom of the floating city of the Void Corridor Main Star appeared on his chest, like one of his trump cards.

However, the blade's edge pierced through the Phantom with unstoppable force.

The next instant, the Lord of Xumi heard the sound of his soul being severed.

"Puff!"

Curtis no longer spewed out energy blood, but rather a golden mist mixed with dimensional dust.

His staggering backwards left a crack in the starry sky, and with each breath, diamond-shaped fragments burst from his wounds.

It was a strike that penetrated deep into the soul; for Curtis, even a single cut would have caused unbearable pain.

Attack: Deals a total of -4,289,384 points of true damage.

The saying "severing the soul with a knife" is no joke.

Even a World-Ending Level powerhouse would find it difficult to defend against Lister's blade.

Fortunately, even with this strike, Lister did not use his full strength.

There's no other reason than this!

At this moment, several people from not far away had arrived together.

Suddenly, verdant dimensional rifts bloomed at the edge of the battlefield, and countless vines intertwined to form a throne.

A woman wearing a crystal crown rose and stepped out slowly, her amber eyes reflecting the Phantom of the Emerald Royal Court.

He walked up to Curtis and scrutinized Lister with a sharp gaze.

"What a lively day!"

Haha! I didn't expect everyone to be here!

A hearty, manic laugh came from the other side, and suddenly that area collapsed into a black hole, revealing a figure entangled in chains amidst the blazing white flames.

He was wearing a dark red robe with extremely strange patterns on it.

Then, the remaining ones arrived one by one.

Grand Duke of the Blood Oath Arkas of the Crimson Covenant faction.

Clad in bright red armor, with a resolute expression and a giant sword strapped to his back, he did not align himself with either the Emerald Royal Court or the Church of the End.

Countless mechanical debris around him suddenly floated and reassembled, piecing together a gigantic mechanical life form in the center of the battlefield.

According to the system's investigation, this is the Ruler II.

One of the controllers of the Star Machine Civilization, and the only mechanical force among the seven major powers in the universe.

The path he took was different from that of Kavin and Boren Leviathan.

It is a mechanical ascension and transformation centered on itself, where power is gathered from within.

This is also currently the most orthodox direction for the development of mechanical systems in the universe.

However, this power was eventually overthrown by Kavin, and the true direction of mechanical development ultimately became Mechanical Civilization.

The woman with the crystal crown on the emerald throne lightly touched the void with her fingertips, and countless emerald vines instantly intertwined to form a barrier, protecting Curtis's broken body within.

Her amber eyes swept over Lister's blade, her voice like the whisper of an ancient tree.

"Xumi, your Void Corridor has really been in a mess this time."

Curtis clutched the wound on his chest from which golden mist was constantly emanating, and the cracks in his gray crystal robe were slowly repairing themselves under the nourishment of the jade energy.

He looked at the several World-Ending Level beings who had suddenly appeared, his expression shifting between anger and uncertainty.

The crazed figures of the Order of the End suddenly tore through space, appearing in one step beside Lister, their chained arms pointing directly at him.

According to the system's investigation, this person, Kaos Chaos, is a Burner and also belongs to the magic-based class.

"Interesting! It was worth coming today!"

"Every strike only severs the soul; among the newly minted World Annihilation, there's probably no one else quite at your level!"

Blazing white flames surged around him, subtly resonating with Lister's crimson killing intent.

The star field surrounding the battlefield began to Twist under the collision of these two forces, with countless tiny spatial rifts appearing and disappearing intermittently.

That's enough.

Grand Duke Arkas of Grand Duke of the Blood Oath suddenly stepped forward, the greatsword on his back trembling slightly.

Ancient runes appeared on the dark red armor, forcibly suppressing the restless energy field.

"Let's end the battle here!"

"You don't want to actually start a war at this time, do you?"

The Ruler II, standing to the side, had countless data streams flashing before him, and immediately spoke in a cold voice.

According to Article 37 of the Pan-Universal Civilization Convention, newly World-Ending Level civilizations should...

"Shut up, you lump of iron!"

Kaos suddenly interrupted.

"We've never recognized your Star Machine Civilization's system!"

"The only universal law—power!"

Listening to their conversation, Lister's Shadowless Blade remained pointed diagonally at the ground, yet its Killing Intent Wave subtly enveloped the entire area.

He noticed that although these suddenly appearing powerful figures were exchanging words, their positions formed a subtle three-way standoff.

The Emerald Royal Court and the Void Corridor were vaguely close together, with the Order of the End standing beside him, while the Crimson Covenant and the Star Machine Civilization remained neutral.