I Don't Want You to Die, Lioz

Li Aoz admitted that his ability to freeze time is limited.

After all, time doesn't really exist in the world. Strictly speaking, he simply used gravity to compress the spacetime he inhabited to a standstill.

This is different from time stop in a broad sense. The time he experienced continued, and he would still be injured or die because of it. The level of development of the Crescent Moon's Aoneng was too high and its attributes were too strong. Even with the same rank and the suppression of Aoneng, Li Aoz was still inferior to his opponent.

Unlike in the novel and the movie, Canyue talks a lot, but she values finishing blows. After her initial contempt, she unleashed her full strength and launched an over-saturation attack on Li Aoz.

The entire city of Trivella disintegrated under the dimensional attack, spacetime was disordered, the commercial streets fell into two dimensions, the subway was like a falling dragon crashing towards the administrative center, and a large number of residential and industrial areas collided and overlapped in a chaotic manner.

People's bodies were cut and pieced together. When they came to their senses, they found that their body parts had appeared on the other side of the wall, and they could clearly see their internal organs quietly wriggling on the car windshield.

The entire destruction process was silent and stealthy.

The most terrifying aspect of the Crescent Aoneng is not its destructive power, but the fact that its dimensional attacks lack any warning signs and are impossible to anticipate. They can only be withstood by sheer brute force. For civilians in Interstellar Civilization civilizations, this kind of attack is more terrifying than any weapon, since nuclear bombs and Star Shattering Cannon have warning signs and offer an opportunity to escape.

Under the Dimensional Strike of the Crescent Moon, no facility can escape its reach. The hidden panic brought about by the knowledge of the Crescent Moon is even more terrifying than the actual damage caused by the Crescent Moon.

Whether you are a bureaucrat, a noble, a tycoon, an academic, or an ordinary citizen, under the merciless cutting of the Dimensional Slash, you don't even have the chance to scream and be heard.

The only limitation of Crescent Moon is its limited range of Aoneng attacks, which must be cast using both hands regardless of the circumstances.

After 19 seconds of perceived time, Trivella, legally and geographically, was declared utterly destroyed.

If it were any other Zeta-rank being, they would have died thousands of times over under such brutal and relentless bombardment.

"Hey! Lioz?! Aren't you just asking for trouble?"

Jannia kept shouting:

"The sky is about to freeze. Quickly tear open a crack and escape! You still have a chance to survive. Run!"

Under such Infinite Dimensional Slash, Li Aoz was completely powerless to resist, but fortunately, he was already Zeta-rank, and with the effect of time-space freeze, his health had not been deducted.

He couldn't find the waning moon, nor could he possibly find it; even the Eye of Truth couldn't find it.

Because the waning moon doesn't even exist in this dimension.

This suffocating gap in strength illustrates, in every sense, the terrifying nature of Dimensional Strike.

Even so, despite being Dimensional Slash, Li Aoz still held onto his unwavering belief.

Even in his pupils, shattered into countless fragments, a crimson nebula still shone.

He's still recovering mana, the curse continues.

The gravitational echo couldn't catch that guy for the time being. Rather than wasting mana to prematurely stop the time freeze, it was better to just fight him directly.

"Lioz, let's stop fighting. We'll definitely be stronger than him in the future. Let's run!"

Jannia was almost in tears, her voice filled with anxiety. "You're really going to die like this! You haven't even hurt them yet, and they've already cut you to pieces! Once time resumes its flow, you'll die! You'll die even worse than the real Lioz!"

[Jannia.]

Li Aoz didn't say much, "I'm not like that good-for-nothing Lioz. He died once and was done for, but physiologically speaking, I've died three times."

"But—this time, you really will die."

No matter how many times I die, I will crawl back from hell.

"... You lied to me."

"I'm not lying to you. With my [bloodline] abilities, my vitality is incredibly strong. Coupled with the planet's favor, I can periodically regenerate my life force. This attack will at most put me on the verge of death. Unless he shows himself to check on me personally, I won't meet my end."

Besides, even if I die, the worst that can happen is that I'll just get a new suit of armor.

Jannia did not believe him.

"I sensed it with my divine power before, Lioz."

Jannia's tone was tinged with sadness, like a little girl trying to hold back her tears. "You will die. I asked the beings who told me, and the divine feedback was the same—you will die, [society] will devour the planet, and I will lose everything."

[Jannia...]

"My civilization is gone, my master is gone, my master's successor doesn't want me anymore, and this planet is about to disappear too. I've waited for a long, long, long time—and finally, a new Sword Holder has arrived. He's handsome and fun, and he draws his sword directly against overwhelmingly powerful opponents. Even against Narrative-level Civilization, he dares to unleash his sword—I love him so much."

Jannia could no longer hold back and pleaded:

"Please, Lioz, I don't want to lose my partner again. Pull me out, and I'll use all my strength to get you out of here. You're rich, aren't you? You still have those immortal little minions, and you still have me. We can make a comeback."

[Jannia.]

Li Aoz reassured him:

I have a mechanic friend who once told me something that no one could refuse.

Jannia remained silent and listened attentively.

Li Aoz told her:

[Believe me.]

"... I don't want to lose any more."

After saying that, Jannia didn't reply.

Li Aoz had many conversations, but the connection between their hearts lasted only a moment.

He turned his head and continued to focus on his actions.

I can't escape.

On this planet, there is the Trustworthy Village that he and the players built together, his good brothers Lucite and Hobbes, many friendly classmates, the Help-Study Association he personally helped establish, the refugees he settled down, and the Nikita family who were invited here by him.

Of course, there's also the diligent Yawen·Hesksin.

These people can be seen as a burden or as an asset to him. Each of them has helped him in the past, in the present, and now, and he will bear the responsibility for their future.

"It's not a matter of whether I should or shouldn't have done it, but rather that I was able to, so I did it."

Li Aoz's tactics were not complicated; he simply used himself as bait.

"For me, there is no turning back, only moving forward."

[Calamity] What kind of disaster will occur? Li Aoz is not actually familiar with this Aoneng, nor is he at ease with it, but he is still willing to take the initiative.

As a fellow [Dominator] type, Canyue understands the characteristics of the cloned body. He will definitely show up then and use his hands, which release Aoneng, to completely seal himself in the two-dimensional world.

Therefore, he will definitely show up.

Remnant Moon knew this too. If he didn't show himself and quietly waited for Li Aoz to die naturally, it would give Li Aoz the opportunity to transfer to the clone body. Faced with Li Aoz, who had already broken off relations, would Remnant Moon really allow him to live? Not necessarily.

Crescent Moon had no need to eliminate Li Aoz; he had already obtained the fragments of the Eye of Discernment. From his perspective, whether Li Aoz knew this or not was a matter of debate—perhaps he did, perhaps he didn't.

Li Aoz decided to take a gamble.

Crescent Moon's Worldview is Social Darwinism. People with this view are prone to extremism. They admire the survival of the fittest among others and lack a sense of security themselves. They are quick to kill to silence witnesses. In their view, only the dead can absolutely keep secrets. Ideally, only one of them should remain in the world. They don't even trust backups of their own consciousness, worrying that their descendants will be more outstanding than themselves. They are the kind of fanatical people who would rather grind themselves to dust.

When faced with an indecisive Nine Clans, the best course of action is to exterminate the entire family, including the executioners and those who carried out the execution.

Li Aoz decided to gamble—gamble that Canyue would be determined to kill and deliver the finishing blow.

Please, please don't hold back, Crescent Moon! Please, Crescent Moon, you absolutely must finish me off!