I Plan to Give Them a Child

The Holy Light Great Wall's duration was shrinking by the second. Chen Chong's sweat-soaked, grim face slowly twisted into a snarl as he shouted with bitter reluctance:

"Two minutes left. Priest, get ready to restore my mental energy. If we can't think of a way out before the Holy Light Great Wall breaks, we'll have to break out from the outside! Assassin, prepare to rejoin the formation. I'll smash a path straight ahead and lead the charge—you clear the trash at my back! Mage, get ready to cast Acceleration!!"

Cao Sansui clenched his hands, about to speak, when Cheng Shi suddenly stood up and asked Nangong with chilling calm:

"Have you learned 'Overload Heal'? I need the Time Walker to cast Area Acceleration again—an extra-large range one."

Everyone turned to look at Cheng Shi, thinking he might have found a way to break the deadlock. Voices rang out:

"You have a plan?"

"You—"

Cao Sansui's spirits lifted sharply. "No need for Overload Heal. Just fill my mental energy to full, and I have 'Overload Casting'!"

Overload meant overdraft. This casting method could drain all potential from a future period to enhance and upgrade the current spell.

Cheng Shi shot Cao Sansui an appreciative glance, thinking to himself that 1900 was still easy to work with, but he shook his head. "Might not be enough. I need a very large range. Nangong, can you do it?"

Nangong gritted her teeth and glanced at the Dread Demon army beyond the light barrier, then nodded. If she didn't give her all now, death would come immediately—no trump cards could be held back.

"Now?"

"Now!" Cheng Shi said without hesitation.

Overload Heal could preemptively drain future healing power, effectively raising the target's mental energy ceiling—a huge boon in desperate situations.

Nangong nodded firmly, stood up, and in front of everyone, slowly peeled off the black shirt she had buttoned up tightly, revealing the body she had always kept hidden beneath her clothes.

The moment the shirt fell away, countless twisted, glaring wounds like centipedes came into everyone's view. Dense and packed, from her neck to her chest to her arms, the visibly fair skin was covered in an uncountable number of scars!

Xia Wan's brow tightened. Cao Sansui's pupils contracted.

Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow in surprise, recognizing her identity.

She was actually a follower of [Decay].

"A Blood-Swapping Priest??" Chen Chong blurted out in shock.

[Decay] was the second god of the [Sinking] path—the climax of Sinking, the final tomb of the universe. Its [Edict of Passage] was to accelerate decay, so its followers often self-harmed to fulfill the Edict.

The divine power of [Decay] lay precisely here: the faster a follower of [Decay] decayed themselves, the more divine power feedback they received. That was why people called [Decay]'s priests Blood-Swapping Priests—they could trade their own lives for their teammates' lives. The more they self-harmed and the heavier their injuries, the faster their teammates recovered.

Of course, severe injuries could also lead to death. Such was the will of [Decay]. How to balance between suicide and saving others was an endless topic of discussion among every Blood-Swapping Priest.

Nangong wasted no time. Frowning tightly and clenching her teeth, she pulled a dagger with serrated edges from her waist and, without hesitation, slashed a gash across her own stomach.

Next, between her ribs.

Then, along her hideously scarred collarbone, she cut a third terrifying line of blood.

Three offerings completed. She whispered a prayer: "All beings shall decay; all things shall rot."

A dense light, carrying the scent of decay, rose from her wounds, bursting outward and converging in an instant into a stream that poured into Cao Sansui's body.

Cao Sansui felt his body suddenly surge with power, his mental energy fully restored, his state so good he wanted to let out a wild roar. Feeling the immense strength within him, his confidence returned somewhat—but only somewhat. He looked solemnly at Cheng Shi and asked, word by word: "I can 'Overload' to accelerate the area around us, but after that, I'll most likely become a cripple for twelve hours. Cheng Shi, can we hold out for twelve hours?"

Cheng Shi smiled faintly. "I don't want to die, and I won't die."

Chen Chong, irritated by their rambling, turned his head and barked loudly: "Save the posturing for later! Get the damn job done first! Priest, if you've got a way, spit it out!"

Cheng Shi nodded, stopped playing coy, and instructed everyone: "The timing is critical. I need you to listen carefully. After the Holy Light Great Wall ends, I need one second to cast a spell. Xia Wan, can you buy that time?"

Xia Wan's hand, holding an arrow behind her back, tightened. She looked up at the sky full of Dread Demons blocked outside the Holy Light Great Wall and nodded with grave determination. "I can swallow the [Genesis Grass Seed] and gain its attention. That way, when the power of proliferation surges, I can fire five arrows at once—but at most, it'll delay them by one second."

This was the most Xia Wan had ever spoken, and also the most solemn.

Cheng Shi had long anticipated she would have no other choice, and nodded in acknowledgment.

Chen Chong, his face full of anxiety, shouted again:

"You're a priest, what spell are you casting?"

"Don't rush," Cheng Shi said with a smile, raising his voice, "Song Yawen, I know you can probably hear me. Listen, the moment the shield breaks, I need you to return to my side and prepare Death Funeral!"

"Death Funeral?!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and Nangong, whose breath was already weak, widened her eyes.

"Not opposing... good..."

"He's a Death Weaver?"

"You knew he was a follower of [Death]?"

Cheng Shi ignored their confusion and continued:

"I know you have many questions, but don't worry about it. You don't need to concern yourself with the matters of the Death Domain. Just reap as much as you can when the time comes.

Song Yawen, this move of yours determines whether we live or die. I'm not joking."

Chen Chong grew anxious again: "What if he..."

"He won't. Followers of [Death] don't die easily, because their patron also needs someone to carry out His grace."

Cheng Shi laughed heartily to lighten the mood, but it didn't help.

Seeing that no one had a sense of humor, he clicked his tongue and continued:

"Cao Sansui, the most critical step. The moment I cast my spell, you need to release Area Acceleration, targeting the largest possible area of the ruins outside the shield-protected zone."

Cao Sansui's face changed color, and he said in shock:

"What? The entire ruins?"

Cheng Shi nodded firmly: "The entire ruins!"

"You... 1500 points?"

Cheng Shi was taken aback, then smiled wryly, and nodded again: "1501."

Cao Sansui clearly didn't believe it. Could a person with 1500 points have this kind of momentum and attitude at a life-or-death moment?

He had seen 2000-point big shots wet themselves at death's door before.

"I have to remind you, the potential of time will balance speed. If the range is this large, then where we are will become extremely stagnant, to the point where we can't even move!

Are you sure?

This is suicide, Cheng Shi!"

Although Cao Sansui felt Cheng Shi was hiding his score, he was also genuinely uneasy. If it were up to him, he really wouldn't dare to do this.

He knew that the reason Time Walkers could rank as T0 was because they could slow down enemies and speed themselves up, creating a temporal advantage to react to any situation.

But if it were reversed...

Wouldn't they be lambs to the slaughter?

"I'm sure. You wouldn't want to accelerate yourself!"

"Fine! The question is, what are you planning to do?"

Cao Sansui's face was grim, his tone full of doubt.

"As part of the plan, we need to know how you intend to lead us to survive."

Cheng Shi was amused:

"Me?

I plan to give them a child."