Chapter 409
Without any fancy Transcendental Grade skills or the ability to pull out Chaos Item, both sides were like ordinary people again, with only a pure clash of power against power. But after all, they were not ordinary people.
What may seem like a simple exchange of straight punches can contain enough energy to obliterate a small city; the sheer speed of movement renders the unit of measurement, 'millisecond,' meaningless.
Intertwining, colliding, moving, and colliding again, dozens of pale rings of energy bloomed simultaneously in the air, causing the Furnace to tremble incessantly and making the Mena Ryougi on the ground gape open.
The excellent-level 'Transcendent Vision' is completely useless; it's faster than teleportation, and the energy spilled from each collision covers a hundred meters. Players below the monster level are instantly annihilated upon stepping into it.
They were completely focused on each other, each strike potentially fatal, yet the qualitative change brought powerful endurance. Swords and spears could pierce the waist because they could be repaired in seconds, and even a king could tolerate Bloodblade piercing his chest because the storm would fill the wound.
Trading injury for injury, the Nameless King's attacks became even more ferocious. He clearly knew that to deal with a qualitative change in endurance, one had to exceed the replenishment limit, like a snowball rolling downhill, widening the gap in strength.
"A true epic player is powerful in every way; speed, strength, endurance, energy, and even rules and causality all form a cohesive system."
Mona remembered her mother's words and then realized that Yuki was slightly at a disadvantage. The qualitative changes also had their own advantages and disadvantages. The Nameless King was obviously a pure warrior, while the latter was more versatile and emphasized endurance.
Once warriors discover the characteristics of Void Conversion, they will naturally have an advantage at the same level.
"No wonder you didn't run away, no wonder you let a weak and helpless little girl like me participate in this battle of gods."
Mona snorted. This maze made of the Corpse Mountain, Blood Sea was already in ruins. The king couldn't spare any energy to deal with her, and because of the 'Void Conversion', he didn't dare to divert his energy to attack her simultaneously.
"I'm gaining the upper hand more and more. That idiot actually believed me!"
She placed her hand on her brow, observing like an outsider. A person with high emotional intelligence would call it an epic battle, while someone with low emotional intelligence would say it's just a battle of attrition.
Yuki used his soul energy to consume the storm's rules, but the king saw through the qualitative change and did not leak a single bit of energy. Instead, he used even more ferocious attacks to gain the upper hand. Just like the Witch God, without enough energy, even an epic would fall to the level of a mortal.
"So, we need external support; that old schemer has been plotting against you all along."
Mona smiled. She knew that Yuki had never been a warrior. She spread her arms, and countless phantom arms stretched out from her fingertips, heading towards various parts of the dilapidated maze.
The spreading lightning arc can only supply energy to the formation, and by sight alone, there are only a dozen or so items on the ground, because several times more items are hidden in the remaining maze.
They were either futuristic cannons, jewel-encrusted staffs, or simply cylinders; their phantom arms touched every Chaos Item.
Transcendental Grade skills. Mechanical Thousand Hands.
Mona linked each item, looked up at the sky, and the two players, intertwined, were indistinguishable, let alone aiming. Fortunately, she didn't need to aim, as she was holding the suitcase.
"Shoot you, you said it."
Thousand Hands. Activate.
The simultaneous activation of dozens of level four or five Chaos Item caused side effects sufficient to burst the pressure bar, and the resulting energy matrix immediately triggered a reaction from the Nameless King.
As expected of a player who relies on item-based strategies.
He shifted his gaze slightly and saw various colored energy beams, magic balls, and rays flying into the air, creating a dazzling and beautiful spectacle.
Just as he was about to retreat, he found that his body was out of control for a moment. In that brief moment, Yuki did not take the opportunity to draw his gun, but instead activated his Bloodline skill.
Soul Corruption. Puppet Strings.
Purple threads extended from the blood-red gloves, linking him to the Nameless King. This was completely different from the Hunter's Snare; its strength was not related to the item's level, but rather to how much soul energy Yuki was willing to invest.
Perish together?
The king was stunned, and in that instant he couldn't regain control of his body before the colorful light exploded in the air.
Boom boom boom boom.
The Night Furnace was shaking violently, but the most formidable aspect of this Alienated Grade artifact was its load-bearing capacity. Even the fierce battle with the Witch God couldn't destroy the Furnace, let alone the salvo of dozens of Chaos Item.
Death Ray, Forbidden Spells, Fission Photon Cannon, Transcendental Black Gunpowder, Wood Spirit Immortal-Slaying Sword...
Originating from different instances, covering science fiction, fantasy, and cultivation themes, they bloomed one after another in the air, forming a terrifying tide.
Mona covered her face, and the aftershock struck down from above, breaking through the layers of defensive gear on her body. Her eyes widened through her fingers, and her lips twitched involuntarily.
Within the tide, the golden and purple light remained, only slightly dimmer than before. To take down an epic-level player, even with all firepower, one had to hit every target.
That's it?
The Nameless King looked at the particles swirling around him; he had already obtained the result the moment Mona made her move.
To take down a powerful opponent, you must concentrate your firepower. This wide-area coverage seems impressive, but it's actually not very effective. However, the carrying capacity of this spatial artifact is unexpectedly strong, and it hasn't collapsed on its own yet.
Wrong.
The king glanced again at the dense energy particles, and was suddenly startled. Epic-level players were a hundred times smarter than ordinary people; these scattered particles couldn't be—
A qualitative change in the soul. Void Conversion.
A terrifying ripple spread out in the distance, as if a giant serpent was frantically devouring the scattered energy.
Electricity? Magic? Reishi?
Everything was converted into soul energy, which frantically replenished the already exhausted body. The black armor became thicker, and the Red Lotus Fire became even Incandescence. Yuki raised his fist and looked at the no longer calm king.
"I heard you're going to wage a war of attrition against me?"
The script had been set up long ago. On the way here, they even rehearsed it more than Mona. The real war of attrition was to create conditions that would allow the weak, who had no right to influence the outcome, to become the key players in the battle.
The two epic-level players were completely focused on their battle. Even though the Nameless King was aware of the threat posed by Mona, he couldn't deal with it because he had tried and knew that doing so would only make him easy prey for Yuki.
If you're overexerted, should your teammates replenish your strength?
The thought lasted for a mere 0.1 seconds before the king made a swift decision and charged directly into the boundless darkness.
Retreat. Fighting in someone else's trap is too foolish. This Night Furnace has extremely high capacity, but like the Witch God, all we need to do is rush out.
"But I'm no longer strong enough to deal with the Witch God."
Yuki had anticipated the Nameless King's decision; the Hunter's Trapping Net, concentrated to the maximum extent, was annihilated before it even touched the body, but that instant was enough for him to aim.
Hunting Mode. Annihilation Pellet.
Bang!!
The floating energy particles were instantly cleared, turning into projectiles that burst out of the barrel. In Hunting Mode, this item has unlimited carrying capacity, and this shot was even more incredible than Yuki's previous attack.
Boom--
A ball of light exploded in the sky, halting the surging storm. The Nameless King was forced to stop, using his sword and spear to slice the projectile, watching as the stray bullets pierced the barrier, leaving several bloody holes.
Golden blood flowed from the large hole. The king remained expressionless, yet he knew that his 'rules' were no longer sufficient, the qualitative change could not be sustained, and he could not break through.
Since we're players of the same level, I can't escape.
As He had expected, the black-armored king appeared in the arc of electricity, and a heavy downward kick slammed into His own shoulder.
"Go back!"
Thump--
The ground was smashed into a huge crater. In the center of the crater, the king knelt on one knee, staring blankly at the hole in the Storm God Body.
The lack of rules caused a chain reaction. The opponent didn't even need to convert those energy particles; they could just tear flesh off their own body and swallow it whole. This conversion wasn't too extreme. Even if only half of the rules remained, Yuki wouldn't be able to take anything away.
But when the shrill sound of the air reached his ears, the king understood what the core of this battle was.
Is it a zero-sum game? Once you break through the critical point, you're completely in control?
The king straightened his back, the sword and spear in his hand groaning as they transformed into a dazzling golden sun.
Storm Dragon Spear.
Thrown out, the sun transformed into the Roar thunder dragon to meet the onrushing Yuki, while the king himself seized the opportunity to transform into lightning, flying close to the ground towards the edge of night.
"I knew you wanted to run away. The stronger a player is, the more afraid they are of dying."
Yuki decisively raised his musket and pulled the trigger; in Hunting Mode, there were two bullets.
Bang!!
The dragon howled in agony as it was blasted apart in mid-air, while Yuki bypassed it and looked at the Nameless King had vanished to the edge of the night in the blink of an eye.
"You seem to have forgotten whose territory this is."
Night Furnace. Freezing Jewel.
The recently acquired level 5 item came into play, instantly freezing the energy particles in the air and forming an ice coffin with the help of the 'Duplication Cube'.
The ice coffins weren't that strong; even the Nameless King at his peak wouldn't have given them a chance to freeze, but as he said...
In this battle, one side gained and the other lost.
A giant, multicolored ice sculpture, hundreds of meters in diameter, appeared on the edge of the night. Even if it was shaken open and cracked countless times in a fraction of a second, it would still be enough for Yuki to get close.
Puppet Strings.
The purple threads touched the king's back; this was a binding force at the soul level. When the qualitative change could not be maintained, this binding force became even stronger.
He stopped, turned his head, and the proud king couldn't utter a word, because Yuki was already close enough to reach out and grasp his white-bearded head.
Just tear it off cleanly and decisively!
Chapter Eighteen: Taking the Final Step
[Player Yuki, you have defeated the epic-level player Nameless King, participation rate 90%]
[Reward: 6 Specialization Points, 10 Enhancement Points.]
The whispered words were the best signal to kill. If he hadn't heard them, Yuki would have annihilated the Nameless King's body into particles, leaving not even a trace of electricity behind.
The outcome is decided.
Yuki glanced at the enormous head in his hand, then casually tossed it away. His mind wasn't filled with elation at the victory; instead, it remained clear.
Monster IV players are rewarded with 2 specialization points and 3 enhancement points, meaning an Epic player is equivalent to the combined total of 3 Monster IV players. Well, in terms of combat power, they're about the same.
Reaching Epic rank does not make you invincible. You must never be arrogant or complacent. Like those jungling players who are disorganized and scattered, they still managed to injure the Nameless King.
"Is this the Limit of the Night Furnace? We need to find a way to increase its strength."
His mind was too clear, and the joy of victory made Yuki summarize quickly.
He saw that his domain had almost turned into a desert, and the mountains of the Corpse Mountain, Blood Sea had been evaporated. This was not a problem, because the Furnace would reset the next time it was deployed.
The key is the cracks in the darkness, those marks like broken windows.
"Two epic-level beings clash at full power for 15 minutes. The Night Furnace is at risk of shattering. Hmm, we also have to factor in Mona's full-power output."
The Night Furnace wasn't Yuki's core strength, but it was his most useful tool. Without it, he couldn't defeat the Witch God, and without it, he couldn't perform many of his unconventional maneuvers.
Unlike the 'Wizard's Tower' which can be used to turn the tide of battle, Yuki now focuses more on the stealth of the Furnace. While it can deal limited damage to epic-level players, the home-field advantage is timeless, and more importantly—
The function of the separated space is such that the outside world will never know what happens inside the Furnace.
"You're really boring, you didn't even cheer after winning." Mona appeared cautiously, poked the king's corpse with her foot, and when she saw that he didn't react, she patted her chest.
She was clever; she did what she was supposed to do and never acted recklessly. If she had run out to block the Nameless King, she would most likely have been taken away with the trapped beast.
"Why cheer? He is in the light, I am in the dark. From the moment He entered the Furnace, He was doomed."
"Nonsense, He almost escaped."
"Have you ever heard of 'so close yet so far'?" Yuki bent down, picking up the material dropped by the Nameless King, which looked like a pale gem. "Besides, if He escapes, He's doomed too. Do you even remember where you are outside?"
Mona, who had been looking at the gems with a greedy expression, was stunned when he heard this, but quickly realized what was going on.
Outside is the core battlefield, where dozens of players are fiercely fighting. The energy there is no less than inside the Furnace. In other words, if the fight continues in a different location, the Nameless King will surely die as well.
While Mona was still in a daze, Yuki had already put on his glasses, examined the pale gemstone, and casually reached out to pull the still wailing sword and spear.
[Heart of the Storm, crafted by an epic player, using 24 specialization points and Chaos Item upgrade materials]
[Keywords, rule-based, centralized]
[Chaos Item. Storm Dragon Spear (Chaos Grade)]
[Mastering the rules of thunder and storms amplifies Transcendental Grade skills related to lightning and storms, and also possesses powerful offensive capabilities.]
[Energy Concentration: Focus energy on the blade, increasing destructive power]
[Storm Dragon Transformation: Attacks autonomously, and damages the weapon over time]
[Side effect: Once activated, this weapon will cause continuous damage to the user. Requires a lightning or storm-type Transcendental Grade skill, with at least one reaching the 'Legendary' level.]
[Description: The storm has a spirit; only a king can subdue it.]
Yuki finally smiled. Points and such were just extra rewards; the real gains were the soul materials and Chaos Item. And the Storm Dragon Spear showed the true benefits of a qualitative change.
With a clear core concept, all skills and items can be built around it.