Chapter 460

Even machines and stones can dream, but Ikaros, as an epic-level player, is desperately resisting. Pure white light shines on his face, and his red eyes suddenly lose their luster.

Grim Reaper.

The dream was merely a condition; the real killing blow came from Dio Brando, whose Stand, 'Death,' infiltrated the dream, wielding a scythe to crush resistance on a spiritual level.

The mental trauma caused Ikaros to lose control of his body, while above the void, Dio Brando extended his index finger and laughed maniacally.

"Hahaha, you didn't know that the mutation of 'the world' can concentrate the range of a single area!"

The world, time has frozen for me.

Thousands of meters away, the angel, along with the dust around him, froze in mid-air. Without hesitation, a phoenix-like firebird spewed out thin streams of fire.

"Magician, turn to ashes!"

The feeling of taking down the enemy at the last second was so exhilarating that Dio Brando was almost bursting with excitement, but soon, the smile on his face froze.

An intricate magic circle appeared in the center, blocking the line of fire. His eyes darted around, and he saw a small, golden-haired angel with a complex halo fly out of the door. Behind her, more and more angels poured out.

Huh?

Dio Brando blinked, even he was a little confused, and in an instant, he only understood one thing:

This door does indeed have a spatial feel, but it's not for sending people away, but rather for bringing people in?

Chapter Fifteen: I'm going to beat you to death!!

Heaven's Door.

The reason why the gate's style is different from cold steel is because this thing is a war tool of the Angels. It can link to a coordinate and instantly send the fully equipped angels there.

The Judge were in such a rush that they didn't have time to properly observe the differences, and were even somewhat confused when the Angels appeared.

No, this is a trap set by the Machine Race and the Angels. How did they manage to unite?

This is unexpected, yet it makes sense. Humanity's strength depends entirely on the players, so isn't it normal for the natives to unite against the players?

Surprisingly, the natives were so cunning that they secretly formed an alliance by using a target as bait. They originally thought that the various races would wait and see, and then they would come and take advantage of the situation after the humans and the Machine Race had decided to fight.

"Damn it, that bastard wasted too much time, giving those natives a chance to plan."

"Humanity has done its best. What more could we ask for than the opportunity to pursue our target? Who can guarantee that we won't fall into a trap if we act alone?"

"Who exactly is the player behind the Angels? They must be involved in this."

"Who's behind this? Who's sabotaging us?!"

For a moment, the communication channels were in chaos. The fact that the Angels and Machine Race had joined forces to ambush him was certainly bad news, but from another perspective, the fact that it was only these two races was good news.

If the Judge don't involve humans and instead wage war alone, then it won't just be these two races involved; they will become the common enemy of the instance.

Dio Brando was stunned. In that instant, his mind, filled with countless evil plans, calculated with all its might that this was an accident, but it was impossible to link it to Yuki.

He had neither the opportunity nor the right to mobilize other races; in that instant, Dio Brando didn't even have time to think.

With the meat practically in our mouths, there's no reason not to eat it. We can't just say, "Give us the people to kill, and we'll leave after we've done it," because nobody would believe that. So now's not the time to investigate the reasons; let's complete the mission first.

"Continue the mission, no matter what unexpected events occur!"

Without his command, the Hachishaku-sama's right arm swelled a hundredfold, transforming into a bloody, mangled behemoth that swallowed a six-ringed angel whole, devouring its soul.

The Angels' Resurrection has no effect on players, which is precisely why the Angels want to get rid of them.

"Cover up," Killer Giles coldly ordered. Don't be fooled by the angels' dazzling appearance; they are nothing more than rational war machines.

By breaking the Angels' resurrection ability, all these outsiders will die.

Intricate magic circles unfolded one after another, and golden lightsabers rained down like a curtain of rain. At this moment, countless missiles and beams of light shot out from the huge space at the bottom of the hive.

The colossal, statue-like Shock Titan activated, its massive beam Gatling gun blasting flames that sent the mutated monster flying, splattering blood everywhere.

Dio Brando kept flashing, going against the flow of the barrage of comments. His goal was clear: he didn't care about ambushes; he just needed to take down his target to return.

However, the unexpected delays ultimately bought time, Ikaros had already regained control of her body, leaving her with little choice.

Run, run with all your might, run towards the coordinates.

[Route planning, sprint mode]

As her wings unfurled, alloy doors opened automatically for her. She then dodged left and right repeatedly. The Machine Intelligence had a faction talent; if she was hit by a powerful attack, it would be recorded in the database.

The world's convergence won't be so easy to capture her.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, this guy's on guard." Dio Brando tried several times without success and cursed under his breath.

With the escape as a warm-up, the third phase of the Strategic Angel has begun, but stopping an epic-level player who is only concerned with running away in panic is no easy task.

Dio Brando tore off his wings, blasting apart beautiful heads one by one, and used his level nine physique to withstand the firepower in pursuit. When he saw the mountain-sized Titan extend its main cannon, he activated his alien clone.

The Fool's Barrier.

A steel monster enveloped them, and a thick beam of light was deflected into the air. The hive began to collapse, and countless pieces of steel fell, obscuring their vision.

"Achina, come with me! The rest of you, hold off these birdmen!"

There was no other way; not every Judge was qualified to keep up with multiple eight-ringed angels. Dio Brando simply charged forward alone, determined to eliminate his target no matter what.

In just a few seconds, the two sides passed through the entire hive and returned to the desert from the other side. Ikaros gritted his teeth, feeling the power furnace about to run out, without even a chance to use items to replenish it.

If she dared to stop, even for a second, the enraged Judge would tear her to pieces, but she was full of confidence because, so far, everything had unfolded according to that person's script.

All the troop deployments and every detail were arranged perfectly. In the eyes of the Judge, even if Yuki was truly the mastermind, he couldn't possibly control everything.

"Achina, cut off her escape route to the east. This wanted criminal is really fast."

The Hachishaku-sama instantly split in two, transforming into two indescribable, terrifying monsters. Ripples appeared in the space as she strode forward to intercept them.

Ikaros immediately drew a zigzag line on the ground. This is the advantage of Machine Intelligence: they can predict the landing point the moment the spatial ripples appear, and then make another sharp turn.

"Oh right, force her towards the battlefield; I have men there."

Dio Brando was already preparing his next plan, and even slowed down slightly, because he saw a phantom in the sky peering at the earth.

A powerful Magical Beasts, with player reactions displayed on its back.

The combination of the two is quite strange. Dio Brando couldn't figure out the player's stance, but he could tell that Ikaros was about to be exhausted, so he sealed off the space while giving chase.

Back on the dried-up sea, the distant battlefield remains Incandescence, with beams of light and missiles crisscrossing the sky.

The current situation is extremely complex; it would be difficult for anyone other than Dio Brando, a genius, to comprehend it.

The main Machine Race remained stationary, engaged in fierce combat with Nine Dragons and his group. Meanwhile, most of the mass-produced machines were embroiled in a chaotic battle with humans. Inside the Hive, another battlefield existed, where Angels reinforcements were entangled with the Judge.

At that moment, the giant beast swooped down and, unsurprisingly, pounced on Achina, who had followed behind.

"A three-race alliance? It must be some player orchestrating everything behind the scenes."

Dio Brando's eye twitched. If he could, he would turn around right now, capture the player on the giant beast's back, and interrogate him to find out who was behind it all.

But he couldn't do it. He had to relentlessly pursue his goal. Now the whole plan was in chaos. The immense unknown brought immense fear. Dio Brando didn't even know what else might jump out next.

Their strength was almost exhausted, and bad news kept coming.

Zhang Lin and Phil have fallen. Damn it, humanity can't hold on much longer. Thousands upon thousands of scrap metal are surging over. Even if they can only hold me off for two seconds, that would be great.

Veins bulged; as the mutated behemoth fought to the death with the Annihilation Seeker, he had only one card left in his hand.

"Rod, stop the target. After it's done, the Judge will grant you any request!"

This card is out of control, and even the somewhat clever Rod Lorenz might not agree to it.

"Any conditions are acceptable?" came the reply from the communicator, accompanied by heavy breathing.

"Yes, I promise! You can stop her for two seconds and then leave. We don't need to do this dungeon anymore, and I'll compensate you five times the loss!"

"Good."

The straightforward answer filled Dio Brando with elation; as a notorious villain, he had no intention of breaking the contract.

Time is running out, all cards have been played, this is your only chance, if you don't seize it...

He will die.

Phew, he's really become the Hasty King, he's even lost his ability to think. So this is how you write Future Diary: 'fear' and 'anxiety' will increase the success rate of the script.

Yuki, a cigarette dangling from his lips, gazed at the beams of light and missiles that brushed past him.

The Machine Race executed orders perfectly; if they couldn't hit Yuki, they were simply the best at missing the mark.

The battle was fierce. Countless mechs had entered the fortress and were engaged in close combat with the humans. Slott and the others were probably wondering how these cold killing machines had all turned into experts at shooting, lining up to be killed.

This is a play, but unfortunately, the audience is gone.

Yuki flicked off his cigarette ash and glanced at the two corpses beside him. Both had been stabbed in the back, their eyes wide open, completely bewildered. Perhaps they only realized the mastermind was right next to them in the instant they were stabbed in the back.

Yes, I have the authority to mobilize these races; yes, I have the ability to write the script.

"You've been keeping a close watch and being very careful, but guess how your intelligence and the entire battle plan were getting out?"

Yuki shrugged. Nobody knew, not even Lucy herself knew that her necklace had been opened.

The senior student, who was practically invisible, only needed to appear once throughout the entire process, and that one appearance was enough.

All intelligence and plans were disseminated, using players as a link to incorporate several races into the scenario. These races were indeed wary of each other, just as the Nine-Ringed Skywing Chief and the Netway Will did not consider taking action at all. However, Yuki's plan was not entirely about using others to do his dirty work.

Using the power of the instance to eliminate the Judge? There's no such simple thing in the world.

"So, they're just dividing the battlefield, causing these powerful Judge to be overwhelmed and rendering their seamless teamwork useless."

Looking around the battlefield, the Nine Dragons were entangled in the sky, the remaining Judge were fighting hard beneath the hive, and the Hachishaku-sama who had followed up was facing the gloating 'Annihilation Seeker'.

Yuki stubbed out his cigarette and jumped off the fortress. The Machine Race's elite soldiers, who should have fought to the death to stop him, ignored him and continued their seemingly lively but actually low-casualty battle with the humans.

"This final step still requires my personal attention."

I don't know how you managed to unite several races for protection, but you deserve to die!

Dio Brando's face was contorted with rage, unleashing the ruthlessness deep within him.

This horrible battle should end. From the sky to the ground, fierce fighting raged for hundreds of kilometers, with high-energy beams shattering mountains into dust and creating craters in the earth.

Humanity has exhausted all its strength, and the Judge have revealed all their cards. Dio Brando is extremely anxious because he knows that these damned copycat natives and powerful individuals are still watching.

The epic monsters and the several races lurking on the edge of the battlefield made him regret his clever plan.

Because he was far from the world's core and wasted a lot of time trying to win over humanity, he had no idea how many races his target had united or what other tricks he had up his sleeve.

Therefore, his tactics were simple and brutal: divide the battlefield at all costs, with his strongest unit chasing and killing the enemy. Once the target was eliminated, he could return. Once the table was overturned, no matter how many cards the opponent had, they wouldn't be able to play them.

He chased relentlessly, like a rabbit dangling from a carrot, desperately pursuing his opponent. His Stand, 'The Fool,' was shattered by attacks falling from the sky, yet he still stubbornly pushed forward, sending one Stand after another flying out.

Spatial teleportation, physical and spiritual displacement—when an Epic Tier III player starts fighting desperately, even a fully deployed Strategic Angel cannot escape their grasp.

Invisible chains bound the two together, rendering any illusions useless. Space was frozen, and tearing it apart was a pipe dream. Perhaps flying at full speed was too exhausting, as Ikaros's speed slowed down, and the distance between them closed.

Just a little bit more, just a little bit more!

Dio Brando's eyes widened. The feeling of racing against time made him even more excited. He tore a straight vertical line through the ground, and the flying gravel turned into dust.

Suddenly, a thick white fog rose up, and without thinking, he plunged into it.

"You can't escape!"

Invisible chains guided the way, rendering illusions and tricks futile. With a light wave of his right hand, a chubby stand suddenly appeared, taking a deep breath as if swallowing a whale.

Substitute. Gluttony.

All Transcendental Grade energy was devoured, and the fog within a radius of several kilometers vanished completely. Dio Brando didn't even care about the Stand whose body was covered in ice.

His face was filled with ecstasy, for a strong man stood in his way, his simple fighting stance so pleasing to the eye, his right fist hidden under his ribs, as if gathering a thunderous blow.

Ikaros, of course, couldn't just crash into it, so he rose up like a spring from dry land, trying to rendezvous with the Machine Race in the air. Dio Brando seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"World, stop right now!!"

The angel spread its wings and froze in mid-air, its red electronic eyes gazing at the sky, which seemed unreachable. But a moment later, Dio Brando suddenly turned around, his eyes reflecting the cold angel.

Ikaros emerged from the void; it was some kind of particle-like movement. His escape was feigned; his true intention was to fight back fiercely.

With wings spread, the Roar red energy gathered at the wingtips, somewhat like a desperate attempt to rise from the ashes. Ikaros, who had been fleeing in disarray since the start of the battle, had been waiting for this moment.

Every epic-level player is a master of turning the tables, but Dio Brando wasn't surprised; instead, he revealed a knowing smile.