The moon cast a blood-red hue across the land.
On this battlefield north of the Water Marsh Base City, a hurricane, seemingly from nowhere, whipped up, obscuring the sky and earth. It rolled up countless blades of grass, bent tree branches, and rattled window panes.
The entire battlefield was shrouded in a layer of gray.
Thicker than the gray mist, it carried an assortment of sand, soil, and vegetation, swirling like gray pythons in the air.
Gales, tornadoes, and…
*Whoosh—*
In the distance, a flash of silvery wind streaked by. A six-story makeshift building was sliced in an instant, as if by a sharp blade cutting through tofu. Like a tree trunk, a diagonal line appeared from the rooftop to the west side of the fourth floor. This corner of the building slowly slid off and crashed to the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust that was then swept skyward by the howling wind.
“What… what just happened?!”
Many elites from the Oasis stared blankly.
They hadn’t seen a thing.
They couldn’t hold back any longer.
…
The seven Baha brothers were awakened ones from the Black Flame Oasis. They were not Emissaries, and the Black Flame Oasis was not a normal large Oasis, but an elite-type Oasis specializing in mercenary work.
This time, the seven Baha brothers had accepted a commission from a mysterious employer to investigate the situation on the Blue Star world and intervene at the opportune moment to obtain certain items.
The mission was not difficult.
Especially facing a nascent world like Blue Star, the mysterious employer was very generous, providing them with a full descent ceremony, an advance payment of a considerable sum, and a generous reward upon completion.
This mission was a win-win.
That’s what the seven Baha brothers had thought.
Until,
“Holy shit!”
“Holy shit! x2”
“Holy shit! x10086”
They no longer dared to entertain any thought of carrying out the employer’s mission; they only wanted to leave this terrifying world as quickly as possible.
However,
“Big Brother, it’s starting to blow.”
“Big Brother, the reverse descent ceremony failed, we can’t figure out why.”
“Big Brother, the second set of ritual materials also failed.”
“Big Brother, the third set of ritual materials also failed.”
“Big Brother, we have no more materials to perform the ceremony.”
Like the seven Baha brothers, many awakened ones from the Oasis were gradually bewildered.
At this moment, the section of the building shaved by the wind crashed to the ground.
Baha the Third stared blankly, fear gradually appearing in his eyes, and a chill shot up his spine to the crown of his head.
“That… that just now looked like… a wisp of wind, a wind like a blade!”
“I didn’t see it clearly, nor did I sense anything.”
That place was not far from where they were hiding.
Baha the Third looked at his elder brother, who was also the strongest among the seven brothers, the only quadruply awakened and non-human.
However, even this non-human was now sweating, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead.
“I… didn’t see it.”
As he spoke, his pupils suddenly contracted.
In front of him, not far away, Baha the Sixth’s body seemed to be bisected by a line. The next moment, large splashes of blood erupted. The person who had been standing there chatting with them just moments ago was now cut in half at the waist, his eyes wide with pain, his lower torso struggling feebly.
Along with the fallen section of the building, it plummeted to the ground, as if sliding into an abyss.
“What… what was that! What was it!”
Fear enveloped the Oasis elites. Many abandoned their hiding spots, rushing to what they considered safe places, their eyes constantly scanning their surroundings with frantic terror.
The suddenly rising gray gale was not strong. Many Oasis elites initially paid it no mind.
But these silent winds, undetectable even by powerful non-humans and capable of taking their lives in an instant, could not be ignored!
Even the most foolish among them now realized something was wrong.
It was just that…
Seven-star, rule-based abominations. This was a knowledge blind spot for many large Oases. Even top figures like President Rose and the Master of the Tower of Wealth were frowning, racking their brains to recall and ponder.
High-ranking officials of large Oases like Yi Yuelu, had already given up thinking and resigned themselves to fate.
Let alone the Oasis elites like the seven Baha brothers, who could only feel fear but not understand what was happening.
…
As the Oasis elites were filled with extreme fear, a growing chaos began to spread within Water Marsh Base City.
This wind appeared regardless of buildings or obstructions. Even in completely sealed underground spaces, it generated gales of level six or seven, whistling and making office documents and machinery clang.
Many residents hiding in shelters were disheveled by this gale.
They clutched their hands in fear, praying incessantly.
The Master of the Tower of Wealth, President Rose, and a few other Oasis powerhouses, with furrowed brows and continuous thought, finally dredged up a term from the depths of their memories.
“Rule-based Abomination!”
“A terrifying Abomination that, once it appears, can engulf an entire area! Such abominations have no form, they are undying, they may not even be life, but the very heavens and earth, the world itself!”
“Within the domain of such an Abomination, there are established hunting rules. The southeast wind, the northwest wind, and those invisible, terrifying wind blades are likely the second rule of this ‘Storm.’”
The Master of the Tower of Wealth spoke slowly.
These words were still somewhat confusing to the Bai Ta Emissaries, who were only triple-awakened, but…
“Legend has it that rule-based abominations are the most terrifying existence. Once their domain spreads, even mythical beings can be easily consumed!”
“And now, whether it’s us, or those three mythical combat forces on Blue Star, we have all…”
“All are inside the belly of this ‘Storm’!”
The Bai Ta Emissary’s face instantly turned pale.
The storm continued to intensify.
Hidden within the gray hurricane, the three mythical beings had cast aside their pride, reined in their divine radiance, and stepped into a gray ‘wind tunnel,’ their figures vanishing in an instant, leaving only three afterimages that slowly dissipated in the wind.
Swift, silent!
No trace of their coming or going.
Rule-based abominations have their own ‘hunting logic.’ They cannot deviate from this logic to prey on others in different ways, but… as a form of life, they can still manipulate their abilities, undergoing certain changes.
For example, influencing the direction of the domain's spread.
For example, replacing hunting ability A with hunting ability B.
The Blood Emperor, having formed a contract with ‘Storm,’ was acutely aware of this Abomination’s intrinsic rules and could even draw power from them.
“Tailwinds!”
Stepping on the wind, the red figure rapidly grew in their eyes.
First, eliminate the most threatening Blue Star powerhouses.
He waved his hand.
Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of blood-red warriors materialized. The power of this entire legion was condensed into a crimson dot of light that rested on his fingertip.
Go!
An attack imbued with the power of hundreds of thousands of blood-red warriors pierced through space, erupting from the gray hurricane.
But by the time An Jianyou realized it, it was already a little late.
She was about to dive into the Netherworld’s crevice, her figure rapidly descending, but that crimson light was too fast. Her mind felt hazy, and the crimson hue in her eyes continued to expand. At this moment…
Not far away, a figure with a grinning, eerie smile charged directly at the crimson light.
Its movement halted.
The blood-red light rapidly spread over the grinning puppet, melting its entire body.
But this blood-red light also paused for a moment. By the time the crimson beam swept across the ground, An Jianyou had already sunk into the world’s crevice, her legs tucked beneath her as she slumped to the ground, her heart pounding violently, her breath coming in ragged gasps.
And at this moment,
Having failed to achieve its goal and kill An Jianyou, the ‘weakness,’ the Blood Emperor was not angered. He turned and launched a frenzied assault on the red-robed Abomination.
His domain spread out, and in an instant, an army seemed to appear around him, encircling the red-robed Abomination.
Even though the red-robed Abomination could annihilate thousands and tens of thousands with a wave of its sleeve, it could not withstand the sheer numbers of the blood-red legion – this was also a legion-style approach. If Hei Dao condensed the legion’s power into himself, then the Blood Emperor treated the legion as ammunition.
In the blink of an eye, the red-robed Abomination was surrounded and at a disadvantage.
One-on-one, he was much stronger than the Black Wing Mythical Being.
At the same time,
The Bull Demon Mythical Being emerged from the hurricane, holding a giant axe and bringing it down from the sky.
The Flesh King also unleashed a palm strike, his palm splitting open like a devouring giant mouth.
Under the pincer attack from three sides, shreds of red cloth tore and scattered.
Even the Furnace Golem, which had wanted to provide support, was shattered in a few blows.
All of this happened in mere seconds. An Jianyou, observing the outside world through a cat’s eye while hiding in the world’s crevice, turned deathly pale.
“So terrifying! So terrifying! So terrifying!”
She gritted her teeth, her gaze fixed on the outside, her mind racing to find a way to break the deadlock.
What should she do?
In the distance,
The War Puppet, Shallow Red, soared into the sky, enveloped in blood-red light, and streaked towards An Jianyou’s location.
With its speed, it could cover twenty to thirty kilometers in the blink of an eye.
However,
“Headwind!”
The gray hurricane slammed head-on. This gale, which was merely level six or seven, actually moved Shallow Red, whose power was greater than that of ordinary mythical beings.
No, it wasn't moving it.
Shallow Red had stepped into the ‘headwind circle,’ causing its speed to slow down and space to stretch.
What would have taken two to three seconds to cross now might take twenty to thirty seconds or even longer.
The legion led by Hei Dao was the same.
He tried to bypass the wind circle, but the wind circle shifted with his movements.
“This is tricky!”
President Rose could not help but worry for Blue Star.
Initially, she did not believe Blue Star could withstand the onslaught of the evil god faction, but after experiencing miracles time and again, she now sincerely hoped that the miracle would continue to the end, rather than the flickering flame of miracle being extinguished by darkness in an instant.
However,
“This seems to be a legendary ‘rule-based Abomination,’ which is extremely rare even among seven-star abominations.”
President Rose and President Zhange had limited knowledge of the uniqueness of rule-based abominations, but…
They could see the situation changing.
Blue Star had transitioned from an advantage to a disadvantage, falling into extreme peril, a grave crisis!
“This ‘Storm’ Abomination seems to control the entire world. The battlefield is now the home turf of the evil god faction. They can easily achieve numerical superiority and attack the weak, even if two or three more mythical combat forces arrive from Blue Star, the result will be the same.”
“And…”
Furthermore, the hunting rules of such abominations would become increasingly powerful over time.
Until they devoured even mythical beings.
President Zhange’s throat bobbed. He did not speak these words aloud, as in the current situation, Blue Star was likely to perish at the hands of the three subordinate evil gods before the rule-based Abomination could hunt them.
“Unless that Blue Star guardian deity enters ‘non-human form’ again. With her terrifying combat power in her non-human form, she might have a chance to hold out until the War Puppet and the Black Armored Legion arrive, and seize a sliver of hope.”
“She has just entered ‘non-human form.’ Activating it again will significantly increase the erosion. However… entering non-human form only carries the possibility of death, while not entering it is certain death.”
As a guardian deity-level being, that one would undoubtedly be aware of the stakes. The choice she made would have an answer.
…
“Mentor, what should I do?”
An Jianyou’s mind was in turmoil.
Should she enter non-human form and fight with all her might, or stall for time and maneuver, or something else…
She couldn’t make up her mind.
But soon, she received her mentor’s instructions: stall!
Although the red-robed Abomination was at a complete disadvantage and looked incredibly pathetic… An Jianyou could not only control the Abomination and amplify its power, but she could also… repair its damage.
She was an Abomination healer.
The red-robed Abomination quickly switched combat modes, no longer fighting desperately, but dodging and maneuvering everywhere.
At the same time,
On the city wall, seeing Xidina still eager to fight, Fang You could only refuse with a sigh.
“This is the domain of ‘Storm.’ It’s a little different from the ‘Mist’ you encountered before, but… you won’t reach the center of the battlefield anytime soon.”
“Stay here and wait for a moment, sniping any potential enemies. Mentor will be back shortly.”
With that, Fang You took a step forward and vanished.
Only Xidina remained standing there, blinking dazedly and uttering a few words.
“Mentor is so fast.”
Her echo drifted in the wind.
…
“As expected, rule-based abominations have the ability to control the heavens and earth and confuse space, but my teleportation ability can still be used.”
“This is indeed ‘Storm’s’ home ground, but… it is even more so my home ground.”
He stepped alone into the storm, holding a scepter, golden radiance emanating from his body.
He gradually, gradually… transformed into light!
The golden radiance was like a human lighthouse, piercing through the storm that covered the sky and earth, becoming the most dazzling figure under the crimson moon at this moment.
Fang You strode forward.
“Lightning, come!”
“Burn, power of faith!”
“And…”
He reached out and grasped as if seizing the entire world. In an instant, the wind and clouds in the heavens and earth surged, and the gray storm engulfing the battlefield was lifted as if by a giant hand.
The storm was restrained and transformed into a gray, thunder-laden, sky-obscuring giant hand, which was slammed down towards the three mythical beings, the Blood Emperor, Bull Demon, and Flesh King.
“What is this!”
The Blood Emperor was inwardly shocked.
Let alone the Bull Demon and the Flesh King.
They hadn’t been informed of this, that the strongest on Blue Star was actually this inconceivably powerful!
Was this a mythical being?
No, it didn't seem to be a mythical being… but could a mortal ant wield such power?
They looked at the Blood Emperor with some resentment.
This level of power was too exaggerated, this world was truly unreasonable! They would definitely make the Blood Emperor… pay more!
Thoughts raced through their minds, and the two mythical beings hesitated not at all.
The Bull Demon Mythical Being burned with power and fiercely swung an axe. This was an axe that could cleave mountains and cleave seas, and space itself cracked and spread outwards.
But he was facing not just a sky-obscuring hand, but an entire world!
The world rumbled and crushed forward.
The arms holding the giant axe of the Bull Demon Mythical Being trembled, until at a certain point beyond the limit, he could no longer resist and knelt down on one knee, watching helplessly as the giant palm continued to press down.
Fang You, however, frowned.
His strength had reached its limit, yet…
A glance sideways revealed the surging blood-red torrent rapidly rushing, not towards him, but towards the gray lightning giant hand.
He was already losing control.
He glanced again at the red-robed Abomination desperately holding back the Flesh King. Fang You retracted his strength, his inner furnace churning and roaring.
He extended his hand, his thumb and index finger forming a ninety-degree angle, and then slowly contracted inwards.
Infinite lightning bolts surged, converging at a single point, as if the world itself was contracting between his two fingers, forming a miniature finger-world.
This was the result of integrating the power of the secret realm.
Calling it a finger-world was an exaggeration, but for the Blood Emperor, Bull Demon, and Flesh King, it was almost exactly that.
When Fang You gently curled his fingers, the world at his fingertip shot out like lightning and light, making them’s scalps tingle.
*Boom—*
The world collapsed.
Like a black hole, it instantly swallowed the blood-red legion, continuing its momentum to pierce through the entire body of the Blood Emperor in the distance.
*Boom—!!!*
The finger-world exploded, continued to collapse, devouring everything around it, leaving only a large black void slowly rotating, which disappeared after a few seconds.
Fang You, however, frowned.
In the distance, the Blood Emperor’s figure regenerated from a remnant of the blood-red army, his face somewhat pale.
Truly, it was just a sliver away from losing this avatar!
The second time!
The last time his avatar was destroyed, he thought he was careless, caught off guard. But this time, he suddenly realized that it wasn’t!
The terrifying extent of this person’s power far exceeded his estimations. Even if he hadn’t been careless then, he would have dodged the first blow, but he wouldn’t have been able to dodge the second, third blows. Just like now, he had resurrected using a special ability, but he wasn’t confident he could repeat it a second or third time.
Continuing this would lead to death, to defeat.
No,
He still had ‘Storm’!
“Tailwinds!”
“Change tactics!”
The wind sent the three mythical avatars away and flying towards Water Marsh Base City.
This was the Blood Emperor’s tactic.
Attack its weakness!
Moreover, they had ‘Storm.’ Since direct confrontation put them slightly at a disadvantage, they would maneuver instead.
Fang You did not retreat to defend.
Even though he could use teleportation to block the three mythical beings of the Blood Emperor, but…
“The wind control of the ‘Storm’ Abomination is truly disgusting.”
“And the storm is still intensifying. Since that is the case…”
Xidina was still at the front line. What he needed to do now was…
Fang You opened the dispatch map, his gaze swept over a coordinate locked on it, and he took a step forward.
*Hum—*
Space shifted, and a hurricane rushed towards him. The storm here was even more violent. Amidst the hurricane’s blade-like assault, Fang You’s gaze swept over, firmly locking onto a particular area!
There was a special vortex of wind drifting within.
Found you, the ‘Storm’s’ true form, its core, its weakness!
Fang You cleaved with his scepter. The invisible hand and lightning palm merged, infused with the power of the secret realm, instantly forming a lightning giant palm with an extremely wide coverage, which directly struck the core of the ‘Storm,’ an Abomination weaker than a ‘Descending Mythical Being.’
It let out a shrill cry.
Waves of rational impact surged like tides.
But it was a seven-star Abomination after all. Even the ‘fragilest’ kind, its health bar was not short. After shrieking, the ‘Storm’s’ core quickly retreated into the vast storm.
Like a drop of water merging into the ocean, and at extreme speed, how could he find it? He couldn’t find it at all!
Using his naked eye, mental power, or detection skills, Fang You could not locate it.
He decisively opened the map and set it to ignore all other abominations, focusing only on the seven-star Abomination ‘Storm.’
On the map, a single, glaring red marker darted about at high speed. This speed was extremely fast, far exceeding the speed limit of mythical beings, ten times, a hundred times!
In an instant, it traveled a hundred miles, making irregular evasive movements.
Approximately a few seconds later, this ‘Storm’ finally slowed down, stopping more than a hundred kilometers away from Fang You, within the domain.
He locked onto the target and let out a low laugh.
“Found you…”
…
“The ‘Storm’s’ core has been found!”
They had intended to attack Blue Star’s weakness and put pressure on that white-robed human.
But in the blink of an eye, before they could even begin, their own crystal had been hit. If their crystal couldn’t move, it would have been destroyed by now.
But, how exactly was the ‘Storm’s’ core found?
Even for him, a semi-divine realm expert who believed in the great Crimson Moon and was extremely familiar with abominations, it was impossible to find the core of a rule-based Abomination.
Unless one possessed the ability to destroy half a rule-based domain with a single blow, it was almost impossible to kill a rule-based Abomination.
However, it had been discovered.
And not just once!
The Blood Emperor’s expression changed repeatedly. He had no choice but to use the power of the tailwinds to quickly return to defend.
The three mythical beings joined forces to confront the monster from Blue Star.
“A monster…”
“Truly troublesome.”
They were frowning, and Fang You was also frowning.
You could at most get injured, at most have your avatar destroyed, but what I lost was the power of the secret realm! After repeated manipulations, the Ember Secret Realm had begun to shrink, yet he couldn’t defeat these three mythical beings in a short time, nor could he kill the ‘Storm’s’ core.
“It will take ten moves. I need at least ten full-power moves.”
“This is too difficult!”
“An Jianyou, Hei Dao, Shallow Red, and the others cannot provide me with support now. Even Xidina cannot. The enemy possesses extremely rapid battlefield transfer capabilities. Only I can block them.”
“But ten moves is too long, the consumption is too great, what if there are other variables…”
“I need more, stronger power!”
…
Under the red moon, the ‘Storm’s’ domain continued to spread, now covering hundreds of kilometers around, encompassing the entire base city.
Gales howled, rattling the windows.
Residents hiding in underground spaces could not escape the storm’s assault, many were filled with unease, as were the low-level investigators maintaining order.
They were ordinary people, unable to even reach the battlefield.
They panicked at the current changes and hated their own weakness.
At this moment, the voice of the command center came through their earphones, and the investigators’ spirits were lifted.
“Fellow citizens…”
…
“…The heroes on the front lines are fighting. They need our strength. Although we are ordinary people, we can still contribute our share.”
“Now, please, all viewers in front of the television, join me in praying for the heroes on the front lines and raise your hands high.”
“Let the enemies who wish to destroy the world see the faith of us Blue Star people!”
Above Huangdu, the broadcast voice echoed.
All television programs were switched to the same channel.
In gymnasiums, underground parking lots, air-raid shelters… in one refuge after another, large screens played, and people prayed in low voices, murmuring, and raising their hands.
“Mom, Ultraman can defeat monsters, right?”
“Yes, definitely.”
“Then let’s cheer for Ultraman together!”
Innocent faces showed determination.
Refuge after refuge seemed to fall into silence, with only the low sound of prayers echoing, humming. At this moment, everyone’s frequencies gradually synchronized.
Huangdu, Jiangnan, Eastern Europe, Western Europe…
Different base cities, different races, now performed the same action.
Hands were raised high.
The light of faith in their hearts shone brighter and brighter. Bright particles emerged from the foreheads of the people and shot into the void.
At this moment, faith transformed into a long river, reflecting billions of lights!
In his non-human form, Fang You’s “Burning Faith” ability could already cover the entire globe. Previously, countless scattered lights of faith had gathered.
But,
There was a difference between the lights of faith and the lights of faith.
Now, with the mobilization of global power, tens of billions of people possessing the same faith at this moment, how terrifying was this power? Ten times, a hundred times more than before!
In Fang You’s eyes, rivers of faith converged from all directions.
Immensely brilliant, illuminating the entire night sky.
That was the faith of countless Blue Star people, the hopes of countless Blue Stars.
Entrusted with this faith, how could he possibly lose?
Never!
The river of faith surged in, burning, and the radiance of faith was like a blazing sun.
Fang You held it in his hands.
“For this strike, I choose to amplify…”
“The power of the secret realm!”
There was no sky-obscuring giant hand, no finger-world imbued with billions of lights. There was only pure, and supremely powerful, secret realm energy.
Space seemed to freeze.
The entire world, the howling wind, the wisps of gray mist, all stopped at this moment.
Like insects trapped in amber.
The next moment,
The storm zone spanning hundreds of kilometers reversed. Everything in heaven and earth, including the seven-star Abomination, was dragged and lifted into the air, as if a scroll was slowly being rolled up, gathering all malice within it and obliterating it inch by inch.
This was the might of the world!
A pillar of gray energy broke through the clouds, and the turbid, gray clouds and mist vanished in an instant. The invisible shackles also shattered with a bang.
The heavens and earth changed, the stars shifted.
After a long while,
Time, which had been stagnant, began to flow again. There was no longer any gray gale, no heavy dark clouds. Looking up, one could see a sky full of stars, the brilliant night sky that had not been seen for a long time.
Under the night sky, in the vast expanse of heaven and earth, only a figure in white robes stood transcendently.
He was the center of the world.
As if he himself was the world.
— Author’s Notes —
7k words, a two-in-one chapter. It’s late, so late,呜呜呜~!