Chapter 406: Chapter 179 Reset
Aimou hid in the corner, watching Bologue in the mist from a distance, one hand tightly gripping the Fire-Calling Staff, the other resting on her waist pouch.
As Bologue expected, with each time reversal, Aimou would change the equipment she carried based on the enemies she encountered and the situations she faced.
After all, when releasing the Fantasy Species, Aimou was inside the Alchemy Workshop, acting under her identity as a Delusional, she crafted many Alchemy Armaments either to trade for funds or to incite turmoil along Forked Paths of Hesitation.
If Bologue could push open those locked doors, he would be amazed to find piles of gleaming Mammon Coins behind them; over the years, Aimou and Teda had exchanged large amounts of Mammon Coins through Alchemy Armaments.
Teda directed this part of the operation, while Aimou loyally executed his orders. As for the purpose of stockpiling so many Mammon Coins, Aimou never asked, and Teda never explained.
But Aimou thought it should be related to the Tyrant. If the legends circulating within Forked Paths of Hesitation were true, using Mammon Coins to calculate individual contributions to Forked Paths of Hesitation, Teda was undoubtedly the Tyrant’s most faithful follower—provided Teda returned all those Mammon Coins to the Tyrant.
This time, Aimou’s escape went smoothly; from leaving the Alchemy Workshop, she had not encountered any battles, whereas in previous time reversals, Aimou would be caught up by the King’s Shield Guard upon reaching this area.
Yet after seeing Bologue during the third time reversal, things improved considerably; the King’s Shield Guard’s firepower was attracted by Bologue. Unfortunately, Aimou was eventually captured by Hood.
To seize the Immortal Heart, the King’s Shield Guard deployed extremely strong forces, including several Negative Power Users, which Aimou couldn’t possibly resist.
Even with the armor entrusted by Belli, Aimou still appeared fragile in their eyes.
In this fourth time reversal, Aimou successfully avoided various obstacles, aided by the intelligence gained from the third time reversal and Bologue’s appearance.
Until a few minutes ago, she was still safe; Aimou expected Bologue to attract firepower for her, but she didn’t anticipate that in just those few minutes, Bologue would once again catch up.
Did he take care of those King’s Shield Guards?
That’s unlikely; Bologue might match Prayer Believers in battle, but against those terrifying Negative Power Users, the tier gap is one Bologue can never bridge.
Aimou sensed a shift in the situation, something happening beyond her sight, but there’s no time to consider these now—Bologue has already caught up, she needs to find a way to deal with him.
A series of traps exploded with fiery blasts engulfing Bologue, yet as the smoke cleared, he still stood firm on the ground—Aimou knew this wouldn’t defeat Bologue.
"So, what other tricks do you have next, Aimou?"
Bologue’s voice came from the scorching black smoke, carrying a tone of provocation.
Aimou silently smirked, with only a few minutes’ difference between their arrivals, but within those minutes, Aimou had laid numerous preparations.
A faint light hovered over Aimou’s body but after a few seconds of shimmering, it settled silently.
Unlike Bologue’s half-baked Ethereal Concealment, Aimou was highly proficient, her Ether reactions shielded; then Aimou activated the pre-set traps.
An Ether reaction rose from a building in the distance, prompting Bologue to swiftly turn around, but this time he didn’t advance recklessly as before, yet still threw the Iron Spear there.
After a resounding boom, the building collapsed into rubble, shrouded in thick smoke, and the Ether reaction therein vanished.
But a few seconds later, another Ether reaction arose, followed by many more like a constellation of stars, emerging from surrounding buildings, instantly surrounding Bologue like a swarm of specters.
Bologue stood bewildered for a moment, unable to distinguish between these Ether reactions, wondering which might be traps or decoy attacks, while Aimou with Ethereal Concealment certainly wasn’t among them.
Aimou secretly observed Bologue’s actions, thinking his expertise showed; after a moment’s hesitation, Bologue quickly made a decision, summoning more Iron Spears, throwing them at each Ether reaction, employing a brutally direct method to destroy all potential targets.
"The expert was still careless." Aimou murmured.
Bologue’s spear-throwing slowed down gradually, only then realizing he’d lost most of his strength.
Despite Ether surging, Bologue’s body couldn’t escape fatigue, even his consciousness drifting into weariness.
He thought he stayed in place without triggering any traps...
Bologue gazed at the surrounding mist, seeming to possess life force, permeating his body, affecting his nerves through his breath.
It’s nerve-paralyzing toxic gas.
Bologue was accustomed to Great Rift’s deadly poisonous mist, typically highly corrosive, yet unable to affect his will.
Aimou took advantage of this, making herself suspicious of the trap, staying in place, and the time she lingered undoubtedly allowed the slow poison gas to be released perfectly.
Bologue coughed heavily, trying to escape the influence range of the poison gas, but the hazy mist seemed to cover every corner of his view.
This must also be Aimou’s design; she doesn’t need to breathe at all, this poison gas doesn’t affect her, and it can perfectly merge with the fog of the Great Rift.
Bologue guessed that Aimou foresaw the discovery of this situation early on, which is why she designed the current predicament.
Aimou watched Bologue from afar as his movements gradually slowed down; he seemed to lose all his strength, slowly stopped, and half-knelt on the ground.
The paralysis caused by the poison gas wasn’t a temporary design by Aimou; it had been placed here a long time ago.
Aimou acts in the Great Rift as a Delusional, but after all, the Great Rift is a Land of Chaos, and Aimou herself doesn’t possess any strong combat power.
For self-preservation, Aimou set up traps in this harsh environment a long time ago, ready to activate when encountering enemies, allowing her to escape here and use the pre-designed ambush to kill opponents.
In each Time Reversal, Aimou fled towards these traps, relying on them to obstruct enemies. Otherwise, even if Aimou carried a large package, the number of traps she could set was limited, not to mention whether she had time to deploy them all.
"Very suitable for you, Bologue."
Aimou’s gaze gradually turned cold; she had spent a long time with Bologue and understood him well.
With her harmless appearance and seemingly tragic past, Aimou could easily gain others’ sympathy. Likewise, these people would only see her as a delicate doll, rather than some deadly weapon.
Bologue still underestimated her.
Bologue’s Undying Body is troublesome, but that doesn’t mean there are no ways to deal with it. An Ether vacuum environment can prevent Bologue from resurrecting, while paralysis can make Bologue lose consciousness and unable to act.
Tactically speaking, both can achieve the same purpose.
Perhaps out of caution, Aimou reached to her thigh’s strap and took out a gun she assembled herself. The gun’s design was bizarre, with rough marks left from the grinding process.
It seemed to be a weapon Aimou made recently, in a rush; she didn’t have time to refine it, but it was enough to deal with the current situation.
Aimou placed her index finger on the trigger. In the previous Time Reversals, Aimou didn’t carry this weapon because it was prepared for Bologue. Now it’s activated.
This was a gift Aimou personally prepared for Bologue, but if possible, Aimou didn’t want to use it on him.
Perhaps Bologue was one of the few who genuinely treated her well; Aimou didn’t even want to meet Bologue here.
Last night’s departure without a word was Aimou’s attempt to leave a perfect image in Bologue’s mind. As for what came afterward, she was uncertain, but she was sure that there shouldn’t be Bologue in the upcoming stories.
Aimou stepped out of the shadows, cautiously approaching the edge of the mist, her right hand raising the gun’s muzzle aiming at Bologue’s fallen figure, her left hand holding the Fire-Calling Staff beneath her right wrist.
Everything went smoothly; Bologue was unknowingly paralyzed and passed out, and now Aimou just needed to continue her escape plan.
Then... then the wind howled.
The figure that should have been down and unconscious suddenly rose. He ignored the poisoned gas entwined around him and charged straight at Aimou.
The Fire-Calling Staff burst into blazing flames, trying to block Bologue, but the sea of fire was easily split open by him. The familiar face appeared right in front of her.
In the ear-piercing clamor, the Fire-Calling Staff clashed with the long sword. Aimou’s figure retreated a few steps, but with the output force of the machine, she stubbornly stopped Bologue’s slash.
"Surprised?"
Bologue looked at Aimou in front of him. All previous worries vanished; now he only had a surge of anger, an urge to teach a lesson to this child.
Aimou remained silent. She already knew why Bologue was still able to move.
Looking at the gradually healing wound on Bologue’s chest, one had to admit, Aimou still underestimated Bologue’s expertise... or perhaps his degree of madness when it came to violence.
Realizing he was about to be dragged into unconsciousness by the poison gas, Bologue made a very decisive choice.
The Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid pierced Bologue’s heart, and when he opened his eyes again, Bologue returned to his most perfect state.