Free Web NovelChapter 559: Chapter 176: The Tyrant Returns (Highest Word Count Record for an Individual Chapter)
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The second layer of the Well World.
The top executives of the Seventh Consortiums continued their phone conference in the skyscraper of the second layer, and for everyone, tomorrow was a day full of anticipation.
Not long ago, a rebellion by the Rebel Army had severely impacted the authority of the Seventh Consortiums in the second layer of the world.
But soon, people forgot about this impact.
Those who had died received compensation, while the living had endless work to do; the damaged streets were repaired, the media was controlled, and everything was back to normal.
However, tomorrow, the seven were to meet again.
Pride, Greed, Envy, Lust, Sloth, Wrath, and Gluttony, these seven power holders would set a trap on the third layer of the Well World, waiting for their prey.
In the phone conference, the seven discussed the possible scenarios for tomorrow.
"Catching Crimson has cost us a lot in terms of resources, and we’ve also lost many Sons of Order. But it was thanks to that youngster from the second layer who set up the plot and lured Crimson into the trap. The most troublesome task is only just beginning."
Gluttony, the largest member of the Seven Sins, said.
On the other hand, Lust was looking quite coquettish:
"Tomorrow, besides us, probably no one else will survive if that anticipated war actually breaks out. I’m not very optimistic about what that youngster said."
The youngster mentioned by the Seven Sins was from Well City on the second layer, originally a Chief Inspector, who, in order to investigate the death of a friend in Eternal Bank, had achieved access to the third layer of the Well World through betrayal and slaughter.
It was this person who, upon arriving at the third layer, quickly got the hang of the situation and then designed the trap to bait out Crimson.
Thus, a plan to bait a bigger fish with Crimson as bait was initiated.
But Lust was somewhat doubtful—Crimson was indeed the bait, but would the big fish really take it?
The rather short and plump Sloth, with a face full of horizontal flesh, said:
"This bait is hard to catch. If it weren’t for the trap we laid in advance, letting him enter the domain, his speed would almost be uncatchable. Capturing this bait at great expense is ultimately worthwhile; he is our old adversary, our only friend."
With sickly excitement in his eyes, the somewhat neurotic Envy said:
"He will come! This time, we must kill him!"
Greed, whose body was portly and very well-fed, looked quite prosperous:
"If he doesn’t come, it means he has completely lost his will to fight, willing to play the part of someone tormented by hunger to the point of breakdown for the rest of his life, which isn’t too bad."
"Hmph, whether he comes or not, we must take this opportunity to thoroughly discipline those Evil Fallen, to completely bury any thoughts of rebellion they might have!" Wrath, the most fierce-looking of the seven, said.
Pride spoke last:
"After this battle, the two biggest obstacles of the third layer will be gone, and then we, my friends, will become enemies."
Without external enemies, internal strife would naturally follow, whether it be the third layer or the second, it was all to be divided in the end.
Tomorrow’s battle was destined to affect the power structure of the entire Well World.
...
...
On the following day, on the third layer of the Well World, in the early morning.
The shared camp of the Seventh Consortiums was located in the northern central part of the entire third layer of the world.
This was also an area of extreme temperatures—extremely cold.
In a place where temperatures were more than sixty degrees below zero, there hid a base with an extremely rich production and reserve of resources.
An ice city, known to the people as Ice Kui City.
Although cold, it did not hinder the people of the Seventh Consortiums from surviving here.
Tens of thousands of Sons of Order patrolled inside Ice Kui City.
On the northern edge of Ice Kui City, numerous tall windmills stood erect; this place was originally a wind power station.
The blades of the windmills were covered with thick layers of frost.
Around the wind power station, the most well-equipped Sons of Order were scattered.
In the chilly winds, under the Seven Sins’ banner, all the masters capable of reaching the third layer were fully armed and ready for battle.
At the peak of the seven tallest black Windmill Towers, seven silhouettes stood proudly.
These seven figures were all enveloped by black mist.
They were different from the majority who lacked facial features.
If one looked past the eerie black mist emanating from them, they appeared to be outsiders from the real world.
Tall and straight-built, their faces were filled with a heroic air, looking down arrogantly at the Sons of Order.
Graceful and seductive, their eyes teasing, their allure of Lust undiminished amid the frost and snow.
Chubby and round, with a sincere smile yet exuding a creepy aura of Sloth.
And a sickly yet fierce look, neurotically watching the prisoners with Envy.
A businessman-like figure, wearing sunglasses and a tie printed with coin patterns, embodying Greed.
And then there was Wrath, whose mere proximity caused the frost and snow to vaporize into mist, eyes crimson, body all muscle.
Finally, standing below the Windmill Tower but seeming no shorter than the other six, was the giant—Gluttony.
The seven sovereigns who had dominated the Well World for thousands of years were all stationed here.
They recalled the last time they joined forces, when they conjured the Twisted Master, opening the passage between the Well and the real world, and with the Twisted Master’s power, they defeated that tyrant.
Countless years had passed, the eternal crimson flesh vanished, the blue wings that could stir winds of annihilation faded, and even the most lethal spear, with the passage of time, had disappeared without a trace.
The era had completely changed, the current Seven Sins Sovereigns, not to mention seven together, even alone, were no longer someone that tyrant could contend with.
For he was far too weak now.
It is interesting to say that the leaders of the Seven Sins had never considered going alone into the tyrant’s territory to completely eliminate this former adversary.
Because no matter who went, it would consume a great deal of energy, and once someone went, the act of taking advantage of one’s weakness to strike was something any of the other six could do.
Only this time, someone persuaded the masters of the Seventh Consortiums with their power alone.
In the middle of the seven black Windmill Towers stood an oak-colored Windmill Tower.
It was noticeably shorter than the surrounding seven towers.
At the top of the Windmill Tower, the Chief Inspector, faceless, yet bearing many similarities to the real world’s Bai Wu, aimed the most powerful weapon at the weakened Crimson.
"When spy satellites informed me that your human form happens to be a close friend of the outsider, I vowed to make the outsider feel my pain," Chief Inspector said, aiming the heavy firepower weapon at Crimson’s head.
Crimson was extremely weak.
Tortured in the domain of the Seven Sins, he was no longer the hero of the Evil Fallen but merely a bait at the mercy of others.
To the Chief Inspector, Bai Wu had killed his friend in the Eternal Bank. He couldn’t go to the real world to kill Bai Wu’s friend, but at least... he could prevent the other from... becoming human again.
At least he could completely kill this Evil Fallen body.
On one hand, it would strike at the outsider, and on the other hand, it would help the Seventh Consortiums to join forces in eliminating a trouble that was no longer troublesome.
After expending a tremendous amount of manpower and sustaining great losses to capture Crimson, the Seventh Consortiums released the news that they would execute Crimson at some point in Ice Kui City.
This was the spark.
The day Crimson was executed, either nothing would happen, or it would trigger the most powerful clash between the two strongest forces on the third layer of the Well World.
The cold wind blew the Chief Inspector’s scarf:
"If they hadn’t come to this battle, that would have been fine, but once they come to save you, all your companions will die. The Rebel Army on the second layer will have no reinforcements."
The torture of these days had weakened Crimson to the point where he couldn’t speak.
His breath was weak, and the only thought in his mind was—may no one come to save him.
If possible, Crimson even wished he could die.
But even death was something he couldn’t achieve, for the monsters on top of the seven Windmill Towers would not allow him to die now.
When a person is unlucky, things often go contrary to their wishes, especially... when that person is a good man.
Thirty minutes before the execution, Crimson, who had been praying that his companions wouldn’t come to save him, suddenly trembled.
The seven Seven Sins Sovereigns suddenly looked up.
Crimson let out a barely audible sigh, and the Chief Inspector’s mouth curved into a smile:
"True to the hero’s spirit, you have good friends, it’s started."
It had started.
A bird’s cry came from the sky, and a giant blue ice crystal-like Ice Bird suddenly flew from the edge of Ice Kui City at great speed.
It was like a curtain covering the sky, and on its massive blue ice crystal wings, hundreds of Evil Fallen descended from the heavens!
"Enemy attack! Engage battle mode!"
The experts of the Seven Sins Syndicate and thousands of Sons of Order all aimed their firepower at the massive Ice Bird in the sky, serving as a "zeppelin."
But at the Moment when everyone turned their firepower, in a plaza within Ice Kui City, a hundred meters outside the barrier set up by the Seven Sins Sovereigns—
Dozens of vortexes appeared.
From each vortex, a large number of Evil Fallen surged out!
The Ice Bird in the sky was shattered by countless firepower, its body already turned into numerous broken ice fragments.
Those Evil Fallen, like daredevils who attracted the firepower of countless Sons of Order, were continuously shot down as they descended.
Crimson’s eyes filled with grief.
Meanwhile, in the real world, Gu Qingyu, whose body had already undergone Evil Fallen Transformation and was in a coma, twitched her fingers.
"Go... go..."
Crimson shouted wearily, but his cries couldn’t be heard on the battlefield.
Those companions who fell from the Ice Bird... were being continuously shot down.
But there was not a hint of regret on their faces!
Not long ago, they had been chosen as members of the daredevil squad.
No one wished to die, but over the years, there were too many Evil Fallen who had received Crimson’s help.
What kind of Evil Fallen was he, after all?
This was definitely not something that could be summed up by the Chief Inspector’s words as having good friends.
This chivalrous figure among the Evil Fallen, even managed to restrain the rage of that legendary king.
Countless people who had benefitted from his kindness, whom he had struggled to save... died in front of him in the form of bait at the start of this war.
Watching these unrepentant faces, Crimson bit his teeth, tears fell, leaving a trail of frost.
To charge into a city defended by tens of thousands of Sons of Order and the Seven Deadly Sins themselves, one would inevitably need to divert their firepower.
To divert that firepower, one would inevitably need to deploy bait.
This strategy was undoubtedly successful, as all the Seven Sins looked up at the Ice Bird in that instant, the massive energy suppression over the square was lifted.
In an extremely short time, Omega’s spatial transfer was completed!
The real assault of the Evil Fallen forces began!
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
Dozens of vortexes emerged, spewing forth a tide of Evil Fallen. In the moment it took for all the Sons of Order’s fire to redirect, a fatal charge was launched.
Omega’s silhouette walked out from a vortex.
To create dozens of vortexes meant that dozens of split bodies needed to be created.
Unlike Shen Shuyue’s splitting, Omega’s splitting involved conjuring up imagined beings from his memories and stripping them from his mind.
Nurse, doctor, carpenter, hunter, boatman, lawyer, errand girl, gamer, musician...
Countless people who had once accompanied Bai Xiaoyu became unique beings with special powers under Omega’s abilities.
Compared to the Seven Sins, Omega might not be their match, but he could marshal an immense legion of generals on his own.
All the experts under the Seven Sins were intercepted by Omega’s duplicates.
From the distant seven black windmill towers, Wrath was the first to leap down from the High Tower.
"That man is a nuisance, huh, let me tear him to shreds!" Wrath’s muscular body shimmered with a metallic sheen fueled by red eyes and rage.
Lust said,
"I advise you to be careful. That Evil Fallen Body may have lived for seven hundred years and, although far from our equal, his abilities are in a sense unlimited. He might just split into a rare combat force."
Wrath paid no heed and leapt forward, and the ground surrounding the Windmill Tower collapsed:
"Without the target appearing, the rest are merely ants!"
Soldier against soldier, general against general.
Omega was well aware that his appearance would surely draw the attention of a member of the Seven Sins.
Seeing the terrifying figure approach, he had not anticipated it would be Wrath.
With a leap covering hundreds of yards, Wrath crashed down like a meteorite, turning all Evil Fallen and Sons of Order nearby into a bloody mist.
Omega was well aware that these fellows represented the most primal and fundamental distortions within the real world.
The difficulty of defeating them was no different from overcoming a Well-Level opponent in the real world.
But he knew that if he did not fight today... once Crimson died again, the Evil Fallen would become a disorganized mess, never to pose a threat again.
He might as well fight with all his might!
Omega arrived beside Wrath:
"Although I cannot defeat you, I have the advantage of numbers. From now on, I won’t let you return to the execution ground."
Omega wasn’t mistaken; indeed, he had the numbers, but this time, it wasn’t split bodies.
At Omega’s side appeared an undead Evil Fallen and a native Evil Fallen with blonde hair and a smiling ghost mask.
The mask, half black and half white, seemed to be etched onto the Evil Fallen’s face.
"Tsk tsk tsk, is the time I’ve spent walking the fine line between black and white coming to an end? If I die here, I’ll no longer have the right to explore the High Tower."
Wrath knitted his brows, thinking that Omega was supposed to be the strongest Evil Fallen in this rescue operation.
But the man before her, clad in a Western suit and wearing a top hat, his face hidden behind a malevolent ghost mask, also exuded an aura no less formidable than Omega’s.
"Let me introduce myself; my name is—Cain. Eh, never mind, I should change it, after all, my human self is also called by this name. How about you call me Dracula instead?"
Those capable of living for seven hundred years were not only Bai Xiaoyu, but also the one who imprisoned him—Cain.
Beside Dracula stood a youth with many arms growing from his back, as if a multitude of creatures were stitched together.
The reason he was called a youth was that he had the face of a young man.
A look of utter devotion filled the eyes of the youth:
"Teacher, you will not die. I will protect you with my life!"
"Elijah, you really are my good child."
Cain’s Evil Fallen body, Elijah’s form of the deceased, and Bai Xiaoyu’s Evil Fallen body, all stood in the way of Wrath.
But the three of them were well aware they were no match for Wrath.
Wrath snorted with disdain:
"Utterly tedious."
Space seemed to twist that very moment, and in the next second both Dracula and Elijah felt an immense oppressive force bearing down on them.
This space-distorting technique had nothing to do with temporal powers; it was a punch from Wrath!
Pride, watching from afar, along with Envy, who had seen this scene unfold, no longer looked toward Wrath.
He was well aware that Wrath would win, his eyes, sick with excitement, shifted to look elsewhere in search of his own pleasure.
Soon... he found his prey.
"Prey! Prey!"
Several figures dashed out from within a narrow vortex, their combat power distinctly different from other Evil Fallen, even Lust took notice.
"The one yawning is mine; I just love such lazy, handsome boys," Lust said with a giggle.
Envy glanced angrily at Lust:
"They’re all mine! Don’t you dare take them from me!"
Lust and Envy simultaneously leaped down from Windmill Tower, charging toward the few who were locked in continuous battle at the very front.
These were a group of Evil Fallen who, just like them, had lived a very long time... although not seven hundred years, still far surpassing ordinary humans.
In the human world, they were known as—Guardians of the High Tower Family.
The Evil Fallen form of Xie Xingzhi in this world was known as Number Two.
He saw himself as significantly inferior to the "Zero" of the human world.
Figuring he was about two tiers below, he thus proclaimed himself Number Two.
And Zheng Yue’s Evil Fallen form in this world was known as Nightmare Ghost.
A creature with an unbelievably foul mood upon waking, with a particular fondness for killing in dreams.
In fact, these native Evil Fallen all held high prestige. Facing the pursuit and attack from the Seven Sins, they each possessed the capability to defend themselves.
They had no reason to court death.
But this world shares many parallels with the real one.
This creature, Nightmare Ghost, who relished killing in dreams, is indifferent to everyone. Whoever dared to disturb his sweet dreaming would become the target of his assault.
But there is one exception—Crimson.
Zheng Yue’s Evil Fallen Body, like Wu Jiu’s Evil Fallen Body, was also once a pair of close friends.
"I don’t usually get up this early, but I’m making an exception this time."
Watching from a distance, the Crimson was being held at gunpoint atop the white windmill tower, the Nightmare Ghost muttered to itself.
Standing beside the Nightmare Ghost was another Evil Fallen, shirtless with scales of justice on his back.
The appearance of this Evil Fallen was too handsome, and the scales of justice on his back glowed with a golden light, giving him an air of divinity.
The Evil Fallen Body of Yan Zizai was referred to as—Jing.
The Nightmare Ghost got along well with Jing, as Jing was of high moral standing, a "noble person."
The massive scales behind him had settled many disputes within the Realm of the Evil Fallen.
Number Two, the Nightmare Ghost, Jing.
Their strength completely overwhelmed the Sons of Order around them, and even the experts from the Seventh Consortiums were dragged into nightmares by the Nightmare Ghost’s near Legendary Tier Entry abilities as they approached.
Number Two was in charge of terrifying firepower suppression, while the Nightmare Ghost attacked the opponent’s psyche.
Jing used the scales to take something from one person and another item from someone else, a trade could be made as long as the weights matched.
This trio was so powerful that it attracted the attention of two of the Seven Sins, Envy and Lust.
Greed looked at the scene and said,
"The battle won’t last long, the three of them together are no match for Envy, not to mention with Lust’s help. They will be destroyed soon... It seems that guy... is truly not going to show up."
The fight had only been going on for a few minutes.
During those few minutes, Wrath, Envy, and Lust all made their moves.
Tremendous energy fluctuations emerged on the battlefield.
The Sons of Order were being killed off continuously, but the Evil Fallen also perished under endless bombardment.
Seeing his former friends, who had long since retired, now targeted by the Seven Sins, Crimson’s eyes were filled with guilt.
They could have lived longer, but after today... everything was likely to change.
"Kill me..."
"Kill you? No... that guy hasn’t shown up yet, but he definitely will," said the Chief Inspector, looking into the distance.
Since the opponents dared to come to this battle, they couldn’t possibly let four members of the Seven Sins rest.
Pride, Greed, Sloth, and Gluttony, if they didn’t find a way to pull these four central Seven Sins into the battlefield, it was impossible to successfully save Crimson.
It would be nothing but a senseless sacrifice.
So the Chief Inspector deduced that the opponent had a backup plan.
Envy, Lust, and Wrath made their moves, gradually overpowering Omega, Dracula, Number Two, the Nightmare Ghost, and others. The vast gap in combat power became apparent; relying solely on their current strength, they couldn’t possibly save Crimson.
As expected, just as the Chief Inspector had predicted—
A massive vortex appeared on the distant battlefield.
This gigantic vortex, used as a passage for colossal beasts, a significantly large mechanical hound emerged.
Skeletons connected to machinery, internal organs completely etched with intricate patterns, lacked mechanical aesthetics, with the head still bearing flesh, while the body was reduced to a skeleton framework.
The bones were densely covered with gun barrels.
As this mechanical behemoth took the stage, numerous Sons of Order were destroyed by even more terrifying firepower. The Mutation Entry, Infinite Energy, although of average mutation level, allowed this mechanical hound to possess great firepower.
It was as if "infinite ammo," "no need to reload," "weapons won’t overheat," and "no recoil" among other cheat-like properties were activated.
Though the real-world Colt had similar abilities, as the saying goes, all fear stems from insufficient firepower; within range, all is justice. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Whether it was courage or justice, this mechanical dog was an ultimate version of Colt.
With only a level seven mutation, the mechanical mutant dog Jing had forcefully created a pure line of firepower blockade between Heaven and Earth.
This barricade line kept spreading, ruthlessly destroying the Sons of Order in its path.
But no one cared about this scene because on top of Jing’s head—there were two people.
Pride was disdainful of the battlefield, but at this moment, he opened his eyes wide, filled with a fighting spirit.
The languid sloth livened up, Greed laughed out loud, and the massive Gluttony licked his lips.
At the top of the white Windmill Tower, through the rotating windmill blades, the Chief Inspector said,
"He’s coming, as expected... Whenever it involves that man, he simply can’t ignore it."
Even Crimson hadn’t expected to see these two figures appear at the same time.
Bai Wu, and the Tyrant.
The term Skeletal Tyrant had spread because Bai Wu’s Evil Fallen body itself was known as the Tyrant.
Over time, the Tyrant himself had accepted it.
In Pride’s eyes, there was no Bai Wu, only the Tyrant.
He knew Bai Wu wielded three of the Seven Deadly Sins Weapons, knew Bai Wu had robbed the Eternal Bank, but in his view, Bai Wu’s strength was only nearing the Seven Sins.
The Tyrant, however, was different; although weak now and unlikely to be a match for the Seven Sins, the experience of the seven together being unable to defeat him was indelible.
Pride, Greed, and Gluttony—three of the Seven Sins sprang into action, with only Sloth staying behind to prevent anyone from approaching the offender.
Under Jing’s terrifying firepower assault, a path toward the Windmill Tower was cleared.
"Jing, thanks. Now go help the others. I’ll take this road with the Tyrant," Bai Wu said.
Although Omega knew the Tyrant would come, he was still surprised.
Dracula exclaimed,
"To be able to see him in action, this time it’s worth it."
Elijah was Dracula’s Angel Envoy, and now, under Wrath’s terrifying attack, Dracula was severely injured.
Elijah’s arms, even those behind him, were all broken.
Omega wasn’t much better off either; he had ultimately underestimated the strength of the Seven Sins Sovereigns.
Each one of the seven emperors of the Well World possessed unparalleled power.
Even if he split into many more personas, it would be difficult to withstand Wrath’s terrifying power for even a moment.
The Nightmare Ghost fell into a nightmare created by Lust, bleeding from every orifice.
Number Two and Jing were also suppressed by Envy. Number Two’s mecha body became battered and bruised, Jing’s scales were bent out of shape.
Bai Wu watched everything with his own eyes and finally understood how much the world had twisted under Alpha’s efforts over the years and the great impact it had on the Well World.
The Seven Sins Syndicate didn’t even need to put in their full effort to suppress the most powerful Evil Fallen forces; the battle was utterly one-sided.
Omega, Jing, the Nightmare Ghost, and other powerful Evil Fallen beings were only stalling for time against the Seven Sins.
This was a deathtrap!
But Bai Wu and the Tyrant did not stop their steps!
The gazes of this man and this Evil Fallen were strikingly similar; they both saw the weakened Crimson.
Terrifying roars were heard, as if the monster from the savage battlefield had returned!
But the next second, Pride appeared in front of Bai Wu and the Tyrant.
Dressed in a black trench coat, wearing sunglasses with an expression of cold arrogance, he remained silent and lifted his leg to deliver a kick.
What seemed like an ordinary kick gave Bai Wu the feeling that he had to give it his all.
He immediately summoned the Envy Greatsword to block with the sword.
The terrifying force transmitted through the greatsword made it hard for Bai Wu, who had managed to get close to the execution stage near the Windmill Tower range, to be kicked back by a single kick.
The powerful force created a horrific ravine in the area where Bai Wu was repelled.
Looking up, Bai Wu noticed that the silhouette of the other party was distorting.
Even when fighting against the tyrant, Bai Wu had never felt such a monstrous power.
But to Pride, it seemed that he had not even used his full force.
"Don’t think that just because you’re gold-plated in the real world, you can do whatever you want here. Compared to the top-tier Twisted, you’re still several realms behind," he said.
While speaking, Pride repelled the tyrant with leg kicks as well.
"You really dared to come. I didn’t expect that a monster like you would care about someone, tsk."
Pride stood defiantly in front of the seven black Windmill Towers, apparently planning to confront both the tyrant and Bai Wu alone.
Behind him, Greed, Gluttony, and Sloth were all eager to fight, but they did not make a move.
This was no different from humiliation.
The being who once fought against seven was now starved to the point of being suppressed by a single one of them.
And even... needed a helper.
The tyrant was in a rage, using a bone as a spear and charging at Pride.
But the response from Pride to the once king was nothing but the arrogant kicking as his name suggested.
The massive skeleton body was repelled.
The tyrant charged again.
And was repelled once more.
A third time.
A fourth time.
A fifth time...
Charge after charge seemed to vent the fury of these years, as if chastising them for daring to strife against their own friend!
"Still don’t understand? You are no longer who you were back then. You, and all you Evil Fallen, you fools actually took the bait."
"Since that’s the case, it’s time to pay for your foolishness!"
The powerful kicks from Pride were always precisely landing on the tyrant.
After the ninth charge was repelled, the tyrant remained unfazed, as though he had ten more or a hundred more attempts.
He could already feel that his strength was no longer a match for the Seven Sins and could sense the near impossibility of rescuing Crimson, which seemed like a fool’s dream.
But recalling the long years where only one person didn’t treat him as a monster, he seemed to possess endless vitality.
"Go for it, kid... I’ll handle this guy!"
As the tyrant launched his attack, Bai Wu didn’t stop either!
It was just that Pride’s speed was too fast, his terrifying kicks, like a high wall, blocked Bai Wu and the tyrant.
But the moment the tyrant’s words fell, Bai Wu finally saw an opportunity.
Pride’s kick once again hit the tyrant.
But at the moment of contact with the Tyrant, this demon king was not pushed back!
Its furious roar echoed throughout Ice Kui City, shattering countless ice shards.
The powerful kick was withstood by him, and with spreading white bones, he impaled the leg of Pride!
This was the tenth charge, and the Tyrant had finally adapted to the opponent’s speed.
It was a type of ultra-fast kick that was meaningless to predict through vision in advance, even for Bai Wu.
But after all, a tyrant is a tyrant, who, even though repeatedly pushed back, gradually adapted with the weakest body.
Bai Wu didn’t hold back; he never used his most powerful means from the start, just to catch the Seven Sins off guard before they could truly react—
to land them a blow when they least expected it.
Thus, in this confrontation, the Tyrant successfully blocked the terrifying kick of Pride.
And Bai Wu, brushed past the powerful Seven Sins.
Pride, of course, was unwilling to let Bai Wu pass by; in his eyes, he alone was fully capable of handling this one man, one Evil Fallen.
But when he prepared to break free from the Tyrant’s bones, the Tyrant displayed his formidable strength!
At that moment, Bai Wu also revealed a gaze filled with killing intent!
That look actually caused the immensely prideful Seven Sins Sovereign to feel a tinge of fear.
As if a true king was showing an attitude of ’those who block me shall die.’
How dare he?
How could a mere human, an outsider, have such a presence?
When Pride recovered from his brief shock, Bai Wu’s figure had already reached the territory of Windmill Tower.
Waiting for Bai Wu were Gluttony, Greed, and Sloth, three of the Seven Sins Sovereigns.
And Pride... was no longer able to extricate himself from the Tyrant to intercept Bai Wu.
He couldn’t help but turn and mockingly say:
"Once a king, now reduced to paving the way for others, don’t you find it shameful?"
Numerous bone spears emerged from the ground, and a crimson rage surged within his eyes.
This was the Tyrant’s response.
Pride almost got hurt. Looking at those bone spears sharp enough to cause him injury, his expression grew even colder:
"Fine, they need some entertainment anyway. As for you, I’ll make you understand what it means for times to change!"
A kick with space-twisting power swept across, breaking countless bones.
The showdown between Pride and the Tyrant began.
On another side of the battlefield.
Omega and Dracula were panting and drenched in blood.
Elijah lay on the ground, having the sense of death, but unable to do anything in the face of such a great power disparity.
On Envy’s side, Number Two’s armor had been completely stripped away, Jing’s left arm was broken, and the scales had completely shattered.
The Nightmare Ghost had it worse, facing Lust alone and being continuously consumed within a nightmare so real that his physical body reacted as if it were being consumed in reality.
He spat out blood and knelt on the ground, while Lust slowly walked toward Nightmare Ghost and stepped on his head with her high heels.
She let out a cold laugh:
"Such legends among the Evil Fallen, compared to us, are still far too inferior."
Across the battlefield, the Evil Fallen army, despite having a chance to charge thanks to a suicide squad, was gradually being suppressed.
The Sons of Order, who could not be killed, continued to pour in without end.
Jing, who had suddenly appeared and caught the opponents off guard, was also being disassembled by the skilled fighters of the Seventh Consortiums who had climbed onto its massive body.
Crimson watched Bai Wu running toward her, saw the crimson eyes, and noticed that the stark white bones riddled with countless fractures from Pride’s kicks bore even deeper frostbite marks.
More and more tears spilled from her eyes.
The entire northern part of Ice Kui City, this large stronghold and battlefield, the future of the Evil Fallen was gradually being submerged because of him.
Crimson felt like a sinner.
...
...
Seven black windmill towers formed a wide execution ground.
In the very center of this execution ground was where Crimson stood.
If Bai Wu could just climb up that central windmill tower, he would be able to save Crimson.
But those short tens of meters made Bai Wu’s journey incredibly tough.
Sloth’s gaze fixed on Bai Wu, making his body slower and slower.
Eventually, he became like a stone statue, almost entirely motionless.
"Let your body have a proper rest."
Even a snail was now countless times faster than Bai Wu at this moment.
Greed narrowed his eyes, and a strange golden light shone on Bai Wu, who saw a huge store emerge behind him.
"Next, I will buy everything from you. Ah, once bought by me, they will no longer belong to you!"
Gluttony could not wait any longer.
He leaped, collapsing one of the windmill towers, got in front of Bai Wu, and tore off an arm of Bai Wu in one swoop!
Bai Wu, in a state of stillness, could do nothing but watch as his arm was stuffed into the massive mouth of Gluttony.
There was no chance of victory one-on-one, let alone any sliver of survival against three.
Bai Wu was caught in a death trap.
Yet on the battlefield, only the Tyrant still had the strength to fight again.
The entire fight had not lasted long; it was instantaneous, and a massive battle erupted in an instant.
Indeed, the Evil Fallen had a brief advantage, but the terrifying power of the Seven Sins quickly turned the tide of the battle.
What Bai Wu was facing now were three of the most powerful monsters.
The peril in this situation was comparable only to the time he encountered Jing Si.
Seven Sins Sovereign, Sloth.
The fearsome negative aura would put the body into a completely passive state, refusing to obey the brain’s commands, causing a state of absolute stillness, vulnerable to any manipulation.
Seven Sins Sovereign, Greed.
Greed was wealthy beyond measure, his ability a Legendary Tier Entry—Golden Age.
He could extract certain characteristics from the opponent, turning them into commodities with a clear price, and as long as one could pay enough, they could take away the opponent’s possessions.
Seven Sins Sovereign, Gluttony.
As its name suggests, its ability is related to eating. When it displays its desire to eat, any object will turn into food, no matter how terrifying the body is, it instantly becomes fragile.
Bai Wu’s formidable body, even the Seven Deadly Sins Weapons find hard to sever, yet before Gluttony, it appears merely as food ready for casual slicing.
This battle...
...had no chance of victory.
The only one who could contend with the Seven Sins was the Tyrant.
The Tyrant was at his weakest, yet he was able to confront Pride, the strongest among the Seven Sins.
At first, Pride could suppress the Tyrant, but the Tyrant grew fiercer with every battle.
After a dozen rounds, he even managed to wound Pride.
This forced Pride to be cautious, after all, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse.
No matter how weak the monster was, he was once the king who even the seven of them feared.
Nonetheless, Pride still had an absolute upper hand.
The state of this great battle... was not going to change.
Bai Wu, unable to move, faced a fate of being devoured.
And behind Bai Wu, stood the summoned golden shop.
Life span, strength, speed, life recovery, vitality, mental toughness, defense, luck, and various other properties were displayed before Greed like merchandise on shelves.
But just as Greed was about to "empty out" Bai Wu, it hesitated for a moment.
In that instant, a trace of fear was visible in Greed’s eyes.
It was the first time since the Tyrant’s weakening... for the first time, he saw something on the goods that he couldn’t afford.
The Power of Twist.
An endless stream of negative emotions.
The price tags on these two items in the eyes of Greed read "???"
Meaning, these were priceless treasures.
Greed couldn’t imagine that Bai Wu possessed these two things. Even the Seven Deadly Sins Weapons and the Sequence powers on Bai Wu’s body had a clear price.
Just as Gluttony was about to twist off Bai Wu’s head, Bai Wu suddenly opened his eyes.
His sharp gaze shot out a beam of light.
Seeing this, Greed exclaimed:
"Quick! Gluttony, hurry, eat it! Eat it straight away!"
But how could the pleasure of savoring delicacy be rushed?
Gluttony, unfortunately, did not detect the panic in Greed’s words.
But the next second, as he was about to rip off Bai Wu’s head, a terrifying ball of black energy swiftly expanded.
The execution ground, encircled by seven windmill towers, was suddenly plunged into darkness and chaos.
Sloth, in shock, watched Bai Wu, and the other Seven Sins outside the battlefield also sensed the danger.
Wrath’s fiery anger was briefly suppressed as he looked at Bai Wu with astonishment.
Wasn’t this aura one that only the Twisted Master should possess?
Lust, ready to crush the Nightmare Ghost’s head beneath a heel and thus end it in a nightmare, suddenly stiffened for a second, turned her head, and also looked incredulously towards where Bai Wu was.
Pride, after kicking the Tyrant away, still kept his composure as he said:
"So this is the confidence that emboldened you to attempt a rescue? He has mastered the Power of Twist, we knew that much, but we never imagined he had grown to this extent."
Each time he employed the Power of Twist, Bai Wu’s understanding of distortion deepened.
He seemed like an Alpha among humans, gaining ever more precise control over this power.
Be it any Entry, any origin power, any rule...
In the face of absolute distortion, all lost their intended effect.
The strongest domains unfolded, Sloth’s passive domain, Greed’s Golden Age, Gluttony’s materialization of food, all dispersed.
The black distortion turned into countless particles of dust, just as Zhou Zeshui had once repaired Bai Wu’s body. Miraculously, at this moment, Bai Wu’s severed arm began to regenerate.
He took a step forward, and that step stirred ripples, birthing countless rules, while countless others were devoured.
A single step signified that the domains of the three Seven Sins Sovereigns were utterly suppressed by the Power of Twist.
This was truly the most formidable power!
Wrath, Envy, Lust, Pride, all abandoned their current opponents or prey and instead rushed into the incomparable domain of Bai Wu.
The Seven Sins converged in one place, as if it were thousands of years ago when they had united to confront a certain monster.
Bai Wu’s vitality continuously drained away.
The domain created by the united Seven Sins was also related to distortion.
Naturally, it could not match Bai Wu, but it did cause Bai Wu’s vitality to deplete significantly more.
With every step he took, Bai Wu’s body became thinner and more frail.
It was as if he was overextending his boundless life force.
He and the Skeletal Tyrant behind him began to bear a striking resemblance to each other.
No one could move within the domain, not even the Chief Inspector held hostage atop the Windmill Tower, who was trapped with Crimson.
Bai Wu no longer had the energy to ponder why the Chief Inspector turned out to be his own projection.
Did it mean that his past rescue of the captain and the alteration of the captain’s destiny had also led him to push the captain into another calamity with his own hands?
The absolute darkness of the domain transformed the entire execution ground into a chaotic area, reminiscent of the time at Jing Liu’s place of exile.
Even beings as powerful as the Seven Sins were rendered immobile.
Only Bai Wu continued to advance, step by step.
"Captain... I will absolutely save you!"
This seemed like the last thought in his mind, Bai Wu, walking in the darkness, fixated only on a crimson figure in his eyes.
But the combined domain of the Seven Sins was too powerful.
On the twelfth step, his eye sockets sank in, his eyes turning dull and lifeless.
The remarks in his eyes became chaotic, ultimately fading into darkness.
On the thirteenth step, his skin withered as if turned to sand, as though it could be scattered by the biting cold wind.
On the fourteenth step, as he reached out his hand, his flesh began to recede wildly.
His appearance, now terrible and skeletal, revealed his unwillingness.
Everyone watching this scene was moved. Even the Skeletal Tyrant had not anticipated that Bai Wu, this outsider... would go to such lengths for Crimson.
The immobilized Crimson’s thoughts were not affected.
Seeing the human struggling to approach, he suddenly realized... he should not have wished for death.
The man exhausting all his strength was not seeking to save him.
He just hoped that, in this twisted world, there would at least be one person who could live to the end in human form.
The fifteenth step.
There was no fifteenth step.
Bai Wu didn’t care about the huge consumption of life force; with Zhou Zeshui’s help from before, no matter the condition of his body, as long as he had time, he could recover to his best state.
But what he lacked at this moment... was time.
Bai Wu didn’t want to stop, but there was a moment when the tremendous burden made his body stop responding to him.
It was a very brief moment.
Yet in that instant of uncontrollable twist, the Chief Inspector atop the platform, finally able to control his body, didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
Time seemed to stand still.
A tremendous roaring sound echoed throughout the twisted and chaotic space.
The Tyrant and Bai Wu, it was as if they both suffered a heavy blow to the soul simultaneously.
As Bai Wu pressed on, trying to save his comrades, and watched the moment when the overwhelming firepower engulfed Crimson, a surge of scarlet flooded his already dry eyes.
...
...
"Bai Wu..."
The cold wind of the ice sea felt especially frigid today; whenever a gust blew into the cabin, it seemed to freeze one’s soul.
On the sickbed, Wu Jiu, who had already transformed into an Evil Fallen Body, still had his eyes tightly shut.
Over these past few days, Wu Jiu seemed to have had a long dream.
The dream was fragmented, as if many different scenes were mixed together.
In this dream, he returned to the second layer of the High Tower.
Although he was dreaming, it felt like waking up from a deep sleep.
When he opened his eyes, what he saw was Ruan Qingyun’s study. On the desk lay the photo he took with Ruan Qingyun when they were at Ghost Grinding Firm together.
Memories instantly surfaced in his mind.
"Qingyu, will you ever leave us?"
"I will." That year’s Gu Qingyu was still a teenager, but the determination in his eyes already resembled that of his later years.
"That’s so heartless... I was saying, if you stayed here, I would marry you in two years."
Ruan Qingyun’s casual remark made the usually serious teenager blush to his ears.
Yet, after a long silence, the youth shook his head:
"The place I’m going to, many people die every year."
"No worries, if you die I’ll just remarry. So when are you going to marry me?"
Gu Qingyu was taken aback but then he heard the girl’s laughter:
"Just kidding."
His thoughts returned to the present, Wu Jiu looked at the photograph on the desk, savoring the ’just kidding’ of the past.
He didn’t know whether the girl’s joke that year referred to marrying her or to her remarrying.
Intense light flooded the study.
In the fragmented dream, these scenes naturally fit together in odd ways.
In the end, Gu Qingyu did not marry Ruan Qingyun.
No matter what ’just kidding’ meant, it was just a joke after all.
Wu Jiu seemed to be aware of some of the things happening to him.
He gently touched the photograph, wiping away some of the dust:
"I’m sorry, Qingyun."
Blinding light swallowed everything, and Wu Jiu subconsciously closed his eyes. When he next opened them, he was already on the edge of Baichuan City.
Gu Hailin, Nie Chongshan, Liu Mu, appeared before him.
"You’re here?"
They seemed to have already known what was about to happen, greeting Wu Jiu with a familiar tone.
Wu Jiu was momentarily stunned, then looked at Liu Mu:
"Sorry..."
Liu Mu shook his head with a smile:
"Hahaha, it should be me saying sorry... As a shield, I ultimately failed to protect you. I have led you down the same path as mine."
Nie Chongshan snorted coldly:
"Kid, any regrets?"
Wu Jiu shook his head.
Gu Hailin said:
"No regrets, that’s good. Thus, you live up to the name of the Investigation Corps."
Wu Jiu simply looked at the night sky and said:
"I have no regrets, and I’ve always been prepared for this because I’m not more special than any of you."
Liu Mu’s expression turned somber:
"But surely there are some regrets, right?"
Wu Jiu didn’t deny it:
"Yes, there are some regrets. But from today on, I am just like you."
Nie Chongshan laughed:
"Not bad, maybe this is the destiny of people like us? We want to live on as humans, but this world... doesn’t let people be human."
Wu Jiu nodded, still very calm.
It was merely the same ordeal his colleagues and predecessors experienced. To carry out the justice in their hearts, he had long been ready.
But ultimately... there were still some regrets.
Daylight poured in, and the night instantly turned to day; the fragmented dream changed scenes once more.
The original Baichuan City transformed into a vast expanse of white.
In the final scene of the dream, Wu Jiu saw a crimson figure.
Even though they had never met, merely crossing paths in a fleeting encounter at Color Domain.
But at this moment, when Wu Jiu saw Crimson, he felt the familiar sensation of an old friend returning.
"You’ve worked hard. It’s been a long time."
"It’s been a long time."
In the vast whiteness, Crimson said,
"It seems I’ve reached the end, I’m sorry... I couldn’t survive, leaving your life filled with many regrets."
Wu Jiu neither shook his head nor nodded.
Not being able to live on as a human indeed held many regrets.
Many faces flashed through his mind: Ruan Qingyun, Liu Mu, Qin Zong.
He finally shook his head and said,
"That guy... must be feeling terrible, right?"
"Yes, he tried his best to save you... he made it all the way to me, but unfortunately..."
The two fell into a brief silence, but they were both heroes after all.
In two different worlds, they guarded their respective realms in their own way.
The two soon pulled themselves together.
Wu Jiu stood up, his small figure gradually becoming hazy.
Crimson also stood up, his figure becoming blurry as well. He extended his clenched fist, without unnecessary dialogue, without lengthy goodbyes:
"Please, continue to live with resolve from now on."
"Alright."
Wu Jiu also extended his clenched fist.
Life certainly had many regrets, but there will always be those who will not stop because of regrets, who switch targets.
In a blank world, Wu Jiu and Crimson bumped fists.
Carrying both regrets and no regrets, heroes from two worlds merged into one.
...
...
Third layer of the Well World.
Ice Kui City.
The giant oak-colored Windmill Tower saw a crimson figure beginning to dissipate like dust.
The Well Domain was lifted.
Bai Wu, who had fallen in despair, stared blankly at the fading figure, as if overwhelmed by immense emotion and utterly frozen.
"Captain..."
Bai Wu’s face showed an unprecedented look of despair and loneliness.
He knew that the fading figure atop the Windmill Tower didn’t signify absolute death.
But he was still unbearably sad.
He had experienced death and rebirth over a thousand times with a certain individual.
And in Zao Lake Village, he had nearly faced a true parting of life and death.
In reality, the time was short. In Bai Wu’s life, solitary as a freak, the people of the High Tower had only been known for two years.
Yet in those two years, he could find an enormously solid cache of memories. He could recount numerous life-and-death experiences with his captain.
If possible, Bai Wu wished he could bear more, so that the not-so-tall hero... did not have to die as lonely as The First Generation.
Did not have to end his life still in the body of an Evil Fallen like Zhou Zeshui.
He hoped that in this world, there would be a hero who could make it to the end like a human, uncorrupted.
He hoped that person would be Wu Jiu.
But at this moment, all of that had become empty talk.
Tears flowed from Bai Wu’s weak, sickly eyes, as if returning to a distant, lonely, rainy twilight from many years ago.
Anguished roars echoed through every corner of Ice Kui City, and from the heartrending screams erupted an endless surge of negative emotions!
In the moment Greed thought the other could no longer use the Power of Twist and was about to rejoice...
He suddenly saw a beam of crimson light shooting up into the sky, as everything around seemed to be covered by a layer of cold blue.
This cold city, as if instantly scorched by the fierce sun.
The long-accumulated ice and snow around Bai Wu started to swiftly turn into steam!
"Emotional power is nothing to fear," Greed reassured himself.
When Bai Wu was angry, his emotions could transform into Karmic Fire that burned everything to ashes. His sorrow could become a power that melts life away.
This information was well known to them. Although Karmic Fire and frost were terrifying, they were not high in priority in terms of rules and could be suppressed by many others.
Moreover, these abilities could not enhance Bai Wu’s strength or speed.
Against the powerful Seven Sins, there should have been no chance for a turnaround in this battle.
But Greed couldn’t help but marvel at the tremendous power being released. What kind of anger and sorrow was this?
Was this an emotion a human could emit?
Everyone present was captivated by this outsider who was reaching the extremes of sorrow and rage.
Lust, like Greed, initially disregarded the outsider’s change, but she suddenly realized something.
Bai Wu’s emotional power, if it were as usual, should have exploded like a blossoming lotus. So why... was this force reaching straight to the heavens?
Not just Lust, but everyone else who had come to their senses at this moment sensed something was amiss.
"Where’s the Tyrant?"
Pride was shocked, the Tyrant he had knocked away with one kick was no longer in the previous place.
Fear etched upon the faces of each of the Seven Sins.
At this moment, Omega looked up to the remnants of clouds burned by Karmic Fire, and a crimson figure appeared in the sky!
Roars like the sound of a dragon echoed from the heavens.
Immense pressure descended. Gluttony’s huge body suddenly took a few steps back:
"Impossible... impossible... how could one person’s negative emotions be enough to satiate that creature?"
At this moment, everyone witnessed an incredibly shocking scene.
The crimson-fleshed Evil Fallen king, flapping cold blue wings, revealed his domineering body amidst the vast spiraling nebula.
Upon the blood-red flesh, numerous open eyes displayed the same emotions as the young man on the ground.
The ear-shattering roar seemed to announce to the world—
The Tyrant has returned!
~~~~~~~~~~~End of the Chapter~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Started writing this from last night, and continued until now after getting up, fulfilling indeed, setting a personal record for the longest single Chapter I’ve written, ask for your monthly tickets, the 29th is double monthly ticket day. This month is the best chance for Doomsday Puzzle to claim the top spot in the monthly ticket rankings, if not this month, probably not until it’s finished, earnestly requesting your monthly tickets during the double period!)
