Free Web NovelChapter 629: Free Supporting Role: [Ling]
Ma Ran ignored Him, silently increasing the pressure on the opponent and analyzing fragments from the brainwaves that escaped, extracting valuable snippets of memory to gather intelligence.
Throughout the process of gradually intensifying the opponent’s pressure, [Ling]’s performance also proved the correctness of Ma Ran’s initial speculation.
This deity, from the very beginning, had been hiding its true strength.
It was only that Ma Ran’s continuous increase in the intensity of this battle forced [Ling] to expose his real level.
After pushing the opponent to a near-limit state, Ma Ran reluctantly put on an act of being "on high alert" and began to "fight with all his might."
In reality...
The so-called "intense battle" was merely a conclusion drawn from [Ling]’s perspective.
Even before rebirth, Ma Ran had experienced battles ten times more brutal and bloody than this one.
In Ma Ran’s view, as an [Exorcist], [Ling] indeed had more brute strength compared to the authentic [Yan] and that stargazing god [Ji] from back then.
Ma Ran even thought, if it were a fight to the death, [Ling] could easily defeat both [Yan] and [Ji].
However...
After acquiring the Reproduction Medal from [Ye Fengqing’s Time Stop Territory] and reaching the Twenty-Fourth Rank in the "Burning Martial" realm...
Frankly speaking, if Ma Ran wished, at the very moment he encountered [Ling], he could directly erase the opponent, annihilate his Divine Soul and Divine Body, and smash his Divine Format to use as fertilizer for the Fake Earth’s Secret Realm.
The reason for keeping [Ling] until now is simple — this fellow holds crucial information, and moreover, he is a decent supporting character in the upcoming improvised script.
A one-man show is hard to pull off.
With free supporting actors, why not use them?
During the battle, Ma Ran held back while extracting memory fragments from the stray thoughts of [Ling], gathering critical information.
The act of reading others’ memories demands extremely high skill from the caster and involves great risk. One careless mistake could lead to the caster’s consciousness being overwhelmed by the influx of information, resulting in brain damage.
Top-notch meticulous control, an extremely robust will, and an immaculate memory invasion technique — these three elements are indispensable!
Even reading an ordinary person’s memory can easily pose problems, and when the target is a deity, it’s even harder than ascending to the heavens.
After all, a deity’s lifespan is extraordinarily long, and the vast amount of information in their memory is enough to shatter the souls of most Extraordinary Ones who consider their will resolute.
Nonetheless, Ma Ran, being highly skilled and daring, risked using the Youwen Text Illusion and Enchantment ability during the battle, luring [Ling] into contemplating key pieces of intel.
While it wasn’t a straightforward and crude "Soul Search" to forcibly extract the opponent’s memory, doing so targeted specific information and was slightly safer.
As a [Demon Slayer], [Ling] indeed provided Ma Ran with numerous surprises.
"The ’Insect Race Civilization’ designated as No. 9 Demon Nest, and the ’Parasitic Civilization’ designated as No. 11 Demon Nest, both hold priority far above Earth Civilization..."
Ma Ran quietly digested this important intelligence. freewēbnoveℓ.com
The Insect Race Civilization of No. 9 Demon Nest, unlike Earth, does not possess the capability to counter the [Avoidance Protection].
They have absolutely no means to harm the deities dispatched by the [Divine Court], so...
In the face of the deity army led by [Demon Slayers], the Insect Race could only strive desperately to devour all resources they could reach, like a black hole.
They frantically reproduce, expanding their population.
Whether they hope their reproduction speed exceeds the speed of slaughter, or aim merely to disgust the [Divine Court] is unknown.
In any case, the reasons and motivations are not important.
What matters is that since the [Divine Court] started the siege, up until now, the Insect Race has destroyed more than 43,000 small to medium-sized civilizations during its frenzied population expansion.
Yes.
Not tens, nor hundreds, nor thousands, but tens of thousands of civilizations!
The [Demon Slayer] army dispatched by the Divine Court is not a useless pile of dead weight; they’ve achieved remarkable results in the pursuit of the Insect Race.
By strategically adjusting, they gradually laid out defenses, compressing the Insect Race’s living space.
In the alternation of life and death, a material recycling chain was achieved in the war-torn areas.
As for the No. 11 Demon Nest "Parasitic Civilization," its leading entities gave Ma Ran the impression of being somewhat like the "system elves" that could often be seen in Earth network novels for a period of time.
They are formless and intangible; they do not require light energy, thermal energy, nuclear energy, or any other energy source, nor do they need to absorb any matter. They simply parasitize high-intelligent life forms, coexisting symbiotically.
"The Insect Race Civilization" opts to fight to the death — even if they perish, they wish to make the [Divine Court] lose their mind — aren’t you maintaining cosmic balance and resisting the resurrection of the end? Then I’ll slaughter the cosmos! Leave you with nothing, let’s see what you can ultimately protect?!
"The Parasitic Civilization" chooses to flee, formless and intangible as they are, with bizarre life forms and somewhat cowardly conduct, always parasitizing various high-intelligent entities, effectively embodying the principle of "staying alive to fight another day," similarly throwing the [Divine Court] into a mess.
These fragmented intel snippets, even for someone as knowledgeable as Ma Ran, were eye-opening.
He never imagined that in the vast cosmos, there were so many civilizations!
By now, Ma Ran confirmed one thing.
The piece of intelligence provided by [Tomb], whose thought pattern he and Su Qiangwei had altered before, was not erroneous!
In the view of the [Divine Court]...
Earth Civilization is not special; it’s merely one of the tens of "to-be-destroyed demon nests," not even holding a particularly high priority.
Aside from that...
The amusing part for Ma Ran is that the three Middle Rank gods surveilling [Yan] actually chose to deceive those above and conceal from those below, attempting to cover up the news of the "Burning Martial" manuscript and privately divide the benefits.
This situation was actually within Ma Ran’s expectations.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have specifically intercepted [Ling] here today.
As long as the benefits are substantial enough, deities are willing to take risks, even risking falling or being pinned on the Wall of the End, to do things that violate the rules of the [Divine Court].
"Huh? Why am I thinking about these matters?"
The golden armor on [Ling] was riddled with dents and torn, with golden blood streaming down his face, looking particularly miserable, yet his mind was as clear as when he first arrived.
His eyes gleamed as he stared intently at Ma Ran: "You are interfering with my thoughts, collecting my divine thought waves?!"
"Such a method..."
"And considering the contents you are concerned with..."
"You, though outwardly flawless, I have already determined — you are not [Yan] at all!"
"Such an impeccable simulation technique..."
"Are you, in fact, a top-tier demonic companion from the Parasitic Civilization, or a perfectly mutated new-type insect from the Insect Race?"
Upon hearing this, Ma Ran’s expression darkened to an exceedingly sinister degree.
Instantly, the Youwen Text Illusion was fully deployed.
A bone spike, like a black long sword with a ceramic texture, extended from Ma Ran’s tailbone.
He looked at [Ling] with an indifferent expression, eyes filled with malevolent intent and overflowing with murderous intent: "You are not truly a wise god."
"A deity with wisdom, even upon guessing the truth, wouldn’t outright reveal it."
"You’re forcing me to silence you!"
