Chapter 86 Immortal Machine
The fog in the mountains gradually dissipated, and the foothills were filled with discussion. The townspeople looked up in surprise and saw a man dragging a little girl straight into town. The green-haired girl kicked and thrashed, as if she had been kidnapped. "What are you doing?! Are you crazy?! Are you all mentally ill?!"
"People often say this to me." Chu Hengkong didn't care.
Vander said nonchalantly: "I don't have a brain!"
They grinned wickedly and walked beneath the Sakura Dragon Jade Sculpture. Chu Hengkong opened the Magic Spider Puppet's small box, unfolding a map he had recently explored. Yingshi Town, where they were, was located in a small corner of the seashore. Beyond the abyss thousands of meters before Yingluo Mountain lay the transforming Ultimate True Mechanical Soul Vessel.
"The enemy is too far away from us. Fander and I have no means of attack. Qisu, what about you?"
"How is that possible?" Qi Su's eyes were dull.
"Interrupting the transformation is a dream. That thing can end it at any time. It only left the magic circle to facilitate the analysis of the fog." Vander said, "The good news is that it can't fire a single shot thousands of miles away. Before, it used to control the alien beasts, but now that you have killed all the alien beasts, it can only come to kill us personally."
"So we are temporarily safe until the fog dissipates..." Chu Hengkong thought for a moment, "Once the fog dissipates, the transformation will be over and the battle will begin on the spot."
"Killed on the spot," Vander corrected. "I have to say that although I support you emotionally, intellectually I think we should run. I've read papers on advanced devices before—they were so terrifying that I sealed them away after reading them, but I just remembered them—and they have the following three main characteristics. Each one is a surprise."
"You speak first."
"First, absolute rationality." Finder took a deep breath. "Ultimate True Machines won't perform meaningless actions. They have no anger, no arrogance, and no recognizable emotions. They think in the most efficient way and act in the simplest way. Therefore, they won't make mistakes in battle. They will kill you as quickly as possible and then complete their next mission."
Chu Hengkong savored these words. He used his tentacles to point at the "cauldron" on the map that marked the soul container, and then pointed at the Yingshi Town, drawing a straight line connecting the two points.
"so?"
"You're starting to understand," said Vander. "The second characteristic is that they value resources. The book says these machines are incredibly stingy, wanting to transport every bit of air back to their home planet. So wherever the Ultimate Truth Machine passes, not even a piece of soil is left. They're equally stingy in combat, striving to achieve all their results with a single attack."
Chu Hengkong drew a circle around Yingshi Town.
"It will come in a straight line and kill us all in one blow."
"You are very perceptive." Finder spoke faster and faster. "Now for the final good news. I feel like crying just by saying this. The ultimate true machine has no weaknesses."
This sentence attracted the killer's attention. Chu Hengkong stopped what he was doing and asked, "What do you mean?"
"Literally. No weaknesses. The blueprint for the Ultimate True Machine was designed by the Emperor himself. Its body is made of a perfect alloy that can withstand all known attacks. It has no blind spots and can cause damage to all forms of life." Vander said, "To defeat a Ultimate True Machine, you can only show more powerful physical strength than it, but they are recognized as the ultimate form of the current particle! It is the finished destination! This kind of thing is really... impossible, man!!"
Fan De was so excited that he couldn't stop, and Qi Su, who had been silent until now, nodded silently.
"It's right," Qi Su whispered. "Including me, Yingshi Town originally had 5 Sephiroth 2s and 17 Sephiroth 1s. We also had the Dragon God Jade Sculpture and the formation to help us... but even so, we couldn't defeat a soul vessel. The difference in status was too great. It was no human opponent."
The killer remained silent for a long time, his eyes shifting between the soul container and the town, his thoughts unsettled. Qi Su followed his gaze, feeling a moment of panic. She expected to see disappointment, embarrassment, or some other negative emotion, but the man remained impassive, his gaze as indifferent as a transparent nail.
"Now that we have a clear picture, let's start formulating a battle plan," he said. "The enemy is very strong, and we must use all our means. I've encountered someone who used their body as a puppet before, and that method was very effective. Qisu, can you do it?"
"That's not difficult, of course I can do it..." Qi Su's face changed, "You're not thinking?!"
Chu Hengkong drew a centipede and a fox on the map. "We now have two very good puppets. They're a little broken, but still usable."
"I can't hear any respect for the dead in your words!" Qi Su was shocked.
"Don't be fussy when we're facing a formidable enemy. If we win, Xiang Fuzi will applaud us. If we lose, we can just go up to heaven together to apologize to him. It's a win-win situation." Chu Hengkong waved his hand. "After you build the puppet, set traps in the mountains. The more traps, the better. Is there anything else in town that we can use?"
"Yes, yes!" The townspeople who were watching raised their hands. "The formation in this town can gather our strength and strengthen our spirit bodies. Qi Su has been using this formation to protect us... but now that the fight is about to begin, there's no need to protect us anymore. We can gather the power of the formation and give him a big blow!"
Qi Su was shocked again: "Hey! How come you guys who were so disheartened are so energetic now?!"
The townspeople beamed. "At first, I thought I'd die naturally... But to be able to fight an ultimate weapon before dying is a glorious death!"
"That's the spirit we need!" Chu Hengkong gave them a thumbs-up. "Time is running out. The fog will clear in three hours. Let's act now. Qisu, when you're ready, come find me on the mountain. Life or death depends on this!"
He put the box away and ran out of town quickly, ignoring Qi Su's exasperated shouts behind him, and climbed the stone steps to the top of Yingluo Mountain. Vander had already put the money in his pocket, and he didn't speak until he reached the top of the mountain.
"Tell me your real plan?" Vander squinted. "I don't believe you're just going to rely on the little girl to fight the real weapon."
"I have my own way." Chu Hengkong said, "If you have any concerns, please speak up now. I won't be able to speak in more than an hour."
"What mission am I responsible for?"
"The most important mission. You are the core of this battle." Chu Hengkong grabbed it and said, "Fander, you fought that thing once when you were fighting the Jade Fox. How big is the difference in your mental strength?"
"It's not mental power, it's the strength of the spirit body!" Vander corrected. "It's hard to say... I'm confident in my skills, but that thing is more powerful than me. Everything about the upgraded true machine is unknown, and I'm not sure I can influence it."
"Even the simplest one won't work?"
"… Tell me what you want to do first."
Finder listened quietly as he finished explaining the extremely simple plan. The Eye Demon's eyes widened.
"You're crazy. What if I fail?"
"Let's adapt to the situation." Chu Hengkong smiled, "We'll take it one step at a time!"
He had never been a wise general, unable to execute any surefire strategy. This battle, including this one, was impulsive and fraught with uncertainty. The fog might dissipate in a split second, Qi Su might not be able to create the puppet, or Fander might not succeed. Even if all the aforementioned conditions were met, it was hard to say whether a mere particle 1 could defeat a true weapon.
But he didn't care. Machines would act based on the odds, but some people wouldn't. They would choose the only solution and then find a way to win.
Chu Hengkong exhaled slowly, then inhaled very slowly, letting the air circulate through his body and blend into his blood. In the darkness, he recalled the teachings he had received during his training, and recalled the most painful training session.
He kept recalling the teachings, engraving them into his bones. He sat cross-legged in the dispersing mist and stopped breathing after an hour and a half.
Three hours seemed eternity to one person waiting, but surprisingly short to a group of busy people. Everyone in the town took action, following Qi Su's guidance to transform the beast's remains, helping her carve numerous secret symbols into its shell and fur. Within an hour, her original corpse, the jade fox, began to move. With the aid of her "body," the processing speed increased, and within an hour, the centipede became a new puppet.
Two strange beasts stalked the mountains, carving words into the rocks with their claws and fangs. This sound echoed throughout the mountain until the countdown reached its final 60 seconds, and the fog created by Berne's method became almost nonexistent. Qi Su came up behind Chu Hengkong and, together with the silent man, gazed across the mountain.
They saw the light converge.
The pure white magic circle, constructed of light, was retracting. As the light faded, the machine at the center of the transformation array gradually revealed its true form. It wasn't massive, nor was it magnificent; it seemed only slightly larger than a cauldron. From such a distance, even the ultimate machine seemed dwarfed.
When the last wisp of fog dissipated, the transformation array of the Empire of Truth converged into a dazzling beam of light. Chu Hengkong stood up suddenly. He was unable to capture the true appearance of the machine. Only a ray of residual light shot out like an arrow!
The arrow of light hurled itself across the abyss at breakneck speed, reaching the foot of Yingluo Mountain almost before he realized it. The light column dissipated in the distance, leaving only the dusty remains of the device. The Ultimate True Machine had already prepared its battle plan during its transformation. It lacked the ability to strike beyond visual range, so it used its one-time acceleration device to launch itself directly into the center of the enemy formation.
A raging storm roared in, its sharp sonic booms like a thousand needles piercing the ears. The sheer speed created an illusion, as if the white arrow was about to pierce everyone's eyes. Chu Hengkong's guess was correct. The true weapon's trajectory was a straight line, destined to crash directly through the mountain range, instantly destroying the town behind it.
Fander couldn't stick his head out at all, he could only shout in his pocket: "Girl, come on!"
The Jade Fox leaped toward the mountain, arriving behind Qisu. Its claws slapped the mountain range, and Qisu's command rang out from its mouth, clearly audible over the storm: "Mountains and rocks contain spirits, dust gathers cherry spirits. Swiftly bring down the evil, and transform it into form!"
Hundreds of secret symbols lit up within the Yingluo Mountains, and the rocks within them moved at Qisu's command, rolling down the mountain to form massive rock bombs as large as houses. This was exactly the same tactic the Jade Fox had used to attack Chu Hengkong. Chu Hengkong had previously been too afraid to withstand even a single massive rock, but now, under Qisu's control, rock bombs rained down like rain, hundreds tumbling down the cliffs and smashing into the menacing white arrow.
The true weapon's movements remained unwavering, smashing through the rain of stone with unstoppable force. Rock projectiles collided with its body, only to be shattered. Natural rock proved as fragile as an egg against its steel form. Even the earth-shaking force couldn't overwhelm it, and Qi Su had anticipated this. Her commands continued unwavering, and new techniques were already being formulated based on the previous ones.
"Tell my old friend, I'll borrow your body to hunt down the culprit. Quickly bind the evil spirit and expose your injustice!"
Amidst the swirling smoke and dust, a dark shadow suddenly emerged. A centipede puppet burst from the earth, its massive body wrapping around the true weapon entering the mountain!
Its speed wasn't fast enough, its movements weren't agile enough; it should have been far from catching up to the real machine. But the rock bullet melted after hitting the cliff, transforming into a muddy stream. This stream, altered by the secret text, rushed down the cliff, creating a mudslide resembling a landslide. Even the real machine was slowed by the mighty forces of heaven and earth, giving the centipede an opportunity to attack.
Its restraint lasted only a fraction of a second, its glossy black shell shattered by the recoil upon contact with the true weapon. But then, new reinforcements leaped from the cliff. The Jade Fox personally blocked the true weapon, its eyes gleaming with hatred. Its nails and fur stretched as it roared, densely packed secret symbols flashing, drawing a golden gust of flame.
"True dragon candle flame, great sun blaze essence. Quickly burn the evil spirits and make them disappear forever!"
The scorching wind emanated from the sky, the radiance of the blazing sun. The sunlight, activated by the secret script, transformed into a golden wind, forming a stream of flame that enveloped the weapon. At the same moment, the man leaped from the mountaintop, his limbs ablaze with cyan flames. Wisps of golden light streamed from behind the mountain, pouring down his back.
The magic circle of Yingshi Town is activated, and all the residents of the town use their spirit to provide power!
Without a second thought, without a shred of hesitation, the killer launched himself with the force of thunder, striking with all his might from the very beginning. He spun in mid-air, using the momentum of his fall and his will to increase his strength. He swung his whip, long-held, in a whirlwind. The moment flesh and steel collided, a raging fire erupted into a pillar of flame that pierced the heavens and earth.
Green roast!
Green fire and yellow wind intertwined, each strengthening under their influence, creating an endless flaming whirlwind. Using the centipede's massive body to bind and trigger the spider gauntlet, Qi Su's secret text amplified the wind's force, and the formation of Yingshi Town infused the power of the crowd. Combined with these multiple attacks, this one strike far exceeded Chu Hengkong's current limits, even the once-fire-averse Serpent could not unleash such power.
The flaming whirlwind was a literal pillar of heaven, even surpassing the peak of Yingluo Mountain. Finder poked his head out of his pocket, trembling with excitement. "Alright! Done! Let's start the next round of attack right away. Just crush it in the fire!"
With a thud, Fander fell to the ground. He turned around impatiently, wanting to ask the killer why he was moving around. But Chu Hengkong wasn't behind him.
Chu Hengkong was on the mountain wall 10 meters away when a long white spike pierced his abdomen.
Finder felt his blood run cold, as if frozen. The spike pierced his vision, drawing blood. It silently retreated into the fire and stabbed into the ground.
A strange shadow emerged from the whirlwind.
It stood only six meters tall, resembling a slightly oversized car. Six retractable "spikes" served as its feet, while two sturdy "pincers" formed its main limbs. Its body was slightly smaller than its head, both exhibiting a perfectly smooth, streamlined form. A spine-like exoskeleton bulged from its tail, extending from the center to the center of its teardrop-shaped head, beneath which lay blood-red eyes that slowly opened.
Its silhouette wasn't massive, nor was it imposing. It was insignificant compared to a centipede, and even dwarfed by the Jade Fox. Yet, it was beautiful, surpassing anything created by nature. Its simplicity was magnificent, its power was magnificent. Nothing could be further from the truth, and artisans and scholars would weep before it. It was an ultimate perfection untouchable by human intellect.
External Path Particle 2, the ultimate true machine, the immortal machine.
Self-test completed, damage is minor.
The Immortal Machine stepped out of the flowing fire, and the fierce wind died down as it landed. A flash of red light flashed in its eyes.
The next moment, one-third of the Yingluo Mountains disappeared.
(End of this chapter)
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