Chapter 263
Xie Xubai remained silent, then suddenly asked in a cold voice, "Having betrayed your own beliefs, how could your contracted deity still be willing to grant you divine power?"
The Fifth Apostle laughed, and a phantom appeared behind him.
It was a figure even taller than that of a great lord, with hair that rose like flames, spreading across the sky, arms like mountains, and a body that reached for the heavens. Countless iron chains were wrapped around that muscular body, emitting a metallic hum when taut, with their ends deeply embedded in the ground.
He is the child of the ancient Titans, Gaia, the Earth Mother, and Uranus, the Sky God.
Legend has it that there are twelve Titans, each with different powers and authority. This one is merely an embodiment of the Titan concept, but even without a real name, its existence changes the very fabric of the world.
“Why not?” the Fifth Apostle scoffed in a low voice. “When have the Titans, known for their brutality, ever cared about the deaths of humans? And what kind of good people are their followers? I’m not betraying my beliefs; on the contrary, I’ve found true beliefs.”
In a flash, a golden light appeared, and Xie Xubai's limbs exploded with a loud crack as the shackles snapped and the broken iron chains clattered to the ground.
With the power of the gods withdrawing, the Great Lord suddenly found his hand empty. It was too late to stop. The white bone claw, carrying immense force, slammed down and smashed the altar to pieces!
Dust billowed everywhere, and the aftershocks swept out, sending thousands of skeleton soldiers flying in the wind and waves!
The giant skeletal claw shook off the rubble and moved it away, only to find the pit empty, with only the remains of the rack and altar. There was no sign of Xie Xubai.
The system's database did not retrieve any information about Xie Xubai inheriting the artifact of destiny. It was still repeatedly checking whether there was a record error, and upon seeing this, it was filled with shock and anger.
Looking up again, he saw a figure rapidly shrinking away from the previously empty horizon – it was Xie Xubai!
Don't let him get away, catch him!
The Great Lord gave chase upon hearing the sound, his massive body rising into the sky like a surging black sandstorm.
The Fifth Apostle crawled out of the rubble of the altar, covered in dust and grime, spitting bloody saliva onto the ground. He pressed his chest and felt a sharp pain; two of his ribs were broken. He couldn't help but swear.
If he hadn't reacted quickly and used his divine power as a protective shield, he would already be on his way to restarting the cycle.
The Fifth Apostle took a deep breath, glanced menacingly in the direction Xie Xubai had fled, and then turned and left.
Undoubtedly, the system was enraged by his passive-aggressive attitude: [Stop! Who let you leave? You really are plotting against us!]
"I'll say it one last time, I wish I could kill him, but you've never trusted me from the beginning. Whether it was acting on your own initiative, forcing me to do it, or even now, I suspect you don't think destroying that artifact would be useful. But that guy's instinctive reaction to run away says it all—"
"Unfortunately, it's too late!"
The Fifth Apostle scoffed, "He's almost disappeared by now, what can I do? Even if I catch up, do you really expect me to withstand the power of the gods and kill him? Dream on!"
He turned around again, but after only a few steps his body suddenly sank, his feet crushing the floor, and a metallic taste rising in his throat.
Realizing it was the system putting pressure on him, the Fifth Apostle's face turned pale and then red: "Fuck...!"
The system stared intently at the Fifth Apostle through the void, its gaze sinister and chilling, like a knife scraping bone.
It was at this moment that the evil god's pressure spread across the thirty-first floor, like a restless volcano, brewing terrifying destructive power—He seemed to sense the predicament Xie Xubai's divided soul was in.
Players at the bottom of the Black Tower are also speeding up their pace, gradually gathering into large groups of hundreds or thousands, and steadily advancing towards the higher levels.
Different paths lead to the same goal, and the momentum is unstoppable.
Everything gradually overlapped with the trajectory of his previous life.
The system is not as fearless as players imagine. It suffered a great loss at Xie Xubai's hands and was forced to lower the game difficulty and revise the rules.
In its view, Xie Xubai's personal destructive power was not worth mentioning at all.
But it was very inexplicable.
Whether it is a god or a man, as long as he is here, he will be like rivers flowing from all directions, converging into a vast and magnificent sea.
That means that if this continues, Xie Xubai will receive protection not only from the blessings of the gods, but also from a genuine evil god and a group of followers willing to risk their lives for him.
The system relented and withdrew its oppressive aura: "Fine, I'll grant you the power to destroy that artifact of destiny."
The Fifth Apostle's eyes flickered: "Why don't you just make a move yourself? Why do you have to make me do it?"
Because it is not possible.
The system violated the rules first, disregarding the original game settings, drastically altering the difficulty of each level, and creating this unwarranted disaster of pollutants.
Now it has suffered a backlash and can no longer act directly, so it can only rely on others.
The system, of course, wouldn't reveal its shortcomings. The Fifth Apostle clicked his tongue: "Those are artifacts of destiny, involving the top-level law [Time]. You tried everything to destroy them before but failed, and now you're telling me it's possible? You're definitely trying to trick me. I won't do it!"
The system flew into a rage and unleashed its pressure once more. The Fifth Apostle felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer, letting out a muffled groan as a metallic taste of blood welled up in his throat, and bulging, menacing veins appeared on his forehead.
But he was no coward; even when he was on the verge of death from the system's torture, he didn't utter a single word.
The system could only temporarily block the space of the thirtieth floor of the Black Tower, leaving Xie Xubai temporarily isolated and helpless.
As time ticked by, it had no choice but to give in again, and said angrily.
[Of course it's not that simple! I will directly modify the defensive parameters of all the items on Xie Xubai's body, so you only have one chance.]
"Only one chance?" the Fifth Apostle retorted. "What a joke! Who knows what that item looks like? What if I accidentally use the wrong item?"
The artifact of destiny is not a system-generated item, and even within the game rules, it cannot be locked.
It had once captured fragments of Xie Xubai's soul, but at that time it did not find any trace of the artifact of destiny, which is why it doubted the Fifth Apostle's words.
As for now, it cannot be certain, nor dares to gamble.
"Then you will die too."
The system's mechanical voice was filled with chilling murderous intent: "[You only have one chance, no more. And you must complete the contract, handing over the remaining half of your soul to me.]"
The Fifth Apostle sneered coldly: "You still don't trust me after all."
If you truly submit to me, why fear to offer all your souls to me? When humanity is defeated, I assure you that you will share in the glory of victory with me.
The Fifth Apostle remained silent, while the system questioned him ominously: "Or are you hiding something, and never intended to kill Xie Xubai at all?"
"..."
Lightning ripped through the dark sky, and a hurricane roared as it swept across the ravaged land. A storm was brewing, and a cold, damp atmosphere filled the air.
The Fifth Apostle's fingers, which were braced against the ground, clenched inwards, his knuckles taut and trembling slightly.
He silently raised his head and met the eyes of the skeleton soldiers, which burned with purple ghostly flames. Inside were only battle lust and bloodlust. Tens of thousands of them were identical, like machines that had been copied and pasted together.
Perhaps due to the partial fusion of soul and system, the Fifth Apostle was able to vaguely glimpse the true nature of these monsters through their terrifying and ferocious appearance.
It felt both familiar and comforting.
After Lao Jiu and his comrades defected to the enemy, they suddenly broke down and went mad, becoming increasingly depraved. How much of this was due to this?
The Fifth Apostle neither knew nor was interested. He only thought about how the Ninth and Tenth Apostles had been judged by Xie Xubai and their souls had dissipated.
Perhaps that will be his final fate.
"good."
Augutov took a deep breath, the lingering metallic taste of blood in his throat. He laughed, "But I don't trust you either. It turns out you only cause trouble. So before destroying the artifact of destiny, I must maintain absolute clarity and autonomy."
"Moreover, I will not give you my whole soul."
[What does this mean?] The mechanical voice was as cold as ice.
"Don't get me wrong, I just want to retain 1% of my soul. You can still easily manipulate me, control me, and even shatter my soul."
The system is completely incomprehensible.
As Ogutov said, 1% are unable to resist, unable to break free from control, unable to do anything, and can only retain a faint sense of self, making them even worse than people in a vegetative state.
“That’s enough,” Ogutov said. “Enough for me to see his death, enough for me to see the final victory.”
.
Xie Xubai was trapped in front of the spatial barrier on the thirtieth floor, hanging alone under the surging dark clouds, with the imposing lord chasing after him behind him.
He frowned slightly, as if he found it troublesome.
An unusual fluctuation spread through the air, and the rules of this area began to distort rapidly.
The rain didn't fall downwards, but floated upwards. Lightning shattered the earth, and the spreading current transformed into blades of grass swaying in the wind. River water turned into crystals, and the soil boiled on fire.
—All the basic rules have been thrown into chaos, as if an invisible hand is defying the laws of nature, and even Xie Xubai, who is in the midst of it, is affected!
A terrifying aura came from behind, followed by the sound of breathing. Someone was behind me!
Xie Xubai suddenly turned around, and a hand pressed against his chest. He looked up and met the Fifth Apostle's eyes, which were filled with hostility.
The system teleported the Fifth Apostle directly behind Xie Xubai, leaving him no time to react.
At this moment, time seemed to stretch out for an extremely long time.
A powerful vortex of divine energy converged, piercing Xie Xubai's chest like a sword blade. The unstoppable force then surged from the young man's back, crashing into the earth's surface, shattering the crust, and reaching the surging magma in the upper mantle.
Energy rapidly converged under high pressure, causing a sudden change in air pressure until a deafening explosion occurred. A scorching column of fire shot out of the earth's surface like a towering pillar, and orange-red magma mixed with white volcanic ash rained down like a grand fireworks display!
Xie Xubai's vision went black, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, but was caught by the Fifth Apostle with one arm.
Right in the young man's heart, something shattered in response, the fragments falling down in a flurry, then being scattered by the hurricane, leaving nothing behind.
The energy reaction was very weak, but testing confirmed it was indeed a fragment of some divine artifact. Moreover, Xie Xubai's deathly pale complexion, as if severely injured, was impossible to fake.
The system was overjoyed! It kept urging the Fifth Apostle to continue, shatter this fragment of the soul, and deplete the opponent's power.
But the Fifth Apostle seemed to be immersed in the joy of successfully attacking Xie Xubai. He patted the young man's body, which was trembling uncontrollably from the pain, as if to comfort him, and said, "You are always so naive, thinking that everyone is a good person. From now on, don't be like that anymore."
These words seemed to be mocking Xie Xubai for not having any expectations of him.
Just like when he once advised his overworked superior to rest early, the Fifth Apostle spoke gently: "Because of you, I just broke two of my ribs. It hurts a lot, reminding me of when you took away my divine core. But no matter how much it hurts, it shouldn't be as painful as the pain of your divine core shattering."
"I have sold my entire soul to the system. The next time we meet, we will be complete enemies. I will not hold back, and you need not hold back either."
Xie Xubai's body jolted violently, he gasped in pain, his blood-stained hand gripping the Fifth Apostle's arm, his fingertips turning white with effort, as if struggling, or perhaps trying to grasp something: "No..."
The Fifth Apostle threw Xie Xubai's body into the air, raised his hand, and gathered divine power.
At the critical moment, a figure appeared out of nowhere like a shooting star and snatched Xie Xubai from mid-air.
"White, White! How are you? Are you alright? Answer me!"
Hearing the urgent calls from above, Xie Xubai struggled to lift his head and vaguely made out a familiar face. He closed his eyes, his voice barely a whisper: "Crow, how could it be you..."
The newcomer was none other than the Fourth Apostle, nicknamed Raven.
He looked at the unconscious Xie Xubai, his pupils darkening as if brewing a raging fire, and coldly stared at the Fifth Apostle: "Augutov!"
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