ATAPOW Chapter 163
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Chapter 163: Conclusion – Immortal and Radiant
[Despair Class — Demonic Planetary Destruction]
It seemed that a mysterious existence from the unseen world of spirits had answered Lan Yu’s prayers after his words came to an end.
With dusk having long since descended its curtains over the sky, the gale whistling under the cover of darkness instantly froze. It was as if the heavens had lost their boundaries and the glass of time had stopped moving in this moment.
A layer of darkness had seemingly been smeared over the black skies like a bright painting with a dark hue painted over it, which had turned its style into something bizarre.
As if a large bowl had been placed face-down over the area, the color and shape of the entire sky turned exceptionally odd.
A hexagonal spell formation consisting of unknown words was projected in the air like a huge net.
The illusionary formation speedily materialized into the shape of a dried-out purple skull at a speed visible to the naked eye.
One could only see the skull suspended upside-down in the air, opening its large mouth reminiscent of a dark hole to spew out small insignificant pebbles.
During their fall, the pebbles, whose size were smaller than that of a fingertip, gradually grew larger in front of Ji Bai’s eyes.
It was hard to gauge the frightening destructive power caused by a meteorite hitting a planetary body. Furthermore, it was unknown how long the meteorites had been gliding in another plane before [Demonic Planetary Destruction] summoned them. As highly dangerous energy entities that had accumulated a terrifying amount of power, their might could scorch and flatten the surface of a small planetary body.
In order to limit the destructive power of this [magic spell] and increase its accuracy, a forgotten magic genius from another era had increased its lethality dramatically while amending and reorganizing its chaotic and impractical aspect. By attaching a dome-like barrier to the original spell, it restricted the explosion radius and density of the meteorites.
With the changes, the destruction resulting from a swarm of meteorites exploding in one area wasn’t something even the word ‘terrifying’ could describe.
As the saying went, Rome wasn’t built in a day. To be able to perfectly release a [Magic Spell] whose division structure consisted of numerous complex aspects and consumed a large amount of magic wasn’t as simple as simply possessing the necessary talent.
However, it was utterly simple in Ji Bai’s ‘eyes’.
Despite his physical eyes being obscured, his other eyes had opened… While they couldn’t see the material world, they had pierced past its complex and tedious material shell to get a clear and direct vision of its depths.
After removing the dark-green outline that made up the shape of the [Magic Spell], several clear and tiny red dots respectively divided themselves around the dome-shape boundaries. The most eye-catching of which were orderly placed directly at the top, on the skull’s sixth teeth from the bottom left, close to where the gum was.
That was one of the important ley-lines that kept the magic operating.
Ji Bai held onto the blade of his fang-shaped longsword and threw it out like a javelin.
It brushed past the meteors gliding towards it, emitting a dull ‘clunk’ sound similar to a ringing bell in the process as its tip impressively pierced the large tooth of the giant skull looming over Ji Bai with pinpoint accuracy.
All he did was merely take aim at a tiny red dot on the tooth.
“Crack, crack, crack…” The entire magic spell resembled a machine that was suddenly experiencing a malfunction; The falling meteorites of all sizes descending downwards were turned incorporeal by a surge of energy before they could touch the ground and cause destruction.
Objects resembling soft snowballs shattered on Ji Bai’s face and crumbled into a pile of powder.
The devilish skull in the air shook slightly. As if it was going back in time, it turned into a spell formation once again and disappeared.
The color of the sky returned to normal.
The ‘little toothpick’ stuck in the skull’s tooth fell to the ground.
The longsword’s hand guard looked as if it had been exposed to harsh elements; Its pattern had been corroded to the point of becoming blurry and unclear, with its shape deformed. When factoring these together with the big and small jags on its blade, its current appearance was extremely unsightly.
However, that didn’t prevent it from continuing to serve its purpose as a weapon.
Neither was Ji Bai picky about its state as he casually picked it up.
In truth, he hadn’t bought this sword himself. Although it was something he had gotten for free, it was someone’s goodwill in the end. He had a nagging feeling that he had let down her kindness somewhat, after the weapon’s appearance had been reduced to scrap metal in his hands.
“Why… Why on earth are you still alive! How exactly is that possible??” Lan Yu felt his belief system was on the verge of collapsing upon witnessing this scene that seemingly came from Arabian Nights in a dumbfounded manner.
He pointed at Ji Bai with a trembling finger as a head-splitting headache assailed him.
“W…Why did you suddenly become so much stronger?? You are practically inhuman, aren’t you?? Why did a Despair-class magic spell have zero effect on you at all!?”
“I didn’t become stronger.” Ji Bai shook his head.
He followed the remaining traces of magic to find Lan Yu’s direction through the void of his vision.
I was just able to divine a bit of the intricacies underlying this world by facing it in a frank and honest manner.
“What a load of crap!! You’re just a lower-tiered species! How could an inferior organism rebel against its superior?!” Snarled Lan Yu.
Sound-wave pulses swept across the dilapidated Earth and shot towards Ji Bai in an overbearing manner.
A casual slash of Ji Bai turned them into gentle breezes.
Fireballs, materialized wolf’s heads, massive stone arms; All sorts and kinds of magic spells seemed to have lost their effect and were reduced to party tricks that could be simply dismissed with the casual wave of a sword.
“I don’t know how you learned these magic spells, nor do I know who taught you…” His sword piercing through a lightning bolt flying towards him, Ji Bai slowly walked towards Lan Yu.
“You should stop while you’re ahead. I’ll give you time to repent, but you should save your breath until you meet your creator. Look at your surroundings… and take a good look at what you’ve done.”
“Just…shut your mouth! This sovereign doesn’t wish to hear a soliloquy from an irrelevant party like yourself!”
Smashing a fireball flying at him into pieces, Ji Bai saw that the unending stream of magic spells had not weakened in the slightest and slightly knitted his brows.
With his magic continuing to operate unabated even after he squandered it in such a manner, it was very likely that someone behind the scenes was incessantly transferring [Magic] to Lan Yu.
Ji Bai incessantly charged ahead, allowing the longsword in his hand to demonstrate its prowess as it shattered the various magical attacks that were shooting towards him headon.
“Huff…” Before Lan Yu could attack again, the swift and fierce tip of a longsword had streaked across the air.
Just like Ji Bai said, he hadn’t become stronger. The chops he made carried zero technique and were done in an extremely casual manner, yet they struck the veins delivering magic in Lan Yu’s body with high precision.
“Waaaaah!” In a fit of agony, Lan Yu stopped chanting the magic spell he was preparing to cast.
“Take a good hard look at yourself and recall the exact moment you’ve strayed from the path!” Ji Bai placed his sword’s tip against Lan Yu’s neck.
“W… What did I do wrong…” Lan Yu lowered his head to look at his large coarse hands as he murmured in a low voice.
…………
“Milord, according to reports from Spring Village, demon traces had been discovered in its nearby surroundings some days ago. They suspect that demons are planning to raid and plunder them and hope that we can dispatch our knights as reinforcement.” A young Lan Yu said respectfully to his immediate superior.
“Spring Village? …Where is that?” The fat superior dug his nose and asked in a casual manner.
“It is a village to the north of the Border Town outskirts. That place isn’t protected by any enchantments and would often be plundered by demons. I believe we should push the battle lines forwards and set up a fort circling the village so as to ensure the safety of the villagers…” Lan Yu said in an attempt to inquire for further instructions.
“…Are you the acting section head or is it me??” The fat superior flicked a filthy object away from his finger before looking at Lan Yu with a feigned expression of puzzlement.
“You are, Section Head. This humble self is merely suggesting…”
“Suggesting? Hah! The way I see it, you’re already laying your eyes on my chair now, aren’t you? Your thoughts are already getting out of line.” Said the superior with a derisive smile.
“May I know where you’re going with those words?” Lan Yu was slightly stunned.
“Haha… Lil’ Lan, it has only been 2 days since you’ve taken up this appointment, so it’s best if you don’t ask too many questions about this matter. Sometimes, unspoken rules are much more important than those made public. You got that??” The fat superior raised his legs and placed them on the table.
“What did you say earlier?? Oh, Spring Village, was it? Is that a village under my jurisdiction??”
“Yes.”
“Ooh. Well, one of those small villages I’m too lazy to remember… and you want me to dispatch knights to them?? Uh? Do you know how much it costs to mobilize the troops?? Don’t come to me with empty words… Unless you’re willing to fork out hard cash for it?” The fat man sized up Lan Yu in a disdainful gaze.
“B-But…! The villagers in that village… We can at least let them enter the city, right?” Asked Lan Yu anxiously.
“Enter the city?” The fat man let out a yawn.
“It’s almost harvest time, isn’t it? They need to do their jobs properly.”
“H-…How could that be more important than their lives…” Lan Yu was completely incapable of understanding his outrageous logic; Not to mention that the human federation had a lot of villages, which meant that there was no harm if they were short a bit of wheat. They were not in a state of famine yet.
“…Do you still not understand?” The fat superior narrowed his eyes.
“That bunch of villagers, in other words, those outside the cities are special… Young man, you need to understand that the alliance won’t be able to survive just by purely relying on its domestic market. We require export caravans too, exports are actually a piece of fat meat that we can’t abandon…” The fat superior’s eyes were gleaming as he brought up the subject of money.
“…What does that have to do with these villagers??”
“Huh?? You’re foolish to the extreme! Do you really not understand? Those demons are restless! Especially the lunatics close by that are obsessed with killing, they will actually assault the caravans! Therefore, if we could lure their attention elsewhere… Well, at the end of the day, it’s for the human federation, am I right?” The fat superior gave Lan Yu -whose complexion had turned completely pale- a pat on the shoulder.
“In short, there will never be a lack of people in that village… If all of them die, I’ll draw out the next batch to make up for the shortfall. Sigh… I’m sure you’re also aware of the logic that we can’t have what we want, don’t you? I know this is very cruel, but it is for the development of the human federation. Their sacrifice will forever be engraved in our hearts.” Said the superior as he sniggered.
“Oh, that’s right, sonny. I recall that you also come from a village? Ha! Your luck isn’t bad indeed… I’ve never thought that someone would actually survive in such a terrible living environment, hahaha… Oh, if that place has any beautiful and spirited young women, I will still reluctantly have them brought to my house and let them take refuge there. After all… Hahaha…” The fat superior patted Lan Yu’s shoulder and laughed heartily.
Lan Yu’s complexion had gone deathly pale.
He could no longer hear anything as the scenes of his parents being tragically murdered by demons flashed through his mind…
As well as his outstandingly beautiful childhood friend that had been euphemistically ‘sent’ into the town by a group of knights.
…………
‘I… am not wrong!’
“…Hehe… Don’t get complacent. You… can’t kill me!” Lan Yu raised his face, revealing a frantic expression. At the same time, golden lines formed on his shoulders in the shape of a spell.
‘Another spell imprint… What’s more, it’s golden in color??’
“This isn’t a power you can control… Who was the one that carved this thing on your body?!” Asked Ji Bai with a chilly voice.
“Hehehe… You didn’t expect it, did you?? I was still holding a move back…” Lan Yu revealed an unsightly smile.
“Since I’ve failed… I’ll take the entire human federation to hell with me instead!! Those pests that are simply dragging out their feeble existence… they must all die!” Lan Yu ripped off his clothes with a warped expression, as dazzling lines surfaced on his abdomen, thighs, and upper back simultaneously.
“Die… Everyone should go to hell!”
[Artificial Divine Vein—Ultimate Sacrificial Bomb]
‘The entire human federation should just perish!’
A golden light spurted outwards as a might carrying the power to destroy everything indiscriminately engulfed the place. It brought disaster upon the human federation, leaving countless civilians injured or dead while greatly damaging the federation.
That should have been the case, however…
The Divine Vein spell that was cast through burning Lan Yu’s lifeforce released explosive energies which spread through the air. However, they came to a stop when coming into contact with an utterly dilapidated fang-shaped longsword.
Even so, this didn’t stop the rest of the golden explosive fluctuations from rushing forward like an unceasing torrent.
The fang-shaped longsword didn’t reject their arrival and actually managed to absorb every single bit of terrifying magic that Lan Yu had released.
“Th- This is… Impossible…” Lan Yu had a lifeless look on his face.
“Formlessness triumphs over any moves.” Through the seams of Ji bai’s helmet, his heavy voice struck Lan Yu’s face.
[Void Class— Domain Assimilation] — This was the sword technique he had used to destroy the Vampire Grand Duke.
Ji Bai raised his longsword up high, with the divine-vein magic that Lan Yu had explosively released wrapping around its blade.
‘The immeasurably rampant Divine Vein magic was actually clinging to his blade in a sturdy manner…’
All life had seemingly left Lan Yu’s body.
“A strong power is inseparable from a strong heart… And what’s even weaker than humanity is your heart.” Resounded the muffled yet icy-cold voice of a knight. This was followed by an opportunistic downward slash from a longsword wrapped in Divine Vein magic.
“My…heart…” Lan Yu murmured. Slightly startled at the sight of the rampant energy charging towards him, he heaved a sigh and closed his eyes.
“If you’re still the Knight King that I worshiped, Radiant…”
“Boom…!!” The might of the artificial divine vein magic exploded. Everything the sword tip aimed at was reduced to nothingness.
“”I’ll leave the future of mankind to you…”
…………
Among the ruins and rubble stood a knight. His hands rested on the two ends of his sword’s hilt as he gazed at the decrepit ruins that filled his vision, carrying thoughts unknown.
The night breeze rustled his long, pure blue but tattered knight tassel.
He slowly removed the cloth covering his eyes and loosened his grip, allowing the bloodstain-covered cloth to be freely carried away by the wind.
“Should I start collecting a fee since you’ve been watching our fight for so long?” A muffled voice resounded through the seams of his helmet.
“…Clack, clack, clack.” The sound of heavy armor resounded, accompanied by footsteps. A fully armed individual in armor slowly walked out from a dilapidated bunker.
“It’s you, Immortal.” Ji Bai didn’t turn around, his dark-silvery armor incomparably resplendent under the moonlight.
Just like that, the two armored individuals stood in tandem with each other.
‘Has it ended?’ The knight in precious armor tossed a piece of paper to Ji Bai.
This was how they had communicated previously as well.
“Mhm.”
‘You did well.’
“…What did I do well?” Ji Bai looked at the sky, as traces of meaningful gaze flitted past his eyes behind the seams of his helmet.
“Whether it is this disaster or the rebellion, the esteemed Immortal Knight was the one who achieved instant success by personally resolving these problems. They have nothing to do with me.” Saying which, Ji Bai lifted his feet and began walking.
‘Are you not intending to chat with me for a while?’
“It’s better to miss you than to meet you… Besides, there’s no need for that, isn’t it.” Ji Bai threw away the slip of paper and disappeared from his location with a series of fast movements.