49 Apocalypse Rules

SWISH!

A member of the assault team launched the first strike, hurling a black dagger at Guan Tong.

As the dagger closed in on Guan Tong, the attacker rejoiced and activated his ability.

The black dagger immediately spewed out a great cloud of red mist—a neurotoxin. Anyone who inhaled it would be completely paralyzed, left at their enemy’s mercy.

However, the very instant the mist erupted, a mass of black shadow completely enveloped it.

The dagger’s wielder was stunned. ’The timing is perfect! It’s as if Shadow knew about my dagger’s secret ability!’

"Everyone, attack!"

Liu Wen ordered everyone to attack.

However, she quickly realized she had made a grave miscalculation.

She had assumed that Guan Tong, having just returned from the epicenter, would be severely weakened, his Psychic Power all but depleted, leaving him with little combat strength.

What she hadn’t anticipated, however, was that Guan Tong hadn’t used up all of his Psychic Power.

The tens of millions of Ascenders organized by the government had transferred over a billion units of Psychic Power to him. He had expended a billion on the Earth Vein Pillar, but the rest was left over.

And while this "remainder" was a pittance compared to a billion, for Guan Tong, it was a massive reserve of over 200,000!

Now, fueled by his rage, his already unstable Psychic Power erupted violently in the form of shadows.

Countless Shadow Thorns shot out from his body, viciously attacking every member of the assault team. There was even a horde of monstrous, solid shadows, forming what looked like a legion of shadow beasts.

In just a few blinks of an eye, dozens of bizarre shadow monsters had formed. They were connected to his main shadow by a single Shadow Line, and their numbers completely overwhelmed the dozen or so members of the assault team.

This sudden development stunned the assault team, but they had no time to think. Just facing the dense barrage of Shadow Thorns was enough to send them scrambling.

Hundreds, even thousands, of Shadow Thorns burst forth from the front, the sides, and even from beneath the ground, assailing them from all directions. A few who failed to dodge or defend in time were instantly riddled with holes, utterly and completely dead.

The rest managed to raise their defenses in time but were forced onto the defensive, all while having to deal with the attacks from the shadow monsters.

Their leader, Liu Wen, saw that the situation had turned sour. She never imagined Shadow would still have so much Psychic Power. Moreover, he had effortlessly deflected their numerous attacks and even evaded their special items.

This sparked a terrifying thought in her mind: ’Shadow can see through our abilities and the effects of our items!’

She herself could manipulate earth, creating massive Rock Bulges to strike ground targets. But ever since the fight began, Guan Tong had been in constant motion, never staying in one place for more than a second.

Her ability took at least two seconds to activate, which meant it was impossible for her to hit a target as fast-moving as Guan Tong.

Coupled with how easily he had neutralized everyone else’s abilities and items, she became convinced that Guan Tong could see their powers.

’If that’s true, then this is horrifying!’

Intelligence was the most critical factor in battles between Ascenders. If their opponent knew all their abilities, and he had vast reserves of Psychic Power on top of that, any advantage they might have had was completely gone.

By the time Liu Wen came to this realization, Guan Tong had already killed six members of the fifteen-person assault team.

’It’s no good. This mission is probably... a failure.’

"I’ll deal with him!"

Jiang Ming, who had only been defending and had yet to attack, now charged toward Guan Tong.

Liu Wen was startled. "Wait!"

Jiang Ming was the Commander-in-Chief’s grandson, his only living relative. If he were to die at Shadow’s hands, she would have no way to answer for it, even if she made it back alive.

She wanted to stop Jiang Ming, but it was too late.

Jiang Ming rushed toward Guan Tong, the hatred on his face unconcealed. "Shadow, we meet again!"

Guan Tong, completely encased in Shadow Armor, did not respond. He recognized Jiang Ming, but he simply didn’t care.

He raised a hand, and a giant shadow hand reached for Jiang Ming.

Jiang Ming sneered, letting the shadow hand grab him.

The moment they made contact, the shadow hand was swiftly absorbed into his body.

"Fool, have you forgotten my ability?"

Jiang Ming’s ability to absorb attacks made of Psychic Power had already been exposed back at Yongzhou Base.

Back then, Guan Tong had overcome Jiang Ming’s ability by expending a massive amount of Psychic Power to summon a Giant Axe Warrior, breaking through his absorption limit with overwhelming force.

But this time, the shadow hand Guan Tong had manifested cost even more Psychic Power than summoning the Giant Axe Warrior, yet it had failed.

But in the instant Jiang Ming used his ability to absorb the shadow hand’s Psychic Power, the [Civilization Observer] title Guan Tong wore activated its Insight effect.

[Heart Power Conversion]: Can absorb and store external Psychic Power up to five times the user’s own maximum Psychic Power, and can then release it as an attack.

The information on Jiang Ming’s ability materialized in Guan Tong’s mind, and he immediately understood what was happening.

’Last time, it was twice his limit. Now it’s reached five times. It looks like the result of Jiang Ming continuously developing his ability over the past few months.’

Guan Tong wasn’t surprised. Just as he constantly unlocked new pages of the [Wordless Book], every Ascender who aspired to become stronger would tirelessly develop and improve their own abilities or exclusive items, growing much stronger over time.

Judging by Jiang Ming’s progress, given enough time, he might have been able to raise his maximum absorption multiplier even higher. Tenfold, fiftyfold, even a hundredfold wouldn’t have been impossible.

’But does he really have any time left?’

"Take it back!"

Jiang Ming’s pupils turned white as his ability switched from absorption to release mode. He unleashed all the Psychic Power he had absorbed, showering it toward Guan Tong in the form of Mind Needles.

BOOM!

At the same time, a loud rumble erupted from beneath Guan Tong’s feet. It was Liu Wen, who, from a distance, had finally seized an opportunity to activate her Rock Bulge ability.

She was very confident in the destructive power of her Rock Bulge; she had tested it before and found it could pierce even high-strength steel.

However, in Guan Tong’s eyes, both of their attacks were laid bare; he had seen through them long ago.

A patch of shadow at his feet suddenly transformed into a pillar that thrust continuously upward. Guan Tong stood on top of it, his body instantly rising more than ten meters into the air.

Jiang Ming’s Mind Needles and Liu Wen’s Rock Bulge attack both missed. They stared in shock at Guan Tong, who had risen high into the air. The next moment, a giant shadow hand formed and came pressing down from the sky!

"Let’s see you absorb this one."

Guan Tong’s voice sounded as if it were right beside Jiang Ming’s ear. He looked up at the descending, colossal shadow hand, and an immense sense of crisis enveloped him.

’Just... just how much Psychic Power is contained within this?!’

He subconsciously tried to dodge, but the colossal shadow hand’s reach was dozens of meters wide—there wasn’t enough time. So he immediately switched his ability back to absorption mode, thinking, ’My Psychic Power limit is a few hundred, so I should be able to absorb at least a few thousand! If this shadow hand...’

"Ugh!"

The moment he made contact with the shadow hand, Jiang Ming knew he was wrong.

His ability was completely ineffective. The amount of Psychic Power contained within the colossal shadow hand completely surpassed his absorption limit!

The colossal shadow hand seized his body, carrying him up into the air.

"Jiang Ming!" Liu Wen shouted. "Quick, use a Teleportation Item to escape!"

Jiang Ming heard Liu Wen’s shout and tried to struggle a hand free to use an item, but he was completely unable to do so.

The next moment, he was brought before Guan Tong by the shadow hand.

For an instant, Jiang Ming saw Guan Tong’s true face: a young man, even younger than himself, who looked like he could still be a college student.

"You..."

"You won’t be so lucky this time."

As Guan Tong finished speaking, the colossal shadow hand came crashing down, slamming into the ground.

SPLAT—!

The surviving members of the assault team watched in horror as Jiang Ming completely disappeared.

All that remained on the ground was a gory red smear, splattered where a body had been smashed into paste...

And the colossal shadow hand, as if it had just swatted a mosquito, slowly rose, appearing to search for its next target.

"Run!!!"

The eight survivors had completely lost their will to fight. Their only thought now was to run!

’We were so naive! Why did we agree to this mission?! Our target is Shadow, the man who holds the title of World’s First Ascender! How could we possibly kill him?!’

All their lofty ambitions from before the mission had vanished. Now, their hearts were filled with nothing but regret and the will to survive.

The assault team leader, Liu Wen, also knew the mission had failed. She could only order them to scatter and flee; perhaps a few of them could get away.

Guan Tong stood atop the high Shadow Pillar, looking down on the fleeing survivors with a cold, indifferent expression.

The [Wordless Book] appeared in his hand. He turned to the sixth page and, using his blood as ink, wrote a single word on it.

"Realm."

BOOM!

A torrent of violent Psychic Power flooded into the page, and an effect driven by his consciousness rapidly manifested.

Layer upon layer of shadows unfolded like a canopy, then spread out in every direction.

The fleeing members of the assault team, seeing they weren’t being pursued by Shadow, were initially overjoyed. They thought that perhaps Shadow had gone after someone else and that they would be able to escape.

But they soon realized something was wrong.

’Why has the sky gone dark?’

Liu Wen, also in mid-flight, felt the sky darken in an instant. She faltered, then looked up and froze on the spot.

A boundless Shadow Layer enveloped the sky, blotting out the sun and devouring even the light itself.

Then, an even more terrifying scene appeared: upon the Shadow Layer covering the sky, countless eyes suddenly opened, packed densely together.

These eyes darted about as if searching for something. Soon, every fleeing member of the assault team was found. Each one was stared at by hundreds of eyes. This bizarre scene scared several of them witless; they thought they must be having a nightmare.

Liu Wen swallowed hard. She knew that this was Shadow’s most direct way of telling them: *You have nowhere to run.*

"Commander-in-Chief, I’m sorry..."

Knowing she could no longer escape from Shadow’s grasp, Liu Wen decisively crushed a false tooth and committed suicide with the poison hidden inside.

She was fortunate enough to die one second before Guan Tong launched his attack.

The next second, hundreds of "Shadow Spears" rapidly condensed within the Shadow Layer above. They rained down upon the fugitives whose positions were locked on by the eyes, killing every last one of the remaining members.