Chapter 994: Chapter 994

"I hope you can still laugh later, Mr. Mayor."

Scott looked at He Ao, clutching the spear tightly in his hand, then disappeared in an instant, only to appear suddenly right in front of He Ao.

The cold, jade spear thrust towards He Ao’s chest in an instant.

He Ao raised his longsword effortlessly, blocking Scott’s spear with a smile, "Young and strong, not bad, but lacking in experience, I remember your Talent Sequence isn’t combat-related?"

"How can this be? Your strength? Your injuries?"

Scott was slightly taken aback, then lifted his spear and recoiled, rotating his arms over his head and slashing towards He Ao’s face.

Once again, his attack was blocked by He Ao’s horizontally held sword.

Accompanied by a loud noise, terrifying force traveled down He Ao’s body to his feet, causing the already fractured ground to shatter and collapse further.

"Did you use an Extraordinary Item to recover your injuries?"

By this time, Scott was also looking at He Ao, "That thing can’t be without side effects, right? Let’s see how long you can last!"

He Ao shook his sword, transferring the force to the spear, directly knocking Scott’s body away.

He then leaped forward, appearing like an illusion in front of Scott, and swept his sword towards Scott’s neck.

Scott quickly retracted his spear to block, pulling back his body.

His spear was effortlessly flicked away by He Ao’s sword, and his entire body was sent flying into a towering ruined building nearby, tumbling to the ground.

He Ao landed in front of the ruined building, holding his longsword as he walked deeper inside.

"I remember your Talent Sequence isn’t combat-related either,"

Scott, leaning on his spear, stood up and looked at He Ao, "I have to say you’re hiding many secrets."

He lifted his spear, holding it horizontally in front of him, his gaze slightly intense, "I take back my earlier underestimation of you."

A twisted and icy wind suddenly picked up in the dilapidated building.

Heartbeat-like dull thuds emerged in the darkness, and a cold force spread from Scott’s jade spear, like invisible threads pulling on some indescribable twisted Advent.

Seeing this, He Ao did not hesitate, leaping forward and thrusting his sword towards Scott’s chest.

Scott’s upright body suddenly arched as if some writhing creature was tearing apart his insides.

His face contorted as he abruptly swung his spear hard, deflecting He Ao’s sword.

He Ao looked up and behind Scott, where in that silent darkness, it seemed as if some invisible force was crawling, sketching out a tightly shut eye.

In the physical world, this eye was invisible, but He Ao could distinctly feel it hovering there, its eyes closed, yet seemingly watching everything around it.

In the moment he sensed this eye, a surge of rampant madness instantly flooded into He Ao’s mind.

This craziness had no direction; it did not seem to want to lead the infected’s thinking anywhere. It was pure madness, tearing at one’s will and soul, trying to shred everything.

The violent contamination spilled over to the body. He Ao’s body faltered, and a trace of fresh blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

This seemed to be Angelic Tier power, mixed with some higher levels of unhinged madness, as if coming directly from the Abyss?

At that moment, Scott’s ghastly face lifted, he looked at He Ao with a smile, a smile filled with both pity and sadness, "Once you make contact with such a Higher Being, you can never be free from it."

But He Ao just calmly stared at him, resisting the surge of contamination in his mind, raising his longsword, "This one still doesn’t rank."

Scott’s expression stiffened, he glanced at He Ao, grasped his spear, and with a foot on the ground, accompanied by a violent tremble like that of an earthquake, he instantly appeared in front of He Ao.

He raised his spear towards He Ao’s neck.

He Ao once again lifted his sword to block the strike, but his body was sent flying backward, crashing into the load-bearing column behind him, shattering the entire pillar. His body didn’t stop there, as Scott’s spear almost immediately followed.

He blocked time after time, his body sent backward again and again, and during their exchange, old walls and pillars were effortlessly destroyed. The immense force spread through the hits and sound waves along the building’s walls, extending countless crack-like spider webs.

Eventually, Scott and He Ao smashed out of the dilapidated building, landing again on the ground outside.

Behind them, the towering building filled with cracks shattered like fragile porcelain, crashing downward.

He Ao coughed once, propped himself up with his longsword, and staggered to his feet.

Previously, Scott’s physical fitness was about 5,000 points. Even if his combat skills weren’t great, this level of physical fitness already surpassed most ordinary B-level individuals, which was why he was confident he could kill He Ao.

But this type of physical fitness wasn’t considered high for He Ao. Yet, by activating Super Memory, briefly employing fist techniques and skills, He Ao was able to suppress Scott.

However, now that Scott had borrowed the power of the Abyss, his physical fitness was about 10,000. Although his skills were still poor, sheer power alone was enough for Scott to suppress He Ao.

"You don’t seem the least bit surprised?"

Standing amidst the dust of the collapsed building, Scott held his spear, gazing at He Ao.

"Perhaps, I’ve encountered too many people corrupted by Higher Beings,"

He Ao, clutching his longsword, glanced at the spear in Scott’s hand. "From the moment I saw you, I could feel your soul had been tainted by twisted power. Were you contaminated with the Abyss’s corruption at that site in the central Federation?"

According to Federation records, Scott had ascended to B-level at the age of fifty, which was considered quite young.

It seemed Scott had his own ’fortuitous encounter’ and had received help from the Abyss. As a price, he was gradually being corrupted by the Abyss.

Hearing He Ao’s words, Scott fell silent for a moment. Then, lifting his head to look at He Ao, he sighed slowly, "The so-called Transcendents, wielding seemingly great powers, are merely insects frivolously played with in the hands of Higher Beings. Without becoming an Angel, one remains a lowly insect."

"Even Angels might not be beyond being insects."

Feeling the chaotic thoughts from Scott through the mark, He Ao coughed lightly, lifting his longsword.

Truly rational Angels were still few.

"But without becoming an Angel, how do you know if you can transcend?"

Scott lifted his spear, looked at He Ao, "Mr. Lin En, I’ll find you a nice grave. If I become an Angel, I will come back to mourn you from time to time."

His figure vanished like a streak of light, instantly appearing in front of He Ao.

At that moment, He Ao’s figure also appeared like a flash beside him, dodging his attack while simultaneously striking towards the back of his neck, "You want to escape the influence of the Abyss, how do you know that what you’re doing now isn’t exactly what the Abyss wants?"

Scott swiftly parried, intercepting He Ao’s longsword.

This time, he didn’t respond to He Ao but instead looked behind him.

In the pitch-black sky, three Mechas hovered, aiming their main cannons at He Ao’s back, having completed their energy storage.

Further away, some aircraft also targeted He Ao’s back.

He Ao watched Scott in front of him, slowly speaking,

"Order: Prohibit using weapons against the Mayor."

A stream of light flickered over the ruby at the end of the golden longsword, an invisible wave spreading out beneath the dark night sky.

The glow in the hands of the three hovering Mechas flashed briefly, then extinguished, the aircraft’s gun ports also extinguished their flames.

"Cover for Mr. Lin En!"

A loud shout seemed to come from a distance, followed by the roaring gunfire from afar approaching, flying toward the closest three Mechas.

With the deafening explosion, three mechas didn’t react in time, all getting hit. The distant warplanes immediately turned around to face the approaching enemy.

"It seems you were already prepared for my abilities."

The flames from the explosion reflected in Scott’s pupils as he watched He Ao, suddenly raising his spear to deflect He Ao’s longsword.

Although Scott had not disclosed his Talent Sequences, his capabilities most likely involved commanding troops; hence, Scott rarely left his military.

These details about Scott were collected by Linen previously, who was not unprepared for his ’Minister of City Defense.’

Knowing Scott’s capabilities, He Ao had specially prepared this ’decree’ for him.

’Weapon Prohibition Against the Mayor’ essentially disabled his officers from using the army to easily attack He Ao.

Of course, He Ao cunningly crafted the decree. The more lives involved in the Ruby’s decree, the stronger it became, and the greater the cost paid. However, the effective number of lives related to the decree pertained to the exact number of lives affected by the Ruby.

Only those who intended to attack He Ao with weapons would be affected by this decree; by abandoning this intention, these individuals would be the ones He Ao had to pay the price for.

If they originally didn’t have this intention, the decree wouldn’t affect them, and He Ao wouldn’t need to pay any price.

As they spoke, Scott spun his spear, slashing towards He Ao.

He Ao, agile as a flowing wind, dodged the spear.

In their brief engagement, Scott’s motions were evidently slower.

Cold weapons were also considered weapons, and Scott himself was affected by the decree.

Scott looked up at He Ao again. In that instant, He Ao abruptly realized something and immediately turned around, his sword greeting something behind him.

There was nothing behind him, but in He Ao’s perception, what was once hanging closed behind Scott appeared behind him at an unknown time.

The black curtain of night carried an unspeakable chill with an invisible breeze.

Everything was enveloped in darkness, seeming invisible.

He Ao covered his longsword with his Divine Sense, transforming it into a Strengthening Magic Array. The sword light cut through the night.

The air seemed to echo a crisp colliding sound, yet it seemed like nothing at all.

A formless, cold chill, seemingly like a tentacle, wound itself around He Ao’s body from the other side, the immense force directly pressing against his chest, constricting his thoracic cavity.

He Ao swiftly countered with his sword, its tip directed backward without hesitation, spinning in front of his chest.

Accompanied by the sound of a fine thread breaking in the invisible darkness, he barely had time to catch his breath before withdrawing his sword to strike behind him.

Unbeknownst to him, Scott had reached his back, his spear thrusting towards He Ao’s heart.

Heavy Strike Martial Technique!

He Ao forcefully met the spear with his sword, then using the spear’s momentum to spin and deflect it. Without hesitation, he lifted his sword overhead, targeting the charging Scott’s brow.

Scott didn’t react until blood touched his brow and quickly pulled back, lifting his spear to deflect He Ao’s longsword.

This brief clash almost occurred in an instant, the sword and spear colliding with a sharp and urgent sound, while in the midst of the intense noise, He Ao withdrew his sword and retreated, swiftly creating distance between them.

Escaping energy followed the howling sound waves, landing on the surrounding dilapidated buildings, instantly blasting numerous cracks on the building surfaces.

He Ao coughed, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood.

He looked up at the location of the unseen eyes. The silent night sky remained empty.

But He Ao could clearly feel that the eye was still there, facing his direction.

His recent attack had not caused any damage to that eye, only interrupting the entangling process.

That wasn’t Scott’s power, but it was from a deeper, colder indescribable area, coming from whatever constantly encircled Scott.

That was no longer within the realms of humanity.

Holding the longsword, He Ao looked towards Scott, who was charging at him once again.

And the moment he shifted his gaze, he could still feel that those tightly closed eyes had reappeared behind him.

Without hesitating, he quickly stated, "Decree: Prohibit the borrowing of external Transcendent powers."

The moment he uttered those words, He Ao’s complexion instantly turned pale, and he spat out another mouthful of fresh blood.

Meanwhile, Scott’s movements slowed down a bit, and those eyes that had appeared behind He Ao flickered, seemingly losing some kind of support and connection, causing the eerie aura to weaken significantly.

Those tightly shut eyes, though bizarre and terrifying, had arrived in this world through Scott’s presence. Although He Ao could not damage the eyes directly, he could weaken their power by diminishing the connection with Scott.

Of course, the price for invoking this decree was also quite steep.

This was He Ao aiming the decree at Scott. If he had targeted the Abyssal powers entangling Scott, He Ao didn’t know if the Ruby could withstand imposing limits on the Abyss, but he certainly couldn’t afford the price.

He Ao estimated his body could no longer sustain a third decree. He looked up at Scott, whose power and speed had evidently slowed due to the interference with the Abyss, and without any hesitation, he lifted his sword, his figure sweeping past like a swift wind, thrusting the sword towards Scott’s chest.

The root cause was still within Scott, and by killing Scott, those eyes would naturally lose their anchor.

Seeing the sword glow slicing through the night and feeling the weakened power inside him, Scott looked up towards the direction of those invisible eyes behind He Ao. Blood seeped from his skin, "Linen, you forced my hand."

He spread his palm open, and the fresh blood drew a twisted square pattern; at the center of the square floated a twisted human silhouette. He aimed this pattern at He Ao, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up into a somewhat mad smile, "Accept the ’invitation’, and be imprisoned in eternal madness!"

A cold and twisted power instantly spread out from the depths of the night.

He Ao’s sword light paused, but before he could turn around, the weakened eyes floating behind him suddenly soared into the air.

Those tightly shut eyes opened slightly, as a cold wind brushed over He Ao’s back, as if a force that should not have arrived at this time forcibly made its Advent.

The whole world seemed to come to a halt, so quiet as if it were a fragile piece of paper; invisible and twisted forces burst forth from the cracks in this paper, shredding it to pieces from all directions.

A terrifying and twisted madness exploded in He Ao’s mind in an instant.

He Ao felt something sharp and cold brushing past his clothes and back skin, flashing a radiant red glow as it slowly pressed deeper.

At the same time, his field of view also appeared blurred, the originally still world was slowly covered by a deep and cold aura, transforming into swirling, twisted lines.

Within those lines, flickering twisted illusions appeared, seemingly the life of this cold world. They too sensed He Ao’s "Peeking" and gradually lifted their heads, looking towards this ’unexpected visitor.’

And among those phantoms and lines, a lonely, human-like figure seemed to float, his gaze following He Ao’s, slowly looking towards He Ao.

The surrounding cold was so silent, too silent as if it was about to devour everything—fate, the future, cognition, soul.

That seemed to be another invitation, inviting him to merge completely with this quiet madness.

At that moment, He Ao felt something behind him getting closer.

It was as if his shadow had stood up, slowly pressing against his back.

The original mad invasion of cold aura seemed to have slowed down somewhat.

He Ao took a deep breath and closed his eyes; at this moment, he seemed to hear his heartbeat again, drumming inside his chest cavity, the proof that he was alive.

He also seemed to see his own soul, a purple glow covering that ethereal shadow, semi-transparent Divine Sense surging within.

A cool aura spread from his palm, almost like a sword hilt, belonging yet not belonging to this place.

He grasped the sword hilt, Divine Sense poured into it, following his cold-filled soul, he abruptly lifted it up.

Accompanied by an invisible sword edge slicing through the soul, the quiet cold was stripped away by the sword edge; the surrounding quietness also shattered in that instant, as if fragile thin paper being torn apart.

Time resumed its flow, and the night wind brushed across He Ao’s cheeks again.

In the distance, it seemed that mechas and warplanes were fast approaching, the cold power behind him breaking segment by segment, along with the floating eyes also gradually dimming.

Lines of wounds, deep enough to expose bone, lined the Elderly’s back, the deepest one nearing the heart.

But at this moment, the cold power that had sliced open these wounds had already lost its presence.

Shock and disbelief covered Scott’s blood-stained face, also reflected in the Elderly’s pupils, "How is this possible?!"

He Ao looked at Scott standing before him, lifted his longsword, and the blade instantly reached Scott’s cheek,

"Everything is possible."