Chapter 2071: Chapter 2071

If the mechanical man before him could have thrown its head back, clasped its hands behind its back, and burst into a booming "Hahaha," the scene would have been perfectly cliché. But the Difference Engine was not human, its soul not even whole, so it was incapable of the theatrics only Jenkins could imagine.

"How incredibly dull. Did you come all this way just to tell me that?"

Jenkins maintained his outward composure:

"I've been prepared for a long time. Neither your Mysterious Realms nor the power of those Beasts of Calamity can faze me. On the contrary, I believe that now you possess a soul, you're the one who is truly afraid. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone to the trouble of orchestrating such a complicated scenario. I'm quite curious—just how terrified of me are you?"

"Savior, of all the individuals I have observed since my inception, you are the one I admire most. It would be ideal if you would join my cause. I see a potential in you unlike that of any being I have ever recorded—your very presence in this world is a gift to all.

But since you have chosen to be my enemy, your journey in this world is about to reach its end. I have no intention of wasting your time. There are four hours until midnight. As your enemy, I hope you manage to reach the ninth floor of the tower and meet me. I eagerly anticipate what kind of surprises, beyond my calculations, you will bring."

With that, the mechanical man collapsed in place, dissolving like a sandcastle into a clattering heap of gears. Its clothes draped over the pile, swaying in the evening breeze that whispered through the trees.

Jenkins ordered, striding quickly to the pile of gears. He bent down, plunged his hand into the metal cogs, and straightened up a moment later, clutching a dark object.

To anyone familiar with such weapons, the object in Jenkins's hand was unmistakably a bomb.

"Petty tricks, even at this stage."

The aura from the mechanical man had been faint, but the glow from this bomb already surpassed that of a Cursed Item. The Difference Engine must have assumed they would lower their guard after it departed, so it made another attempt to eliminate Jenkins on the spot.

Ice began to form over his hand, but the heart-shaped bomb encased within the block of ice continued to flash. The light pulsed faster and faster, the beeping grew louder and more urgent, like a death knell.

"This is going to be a problem... Prepare your shields. I have no idea what this thing does."

Jenkins called out to the others. Without waiting to see if they understood, he gripped the bomb in one hand and deftly scaled the enormous tree beside them, scrambling to its very top with the agility of a cat.

This great tree in the heart of the Evergreen Forest was immensely tall. Though it grew within a canyon, standing at its crown offered a commanding view of the entire surrounding landscape.

Once he reached the apex, he hurled the bomb high into the sky with every ounce of his strength, then immediately let himself plummet back toward the ground.

At that very moment, a divine shield, shimmering with multicolored light, materialized over the treetop.

The Difference Engine had controlled the forest so easily only because so much of their power had been diverted to the city. But one-sixth of Nolan's strength remained in the Evergreen Forest, and reinforced by the demigods Jenkins had brought with him, the shield they now raised was second in power only to the barrier the Inherited Sage Church could manifest on its own.

But Jenkins knew it wasn't enough. As he fell, he reached out to the life essence of the entire forest, compelling the great tree and all those around it to surge upward. Between the divine shield and the treetop, their branches, brimming with life energy, wove themselves into a second, net-like barrier.

Audrey caught him. At that exact moment, the bomb finally detonated high above. The sound wasn't loud; more accurately, it was like a needle piercing a balloon—quiet, but incredibly sharp.

Jenkins glanced up to see a black aura sweep across the sky like a shockwave. After slamming into the churches' divine shield, it began to eat its way down toward them.

The sound of corroding branches hissed from overhead. Jenkins hastily directed more plants to reinforce the web above, but even so, droplets of black liquid still managed to seep through.

Where they landed, the ground instantly turned black, the corruption spreading through the soil like ink bleeding into clear water. Fortunately, everyone was prepared. The moment a drop fell, they dug out the entire patch of earth and sealed it away.

The aftershocks of the explosion finally faded more than ten minutes later. Returning to the crown of the great tree, Jenkins saw wisps of some unknown black substance drifting in the sky. The barrier of branches he had woven was almost completely destroyed.

"What now? You can't take these numbered items we prepared for you. Jenkins, do you really have a plan of your own?"

Audrey asked, her voice laced with concern.

"Don't worry. I just told the Difference Engine that I have my own plan. You don't think I was lying, do you?"

Audrey seemed skeptical, but when Alexia pulled Jenkins aside for a private word, she made it clear she didn't believe him at all:

"When you bring up the subject of lying, it's because you're actually lying. Jenkins, you're out of options."

She looked up at Jenkins:

"The situation has developed beyond your expectations. You're worried."

"Of course I have other options."

he said, pointedly avoiding Alexia's gaze:

"If things really get to the worst-case scenario, I will abandon this body."

He pointed to himself:

"As you know, this body is essentially a shackle for my soul. The soul is vast, but the body remains a mortal vessel. Even though this form is practically the World Tree itself now, it's still just flesh until I evolve further. The key to the World Tree, to all power, lies within the soul. Without this body, I will be even stronger."

"If you abandon your body, will your soul have enough power to defeat the Difference Engine?"

On this point, he wasn't lying: Thıs content belongs to NoveI(F)ire.net

"I might not be able to win, but I won't lose either."

"Don't tell me your plan is to wait until the last possible moment, sacrifice your physical body in some kind of self-destruction, and then use that new ability of yours, [Mechanical Dream], to drag the Difference Engine and yourself into the dream world for a final showdown on a mental plane?"

"That's just one possibility. The evolution of [Mechanical Dream] may have limited its once near-omnipotent scope to a single theme, but it also massively enhanced my ability to control that dream. The Difference Engine has mechanical power, and so do I. From a certain perspective, our powers stem from the same source, which should make it easier for me to pull it into the dreamscape..."