The Highest Bounty

Chapter 194: The Deity’s Will Projection

…

Thorso was dead?!

Gu Ding was a little confused at Neptune’s statement. “I don’t quite understand. The chain is still attacking, and it can perform defensive maneuvers. How could a dead man do that?”

“It is the chain that attacks and defends.” Neptune’s explanation sounded avant-garde. “Real god items have their own awareness–they just have varying levels of strength. The chain in Thorso’s hand was originally a god item, but for some reason, it had been deliberately broken down into something between a demigod item and a god item. That’s why the chain is spiritual, but its self-consciousness was sealed because the original body is incomplete. Just before Thorso died, he left behind a strong obsession, and it is this obsession that awakened the self-consciousness sealed in the chain. If I’m not mistaken, this chain has fully adopted Thorso’s obsession before his death, and the awakened weapon spirit hopes to help him fulfill his last wishes. That’s why the scene in the video took place…”

In the video now, the chains that turned into little black snakes quickly found their targets and wrapped themselves around said targets.

There were more than eighty thousand people, and within three minutes, more than half of them were wrapped in a black ball-shaped entity.

Ten minutes later, everyone in the video fell to the ground. Thorso did it. He alone fought against more than eighty thousand powerhouses, or to be precise, his remaining obsession did it.

However, strangely, the chain once again solidified into a python, which grew so large that the ball at the top of the chain slowly transformed into a sharp spike that was several meters long, resembling a sharp horn on its head.

The python, still solidifying, looked up at the sky.

“What’s the matter? Everybody in the prison got killed off, right? Why hasn’t the obsession dissipated?” Gu Ding asked, slightly confused.

“That’s because a strong opponent appeared…” Neptune projected the holographic image.

In the surveillance footage, the clouds in the sky above Leoben Prison were moving strangely. The clouds slowly turned into a vortex under the surge.

Then, in the center of the vortex, a white beam of light shone down like there was a penetrating light on the other side of the cloud. Just when the white light hit the ground, the surveillance footage suddenly disappeared, leaving static noise in the form of white snow on the screen as the signal cut off.

“What’s going on? Why are there no images?” Gu Ding asked anxiously, curious to know what happened when the ray of light fell.

“That ray of light was the divine ray, and it only occurs when a deity’s original body or a deity’s will projection appears. Shielding the entire planet’s signal waves, other than Skynet, this is something that only the deities can do. Moreover, the divine ray’s shield is an oppressive shield of pure energy, and I have no way to break through it now. Therefore, not only will we not be able to see the battle, but before the deity leaves, we will lose all contact with Lilliath and the rest of the crew. Even if my signal got through, their signal won’t be able to break through the planet’s shield. Nonetheless, I’ll keep trying to get in touch with them and as soon as the shield is lifted, I’ll be able to contact them immediately.” What Neptune brought was no good news.

“Does that mean that you have no control over the port’s Sky System and armor-piercing cannons system?” Gu Ding asked.

“Yes, in old Cerulean language, I am now a stand-alone machine without an internet connection. My radar is also disabled. I can only see through your eyes now, and I can’t see anything that you can’t.” Neptune’s voice sounded depressed. It was the first time he felt so powerless after being impaired so thoroughly.

“In that case, it’s probably safer for Lili and the rest if they can’t land on this planet.” Gu Ding came to another conclusion. “As deities are coming, nobody knows what will happen.”

“They’ll be fine, it’s you who’s in great danger,” Neptune warned. “The Army has verified your presence on this planet. The longer you put this off, the more danger you will be in.”

“However, I definitely can’t get away until the deity leaves.” Gu Ding stretched out his hands helplessly. Speaking of the deity, he got a little excited. “I want to see the deity’s battle, Neptune.”

“Are you mad? If you get caught up in the fighting, you’ll die a horrible death.” Neptune countered unceremoniously.

“We can watch from a distance. It must be easy for you to turn into a telescope. The building on the left is so tall, we can watch from the top of it, and you won’t be caught up in the fighting.” Gu Ding’s words finally swayed Neptune, deep down, he wanted to see how powerful the deities of his time really were.

This building on the Gu Ding’s was more than four hundred meters tall. There were only about more than seventy buildings that reached this height on Jerr. There were three in the city Leoben Prison was in, the tallest one was eight hundred and eighty-three meters, and the one on Gu Ding’s left was the second tallest building in the city.

It took Gu Ding less than five minutes to reach the top of the tower in a hover-elevator.

Neptune transformed his form into a pair of intelligent glasses, and Gu Ding could easily see where the beam of light had fallen. Although the beam was no longer there, the cloud change in the sky gave Gu Ding a glimpse of Leoben Prison’s exact location. Gu Ding, of course, saw another sight that startled him.

It was a black python that stood at nearly two hundred meters in height. It completely broke through the shackles of the prison and was hovering above the prison. The opponent facing him was a giant that was nearly three hundred meters tall.

Neptune quickly activated the intelligent glasses. He zoomed in and Gu Ding finally got a good view of the battle.

The giant, as Neptune mentioned before, seemed to be the deity’s will projection. The projection, heavily armored in black and covered in muscles, looked like a close combat powerhouse. What was most striking about his face were the pair of triangular eyes that gave away ferocious vibes, which was a clear indicator that the fellow was not a good man.

“Surrender to me!” The deity’s projection sent vibrations in the surrounding air, and Gu Ding could hear it clearly through his intelligent glasses.

The black snake chose to keep quiet. It stood still. You may not be able to see its eyes, but even Gu Ding could feel that it was staring at the opponent opposite him.

“Surrender to me, we can fight together. I can even help you find your missing parts and make you stronger…” The deity’s projection imposed his own conditions.

“It seems that this deity descended his projection for the god item.” Gu Ding finally knew the deity’s purpose for descending. “Didn’t they say deities can nurture god items themselves? Why rob other people’s god items?”

“A demigod item needs at least a thousand years of nurturing before it can form consciousness, and it takes longer to have its own thoughts. This chain’s weapon spirit has reached its mature form. If he manages to subdue it, this means that the deity can save at least three thousand years by doing this. He can spend more time on cultivation. Although the chain is incomplete in form, it is not difficult for the deities to refine it all over again. What’s difficult is the formation of the weapon spirit.” Neptune explained very clearly. “Usurping it directly is actually a bargain.”

“How much combat effectiveness can the deity’s will projection retain?” Gu Ding looked at the deity’s projection from afar. From the sheer size of his opponent, he deduced that he should be pretty strong.

“In general, the possibility is between ten to eighty percent. It depends on his individual strength, the distance of the projection, and other factors.” Neptune explained.

“Do you have to defeat the weapon spirit to subdue it?” Both the deity and the god item were new to Gu Ding, and he had many questions about both.

Neptune was happy to answer questions, especially since that was all he could do. “No, weapon spirits have their own consciousness. They have their own preferences like other living things. Sometimes they may find themselves drawn to someone, and they may recognize them as their master. Of course, using violence to convince them is also one of the ways to make them recognize someone as their master. There’s also the one that the deity just used, which is to get it to recognize him as its master in a trade-off. He knew that the chain was incomplete and that the weapon spirit instinctively wanted to rebuild its body, so he asked for a trade-off.”

“The weapon spirit didn’t seem to buy it though.” Gu Ding could also see that the deity’s offer did not impress the weapon spirit.

“There are generally three outcomes in which this trade fails. First, the weapon spirit does not like his aura; Second, the weapon spirit misses its former master; Third, the terms of the deal were not attractive enough.” Neptune speculated. “Generally speaking, it should not be the third case, because weapon spirits would instinctively want to repair their own bodies. The condition should be very attractive to him. It is unlikely for this to be the second case since he had little bond with his former master, Thorso, and when he awakened, Thorso was already dead. The first scenario is the most likely to take place as of now–there should be something on him that will repel it.”

“It seems that you won’t agree to a trade-off.” The deity waited for a long time and became angry when he did not get the response he wanted. “In that case, let’s fight. I’ll overcome you with my powers! I’ll force you to surrender!”

The python seemed to understand what he said. Its crouching figure twisted rapidly, and held up its proud head, as if to say, “I accept your challenge!”