Chapter 1754
Chapter 1754 - 1750: Hunting God
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"The gods... have departed..."
At that moment, all life inexplicably felt a surge of relief.
No one had anticipated that in the midst of the most intense and maddening phase of the deathmatch, the first to leave would be the God Above Gods.
It had foreseen the outcome.
"Truly gone."
The God Above Gods had left this world—without hesitation, without struggle.
However, what seemed like a calm departure was likely excruciatingly painful.
At that moment, the entire Earth fell eerily silent, yet in the high-dimensional world, all could hear its wrathful and resentful lament.
It—or rather, It—tore a part of itself apart.
In sacrificing dignity and giving up a piece of its "flesh," it managed to leave.
Fleeing in disgrace, it acknowledged the losses inflicted by mortals, admitted that this time it was a thorough defeat... Surely, in the fifty neighboring high-dimensional worlds, its screams and howls of fury could be heard.
At the very least, Lu Ping’an was stunned by the "wave" vibrations that it emitted.
The hatred, bitterness, and malice within were potent enough to spawn Exotic Realm Demons directly—to even destroy Little Worlds outright upon confrontation.
At that moment, Lu Ping’an felt as if a significant portion of the Secret Realms and polluted areas across the entire world had been forcibly erased...
"It has this kind of ability...?"
The deity’s screams, or rather, its capitulation, symbolized not only victory for the world but also the world’s ascension.
However, one matter remained unresolved.
Within the eerie Octopus Secret Realm, the deathmatch persisted. This time, Lu Ping’an did not encounter the fated death he had expected.
"Move aside!!"
A sudden, sharp female shout stunned Lu Ping’an into momentary confusion.
The next instant, he realized—it was the frenzied Golden Crow in the sky.
"Damn, so you’ve learned human speech, but you’ve been shouting non-stop without using proper words..."
Despite his sarcasm, Lu Ping’an’s actions did not falter.
He was already sufficiently weakened, unable to absorb the "Fire Seed." Any chance of survival was unquestionably a good thing.
The Huge Dragon’s blockade zone suddenly pulled away... and in the next instant, the Golden Crow descended rapidly toward the Evil Beast, skimming just above the ground before transforming into flames. The two sides clashed directly in a brutal melee.
Only now did Lu Ping’an get a clear view of the Golden Crow’s form.
Its entire body was composed of fluid-like crimson flames, with only golden plates decorating its wings, head, eyes, and tail feathers.
Its eye sockets appeared to hold pitch-black black holes, which, upon closer inspection, seemed to reveal the cosmos.
It was utterly distinct from the other creations of the Octopus Race... visually opposing the Lovecraftian style of Octopus Demons, even subtly exuding an air of sanctity.
Yet at this moment, it demonstrated an unprecedented ferocity and aggression.
The materialized blaze condensed into deadly "feathers," "swords," and "spears," which proved fatal to most life forms—but against the Steel-Forged Xingtian Evil Beast, they left only wounds.
The prior strategy of storing up firepower and striking before retreating had disappeared entirely. What now fell to the ground was a terrifying War Beast far beyond the Tenth-order.
As it fought in close quarters, Fire Feathers continuously shed from its body. Like homing missiles, they adjusted direction and trajectory, each piercing precisely into the wounds of the Xingtian Evil Beast.
Its eight tail feathers transformed into claw-like shapes, tearing relentlessly at the Evil Beast’s fresh flesh.
Even under counter-attack, it never backed down, persistently ripping into the opponent’s flesh and exchanging injuries without hesitation.
The furious bird opened its massive beak wide, unleashing blistering flames directly into the perpetually agape mouth of another Evil Beast.
This time, the blaze expanded the latter to the point of grotesque inflation. Even from afar, Lu Ping’an caught a whiff of roasting meat.
This was cruelty taken to its extremes—for both sides.
The two beasts remained entwined, with the Golden Crow locking onto the Steel-Forged Xingtian, tearing and clawing relentlessly at close range. The Golden Crow willingly suffered bodily damage in return, fiercely spewing flames at zero distance.
The sight left Lu Ping’an momentarily dumbfounded.
He understood the Golden Crow’s brutality toward the Evil Beast as an attempt at a "Letter of Invitation," but this reckless exchange of injuries? It felt entirely excessive.
"Why not just stick to the previous strategy..."
Soon, the Golden Crow could no longer endure its injuries. Battered and scarred, it rose back into the air.
But those eyes remained locked onto the "kin" below.
This was a grudge so deep it felt palpable... And through his intuitive spirituality and perception, Lu Ping’an realized that this must not be an illusion. The Golden Crow’s "roars" carried genuine resentment.
Considering its radically opposing life form to the Octopus Tribe, perhaps this sentiment was entirely valid.
"The master ran away; naturally, the forcibly raised pet retaliates. Unable to lash out at the master, it picks on the offspring instead..."
"...Lu Ping’an, stop that. That thing... Its perceptive ability isn’t weak."
Lu Ping’an shrugged. He already felt the creature glare at him overhead the moment he spoke up.
For now, they were comrades anyway, so he decided to keep his remarks in check.
Any fewer deaths would certainly be welcomed by Lu Ping’an. After all, the life-points he used essentially represented the "lifespan" of his fellow comrades.
The battle raged on, and Lu Ping’an wasn’t idle.
He commanded the Huge Dragon to act as a meat shield at the right moments while tossing a Postponed Payment to the creature above... For the first time, the effect wasn’t fully realized.
This didn’t mean it had no effect at all—theoretically, the injuries it ought to have been left with were reduced to a mere sixth, yet only about a third had healed... For Lu Ping’an’s Postponed Payment to work even partially against a Supreme God-level being was astonishing already.
This realization earned Lu Ping’an a glance of approval from the Golden Crow above.
However, this time, it refrained from engaging in another physical melee with the beast below, instead utilizing its mobility to begin a war of attrition while staying similarly aggressive.
The slaughter continued, but everyone knew this was a fight among trapped beasts.
The planned tactics ceased, granting Lu Ping’an a momentary breath of relief... Whether it was the reviving life-points or the reserves of "Dragon-Snake," both were running dangerously low. The number of Mist Sound clones directly influenced the final resolution of the Dragon-Snake.
𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
Unbeknownst to him, as the Self-Destruction Sun tactic concluded, other high-ranking combatants also joined the fray... Some suffered losses, while others held their ground.
This tireless war machine had finally reached its limit.
And so, the slaughter continued.
For himself, for his race, for his world... Lu Ping’an pressed on relentlessly, collecting the Golden Crow’s flames, organizing the Evil Beast’s flesh, and contributing support as he went.
An hour, two hours... A day, two days.
No one expected the Evil Beast, with only half of its limbs left, to endure for a staggering three days.
Its regenerative powers had long faded, leaving six of its claws incomplete, while only its gaping maw remained capable of biting and injuring.
Lu Ping’an joined the melee directly, sacrificing himself twice for the cause... This, even with the beast ignoring him, as far more "threatening" units populated the battlefield.
Nevertheless, for Lu Ping’an to survive and contribute on such a battleground was astonishing enough.
Finally, on the fourth day, when the Evil Beast suddenly collapsed without warning, everyone was stunned.
"We’ve finally won..."
"At last..."
Unlike the joy of prior victories, this time, the champions felt only exhaustion deep within their hearts.
Yet they had finally won.
This meant the victor of the Plane Defense War had been decided.
"We’ve won. We’ve protected our homeland!"
— End of Chapter 1754 —