Chapter 857
Chapter 857 - 843
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9 min read
"...Is that about it then? Any other questions?"
Lu Ping’an pondered for a moment before finally asking to make sure there were no oversights in the plan.
"...You, you’re quite bold."
"The success rate is low, Meow, not reliable, Meow."
Obviously, even to those in the know, Lu Ping’an’s plan was not seen favorably.
But he shrugged, targeting an opponent of such level meant a "safe" execution plan was as good as a giveaway, only by taking a gamble was there a chance to win.
Of course, this was provided that things went smoothly on Kun Ba’s end.
If it were still Rule-level, he would still choose to give up.....
"Here it comes!"
Death arrived as expected, and perhaps the Snake King Didirona had never been so close to it.
She had died four times; the first was on the battlefield, the second was an ambush by toads and mortals, the third was a mutual destruction with the mortals (tied fates), and the fourth was "suicide." The fifth time......
".....I’m not content, I won’t accept this! If I were in my prime, these bastards wouldn’t even be a threat to me...."
If the Snake King were truly in her prime, even a newly advanced Kun Ba would not have initiated an attack. Although the mission was critical, nobody was interested in dying for nothing.
But now, after having suffered four brutal deaths, especially with the previous one involving "mitosis"... the Snake King was pushed to the brink.
She was still struggling, fighting desperately, even ready to pay any price to take the "diminutive creature" before her down with her.
Unfortunately, Kun Ba and the others, having suffered a setback once, always maintained a distance... still letting that resurrected Fake Snake King take the brunt, while they securely observed from afar and then delivered a righteous stab in the back.
"In this world, there is definitely nothing that’s truly immortal and indestructible."
The fight continued, but everyone knew that without any accidents, the fall of the Snake King was just a matter of time.
And yet, even so, Kun Ba and his group remained exceedingly cautious, as nobody knew what kind of last resort an old Strongman might have. A moment of carelessness before had cost the life of an established Strongman.
Meanwhile, at a certain lively battlefield within a mountain range, Lu Ping’an was making his final calculations.
Killing the Snake King once or twice was within their combat power, but to ensure her permanent death, they had to confront her "Regeneration" and her rule of "Undeath."
"To put it bluntly, if she’s still Rule-level, no matter how many times she dies, as long as there’s a Snake Shedding, she can resurrect infinitely."
"So, sever her pact with the Abyss, cut off her use of the ’Throne’s’ undying curse technique?"
The answer was also no, there was limited time, and such top secret could not be unearthed.
In the end, it seemed there was only one answer...
"...Snake Shedding, if we’re lucky, the next one will resurrect here."
Lu Ping’an had witnessed her sudden resurrection and knew the signs preceding it.
The originally dry snake skin would rapidly swell, the parched skin regaining its luster as death, due to the "Soul" inhabiting it, returns to life.
This here, was also the biggest challenge to killing her for good... once the entity discards its body, what’s left is a spirit body, and most methods were incapable of exterminating a pure soul.
"Meow, I can do it, Meow," objected Meow, whose spiritualization certainly could harm a spirit body.
But that’s only if Didirona was foolish enough not to move her spirit to a new target, and also if Meow could actually...
"Stop kidding, even in her spirit form, you wouldn’t be able to defeat her."
If Meow were really reliable, if it could truly tear apart a giant serpent by hand, Lu Ping’an wouldn’t be taking such a risky approach.
There was only one chance; Snake Sheddings were getting harder to find. If they let her escape again, you could say this mission would be a direct failure.
Lu Ping’an patiently waited for the signal, but before that, he made an important decision.
"Are you sure? I won’t reenter into a contract with you, your days of enjoying life as the master are over."
Compared to before, the human form of Animated Armor Zhi Xi had completely changed.
Before, even when she was in her human form... perhaps it would be more accurate to call it her doll form, her cheeks resembled a mask, and although expressions could be simulated, there was still a strong sense of being a robot.
This time, she seemed to have added a metallic sheen and components to her human form.
The light blue hair wasn’t very long, and those faintly throbbing threads of electricity-like metal seemed like an excuse. Using Fang Wen’s knowledge, Zhi Xi had completed a wave of evolution at this time.
Her rounded oval face had the youthful vitality of a high school student. For the first time, Lu Ping’an saw on her cheeks the age and micro-expressions she should have.
Most fundamentally, compared to the past, she now had a much stronger sense of flesh and blood... If one didn’t know her inside out, they might think she was some Foreign Domain exotic race with strange metallic components.
"...It was bound to happen eventually. I don’t think an intelligent creature can enslave another intelligent creature indefinitely. Instead of waiting for you to grow tired of me and rebel one day, why don’t we switch to a different mode of interaction? Like, boss and employee? Or maybe something closer, like boss and trusted subordinate? After all, we’ll probably be together for a long time."
"Eh? Secretary and boss? Are you hinting at something... Sorry, I don’t have that function. If you need it, you can go to an adult store to buy props and then..."
This time, Lu Ping’an couldn’t hold back. Who had Zhi Xi learned these dirty jokes from? Was she really planning to assemble... uh, could she really do it? He didn’t recall adding that functionality to her, did he?
"...then go f*ck yourself!"
With that, Zhi Xi even flipped him off!
This completely threw Lu Ping’an. He was supposed to be happy about this since he had planned...
"I was planning to set her free anyway. Why does she seem upset? Doesn’t she want..."
𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
"...No, she probably does want freedom. Intelligent creatures might not be free, but they should have the right to choose whether to be free or not. She just doesn’t want to sever the contract voluntarily in this situation, which makes her feel like she’s being unceremoniously dumped by a heartless jerk because she’s not useful enough."
Lu Ping’an was stunned for a long time, not understanding. Isn’t a contract granting freedom a good thing? Why worry about the manner of its attainment? Indeed, he would never understand women... uh, probably female robots, that is, in his entire life.
"Time is running out, start the disengagement."
But at this moment, Lu Ping’an could no longer hesitate.
The page labeled "Animated Armor Zhi Xi" in his Life Illustration, which he opened, began to fade and disappear.
Lu Ping’an was dissolving the "contract", removing Life Illustration’s control over Zhi Xi’s life and death.
"Cough cough! As expected..."
Yet, the first one to be affected was Lu Ping’an himself.
An inexplicable emptiness surged to his heart, as if a piece of both body and soul had been dug out, and he doubled over in pain, vomiting blood profusely.
Just like that, Lu Ping’an had inflicted a serious injury upon himself, the kind that damaged both body and mind.
"...Deferred payment."
This trial forced out his ultimate skill.
Even though the harm to his body and spirit body was forcefully delayed, Lu Ping’an still felt a strange discomfort and emptiness, as if he was missing a part of his limbs, as if he had become disabled...
"Continue."
Suddenly, Lu Ping’an’s hand was gripped.
The next moment, resonance was actively initiated, and a connection was reestablished between them. This time it was entirely different from before. Lu Ping’an felt whole again, successfully restored.
Seeing that Lu Ping’an’s complexion returned to normal, Zhi Xi snorted, let go of his arm, and walked away.
"...Well, it’s not too bad." Lu Ping’an sighed, resigned to the fact that not dying on the spot wasn’t the worst outcome.
Having paid so much, of course, Lu Ping’an had much to gain.
"Life Programming, pre-activation..."
Staring at what seemed like the last piece of Snake Shedding in front of him, Lu Ping’an was also making his final preparations for battle.
[Feature 1: Life Programming (Upper Silver): Select ’Core of Wisdom’, ’Blood Essence’, and ’Bone Flesh Foundation’ to create a Life form.]
This was the core function of the Life Illustration, which could build a Magic Pet from the "three materials".
And now, beside the Snake Shedding, there was a small Bat Demon that had just been caught, and several generations of blood bags that Lu Ping’an got from the logistics department, as well as some bones (unluckily belonging to someone’s remains)... Obviously, Lu Ping’an wasn’t planning to use high-quality Magic Monster materials, instead opting for a "human-grade" selection.
"Since she can’t be killed in her current form, then, if I transform her into a different form of life, and let her live anew, can she finally be put to death?"
— End of Chapter 857 —