Ants

The true scene was bone-chilling. Every single colleague, elder, and friend who had just been interacting with you was either missing eyes, had a gaping hole in their chest, or had a twisted neck, facing away from you even as they spoke to you; Everything had been far too detailed and logically coherent. Normally, any false illusion could be called a phantasm, but what he had just experienced made Karen feel that the word "illusion" could not begin to encompass it. If he hadn't just "emerged" from the underground cave and been in the middle of a divine pollution incident where anything bizarre could happen, he would never have suspected a thing; If he had simply woken up, opened his window, and stepped straight into "this place," not a shred of vigilance or hesitation would have crossed his mind. What was more, even with such a jarring transition and under the premise of absolute skepticism, one still couldn't catch the slightest trace of falsehood in this world. Had his grandfather not been protecting him, and had the Immorales family faith system not empowered him at the critical moment, Karen would have already succumbed and sunk into it. Of course, this expanse of falsehood wouldn't last long, but it was long enough for it to achieve its purpose. For example... those two Principle Notes were about to be handed over to the two dead Order priests—who now were the incarnations of this divine pollution zone. The concentration inside had contracted, and the pollution hadn't been extreme. Though his group had gone through some twists and turns, they had still successfully achieved their goal. But what if all of this had been intentional on the part of the polluted land? Leaving those two Principle Notes inside the cave posed a variable and a dilemma for the Church of Order, which wanted to seal this place permanently; Yet with the two notebooks sealed upon the altar, perhaps it was difficult for the pollution here to seep into and affect them, or perhaps it required an immensely long time; Could it be that the polluted land had deliberately used them as couriers? Yet Kevin had clearly told him that divine pollution did not possess an individual will in the traditional sense. But if this was a collective will, wasn't it a bit too intricate? Or rather... Was what Kevin said and what he observed both true? Divine pollution had no will, while the pollution before him had one. Between these seemingly contradictory notions, there was an overlapping layer, and that was... The god was not dead! The experiment might not be what the outsiders thought—it might not have failed, but succeeded! Then right now... Did it want to leave this place? Cold sweat beaded on Karen's forehead. No matter how dangerous or bizarre an ownerless realm was, there was a limit; you could at least take a gamble on probability and luck. But if there was a will here controlling everything: Then every action he and his companions took was merely a game played right under its nose. Karen drew the Sword of Diamans and charged toward Nicole and Anlans at top speed. The Principle Notes must not be handed over under any circumstances. She might be trying to use the power of these two divine artifacts to break through the seal and escape! However, the moment Karen began acting in an illogical manner, the surrounding wind seemed to thicken. If he had been one of the actors on stage a moment ago, then now, he was a disruptor storming up from below. A force, or perhaps a rule, was rejecting him. Karen looked down and found a square grid beneath his feet. The squares were spreading outward, one after another, dense and seemingly boundless; A chessboard... So all of this was the doing of the God of Infatuation's chessboard. This proved from another angle that an entity was manipulating this divine artifact. Everything around him began to warp. Light and shadow shifted rapidly and irregularly, like a playing movie set to fast-forward. Yet this wasn't directed at Karen; it was aimed at those who had not stepped out of the screen and still took this place for reality. Karen's actions would be "reenacted" and reframed. He might not even be "Karen" anymore, but another figure entirely, while the real Karen would appear to still be standing in place under Lord Kumut's lead, greeting the other dignitaries one by one. The purpose was simple: reorganize abnormal behavior into normal behavior, then guide it accordingly. In an instant, Karen saw through the chessboard's intention, but he had no way of breaking the others' "perspective" right now. At this moment, between Karen and Anlans and Nicole, stood six companions. In other words, along the straight path of Karen's advance, those six could be "brainwashed" into intercepting him: Philomena, Richard, Ventura, Muri, Leon, and Neo. The others were farther away. As long as his speed wasn't significantly reduced, they wouldn't have the chance to attack him—at least not before he grabbed the Principle Notes. Karen was fully prepared to be obstructed. If not for that sudden glimpse of "Diss," he would never have broken through the chessboard's deception, so he didn't expect the others to recognize him. What he needed to do next was bypass their interception without genuinely harming them. ... "My grandma will send us quarantine meals when the time comes. There'll definitely be a portion for you." Philomena replied, "You're her grandson, not me." "No, you misunderstand. She'll send food for Karen, and then bring along a portion for you and me on the side—probably even a downgraded version." "Aren't you jealous of Karen?" "Jealous? Are you jealous of Karen?" Philomena shook her head. "See? So how could I be jealous of someone who's like my own brother? Heh heh." *Brother?* *He actually is your cousin.* Philomena thought about it. If Richard viewed Karen as his brother, what role did Karen play to her? The "great existence" in Mr. Alfred's words? He taught her how to act and present herself on certain occasions, and he criticized and guided her. A brother seemed a bit unfitting—too low; So, a feeling like an uncle? Philomena didn't want to think about another term on the same generational tier as an uncle. Richard was still chatting with Philomena when suddenly, a priest clad in an Order priestly robe drew a sword, impaled a priest before him, and immediately charged toward Anlans and Nicole, who were in the middle of handing over the divine artifacts. In the distance, "Karen" turned his head, looked over, and shouted to everyone, "Quick, stop him!" It was almost an instinctual reaction for Philomena. Her figure shot forward, appearing directly behind the assassin, and she thrust her dagger downward. *Clang!* The assassin's rapid reaction startled Philomena. Without even slowing down, he composedly used his sword behind his back to parry her sneak attack. Philomena hurled her dagger, which the assassin evaded completely with a sidestep; Immediately after, Philomena drew the Blade of Nightmares. With a cascading flash, she appeared at the assassin's flank and slashed down. The assassin's sword blocked once more. At the exact instant their weapons clashed, Philomena said in a low voice: "Enter the dream!" ... A powerful suction dragged at his soul consciousness. Karen's eyes narrowed. In the depths of his soul, the dharma body of the God of Order suddenly stirred, and an unyielding wave of soul power swept outward. *Bang!* ... Philomena felt as if an invisible heavy hammer had struck the back of her head. Far from dragging the assassin into a dream, she had been violently shaken by his formidable soul power. What kind of assassin was this to possess such terrifying soul power? The assassin didn't linger to tangle with Philomena, seizing the opening to pull away. Yet right then, a giant descended from the sky. Karen sidestepped, narrowly dodging the impact. A massive stone fist swept across. Karen raised his hand: "Chains of Order!" Thick chains materialized, binding Ventura's arms first before spreading with astonishing speed to bind his feet. "Roar!" ... Ventura let out a roar. His body was wrapped in coils of yellow vines, and he tried to burst them by brute force. He originally thought it would be easy, possessing immense confidence in his giant physique, but when he exerted his strength, he found the yellow vines around him did not budge in the slightest. Instead, he lost his balance and crashed forward. Ventura: *?* He had clearly seen just now that after dodging his drop, the assassin had casually raised a hand to cast an instant spell. How could it possess such an absurd spell intensity? ... *Bang!* Muri appeared before the assassin, raising his round shield to form a massive barrier while resting his short blade atop the shield to unleash a powerful slash. A burst of flames surged before the assassin as a blinding fire serpent soared into the air, circled once, and crashed down violently, swallowing the blade's edge. Just as Muri braced himself for the fiery impact, he discovered that the raging flames suddenly dispersed into sparks. Immediately after, right at the weak point of his shield, a potent ice spike shot forth and punched clean through, cracking it open. Muri knew his interception had failed, but just as he prepared to reposition, a giant pupil suddenly manifested before his eyes. Within that pupil, he saw his grandfather, Mobiten. Muri froze in a daze. By the time he snapped out of it, the assassin was already beyond his reach. This wasn't an illusion... He hadn't fallen under a spell earlier either; the opponent had simply manifested an image of his grandfather to distract him. It was the equivalent of thrusting a poster in front of his face, and he had revealed a fatal opening. *How... how is that possible?* Why was this assassin so familiar with him? ... Leon blocked the assassin—or rather, he merely took up an intercepting stance before the assassin slipped past him the next instant, casually swatting him away with the flat of the blade. The penultimate interceptor was Richard. He had actually been standing in the same spot as Philomena earlier, but Philomena was simply too fast. Fortunately, Richard let Little Jerry take the wheel; Instead of chasing after the assassin to cut him off, he ran ahead along a predictive angle, waiting for the assassin up front. Yet watching the assassin bypass companion after companion at lightning speed, Richard's pressure surged. Spreading both hands, he immediately shot threads toward the assassin, every single strand possessing formidable adhesive and corrosive properties. Karen deliberately caught a thread with his bare hand. His palm was instantly "scalded" into a wound, but the moment a drop of blood welled up, the surrounding threads recoiled frantically as if they had seen a ghost, tangling up and wrapping around Richard himself. Fortunately, Richard was immune to his own threads and didn't have to worry about corroding himself, but the sticky mess still wrapped him into a giant cocoon. With a *thud*, he hit the ground and rolled about. Karen was finally about to reach Anlans and Nicole. Now, only a single obstacle remained—the man who, from the very start, had stood closest to the Church of Principles contingent, clearly reluctant to part with the two divine artifacts that had been retrieved only to be handed over. This person was Neo, and he was the most troublesome of all. Karen didn't believe he could easily bypass Neo's interception as he had done with the others. And once his speed dropped, he would be swarmed from behind by all his subordinates, leaving him with zero chance of stopping the handover of the divine artifacts. Yet Neo stood there motionless. Though he was closest, he showed not the slightest intention of stepping in to protect them or intervene. Karen: *Did he recognize me?* Neo: *Snatch them! Go on, snatch them! Although I think you must be out of your mind to try robbing divine artifacts out in the open like this, with so many people and eyes watching—the odds of pulling it off are maybe one in ten million—they aren't mine anyway! I'll bet on your one-in-ten-million shot. If you actually succeed, I can just give chase. Once we're in pursuit and out of sight, wouldn't I have the chance to pocket and launder the artifacts for myself?* Neo hadn't recognized Karen—at least not yet; Still, he didn't intervene. The assassin's target was the Church of Principles. What did that have to do with his Light... oh no, with his Church of Order? Having just failed at "sacrificing" himself, he was right in the middle of rediscovering his passion for life. Naturally, he would enjoy whatever entertainment came his way; he was the last person to fear making a scene bigger. Karen finally reached Nicole and Anlans. At this moment, they were opening the box containing the divine artifacts; it was only halfway open, not yet fully unlocked. Yet they too noticed the assassin's approach. Two holy artifacts dropped from their persons—a pendant and a wooden tablet. The pendant radiated a yellow glow that enveloped the two of them, while the wooden tablet ignited. Smoke billowed straight upward, and an arm reached out from within as a bald demon lunged toward the assassin with a roar. Research scholars might hold high ranks and cultivation realms, but they generally couldn't fight. Karen had known this for a long time. What gave them the audacity to respond to his assault so half-heartedly while handling their task? In truth, Karen had misjudged them. The instant Karen had struck out, Nicole and Anlans's teachers had urged them in unison: "Don't let outside distractions interfere! Hand the divine artifacts over to us quickly, so those Order folks don't get any greedy ideas!" Setting aside the longstanding, almost partner-like relationship between the Church of Order and the Church of Principles, anyone with half a brain knew there was no way people from the Church of Order would forcefully rob divine artifacts from the Church of Principles in such a broad-daylight setting. Yet these two students trusted their teachers implicitly. Added to the fact that they were young and didn't think things through thoroughly... No, in reality, the chessboard was utilizing the collective mindset of the crowd to craft this deceptive environment; the words spoken by everyone in this space were what they themselves believed would be said. Thus, in the eyes of the two students, the divine artifacts they had worked so hard to retrieve were inherently at risk of being coveted by the Church of Order. After all, the Church of Order's own divine artifact had been lost inside and not brought out. The bald demon slammed into Karen, but failed to knock him back. Karen's body seemed to exert a viscous traction that neutralized the force while vaulting off the demon's body like a gymnast on a vaulting horse, gaining another burst of acceleration. The power of the Sea God's Armor acted like a lubricant in that moment. Moreover, as he pushed off, Karen struck the demon's back with his palm. A Spear of Punishment condensed of spellcraft materialized directly inside the demon's abdomen, causing its belly to bloat instantly before bursting with a loud *crack*. A hole was blown clean through the demon's belly; its arms dropped limp, and its body began to dissolve. As for the protective barrier, Karen plunged the Sword of Diamans into the ground. Power surged beneath the earth and erupted within the barrier, completely flipping this shield that looked sturdy on paper but was laughably amateurish in combat. In the next instant, Karen's blade was about to sever the necks of those two "teachers." Yet right then, a half-open Principle Note began to activate. The barrier Karen had just overturned reformed in an unpredictable manner. Karen's sword was only a hair's breadth away from the two teachers, yet ultimately failed to reach them, swallowed back inside the reformed barrier. *Sigh.* Karen knew he had failed. Once this barrier clamped down, there was no way he could break it in the short term, and his subordinates from behind were already closing in. Of course, from their perspective, they certainly weren't the only ones taking action; perhaps Karen had already "slain" and "repelled" many other priests earlier. In short, the chessboard had the capability to weave a scene that felt completely natural to them. Yet right at that moment, someone moved. Neo, who was already positioned closest, suddenly shouted, "Seize the assassin! Protect the divine artifacts!" Neo moved toward Nicole and Anlans, striking a posture of protection while conjuring an Order spell. Massive black spikes burst rapidly from the ground, ostensibly forming an intercepting barrier. However, one of the spikes quite "accidentally" struck the box containing the Principle Notes. The half-opened box's defenses were already weakened, and the impact disturbed the active Principle Note. In a chain reaction, the barrier trapping Karen began to shudder. Karen instantly pierced the loosened barrier with his blade and lunged straight for the Principle Notes. As he passed Neo, he swung his sword in a perfunctory, sloppy slash. "Aaargh!" Neo was "sent flying" far away. Karen followed through with another slash, decapitating the two Church of Principles teachers. At the same time, two chains shot from his hands, snatching both Principle Notes along with their box into his grip. The Fire of Order condensed in his palm and latched onto the two divine artifacts. Karen had no time to analyze and study how to use the Principle Notes; he had to stimulate them in the most direct, forceful way possible. This was the only immediate method to shatter the effects of the God of Infatuation's chessboard and bring everyone to their senses. Just then, from somewhere beyond perception, Karen heard a furious voice: "Ant, do you know whose will you defy?" A suddenly emerging, terrifying pressure bore down on Karen's body and soul, paralyzing his next move and forcing him to kneel in submission! This pressure was not pure—it was mottled and chaotic—yet the aura of a god was still distinctly discernible. Gritting his teeth, Karen's knees buckled slightly, only to snap straight again. Facing this intangible oppressive might, one had to push back with equal willpower. Karen raised his head, looked ahead, and retorted: "Sorry, but among the wills I've defied, you don't even rank."