Chapter 194: Grazing

With the help of the bosses who had crossed paths before, Xiao Lan and Luo quickly approached Bai Guang ahead.

At the end of the stairs is a blinding white, white without the slightest impurity, but with a strong aggression that does not feel pure or peaceful in the least, but rather reveals an icy coldness.

Luo looked at the man beside him, "Are you ready, sir?"

Xiao Lan took a deep breath, "Let's go."

Both men raised their steps at the same time and stepped into the snowy white.

The field of vision is instantly taken over by white, as if the eyes were covered by a white cloth.

A few moments later, something else gradually appears in the white.

It was still a world of pure white.

The white sky covers the top of the head, and underneath the feet is a pure white chessboard that looks similar to chess, but unlike chess, all the squares are white, not allowing for the slightest impurity in general.

On each side of the board are listed the pieces, the Praetorian Guard, the Knight, the Bishop, the Chariot and the Queen.

The pieces are pure white, as is the board at their feet.

They stand still, as if in a parade of welcome.

There is no king among these pieces.

Only at the other end, opposite Xiao Lan, stood a figure.

This man has the same face as Luo, but with a cold, inorganic air.

He was dressed in a pure white frock that covered all skin except his face, his long white hair cascading without a blemish in sight, and his pale golden eyes untouched.

There is no doubt that this man standing at the other end of the board is the master who has controlled the Advent world.

He is also the only king in the whole game.

The Juggernaut looked up at Luo and said in a calm tone, "There you are."

Luo with a smile: "I've kept you waiting."

During the conversation, the Juggernaut does not cast a single glance at Xiao Lan, and uses only "you" as if he were a mere accompaniment.

"Too slow." The Juggernaut raised his hand gently.

As he did so, the rows of Praetorian pieces on the board moved, transforming themselves into soldiers with long-handled axes and rushing towards the two men on the opposite side.

Luo also holds out his hand, his fingertips moving slightly.

Just see the squares beneath his feet instantly coloured black, the black squares spreading out and intertwining with the white squares on the board to become a standard chessboard.

The same blackness stains the pieces on Xiao Lan's side, turning them all black.

A black and white pattern has been formed, representing the beginning of the battle.

The row of black pieces, representing the Praetorian Guard, also moved, and like the pieces under the master, they became soldiers with spears and battled the oncoming white soldiers.

With fierce fighting, occupying both ends of the board, the kings of black and white talk calmly.

"It is too hasty to come to me now, build up more power so that you may have the possibility of defeating me." The Sovereign's tone remained the same.

Luo looked at him, "Would you be kind enough to let me build up my strength in peace?"

The white axe slashed at the black soldier's chest and the black spear stabbed through the white soldier's abdomen.

The pieces on both sides are fighting relentlessly.

The dead pawn falls to the ground, crumbling into a cloud of dust.

The Juggernaut's light golden eyes seemed to see through Luo: "You're just getting back to your old level, and I'm not going to stay where you are."

He looked at Luo: "Breathing, body temperature, heartbeat, what useless things have you added to yourself? They don't make you stronger, they distract you from your strength."

The Juggernaut's eyes finally fell on Xiao Lan for the first time: "Is this about him?"

The gaze was condensed and heavy, as if to crush one.

Xiao Lan felt the pressure at once, but he quickly calmed down and stood still without the slightest sign of weakness.

The Juggernaut stared at Xiao Lan, and for the first time, his tone took on a little ripple, though only a little: "This is the power of ...... Awakening!"

He looked at Luo: "Do you have any idea what you've done?"

Luo's tone was the same as ever: "He's already one of our kind, isn't he? That's what we're here for in the first place."

Juggernaut: "No, we don't need kindred spirits. After descending into the world, I have found that humans are creatures who find it difficult to remain rational, and perhaps beings like us are simply not to be found in the universe; we are the only perfect life forms left."

Luo says: "You have departed from your original intention of building the Advent world."

The Juggernaut admired his long, slender fingers with white gloves, "It's just a tweak to the plan."

After the fall of the Praetorian Guard in front, the knights, bishops, chariots and queens in the rear joined the fray again.

The battle on the chessboard continues and is becoming more and more brutal.

Soldiers and nobles alike fell in the opposite attack, their bodies turning to dust and melting into one never to be separated again.

Xiao Lan couldn't help but say, "Don't you have any fear of life?"

The Juggernaut seemed to have heard something quite absurd as he said in that calm, unemotional tone, "Awe of life? What a surprise to me to hear such a word from the mouth of a human being."

"Humans have slaughtered far more creatures than have died in the Advent world, and that includes even your kind."

"War, slavery, genocide, concentration camps, colonies ...... I have not seen in them the slightest reverence for life."

"The strong always have the right to do as they please with the weak, and that is still something I learned from humans, and why should I care about humans when I have power far above them?"

Xiao Lan's brow furrows.

The Juggernaut and Luo, after coming into contact with humans, went in two very different directions.

One subscribes to the law of the jungle where the weak are preyed upon and the other chooses to accept the equality and freedom that humanity craves.

Humans often sing the praises of peace while at the same time stirring up war for their own selfish interests.

While longing for equality, they cannot help but oppress the weak.

Large countries manipulate small ones, the powerful exploit the commoners, superiors suppress their subordinates, the strong bully the weak, and small groups of people crowd out the lone wanderer.

But at the same time, human beings will weep for the suffering of others, will lay down their lives to fight for those they have never met, will join hands to work out a better future in the darkness.

Perhaps humans are such complex and often contradictory creatures.

The game on the board also came to an end.

The last pieces from both sides died together, leaving only a trail of black and white debris.

The Juggernaut reaches out and brushes his hand in mid-air, clearing the worthless trash from his domain.

He looked across at the two men, "Well, the pleasantries end here. We can't convince each other anyway, reasoning is useless, and in the end it is still power that will decide the outcome of the discourse."

With those words, Bai Guang attacked Xiao Lan and Luo.

The light is clearly pure white, but it carries a terrifying force that would only shatter the bones of a defenceless collision.

A black shadow appears in Luo's hand and surges towards Bai Guang.

The dark shadows hit Bai Guang head-on, and the two sides dissolved into nothingness.

Xiao Lan turns on his skills the moment Bai Guang appears.

[Title: Poverty Can't Limit My Imagination]

[Ability: Reflex]

Xiao Lan raised his hand in the face of Bai Guang, and a silvery-grey mirror appeared at his fingertips, the shape of which was irregular but stretched out in front of Xiao Lan.

Xiao Lan feels a sudden sinking in his hands as the mirror meets Bai Guang.

Don't look at the master's slightest movement, but the force of his attack is not weak.

Xiao Lan braced himself against the mirror, and finally the pressure on the mirror surface lightened, reflecting Bai Guang back.

It seems that science is still very powerful, even in the face of a not-so-scientific being like the Juggernaut.

The Juggernaut deflected Xiao Lan's reflective Bai Guang: "Interesting."

This human being, who could actually reflect his power.

After the first round of attacks, the battle between the three opened up.

Luo and Xiao Lan worked well together, with each strike of the blade and the black shadow being just right.

The Juggernaut looks like a four-bodied man, but in reality he moves with a vicious and accurate hand.

Bai Guang continued to slice past the pair, while Xiao Lan and Luo's attacks were constantly deflected by the juggernaut.

All three men fighting were so fast that there were only constant streaks in the air, making for a dizzying sight.

Several rounds may have been exchanged in a second, both in attack and defence, all done in an instant, with no room for error.

Luo and the Juggernaut are familiar with each other and their powers come from the same source, so they can counteract each other.

With Xiao Lan's involvement, it was Luo's side that was slowly gaining the upper hand in a two-on-one match.

After a fresh exchange of blows, the blade in Xiao Lan's hand cuts straight through the Juggernaut's face, and Luo's dark shadow leaves a deep wound on his neck.

There was no blood flowing from the wound where the juggernaut had been cut.

It was as if some entity had been sliced open and the interior was snowy white.

The Juggernaut reached out and smoothed the two wounds by gently running his fingertips over his own.

The Juggernaut said, "What a surprise to me."

Although his tone sounded like he was recounting a financial statement, there wasn't the slightest surprise to be found.

It's really quite boring to talk to people like that.

Luo said, "Don't underestimate us."

The Juggernaut shook his head, "I never underestimate you, we both know very well that we can't kill each other completely, so how could I not be a little more prepared for that?"

Suddenly, a mist rose from this white world.

These mists come from nowhere, churning through the air and making the place look as if it were a fairyland.

But Luo was not the least bit confused by the sight, he frowned at the white mist, in which he sensed a powerful energy.

Energy does not appear out of thin air, so where does this come from?

--

Wu Ting found himself in a really bad position.

Just after a battle with the boss, I ran into the indentured player before I could rest.

That pact was just the sort of thing he felt the trickiest about.

His opponent's speed and attack were so strong that he could only keep dragging his injuries to escape, not even having the time to repair his body with props.

Wu Ting hid in a corner and took out a healing prop to bandage himself through the cover of the rubble.

Although this was not a good time, he was really on the verge of not being able to hold on. If he continued like this, he would die from blood loss even if he didn't die at the hands of the other side.

The bandage hadn't been wrapped twice when he heard the whistling sound that made his scalp tingle.

The kind of sound that drags on and on and sounds seemingly laid back with a touch of eeriness.

He had no choice but to stop the healing and continue to change places to hide.

But before he can get up to escape, his white snake Xiao Qing sends him a fierce warning.

Wu Ting's heart sank, and then he heard movement from overhead.

"Found - you - got - you - "

Wu Ting's spine instantly tensed as he could already feel the other man's speaking breath spraying over his head.

It's too late to escape.

Wu Ting stiffened and looked up into the face of a withered woman.

The woman was very thin, but Wu Ting didn't dare to underestimate her at all, because the power she had in her dry, thin body was quite frightening.

The woman's hair was a mess and she was dressed in red like him, she flashed a smile at Wu Ting, "I love killing Sister Xiao in red, don't be afraid, you're so pretty, I'll be gentle with you."

She looks at Wu Ting as if she has found some treasure, but the words that come out are unsettling.

Wu Ting's throat twitches.

He had the bright idea to drop the falsetto: "I ...... I'm a guy ......"

With that he also took the initiative to pull off the choker adorning his neck, revealing his throat knot to show his innocence.

The woman's smile stiffened, "A man?"

Wu Ting nodded hastily, dropping her breast pads in the process, hoping she was out of range of her opponent's hunt and trying to find an opening to escape.

Unexpectedly, the woman let out an angry scream, "Ah-, don't you dare lie to me!!! You lied to me!!!"

Sunken eyes glared round, bloodshot eyes staring hard at Wu Ting: "Die, liar!"

The next thing you know, Wu Ting's neck is in an iron grip and he is pinned against the wall.

Wu Ting's back slammed into the wall, re-aggravating his already unhealed injuries.

The force under his palm was so great that Wu Ting's bones instantly cackled and blood rushed madly towards his brain, making him feel like his head was about to explode.

Fuck!

Wu Ting I didn't expect to be treated like this by the ladies' man.

Doesn't this kind of pervert normally only kill his target crowd, how come he went berserk after finding out otherwise?!

What's wrong with big women in costume! Don't you have any human rights if you dress up as a woman?

It is getting darker and darker, and Wu Ting feels like he is about to die here.

Unfortunately, he never left Advent until his death ......

He hasn't become a top tier female anchor yet ......

It would have been better not to expose myself just now, perhaps I could have died a little easier.

Suddenly, Bai Guang appeared in front of Wu Ting's eyes and the force on his neck was suddenly lighter.

He could barely open his eyes to see a mark appear on the forehead of the woman in red.

The mark was very similar to the one that had appeared on the back of his own hand, but in white.

The white marker is now emitting an increasingly bright light.

At the same time, the woman in red's already thin and dry body was becoming more and more withered, almost on the verge of becoming a dry corpse.

It was like, the mark was absorbing the energy from her body.

"Cluck ...... Cluck ......" The red woman's eyes widened as if in disbelief at what was happening to her.

However, the absorption of the marker does not stop there.

Soon the light in the red woman's eyes went out and her body gradually turned from dry corpse to dry bones, and then, even the dry bones were absorbed.

In the end, there was nothing left.

A living person just disappeared from Wu Ting's sight.

"Cough, cough, cough, cough-" Wu Ting coughed frantically, feeling the pain of pins and needles from her throat to her lungs.

It took him a while to catch his breath.

Looking at the empty ground in front of him, he would have thought that the woman's appearance was entirely his own hallucination if not for the injuries he had aggravated again.

He was baffled by his return from the dead.

What is that mark just now? It was so similar to the mark of the rebel, was it the Juggernaut? But what was the Juggernaut trying to do by killing his own contracted players?

--

Another playground.

Two contracted players are moving forward together.

They were given the task of going into the game to clean up the rebellious players, but they weren't very keen to sell their work.

The battles were risky and they heard about the very difficult group of senior players such as Cheng Wenyi, Xiao Lan, Wang Ke, Wang Taidi, Qi Ning and Wen Zhixian who were almost all involved.

To be honest, none of them would have been sure of victory against these people.

They're already indentured players anyway, and there doesn't seem to be much to lose by not going to battle.

"Why don't we just paddle in here and bully the lower and mid-level players."

"Hey, leave the hard bones to others, we don't want to come out on top anyway, just have a mouthful of soup."

"How about going out for a drink when this mission is over?"

"Yeah, which shop do you like?"

The two men were chatting and walking when one of them suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He said to his teammate, "I feel like something's not right ......"

"What the-" his teammate turned his head and was about to tease a couple of times when he witnessed the whole process of him being drained a little by the contract mark and finally disappearing.

"Hey! Where are you people? This is an illusion, right? Stop playing ......" said his teammate as he looked around but got not the slightest response.

He couldn't resist raising his hand to touch his forehead.

That's where the covenant marker is located, and it doesn't normally show up at all.

There seemed to be something wrong with the mark of the contract, but there was nothing he could do to undo it with his own power.

Himself, it seems, has made a decision of the utmost folly.

Why would Advent Worlds give indentured players the privilege of being above other players?

Perhaps they are just high-class livestock kept in captivity?

Vaguely sensing some kind of truth, this indentured player's heart went cold.

--

Back inside the white world.

The white mist continues to pour in within this space and is actively absorbed by the master.

Absorbing this energy, the Juggernaut's power skyrocketed and his attacks became stronger and stronger, making both Xiao Lan and Luo feel the strain of joining forces.

"Humans are really useful creatures, I just need to keep them like herdsmen and when it comes to harvest time, they will produce extra value and can also be effective in different ways, depending on the species."

"It's still you who inspired me on how to use human power."

As the Juggernaut spoke, the attacks in his hands kept attacking towards the two.

He looked at Luo and continued, "Do you know why I want the Advent world to speed up and cover reality now? Everything is to make you appear in front of me of your own accord, it's easier to destroy what you want to protect than to waste time looking for you everywhere."

"Look, you're not just offering to give it to me?"

"We can't kill each other completely, but what would happen if we devoured instead? I would make you as much a source of power for me as a human."

The voice of the master, calm and frightening.

Xiao Lan suddenly realised that the reason they had gotten to the Juggernaut so quickly might have been deliberate on the other side.

Whether it was accelerating the encroachment of the Advent world on reality, or leaving the Compacts headless in their search for clues, or being half-heartedly slow to react to the block, it was all deliberate on his part.

Wouldn't he designate the player who is best at searching for clues?

Couldn't he have sent the best indentured player to block the way?

Wouldn't he have had a trickier playground to stop them?

But he did neither, even indulging some bosses in helping Xiao Lan.

Even the half-finished playground that appeared was more of a clue given to them than a hint that they were close to reaching their destination than stopping them.

What the Sovereign wants is for them to come forward to the door.

Then he'll absorb the power of the indentured players and catch them off guard!

First take care of Luo and bring him under complete control, then liquidate the disobedient guys in the playhouse so he can take care of the resistance.

Thousands of white arrows of light attacked Xiao Lan, pervading the sky and blocking all his paths with unrivalled power.

This time Xiao Lan sensed that he might not be able to reflect such an attack.

He gripped the knife tightly in his hand and tried to find a way out for himself.

A darkness, however, suddenly enveloped him.

This darkness was like a barrier that held Xiao Lan in place, and all the arrows of light fell on top of it.

Light and darkness collide, neither of which is clearly physical, yet they make a corrosive sound that is mind-blowing.

The wall of black shadows gradually thinned and even developed holes under the light arrows' attack.

Xiao Lan's heart was racing with a sense of foreboding: "Luo!"

Luo is not visible in the darkness, but a hand reaches out from it, and that hand pushes Xiao Lan backwards.

Behind Xiao Lan, a rift appears at some point, and Xiao Lan is pushed out of this white world.

"Sir, go ......" was Luo's voice.

Xiao Lan plunges all the way down.

The last image before his eyes was of uncountable white wrapping around the pitch black that he knew best and gradually engulfing him.