Chapter 2244: 2244. Pus.h.i.+ng
The inscribed cultivator had only received orders, but the modifications that King Elbas was applying to its body through the ethereal cube revealed his intentions.
The plan was relatively simple. King Elbas wanted to use the connection that the inscribed cultivator shared with Divine Architect to summon her on the battlefield. At least, that was what King Elbas wanted the odd being to understand.
King Elbas had plans that went beyond what the inscribed cultivator could see. He had actually made sure that the odd being"s sensors couldn"t understand what he had in mind.
King Elbas" had never taken his opponent seriously. His focus had always been on the master behind the inscribed cultivator. He had to trick Divine Architect to prevent her from unleas.h.i.+ng countermeasures.
The inscribed cultivator was powerless inside the ethereal cube. Its functions were still active, but they couldn"t reach the higher energy that flowed inside its body.
Still, other protections appeared once self-destructing became impossible. The inscribed cultivator focused on getting rid of the higher energy inside its body to hinder King Elbas" tampering, but the effort turned out to be pointless.
King Elbas seemed to have the inscribed cultivator completely figured out. He even exited his fake quasi-rank 10 stage to save energy as he continued to modify his opponent.
Flares of golden flames and bright flashes came out of his body as he fought and won against the various hidden defenses. King Elbas even laughed as he sent energy and items inside the ethereal cube.
The inscribed cultivator saw its body changing under those modifications. A golden seed appeared at the center of its strange chest, and the light it radiated took over the white shades that it carried.
The strange being slowly understood what was happening, and its programming forced it to warn Divine Architect. However, King Elbas had already disabled any communication device by then. He had even placed a filter on the innate connection between those two existences.
"You will bring destruction to your whole organization like this!" The inscribed cultivator shouted after giving up on stopping King Elbas.
"What"s this?" King Elbas laughed. "Did you move to a different approach already? Divine Architect surely went all-out with you."
"There can"t be any victory through this path," The inscribed cultivator responded. "You will only shorten your companions" lives."
"It would be such a pity if some of them were to die," King Elbas replied in an unconvincing tone.
"Do you wish to see the death of your organization?" The inscribed cultivator asked. "Heaven and Earth won"t take you into their sky even if you succeed."
"Be a good inscribed item and shut up," King Elbas snorted. "I"m working here."
"You fail to understand what you are bringing upon your organization," The inscribed cultivator continued.
"My organization, my companions," King Elbas sneered. "I think Divine Architect made a mistake when she implemented this function. You should use different topics if you want to have a chance at distracting me."
"You won"t get to see what Heaven and Earth, Caesar, and Divine Architect had prepared for you if you keep this up," The inscribed cultivator declared.
"That was far better," King Elbas praised. "You tried to use my curiosity against me. Nice try. It"s a pity it won"t work against me, not right now."
The inscribed cultivator wanted to speak again, but a golden line suddenly appeared on its surface and made its body open. Its white shades tried to escape, but the ethereal cube forced them to condense.
King Elbas" grin broadened as he stuck his hands inside the cube and reached for the opening. The white shades continued to condense during the process, and a blinding orb materialized in his palms when they arrived at the center of the inscribed cultivator"s chest.
"Nice core," King Elbas commented. "It"s almost a waste to destroy it before performing extensive studies."
"Don"t," The inscribed cultivator muttered in a broken voice. "Death. You. Bring. Death."
"We"ll see about that," King Elbas exclaimed as his expression turned serious.
The ethereal cube shattered to transform into strands of energy that flowed inside the blinding orb to alter its nature. The inscribed cultivator also crumbled, and its power converged toward the core too.
King Elbas altered the item for a while before raising a hand. A lump of quasi-rank 10 flames came out of his palm and darkened until it gained properties similar to the odd dragon"s black liquid.
The sky shook as King Elbas poured that dark flame inside the core. White figures also appeared behind its surface, but the orange net shone brightly during the event.
It was clear that Heaven and Earth didn"t like what King Elbas was doing, but their reaction was too slow. King Elbas could fuse his flame with the core before throwing the item toward the sky.
The core continued to transform during its flight. Shards fell from the sky as Heaven and Earth tried to force themselves past the blockade, but their struggle failed to produce results.
The tampered core changed direction before it could hit the sky. It turned to fly toward the orange net and fused with its fabric before disappearing from the higher plane.
The major players on the battlefield went silent as they waited to see what King Elbas had done. The other important fights had already ended, so everyone could focus on the orange net.
Heaven and Earth stopped struggling after the core entered the net. The reinforcements also didn"t leave the sky anymore as they waited to see what King Elbas had caused.
The net started to change color. It remained orange, but dark shades seeped inside it and stretched until proper black lines expanded throughout its surface.
The core was modifying the old rulers" defenses without hurting them in the slightest. King Elbas wasn"t crazy enough to allow Heaven and Earth to join the battlefield again. Yet, his plan wasn"t too distant from that.
The lights that had started to disappear returned. Humanoid figures materialized behind the sky"s surface, and everyone could see how there were far more of them now.
The same went for other strange figures. Giant and non-humanoid shapes had appeared right behind the sky and had almost filled the entirety of their surface.
The net shook at that point. A shockwave spread throughout the sky without inflicting any damage. Its effects attacked deeper aspects of that material, and a few leaders inevitably felt shocked when they realized what was happening.
Privileged cultivators, avatars, and giant items with different natures slowly seeped out of the sky. The process clearly went against their will since they all struggled to remain inside the white layer, but they appeared unable to oppose the pus.h.i.+ng force.
The net released another tremor when the pus.h.i.+ng force generated by the shockwave dispersed. The countless a.s.sets found more of their bodies leaving the sky under that power, and nothing they did seemed able to stop the process.
King Elbas wore a satisfied expression while he watched the sky spitting out its a.s.sets. Countless powerful auras filled the battlefield and stretched in the void, but he didn"t care. He wouldn"t let Heaven and Earth do as they wished during the final battle.