Chapter 542: Phantom Demon, Beat Yourself Up
"You captured his aura? That"s great! Now, even if he escapes to the ends of the world, we can still find him. I can also take revenge for my brothers of the 1st Corps!" said Gaia excitedly to Gajero.
There was no better news than finding his enemy.
Gajero took a deep breath. He looked as if he was sensing the aura around him. He muttered to himself, "It"s a pity that we can"t find Alexia"s whereabouts. We didn"t see any traces of her just now. If he is in possession of all the Cosmic Threads that we left in Elf World, she might have already become his puppet. It seems that we can only find her again after we kill him and take back the Cosmic Threads!"
Gaia immediately agreed, "Don"t worry, Lord. Princess Alexia is a treasure that belongs to us, demons. No one can take her away from you!"
Gajero"s brows suddenly furrowed. He turned his head to look at the vast void behind him.
"The aura has reappeared a thousand miles away. Let"s chase after it!" said Gajero in a deep voice.
Gaia quickly nodded and followed Gajero to chase after Vincent.
A thousand miles away, a s.p.a.ce door opened and closed quickly.
Vincent did not bring Kurt out of the s.p.a.ce door. Instead, he just stood in the s.p.a.ce tunnel and let out a gust of wind.
When the s.p.a.ce door closed, Vincent immediately performed s.p.a.ce jump and traveled a thousand miles away again. He then opened the s.p.a.ce door with ease and exposed some of his own aura. After that, he closed the s.p.a.ce door and performed another s.p.a.ce jump again. He did this again and again whilst advancing on the route that Kurt had planned.
Kurt stood beside Vincent and asked with a puzzled look, "Mr. Vincent, I don"t quite understand why you are doing this."
Vincent explained, "We have to make Gajero give up on exploring the s.p.a.ce tunnel, so we have to jump continuously in an area that he can sense but cannot rush to immediately. We have to make him think that we are moving at a high speed so that he will catch up without hesitation and ignore everything else. However, in actual fact, everything is happening inside the s.p.a.ce tunnel!"
Kurt nodded thoughtfully and silently recorded Vincent"s methods into his database. He then asked, "Then why did you choose the Black Hole of the Phantom Race as your destination?"
Vincent answered without thinking, "Of course, it"s to let these two races who are trying to invade the Human Race have a bite at each other! Then, we can sit back and reap the benefits, get rid of them tracking us, and look for an opportunity to escape!"
Kurt said with admiration, "Mr. Vincent is really amazing! Even opponents with such a huge difference in strength are fooled by you!"
Vincent said with a serious expression, "To be honest, until now, I still don"t have much confidence. After all, Gajero is too powerful. The pressure he gives off is only second to the Protoss. I can"t guarantee that everything will go according to my expectations. However, the plan has been successfully carried out until now, so we can only continue to carry it out with confidence!"
Kurt nodded and stood firmly by Vincent"s side. After a few more s.p.a.ce jumps, Vincent and Kurt arrived in front of the Phantom Race"s Black Hole.
Kurt looked at the Black Hole in front of him and said impatiently, "The Phantom Race is inside. Let"s go in!"
Vincent looked at the Black Hole in front of him and could not help but think of the deal that he had made with the Protoss.
In order to restrict the greatest enemy of the Human Race, he had once used his divine sense to probe the Phantom World. In the end, he had been spied on by a mysterious and powerful existence. He almost died on the spot. That was why he had spared no expense to make a deal with the Protoss to put a restriction on the Black Hole of the Phantom Race.
At present, Vincent was taking everything one step at a time. After a series of plans, he had lured Gajero to the Phantom World. He had also placed his hopes on that terrifying existence within the Phantom Race. He hoped that the creature would have enough strength to deal with Gajero and cause both sides to suffer heavy losses so that his painstaking efforts would not go to waste.
Kurt looked at Vincent and reminded him softly, "Mr. Vincent, we don"t know when Gajero will catch up. We"d better hurry in!"
Vincent came back to his senses and immediately pressed his left hand on the Black Hole. He shouted, "Modify the restrictions. Humans below level 50 can pa.s.s through!"
His Hand of G.o.d emitted a golden light. The surface of the Phantom Race"s Black Hole faded slightly. Vincent could extend his hand through the Black Hole before him.
Vincent looked at the unknown world in front of him and sighed softly at Kurt, "Are you ready? A new danger is coming!"
Kurt nodded slightly. There was no fear in his eyes. The level restrictions on the Black Hole had no effect on him, to begin with. As long as he could continue to follow Vincent, he would not be afraid even if it was a dragon"s or lion"s den.
Vincent exhaled lightly and his gaze gradually became firm. He took a step forward and directly walked into the Black Hole.
Just as Kurt and Vincent walked into the Black Hole together, Gajero and Gaia appeared in front of the Black Hole out of thin air.
Gaia looked at the Black Hole in front of him and sighed nervously, "Which world does this Black Hole lead to? It"s a pity that there"s a problem with our data, so we can"t pinpoint the exact location of this Black Hole!"
Gajero looked at the Black Hole in front of him silently and then raised his hand to reach forward. However, he was blocked by an invisible barrier in front of the Black Hole.
Gajero seemed to have understood everything and sighed with a look of realization, "As expected, it seems that my guess is correct!"
Gaia still asked with a blank expression, "Lord, have you discovered anything?"
Gajero said with a smug expression, "I"ve already said that before you guys set off, there wouldn"t be any errors in our positioning. As for the subsequent loss of information, I think it might be related to the data terminal that was left in the hands of the 1st Corps. It seems like our enemies have a way to delete our data, but they can"t delete my memories. This area consists of the entrances to the Black Holes of the Beast Race as well as the Phantom Race."
Gajero continued, "However, what I remember most clearly is that this Black Hole has been strengthened by a powerful force. It prevents any high-level creatures from entering and leaving. There are dozens of similar Black Holes around here, and they should lead to the same world. And that fellow who has repeatedly caused trouble for us must be from this world, a world that we demons do not have a record of! Now, under our pursuit, he has fallen into despair and instinctively fled back to his hometown. At the same time, it has completely exposed him and his race!"
Gaia tried to reach out to touch the Black Hole. He could feel the clear barrier. He could not help but say helplessly, "But even if we find his whereabouts, what can we do? We have already tested it back then. The restrictions on these Black Holes cannot be removed!"
A confident and arrogant smile appeared on Gajero"s face once again. He said proudly, "At that time, I had not obtained the power of order so I was not as powerful as I am now. However, I am no longer the same as before. The restrictions on this Black Hole cannot stop me at all!"
After saying that, Gajero raised both of his hands and pressed them on the Black Hole!
"Distorted Time Reversal!"
As Gajero continued to pour power into his palms, dense s.p.a.ce cracks instantly appeared on the surface of the Black Hole. It looked like a mirror that had been isolated from the world.
The Black Hole did not seem to have any changes, but the Black Hole s.p.a.ce was currently undergoing a time reversal.
As long as he could make the Black Hole return to its previous state before the restrictions were imposed, then Gajero could enter the Black Hole easily!
However, the speed of the time-reversal was still slow. For Gajero and Gaia, it was a slow process that required them to wait.
On the other end of the Black Hole, Vincent and Kurt were looking at the unfamiliar world in front of them. Their faces were filled with astonishment.
Vincent could confirm that this was definitely not the Human World. Although the landscape was different in color, it had a layer of gray haze. It looked as if it had been sealed for a long time.
However, what made Vincent incredulous was that within his field of vision, there was actually a city similar to the Human Race. Even the creatures walking past all had the same faces as humans.
Kurt looked at the group of creatures walking not far ahead and could not help but sigh in surprise, "Is this really the world of the Phantom Race? Why do I feel like I"ve come to the Human World?"
Vincent coughed twice and said with certainty, "This must be the Phantom World. When I used my soul consciousness to explore this world, I didn"t see the mountains and rivers in front of me. It was just a gray endless s.p.a.ce. This scene can only mean that the Phantom Race is simulating the life of humans. The humans we see are in disguise!"
At that moment, the human team that seemed to be patrolling noticed Vincent and Kurt. They immediately walked toward them.
"What"s wrong with the two of you? Today is the big day! We are selecting geniuses from the three major academies. Why are you lingering around the Black Hole?"
There were ten of them and they questioned Vincent and Kurt vigilantly.
When Vincent and Kurt saw them up close, they could not help but feel surprised again. This was because the ten individuals in front of them actually had the same face, the same height, and even wore the same clothes. They looked like replicas.
Vincent and Kurt were stunned.
When Vincent carefully recalled the other party"s question, he could not help but a.n.a.lyze the question in his heart.
After seeing the ten human-like creatures in front of him, he could confirm that this was indeed the Phantom World. The reason why they were identical was probably due to the limited information they had received. There were no more human templates for them to change to. They could only use the human portraits they had collected and share them with all the Phantoms.
They had also mentioned earlier that they were currently selecting geniuses from the three great academies. This was the same as the Human Race"s system. It seemed that the Phantom Race was not only imitating the appearance and behavior of the Human Race, but also the system of the Human Race.
If it were not for the restrictions on the Black Hole, Vincent would not dare to imagine how much trouble this group of Phantoms would bring to the Human World. They were too familiar with the Human World.
After noticing that the ten creatures were getting impatient, Vincent quickly explained with a smile, "Everyone, I"m sorry! The two of us wanted to take a walk before the start of the compet.i.tion. I heard that this is also one of the habits of humans to kill time. I didn"t expect that we would unknowingly come here!"
After hearing Vincent"s explanation, the ten-man team finally eased up, and they gave Vincent a thumbs up together.
"Amazing, your idea is really too outstanding. Starting from the habits of humans, this will allow us to adapt to the life of humans earlier. This is simply the idea of a genius! You will definitely have a place in this year"s academy compet.i.tion!"
Vincent smiled a little bashfully, and asked with a curious face, "I wonder if there are any rules for the three academies" talent compet.i.tion?"
After hearing Vincent"s question, the ten-man team had different expressions on their faces. Some were confused, some were surprised, and some looked at Vincent indifferently.
Vincent could not help but feel quite terrified. He wanted to immediately take action and rip off the heads of the ten Phantoms.
However, Gajero had not arrived. Therefore, he could only temporarily endure it and force himself to control his emotions. He had to try his best to keep a smile on his face.
Suddenly, one of them took the initiative to speak up. He said, "It seems like you usually take a stroll around here and don"t really walk around the main city. In fact, the rules of the academy"s grand compet.i.tion have already been posted. This grand compet.i.tion is not just a contest between the three academies. As long as you are below level 60, you can partic.i.p.ate. On the first day of the compet.i.tion, anyone can challenge the elites of the various academies. As long as they win, they will be able to enter the later stages of the compet.i.tion. The final champion may not necessarily be within the three academies. However, the winner"s reward will not change. The champion will not only receive the blessings of the Supreme Elder but he will also be rewarded with a piece of half-built universe-level equipment!"
"Universe-level equipment!" sighed Vincent softly.
His eyes could not help but flash with a peculiar light. He would definitely not miss the chance to obtain a piece of universe-level equipment.
Even if it was only half-built, it would still be of great use to Vincent!
After all, what troubled Vincent at the moment were the Cosmic Threads, the Cup of Fate, the tunnel token, and a bunch of other special equipment. They were not easy to store and were also rather troublesome to use. He had long thought of ways to fuse those pieces of equipment. He wanted to reduce the size and weight of those pieces of equipment as much as possible.
However, Vincent was afraid that fusing them rashly would cause the equipment to drop in level, so he did not act on it.
If he could obtain another universe-level equipment that was of a decent size, that would be a great help to him!
Vincent cupped his hands and said to the ten individuals in front of him, "Looks like I really should go to the main city more often. Thank you for telling me. I believe I have the right to partic.i.p.ate in the compet.i.tion, so I won"t disturb you anymore. I"ll leave first!"
After saying that, Vincent led Kurt to the nearest main city.
The ten-man team looked at Vincent"s back. They could not help but admire him once again.
"Look at him and how hard he works! He has almost carved the habits of the Human Race into his bones!"
"Yeah, he was so courteous and considerate, as if he was a real human. It"s amazing!"
"Such an individual must be a genius of our Phantom Race. When he has the chance to invade the Human Race in the future, he will definitely s.h.i.+ne!"
The ten-man team praised Vincent for imitating the Human Race perfectly. They then continued to patrol.
Vincent and Kurt rushed over to the main city, their eyes full of expectation.
Kurt asked with antic.i.p.ation, "Mr. Vincent, can I also sign up for the compet.i.tion later? The Phantom Race is a race that I"ve never seen before, I really want to collect their data through actual combat!"
Vincent thought about it and said, "Alright, the two of us will sign up separately. Let"s try our best to avoid meeting each other before the finals. At that time, you can also collect as many materials as you can, and I"ll go get the universe-level equipment provided by the Phantom Race Elder!"
Kurt naturally agreed happily. He then walked toward the main city with even more antic.i.p.ation.
However, when the two of them walked into the main city, they realized that the Phantom Race"s city was even worse than they had imagined.
The streets within the city were filled with the same faces. It looked like there were no more than five different faces in the entire city. There were countless identical individuals. It was simply too shocking.
Vincent looked at the crowd that came and went as if he had seen a ghost. For a moment, he felt dazzled. He felt like he was seeing the same scenes wherever he went.
At the same time, Vincent and Kurt also received many strange gazes. It was as if many Phantoms were secretly sizing them up. They looked as if they were intensely curious about them.
Kurt asked with a worried expression, "Mr. Vincent, don"t our faces seem a little out of place?"
Vincent thought for a moment. He smiled bitterly, shook his head, and said, "It shouldn"t be. Those who are sizing us up probably took a fancy to our faces and want to look like us. In the compet.i.tion later, you might meet opponents who look exactly like you!"
Kurt lowered his head thoughtfully and said, "The Phantoms can imitate my face. I don"t know if they can imitate my ability. If they can also turn their bodies into machines, the technology of the Esville Race will probably suffer the greatest impact!"
Vincent thought about it and agreed. If the Phantoms could replicate record-type robots like Kurt, they would naturally be able to become even more powerful attack-type robots. At that time, the technology of the Esville Race would be automatically leaked to the Phantom Race.
It would then be extremely difficult for the Esville Race to maintain its technological peak!
Vincent and Kurt separated and walked to the two registration offices furthest away from each other to register.
However, when he filled in his name, Vincent could not help but feel troubled because he did not know how names work in the Phantom Race. He was afraid of making a mistake, so he decided to be quick-witted and glanced at the names of the other applicants. In the end, he discovered that all of them used human-like names.
Vincent then wrote Justin"s name on the registration form. He wanted to create a fake ident.i.ty during the period of time when he was in the Phantom World.
Not long after Vincent returned to the preparation area, a voice suddenly rang out from the arena.
"The academy"s compet.i.tion has officially begun. Next, let"s welcome the first opponent, Vincent from the Quinn Academy, against the folk expert Justin!"