CHAPTER 393: CHAPTER 166 FAKE BODY

Everyone here is a battle-tested Condenser, having witnessed countless deaths, traversed the lands piled with corpses and foul blood, and endured the washes of fear.

The fear induced by the Face of Horror rarely completely dominates one’s will; it serves more as a momentary impact.

In high-intensity combat with mental tension, sudden fear can greatly affect the opponent’s actions.

The duration of fear is very brief, possibly not even lasting a few seconds before the opponent regains clarity, but in a life-and-death struggle, many things can change in those brief seconds.

During their first encounter, when Fast attempted to strangle Bologue, Bologue used the Face of Horror to shock Fast’s mind, causing a brief lapse in his control over Secret Energy.

Now, Bologue applied the fear shock to Fast once again, but this time the effect was considerably weakened, which is normal as they have fought several times, maintaining a high level of mental concentration.

But even if weakened, it still had some effect.

Fast’s lapse lasted less than a second, but in that crucial second, Bologue had already reached him, facing each other directly, separated only by a Shadowless Barrier.

Under the fear shock of the Face of Horror, minor gaps appeared in the Shadowless Barrier due to the relaxed control of Secret Energy.

Bologue raised his gun and pulled the trigger.

In an instant, raging Dragon Breath engulfed them, exploding into blazing fireballs on the flat ground, the flames reaching high into the sky.

Fast could clearly see the roaring flames spewing out from the gaps in the Shadowless Barrier, which he quickly filled, but the scorching heat at close range still burned his body, even igniting his clothes.

The composition of the Shadowless Barrier is gaseous, and with Ether’s enhancement, it possesses extreme hardness to withstand various attacks, but it clearly cannot insulate against high temperatures.

During a previous probing with a Dragon Breath Bullet, Bologue had discovered this. Observing the remnants of high temperatures at the edge of the divided sea of fire made Fast uncomfortable.

Now with high heat erupting directly, even though the flames were blocked, it further scorched Fast.

Fast couldn’t understand Bologue’s strategy, inclined to think it was Bologue’s accidental maneuver, followed by a mocking attitude.

Bologue exerted his utmost effort, exchanging the cost of being swallowed by the sea of fire, merely to cause his own burns.

The Shadowless Barrier advanced outward like released wind pressure, extinguishing the sea of fire; Fast raised his Blade, prepared to slay Bologue.

Beneath the roaring Dragon Breath, he himself was burned; it’s hardly conceivable what Bologue, fully covered, must look like now, possibly barely alive.

As the smoke cleared, Fast saw a figure staggering through the black haze. He didn’t think much, instead the air around the shadow solidified, compressing inwards.

It was like being compressed between several shields, the force steadily increasing, enough to twist Bologue’s skeleton, crushing him into pulp.

Fast clenched his fist, the gas solidified and compressed, simultaneously dispersing the rising black smoke, and the veiled Silver figure was being twisted and compressed.

This wasn’t Bologue, but a false body molded from Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid.

A whistling sound descended from the sky, Fast turned his head, his eyes reflecting countless Silver glints.

Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid transformed between solid and liquid states, treacherous and variable, as a dense rain of Silver Snakes dropped like arrows towards Fast, some blocked by the Shadowless Barrier, others littering the ground.

Under the propulsion of Ether, the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid proliferated madly like Silver snow, painting its hue across every surface.

Fast once again resisted Bologue’s attack, yet before he could rejoice, biting coldness crept from behind. This time, it wasn’t fear induced by the Face of Horror but a genuine sensation from within Fast.

Sharp pain radiated from his back, gradually piercing through his body, until it broke through his chest. Fast watched helplessly as the blood-stained pale Blade pierced through his chest.

What’s going... on?

Fast attempted to turn around, the corner of his vision catching sight of the compressed Silver false body, whose Silver gradually faded to reveal a blood-stained form beneath.

Bologue grasped the sword hilt, slowly twisting his wrist to shatter Fast’s heart; his expression was pale, wanting to speak, but only tragic wails rose from his throat.

Fast had considered that the true body might be hidden beneath the false body to mislead himself, thus Fast controlled Secret Energy to virtually crumble the fake, intending to crush Bologue if hidden within, especially since Bologue was also scorched by the Dragon Breath Bullet.

Bologue should have died by now...

Fast widened his eyes, hearing Bologue’s mocking laughter, witnessing his scarred body healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Blood flowed backward, skin reformed.

The Blade penetrating Fast wriggled as spikes extended from its body, resembling a Thorn Sword.

Bologue vigorously extracted the Thorn Sword, pulling out copious blood mixed with flesh, strikingly red against the ground, marking the cessation of the battle.

Fast’s face bore despair as he struggled to gaze at Bologue, only to find his turquoise eyes serene as if he hadn’t just executed a higher-ranking Prayer Believer but merely slain a nameless foe casually.

"Truly disgraceful..."

Fast murmured, his eyes gradually losing their luster.

All the Deceitful Snake Scale Liquid retreated beneath his sleeve; Bologue’s mood was unexpectedly calm, though his calmness stemmed from reasons beyond Fast’s contemplation.

If nothing unexpected occurs, the next Time Reversal will likely see Bologue face Fast once more.

For Fast, he was slain by Bologue, but to Bologue, it was merely one victory of many between them in the cycles of Time Reversal.

Unless the final Time Reversal ends, determining this forked destiny, such conflicts will remain eternal.

"I need to be faster..."

Bologue glanced at his watch; his confrontation with Fast was brief, barely lasting five to six minutes before a victor was determined.

With this experience, Bologue needs to resolve Fast faster in the next Time Reversal.

Now Bologue can ascertain Aimou is the initiator of the Time Reversal, perhaps the heart atop the Constant Motion Core, emanating dazzling brilliance, is the source of it all.

Regarding the node of Time Reversal, Bologue has a preliminary deduction on this point.

This should be linked to Aimou’s life.

Those suspected to be King’s Shield Guards are hunting Aimou, and Aimou’s death might trigger the onset of the Time Reversal, resetting everything to the beginning.

This also explains why each reset node of Time Reversal is postponed progressively; in each Time Reversal, Aimou, as the initiator, retains the memory, surviving longer under prior experience.

"So what exactly is happening here?"

Bologue’s head ached severely, yet he understood one thing; if he could eliminate these enemies and protect Aimou, the reset node of Time Reversal could be continually postponed.

Glancing at the trembling clock hand, seemingly disturbed, swinging erratically, just as Bologue puzzled over how to continue searching for Aimou, another Ether reaction arose.

Bologue leaped keenly, but still too late, his Ethereal Perception remained too inexperienced; when sensing the Ether reaction, the opponent’s attack had already arrived.

The ground beneath cracked, rock walls quaked, thick roots crawled from below, winding towards Bologue. He fired a grappling hook, attempting to leap towards the ridge above but couldn’t escape the roots’ chase.

They reached like countless arms, grabbing for Bologue, judging by the Ether intensity, this is another Prayer Believer.

"Why is it never-ending!" Bologue cursed.

His figure paused in mid-air, the cliff where the hook embedded began to crumble; beneath the debris, thick roots twisted into wooden spears descending, sealing off all of Bologue’s escape options.