It wasn't that Forest Cat didn't want to charge and thrust, but her basic attribute values weren't very high, and her skills, equipment, and items were all more control-oriented, lacking large-scale lethal capabilities.

"Understood."

Li Ang, not one for idle talk, nodded to the Stonemason and then said to Ur Wunnian and Dong Fengpo, "Cover us."

"Mm."

Ur Wunnian, already pale, trembled all over as he manipulated the fire barrier, extending columns of flame from it. Like a proactive hedgehog, it skewered the tendrils that had already retreated some distance.

Just as the tendrils were being repelled by the dual assault of the fire columns and the fish phantoms, the spherical fire barrier suddenly opened a circular gap. Two figures shot out: the Stonemason and Li Ang.

"Futile."

Williams stated indifferently. As his Divine Thoughts stirred, the blue bricks of the hall instantly softened and collapsed. Innumerable grains of sand and soil flew upwards, rapidly extending, solidifying, and forming layer upon layer of resilient stone walls, each ten meters high.

"Only those with exceptional talent, a meticulous mind, resolute will—the elite among elites—are able to become Magicians in such a declining and hostile Spiritual Energy environment."

Williams intoned somberly, "With the foundation I've spent decades cultivating here, I have more than enough to kill you countless times..."

BOOM—

The Stonemason swung his chisel, striking the stone wall and creating a huge gap, his charging speed undiminished.

Li Ang sprinted closely behind him, and in an instant, they had broken through several layers of stone walls.

Williams shook his head. While commanding his vine tendrils to continue hammering the barrier, he also made countless plants from the swamp below grow rapidly. They hooked onto the walls and, in a blink, wove themselves into a thick, dense net, splitting the hall in two and blocking the intruding mortals.

The two were immediately stopped. The Stonemason gripped his paper knife tightly, unleashing an arm's length of blade energy that slashed towards the net.

However, the net would vanish and reappear, its regeneration outpacing the speed at which they could cut it.

This net was infused with traces of Divine Power. Whether struck by a sword or burned by flame, as long as it wasn't instantly destroyed, it could heal and restore itself in a moment.

Williams had cultivated the Williams Mansion for many years, using Withered Ivy and Forest Folk Ebony to construct an endlessly cycling Energy network.

This current, exhaustive release of Divine Power was irreversibly draining the mansion's own strength. He could already hear the mansion's agonized wails.

The Magic Circle was collapsing rapidly. The Forest People, who had been isolated outside, were growing restless. They were ready to break through the barriers and reach him at any moment.

At that point, I can certainly use some Ritual track to kill the Forest People, thereby preserving my consciousness from being consumed by Divinity. Then I can ultimately repair my body, achieve a transcendence of my life's essence, and become a complete Deity.

Thinking this, the reindeer was indeed foolish. It clearly knew it could sacrifice the Forest People in exchange for its own eternal life, yet it refused to do so. Clutching its God Status, it willingly sank into the perpetually sunless mire to prevent this island from being torn apart and destroyed by the seismic activity of the tectonic plates.

Just a forgotten, discarded evil being... Why act as if it were some sacred, self-sacrificing deity?

Williams sneered internally. During the sixteenth century, that reindeer truly only wanted to save those colonists who were stricken with plague, suffering from crop failures, and trapped in dire straits. Unfortunately, it itself was suffering from declining Divine Power and a loss of self-awareness. It could only transform the colonists into Forest People, hoping its own Divine Power would slowly recover so it could then change the Forest People back to their original forms.

When Williams initially conducted the God Status-depriving Ritual track, he worried that errors in the ritual might consume him, so he purposefully left behind notes.

The notes recorded a version of history altered by Williams, as well as a God Status-depriving Ritual track to which he had added some special content.

Transcendents attract each other, and no student of mysticism can refuse the chance to become a deity.

He had failed, but also succeeded. The ritual destroyed his body. However, the Lesley family, who later stumbled upon the Mechanism Mansion on Roanoke Island, discovered the notes.

The content of the notes misled the Lesley family into believing the reindeer was an evil deity. This allowed them to conduct the ritual without any psychological burden, draining its Divine Power and stripping away its God Status, all so Williams could seize the opportunity to resurrect…

Suddenly, Williams violently sensed something awry. In his Divine Sense, the man wearing the cat-shaped Mask and holding a long spear had vanished abruptly. Only a dark, arcane aura remained, racing underground toward him.

Williams, unaware of the Special Effect of Li Ang's Phase Boots, merely perceived it as some kind of earth-burrowing magical technique.

He scoffed, releasing Divine Power to soften the earth and stone. He made the plant net extend and grow downwards, attempting to block his opponent, and began to say, "It's... no... use..."

What's happening? Why does my voice sound like this?

Williams was startled to find that the perceived speed of the external world had more than doubled. The growth of the net outpaced his Divine Thoughts' control, and his Divine Power was depleting like a bursting dam.

No, it wasn't that the external flow of time has quickened; my own thought processes have slowed down...

This Magician, attempting Divine Enthronement and possessing immense combat experience, immediately released his Divine Power the moment he sensed something was wrong. He drew sand and soil from the bricks below to thicken his mud ball and retreated.

At the same time, disregarding the consumption of Divine Power, he used the material of the hall's dome to create countless Stone Spears, launching an indiscriminate barrage downwards.

These crossbow-like spears were imbued with his Divinity and were indestructible. Even if the enemy in the blue cat Mask possessed a phasing ability, they would undoubtedly be pierced the moment they emerged.

Beneath the bluestone floor, Li Ang, who had gained a slight hovering ability from his BGM skill, soared into the air. He activated Adrenaline and Ripple Breathing, his spear lashing out to deflect the incoming Stone Spears.

In the distance, the Stonemason also activated a skill, transforming his small paper knife into the size of a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher. It fired a volley of blades forward, deflecting the Stone Spears around Li Ang.

With his slowed thought processes, Williams couldn't use the Stone Spears for Precision Shooting. But even if the masked man breaks through the multiple obstacles, so what? This mud-ball barrier was constructed with an immense amount of Divine Power. Other than myself, no one can penetrate it...

"Gotcha!"

Li Ang, flying mid-air, bellowed with full breath, "Grandson Thief! You're nothing but an inhuman monster! May your grandfather always be heckled during chess, your grandmother always be half a beat off in her square dancing, your father always be missing a seven for his straight in Landlord, and your mother's cooking always cause market-wide price hikes with super-sized portions!"

Another of the two remaining Mocking Taunt Scrolls in his inventory vanished.

Bizarrely, Williams, his thoughts already sluggish, was consumed by rage. He partially dispelled the mud-ball barrier and roared at Li Ang through the opening, "Die!"

From the mud-ball barrier, peeling fragments of earth instantly formed countless chopstick-sized Stone Nails, hurtling towards Li Ang like a dense cloud.

The Mocking Taunt Skill Scroll created a fleeting opportunity. Li Ang, still hovering, held the Triangular Bone Spur Wall in one hand and the steel Shield from The Foolish Husband in the Dangerous Building quest in the other, protecting his head. He then unleashed Fragment Scatter behind him, propelling himself towards the thousands of Stone Nails.

Not only that, but Miss Chai's eight arms also emerged from his chest.

Two of these arms grasped stone arms, two held the Bloodworm Crowbar, and four aimed machine guns.

RATATATATATA—

The machine guns fired, sweeping away some of the Stone Nails, while the stone arms danced like electric fans, knocking away a few more.

The remaining Stone Nails easily tore through the steel Shield. However, the Ripple Energy contained within the Shield slightly hindered their progress, reducing their momentum. They only managed to leave deep gashes on Li Ang's skin, failing to inflict fatal injuries.

Li Ang threw the Shield to block the volley of Stone Nails, then gulped down a Miniature Life Potion, healing all his wounds. Simultaneously, he unleashed the already-charged Drown in Misfortune Assassination Method at Williams.

Before Williams could react, his respiratory system filled with wildly surging water. To make matters worse, Miss Chai activated the Bloodworm Crowbar, attempting to remotely extract blood from the embryo.

The Bloodworm Crowbar's power wasn't enough to extract plasma from a divine body. However, the discomfort of the surging blood, combined with the pain of drowning and his slowed thoughts, was enough to make Williams lose focus and reveal a momentary flaw.

SWISH—

Li Ang hurled the Triangular Bone Tipped Spear, activating its Special Effect. The bone spearhead shot towards the embryo, traversing several meters to stab directly into the deformed embryo's brain.

No! I cannot die here!

Williams could sense that countless Forest People had already broken through the weakening Magic Circle and were madly rushing towards the underground hall.

BOOM—

The already teetering dome above the hall completely collapsed. Countless Forest People rained down like a black torrent, crashing onto the hall floor.

The tough-skinned Forest People weren't injured or killed by the fall. As soon as they rose, driven by some unseen summons, they charged towards the players.

With the Forest People, I won't need to expend my own consciousness to maintain my existence! I can have an inexhaustible army! I can become the god of the new world!

Driven by fear, Williams squeezed out the last vestiges of his formless, insubstantial Divine Power, transforming it into an exceedingly thin shield.

This Divine Power existed independently, not relying on any physical substance—a force simply beyond mortal comprehension.

The bone spearhead struck the shield of Divine Power, and the indestructible tip began to visibly melt away.

"You will... die here."

A hoarse, indifferent, and cold female voice resounded within Williams's Divine Sense.

It was the original owner of the embryonic body—the last descendant of the Lesley family, drawn to the island by the call of her bloodline.

This Witch, exhausting her final shred of consciousness, wrested control of the embryonic body back from Williams and forcibly dispersed the Divine Power.

"No! What have you done!" Williams, trapped and powerless within the body, roared. "You'll die too!"

The Witch paid him no heed. She merely maneuvered the twisted, deformed body, taking a staggering step forward. Lowering its head, it unresistingly met the incoming, now-broken spearhead.

[Williams Mansion's heart, lungs, intestines, kidneys, limbs, torso, head, and embryo—these eight types of abnormal organs have been cleared.]

[The scenario quest 'Mechanism Mansion' is completed. Teleportation will occur in 5 minutes. You may choose to teleport immediately.]

The moment the System notification sounded, the mud balls abruptly dissipated, and the plant net collapsed to the ground. Only the frenzied Forest People continued their relentless, death-defying attacks on the players.

Forest Cat and the others, whose defensive line was on the brink of collapse, chose to teleport immediately. The Stonemason, who was surrounded by Forest People, also vanished in an instant.

Li Ang, still hovering mid-air thanks to his BGM skill, glanced at the densely packed Forest People that nearly filled the spacious hall. With a sweep of his spear, he secured the embryo, chose to teleport, and vanished from the spot.