Netherworld Retrograde

Chapter 240: Chapter 112: Oracle_2

But now, there wasn’t much to say; the situation was too critical then. Cheese’s neck was about to be crushed. Li Yelai prayed to all the heavens’ gods and buddhas for help.

Who would have thought that the third mask would be the quickest to respond to him?

”I have activated the third mask, but unlike historical figures from before, this time it was outright a fictional character: Li Yuanba. What exactly defines a mask? Recognition? Or heritage?”

Li Yelai pondered; he didn’t know much about the tales.

He only knew that Li Xuanba from the early Tang Dynasty and Li Cunxiao from the end of Tang were two of the prototypes for Li Yuanba.

Unfortunately, perhaps because it was a fictional figure, Li Yelai didn’t see any more scenarios. He didn’t have access to Li Yuanba’s memories. Naturally, he did not acquire any other skills, like Xiang Yu’s gunsmanship or Huo Qubing’s riding...

Besides, in the first two masks, he had seen the domineering Xiang Yu and the heroic young Huo Qubing.

Of course, he also wanted to meet the Great Tang Heavenly Strategy Admiral, Li Shimin, who with three thousand men shattered an army of one hundred thousand and captured two kings in one battle. It was a bit of a disappointment.

However, it was undeniable that the power of the Li Yuanba mask was immense.

Li Yelai recalled the flair of that spear thrust; he estimated it was about ten times the strength of his full-powered strike.

Judging from the fate of the Commander Bug.

The Dharma Image in terms of power, even surpassed the Four Awakenings Processor, Comrade Iron Rain’s Mimicry·Dragon Claw.

After all, the Commander Bug could withstand the Dragon Claw but not the Dharma Image’s slash. The size difference was there to see...

And even so, that wasn’t the limit.

If the Li Yuanba mask and Mimicry·Abyss Dragon Scale were used at the same time and the Abyss Dragon Scale’s charge was stacked to the max.

The output would be terrifying.

It was unclear what the conditions for unlocking the mask were. If he hadn’t been struck by thunder at that time, holding a fervent pursuit for power, would he unlock other True Martial Path masks?

While he was pondering, someone pushed the door open.

It was Doll; she had changed into a frog costume, holding a sign with words emerging on it.

[Great, you’re finally awake o(ﾟ▽ﾟ)o]

Li Yelai nodded in response, ”I have to thank you for the timely rescue.”

Li Yelai remembered that in the last moments, it was Yang Chen and Doll who arrived, suppressing the Insect Swarm. Otherwise, even if Li Yelai had killed the Commander Bug, he might have been bitten to death by the swarm.

[It would have been better if I had arrived a little earlier, then you and Cheese wouldn’t have been so severely injured (＞人＜;)]

Doll was somewhat alarmed; had it not been for Li Yelai’s own efforts, Cheese might have been decapitated and Li Yelai himself could have been seriously injured or even killed.

If she had arrived earlier, she could have directly suppressed the Commander Bug.

”Don’t think too much about it; you were fast enough,” Li Yelai comforted Doll, then inquired about the current situation.

Following Li Yelai’s unconsciousness, Moon Shadow and the captains of the other divisions arrived. They completely suppressed the battlefield and successfully brought back a large number of survivors and wounded, as well as the captured Commander Bug.

The authorities immediately dispatched various Divine Protections, Ravings, and Spiritual Eyes Spiritual Ability Users. Through their mental domination, hypnotic suggestion, illusionary dreams, and other abilities, they quickly and efficiently researched the Commander Bug.

They successfully discovered the Commander Bug’s special abilities.

It had the ability to directly communicate with the Catastrophe Fog Master and possessed both the command over the Insect Swarm and high learning capability. It was one of the rare elite units within the swarm.

It was a special combat unit that the Catastrophe Fog Master had specifically incubated for human Spiritual Ability Users. At the same time, it was also the Think Tank unit of the swarm, also known as the Military Advisor Insect.

They lurked in the shadows, spying on the various abilities and warriors of human Spiritual Ability Users and Legions, and strategizing against them.

As a result, the danger level of the swarm increased significantly after they received commands from the Military Advisor Insect.

But after humans captured this Military Advisor Insect, they learned a lot about the Swarm’s internal communication methods. Although they couldn’t fully crack it, they were already capable of causing interference to the swarm.

This allowed many Human Warriors to survive, and the authorities even captured three Military Advisor Insects.

Through these Military Advisor Insects, the authorities even got a glimpse of the Catastrophe Fog Master’s existence.

However, the Catastrophe Fog Master seemed to have also noticed and immediately severed the connection with those Military Advisor Insects.

This rendered the official decapitation operation ineffective, and even resulted in some loss of personnel.

The situation remains pessimistic; aside from No. 99 Shelter, several other shelters have already been destroyed.

As the Catastrophe Fog Master gathers more biomass, the Insect Swarm is also gradually evolving, becoming increasingly targeted at humans.

We must find the Catastrophe Fog Master quickly.

[However, we are not completely without means (*｀皿´*)ﾉ] Doll replied somewhat irritatedly.

The Taboo Items brought by Jing Lin, the Tai Chi·Yang, can establish some form of connection with the Tai Chi·Yin in the outside world.

The two Jade Pendants can react to each other, ignoring the isolating effect of the Disaster Fog.

The officials used the Jade Pendants to send Morse code signals to communicate with the outside world and received substantial resource support.

Furthermore, Human Armies and Spiritual Ability User teams have voluntarily entered the Disaster Fog, relieving some of the pressure on the humans within.

However, it is said that the Forbidden Zones in the outside world have also begun to move.

Therefore, the outside world cannot afford to throw all its forces into the Disaster Fog at once and must retain most of its strength to counter the approaching Forbidden Zone Army.

At present, the official command layer is discussing how to find the Catastrophe Fog Master as soon as possible, and countermeasures are already available.

Using the ability of the Jade Pendant to pinpoint the location, requesting the Mad King to take direct action, a one-hit kill!

The only trouble is locating the position of the Catastrophe Fog Master.

Because even in the outside world, Giant City is also in danger, with both Forbidden Zones eying Boundary City hungrily.

This forces the Old Mad King to avoid entering lightly, or even refraining from entering the Disaster Fog, as he must remain in the outside world.

Moreover, given the Old Mad King’s condition, facing an almost infinite Insect Swarm is highly dangerous.

His curse has caused his originally long lifespan to rapidly decrease. Facing the Insect Swarm, he would likely have his lifespan exhausted.

”The command layer has some disagreements about the next course of action; there are radicals, as well as conservatives,” said a voice at the door, belonging to Cheese, who had just arrived.

Her complexion was somewhat better, and her pale lips had regained a hint of color. Wrapped around her neck was a white scarf, concealing the wound there, making her look more delicate than her usual professional demeanor.

She looked at Li Yelai with a smile and gentleness in her eyes.

”Saved by you once again, [Hear me out] Pain Blocker.”

The pain in Li Yelai’s arm and palm instantly lessened significantly.

”Wow, quite a useful ability!” Li Yelai squeezed his arm and could not help but compliment.

”Be careful though, this is just blocking the pain, not healing the wound.” Cheese chuckled, glancing at Doll beside her, ”You should have saved a bit of that bitter medicine for yourself, rather than giving it all to me.”

Doll blinked, words appearing on the sign in her hand [Giving... how was it given?(°Д°)]

Cheese smiled without a word, her gaze at Doll laden with teasing and strangeness.

Doll felt somewhat coquettish for some reason [I’m just curiously

Li Yelai couldn’t make head or tail of the riddle they seemed to be playing.

How had the conversation turned to medicine?

He could only ask, ”Radicals and conservatives... what are their respective tactics?”

”The Radical Faction believes in deploying outside reinforcements to forcefully enter the Disaster Fog. They’re prepared to launch the Giant City’s nuclear bombs, to attack the Insect Swarm as quickly as possible and burn all the corpses, preventing the Insect Swarm from recovering biomass. As long as the Catastrophe Fog Master cannot recover the biomass, it cannot create more Insects, and humans will eventually find and kill it!”

”A war of attrition? That is indeed very dangerous and aggressive. But in theory, it’s not without merit,” Li Yelai pondered.

”The Conservative side... thinks the Radical Faction is too conservative.”