The Plan Revealed! Flawless Execution!!
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"You're saying… after I release the locusts, there's a high probability that the Herrscher will just kill me?" In his hospital bed, Shu's eye twitched.
"Yes." Otto's answer was blunt and straightforward.
Shu's eye twitched even more violently. "What exactly is this 'high probability'?"
Otto paused, holding up three fingers.
"Three times… you have to try and withstand three blows…" Otto looked at Shu seriously. "The first is from anger, the second is a casual attack, the third is the heaviest, the true killing blow."
There's even a 'casual attack' category?
Shu suddenly felt that Otto wasn't being entirely reliable…
"Alright… I'll try not to die…" Shu rolled his eyes, replying half-heartedly. Seeing Otto's still serious expression, Shu became a bit more serious, and asked,
"And if I really do survive, is there a final step?"
Otto watched Shu change the subject. He looked at this young man who looked barely eighteen, at his still somewhat youthful face, opened his mouth, but in the end, just smiled.
"You've done enough. As long as you survive, our plan is a complete success."
"…That's it?" Shu spread his hands, as if saying, You're kidding me. "Just survive?"
"Yes."
"Will the Herrscher commit suicide out of shame for not being able to kill me?"
Otto chuckled and picked up an apple from the side, offering it to Shu.
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Shu's unfocused eyes slowly came into focus. Thick white clouds in the sky showed no sign of rain but obscured the sunlight.
Shu felt like his whole body was shattered. Bones, organs, meridians, blood vessels… everything that could be broken was more or less broken. Only his consciousness remained, teetering on the edge of shattering.
Perhaps it's a final burst of energy before death… He thought, looking at the sky.
"Thud… thud…" Staggering footsteps echoed nearby, the sound of someone walking barefoot on gravel.
Shu's eyes moved, focusing on the ragged figure approaching him.
"You lost! Hahaha, you lost!!" The Herrscher of Evolution had reverted to [Vakh]'s appearance, walking towards him, his body battered.
"What else do you have, Shu?
"Your body? Your limbs are crushed! Your authority? I know you've exhausted your last reserves! Or do you have some other miraculous trick?!"
The Herrscher of Evolution panted, laughing wildly. "Come on! Try to kill me! Use that trick of yours! Steal my authority, decompose my body!! Cut me in half again!!"
Shu couldn't speak. He couldn't even see Vakh's expression clearly. All he could hear was a heavy, muffled buzzing in his ears.
But he could still move… even if it was just a little…
The Herrscher of Evolution's laughter abruptly stopped. He stared at Shu, observing every twitch of his muscles, examining the pheromones released by every cell in his body.
He saw… Shu twitch the corners of his mouth, forming a smile…
Hmm?
The Herrscher of Evolution looked at Shu in surprise.
What was he smiling about?
Why could he still smile now?
Why…
The Herrscher of Evolution suddenly froze, looking straight ahead…
As if at the end of the world, beyond the battlefield, an increasingly large golden light was hurtling towards them…
And on the ground, the smile on Shu's face widened.
What was the most crucial step in this plan?
Was it using the Authority of Domination to seize the Herrscher's authority and create an equal playing field? Was it the complex Herrscher move list and countermeasures that Shu had memorized all night? Was it surviving three attacks during the Herrscher's final onslaught?
Or was it the words that had driven the Herrscher into a frenzy?
None of these…
Otto had pointed out the most crucial step in this entire plan from the very beginning…
Everything else was preparation and delay for this one step.
Contesting on relatively equal terms after seizing the authority—stalling for time;
Enraging the Herrscher with words—diverting attention;
Releasing the locusts and all the moves leading up to it—breaking down the Herrscher's final defenses.
Now, there were no more obstacles for this most crucial step—
The Herrscher of Evolution watched as the golden light in the distance reached him in an instant. Only then did he see what it truly was.
It was the Xuanyuan Sword that Shu had thrown at the beginning of the battle!
The sword that had slain the False Dragon!
The single strike that everyone had subconsciously disregarded!!
The battlefield was far from Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical, so Shu couldn't receive the [Hope] from the people there.
But the sword could! After being thrown under the guise of slaying the [False Dragon], it flew far around ARC City, returning to the skies above Heliopolis Life Sciences Pharmaceutical.
There, carrying Shu's [Wish], it absorbed the immense amount of free-floating [Hope], and ten minutes later, at the precise second calculated by Shu and Otto, returned to the battlefield!!
Shu couldn't absorb and store this [Hope], but it amplified his sword strike, transforming it into the form he and Otto had envisioned!
Not a minute too early, not a second too late!
At the most critical moment, when the Herrscher had finished his final onslaught, it appeared before him in its most powerful form!
The Divine Key—the ultimate form of change—
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"To describe the myriad things, words are insufficient… and cannot be questioned by form…"
"What are you talking about?"
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The Herrscher's eyes were filled with golden light. Only then did he react, frantically retreating, trying to dodge the sword.
But there was no escape.
He tried to use the creatures he had created to block the sword. His instincts told him that it was just a sword passing by. As long as something blocked it…
Even a single blade of grass…
The Herrscher saw a lifeless wasteland… The locusts had devoured every trace of life…
Under Shu's guidance, he had unconsciously shifted his focus for creating life to the grass… Life depended on the grass for energy, and he depended on the grass…
Now what?
The locusts had even devoured the bacteria and microorganisms in the air!
There was nothing left to create with!!
This was—a true dead end…
…
"Heh… Shu…"
As the sword tip pierced his forehead, the Herrscher suddenly clasped his hands together.
He asked—
"Do you know what the greatest evolution in life is?"
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"It's when a pile of organic matter is infused with energy and gains the characteristics of life." Otto answered.
"This is the ultimate breakthrough he might make in the end."
"How can we possibly counter that?!" Shu was aghast.
"If that really happens…" Otto smiled, taking away the empty plate.
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In the distance, the Herrscher's expression froze.
And in the rubble, Shu's mouth moved slightly, forming two words.
"He's… changed…"