Chapter 474 - 218: Labyrinth’s Finale, Double Number One
Chapter 474: Chapter 218: Labyrinth’s Finale, Double Number One
The canyon where the Soul Sacrifice Hall once stood was now a scene of utter devastation, shrouded in a dead silence.
All eyes were involuntarily drawn to the figure suspended in midair.
The power of the Celestial Human Realm was on full display.
Yin Liulan paid no mind to their stares, her eyes sweeping coolly over the battlefield.
"Clean up the battlefield. Rescue the wounded."
"All personnel, prepare to evacuate the rift."
Her commands were concise and clear, devoid of any superfluous emotion.
Squads of military Martial Artists in silver-and-black Exoskeleton Armor descended from the sky. Their movements were swift and professional as they began to systematically manage the aftermath.
Medics weaved through the ruins, administering first aid to the surviving, injured members of the Martial Hall.
Engineers began to recover the wreckage of the Intelligent Mechanism. For humanity at its current stage, any artifact of its technology held immense research value.
Hu Dahai and the others watched the orderly scene unfold, their gazes shifting to the razed hall, their hearts a maelstrom of emotions.
No one could have predicted that this preliminary tournament would end up like this.
They looked over at Lin Ye, not far away, their eyes filled with complex emotions.
This newcomer, who had only just joined the Firewood Martial Hall, had single-handedly upended the entire battle, and even...
...overturned their very understanding of a Martial Artist’s capabilities.
Just as the others were preparing to board the aircraft to evacuate, Lin Ye started walking in a different direction.
He arrived at the center of the shattered hall, where a gaping hole plunged straight down.
This was the very passage Akayle had been guarding.
Presumably, the moment Zhang Daoming had spoken the keywords "Ark Fire Seed Source," a threat had been detected below, prompting the dispatch of an Intelligent Mechanism to handle the crisis.
Lin Ye peered down.
Below the chasm was not the expected rock and earth, but a deep corridor constructed entirely of cold alloy and intricate circuits.
Faint blue streams of data flickered along the walls, stretching into the endless darkness, their end nowhere in sight.
An aura, more ancient and desolate than that of the Painful Labyrinth itself, drifted up from below.
A flicker of realization sparked in Lin Ye’s mind.
’Deep below... that must be what the system called the Sigma Ruins.’
Still, the terrifying combat power displayed by the Intelligent Mechanism just now had shaken him.
’I don’t know what rank that Intelligent Mechanism held among its kind.’
’But it was already terrifying enough.’
’What other horrors are lurking down there?’
Just as the desire to explore sparked within him, a voice rang out by his ear without warning.
"Don’t go in there if you don’t want to die."
Lin Ye turned his head. Yin Liulan had appeared beside him at some point.
"Even as you are now, your chances of survival would be next to none."
With that said, Yin Liulan’s figure vanished.
Lin Ye had heard a similar warning from the system.
The spark of curiosity that had just ignited within him was instantly doused.
He knew Yin Liulan wasn’t exaggerating.
For even someone like her to make such an assessment, the dangers of the Sigma Ruins were far beyond his current capabilities.
’Looks like the Phase 4 mission will have to be shelved for now.’
"Lin Ye, time to go!"
In the distance, Hu Dahai, already halfway inside a transport, turned and waved.
"You guys go on ahead."
"I have something to take care of."
Hu Dahai nodded. After telling Lin Ye to be careful, he boarded the aircraft.
The hatch slid shut, and countless streaks of light shot up into the sky, vanishing from sight.
Lin Ye turned and walked directly toward another corner of the battlefield.
There, several chieftain-level members of the Curse Bone Race—noticeably larger and with auras far surpassing ordinary ones—had formed a nervous circle.
Seeing Lin Ye approach, the ghostly fire in the chieftains’ eye sockets flared as they took up defensive stances.
Lin Ye didn’t break his stride.
"Out of my way."
Lin Ye said coolly.
Instead of moving, the Curse Bone Race chieftains tightened their grip on their bone weapons, a low, threatening hiss rumbling in their throats.
Lin Ye couldn’t be bothered to waste another word on them.
Behind him, innumerable Curse Bone Race and Black Nightmare Race members, all possessing equally formidable auras, struck in an instant.
BOOM!
Several tyrannical auras erupted, giving the Personal Guards no chance to react before slamming them to the ground, pinning them in place.
Under the crushing weight of absolute power and numbers, their so-called loyalty proved meaningless.
Lin Ye arrived at the center of the circle.
A fist-sized ball of soul-fire, its color a deep, deathly gray, flickered as if it might go out at any moment. It hovered silently in midair.
The King of Ten Thousand Curses, Akayle.
He wasn’t completely dead, but he was only a single step away from total annihilation.
Lin Ye looked at the weakened soul-fire and calmly presented it with a choice.
"Submit to me and fight for me."
"Or, I can grant you true release right now."
His voice was devoid of emotion, yet it caused the ball of soul-fire to flicker violently.
Lin Ye had his reasons.
Given Akayle’s Status and evolutionary level, Lin Ye knew he wouldn’t be able to acquire his minion template by simply killing him.
The system’s minion-summoning ability seemed limited to replicating ordinary individuals of a given race.
For a lord-class entity like Akayle, who had already been crowned king, the only way to acquire him, it seemed, was through recruitment.
And Lin Ye had more than enough reason to recruit him.
First of all, the guy’s power was undeniable.