Apocalypse Forecast

Chapter 411: 354 Heaven Punishment (Medium)_1

The information contained in Shah's words could not be more serious.

But for him, it was an overwhelmingly positive development.

If this Witch's Night held secrets about the Eternal Beast beyond the Ranch Owner, then no matter what, it was worth an Alchemist gambling their life to seek out.

It was a profit. Simply being there was profit, and even just getting a glimpse before exiting was not a loss.

But the issue was that the more Elements of Destruction involved, the more dangerous the situation inside the Witch's Night would become. In just eight short hours, a vast passage of time had undoubtedly occurred within. Even if Gru had sailed through smoothly, he still faced many dangers, let alone the others.

And it might even be possible to get contaminated...

If the depth kept increasing endlessly, even Gru was not sure he had the courage to hold out to the end.

"If you ask me, you need to step it up a notch," Shah said. "If I'm not mistaken, the test has only just begun... The time before this was just the last act of kindness left by that Predecessor for us to seize the chance to flip through the pages."

Gru didn't say anything.

As Shah said, if this Witch's Night was a test, then the questioner was without a doubt that departed Creator.

Creators primarily coming to reclaim the inheritance of that Predecessor were the candidates sitting for the exam.

And Explorers, who seemed to be the main attraction on stage... were just the answers written by the Creators.

There could be many answers.

But in the end, there could only be one correct one.

Even now, Gru still didn't understand what the actual question was.

Shah seemed to have a vague clue.

But he said nothing.

This guy appeared casual, but in reality, he was the tightest-lipped among all participating Creators. No matter how unreliable he seemed, as the youngest Creator in nearly a century, he couldn't be without cunning.

"Don't worry, I have full confidence in you—after all, you are my creation. You can't be too far behind Niflheim's 'Six Winged Immortal Bird,' Qinger Tai's 'Taurus,' or Nakajima's 'Wilderness Guard'... Our progress is among the furthest ahead of everyone's."

"What about your 'Eternal Titan Empire' you mentioned the other day?"

"Ah, such a foolish name... Besides, individual and group categories are two different things, with different members. They're not comparable."

Shah shook his head with a sigh. "However, compared to powerful individuals, how a group survives in Hell seems to be even more challenging. If I'd known about this fun stuff beforehand, I might have joined in the fray. Unfortunately, I drew my lot too late... and also missed three good Cards in a row. I'm so mad."

"Three Cards?" Gru asked.

He wasn't so furious at being a replacement; rather, it would be strange if a Creator sought out an Alchemist like him right from the start.

He was just curious who his competitors were.

Shah admitted this quite frankly.

"Apart from the Eternal Titan Empire, there are two other people I have high hopes for...

"The first is an ordinary person who got in by accident and should have been weeded out quickly. I originally wanted to lend a hand, but after another Creator chose her first, she displayed an aptitude in some areas that took even me by surprise.

"It's so frustrating, especially since I've always been quite confident in my abilities as a teacher. I truly misjudged."

"And the other?"

Shah's expression suddenly turned strange. "The other... is an S-level Gold Medal Military Officer, rated as such by the Jurisdiction Bureau. Although a bit weaker now, he definitely lacks neither character nor Ability. He also seems to have the support of some old Predecessors from Utopia behind him, giving him a truly promising future.

"And his performance in the early stages was just amazing, so fresh!"

Shah clucked his tongue in admiration. "We nearly fought over this experienced contender; all of us nearly came to blows.

"And then, during his Relic Bone Metamorphosis, he went straight to another Creator, and it was someone none of us knew, hahaha, you wouldn't know, Niflheim turned green with envy! Want to see? I took a photo... Come on, have a look!"

He was eager to show Gru his trophy but was coldly rejected.

Some jokes Shah could tell, but whether others had the right or dared to laugh was another matter.

Gru was well aware of this and had no desire to get entangled in the mess of the Existence Institute.

"Anyway, congratulations on completing your God Transformation," Shah said, discarding the tablet in his hand and smiling as he congratulated him. "You've become the second Explorer to obtain an entry ticket."

Gru was stunned for a moment, his nine enormous heads lifting incredulously.

He finally felt a sense of loss and anger.

Unacceptable.

As an irrepressible chill spread, Hydra widened its crimson pupils. "What's going on? How could anyone be faster than me?"

Shah spread his hands regretfully. "Probably because there's someone even crazier than you. Even though you started your God Transformation earlier, you were half an hour behind him... missing out on first place. That's just so unfortunate."

Instinctively, Shah looked back at the shattered land thousands of miles behind him.

He couldn't help but murmur softly.

"I told you... That was one hell of a Card..."

Forty-five minutes earlier, at the instant Huai Shi was swallowed by the blood light.

In all of the five cities, every Giant Beast felt an intense panic from within, a primal fear, akin to a horde of rats scurrying restlessly before an earthquake.

As if there were needles at their backs.

Disbelieving, they turned around and saw a blood-red tornado slowly ascending against the Sky Dome.

The chaotic dance of the blood-red hue spread wildly between the gray heavens and earth, its brutal expansion causing the roars of tens of thousands to turn into a solemn Hymn.

Hymn!

The holy song echoed in everyone's ears.

It was an unquestionably majestic melody, yet it carried a bone-deep grudge and reluctance. When countless pale Souls soared into the sky, everyone was overwhelmed by an all-encompassing chill.

Countless eyes hungered for every living thing in their sight.

Starving...

Run! Must run away. Otherwise, it will be too late.

They fled clumsily, swiftly, desperately, using every ounce of strength to run.

Whether ready for battle or weary, they all sprinted, their eyes reflecting unspoken terror and venomous hatred.

The once-invincible Giant Beasts were now scurrying like rats, yet faster than them was the inexhaustible stream of Souls.

The spirits of 110,000 Lizard Men, tortured by the Abyss, now amidst the solemn Hymn, attacked all living things recklessly, like a horde of demons on Doomsday.

White Souls pervaded the sky like a flood, rippling in layers; then, a spiteful downpour rained from the heavens.

Like ants in a feeding frenzy, it covered every inch of the Giant Beasts' skin. It even bored into them through their mouths and noses, devouring all reason. Quickly, with a heavy scent of blood, it burst forth from their bellies, carrying strands of crimson blood back into the desolate red tornado.

Only a very few Giant Beasts reacted swiftly enough to evade this calamity.

When they finally halted in a safe place and looked back hesitantly, they saw countless viscous, blood-red tendrils spreading out like limbs from the crimson storm, enveloping the other cities.

It was as if Doomsday had finally arrived.

Ironically, before everything faced its Doomsday destruction, it was already about to be destroyed... by themselves.

Countless viscous, blood-red streams were pulled by the storm's gravity, flying continuously, like millions of rain threads shooting toward the sky.

All life was devoured by the bloodstorm, which had become like a ferocious beast.

But it still wasn't enough!

Within the storm, numerous Souls solemnly chanted the Hymn. Then suddenly, a blood-red torrent swept through, fiercely stabbing into the cities and tearing apart layers of halls.

In the end, it carried away a skull, as though forged from iron stone, returning to the blood-red storm.

"Damn it, our Divine Body!" a surviving Giant Beast exclaimed, dumbstruck.

But then, blood-red torrents descended one after another. Voracious beasts brutally shattered barrier after barrier of city walls, carrying countless Relic Bones into the torrent.

The Divine Body, hidden in the deepest reaches of the realm, was dragged by the blood-red torrents into the storm.

This made the crimson dance between heaven and earth even more frenzied.

The solemn Hymn resonated throughout the world.

Finally, it had enraged this world.

Suddenly, the Sky Dome shattered.

Like an iron curtain smashed from the outside, fierce light burst from countless cracks, bringing with it a terrifying heat. Then, dark clouds converged rapidly with the lowering Depth Indices.

Within clouds condensed from Abyssal residue, fierce lightning brewed, like enraged snakes undulating in ink.

A terrifying natural disaster was brewing.

And unmistakable malice had already locked onto the blood-red storm. Robust bolts of lightning leaped continuously within the clouds, galloping in the majestic wind.

Flames spontaneously ignited from the earth, engulfing everything in sight in a terrifying heat.

The scorching, dry hurricane swept through, bringing furnace-like heat and lethal venom that would entomb all living things.

Swell Tides, Burning Winds, Nameless Fires.

What were once ordinary Abyssal phenomena now, with the Depth Indices growing furiously, had ballooned into a disaster of staggering proportions.

Enough to turn an entire city to ashes in an instant!

Potent malice, without a doubt, descended upon this place.

When Huai Shi opened his eyes, he finally glimpsed, through the blood-red storm, the endless lightning that nearly filled the whole sky.

Crap...

A terrifying light, bright enough to singe an ordinary person's eyes, reflected on his vertical pupils, making him involuntarily open his mouth wide in shock. "Which Dao friend is undergoing tribulation here?"

Soon, the furious Heaven Punishment answered this question.

Countless thunderbolts, like long spears, carrying a blaze that threatened to burn the Three Realms to ashes, aimed at Huai Shi's stunned face.

Ah, it's me... He finally came to a realization.

In the midst of the sky full of lightning, he raised his dog's head, pondered briefly, analyzed calmly...

Damn, I'm screwed!

In that moment, lightning poured down like rain from the sky!