Beating Instances through Words Left by the Dead

Chapter 761 - 338: Performance and Battle (Part 3)

It seems that the feeling of being attacked just now wasn’t an illusion. These guards are strange; their power is obviously low, but their attacks can penetrate the Lion Skin Armor and cause him harm.

Besides the guards, this space is also peculiar, as it can suppress his attributes.

The power he can exert now is less than half of his peak condition, and after the concentrated attack just now, it directly took away a quarter of his life.

Where did that kid from the Desolate Realm get this bizarre ability?

With this prior lesson, Hercules became much more cautious. He no longer dared to take damage head-on, choosing to approach slowly, preventing the guards from forming a circle around him, and steadily grinding them down.

Who is he? The mighty Hercules who completed the Twelve Labors and possesses almost infinite endurance.

As long as he proceeds steadily and avoids damage, finding the right opportunity to counterattack slowly, there’s no way he could lose to these guards.

The battle started again, with Hercules adopting a defensive, turtle-style tactic.

For any attack, he first used his shield to block it, and when the guard got stuck due to their attack, he would strike out with a sword from behind the shield.

After counterattacking, he never got greedy, immediately retreating behind the shield, ensuring no chance for the guards to exploit.

If things continue like this, it’s only a matter of time before Hercules emerges victorious.

But as fate would have it, things were just about to take an unexpected turn.

The guards rushed forward, swinging Wolf Fang Clubs at Hercules. This scene had happened many times. Hercules used his superb skills, moving his shield with precision, blocking all attacks.

His gaze scanned the battlefield, searching for any guard that couldn’t retract their attack in time, allowing him to strike.

But this time, things were different. He discovered one guard wasn’t swinging a club but rather throwing an elbow at him.

"Man!"

He raised his shield to block, only to find the opponent’s elbow pressing against the shield, gliding along its arc like a drop of water. The elbow strike slipped into his defense circle at an inconceivable angle, hitting his face.

His vision went black. Although the opponent’s attack couldn’t harm him, the abnormal status attached to it temporarily robbed him of control over his body.

After that, he saw several Wolf Fang Clubs repeatedly smashing down on him.

"The target is under attack by a Psychic Monster, with severe soul damage. When in the Cursed Space, all attributes weakened to 30%."

If this continued, the Psychic Monster guards could beat Hercules into mince.

But Wu Chang didn’t let them continue; instead, he had them stand by, then walked up to Hercules, mimicking the tone of the Guard Leader:

"I have a question for you – answer it, and I won’t let them hit you."

"Are you a test subject from a secret research facility, an Abyssal Game player, or both?"

Hercules couldn’t be sure if Wu Chang would keep his word, but he relented anyway and replied:

"I’m an Abyssal player, not a test subject."

Wu Chang curiously asked: "Then why does the mental vulnerability of Experiment 46 appear in you? Could it be that Imaginary Divinity can inherit the memories of the divinity-breeding test subjects?"

Hercules was surprised and uncertain; he didn’t expect a player from the Desolate Realm to know of Imaginary Divinity’s existence.

Seeing that he couldn’t hide it, he hesitated briefly and replied:

"You could understand it that way. The method to extract Imaginary Divinity is not to siphon divinity from the test subjects but to let the divinity within them run rampant. It devours the test subjects through their mental vulnerabilities, using their flesh as nourishment to form the Divine Fruit."

"When we swallow the Divine Fruit, it’s tantamount to swallowing the entirety of the test subject. They merge with us as divinity. Their memories also become ours."

Wu Chang clicked his tongue after hearing this. He had thought the process of creating Imaginary Divinity was creepy when he first heard about it.

If extracting divinity were so easy, then why breed test subjects like they’re cultivating curses, and why let them live under high pressure and fear, deliberately creating mental vulnerabilities?

Wouldn’t nurturing them more gently make it easier for divinity to mature?

Now it seems, all of this was to ensure, when divinity runs rampant, it could devour test subjects through their mental vulnerabilities.

However, this also makes sense; if divinity were so easy to seize, it wouldn’t be worth much.

Hercules looked at Wu Chang and said:

"I’ve answered your question; now it’s your turn to fulfill your promise."

Wu Chang shrugged and said:

"Don’t worry, I have no reason to go back on a promise made in Peace."

Hercules sighed in relief, but his brows furrowed, and his recently eased heart tightened again.

Peace, why does this name sound so familiar?

Wasn’t the new monster that embarrassed Boss Joy in the Desolate Realm called this?

Before Hercules could react, Wu Chang asked:

"Has your Strength Attribute exceeded five hundred?"

Hercules instinctively answered: "No, it’s still a bit short."

Wu Chang glanced at the Attribute Panel and said with a smile: "That’s great."

Under the state of Sea Giant transformation, his Strength Attribute was 163.

Since Hercules’ Strength Attribute was below five hundred, under the attribute suppression in the Cursed Space, his strength wouldn’t exceed 150 points.

Wu Chang adjusted Hercules’ Lion Skin Armor and said:

"For keeping my promise, answer me this: Did 46 truly want to betray the Fire Seed?"

Hercules didn’t know why Wu Chang asked this, but the question was harmless, so he answered: "Yes."

Wu Chang pursued: "Jealousy?"

Hercules: "Yes."

Wu Chang said: "What a pity, he’s already dead, so you substitute for him and take my punch."

Hercules: ?

Before Hercules could argue, Wu Chang punched him in the face.

The Lion Skin Armor can withstand all non-divine damage, but it has one weakness: if the strength determination is greater than the wearer’s, the attack’s damage penetrates to the core and doubles.

Hercules’ remaining Life Value was already low, and Wu Chang’s core-penetrating punch, affirmed by the strength determination as a Blasphemer, directly shattered his head.

As Hercules’ body fell to the ground, Wu Chang withdrew from the Cursed Space and returned to the Realm of Reason.

In the Realm of Reason, Xu Dejun anxiously gripped his blade, waiting for Wu Chang.

He didn’t know what method Wu Chang used to temporarily remove Hercules or if Wu Chang would return, but he couldn’t leave and could only wait here.

Because only Wu Chang could traverse the Desolate Realm and the Realm of Reason and relay that message back.

As he anxiously waited, the previously appeared black mist emerged again, and Wu Chang reappeared with Hercules’ headless corpse.

"The trouble has been resolved. Now tell me, what is the intelligence you insist on delivering to me?"