Chapter 333: The Fall of the Stargate, Version 3.0 Arrives Early
When the news arrived, the Supreme Apostle was inspecting the damaged communication equipment at Cathedral Number Four, trying to find some clues to locate the attackers’ movements and identities.
“What happened?”
He looked displeased as he stared at the assistant who came running over.
“An attack, the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations have launched another strike on the Temporary Stargate!”
The assistant hurriedly explained what had just happened.
The situation was now extremely critical.
After discovering that Dmitri and the others had secretly slipped near the Temporary Stargate, the Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits immediately organized a counterattack.
At that time, they had been brimming with confidence.
Although they had just experienced a great battle and everyone’s condition was poor, their individual average strength still far surpassed that of the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations. Therefore, the advantage was still theirs.
As long as they dealt with Dmitri and his group, the remaining Bai Fu—though her strength had somehow increased by a large margin—still could not possibly be their opponent.
Things developed much as the Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits had expected.
Faced with their assault, Dmitri and his companions indeed struggled bitterly, unable to deploy the device that could destroy the hyperspace passage into the Temporary Stargate.
However, just when they thought they could ride out this crisis smoothly, an accident occurred.
Before they had time to drive Dmitri and his group away, Bai Fu had already defeated the people they had left behind to hold her off.
No.
To be precise, that was not “gradually falling back” at all—it was clearly being beaten to the point of utter collapse!
What kind of retreat was it when twelve people were killed—three dead in a short time, the remaining nine all injured, only four managing to scatter and escape, and five trapped, barely holding on with some special items under the enemy’s assault?
“What?”
The Supreme Apostle was dumbfounded.
Wait—bro, do you even know what you’re saying?
That Bai Fu was still alive did not surprise him.
What he could not accept was the record that the assistant described.
Damn it, this sounded like some mythological tale.
It wasn’t as if he had never fought Bai Fu before. Even if she had grown stronger over time, how could she possibly reach this level?
The assistant, under his angry glare, felt utterly wronged.
He really was not lying. When he had first heard the news, he too thought it absurd, but since the Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits swore on his own life that it was true, what else could he do but believe it?
In any case, reinforcements must be dispatched quickly.
Otherwise, once Bai Fu finished off those five Transcendents, and then coordinated with the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations to launch a pincer attack, the situation would deteriorate to unimaginable levels!
“……”
The Supreme Apostle’s chest heaved violently.
He remained silent for nearly a full minute before speaking again.
“I’ll go there myself. I want to see for myself what on earth is happening!”
At this point, he could no longer care whether his leaving would leave the Holy City of Apostles vulnerable, giving the Apostle who sought to deal with the Number Four Apostle a chance to strike.
Unfortunately, though the Supreme Apostle reacted quickly, Bai Fu was faster still.
…
“Fortunately, I brought along the Ethereal Relay Communication Device this time, so I needn’t fear the communication blockade methods of the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations.”
Ending his dialogue with the assistant of the Supreme Apostle, the Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits let out a long breath, then quickly relayed the news to his companions who were still locked in battle with the coalition formed by the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations.
“I’ve already contacted the Holy City. Don’t worry, everyone. We just need to hold out for at most twenty more minutes, then the first wave of reinforcements will arrive. Moreover, His Excellency the Supreme Apostle said he will personally come here.”
Twenty minutes?
And the Supreme Apostle himself would come?
Hearing this news, the somewhat flagging morale on the side of the Holy City of Apostles instantly surged back.
Haha.
This was secure.
Once the Supreme Apostle launched an attack, no matter if it was Bai Fu, Hei Fu, or Hong Fu, the end result would all be the same—dead Fu!
Just as the crowd’s spirits rose high, a jarringly discordant voice suddenly rang out.
“Not good, Bai Fu is coming!”
“?”
It was as if someone had pressed the mute button—everyone on the side of the Holy City of Apostles instantly fell silent.
Deathly silence.
A suffocating silence.
Bean-sized beads of sweat rolled down the Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits’ forehead. The Dark Energy Furnace embedded in his chest emitted a sound like a forging hammer crashing down, while panic gripped his soul tightly.
“Everyone, don’t panic. Bai Fu may be formidable, but as long as we persist—”
Persist your ass!
Before he could finish, those four followers who had only recently escaped from Bai Fu’s grasp bolted again.
If you all want to persist, then persist yourselves. We sure as hell weren’t going to keep fighting Bai Fu!
They had been scared out of their wits.
Every time they closed their eyes, they could not stop recalling the scene of Bai Fu and the Oathmaster pounding their comrades into minced meat like hand-made beef patties.
Too brutal!
Usually they were the ones slaughtering others, who would have thought that now it was their turn on the chopping block?
As those four fled, a chain reaction followed.
If they could run, then why should we stay and fight? It made no sense.
This damned Passage—let whoever wanted it, guard it! We weren’t going to!
The people of Cathedral Number Five were the first to flee.
Then followed the heavily wounded Cathedral Number One.
All of them rushed toward the new Passage.
In less than a minute, only the Hall of the True Spirits, Cathedral Number Two, and Cathedral Number Three remained at the Temporary Stargate.
“With only us twenty-something left, there’s no way we can hold it.” The Third Candidate Apostle looked around and said.
The Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end all his words turned into a single sigh.
Yes, it truly was impossible to hold, unless everyone was willing to fight to the death.
But in this situation, who would be willing to?
The cathedrals within the Holy City of Apostles were, after all, in competition with one another.
They had cooperated before only because the Holy City of Apostles had always been winning—victories brought vast spoils, and spoils were enough to suppress internal conflicts for the time being.
But now, the Holy City of Apostles had lost—never in centuries had they suffered such a miserable defeat.
The Candidate Apostle of Cathedral Number Four had turned traitor, their directly controlled star domains suffered successive assaults, and of Cathedral Number One’s five Transcendents, only two remained alive.
Seeing them so pitiful, the followers of other cathedrals could not help but give rise to dark thoughts.
If they stayed here, would they not end up as miserable as Cathedral Number One?
Once their strength waned, would they not be devoured entirely by other cathedrals or the Supreme Apostle?
This was no groundless worry.
At this moment, the Third Candidate Apostle truly did give rise to the ambition of annexing the other cathedrals, to grow stronger, and in the end to duel the Supreme Apostle for supremacy—driving him down and becoming the new Supreme Apostle himself.
Among the Seven Cathedrals, Cathedral Number Three was already the strongest.
Now that the others had more or less suffered losses, while Cathedral Number Three had not lost a single Domination-level Being, it was impossible for the Third Candidate Apostle not to grow ambitious.
“Let’s go.”
After a moment of struggle, the Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits reluctantly gave the order to retreat.
Before leaving, he turned back to cast a deep look at Bai Fu.
That the Holy City of Apostles had lost so badly—half of it was due to that mysterious organization, and the other half was because of Bai Fu.
As for the coalition of the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations…
The Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits truly did not even take them into account.
Without Bai Fu’s support, that ragged coalition would have long been crushed by his hands!
“You wait. I’ll be back—and next time, I’ll return in an even more terrifying form!”
The Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits imitated Isaacs’ style and spat out a vicious threat.
Fortunately, while retreating, he was not intercepted like Isaacs had been, since the Esper Garden’s copied Esper Nullification technique, Time-Space Freeze, had not yet cooled down.
“Stop them, don’t let them escape like this!”
Seeing the people of the Holy City of Apostles retreat en masse toward the Temporary Stargate, Dmitri realized they were trying to flee and shouted loudly.
But the Holy City of Apostles was simply too close to the Temporary Stargate.
Even though he reacted quickly, he still could not prevent them.
Watching the starry sky suddenly become empty, Dmitri helplessly curled his lips.
Forget it, now was neither the time for regret nor sighs—better to quickly throw the destruction device into the Temporary Stargate.
With the combined efforts of the crowd, a black pentagonal prism several dozen meters long was carried into the Temporary Stargate by a specially-made aircraft.
Boom!
With a silent explosion, the vast hyperspace corridor, reinforced by countless mechanical structures, trembled violently.
Crack—crack—
The mechanical structures shattered in the turbulence, while the raging spatial storm swept chaotically.
When all returned to calm, the Temporary Stargates at both ends of the passage slowly closed like eyelids.
“Did it work?”
Dmitri looked uncertainly at the fragments of the Temporary Stargate drifting past his eyes.
Bai Fu nodded.
“It worked.”
Just now, she had received the notification that the Main Quest to destroy the new Passage was complete. She also obtained 50 billion XP, another Dark Energy Engine blueprint, and a Prayer Card Advancement Card of Colored quality.
Bai Fu wasted no time and immediately used the Advancement Card to upgrade the 【Extreme Shadow】 Summon Card into Colored quality.
The True Spirit Summon Life called forth by the Colored-quality 【Extreme Shadow】 was at the Domination-level.
But this was not what Bai Fu valued most—the most important thing was that after the upgrade, Ying Fu, who had grown based on this Prayer Card, would also be strengthened.
“This way, Ying Fu can steadily step into the Transcendent tier!”
Bai Fu was in excellent spirits.
In contrast, the Supreme Apostle was about to explode.
“You…”
He looked at the shattered fragments of the Temporary Stargate on the Holy City of Apostles’ side, then looked again at the battered Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits and the others. He could not form a complete sentence.
If possible, he truly wished to kill all these useless wastes who ruined more than they achieved.
But now was not the time.
The Supreme Apostle forcibly suppressed the fury in his heart and had the Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits return to the Holy Land with him.
“There were simply too many accidents this time. If we had not misunderstood and clashed with that mysterious organization, if Bai Fu’s strength had not advanced so ridiculously, if—”
“You really think this was an accident?”
The Supreme Apostle interrupted the Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits with a cold laugh.
Ah… that…
“I don’t believe this was an accident. Nine times out of ten, so-called accidents are just smokescreens. I’m more inclined to believe Bai Fu has already colluded with that mysterious organization!”
The Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits’ pupils contracted sharply.
If that were true, then the situation was dire indeed.
Could the Holy City of Apostles really defeat the combination of the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations, Bai Fu, and the mysterious organization?
Possible.
But not very likely.
At least in its current condition, the Holy City of Apostles would not win.
There had to be change.
And the way to change was to overhaul the structure of the Holy City of Apostles from its roots—reclaiming all the authority of the cathedrals into the Holy Land itself. Only then could the Holy City of Apostles unleash its true power!
The Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits drew in a deep breath and voiced his thoughts to the Supreme Apostle.
Truthfully, he had long wanted to say this.
The reason he had resolutely led the Hall of the True Spirits to join the Supreme Apostle was because he deeply valued this current Supreme Apostle, believing he had the ability to reform the Holy City of Apostles—transforming it from a bloated power into a true civilization that could stand at the peak of the universe.
Do it, Your Excellency the Supreme Apostle—once the Holy City of Apostles unleashed its full might, it would be invincible.
Succeed, and you would be the Lord of the Universe!
The Supreme Apostle turned his head to gaze at the distant starry sea, making a firm decision: “Zoriel, within the Holy City of Apostles, you are a special one. I will seriously consider your proposal.”
This… did he actually accept it?
The Lord of the Hall of the True Spirits—Zoriel—was uncertain, but secretly hoped for what the Supreme Apostle would do next.
The spaceship fell into silence.
A few hours later.
Inside a secret chamber deep within the Holy Land.
The Supreme Apostle once again stood before that strange sapling.
With no one else around, he had no need to hide his emotions.
“Bai Fu!!!”
The Supreme Apostle’s eyes surged with killing intent like a raging river.
His plan was completely ruined.
No matter how he thought about it, he could not understand why Bai Fu’s strength had increased so quickly.
Even an Apostle could not achieve such a leap.
Was it truly thanks to that mysterious organization?
Kill, kill, kill.
Whether it was or not, she had to die!
Only through slaughter could the Eternal Tree before him truly grow.
Once the Eternal Tree matured, no matter how Bai Fu resurrected, it would be useless—he would delete her existence directly from the world itself!
Leaving the secret chamber, the Supreme Apostle issued two new orders.
First, that Sui Xi return from the Rayas civilization. From then on, he would personally guide Sui Xi’s cultivation, while Zoriel would handle the Apostles’ followers active in the Rayas civilization.
Second, he ordered the Holy City of Apostles to launch its final offensive against the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations.
If underhanded tactics had failed again and again, then from now on, no more underhandedness—
He would strike head-on!
In this vast Star Sea world, they would see who had the last laugh!
Upon receiving her deployment order, Sui Xi immediately sought out Ying Fu to explain.
“A frontal assault?”
Bai Fu nodded.
This way, for the next few months, she would not have to worry about the Holy City of Apostles scheming again.
She relayed the news to Dmitri and the others.
The thought of having several months of safe growth made Dmitri and his group breathe a sigh of relief.
But now was not the time to dwell on that—it was time to celebrate!
They quickly sent news of the new Passage’s destruction back to their homeland and arranged for the major media outlets to broadcast it.
【Character Chronicle: The Lonely Watcher Bai Fu】
【From Saintess to the Unyielding Great Wall of the Star Sea】
Report after report appeared on the front pages of major news outlets, setting the entire Explored Universe ablaze—and sparking equally heated debates within the Player Community.
Of course, the Player Community was even more captivated by the live on-site reports brought by Excavation-Princess.
【Bai Fu is the God of the Ethereal Realm!】
【In just a month, Fu-fu’s HP rose from over three million to nearly six million. Incredible!】
【Fu-fu’s meteoric rise is just like the one true protagonist’s path—unbelievable!】
Centered on Bai Fu’s race and her tremendous power growth, the Player Community erupted in fierce discussion.
Just as Excavation-Princess hurried to write her analysis, a piece of news detonated across the Player Community.
【Version 3.0 will launch early, with the Version 2.3 shutdown update officially beginning tonight at 24:00】
“?”
This time, not only Players—even Bai Fu herself was stunned.
So sudden?
Although the developers had been teasing Version 3.0 for a while, they had never announced the exact date.
“Could it be because I drastically altered the direction of the game’s story, forcing the developers to reschedule the version?”
Bai Fu thought it was indeed very possible.
For her, this was by no means bad news.
Although the Players would disappear for a while, she would soon gain new power-ups.
And at this timing, the update would boost her popularity enormously.
What could Players do when they could not enter the game?
Either occupy themselves elsewhere, or keep discussing game content.
And right now, the hottest topic in the game was 【Bai Fu is the God of the Ethereal Realm】!
“Good, good. I wonder what enhancements the developers will give me this time?”
Amid the praise of the Three Cosmic-level Civilizations, Bai Fu awaited the arrival of midnight as promised by the developers.