Chapter 394: Presenting the Crown to Bai Fu
Bai Fu’s HP reached a staggering hundred million. She possessed a multitude of defensive skills, the Titan Holy Shield—a defensive-grade cosmic treasure—various healing skills, and also Hei Fu, a doppelgänger identical to her original body.
It could be said she had more than enough trump cards.
Yet, in the face of Ignaz, she gradually fell into a disadvantage.
The reason was that Ignaz was simply too good at enduring.
As a Martial Artist, Ignaz was inherently tougher than most other classes. Besides, he had cultivated for nearly ten thousand years.
Over those ten millennia, although his stats hadn’t increased to an outrageous degree, he had accumulated a vast number of skills that made him highly resistant to being killed.
When Bai Fu struck, she layered on effects like true damage, vulnerability, bleeding, and qi depletion, just barely managing to suppress Ignaz’s HP bar.
But just when she thought she had a shot at victory, the sacred relics that Ignaz had kept hidden began to show their true power.
In a flash of flame, his HP, which had dropped below 30%, shot back up to over 80% in an instant, as if someone had plugged him into a life support system.
“Damn it, you’ve gotta be kidding me, playing it like this?!”
Bai Fu was speechless.
Now she understood—her fusion with the Double Helix Tree didn’t even give her a greater edge than what Ignaz was pulling off.
Still, she could understand.
The resources Ignaz mobilized were the result of over ten thousand years of accumulation by the Initial Protocol.
In that span of time, the number of transcendent sacred relics the Initial Protocol had gathered easily numbered in the thousands.
The sheer power that came from stacking so many sacred relics onto a single person was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
Understanding it was one thing—being able to swallow it was another. Bai Fu couldn’t help but curse.
“Are Ignaz’s trump cards just those sacred relics? No, that can’t be it. If it were only that, would Bualot have gone to such lengths to keep everything so mysterious? And if it really were just this, the rewards for quests involving Ignaz wouldn’t be so extravagant.”
“The current Ignaz is strong, but his strength doesn’t lie in his offense—it lies in his absurd endurance. If I wanted to flee, I could run at any time; he wouldn’t be able to stop me.”
Bai Fu’s gaze toward Ignaz turned extremely grave.
She no longer expected to kill Ignaz here.
So she quickly changed her strategy, shifting to probing his hidden cards and delaying him for as long as possible to buy time for others.
With the aid of numerous skills and Prayer Cards, Bai Fu successfully achieved her goal of stalling for time.
But even after the Ethereal·God-King was defeated and both of her bodies were destroyed, she still hadn’t uncovered what Ignaz’s final trump card was.
That old bastard sure could hide!
“You just wait. I’ll be back. I can’t kill you now, but give it a little time, and we’ll see!”
Bai Fu’s body exploded into fragments.
In the starry sea, only her voice lingered, carried through the dissipating psionic and dark energies.
Seeing that Bai Fu had finally been “killed” by his own hands, Ignaz no longer had the mood to maintain his previous fierce and arrogant demeanor.
He immediately tried to connect with the Son of Prophecy via mind link.
But the result made his heart sink—there was no response at all from the Son of Prophecy.
Could it be...
Ignaz’s face turned pale.
He called out again and again—dozens of times—until at last, the Son of Prophecy finally responded.
“Leader... something big has happened.”
The Son of Prophecy was still alive, but his voice was unusually weak.
However, Ignaz had no time to be concerned about his injuries, because the news he brought froze Ignaz in place.
The Transcendents who had launched a surprise attack on Bai Fu’s location had been ambushed. Under the assault of Ailijie and others, more than half had been killed or injured. The survivors were barely hanging on.
The massive fleet stationed outside the Silent Alliance had also been attacked. Thanks to aid from the virtual units, the fleet didn’t suffer heavy losses at first.
But as those virtual units were systematically eliminated, the fleet’s defeat became inevitable. At most, they would last another half day before total collapse.
At the same time, the Rebirth Empire was once again raided by the Undying Ones—this time with several times more participants than before.
The Rebirth Empire urgently called for reinforcements. Only the Eternal Investments Group agreed to assist. Although the Empire’s own legions made it back in time, Bai Fu had prepared thoroughly in advance and had relocated a large number of her forces near the Empire’s capital star.
These troops, alongside the Undying Ones, launched wave after wave of assaults against the capital star. Despite fighting with all their might, the Empire’s defenders couldn’t repel them and could only continue retreating.
As of now, among the dozen defensive lines laid out around the capital star, only the last one remained unbreached.
Without new reinforcements, even this last line was expected to fall within half an hour.
“I... I-I-I...”
Ignaz felt as though something was lodged in his throat—he couldn’t form a single complete sentence.
From the moment he was teleported away by Bai Fu, he knew things would go south, but he hadn’t imagined the situation could deteriorate to this degree.
For things to reach this point, it was clear Bai Fu hadn’t acted on impulse—she had planned everything in advance.
So now...
Rescue?
With what, exactly?
He couldn’t do anything now—only watch helplessly as Bai Fu’s forces ran rampant, turning ten thousand years of the Initial Protocol’s hard-earned foundation into rubble.
Ten thousand years—ten thousand years, gone!
Ignaz’s body began trembling uncontrollably.
For someone at his level, a Martial Artist of this caliber, control over his body had long since reached the level of individual particles.
Yet even so, he lost control—this showed just how utterly furious he was.
Sensing the danger, the Son of Prophecy quickly tried to console him. “Leader, things haven’t reached the point of no return yet! I’ll guide you back first—once you return, everything will be alright!”
Really?
Ignaz wanted to believe the Son of Prophecy, because belief was his only option. The alternative was far too cruel.
However...
“What’s going on?”
Ignaz frowned.
Several minutes had passed, and the Son of Prophecy still hadn’t said a word.
“Is it... that you can’t even sense my location?”
That...
Cold sweat beaded on the Son of Prophecy’s forehead.
After stammering for a while, he finally confessed. There was no way he could bluff his way through this.
Ignaz exploded on the spot.
Since the Son of Prophecy couldn’t determine his exact location, no one else could come to pick him up. He would have to slowly fly back on his own.
It was over.
Everything was over.
“Contact Bai Fu. Find a way to get me in touch with Bai Fu!”
Ignaz roared at the Son of Prophecy in fury.
Terrified, the Son of Prophecy agreed, too scared of Ignaz’s wrath to let his fear of Bai Fu get in the way.
Hopefully, they could reach her.
While Ignaz was frantically flying toward the general direction of the Explored Universe, Anya and her forces—joined by a wave of crazed Players—were already launching their final assault on the Rebirth Empire’s last defensive line.
Almost there.
Once they breached this line, they could capture the vast majority of the Empire’s high-ranking officials alive!
Both Anya and the Players were fighting like they were on stimulants, their combat strength skyrocketing.
In contrast, the people on the Empire’s side were dejected, sighing endlessly.
“There’s... no hope left.”
Audoak collapsed to the ground.
There wasn’t a trace of the Empire’s emperor left in him now.
But no one was in the mood to remind him to uphold imperial dignity—none of the others looked much better.
The entire capital star had descended into chaos.
Under normal circumstances, faced with such an emergency, everyone should’ve been gathered in the Senate’s council chamber discussing countermeasures. Yet now, the massive chamber was empty—only the robots serving the Radiance still dutifully guarded the place.
【Only fifty million shield left—everyone, one last push, damn it!】
【Eat this—an Armstrong Cyclone Jet Armstrong Cannon blast!】
【Hello viewers, I’m your war correspondent Excavation‑Princess, and today’s livestream theme is: “The Fall of the Empire’s Capital Star”!】
With the relentless bombardment from the Players and Anya’s forces, the shield value of the Empire’s final defensive line plummeted rapidly.
Forty million… thirty million… twenty million… ten million…
【ohhhhhh——】
The moment the shields hit zero, a tidal wave of cheers shook the entire planet.
On the ground, numerous ships and individuals tried to use the chaos to escape.
But facing such a vast number of Players, all their efforts were in vain.
【Hmph, trying to run? Old Biden, I know you—you’re the one who organized that slander campaign against Fufu during the news broadcast. Get on your knees, now!】
【You dared resist while being told to lie down? You wanna feel what six hundred strikes per second feels like?!】
Countless spaceships descended from the starry sky, sealing off the entire planet.
Right after, Players poured out from the ships in droves.
Some immediately began hunting down red-named NPCs.
Some launched attacks on critical infrastructure across the capital star.
And one group rushed straight toward the Imperial Palace without a word.
Boom boom boom!
The Imperial Palace boasted an outrageous level of defense, but under the Players’ assault, it still crumbled—reluctantly but inevitably—after holding out for a while.
“Run, run for your lives!”
“I surrender! I’m just the guy in charge of the archives! Don’t kill me!”
“It’s Audoak’s fault, not mine! I—I know where he is! I’ll lead you there!”
Faced with the intimidating swarm of invading Players, the palace personnel had not even a shred of will to resist.
One after another, they turned into Guide Spies, leading the Players straight to Emperor Audoak’s hiding place.
Hidden in the attic, Audoak was watching the situation unfold via surveillance—and he was utterly dumbfounded.
You traitors.
I paid your damn salaries, and this is how you repay me?
He was so furious his beard stood on end.
“Good thing I saw the signs early and took a special drug that temporarily changes one’s species. I even snuck out unnoticed and hid somewhere else. If I hadn’t done that, these bastards would’ve doomed me. Damn it—as long as I survive this massive sweep, I should be safe.”
Audoak scratched his head in frustration and then slumped helplessly against the wall.
He thought his disguise was perfect.
Too bad… what he was up against were Players, and every one of them had “cheats” on.
Bang!
The attic door was kicked open.
“You! Come out!”
“Y-Yes, yes, yes.”
Audoak forced a smile as he stepped out.
At that moment, he tapped into his lifetime’s worth of acting skills, trying to blend in like any other palace attendant.
He figured he could muddle through—yeah, for sure he could just—
“Wait a second!”
A loud shout from nearby sent a jolt through Audoak’s body.
“W-What is it?”
He turned around, still maintaining that awkward grin.
The Player standing opposite him suddenly sneered.
“I thought something felt off. How could a normal attendant have such low favorability with me? Good thing I checked. Brothers, get over here—this guy is Audoak. He used a disguise!”
Ugh—what the hell?! How did you figure it out?
Audoak was so scared he went numb.
He quickly started shouting.
“You’re wrong! You’ve got the wrong guy! I’m not Audoak—he’s hiding in the basement!”
The Player stepped forward and gave Audoak a hard slap across the face.
“You think you can bullshit me? Sit your ass down, or I’ll show you what ‘blooming buttocks’ feels like!”
Dazed by the slap, Audoak stared at the Player for a long moment before finally lowering his head in resignation.
Fine, fine—yes, I’m Audoak. Satisfied now?
The news of Audoak’s capture spread like wildfire.
Meanwhile, aboard Anya’s ship—
Bai Fu emerged from the Heaven’s Ark, stretched her back, and asked Anya, who had been waiting patiently.
“How’s the situation?”
Anya reported, “Just got the update—the Undying Ones have successfully captured the Empire’s emperor, Audoak.”
“Oh, caught him?” Bai Fu smiled. “Then let’s go see this old friend.”
She was very curious to see Audoak’s expression right now.
The two disembarked and quickly arrived at the Imperial Palace.
At this point, the vast palace was packed with Players. As soon as Bai Fu appeared, they immediately led her toward Audoak.
But as they walked, Bai Fu noticed something strange in the air.
Why were these Players sneaking glances at her? Her looks hadn’t changed since her resurrection, and her outfit wasn’t revealing.
It wasn’t until they entered the palace that Bai Fu understood what was going on.
“Hand it over!”
A few Players standing beside the now-restored Audoak suddenly snatched the crown from his head and, amid cheers of “Ohhhhhh!” from the other Players, ran up to Bai Fu and placed the crown on her head.
“Perfect! Absolutely perfect!”
“No doubt about it—this Empire deserves to be ruled by someone like Fufu!”
Bai Fu: 「……」
You guys really doing the ol’ ‘chilly weather, wear more clothes’ bit too?
Audoak was on the verge of a breakdown.
Stop it.
That’s my crown, aaaaahhhh!!
But he only dared to scream in his heart. On his face, he didn’t dare show the slightest hint of displeasure.
The Undying Ones were the boldest beings in the world—he had no doubt they’d chop him up in a heartbeat if he angered them.
All he could do was cast a pleading look at Bai Fu.
For the sake of our past friendship—please spare me, waaah!
Bai Fu removed the little crown from her head. She didn’t have time to entertain all this nonsense right now. Just as she was about to speak to Audoak—
Suddenly, a voice from Radiance echoed through the palace hall.
【Ignaz requests a call. Accept?】
Oh?
Bai Fu raised an eyebrow.
“Answer it.”