Chapter 829: True Form

f"Where is this!?"

The sound echoed.

In the endless darkness, I am situated in nothingness.

Several North American High Level officials stared in shock at the scene around them.

Just moments ago, they were still in ecstasy, watching Lin An about to be abolished right before their eyes.

How could making eye contact with that mask have sent us here!?

The whole world. It seemed like a place constructed of black mist, at the edge of the thick fog, chaos churning, death intent rolling.

As if brewing some unknown terror.

After a moment, when the sound also disappeared in this world.

The black mist before them suddenly swept apart to both sides, revealing a colossal figure seated on a black throne, its form connecting to the horizon.

They looked on in horror.

In an instant, the black shadow, nearly a thousand meters high, slowly opened its eyes—two blood moons suddenly appearing in the black mist.

The few who had still been panicking and asking questions instantly lost their senses, stiffening in place, as if they had seen the greatest fear lurking in the depths of their souls.

The same dark-gold pattern mask covered that giant face.

That was the Lord of Death, transcending fear.

「Crack-crack.. 」

A dense cacophony of shattering sounds rang out continuously.

Lin An, straining somewhat, slowly lifted the giant sword embedded in his body and let it fall to the ground.

The wound that had nearly cleaved half his chest was slowly healing.

Before him, the three silver-helmet greatswords still held their attacking poses, but now they were utterly like dead objects, motionless.

Their pupils beneath the helmets were grayish-white, like petrified statues.

「Thud... thud... thud... 」

A faint breaking sound sounded.

Standing around Lin An, whether the North American High Level Awakened Ones or Andre, in an instant they shattered like broken fragments, exploding together with the four mirrors.

In the wind, on the faces cracked like porcelain, they still held expressions of extreme distortion.

The sealing barrier vanished, and the flow of time inside and outside resumed synchronization.

A sky-full of silver-white shards, mixed with the ashes of the dead, drifted gently across the ground.

It seemed as if nothing had ever existed, returning to peace.

One second later, Lin An ignored the renewed shouts of killing from behind, merely lifting his head slightly to gaze at the refreshed white light.

Those were the resurrected Andre and his people.

The two stared at each other from afar, Andre, still wearing a silver crown, maintained his cold expression.

Only his hands, laid flat at his sides, trembled uncontrollably.

After being resurrected, he chose not to move forward.

Standing in place, Andre struggled to control his incessantly trembling body; beside him, the similarly resurrected War Zone High Level stood like living corpses, their eyes dull and vacant.

It seemed... even the system's resurrection could not fully restore the terror they had endured.

It had nothing to do with reason or will.

Under a Regulation-level confrontation with death, any living being will suffer a fear effect surpassing all else.

Perhaps only the dead can resist.

Looking at Andre, who had already recovered unlike the others, Lin An merely gave a light chuckle, turned away, and stopped looking at him, as if he felt no concern.

Lowering his gaze to the wounds on his body, Lin An couldn't help but feel a sense of lament.

It must be said, Andre did indeed cause him considerable trouble.

The pre-arranged spatial disturbance limited his mobility.

The time-acceleration seal cleverly undermined his regenerative ability.

The three silver-helmet greatswords, comparable to third rank and possessing strong mental resistance, further reduced his bloodthirsty recovery to the utmost limit.

If my own trump cards weren't sufficient, or if Andre were a bit stronger...

I suppose... I would need to be resurrected again, wasting considerable time..

「Andre! 」

「Lord Andre!? 」

The battlefield was noisy.

Originally kept as a reserve, the other North American Awakened Ones lying in ambush around the area stared in horror at the motionless Andre.

They knew what Andre had prepared.

They saw Lin An's terrifying injuries and the aura of extreme weakness.

Had it not been for the sudden collective death of Andre and the High Level, they would have already rushed forward to deliver Lin An the final blow.

No matter how you look at it, that monster is already at its last breath, its body staggering and barely recovering from its wounds, appearing utterly miserable.

「Stop... come... 」

The voice was hoarse.

Andre raised his hand to stop the crowd, took a deep look at Lin An's back, and also sensed that Lin An had reached his limit.

But they... still had one chance at resurrection, and the entire Alliance still had over a thousand people able to fight again!

The Awakened Ones coming from the Rear could break free from the giant bear's entanglement in at most three seconds and then resume encircling Lin An.

But...

Even as urgent pleas rang in his ears, urging him to give orders, he found himself unable to utter a single word.

(So, you only have one... trump card?)

The scene flashed back in an instant.

Recalling how Lin An, clearly in a situation he judged to be deadly, still kept his expression unchanged, he remembered the fear he had just experienced.

At this very moment, an irresistible thought arose in his mind.

A brief yet seemingly endless wait.

After three seconds, Andre drew a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.

"Let's go! Withdraw from the death match!"

Accustomed to absolute reason and logic, he dared not gamble on what trump cards Lin An might still have!

Moreover, he always felt that, even though they had reached this point, this monster-like man...

still had not revealed his true strength!

Or rather, there was no need...

In the face of absolute power, do all schemes become meaningless?

Andre finally glanced at the blood‑stained figure and muttered softly.

Just as his words fell,

He then, amidst the shocked and bewildered gazes of all, withdrew from the death match without hesitation.

A white light flashed and vanished; he chose to admit defeat.

As long as he lived, he still had hope.

Perhaps, Lin An at this stage has already become beyond human capacity to oppose...

This action undoubtedly stunned everyone.

On the battlefield, many Awakened Ones straining to break free from Xiong Hanzi's entanglement stared in shock at Andre's sudden departure, feeling as if they were witnessing the most unbelievable scene of this trial.

Even though that bear had already closed in behind them, they fixed their gaze on the spot where Andre had disappeared.

They didn't know what had happened, only that Lin An now looked miserable.

Andre seemed to have used some means, nearly crippling that monster!

So why run then!?

As a core figure of North America, Andre's withdrawal was no less than the entire North America forfeiting the death match rewards.

He... would rather let his battle zone fail completely than dare to linger even a moment longer!?

The incredulous thought echoed in everyone's mind.

The scene was eerie; if viewed from above,

the Alliance battlefield at this moment resembled a frozen scroll.

At the periphery, a giant bear chased people everywhere to kill them, while at the core stood Lin An in his original spot.

Surrounded by thousands, that figure appeared tiny and alone.

All around were enemies.

In the utter silence, Lin An glanced around, tilted his head slightly, and propped himself up with Cain's Blade in his right hand.

Amidst the greedy, or uneasy, gazes.

He gave a light chuckle, then slowly spoke:

"Hand over your points, then withdraw on your own."

"I can spare your lives..."

Crimson blood beads trickled down the sword hilt.

In everyone's ears, Lin An's such contemptuous words were no different from naked contempt and provocation.

Having come this far, you still dare to tell us to withdraw!?

Furious, they burst into bitter laughter.

All the major battle zones were almost simultaneously provoked, making it hard to suppress the hatred and greed in their hearts.

Lin An's words were no less than the final catalyst.

"Kill him! He's already crippled!!"

Roaring, they charged! All kinds of spiritual energy flashed in unison.

Blood beads fell to the ground.

"Pa-da"

On the metallic-feeling mask, distorted faces were reflected.

Unnoticed by anyone, Lin An slightly shook his head, his consciousness entering the Starcaller's Set.

He actually no longer wanted to kill.

But there are always those who seek death.

Feeling his spiritual power depleted, Lin An calmly activated Starlight Conversion.

Too bad it would waste a bit of attribute...

"Attribute conversion, consuming one point of strength to exchange for spiritual power.."

A white light flashed and vanished; a silver Karmic Hourglass appeared before him.

Gazing at the crowd surging in like a black tide, a flicker of coldness passed through Lin An's eyes:

"Activate.. Karma."

"Reverse!"