Chapter 312: 312 Not in Silence Do We Explode, But in…

Too bad there isn't: as the first human in history to use "Fatal Cockstrike" on a female deity, your name will be etched into the annals.

Effect: when inflicting direct physical harm on targets of male gender or possessing corresponding organs, it causes unbearable agony, equivalent in intensity and location to a "Fatal Cockstrike."

Advanced path: none.

Hidden trait (no need to wear): due to fear of your attack method, female deities who oppose you will most likely target you first.

…

What the fuck?!!

Looking at the bottom of the Jade Valley, the Wealth Goddess clutched her legs and screamed as she collapsed; the weary young man who barely crawled to the valley's edge couldn't help but shudder violently.

Though he had long known Li Ang was anything but "ordinary," this vicious, brutal kick still startled him badly—and when Li Ang mounted the Wealth Goddess and began pummeling her, he couldn't stop gasping in disbelief.

I didn't… I just drank a little wine. Why the hell did he suddenly start riding a deity and beating her? Oh god, that punch! His nose is crooked! Ugh… I don't get it. I really don't get it!

And it wasn't just the weary young man on the hilltop who didn't understand this scene—the giant crocodile, summoned by the 【Wish-Scale】 covenant and pacing the bottom of the Jade Valley, was equally stunned.

The Underworld has been unsettled lately; some troublesome bigshot is due to be sent in, so the Lords have ordered their subordinates to stay put, and none of them have had a proper meal in a long time.

So when he heard the Qizi's call, he sneaked out hoping to snatch a quick snack, taste a sinner's heart, and make up for the meals he'd missed.

There was indeed a heart of sin—but the heart's owner turned out to be the Wealth Goddess, whose power was only a step or two below the Underworld's Lords. He was no match for her; he'd barely approached when she roared at him, and if he hadn't retreated, he'd have been beaten senseless.

Just as he gave up on his extra meal—and even the Qizi who summoned him was nearly killed by the enraged Wealth Goddess—a human who smelled pathetically weak staggered over, knocked the Wealth Goddess down, and mounted her to brutally beat her!

This… this isn't right.

Watching the "weak" cleaner riding the Wealth Goddess, bloodied her face, and beating her senseless, the Crocodile God, Ampu—a deity of mediocre strength and even worse intellect—felt his tiny brain reach total shutdown. His instinct screamed to flee.

But since the 【Wish-Scale】 was still embedded in Emma's chest and the covenant wasn't complete, he couldn't leave the vicinity. He forced himself to shrink his body down to half a man's length and hid in the shadowed corner of the execution platform, staring blankly as Li Ang continued his relentless assault.

After landing thirty or forty punches while riding the Wealth Goddess, Li Ang, his head swimming from drink, finally realized her body was absurdly tough.

Though the 【Immortal in Wine】 granted him invulnerability, it didn't reduce her physical defense—his full-force punches barely broke her nose, inflicted no real damage, and even hurt his knuckles from the snake scales on her face.

This won't do. I need a proper weapon…

Since he was looking for a weapon, Li Ang naturally remembered Emma's stiletto.

But after glancing at Emma, clutching her chest and staring at him in shock, he feared pulling the blade might cause further injury. So, still flushed from drink, he abandoned the idea and turned toward the execution platform… and the dazed crocodile beneath it.

"…"

"???"

After locking eyes with the bewildered Crocodile God, Li Ang looked at the creature's sharp teeth and his eyes lit up with sudden understanding. He rose, grabbed the Wealth Goddess's ankle, and dragged her toward the shadow beneath the platform…

…

I…

I was beaten?

I was beaten by a mortal?

After Li Ang's assault ended, the utterly dazed Wealth Goddess finally understood what had happened—she'd been knocked down by a mortal, mounted, and brutally beaten!

No! No!! This is impossible!!

Though her head still throbbed from blows, her nose still bled, and her groin still ached, she could not accept this insane reality.

"No!"

Regaining control of her body, the Wealth Goddess violently thrashed, kicked free of Li Ang's grip on her ankle, pushed herself up, seized a handful of shell coins, and roared:

"This can't be! I absolutely—"

"Crash!"

A massive crocodile, covered in bluish-black scales, slammed onto the Wealth Goddess's face, silencing her roar mid-scream and forcing out a startled grunt.

Seizing the moment as she fell again, Li Ang—who had found his weapon—lifted the flailing Crocodile God, belly-up, armored back-down, and slammed him down with brute force!

"Boom!!!"

Far heavier than the previous impact, the Crocodile God's impenetrable carapace shattered the ground beneath the Wealth Goddess, burying more than half her head in the earth.

"…"

This is a goddamn death sentence. If I'd known this would happen, I'd have stayed put in the Underworld!

As the Wealth Goddess lay silent, the Crocodile God—being swung like a stone by Li Ang, gripping his neck and spine—was already regretting why he'd ever left the Underworld.

When the reckless cleaner approached, he hadn't failed to resist.

But every bite, every tail-sweep, struck him and only produced strange colored bubbles—no real damage. Meanwhile, the cleaner swung his arm and backhanded him with a palm still smeared in goddess-blood.

This is insane…

Worse than being slapped by a human was this: his face didn't hurt much—but his groin did. Terribly. Excruciatingly. As if someone had kicked him right there.

Instinctively squeezing his short legs together, the desperate crocodile twisted his neck and bit Li Ang's head again—only to get a mouthful of colored foam and another raised palm.

"Don't hit! Don't hit!"

Faced with the threat of this strange phantom pain, the unlucky crocodile surrendered instantly, shut his eyes, curled up, and obediently became the goddess's skull-cracker, smashing her face again and again under Li Ang's grip.

"Thud! Thud! Thud!"

After being pounded relentlessly until her upper body was driven deep into the ground, the Wealth Goddess—unable to accept the loss of her power and flushed with rage—finally snapped back to clarity.

…

This damned insect is different from all the others.

Watching Li Ang lift the curled-up crocodile and slam it again toward her forehead, though her heart still rebelled, the Wealth Goddess finally, reluctantly, accepted the truth.

No matter how he did it, he had truly nullified—even negated—her power, and inflicted upon her a humiliating wound.

Fortunately, this strange immunity didn't appear in the two troublesome Level One Cleaners—but in this pitifully weak insect.

This insect's body was far too frail; even with his mysterious ability, he couldn't inflict real damage. Meanwhile, the two Cleaners capable of harming her were already incapacitated.

One had lost seventy percent of his bones and lay like mud atop the hill; the other had been pierced through the heart by her blade and pinned to the execution platform—unable to even shift his weight.

One had lost seven-tenths of his bones and lay like mud atop the mountain; the other had been pierced through the heart by his own sword, nailed immovably to the execution platform—moving even a muscle was a luxury.

After taking another blow to the forehead, feeling the feeble force of a child's swing, the Wealth Goddess, lying in the crater, couldn't help but smile faintly.

After once again taking a blow squarely on the forehead and feeling the feeble force, weak as a child's, the Wealth Goddess lying in the crater couldn't help but curl her lips into a faint, pleased smile.

She crushed a handful of shell coins, raised her left hand, and with unnatural strength, easily caught the descending "skull-cracker," snatched the curled crocodile away, and tossed him aside.

After casually crushing a handful of shell coins, the Wealth Goddess raised her left hand and, with brute strength she must have bought somewhere, caught the descending "skull-cracker" effortlessly, then snatched the balled-up Crocodile God from midair and tossed him aside.

Emerging from her frenzy over the loss of her power, the Wealth Goddess stood, brushed the dirt from her body, and smiled at Li Ang:

"Your ability is truly strange—but merely negating damage won't kill a true deity!"

"Your ability is indeed remarkable, but merely resisting damage won't kill a true god!"

"Come here."

Her smile widened, but her eyes held no warmth. The Wealth Goddess beckoned to Li Ang, who instinctively stepped back two paces, her voice soft yet icy:

"Stand before me. I want to see what exactly you are."

No sooner had the Wealth Goddess finished speaking than Li Ang felt the world blur—suddenly, she stood before him… or rather, he stood before her.

No sooner had the Wealth Goddess finished speaking than Li Ang felt the world blur slightly—suddenly, the Wealth Goddess, who had been three steps away, stood before him… or rather, he found himself before her.

Looking at the ground beneath Li Ang's feet, the Wealth Goddess's smile deepened.

"My power cannot affect you—but it still works perfectly on everything else around you… am I right?"

"Though my power cannot affect you, it still functions normally on everything around you—everything except 'you'—am I not right?"

"And I suggest you stop making unnecessary moves."

She sidestepped Li Ang's punch, crushed another handful of shell coins, narrowed her long snake-like eyes, and explained calmly:

"I just spent a few shell coins to buy a temporary boost in speed."

"To your two companions, this trick is useless—but against you, it works perfectly. Your ability negates my damage, but it can't let you match my speed… am I right?"

"These tricks are useless against your two companions, but they work quite well against you. Your ability negates the damage I inflict, yet it cannot let you match my speed… am I correct?"

"Looks like I guessed right again… hmm? You want to buy some speed too?"

Watching Li Ang stop attacking and instead pull out two shell coins and crush them, the Wealth Goddess shook her head:

"Do as you wish. But your wealth is far less than mine—and to catch me, crushing a few shell coins won't be nearly enough."

After delivering this unsympathetic warning, she smiled:

"Next hypothesis… when you charged down the hill, you kept drinking. Can I assume your ability requires heavy alcohol consumption to activate?"

"Then my next hypothesis… you kept drinking nonstop as you charged down the mountain. May I assume your ability requires heavy alcohol consumption to activate?"？！！

"Looks like I guessed right again!"

Seeing Li Ang's sudden shock, the small patch of her face unshielded by scales flushed with excited red. She snapped her fingers—and the entire Jade Valley brightened.

"Triple sunlight—enough to make you sweat, but not burn you. It'll help you sober up faster."

Pointing to the two extra suns now blazing above, the Wealth Goddess, feeling she was closing in on the truth, pressed her rapidly pounding heart and said eagerly:

"I want to know—what happens to your ability after you sober up? Does it vanish entirely… or…"

"Huh?"

The world before her grew slightly blurry. The Wealth Goddess rubbed her eyes instinctively, then stared in confusion at the increasingly hazy scene:

"I… I'm…"

"Your body is dying."

Having quietly crushed every shell coin in his hand, confirming he could buy nothing more, Li Ang—who had remained silent for an entire chapter, even without internal monologue—spoke flatly:

"Your skin will slowly turn pale, but your eyes will grow redder, drier, and begin to bleed. Your forehead and nails will turn bluish-purple. Your heart will race faster, your blood will surge wildly—but your strength will fade, your fatigue will deepen…"

"You're lying!"

The Wealth Goddess tensed, gritted her teeth:

"I'm a deity! How could you possibly—"

"And your soul."

Li Ang said calmly:

"The changes will affect your body, then your consciousness, making your soul-flame flicker uncontrollably—becoming anxious, fearful, irritable, unable to focus, until you lose consciousness, and your soul briefly separates from your flesh…"

"You're lying! I'm not even…"

"Look, it's already begun."

Interrupting the Goddess of Wealth, Li Ang pointed to her faintly bluish nails and slowed his speech:

"You have the ability to discern truth from falsehood. You know whether I'm lying—you just refuse to admit it."

"Moreover, the thing that turned you into this touches the very foundation of this world. I once exchanged a secret containing its existence for the Water Bearer Art with the Water Bearer Director."

"All humans who have ever encountered it are either already dead, or will die one day in the future—none have escaped, and you won't be an exception."

"You… you…"

As the world before her grew increasingly blurred and Li Ang's described symptoms unfolded one after another, the Goddess of Wealth gritted her teeth:

"When you hit… attacked me, you did something, didn't you?"

"Damn it! Are you carrying a numbered anomaly? Is it… is it the 【Fragrance of Evil Flesh】 that emptied the Blood Hell? Or… or the 【Godfall Flower】 that melted the Ten Thousand Celestial Cicadas?"

"…"

Heh.

Li Ang, completely unaware of what she was referring to, said nothing, only gave her a cryptic smile, then secretly pressed the mirror-button hidden in his mouth with the base of his tongue.

Quick! Widen the Mirror World passage—I'm starting to feel short of breath too!