Chapter 187: 180 The Prelude to the Great Battle

Another day passed, and the small skirmishes on the streets gradually ceased, falling into an eerie calm.

By this stage, everyone's base had been built to a near-complete state. Everyone who could make it this far was a standout among the younger generation of Talisman Sword Masters; who didn't have a few trump cards up their sleeve? Even if they had spent seventy percent of their energy on stealing answers and thirty percent on repairing their houses, their home defenses were already as solid as iron barrels, and counter-talisman formulas for various special rune formulas were all prepared. There were very few loopholes left to exploit.

A few days ago, there were still those using special means to raid homes, but now such methods were becoming increasingly ineffective, forcing everyone to engage in real, head-on combat.

It was said that even Yun Xiyan could no longer be invincible, unless she made up her mind to use the terrifying power of a Sword Student to wipe out both the person and the house.

At this stage, everyone had filled in most of their large questions, and what remained were matters of a dozen, a few, or even just one or two questions. But the closer it got to the end, the more critical the moment for rankings became; a contest over a few questions might determine which district you sat in.

At this time, one could also start engaging in behavior that harmed others without benefiting oneself. Once you had a baseline score that met the threshold for the Heaven District, you could suppress others, and your own ranking would rise. Therefore, those with ambitions to compete would stay and fight until the very last moment, even if they had already reached a near-perfect score.

"Those who still have the heart to fight at this time shouldn't be weaklings. Many people in Maze City must have given up, right?"

The turtle said, "That's right. It's said that some were robbed several times and, greatly discouraged, were directly transported to Jianzhou. Others, while not transported, have already secretly given up; they are just hiding in the corners of Maze City, not even daring to activate their defenses, let alone light their lamps, just pretending they aren't there." It seemed the Spirit Envoys had other ways of communicating; it had been in the house the whole time, yet it actually knew the general situation.

Tang Zhao said thoughtfully, "Staying here while pretending not to be here. Are they planning to watch the show, or are they harboring the intentions of the fisherman?"

The turtle said, "Who knows? Gui Ye would like to know, what do you think? Since you have confidence, do you want to reveal your Seven-Colored Lamp to blind their eyes?"

Tang Zhao shook his head. Originally, he also had a desire to win; if there were no potential dangers, he could have fought a great battle, not to step on others, but just to join the performance of this final stage and draw a brilliant conclusion to his journey to Jianzhou. But now, with a sharp sword hanging over his head, caution was the better part of valor.

In fact, he had spent this last day or so quite peacefully; no one had attacked him, not even a probe. But the more this was the case, the less certain he was—was the opponent lying in wait for a fatal strike?

As the saying goes, there are a thousand days to be a thief, but no thousand days to guard against a thief; the feeling of guarding against a thief was not pleasant. Fortunately, there was only one day left. If they come, they come; if they don't, it's their own lack of ability.

The turtle nodded and said, "Right, it's better to keep a low profile. Actually, it's fine if you do nine hundred and ninety-nine questions. The light of nine hundred and ninety-nine questions and five hundred questions only differs in brightness, but if you do one thousand questions, it will emit a particularly brilliant light that everyone in the city can see. You will definitely become the target of everyone."

One thousand questions would guarantee a top ranking, even above everyone else, and would certainly be targeted by everyone with ambition. Even if not to copy the answers, just to knock you down would open up a spot.

Tang Zhao nodded. Up until now, no one had inserted their test paper onto their house. But eventually, everyone would. By then, the whole city would be filled with lights, like ten thousand lamps.

Just at midnight today.

Because the next day, the passage to Jianzhou would open.

At the hour of midnight.

Outside the window, after a shift that felt like the world turning upside down, it calmed down.

The street blocks, the final change. Moving everyone to unfamiliar positions.

This layout would be maintained until dawn the next day.

At dawn, the Great Array leading to Jianzhou would open in the center of the city, and everyone would gather toward the center of the array; there would surely be a scene of people rubbing shoulders.

There were still more than three hours until dawn, and these long hours would be the darkest time in Maze City.

"Swish—"

Almost silently, the lamp outside the window lit up.

Seven-colored light shone on the street; red, yellow, blue, and green, various colors of light rotated like a revolving lantern, illuminating the street in a dazzling, multicolored display.

The turtle exclaimed, "The light is on! Someone turned on their light! And it's a Seven-Colored Lamp! Good, the first one to light up is a Full Score Lamp! There really is someone fearless enough to light it, and so close to you!"

Indeed, he hadn't expected a master to be his neighbor. This Seven-Colored Lamp was very close, illuminating the entire area around the house; it was simply like...

Mine?

Hmm?!

Tang Zhao walked to the window in a few steps, pushed it open, and looked up.

Overhead, a Seven-Colored Lamp was shining.

It really is mine?!

Tang Zhao suspected for a moment that he had inserted the test paper while sleepwalking, but immediately opened the empty slot on the Operation Compass. He saw that the slot was completely empty; there was no test paper augmentation at all.

No test paper, yet the lamp was lit. What was the reason?

"You've been set up, what else could it be?! Someone deliberately adjusted your lamp to look like a full score!" The turtle was anxious and angry, cursing, "Which son of a bitch secretly used such a low-down trick? Doesn't this just make you a target? When did that bastard tamper with it? Gui Ye has been watching in the room the whole time."

Tang Zhao didn't say a word; he was checking the Operation Compass to see if his rune formulas could still function.

Everything was normal. Tang Zhao turned his head and said, "I added extra defensive detection rune formulas to the console earlier, and they weren't triggered; checking now is just a precaution. The console is fine and hasn't been touched. Gui Ye, you have also been loyal to your duty and didn't let outsiders in to sabotage it, so it can only be a problem with the lamp on top."

Is it difficult to make a lamp that emits seven-colored light? For a Talisman Sword Master, it is not difficult at all; it is a very simple little trick, but in special circumstances, little tricks are very effective. And changing a lamp on a roof doesn't require much movement.

Tang Zhao believed that if he were in the room, he would definitely notice if someone climbed onto his roof, but with only Gui Ye there, it might not be the case. The turtle's perception wasn't very good; it mostly guarded the inside of the house and would likely ignore the roof it couldn't see.

Tang Zhao had spent most of his time in the house these past few days, and those times were very quiet, but it wasn't as if he hadn't gone out.

For instance, the time he went out to meet Jiang Shenyi.

That was when they could have taken advantage of the opening.

That day, the new Libationer also seemed to have arrived at Maze City?

The light flickered, dazzling the eyes. Gui Ye hurriedly said, "Quick, put out that broken lamp. No, no, just abandon this house and leave it for others to use as a target; let's just get out of here."

Tang Zhao smiled, showing his teeth, and said, "It's too late. Did you hear the sound outside?"

On the street, a muffled sound came.

Thump—thump—thump...

Getting closer and closer.

That was the houses walking.

Sounds of houses walking came from all directions, as if the four walls of Maze City were closing in, pressing toward this house.

The turtle was a bit panicked and said, "Wh... why are they all coming over? Are all the houses in the city coming over? Even if there is a full-score answer, they don't have to come and grab it, do they?"

Tang Zhao pondered for a moment and smiled, "Oh, so they are using me to sacrifice the flag? Originally, there was no arrangement for how to fight this battle, but since I became the bird that sticks its head out, they have developed some tacit understanding. They want to make my place the main battlefield, join forces to crush me, the bird that sticks its head out, and then everyone will rely on their own abilities to have a good fight among themselves."

The turtle said anxiously, "Damn it, you didn't provoke them, why use you as a scapegoat? What should we do..."

Tang Zhao's smile remained unchanged, and he said, "It doesn't matter. There is a saying: when everyone thinks you have a great weapon, you had better really have one. Everyone thinks I have a full score—and I really do have a full score!"

With a wave of his hand, the thousand-point test paper was inserted into the control console!

The originally seven-colored light was already lit, and while the light was dazzling from the outside, it couldn't be seen inside the room. But now, a seven-colored light instantly lit up in the middle of the room, illuminating the four walls and adding a bit of color to the turtle's face.

"Rune formula, Tenfold Augmentation." Tang Zhao smiled, "Let me see, sacrifice the flag—who shall be used to sacrifice the flag?"

No one knew of the small change in the room. The surrounding houses leaned in, one after another, almost connecting into one piece.

A dozen or so of the fastest houses stopped in the periphery, forming an encirclement. After a moment of silence, six finally moved forward, forming a smaller circle of containment.

These were the strong who had the courage and confidence to challenge those even stronger; although they were not all the experts of Maze City, they already accounted for seven or eight out of ten of the top tier. No matter where one was, the top was always narrow and could not hold that many people.

Although the house styles of Maze City were strange and varied, most of the strong did not have such a playful heart. They chose materials that were ordinarily hard and ordinary shapes. Among the six houses that approached, two were made of iron, one of silver, one of beast Bone, and one of rock.

The reason for saying "most" was that there were still mavericks; the last one was actually made of paper. Snow-white paper was folded into the shape of a house, decorated with red and Luse paper flowers; no matter how one looked at it, it did not seem like a place for the living to inhabit.

And the house they faced, which dazzled with seven-colored light, was a Wooden House, yet it was made of Iron Wood. This kind of wood was as hard as iron, not brittle, and possessed even greater toughness, with even fewer weaknesses than steel.

But it was not without weaknesses...

Six on the outside, one on the inside, silent in the dark of night. Silence was also a standoff.

It seemed they were waiting for someone to make a move.

To make a move was to reveal a flaw.

In a group battle, revealing a flaw was very dangerous.

Finally, a window on the roof of the Paper House opened, revealing layers of white paper scraps; looking closely, the scraps had similar shapes.

It seemed to be... a large flock of Paper Crane?

The Paper Crane piled up, spreading their wings as if to fly.

Seeing that the most bizarre Paper House was about to make its move, Tang Zhao did not wait for those ghostly things to fly out; outnumbered, he would not concede the initiative!

It was still his most classic opening, unchanging for ages.

"Sword Art—Sun Explosion!"

Sunlight soared into the sky!