Chapter 871: 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 completion. Everyone who could make it this far was an elite among the younger generation of Talisman Sword Masters; who didn't have a few trump cards up their sleeves? Even if they had spent seventy percent of their energy stealing answers and thirty percent building their houses, their home defenses were already as solid as iron barrels, and they had prepared counter-Rune Formulas for all kinds of special Rune Formulas. There were very few loopholes left to exploit.

A few days ago, there were still those using special means to steal from others' homes, but now those methods were becoming less and less effective, 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 people and the houses.

At this stage, everyone had filled in most of their large questions, and what remained were calculations over 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 being spiteful and self-defeating. Once you had a guaranteed score that met the threshold for the Heaven District, you could suppress others to raise your own ranking. Therefore, those with ambition 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 spirit 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 is said that some people 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." Their Spirit Envoys seemed to have other ways of communicating; it had been in the house the whole time, yet it knew the general situation.

Tang Zhao said thoughtfully, "Staying here while pretending not to be. Are they planning to watch the show, or do they harbor the intentions of a 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 the heart to compete; if there were no potential dangers, he could have fought a great battle, not to step on others, but just to join the performance on 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 priority.

In fact, he had spent the last day or so quite peacefully; no one had attacked him, not even a probe. But the more this was the case, the less sure 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 be low-key. Actually, it doesn't matter if you do nine hundred and ninety-nine questions. There is only a slight difference in brightness between the light of nine hundred and ninety-nine questions and five hundred questions, but one thousand questions will emit a particularly brilliant light that the whole city can see. You will definitely become a target for everyone."

One thousand questions would guarantee a top ranking, perhaps even above everyone else, and would certainly be targeted by everyone with ambition. Not to copy the answers, but just to beat you down so a spot would open up.

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 household lamps.

It would happen 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. Everyone was moved to an unfamiliar location.

This layout would be maintained until the dawn of 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 light outside the window turned on.

Seven-colored light shone on the street; red, yellow, blue, and green, various colors of light rotated like a revolving lantern, making the street surface colorful and dazzlingly unusual.

The turtle exclaimed, "The light is on! Someone turned on their light! And it's a Seven-Colored Lamp! Good, the first one to turn on the light is a Full Score Lamp! There really is someone unafraid of death who dares to turn it on, 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 almost like...

Mine?

Hmm?!

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

Overhead, a seven-colored light was shining.

It really is mine?!

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

No test paper, yet the light was on. What was the reason?

"You were 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? Isn't this just making you an enemy? When did that bastard tamper with it? Gui Ye has been watching in the house the whole time."

Tang Zhao did not speak; 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 previously added a defensive detection Rune Formula to the operation console, and it wasn't triggered; checking it now is just a precaution. The operation console is fine and hasn't been touched. Gui Ye, you also did 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 house, he would definitely notice if someone climbed onto his roof, but with only Gui Ye there, it wasn't certain. The turtle's perception wasn't very good; it mostly guarded the inside of the house and would likely overlook the invisible roof.

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 example, the time he went out to pick up Jiang Shenyi.

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

That day, the new Libationer also seemed to have arrived in 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...

It was getting closer.

That was the sound of houses walking.

From all directions came the sound of houses walking; it was as if the four city walls of Maze City were closing in, pressing toward this house.

The turtle was a bit panicked and said, "H-how come they are all coming over? Are all the houses in the city coming? Even if there is a full-score answer, they don't have to come and rob 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 plan for how to fight this battle, but since I became the tall poppy, they have developed some tacit understanding. They want to make my place the main battlefield, join forces to crush me, the tall poppy, first, and then everyone will fight each other to their heart's content based on their own abilities."

The turtle said anxiously, "Damn it, you didn't even 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 others think you have a great weapon, you had better really have a great weapon. Others think I have a full score—and I really do have a full score!"

With a wave of his hand, the thousand-point answer sheet was inserted into the operation console!

The seven-colored light had already been on, and while the outside could see the dazzling brilliance, the inside of the house couldn't see the light; but now, a seven-colored radiance instantly lit up the four walls, 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 inside the house. The surrounding houses leaned in, one next to the other, almost connecting into one piece.

A dozen or so of the fastest-moving houses stopped in the periphery, forming an encirclement. After a moment of silence, six finally continued 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 is, the peak is very narrow and cannot 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. What they chose were all ordinary, hard materials 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" strong was because there were still mavericks; the last one was, surprisingly, made of paper. Snow-white paper was folded into the shape of a house, and it was even 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 dwell.

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 fragile, and had even greater toughness, with even fewer weaknesses than steel.

But it was not without weaknesses...

Six on the outside and one on the inside, they were silent in the dark 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 paper scraps had similar shapes.

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

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

Seeing that the most bizarre Paper House was about to start, Tang Zhao did not wait for those ghostly things to fly out; facing many with few, he would not yield the initiative!

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

"Sword Art—Sun Explosion!"

Sunlight soared into the sky!