Absolute Choice
chapter-461

Three minutes!

A very long three minutes!

An excruciating three minutes!

To Field Marshal Awesomo, that was the most painful three minutes of his life.

That was the first time he had a true understanding how important air was to life. It was also the first time he realized how excruciating it was to not be able to breathe.

But, apparently, all of that was too late. Even though he used all his strength, it was insufficient to break the spatial barrier. The silver-haired demoness's magic was redoubtable and she seemed to have undying will. All of that made him feel a deep sense of despair.

Slowly, his consciousness began to fade away. He knew that the moment he fainted, it would be the end of him. His long life that had spanned ten thousand years would finally come to a close.

He had lived for too long and had long forgotten death. But at that moment, he finally recalled of the horror of being at the mercy of Death.

At the cost of being trapped in the Nine Revolutions Transcendental World, he had obtained near eternal life, so he did not want to die, no matter the cost!

But the more he resisted death, the more he feared it. Fear made Field Marshal Awesomo begin to wail hysterically. However, without any air to propagate sound, he could not even voice it out.

The remaining essence of his life was beginning to flow away like sand.

Extreme fear made him feel extreme hate.

He hated the Daoist that forced him into the despairing situation. He hated that azure-dressed girl who had beaten him so badly that he could not fight back. He hated that silver-haired demoness that enclosed his hope in a separate dimension!

At the same time, he hated that Excellency that had sealed his strength 'to make the game more interesting'.

He felt hate, but he had a tiny shred of an extravagant wish.

Would that Excellency save him?

Even though he was already a failed toy, would the Excellency have a guilty conscience considering how he had acted dutifully for ten thousand years?

No, how could the Excellency have any heart?

Extravagant hopes and despair interweaved in his heart as his consciousness and hope slowly extinguished as he struggled helplessly.

...

"Is it finally going to end?"

Liu Yu wiped the cold sweat from his nervous face. Field Marshal Awesomo was already sprawled on the ground and did not even have the strength to move. Everything had happened as Liu Yu planned, but he did not dare to heave a sigh of relief.

They could not relax until Shi Xiaobai was rescued and Field Marshal Awesomo was completely dead.

However, the most worrisome matters typically were the easiest to happen.

Just as Field Marshal Awesomo was about to close his eyes, a black shadow descended from the sky. A black beam with an ice-cold luster flashed across like a steel string, cleaving the solid spatial barrier into two instantly. Field Marshal Awesomo's body was also taken out of the vacuum zone at the next moment.

The sudden turn of events gave the nervous group a shock. They immediately cast their gazes over.

The black shadow was extremely fast. In a few seconds, it had brought Field Marshal Awesomo to the boundary of the basin. When it stopped, Field Marshal Awesomo, who had been thrown behind it, was gasping for the air that he had yearned for. It was like a dried fish had finally returned to the ocean.

On second look, the black shadow looked truly terrifying. It was taller and bigger in size than Field Marshal Awesomo. Its hair was burning with green flames and it was dozens of feet tall. It was burning like a candle.

One of its eyes was at the top of its head, and another was found on its chin. They were of different shapes, with some triangular and some crescent-shaped.

Its nose had nostrils like the eyes of a snail. They protruded and retracted from time to time, with one facing to the sky and one facing to the ground.

One of its ears grew in front while another grew behind. Their shapes were horrifying.

Its skin exuded a strange grayness, making it appear very striking in daytime. Its right hand held a samurai sword that was completely black as it exuded an appalling aura.

Everyone turned alert. From the way it had slashed apart the spatial barrier in one strike and the speed it demonstrated, the ugly monster was definitely very powerful.

"Who are you?" Liu Yu questioned very directly.

"Thou shalt knoweth me as Earthbound Yaksha."

The ugly monster did not plan on concealing his identity at all. With a hoarse and piercing voice, it said, "Thou shalt knoweth that standing before thee is the Level Lord of the eighth level who was ordered to save this trash, and slaughter thee. Thou shalt knoweth that my strength is at maximum capacity. There is no need for thee to struggle."

Everyone was alarmed.

The ugly monster was actually the Level Lord of the eighth level, named Earthbound Yaksha?

How did the eighth level's Level Lord come to the world of the seventh level? Wasn't this in violation of the assessment program's defined rules?

But no, if the mastermind behind this was the assessment program, it was only natural that it could change it as it wished.

And from the power it revealed, it did not seem to be bluffing.

Could it be as it said that it was the Level Lord at full strength?

If that was the case, wouldn't the sudden appearance of this character be too troublesome!?

Everyone turned secretly anxious as they clenched the weapons in their hands to prepare for battle.

"Hahaha...has the Excellency finally decided to end this meaningless game?"

Field Marshal Awesomo laughed maniacally. He felt more hateful after surviving the calamity. However, he first coldly looked at Earthbound Yaksha that had termed him 'this trash'. He said in a deep voice, "You deliberately waited till This Field Marshal was about to die before you appeared. Was it the Excellency's intentions or yours?"

Earthbound Yaksha turned its head with a stare and said calmly, "Obviously it is not of mine own intention. If 't be true not, thine complete death would mark the appearance of me. To what end is there to keepeth trash like thee?"

Field Marshal Awesomo thundered angrily, "Fool, if This Field Marshal was at his full strength, you wouldn't be able to put up a fight at all!"

Earthbound Yaksha chuckled coldly as it said, "Thou art living in dreams."

Field Marshal Awesomo stared angrily at the Yaksha's back, but he knew that he needed its protection. It went to great effort to snuff out his flames of anger, but immediately directed the hatred away. He said in a deep voice, "Earthbound Yaksha, do not harm those humans. They are not to die so easily. This Field Marshal will let them have a taste of the agony of hell! Count it as if This Field Marshal owes you one."

Earthbound Yaksha gave Field Marshal Awesomo a penetrating look and said with a chuckle, "What thou owe is useless, but better than nothing it is not. The group shalt art spared as thee please."

The two Level Lords exchanged biting remarks as though there was no one else. They did not think anything of the seven trial-takers present.

Sunless finally lost her patience. Although she could directly sense that overwhelming power exuded by the Earthbound Yaksha was much higher than Field Marshal Awesomo, she knew she could not act hastily. Only by cooperating with the rest would their chances of victory be higher. However, she really could not wait any longer.

The moment she thought of Shi Xiaobai in danger, she did not wish to wait another second longer.

When her calmness reached its limit, her reason collapsed as a result. With sword clenched, Sunless took a step forward.

But at that moment, a voice that had been silent for a long while suddenly sounded.

"Sunless, wait a moment first."

The voice immediately attracted everyone's attention, while Sunless subconsciously turned her head over.

She saw Speechless walking slowly over.

Mu Yuesheng immediately used Lightning Flashstep to come to his side. After a careful check, she realized that the wound on Speechless's left chest had basically been healed. She could not help but smack her lips and say, "It's completely healed!"

Liu Yu said in astonishment, "Isn't that recovery rate of yours way too astounding?"

In the distance, Pulp Farmer's eyes were filled with admiration. He was the only one who knew how Speechless was able to quickly recover from his wounds. More impressive than his recovery rate was his ability to endure excruciating pain.

The scene of Speechless mangling his wounds while remaining nonchalant had been drilled into Pulp Farmer's mind.

Sunless was also somewhat astonished, but she did not have any time to care about that. She used a curious glance to inquire Speechless why she had to wait.

Speechless also guessed that Sunless was extremely anxious, so he did not keep her in suspense. As he walked over, he said, "Now, the most important thing is to kill Field Marshal Awesomo and rescue Shi Xiaobai. We no longer have time to beat or kill Earthbound Yaksha. Now the best method is for you to wait by the side. The six of us will do our best to hold back Earthbound Yaksha. Grab an opportunity and directly murder Field Marshal Awesomo."

"I know you are in a hurry, but you are the one with the highest chances of killing Field Marshal Awesomo among the seven of us. My strength might be higher than yours, but in terms of damage and burst of strength, I'm inferior to you. So, you have to wait patiently. Wait till we are able to hold back Earthbound Yaksha before striking. The outcome will depend on that."

Sunless remained silent for a moment as the momentary return of her reason told her that Speechless's method was correct. She nodded and turned around to retreat to a spot far away from the rest. She held her sword in wait. Her sharp eyes made her seem like she was a leopard that would pounce at any time.

A cold smile suffused across Earthbound Yaksha lips. The few humans had brazenly revealed their strategy and that act was completely ignoring its existence.

Thou shalt attempt holding me back?

Nothing more than a bunch of naive daws.

Fine, I doth not mind letting them has't a taste of the cruelness of despair.

Speechless was always a person of action. He immediately demonstrated the executive power of his decision. After explaining his plan to Sunless in front of everyone, he did not waste a single second. The strolling suddenly came to an end as he burst forward and charged at Earthbound Yaksha. He was like a crouching tiger that had suddenly pounced.

"Pulp Farmer, Feng Yuanlin, triangular formation, seal its movements with This Emperor!"

"Mu Yuesheng, Liu Yu, long-range suppression!"

"Mu Lengxi, Spatial Transference, target it on Field Marshal Awesomo!"

Speechless shouted as he ran, and finished his battle strategy assignments at the fastest possible speed.

The six people whose names were shouted immediately did the corresponding actions. Speechless was always considered by the masses as the 'number one youth in China'. There was no one below the age of sixteen in China whose fame could compare with his. And what resulted in his fame was his unparalleled talent. Four years ago, he had represented China to take part in the once-every-four-years World Hero Tournament (Youth Division). He had fought all the geniuses in the world below the age of sixteen. Back then, he was only ten years old, and his cultivation realm was only at the Psionic Mortal Realm. Yet, he had managed to enter the round of eight, stunning the world.

As the rookies knew this, none of them hesitated at executing Speechless's orders.

Pulp Farmer charged from the left with spear in hand. Feng Yuanlin raised a gigantic shield and bashed from the right. Speechless charged straight in front of Earthbound Yaksha. The triangular spots they were standing in closed in on Earthbound Yaksha, forming a complete seal with the basin's cliff walls.

Mu Yuesheng placed her hands to the ground as ice-blue lightning bolts sizzled. Two bolts as big as vines meandered through the ground like snakes. They bit at Earthbound Yaksha's feet from a hidden angle.

Liu Yu threw his few remaining paper talismans and quickly chanted a few incantations. Translucent chains began to emerge out of the paper talismans, and on the end of the chains were sharp hooks that flailed towards the Earthbound Yaksha's limbs.

Mu Lengxi flipped through her ancient spellbook and focused to release her magic. Although the spells she conjured did not need any chanting, a spell like Spatial Transference that bordered on forbidden magic still needed a period of time to accumulate her mana. The spellbook glowed with intensity, changing from weak to strong. Elemental magic began to tremble as they formed spatial power.

Sunless waited a distance away while gathering her strength. After listening to Speechless's battle assignments, she had understood his plan. If nothing went wrong, Mu Lengxi would use Spatial Transference to move Field Marshal Awesomo, who was hiding behind Earthbound Yaksha, near her. The Speechless trio would seal off Earthbound Yaksha's route of escape, while Mu Yuesheng and Liu Yu would hold Earthbound Yaksha back from a distance, giving her ample time.

It was unknown how long they could hold Earthbound Yaksha back, and what she could do was to do her best to kill Field Marshal Awesomo in the shortest amount of time when he was teleported to her.

This was very likely their last chance.

Sunless held her breath as she clenched her sword tightly.

Earthbound Yaksha squinted its scarlet eyes and glanced scornfully at the group. A teasing smile suffused across its lips.

Thee bethink it's a perfect plan?

But foolish humans, thee has't mistaken something.

"Doth thee not knoweth I am the Earthbound Yaksha?"

The Earthbound Yaksha sneered as it slowly raised the black samurai sword in its hand.

"Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly Slash!"

It lifted its hand and fell its blade. It looked like a slice from top to bottom, but six cold black blade beams slashed out in different directions simultaneously.

In addition, when the Earthbound Yaksha raised its black blade, a force that caused the hearts to palpitate filled the area. It caused the group to feel their souls tremble as their bodies turned stiff. They were instantly unable to move.

The six black blade beams flashed over as the situation instantly reversed.

Pulp Farmer's chest armor was slashed into two as he flew backwards while spewing boiling blood.

Feng Yuanlin's gigantic shield was shattered as a deep wound was slashed on his shoulder. He nearly lost his entire arm.

The paper talismans floating in the air were diced to pieces by the blade beam causing Liu Yu to suffer a backlash. He coughed out blood as he knelt to the ground.

As for the lightning bolts that were winding through the ground, they were cleaved apart by the blade beams that fell from the sky. The blade beams traced the lightning bolts back to Mu Yuesheng. Thankfully, she severed her output in time and prevented her organs from suffering severe damage. However, she was instantly left seriously injured by forcefully severing her attack.

Mu Lengxi was fine as she managed to conjure an ice shield to withstand the blade beam, but the ice shield had been conjured in a rush, so it was unable to fully withstand the blade beam. The remaining blade beam slashed through the spellbook in her hands.

Speechless used 'Mirror Replication' and forcefully produced 'Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly Slash' with a samurai sword he produced using psionic power. However, all he managed was to stop the blade beam that was heading straight for him.

With a single slash of its blade, Earthbound Yaksha had injured four of them and torn up the spellbook. It was equivalent to five of them losing their ability to do battle. Only Speechless could still continue to do battle.

Earthbound Yaksha said with a sneer, "All of thee has't underestimated mine own power."

No matter how perfect a plan was, it was useless against the huge gap separating them from absolute strength.

Speechless could not help but clench his fist. He had indeed underestimated Earthbound Yaksha's strength, but it was not because of the strike called 'Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly Slash', but the 'Soul Suppression' the Earthbound Yaksha had dealt to them before it struck.

That intimidating instant was what determined the outcome.

In the psionic cultivation realms, only entities with cultivation at the Psionic Might Realm could deliver 'Soul Suppression'. Although the Earthbound Yaksha's power did not come from psionic power, it was possible to estimate that its strength was above the Psionic Might Realm at the very least.

Psionic Mortal Realm, Psionic Soul Realm, Psionic Might Realm. Their cultivation levels were two full realms away from Earthbound Yaksha's!

Speechless had a certain amount of immunity when it came to 'Soul Suppression', because he had undergone training to resist 'Soul Suppression' from a young age. It was termed 'resistance training', and he had long imbued the 'resistance' into his being.

But the rest likely had not experienced any strict form of 'resistance training'. Their ability to resist stem purely from their personal willpower. The more resolute one's willpower was, the less influence 'Soul Suppression' had on them.

From the looks of it, Mu Yuesheng, Pulp Farmer, Liu Yu, and Feng Yuanlin were unable to resist 'Soul Suppression'. Although they were only momentarily suppressed, it was deadly enough. If Earthbound Yaksha had not fulfilled his promise to Field Marshal Awesomo and spared their lives, they would probably already be dead.

Mu Lengxi had barely managed to withstand the 'Soul Suppression', and was able to conjure an ice shield to defend, but she was unable to change the outcome of her spellbook being destroyed.

From the looks of it, even if the five of them did not lose their ability to do combat, they would be useless in the battle if they could not withstand 'Soul Suppression'.

Therefore, this battle was a solo duel for the only person who could withstand the 'Soul Suppression'—Speechless.

No, that's not right. There was another person.

Speechless glanced at Sunless, who was in the distance.

She looked like she was eager to strike, and with her close to madness willpower, it was unlikely for her to succumb to 'Soul Suppression', right?

However, was it really good to let her join the battle?

The most important thing to do now was not to defeat Earthbound Yaksha but to kill Field Marshal Awesomo to save Shi Xiaobai!

The plan could not change, so he could only hold back Earthbound Yaksha himself!

Speechless decided firmly on the spot as he charged at Earthbound Yaksha once again. At the same time, he shouted at Sunless, "Sunless, try finding an opportunity from the side. Remember, your goal is Field Marshal Awesomo! Leave Earthbound Yaksha to me. You just need to think of ways to kill Field Marshal Awesomo!"

Sunless nodded and expressed her agreement to his proposal.

Earthbound Yaksha responded with a sneer, "What's the point of struggling?"

Struggle?

A cold smile suffused in Speechless's heart.

Arrogance was a fatal weakness. People who belittled others would typically pay a terrible price.

As he was blessed by God, he possessed the most outstanding human genes. He had awakened his S-class superpower—'Mirror Replication'.

'Mirror Replication' had several usage limitations.

First, 'Mirror Replication' was automatically triggered. When someone near him used a move, the move would be automatically replicated and stored.

Second, 'Mirror Replication' could only store ten moves. When the eleventh move was stored, the first move would be deleted.

Third, the storage time of 'Mirror Replication' only lasted an hour. The move would be deleted after an hour.

Fourth, moves that surpassed his own strength could not be replicated.

Although there were many limitations, the usage effects were extremely monstrous. It perfectly matched the evaluation of a 'S-class' superpower. And its effects were—zero energy consumption, zero cost, perfectly stored moves.

The concept of perfect replication lay in delay time, duration, released strength, and various other aspects. However, Dawn had previously spotted certain flaws in it, proving that it was not perfect replication. It actually had very minute differences.

Despite the many limitations and flaws, Speechless's superpower still allowed him to have inestimable upper limits to his strength.

Although Mu Lengxi and company had their attacks interrupted, thankfully, his automatic replication was triggered, so he had stored ten mirrored moves.

Therefore, he alone was able to complete a plan that needed six people!

Speechless charged straight at Earthbound Yaksha and used familiar psionic conjuration to construct a psionic samurai sword. His first blade he slashed out was 'Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly Slash'!

A look of surprise flashed in Earthbound Yaksha's eyes. It never expected that the human was able to ignore its 'Soul Suppression', and was able to slash out a 'Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly Slash' that was extremely close in strength as the one it could produce. However, it faced the attack in a composed manner. It easily shattered the black blade beam as though it was teasing its prey.

At that moment, Speechless suddenly leaped high into the sky and used psionic power to give him a forward burst. He stayed in mid-air for a few seconds as he quickly chanted, "Vileness Begone From the Heaven and Earth, Mysteries and Gods Encaved in Unfathomable Profoundness, Imbue Me with World Power of the Highest Order, Announcing to the Nine Heavens, Inviting the Purifying Generals and Ambassadors, The Slaying of Demons, A Sending for Myriad Souls..."

In the short period of time taken to chant, he was able to construct more than a hundred psionic talismans with the stored memories of 'Mirror Replication'. At the final instance of his chant, he scattered the talismans into the sky.

"Incantation for Purifying the Heaven and the Earth!"

A divine white light fell from the sky and shot straight at Earthbound Yaksha.

Liu Yu stared in disbelief.

However, Earthbound Yaksha only sneered, "Trivial tricks!"

Following that, it swept its blade towards the sky. Black smoke that billowed immediately devoured the holy light.

But at the same time, Speechless had already landed. When he stepped on the ground, two bolts of lightning meandered straight at Earthbound Yaksha's feet like snakes.

"Daw!"

Earthbound Yaksha shook its head in a mocking fashion. It suavely slashed towards the ground, producing a fine crack. When the bolts struck the crack, they turned to smoke with a sizzle, but lost all momentum to proceed forward.

However, at that split instant, it was unknown when Speechless managed to traverse more than a kilometer. With psionic spear in hand, he thrust it at Earthbound Yaksha.

"Courting death?"

Earthbound Yaksha finally lost its patience as it raised its blade. It was prepared to slice the charging human that did not cherish his life into two. However, just as it raised its blade, it keenly felt something strange.

A sneer suffused across Speechless's lips. At the moment Earthbound Yaksha was not paying attention to its back, a six-pointed star nexus had already lit up with a gorgeous brilliance.

Charging head on with a spear was just a trick to divert Earthbound Yaksha's attention. His only target from the very beginning was to use 'Spatial Transference' to move the hiding Field Marshal Awesomo near Sunless!

"It all depends on you! Sunless!"

Speechless roared in his heart!

However, just as he believed his plans had succeeded, he saw Earthbound Yaksha suddenly turn its torso around and stab the ground behind it. It exposed its waist completely to his spear.

"What!?"

Speechless did not expect Earthbound Yaksha to so quickly notice his goal, much less expect that it would make such a choice.

Did it completely turn a blind eye to the damage he could cause?

Foolish creature, you shall pay the price for your arrogance!

Speechless thundered angrily as a cold beam preceded before his spear thrust forward like a dragon. It stabbed straight into Earthbound Yaksha's waist, but when it hit its mark, it felt like it had stabbed straight into a mud pool. The spear had been devoured by Earthbound Yaksha's body!

At the same time, Earthbound Yaksha's black blade had ruptured the six-pointed star array, forcefully ending the channeling of 'Spatial Transference'.

"Knowest thou not this? Feeble human!

Earthbound Yaksha sneered as it turned back and slashed 'Vaiśravaṇa Heavenly Slash'!

Speechless hurriedly retreated but due to the close distance, he was injured by the blade beam despite managing to partially dodge it. The already injured him immediately turned pale as he knelt to the ground.

So close. Success was so close.

But he had ultimately failed.

He never expected that the Earthbound Yaksha could keenly smell the scent of magic, much less expect that its body could turn around in such a freakish manner.

"As a Yaksha, evil spirits from hell art extremely comptible to magical elements. It is unfortunate. Thou art clever, but thee hadst hath used a wrong strategy."

Earthbound Yaksha sneered as it raised its blade at Speechless, "Thou art the most dangerous, so it's most important that thee kicketh the bucket."

Earthbound Yaksha had identified Speechless as the greatest threat and it had decided not to spare his life.

From afar, Sunless sighed as she walked towards Earthbound Yaksha with her sword raised.

Although Speechless had failed, wasting a great deal of her time, the kind her was not one to leave him in the lurch.

However, in the end, it required Earthbound Yaksha to be defeated before Field Marshal Awesomo could be killed.

In the end, she still had to battle alone.

In the end, she still could only trust herself.

Sunless felt somewhat disappointed.

Earthbound Yaksha glanced at Sunless as a light smile suffused across its lips. From the looks of it, the game was about to end. Its appearance had completely broken the balance of the game. It only wished that the last toy was able to struggle a little longer. But before that, it needed to dice up the youth that had nearly embarrassed it.

Earthbound Yaksha raised its blade slowly and was about to let it fall.

Speechless knelt on the ground while holding his chest. His face was pale and his gaze looked clouded. He did not seem like he had any strength left for resisting.

The other injured ones limped over, but the moment they made contact with the formless 'Soul Suppression', their already weakened bodies were left rooted to the ground.

The fog of despair had already covered the heavens.

Who could save this battle situation of defeat?

"Lalalalalalala..."

A hymn of 'lalala' suddenly sounded.

At the moment the song sounded, a miracle happened. IChooseDogLeading (我选择狗带) when read in Chinese sounds like I Choose Go Die. It was a meme that resulted from a former member of famous Korean boygroup, EXO, TAO (Huang Zitao). At a concert, there was a part in a rap that where he said "", but due to a mispronunciation, it sounded like he will not easily choose to be led by dogs. This phrase now means 'I'd rather die/I choose death'.