With the demise of the mutated dragon, calm returned to the surroundings.
The swarms of soul-lost no longer appeared.
"We're only a kilometer away from the World Tower. Nothing can stop the True God's advance!" Miaoke exclaimed excitedly.
"But the enemy's strength shouldn't be this weak!" Zhang Chen said with a casual smile. "They must have other trump cards!"
Regardless of the enemy's strength, he was determined to ascend this tower.
Just then, the grass in the distance rustled, and Marana emerged from the bushes. She looked disheveled, as if she had just been through a fierce battle.
"Marana, where is your team?" Miaoke asked in surprise.
"Wiped out. The enemy was far stronger than we anticipated. We were attacked violently the moment we teleported in!" Marana explained. "Other squads have also lost contact. They're likely in a tough fight. We must quickly take down this tower to rescue them!"
"That's right. There are too many soul-lost in this area. If we eliminate the command center, the other monsters won't be able to fight!" Miaoke agreed.
"True God, during the battle, I found this strange object. Do you know what it's for?" Marana asked, pulling out a small wooden box from her embrace.
"That's what they used to ambush me!" Zhang Chen said without turning his head, casually waving his right hand.
Marana's form instantly vanished, replaced by a soul-lost with rolling white eyes. The wooden box in her hand transformed into a metal casing capable of stripping energy. In an instant, the soul-lost and the metal casing turned to dust, dissipating into the air.
"This Marana was a fake?!" The three little cats exclaimed in disbelief. "But we didn't see through it?!" They had received Zhang Chen's energy, gaining an ability similar to absolute vision, yet they couldn't discern the soul-lost's disguise.
"Don't blame yourselves. These monsters are not disguised using energy, but through the power of laws," Zhang Chen explained. "I know very little about the power of laws, but the other side has been researching for five hundred years. They must have made significant breakthroughs!"
"It's a good opportunity for me to have a proper discussion with them!" Zhang Chen said, waving his right hand again.
A powerful energy barrier instantly connected Zhang Chen to the summit of the World Tower. Trees and flying monsters that touched the barrier immediately turned to steam.
"Now no one can stop us. Let's go!" Zhang Chen said, beginning to walk along the energy barrier tunnel. The tunnel started on the ground, then rose higher and higher, until eventually, everyone was suspended in mid-air. They looked down at the scenery shrinking below, even spotting dense groups of zombies wandering on the ground. In the distance, Marana's team was engaged in battle with the soul-lost.
Soon, they reached the top of the World Tower, where a vast, open platform awaited. In the center of the platform stood a massive crystal cluster emitting a soft pink glow. An old man stood there with Xu Ruina, Xiuyan, Sheila, and Dolores's uncle.
"We have been waiting here for a long time, the so-called True God... Heh, you're quite slow!" the old man sneered. "It took you much longer to get here than I anticipated. Perhaps I overestimated your strength? But it doesn't matter. You and I both know that there are no such things as gods in this world. They are merely human fears and fantasies born from the unknown power of the strong."
"You can become a god, I can become a god, anyone can become a god!" he continued. "But what does it matter? The world doesn't operate according to the will of one or two so-called gods, nor do gods exist forever. Once a god disappears, leaves, the order of this world will collapse again! Just like the previous True God Cult!"
"So... what is the meaning of a god's existence? What is the meaning of your efforts to prove the existence of the True God Cult?" The old man bombarded Zhang Chen with a barrage of questions the moment they met.
Zhang Chen tilted his head, scrutinizing the old man, then slowly asked, "Who... are you? Do we know each other?"