A silent, piercing shriek ravaged the air, forming visible sound waves that forcibly halted the advance of the willow-leaf throwing knives.

Liu Wudai also drew his bow to its fullest extent, firing a series of iron caltrops.

Thin iron wires connected the iron caltrops, entangling the willow-leaf throwing knives, slowing them down.

With these factors combined, finally, Hoenheim completed the last segment of his obscure, chilling incantation.

"uoixkiaz, uoixk, ie, uoixkie!"

An invisible force was drawn out and peeled away from his body. Hoenheim's face withered and shriveled at a visible rate, and his body beneath the windbreaker swayed precariously like a hemp stalk.

Correspondingly, the ground within the circular area in front of him began to petrify.

It wasn't simply turning into rock.

The soil in front, and even the shallow lake water, were transformed into a black basalt covered in nautilus-like spiral patterns.

[Skill Name: Stone Visitation]

[Type: Arcane]

[Effect: Permanent petrification. Chanting the incantation petrifies all matter within a 20-meter radius sphere. Living beings within the area must undergo a life-tier check; failure results in permanent petrification.]

[Cost: 1800 Spiritual Power, 800 Sanity]

[Cooldown: 24 hours]

[Requirements: Transformation Arcane level High or above]

[Note: After attempting to cast this spell, the maximum Stamina and Sanity will each be reduced by 500 points for 12 hours. After the time limit, they will gradually recover over time.]

[Note: After careful observation and experimentation, my fellow astronauts and I on the space station can finally confirm that the black stones we brought back from Mars are not inanimate objects, but rather strange organisms with extremely slow metabolisms and a perception of time thousands of times slower than humans. Houston, we have a problem.]

Rustle, rustle.

The thin air was transformed into large and small stone dust particles, falling from the sky and landing on the completely petrified lake surface.

Su Ni'sheng's phantom frowned deeply, and with a wave of her hand, she tore apart a large piece of the earth,

but could not stop the trend of petrification,

penetrating layer by layer along the corner of the Wish Machine that Li Ang had broken.

The metal Wish Machine flickered on and off, and the refracted light also appeared and disappeared intermittently. Su Ni'sheng's phantom slowly lowered her palm, and finally gave the players present a deep look,

before completely dissipating with the light, disappearing.

The system's task completion sound rang in his ears, like heavenly music.

Hoenheim, whose body was stiff and withered, did not hesitate and teleported away directly—the negative status effects on his body were so severe that he had to be treated immediately.

"It's over, huh..."

David slowly lowered the Judgement Spear that had just flown back, coughing up several mouthfuls of blood.

He had no idea how many ribs were broken, and his heart, lungs, stomach, and other internal organs were damaged to varying degrees,

but at least he was still alive.

David turned his head, his gaze swept across the cave, and the corner of his eye glanced at the Wish Machine.

Hoenheim's petrification spell was quite thorough, and it continued even after he left.

The Wish Machine had completely turned into a stone tablet, and all the components inside had been assimilated into black basalt with nautilus patterns,

losing its value.

What a pity.

Seeming to notice the fleeting disappointment in the depths of his eyes, Amberly, who picked up the pirate scimitar from the ground, ridiculed, "You barely survived, so don't think about regretting not keeping the spoils, right?"

David smiled indifferently, without explaining anything. Instead, he casually wiped away the blood from the corner of his broken mouth and nodded to the others, "This time was really difficult. If we have the chance, let's meet at the spar deck. I'll buy you a drink."

The spar deck was the name of a bar in the game plaza. The decor wasn't extravagant or luxurious, but it was quiet and secluded. It was also a gathering point for mercenaries. Some high-level players, brokers, and information peddlers often frequented the place.

Li Ang had been there once or twice. He didn't like the atmosphere there, but he still nodded and watched David teleport away, disappearing from the spot.

Crack, crack.

The already inclined rock wall of the mountaintop made another sound of rock breaking. Li Ang stepped forward and came to the front of the green, fleshy sphere that was Claude.

After releasing the Banshee's Wail, this necromancer had also entered a state of exhaustion. The entire sphere shriveled, constantly leaking air like a punctured balloon.

Li Ang reached out and pressed it, dispelling the idea of ​​saving him—the other party was just a clone in some sense, and had long been set with a self-destruct program, so he couldn't be saved.

"Was I successful... Delisa's wish, Ken and the others' deaths... I hope... I didn't choose wrong..."

Claude's human-faced eyes were hollow, looking at the sky, muttering the last sentence before dissolving into a pool of dark green liquid, seeping into the ground fissures torn apart by the aftermath of the battle.

"..."

Li Ang looked at the gradually dissipating Claude, slowly stood up, and straightened the slightly crooked dragon head mask.

Amberly sheathed the Tide Bringer back into the scabbard at her waist, raised her chin to the others, left a sentence "See you again if we're fated," and disappeared from the spot.

Ding Zhensi also said hello and teleported away—the state of the Kui Cow mech was very unstable and needed to be returned to the real world immediately for repairs and adjustments.

Moreover, he also needed to immediately report everything he saw in this script mission to his superiors.

The Other Learning Society had definitely conducted secret experiments in history that were completely unknown to modern times. They actually had the ability to create a vast world in a box, and Su Ni'sheng's previous identity was also involved—

Her strength in her previous life far exceeded expectations. Just an incomplete spiritual body with unknown amount of spiritual power almost sent Hoenheim and several other top-tier players away in a package.

Only Liu Wudai and Li Ang were left on the scene.

Liu Wudai put the bow and arrows back into the backpack slot and looked at Li Ang, who was standing silently, "What are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking, if their world is a box, will other worlds be like this too..."

Li Ang smacked his lips and spread his hands indifferently, "Forget it, I don't want to think so much. Are you leaving?"

"Yeah."

Liu Wudai nodded, "See you at the plaza."

"See you at the plaza."

Li Ang watched Liu Wudai teleport away, standing alone in the collapsing mountaintop cave.

He raised his head, looking up at the sky through the tilting dome of the cave, his gaze seeming to penetrate the clouds, seeing the existence beyond the sky.

Rumble, rumble.

The mountain slowly tilted and collapsed. Just before the myriads of rubble fell, Li Ang also disappeared from the spot.

————

In the far distance, the villagers of the Guardian Village stood on the street, dumbfounded, watching the mountaintop of the snowy mountain completely collapse.

The village chief, who was holding a booklet and teaching the young people in the village how to use the machines taught by the alien travelers, widened his eyes and his hands trembled slightly.

What on earth happened on the sacred mountain...

No one could answer his doubts.

"Look!"

The childish cry of a child awakened the village chief from the intense shock and regret. He suddenly raised his head, but saw that the sky above the sacred mountain was torn open by a black rift.

A huge, immortal-energy-shrouded eyeball observed the world in the box through the rift.