The stronghold didn’t simply rise into the air. That would have been shocking, but it wouldn’t have blown everyone’s minds like it was doing now. As the stronghold hovered in mid-air, Wang Baole completed a series of rapid hand seals and unleashed the full power of his stronghold. He unleashed the final and ultimate attack that he had designed for his Eternal Fortress!
The stronghold instantly dismantled itself before everyone’s eyes, in the face of the approaching waves of Beast Tides!
Nineteen pages separated from the stronghold and scattered in the air. The front and back covers did the same. They started circling in mid-air, and Countless Baole Cannons and Fire God Cannons appeared on the pages. Numerous other Dharma artifacts, which had appeared before in the earlier attacks, were all revealed.
The dismantled stronghold blanketed nearly half of the Divine Armament Zone. Its presence cast a looming shadow over the approaching Beast Tides beneath it. It unleashed its full power suddenly!
Thunderous booms resounded in the air and shook the heavens. Construction puppets moved swiftly across the pages, repairing the artifacts frantically. What followed was utterly mind-blowing. When the artifacts on a single page were deemed to be completely irreparable, the page would fall from the skies and slam straight into the beast hordes, self-destructing instantly!
Wang Baole had spent a lot of time designing the inscriptions for the self-destruction mechanism. The explosion was extremely powerful, and the force of the explosion surged outward in strong waves. It was the result of hundreds of Baole Cannons blowing up at the same time, the destruction of a page formed from vast quantities of resources and materials. It was the result of the inscriptions’ frantic absorption of Spirit Qi from the surrounding air before its eventual self-destruction. That had been part of Wang Baole’s design as well.
One page exploded with a thunderous boom. The Beast Tide suddenly halted in its tracks. This wasn’t the end of it. The second page lost its ability to battle and fell crashing into the horde. A series of explosions sounded as that happened to a third page, fourth, fifth…
Wang Baole was going mad. He knew that this was the moment that decided whether he would emerge victoriously or instead be defeated. This was the moment that decided his mayorship for the New Mars Region. Everything banked on him holding strong and lasting longer than Li Yi!
He no longer had the time and energy to observe what was going on with Li Yi. In the midst of this very critical period, Wang Baole continued to maneuver his stronghold. He heard nothing else except the booming explosions that drowned out the roars of the beasts and kept ringing in his ear.
The ninth page followed, then the tenth… the fourteenth page fell and sent the ground quaking. Everyone in the Federation watching the live stream was stunned. Their scalps were prickling with numbness, their eyes widened, and their jaws dropped.
Both Wang Baole and Li Yi had gone to their limits at this very key, decisive moment. Wang Baole’s book was left with two pages while Li Yi’s city had been invaded. Waves of beasts, eyes mad with violence, howled and charged at Li Yi’s helpers. Two Core Formation realm beasts headed straight for Li Yi!
Wang Baole encountered a similar problem. Two Core Formation realm beasts dashed at him. They were about to draw near when Wang Baole suddenly lifted his head and, with a loud roar, slapped his storage bracelet. A full suit of armor flew out and enclosed him entirely within its protection. He held his Dharmic Armament in his hand and sent it slashing at the two charging Core Formation realm beasts!
A loud explosion thundered. The armor on Wang Baole shattered into pieces. He spat out a mouthful of blood and shuddered. His face was drained of blood. Wang Baole clenched his teeth and violence colored his eyes as he swept his arm across the air, summoning nine mosquitoes. He held firm instead of shattering his jade slip. The last two pages in the air exploded at the same time.
Li Yi was gritting her teeth and holding on for dear life as well. She was relying on the emergency, life-saving array formation that the giant tree had given her to resist the attacks from the Core Formation realm beasts. She unleashed the remaining power from the city and continued to retaliate, in hopes that she would last for a little longer.
Both Li Yi and Wang Baole were reaching the end of their ropes. This was the deciding moment. It all depended on whom would outlast the other. The viewers watching the live stream—the residents of the Federation and the various political forces—held their breaths and dared not blink.
At present, not even the four Dao Colleges dared to assert… whom the final victor would be!
It all comes down to their fighting spirit… The same thought appeared in the minds of everyone viewing the battle. Wang Baole had come to the same conclusion as well. He had also been observing the array formation around Li Yi. He knew clearly that in terms of resources, he still couldn’t compare with Li Yi, who had the support of the four Dao Colleges and the giant tree!
If nothing unexpected happened, he was bound to lose.
He had fought so hard and gotten so far. Wang Baole didn’t intend to lose without putting up a fight. His breath quickened and grim determination flashed in his eyes.
“Li Yi!” Wang Baole leaped into the air and shouted at Li Yi as the two Core Formation realm beasts were temporarily held back by the simultaneous blasts from the pages.
Li Yi, who was struggling to defend herself against two Core Formation realm beasts with the array formation that the giant tree had given her, turned her head when she heard Wang Baole’s yell. She saw Wang Baole pull out… his teleportation jade slip!
As soon as the teleportation jade slip was shattered, it would teleport whatever was in its immediate vicinity away. Li Yi’s breath quickened when she saw Wang Baole pull out his jade slip. As for those who were watching the live stream—the residents of the Federation, those from the various political forces, the Sect Lord and members of the Ethereal Dao College, Jin Duozhi and the others from the Dao Mountain Mist Academy…
Everyone’s eyes fell on Wang Baole unanimously. Some of them had a look of shock on their faces, others mockery, and some others relief. Some showed regret that Wang Baole seemed to be giving up. It was then that… Wang Baole let out a loud laugh. He flung the teleportation jade slip… at one Core Formation realm beast!
As the jade slip approached the beast, Wang Baole howled and sent his blade slashing. The light from his blade erupted with a thundering boom and snaked after the jade slip. It hit the jade slip the moment the latter reached the Core Formation realm beast. There was a loud boom as the jade slip shattered under the slicing light of the saber blade!
The teleportation spell was released amid the explosion. It swept over the struggling, retreating beast. There was a sudden blinding light, and then, the beast vanished. It had been sent away!
The scene shocked everyone. No one had expected Wang Baole to do that. They were all reeling from the decisiveness and viciousness of Wang Baole’s action!
He was asking for death!
“Wang Baole!” The Sect Lord of the Ethereal Dao College stomped his foot after witnessing the scene. He was fraught with anxiety. The Grand Supreme Elder was watching the battle in the college as well. He hadn’t made a single comment throughout the entire trial, but at present, even he was alarmed.
Besides the Ethereal Dao College, the other political forces were also stunned at Wang Baole’s move. Those from the Five Generation Sky Clan sucked in a sudden breath. They were all… shocked by Wang Baole’s brutal decisiveness.
It was easy to be brutal and hard on others, but to exact the same kind of viciousness on one’s self was something few could achieve.
Wang Baole was doing just that. He was leaving himself with no way out. The Federation populace was stunned. Even Zhuo Yifan and Zhao Yameng were alarmed. The Governor of the Martian Colony had a stern look on her face and was silent. She didn’t bother with the Core Formation realm beast that had been teleported away. It wasn’t a candidate so it wouldn’t survive the Martian array formation during the teleportation. It was highly likely it would be torn apart by the array formation during the process.
Li Yi was caught by surprise as well. Her breathing grew uneven, the look on her face that of alarm and shock. She gasped aloud.
“Wang Baole, you’re crazy!”
Wang Baole lifted his face skyward and laughed out loud. He had his saber in his hand. In the sky, the pages continued to circle and erupt with explosive force. His voice rang out and resonated in the air.
“Li Yi, I don’t plan to leave the fight. If you have the guts, you can do what I just did. If not… scram and go back to being the baby that you are!”
The power of Wang Baole’s Dharmic Armament saber erupted with an explosive boom. He coordinated with the pages in the sky and clashed with the Core Formation realm beast. Despite not engaging the beast in direct battle, despite the aid from the pages of his stronghold, Wang Baole was still not the beast’s match. But he had a strong physical body. Blood continued to flow from his wounds. It was a tragic sight, but he held strong. In his mind, he considered chanting the scripture as a last resort if it came down to that… at the moment though, he could still afford to display a bit more of his fearsome figure in battle.
The donkey’s eyes burned red with madness. It charged and bit every beast it saw.
Li Yi had a dark look on her face. She wanted to do what Wang Baole had just done as well, to leave herself with no way out and hold her ground bravely, but she didn’t have the courage or decisiveness. She knew clearly that without the jade slip, there would be no immediate rescue should she be faced with extreme danger. The Governor and her people might be able to teleport themselves over, but that required time. Time was a luxury in such moments that could determine one’s life or death.
Her will was weakening. Under the attack of the two howling Core Formation realm beasts, her array formation started to show signs of falling apart. Cracks appeared. It was about to collapse… if Li Yi’s fighting spirit had remained strong and she had been left with no retreat, she might have been forced to continue fighting with her life. But now… in the midst of her panic, as the array formation exploded and fell apart, as the two Core Formation realm beasts lunged at her, Li Yi instinctively shattered the jade slip she had been holding in her hand all that while. Instantly… she was teleported away!
Eliminated!
On the battlefield stood the last candidate. It was Wang Baole. The fight had ended. Wang Baole… had achieved a grand victory!